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David George Richards
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David George Richards, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Romance Writer
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Thanks David. I'm looking forward to spending some time clicking on your books!
Take your time. If you need more information, let me know.
By the way, I have some book trailers for my science fiction and fantasy stories that might be fun. They can be found here:
The Friendly Ambassador
In the Shadow of Mountains (The Lost Girls and Return of the Sixpack)
The Tale of the Comet
You could see if they work.
David
By the way, I have some book trailers for my science fiction and fantasy stories that might be fun. They can be found here:
The Friendly Ambassador
In the Shadow of Mountains (The Lost Girls and Return of the Sixpack)
The Tale of the Comet
You could see if they work.
David
Thanks David. I clicked on all three and each came up with the message that safari couldn't open the page. Perhaps it's just an iPad thing.
All worked on IE David. What good fun - is this the future of Indie advertising I wonder? And I like your musical taste.....
Patti (P E) wrote: "Thanks David. I clicked on all three and each came up with the message that safari couldn't open the page. Perhaps it's just an iPad thing."
Isn't that typical, Patti? As an Amazon published author (Kindle, BookSurge, CreateSpace) anything related to Newton's headache is considered the spawn of the devil!
Only joking of course!
David
Isn't that typical, Patti? As an Amazon published author (Kindle, BookSurge, CreateSpace) anything related to Newton's headache is considered the spawn of the devil!
Only joking of course!
David
Simon (Highwayman) wrote: "All worked on IE David. What good fun - is this the future of Indie advertising I wonder? And I like your musical taste....."
Glad they worked okay for you, Simon.
The trailers were created with Animoto, which has free (limited length) and paid (unlimited) accounts. I used all my own images and ran their render engine a few times to get the desired result.
I also worked hard on choosing the right music to go with each story and I think they do in fact work well. I have links to the complete tracks on my website, but as they are external sites I can't guarantee that they will work!
Interestingly I had a discussion about book trailers on here somewhere, and I think there is a new thread about them now. The gist was 'no!' You have to get people to find and view your book trailer just like you need to get them to find and view your book link. It's the same problem only magnified by the number of skate boarding pets!
Shame really, but like you said, good fun!
David
Glad they worked okay for you, Simon.
The trailers were created with Animoto, which has free (limited length) and paid (unlimited) accounts. I used all my own images and ran their render engine a few times to get the desired result.
I also worked hard on choosing the right music to go with each story and I think they do in fact work well. I have links to the complete tracks on my website, but as they are external sites I can't guarantee that they will work!
Interestingly I had a discussion about book trailers on here somewhere, and I think there is a new thread about them now. The gist was 'no!' You have to get people to find and view your book trailer just like you need to get them to find and view your book link. It's the same problem only magnified by the number of skate boarding pets!
Shame really, but like you said, good fun!
David
David wrote: "Patti (P E) wrote: "Thanks David. I clicked on all three and each came up with the message that safari couldn't open the page. Perhaps it's just an iPad thing."Isn't that typical, Patti? As an ..."
The more I use the iPad the more limitations I discover. Frustrating, really. I feel ever so out out of the loop now!
Patti, it's probably something to do with the tiny URLs I posted here to shorten the links. Try it from the List Page on my website where the full length URLs are used and see if they work there.
David
David
It has been a while since I posted on this, my own little thread here on Goodreads, so I thought I should end this careless neglection and come back and use this little platform more often. As I already post an update to my Author Blog on a monthly basis I thought I would post information about each of my books here. After all, that is basically what this thread is about, meet me and my books.
In my first post I listed all my books using their cover images, so I thought I would follow that lead and begin as I did then with A Fine Woman.
A Fine Woman is a romance story set in wartime France with a German Countess called Helga as the lead character. It's not a very long story, more of a novella, but it still manages to fit in elements of the Holocaust, the French Resistance, the invasion of Southern France, and the internment of Jewish people in Cyprus who were trying to reach Palestine. The story is told in flashback by an American soldier who is searching for Helga after the war, and thinks he has found her in a convent in Antibes. He's in love with her. But does she love him? And will he find her? It's a bit like Sleepless in Seattle, but not. With a multitude of different English, French, German, and American characters I have tried to make them all distinctly different, and hopefully, believable. You will have to let me know if I got them right!
Countess Helga Burbeck was German, rich, spoilt and as arrogant and bossy as hell. To her, the war was nothing more than an inconvenience on her shopping trips to Berlin. But when she is walking her dogs, Tirpitz and Bismarck, on the far side of her estate, she discovers something that changes her life forever.
Obersturmführer Meyer is an SS officer who works in the camp close to the Burbeck estate. He despises those in his charge and considers them to be no more than animals for the slaughter. But the arrogant Countess with a father who is a General in the Wehrmacht in Berlin was rapidly becoming a bigger nuisance than the smell from the burial pits.
Helga’s discovery of Jewish children hiding on her estate leads her to investigate the nearby camp. What she finds there shocks her to the soul. She decides to take the children to France and somehow to safety. It begins as a self-destructive whim borne on the bitterness and anger of her discovery, but slowly and surely Helga is drawn inexorably down the path to smuggling and eventually, spying. She engages Jacob, one of the children, to help in her plans. And soon she is embroiled with the French Resistance. But her continued trips across occupied Europe to the South of France with “children from her estate” soon attract even more attention from Obersturmführer Meyer. It isn’t long before both know exactly what the other is doing; it becomes a game, but a game that will lead to final bloodshed in a French forest.
Captain Taylor of the US Army has met Helga only once. But that meeting and everything he learns about her afterwards plants a seed of love that won’t stop growing. But Helga isn't easy to find once lost. And when Captain Taylor visits a Convent in the Southern French resort of Antibes in 1948 he soon finds out that the end of the war isn’t the end of the story. But what connects a German Countess in the war with a Catholic nun in Cyprus in 1946? And will Captain Taylor finally track her down?
