New Chills and a Giveaway... Coming Soon!

I just finished my final edit on a short story, 'Family Secrets'. This is a newer and (I think) far better version of what was my first-ever published work of fiction in a mystery and suspense anthology-- Wordscape 6 --put out by the Canadian Authors Association back in 2000. The evocative cover art has been designed by Neil Jackson. What do you think? Pretty creepy stuff. Who's the figure on the dock... and what's his big secret? You'll have to read it on Kindle to find out. I am attempting to fly solo with the all the formatting and downloading hoopla. It's likely easier than I think. This should be up by the end of the month or the beginning of March.

Next week on February 29th, my story 'The Transformation' will be published in Dark Light-- the debut anthology from the intriguing new company Crushing Hearts and Black Butterflies. http://www.crushingheartsandblackbutterfly.com/dark-light-excerpt.html I'm happy to be in print again with a new dark tale of a lonely woman swept up in a dream of a romantic new life... but at what cost? The other stories look good, too. If you like the darker side of fiction, this may be something you'll want tin your library... and keep an eye on C.H. & B.B. for more amazing new writing!

To celebrate the launch, I will be holding a giveaway... stay tuned for details!

Meantime, Base Spirits was given another fantastic 5 star review! An American reader, Victoria Maggio, took a chance with my novel and loved it. "Strong characters, vivid descriptions and historical detail join together to create a world where I could lose all thought of myself and dive headlong into the unknown and not want it to end. Having to stop reading was a jolt to my system and I couldn't wait to get back to the story and find out what happened to these lives I had become a part of. What evil awaits them in the darkness... ?" You can link to the rest of her review here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3BXI2AH38RQ8S/ref=cm_cr_dp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B005L38G8E&nodeID=133140011&tag=&linkCode=

I also had a blast with a local book club discussion of Base Spirits the other evening. They unanimously loved reading it, and I loved talking with them about it and answering their thoughtful questions.

Keep an eye peeled (God, but that sounds painful!!) and watch for my new stories... and next week's giveaway!

Bookish Things are Brewing this Month!

A lot seems to be happening around here for me this month...

Since experimenting with putting Base Spirits on KDP Select, I have noticed an increase in sales numbers. Nothing like enough for me to quit my day job (oh please, oh please...!!), but hey-- any improvement is a good thing, right? There will be another giveaway blast coming up next month in a big promotion with some fellow indie authors, so watch this space for the fun.

Reviews are coming in for Base Spirits, and they are very positive!

Jon P. Bloch from the Kindle Book Review called it 'an impressive debut' and posted this very kind review on my Kindle page today: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2UZZDTJUGDDS/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B005L38G8E&nodeID=&tag=&linkCode=

Kara Malinczak posted this lovely review on her Great Imaginations blog at the end of January:
http://greatimaginations.blogspot.com/2012/01/base-spirits-by-ruth-barrett.html

Best of all are the kinds of reviews left by book-loving readers who just really liked the book. No one asked them to post a review, so it means the world when they give you 5 stars and leave comments like this one from my Amazon.uk page:

"As a fan of Barbara Erskine I was intrigued by the plot of this book. Once started I could not put it down. The historical tragedy, coupled with the modern day tragedy of an abusive, controlling husband was inspired. Reading was tense from start to finish. Can't wait to read more by this author who has en- captured all the elements of great storytelling." (Thank you Josie, wherever you are!)

Later this month, I will be sitting in with a local book club as they discuss Base Spirits as their February selection. That should be fun! And this week I am doing two different features and promotions on websites... I'll post links once they are up.

I also have two NEW short stories being published this month!

Dark Light Anthology

'The Transformation' will appear on February 29th in the debut anthology Dark Light from an exciting new publishing company 'Crushing Hearts and Black Butterflies'. Here's a link to their book trailer: http://www.crushingheartsandblackbutterfly.com/dark-light-excerpt.html

I am also e-publishing a darkly disturbing, stand-alone tale 'Family Secrets' on Kindle this month. Watch this space for all the details, links and dates!

But for now, I'd better get some sleep and hit the ground running in the morning...