Saturday 27 July 2013

To mark the birth of the new Prince George...

It was so nice to finally hear the news of the names given to William and Kate's new baby son: George Alexander Louis and he was named pretty quickly too.

To mark the wonderful occasion of the birth of the new Prince George of Cambridge, and third in line to the throne, I am going back to the start of my journey and making the Anastasia Omnibus editions free!   

I began writing this blog after the first Anastasia stories were published on Amazon.  I had no idea at that time I would end up writing so many!  There are now over 30 Anastasia eBooks and 3 Omnibus editions of the Series!  A lot of work went into those stories and it's amazing to think just how Anastasia took over and changed my life!

The stories began as individual, short stories intended to be read as independent stories.  As more stories were written it became clear there was a lot of scope for the character of Anastasia, the young, horse riding detective.

In Series I we meet Anastasia and learn of her love of horses as she spends her summers at Boughton Lodge.  This is the start of her crime fighting adventures as she rides her horses through the Kent countryside, solving crimes and mysteries along the way.

In Series II Anastasia and her great friend Charlotte continue to solve crimes in the beautiful, Kent countryside and we learn more of who Anastasia really is.

In Series III a teenage Anastasia takes on some of the world's worst criminals.  Action packed adventures with insights into the worlds of people and drug trafficking, we learn even more about Anastasia with some amazing revelations.

Series I and II are aimed at 6 to 12 year olds and Series III is for 13 years upwards due to the content of those stories.

If somehow you missed these stories then why not take a look while they are free and see what you think.  Anastasia has a big following and is loved in countries around the world.  I hope you enjoy her journey; it's where my self publishing journey began. 

Anastasia Omnibus' of Series I, II and III are free from Monday 29th July through Friday 2nd August and are available in all Amazon territories.  The journey has begun...



Series I US www.amazon.com/dp/B008KMEHPY


Series II UK www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0090P1K5U


Series III UK www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00A823NJA
 

Wednesday 24 July 2013

Welcome... happy tidings :)

Welcome to the world Royal baby boy!  A new prince for us all although hopefully the news channels will let us know what else is going on in the world too!  I personally love hearing all about it but others certainly are getting a little fed up from what I've heard. 

So what will they call the little fella?  As a future monarch the happy couple will have to choose very carefully indeed.  As a parent I recall the list of potential names my husband and I had as we awaited the births of our girls.  We struggled with boy's names so it worked out well we had girls! 

Whatever he is named I truly hope he has opportunity to enjoy a relatively normal childhood.  And you never know he may become a Larry the Liger fan!

It is a week of welcomes.  The school summer holidays have begun and my time will be filled with entertaining two lively, five and two year old, girls!  It's hard to believe my eldest daughter has completed her Foundation year at school and it's been very welcoming how she has progressed.

We have also managed to keep the sunshine in England so another welcome especially when you look at previous summer weather!  Some days it's been a whole 10 degrees warmer than last year.

My final welcome is to the latest Larry the Liger story: The Rainy Night.  This story was published on 22nd July so shares the same birthday as the new prince! 

I have wanted to write this for a while and started it when I first saw the terrible Central European floods back in June.  Scenes of big cats, sedated and being moved to safety were amazing.  The zoo staff worked through the night to move as many animals as they could.  It wasn't the first time Prague Zoo had flooded and I'm sure the rescue operation was meticulously pre-planned on the back of the previous awful flood.

The River Vltava, Czech Republic broke its banks in June and a State of Emergency was declared.  The largest animals of the zoo took priority and were moved, however some smaller animals sadly perished in the floods.  As an animal lover I found the news stories very moving and was glad so many animals were saved.

In Larry the Liger - the Rainy Night, Larry finds himself in a precarious position at his home with the zookeeper and the zookeeper's wife.  They have raced off to assist the evacuation of the animals in the main part of the zoo leaving Larry alone.  The zookeeper attempts to make the house as waterproof as possible but the flood waters find a way in... 