I wanted to write a Sleepless in Seattle style of story with a difference, and I knew when I started A Fine Woman that I would have to get the feel right. The result is that the general background about the American invasion of Southern France and the British Mandate over Palestine and Israel are all based on real history. And although the failed assassination attempt on Hitler is well documented, the invasion of Southern France is often overlooked by movie moguls. Equally important as Operation Overload in Normandy only two months earlier, it was codenamed Operation Dragoon, and was an equally fraught sea-borne landing undertaken by the US Seventh Army. The British internment camps in Cyprus for Jews intercepted while attempting to reach Palestine are also little remembered today.
I am very pleased with the result and I think the flashback style as Captain Taylor searches for Helga works well. But having said that, I don't think there is actually a railway line that connects Antibes with Juan-les-Pins, Mougins, Vallauris and Grasse! Or even if there is a Convent in Antibes. But in the 1940s you never know!
A Fine Woman is probably my most popular Kindle book. Well it is one of my romance stories.
Until next time,
David
In my first post I listed all my books using their cover images, so I thought I would follow that lead and begin as I did then with A Fine Woman.
A Fine Woman is a romance story set in wartime France with a German Countess called Helga as the lead character. It's not a very long story, more of a novella, but it still manages to fit in elements of the Holocaust, the French Resistance, the invasion of Southern France, and the internment of Jewish people in Cyprus who were trying to reach Palestine. The story is told in flashback by an American soldier who is searching for Helga after the war, and thinks he has found her in a convent in Antibes. He's in love with her. But does she love him? And will he find her? It's a bit like Sleepless in Seattle, but not. With a multitude of different English, French, German, and American characters I have tried to make them all distinctly different, and hopefully, believable. You will have to let me know if I got them right!
Countess Helga Burbeck was German, rich, spoilt and as arrogant and bossy as hell. To her, the war was nothing more than an inconvenience on her shopping trips to Berlin. But when she is walking her dogs, Tirpitz and Bismarck, on the far side of her estate, she discovers something that changes her life forever.
Obersturmführer Meyer is an SS officer who works in the camp close to the Burbeck estate. He despises those in his charge and considers them to be no more than animals for the slaughter. But the arrogant Countess with a father who is a General in the Wehrmacht in Berlin was rapidly becoming a bigger nuisance than the smell from the burial pits.
Helga’s discovery of Jewish children hiding on her estate leads her to investigate the nearby camp. What she finds there shocks her to the soul. She decides to take the children to France and somehow to safety. It begins as a self-destructive whim borne on the bitterness and anger of her discovery, but slowly and surely Helga is drawn inexorably down the path to smuggling and eventually, spying. She engages Jacob, one of the children, to help in her plans. And soon she is embroiled with the French Resistance. But her continued trips across occupied Europe to the South of France with “children from her estate” soon attract even more attention from Obersturmführer Meyer. It isn’t long before both know exactly what the other is doing; it becomes a game, but a game that will lead to final bloodshed in a French forest.
Captain Taylor of the US Army has met Helga only once. But that meeting and everything he learns about her afterwards plants a seed of love that won’t stop growing. But Helga isn't easy to find once lost. And when Captain Taylor visits a Convent in the Southern French resort of Antibes in 1948 he soon finds out that the end of the war isn’t the end of the story. But what connects a German Countess in the war with a Catholic nun in Cyprus in 1946? And will Captain Taylor finally track her down?
I wanted to write a Sleepless in Seattle style of story with a difference, and I knew when I started A Fine Woman that I would have to get the feel right. The result is that the general background about the American invasion of Southern France and the British Mandate over Palestine and Israel are all based on real history. And although the failed assassination attempt on Hitler is well documented, the invasion of Southern France is often overlooked by movie moguls. Equally important as Operation Overload in Normandy only two months earlier, it was codenamed Operation Dragoon, and was an equally fraught sea-borne landing undertaken by the US Seventh Army. The British internment camps in Cyprus for Jews intercepted while attempting to reach Palestine are also little remembered today.
I am very pleased with the result and I think the flashback style as Captain Taylor searches for Helga works well. But having said that, I don't think there is actually a railway line that connects Antibes with Juan-les-Pins, Mougins, Vallauris and Grasse! Or even if there is a Convent in Antibes. But in the 1940s you never know!
A Fine Woman is probably my most popular Kindle book. Well it is one of my romance stories.
Until next time,
David
Good to hear from you again! There have been a lot of new people join the group since you last posted so hopefully this will draw your book to their attention. I like the sound of A Fine Woman so will download a sample.
Thanks.
:0)
Thanks.
:0)
Thank you for that, Karen. I don't socialize on the boards very much but I do post here and there, so I have been around. I think I move under the radar!
Another month, so another book. And the next book cover displayed in my first post was for one of my contemporary romance stories, The Look of Love.
Set in Manchester in the North West of England, The Look of Love is a romance story based on the relationships of five girls at University. There is the traditional and rather typical love triangle for Chrissy with youth verses wealth in the form of Scott and Adam. Jo is flighty and far too easy going. Angela is an incessant gossip. And Louise's interest in Victoria is both bumpy and surprising. The story revolves around an eventful night out that acts as a catalyst for all the relationships. Louise ends up rescuing Victoria from a brawl, Angela finds her soulmate, and after an argument with Scott, Chrissy finds herself with Adam. But both Scott and Adam are far more dangerous than they at first appear, so Chrissy has her work cut out deciding who will win out. The money game she plays with Adam is a particular high point. Oh, and there's a wedding and a murder.
Five girls, Louise, Chrissy, Jo, Angela and Victoria start their first year at Manchester Metropolitan University together. Most of them are friends from school, while one is new to the group.
Louise is shy and introverted, mainly because of her sexuality, which in the past has caused her both ridicule and pain. She has got to know the other girls, but hides her sexuality, scared of 'coming out', but yearning for the soul-mate she lacks.
Chrissy, Jo and Angela are avid night-clubbers, but where Jo is only interested in fun and boys, Chrissy has dreams of better things. Beautiful, smart, and with a wicked reply to any chat-up line, she also yearns for the perfect soul-mate. But for Chrissy it must be a rich soul-mate, one who can buy her all her dreams.
Victoria is loud, uninhibited, and always at the centre of attention, the life and soul of any party. But Victoria also hides a darker side. She is not just an extrovert, but an utter exhibitionist bent on self destruction. She lives to the extreme, and often dangerously so.
On Friday night the girls hit the cafe bars and night clubs of Manchester. It is an eventful night out, a night out that will lead to romance, the fulfilment of young dreams, and for one of them, murder...
Until next time,
David
Set in Manchester in the North West of England, The Look of Love is a romance story based on the relationships of five girls at University. There is the traditional and rather typical love triangle for Chrissy with youth verses wealth in the form of Scott and Adam. Jo is flighty and far too easy going. Angela is an incessant gossip. And Louise's interest in Victoria is both bumpy and surprising. The story revolves around an eventful night out that acts as a catalyst for all the relationships. Louise ends up rescuing Victoria from a brawl, Angela finds her soulmate, and after an argument with Scott, Chrissy finds herself with Adam. But both Scott and Adam are far more dangerous than they at first appear, so Chrissy has her work cut out deciding who will win out. The money game she plays with Adam is a particular high point. Oh, and there's a wedding and a murder.
Five girls, Louise, Chrissy, Jo, Angela and Victoria start their first year at Manchester Metropolitan University together. Most of them are friends from school, while one is new to the group.
Louise is shy and introverted, mainly because of her sexuality, which in the past has caused her both ridicule and pain. She has got to know the other girls, but hides her sexuality, scared of 'coming out', but yearning for the soul-mate she lacks.
Chrissy, Jo and Angela are avid night-clubbers, but where Jo is only interested in fun and boys, Chrissy has dreams of better things. Beautiful, smart, and with a wicked reply to any chat-up line, she also yearns for the perfect soul-mate. But for Chrissy it must be a rich soul-mate, one who can buy her all her dreams.
Victoria is loud, uninhibited, and always at the centre of attention, the life and soul of any party. But Victoria also hides a darker side. She is not just an extrovert, but an utter exhibitionist bent on self destruction. She lives to the extreme, and often dangerously so.
On Friday night the girls hit the cafe bars and night clubs of Manchester. It is an eventful night out, a night out that will lead to romance, the fulfilment of young dreams, and for one of them, murder...
Until next time,
David
As Christmas looms over the horizon it is time for me to post about another one of my books. This time it is a Science-Fiction Fantasy story called In the Shadow of Mountains. And as it is Christmas this month you get two for one as they are related. The first is The Lost Girls.
In the Shadow of Mountains: The Lost Girls is a science-fiction story that blends several genres. The lost girls of the title could be a girl’s hockey team and their coach/schoolteacher from contemporary Earth who find themselves on Ellerkan, a planet that seems to be stuck in a medieval society. But like Ellerkan, the story is not what it seems. The other lost girls trapped on this planet are the Androktones, genetically engineered clones designed and programmed for war. They are strong, fearless and viciously brutal. But they are not evil; they do what they do because they have to, they have no choice. And they don’t age or die, they have to be killed. But the war was a long time ago, and the Androktones that survive, now known as Destroyers on Ellerkan, are old, tired, and not as perfect as they once were. And the fact that they are female means that they are still hunted by the Knights and Royalty of Ellerkan for the sport and pleasure they can bring. The Royal Hunts are a barbaric tradition as ancient as the Androktones themselves. But is it the hunters or the hunted that are evil? Rolf L'Epine, a tailor at the Court of King L’Hage is the first to question this. And it is his relationships with the Androktones and the teenage girls from the hockey team that form the backbone of the story. Female characters dominate the scene throughout, many of them in strong and attractive leading roles. The Lost Girls is a blend of feuding medieval Knights, lost technology, equally lost contemporary teenagers, and yes, a dragon of the fiercest kind.
Anne Jenkins is a PE teacher with a girl’s hockey team in her charge. How she ends up in a forest on the planet of Ellerkan pursued by Knights in armour with nets and swords she cannot imagine. Knocked out, the next time she wakes up she finds herself in a castle dungeon with the Crown Prince of Halafalon and only half of her girls.
Prince Carl was as arrogant as he was charming. But he had a particular habit that many said would kill him one day, and this might just be the day. Prince Harold had planned a pleasant afternoon on a picnic, now he was despatched by his father, the King, to search for his missing elder brother. It would be another futile venture, ending with Carl being discovered in a tavern, or in the arms of some wench.
Lord William L’Roth should have been King. He knew it, and everyone else knew it. Now, when the artifact was complete, he would make it so. Sir Henry L’Crief shared Lord L’Roth’s cause, and at one time he would have feared the consequences of his treason against the King. But with his wife at his side and the artifact to call upon, he now feared nothing, not even L’Roth himself.
Sir Henry’s wife was not his real wife, but she was an unusual lover. Concubine, mistress, some even called her his pet. It was an apt description. She was large, malevolent and ever hungry. She was called Gil-Yan, and she was a dragon.
Five years before, Rolf L’Epine had been on a hunt with the Crown Prince. What he saw that day so horrified him that it changed his life forever. Since then, his life had been peaceful. Now that was set to change.
Ancient technology, a war that spanned the galaxy and the consequences of a barbaric tradition returned to haunt them all, and even threatened to eat them...
