Tales for Canterbury: Writing for Relief

As a writer, all I have to offer are my words. It seems like such a silly thing to offer, insubstantial. What difference can a story make?

A big difference, I think. Words can lift and revitalize, can bring hope, bring dreams, fulfil wishes. If stories are what I have to offer, why not put them to good use?

You may have heard about the earthquakes which have hit New Zealand. Buildings have collapsed, power and water has been cut, the streets are strewn with bricks. The Prime Minister has called it the country’s darkest day, and I can only sit and watch the footage on the news with a sick feeling in my stomach.

Seeing these terrible scenes makes me want to help. And, thanks to a new anthology J.C. Hart is organizing, I can.

How? With my words. Here’s the initial announcement, from Cassie’s blog:

Christchurch, New Zealand, and the wider Canterbury region, was rocked yesterday (22.2.11) by another round of serious earthquakes. This time they struck during the middle of the day causing more devastation, and loss of life, to a city still trying to pick up the pieces from last September’s quakes.

In an attempt to do something, anything, to make a difference, we are putting together an anthology of short stories loosely themed around survival, hope and the future. All profits of this anthology will be donated to the Red Cross Earthquake Appeal, or another registered charity aimed at aiding those in need in Canterbury.

The purpose of this Anthology is two-fold—to help financially, but also, we hope, to provide entertainment and alleviation in a time of crisis. We hope that our words will help make a difference.

We have already begun to approach authors, and the response is encouraging. Mainly due to time pressures, this anthology will be by invitation. However, if you are an established writer, and keen to contribute, please feel free to get in touch with us at just.cassie.hart@gmail.com. We are looking for stories between 1,500 and 5,000 words, of fairly upbeat nature in the general, literary, science fiction or fantasy genres.

Feel free to repost this and get the word out!

I am very honoured to be taking part in this anthology, and send my thoughts to all those affected by the earthquakes in New Zealand.

On Being Indie

Jennifer Hudock is an author, poet, and more besides, who writes a free podcast novel Goblin Market and blogs over on The Inner Bean.

Jenny was kind enough to have me as a guest blogger, musing on what exactly made me decide to become an indie author, and what it means to be one. I write about how being indie means being more than just an author, and about how much I love it.

Do head on over to check it out and be sure to click around to learn more about Jenny, too!

Hungry For You: Week 2

Guest posts scheduled: 2
Kilometres travelled: 11,102 km
Promotional postcards sent: 9/60
Books purchased: 3
Books sold: 32+ (?)
Hours spent at Heathrow airport: 4
Airplane meals consumed: 3
Reviews: 4

Hungry For You has been on sale for 2 weeks now, and there’s been a little bit of a slowdown, exacerbated by the fact that I am in Argentina for work right now so can’t really do much promo. I do however have slaves to do promo for me (ha!).

First off are the Zombie Valentine’s Cards, such as the one on the left. Tell your loved ones that you really love them with these unique ecards — guaranteed to make their hearts stop pumping. Head on over to 1889 Labs and check them out — and send a couple while you’re at it (it’s free!).

I also rather excitingly got my first few reviews! On Smashwords, Nina Martinez says HFU is “interesting, quirky, imaginative . . . impossible to put down once you’ve started”. J.C. Hart and Heather Faville also said some lovely things that brought a smile to my face, and to round things off I also received a review from Mari Juniper as well! So far it seems that what reviewers have enjoyed the most is my unusual take on zombie lore, which is a relief as I was worried that zombie fans would be annoyed that I strayed from the norms. Yay!

Overall I’m happy with how things are going. And I managed to get past 25 sales, so as promised I owe you all a photo of myself with a giant cookie. That will have to wait till I’m back in London, sorry!

Hungry For You: Week 1

Kindle forums joined: 2
Book bloggers emailed: 32
Promotional postcards sent: 1/60
Books sold: 24
Chocolate consumed: 600g
Alcohol units consumed: 12
Interviews: 1
Reviews: 0
Embarrassingly large photos of my face: 1

Hungry For You launched a week ago and so far it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions. I go from loving the book, to wondering why I ever unleashed it on the world (and charged people money for it — the cheek of me!). Then I skim through the book and realize that actually, I’m pretty happy with it.

I haven’t sold a heck of a lot of books in this first week, but considering that I have no reviews yet and haven’t done much in terms of promo, I’m pretty pleased to be averaging on more than one copy a day. As book reviews begin to trickle in, I expect to see a boost on sales — and hopefully the exciting Valentine’s Day tie-in MCM is planning will create some buzz.

Speaking of MCM, he’s promised me a cookie if I get to 25 sales, and keeps holding the number over my head like a bully. So if one of you could be so kind as to grab a copy (from Kindle or Smashwords) then I will take a photo of myself with a suitably large cookie and laugh in MCM’s face. (If I get to 50, I’m open to taking photo requests.)

On the topic of photos, that mysteriously large photo I mentioned in the round up? It’s over on 1889 Labs, where MCM interviewed me about HFU and asked some silly questions about socks and zombies. Go check it out.