Witch's Boy big giveaway (with caveat)
I really meant to have some sort of launch event for this, and then it turned out to be the week of the Livejournal DDOS attacks. Most of the people who comment on my posts do so on Livejournal, so I felt that doing anything while it was down was not a good time.
Then, when it started working again, I had mostly forgotten I ever intended to do anything. I really need to get a tweed jacket and a pipe because all my life I’ve been the model of an absent-minded professor. (Actually I was asked to do post-graduate work in Philosophy when I was at university, and I often think that saying “I’d rather do some research into the cult of the horse in early Anglo-Saxon England” was the wrong decision. I should have stayed in academia, pondering the meaning of the universe. I’m certainly temperamentally suited to the job.)
For example, just take the way that I’ve gone completely off the point there.
Dragging myself back to the point with some effort – I was meaning to have some kind of event to celebrate the relaunch of The Witch’s Boy. However, now that a fortnight has already passed, it seems a bit late. So what I’m going to do instead is give away a copy to the first ten people who ask for one.
However, there is a slight catch. As you can see from the page for the Kindle version of the book, it has no reviews at all. So, because there’s no such thing as a free lunch, I would ask that anyone who receives a copy review it on Amazon afterwards, please. It doesn’t have to be a long or complicated review – I’d be happy with a single sentence. It doesn’t have to be a good review – if you hated it, go ahead and say so. But if you could just put up a short summary of what you honestly thought of it, that would be excellent.
So, if you’d like a free copy and you’re willing to write a brief review afterwards and put it up on Amazon, just give me your name and I’ll send you a copy in an e-format of your choice 🙂
Wow! The first time I’ve had a chance to win a free copy of a book, and I already bought my own. Darn it!!!
But nevertheless, I’ll be sure to post a review.
It’ll be the 5-star glowing, one-sentence kind of review. ‘Cause I seriously suck at reviewing. 😀
But I’m sure it’ll be one of the first with many other reviews following.
I would love a copy, as I’ve been wanting to read this book for ages, although, as ever, don’t seem to have found the time 🙁 I don’t have a kindle, but I think I can read it on my laptop as I have downloaded the software. I’m sure I will love the book, as it sounds just my kind of thing, and will read and review it as soon as I can.
(on your comment on academia, for selfish reasons, I’m glad you didn’t stay there, because I love your fiction writing. But also, sadly, as an ex-academic myself who is married to a current academic who works at least 70 hour weeks and still has little time for his love, the pondering and the research, which he does on his days off and holidays, I think you made the right decision ;))
Oh Angela, I’m so sorry! But thank you so much for taking a chance and buying it. That makes me feel extra relieved and happy that you enjoyed it. (Five star, glowing reviews are my favourite kind. How did you guess? 😉 )
I will try and do this more often so that you get a chance with the next one. Thank you!
Thanks, Kay! I’d be glad to send you a .mobi version. What email address should I send it to? (email me on alex@alexbeecroft.com if you don’t want to say in public.) And don’t worry too much about getting it done as soon as you can – there’s no real time pressure.
Oh, I had imagined that academia would be a nice relaxing place to work, but if it’s highly stressed then I shall stop regretting that I was such a butterfly. (I’ve since decided that the fact that I can only stay on one subject for about 3 years before I stop being interested & start being interested in something completely different is a good indicator I was meant to be a novellist not an academic. I learn just enough to write a couple of books before I’m off again on a different tack.) So perhaps it was the right decision after all. It’s nice to think so. Thank you!
*g*! I honestly can’t wait – my new email is kayberrisford@yahoo.co.uk. Getting everything in my pen-name is very exciting!! Thank you sooooooooooo much (and sorry about the delay in replying, it’s been a mad couple of days ;))
Academia used to be a little more like that, I believe, with academics disappearing for months on end to ponder…and I have to admit I had quite a lot of fun as a PhD student, as I got through just before humanities got basically *all* its funding cut. Friends who stayed are hugely stressed about losing their jobs and grants, though, even as their teaching loads go up and up. I’m just lucky that hubby is a scientist, so that at least his job isn’t under threat, even if his work load is huuuuuuuuuuuuuge (gives me lots of time alone to write, mind… ;))
But we can dream about the loveliness it might have been! I have to admit, I’m a bit of a butterfly too, jumping ship for free-lance research and writing but, as I said, no regrets!! I definitely love that I be researching the Victorians one month, and Ancient Greece the next, rather than being tied longer projects 🙂
Are there still copies left? *is hopeful*
You could have the very last copy 🙂 Where should I send it to, and in what format?
Paperback, if you have any; I’m emailing you my snailmail address. I do have kindle-for-PC, but I’m probably going on holiday in a week, would like to take a book with me to read, and my computer is way too big to lug all the way down to the South Hams.
I just finished False Colors, and really enjoyed it – so much so I’m writing my first ever book review for it! I did try limiting myself to two chapters a day, however yesterday, about a third of the way in, temptation got the better of me and so now I am both bookless and have lost a day in which to work on the short story for next week’s deadline – ARGH! So if I don’t get my entry in on time, at least I know who to blame – although for the very best of reasons! 😉
Hi Tavdy, I’m afraid I don’t have any paperback copies to give away. I’m sorry about that. I can see I should have been more specific in my post, to make it clear that I only had e-copies to give out. I can see that an ebook doesn’t meet your needs, but I’m afraid that’s all I’ve got. Would you like one anyway, to read when you get back?
I’m really glad to hear that you enjoyed False Colors 🙂 Thank you! Though I’m sorry it ended up foiling all your plans like that. (A writerly part of myself is not sorry at all, I’m afraid, but I’m sure you know how that is 🙂 )
An eBook is still good! Whether or not I go depends on my work situation; I did say “probably”.
And I wouldn’t worry too much about the literary plans. I’ve decided to convert the first chapter of a novel I’m working on (which has already gone through its second draft) into a stand-alone short story, rather than struggle through with the story I’d intended to do, the writing of which has become like pulling teeth.
Sorry, didn’t think – what eBooks formats is it available in? PDF is easiest for me!
I have just sent you the pdf, so it should be with you now. If it isn’t, check your filters 🙂
Oh, what a shame about the novel! If you’re on your second draft you must be very nearly there. Have you thought about sending it to a beta reader instead to see what they think of it? It may be that they can pinpoint whatever is wrong for you. Or it may be that they’ll tell you that nothing is wrong at all, and encourage you to go on with it. A lot of the time writing *is* like pulling teeth, so it’s not necessarily an indication that anything’s wrong with the book.
Many thanks for the PDF! I won’t be able to start reading until Wednesday as I have an impending invasion of the parental militia, but I’m definitely looking forward to it.
The problems I’ve been having are with the original short story, not the novel. Essentially, I’ve lost all sense of who the characters are and how they should be interacting with each other, so editing the story to bring all that out is just impossible. It’s like they’ve gone on holiday and decided to stay there, so I’ve decided to put the short sotry on the back-burner until they decide to come back.
Fortunately it happens that (with some editing) the first chapter of the novel will work very well as a stand-alone piece, and is far closer to being ready than the short story. I definitely intend to complete the novel, never fear! It’ll be hard not to, the two main characters are too compelling to ignore.
I want to completely finish the second draft of the novel before I send it for beta-reading, and the second draft isn’t very straight-forward as I used the wrong narrative mode for the first draft. In any case I haven’t yet got beta-readers.