The Lost Girls was based on an idea I had about contemporary teenage girls being transferred to another world where they turn into a band of brigands and warriors. The problem was where, when and how. Leaving this to ferment in my mind I then wrote The Friendly Ambassador stories, and subsequently was able to use them as the background history for this one. Although there is no direct connection between the stories, and each can be read independently, the history of the planet Ellerkan in The Lost Girls is firmly entrenched in the post-war aftermath of The Friendly Ambassador. But turning teenage girls into strong and heroic warrior women still takes time, and so The Lost Girls is the first of a two part story under the overall title of In the Shadow of Mountains. The Lost Girls introduces the main characters and places, setting up the world they now live in and the events that forge their futures. The second book, In The Shadow of Mountains: The Return of the Sixpack deals with the girls when they are all grown up and in their forties. Now they are fully fledged women and warrior thieves. The adventures they have had, and continue to have, are rich, violent and exciting. There are also some humorous moments and characters in the stories as counter points to the dragons, witches and feuding Knights. All this is mixed in with hard science-fiction giving the background, characters and events a much firmer footing in reality. I like things in my stories to work for justifiable reasons, but I don't give everything away too easily.
Slide-Rule had been their strategist. She had taken the beaten armies of Falonbeck to victory over the Sullenfeld Hordes and now even the Dragon Prince of Halafalon wouldn’t stand in her way. And if she could keep Sir John L’Crue on side, what she wanted she would get.
Bus-Pass was one of their best fighters. She was a thief who made an art out of her trade. But her frequent confrontations with the Sheriff of Jasanta had instilled an admiration that went way beyond mere professional competition.
Chalk-Dust was their scout. Thoughtful and methodical, she could find anything anywhere. But what she had stolen from the hidden tomb of Edred the Mighty would have to be returned before the Sullenfeld Hordes caught and skinned her to get it back.
Blue-Tack was their leader. Strong, intelligent, and a fierce fighter, she had only one true enemy, an enemy who had taken away the only thing she cherished. And she lived only for the day when she would finally get even.
Gym-Slip was the thorn in their side. Always full of the joys of life, she was a trickster, a comedienne who found fun in everything they did. And what she told Bus-Pass about the Sheriff was just low-down dirty rotten.
Buy-Row was their biographer. Quiet and shy, she was a romantic book worm. She read everything she could find about lost cities and hidden tombs. And what she learned she told Chalk-Dust to find.
They had spent a lifetime together on Ellerkan. It had been a lifetime of adventure, robbery, mayhem and sex whenever they could get it. Now, after twenty-eight years came their reunion. The flesh may have been weak, but the spirit was still willing, and what happened was what always happened when the Sixpack were around -all Hell let loose.
And into all of this came Johnson Fold. He was only interested in a little horse trading. Ellerkan was just the sort of backwards planet where his skills and artistry could be most fruitful. And as he often said to his partner, Sinita Khan, “What could possibly go wrong?”
Until next time, Merry Christmas,
David
In the Shadow of Mountains: The Lost Girls is a science-fiction story that blends several genres. The lost girls of the title could be a girl’s hockey team and their coach/schoolteacher from contemporary Earth who find themselves on Ellerkan, a planet that seems to be stuck in a medieval society. But like Ellerkan, the story is not what it seems. The other lost girls trapped on this planet are the Androktones, genetically engineered clones designed and programmed for war. They are strong, fearless and viciously brutal. But they are not evil; they do what they do because they have to, they have no choice. And they don’t age or die, they have to be killed. But the war was a long time ago, and the Androktones that survive, now known as Destroyers on Ellerkan, are old, tired, and not as perfect as they once were. And the fact that they are female means that they are still hunted by the Knights and Royalty of Ellerkan for the sport and pleasure they can bring. The Royal Hunts are a barbaric tradition as ancient as the Androktones themselves. But is it the hunters or the hunted that are evil? Rolf L'Epine, a tailor at the Court of King L’Hage is the first to question this. And it is his relationships with the Androktones and the teenage girls from the hockey team that form the backbone of the story. Female characters dominate the scene throughout, many of them in strong and attractive leading roles. The Lost Girls is a blend of feuding medieval Knights, lost technology, equally lost contemporary teenagers, and yes, a dragon of the fiercest kind.
Anne Jenkins is a PE teacher with a girl’s hockey team in her charge. How she ends up in a forest on the planet of Ellerkan pursued by Knights in armour with nets and swords she cannot imagine. Knocked out, the next time she wakes up she finds herself in a castle dungeon with the Crown Prince of Halafalon and only half of her girls.
Prince Carl was as arrogant as he was charming. But he had a particular habit that many said would kill him one day, and this might just be the day. Prince Harold had planned a pleasant afternoon on a picnic, now he was despatched by his father, the King, to search for his missing elder brother. It would be another futile venture, ending with Carl being discovered in a tavern, or in the arms of some wench.
Lord William L’Roth should have been King. He knew it, and everyone else knew it. Now, when the artifact was complete, he would make it so. Sir Henry L’Crief shared Lord L’Roth’s cause, and at one time he would have feared the consequences of his treason against the King. But with his wife at his side and the artifact to call upon, he now feared nothing, not even L’Roth himself.
Sir Henry’s wife was not his real wife, but she was an unusual lover. Concubine, mistress, some even called her his pet. It was an apt description. She was large, malevolent and ever hungry. She was called Gil-Yan, and she was a dragon.
Five years before, Rolf L’Epine had been on a hunt with the Crown Prince. What he saw that day so horrified him that it changed his life forever. Since then, his life had been peaceful. Now that was set to change.
Ancient technology, a war that spanned the galaxy and the consequences of a barbaric tradition returned to haunt them all, and even threatened to eat them...
