Ruby Allure's Books

Ruby Allure's Books
Ruby Allure's Books
Showing posts with label Indie author. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indie author. Show all posts

Sunday, 26 June 2016

NEW 5 STAR REVIEW ON TINGLE DINGLE AND THE LITTLE MISCHIEFS

The First 5 Star Review on Tingle Dingle and The Little Mischiefs




      06-17-16
Susan L. Daniels 06-17-16
SD

"Nice book for my grandchildren"
Where does Tingle Dingle and the Little Mischiefs rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I haven't listened to very many but I loved the way the narrator added sound effects. Even though this is a childrens' book I thorough enjoyed listening to it.

What did you like best about this story?
The sound effects

What about Triera Holley’s performance did you like?
Her voice is soothing and clear.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Not particularly.



NEW RELEASE: TINGLE DINGLE AND THE LITTLE MISCHIEFS

NEW RELEASE: THE HAIRY-LEGGED MYSTERY











Monday, 26 October 2015

Labyrinthine Chapter 2 & 3

Labyrinthine

 

 

CHAPTER 2

 

In the exhibition hall of an exclusive art gallery, a plump, fuming, fifty-something art agent paced up and down muttering under his breath. As he loosened his tie, his shifty eyes darted about in agitation. Hunching his shoulders, he grew increasingly rigid.

“That girl’s always late! It’s her last bloody chance!”

He scraped his chubby fingers over his balding head.

“Complete and utter disrespect! What does she think I am?”

He paused by a white framed window and stared out. For a moment, he just shook his head and checked his watch. I’m sick of it! If she doesn’t get here soon, I’ll have her bloody killed, that way her work might be worth something!

The agent’s face grew increasingly crimson, “This is her last bloody chance!” he spat.

 

CHAPTER 3

 

In a luxurious hotel, overlooking Bournemouth’s sandy beaches, Max laid on his king-size bed, smiling at the naked woman before him. He admired her curves as he traced his finger across her tanned, lean stomach. She smiled a coy smile, removed his hand from her hip, and slipped on her black, satin dress. “Time for me to go,” she said.

He sighed, “You don’t really have to go, do you?”

“You know I do.”

She gazed at him, bent over and kissed him on the forehead. Max gazed at her breasts and then into her eyes. She shook her head, turned, and glanced over her shoulder as she walked towards the door.

He watched the elegant woman leave the room and adjusted himself. He would never see her again.

“Damn, I have to call Olivia!”

 
Max yawned, rolled over and reached for his mobile. He resented having to call Olivia. She had an exhibition looming and would be at her wits end. Did he really need to deal with all that stress? He huffed; what he put himself through just to be with her was ridiculous. Max smiled wryly; he had his reasons and it was nearly time.
To listen to Labyrinthine on audible:
 
 

Thursday, 3 September 2015

New Book Release - Goylegate - One Gargantuan Scandal!

Goylegate - One Gargantuan Scandal!

 
LINK TO GOYLEGATE on Kindle

This week sees Goylegate - One Gargantuan Scandal! enter the Kindle book market. I will be interested to see what happens with this one because this is the one that was so close to being agented and auctioned. When it was in its original form I sold loads of these from the desk.

It was after the disappointment of this book being dropped (hugely hurt ego after blowing everything out of proportion) along with growing bored with rejection letters that I decided to go it alone. That decision is what directed me to learn all that I could about the indie market and triggered me to find new and entrepreneurial ways to get my creations out there. Life is strange; however, this book opened so many doors for me. In fact I still love it even though it was one of my first.

Oh, and this story was written because a friend of mine kind of has it all. It was her birthday so I asked her what she wanted. She replied: 'A story about Gargoyles.' Unfortunately I could not write a short story instead I came up with a  whole children's novel. I hope you enjoy it!


Ruby writes books to inspire and fascinate others!

 
Goylegate
One Gargantuan Scandal – Book 1
 
By
Ruby Allure
 
Published by Ruby Allure at Kindle.
 
Copyright  Ruby Allure
This book shall not be lent, resold or hired out by way of trade or otherwise without the author’s consent. All rights remain with the author: Ruby
Kindle Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people.
Especially created for little Davina.
Bounce, bounce, bounce.
The person with the most natural bounce I ever met.
Thank you for being an inspiration.
Thank you for advising me that Gargoyles eat walls
- I never knew that before.
 

