Amethyst Pledge is now officially available for purchase. It’s the first book in my new fantasy series. Like my previous science fiction trilogy, it’s published by Hague Publishing.

We launched Live on Facebook, as due to COVID-19, we were unable to have the launch we’d initially planned at Double Picc, one of our local cafes, where I often write. Well, some time in the future, I hope to write there again!

I thought I’d include a link to the Facebook Live Video here. And also some purchase links.

The Hague Publishing Bookshop is here.

You can of course, purchase it via your favourite online bookseller in both paperback and ebook formats.

Here’s the text of what I said, but I’ll have to omit the book reading bits. If you’d like, you can view them on the video. Or of course (subtle hint) you can read them in your own copy!

Launch Speech

If you’re online, please comment and say hi!  Even add your location if you’d like. We’ll be getting properly underway in just a moment. And of course we need to make sure our tech is working properly.

Well, this isn’t quite the book launch we’d originally planned. The original plan was to have food, drink, chat, and books, while catching up with friends old and new.

We’d booked the venue, chatted to Simon at Double Picc here in Muswellbrook, (Hi Simon!), where I often sit and write, and I’d even organised a banner and made some props. Well, they’re all here, in our house…

Obviously, many things have changed. Unfortunately, COVID-19 is currently creating sadness, separation and grief all across the world right now. And now, unlike in so many years past, we see it all, right in our living rooms and on our devices, and we see it as it’s happening. It all makes for anxious and exhausting times.

But it can also make for times when we learn more about ourselves, our neighbours, and it gives us opportunities to assist our friends, family, and neighbours. In this time of technology, it means that I can still do my book launch, and perhaps people who would not have otherwise have been able to attend are now watching online.

So if you’re one of them, a special hello from the Upper Hunter, in NSW, Australia. It’s not quite Double PIcc, and the coffee and cakes are not quite as good, and the only people here in person are myself, my long suffering husband Mal, who’s on the other end of the camera, and our pets, who are quite well known for making an appearance during any online activity – we’ll wait and see – they’ve already helped Mal with the set up, and visited during rehearsals.… If you have questions, please write them up on the live video feed, and I’ll see if I can answer them at the end. It would be great to have a bit of interaction.

Firstly, thank you for coming, and supporting this online book launch. And thank you to Andrew Harvey, from Hague Publishing, who has taken yet another chance on my writing, and has published Amethyst Pledge, the first story in the Chronicles of Albatar.

This book came about as the result of a prompt at Brook and Beyond Writers group. We write 500 words on a theme, which is usually a one word prompt. A couple of years ago, one particular month, the theme was purple. I wrote my 500 words, and liked them so much, I then wrote a whole book, which is now Amethyst Pledge. It’s funny, really. I never quite know what’s going to happen when I start writing.

That might sound odd, but with me, I usually have a starting point, and an end point, and a few ideas about what might happen along the way, but not a lot else. I write from the movie unrolling inside my head. Basically, I start, and then stuff happens. Sometimes I might add, when I read it back later, I still do a double take, and think ‘What on earth was I thinking?’ Sometimes I’m pretty happy. This time, I was generally pretty happy.

I thought I’d read that first 500 words I wrote – well, what is now the edited and rejigged version of those first 500 words, and then a couple of snippets from further on in the book. First of all, the blurb…I hate writing blurbs, as I’m really bad at them. There’s a trick to writing just enough to suck someone in, without telling them too much about what happens….

Read Blurb

Read page 35…

Normally about now during a launch, someone else would read some of the favourable ARC reviews, but this time I’ll have to blow my own trumpet, sorry! (It just feels a bit weird…) 

Estella H. says: ‘This book held my attention right from the beginning. I can not wait for book two to come out! I would give it 6 stars if I COULD!’

Franzi F. says: ‘This book surprised me in all the best ways.’

Penelope D. says: ‘Wow! This was a solid 5/5 stars read for me! and Yes, this story contains similar elements to many other YA fantasy books out there. However, I was entertained and gripped in this one in a way that I didn’t in the other ones. This felt refreshing and rich.’

Marianne V. says: ‘Likely to appeal to readers of all ages, this is an excellent beginning to a what promises to be an intriguing series, and the second book will be eagerly anticipated. More, soon, please!’

If you’re the kind of person who likes to check out reviews, you’ll find more on Netgalley, Amazon and Goodreads. 

And just another little snippet.

Read page 50…

Check for questions (there were some!)

Amethyst Pledge is of course, available to purchase from today. You can find it at your favourite online bookseller in both paperback and ebook, or of course, directly from Hague Publishing. If you’re a local, I have a limited number of paperback copies available. They come with a voucher for Double Picc – so you get extra bang from your buck! If you’d like one, please message me, so we can put one aside for you. We can do all payments online via either paypal or direct debit. A special thanks to those of you who have already pre-ordered. 

I can of course also posts signed copies, so if you’re not local and would like one, I can sign and post one, although I do have to charge postage. I can send a Double Picc voucher, but if you’re not from close by, it might just be a souvenir….let me know.

And now, as this online launch draws to a close, I’d like to take a few moments to thank some people.

Simone and Deb, from Brook and Beyond Writers: Thank you. That purple prompt led to this book. Thank you for always being the best Apostrophe Posse ever, and such an encouragement in my writing journey.

Mal (behind the camera right now) – you always put up with my weird writing stuff, and are always so incredibly encouraging. And this time, you read the whole thing in two weeks!

Our kids. It’s so great to share a love of Scifi and Fantasy with you both. Also cat memes.

Mum and Dad. Who encouraged me to always do my best. Love to you in WA. One day when this is over, I’ll be able to come and see you.

To those of you joining us online, thank you for reading my stories. Special thanks to my Aussie Readers friends on Goodreads. Your support and friendship is just marvellous.

And to all of us. When this is over. Those words remind me that one day it will be. Maybe not as soon as we’d like, but one day, we’ll be able to look back at 2020 and be thankful that we did the right thing to keep the vulnerable in our communities as safe as possible. 

We’re all here because we love to read. May the words that we share give us respite from worry, and hope in recovery. May they bring some light into darkness and hope for the future into our lives.

Thank you.