For the next 3 days, 1st to 3rd April, 150 indie authors like myself have joined together and organised a huge book sale.
There are fantasy, sci-fi and horror books on offer at various price points, including free, so please take a look at the sales page.
My own books are also included at just 99p each, so if you haven’t read them now is a great time to try. Visions of Zarua and The Lost Sentinel.
I’ve just had a quick browse and already picked up 8 books to add to my TBR. I will try and share some more info on those books and spread a little more love before the sale ends.
Please share this post and help share the love for indie authors. And don’t forget to check out the sales page right here.
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.
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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories
I’m back again. I missed a couple of reviews from my previous post today, which you can read here. I didn’t want to leave anyone out so please check out these links.
Paws.Read.Repeat said ‘The stories in the book are from a variety of genres, which I loved. The diversity was eclectic and kept me engaged from start to finish.’
ebookaddicts ‘I really enjoyed listening to this collection from Susanne Rogerson. The anthology is narrated by Sandie Keane and she did a wonderful job bringing these short stories life.‘
Girls who hike and read posted ‘I adore short stories and this collection of 10 beautifully written stories about love and loss completely met the brief for me…’
And that’s it, a full house of reviews for the tour which is brilliant. I’ve loved sharing my short story collection and reading such lovely reviews. Sandie did an excellent job narrating the book for me and I hope you get the chance to check it out.
Here’s a sample if you want to have a listen.
Thanks for reading and listening.
Next time I’ll be back with a reading and writing update.
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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories
I can’t believe how time has flown and I haven’t posted anything for a month and a half! Yesterday was the blog tour for my newest audiobook, Love, Loss and Life In Between – a short listen perfect for those who like to dip in and out of audiobooks.
Thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for organising the tour and of course thank you to all the bloggers who listened to the collection and have been posting their reviews over the last few weeks.
It’s great how everyone connects with different stories for different reasons and I just love to read their reviews. Of course I also like to share them with you, so here’s a round up with my review highlights. Here goes…
Lara Maynard gives listeners a taste of the stories in this collection in her post on Instagram. ‘The stories include “Garden Therapy” (to which gardeners like me will relate), “A Cat-Shaped Hole” (which might make pet lovers misty-eyed), a story around domestic abuse, and a second chance romance. Most of the stories are broadly in the domestic fiction realm, with flavours of romance or thriller, but a couple veer into the paranormal.’
The Bookish Hermit says ‘…a selection of very emotionally charged stories that have been written with care, respect and love. The audible version is narrated perfectly by Sandie Keane who does a fantastic job of bringing the author’s (Suzanne Rogerson) words to life.’
Just Katherine Blog says ‘…A quick-paced collection of wonderful little stories that are all so different and capture the difficult task of moving on after loss and tragedy. There’s a message that runs through them all: whatever happens, you have to do your best to move on and be strong…’
Bookworm86 shared mini reviews for each story. ‘A beautiful collection of 10 short stories filled with emotion from heartbreak to love, sadness to new beginnings… 📱 ‘The Phone Call’: This story is definitely my favourite one!! It is one of those stories that hit you straight in the gut and will stay witjh me for a long time!’
Jessica’s reading room shared her review ‘Several of the stories deal with death and moving on. Rogerson did a great job with capturing the emotions of a story in just a few words!’
Lis Carey’s Library shared ‘”A Cat-Shaped Hole” is a sweet story of a cat who makes someone’s day brighter, while “Not Just For Christmas” is a story of a family grieving their departed dog deciding it’s time to welcome a new dog into their family. Both brightened my day.’
Niki Preston says ‘I found Suzanne’s writing style was wonderfully creative and really lent itself to this anthology. You really get drawn in and each story feels complete even though they are all short. She definitely gets to the heart of each one with a precision that makes you wonder how on earth she managed to create each differing story with such honesty. A great listen all round.’
Romance that’s out of this world also shared a review saying ‘An eclectic and delightful selection of short stories, which are perfect for listening to when you fancy a few minutes relaxation, or you just want to dip in and out. They range from the slightly eerie to the ‘feelgood’ and ‘cosy’ tale, so there is something for everyone…’
Juliereadzintherockies shared an Instagram post ‘The narrator was lovely as she read through these deep, dark, and passionate stories. I love thrillers but it’s nice to step away and sample something meaningful and touching once in a while.’
A review from MJ Porter says ‘Garden Therapy, with its slight otherworldliness was delightful, and A Mermaid’s Tale was a beautiful account of a young girl coming to terms with the loss of her mother, whereas Catalyst was quite edgy. Not Just for Christmas is a tale many pet owners with feel resonates with them.’
Books we’ve read and loved say ‘I really enjoyed each story. They were like little windows in to different worlds – whole stories in their right but that let you build a world for the characters all of your own. I found myself creating pasts or futures for the characters.’
Storied Conversation was impressed with the narration ‘Sandie Keane did a wonderful job of narrating these stories. I loved her voice and was able to get lost in the stories without having her voice over power them.’
The final review is from Seaside Book Nook. ‘Suzanne Rogerson did a great job pulling me into the story very quickly while telling very touching stories. The stories cover the three Ls: Life, Love, and Loss. After each story, I was able to reflect on the meaning of the story and how it was connected to one of the three Ls. ‘
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Wow, that was quite a list to go through. A big thank you to everyone who took part, I hope I haven’t missed anyone off.
If you’ve been inspired to check out the audiobook by these wonderful reviews, here’s the link for Audible. Also available on Amazon as ebook, paperback, audio and hardback.
I’m just sharing a quick update today. For any audiobook lovers / reviewers, there’s a new blog tour run by Rachel’s Random Resources. Sign ups for this 1 day tour are happening now. You can get the full info here Love, Loss and Life In Between audio blog tour.
The audiobook came out last month and I’m really excited to see what reviewers think. It’s a collection of short stories and has a run time of just over two hours, a perfect listen when you are pushed for time.
Please check out the page above for the full details, a sample and info on how to sign up. The blog tour date is 17th March 2023.
I am not great at sharing reviews, which is a shame as I know how important they are to authors, so I’ve decided to try a monthly wrap up post to share what I’ve been reading through the month. I also plan to share any progress on my writing projects as well as trying to stick to a quarterly plan.
January Update
Reading
I’ve made a good start to the year and my Goodreads goal of 26. Reading 4 books this month has set me up well.
The Fifth Sun Series by Talis Jones has kept me entertained and I’m looking forward to the final installment.
Writing Romance Novels and Love Stories has given me plenty to think about and work through with The Mermaid Hotel Series.
Rules for dating a Romantic Hero was a quick read and enjoyable. A good choice to get someone into reading who is daunted by bigger books.
Christmas Kisses by Alison May was a great read. I loved how the three novellas were interlinked and how it all came together at the end. Very enjoyable.
Writing
My new audiobook came out in January –Love, Loss and Life In Between. I have free audio codes available for reviewers, so please get in touch.
Romance series
Book 1 has a new title (formerly known as Evie’s Song) – Secrets and Love Songs at The Mermaid Hotel. It really fits the story and the genre. Feedback so far has been brilliant. What do you think?
I’ve also decided that I’ve been mentally putting the book in the wrong category – thinking of it as Contemporary Women’s fiction when it’s closer to the Cosy Seaside Romance genre.
I’m still editing the above and have quite a bit of work to do on the descriptions and layout of the novel.
Other Writing
Starlight Prophecy – No progress
Other writing – Nothing to report.
Other relevant writing news
I have joined the Romantic Novelist Association’s New Writers Scheme, which turned out to be easier than anticipated. It means I can send ‘Secrets and Love Songs at The Mermaid Hotel’ to a reader in March and get new professional eyes on the story.
I have subscribed to Mslexia, the women’s writing magazine and taken out their special Salon membership which has various perks throughout the year.
I have signed up to the RNA’s course ‘Writing a series with a coastal or countryside setting’ taught by Jessica Redland (I’m reading one of her books for the first time and loving it!). I think this course will be really helpful as I plan the rest of The Mermaid Hotel Series.
Plans for February
Books I hope to read this month
Writing projects for February
Complete the latest draft of Secrets and Love Songs at the Mermaid Hotel in preparation for the New Writer’s Scheme.
