Category Archives for My projects

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.

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!).

Zombie ValentineFirst 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.

What’s the World Without A Little (Zombie) Love?

One of my brother’s favourite stories about me has to do with my absolute laziness when it comes to going to the shops when there’s no food in the house. He came home one evening to find me hunched over my laptop, a half-empty plate of undistinguishable mess on the table beside me.

“What did you have for dinner?” my brother asked, ever-concerned that I wasn’t feeding myself properly.

I barely glanced up from my laptop, intent on writing. “There was nothing to eat, so I invented this kidney bean and rice thing.”

“Oh? How was it?”

A frown crossed my face. I looked up. “Weird. It was really weird.”

(Somehow my successful experiments — like the sausage & avocado scrambled eggs — never get mentioned. Figures.)

What does this have to do with zombies, you ask?

I’d like to present to you my latest release:

Introducing Hungry For You, a haunting speculative fiction short story collection.

This is the result of hours of experimentation in the kitchen living room with only two ingredients: zombies, and relationships.

Are you curious to discover the results? Trust me, it tastes better than kidney beans.

EDIT: Grab a copy today from Kindle (US) or Kindle (UK)! (Other retailers to follow.)

New Year’s Resolutions

I’m sitting in the kitchen next to an oversized bowl of sangria. The heady scent of fruit and wine is already going to my head and it is only midday; there is much cooking yet to be done before I can begin to celebrate properly.

Olive Penguins! In Italy it is tradition to have a cenone (large dinner) on New Year’s Eve. We’re making around 10 different appetizers, including the cute penguins on the right (photo creative commons via Vlad B).

Then there’s lasagne as a first course, followed by the must-have cotechino con lenticchie (pork sausage with lentils) which is traditionally eaten on NYE to auger good fortune in the new year. Desert is pandoro layered with mascarpone and forest fruits.

All of this has required a lot of preparation and planning, which has made me realize that I haven’t done enough planning for what happens after NYE — the entire year of 2011.

As such, here are some of my goals for the new year:

  • Find a way to keep my room tidy at all times.
  • Re-balance my sleep cycles so it’s easier to get up in the mornings for work.
  • Publish my current WIP, a short story anthology, in February.
  • Edit and publish Above Ground as an ebook before October.
  • Read and review 24 indie novels as part of my indie reading challenge
  • Replace this year’s phrase (“I can’t be bothered”) with “Sure, why not?”
  • Negotiate a pay rise during my annual review in January
  • Throw a fancy dinner party for no reason whatsoever
  • Update this blog and Qazyfiction more regularly
  • Donate monthly amounts to a charity promoting literacy

This list is a starting point. Of course, many goals get blown by the wind of possibilities over to the shores of neglect and forgetfulness, so my first step will be to make more definite, measurable plans in the start of January.

What about you? What are your resolutions for the new year?