Going for Number 1

I am stunned.

MAGENTA SHAMAN and MAGENTA SHAMAN STONES THE CROW have only been free to download from all Amazon platforms for a couple of days, and already both are alternating at top first and second positions in the Free Kindle Horror Bestsellers list, adjacent to horror master James Herbert in the paid lists, no less!

They're not quite there in the .com US charts but have still had lots of interest. To date, both books - short novellas that chart the terrifying journeys of Brighton-based, natural-born shaman Maggie Sweeney - have been downloaded over 2,500 times! That's across the US/Canada, UK, Germany and Spain.

I am so grateful to everyone that has picked up copies and hope you enjoy them. Your reviews and comments are very welcome.

All the best.

Lily/x

Download the MAGENTA SHAMAN stories for FREE!

Forewarned is forearmed... both MAGENTA SHAMAN and  MAGENTA SHAMAN STONES THE CROW will be **FREE** to download to your Kindle or Kindle app from tomorrow 4th September, right through to Saturday 8th.

Dark, urban fantasy woven with mild horror these short novellas introduce Brighton's natural-born shaman, Maggie Sweeney and follow her astral journeys to cursed lands and demon-infested pits.

Walk with Magenta as she gathers plants and poisons to use in battle; suffer with her as she faces death - again and again.

Sometimes it's not the supernatural you should watch out for, it's the devils on your own doorstep...

Free from tomorrow but more info - including a peek at the opening pages - at: Amazon UK  and Amazon US/Canada

Magenta Shaman - FREE - for two days only!

Not read MAGENTA SHAMAN yet? Quick - it's FREE for this weekend only! And at only 7000 words you can quickly read it over breakfast, on the train, in bed, on the loo...

Spread the word!

What's it about?

A natural shaman by birth, Magenta Sweeney travels through trance-induced realms to deliver souls from demonic threat.

But Magenta also has an earthly life in modern-day Brighton, a strange and cosmopolitan city caught between the rolling hills of England and the Sussex coast where she lives with husband Tom.

Every journey Magenta takes is unique. Her intricate knowledge of herbs and poisons guides her when to heal - and when to kill.

Yet before she faces each challenge she must meet with ancient and terrifying entities that will unlock her passage into other dimensions, but not without question - or sacrifice.

This first episode in the Magenta Shaman short story series finds Magenta’s relationship with Tom at breaking point as she takes greater risks to help those waiting for her. Under pressure from The Protegians, a mysterious group of earth-bound guardians, the shaman is sent on increasingly dangerous missions by their intermediary - a suave, arrogant man known only as The Judge.

Will Magenta survive the fight to expel a deadly demon from a foetid, volcanic pit? And will Tom stand idly by when he finds his wife's body, broken and lifeless on their bed?
                        ____________________________

Download it free from Amazon UK, US and all Amazon platforms this weekend only.

Reviews

Magenta Shaman is receiving a growing number of 4* and 5* reviews. Please let Amazon readers know what you think of the book by adding your own reviews. Oh, and tell your friends! Thank you.

Magenta Shaman Stones The Crow - Out Now!

I promised; I kept you waiting... but finally here it is - the second novella in the Magenta Shaman series, Magenta Shaman Stones The Crow.

Book Description:

Natural born shaman, Magenta Sweeney is torn from the comfort of England's green coast and sent on a terrifying trance journey by the very guides and guardians that claim to protect her. This time she must do as she is told. This time – she has no choice.

In Magenta Shaman Stones The Crow Maggie finds herself eight hundred miles from home, wandering the Bohemian forests of the Czech Republic in a final, desperate attempt to rescue the father she'd long believed dead.

As the bleak stone walls of ancient Houska Castle loom through the trees the shaman must prepare herself as never before.

And when the Gates of Hell open to invite Magenta in, she is forced to make a decision – one that could be her last.

Book cover (c) Laurence Ranger and Lily Childs

Download Magenta Shaman Stones The Crow now from:

Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

_____________________________________________________

Feedback... and would you write a review?

I would love to receive your feedback on Magenta Shaman Stones The Crow. Do leave your comments below - and if you would be prepared to write a review for Amazon or Goodreads, that would be wonderful (and helps others to decide whether to buy the book).

I am so grateful for your thoughts - as always.

Coming Soon on Other Devices

I hope to publish both Magenta Shaman and Magenta Shaman Stones The Crow through Smashwords in the next few weeks. This will allow you to download it in other forms (including PDF) to PC, Mac, Nook, e-readers, i-Phones/Pads, Android phones and more.

The books will be available through Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Sony and the Apple Store.

______________________________________

Daily Bites of Flesh - now on Kindle!

Back in November I was thrilled to announce that Pill Hill Press' horror anthology Daily Bites of Flesh 2011 was available in print. And now - if you've got a Kindle, or the free Kindle app for your PC or phone you can download this fabulous compendium of horror for just £3.73 from Amazon UK or $5.75 from Amazon US.


You get a tasty bite of flash fiction horror for every day of the year - what could be better than that? Two of my pieces - Spangles and Pustula Peculiar appear in 'June'. You can read excerpts below.

For a sneaky peek at some of the other stories in the collection - and ooh - are you in for some delicious treats from some excellent writers - you can download the whole month of January for free as a Kindle sample from Amazon. Just go to the relevant Amazon link above and find the Try It For Free box.

You can buy Daily Bites of Flesh in print direct from the Pill Hill shop for $22.49. Or from Amazon (UK - £21.99 and US - $24.99) and at Barnes & Noble.

Many thanks to Jessy Marie Roberts for her astonishing work in compiling and editing this anthology.

Excerpts:

Spangles
They found sequins in my knickers. The silver disks filled my crevices, finding their way into folds of flesh where they cut and sliced me raw. The question the cops asked themselves – did a killer place them there, or did I?

Hudson swore as his boss gave him the best job of all; standing between my legs to catch the corpse as they cut me down. The wind was ferocious. My body swung in circles from a creaking oak, a pendulum. Hudson danced like a girl, trying to avoid the spillages splattered over the forest floor beneath me. Evacuation - the elegance of death.

Pustula Peculiar

Ginger limped sideways to reach for another bottle. Taking a swig he gazed at the dancing dead.

“More,” the woman called from her shackles. “I need more”.

She widened her mouth to accept the Absinthe. The excess ran in rivulets down her neck raising the skin in blistering welts. Labella took the full mouthful into her throat in a single, rasping gulp.

The men looked on. No more smiles, just pant-pissing terror as the drumming began to slow.

“Quickly,” they begged. “Do it now.”

___________________________________