Part I

What does a kid really remember?

 

CHAPTER 1

The fastest pace throughout the chase.

 
TIME: TODAY
LOCATION: ENGLAND
 
Davina hated being chased. So why was she in that situation? With her heart pounding, she glanced behind her. The beefy black-suited men were catching up. She gritted her teeth, put her head down and ran her absolute fastest. Effortlessly, she wove through the crowds with such speed and agility that she was barely even noticed. It was as if a warm breath had been exhaled and then she was gone.
In all directions, the hunters yelled into small lumps of black.
‘Cut her off!’ screamed the voice in charge.
How had the situation grown so out of hand? One minute she was eating from the large dark container on the street, the next she was being hunted. What was the problem? She had watched a hairy man with a long jacket eat from the cabbage smelling place. So why were they picking on her? Admittedly she was small, acrobatic, with long, dark hair and pale skin. Nothing that unusual, other than her blue freckles.
‘Stop right there!’ a brawny bloke had hollered.
Instinctively she had scarpered. The chase began with one angry-looking man and now there were already ten involved. She had done nothing wrong! Well, certainly nothing she could remember. 
The screeching sound of the wheeled, metal cages jerked her from her thoughts. Her pursuers intended to surround her. There was no way! She had to escape but she was at that designated place for a reason - but why? There had to be a clue…
Davina rounded a corner and searched for an escape or somewhere to hide. The crowd parted and watched her curiously. She wasn’t panting or making a noise, so why were they staring? Maybe running, climbing and jumping at a rate none of them could manage was something to do with it. Or was she more agile than many children her age? Actually, what was her age? That was a completely different matter.
Ahead of her, two burly black-suits blocked her path. She glanced behind her - four grimacing men, waving their arms, attempted to round her up like a chicken. The onlookers expected her capture and stopped in the street, gawking. Why couldn’t people mind their own business? What did it matter what she had eaten or where she had obtained it from? Maybe they had been monitoring where she slept at night. Had they followed her to the place where people pulled down their trousers and sat for a while before they left again? All she did was climb through a small, square window when the moon rose. It was completely opposite to her usual routine, but she had to live the same rhythm as the ‘outsiders’.
With a deep breath, she sprinted towards the two chunky chasers blocking her path. ‘Idiots!’ she muttered, ran sideways up a wall and used a dustbin to launch herself clear over them.
Some of the gawping onlookers applauded.
With an elegant landing, she continued. As she raced along, she glimpsed a reflection in a window: the two male black-suits huffed at each other, puffed out their chests and lolloped back into a heavy-footed run.
Frantically, she searched for a place to hide. The church - the same church she had woken up outside of on that first day. She hurdled the wall, sprinted the graveyard but ground to an abrupt halt. Something about the carved, stone figures leaning out of the church jogged her memory. Were they associated with her mission?
She scurried to the nearest grey, stone wall, ingrained with yellow and green lichen. Using all her upper body strength and her fingers like claws, she navigated the carvings up to a balcony. The strangely familiar Gargoyle faces appeared to grin at her as she wedged herself into a tiny alcove on the roof. Had she heard a growl of welcome?
Below her, a small pile of steaming stones appeared. They tumbled heavily to the ground. Plop, plop, plop!
Cautiously, she traversed the edge of the roof and found a small nook to hide in. Unfortunately, it was not enough to conceal her from what was overhead. The whirring of blades from a metal flying machine made her jolt. Up in the sky, men shouted into the dark talking machines and called in her location. She caught her breath and clung to the ledge. The wind from the machine was strong and blew her hair across her face. Davina scraped it back and erratically scanned the area for escape. She considered fighting the black-suits directly, but that would give her away. Davina sighed, if only she could remember. ‘Whatever you do Davina - do not draw attention to yourself. She will send people to capture you. This is all you are supposed to remember,’ was all that remained.
What had she done? She had already drawn attention to herself and that meant trouble!
Davina gazed up at the whirring, flying machine and glanced below. The black-suits beneath circled like starving dogs. She had to take action. Her only possible escape was to leap to a nearby tree then across the adjacent field. Could she make it?
Davina took a deep breath launched herself along the balcony. Bang!
The bitter sting of something sharp bit into her behind. Darkness descended upon her. Time was lost with her last thought – who were the outsiders?

