Step 1: Click here to subscribe to my monthly newsletter. This is a short email that goes out just once a month to catch my friends and readers up to speed on my latest releases, giveaways, and other news.  Your email address will not be shared and you can opt out of the list at any time.

Step 2: Nothing. If you’ve subscribed to the Dara England Newsletter, you’re officially entered in the contest. The winner will be notified via email at the end of the month and will also be listed as the winner here on my blog and in my newsletter.

The prize this time around is a $25 Amazon giftcard and a free e-copy of my new novelette Accomplished In Detection.

Thanks for playing along and may the best reader win!

–Dara E.  

Read on for an intro to Accomplished in Detection…

Murder has manners…

When a dinner party at a friend’s country estate ends with the gruesome murder of the local curate, Mariah Featherstone will have to clear the name of an innocent man, one who also happens to be her former suitor. But capturing the real killer may not be simple when everyone in the house seems to possess the means and motive for the killing.

Can Mariah deduce the identity of the murderer before she becomes the next corpse? And will her efforts uncover a truth she would rather not discover?

Accomplished In Detection is part of a series of historical mystery novelettes featuring intrepid Victorian heroines up to their bustles in crime. These works are only loosely connected and can be read in any order.

Available at Amazon and B&N.

Starring:  Gillian Anderson, Alun Armstrong, and Charlie Brooks

Movie’s Overall Satisfaction: 3 stars (out of possible 5) = Worthwhile

I’m doing something a little different today – a movie review.  I plan to do these from time to time as I discover new movies and TV series set in or around the Victorian era that I think my readers might be interested in.

So the first movie to be reviewed by me?  The 2005 BBC adaption of Charles Dickens’ masterpiece ‘Bleak House’.  Andrew Davies adapted this script (the same Mr. Davies who adapted the script for the Colin Firth version of ‘Pride and Prejudice’). There are a lot of other familiar faces here.  If you’ve watched ‘Cranford’ you’ll recognize Carey Mulligan (who played the young doctor’s sweetheart), now playing the roll of Ada.  ‘Becoming Jane’ fans will also recognize Anna Maxwell Martin (Jane’s sad sister ) playing the part of the heroine of ‘Bleak House’—Esther.

So here’s the plot summary for anyone who hasn’t yet read ‘Bleak House’ or seen any of the film adaptations. (Warning: spoilers ahead.) The story opens with two orphans (almost grown) named Ada and Rick being adopted by a Mr. John Jarndyce – a man they’ve never met. There’s some mystery surrounding Rick and Ada, which we later learn has to do with their being heirs to a possible fortune.  Unfortunately, before the pair can realize their fortunes, they must wait for the infamous case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce to be settled in the courts—a case that’s been dragged out for so many decades no one ever expects to see the end of it.

 However, neither Rick nor Ada are the most important characters in the story—that spot belongs to a young woman named Esther.  Esther has had an unhappy childhood, was raised without ever meeting her parents, and is unable even to discover who they were.  She has been scooped up by the inexplicably generous Mr.  Jarndyce to play companion to the young Ada at ‘Bleak House’. Esther captures the fancy of a lawyer name Mr. Guppy but rejects his proposal of marriage. Still intent on winning her favor, he begins to dig into her past, hoping if he can uncover the secrets surrounding her, she’ll be grateful enough to marry him.  (Sorry Guppy, you’re wasting your efforts; we can already see Esther’s set her cap for the handsome young doctor who keeps stepping in and out of the story.)

Eventually, through the efforts of Guppy and others, Esther learns who her real mother is, only to find their relationship must never be acknowledged and that they can never meet again. There’s far more going on here than Esther,  Rick, and Ada’s stories but the plot is far too complex to be described in detail.  I won’t go into the ending to avoid giving it all away.

Reviewer’s impressions:  I enjoyed this version more than the previous BBC version starring Suzanne Burden, Dianna Rigg, and others.  I found the characters more likeable and the storyline less confusing (although to be fair, I was a kid when I saw the earlier version, so I may have simply been too young to understand the goings on).  I particularly enjoyed actress  Gillian Anderson’s version of one of the central characters, Lady Dedlock. Definitely a worthwhile movie and will be enjoyed by most people with a love for period pieces.

How movies are rated:

1 star =  Disappointing. (Will ditch it at my next garage sale.) — Rare

2 stars = So-so.  (A renter not a buyer.)

3 stars = Worthwhile ( not a must-see but worth owning.)

4 stars =  Very Enjoyable (Good enough to skip ebay and buy new!)

