Book Trailers...

I just made two new book trailers for my novels, Magical Redemption and Magical Gains.

As you can see from watching them, I had a bit of fun. I'm not at all sure they're worth the effort, but still whilst I'm being naughty and not studying and being even naughtier and not writing, I decided I should do something to improve publicity for this series.

This is the "Magical Redemption" Trailer

And this is the "Magical Gains" which is a little quirkier perhaps than Redemption's.

Anyway, I'm curious, do trailers affect your choice of book? Do you seek them out to watch?
I confess that I do not choose to view book trailers, except if I am totally in love with a series and gagging for the next release. Due to my own attitude towards watching trailers, I am sceptical of their usefulness for the lesser known author.

Still, they're fun to make!

What do you think?

Magical Redemption - Sneek Peek!

 

 

 

 

 

Better late than never, I always say, so after a week's delay Magical Redemption will be on sale Wednesday 7th November!

On Wednesday, an excerpt of Magical Redemption will also be available to read over at the Darkside Down Under, so be sure to check it out.

In the mean time, here is an excerpt to whet your appetite.. and guess what? The Satyrs are back!

 

“What do we have here?” a snide voice asked from behind. “You will not find a hospital around here that caters to...his kind.”

There was the clip-clop of cloven hooves behind her. Jinx felt her skin crawl as she turned to face the speaker. Words stuck in her throat. She gazed up the heavy, auburn pelted legs and lingered for just the briefest of moments on the large, exposed genitals hanging between them.

A real, live satyr― just what she needed. She looked upward and jutted her chin. Her defiant gaze was met by curious, auburn eyes and a sharp, angular face. Curling horns erupted from a mane of hair.

“Do you like what you see?” The satyr smiled, showing perfectly-white, blunt teeth.

“No,” Jinx snapped. Using her magic, she rearranged Lucian’s dead weight.

The satyr tilted his head to get sight of Lucian’s face, and his shrewd eyes widened. “What are you doing with Lucian?” he hissed, moving forward with remarkable speed and raising Lucian’s head to examine him. The satyr was suddenly too close. He smelled like fresh hay, and his body thrummed with an unsettling energy.

“You know Lucian?” Jinx whispered. She knew with uncomfortable certainty that this satyr was the reason her magic brought them here.

“Of course I do,” the satyr snapped, his expression now concerned. “What’s wrong with him?” His amber eyes caught and held hers. Although she was fairly confident the satyr was here to help, she didn’t want to divulge everything too soon. She squirmed under his gaze.

“I can’t tell you anything until I know who you are and what you know about Lucian.” Jinx steeled her spine and jutted her jaw, again.

The auburn-haired satyr raised an artful eyebrow. “My, aren’t you a feisty one? I do like my women feisty.” He grinned and sunk into a low bow. “I am Silenus, the stag satyr of the Kuching Free Zone.”

“I’m not your woman,” Jinx said, hating the fact that her gaze was convulsively drawn to Silenus’s naked crotch. “Ugh,” she grumbled to herself.

 Silenus continued unabated. “Lucian is my friend–though, I will confess I have not seen him for many years. Time, clearly, has not been kind to him.” He narrowed his auburn eyes at her speculatively.

“You say that like it’s my fault,” she snapped.

“Is it not?” His eyebrows floated high, again.

“No,” Jinx cried.

Silenus smiled at her outrage. “Allow me to assist you,” he said and stretched out his tanned arms to relieve Jinx of Lucian’s burden.

“No. Don’t touch him.” She jerked Lucian away. His head wobbled grossly as more blood pattered from his face. Dire as the situation was, she couldn’t risk Lucian to an unknown being, supposed friend or not. “I need to test your intent first.”

Silenus’s eyebrows hit his curly hairline. “Test my intent?” A smile tugged on his lips suggestively. “I don’t think my intent needs testing. I make a habit of being perfectly transparent.” He grabbed his crotch and cupped his genitals, proffering them to Jinx.

“Christ,” she gasped and looked away.

 

 

Makes me laugh anyway, I love satyrs!

Enjoy your Monday!

 

 

 

 



 

Magical Redemption - the Cover

It's what you've all been waiting for... well, really what I've been waiting for. My incredible cover artist Dawne Dominique at EP has worked her magic once again, and here is the gorgeous, wonderful cover for the third and final in the Magic Series "Magical Redemption."

Magical Redemption

Coming….

1^st November 2012!

And here's a wee sneak peak....

It was Lucian who broke the silence, as he took a step closer to the bed. “Why were you made into a Genie?” he asked suddenly, his eyes scurrying over her face with a strange intensity.

A spasm of horror rocked her body and whooshed the air from her lungs. It wasn’t an unexpected question, and she had many lies prepped to give as an answer – but something about Lucian’s intensity, stalled the lies before she could speak them. Mortified, Jinx stared at him. “I...don’t want to tell you.” She replied weakly.