Doing Things YOUR Way

Doing things ‘Your’ way

Image result for original
 
Do you have something unique to offer? An alternative perspective or a different way of doing things?  I am sure that you do. Consider this: no one person has lived the same life. We are born at different times and eras and move through life with different mental filters. If you think about it there is no way that each person’s life can actually be the same as another’s. That means that you have something unique to contribute. That is quite a phenomenal thought if you think about it. Twins don’t even have the same lives because they are in different bodies. I don’t even think that Siamese twins would experience life in the same way because they would have different mental filters and still view lives from a slightly different perspective / angles. So with this in mind, then why do people attempt to repeat what has already gone before? Why do people bandwagon? Well it is because they are trying to ride on the back of something that has worked. Take for example the Harry Potter books, how many bandwagoners managed to make their billions off the back of it? What made the Harry Potter series so special was that J.K Rowling made the book her way. There may well have been influences but that is not the point, we all take inspiration from somewhere and amalgamate the fragments into something new.
 
Image result for unique
 
One of the things that I found when I was teaching creative writing classes is that people often emulated what had gone before. The vocalised belief is that there is nothing original. I contest that and say that you are original so therefore what you bring to what you create can be original. Yes there are limited story lines with themes; however, what you put into the world can be original because you create it. You will also find that the passion will rise within you once you ‘put your heart’ into it (this is another blog I wrote). The more you put your heart into something the more energy and passion you have to create something. It is as if you hook up to an energy supply to drive you through to creative heights. Forget about doing something purely to make money. Try creating something purely to experience the joy of creation and stepping into that space where you are in ‘no time’ and the kiss of inspiration canoodles you… When you experience this you will find that doing things your way has a great deal of satisfaction and then you may well find that once creativity flows that your aliveness increases and you find that ‘special’ something you can contribute to the world which demonstrates you have done something your wayJ
 
Image result for kiss of inspiration
 

Ruby Allure Books created to inspire you:)

LINKS TO AMAZON.COM:
 
Labyrinthine: Interior Worlds, Book 1
LABYRINTHINE AMAZON.COM LINK: Link: http://amzn.com/B012FAYI5U

 

:
AUDIBLE LINK FOR A SHORT COURSE IN CREATIVE WRITING: http://amzn.com/B01390THLK



21/08/15
 
"An Unexpected Gem"
***I was provided a copy of this audio book for the purpose of a review ***

With the required disclaimer out of the way, let me be brutally honest, I had not expected this little gem. In fact, I had expected my listening would be a bit rough and was fortified by it being less than 2 hours.

The synopsis says the author wrote the book as a takeaway from her evening classes on creative writing. My mental context was ... Community Ed evening classes ...and expected a well intended but kind of amateur product. However, I am interested in adult education, and batter my own nerd head against a giant personal creativity brick wall.

So you have an idea of my mind set... low expectations along with high interest.

Amateur hour it was NOT.

I don't know where the author teaches her class, but Sign Me Up! And bring the narrator. Wow. Two hours of unadulterated, straight up, right on, good learning material delivered by a close friend just sharing the material. The narrator's voice was warm, sincere without any artifact or pompous patronising, and well modulated throughout. The material was mind opening for me, with the right mix of the mechanics of writing exercises, sufficient context that using prompts now makes sense to me, and a sprinkling of the inner heart work of creativity through written material.

This was just what I didn't dare hope for in a how to creative writing listen.

Truly an unexpected gem and a learning and growing experience for me.

A keeper and one I will return to many times as I deconstruct my own wall, one block at a time.

Thank You, Ruby and Thank You, Erin.
 Money Farm
TO BUY MONEY FARM ON AMAZON.com http://amzn.com/B010F04W9O
· Frode
06/08/15
5 STAR
"M.O.N.E.Y. is bad? This book is not!"
So Money Farm by Ruby Allure was a surprise! When I REALLY did not read things about this book I review for Audiobook Blast, I sometimes get books I don't know something about. BTW: I read 99% about the books I want to review, but this book I can't remember I did that for. Anyways: This was a nice surprise, and I think it is one of those books that is better the second time you read it. No joke! I listen to this twice before I made this! Money Farm makes you thin, and who does not like to hear a book that makes you think? It is an awesome book, that I will recommend to all that likes audiobooks, and really to people that does not!

Helen Lloyd English accent its the topic like a glow and a hand! Her "lady like" voice is so cold, and clear I feel that the author made this book thinking that Helen Lloyd would read it out loud! That is how I feel those two fits together! The 2 times 14 hrs and 6 mins I spend with her never feels boring or uninteresting! I would love to spend it again, and I will because this book I will hear again, and again, even when it is 14 hrs and 6 mins long! That is saying something!

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com
MONEY FARM
What did you like most about Money Farm?
It was an eye opener.
 
What did you like best about this story?
I like the way it made you think about the way normal everyday life is here and now, and the future...
 
Have you listened to any of Helen Lloyd’s other performances? How does this one compare?
Helen Lloyd narrated this fairly long audiobook brilliantly. Although the story content was very intense and thought provoking, her lovely smooth voice was very easy to listen to and I thought it was just perfect, a fascinating book wonderfully narrated.
 
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes it was, although it is too long to do so.

Saturday, 22 August 2015

How to Promote your Book


How to promote your book

Image result for books
Something that I have noticed is how reluctant people are to market their work.  Why is it so difficult  to let your audience know you have created something for them? After spening years crafting and creating a work of art shouldn’t you let people know? Maybe even celebrate the fact you have created something worthy of their attention. What you do have to remember is that people have a choice whether they choose to part with money to purchase one of your creations or not. No one is forced to buy your work remember that!
Image result for books

So what is it that stops people sharing their books with the world? It seems there is a lack of confidence, self-worth or value for what has been created. Once you understand that then you will understand that your competitors feel the same. Or maybe they don’t maybe they have complete confidence in their creation and are willing to put themselves on the line to achieve their dreams. Why should the person next to you achieve their dream and you wait in the shadows for something to happen. The expression everything comes to those who wait is one of the most ridiculous attitudes to adopt. The truth is more waiting comes to those who wait – and waiting is NOT everything. So suck it up Princess and stand by your creation rather than hope someone will do it for you! I know this is brutal, but this is what I say to my students because your work and your sales are your responsibility – fact!
Image result for digital books
So ask yourself what is your resistance… You might fail? So what? What if you do? At least you gave it a go. What might you feel? Humiliated? Stupid? Like you are not worthy? Well my friend you will feel the same if you don’t give it some welly too and go for it! So now we have discovered what is holding you back then maybe it is time to shift perception and consider how enjoyable it is to contribute to other people’s lives with your creations. What if your creation actually enabled the world to see an entirely new way? What if you held the answer to world change and you were lurking in the shadows fearing the potential of your own light! Yes stop being a dick!
Image result for digital books

So what do you need to do? You need to find a way that you enjoy promoting: a way that is fun and one that you will repeat whether or not you have an instant return. At this point I now realise why working in a bookshop while I studied my Masters Degree served me so well. I worked for a well known book retailer when Dan Brown released his books and I watched how word of mouth generated so many sales. What I realised is that it is better to have a few books released or available simultaneously. Make sure you have them in a variety of formats too. When one book sells it is quite often the case that people go back and buy the series by the same author. Try not to be a one book pony and never take a pony into a bookstore!
Image result for digital books

So how do you promote?  Simple - you tell people in as many different ways as possible. How do you tell people? There is social media. The era of social media is amazing. People can find out about you in an instant. I am sure you have heard of: Pintrest, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, SoundCloud and Facebook to name but a few. There is an ‘in person approach’ with books signings. There are author websites. There are blogs. There are magazines. There are radio stations and there are reviewers. If you have your work on audio – you post samples on audio forums such as Soundcloud. You take every opportunity to share on Youtube. If you have the opportunity to do interviews take it. You put yourself out there in as many ways as possible. You go beyond your comfort zone and approach reviewers.  What you do is you allow yourself one year of consistent promotional repetition. Each week you dedicate an evening or a two evenings to blogging, tweeting and sharing.  You allocate a specific amount of time and go for it!

 Image result for success

Personally I create a visual image to motivate me. For some it might be pictures of your children or you ideal home. I put that image in where I can see it from my computer. Also there will be days when you don’t want to promote. Well ‘give it a try.’ When I say give it a try it means sit at the computer and say I will give it a try for ten minutes… You are likely to find a couple of hours pass and promotion is out there.

Sometimes you will hit a wall with promoting and that is when you spend time brain-storming ways to find contacts and then contact them. Ask yourself how you found out about your favourite books. Was it word of mouth? If it was from whom? Find that person and give them your book to read. If they like it then they will share it. The thing is the world is full of information so you have to contribute worthwhile information. What is your book about? How can you be an expert on related subjects and then write articles on that? What you do have to remember is that there are people searching out what you have created. If you wanted to find what you had created where would you look? That is precisely where you place it. Look at Ad words, look at tags and look at the best blogs on your subject. What are they doing? How do you equal that or do better. The act of promoting yourself is easy. The only resistance is you. Imagine how your life will be different once you succeed. Allow yourself that year of consistent promotion and re-evaluate what works and what does not work along the way. If anything you will emotionally expand and grow because you are stepping beyond your comfort zone. Go for it and win! Oh and in the meantime write your next book.

In the meantime here are a couple of mine  that are selling rather well:)

AUDIBLE LINK FOR A SHORT COURSE IN CREATIVE WRITING: http://amzn.com/B01390THLK


21/08/15
 
"An Unexpected Gem"
***I was provided a copy of this audio book for the purpose of a review ***

With the required disclaimer out of the way, let me be brutally honest, I had not expected this little gem. In fact, I had expected my listening would be a bit rough and was fortified by it being less than 2 hours.

The synopsis says the author wrote the book as a takeaway from her evening classes on creative writing. My mental context was ... Community Ed evening classes ...and expected a well intended but kind of amateur product. However, I am interested in adult education, and batter my own nerd head against a giant personal creativity brick wall.

So you have an idea of my mind set... low expectations along with high interest.

Amateur hour it was NOT.

I don't know where the author teaches her class, but Sign Me Up! And bring the narrator. Wow. Two hours of unadulterated, straight up, right on, good learning material delivered by a close friend just sharing the material. The narrator's voice was warm, sincere without any artifact or pompous patronising, and well modulated throughout. The material was mind opening for me, with the right mix of the mechanics of writing exercises, sufficient context that using prompts now makes sense to me, and a sprinkling of the inner heart work of creativity through written material.

This was just what I didn't dare hope for in a how to creative writing listen.

Truly an unexpected gem and a learning and growing experience for me.

A keeper and one I will return to many times as I deconstruct my own wall, one block at a time.

Thank You, Ruby and Thank You, Erin.
 Money Farm
TO BUY MONEY FARM ON AMAZON.com http://amzn.com/B010F04W9O
· Frode
06/08/15
5 STAR
"M.O.N.E.Y. is bad? This book is not!"
So Money Farm by Ruby Allure was a surprise! When I REALLY did not read things about this book I review for Audiobook Blast, I sometimes get books I don't know something about. BTW: I read 99% about the books I want to review, but this book I can't remember I did that for. Anyways: This was a nice surprise, and I think it is one of those books that is better the second time you read it. No joke! I listen to this twice before I made this! Money Farm makes you thin, and who does not like to hear a book that makes you think? It is an awesome book, that I will recommend to all that likes audiobooks, and really to people that does not!

Helen Lloyd English accent its the topic like a glow and a hand! Her "lady like" voice is so cold, and clear I feel that the author made this book thinking that Helen Lloyd would read it out loud! That is how I feel those two fits together! The 2 times 14 hrs and 6 mins I spend with her never feels boring or uninteresting! I would love to spend it again, and I will because this book I will hear again, and again, even when it is 14 hrs and 6 mins long! That is saying something!

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com
MONEY FARM
What did you like most about Money Farm?
It was an eye opener.
 
What did you like best about this story?
I like the way it made you think about the way normal everyday life is here and now, and the future...
 
Have you listened to any of Helen Lloyd’s other performances? How does this one compare?
Helen Lloyd narrated this fairly long audiobook brilliantly. Although the story content was very intense and thought provoking, her lovely smooth voice was very easy to listen to and I thought it was just perfect, a fascinating book wonderfully narrated.
 
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes it was, although it is too long to do so.