My Favourite Horror Tropes

Hi all!

As it's Halloween today I thought I'd write a horror related blog post! I read and watch a lot of horror, so I thought it would be fun to share some of my favourite horror media tropes.

Ancient Tombs/Pyramids

I love horror that is set in a cramped space such as a tomb. In most cases the villain are undead or angry gods. I love seeing characters try to escape while trapped in such a small area and get picked off one by one. My favourite film with this trope is The Pyramid.

Events After an Apocalypse.

Seeing the world get destroyed by deadly viruses or nuclear weapons never gets old in my eyes. You get to see the characters adjust to their new world and the threats around them. I especially like the virus trope, as other characters see their loved ones deteriorate and develop symptoms.

Creatures That Can't Move.

The way that I've seen this done best is the Weeping Angels in Doctor Who. The monster can't move while it's being watched, but then it's up to the characters to continually keep their eyes on it. At some point, they eventually look away.

I don’t think Rocky would be much help in a horror film…

Cat Scares.

In films, you think there's going to be a massive jump scare but instead it's just a cat. If you've read my other blog posts you'll know why I like this one!

Long Limbs.

I don't know why disproportionally long arms freak me out so much. It always send a shiver down my spine. It's why I used a wendigo in Mute, as they can be known to grow larger the older they are.

Research Labs.

A group of people are working away on an experimental government project in a lab and it escapes! It then hunts everyone down one by one until it either escapes or is killed in a dramatic fashion. The experiment usually has only one weakness, which the characters take ages to figure out. I love this one as you never know exactly when the monster is going to pop up.

Aliens.

An alien creature is accidentally brought onto a ship and wreaks havoc while killing everyone. The Alien franchise is great for this, especially in the second film when there was hundreds of Xenomorphs!

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

PS; looking for some last minute horror books? Check out the ones in these bundles!

October Tricks and Treats

Halloween Frights

My Longest Series Yet

Hi all!

On the 1st November I'll be writing the first book in the Original Elementals series: Frostbite. I've already announced it as my NaNoWriMo project for this year, and I'm hoping to hit 60K at least. My writing has been a bit hit and miss since I started writing Street Rats, due to stress and fluctuations in my mental health. I love writing, and I hate it when my anxiety gets in the way of me doing it properly. Hopefully Frostbite will change that.

If you didn't know, the Original Elementals series will be ten books total. They will each have a different main character, and a different adventure in each. You will discover how the originals got their elemental powers and dragons. How elemental powers became widespread, and how this started effecting natural dragon species. Draca will also be in these books, his original self, not his clone. You'll also see how the books about the originals were written, and if all the details inside them really were correct...

This will be my longest series yet, and my most ambitious. I'm hoping they'll all be around the same length as the books in the Elemental Dragons series - around 300 pages. I'm aiming to have all books written in two and a half years, with other standalone books written in between. This will not effect my publishing schedule, which is currently two books a year. In fact, once Years has come out, I have the following publishing plan:

Celestial Plague Trilogy - October 2022, April 2023, October 2023

Curse of Anubis Quadrilogy - April 2024, October 2024, April 2025, October 2025

Of course, this could all change! Especially as one day I would like to increase publishing to three books a year. That all depends on how much people like my books, however!

Original Elementals will be a long adventure, and I'm hoping a fun one. It might be the only prequel series that I write as I currently have no plans for sequels or prequels for any of my other books. I just love the Elemental Dragons universe so much and I just think that I have so much more to give it, hence Original Elementals. I thought I would answer a few burning questions you might have below...

Will there be a sequel series?

Maybe. I have ideas, but I'm trying to piece it all together. It could happen, it could not.

Will the main characters in Original Elementals act exactly like their Elementa Dragons clone?

In some instances, they will. But, the originals and the clones have had different upbringings and experiences. They won't be exactly alike, but you'll definitely be able to see all the similarities.

Will their dragons act differently as they aren't bonded?

Yes, although they love each other they will be more prone to acting out and disobeying orders. They're also more likely to take off at any moment, as there's no physical connection between them. This will cause bumps in the road, but the originals will have to figure out how to overcome this in their journey.

Will the Wyrms make an appearance?

