Game of Air and Lightning Cover Design

Hi all,

This week I can reveal the cover design for my upcoming Young Adult Fantasy Dystopian book, Game of Air and Lightning. It’ll go up for pre-order in August, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for that!

Without further ado, here is the cover:

This cover has been designed by Deranged Doctor Design, who have done all my previous covers too. This one is a lot different to my previous covers and I love it!

• First off, this book is a symbol based cover as I thought it would fit the story more than having a character on the cover.

• The dagger on the front belongs to Aerus, one of the gods in the book.

• The bangle is how people in the book control their chi, which can either be wind or lightning depending on what faction they’re from.

• Gold is the colour the gods are neutral to, instead of using their own colours of red and blue. If one colour gets used, they fight about it. So gold is the neutral ground between them.

• The golden orb is what the gods leave gifts in for those who win their competitions.

• I wanted the cover to have ornate edges like the god tomes in the book.

• The colour scheme is green and gold.

This book will be available to pre-order in August with a release date in October. Next month I’ll post the first chapter so you can have a sneak peek at what you’ll be reading!

That’s it for this week, see you next Sunday.

PS; before you go, looking for more books to read? Check out the ones in these bundles:

HorrorReadersList’s Indie Horror Kindle Unlimited Email

Incredible Magic in Fantasy & Science Fiction (July)

Reader Magnet Ideas

Hi all,

It's been a while since I wrote a post that could help other authors, so I thought I'd change that today.

This week, I'm going to be talking about reader magnets. In order to entice readers to sign up for your newsletter, it's best practice to offer them something for free. It needs to be something substantial that readers will actually want in order to sign up to your newsletter.

Short story collection

I've offered quite a few of these and I've found them to be pretty popular. The stories should be set in the universe of one of your books or series. The stories can be of your main characters or side characters that you might want to explore further. You can write as many stories as you want, they can be linked or just a standalone story.

Prequel

If readers have already read your book and want more in that universe, offer a prequel. They can learn more about what happens before the events of the book or explore a certain character. I'd recommend picking a popular character for a prequel, or an important side one that influences the main story in some way.

Free novel

You don't need to write something entirely new in order to get sign ups for your mailing list. You can use one of your books that is already published but offer it for free. Once readers have a taste of your writing, they may be inclined to buy more.

Sample chapters

If you're not comfortable offering an entire book, offer a few sample chapters instead. You can then end your reader magnet with a link to the full book and where they can purchase it. If they're hooked, it might lead to more buyers.

Deleted scenes

Some readers are interested in what scenes didn't make it into the book itself. You can order a reader magnet filled with deleted scenes with reasons as to why they didn't make it into the final draft of the book.

Illustrations

Some readers want to visualise what your characters look like, or even parts of the world. You can offer a book filled with illustrations of whatever you think that your readers would want.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading. See you next week! 

PS; before you go, don’t forget to check out these book bundles:

SFF Plot Before Passion

Kindle Unlimited with the occult and supernatural

Curse of Anubis Complete Collection Pre-Order Live

Hi all,

Now that all of the books in the Curse of Anubis series have been published, I’ve gathered them up into one ebook boxset! This will be published on 14th July 2026.

The Complete Collection contains all of the books in the Curse of Anubis series in one neat little bundle!

You will receive:

The Plague’s Hope

The Blazing Serpent

The Frozen Eye

The Dead Kingdom

While waiting for the Complete Collection to come out why not join my mailing list? You’ll get exclusive short stories, cover reveals, book deals and merch surveys!

In return you’ll get five FREE enovellas that can’t be downloaded anywhere else. I also plan on adding more free books in the future, so it’ll definitely be worth your while signing up!

You can currently download:

Elemental Dragons Short Story Collection - a collection of short stories involving dragons

Famished - a prequel to Mute

Years - a prequel to Years

Seashine - a look at the origins of a minor character in Celestial Plague

Curse of Anubis Short Story Collection - a collection of short stories about Egyptian gods

In the next few years the following enovellas will also be available (may be subject to change):

The First Sacrifice - a prequel to Game of Air and Lightning

Tartarus - a prequel to Empty Skies

Original Elementals Short Story Collection - another batch of short stories involving dragons

The Moth Queen - a prequel to Cloud’s Core

That’s it for this week! I hope you’re looking forward to reading the Complete Collection. See you next week!

PS; before you go, don’t forget to check out these book bundles:

SFF Plot Before Passion

Kindle Unlimited with the occult and supernatural

The Indie Author Bookstore

Hi all,

As a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, I'm part of their new online bookstore!

You can search for new authors you may never have heard of and maybe find your new favourite. There are thousands of books in a variety of genres, themes and seasons. New books and authors are featured each day, so there's always something new to find.

All of my books are on there which will link back to my Amazon page.

By supporting the Indie Author Bookstore you'll be helping so many self published authors sell more books, gain reviews and show the world that indie authors are just as good as traditionally published ones.

If you want to support me and other ALLi members, you can browse the bookstore here.

If you read any of the books and enjoy them, then please leave a review! They help authors a lot more than you realise.

