A Writer’s Friend!

Apr4

Writers are artists; they either write for people to read or just write because they love to. In this digital age of publishing, some writers are clueless about how to promote their books; it’s a different terrain, and it could be daunting. I belong to the school of writers who write for a living but would continue to write regardless of the money factor.

I can’t call myself a great publicist; it’s funny, but I could be shy- not always, but sometimes. You can also describe me as a hermit who rarely ventures outside unless it’s absolutely necessary. Work, home, church, take kids to school, work, back home, dinner, write and write and write!

My life is so predictable, but I love it! I’m so glad I got that out of my chest!

Now, where am I going with this, you may wonder? Well, I have decided to promote a couple of my friends who are writers. They’ve done the same for me, so I’m basically reciprocating their good gestures. Writers need other writers as friends, writers need readers as friends,s and I guess we can do this one step at a time, as my husband used to say, ’a single tree cannot make a forest.’ And I think he’s right.

Today I’m going to feature Charity Parkerson, an award-winning author (she’s won several awards; most of her books are on one bestseller list or another)

Here she is:

Charity Parkerson!

The Book Cover!

Blurb:

Their love was legendary, cursed, and forbidden.
The fates conspired to keep them apart, but destiny will bring them together again…
When one of their own becomes the target of a demon bent on revenge, the Society will do anything to keep her safe, including stealing a God from the Heavens.
Heru, son of Geb, once sold his soul to forget her, and now he’ll give anything to keep her safe.
Gods and Demons collide in the final instalment of Charity Parkerson’s award-winning “Sinners” series.

Excerpt:

“I dreamed about you last night.” Heat flooded her face at the confession. She knew it must be the shade of a strawberry, but she lifted her eyes to his, holding his stare steadily, as if daring him to mock her words. For a moment, she could have sworn a look of triumph passed over his face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

“What was the dream about?”

Marissa had thought that it was impossible to be any more embarrassed than she already was, but at his question, she discovered a whole new level of humiliation.

“Um,” she stuttered before admitting, “I don’t want to tell you.”

“Oh,” he crowed. “It was that kind of dream, was it?” While his eyes were shining with mirth, her face was on fire, and she really wanted to kick him.

“Shut up,” she hissed.

“Ever as you command,” he said, but she could still hear the laughter in his voice.

Fanning her face, Marissa practically danced in place in her discomfort.

“Are you having some sort of fit?” Adriana, Marissa’s mom, asked, slicing through her mortification.

Marissa had not heard her approach, and she shot a nervous glimpse at the tree line to find Harold gone.

“I was attempting a spell,” Marissa answered Adriana’s question absently while searching for any sign that Harold was still hanging around. When her mom remained silent, Marissa glanced over to find her watching her closely, and she pasted a fake smile on her face to ease her mother’s obvious concern.

“Okay,” Adriana said, drawing out the word and sounding as if she didn’t believe her, which was a spot-on observation, since Marissa was lying.

Buy Links:

Amazon- US- http://ow.ly/jtGfn

Amazon –UK- http://ow.ly/jtu8c

Barnes & Noble: http://ow.ly/ju66m

Kobo: http://ow.ly/jyysl

Smashwords: http://ow.ly/jy5yh

All Romance Ebooks: http://ow.ly/ju3ob

About the Author:

Charity Parkerson was born in Tennessee, where she still lives with her husband and two sons. She is the author of several books, including thirteen Amazon bestsellers. You can like her at http://www.facebook.com/authorCharityParkerson. Be sure to visit her at http://www.charityparkerson.com and read her blog at http://charity-thesinners.blogspot.com.

Her “Sinners series” was voted one of the top ten best books by an Indie author in 2011- Paranormal Romance Reads.

Her book “The Danger with Sinners” was named “Best Book of 2012” by Paranormal Reads Reviews and is a finalist for Favourite Paranormal Romance in the 2012 Australian Romance Readers Association Awards.

She was named as one of the top three Indie authors of 2012- EbookBuilders

She is a member of The Paranormal Romance Guild, is a Goodreads moderator, a member of Coffee Time Romance, and co-host of The Melissa Craig and Charity Parkerson show.

She won author of the week in August of 2011, and is a four-time winner of The Mistress of the Darkpath.

You can follow her on Twitter @https://twitter.com/CharityParkerso.

Additional Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

Punk & Sissy Publications

Here it is, folks. I appreciate your friendship always, hope you’ll check out Charity’s books; she’s a fantastic writer.

******

A great friend of mine interviewed yours truly a couple of days ago. To those who’ve seen it, thanks a million; to those who haven’t, here’s the link again! http://eyebeforee.com/2013/04/01/eyebeforeseyi/

I’ll be back!! (Like Arnold Schwarzenegger!)

Enjoy the rest of your day!!

Much love. 🙂

You Came Naked…

Mar19

(Photo credit: Benedeki)

The plane descended very fast, the hairs at the nape of Daniel’s head stood on end, ‘is this the end?’ he thought desperately, But there was nothing he or the captain of the plane could do as the pilot and co pilot battled with the controls. The voice of the air hostess was high-pitched as she tried to calm the fearful passengers.

In the midst of the chaos. One man sat unperturbed, trying to drink from the can of coke in his hands though the contents spilled all over him. Daniel noticed the strange man, and as the man munched away, eating as if he was in a picnic, Daniel screamed,

‘Hey mister, aren’t you afraid?’

‘Afraid of what?’ the man asked, a smile on his face.

‘We are all going to die!’ Daniel would have loved to punch the smirk off the man’s face but he was risking his life for even talking.

‘Yes, I know,’ the man said with a cheeky grin, ‘You came naked and death smiles at us all, the only thing you can do is to smile back, besides, the pilot is my friend, he’s going to land this plane safely if it’s the last thing he does.’

And then there was a loud bang…

Twenty hours later, Daniel woke up in a hospital, he looked round and heave a deep sigh of relief, he was alive, that was the only thing that mattered to him. The door of the room opened and the same man he spoke to on the plane entered, his grin was still in place.

‘I told you my friend would land the plane, and nobody died!’

The man left and Daniel closed his eyes as the man’s words rang shrilly in his mind, ‘You came naked…’

*******

Life is not so short as I used to say, we live in a timeless universe, everything around us pulsates with power. Look at Shakespeare, he’s still alive today, through his works. When we are no more, believe me, we’ll still be living, in the minds of others. Therefore, Let us live well!

The short story above is just a figment of my imagination and not an excerpt from ‘Tales Of Five Lies.’

I was playing around with Photoshop yesterday and changed the cover of ‘Tales Of Five Lies,’ What do you think?

Here’s the link, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tales-Of-Five-Lies-ebook/dp/B0096W3PZ0/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

I’m working offline a lot now, organising and promoting ‘The Feet Of Darkness’ and sales have been great! :). It’s nice writing a short story again and I’ll go back to reading more blogs! Wherever in the world you are, enjoy the rest of your day!

Much love. 🙂

A Coup In The White House? ( I See You…)

Mar14

‘Yes, Mr President,’ Obama Diary replied and sniffed, his right hand rested on the ‘Resolute desk.’ I walked into the Oval office with a limp, the west wing of the white house (had no idea what that is) was in the hands of the coup plotters. I am the director of the CIA and the information had filtered to me about the coup prior to its execution, the problem is, I couldn’t do anything to stop it, the coup plotters aren’t human, they are out of this world (aliens… machines!)

‘Mr President,’ I began and cleared my throat, ‘I know some great people, kind, loyal to our great nation..’

‘Cut to the chase woman and tell us who these men are.’

My eyebrow shot up in suppressed rage, ‘who said anything about men Mr. President?’

The President gave me a stony glare and I continued,

‘ReadingPleasure, she’s a blogger but one of the fiercest fighter I’d ever seen, Boomie nee Olubunmi, she’s a martial artist with a black belt for her trouble, she’ll probably write a poem to dissuade the plotters. There’s also Jueseppi B http://theobamacrat.wordpress.com/, a friend of your PA,’ and I motioned towards Obama Diary, whose dark penetrative eyes had regained some colour. To cut to the chase like you suggested, the leader of this great men and women is silentlyheardonce. She’s never been defeated before, a simple look from her and the plotters are dead metals.’

‘Bring them in,’ the President said quietly, his brown eyes had gone a shade darker. I moved towards the door and remembered another thing.

‘By the way Mr. President, the print edition of ‘The Feet Of Darkness,’ is out, there would be a party… after the plotters had been arrested of course.’

The President gave me a forced grin, he looked tired. I walked to the room where my WordPress pals are waiting. We are going to save the world! ( I meant to say, the white house of course!)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Feet-Of-Darkness-Overcome/dp/0957593007/ref=tmm_pap_title_0#_ (Amazon UK)

http://www.amazon.com/The-Feet-Of-Darkness-Overcome/dp/0957593007/ref=tmm_pap_title_0 (Amazon US)

N.P: This is just a figment of my imagination and an update on my recent post ‘I See You…’ https://seyisandradavid.org/2013/03/12/i-see-you/ It’s all fiction but the part about ‘The Feet Of Darkness’ is true. The paperback is finally out, it’s available on several online retailers and bookshops would soon be stocking it across the country. I’m working on the promos and stuff. There would be an update every now and then. Book signings are also planned in London, might have virtual book tours too, if you want me to tour your blog, do let me know by contacting me on seyisandradavid@gmail.com (my google email is safe… and yahoo too)

Thank you friends for all your support and love, I’m grateful!