Lucian’s brow furrowed, and the insolent arrogance replaced his curious gaze.  “Then I command you,” his voice held that sharp, icy edge, she’d grown to loathe.

(this excerpt is subject to change during the editing process)



Magical Redemption is on its way!

1^st NOVEMBER 2012

"Magical Redemption"

Would you trade your soul for love?

"How did a woman as good as you, ever get stuck with a devil like me?"

When Jinx finds herself the Genie of the coldly handsome Lucian, she knows she's in for a rough time.

Lucian is being hunted by the Magical Mafia, otherwise known as the "Family". Years ago, he pledged himself to serve but in a moment of weakness betrayed them. Now, unable to love or live freely, Lucian finds himself falling for Jinx, but knows a future between them is impossible. As they hide from incredible and malevolent magical beings, they search for a way to be together, before fate and the Family separate them for ever...

Here's the lo-down.
Word count: approx 75, 000 words
Main Characters: Lucian & Jinx
Some of the beasties you'll encounter; Chupacabras, Nagas, pelesit and yes, I know you've been waiting, Satyrs.

Eeny Weeny Teaser...

Lucian felt his body crash with hers. Somewhere, above the sudden roar of his blood he heard her swear. He inhaled, but his brain was full of her exotic scent . Her intoxicating smoke was everywhere. He knew this was bad, but it smelled so good. He closed his eyes trying to steady the screaming hunger that howled like a ghoulish wind through the deepest fibers of his being. One kiss was not enough.

Have a super week.

Teaser for you...it's nearly done!

Lucian heard the crack of the Pater Rex’s magic before he felt it. Raw pain screamed through his body, his face was on fire, burning. Heat licked his face with hundreds of hot evil tongues. This time he couldn’t suppress a roar.

“Just take the damn wish Lucian!”

Teaser - WIP

As you will know, "Magical Redemption" is my WIP (work in progress) and the final in my "Magic Series". So I thought I'd give you a wee teaser and an update on progress.

Current Word Count: 60,000 words

Locations: Perth, Kuala Lumpur, London

Quote of the day: "How did a woman as good as you ever get stuck with a devil like me?"

Lucian let out a roar of fury and barrelled up to Farid, gripping his shirt collar in one massive hand - pulling the man onto his toes. “Don’t you dare speak about her like that.” He snarled, looking more feral and terrifying than Jinx had ever imagined he could. “She’s a better woman, Genie or not, than you’ll ever be a man.”

*swoon*

Hope you liked it!

2012...

Welcome back followers and friends! I hope your Christmas and New Year break was a pleasant one. Mine was exceptionally lovely.

2012 is shaping up to be an interesting year already.

I'm back at University, full time, so it is going to be a very hectic schedule! None the less I'm planning on continuing writing and am hoping to get "Magical Redemption" released this year, hopefully in the later half - publisher permitting!

As you know, "Magical Redemption" is the last in the 'Magic series', but don't fear, I have several books in the pipeline. They will all be set in the same world as the Magic Series though, I'm unlikely to be using Genies... but you never know, one might pop in...
I've got story lines with Satyrs, Magicians, Chameleons and Warlords, as well as Sworn Virgins... I'm not sure which I'm going to run with yet, so watch this space - and let me know what you'd like to see!

Anyway, wishing everyone the best for 2012!

Cheers

Nicola

The lovely Lucian - teaser

If you've read "Magical Creations", then you've read about Lucian.

[I love this photo of Jay Byars, so I thought I'd throw it in there!  ]

For NaNoWriMo, I'm planning on getting my current WIP (third and final in the "Magic Series") mostly complete. To celebrate (I like to celebrate!), I'm posting a teaser.

 WIP Stats:

Working Title: Magical Redemption

Current wordcount; 43,000

Heroine: Jinx - Genie

Hero: Lucian - DemonSpawn

Locations: London, KualaLumpur, Kuching, Perth (they get around!)

And here's the Teaser....

Jinx’s head shot up, and a horrified gasp collected in her throat. Above her, strung up by his wrists – a man hung from space.


He was dressed only in frayed black trousers. His body was lean and wiry, the muscles pulled taut by the constraints on his wrists. He had a nasty looking burn on his chest and a slowly oozing cut on his abdomen. He looked down at her, his brown eyes cold and set in a grime covered face. He smelled. Bad.


Jinx gulped determined to be professional and prepped herself for her spiel.


“Hello, my name is Jinx.” She began, and noticed the man’s arched eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “I am your Genie for the duration of three wishes. I am currently registered in both Australia and the UK. Please note that any wishes for financial advancement are likely to be investigated and are illegal in most countries...”


Jinx was about to continue when the man’s voice stopped her.


“You can quit the spiel,” he said, his eyes piercing down on her.


Rather than his words, a waft of his gut curdling stench shocked her. Almost unthinkingly she covered him with a light rainbow cloak of smoke and uttered the velox purgo spell. When the smoke dissipated, the man was clean and dressed in jeans and a soft grey jumper.