Larry and Chloe the cat set off in search of higher ground and to help the small creatures and animals of the wood.  It is a perilous journey and we learn how animals cope in such heavy rains.  We also learn how important it is to help one another in times of crisis.

This is the eighth story in the Larry the Liger series and I truly hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Welcome to our new, future monarch; school holidays, hopefully with more sunshine; Larry the Liger - the Rainy Night; and good riddance to the yucky flood water.  And remember happy reading makes happy children :)

UK -         www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E3RDAXA
US -          www.amazon.com/dp/B00E3RDAXA
Germany -www.amazon.de/dp/B00E3RDAXA
Italy -       www.amazon.it/dp/B00E3RDAXA
France -    www.amazon.fr/dp/B00E3RDAXA
Spain -      www.amazon.es/dp/B00E3RDAXA
Canada -   www.amazon.ca/dp/B00E3RDAXA
India -       www.amazon.in/dp/B00E3RDAXA
Brazil -     www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00E3RDAXA
Japan -      www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00E3RDAXA

www.larrytheliger.co.uk

Monday 1 July 2013

Being a child...

When I was a very, young child I always felt safe when with my mum,  I always marvelled at her confidence; the way she could talk to anyone, her ease at traversing around town, her unflappability and her efficiency to get things done.  I recall wanting to be just like her when I grew up.  I also remember she walked very, very fast and I would often listen for the 'click, click, clicking' of her stiletto heels to find her in a crowd!

I was always bored as a child, never knowing what to do with my time.  My mum would be creative at times and often sing songs like 'Oh, Rachael is a funny 'un, has a face like a pickled onion, a nose liked a squashed tomato, etc'!  And sometimes to cheer me up if I was sad she would get everyone to play instruments of pots and pans and wooden spoons... Our house was rarely quiet!

I recall crying if mum was leaving me because I felt I couldn't cope without her but I always did.  I suppose when writing about Larry I am remembering the fear of venturing out on your own as a child; desperate to experience new things but also afraid to not have your mum there to keep you safe.

This is where I understand Larry and how he would feel being a young, liger cub.  I remember that uncertainty and the desire to have someone show you the way.  Larry lacks the role model of a mum or dad as he was abandoned and this is why the mother hen is so important in the stories - she is the voice of reason and comfort.  Every child needs a bit of that and I was lucky enough to get lots of it from my mum and dad.

You can read Larry's latest adventure: Larry the Liger - the Magical Sport's Day, which has just been released!  It is a lovely story where we find Larry excited and nervous as he prepares for his first ever, school, Sport's Day.  When he gets the chance to use magic to help him Larry must face the consequences of his actions. 

As my eldest daughter's first, school, Sport's Day approached recently I felt inspired to write this story.  She did very well in her races and was proud to be part of a team.

I hope you love the latest story and with positive messages to encourage your children, what's not to like? 

Check it out here: www.viewbook.at/B00DPWAAZA

London Welsh by Fergus

"Aunt Judith took me on an outing to Rochester Cathedral light evening to hear the London Welsh Male Voice Choir. A very good evening for me. I was talking to someone I knew in the Choir who played rugby for London Welsh when I was playing for London Scottish. That was 45 years ago.

A lady approached us and spoke in Welsh. A tongue I have never attempted to master. I assumed she wanted to talk to my Welsh friend but no she was being courteous in interrupting in Welsh but she wanted to talk to myself. In English of course.

"Tell me what has happened to Anastasia?" she asked.
"She is having a bit of a holiday," I explained.
"When will the next book be out?"
"We have four books to go with Larry," I said.
"I know that! But when?"

At that point I did not know book 7 would be awaiting me on email when I arrived home.

I felt I had to say something so I let the cat out of the bag - well slightly. Today we had an offering from The Sound of Music. Yes my favourite musical she said and today I heard it in Welsh for the first time.

You will find something about The Sound of Music in the next Anastasia Book. In Welsh? She hoped for too much. No German.

Sorry I can say no more!

Await the publication of the ebook dear reader.

In the meantime do read Larry the Liger. What a Goddess Rachael Phillips is to me."
 
Fergus