🙂 🙂

I’ve Been Hacked!

Mar13

Anonymous (Photo credit: Schuilr)

It’s really annoying but one horrible person in Egypt just hacked into my primary email account and was sending malicious emails! 😦 😦

This is the first time I’ve experienced this and it’s unsettling!

I’ve managed to change my password, a fellow blogger sent an email to warn me though I couldn’t reply because yahoo apparently blocked me from sending emails until it was rectified.

Hacking into one’s personal email account is akin to armed robbers breaking into one’s home. A big thank you to Candace, http://changeitupediting.com/ I appreciate you!

I’ll be back tomorrow for a follow-up post on ‘I See You…’

Have a pleasant night rest (if you’re in England) and if you’re in other parts of the world, peace and blessings to you all!

The Life Of A Writer!

Feb25

My first novel, ‘The Impossible President,’ was published by Regency publisher in Nigeria, I invited the wife of the former Vice President then, Mrs Titi Atiku, and some governors’ wives and they came. It was a very big book launch and I made some cool money, sales was good, I sold out of my first print run! However, that was in Nigeria. When I decided to finally call the UK home, I got pregnant with my second child… she gently slipped into the world with no fuss, she is a quiet pleasant girl.

My daughter gave no fuss which gave me ample time to hone my craft, so I began work on the ‘The Feet Of Darkness’ and got in contact with Author House to see what they’ll do to help. I had a nasty experience with them! I wasn’t the only author, I think there were others like me who were fleeced off their hard-earned cash and hung to dry. Author House agreed to publish the novel and despite the fact that it was a first draft, unedited, they rushed me to complete it, they promised it would be edited! It was part of my publishing package. I did and sent it off and when the novel came out, I wasn’t happy with the result and I blamed myself for my gullibility. Things moved on rapidly and I licked my wounds to concentrate on something else but the novel stayed on my mind.

Two years later, I finished work on another novel, ‘Cydonia, Rise Of the Fallen’ (Arrow Gate would release it by summer) but ‘The Feet Of Darkness,’ sat comfortably on my shelf! Finally, I decided to re-edit and sent it off to various publishers before Arrow Gate snapped it up.

Good news? Yes, you can imagine my dismay when Amazon now placed it beside the kindle edition and the problem is, I don’t like the first edition, if I had my way I would remove it from amazon, I tried to but Author House claimed they can’t help me. To make things worse, I don’t get a dime when they sell the first edition of the paperback, the money probably goes to Author House (I’d cancelled my contract with Author House by the way)

This was the cover of the first edition, though it looked okay but mistakes abound in it! Well, I’m glad I got that off my chest, I can’t wait for the new paperback edition…

Much love friends!

🙂

Can Love Overcome Darkness?

Feb21

I’m pleased to finally introduce the cover of the second edition of the ‘The Feet Of Darkness’ to you my friends! The e-book is now live, if you click on this link http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BJ6LJHC it would take you directly to the Amazon.com website, the paperback would follow suit in March.

The blurb is something like this;

”Imagine a world where the unseen rules and the seen are helplessly rooted in darkness.

A world where darkness reigns with gay impunity while evil spread its tentacles unabashed.

A world where darkness threatens all as powers beyond the comprehension of man threatens to eliminate all we know and holds dear.

In such a world, the only game left for all is survival, except…maybe…there are some chosen people somewhere, hiding beyond the darkness that can fight and liberate all…

Jezreel, a mighty angel saddled with the responsibility of preventing the impending doom chose three people to help salvage the destiny of humanity.

Michael, a gullible British scientist, Sharon, a quirky floundering young woman whose entire life is shroud in mystery and a sword-wielding believer, David, whose faith must endure the test of adversity. Would they succeed? Can love overcome darkness and eliminate the spirit of the power of the air?

Can love work its magic on a vengeful soul intent on revenge?

Can love conquer all?”

The novel is filled with twists and turns… I’m not going to review it but I’m glad it’s finally out of my hands, the cover was designed by my publisher, Arrow Gate Publishing. Editing and rewriting this novel was a great but exhausting experience, coupled with the fact that I’m totally in charge of a new company which demanded two hundred percent of my time!