Yes, but not in their evolved form. The scientists helped them evolve a hundred years after the events of Original Elementals, so they will be tiny parasites in these books. They will mostly be seen with Draca, as they used its body as a host in the past.

Will there be a cat in this series?

Of course! My Twitter followers voted on a grey and white cat, the name is currently tied between Aspen and Flurry. I like both names, so I might do another poll to decide!

There's only nine originals - why are there ten books?

That's a secret you'll learn once I get to that book!

Will we discover why dragons were separated into class systems?

Yes! Before the events of Original Elementals, there was no such thing as common, uncommon, rare and premier. The books will explain how this came to be, and the repercussions of this. It will also explain why common dragons are seen as the most dangerous, and why fifteen is the age that people get their dragon egg.

That's it for this week! I hope you enjoyed reading more about Original Elementals and are looking forward to reading the series. See you next week!

PS; looking for some new horror books before Halloween? Check out the ones in these bundles below:

October Tricks and Treats

Halloween Frights

Mute Now Available on Amazon

Hi all,

This week my first horror book released! It is available in ebook, paperback and hardcover on Amazon.

As with previous books, keep an eye on my Twitter account for a giveaway of a signed paperback copy!

Find out what happens to Audra below…

When Audra goes off to university by herself for the first time, she quickly realizes that nothing will ever be the same again.

After joining a videogame society, she soon finds herself in a fight for her life and those of her groupmates when they are attacked by a mysterious creature. Injured and with her voice stolen by the monster; it is up to Audra to put a stop to the attacks before it’s too late.

There is only one problem - the monster hunting them in real life bears an uncanny resemblance to the one they’re creating in the game.

But Yang doesn’t believe them. As president of the society, he actively tries to get her to drop it and turns the others against her.

With only a mysterious stray cat to help her, Audra has to get to the bottom of the monster attacking them and the connection to the game before it’s too late.

Will Audra be able to save herself in time or will her first year at university be her last?

That’s it for this week! If you check out my new book, I hope you enjoy reading! See you next week.

PS; looking for some new horror books for Halloween? Check out the ones in these bundles:

October Tricks and Treats

Halloween Frights

How Authors Can Use Fiverr

Hi all,

This week I'm going to discuss Fiverr, and how it can help authors!

First off, what is Fiverr? It's a freelance marketplace where you can hire people to do just about anything. From animations to business plans to crochet designs!

I myself have used Fiverr quite a lot for my business. Below are services that authors can use:

Art

Animations

Posters

Book Covers

Blurb Writing

Amazon Keywords

Marketing

Merchandise Design

Advertising Coaching

Book Promotion

Website Design

Guest Blogging

YouTube Videos

Reviews

Sensitivity Readers

I've used Fiverr a lot, and I really love using it! You can have a set budget and find someone who can help with whatever you need. A lot of the freelancers that I've used have been absolutely fabulous. Some of the art I've commissioned can be seen below:

I've also had some book covers done for my reader magnets. I'm not sure that I would have a main book cover done by them as I do like my current book cover designer. I've also heard about a lot of authors getting in trouble for using book covers designed by people on Fiverr. There can be a few freelancers who don't go down the correct routes when it comes to stock photos and rights to use on books. Make sure you do your research before hiring anyone.

However, I love the variety of freelancers that are available on there. You can work with them until you are completely happy with the project. I have plans to use Fiverr more in the future, with more art for posters and reader magnets. I've had great experiences with the freelancers and I'm so glad there is a website like this out there. It makes it easy to hire freelancers and communicate with them until you get what you want. A lot of them have specific add-ons such as expediting your order or adding more detail.

In the near future I'll be getting a cover designed for the reader magnet of Years, and maybe a piece of art for a poster of Nirvana.

That's it for this week, next week I'll be talking about Mute coming out! I hope you enjoyed reading.

PS; looking for some horror books to read before Halloween? Check out the ones in these bundles:

October Tricks and Treats

Halloween Frights

Original Elementals Dragon Designs

Hi all!

Over the past nine months I have been sending polls to my newsletter subscribers so they can vote on the designs for the main dragons of Original Elementals. The final result came in this month, so I thought I would let you all know the results here!

Maelstrom (partner to Marine, the first Water Elemental) - Rare emerald green and white dragon with green eyes.

