Free Fiction Friday July 23 (a little late)

Free Short Story

Mages: Magic & Mayhem

Join Dante, a rising actor, as he is suddenly thrust into a world of magic while taking a much-needed break from the pressures of his career. Unprepared for the dangers and secrets that come with it, he is faced with a mage in his debt and newfound knowledge he does not know how to deal with.

Dante must navigate a turbulent underworld full of power and possibility. Will Dante be able to survive in a world where magic is now part of his life and more powerful than ever?

Free to all the subscribers of my newsletter (no spam, I promise), in fact, at the moment, mostly just the free fiction emails 🥰.

Go here to sign up and the details of how to get your free copy are in the final welcome email.

If you would just like to pick up a copy it is 99c and available from:

Smashwords & Amazon

(more coming soon)

---

Check Out My Fiction YouTube Channel

Tales with Tasha

Each week we have a theme and so there will be something for all tastes.

• 🎤Micro stories as YouTube Shorts Monday - Sunday- for fun quick viewing
• 🕮The occasional longer story perfect for story time, over coffee or before going to bed

Tasha's Social Media

@beren_writesFacebookInstagramLinkedInAmazon

📚Join My Newsletter📚

Receive 2 FREE eBooks just for signing up and a free short story once every month on Free Fiction Friday.

Click here to join the Wittegen Press Newsletter

List hosted on MailChimp, information will only be used for Newsletter contact, and we do not send spam.

Thought by Natasha Duncan-Drake #FreeFictionFriday

Free Fiction Friday - May 2019

It's the first Friday in the month, which means Free Fiction Friday at Wittegen Press. Every month we give the little gift of an exclusive free short story to all the subscribers of our newsletter. This month we have a contemporary fantasy tale.

Our newsletter is run on Mailchimp, so it’s secure and reliable, as well as being easy to join and we promise there is no spam. Fill in the form on our landing page at Mailchimp and you're done. The links for this month's free short story are in the final welcome email.

We provide the short story in mobi, awz3, ePub and PDF to cater for all needs.

Thought – by Natasha Duncan-Drake

Genre: contemporary fantasy

A head injury leaves James with more than just a bump on his skull. He’s hearing voices.

Author’s Note:
This is a story I have had in my concepts folder for a few years now and it was a joy to finally be able to flesh it out. It was originally designed to be much longer, but that will have to wait for other projects to be finished. I hope you enjoy it.

Review: The House With a Clock in Its Walls #MonsterMondays

Review: The House With a Clock in Its Walls

Rating: 12A

Cast:

Jack Black ... Jonathan Barnavelt

Cate Blanchett ... Florence Zimmerman

Owen Vaccaro ... Lewis Barnavelt

Kyle MacLachlan ... Isaac Izard

Summary: A young orphan named Lewis Barnavelt aids his magical uncle in locating a clock with the power to bring about the end of the world.

I wanted to see this film when I caught the trailer, and I can very much say, I was not disappointed.

Apart from the superb cast, this film has everything we could want from am urban fantasy film. There's action, adventure, peril and a great bad guy.

The film is set in the 1950s in a small town in the USA. It's a great place for such a plot because it's a little claustrophobic where lots of people know your business, but it's also the kind of place where people might whisper about the eccentric people, but they would never say anything to their face. In fact it is the perfect place for Lewis' (Owen Vaccaro) uncle Jonathan (Jack Black) and his closest friend Florence Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett).

Lewis is the slightly nerdy kid, with a very big brain, trying to fit in to a new school and deal with the tragedy of having lost his parents. He's the perfect protagonist for the strange magical world he is thrown into that starts to give him a place to belong and new things to learn.

Owen Vaccaro gives a great performance (mostly) and makes us believe every step he takes. There is one scene where he has to cry that felt like the worst stage school performance ever, but that was the only blip.

Jack Black is absolutely brilliant as Uncle Jonathan, eccentric, free spirited and in a superb game of who can insult the other better without being crude or horrible with Florence Zimmerman. He has a touch of the same self-doubt that Lewis carries with him too, and both of them overcome it together.

