New book reveal!

Excerpt from the new book I'm working on.
It's YA Paranormal - Buffy meets the Hunger Games (ish!)
 
Working title: Rae Gandos, Dragon Slayer

   ‘Look there’s something we need to talk about,’ said George, slumping down to the ground. ‘Something really important. Something I should have told you before, but you just weren’t ready.’

   ‘George, this is not the time to profess your love for me. Besides, we’re best friends aren’t we?’ said Rae, grinning. She sat down next to him, slapping his leg, playfully. ‘We really don’t need those sorts of complications.’

   ‘It’s not that, although you know I do have a soft spot for you, right here.’ He pointed to the sole of his boot.

   Rae pushed his shoulder. ‘Oh, shut up and get on with it! Go on, spit it out.’

   ‘It’s not really something you can exactly spit out, Rae. This isn’t going to be easy for you to hear.’

   ‘Oh for god’s sake, George. Just say it!’

   ‘Okay, but stay still ‘til I finish, right?’

   Rae rolled her eyes then nodded.

   ‘You, Raelyer Gandos, are the… slayer, er, the Dragon Slayer as in you are the chosen one, kinda thing.’

   ‘Shut the hell up!’ was the best Rae could muster.

   ‘It’s true, Rae. Can’t you feel it, like, inside?’

   ‘George, what I feel inside is hunger, that’s all.’

   ‘Hunger, that’s good, hunger for the fight.’

   Rae punched his arm hard. ‘Pack it in George. We have enough to contend with without you trying to screw with my head too.’

   George took both of Rae’s hands in his and looked deeply into her eyes. "Into every generation a slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the, insert dragons, and the forces of darkness…’

   Rae shook her hands away. ‘Don’t go all Buffy the Vampire Slayer on me!’ she said. ‘These are not vampires.’

   ‘But it’s the same principal,’ said George.  ‘‘To stop the spread of their evil and the swell of number. She…’’

   ‘…is the slayer.’ Look, I’m no Buffy! You’ve got the wrong girl.’

   ‘Oh, seriously! Have you never looked at your name?’ said George, wearily. ‘It’s an anagram, for crying out loud. Did you never do that, not even in primary school? How sad.’

   ‘I was at school to learn, George, not mess about like some people.’

   ‘Okay, well humour me,’ said George, handing her a bag of stones with letters scratched on them. ‘They spell your name.  Move the letters around.’

   ‘I will not!’ said Rae. ‘What am I, eight?’

   ‘Just move them, Raelyer – please,’ said George, stroking her hand softly.

   ‘Okay!’ she snapped, tipping the stones onto the ground.

   ‘Now move them around. See what you come up with.’

    Rae rolled her eyes again, but shifted the stones around as George asked. At first she couldn’t find anything that even looked remotely sensible. ‘Lardy oranges?’

   ‘Oh, please! I’m going to all this trouble for lardy oranges?’ said George. ‘Try again.’

   Muttering under her breath, Rae pushed the stones around again. They felt cold against her fingers. ‘Found it!’ she cried after a few minutes. ‘Nasal dry ergo?’ She fell back laughing.

   ‘You’re just not taking this seriously enough,’ said George, flicking her hand away from the word ‘Nasal’. ‘Put the ‘d’ first, Rae.’

   Rae sat up and pushed the ‘d’ into a new line.

   George placed the ‘r’ next to it then the ‘a’.

   She stared at him unbelievingly then pulled the other letters into position until two words glared out at her. ‘Dragon Slayer?’ Rae inched backwards, her mouth open.

Writer CV

Now, I have written CVs before, you know, the usual kind of stuff; education, work history etc. It was always straight forward apart from that little box under your name where you had to sell yourself in as few words as possible.

Well! Creating a writer's CV is a whole different ballgame, I can tell you! I've checked out a few sites and managed to put together a fairly reasonable CV using ideas from each one. List publications - yes, can do that. List memberships - yes, can do that too. Then I'm supposed to make myself look a bit interesting... and have it link to writing. Yikes!

Firstly, I couldn't even think of anything remotely interesting about me let alone, connected to writing. It was only when I recalled an evening out last week with some friends that it hit me! We were just chatting about holidays and my writing and this is what came back to me:

1. I've written stories about stroppy teenage tooth fairies, but I am actually terried of the dentist. I mean, seriously! It's apparently called dental phobia or odontophobia or dentophobia. Even writing about the dentist right now causes me grief. I have actually cried when checking in at the dentists reception and my knees literally knock together!

 

2. My latest book is a YA paranormal novel. Now I've been a huge fan of all things paranormal for a very long time, but did you know that my honeymoon was a Count Dracula tour of Romania? I visited Bran Castle, went to where Vlad Dracula was born in Sighisoara and the island in the monastery where his tomb is.

 

A little bit interesting and linked to my writing... best I can do!

Marvin's Curse doing okay!

My Young Adult/Adult paranormal e-book is doing nicely. I have had some lovely reviews, mostly 5 star which is fab. You can still grab it on Amazon or Smashwords for a mere £1.99 - less than a pint! Makes a good summer read.

 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marvins-Curse-ebook/dp/B00DCDC1OA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374483905&sr=8-1&keywords=marvin%27s+curse 

Honestly, it's not THAT scary!

                                          

EEEEEEEKKKK! Marvin's Curse cover edited!!!!

Have you spotted why?

The wonderful international multi million selling author, Herbie Brennan, has read Marvin's Curse and loved it! I'm over the moon with the fabulous quote he has given me, part of which is shown on the updated cover.

'This is a teen novel like none you’ve ever read before — unusual, archetypal, compelling, thrilling, action-packed, satisfying,  and, if you’ll pardon the pun, haunting. A marvellous book full of unexpected twists, turns and high imagination. I couldn’t put it down.'

You can find out more about Herbie here:
http://herbiebrennansbookshelfblog.blogspot.co.uk/

A fab 5 star review !!

Marvin's Curse will surely take the Young Adult world by storm! It truly is a whirlwind of intriguing adventure at every turn. You can't but help fall in love with Marvin, the young teen psychic who has all the makings of an abnormal teen, and although he suffers from a family tragedy he is deeply disturbed by his gift. He is deeply drawn into a very strange world of the Paranormal by a mysterious girl who leads him to find an amazing discovery of a dark underworld.With great vivid descriptions you feel as though you are right there in this dark and evil town. Here he will become a hero and find love with a very special ghost.

Debra Edwards knows how to capture the eerie tale of the Paranormal and entwine great heart warming scenes here. I felt myself, laughing, crying and not being able to put this one down. She's got lots of tricks up her sleeve in this one.This was a very smooth read, and as a Children's Reading Specialist, this would be at the top of my list.I hated to see this one end, and I hope to see Marvin continue on in a sequel.


 Thank you, Lorraine!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B00DCDC1OA/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

Wonderful review from CD

Another review popped up today which is fab! This time from CD on Goodreads.

  CD Baxter

 As usual I read what's available at Amazon - Two Chapters!

Since I absolutely enjoyed - Ghost Whisperer the television series that all but left too soon after only 5 seasons. Created by John Gray and starring Jennifer Love Hewitt - I have been trying to find something similar in books to satisfy my cravings of the paranormal.

Yes, I have read the many books by various authors that were mass produced to fulfil the lost of this wonderful television series. But to tell the truth it was a bit of rehashing from said series.

This morning, I have found something new and fresh - yes, it is along the lines of 'Ghost Whisperer' and in the written words, similar to Charlaine Harris' character Harper Connelly (which by the way is a story that has been abandoned by Ms Harris - it's been said nothing else will be written for this - sad!) - and now in comes Debra J Edwards with Marvin's Curse - please give her the title of Number One Best Selling Author? - I'm not kidding nor joking...

The first Chapter made me laugh over three times! And it hits close to home since I've lost my own father at the teenage years and I wish dearly that I could see him from time to time to have a chat since there were so many unfinished business between him and myself.

So Marvin may feel cursed but I would take his place any day! The loss of someone very close to you and a situation at home that makes things worse are one fantastic way to get away from it all! A wonderful story which leaves me wanting to read more chapters - two was like a bite of a delicious dessert you start enjoying and then it's taken away from you...

Marvin draws - I wrote stories - still do LOL!

I just met this character and within these two chapters I have a concept of what his life is like. I sincerely hope that Debra considers making his story into a series and hopefully see it on the BBC maybe sometime soon?

That would be something I tell you - so give it a go it's worth every word from just the two preview chapters - imagine what the remainder will be like - ooh I'm imagining - absolutely lovely I resolve!

Will put this on my list of favourites to catch at my local book store as a thoroughly enjoyable read!

Sincerely,


CeDany
BB



http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/668211106

Previous Marvin covers part 3!

                                                a                                                                                 b

So, two more previous applicants for the job of being Marvin's Curse book cover. First up is cover a. Loved the angel and was able to play around with the colour quite a bit. Tried blue tints and purple which worked well. Only real reservation was the roofs of what could be a bandstand (?) were in the background to the bottom left of the picture. I couldn't find a way round this without cropping the picture within an inch of its life! It was a no!
And cover b... I liked the soft focus around the corners of the picture and in many ways the angel was more how I had envisioned it in the graveyard. But... didn't have that 'Oh, god! I've had enough' feel about it now whereas weeping angels do have that (yes, weeping angels again). So it was backbenched -  permanently!

Website new look!

Lovely husband has now updated the website and it looks really cool! I'm very much a lover of black and of course, purple! We've added in the ivy from the cover of Marvin's Curse which I really think adds something to the overall look. Tab colours have also been changed to fit in. A new feature is that reviews given have now been added to each book, something I'd left off before. Not sure why? Really pleased with the new look, gives a much cooler look to the site, don't you think?



www.purpleraypublishing.co.uk

Interview on Little Hyuts

Monday, July 8, 2013

Indie Author Week - Debbie Edwards

Today's Spotlight Author is Debbie Edwards who has self-published her first YA Paranormal novel, titled Marvin's Curse.

Debra J Edwards is a full time teacher and part time writer living in Surrey. She hopes that this will be reversed soon and this will then read; Debra J Edwards is a full time writer and part time teacher!

Her series of Aggie Lichen books tell the story of a gang of feisty tooth fairies trying to save their world. They are both funny and ridiculous. I mean, teenage tooth fairies indeed.

Based completely on the author's earlier work placement as a teenage tooth fairy, the stories convey an air of realism as the characters deal with bullying, sibling rivalry and, of course, good against evil!

Debra has now finished writing Marvin's Curse. Marvin's Curse is her 4th novel and her first piece of YA paranormal writing.

Debbie can be found on:

TWITTER / FACEBOOK / WATTPAD / GOODREADS / WEBSITE

Welcome to the Spotlight Debbie! Lets talk about your novel, Marvin's Curse. Is there one character in your novel that you feel the most passionate about? 

It has to be Marvin himself. I felt so sorry for him as I created his character. He’d lost the father he’d worshipped and was still so grief ridden a year later when the story began. Having lost my parents, I felt his anger at the world. Imagine being a teenager, with all the emotional and physical changes that come with it, losing your beloved dad, gaining an unwanted step-dad – surely that was enough for anyone? Then the author throws a curved ball and ‘gifts’ him with being able to talk to the dead. Oh, and let’s move him to a house near a graveyard just to make it more interesting! It doesn’t scare him. Marvin is never scared, but he just can’t help ‘putting his foot in it’ – a little tactless, shall we say. I just want to cuddle and reassure him!

What aspect about Marvin was the most difficult to envision? The easiest?

The most difficult aspect was him being a 17 year old boy. Now I’ve been seventeen, but not a boy. I had to try and put myself in a boy’s shoes; How would he think? How would he talk? What would his interests be? I had to cross check with my husband, who luckily had been both seventeen AND a boy! Phew! Also, I ran things past some brothers of students I know to ensure I was thinking along the right lines. 

The easiest aspect was how he looked and spoke! As Marvin developed, I had actor Jay Baruchel playing him, kind of geeky like in Sorcerer’s Apprentice. In that film, I liked how Baruchel portrayed Dave and so moulded Marvin in a similar way.

During the birth of your novel, was there any point where Marvin took an unexpected turn?

This is a tricky one to do without spoilers! The whole book is about the changes Marvin goes through at this difficult time. I can say that he changes quite dramatically in many ways. Without giving anything away… He has always avoided girls, they make him nervous. Meeting Stella changes that gradually over the book. He learns to trust her, sees her as a friend rather than a girl. We also see the heroic side to him to when he is thrown out of Moghador, leaving Stella behind. He was quite selfish, an introvert before, now the reader starts to see the other side to Marvin. Now Marvin starts to see it too! 

If Marvin suddenly sprang from the pages, what questions would you have for him/her?

How are you and Stella going to cope in the human world?

Will you be returning to Moghador to attend to ‘unfinished business’?

How are things with your step-dad now? Have you returned home?

Before we get to my last question I want to share with readers a bit about Marvin's Curse.

How would you handle the dead? After losing his dad, 17 year old Marvin finds he can see and talk to the dead, an inherited 'gift'. Bonus, you might think, but Marvin hates it. It makes him different and he just wants to be 'normal'. He meets Stella in the graveyard that backs onto the house he's just moved into. 'My name is Stella, Stella McCartney. It says so inside my trousers.' (!?!) 

A mysterious business card reveals that Stella has lost her memories and all signs point to Moghador, a gateway to hell where a pawnbroker holds the answers. And Stella is DEAD! She just doesn't know it... yet! 

Marvin's Curse can be purchased on:

Amazon

Smashwords

Is there a particular passage or scene from your novel that you feel embodies Marvin the best? 

I think this bit shows his rudeness/tactlessness so well.

‘Look, this always goes a certain way,’ said Marvin, trying not to stare at her. ‘You want me to do something. I refuse to do it and then send you away.’

‘What if I don’t want anything?’

‘Sorry?’

‘What if I don’t want anything from you?’

‘Well, that would be a first! First time in a year that any sp…’ He stopped suddenly. No unfinished business? They always have unfinished business! Oh god! She doesn’t know. She doesn’t know she’s dead. A slight panic came over him. How the hell was he going deal with this? Within seconds he had his answer.

‘Do you see a light?’ he asked, pushing his hands towards the sky. ‘Do you see a very bright light?’

‘At this time of day?’ said the girl. ‘Don’t be stupid!’

No, she definitely doesn’t know.

‘And you’re sure that there’s nothing that you want. Nothing you need to find out. Nothing you need to have finished…’

She stared at him, widening her eyes. ‘Just this conversation!’ She turned to leave, but Marvin was quick to jump in front of her.

‘Hey!’ he said as she stopped walking. ‘Sorry, I’m just not good with sp… er, people.’

‘Understatement! You are rubbish with people!’ 

Thanks so much for sharing this with us! Its been great having you here. I look forward to giving Marvin's Curse a read in the near future!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chapter 6.4 now on Wattpad.

Another section of Chapter 6 has now been uploaded to Wattpad for anyone who is following Marvin and Stella's escapades in Moghador.

Will Stella get her memories back from the evil pawnbroker, Old Kedigan or will they return to the graveyard empty handed??


 Join the Wattpad community to read, vote and chat with readers and writers for free.


http://www.wattpad.com/20378863-marvin%27s-curse-chapter-6-4#.Udm32G0kyRk

A 5 Star Review for Marvin's Curse!!!!!

By Geneva at Amazon.co.uk

'Incredible

When I got this book I have never been so excited to read new pages once again.

I loved the main character Marvin and Stella, the story line is so beautiful and seat gripping until the last page.
It was hard to put this down, but when I did I still felt drawn to reading just one more chapter which ended
up being the rest of the book.
The characters have their own personality which seems so realistic that you can relate to them as being real
and as if you have known them for ever.

"Marvin a teenager with the gift of seeing spirits, moves to a new town with his mother and step-dad after his father's death,
tormented by spirits ever lasting requests he finds himself troubled when he moved next to a graveyard, where he meets Stella
a confused and eccentric teenage girl who seemed to have lost her memories, from which Marvin makes a plan to help this mysterious girl.
Which leads Marvin into a world of mystery and adventure."

I love the way it was written it gave the reader a good sense of detail and realistic views, I loved this book until the very last page,
every chapter opened up a new adventure and an unexptected journey with the most adorable characters, and will put this in my top 10 best books ever read.

150% recommend ths to anyone who likes supernatural stories.'

Thank you so much, Geneva!

Part 2: More previous contenders for Marvin's Curse book cover

So, part 2 of the book cover search and here are a couple more covers that I played with.

Yes, another weeping angel, but bear in mind that Marvin needs to find the entrance to the underworld hell known as Moghador, and the map is leading him straight towards the graveyard angel! Also, the fact that hearing and seeing ghosts made Marvin quite distraught is relayed perfectly through the pose of the angel. But for me the image seemed too large and light. The bushes in the background also seemed to detract from the angel itself.  Again, seeing it sitting on the YA bookshelf in a bookstore was also giving me problems so goodbye to this one!

This next one I quite liked. The way the vibrant blue works so well with the black background and the eerieness of the graveyard made it a good contender for the final cover. The tree in the foreground stood out well and flowing branches added to the spookiness. Unfortunately, AGAIN, it didn't seem to fit with others of its genre. And, that is so important. I really couldn't have the book looking so different from other YA novels. Perhaps as a black and white photo, this might have worked better.

Authonomy website

 I joined this site some years ago when Marvin's Curse was just a glint in my eye. I've decided to have another go with it although I'm having a few teething problems navigating the site. Here's what they say they are:
An online community of discovery where writers become authors. Help great books get published.

Well, we shall see! Books on here can be added to a watchlist, added to a bookshelf and voted on with possibility that publishers, Harper Collins, may choose to review your book.


Nothing ventured...

http://authonomy.com/books/53981/marvin-s-curse/

Quiz on Goodreads

Why not have a read of the first chapter of Marvin's Curse on Goodreads then take the quiz! Just for fun!

http://www.goodreads.com/quizzes/28261-a-quiz-for-ya-paranormal-book-marvin-s-curse

Previous Covers for Marvin's Curse

A little late, I suppose, but I thought it might be good to post the other contenders for the cover of Marvin's Curse. There are a few so I'll post some over the next few days and see what you think! Did I make the right choice???? A reminder of the chosen cover.

I liked this one of the weeping angel, but couldn't work on the colour with my limited experience. I did like the way the wings were so full and the way the angel was positioned to the front of the shot.

With this one, I liked the openess of the photo. There was still the all important angel to the left of the photo, but more space to allow the title and author name to fit in easily. The colours worked, the blues and black together, but it didn't have that feel that YA books had on bookstore shelves. I didn't want to go to the typical black cover, but there was a need for the book to sit comfortably with others of it's genre.

3 out of 4 stars for Marvin's Curse!

Another review in, and it's not bad, from the Online Book Club.

Reviewer Casper says, 

'The book alternates between a full blown horror story and black humour: more than a few of the characters are obvious comedians, or even caricatures, and some of the dialogue and Marvin's asides can be quite amusing. There are times when Ms Edwards creates real edge-of-the-seat suspense and she follows this up with vivid descriptions of the nauseating conditions that Marvin encounters which are quite repulsive - in the nicest possible way.

The author is certainly not afraid to touch on some pretty profound subjects on the way: life, death, loss, grief, and different ways of dealing with bereavement feature in the first few chapters. A strong secondary theme in the book is the relationship between step-parent and step-child, and the pressures this puts on the family, especially when mixed up with the usual teenage angst. Poor Marvin certainly has more than his fair share of problems to work his way through, but, as the adventure forces him to mature and take on responsibilities, some of his fondly held illusions are shattered and he realises the truth about many things including his own faults.'


Full review can be found here:
http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13607

KFC Snackbox Versus Marvin's Curse!

I have discovered that at £1.99, a KFC Snackbox is the same price as my YA novel Marvin's Curse! But! My book is definitely more tasty and pretty sure it will last a whole lot longer. Why not add the Pepsi for just 99p as you read it through...


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marvins-Curse-ebook/dp/B00DCDC1OA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371824340&sr=8-1

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/325225

 And how about sharing this with people you may (or may not) know??
https://www.facebook.com/events/151627771695285/

Local produce and craft market

So, I had a stall at the local market yesterday. It was a nice day, weatherwise, although the wind did threaten a bit. Lots of different stalls ranging from charity to jewellery sellers so a good mix.

I sold lots of books, which was great. I was also pleased to shift some of the books my dog had scrateched up when he'd been spooked by fireworks and attacked a box of books!
I spent a lot of time talking to people. It's amazing how writers attract writers. I met a lovely lady, Jillian, who has just published her book and discovered that we both used the same Yorkshire based printers, YPS.

I also attract other people... A lady who insisted on calling Marvin's Curse, Mary's Curse, a man who kept telling me that the bookstore, Waterstone's, was just on the corner, plus another man who kept asking how a dog could damage books while his wife suggested I cut off the dog's head to stop him!

And the Mayor of Sutton stopped by! We shared a joke as he remembered me from before when he didn't buy a book. He didn't buy one this time either!

Senior School Visit

So the possibility of a senior school visit has appeared on the horizon. It will be the first time I'd have given an event linked to the new book so lots to think about!

I think I might use the trailer as a way in, as an intoduction - or I could make a trailer about myself...

Talk about the choice of cover, the reason behind it - could look at the other covers I designed too.

Being gifted like Marvin - was it a curse? What would be a 'gift'?

I could... do some stuff on graveyards... that could be fun! Look at different statues etc. Do spooky stuff...

Any suggestions????

Craft Market

I'm looking forward to the local craft and produce market in Sutton on Saturday. I took part last year in a similar event and sold quite a lot of Aggie Lichen books.
One of the nice aspects of being outside on a stall, is that you get to chat to people passing by. Usually, not about writing, but about Sutton itself.
We met the mayor last year and photos taken too for the local paper.It's a great way of showing off local talent too. More towns should have this kind of thing. It just brings something different to town centres and creates community too. I wonder if other towns offer this?

I'm going to have a hard job pushing 'Marvin's Curse' as it's an e-book. Any suggestions?

Marvin's Curse book trailer still getting some views and up to 186 as of today. I wonder if anyone reading my blog has taken the plunge and created their own trailer?

Where I write

So, I thought I'd give you a little look at where most of the writing takes place. The study also serves as a library come DVD storage centre. Lots of folders, dictionaries, pencils, diary and a large pile of brand new notebooks.

Yes, it's a bit messy - well, actually, I tidied up for the photo!

And just a few of the books I still have to read. Oops, no, I think I've read most of these. Lots of YA/kids books here. Also, lots of paranormal going on. Any surprises?

Hello USA!

A big shout out to my blog viewers in the US! Hi and thanks for stopping by the blog. Hope you like what you see. If not, let me know what you want to see more of! Have a good day!

Wattpad Reads

Wattpad reads of the first six chapters are up to 296 which is fab! If you want a sneaky peek of what Marvin has instore, here's the link!

http://www.wattpad.com/story/3921672-marvin%27s-curse

Hiya!

Благодарите Вас моим российским зрителям блога! Хороший видеть Вас здесь!

BOOK TRAILER FEEDBACK

So 164 people have now seen the book trailer for Marvin's Curse... and what did you think?

Was the music a good choice?
Was it too long/too short?
How about the pictures - good choice, too scary/not scary enough?
Timing?
And the phrases? Enough information?  Did they make you want to buy the book?

I'd be really interested to hear any feedback you have on this.

Marvin's Curse now available in all e-book formats and PDF!! Just £1.99 ($2.99) Please share with anyone, friends, family, little old ladies, dogs, cats...

Or the spooky man will get you....

 AMAZON:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marvins-Curse-ebook/dp/B00DCDC1OA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371824340&sr=8-1&keywords=marvin%27s+curse

SMASHWORDS:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/325225

How to make a book trailer!

 For those of you who would like to have a go at this, here are some basic ideas as to what I did. I used Windows Movie Maker to make mine and it was free (apart from an image I had bought for my book cover). It does takes a while, but it was really good fun to do.
Have a look on YouTube at other book trailers to get an idea of what yours could be like. Aim for no longer than two minutes in total. Here's mine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpNB65nYyRM
 

1. Familiarise yourself with the Movie Maker program by using/importing images in from your own files, adding bits of music you might have in files.

2.Choose your photos. Think about the type of photos you could use. This will probably be the most time consuming part. You can get free royalty free pictures online. I got mine from here: http://www.dreamstime.com/free-photos  You'll need to download them and save them into a folder.

 3. Choose your music. Remember to think about the age and genre you are writing and how the music will help to get across your message. I found free royalty free music here: http://teknoaxe.com/cgi-bin/home.pl Obviously, you can choose from a different site, just be sure it is free to use and royalty free. Download your music and save to your folder.

4. Now for the actual making. I googled 'How to make your own book trailer' and this site came up.
 http://kingdomelectlady.hubpages.com/hub/Create-Your-Own-Book-Trailer-Free
It was really useful and gives lots of other ideas as to what to do.

Take your time and enjoy the process. Sit back and watch your book trailer!

Great Interview!