Write something new for my writing group meeting mid-February.
I think that about sums up my plans for February. Short and sweet!
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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories
At the weekend I was lucky enough to feature on Becca’s blog – Avoiding reality of books. My interview discusses my writing journey, where I get inspiration and questions about genre amongst other things. See the full interview here.
This is a short post this morning, so don’t forget to check out Becca’s blog where she has her series 7 questions with an author, book reviews and more.
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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories
I’m excited to announce my latest audiobook is now available on Amazon, Audible and iTunes – narrated by Sandie Keane. It has been a pleasure working with Sandie and I hope you enjoy the result.
Don’t forget if you purchase the ebook you can get the audiobook for a discounted price.
Alternatively, I’m looking for reviewers to share their thoughts on the audiobook and have free audio codes to give away. Please get in touch to request this by leaving a comment or using the contact form.
Whether you plan to read or listen to Love, Loss and Life In Between, I hope you enjoy the collection. Do let me know what you think, just like these reviewers did.
Amazon Reviewer – ‘This is a lovely collection of short stories, you can have heart-breaking, heart-warming and shocking moments all in one collection.’
Amazon reviewer – ‘A quick-paced collection of wonderful little stories that are all so different and capture the difficult task of moving on after loss and tragedy…’
Thanks for reading.
Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories. All social media links can be found onLinktree
As it’s the start of the year, it’s time to set myself some reading goals. Last year I was very comfortable with a 25 book target. In 2023 I don’t plan to up it by much, just going for 26 books. I’m hoping that is a practical target to fit around my writing and whatever else the year throws at me.
I have some books carried over from last year that I want to read so I already have an idea of some of my reads. I plan to stay away from Netgalley and requesting books even though it’s a great way to read books by my favourite authors before they are published. Saying that, if the publishers marketing teams contact me, I’m not sure I’ll be able to resist the pull of a shiny new book or two!
My TBR for 2023 so far
Fantasy
Urban Fantasy
Romance
Writing guides
That is just a taster of the books that I’ve wanted to read for a while. I have a ton on my kindle which I haven’t even looked through yet. I’ll see how I go with this lot first.
What do you think of my selection?
Have you set yourself a reading challenge this year? Do you usually meet your targets?
Whatever and however you read, I hope you enjoy lots of books in 2023!
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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories
Let’s hope it is a less dramatic year for world events and closer to home that the cost of living crisis eases for those struggling households.
I’m hoping for a mild new year as I hate the cold weather, though I do love the look of a frosty morning and walking through freshly fallen snow as long as it melts by the next day.
I’m not really one for making new year’s resolutions, though I did briefly consider trying for a dry January. My husband wasn’t so keen on that idea, maybe next year.
I’m looking forward to making some big progress with my writing in 2023 and shared my plan in a previous post here. I hope you will join me for the ride.
Do you make new year’s resolutions? And more importantly, do you stick to them? Wat are your hopes for the new year?
It’s been a good reading year for me. I completed my Goodreads challenge of 25 in plenty of time, getting to 28 books in total. It’s not the biggest target, but I’m pleased I made it.
I’ve read a mixture of romance, urban fantasy and fantasy with a couple of thrillers, a how to book and a graphic novel thrown in.
You can check out all the books I read on my goodreads challenge here.
I’ve been transported to some amazing locations and different worlds, I’ve been entertained and kept up too late at night on many occasions!
I try to read as many books as I can by fellow indie authors or those published by small presses, and I’ve discovered new to me authors whose work I will be searching out in the future.
I haven’t reviewed as many books on my blog as I would have liked in 2022, but I try to leave reviews or at least ratings on Goodreads and Amazon because as an author I know how important these are.
Looking back over the list on Goodreads, I find it almost impossible to pick a favourite. But If I had to, I think I would say The Switch by Beth O’Leary. I only picked it up because so many agents rate her work and having read this book I can completely see why. I highly recommend it.
Did you meet any reading challenges you set yourself? Have you got a favourite read you can recommend?
I will be back in the new year with some of the books I plan to read during 2023.
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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories