Hi Guys, Ive an awesome series spotlight for you today. The series is the Seventeen series by A.D. Starrling. A.D also did an amazing guest post for us and Im offering a giveaway of an ecopy of any of the books in the series!! A. D is also looking for help with making Soul Meaning into an audio book. You can read more about the Pubslush campaign HERE. So if these books sound like something you'd love then please read about the campaign and then enter to win :)
Soul Meaning by A. D. Starrling (Book 1)
‘My name is Lucas Soul.Today, I died again.
This is my fifteenth death in the last four hundred and fifty years.’
The Crovirs and the Bastians. Two races of immortals who have lived side by side with humans for millennia and been engaged in a bloody war since the very dawn of their existence. With the capacity to survive up to sixteen deaths, it was not until the late fourteenth century that they reached an uneasy truce, following a deadly plague that wiped out more than half of their numbers and made the majority of survivors infertile.
Soul is an outcast of both immortal societies. Born of a Bastian mother and a Crovir father, a half breed whose very existence is abhorred by the two races, he spends the first three hundred and fifty years of his life being chased and killed by the Hunters.
One fall night in Boston, the Hunt starts again, resulting in Soul’s fifteenth death and triggering a chain of events that sends him on the run with Reid Hasley, a former US Marine and his human business partner of ten years. When a lead takes them to Washington DC and a biotechnology company with affiliations to the Crovirs, they cross the Atlantic to Europe, on the trail of a French scientist whose research seems intrinsically linked to the reason why the Hunters are after Soul again.
From Paris to Prague, their search for answers will lead them deep into the immortal societies and bring them face to face with someone from Soul’s past. Shocking secrets are uncovered and fresh allies come to the fore as they attempt to put a stop to a new and terrifying threat to both immortals and humans.
Time is running out for Soul. Can he get to the truth before his seventeenth death, protect the ones he loves and prevent another immortal war?
Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15828366-soul-meaning?from_search=true
Kings Crusade by A. D. Starrling (Book 2)
FROM THE AWARD WINNING AND AWARD NOMINATED SERIES SEVENTEEN
The perfect immortal warrior.
A set of stolen, priceless artifacts.
An ancient sect determined to bring about the downfall of human civilization.
The exciting, action-packed follow-up to Soul Meaning and the second installment in the supernatural thriller series, Seventeen.
When a team of scientists unearth scriptures older than the Dead Sea Scrolls in a cave in the Eastern Desert mountains in Egypt, a mystery lost to the tides of time is uncovered. Heading the expedition is Dimitri Reznak, the Head of the Crovir Immortal Culture & History Section. But the monumental discovery is spoiled by evidence of looting and half the priceless artifacts Reznak has been seeking for centuries have disappeared.
Alexa King is a covert agent for the Crovir First Council. When she is approached by her godfather for a mission that could help elucidate the enigma of her lost past, she finds herself delving into the dangerous and shadowy world of secret religious societies. Assigned by Reznak to assist her is Zachary Jackson, a gifted human and Harvard archaeology professor.
In their search for the missing artifacts, King and Jackson stumble upon the existence of a deadly sect whose origins are as mystifying as the relics they are searching for. From North Africa to the doors of Vatican City itself, they unveil a centuries-old plan that aims to shatter the very structure of civilized society.
With the help of Reznak and a group of unexpected allies, King and Jackson must stop the enemy and uncover the astonishing truth behind the missing artifacts and King’s own unearthly origins before all is lost.
Amazon : http://www.amazon.com/Kings-Crusade-Seventeen-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00CICVP9I/ref=la_B008KS77GO_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406473360&sr=1-3
Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17853781-king-s-crusade
Greene's Calling by A.D. Starrling (Book 3)FROM THE AWARD WINNING AND NOMINATED SERIES SEVENTEEN.
An immortal healer.
An ancient legacy reborn.
A chain of cataclysmic events that threatens to change the fate of the world.