5 stars = Excellent (Has everything you could want and more. ) —  Rare

Ms. Fowler gives AIM 5 Stars. Read her full review here.

Obviously there’s no single answer to this question. Everyone has their own ideas on the subject and their own definition of “professional quality”.  All I mean to do in this post is explain step-by-step how I went through the process and to share some tips (read: contacts and links) I discovered along the way.

Step 1: Write your book.

This is the easy part. More than likely if you’re considering self-publishing your novel or short story it’s already written and just waiting to be let loose on the world.

Step 2: Editing

Visit one of the below sites and select a quality, affordable editor. Remember, you want someone who will fit your budget but who also has experience.

Lauren

Rhonda

Jennifer

Long list of other options here. 

Step 3: Cover Art

While you’re waiting to get back your edits now is a good time to get your cover art lined up. A little disclaimer: although I’m a cover artist, I’m not listing myself below as I’m not currently looking for new work.

Contact an artist, let them know the release date you have in mind, and find out their rates etc. Here are some cover artists to check out:

Anne

Frauke

Amanda

Tuesday

Ginny

Kim 

Step 4: Format Your Book

Many indie authors choose to save a little money here and format their own books but unless you have experience in this area, it can prove a major headache. I hired a professional formatter and found it well worth the price. Some formatters to check out:

Lucinda at L.K. E-Book Formatting 

View a long list of other options here.

Step 5: Create your account at Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing.

For the purposes of keeping this short and sweet we’re going to stick with Amazon and not cover Smashwords, B&N, and the other venders here.

For a thorough explanation of how to set up your KDP account with Amazon and upload your book, read this article.

And that’s it! Your book is live now, well, pending at least and will be available for purchase on Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Amazon DE within the next couple of days. Congrats!

In The Beginning …

After years of writing fiction in the hope of getting published “someday” I finally got up the nerve to start submitting my work. Only to small webzines and print magazines no one had ever heard of but at least it was a start. Seeing my work up on the web and knowing other people were reading it was fun and it gave me confidence, as well as the chance to hone my skills.

But that wasn’t enough. It wasn’t the real dream, just the smallest taste of it. I learned about the possibilities opening up in the e-publishing world and, although the idea of e-books took some getting used to at first, decided to give it a try. I submitted to a number of digital first presses and was eventually picked up by an up and coming small press called Lyrical Press Inc.

I still knew very little about the small press world and hadn’t had the sense to do much research before submitting. But I got lucky this time and LPI turned out to be a great first home for me and my books. They were professional, easy to work with, paid on time, and I didn’t have to deal with any of the nightmares it’s so easy for a first-timer to get sucked into.

Oh, Sweet Rapture!

But my dream was still traditional publication. Or legacy publishing. Or New York publication. It goes by many different names but you know what I mean. I wanted to see my books in stores and libraries. So when I heard of an opportunity to submit for a Running Press anthology, I jumped at it. And shockingly, at least to me, they wanted my story!

My experience with this second publication was a good one and seeing the Mammoth Book of Irish Romance in bookstores everywhere was beyond awesome. Whenever I stumbled across it someplace new I’d stop and pick up a copy and hug it. Or just stroke the cover. Let’s just say I probably looked like a crazy person to all the bookstore employees and the shoppers around me.

The Depths Of Despair

But New York, alas, still didn’t throw it’s gates open wide for me. I wrote a new book, sent it on the agent rounds and got a lot of interest. One agent even agreed to send me a contract but shortly thereafter her agency closed its doors and I was left still unrepresented. I was tired and frustrated at the endless rounds of queries, submissions, partials, fulls, rejections… Everywhere I went agents and editors talked about the tough market and all our communications ended the same way. They just weren’t confident enough that they could sell my book.

I returned to publishing with digital first presses but I kept an ear to the wind. And about this time I began to hear whispers of the potential for success in the self-publishing arena. Well, this was nothing new. I’d been hearing this kind of talk for years and had always dismissed it as nonsense. Everybody knew what self-publishing was, right? Just hand-selling a few copies of your little book to family and friends and anybody else you could beg or guilt into buying a copy. Self-publishers were largely derided and I was one of the persecutors. Just call me the Biblical Saul/Paul.

What’s This Indie Thing About?

But then something changed. Several authors I knew began to come out and “admit” to trying their hands at self-publishing e-books. These were “real” authors, people whose business sense I respected. They were New York published, for heaven’s sake! And yet, they were finding indie-publishing on the side lucrative. They kept their New York contracts and they continued to write for digital first publishers like Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Carina Press, Spice Briefs, Red Sage, etc. But they were also finding time to put out some indie works and were reporting impressive sells numbers.

Cue inspirational music. This was the moment a light bulb went off over my head and I realized I could be building a reader base with indie publishing and pursuing New York at the same time. It wasn’t an either-or situation. What was more, thanks to the lower cost of producing an e-book versus a print book I could experiment with this whole indie thing at little expense.

Testing The Waters

Ok, I’d wised up and it was time to dip my toe into the water. I wrote something new, something I hadn’t tried before. A historical mystery novella set in Victorian England. I titled in Accomplished In Murder. I had always enjoyed detective stories but this was the first time I’d had the nerve to write one. Previously I had written things I thought would sell well, mostly paranormal romance. But it was time to break out and write something my heart was in, something I actually enjoyed for its own sake.

Thanks to my major obsession with hanging out on writers’ forums all these years I’d made a lot of connections with people involved in the publishing industry. I knew a number of formatters, editors, cover designers, etc. I hired Lauren Dee of Daisy Cakes Creative to edit my manuscript because she came highly recommend by other writers I trusted. Also she was reasonably priced and I didn’t have a huge budget. I lined up Lucinda Campbell of L.K. E-Book Formatting to format my e-book because I didn’t trust myself to do it properly and I was determined my first effort at an indie book would look professional.

The Big Experiment

With surprising ease, I uploaded my e-book to the usual venders and sat back expecting to watch the dismal numbers creep in at snail speed. Instead they…well, not exactly rushed in, but came in at a respectable and sedate pace. I had studied other’s statistics and was prepared for the long haul. I thought, “I’ll sell five copies the first month, ten copies the next, and wait for the snowball effect everybody talks about”. Instead, I easily surpassed my meager expectations on the first day my book was available for purchase.

At this moment, about a month out from my first indie release, I’m sitting at #4 on Amazon’s Top 100 list of best-sellers in the Historical Mystery Category. I’m also respectably situated on the Women Sleuths list. I have no idea how long this good fortune will last but I’m enjoying the ride.

As to the big question, will I be doing it again? Heck, yes!

To everyone else, thanks so much for playing along! I’m delighted to discover so many of you share my interest in historical mysteries (and in Sherlock Holmes)!

If you didn’t win this time, do stay tuned as I’ll be having a similar contest for the release of my next book in May.  Until next time, happy reading!

–Dara

* The prize? A free electronic copy of my new book and a $15 gift certificate to DecalGirl, the awesome online shop offering a huge variety of removable vinyl skins for cell phones, ereaders, tablets, ipods, laptops, netbooks, gaming devices, media players and more.  You name it, DecalGirl can skin it.

* The rules? I’m going to keep it simple. Just drop a comment, any comment, including your email address (so I can contact the winner) and the name “Sherlock Holmes”  at the end of this post.  Bonus points if you agree Jeremy Brett is the real Sherlock.  Just kidding on that last part. Sorta.

Seriously, you can say “Sherlock rules and Miss Marple drools”, “Sherlock iz hawt”, or even just the single word, ”Sherlock”.  I’ll take whatever I can get.  On April 20th I’ll randomly select a winner from the comments section and contact them.

The catch? Before you can comment and be entered to win you’re going to have to read — or at least skim past — a brief introduction to my new release. (C’mon you knew there was gonna be something like that, right?) 

And we’re off!

 Accomplished in Murder

 Murder was never so refined…

When her holiday on the coast of Cornwall takes a deadly turn, it is up to Drucilla Winterbourne to uncover the dangerous secrets the inhabitants of BlackRidge House will do anything to conceal.  But can a proper young lady from London society comprehend the dark motives of a killer?    

Accomplished In Murder is the first in a series of historical mystery novellas featuring intrepid Victorian heroines up to their bustles in crime. These works are only loosely connected and can be read in any order. 

Available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Happy reading!

* * *

Celeste shivered as the wind cut through her hastily donned shawl. Overhead, thunder rumbled and dark clouds blotted out the moon, casting the empty rooftop where she waited into sinister shadow.

All at once, she became aware of another presence, one whose footfalls were so soft she hadn’t heard them over the wail of the wind. The familiarity of the approaching figure did nothing to still the sense of dread within her. If anything, her heart pounded a little harder.

“You’re late.” How she hated the way her voice trembled! Not that it mattered. Not that he didn’t already know she feared him. His mocking eyes said as much. She had never trusted those eyes.