“I don’t think anyone should smell as bad as your manners.” Jinx said sharply, waiting for a word of thanks.


She was disappointed. The man was dangerously handsome now the grime was gone, and he merely barked “Get me down.”


A tight coil of dread tightened in Jinx’s chest. He was a control freak. This was not going to be a fun assignment. Stiffening her shoulders Jinx cut the man down with a hot smack of smoky magic.


The arrogant man fell the two metres and crumpled, groaning on the transparent floor.


That’ll learn ya, she smothered a smile.


After a few more moments of groaning, rubbing wrists and swinging his arms around the man looked up, and caught Jinx’s eye. A scuttle of shock marched crab-like up her throat. The eyes that met hers were cool and assessing, but the face that held them was flawless. Jinx momentarily couldn’t breathe for the unexpected and unwanted swoop of attraction she felt as they held her gaze.


For an instant his eyes flashed, recognising the attraction. His sculpted lip curled into an ugly snarl. Painfully forcing himself to stand he towered over her.


“When you’ve quite finished,” he began. “I want to get out of here.”

And now I'll get back to writing.... hope you liked it



 

The Lebanese nose

 [photo courtesy: Flickr Creative Commons: ssh]

The heroine in the final book of the "Magical" series Magical Redemption is Lebanese and this time, she is the Genie. I decided to choose Lebanese because my previous two Genies were Turkish, and wanted something different. I also really wanted a typical Lebanese nose for her. I wanted my female Genie to be distinct, striking, and unconventionally beautiful  - and a big beautiful Lebanese nose fit the picture nicely. I did not want her to be a carbon copy of Jeanie from I dream of Genie,  nor did I want her to be like Cyrine Abdel Nour (though she is absolutely gorgeous and I love her music). So I went searching for a lovely large Lebanese nose.
On thing I love doing when writing a book is googling things, and I have been absolutely floored by the amount of information available on the internet about Lebanese noses. Allow me enlighten you!

"The noses of the Lebanese, convex in profile in 53 per cent of the group, have usually a slight to medium nasion depression, a high, medium to broad root, and a high, broad bridge; the tip is of moderate thickness in most cases, and usually elevated; the wings are seldom compressed. Their foreheads usually have little slope, their browridges are of moderate development;" http://www.theapricity.com/snpa/chapter-XII18.htm

It seems that the Lebanese nose is also under threat, a significant proportion of young Lebanese women are going under the knife to make their noses smaller.


In 1965, the Lebanese Society of Plastic,Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery had six surgeons. Today it has 40 ­ the number of specialists in the field has risen in direct proportion to demand. All agree that Lebanon is a nation preoccupied with the pursuit of the perfect nose.


Not everyone views the nose job quite so lightly. For nose-conscious Cherine Fahd, an Australian artist of Lebanese origin who is heading the fight to preserve the Lebanese nose in all its original glory, the nose job is a fashion statement with more sinister implications.



In Beirut for the Sydney-Beirut/Beirut-Sydney contemporary art exhibition, she makes plaster molds of Lebanese noses that will be displayed in an exhibition to be held in Sydney later this year. She’s cast about 100 noses so far and hopes to preserve another 100 before the exhibition ends.

The nose project started out as a way of examining identity, “I was shocked by the number of people who have had nose jobs here,” says the fresh faced 25-year-old artist, who is proud to point out that her nose has never been touched by surgical hands. “I think it’s a shame because it’s a denial of who you are.”


But Fahd says that her artistic project has taken on another dimension. Finding an original Lebanese nose is difficult and her exhibition aims to redress the balance. Instead of deriding that much maligned feature, she is determined to celebrate it.

“This is an important project for me,” she says flicking through a local magazine filled with society pictures of people Fahd is convinced have had nose jobs. Just about every woman in every photo has had a white nose drawn over her own to indicate that what you see is not what that person was born with.


Fahd shrugs her shoulders and says that whilst she understands the desire to have a small nose, she doesn’t agree with it. The Lebanese nose is a distinctive feature that should be shown off rather than shorn off the face. “The ideal nose for me is large. In fact, the bigger the nose, the better,” she says defiantly. Fahd adds that this is not just the case with the Lebanese in Lebanon. “I see it with the Lebanese population all over the world: In Sydney or the States too. You have to ask yourself: Why?”

If you want to read the whole article: you can check it out here:  http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/600/610/617/lebanese_nose.html

Large noses are iconic, just look at Barbara Streisand, Maria Callas, Sarah Jessica Parker even Anne Hathaway and Sofia Coppola.

There is a french proverb that says "a big nose never spoiled a pretty face" and I think it's true. However, in researching this blog, I failed to come up with a really nice image of woman with a Lebanese nose (that didn't look like it had been worked on, or had been taken in someones bedroom :S)

Anyway, here's to Lebanese noses, may they stay strong just as nature intended :)