Hire My Designers & Editors

This post is a shout out to the amazing people who took my words and turned them into a product that I am infinitely proud of. Below are links to the companies and individuals I used to put together my books. I did extensive research to find these gems and cannot thank them enough for all that they've done for me.

Formatter

Cover Designer

Editor

That Post Asking For Reviews!

After four years of all kinds of procrastination I am finally ready to publish what my good friend Cathy has described as my magnum opus. It’s just like me to be getting on to the dystopia bandwagon just as the wheels are falling off but I am still super excited and also super nervous.

       I’ve read many author accounts about how the writing of a novel is only half the battle and that marketing is a major hurdle. This has never been more apparent for me until now. The market is saturated with self-published novels vying for the attention of readers. Book bloggers are inundated with review requests and Amazon seems to be hyper vigilant about deleting reviews written by anyone remotely related to an author.

        Despite all these hurdles, I will push on ahead because I’ve worked too hard to give up now. To that end, I am putting out a call to all of my followers and friends to ask *cough* or beg *cough* if anyone would be interested in reading and reviewing my novel which is due to be released on Amazon and all major book retailers on 1 September 2015.

        If you’re interested please drop me a line at lc.novel@gmail.com and let me know what format your e-reader takes. At this stage I can only offer ebooks but there may be scope for print books later on. Poison's synopsis is below:

Since the night her mother was murdered, sixteen-year-old Rory Gray has known one truth: There are no good Seeders.
       In post-apocalyptic Australia, the scientists known as Seeders have built a Citadel surrounded by food-producing regions and populated with refugees from the wars and famine. To maintain their control, the Seeders poisoned the land and outlawed the saving of seeds.
       It’s been six years since Rory graced the Seeders’ circus stage as the Wind Dancer and still the scars on her body haven’t healed. Even worse are the scars on her heart, left by a Seeder boy who promised to protect her.
      Now the Seeders are withholding supplies from Rory’s region for perceived disobedience. Utilising the Wanderer knowledge she received from her mother, Rory must journey to the Citadel through uninhabitable terrain to plead for mercy.
      However, the Citadel isn’t as Rory remembered. The chief plant geneticist is dying and rumours fly that the store of viable seed is dwindling. The Seeders are desperate to find a seed bank they believe Rory can locate, and they will stop at nothing to get it.
     To defy the Seeders means death. But Rory has been close to death before--this time she’s learned the value of poison.

Recommended for fans of The Hunger Games, strong protagonists, circuses and nature! 


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I've organised for a book blitz to take place from September 7th to September 11th so please check back and enter the giveaway!

Eternally grateful,

Lan

Insecure Writer's Support Group: Publishing Woes

Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

         I’ve been busily working away the last couple of months on the final touches for my YA dystopian novel. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind time of final edits, choosing my cover and having the formatting done. Although it’s been an exciting ride I can’t help but feel the anxiety starting to build as I get closer and closer towards publication. The procrastinator and perfectionist in me really wants to delay the inevitable but in my heart I know I’ve done as much as I can or am willing to do for this novel and it’s time to release it into the world. The insecure writer in me wants to keep it as close to my chest for as long as possible so that I don’t have to deal with marketing, the publication process and the inevitable unflattering reviews. In a way I think I might have even been sabotaging myself by being super picky about the cover even though the third version of it was perfect yet I asked for so many tweaks the poor designers had to send me through multiple additional drafts.(kudos to the team at Deranged Doctor Design for putting up with me!)

                I think this is in itself a sign that I’m ready and that I’m just creating ways to stop myself from publishing. So, considering this is something I’ve been working towards for the last four years, I have decided that I need to be brave and just publish. Though it’s super scary and I’m very insecure about the novel’s reception I have decided that I am going to just close my eyes and hit publish. Oh and if anyone is interested here is the cover: