Hello! 😀

Welcome to my little corner here!

When I’m not calling myself Amos, as part of Amos Cassidy – the writing duo featuring yours truly and the fabulous Cassidy; aka Debbie Cassidy, I also go by the name Richard-James Amos. Cassidy and myself share a brain, but we also have some stories and things that linger in our heads that need to be told alone, not as the loopy twosome.

I’m a daydreamer, someone who likes to hop onto his dragon and take to the skies, off to see what I can find above and below and to the side. My head is always up there with the stars. One of them is a good friend of mine. His name is Bill and he’s a diamond! Oh, and he makes a mean cup of tea…knows how to get the balance of milk and tea just right…

I currently have a novel in progress, one that keeps me up at night – as do the coming Amos Cassidy projects! It looks like it might be a two-book story, but who knows where it will lead… Loving it! Oh, did I mention we’re currently working on Crimson Chaos, the 4th book in the Crimson Series? 😉 Also loving it! 

I will keep you posted on my solo novel’s progress as the months roll by 😀 And keep an eye out for some short fiction and things from me on here too 🙂

Cheers very much!

Love,

Richard 

Crimson Midnight Free For Easter!

 Crimson Midnight will be free on Amazon Kindle from today (2nd April) until the 6th April! Grab your copy now and enjoy the ride along with your yummy chocolate eggs 🙂

 

BUY LINKS:

AMAZON UK

AMAZON

 

Meet Kayti Nika Raet!

Hello!

As part of our Dystopia month, we have the wonderful Kayti Nika Raet down for a visit. Kayti is the author of The Outsider Chronicles (five book series. Three out so far) a YA dystopia featuring a badass girl with a baseball bat. Set in a world where the rain burns like acid and flesh-eating monsters roam…

Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Kayti Nika Raet moved down South when she was 11, where she was bitten by the writing bug, as well as other, less friendly insects. 

She is the author of the Outsider Chronicles, a five book series starting with NIKO and set in a world where the rain burns like acid and flesh eating monsters roam.

She’s also a reviewer for Readers’ Favorite and has her own Youtube Channel: Kayti Edition.
When she is not hard at work on her fourth book she has fun reading, listening to K-pop, and photography.
Kayti lives in Milledgeville, Georgia.

Now for some questions…

So, when did you know that you wanted to be a writer? Was there a single moment of clarity or did the knowledge just creep up on you?

I was always writing, and telling stories, but it wasn’t until I was fourteen that becoming a writer became an active goal of mine. And it wasn’t until I was twenty-two that I finally succeeded!

Tell us about your writing schedule. Do you write everyday? At the weekends? Or, like us, whenever you get the chance?

I try to write a thousand words a day and take a couple of days off every two weeks, but lately, that hasn’t been happening and now I write whenever I have the chance.  

What is it about the Dystopian genre that inspires you?

I think it’s the fact that Dystopia at its heart, is a failed Utopia. It’s a world where an attempt at stability and structure in the face of epic disaster moved to the extreme of repression, “other-ing”, and control. And while most dystopias focus on the future, it’s actually quite easy to find dystopian elements in history: Rome, the Antebellum American South, World War II Germany, Post War Eastern Europe, etc. They provide good templates to write by, and I’ve always found the distortion of theories and ideals fascinating.

If you could step into any Dystopian future what would it be and why?

All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin. Even though water is strictly rationed, the mafia runs everything, and things like chocolate and coffee are illegal, there are no zombies, or death matches, so my chances of survival are quite high!

Zombies are busting down your door, what four objects do you grab?                                  

These are slow zombies, right? If not, I’m totally dead…

Duct tape, sturdy pair of boots, hatchet, water bottle.

I’d probably get bit anyway because I have no endurance whatsoever, but hopefully I can take out a few before that happens!

How do your storylines evolve? Do you already have it planned where you want to go, or do you let the story take you along with it?

I usually know what’s going to happen in the first few chapters, and I’ll have a vague idea about the climax, but most of the time I let the story and characters take the lead.

If you could choose any Dystopian book in the world to have written which one would it be and why?

Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. It’s more post-apocalyptic than full blown dystopian, but the trilogy was very engaging.The writing style is very sparse, and the pacing is much slower than I would normally write, but I love how she set up a society forced to live around zombies. Not to mention the creative ways they make use of them in the cities.

If you could be any character from a book who would it be and why?

I answered this question in a previous interview and the answer remains the same. Anya from All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin. She’s the daughter of a black market chocolate dealer, things in her world have seriously gone to pot but despite everything she’s really cool, and smart, and resilient.

