Re-release & New Covers!

Two anthologies I contributed to a few years back have now been re-released with shiny new covers!

Mullins Collection of Best New Horror £0.99

Horror. The stories that keep you awake at night. The tales that have you checking underneath the bed. Or wondering whether that really is just a shadow in the corner of the room. In this collection, you will find stories from four of the best new horror writers, all guaranteed to instill a feeling of dread deep into your bones as your shaking fingers struggle to turn the page. A dark secret is revealed in My Natalie, a tale of vengeful love. A home with a hidden past threatens to destroy a young family in The House. The restless spirit of a young girl has to deliver an important message in Phantom Memory. Finally, thrill-seeking Melanie gets more than she bargained for as she explores the mysterious festival in The Secrets of Hidden Places. Ladies and gentlemen, the horror awaits.

This collection of short stories contains work from four authors, showcasing their best new works of horror fiction.

Mullins Collection of Best New Fiction Free!

This collection of short stories contains work from nine authors, showcasing their best new works of fiction. This book includes stories of crime, adventure, and horror, some comedy to make you laugh and a touch of the supernatural to leave you sleeping with the light on. Whatever your tastes, this book holds a new favorite story for everyone. Travel between these distinctive worlds bound together by one all-encompassing weave of storytelling.

Experience the mystery and excitement of exploring a world populated with creatures unlike any you have ever seen, ghouls that feed in the darkness of the London underground in The Orphaned City and the strange patient who stalks the halls of a mental asylum in Inferiority Complex. Then discover worlds where humans themselves are the most curious species of all, the charming smile of the mysterious Jack in Knowing Jack and the devious mind of Red in The Path I Set Upon.

Will the next story scare you, or make you think differently about the world? Will it spark into life a new idea, the kind that Jake develops from an overheard conversation in Dreamworld. Or question our very existence, like the revelations of Professor Westerham in Reflection. It might even lead to a dangerous hunt for untold riches, which Ryan experiences in The Hassam Legacy.

Marvel at the strength of Helen after dealing with death in Coming of Age. Feel the icy terror that claws at Meg when she hears her parrot speak in Scared to Death. Each story hides a secret, a twist that awaits discovery by an adventurous reader. Come and share our worlds.

Non Fiction in Fiction: What am I allowed to write?

I was pretty nervous when I sat down to write this blog, I still kind of am.

Why?

Because I am a 30-year-old, straight, white English woman who is about to talk about the touchy subject of cultural appropriation in writing. This has made me nervous because I am not coming from the view point of one of the cultures being appropriated, but rather from the race doing the appropriation. Thus, a part of me is expecting to get shouted down and told I cannot understand the issue because of my race etc.

But, I am not going to let my own nervousness stop me from having a conversation I think needs to happen.

Amenti – Still available for FREE

 

Due to the positive feedback received including an awesome review (4 out of 5 “I read through this story in one night – once I began, I didn’t want to stop.”) I have decided to keep Amenti available for FREE for a bit longer. I even decided to enter it into the second competition!

I even decided to enter it into the second competition!

Amenti

An epic tale of mystery, murder, and monsters, told by Bobtail, who happens to be, among other things, a cat

Bobtail is moving house, again. But amongst the usual worries of finding his litter tray and hoping the local store has his food, Bobtail quickly discovers his new home is harboring some dangerous secrets. Secrets that put his life in danger when they lead to Bobtail becoming the prime suspect for a recent stint of murders.

Only a day into his new home and Bobtail finds himself embroiled in a twisted plot that spans the centuries and will affect both man and cat alike.

Amenti is available for FREE on Inkitt.

I need 100 requested copies to be considered for a publishing deal and I’ve only got till October to do it!

Read & Request a copy HERE

Secrets of Hidden Places Snippet

 

Melanie took a deep breath, inhaling the soft smell of wood smoke and the sour sharp smell of old beer. The bar was large, and crowded tables filled the space. She edged forwards, her tights snagging on the splinters in the floor. She glanced down; the wood of the floor was marred with furrows as though a pack of sharp-clawed wolves had dwelt here. Feeling eyes on her, Melanie looked to the bar. Sharp black eyes glared fiercely at her, making her flinch. The woman was bone thin; her greying hair pulled harshly back, making her skeletal appearance much more prominent. Melanie almost fled under the glare, but a hand on her back pushed her forwards.

“Pretty girl.” The boy smiled at her and steered her into the bar. “Raywin you frighten our first new face this Festival. How are we to live if you behave so?”

“Fool Una, Nit has already served her.” The woman, Raywin, said ‘served’ in such a way that Melanie shivered. Una clicked his tongue.

“Nit.” He looked to Melanie, smirked and jumped over the bar. “Her drinks are sticky sweet.” He leaned closer till he was almost nose to nose with Melanie. “I can give you something much nicer.” Melanie swallowed the lump in her throat and felt the heat in her belly claw its way up her neck and over her face. Una’s eyes wandered down her body and slowly back to her face, his smile widened.