The Lost Girls was based on an idea I had about contemporary teenage girls being transferred to another world where they turn into a band of brigands and warriors. The problem was where, when and how. Leaving this to ferment in my mind I then wrote The Friendly Ambassador stories, and subsequently was able to use them as the background history for this one. Although there is no direct connection between the stories, and each can be read independently, the history of the planet Ellerkan in The Lost Girls is firmly entrenched in the post-war aftermath of The Friendly Ambassador. But turning teenage girls into strong and heroic warrior women still takes time, and so The Lost Girls is the first of a two part story under the overall title of In the Shadow of Mountains. The Lost Girls introduces the main characters and places, setting up the world they now live in and the events that forge their futures. The second book, In The Shadow of Mountains: The Return of the Sixpack deals with the girls when they are all grown up and in their forties. Now they are fully fledged women and warrior thieves. The adventures they have had, and continue to have, are rich, violent and exciting. There are also some humorous moments and characters in the stories as counter points to the dragons, witches and feuding Knights. All this is mixed in with hard science-fiction giving the background, characters and events a much firmer footing in reality. I like things in my stories to work for justifiable reasons, but I don't give everything away too easily.
Slide-Rule had been their strategist. She had taken the beaten armies of Falonbeck to victory over the Sullenfeld Hordes and now even the Dragon Prince of Halafalon wouldn’t stand in her way. And if she could keep Sir John L’Crue on side, what she wanted she would get.
Bus-Pass was one of their best fighters. She was a thief who made an art out of her trade. But her frequent confrontations with the Sheriff of Jasanta had instilled an admiration that went way beyond mere professional competition.
Chalk-Dust was their scout. Thoughtful and methodical, she could find anything anywhere. But what she had stolen from the hidden tomb of Edred the Mighty would have to be returned before the Sullenfeld Hordes caught and skinned her to get it back.
Blue-Tack was their leader. Strong, intelligent, and a fierce fighter, she had only one true enemy, an enemy who had taken away the only thing she cherished. And she lived only for the day when she would finally get even.
Gym-Slip was the thorn in their side. Always full of the joys of life, she was a trickster, a comedienne who found fun in everything they did. And what she told Bus-Pass about the Sheriff was just low-down dirty rotten.
Buy-Row was their biographer. Quiet and shy, she was a romantic book worm. She read everything she could find about lost cities and hidden tombs. And what she learned she told Chalk-Dust to find.
They had spent a lifetime together on Ellerkan. It had been a lifetime of adventure, robbery, mayhem and sex whenever they could get it. Now, after twenty-eight years came their reunion. The flesh may have been weak, but the spirit was still willing, and what happened was what always happened when the Sixpack were around -all Hell let loose.
And into all of this came Johnson Fold. He was only interested in a little horse trading. Ellerkan was just the sort of backwards planet where his skills and artistry could be most fruitful. And as he often said to his partner, Sinita Khan, “What could possibly go wrong?”
Until next time, Merry Christmas,
David
Just popped in to mention that I have a featured interview on the Independent Author Network that you can take a look at here if you want to know a little bit more about me.
David
David
Happy New Year!
Okay, so it's time to plug one of my books. Shameful, I know, but there you go. But on the bright side you get to learn a bit more about one of my books. So I thought we would start the New Year with The Dreamer.
The Dreamer is a bit of Science Fiction, a bit of Romance and a bit of Chick-Lit featuring Angela (she of the all winning stick body). It's a fun book with a number of surprises and twists that may or may not catch you fully unawares. Let's just say that everything is not what it seems.
Angela is on a mission. To prove that the winning stick body formula can triumph over all. Even over Lucy Crow-Bennett’s Barbie like curves and long limbs.
Fat chance. Have you seen Lucy Crow-Bennett? Ayi-yi-yi...
Oh yeah? Well I've got brains, knowhow and I’m every bit a woman as she is!
You are? So prove it.
G’ner! You’ll see!
The Intrepid and her crew are on a mission. To boldly go and investigate a drifting hulk that has come from outside of the solar system and is passing right on through and out again. The Intrepid’s crew are all experts in their field, but their current field is small, cramped, zero-g and a million miles from home. Angela and Lucy are the only two female members of the crew. That means they get to share one of the even more cramped living quarters in the shuttle. Their differences soon begin to affect Angela’s mind, as does Scott Martin, the Intrepid’s ever so handsome captain. But being all cramped together in a steel tube floating in space is the perfect time to learn who and what you are, and when Angela gets on the derelict, who, what, when, where, and above all, how, are questions she’s soon dying to answer.
For Nac Tikmak, the derelict is home. And for over a thousand years he has waited for another visitor, like a spider in the centre of his web. And the derelict is no ordinary web.
But are the Intrepid and her crew ordinary flies?
And if Nac Tikmak is the spider and the Intrepid and her crew are the flies, then who the hell is Humbolt?
Did I mention that Angela is out to prove that the stick thin body can triumph over all, even over Lucy Crow-Bennett’s Barbie like curves and aliens with spiky heads?
What do you mean I didn't mention the aliens with spiky heads?
Oops!
David
Okay, so it's time to plug one of my books. Shameful, I know, but there you go. But on the bright side you get to learn a bit more about one of my books. So I thought we would start the New Year with The Dreamer.
The Dreamer is a bit of Science Fiction, a bit of Romance and a bit of Chick-Lit featuring Angela (she of the all winning stick body). It's a fun book with a number of surprises and twists that may or may not catch you fully unawares. Let's just say that everything is not what it seems.
Angela is on a mission. To prove that the winning stick body formula can triumph over all. Even over Lucy Crow-Bennett’s Barbie like curves and long limbs.
Fat chance. Have you seen Lucy Crow-Bennett? Ayi-yi-yi...
Oh yeah? Well I've got brains, knowhow and I’m every bit a woman as she is!
You are? So prove it.
G’ner! You’ll see!
The Intrepid and her crew are on a mission. To boldly go and investigate a drifting hulk that has come from outside of the solar system and is passing right on through and out again. The Intrepid’s crew are all experts in their field, but their current field is small, cramped, zero-g and a million miles from home. Angela and Lucy are the only two female members of the crew. That means they get to share one of the even more cramped living quarters in the shuttle. Their differences soon begin to affect Angela’s mind, as does Scott Martin, the Intrepid’s ever so handsome captain. But being all cramped together in a steel tube floating in space is the perfect time to learn who and what you are, and when Angela gets on the derelict, who, what, when, where, and above all, how, are questions she’s soon dying to answer.
For Nac Tikmak, the derelict is home. And for over a thousand years he has waited for another visitor, like a spider in the centre of his web. And the derelict is no ordinary web.
But are the Intrepid and her crew ordinary flies?
And if Nac Tikmak is the spider and the Intrepid and her crew are the flies, then who the hell is Humbolt?
Did I mention that Angela is out to prove that the stick thin body can triumph over all, even over Lucy Crow-Bennett’s Barbie like curves and aliens with spiky heads?
What do you mean I didn't mention the aliens with spiky heads?
Oops!
David
For my February monthly helping of book promotion I have to pick one of my Romances —well it is Valentines Day this month, and it falls on my birthday, so what else can I say? And so the book this month is An Affair of the Heart.
An Affair of the Heart is a slightly ghostly Contemporary Romance. The Tag Line is a simple one:
Can Rachel really feel the emotions of a dead woman through the heart transplanted in her chest? Or is it simply that Robert McCord always has that affect on women?
What I wanted to do with this story was to explore the possibilities of what might happen if two men continued their love triangle battle even after the woman they both loved had passed on. Adding the heart transplant element and looking at the story from Rachel's point of view as the recipient of the heart just made it easier for me to write. This was also my first real book even though it is only 152 pages long (about 45,000 words). If I knew more about legal matters and felt confident writing a book featuring a big court case, it might have been longer and the perspectives might have been slightly different. As it is I am quite happy with the result.
Sarah Williams was leaving her husband. The car accident only made the separation permanent. A mix up at the hospital, a misplaced donor card, and an urgent heart transplant goes ahead. But was the right donor used?
Alex Williams had found out about his wife’s affair with their American lawyer, Robert McCord. It had been a terrible argument. Sarah had stormed out and driven away. It was the last time Alex saw her alive and his anger is soon matched by his grief. Anger, grief and a terrible outrage.
Rachel Carter is young, romantic and has heart disease. For her, the heart transplant is the only answer. But the success of the transplant is only the beginning of her troubles. No sooner is she recovering when Alex sues the hospital for carrying out the transplant without permission. But not only does he want compensation, he wants his wife’s heart back.
Why does Robert McCord volunteer to fight Rachel’s court case against Alex? Is it just old rivalry, or are they still fighting for the heart of the woman they both once loved? And why does Rachel think she can feel Sarah’s emotions in the heart that now beats in her own chest? Why does she feel that this dead woman still has something urgent to do? What is the secret that Alex kept from Sarah, the secret that finally broke their marriage? And what has Alex’s daughter, Diana, go to do with any of this?
An Affair of the Heart is actually part of a group of stories I wrote under my own heading of Manchester Tales. The other books are Mind Games which comes before it, and The Look of Love which comes after it. None of the three books are related other than being set in Manchester. The only connection is that the next one begins in the same place where the previous one ends.
Funny old bean, aren't I?
David
An Affair of the Heart is a slightly ghostly Contemporary Romance. The Tag Line is a simple one:
Can Rachel really feel the emotions of a dead woman through the heart transplanted in her chest? Or is it simply that Robert McCord always has that affect on women?
What I wanted to do with this story was to explore the possibilities of what might happen if two men continued their love triangle battle even after the woman they both loved had passed on. Adding the heart transplant element and looking at the story from Rachel's point of view as the recipient of the heart just made it easier for me to write. This was also my first real book even though it is only 152 pages long (about 45,000 words). If I knew more about legal matters and felt confident writing a book featuring a big court case, it might have been longer and the perspectives might have been slightly different. As it is I am quite happy with the result.
Sarah Williams was leaving her husband. The car accident only made the separation permanent. A mix up at the hospital, a misplaced donor card, and an urgent heart transplant goes ahead. But was the right donor used?
Alex Williams had found out about his wife’s affair with their American lawyer, Robert McCord. It had been a terrible argument. Sarah had stormed out and driven away. It was the last time Alex saw her alive and his anger is soon matched by his grief. Anger, grief and a terrible outrage.
Rachel Carter is young, romantic and has heart disease. For her, the heart transplant is the only answer. But the success of the transplant is only the beginning of her troubles. No sooner is she recovering when Alex sues the hospital for carrying out the transplant without permission. But not only does he want compensation, he wants his wife’s heart back.
Why does Robert McCord volunteer to fight Rachel’s court case against Alex? Is it just old rivalry, or are they still fighting for the heart of the woman they both once loved? And why does Rachel think she can feel Sarah’s emotions in the heart that now beats in her own chest? Why does she feel that this dead woman still has something urgent to do? What is the secret that Alex kept from Sarah, the secret that finally broke their marriage? And what has Alex’s daughter, Diana, go to do with any of this?
An Affair of the Heart is actually part of a group of stories I wrote under my own heading of Manchester Tales. The other books are Mind Games which comes before it, and The Look of Love which comes after it. None of the three books are related other than being set in Manchester. The only connection is that the next one begins in the same place where the previous one ends.
Funny old bean, aren't I?
David
Another quick update just to say that I have started publishing my books through EZRead, and the first one, "An Affair of the Heart," has now gone live there. I will be publishing the rest of my titles at EZRead over the next few days. They are a good source of indie ebooks as well as mainstream books, so I am happy to recommend them. They also like to promote indie authors. You can find Amelia and friends from EZRead here on Goodreads under their profile EZRead eBookstore. They also have their very own Goodreads Group at Love Or Leave It.
And another quick update! Have you noticed the Google Preview is available here through Goodreads? I only just did. Slow, aren't I? So if you want to sample pages of my books just pick one of the paperback editions and then click on the little Google Preview logo to get sample pages up. At least it saves you having to go to Amazon for the Search Inside Facility, although that is good too!
Okay, back to bed.
Okay, back to bed.
March 4 - 10, 2012 is Read an E-Book Week, and Smashwords is taking part. So for one week only, thousands of Smashwords authors and publishers will be providing readers deep discounts on ebooks, with coupon code levels for 25%-off, 50%-off, 75%-off and FREE. That includes me, so if you visit my Smashwords profile at http://www.smashwords.com/profile/vie... during March 4 - 10 you will be able to download my books for half price using this code: REW50. Yes, that is all my books at half price (50%-off) at Smashwords for one week using code REW50 at the checkout.
Thanks David - I've used the coupon to buy A Fine Woman because I've had my eye on that book for a while.
:0)
:0)
Thank you for your interest! I hope you enjoy it!
It's March, so what can I say about The Tale of the Comet?
Well, The Tale of the Comet is probably the story that got me into writing in the first place. It had been rattling around in my head for years, and I first put it down on paper using my Olivetti typewriter in the Seventies. It was very, very different. After going to College and then working for a living I eventually rewrote it from scratch because it just wouldn't go away. And so in 1998 I submitted this new version to Tim Holman at Little Brown after we had spoken about it on the phone. Tim was very informative and gave me good advice rather than a publishing contract!
Oh, well. Advice is good, too.
I took the advice on board and the story was again rewritten from the bottom up. This finally resulted in a story that resembles the one that can be read now, but is still very different. This original draft was published on my website at www.booksandstories.com in 2002. But I still wasn’t happy with it. The problem was that, in my mind at least, there was a lot of the back story that was still missing. And this missing information was important in understanding the characters and where they came from. Yes, I could refer back to these previous events in discussions between the characters themselves, and so impart the information that way. But my main problem was in understanding it all myself so that I could explain it properly. And so it was the need to establish these previous events that finally led me to write several other books. And once that was all done I rewrote The Tale of the Comet in 2008.
Again.
So what you read now when you pick up an ebook or the CreateSpace trade paperback of The Tale of the Comet is actually the result of between ten and twenty years work. Although none of that really matters, at least I am now happy with it and the continuity with the overall story that ultimately begins with The Friendly Ambassador. But more about those books later.
Chen-Soo is a super clone warrior woman bent on Galactic domination, but all she really wants is the love of her mother and father. It was a love that she lost on that fateful day. Then love appears in the form of Michael. But does she really need a mate now? And why does it have to be this adolescent boy with only a chocolate bar in one hand and his mother’s handbag in the other?
The planet Ellerkan is a very confusing place for Susan and her two children, Michael and Jennifer. One moment they are driving back from McDonalds, and the next moment they are in a forest being shot at with laser rifles while being chased by Knights in armour.
Susan is rescued by Cameron and Soo-Kai, but despite their help her two children are lost. Jennifer, like Cameron’s daughter, is captured by soldiers of the Dragon Prince and taken to the Dragon’s Lair. Michael escapes when he runs into Chen-Soo. A friendship quickly forms, and it is a friendship that will have an important effect on all their lives.
At the house of Rolf L’Epine, Susan learns the history of Ellerkan, but the answers only create more questions. Ellerkan is rent by a bloody civil war, and events soon overtake her and her children as feuding Princes, ancient wars and forgotten technology all add confusion and death.
Who are the troopers that sneak about the forest? What is it they want, and why did they sabotage a colony ship and then abandon it and its passengers and crew? Why is it that Rolf fears his own daughter, Chen-Soo? Will Kai-Tai lead the surviving Androktones against them? And what motivates Vin-Ra, the Androktone that now lives in the castle? And why have all the children been taken there?
Only one fact is clear. The only way to escape from Ellerkan is through the portal in the Althon Gerail, one of the last of the Twelve Great Ships. But the wreck of the Althon Gerail lies buried beneath the Dragon’s Lair Castle, and to rescue their children and reach it, Susan and Cameron must face the Androktones, the troopers, the army of the Dragon Prince, and the horrors that dwell within the ship itself.
754 pages of romance, fantasy, science-fiction and nasty things that bite you in the dark. Have fun.
David
Well, The Tale of the Comet is probably the story that got me into writing in the first place. It had been rattling around in my head for years, and I first put it down on paper using my Olivetti typewriter in the Seventies. It was very, very different. After going to College and then working for a living I eventually rewrote it from scratch because it just wouldn't go away. And so in 1998 I submitted this new version to Tim Holman at Little Brown after we had spoken about it on the phone. Tim was very informative and gave me good advice rather than a publishing contract!
Oh, well. Advice is good, too.
I took the advice on board and the story was again rewritten from the bottom up. This finally resulted in a story that resembles the one that can be read now, but is still very different. This original draft was published on my website at www.booksandstories.com in 2002. But I still wasn’t happy with it. The problem was that, in my mind at least, there was a lot of the back story that was still missing. And this missing information was important in understanding the characters and where they came from. Yes, I could refer back to these previous events in discussions between the characters themselves, and so impart the information that way. But my main problem was in understanding it all myself so that I could explain it properly. And so it was the need to establish these previous events that finally led me to write several other books. And once that was all done I rewrote The Tale of the Comet in 2008.
Again.