What advice would you give to other writers of Dystopian fiction out there who are thinking of self-publishing their work?

Edit, edit, edit.

Oh, and find a community of writers, be engaging, not spammy on social media, and realize that writing your book is the easy part.

Who is, or are, your favourite author(s)?

Dia Reeves, Justine Larbalestier, Brandon Sanderson, Sarah Rees Brennan, Scott Westerfeld… I can go on…

 

Okay, some quick fire questions! Don’t think too hard. Just answer…

Super Villain or Super Hero?

Super Villain. Way more fun!

Ice-cream or chocolate?

Chocolate.

Beach or the skiing holiday?

Beach. I like the water.

Keep the One Ring or throw it in Mount Doom?

That’s a Lord of the Rings reference. Haven’t read, or watched it, so I can’t say.

Audio or book?

Book. My brain goes on tangents with audio and I miss a lot.

 

Zombie Apocalypse weapon of choice: Axe or Shotgun?

Axe. It’s simple, multi-purpose, effective. Also I don’t have to spend time hunting for shotgun shells… not to mention making sure I’ve got the right kind.

 

You can find Kayti…

Blog

 

Amazon US

 Amazon UK

Goodreads

 

Twitter

 

Facebook

Introducing Brea Behn!

Hiya, peeps! 

Today we are joined by author Brea Behn. Brea loves all things dystopian and will be telling us a little about herself, answering a few fun questions and introducing us to her fantastic Dystopian read ‘Wolves in the Woods’

So let’s get started with a little bit about Brea:

Brea Behn is very passionate about reading and writing in all genres. She started writing at the age of fifteen, when she wrote a memoir for her twin brother. Currently, she writes fiction of several genres, nonfiction, and is building her career as an author and public speaker.

When Brea is not writing, she is reading, usually several books at the same time. She also volunteers at her local humane society, gardens, and homeschools her children.

Brea lives in Wisconsin with her husband and their two children.

 

And to put a face to the name:

 

 

Now, Brea, we have a few fun questions for you to answer. So sit tight, pour yourself a drink and lets chinwag gabby:

So, when did you know that you wanted to be a writer? Was there a single moment of clarity or did the knowledge just creep up on you?

I have written since I was little. I never took it seriously until a tragedy happened in my life. Then writing became very important to me. A place of processing and healing. That evolved into pure love of writing which led to me pursuing publication.

Tell us about your writing schedule. Do you write everyday? At the weekends? Or, like us, whenever you get the chance?

I am like you! I write whenever I can fit it in. Usually very early or very late when everyone else in the house is sleeping.

What is it about the Dystopian genre that inspires you?

I am drawn to the dystopian genre because it almost always involves going through something incredibly difficult and coming out better for it or learning something from it in the end.

If you could step into any Dystopian future what would it be and why?

That is a hard question for the very definition of dystopian is that it will be hard! I guess if I had to choose I would say a future like one in the movie the Postman. Where decades had gone by and a time of change was happening. Both because there is hope on the horizon and because the challenges they face are normal ones (not zombies, a scorched planet or aliens!).

 Zombies are busting down your door, what four objects do you grab? 

A gun, a knife, a torch and a pre-packed supply pack. Taking no chances!

How do your storylines evolve? Do you already have it planned where you want to go, or do you let the story take you along with it?

I am a ride it and see where it takes me author. It is so fun and sometimes shocks me greatly!

If you could choose any Dystopian book in the world to have written which one would it be and why?

The Stand by Stephen King. He is my favourite author, but also because it is a work that would take some authors a lifetime to complete. What an accomplishment! Having his pay check and fame wouldn’t hurt my feelings either.

If you could be any character from a book who would it be and why?

I would love to be Katniss from Hunger Games. I admire her strength, her defiance and her bravery. She is a perfect example of why I love dystopian. A character that refused to accept her life and her world as it was and through her actions and influence was able to change it for the better.

What advice would you give to other writers of Dystopian fiction out there who are thinking of self-publishing their work?

I hope to read it some day! I would also give the practical advice of being sure their work is professionally edited. That is a very important thing in today’s world of publishing. No matter which route you choose to publish in.

 Who is, or are, your favourite author(s)?

Stephen King. The original dystopian master. I have read his work since I was in junior high. I greatly admire his tell it like it is form of writing. I strive to do so myself.

Okay, some quick fire questions! Don’t think too hard. Just answer…

Super Villain or Super Hero?

Super villain. I am always drawn to the bad guy you both love and hate.

Ice-cream or chocolate?

Ice-cream. Don’t throw anything at me, but I don’t like chocolate. My twin brother liked chocolate, so I like vanilla. Twins are like that and it never really goes away.