Don't forget to spread the word about the Indie Author Bookstore! See you next week. 

Plymouth Writer's Group Anthology

Hi all,

The writer's group that I'm part of, Plymouth Writer's Group, is launching submissions for a brand new anthology! Check out more details here: PWG website.

For any writers out there that are interested, submissions opened February 14th 2026 and closes 14th May 2026. If you're sixteen or over, feel free to submit your piece!

The theme of the anthology is Endangered Species. Pick any species you like, as long as it hasn't been taken by any of our members. Please all make sure you read the submission guidelines carefully before submitting your work.

My species for this anthology is the Snow Leopard, my favourite animal! My story, The Fire Leopard, will be featured in this anthology.

If you're interested, make sure you check out the anthology and submit any stories you think might fit! Here’s the link one more time for those interested: PWG anthology.

That's it for this week, see you next Sunday. 

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles, all books are free to download!

Free Science Fiction / Fantasy Stories - March 2026

FREE Fantasy & Paranormal

Round Robin Stories Volume Four

Hi all,

This week I'm going to let you know how you can get an anthology that I've participated in! It's another one from Strong Women, Strange Worlds. It's the next one in their Round Robin Stories collection. This one is volume four.

This time I helped write two stories, which was extra fun! The stories in this volume are:

Family Time

The Guidance of Pigeons

Comms Down

The Mermaid's Curse

I helped write The Guidance of Pigeons and Comms Down. Last year I wrote a fantasy story, but this year I got to help with two Sci-Fi ones! It was a nice change and a genre that I probably write the least in. I'm glad that I got the opportunity to work on both stories and bring both stories to life.

If you would like to read this anthology, you’ll need to sign up to my mailing list, which you can do by clicking here. I’ll be sending out the anthology as a thank you to all my subscribers on March 1st, so make sure you’re signed up before then! In the meantime, you’ll get access to five FREE enovellas based on my books! Sign up here.

This was an amazing opportunity thanks to Strong Women, Strange Worlds. I would really recommend checking them out if you’re looking for new books to read.

That's it for this week, if you check out the anthology, I hope you enjoy it! See you next week. 

PS; don’t forget to support indie authors by checking out this promo:

Support Indie Authors

What I Would Tell a Child That Wants to be an Author

Hi all,

This week, I'm going to talk about children who want to be authors when they grow up. I thought I'd hand out a bit of advice for any teenagers out there who feel the pull to write books.

Practice often.

Even if it's short stories, flash fiction or fanfiction, just write. The more you write, the more your style will develop. You'll also get a good feel of what genres and stories you want to write. I started out writing stories about cats when I was younger.

Read.

Reading is a great way to learn other writing styles and pick up on new words. It doesn't have to be in the genre you want to write in.

Get feedback.

I used to write Warrior Cats fanfiction and it was a great way to get feedback on my writing from my peers. I'd highly recommend writing fanfiction as you'll meet a lot of people who already enjoy what you read and will want more of it. If you don't want to do that, you can ask family or friends about your writing. But they might not give you any negative feedback, so keep that in mind.

Research publication methods.

Look into how they published. Did they self publish or go through a publisher? Do you want to publish your own work or attempt to get through the slush pile of agents? Each method has its pros and cons, you just need to look into which will be better for you.

Write on the side.

Don't attempt to make writing your full-time job straight away. Especially if you're self-publishing, you'll need funds for editors, cover designers, ads etc. So I would recommend getting a full-time job and treat writing as a hobby until you earn enough to live off your book money.

Don't give up.

It can be daunting when you're first starting. There are so many hurdles to jump through and success still isn't guaranteed. A lot of the time you will feel like giving up. But persevere. If this what you want, then you have to make it happen.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week. 

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles before they disappear:

Long Live the Queen: Amazing Women in Fantasy & Science Fiction (Dec 2025-Jan 2026)

New Year, New Monsters 6: From the Skies

Four Original Standalones Completed!

Hi all,

This blog post is a celebratory one! The four standalone books that I originally first came up with years ago are now all drafted! These are:

Street Rats

Game of Air and Lightning

The Severed Pantheon

Cloud's Core

Years ago I put up polls asking for my readers to vote which book they'd like me to write first. Street Rats won, which took a few years to complete due to my depression, but I eventually got it done.

Game of Air and Lightning and Cloud's Core were featured in my cat competition last year, and both cute winners are included in their respective books.

The Severed Pantheon was one of my writing projects from 2025 which was drafted in a month.

It feels so good to get all of these books done finally. But at the same time I'm sad to move them out of my ideas folder. They've been there so long that it felt wrong to move them all into my completed folder.

I'm hoping to fill up my ideas folder again this year, with hopefully some more standalones to add to it.

The next standalone book that I'm hoping to write will be a horror one, which I will either write in either March or July this year.

Although I like writing a series, I find that switching to a standalone is a good palate cleanser. I feel refreshed going back into a series after writing a standalone book in a completely different universe. You can dive into the head of a different character and their experiences, rather than one that feels familiar because of a series. It's exciting and I love expanding on the world for another book that I've never written before.

That's it for this week! I hope you enjoyed reading. See you next week. 

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles before they disappear:

Long Live the Queen: Amazing Women in Fantasy & Science Fiction (Dec 2025-Jan 2026)

New Year, New Monsters 6: From the Skies

My 2026 Writing Goals

Hi all,

As this is the first blog post of 2026, it's time for my goals for 2026!

Write three books.

This year I'm going to write three books, and I want to get the remaining books in the Original Elementals series done. I haven't decided whether I'll write those first or if I'll get a standalone done first, you'll have to wait and see!

Finish writing the Original Elementals series.

This series has been ongoing for a while and I want to get it finished this year. I've got other books planned in the Elemental Dragons universe as well, though once Original Elementals is drafted I'll take a break from it for a bit.

Self-edit three books.

I want to get Game of Air and Lightning, Empty Skies #1: Missing Constellations and Empty Skies #2: Freezing Constellations edited. Once I'm happy with what I've done, I'll send them to my editor.

Get two covers designed.

Two covers will be getting designed by Deranged Doctor Design this year!

Publish two books.

I'm going to publish the last book in the Curse of Anubis series, The Dead Kingdom, and Game of Air and Lightning this year!

Publish the Curse of Anubis Complete Collection.

With all the books in this series released, there will also be a Complete Collection so you can buy all four books at once.

Read 100 books.

Seeing as I read 121 last year, I'm going with 100 this year. I've got a lot on my TBR list right now and I'm sure I'll find more to fill it out as well.

Run regular Facebook ads.

My Facebook ads did well for a few months last year but then fell off. This time, I want to try to keep on top of them more and expand my knowledge about how advertising works on Facebook. I'm gathering images and excerpts from my books, so this might not start until the middle of the year.

Write and send out the Game of Air and Lightning prequel.

This year I will get that prequel written! It will also be edited and then sent to my newsletter subscribers.

Plot the Empty Skies reader magnet.

I'm still not sure what the story will be for this book, and I'm looking forward to playing around with a few ideas until I find one that sticks.

Plot a Norse mythology series.

I've got the basics of this one already, but I want to expand on it further. I'd like to be able to start writing this series in 2027, so that means I need to get a solid outline done this year.

Plot a YA Fantasy series.

This one is very bare bones at the moment, but I have the characters and the magical system worked out. This one will be a massive project that will contain werewolves, vampires and eldritch beings that created magic in the first place.

Plot a horror book.

As this is one of the books I want to write this year, I need to flesh out the plot a lot more. I know where the book starts and ends, but I need to fill out all the middle bits, characters and side plots.

That's it for this week! I hope you enjoyed my first blog post of 2026. See you next Sunday. 

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles before they disappear:

Long Live the Queen: Amazing Women in Fantasy & Science Fiction (Dec 2025-Jan 2026)

New Year, New Monsters 6: From the Skies

2025 Year in Review

Hi all,

It’s time to take a look at my goals for 2025 and see what I achieved. I wanted to push myself a little bit this year and I think on the whole it was manageable. I didn’t hit all of my goals, but that’s okay!

Write three books.

This year I wrote the first drafts of:

Game of Air and Lightning

The Severed Pantheon

Cloud’s Core

It was the year of standalone books, it seems!

Publish two books.

This year I published Curse of Anubis #2: The Blazing Serpent and Curse of Anubis #3: The Frozen Eye.

Get two covers designed.

The covers for Curse of Anubis #3: The Frozen Eye and Curse of Anubis #4: The Dead Kingdom were both designed by Deranged Doctor Design this year.

Self-edit two books.

The last two books in the Curse of Anubis series were self-edited and sent off to my editor, ready for publication.

Send all my reader magnets to my editor.

All of them were edited by her and I feel like the stories have really improved!

Read 100 books.

This year I read 121!

Write the Game of Air and Lightning reader magnet.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get this one done. I’ve had so many ideas for it that I’ve started writing and then scrapped not too far in. I’m still trying to find the perfect story to write.

Change my writing schedule.

My writing months are now March, July and November. It works a lot better now that they’re more stretched out.

Write 12 short stories.

I initially planned to write a short story a month, but I forgot about the months that I’d be writing books. So, I managed to write ten short stories this year. My newsletter subscribers have read most of them.The stories are:

Affection

Blue Once More

Fire Dragon

Neglected Vote

Red

Run-Along

The Bus

The Last Excavation

Two Paths

Unnamed

Research different kinds of mythology.

I’ve done a lot of research this year into Japanese mythology and Celtic mythology. I haven’t come up with any concrete story ideas for either yet, but I’m hoping the more I read about it, the more ideas will come to me.

That’s it for this week! Next week I’ll be posting about my goals for 2026, so you don’t want to miss it. See you next Sunday.

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles before they disappear:

Brand New December Fantasy Adventures

Long Live the Queen: Amazing Women in Fantasy & Science Fiction (Dec 2025-Jan 2026)

New Year, New Monsters 6: From the Skies