Cat Blanchett is as fabulous as always as Florence, with her penchant for purple and a spirit damaged almost beyond repair by the Nazis in WWII. She too has a journey to make from the beginning of the story to the end, which is nuanced and well conceived.

Then we have our baddie, Isaac Izard as played by Kyle MacLachlan, who is, in fact, dead at the beginning of the film. You would think this might cause issues with him being the big bad, but, like Voldemort, what is a little thing like death to a powerful warlock? He's evil and creepy and just as broken as most of the other characters, which makes him a sad character too.

This is a fill with layers. Every character carries something with them so they are far from perfect. Each could easily have swapped places and ended up with bad guy with what they have been through. The war broke some, tragedy and personal loss broke the others and they all put themselves back together in different ways, becoming more powerful within themselves as they do.

There is a lot of magical lore in this film, but it doesn't throw it at us like an encyclopedia, it does a great job of showing it instead. It leaves questions, but they are not troubling, annoying questions, they are spaces for the imagination to grow. The film has a great balance.

The only problem I had with it was some of the CGI. There is a bit at the end which just made me shudder, and not in a good way. I think they were going for freaky, but they mostly hit bad. I won't say more because it would be a spoiler, but it is very easy to spot. Given that the rest of the CGI is superb and it suggests it was a production decision mistake, not a reflection of the artists creating it.

So. all in all, a great movie. I have the blu-ray on pre-order and intend to watch it many more times. It is a film that is going to become one of my go to favourites I believe.

All images courtesy of IMDB.

Have you seen the film? What did you think? What was your favourite part? If you haven't seen it yet, have I convinced you to give it a try?

Shower of Destiny by Natasha Duncan-Drake #FreeFictionFriday #Fantasy #Humour

Shower of Destiny by Natasha Duncan-Drake

Free Fiction Friday

It is once again Free Fiction Friday because we have hit June already (where does the time go?) and it's the first Friday. Every month Soph and I produce a free short story for the members of our newsletter to say thank you for sticking with us. These stories range from ghost stories to sci-fi with paranormal and fantasy in there too, so there is something for everyone.

This month we have contemporary fantasy with a good side of humour.

Each story is posted over at Wittegen Press and we send out the password to all our members so they can unlock the delights of the monthly offering.

If you aren't a member, fear not, the password is also contained in the welcome email for the newsletter, so if you sign up now, you'll be able to read this month's story.

Our newsletter is all about:

• releases, 
• competitions, 
• special offers, 
• our authors,
• and any other useful information about Wittegen Press
• as well as Free Fiction Friday every month.

We pride ourselves on never spamming our members, and you can unsubscribe at any time you wish, of course.

Sign up to the Newsletter here.

We'll also give you 2 FREE eBooks for joining us. You can't get these 2 anywhere else at the moment.

Free Fiction Friday for June 2018

Title: Shower of Destiny
Author: Natasha Duncan-Drake
Genre: contemporary fantasy, humour
Length: Short Story
Description:
Destiny is never easy to deal with, especially when it involves being accosted while naked.

Free Fiction Friday - The Beast in Me by Natasha Duncan-Drake

Free Fiction Friday

It's the 1st Friday of August and that means it is Free Fiction Friday over at Wittegen Press. A new short story is now up for all the subscribers to our newsletter.

It is completely free to become a member and all you need is a valid email address. Fill in the form at the bottom of this page and you’re done. Don't worry if you join after the 1st Friday, the password for the month will be included in the welcome email after you subscribe.

What we WILL DO for our subscribers:

• Send you an email on the 1st Friday of the month to remind you about the short story and give you the password for the month as soon as the story goes live.
• Send you information about new books, competitions and events, so you don’t miss anything.
• Give you two Free eBooks just for joining.

What we WON’T DO to our subscribers:

• Spam you with loads of random advertising.
• Reveal your email adress to anyone else.