So what you read now when you pick up an ebook or the CreateSpace trade paperback of The Tale of the Comet is actually the result of between ten and twenty years work. Although none of that really matters, at least I am now happy with it and the continuity with the overall story that ultimately begins with The Friendly Ambassador. But more about those books later.
Chen-Soo is a super clone warrior woman bent on Galactic domination, but all she really wants is the love of her mother and father. It was a love that she lost on that fateful day. Then love appears in the form of Michael. But does she really need a mate now? And why does it have to be this adolescent boy with only a chocolate bar in one hand and his mother’s handbag in the other?
The planet Ellerkan is a very confusing place for Susan and her two children, Michael and Jennifer. One moment they are driving back from McDonalds, and the next moment they are in a forest being shot at with laser rifles while being chased by Knights in armour.
Susan is rescued by Cameron and Soo-Kai, but despite their help her two children are lost. Jennifer, like Cameron’s daughter, is captured by soldiers of the Dragon Prince and taken to the Dragon’s Lair. Michael escapes when he runs into Chen-Soo. A friendship quickly forms, and it is a friendship that will have an important effect on all their lives.
At the house of Rolf L’Epine, Susan learns the history of Ellerkan, but the answers only create more questions. Ellerkan is rent by a bloody civil war, and events soon overtake her and her children as feuding Princes, ancient wars and forgotten technology all add confusion and death.
Who are the troopers that sneak about the forest? What is it they want, and why did they sabotage a colony ship and then abandon it and its passengers and crew? Why is it that Rolf fears his own daughter, Chen-Soo? Will Kai-Tai lead the surviving Androktones against them? And what motivates Vin-Ra, the Androktone that now lives in the castle? And why have all the children been taken there?
Only one fact is clear. The only way to escape from Ellerkan is through the portal in the Althon Gerail, one of the last of the Twelve Great Ships. But the wreck of the Althon Gerail lies buried beneath the Dragon’s Lair Castle, and to rescue their children and reach it, Susan and Cameron must face the Androktones, the troopers, the army of the Dragon Prince, and the horrors that dwell within the ship itself.
754 pages of romance, fantasy, science-fiction and nasty things that bite you in the dark. Have fun.
David
Wow David. That was a HUGE post.Lost me after the second sentence, to be honest....
:)
Yep. Short, succinct and to the point is always best in forum posts.
As it is another new month, I am back here again to promote me and my books. But this time, and following on from the prompt I received from Patti above, here it is:
“A Fine Woman” - http://smashwords.com/b/113637
“The Friendly Ambassador: The Beginning of the End” - http://smashwords.com/b/120940
Both are now FREE at Smashwords - go get 'em!
(And tell your friends)
David
“A Fine Woman” - http://smashwords.com/b/113637
“The Friendly Ambassador: The Beginning of the End” - http://smashwords.com/b/120940
Both are now FREE at Smashwords - go get 'em!
(And tell your friends)
David
Thank you, Pat.
I hope you enjoy it.
David
I hope you enjoy it.
David
I've read and really enjoyed A Fine Woman.
I've posted a review on amazon and goodreads, and tried to on smashwords but it isn't showing up yet on smashwords. I don't know if there is a delay before it shows up - so I'll check back later to re-do it if necessary.
:0)
I've posted a review on amazon and goodreads, and tried to on smashwords but it isn't showing up yet on smashwords. I don't know if there is a delay before it shows up - so I'll check back later to re-do it if necessary.
:0)
It's showing up on smashwords now!
:0)
:0)
Thank you very much for that, Karen. Glad you enjoyed it.
Readers and reviewers are greatly appreciated.
David
Readers and reviewers are greatly appreciated.
David
This is just to let anyone visiting here know that one of my books has been selected to be this week’s Free eBook Fridays feature on May 4th at the World Literary Cafe. So if you get over to the WLC this Friday the 4th May you will be able to pick up an ebook version of An Affair of the Heart absolutely FREE. The good Ladies of the WLC will be happy to provide a Smashwords coupon to all who ask for one. So don't miss out the chance to read another of my Romance stories for free!
David
David
Great news David! Congratulations!
Just a reminder that today is the day.
My book, "An Affair of the Heart," is FREE TODAY ONLY (4th May) at World Lit Café and can be found here:
http://ning.it/vvA72N
So nip over there now to get your FREE Smashwords Coupon and download a free copy of my book TODAY ONLY (4th May) for FREE!
Did I say FREE?
David
My book, "An Affair of the Heart," is FREE TODAY ONLY (4th May) at World Lit Café and can be found here:
http://ning.it/vvA72N
So nip over there now to get your FREE Smashwords Coupon and download a free copy of my book TODAY ONLY (4th May) for FREE!
Did I say FREE?
David
Hmmm. I dunno...How much is it? ;)
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Books mentioned in this topic
An Affair of the Heart (other topics)An Affair of the Heart (other topics)
A Fine Woman (other topics)
The Tale of the Comet (other topics)
A Fine Woman (other topics)
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I write science fiction, fantasy and romance stories. I also like to mix and match with romance in science fiction and so on. Having said that, the first four are more romance, the fifth is adventure with virtual reality, and the last seven are more science fiction and fantasy. Female characters feature very prominently in all my stories, many of them in strong and attractive leading roles. The reason for this is that I like writing about women. It gives my stories a female bias, but I think they are better for it. I also like every character, even the monsters and villains, to have a realistic reason for being and doing what they do.
Please visit my website at booksandstories.com (up and running for over eleven years now) and there on the List Page you will find original drafts of each book with the first twenty chapters available to read and download for free. Trailers for each book are also included. If you like what you sample there you can find links back to the product pages where my books can be purchased in their various formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, MobiPocket and other online retail stores. I also have an additional website at thefriendlyambassador.com which gives more information on the characters, setting and plot for this series of four books. If you are ever bored, give one of my stories a shot.
David