When I announced on Facebook yesterday that the Blackthorn book trailer has now reached over 1,000 views on You Tube, I had quite a few people comment that they hadn’t seen it before.
So for those who are new to Blackthorn, this was the awesome trailer created by Bookouture that helped launch the series last November. The focus at the end is on Blood Shadows (book 1), but the trailer itself incorporates lots of Blackthorn elements to give readers a taste of the world they are entering. The soundtrack is ‘Superhero’ by Tim McMorris.
It’s permanently featured here on my blog in the slider above (there’s all sorts lurking around this website, so always feel free to take a wander. It’s not unlike Blackthorn itself at times. ;-)), but I thought I’d repost it again in all it’s glory for anyone who missed it the first time around.
I do hope you enjoy it – for the first time or the second. And if you do, and you have a You Tube account, please ‘like’ it.
Yesterday, I had my first birthday as a published author.
Those who have been following me for a while might remember a post I wrote around this time last year. I included a picture of the electronic typewriter I’d had for my 13th birthday after resolutely announcing I was going to be an author one day. It’s strange to think that less than 12 months ago, my hopes were still a bundle of dreams.
Well, it’s taken 26 years (why rush?) to get there, but I’m finally wearing the official badge. And it’s no longer my electric typewriter I’m willingly glued to for hours on end… (can anyone spot Batty?)
(No, my books never leave my side when I’m writing. Yes, the pile of paperwork in the left hand corner are my Blood Torn notes.)
And I couldn’t have asked for a better lead-up to my birthday this year. After announcing last week that I’d reached the top 10 in Amazon’s Gothic Romance chart in Germany, I then reached the top 20 here in the UK.
On the weekend, I was thrilled with an awesome review for Blood Roses from Lindsey Clarke, which then got picked up by local online newspaper The South West Artists’ Daily.
As for the day itself, there came the arrival of some vamptastic custom-made biscuits courtesy of the lovely Tracey Rogers (they taste as good as they look, Tracey!).
And these were followed by a plateful of scrummy choc-chip Blackthorn birthday cupcakes organised by my wonderful husband. Even the icing is edible!
As well as spending the best part of the day on the North Devon coastline with my better half, I also managed to squeeze in some time with Henry Cavill – albeit it on the big screen. Being a sci-fi and fantasy geek, I was really excited to see the new Superman film.
For those who follow me on Pinterest, you’ll know I picked out Henry Cavill when I had to find some Kane lookalikes as guidance for my book cover designer. Having no idea who he was, but now having finally seen in him action, I know I chose well – he has the perfect Kane scowl if ever I’ve seen one!
I think it was finally confirmed when Superman and Lois were alone in the interrogation room (sound familiar?).
I leaned across to my husband and whispered, “Definitely works as Kane.”
My husband nodded, even though he’s only read the opening chapters of Blood Shadows. “I can see why.”
This was promptly followed by Lois asking Superman, “What’s the ‘S’ for?”
Hubbie instantly leaned back across and whispered, “Soul ripper.”
I stifled my giggles. Obviously. He might not have read the books yet, but clearly I talk about them more than I realise! Hmm, that’s become something of a habit lately.
This wasn’t a scheduled post, but I couldn’t resist sharing some exciting news.
I knew it was going to be fun going global instantly with Bookouture. Part of the reason I was so keen to be a part of the eBook revolution was to have immediate access to readers all around the world. There has been interest in the Blackthorn series from readers in so many countries now, it’s awesome. I’m even going to be interviewed on a blog in the Philippines soon!
Then my publisher got in touch today to let me know that bothBlood Shadows and Blood Roses have hit the top 10 bestsellers for Gothic Romance in Germany’s Amazon chart! Blood Roses is at number 9! Blood Shadows is at number 2!! Look, look… 🙂
This is great news following Blood Roses hitting the top 20 in Amazon UK’s Gothic Romance’s bestseller chart on its release – with both Blood Roses and Blood Shadows still remaining in the top 100. Blood Shadows is in the top 100 in the US Amazon Gothic Romance bestsellers charts too.
Unfortunately none of the wonderful ratings and reviews you left for the books have shown up in Germany. But thank you to everybody who continues to rate and leave reviews for my books – especially on Amazon. It really does make a difference.
With the amazing Lorella Belli Literary Agency now representing the translation rights on the first three books of the series, let’s hope that, one day, even more readers will be able to access Blackthorn.
It’s only been a week but it feels like ages since I’ve written a blog post. It’s probably because a lot has happened over the past few days.
Last weekend started off in the best way possible when a unexpected gift turned up on my doorstep. After all the fun I had creating Blackthorn mechanise, my lovely husband decided it was about time I had a Blackthorn iPhone cover for REAL… 🙂
Then the Dehain brothers post, generated by the fabulous GraveTells team, went live. If you haven’t checked it out yet, it’s a must for fans of the series. And I’m SO grateful for everyone who made it as much fun as it was – not only by taking part with questions, but also visiting and commenting.
On Thursday, I was a guest on The Minxes of Romance talking about why I write dark heroes.
And on Friday it was my turn to put someone else in the hot seat when I gave fellow Bookouture author, Nancy Barone, a serious grilling over on The Hot Pink Typewriter about her new release, The Husband Diet.
Some terrific reviews for Blood Roses have also continued to appear over the past few days. I was particularly thrilled with a five star review from RomFan Reviews on Saturday and, yesterday, from the lovely Fiona Chapman.
Whilst the days have been ticking by, I’ve been furiously scribbling away in the background. As of today, my wonderful editor is busily working her way through the first half of Blood Torn. More about that soon!
And, as well as those Blood Torn updates, I’ve a few other posts planned over the next few weeks. Amongst other things, I’ll be sharing more insight into creating the series and, as they’re proving rather popular, I’m guessing you might enjoy a Kane vs Caleb post in particular. I’m also planning a bit of fun with a Blackthorn quiz for die-hard fans, and thought you might like a peek into the writing cave (or the turret, as I call it) where it all happens. But if there’s anything you’d love to see here, do let me know!
