A timely reminder...

So, after a couple of weeks of being glued to my KDP sales report following my promo - religiously checking to see how many sales I've made each day, and whether I've made back the money I spent on the advertising -  I had a very timely reminder of why I do this.

Because sometimes I forget that it isn't about the sales. It isn't about the money.

If I'm honest I'll admit that I will probably never get to the point of being able to write completely full time. Right now on good months I maybe make a part time wage - but only on the good months - and the rest of the time it's just a nice supplement to our family income.

It's easy for me to get caught up in that side of it, and forget why I started doing this.

Today I got that reminder. An email sent through my website. It's not the first time I've connected with people over my books, but there was something about the wording of this one that really touched me. She'd reached out to me, just to let me know how much she loved what I'd written. And it reminded me right then of the reason I do what I do.

I write because I love to entertain people. I write because I love it, and I hope that others can find some joy in it as well.

So I'm all set to have a wonderful weekend. It's certainly starting off on the right foot. I hope you all are too!

It's been too long!

So it is with great shame that I realised today just how long it's been since I posted on this blog. Unfortunately life really did get in the way this time!

The last time I posted on here I was a Miss, and I am now very happily a Mrs, and unfortunately the wedding and our honeymoon ended up taking a lot of my focus.

However, I am back now, and finally settling back into 'writer' mode.

The good news is that I am working on about 4 books right now, and hoping that at least one of them will be ready to publish right around Christmas.

The book in question is Lancelot, a prequel/companion novel to The Last Knight and The Forever Queen. I will confess that a lot of my reasons for writing it are purely selfish ones. I wanted to explore Lance's character further - I couldn't let him go as easily as expected at the end of writing and editing The Forever Queen. Plus, it was just an awful lot of fun!

So, fingers crossed I'll get the final rounds of edits on Lancelot done in the next few weeks, and I will be able to show off the cover not long after! As soon as I have a release date I'll be posting it here on the blog.

Other projects currently under way include a traditional fantasy and (finally) a sequel to Chasing Freedom.

That's all for today - just a quick update. But hopefully it won't be months and months before my next post!

Have a great weekend!

Announcing the release of the third book in the E series, Eden, by Kate Wrath:

THE THIRD BOOK IN THE E SERIES Both friends and enemies are keen to get their hands on the information inside Eden’s head—information that could take down the Sentries and change the world. But there are costs that no one realized, and Eden’s not so sure she’s willing to pay them. Refusing to do so could create dangerous problems within the tribe she’s only just come back to. Eden has her own agenda for learning Lily’s secrets. With hope refusing to die, she’s spurred forward by memories of Oscar and thoughts of finding him again. But Lily’s hold on her is greater than she knows, compelling her to chase after strange clues and confusing visions. With love and longing weighing on her, Eden must determine the reality of her fractured identity in order to decide which path to take. The choices she makes could tear her away from Jonas and Apollon, from everything she’s ever known. Eden’s future will not be determined solely by choices. Fate has her own cards to play, and they just might take the game.

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Kate Wrath on writing Eden, and what's to come....

Only a year ago, I released the first book in The E Series, not knowing what to expect in reaction or whether it would be well-received. To my surprise, the first book did incredibly well, and though it’s still relatively unknown, many of you who did read it went on to become followers of the series, eagerly awaiting the next installment. The second book, Evolution, was released in November of 2014, and took the story of E and the adventure to a whole new level as the characters undertook a trek across the dystopian landscape of the world. You’d been dying for answers to certain questions, and finally, the answers had begun to be revealed. Now, in the third book, Eden, our favorite characters return to their long-sought-after home only to find that things aren’t as simple as they seem. This third book focuses on the relationships between certain characters, ups the heat level of the romantic thread, and yes, throws some more wrenches into the works. The end of this book, I believe, will possibly make you want to throw something at me. Questions, questions, always questions. And I know you’ll want the answers. …Which is why the release of Jason and Lily, the prequel to The E Series is only a month and ten days away. At long last, answers. All the things you’ve been dying to know about Eden’s past are written in this volume, along with a love story that I hope will touch you as much as it touched me. But will it leave you wanting more? I certainly hope so, because The E Series is not done yet! The final volumes will bring you even more answers, including one of the biggest questions: How did the world in E come to be the way it is? Happy reading, everyone, and don't forget to drop by the Facebook Release Day Party from 8-12 pm Eastern, today, June 13th!  