When a plane crashes in the Amazonian swamp where Conrad Greene is attempting to live out the rest of eternity, the jaded immortal who was once one of the Bastian First Council’s greatest assets stumbles across a conspiracy involving the recently elected president of the United States.
Caught in the middle of the intrigue is US Secret Service agent Laura Hartwell, the one immortal on Earth most likely to put a bullet through Greene’s skull.
Greene is coerced into returning to the life he had left behind by the leader of the Bastians and reluctantly agrees to assist the Americans in their investigation. As disturbing incidents start to unfold around the globe, Greene and a team of elite human and immortal agents must track down an elusive organization hell-bent on shifting the power balance of the world.
Can Greene stop the deadly countdown that threatens to alter the course of human history and regain the trust of the woman he loves?
The riveting and fast-paced third installment in the award-winning, supernatural thriller series Seventeen is finally here.
Amazon : http://www.amazon.com/Greenes-Calling-Seventeen-Book-3-ebook/dp/B00K00E0XI/ref=la_B008KS77GO_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406473360&sr=1-2
Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22008738-greene-s-calling
Guest Post :
My Writing Journey: the story of Four Highs
and Three Lows.
First
High
I started writing fiction when I was 12
years old. At the time, I had no idea of the weird and wonderful direction my
life would take and where I would end up, more than two decades later.
That first piece of fiction was a short
story, as were the next few. I started my first novel later that year and
completed it by the time I was 14. I wrote my second novel over the next two
years.
I loved writing. My dream job at that stage
was to be an author.
First
Low
Unfortunately, reality intruded rather
rudely into my life and I found myself pursuing studies in the sciences rather
than literature. When I accepted a scholarship in medicine, I promised myself I
would write again after I retired. Yes, I had a forty-year plan even then.
I dabbled at a couple of novels when I was
in med school but never got past Chapter 3. Chapter 3 tends to be my personal
Everest. If I get past that, the book will be completed.
Ten years ago, I made the decision to leave
medicine. One reason was that I was nearing burnout. The other was
disillusionment with our National Health Service and what successive
governments had done to it. I decided to take two years out of training and
travel the country working short contracts while I figured out what I wanted to
be when I grew up.
Second
High
The writing bug returned unexpectedly and
in the strangest fashion, while I was sitting on a train travelling from London
to Basingstoke. Halfway into my journey, three characters walked into my head
and started having a discussion. Actually, make that an argument. As I listened
to these three have their spat, the idea of a novel was born. I spent the next
couple of weeks mulling over the idea of writing again. I then dedicated two
months to researching the publishing industry. I came to the conclusion that
the road to publication would be long, hard, and littered with setbacks. I
decided to go ahead and travel this uncertain path anyway.
Second
Low
I started writing seriously again in 2006.
I decided to give myself six years to see how far I could get down the
traditional publishing route and what kind of feedback I would receive. I told
myself that I would stick to writing as a hobby if I were consistently told I
was crap.
By 2012, I had written three novels,
submitted to countless agents and publishers both in the UK and the US, was a
finalist in a highly regarded short-story competition, and had almost landed
two agents and a small publisher. My rejection folder was thick and the
feedback I had received over three to four years of submitting was pretty
consistent. Good writer, wrong material.
Love the story but can’t quite see how to
market this. I really like this but don’t think I can sell it to a big
publisher.
I realized that landing a traditional book
deal had gotten much harder in the previous decade. In addition to writing a
great novel, a writer had to be in the right place at the right time to get
their material seen by the right agent, who would have to be in the right mood
to see its potential. A great novel was not enough. With their business model
suffering from increasing competition, publishers were no longer willing to
take risks and help a career author grow. They wanted an author to earn out
their first advance quickly and to be a bestseller with their first or second
novel. Luck, that magic factor that could land an author a good deal, had taken
on a much larger role.
