Friday 25 January 2013

New Release! Launch of Series IV.

Well Series IV has officially now launched and the first story in the series, Sheer Elegance, is available to download from Amazon in two parts.  This series takes a whole new direction from Series III and will be full of mysteries for the teenage detectives to solve. 

It's great to have Anastasia and Charlotte back together and you can read a sample on Amazon for both parts by clicking on the 'look inside' icon.

I hope you all enjoy this new series and, as always, reviews very welcome.  While you are taking a look at the book if you could click on the 'like' button I would appreciate it :)

Spread the word: Anastasia is back.

The journey continues...


Links: 
Sheer Elegance - Part One
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B5E7RH4 UK
www.amazon.com/dp/B00B5E7RH4 US/India
www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00B5E7RH4 Japan
www.amazon.es/dp/B00B5E7RH4 Spain
www.amazon.it/dp/B00B5E7RH4 Italy
www.amazon.fr/dp/B00B5E7RH4 France
www.amazon.de/dp/B00B5E7RH4 Germany
www.amazon.ca/dp/B00B5E7RH4 Canada
www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00B5E7RH4 Brazil

Sheer Elegance - Part Two
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B5E87DC UK
www.amazon.com/dp/B00B5E87DC US/India
www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00B5E87DC Japan
www.amazon.es/dp/B00B5E87DC Spain
www.amazon.it/dp/B00B5E87DC Italy
www.amazon.fr/dp/B00B5E87DC France
www.amazon.de/dp/B00B5E87DC Germany
www.amazon.ca/dp/B00B5E87DC Canada
www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00B5E87DC Brazil

Wednesday 23 January 2013

January Sales - an offer not to be missed!

'Anastasia - Sheer Elegance' will be available to download by the weekend so to mark the release of Anastasia Series IV and her new Fashion House, House of Anastasia, I am slashing the prices on Anastasia Series I, II and III Omnibus editions (links below). 

I have knocked 65% off the usual retail price so make sure you download your copies, if you haven't already got the three series.  Series I and II are aimed at 9-12 year olds and Series III is aimed at 13 years plus, teenagers/young adults.  All of these books can also be enjoyed by children as old as 105! 

Follow Anastasia's journey from the start when Anastasia and her friend, Charlotte, establish Kent's own, mounted, junior police force when they realise there are unsolved crimes and mysteries in the Kent countryside.  The stories lead on to further adventures and bigger mysteries in Series II where we learn about the young Anastasia's destiny.  Series III takes a whole new direction when a teenage Anastasia decides to go all out to stop some of the world's worst crimes such as human and baby trafficking.

Series IV will find Anastasia returning as a Civilian to pursue her dreams and ambitions without the need of a weapon.  Surely, nothing can go wrong in the world of fashion; can it?

All of the Anastasia Omnibus' are available as Kindle ebooks which can be downloaded to your smartphone, pc, tablet, Kindle.  No Kindle, no problem as there is a free Kindle reader to download for almost all platforms in the Kindle Store on Amazon.

Make sure you take advantage of the price reductions before the offer ends.  I hope you enjoy Anastasia's journey and please feel free to spread the word.  The sales can't last forever (this isn't DFS you know!)

The journey has begun...


Anastasia Series I Omnibus
UK -             www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008KMEHPY
US & India - www.amazon.com/dp/B008KMEHPY
France -        www.amazon.fr/dp/B008KMEHPY
Japan -          www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B008KMEHPY
Italy -            www.amazon.it/dp/B008KMEHPY
Germany -    www.amazon.de/dp/B008KMEHPY
Spain -          www.amazon.es/dp/B008KMEHPY
Canada -       www.amazon.ca/dp/B008KMEHPY
Brazil -         www.amazon.com.br/dp/B008KMEHPY

Anastasia Series II Omnibus
UK - www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0090P1K5U
US & India - www.amazon.com/dp/B0090P1K5U
France - www.amazon.fr/dp/B0090P1K5U
Japan - www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0090P1K5U
Italy - www.amazon.it/dp/B0090P1K5U
Germany - www.amazon.de/dp/B0090P1K5U
Spain - www.amazon.es/dp/B0090P1K5U
Canada - www.amazon.ca/dp/B0090P1K5U
Brazil - www.amazon.com.br/dp/B0090P1K5U

Anastasia Series III Omnibus
UK - www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00A823NJA
US & India - www.amazon.com/dp/B00A823NJA
France - www.amazon.fr/dp/B00A823NJA
Japan - www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00A823NJA
Italy - www.amazon.it/dp/B00A823NJA
Germany - www.amazon.de/dp/B00A823NJA
Spain - www.amazon.es/dp/B00A823NJA
Canada - www.amazon.ca/dp/B00A823NJA
Brazil - www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00A823NJA

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Coming soon - Anastasia Sheer Elegance, Anastasia Series IV

Well it's been a long time coming but I have been working on it for a few months and have finally completed the first story in Anastasia Series IV - Sheer Elegance.

It became clear as I was writing that it was going to take more than a short story to introduce new characters and reintroduce characters from previous series so this first story will actually be two; Anastasia Sheer Elegance, Part One and Anastasia Sheer Elegance, Part Two.

The first book will lead into the teenage detectives' first crime to solve in this new Anastasia series.  Anastasia teams back up with her old friend Charlotte and it's like they've never been apart.  I didn't realise how much I missed the crime fighting duo and the way they interact with one another; great friends for life.