Beach or the skiing holiday?

Beach! I live in Wisconsin. I can ski, snow mobile, sled or ice skate here. A beach is a real treat!

Keep the One Ring or throw it in Mount Doom?

Throw it into Mount Doom. Evil can never be controlled it can only control you. That is why it is evil.

Audio or book?

Can I say either? Although non-fiction I prefer in book form so I can take notes.

Zombie Apocalypse weapon of choice: Axe or Shotgun?

Shotgun. Less goo on yourself. I am a bit of a germ phobe, lol.

Wow! Thanks so much for taking the time to come visit, Brea. We hope you’ll come again, but in the meantime, peeps, take a butchers at Wolves in the Woods :

 

 

BLURB

Meet Braelin, a young woman in the year 2056, whose life is soon to be changed forever by a virus known as C47-a virus that wipes out much of the world, including her parents and her twin. Now alone, Braelin is forced to learn to take care of herself. By fate and good luck she stumbles across a sanctuary hidden deep in the woods of Wisconsin. Here she learns the hardest lessons of survival yet. Along the way she meets Aravon and Timber, both of whom fall hard for Braelin. Filled with suspense, passion and excitement, Wolves in the Woods keeps Braelin fighting for her life and for her love until the very end.

Grab your copy now!

Amazon UK

Amazon US

You can also find Brea on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and youtube.

 

www.Breasbooks.com

www.facebook.com/authorbreabehn

www.twitter.com/breasbooks

www.goodreads.com/Breasbooks

www.youtube.com/Breasbooks

  

Reflections on The Festival of Writing 2014… And some handy tips!

Reflections on The Festival of Writing, York, September 2014

(And some handy tips! :-D)

 

As many of you may know, we attended the The Festival of Writing last year. We packed up and headed to York for the weekend, making sure we had plenty of nibbles to hand for the train journey north. We hardly slept a wink the night before, worrying about our manuscript, our pitch, the journey. We desperately wanted it to be a success. Naively, we guess, we hoped that we would return with a literary agent in our pocket and that would be the end of that.

What happened was that we made some fab author friends, got to ask a bunch of burning questions to people who worked in the industry and attended a load of workshops that opened our eyes to several errors we were making – not only in our writing, but in our approach to traditional publishing.

We had our one-to-one sessions with agents and received some very positive feedback. By the end of the stay we had received four requests for full manuscripts.

We have since learned that an agent requesting a full manuscript does not guarantee an offer of representation. Having done some research, we found that on average an agent could request 100 – 200 full manuscripts a year. Out of this number maybe 5-10 will be selected for representation. Smaller agencies will have smaller numbers. So, as you can imagine, any manuscript would have to not only be exceptionally written, but also excite the agent on a personal level.

We have yet to receive that call. Until then, we continue to write. We know it will happen one day.  We have learned so much over the past 6 months and we would like to share a few tips with you.

 

1. Don’t just write for the market – The market is ever changing; even the publishers don’t know what will be hot next. You need to write what excites you. If you struggle to get into the story then how do you expect your readers to feel?
2. Do not underestimate the importance of a solid covering letter – This is your first impression. If you are sloppy here then the agent will assume that your submission is sloppy. A lot of submissions are simply rejected because of a sloppy or untidy covering letter. Agents get hundreds of submissions; make sure you follow the guidelines so you don’t get added to the trash. Remember to address your letter to the agent personally and tell them why you have chosen them. Don’t go on and on about yourself unless the information is relevant to what you have written. For example, if you have written a Psychological Suspense and are a psychiatrist or have a MA in Psychology then by all means let them know. Otherwise, there is no need to go into detail. At this stage the agent simply wants to know about your novel and any writing history – publication in journals, magazines etc…
3. Make your manuscript sparkle – Ideally you should stick your first draft in a drawer for a few weeks and come back to it. Go over it with a critical eye, self-editing it as you go. If you are unsure about grammar and punctuation there are loads of books and online tools on how to get to grips with it. Also, you can get it professionally edited. Otherwise, you can get it proof-read. Beta readers are always a good idea, they will look for plot holes and inconsistencies. A great resource of information is the ‘Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook Guide to Getting Published by Harry Bingham’
4. Do your research – Agents are people too, they have likes and dislikes, they are not generic representation machines. What excites one agent may put another to sleep. Read their bio’s, do a little Twitter stalking and check out Writer’s Digest online. All invaluable in helping you make the decision about which agents to approach. Remember that an agent-author relationship is just that, a relationship, and it won’t work if you don’t have anything in common.
5. Do make multiple submissions – You can submit to more than one agency at a time, but check their submission requirements as some like to be informed if you are doing this.
6. Be patient – It can take on average up to 8 weeks to get a response to a submission, and if they request a full manuscript then there is another wait, anything from 1 month to 3. Every agency has their own guidelines as to times and acknowledgements, which is why submitting to more than one agent is a good idea.
7. Never give up – Keep going. If you want to write then write and keep on doing it. We know what it’s like to feel down at times, but we can’t stop. Writing is in our blood. Never try and shut down that feeling of the love of telling a story as it will never go away. Embrace it and soldier on!