Third
High
In 2006, self-publishing equated vanity
publishing in my mind. By 2012, the publishing landscape had changed to the
point that it was almost unrecognizable. Self-publishing was a growing movement
and I was exceedingly lucky to come across an article about one of its loudest
advocates. The author in question was Joe A. Konrath. That article, and Joe’s
blog A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing,
changed my life.
The only way I could see my work ever
reaching an audience of readers before I turned 60 was to self-publish. I researched
this fascinating option over the next couple of months and decided to take a
chance on it.
Since then, I have published three novels
and have plans for many more.
Third
Low
One comment guaranteed to make me see red
is this. Oh, self-publishing is easy. All
you have to do is hit the publish button on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing
platform.
Whenever I see an author say this, I groan.
Oh sure, hitting that publish button is easy. It’s the months, if not years, of
work that precede that “simple” act that are grueling. Quick DIY editing,
proofreading, cover design, and formatting are NOT enough to make readers part
with their hard-earned cash over the long term and neither are they a way to
build a committed readership and fan base.
There are many authors who learn to do a
lot of these tasks themselves and do them very well. But the learning curve is
steep and hard and likely to take months rather than days. And unless the
author is a professional editor in their other career, the one aspect of the
process that all authors should outsource is the editing.
So how does all of this count as a low?
Well, self-publishing is hard work.
It’s three jobs combined into one: writer, publisher, and marketer. A lot of
successful, established authors who have straddled both the traditional and
indie routes advise that one should write, publish, and keep writing the next
one. But in this new era of publishing, I believe that this is no longer
enough. Your book, however good, will not magically find an audience. A few
incredibly lucky authors will strike it big with their first or second novel.
99.9% won’t. For the majority, it will be about building a career slowly and
steadily, one reader at a time, the hard and true way of growing any business.
And for the majority, it will involve plenty of sacrifices along the road as
they juggle their day jobs with their primary passion.
Fourth
High
I had a discussion with some friends on the
subject of success not that long ago. By their definition, and by the
definition of almost everyone I speak to, I am a successful author. Seeing as I
have incredibly high standards as to what I would class as “success”, I am
still getting used to the idea.
I have now published three novels since
2012. Two of them have won and been nominated for several awards. My reader
base is growing, as is the group of authors and publishing industry
professionals I interact with.
I have garnered recent interest from the US
in terms of a potential audiobook project, as well as tentative attention from
a film producer.
I am still nowhere near where I want to be.
And where I most want to be is this: a financially successful writer who makes
a decent living from her art and who continues to entertain her readers and
fans with great novels every year.
But I am getting there. I am still a new
traveller on this long road filled with unseen potholes. I always have the
option to take the exit and go back on that known highway labeled “Medicine”.
But I won’t. And if a traditional book deal ever did come my way, I would not
jump on it like a lottery ticket. I would get the contract looked at by an
intellectual property attorney. And if it were as grossly unfair as all the
horror stories traditionally published authors continue to
relate, I would walk away from it.
A.D. Starrling was born on the small island nation of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean and came to the UK at the age of twenty to study medicine. After five years of hard graft earning her MD and another five years working all of God’s hours as a Paediatrician, she decided it was time for a change and returned to her first love, writing.
Released in July 2012, Soul Meaning is her debut novel and the first in the award-winning supernatural thriller series SEVENTEEN. The second novel in the series, King’s Crusade, was released in May 2013. The third novel, Greene’s Calling, is scheduled for publication June 2014.
She lives in Warwickshire in the West Midlands, where she is busy writing the next instalment in the series. She still practises medicine. AD Starrling is her pen name.
Giveaway :
Enter to win an eCopy of any of the books in The Seventeen series
Thanks for featuring me on the blog today Nat and thank you for the Pubslush shout out! I really enjoyed writing this post :-)
ReplyDeleteAD
Thank you!! Loved the post and Im so glad I get to share it with my readers :)
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