Free Books for All - To Get You Hooked!

Free Reads

Greetings, lovely people. I hope 2021 is going well for you and things are looking up after the garbage fire that was 2020. 💖

I thought I would take this opportunity to introduce/remind everyone of the free books I have available out there, which are (mostly) shamelessly trying to get you hooked on the series they are part of.

N.B. On Amazon these books will be price-matched to free where that is possible. I apologise if Amazon does not price-match in your region, but they only allow us to pub for 99c minimum and then price-match if we ask very nicely. They also have a nasty tendency to remove price-matching at random intervals so I have to re-request it. I do my best to keep on top of this, but apologies if I have missed one.

Books by Natasha Duncan-Drake

Soul reader is a series of short stories (free) and novellas (not free). There are 3 books in the series at the moment.

Forgotten Soul (Book 1 of Soul Reader)

John knows that at best he can be described as a male escort and at worst as a whore, but it's what he does and he's good at it. He sells his body and his clients come with fangs so it's more about blood than sex. Hiding behind a false smile and his acting skills is the only way he survives, but when he meets one of his latest clients, Michael, his professional detachment is severely threatened, leading him into very dangerous territory.

     

Fortunate Soul (Book 3 of Soul Reader)

With a lot of help from Michael, John is recovering slowly from his kidnapping ordeal at the hands of his previous employers. However, John has noticed changes in Michael's behaviour towards him now that he has been marked by the organisation's captive vampires. He's worried his scars will be too much for their fledgling relationship.

     

If you would like all 3 books of the series in one package in eBook or paperback, they have been bundled for your reading pleasure:

Soul Reader 1-3 (£1.99, $1.99 or £8.99, $10.99)

       

~*~

Me Myself and I: Superheroes and Supervillains or Concussion? 

(Book 1 of Dark Reflections)

Tristan is an actor and he plays a supervillain in the movies. At least he thought he did, but then he has an accident and he wakes up surrounded by the world of the films. Now he has to figure out if he's hallucinating, if somehow the movies are real and he's been transplanted to another world or if he is actually Devon, a supervillain having a psychotic break. Whatever the answer: it's frighteningly crazy.

   

And the other book in the series so far:

Dreams and Reality: Superheroes, Sex and Succour (£2.19, $3.29)

     

~*~

Books by Virginia Waytes (my alter ego)

A Lamb in Wolf's Clothing: Testing of a Werewolf (The Manor #1 s01e01)

Luciana Smythe, Lucy to her friends, owns and runs The Manor, an adult only establishment nestled in the heart of the English Countryside, specifically designed for fun and games of the sexy, X-rated kind. What makes it unique are the residents, supernatural beings hiding in plain sight. Some, like Lucy, a vampire-succubus hybrid, are very powerful paranormal creatures. Others need The Manor's protection.

The Manor takes in strays and those with nowhere else to go, and Lucy's latest lost sheep is a young werewolf, Joshua, on the run from his own pack. Inside The Manor's walls await a new pack, safety, and possible romance, but first Lucy needs to make sure this asylum seeker is what he appears to be and poses no danger to the rest of her found-family.

     

Training Day: Drawbacks of Werewolf Demonstrability (The Manor #13 s02e01)

Josh is still dealing with an overactive libido as well as unpredictable magic thanks to joining with Lucy and the pack to save his sanity. It has been months and it is clearly not lessening. The obvious solution is to give up being a bartender and join the sexier side of the business at The Manor.

Unfortunately, there are two questions he needs to ask first:

1. As his mate, how will Pippa react to the idea?

2. Can he control his magic and the wolf at his core to be safe taking clients among normal humans?

He needs Pippa and Lucy to help him answer both.

     

Find all the books in the series here:

     

A Free Short Story Every Month

If you would like a free short story to read on the first Friday of every month, sign up to our Wittegen Press Newsletter. Not only will you get 2 free eBooks (Assassin's Blood & Curse of a Banshee) straight away and the links to this month's Free Fiction Friday short story, but an email will arrive every month with a new story to enjoy.

Sign Up to the Wittegen Press Newsletter

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Guest Post - Podcasting - Why - What - How

The wonderful Ronel Janse Van Vuuren aka Ronel the Mythmaker has a fabulous website and blog where she has all sorts of wonderful articles about all aspects of publishing and self-publishing as well as some fabulous books.

She very kindly invited me to guest post about podcasting, since I have been focusing a lot of effort on my podcast: Virginia Waytes Sexy Stories Check out all the details of the podcast at my alter-ego's website VirginiaWaytes.com.

And check out my guest post about why and how I started my podcast over at Ronel's website:

Podcasting: Why - What - How

Recipe: Turkey (or Chicken) Bake with Mushrooms - Great for leftovers

 

Turkey (or Chicken) Bake with Mushrooms

Great for leftovers

Greetings one and all, it's been a while hasn't it. I've been focusing on VirginiaWaytes.com for the last few months. I hope you have missed me 😁. Blessings of the Christmas season and Happy Holidays - I hope you have had a pleasant one this year, even if circumstances made it less than ideal. I return with a recipe that is great for using up all that leftover turkey and it works well with chicken leftovers as well for the rest of the year.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

• 50g (heaped tbsp) butter
• 50g (heaped tbsp) plain flour
• 1 pint/570ml milk
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• salt & pepper to taste
• 6x24g packets salt n shake crisps or similar (unsalted potato chips)
• 100-150g (1-1.25cups) grated cheddar cheese
• tbsp oil for frying
• 2-3 cloves garlic minced or equiv garlic puree
• 150g (half a punnet) chestnut mushrooms
• left over turkey 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/360F.
2. Shred the turkey.
3. Slice the mushrooms into bite sized pieces.
4. In a frying pan heat the oil. Add the garlic and then the mushrooms and cook until they have released all their water and are looking toasty, but not dried out.
5. Mix the turkey and mushrooms and place in the base of an oven proof dish - should cover the bottom in a nice thick layer.
6. Melt the butter in a med saucepan.
7. Add the flour and stir to make a thick paste.
8. Add the milk, little by little, stirring in at each stage until all the milk is combined with the flour and butter mixture in a smooth sauce.
9. Add the rosemary and thyme (I grind mine together in a pestle and mortar first because I don't like the large bits of rosemary and it helps release the flavour even more) and salt and pepper.
10. Cook for a couple of minutes until it begins the thicken.
11. Test for taste and add more seasoning if needed.
12. Pour the white sauce over the turkey and mushrooms and mix through gently. Don't be too vigorous or the sauce may go grey because of the mushrooms - still tasty, just not as pretty. 😉
13. Crush the crisps (potato chips) until they are small pieces, but not too far and place in a bowl.
14. Mix the crisps and half the cheese and spread over the top of the turkey and sauce.
15. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of the crisps and put in the oven.
16. Bake until cheese has melted and is starting to go golden - between 15-20 mins usually.
17. Serve piping hot.

We had this today - still have turkey left, but it used up a good deal of it and was delicious. Just up the amounts to feed more people - I did double this today for five people and we have leftovers or the leftovers now 😂

Recipe: Set Chocolate Mousse #GlutenFree #EggFree

Set Chocolate Mousse

This recipe is easy, delicious and very versatile. I made it last weekend for my family and it went down very well with everyone but my mother, but she doesn't like dark choc, so not really surprising. Might want to make the milk choc version for those with a sweeter tooth. Next time I plan to add a little orange liqueur to spice it up a bit.😋

The actual recipe comes from here: The Perfect Refuge an absolutely delightful Italian cooking channel on Youtube, but I use something of a different method, so I thought I would post it. This is the vid of the original recipe, and there is a second option using eggs as well - turn on the subtitles for English.

~15 slices (My father was the only one who managed to eat 2😂)

Ingredients

• 250ml/1.05 cup cream (I used double, but I suspect single would be okay)
• 40g/ 0.4 cup cocoa
• 1 lt/4 cups milk
• 150g dark (or milk) chocolate (3/4 cup of choc chips)
• 70g/ 2/3 cup potato starch or corn flour (starch)
• 60g/ 1/4 cup sugar (only need this is using dark choc - milk has plenty of sugar)

Equipment

• 1 large mixing bowl, 1 medium one
• scales/measuring cups/measuring jug
• hand whisk
• sieve
• large saucepan
• large rectangular dessert/terrine tin

Instructions

1. Put the cocoa in the large bowl and slowly add the cream bit by bit using the whisk. You will end up with a thick paste.
2. Add a splash of the milk to the paste to loosen it with the whisk, then keep adding and stirring until you've added about half the milk.
3. In the medium bowl mix the corn flour/potato starch with the rest of the milk and whisk together.
4. Add the corn flour/milk mixture into the cocoa mixture bit by bit using the whisk, making sure it combines well.
5. Sieve the liquid into the large saucepan and push through any lumps remaining in the sieve. (I had just a few little ones).
6. Heat gently on the hob and break in the chocolate.
7. Stir continuously while the chocolate melts, then bring the mixture to the boil.
8. Boil gently for 2 mins or until the mixture has thickened (took me more like 5, but I was heating it very gently because I fear the mixture splitting).
9. Line the tin with cling film (if your mould is silicon, this step may be unnecessary, but it makes like a lot easier),
10. Pour in the mixture and place more cling film over the top, in contact with the mixture.
11. Place the dessert in the fridge for 5-6 hours min (I did mine overnight).

When you are ready to serve, remove the top cling film, turn it out onto a large platter, remove the rest of the cling film, and dust with a little cocoa. Slice with a sharp knife into individual portions. Serve will little crunchy biscuits for a bit more texture - it would be wonderful with amaretti.

It is really nice with a little more cream drizzled on if you like you desserts even richer.

Banner Photo by Ihor N on Unsplash

Youtube Journey Part 2 - Adobe After Effects & InDesign - My Crash Course

Youtube Journey Part 2

Adobe After Effects & InDesign

My Crash Course

I was going to do this yesterday for Writerly Wednesday, but I was distracted by making birthday cupcakes for a friend. So today it is!

Now I threw together a banner and a logo for the my shiny new YouTube channel, Tales With Tasha, in Photoshop pretty sharpish as soon as I set it up, but I knew doing anything for actual vids would be harder.

When I started out I knew two things:

1. I didn't just want to film me reading things. I want part of each vid to be live action, but I remember the Disney page turning format very fondly and wanted something along those lines for the stories. Also helps with accessibility.
2. I wanted a short little logo animation to segue from live action to the story.

My first thought was Adobe After Effects.

Of course, then I hit my first problem - I had never even opened After Effects before 😂. However, never let it be said that this has ever stopped me in the past. I taught myself how to use Photoshop using turtorials, how much harder could this be?

Okay, so maybe a bit harder 😎. The thing about After Effects is its for animators and people who understand film terms and I don't, well I've picked up a little now. Never fear, however, because the lovely creators of YouTube have wonderful channels with step by step tutorials on just about everything. I love them.

Endeavour 1 - My Page Turning Book

So I knew I wanted a book with pages that turn, and I found one plugin and several tutorials, but none of them were quite right. In the end this one popped up, thank heavens:

It also isn't quite right, but it does have all the elements I needed so that after following it I could figure out how to create what I wanted. It also allowed me to understand how everything goes together.

For example, I had no idea that when you import images, if you change them on the disc, they are changed in the animation too. This is a revelation to me, and I assume it is actually a setting, like importing the mp3 files into Audition etc.

• Stage 1 - Follow Tutorial Exactly
• Stage 2 - Tutorial pages turn backwards for some reason, so figure out how to make them turn forwards.
• Stage 3 - Figure out how to create page content.

It was Stage 3 that was the hard part.

Page Content

First Idea - Photoshop:

1. Create a base template
2. Place text
3. format text
4. Rinse and repeat

Only problem - with 2K words per story, this was going to be slow!

Next Idea - InDesign

which I had also never used 😝.

2 most useful things about InDesign

1. We can import a preformatted Word Doc and it will automatically paginate for us.
2. We can export all pages as images.

This is the tutorial for I used to find out how to do #1 - Pretty Fabulous Designs has some great turtorials for doing all sorts of things.

The plan was growing! Mwuahahah!!!!

Third Thought - Plain White Pages are Boring

I found some wonderful page textures on Unsplash.com by Annie Spratt. She also has some other fabulous photos, but it was the large number of textures I was after this time.

For this I did use Photohop, creating a template for left and right pages with shadows in the margin so it looks a little 3D. Not a lot 3D, but a little 😉

These can then be used as backgrounds for the pages in InDesign.

The End Result

Anyway, I played and fiddled and now have a format I can easily customise for each video. This is a very short demo to show what I mean.

I can customise everything I need to:

• Background
• Page content
• Book style
• Page turning interval

So it should do as a template.

The Plan

1. Format the story to be animated in Word with the correct size font (I have to play with these anyway to get them ready for reading, so it's only a tiny little step more).
2. Set up an InDesign layout with the background of choice depending on story content.
3. Import Word file into InDesign.
4. Add any extra formatting.
5. Export pages to PNG
6. Import into After Effects project and set pages to have the correct content.
7. Use recording to set page turn intervals.
8. Add pretty background behind the book to please YouTube's algorithm.

Endeavour 2 - My Animated Logo

This one was actually much simpler - I went through Youtube looking at tutorials, found one I liked and went with it.

This was the tutorial I chose in the end:

And here is what my animated logo looks like:

Now I just have to teach myself how to use After Effects in Premier Pro 😎.

Oh and actually film the bits and format all the stories I have planned etc, etc, etc ...

So, y'know, just a bit of stuff. 😂

How is everyone else doing? Any interesting projects going on? Do you have a YouTube channel?

Free Fiction Friday - The Cop, The Vampire, and National Security by Natasha Duncan-Drake

Free Fiction Friday

The Cop, The Vampire, and National Security by Natasha Duncan-Drake

It is the first Friday in July which can mean only one thing - Free Fiction Friday!

Every month we offer our subscribers a free short story for them to download at their leisure. We upload it in the following formats, so there is something for everyone:

• PDF
• ePub
• Mobi
• AZW3

The links are also placed in the final welcome email to our newsletter, so anyone who joins up after the monthly email has gone out still gets a copy of this month's story.

So sign up now for you monthly free short story as well as 2 Free eBooks.

Newsletter Link

This Month's Story

The Cop, The Vampire, and National Security
by Natasha Duncan-Drake

Matt Plumber was a detective with the Met, but his career is functionally over. Breaking an international drug ring with ties inside the Met and the Foreign Office has cost him his partner and his reputation. However, while in hospital suffering from a gunshot wound, he has a rather unusual supporter in the form of Sister Bashir who is far older than she looks. 

~*~

Sexy Stories 13

The Manor s01e12 - Balance of Power: Magical Connections

This week also saw the exciting finale for season 1 of The Manor - the paranormal series from Virginia Waytes (my alter ego) for a more adult audience.

Josh is back at The Manor, but is he safe? There is still the magic bound inside him to deal with and there is the question of where his uncle's dark witch disappeared to and what she will do next. Danger still looms.