I also have another company of three children (very demanding role) who needed their mama so I don’t really have the foggiest clue how I’ve been able and still able to pull things off! But I thank God for great family and friends who’ve supported me all the way!

I want to ask you my friends to help more, give a shout out about the release, the next few days and weeks would be hectic and fun-filled. There are lots of promotional buzz going on, my publisher, Arrow Gate have been wonderful. I would update as things unfold!

My humble self was recently featured in a magazine interview by BBR production! It was an awesome experience and I’m profoundly grateful to Thomas J Belliza, check it out friends!

http://bbrproductions.com/MAH%2003.html#SeyiSandraDavid

Thank you all for your friendship, I value it deeply!!

Love always. 🙂

Tales of Five Lies and Stepping into Greatness!

Dec20

tales-of-five-lies-paperback

I want to give you my readers a few nuggets to chew on my book, aptly titled, ‘’Tales Of Five Lies.’’ And for the record, nobody can predict the end of the world, so why not enjoy yourselves, tuck into your turkey and march into your glorious future! This is an updated version of the book.

Excerpts:

Time dragged on. I contemplated returning to my comfortable bed, and that was when I saw a man darting behind a tree. He was eight meters away. My senses came alive as I watched with apprehension, my hand on the gun my dad gave me before he died. It’s always with me as a safety measure.

I stood still, watching the man’s movement. I noticed how he glanced around like a rabid dog. Satisfied he was alone, he whistled. Two men emerged from the shadows, dragging a bulging bag between them. I peered at my wristwatch to catch the time, but it was too dark. My mind went wild with all kinds of theories. What are they dragging off that night? How did my best friend get a whiff of their plans? This was wrong. It wasn’t right. I felt it deep in my bones.

The cold night air wrapped around me like a second skin, sending shivers down my spine, and the thick canopy of trees made the moon barely visible, casting ghostly shadows across the forest floor. The pungent odour of decomposing leaves blended with the fragrance of moist earth. The rustling of nocturnal creatures and the occasional hoot of an owl were the only sounds that broke the silence. As I watched the men, I noticed their dishevelled appearance. Their clothes were tattered and stained, and their hair was unkempt. The man who whistled had a scar above his eyebrow, making him appear menacing. I was proud of my night eye; spotting a scar that far away was no mean feat, yet I couldn’t see the time on my watch. It was blurry. The other two were hefty men, with arms that looked like tree trunks. I cursed my short-sightedness. I wished I’d taken my reading glasses.

They got to a secluded spot and began to dig…

***

Stepping Into Greatness!

That’s it dear friends, hope you’ll put a big smile on my face this Christmas by letting me know what you think of my book, I value your opinions Greatly. 2013 would be a glorious year, just step into your greatness because if you believe it, you would certainly have it! Happy holidays and a Merry christmas! Remember, Life is What You Make of It.

Merry Xmas Everyone!

The Angel By The Sea-Shore

Dec13

An animated sequence of pictures of a small humpback whale diving beneath the surface. Creator: Hersfold (talk/work) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I stood suspended thirty feet above sea level with hands akimbo. I stared in delight and watched with pleasure at the creatures of the sea, Seals playing with their kind, and then chasing after penguins.

I saw the humpback whale and her calf gliding beneath the surface of the deep, feeding on krill, plankton and juggling with delight, their gigantic bodies causing ripples in the cold arctic sea.

And then I saw him and my heart lurched with fear and admiration! It was the angel by the sea-shore, my sister would not believe me when I tell her the angel really exists.

I was mesmerised by his beauty. The massive wings and the muscular arms enthrall me and I dived towards him, intent on touching those wings to be sure he was real.

Angel 013 (Photo credit: Juliett-Foxtrott)

My feet touched the soft sand and I stood still, silently, waiting for his reaction. His massive wings opened up in glorious splendour, the sinews within his wings and veins rippled with power and I gushed out in delight, such was his beauty.

I heaved my arms and floated above him and slowly drifted forward, not feeling safe standing solitary behind him. I gazed at the top of his head as his golden hair danced to the wind and every sound ceased.

”Who are you?” I summoned the courage to ask, a safe distance away from him but the angel said nothing and then I flew close to him, my eyes boring into his and I seemed to be staring at the depth of mystery.

His eyes glowed like a lone fire in the snow, they looked like two white doves. When he raised his enormous arms, the waves of the sea took notice. His finely sculptured face was like a fine work of art. His beautifully shaped mouth was slightly opened and when he spoke, his voice sounded like thunder.