He raised a dark brow. “You were so eager for my arrival?”

She refused to rise to the bait this time.

“Of course I’ve been impatient. It is positively frigid out here; I think it’s about to rain. Whatever possessed you to suggest a meeting in such a place?”

He moved nearer and leaned casually against the rail beside her. Together they peered out into the darkness, down to where the craggy rocks met the angry surf far below.

He said, “This was the only rendezvous point I could think of where I could be certain we would not be observed alone together.”

Celeste wiped suddenly sweaty palms against her skirts and tried to smother her rising alarm. She raised her voice above the gale. “And what have we to say to one another that must be kept secret? This had better be urgent, a matter of life and death.”

“Oh it is,” he assured, his eyes glinting in the darkness. “For one of us.”

There was something dangerous in his voice. An intensity Celeste had never heard from him before.

Before she could do more than draw in a startled breath, he had taken her up swiftly in his arms and she found herself held in the air.

“Good-bye, dear Celeste,” he said. “I cannot claim ours has ever been a friendly association but I think I shall miss you, in a way.”

“What are you talking about? Put me down at once!”

She wriggled in his grip but it was too late. She felt herself hoisted over the rough stone railing, skirts dragging behind her. For a terrifying moment, she was suspended between heaven and earth and only then did she remember to scream.

He released her and she clutched at him, grabbed for the railing, anything. But some frantic part of her knew it was too late.

ACCOMPLISHED IN MURDER

Murder was never so refined …

When her holiday on the coast of Cornwall takes a deadly turn, it is up to Drucilla Winterbourne to uncover the dangerous secrets the inhabitants of Blackridge House will do anything to conceal. But can a proper young lady from London society comprehend the dark motives of a killer?

Accomplished In Murder is the first in a series of historical mystery novellas featuring intrepid Victorian heroines up to their bustles in crime. These works are only loosely connected and can be read in any order.

We have a special treat today! Kait Nolan, author of FORSAKEN BY SHADOW has been kind enough to do a guest blog. Thanks so much, Kait, for dropping in on us.

Banished from their world with his memory
wiped, Ultimate Fighting Champion Cade Shepherd doesn’t remember his life as
Shadow Walker Gage Dempsey. He doesn’t even remember the woman he nearly
died for. But when firecaster Embry Hollister’s father is kidnapped by
military scientists, she’s forced to turn rogue, and the only person she can
turn to is the love from her past. Will Gage agree to this suicide mission?
And if he does, will he remember the Shadow Walker skills he learned from
her father? If they survive, will Embry be able to walk away
again?

Forsaken By Shadow was a very interesting story to write. It
didn’t fit the pattern of any book I’d written to date. Usually I have a
“what if?” question in mind, followed up by having a basic story structure
mapped out. The characters are…well, not incidental, but getting to know
them is a process. Not so with FBS. Gage walked into my brain fully
formed, waking up to a scream in a seedy motel room with no memory of who he
was or how he’d gotten there. That was, I suppose, the major
inspiration—the what if question. It was a fascinating exploration to join
him on the journey to finding those things out.

The worldbuilding was a blast. This story is intended to whet the reader’s
appetite for more of the universe I’m creating. The first story in my Mirus
series, it’s a tip of the iceberg, straight up adventure story. It was such
fun to create the rules for things like the Shadow Walkers—they’re the
special ops group of my paranormal world. They can manipulate and travel by
shadow—quite an asset in covert operations. And ideal for sneaking into a
super secret military base. I thought it quite fitting to match his shadows
with flames—so naturally the heroine was a firecaster—a paranormal race able
to manipulate flame. You’re also introduced to a wide cast of characters
from other races, many of whom you will see in future stories.

The story unfolded faster than any I’ve ever written, and when it came in
quite solidly at novella length, I decided it was the perfect book to
self-publish. Novellas typically aren’t as popular in print and don’t earn
out a great deal in terms of royalties, so it was low risk to me to put out
in epub and ideal for building an audience. The whole process has been very
educational, both about what goes into making an ebook and about what goes
into marketing. I’ve got a much healthier respect for the entire industry!

Forsaken By Shadow was so much fun to write, and it really taught
me the benefits of writing a short, tight story. There’s no fluff, just a
lean, mean, action-packed ride that I think both women and men
will enjoy.

For those who are interested, Forsaken By Shadow, is available at
Scribd, Smashwords,
Amazon, Barnes
and Noble, and the iBookstore.

• Kait’s writing blog Shadow and
  Fang
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  and Plots
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