Anastasia leaves behind the gun toting of Series III to pursue her other ambitions in life.  She will still be looking out for trafficked babies, fear not, but not in such an active capacity.  In this series Anastasia has a whole new team around her and whole new set of crimes and mysteries to solve. 

I have loved introducing new characters and each one has their own distinctive personality that you will both love and love to hate.  I also learned a lot while researching for this story; all about fashion, designers and being on the receiving end of the press.  It's been quite a journey, as it should be, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

It's great that writing still provides me with some magic and I hope to share some of that with you in every book I write.  If you fancy sharing your thoughts by way of reviews then I would very much welcome that too :)

The journey continues...

Wednesday 9 January 2013

Fergus writes... about Larry the Liger

Larry the Liger seems to be a big hit in Japan, China and India.

A Japanese lady writes to me and asks how it all started.  Well let us not forget it is all about getting children reading.  Children must be literate and numerate.

If you are learning English from a foreign country then I can see Larry the Liger would be a big hit.

For those who have read the Anastasia books (number 30 is on its way) you may remember Anastasia saying she was a Liger - half lion and half tiger.  You may remember the helicopter conversations of Liger Cub to Papa Liger.

We are now doing a Larry the Liger series of ten.  They are aimed at children worldwide.

It is so important for parents to give children language skills.  Get them reading and encourage them to write their own stories.

Remember Larry the Liger is a children's story.  That is for children up to 90 years old!

Fergus Wilson

Friday 4 January 2013

Goodbye 2012 - Hello 2013 and new journeys

I spent yesterday writing the most enormous blog post about my year but realised it was not entirely appropriate.  It was very therapeutic to write though so I'm glad I did but it went into too much detail about things that had happened during 2012.  I slept on it and decided that it is a New Year and I am going to be as positive as possible.

The year did end badly as I lost my Dad in December.  He had been diagnosed earlier in the year with Mesothelioma which is a rare cancer caused by asbestos.  It has been a difficult few months and I am going to get back to work as a writer.  My Dad would have wanted me to get back into it and things are piling up too much for me not to!  I hope wherever you are Dad you are behind me all the way and I would appreciate your hand behind me pushing me onwards and upwards please.

When I look back on 2012 I am actually quite surprised just how much happened in those 12 months.  I began my writing proper in January with Fergus and the Anastasia stories began.  We self published them in March and continued to add more and more.  I spent hours writing and, after Dad's diagnosis, found it a positive way to escape reality.  It is hard to imagine that I wrote twenty nine Anastasia stories, self published them all, created Omnibus' for each series and also managed to write a story about a brand new character called Larry the Liger!

Obviously that is a simplified version of events because it doesn't take into account the hours of research, proofreading, editing, formatting, sourcing of illustrators, creating book covers, marketing the stories, running promotions, keeping a track of downloads, and meetings about websites and future stories etc.  Phew!

I see 2012 as a milestone year for reasons beyond the obvious with losing my Dad.  I became a self published author, my first born started school and I made my debut with a local drama group.  Looking back I wonder if I crammed so much in because I wanted to show my Dad I could do it.  I know he was proud and he loved hearing about the downloads, etc.and he got to see me in my debut prancing around the stage in a fluffy bra! 

In June we had a family holiday to Majorca which didn't quite go to plan after all our cases were left off the plane!  Not the best way to start a holiday.  Then my youngest got very ill which was a worry.  It was really nice to get home!  2013 will probably find us holidaying in the UK so we can drive I imagine.

The New Year has brought a new addition to the Anastasia stories and that is the website!  It is now live and so I would like to introduce you to it.  www.anastasiabyrachaelphillips.co.uk or www.anastasiabyrachaelphillips.com  It is brand new so will have more added as time goes on.   

The photos of Kent were kindly provided by Steve Payne, a friend I have made since I began writing about Anastasia.  He takes wonderful shots of Hawkhurst and surrounding villages and countryside.  Very appropriate as Series I and II of the Anastasia stories are set mostly in Kent.  Many thanks Steve :)

There are also photos of some of the Boughton Lodge horses which is very exciting to see them in the flesh, so to speak.  More will be added in the future too. 

So what will 2013 hold?  Well, I am taking things mostly one day at a time because it is still early days in many respects with things.  I will go with the flow.  Imagination allowing, I have Anastasia Series IV to write.  This Series, like Series III, will be aimed at teenagers/young adults but will move away from the world of trafficking as Anastasia heads in pursuit of her ambition of starting up her own fashion label.  She is yearning to be a teenager with more usual pursuits but I have no doubt she will end up with her fair share of mysteries to solve.  We shall see how she gets on in the near future.  I also have more Larry the Liger stories to write.  If you haven't met him yet then you should know that his father was a lion and his mother was a tiger!  He has proved a big hit and I can't wait to see how his future goes.  I want to thank all those in the US and India as there were lots of sales in December from across the pond and some from UK.  Many thanks :)  Check out all the books on Amazon www.tinyurl.com/7pgubvz (UK) or www.tinyurl.com/bwu7rtz (US)

Well, I had better get to work I guess.  I hope you all enjoyed the stories so far and please consider leaving a review.  I'm back in the saddle and am going to work as hard as I can to realise my dreams. 

Happy New Year everyone.  I wish you all good health, peace, success and happiness.  Onto the next chapter of the journey...