This Month's Short Story

The Beast In Me
by Natasha Duncan-Drake
Genre: paranormal, contemporary fantasy
Length: ~8K wds

Description:
There are worrying reports about the Misomene Corporation's business dealings. Teiji Inoue was sent in to investigate, but he cover was blown. Now Teiji must survive Misomene's attentions as he discovers that the rumours of illegal practices pale in comparison to the reality.

Misomene are engaged in occult research and Teiji has become one of their experiments. Even if he comes out alive he may not come out sane.

Newsletter Subscription Form

We'll send you details of book releases, competitions and other news from our authors, BUT we WON'T spam you, or pass your details on to anyone else.

We will also give you 2 FREE ebooks just for signing up.

Assassin's Blood
Natasha Duncan-Drake

Curse of a Banshee
Sophie Duncan

* indicates required

Email Address * 

First Name 

Last Name 

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to Everyone (FREE eBooks)

Greetings all, I wish you all the joy, blessings and peace of the season. I hope you are all well and happy and have fun at this holiday time, whether you celebrate the birth of a baby, another festival or just the fact that people seem to be nicer to each other at this time of year :).

I've been rather busy today, I started by making Last Minute Christmas Chutney - it's so easy and so very, very tasty :). We also achieved turkey! We went and picked it up at 6:30 this morning from the butcher and it is now in the back of the car with ice packs to keep it cool. I'm also made a Galette from Mary Berry's recipe for those of us who don't like Christmas pudding. I know, it is sacrilegious to say such things in the UK, but I just don't like it ;). Shortly I will prepare the veg for tomorrow. With that all done it will be time to pop over to my parents' place to celebrate my father's birthday.

Soph and I have been roped in to singing in the choir for Midnight because they have several people away this year, which I am really looking forward to. I love singing carols and descants. And Daddy is taking the 10:30 Christmas morning service, so yay! The local vicar is very nice, but I have always had my Dad standing up the sharp end and so it doesn't feel like Christmas unless he officiates at one of the services :). Church of England vicars never really retire, they just end up doing services for other people :D.

So, now onto the public service announcement about FREE ebooks.

A Very Merry Christmas to One & All!

And at this time of year, we'd like to say a big thank you to all our Wittegen Press readers, especially those who have supported us by signing up to our mailing list. As a gift from us to you, we have two books for you to enjoy totally free. 

Those of you already subscribed to our mailing list will remember us asking you to vote on your favourite genres and now the two books based on the top two genres are ready for you to enjoy :).

Genre: Paranormal

Assassin's Blood

by Natasha Duncan-Drake

Meet Kira Roltof, or rather Jasmin Welby at the moment because she’s undercover. Kira’s an assassin with a sense of humour that’s almost as dangerous as she is. When hunting down her targets it helps that she's a vampire/werewolf hybrid and has been at the killing game for over seventy years. Practice makes perfect and all that jazz.

Of course her combined species status could just as easily get her killed as help her out. If either the vampires or the werewolves figure out she’s both, she’ll never be safe again.

Her latest target is a Mafia big shot. Nothing she can’t handle easily, except she runs into a little snag of the vampire persuasion at the end of the job.

Assassin’s Blood is a short story full of paranormal intrigue and action with a little bit of romance to round it off.

Genre: Contemporary Fantasy

Curse of a Banshee - (The Darwell [Magical] Cleaning Services #1)

by Sophie Duncan

B, a djinn/banshee low fae, runs Darwell Cleaning Services, a business that specializes in tidying up magical crime scenes. She's managed her company with her friend and business partner, Jean, for over one hundred years without any complaints, or problems. She keeps her head down and offers a job to those whom higher fae look down on for their lack of personal magic.

B and her team are expecting an ordinary night of clean-up when they arrive at the aftermath of a spell battle in the middle of an English woodland. However, when a terrified djinn boy appears in the middle of their job, B finds the mix of her djinn and banshee instincts, which she normally keeps under strict control, beginning to rise. The boy is not alone, he is being chased by criminals intent on selling him to become a genie, the same gang who took B's father a century earlier.