Frostbite (partner to Frost, the first Ice Elemental) - Uncommon white dragon with pale grey wings and bright blue eyes.

Shadowhunter (partner to Opaque, the first Dark Elemental) - Premier black dragon with dark purple wings and purple eyes.

Devouring (partner to Bonfire, the first Fire Elemental) - Rare black dragon with orange spots and red eyes.

Sunrise (partner to Luminous, the first Light Elemental) - Common white dragon with one pink eye and one red.

Tempest (partner to Squall, the first Wind Elemental) - Uncommon marbled grey dragon with blue eyes.

Stormburst (partner to Lightning, the first Electricity Elemental) - Uncommon dark grey dragon with green eyes.

Turf (partner to Terra, the first Earth Elemental) - Premier black, brown and gold dragon with gold eyes.

Arcturus (partner to Stella, the first Elemental to have all the Elements) - Dark blue and purple premier dragon with white wings and red eyes.

Aqueous, Hazel’s partner from Elemental Dragons

The first book, Frostbite, I will start writing November 1st for NaNoWriMo. The main character will be Franscesca and her dragon Frostbite. As well as introducing dragon partners to humans and elemental powers, they will also discover an evil force that wants to use them for their own gain. The king of the dragons, Zmei, will stop at nothing to get what they want.

When the series is eventually published I will be commissioning artists to draw portraits of each dragon like the one above of Aqueous. I just love seeing the dragons come to life on a poster! As for the book covers, they will be probably be a symbol design instead of a model on the cover. I imagine a dragon surrounded by their element.

The Original Elementals series will be ten books long. I know what you’re thinking: but why are there are only nine dragons for ten books? Well, once I get to book ten, I’ll let you know! This will be my longest series yet, and I’m both excited and nervous to start writing it! Every three books or so I will take a break from Original Elementals to write a standalone book in a different genre, just to keep my enthusiasm for the series going.

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

PS; looking for something spooky to read for Halloween? Check out the books in these bundles:

October Tricks and Treats

Halloween Frights

Elemental Dragons Now Available in Hardcover

Hi all,

Last week I said that I had an announcement to make. And that announcement is that the Elemental Dragons series is now available in hardcover!

My proof copies of the hardcover version of Elemental Dragons

I have wanted to do hardcover since I started publishing, as they are my favourite kind of book. I love that they’re heavier than paperbacks, and the covers don’t bend so they’re not as easy to damage. I was tempted to do hardcover outside of Amazon as when I first started they didn’t offer this option to authors. The options that I looked into were Lulu and IngramSpark, but I didn’t use either. The prices for hardcovers on Lulu was enormous, at nearly £30 a book. I knew this wasn’t an option as hardly anyone would pay that much for one book. Then I looked at Ingram, but they charge $50 for each book that you want to upload and if you want to make any changes then it’s another $50. So, I had to abandon the idea of hardcovers for a while.

Until now, of course!

Not only is Elemental Dragons in hardcover, but all of my future books will be too! They will be the ones that I keep on my shelf as well, although I do like the paperbacks.

That’s it for this week! Let me know if you also prefer hardbacks in the comments. See you next week.

PS; looking for some new books to read? Take a look at the ones in these bundles below:

September Urban Fantasy Sale

Terrifying Adventures - Horror Giveaway

The Pros and Cons of Authors Using Patreon

Hi all,

On Twitter I asked people to vote on what I should blog about next. So, I'm going to be writing about the pros and cons of authors using Patreon!

If you don't know what Patreon is, it's a subscription based platform. The creator posts content specifically for Patreon that can't be found anywhere else. People then subscribe by picking a membership level to see that content and become Patrons. I've heard of a few authors using it before, and have even checked out their Patreon accounts. A lot of them post:

Writing excerpts.

Chapters from a novel.

Polls.

Character profiles.

Book Trivia.

Merchandise.

So, without further ado, let's talk about the pros and cons!

Pros.

It's another way to connect with readers.

Those that subscribe to your Patreon have done it because they want more content from you. They want to see behind the scenes stuff, or help you decide which book to write next. You can see which content of yours does well, and then you know that's what your readers want to see.

Another revenue stream.