”Time be still,”

And I moved back, I hated to admit it but I was scared, and I shouldn’t be because I ruled the sea. I watched his upturned arms which were like two pillars of the earth but suddenly, the mystery deepened.

The open sea roared like a woman in labour, his arms were sending out strange signals and I watched open-mouthed as the sea was rolled like a carpet, the depths of the deep was revealed in one clean swoop and I didn’t find it funny. My stomach knotted in fear as the sea creatures groaned in despair at the intrusion.

”Stop this at once,” I said firmly.

And he looked at me as a father would look at an errant child.

”My name is judgement but they also call me peace. I judge to give peace.”

”Just put down your hands,” I begged and the angel did as he was told, his eyes never leaving mine for a second but I took flight watching from a safe distance, waiting to see what he would do.

The Islanders must know about his presence at once.

***

I love writing supernatural thrillers, most of my works tend to delve deep into the mysterious worlds of angels and I would definitely let you in on a secret soon. Thanks for reading my story friends!

Dec11

This was actually my first post, I was writing a new post when I read through this article and I thought it was right for this moment in time. Hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

S. S. David

Of recent, I have watched different programmes about the end of the world. And it really got me thinking of what really matters, not the bills which sneaked stealthily through my door this morning, nor my recalcitrant agent or my elusive publishers. None of this weighty issues bothered me this morning when I woke up but just this composite thought. Our beautiful earth is groaning under the weight of incessant wars, uncontrollable population and sheer wickedness and cruelty directed towards all living things. The degree and level with which these atrocious acts have been repeatedly committed is alarming. And I thought, will the world truly come to an end?

Yes, there will be an end, but no one can really predict the exact time and moment. And you would think that sometimes we should just pause and reappraised our lives, but do we do that? Don’t know about you but I sure do once in a while, like…

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The LightHouse Keeper

Dec9

The lighthouse keeper Hans Petur Kjærbo is changing the bulbs in the lighthouse of Akraberg, which is the southernmost place in Suðuroy and in the Faroe Islands, except for Flesjarnar (scerries). He lived in Akraberg for some years, but moved away after the Christmas hurricane in Dec. 1988. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The year 2012 is slowly drawing to a close and I can’t help but reflect on so many things that has happened to me and the beautiful people I am privilege to have rubbed minds with. And while reflecting, the lighthouse keeper came vividly to my subconscious mind. I have mulled over the duties of a lighthouse keeper for days on end, their usefulness, are they necessary? Or just an oddity to be added to a necessary feature? And it hit me with a bang, lighthouse keepers are SAVIOURS, they prevent catastrophes from occurring, according to Wikipedia and I quote;

”A lighthouse keeper is the person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Keepers were needed to trim the wicks, replenish fuel, wind clockworks and perform maintenance tasks such as cleaning lenses and windows. Electrification and other automated improvements such as remote monitoring and automatic bulb changing made paid keepers resident at the lights unnecessary. In the US, periodic maintenance of the lights is now performed by visiting Coast Guard Aids to Navigation teams.”

You all know I must be heading somewhere with this but just check this out again, also by Wikipedia;

English: North Reef Lighthouse, Queensland – Lighthouse keeper (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

”Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines, hazardous shoals, reefs, safe entries to harbours, and can also help in aerial navigation. Once widely used, the number of operational lighthouses has declined due to the cost of maintenance and replacement by modern electronic navigational systems.”

We all have our ”lighthouse keepers” and I think we should be thankful for having them in our lives. We should appreciate, nurture and never allow them disappear from our lives. Our ”lighthouse keepers” could be our spouses, our friends, our families, colleagues at work, writers who inspired us by their works, it could even be something we read in our blogging community because I can testify to it that I have been nourished by incredible posts written by people in this beautiful community, I am blessed and eternally grateful to such great writers!

Love ? I love love love you. (Photo credit: @Doug88888)

You all know my quotes by now, life is too short… Live well, love well, appreciate your friends and people who have been sources of blessings and inspiration to you, ignore people who put you down, forgive quickly so you don’t rot, be a source of blessing to others and 2013 will be a great year indeed if you abide by these rules (wink)!

I just want to say to all my wonderful readers, you are my ”light keepers, my friends” and I appreciate every one of you.

My eldest son celebrated his tenth birthday today! Hooray!! I am also working furiously to release the second edition of my novel, ‘The Feet Of Darkness,” (Wish me luck) and ”Tales Of Five Lies” is doing okay, thanks to friends like Danny Breslin, who read it on his kindle and posted a wonderful review!

And to everyone who has nominated me for awards, I thank you and love you all.

Love and Peace!