B must struggle with her own unsettled powers and fight the slavers for the boy's freedom, risking her own life and those of her friends in the process.

Curse of a Banshee is fast-paced fantasy taking a fresh look at ancient powers in a contemporary British setting.

~

Existing subscribers to our mailing list will have received our Christmas Newsletter containing the links to the books, for anyone else, you can get the books as well. We'll send you the links in the confirmation email when you sign up to the Wittegen Press mailing list.

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Cat's Confidence out today :)

It's launch day! Yay!

Cat's Confidence is out today and for one week until 8th Oct is is $2.99, after that it's going up to $3.29, so get in early for the better deal.

It's available on Amazon, Smashwords, Apple, B&N and Kobo at the moment and will be on other sites shortly (thank you Smashwords aggregate program).

All the buy links are here at the main book page.

Summary:
The Seer says that a Questor is always prepared for the Task for which they are chosen and Charlie has been a Questor long enough to know the Seer is always right. Still, it never occurred to him that being ready would mean specific training for a specific Task. Charlie, Kaelyn and Alexander are given six weeks to become a Dragon Warrior team: all they need to do is master magical telepathy, archery, flying and, the trickiest of all, how to put on a dragon-harness in under five minutes!

Once through the portal in the land of Snijela, they must pass as veterans, make friends with other dragons and figure out why they've actually been sent on their Task in the first place. Add in a volatile young queen, two feuding nations either on the verge of peace or all out war, as well as spies, sexism and an alarming acceleration in Charlie's premonitions, and nothing is ever going to be straightforward.

New title: The Beginning by Natasha Duncan-Drake

I have a new title out today. It has been previously published in the Wittegen Press Giveaway Games Anthologies, but because it is part of an existing published book series (Vampires: The New Age), it is also now available stand alone.

It's a novelette (~12k wds), so a nice quick read full of excitement and action.

Title: The Beginning (Prequel to Advent)
Series: Vampires: The New Age #0.1
Author: Natasha Duncan-Drake
Price: US $0.99, UK £0.77, EUR 0.86

Nate hunts vampires and he's good at it. However, when he comes across Lexie while stalking his latest quarry, he finds out life can be a whole lot more complicated than even he knew. Lexie is a white witch with a dark secret. When one of the vampires Nate is tracking turns out to be an initiate of the worst kind of blood magic, that secret might just save his life.

This title is a prequel to the previously published novel Advent.

It is also available in the following anthologies:
Myriad Imaginings: All The Stories From The Wittegen Press Giveaway Games
Half of Everything: Stories by Natasha Duncan-Drake From The Wittegen Press Giveaway Games
Bright Young Things: Young Adult Stories From The Wittegen Press Giveaway Games

The Next Big Thing

Sophie Duncan tagged me last week for this meme, which is all about answering ten questions about my current work in progress.

This is quite difficult because I have several and I really am writing them all at the same time and I'm not sure what will be finished first. Zero out of ten for organisation on that one. Hence I decided to talk about the current novel I'm working on rather than some of the shorter works.

1. What is the working title of your book?
Tints of Gold and Red

2. Where did the idea come from for the book? 
I have a very popular fanfic called Gold Tinted Spectacles, which is based in the Harry Potter fandom and the other day I was poking around in my folders, as one does, and had a nose at it. I realised that there are some great ideas in the fanfic that are entirely separate from the underlying fandom. It occurred to me they would make a good basis for an original book. So what I've been doing is ripping the text apart, saving some bits, marking up others to change as well as devising my own magical universe in which to set the events.

3. What genre does your book fall under? 
Contemporary fantasy, YA

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? 