“What do you recommend?” Melanie said, triumphant that her voice remained steady. Una’s self-satisfied smile became a smirk.

“Many things.” He turned and opened a cupboard filled with bottles. Melanie still felt the burn of Raywin’s glare and risked a look at her out of the corner of her eye. Raywin was watching her, but her look was no longer a glare, it was desperate. Melanie felt her throat clench; she couldn’t breathe. The thump of a shot glass landing in front of her snapped her eyes away from Raywin. Una took her hand and wrapped it around the glass.

Read the whole story HERE for £0.99!

Amenti available for FREE

Hello dear readers this weeks blog is both a gift and a favour..

I’ve bitten the bullet and entered Amenti (a novel I’ve been working on for a looooong time) into a competition on Inkitt, you can download and read the entire novel for FREE.

I need to hit 100 downloads for it to be considered, so I would really appreciate it if you would give the synopsis below a read and if it sounds like your cup of tea then help yourself to a free book courtesy of myself and Inkitt.

Amenti

An epic tale of mystery, murder and monsters, told by Bobtail, who happens to be, among other things, a cat

Bobtail is moving house, again. But amongst the usual worries of finding his litter tray and hoping the local store has his food, Bobtail quickly discovers his new home is harboring some dangerous secrets. Secrets that put his life in danger when they lead to Bobtail becoming the prime suspect for a recent stint of murders.

Only a day into his new home and Bobtail finds himself embroiled in a twisted plot that spans the centuries and will affect both man and cat alike.

 Amenti is available for FREE on Inkitt.

Download it here.

I need 100 downloads to be considered for a publishing opportunity, so please download.

 

Top Tips: 3 ways to immerse your readers in a location.

 

When you write you want your reader to become absorbed in the world you create, whether that world is a real place or somewhere you’ve created for your story. Here are my top three tips to make your locations immersive.

Tip One: Rely on your reader’s senses

It might be tempting to describe the location based solely on sight, on what your character can see. But don’t forget they have other sense as well. Talk about how a place smells, how the ground feels under a character’s feet, is it cold, hot, raining? All these things can help draw your reader in and immerse them in your world.

4 Things I wish I’d known when I started writing

I’ve been writing now for over a decade, and between college magazines, novellas, and novels I’ve picked up a few things.  There are however, some lessons that were hard to learn. Things I wish I’d known when I started out, I decided to share them with you.

• All it takes for you to be a writer is for you to write.

When I started I was obsessed with the idea that I wasn’t a ‘real’ writer until I got something published. I wasted so much time being upset that I wasn’t a ‘real’ writer. It actually makes me angry to think of this now, I wasted days and days of my time being unhappy that I hadn’t ‘made it’ as a writer when I could have used that time enjoying writing.

Top Tips: Put the draft down.

In this blog, I want to talk about editing.

I’ve been editing for longer than I care to mention and I’ve tried a great many different ‘tricks’ and ‘tips’ but one of the ‘tricks’ I found that actually works is:- take a break.

The feeling you get when you finish something can be amazing. But even at that moment when you type the very last word you can see in the distance, the looming shadow of … EDITING.

What I found makes editing easier is to put your draft down. Finish the first draft and then put it down, save it on your computer and work on something else. Putting the draft down for at least a few days can help but ideally, you want to put it down long enough that you pretty much forget about it.

The plan behind putting it down is so that when you pick the draft up again you are looking at it with fresh eyes. Looking at the draft with fresh eyes will allow you to do a better job. You will have a clear head and a fresh perspective. The project will keep your interest, sometimes when you work on a project for such a long time it’s easy to lose interest, putting it down means when you pick it up again it will be like picking up something new.

In conclusion, put your draft down. Go on do it.

Katie Marie wrote a Book. A big one and a couple of little ones. Check them out!

Top three tips on writing short stories

In this blog, I want to talk about stories, short stories to be exact.

Writing a short story is a particular skill, and while some of the skills gained when writing longer stories can be transferred to short ones, there are some particular skills that can only be honed and developed by writing short stories.

I know writers who can pen novels long enough to hold open fire doors and keep you gripped from page one right through to page one thousand and one, who then struggle to write a story three thousand five hundred words long.

With that in mind, I want to share my top three tips to writing good short stories.

Katie Marie Status Update.

I thought it prudent to post a blog this week explaining why I missed two blogs in June.

I assure you I am not deceased, or some kind of undead misfit (honest). I was just swamped last month. We’ve had a few manpower shortages in the office which resulted in long exhausting days, this coupled with an influx of social occasions over the last six weeks and LawCat’s sudden expansion in June has left me happy but exhausted.

Really, really exhausted.