 

There are plenty of online resources with tips on how to formulate that perfect covering letter and how to format your completed manuscript. You are not alone. Having done a ton of research ourselves, we are happy to answer any questions you may have on the subject.

Writing Festivals and workshops are fantastic for making connections with like-minded people, picking up tips and expanding your mind. If you are serious about traditional publishing, and can afford to go, then we would highly recommend attending one.

 

Announcement – Goodbye, Indie Author Land…

Hi, everyone 🙂

Okay, so we have an announcement to make. We have removed all our work from publication. It is time, we feel, to keep pestering literary agents with our manuscripts, go down the traditional path and all that jazz. We’re rebooting, so to speak. But we’ll still be around. This blog will still be active and we’ll continue to promote and discuss all things indie author – we know how much hard work it is.

We have loved the ride and enjoyed self-publishing so much, but we want to go down this path now. We are working on another novel – a fantasy – which we are very excited about! And we have work out there doing the rounds with literary agents.

Massive thanks for all the love and support. Keep watching the skies for our books to come in the future.

Big love and hugs to all of you xxx

Amos and Cassidy 

NEW RELEASE: Sleeping with Beauty (Tales from Beyond the Veil – Volume 3)

Here is volume 3 in the Tales from Beyond the Veil series, ‘Sleeping with Beauty’ 🙂  Now available on Amazon Kindle 🙂

Deep in the Forest of Forever, Silver lives an unremarkable life. Betrothed to the River Clan heir Riven, and the darling of her own clan, she is cosseted and pampered, until one day when her accidental eavesdropping alerts her to imminent danger. She flees her home, stumbling into the Ebony Forest and into the clutches of the twisted Vice.

Vice is man cursed, a man filled with nothing but emptiness and Silver is simply another plaything for his potential amusement.

Silver’s life is suddenly filled with unknown danger. She has only two choices; succeed in breaking the curse, or perish trying…

Amazon Links:

AMAZON US

 AMAZON UK

RIDING RED AND TAINTED SNOW REVIEWS!

Check out these awesome reviews of Riding Red and Tainted Snow by the fabulous Laura at: http://a-reader-lives-a-thousand-lives.blogspot.co.uk/

Click on the pictures below to take you to the reviews 🙂

RIDING RED

TAINTED SNOW

NEW RELEASE!

 

 

TAINTED SNOW

The second volume in the Tales from Beyond the Veil Series…

AVAILABLE NOW ON AMAZON AND AMAZON UK

Princess Snow is adored by her people, her gentle and delicate nature means that she is spoken of with love and respect throughout the Kingdom of Crystal. Even her voracious sexual appetites do little to besmirch her name; all they do is make her human, relatable. Her life would be perfect if she wasn’t living in the magnificent shadow of her step-mother the Queen.

The Queen’s distaste for Snow is also a well-known fact, and the tortures she puts Snow through are many and varied. Her her distaste morphs into something more dangerous when Prince Zale – the Prince of Seas – chooses Snow over her. The Queen’s resulting actions set the course for a destruction that will leave little standing in its wake.

Will Snow find happiness, or will the curse placed upon her destroy her completely?

NEW RELEASE!

HELLO! 🙂

Check out our brand new novella ‘The Emporium’ 🙂

Available now on Amazon Kindle from AMAZON US and AMAZON UK.

 

Finally free of her abusive ex, Kara is enjoying a Greek vacation when she stumbles across The Emporium. It is a place full of visual delights, a place that is more than it seems, and a place where Kara will experience pleasures she had thought impossible. For when the mysterious Kincaid gets his hands on her supple flesh, her heart will never be the same.

The respite is over too soon and Kara returns home to England, to normality, until The Emporium appears in her home town and Kincaid is determined to finish what he started. 
It seems that Kara has brought The Emporium with her. Little does she realise that she has brought something else also, a haunted being that only she can free from its eternal torment.

Kara’s life just went from mundane to magical…

*A novella of approximately 18K words*