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An excerpt from Eden:

It seems unfair that everything I learn only makes me more confused. How do you reconcile these things? The world you knew—the world torn to pieces and reconstructed in a different shape. The self you knew, the torn self. What other things can we rip to pieces? What else can we destroy and recreate? This question weighs on me at so many levels. I've lost my place. I don't know where to begin or end. I don't even know what I want out of it all. Morning is stretching through the window, yawning its light-filled mouth. Jonas rolls over onto his side and looks at me. Smiles gently. Touches my cheek. But it's that smile like Poor thing. She's so lost. And I am. How is he not lost? How did I whisper these revelations to him in the darkness, and by light, he's the one who seems fine? I push his hand away, close my eyes, and roll onto my back. My shirt sticks to my side, sweaty from being beneath me. I imagine drifts of snow, crisp air. My visible breath, like smoke from a fire. I never liked the cold, when I had it. Now I don't like the heat either. I can't even make up my mind about that. Deep breaths. Ninety-nine. Ninety-eight. Ninety-seven. The numbers fall away, and I focus deep within myself. What do I want, when it comes down to it? A fraction of a dream interrupts my soul-searching. A flash of an alligator. It's that damned alligator again. What the hell? "Are you OK?" Jonas asks softly, and sighs when I don't respond. He rolls over and gets up. I cling to the reptilian vision. A flash of scaly green skin and the unsettling curve of a toothy smile. And nothing. Absolutely nothing. I sigh, too, but I don't open my eyes. I frown and focus again. Deeper. What really matters? There's an easy answer. It's been there all along. I want to find Oscar. Until I do, I won't ever really be OK. I've been putting it off, wrapped up in so many insignificant things. Worried about pretending to be someone else—why? Worried about Jonas, and some incomprehensible future where Sentries don't exist. I have one thing I can hold onto. I fix it in my heart. I'm not going to let this go. Whatever I don't know, whatever I may not understand, Oscar is real. Oscar matters. And right at this moment, he could be suffering, could be in danger. And I'm sitting around on my ass doing nothing to find him. Vacation. Over. I open my eyes and climb out of bed. Jonas is in the kitchen, taking out his frustrations on an orange. Slicing it vehemently. I walk to his side and watch as he grabs another and attacks it like he's cutting its throat. Then I squint at his face. "Are you mad at me?" He glances at me, and there is definitely anger in his eyes. "No," he says. "I'm just mad." I wait for a moment to see if he means to elaborate, but he doesn't. So I guess I was wrong that he's OK. "Do you want to talk about it?" He stops suddenly and his eyes slice into me. He hesitates, obviously restraining himself. Jonas is always so restrained. Finally, he lets out a long breath and turns back to the orange, more gently. "We have to do this. We have to take them down." "...The Sentries?" His jaw tightens when I say the word. He answers in a level but deadly voice. "Yes." I know that look of grim determination. I know how Jonas is when he makes up his mind. Cards begin to fall into place in my mind, a deck that tells our future. I see the beginning of the path. But I'm not sure I want to take it. Too many questions, not enough answers. I have only one answer, and for now, I'm sticking to it.   You can purchase Eden on Amazon.

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About the Author:

Kate Wrath lives in the Southwestern US. Much like other authors, she has both a [family] and a [pet]. [family = three crazy-but-lovable, exceedingly adorable people with longer eyelashes and better sense of humor than Kate] [pet = lovable-but-crazy giant German Shepherd who seems to be able to read, but pretends not to understand when something is required of him] Kate is the author of the E series: E (Book #1), Evolution (Book #2), Eden (Book #3, June 13, 2015), and Jason and Lily (prequel, July 23, 2015). She has also written two fantasy novels that are soon to be released. Kate believes in literature as an art form, world peace, and animal rights, but aspires to write total trash that is full of senseless violence, with characters who eat house pets.    

When Life gets in the way...

It's official - occasionally I suck at this whole blogging/self-promotion/tweeting side of being an author.