Tommy Knight as Rafe Mathian

Ben Barnes as Scott Kem

Rachel Hurd-Wood asYvie Pritchard

Nicholas Hoult as Finlay Debore

Dominic Cooper as Justin Bridge

Gwyneth Paltrow as Saolin

Gina Bellman as Adept Diriu

Stephen Fry as Johnathan Argyle

Helen Mirren as Melanie Pride

Tom Hiddleston as Withers (yes I picked the Loki image deliberately because I wanted the dark hair and the grand costume because Withers is dark fae)










5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
White, Grey, Black: magic has many guises and Rafe has been ruled by the fact none of them agree; now his life depends on balancing them all.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? 
Self-pub, unless I suddenly become incredibly sought after and gain myself an agent :).

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 
Well technically I haven't yet, but the original fanfic took a couple of weeks, then several more to make sure all the details were correct. It's going to take me a lot of time to dismantle the original, rewrite the scenes I want to keep and then add in all the new stuff. Probably about a month I should think.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? 
Harry Potter and Percy Jackson

9. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? 
The main romance in it is a gay one between Rafe and Scott, so it gives an alternative to all the boy/girl teenage angst out there :). There's a lot of magic and Fae and conflict, so plenty of excitement to keep people interested.

10. Tag you’re it! (this is where you link to the five authors you have tagged)
No one wanted to be tagged :(. If you would like to be now, drop me a comment and I'll add you in.


Rules:
***Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (Work In Progress)
***Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.

Today's Giveaway #17 - The End of The Journey Part 2 of 2

Wittegen Press Giveaway Games
Giveaway: 17th Jul 2012 BST
Day 17: The End of The Journey - Part 2

by
Sophie Duncan

Confused and sedated, Zac Kithrall wakes up on the run and in the care of his worst enemy, Damon Wulfres. Zac is a demon-seer, he's one of the good guys: he helps stop demon-raisers from doing their worst in The Demon War that has run for centuries behind the normal world's back. Damon is a demon-raiser, the son of the most ruthless, Harold Wulfres. Yet, Zac's instincts tell him to trust Damon.
He does not know why.
Part 2 (if you missed part 1, drop us a note at publications@wittegenpress.com)
Part of the Wittegen Press Giveaway Games July 2012
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Fantasy

New Competwition to win Cat's Call and Cat's Creation

Over at Wittegen Press we have a new competwition to win The Chronicles of Charlie Waterman.

We're offering three eBook bundles of the two books in the series as prizes over here at competwition.

What is a competwition, other than an obvious spelling mistake? Well it is a very nifty way to run a competition on Twitter. All you have to do is sign in with twitter, click one button and you're entered. The click automatically subscribes you to @wittegenpress, our company twitter, and tweets about the competition on your account.

If you win you will be contacted by us via twitter once the competition has closed on the 2nd April. Competwition is a great site and well worth checking out for lots of lovely prizes.

New book: Cat's Creation (Chronicles of Charlie Waterman #2) by Natasha Duncan-Drake

My new book is out today. This is the sequel to Cat's Call for all those who have been waiting for it.

NEW From Wittegen Press The Chronicles of Charlie Waterman eBook: Cat's Creation by Natasha Duncan-Drake Available 22 March 2012

Cat's Creation (The Chronicles of Charlie Waterman #2)
By Natasha Duncan-Drake
Genre:  Contemporary Fantasy, YA, Length:  Novel (~68,000wds)
Date Pub:  22 March 2012, Available NOW from: Smashwords - $2.99, Amazon $2.99, £1.53, €2.68
Coming Soon from: Barnes and Noble, Diesel, Sony, Kobo, WH Smith, Google Books
ISBN:  ISBN 978-1-908333-31-5, ISBN 978-1-908333-30-8
Link to full listing with all buying links for Cat's Creation
(http://www.wittegenpress.com/catalogue_v2/items/show/36)

---

Description:  Life goes on for the residents of Between as they struggle to recover from the events that could have destroyed their home and that have left a gaping hole in the structure of their world. As one of the leaders of the Questors, Charlie feels responsible for helping to keep them strong and together, but he's not sure how. Added to that, his magic is being difficult and there is another task to deal with; one that requires all seven Questors and that will take them to, Mydarec, a world run by mafia-style families, where sorcerers and vampires are a part of every-day living. Forced to play a role that could cost him his life and plagued by a vision of death, Charlie must struggle to overcome his own insecurities and, with his friends, figure out why they have been sent to such a dangerous world.

