Heart of Glass Magazine Reviews Being Isobel

Hi!

I received a message on Twitter yesterday from Heart of Glass magazine letting me know that they reviewed by novel, Being Isobel.  It's always great to hear what readers think about my stories and it's even better when they take the time to post reviews.

As a self published author it's very challenging trying to reach your audience.  As a reader I appreciate the risk taking a chance on an unknown author, which is one of the reasons I made Being Isobel a free download.  Reviews are immensely helpful in spreading the word and I was thrilled when I read Victoria McDonagh's excellent review.

I was very pleased that she completely got the point of the book and I almost laughed out loud when she said that 'Tracy’s doubt is more convincing than Anastasia Steele’s.'  Yes, I've read that book and I suppose it did partly inspire me to write Being Isobel but I wanted Tracey to be a little more realistic than the wishy-washy Ana.

Anywhere here is a link to the review:

Heart of Glass Magazine - Being Isobel

Enjoy!

Clair

5 Star Reviews :)

Hi!

I'm grinning like a mad thing right now.  It's been 20 days since I published Being Isobel for free on Smashwords and it's had over 500 downloads!  That is totally amazing considering I'm an unknown author with no budget for advertising or promotion.

Best of all Being Isobel has received no less than six five star reviews :D  I'm so pleased that people are enjoying my story.  Here's what they had to say:

"awesome book!!" 

Nanette

"Great read! Tracey is very real and while the story is a bit far out at times it was very enjoyable. Thanks!"

Ruby

"Great story! More down to earth, than some romance novels"

Claus

"A Must Read! This book was wonderful!! I was very impressed with the author's ability to gain the reader's sympathy. Tracy is a wonderful character! Can't wait to read more of her work!!"

Brittany

"A bit fanciful but very enjoyable!"

hrhsophia

"wow.. loved it.. highly recommended"

holy angel

If you haven't already got your copy you can download it for free from Smashwords.  It's available in all major formats for Kindle, iPhone, iPad, Nook, Kobo, Sony Reader etc.  

Download Being Isobel for free!

Thank you!  Enjoy!

Clair

The best cupcakes in the world!

Hi!

When I'm not busy writing one of my favourite things to do is baking cupcakes.  There is just something about them, the taste of cake mix, the smell as they bake and then chosing which sprinkles to use to decorate the icing.  I do a lot of baking with my kids but I can be a bit of a control freak so it's nice to be able to bake on my own sometimes.

My friends have asked me what my secret recipe is.  To be honest I don't have one!  I just make ordinary cupcakes from the recipe my mum taught me as a kid.  4oz of flour, sugar and butter, and a beaten egg.

As part of a health drive I have started using wheat free flour and dairy free margarine in my cupcakes and they taste pretty damn good so I thought I'd share my recipe.

Clair's Wheat and Dairy Free Organic Chocolate Cupcakes (Makes 12)

120g Doves Farm Organic Wheat Free self raising flour
120g caster sugar
120g Pure sunflower margarine
1 medium free range egg, beaten
2 tablespoons Green and Blacks Organic Cocoa

Chocolate Icing
60g Pure Sunflower margarine
175g Icing sugar
1 tablespoon Green and Blacks Organic Cocoa

Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4

Mix the caster sugar and margarine until light and fluffy.  Add the beaten egg and beat well.  Sift in the flour and cocoa and carefully fold into the mixture.

Line a muffin tray with paper cupcake cases and divide the mixture equally between them.  Bake in the oven for about 15-17 minutes.  Remove the cupcakes from the muffin tray and allow to cool on a wire rack.

For the icing:  blend the margarine and icing sugar until smooth.  Divide the mixture into 2 bowls and add the cocoa to one bowl, mixing well.  Using a Wiltons 1M nozzle, fill a piping bag with the the plain and chocolate frosting and pipe swirls on top of the cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Thank you!

Hi!

Wow!  I am completely overwhelmed.  Four days ago I published Being Isobel as a free novel on Smashwords.  I just wanted to put my little story out there for people to enjoy, and enjoy it you have!  In four days Being Isobel has been downloaded over 300 times and it's received no less than five 5 star reviews :D

I never dreamed I would be able to reach so many people but with your help and support I have succeeded and I am very grateful!  I can't thank you all enough!

If you haven't already got your copy you can still download Being Isobel for free from Smashwords.

Download 'Being Isobel' now!

If you enjoyed the book, don't keep it a secret.  Please rate it, review it and tell your friends!

Thank you!

Clair

Being Isobel - Out Now!

Hi!

I'm pleased to announce the publication of Being Isobel.

Tracey Smith needed an escape. Living in a council flat with her seven year old son and abusive boyfriend, her life was far from perfect. She needed a real man, someone big and strong who would worship the ground she walked on. Then she saw Shay Donovan's photograph. He was perfect, deep tan, huge muscles, rock solid six pack and come to bed eyes. He was all the inspiration she needed to start writing her erotic novel. It started out as pure fantasy but life can be stranger than fiction and she never dreamed it could set her free. 

Get your copy of

Being Isobel 

FREE from Smashwords

What Genre? New Adult!

When I started writing Heaven Knows This Time I didn't really have any specific genre in mind, the story just followed it's natural course and I didn't really think about what kind of person would be reading it.  I guess this was a little naive of me as when I came to publish it I wasn't sure what category to put it in.

Was it romance?  The story is one of of love and relationships but it wasn't exactly a typical romance novel.

Was it chick lit?  The main character is female but she's in her mid teens and hardly a Bridgit Jones kind of girl.

Was it young adult?  Most of the characters are teenagers but the story included swearing, sex, drug use and suicide, which is not exactly suitable for younger readers.

I felt like my novel didn't quite fit anywhere until I stumbled across a website http://naalley.blogspot.co.uk/ and I had a light bulb moment.  I'd written a New Adult novel!

New Adult is an emerging genre catering to 18-25 year olds who are looking for something more mature than young adult books but wanting something more relevant to their age group than mainstream adult fiction.

I'm so glad Heaven Knows This Time finally has a genre :)

Clair

Snow and romance

Hi!

Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year.  I woke up this morning to a coating of the white stuff.  It's pretty nippy out there so I'm glad I'm cosy at my computer with hot coffee and chocolate biscuits.

I'm still putting the final touches on Being Isobel (which I hope to release very soon) but I'm also hatching a plan for a new novel.

I watched a documentary about writing a Mills and Boon book over the holidays.  It was actually my other half's idea to watch it.  It was pretty interesting and it got me thinking, could I write a Mills and Boon?

The author in the documentary struggled with the formula writing and I thought it would be a good challenge for me to give it a go.  I didn't really know very much about Mills and Boon so I started doing research, what's expected from the story, the alpha male etc.  I downloaded a few freebie novels to read, they were OK but kind of frustrating and predictable.  I did learn one thing - I cannot get my head around vampire romance!  I couldn't help but laugh at all the wrong bits *blushes*

I mentioned my idea to a few friends and they were very encouraging so once I've got Being Isobel and the third book in the Heaven Knows trilogy published I might just give it a go...