I just checked - the last post I wrote was over a month ago. That's shameful.

Unfortunately, life seems to continually get in the way. Real life, whilst not as exciting as the lives I write about, does tend to take top priority. Weddings to plan, immigration rules to dig through and understand, and a dog and a boyfriend that do occasionally require attention.

But I do want to post an update. Just in case anyone is interested.

A couple of things have happened.

I now have a full and rather beautiful (if I do say so myself) website.

www.nicoladorrington.com 

It's nothing special but I am rather proud of it.

The Forever Queen has now been out for over a month and is selling nicely and so far only had positive reviews.

And more excitingly, despite my original intentions there will be another Pendragon book. Maybe even two! More on that soon!

Until then, have a fabulous weekend. With any luck where ever you are is having better weather than we are!

A Little Late!

But life has been crazy!

It's here! The Forever Queen has hit the (virtual) shelves! So if you read The Last Knight you can now find out how Cara and Lance's story ends...

 

Check it out here on  Amazon

And here on Goodreads

I've also been working recently on a new website! I will be keeping this blog going - but I'll be linking it to the website as well. Check it out http://www.nicoladorrington.com/

I can't wait to find out what people think of The Forever Queen. A couple of gorgeous reviews so far, but don't hesitate to let me know what you all think!

Happy Easter and...

Good news - The Forever Queen is now available for pre-order!

That's right - if you simply cannot wait to get your hands on The Forever Queen you can pre-order now and have it delivered (to your e-reader) the day of release on the 23rd of April!

Pre-Order The Forever Queen on Amazon!

And to celebrate - and if you really cannot wait that long - a little sneak peek, a teaser if you will - the opening scene of The Forever Queen...

The cliff fell away below us, down to a jagged pile of rocks pounded incessantly by waves the colour of iron. The sky above was overcast but here and there the cloud broke, and long fingers of sunlight touched the water, turning the tops of the waves to cascades of diamonds. Away on the horizon the sky was black, lit now and then by the lightening of the encroaching storm.

It was beautiful, in a breath-taking, exciting kind of way, but I barely sparred it a glance. I didn’t have eyes for anything but Lance.

He was more breath-taking than any view. His hair hung longer than the last time I’d seen it, and the wind tugged at the dark curls, pulling them into his eyes.

Despite the cold wind he wore just a thin t-shirt, and the fabric strained at his biceps and around his chest. Was he even bigger, more muscular, than last time I’d seen him? How long had it been now? Months for me, since I had left him, but for him it could have been anything. Minutes, hours, days, maybe even years. Time moved so differently in Avalon it was impossible to know. What I did know was that he was still in Avalon, and I wasn’t.

“This is just a dream,” I mumbled as tears started to slip down my cheeks.

He reached for me, catching the tears with his thumb. “Yes.”

A sob bubbled up but I forced it back down. It might only have been a dream, but I couldn’t let tears ruin those few precious moments with him. My dreams were the only thing I had left of him.

“I miss you.” I forced the words out around the sob, my voice breaking.

His eyes closed, and in one motion he enfolded me in his arms. I clung to him, twisting my fingers into his t-shirt. Burying my face in his chest, I breathed in the scent of him and the all too familiar smell of metal polish. It was a smell I associated with him. Would always associate with him.

His heart beat steadily beneath my cheek, almost fooling me into believing it was really him.

“You’re not real,” I whispered into his chest, more to remind myself than anything else.

His chest rumbled with a laugh. “Just because this is a dream, that doesn’t mean it isn’t real. You should know that better than most.”

I tipped my head back to look at him and he took the opportunity to lower his lips to mine. He kissed me long and slow, and I fought back tears again. I had missed this so much, the feel of him close to me, his arms around me, one hand tangled in my hair.

I had missed him. His strength and gentleness, and that look in his eyes that said nothing mattered but me.

“Don’t cry, Cariad,” he murmured against my lips.

I shivered at the endearment. “But this isn’t fair. I need you back. I did everything that was expected of me, and yet I paid for it by losing you.”

“You haven’t lost me, you could never lose me.”

That wasn’t true. I had lost him. He may have still been alive, but he was gone, locked in another world. “Nothing works,” I told him. “I’ve been trying to find a way into Avalon, but all the gateways are sealed.”

“I know. That’s why I’m here, why Merlin managed to find a way into your dreams.”

I looked up at him in surprise but he didn’t let me speak.

“The barriers were rebuilt when you traced your blood on the stone, and that should have been it, but for some reason all the gateways sealed themselves as well. Something went wrong. The Fair Folk are angry, they think you sealed the gateways on purpose, trapping them in Avalon – “

“I – never – “

“I know, Cariad. As does Merlin. Something came through when the barriers were at their weakest, and Merlin believes that whatever it was caused the gateways to seal. If it was a creature of magic then it must not be allowed to roam free in your world. You must find it, track it, and then find a way to send it back to Avalon.”

My heart leapt and lodged in my throat. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Sending Morgana back to Avalon should have been the end of it. My fate and destiny had been fulfilled, hadn’t they?

Lance didn’t seem to notice my distress. “Merlin says you must-“

A deafening pounding sound drowned out Lance’s words and I clung to him as something tried to pull me away. He started to fade and I realised I was waking up.

“No, not yet,” I cried, trying to force myself back to sleep, but already the dream was disappearing and as my eyes opened I realised the pounding was coming from my bedroom door.

The Forever Queen - What's it all about...

With just a few weeks left now until the release of The Forever Queen, the long awaited sequel to The Last Knight, I thought it was about time I finally shared the synopsis, or back cover 'blurb'.

So here it is:

She will become legend…

Cara thought fate and the magic of the Fair Folk were done with her the night she defeated Morgana Le Fey and restored the barriers between this world and Avalon. She was wrong.

Lance is trapped in Avalon, and something more powerful and more dangerous than anything Cara has yet faced is trapped in this world. The only way to fix it is to break an ancient and powerful spell, but first Cara will have to figure out who or what cast it.

In the meantime the line between Cara’s two worlds is blurring. There are those in this world who know who she is, and have plans of their own for her future. Those plans involve treason.

Unfortunately those same people hold the key to breaking the spell and Cara will have to choose between Lance, her future, and saving the world.

Don't forget, The Forever Queen will be release on the 23rd of April, also known as St George's Day...

You can add The Forever Queen on Goodreads

Drum Roll Please.... Cover Reveal...

A while back I announced that the long awaited sequel to The Last Knight, The Forever Queen was going to be released on the 23rd of April 2015. Now I am very pleased to reveal the cover for the new book.

Drum roll, please...

Their love story spanned over a thousand years, now Cara and Lance return in 'The Forever Queen', where they will face greater dangers than they could have imagined, and a heart-breaking decision that could change their lives forever. 

(Not the official blurb! ;) )

Add it on Goodreads or follow me on twitter @NSDorrington for more updates.

And let me know what you think of the cover in the comments!

Happy New Year - and an announcement

Let me begin by wishing everyone a Happy New Year! 2015 has arrived (doesn’t time seem to go faster the older you get – I swear this year has flown by) and for me it’s shaping up to be the best yet!

I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions. No one ever seems to keep them, and to be honest I made most of the big changes I wanted to make at the end of 2014. But I will say that I’m hoping to take things for granted less this year. It’s all too easy to get caught up in all the small things, the little dramas and forget how lucky we are to simply be here (wherever here happens to be) with our health and our families and loved ones.

All of that aside, I am also really pleased today to make the announcement that The Forever Queen, the sequel to The Last Knight, has a release date!

That’s right, after only a year and a half of making people wait, and having to reassure people that there is a sequel coming, I can finally give a date!

The downside is, it’s still a few months away.

Despite the fact that the first draft is finished there is still a lot of work to be done. Covers to be designed, beta reader feedback, and lots of editing. Plus a promo/marketing campaign to set up.

There’s also the fact that I really want to release it on a certain date!

So, The Forever Queen will be hitting the virtual shelves on the 23^rd of April.

For anyone who doesn’t know, the 23^rd of April is St George’s Day, St George being the patron saint of England, and of course famous for supposedly saving a princess and slaying a dragon.

If you want to know why this date is significant – well, you’ll have to buy and read a copy of The Forever Queen!

Happy New Year Everyone!