---

You do not need an eReader to view this publication; there are Kindle aps available for most devices as well as formats for other eReaders, devices and PC.

---

Excerpt

"We have other properties to see," Alexander said as soon as he read Ford's new figure, "good day, Mr Ford."
The shocked expression on Ford's face was priceless as Alexander turned away.
"Wait, wait," Ford said, stumbling over himself and hurriedly did something on the device before literally handing it to Alexander.
Now Alexander turned to face the other man properly again.
"That seems more reasonable, however I will need certain provisions if we are to close this business deal."
Ford could not hide his relief at that and for a brief moment Charlie thought he might actually have glimpsed the man behind the facade. Alexander looked poised to strike and Charlie almost felt sorry for the estate agent as the two prepared to duel it out for the house.
However, he couldn't help noticing that Ford kept looking at him out of the corner of his eye, even though most of the man's attention was on Alexander. It was abundantly clear that something about him had Ford completely on edge, which, given he was the least well armed of their whole group, was odd. On impulse he smiled at the estate agent and watched Ford go incredibly pale. It was unsettling to have such an effect, but useful, never the less.
"Call off your dog," Ford said, voice quavering, "please, I get it, you want the house. All I ask is a fair price."
"After an insult like that it had better be very fair," Charlie said, not appreciating the comment at all.
The man's eyes opened wide in shock and terror and Charlie could see Ford visibly shaking. He was pretty sure he had just stomped over local form, but he also knew backing down would hinder their negotiations, so he stepped closer instead. Ford shrank away and Charlie smiled again, since it seemed to unsettle the agent so much. He only stopped when Alexander placed a hand lightly on his shoulder and a quick flick of eyes towards the back of the room was the only communication between them. He nodded and turned, playing what he was figuring out was his part as well as he could, and stepped away to leave Alexander to buy the house.
"Do not assume to know me or my people," Alexander said, voice just above absolute zero, "it will make trouble for you, you do not want."
"I'm sorry," Ford stuttered, "I'm not used to foreigners."
"Get used to it," Alexander replied as Charlie took up a position at the back wall.
He really had no idea what he was doing, but he leant back and looked casual, keeping his eyes on the man even though there was distance between them. Why he scared Ford quite so much was a question that needed answering, but it wasn't as if they could just come out and ask. As Alexander negotiated, Charlie started sifting through the information in his head to see what he could come up with. Nothing

---

If you read and enjoy this title, please consider reviewing it at Amazon, or Smashwords, or one of the other eBook shops. Thank you.
And if you'd like to help a small, independent publisher: Ways you can help us to up the profile of the book. Thank you! :) There are many and varied ways to help raised the profile of this book, we've listed a selection below.

1. Tag Cat's Creation on your local Amazon site (US, UK, DE, FR, IT, ES) Just below the product details on each Amazon page is the tag section. Please tick the boxes next to the tags you agree with (please DO NOT click the agree with all tags option, because it does not help the book).
2. Like Cat's Creation on your local Amazon site (US, UK, DE, FR, IT, ES) At the top of every page there is a like link which you can click if you are logged in.
3. Like The Chronicles of Charlie Waterman on Facebook The Chronicles of Charlie Waterman on Facebook
4. Review Cat's Creation on any of the eBook sites: Amazon (US, UK, DE, FR, IT, ES); Smashwords.
5. Tweet about Cat's Creation, example tweet: Check out the NEW Nothing The Chronicles of Charlie Waterman eBook from @WittegenPress: Cat's Creation http://bit.ly/GGCmAe
6. Circle, +1 and/or Share the The Chronicles of Charlie Waterman pages(s) on Google+ The Chronicles of Charlie Waterman on Google+
7. +1 the book page: Use the +1 Button on Cat's Creation's Book Page on Wittegen Press Site