Just seen the great interview put up by Vinny at the Awesome Gang website. Have a look!


http://awesomegang.com/debra-j-edwards/

Debra J Edwards

by Vinny O'Hare

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in Surrey, Uk in a rambling Victorian house with my non-writer husband and boisterous staffy, Buster.
I have written three other books which are published on Amazon and various other sites. The first book, Aggie Lichen; Pilp Collector is followed by Arty’s Revenge then Hero Required.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book is a YA paranormal novel called ‘Marvin’s Curse’. I have been inspired by many YA books, mostly to do with fairies and angels, not psychics and ghosts, which is what my book is about. I think that in many ways I wanted to come away from vampires and werewolves too and so looked for something different. I have been told that it reminds people of ‘The ghost of Thomas Kempe’ by Penelope Lively. I don’t know as I haven’t read it – perhaps I should…
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Er, depends on what is unusual… Writing while watching T.V., scribbling in the car (obviously not while driving!), waking up and scribbling on pad by the bed. No, perfectly normal habits for a writer…
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Herbie Brennan (Faerie Wars) is my hero. I loved his faerie books so much. He very kindly gave me a wonderful quote for my first book after reading it himself.
J R R Tolkein – what’s not to like here. Probably the start of my love affair with fantasy.
What are you working on now?
I’m Working on ‘Rae Gandos – Dragon Slayer’ at the moment. It’s a YA book which is a cross between The Hunger Games and Buffy the Vampire Slayer !? Only into chapter two at the moment, but loving every minute of writing it!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think you have to get to as many websites as possible that promote books. Obviously, this one is a great place to start! That’s why I’m here! Also, look for book blogs to review your work as that is sooo important.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep everything you write – seriously. You just never know when you’re going to dig up that character you threw away last year. Also, back things up (er, not like me and have everything on one stick) memory sticks etc. Keep going – how many times do we hear that, but it’s true. If your book is good it will sell, simple!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Keep writing and don’t give up.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa. It’s the last of four in the Iron Fey series and I shall be sad to see the end of the characters when I finish the book.
What’s next for you as a writer?
To continue with my new book and to carry on with promoting the latest book out, ‘Marvin’s Curse’ on different sites and blogs.
What is your favorite book of all time?
Lord of the Rings! All three. Has to be!
Author Websites and Profiles
Debra J Edwards Website
Debra J Edwards Amazon Profile
Debra J Edwards Author Profile Other Bookseller
Debra J Edwards’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Book Trailer News

An incredible 115 views of the Marvin's Curse book trailer have been registered on Youtube.  I've been asked a lot about the images used, mostly the man's head that pops up. I've been told it's a bit scary! Good! That's what I wanted. Thanks to everyone who clicked on it and special thanks to those who have shared it with their friends & followers! Best played loud with head/earphones!

Trailer figures

Pleased that the book trailer for Marvin's Curse has had over 70 views so far. Not gone viral by any means, but still means that the word is getting out about the book which is the whole point of producing the trailer. I will be going into detail about how it was made next week, but for now, let me leave you with it.

Turn the sound up! It needs loud!

FIRST MARVIN REVIEW!!

First review for Marvin's Curse is in and it's 5 stars!! 

'I decided to not read this book until after I finished my exams, because after having a free preview of the first 5 chapters, (Wattpad) I knew that I wouldn't be able to stop reading it. I felt in the mood to read a good book however, as a break from revision, so I went for it. Having read other books by the author I knew I was in for a treat.

I was unable to put it down. It was so gripping I read all of it in one sitting. The book is such an original story. Though there are thousands of books in the same sort of genre, I have never heard of anything like this book. It was so unpredictable the whole time, and I love that in a book. Every time I turned a page, I found something new which allowed me to piece more of the story together.

I really connected with the main characters, and actually sobbed at some points. The book was just so good I cannot describe to you how pleased I am that I read it.

I would thoroughly recommend this book to any one. I think it would be impossible to read the book and not be extremely pleased that you did so! It's quite rare to find a book that grips you so much that you can't put it down until you finish it but that is what this book did to me!

It was incredible'

Emily 27

Marvin's Curse out now!

SO... Marvin's Curse is now available on Amazon for £1.99 or on Smashwords for $2.99. YEAY!!
It's taken a while to get there as they need different formats in order to reach all the different e-readers. I do hope you'll pick up a copy and more importantly. let me know what you think - good or bad!

Book trailer at last!!

Book trailer so far!

It has been an exciting few days, sorting out the book trailer and I feel I'm almost there. This is the first screen that will show and it comes across as quite eerie which it was I was after. Still have some bits to tidy up and all in all it has been a steep learning curve, but really good fun.