A Patron signs up for a monthly subscription, so even if you're only charging £1 a month, that's £12 per person every year! This won't help you pay for cover designs or editing costs, but you can use this money for marketing or advertising.

You get feedback.

If you post a chapter of a story you're working on, you can get feedback from your Patrons. They can tell you what they like, and what parts they want to see more of.

You can post entire books.

Say you want to post a self-edited chapter of a book you're working on once a week. Your Patrons will love that, as they get exclusive content until you decide to publish that book. Even after you've had a cover designed and got it professionally edited, your Patrons may want a physical copy too!

Cons.

It's another thing to manage.

On top of writing, editing, publishing and marketing this will be another thing that you will need to keep up with. Even if you have other social media, you can't neglect one to benefit the others. If Patrons are paying monthly, they will want new content on a regular basis.

Revenue is small.

The money you get from Patreon won't pay your rent or bills. It's just a small revenue stream that you can put into something small. Yes, you can charge Patrons more, but then they can always cancel their subscription. Patreon also get a small cut of whatever you earn as well.

You have to post regularly.

You can't just post once a month and be done until the next month. Your Patrons want regular content, and if you don't give it to them they will leave,

You may feel like you're talking to yourself sometimes.

Readers might not reply to your writing, or polls. So, some of the posts you make on there may feel like you're just screaming into the void. There will be posts that get no feedback as well.

It's not a crowdfunding platform.

You will not be able to crowdfund in order to publish a book. The fee that your Patron pays monthly is all you will get. Don't try to squeeze them for more.

I have considered creating a Patreon, though I'm not sure whether I'll do it or not. I'm not sure if at this stage of my author career if I have enough time to actually put into it.

That's it for this week, next week I have a special announcement to make, so keep an eye out! See you next week!

PS; looking for some new ebooks to download? Check out the ones in these bundles:

September Urban Fantasy Sale

Terrifying Adventures - Horror Giveaway

Why I Went to the Zoo to see the Big Cats

Hi all!

If you’ve been following my social media, then you’ve probably seen that I went to a zoo earlier this week. I was mostly interested in the big cats, though my boyfriend and I did see other animals as well.

At one point, we came across two housecats that were just wandering around the zoo. (My boyfriend was more excited to see them than any of the other animals…). I did remind him that we see a cat every day as we have Mishka, but he said that these cats were different. Thanks to Mishka and Rocky, I think I’ve almost maxed out my research on cats!

I wanted to see the big cats the most as I wanted to see the way they acted and moved, to make sure I had it right for all of the books that contain big cats. I’ve watched a lot of videos and studied pictures of them, but I wanted to know whether seeing them in person would be any different.

The cheetahs were sunbathing and rolling around, just chilling out. It reminded me of Mafdet, and how playful she is with Bastet and Sekhmet in Curse of Anubis. The way they swished their tails also reminded me of her!

We briefly saw a lion as well, who was also sunbathing before he got up to patrol the other side of his enclosure. I wasn’t aware of how often lions flick their ears to keep flies away, so I’m going to make sure that I add that into Curse of Anubis. I imagine Sekhmet to have a proud strut than a tired lumber that the lion had. I didn’t see any lionesses, just the one male lion. As Sekhmet and Mother Earth are both lionesses, I’m going to do some more research into them.

The tigers were out of sight so we didn’t see them unfortunately. I’m planning on writing a tiger into a LitRPG book I want to write, but that it is in the very earlier stages right now!

Once we’d seen almost all of the animals in the zoo, I couldn’t help myself at the giftshop. I got two little stuffed animals that look exactly like Sekhmet (maned lioness) and Mafdet!

I think I’ve managed to get a few pointers from the big cats on how to write them better. Although, it was quite sad to see them in enclosures than out in the wild. In the future I will just stick to videos and pictures, and try to gauge their mannerisms that way.

Currently, I have the following big cats in my books:

Panther - Celestial Plague series.

Lion - Years.

Lion, Cheetah, Leopard - Curse of Anubis.

Panther - Street Rats.

Tiger, Snow Leopard - unnamed LitRPG.

That’s it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! For my blog post next week, I’m letting you decide! You can head over to my Twitter to vote on what I should blog about next.

PS; looking for some new books to read? Check out the ones in these bundles!

