Another freebie!

If you fancy something a little ghostly and ghastly to sink your teeth into at the moment, you're in for a treat.

Have a look at Out of Darkness, an anthology of short stories put together by the Short Stories Group, because the ebook is FREE until the 28th February; download it from here. 

(My own contribution to the book is Red Shoes)

Enjoy!

Spreading some lurve...Giveaway time!

Valentine's Day!

So - to spread the love, I'm going to do a giveaway! First one ever on the Scribbles, so not quite sure how it's going to work...

Leave me a comment by the end of the 14th, and I use a random number generator to pick out the nth commenter, who will receive a copy of Love is in the Air (or A Test of Time if you've already got the other!).

It will be a week or so 'til I can sort it out, as I'm off on hols today; the Scribbles may be few and far between for a few days...but I'll post in these comments tomorrow to say who's won so the winner can mail me with your address.

Good luck!

Your chance to nobble a freebie!

If you haven't already taken advantage of the fact that Love is in the Air is currently FREE to download for Kindle, you've only got today and tomorrow left! Offer runs until the 31st January.

It's a collection of short stories on the theme of lurve and rrromance, and I promise that my own contribution, St Valentine's Day Massacre, is not as gory as it sounds...

Check it out here.

If you leave it too late to take advantage of the freebie, then give yourself a pat on the back because all profits from sales of this book are donated to the charity Diabetes UK.

Got a warm, fuzzy feeling...

Christmas makes me feel good at the best of times, but this morning, I have two extra reasons to feel warm and fuzzy.

Reason 1. 

A Test of Time - the short stories group anthology that was published at the end of November - has, to date, raised around £50 for Foodbank. The wonderful Vanessa Wester has already put the money to good use, just in time for Christmas. You can read Vanessa's original post here.

Vanessa (right) and the book, handing over a stack of goodies
to Hannah King, the manager of the Cowes branch of Foodbank.

Reason 2.

Last night, at the first launch event in London for Stories for Homes, a cheque for £1500 was handed over to a representative from Shelter. (The book itself continues to climb up the charts, officially designated now as a 'bestseller'.) 

A symbolic cardboard cheque, signed by all the authors present

I played only a small part in both projects - a story for each - but I am humbled and in awe of the people who were the driving forces behind both.

So a big shout-out first to Vanessa Wester, who has been the driving force behind not just A Test of Time, but also Out of Darkness, A Festive Feast, Love is in the Air, and Reading is Magic, supporting a variety of charities. (Not to mention her own books, The Evolution Trilogy and Gurnard's Book of Delights. You can find details of the short story collections either on my 'Where I've been published' page, or here.)

And another big shout-out to Debi Alper and Sally Swingewood, the masterminds behind Stories for Homes, who brought together an amazing team responsible for producing a world class anthology of short stories in just three months. They are wonderful!

The last shout-out goes to everyone who's bought a copy of either publication - and there are lots of you, I know!

Shout-outs aside, I realise that some of you might be reading this post and judging the 'success' of these two publications according to the amount of money they've raised. Please don't. From my point of view, both A Test of Time and Stories for Homes have been equally successful, because the money they've raised will help change people's lives for the better.

If you're going to judge these books, judge them on the difference they are making in the world; that's something you just can't put a price on. 

A Test of Time....

Yet another short story collection published by Vanessa Wester, on behalf of the short stories group! I don't know how she does it...

Called A Test of Time, the book has stories written by both published and previously unpublished authors on the theme of 'past, present and future'. It's a great collection for children who are mature readers - as well as adults who like something a bit sci-fi/time travel/futuristic.

I got a sneaky advance read of the collection just before publication when I was asked to proof-read; I have to say - and it's not just because I've got a story in it - I reckon these collections keep getting better and better. I'd even go so far as to say I think the contents of this one make it the best yet. (But I do recognise that I'm biased!)

The charity being supported this time is Foodbank on the Isle of Wight where Vanessa lives - they provide emergency food for families in crisis; a very worthy cause.

The book is available in paperback, for Kindle, and on Smashwords for a variety of e-readers - check out the Stories for All blog for details of where to purchase.

A shortage of stories

I'm part of the short stories group run by Vanessa Wester, which produces collections of short stories on a variety of themes in aid of charity. There have been four so far (have a look here for details of the three I'm in) and the most popular one to date is, I believe, Reading is Magic, written for children.

We'd like to produce another collection for children; our current theme is 'past, present and future', so there's plenty of opportunity for time travellers and historical figures, ghosts of the past and robots of the future...

Only problem is - we don't have enough stories.

We currently have four - we reckon we need at least eight to make it a viable project. Last time, we had a baker's dozen...

So do you write for children? Could you offer a story to support a good cause? If you are interested, please consider joining us. We can provide some limited help with editing - though we are not professionals - and all we expect in return (if your story is chosen for publication) is that you help to promote both the finished book and the charity it supports. Please note that not all the stories we are offered will be suitable for inclusion, but we do try to use as many as we are able. It's a good way to get your name and work in print - and helps others as a bonus.

If you want to find out more, please take a look at the short story group page and if you have a story (or two) you'd like to offer, mail Vanessa directly.

Alternatively, drop me a line via the comments here if you have questions that aren't answered on the site.

Thank you,

Katherine x