Wattpad

This site is proving really useful for trying out Marvin's Curse on readers before launching the whole book. Here, readers can scan through different genres of sample chapters or whole books to see what they like. Marvin's curse has been read by 169 people so far which is very pleasing.

http://www.wattpad.com/story/3921672-marvin%27s-curse

Judging a book by its cover!

At last I've decided on a book cover for Marvin's Curse and thought I'd blog about the process.

When I finished my first book, Aggie Lichen; Pilp Collector, I was desperate to 'get it out there' and paid very little attention to the cover. Why would it matter? What was inside was more important! Oh, so wrong. I messed about in Word using a background of purple and then added basic shape stars to it. The stars were filled with silver and spread all over the front and back covers. I found a nifty font for the title and my name and bingo! Well, in school, where I was at the time teaching, it went down well, but after a while I decided that the cover wasn't saying anything about the book. It didn't give the reader any kind of insight as to what was inside and when compared to other books of this genre it was just plain dull. I found an illustrator, one of my daughter's graduate friends, and a new cover was designed for all three books in the series as they emerged.

Now you think I might have learnt a lesson with my new YA book, MARVIN'S CURSE, but things have changed considerably tech wise in the last ten years. I've used a photo/draw package to develop the cover. I looked more into it, paid more attention to what other books looked like in this genre and this time found advice on the web to guide me through it. The most difficult part was finding an image I really liked and that was somehow connected to the story. Images, while possibly royalty free, are not usually free and have licences to be purchased. Surpisingly, there are millions of images to choose from and they need not be too expensive. I did find one, but after waiting for the owner of the image to come back to me with a price I gave up and started again. The image I have used, The Angel of Grief by Meletios Verras, has an extended licence for resale ebook and printed book use and cost 50 credits, around £35, from the site 123RF. After payment, the image was immediately ready for download and I can go back and download again if needed. Personally I think that's a good buy, but remember I don't own that image. It's copyrighted and I just have a licence to use it for my book.
For the rest of the cover, I have played around with different fonts, colours and shadows. I've added flowery bits from art on the internet which didn't require licencing. If I print the book, I'd like to pick out the flowery bit in relief, with the stem possibly in silver. At the moment though, I'm just going to release it as an ebook and see how things go. I'd possibly go for POD instead of using my own printer, but that's a blog post of the future!

Chap 5 Marvin's Curse

Chapter 5 of Marvin's Curse now on Wattpad.

http://www.wattpad.com/17813349-marvin%27s-curse-chapter-5#.Ua21T5wQOrg

Another giveaway! 5 signed copies up for grabs. Please review if you win!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Aggie Lichen

by Debra J. Edwards

Giveaway ends June 24, 2013.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Second book Kindle freebie!

The second book, Arty's Revenge, will be available on Kindle for free over the next five days starting 16th May.

Here's the Amazon link for the download. Grab it while you can!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aggie-Lichen-Pilp-Collector-ebook/dp/B007SXTOXQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1368641609&sr=8-5&keywords=aggie+lichen

Giveaway!!

With the Goodreads giveaway now closed, I was pleased to see that 845 readers entered to win one of five signed copies of the first book! Congratulations to the winners who have all been notified! Your books are winging their way to you! Enjoy!

KINDLE PRICE CUT!

Aggie Lichen; Pilp Collector - the first 'Aggie' book - is now on Amazon for £1.02 for the Kindle edition. Won't be for long so snap it up!!

Cornerstones WOW Comp 2013

Although 'Marvin's Curse' didn't make the longlist... 'We thought that you may be pleased to know that you did in fact make the First Round of 32 entrants selected out of over 400, which I hope you will agree, is quite an achievement.'

GIVEAWAY

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Aggie Lichen; Pilp Collector

by Debra J. Edwards

Giveaway ends May 15, 2013.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

I have been trying out various sites etc to promote the now finished Marvin's Curse. I joined one, Wattpad, last October, but really didn't quite know how it worked - to be honest, I'm still not sure. Uploaded four newly edited chapters of Marvin and received a lovely comment.

Absolutely the best story I have read on WattPad, and believe me

I have read a lot of writing on this site, I loved it.

This came after an agent rejection so cheered me up no end and

now it has been read 34 times by viewers. It's free to join. 

Have a look!