September Urban Fantasy Sale

Terrifying Adventures - Horror Giveaway

How I Name My Characters

Hi all!

This week I'm going to blog about character names, and the different ways I come up with them. Some have more mundane origins than others, but I thought this would be fun to talk about!

Baby Name Websites.

The vast majority of character names, usually side characters, I will look on baby name websites for. This is usually for side or background characters. Such as Naomi from Elemental Dragons and Eularia from Street Rats. Although this can be quite boring, I will trawl through hundreds of names until I come across the name that I immediately associate the character with. Some I find completely by accident, thinking the character wouldn't suit that name, but then they do.

Letter-Based Names.

Sometimes I'll think that I want a name to begin with a specific letter, such as 'S' and I'll Google those names. From there I'll search through websites until I find a name that suits the character. This tends to be more for main characters and side characters. Examples include: Raya from Celestial Plague and Melia from Elemental Dragons. I've done this for my series books as I think it can get confusing to have loads of characters with names beginning with the same letter. It keeps a variety in my books and also helps readers identify the characters more quickly.

Sound-Based Names.

When I was writing Curse of Anubis, I wanted Darrus to have 'Russ' in his name. So I Googled names that contained the letters 'Russ' and searched through what came up until one fit. This is a less common way that I look for names, and so far I've only used it for Curse of Anubis. I'm not sure if I'll use this method too often in the future, though.

Names with a Special Meaning.

This one I've used more frequently as of late for main characters. I wanted a name meaning 'pure' so I searched that and found Tahira, for Curse of Anubis. Or Genesis in Damaged Goods, which means 'origin' or 'the beginning'. This one I use if I want the character's name to be a homage to their personality or their trials through the book.

Anadromes.

These ones I've only used for Parasitic Aliens so far, which are: Anne, Nola and Alli. The aliens in the books are called: Enna, Alon and Illa respectively. I did this because the characters in the books are the first ones to come into contact with these aliens, so they are named after them. I'm not sure if I will ever use this method again though, as there aren't many anadrome names out there, and I struggled to find ones to fit the characters.

Names I Come Across in Media.

Names like Hazel and Marco in Elemental Dragons I heard while watching films, and fell in love with them. A lot of the characters in Elemental Dragons were named this way, and the rest were Googled. I used this method a lot when I was younger, as I was more influenced by the films and books I liked at the time. I hardly ever do this now.

Characters Named After People I Know.

I have never done this, as I just don't think it's fair to people that I know. Only Normie, Rocky and Mishka have characters named after them, but I don't think they care too much as they're cats! I'd hate to name a characters after someone only for them not to like that character, or get offended that their name was used.

Names by Culture or Time Period.

In Damaged Goods, the first book is set in ancient Greece. So, I had to look up names that would suit that time period. Pyrrah, the main character, is the name I liked most for her. It means 'red' or 'flame-coloured'. In the future I want to write a series about Norse mythology, so I will be looking up names from the Viking Age to name the characters.

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

PS; looking for some new books for your bookshelf? Check out the ones in these bundles:

September Urban Fantasy Sale

Terrifying Adventures - Horror Giveaway

A New Gift for my Newsletter Subscribers

Hi all,

If you’re subscribed to my mailing list you may already know about this. But if you aren’t, Famished, the prequel novella to Mute, is now available to download!

You can only get this as a part of my mailing list, and it is completely free. This will not be sold anywhere else.

Violetta wants a chance to prove herself.

Yang wants to save his father.

Lunaris wants to stop the monster before it kills more people.

The three of them all have a goal that involves a wendigo, but each want different outcomes. Will Violetta get the chance to take her own life into her hands? Will Yang stop his father’s suffering? Will Lunaris stop the wendigo before it creates more?

When you sign up to my mailing list, you get a monthly newsletter filled with:

• Monthly News.

• Character Polls.

• Writing Excerpts.

• Cover Reveals.

• Free/Discounted Books and Book Bundles.

• Merch Giveaways.

Alongside Famished, you also get the Elemental Dragons Short Story Collection, which is also completely free!

That’s it for this week, if you sign up, let me know how you enjoyed the stories! see you next week.

PS; looking for some new books to read? Check out the ones in this bundle!

High Summer: August Fantasy & Science Fiction Giveaway