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42 ratings | 16 reviews | avg rating:4.64

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Sally Altass

Goodreads Author

Born

in Manchester, The United Kingdom

Website

http://indiebooknook.co.uk/sally-altass-author

Twitter

barnsally

Genre

Fantasy, Young Adult, Science Fiction

Influences

Helen Scheuerer, Lisa Cassidy, Tamar Sloan

Member Since

April 2022

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For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to write a book. Even before I wanted to become a journalist (which was from watching Superman and wanting to be just like Lois Lane), which is saying something. The first story I remember writing was about myself; I ate a daisy and shrunk, along with my friend. We found a friendly ladybird, and she let us sit on her back as she flew us to a village a few miles away (it was called Ashton upon Mersey, and my friend was excited because she was a Liverpool fan). I remember drawing pictures of the ladybird as well as me and friend, and wrote it on A4 paper folded in half. I can’t remember how old I was, but I knew I wanted to write more stories.

By the time I reached my late teens, I was off to u For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to write a book. Even before I wanted to become a journalist (which was from watching Superman and wanting to be just like Lois Lane), which is saying something. The first story I remember writing was about myself; I ate a daisy and shrunk, along with my friend. We found a friendly ladybird, and she let us sit on her back as she flew us to a village a few miles away (it was called Ashton upon Mersey, and my friend was excited because she was a Liverpool fan). I remember drawing pictures of the ladybird as well as me and friend, and wrote it on A4 paper folded in half. I can’t remember how old I was, but I knew I wanted to write more stories.

By the time I reached my late teens, I was off to university to study Journalism. I got my degree, and spent several long years working in call centres and freelancing as and when I could. After I had my youngest, I quit the call centre, and began freelancing in earnest; working with the local music scene. I wrote reviews about local unsigned bands, comedians, films and plays. Eventually, I got a gig on a local radio station, hosting an indie show – it was my happy place – playing my favourite music for other people to hear. Unfortunately, ill health plagued me, and I started struggling to get to gigs and the theatre – having to stay home and curl up with a hot water bottle.

That’s when I started to think back to my first love; books. A kernel of an idea formed, and I started to slowly develop it. It took a while; I worked on the minutia of the plot, working out the backstory and sounding out character names. I started to make detailed notes, draw maps, make family trees. Slowly, but surely, my idea was beginning to take shape.

That was three years ago.

Two years ago, I finally made the tentative start on the first handwritten draft. I scribbled words down in my messy handwriting, my hand flowing across the paper. I read out that first chapter to my daughter, and her reaction told me everything. There was something there. There had to be.

Eventually, last summer, I started typing my words up, and the story grew from a few chapters to a full blown book. In January, 2022, I somehow managed to write a chapter a day, my fingers flying over the keyboard like a pianist playing a concerto. That sounds incredibly pretentious, but, honestly, that’s what it genuinely felt like. The weekend before my daughter’s sixteenth birthday, I finished the first draft. I sent it, feeling hideously nervous, to my wonderful Beta Readers, and waited.

When the feedback came, I was in shock. It was overwhelmingly positive – I had very few amendments to make – something I hadn’t anticipated. I quickly hashed out the amendments, and felt happy with the story. With a deep breath, I uploaded the manuscript onto the formatting software, and started to push forward. I played with some cover ideas, and consulted with a really close friend. I played on a website which was dedicated to making fictional maps. I had a bit of help working out the gremlin kinks of the manuscript, and behold. It was ready.

So, my debut novel – The Witch Laws: Book One of The Moon Magic Chronicles is now on pre-order on Amazon. It is available for £5, or you can read it for free on Kindle Unlimited.

You can sign up for my mailing list here, to get regular updates about my writing, reviews, recommendations and other bits and bobs. There might even be some competitions! ...more

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Combine Editions
Sally Altass’s books

Average rating: 4.69 · 16 ratings · 10 reviews · 2 distinct works

	The Witch Laws (The Moon Magic Chronicles 1) 4.58 avg rating — 12 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Creature's Wrath: Book Two of The Moon Magic Chronicles it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

4 posts
Sally Altass's Blog

My Favourite Books That Have Been Released In April 2022

Buckle up, folks, it’s listicle time!

As we come to the end of the month, it’s always the best time to reflect back upon the things we’ve achieved. Or for the case of this post, the books I’ve read.
Now, I’ve read A LOT of books. I’m currently a Reviewer on Reedsy Discovery, which means that I get a heck of a lot of books to read and review for free. This month alone, I’ve read more than 10 books, Read more of this blog post »

1 like · Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on April 30, 2022 04:27 • Tags: best-books-of-april-2022, book-reviews, books, indie-authors, listicle, reedsy-discovery

View all 4 posts »

Sally is Currently Reading

Sally Altass is currently reading

Curse of the Cyren Queen: The Complete Series

by Helen Scheuerer (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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May 23, 2026 06:46AM

Sally Altass is currently reading

Blood & Steel (The Legends of Thezmarr #1)

by Helen Scheuerer (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading, indie-fantasy, fantasy

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Feb 26, 2023 12:19PM

Sally Altass is currently reading

Ember Queen (The Ash Princess Trilogy Book 3)

by Laura Sebastian (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Jan 09, 2023 06:55AM

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Sally’s Recent Updates

Sally Altass is currently reading Curse of the Cyren Queen: The Complete Series by Helen Scheuerer (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 23, 2026 06:46AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Curse of the Cyren Queen by Helen Scheuerer. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Curse of the Cyren Queen by Helen Scheuerer <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Sally Altass rated a book it was amazing Silver & Smoke (The Ashes of Thezmarr, #3) by Helen Scheuerer (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Silver and Smoke Helen has done it again. This entire series, The Ashes of Thezmarr has completely blown me away. This astounding finale had me gripped as we reach the completion on Wren and Torj’s story - to the point that I read this in less than 12 ...more
Nov 06, 2025 09:35AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Silver & Smoke by Helen Scheuerer. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Silver & Smoke by Helen Scheuerer <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Sally Altass made a comment on Sarah Branson’s review of The Creature's Wrath: Book Two of The Moon Magic Chronicles " Thank you, lovely lady! "
Nov 26, 2024 11:25AM · see review
Sally Altass liked Sarah Branson's review of The Creature's Wrath: Book Two of The Moon Magic Chronicles: "Love these characters! The Creature's Wrath, the second installment of Sally Altass’s Moon Magic Chronicles, is a captivating continuation of a magical world that is filled with danger, alliances, and complex relationships. It will take you on an acti" Read more of this review »
Nov 26, 2024 11:25AM · see review
Sally Altass liked Rebecca Allan's review of The Creature's Wrath: Book Two of The Moon Magic Chronicles: "I was so excited to return to the characters and captivating world of Dewindabeth in this sequel to “The Witch Laws.” Altas once again envelops the reader in an immersive, well built world with captivating characters. The deepening relationship betwe" Read more of this review »
Sep 21, 2024 08:13AM · see review