Scott Nicholson Giveaway - Creative Spirit Screenplay & Winner of Solom

Sorry for the delay in doing the draw for Solom, I hope it didn't give any of you a sleepless night! I have now picked the winner using random.org, and Scott will be in touch shortly with...Brenda. Congratulations!

Almost at the end of Be Nicholson's Agent month and we have one last giveaway for you. This one is the screenplay of Creative Spirit which I adopted and reviewed for this promotion. You can read my review of the novel here.

This giveaway is open to anyone, and the deadline for entries is Sat 1st October at 12 noon (BST) All you need to do to enter is fill in the form below. Email addresses will only be used to contact the winner and send their book to them. The e-book is available in all the main formats, but if you have any questions on that front please let me know. Even if you don't have an e-reader don't forget free apps are available for computers and mobile/cell phones so you don't miss out.

If you want to get extra entries you can have another one for tweeting "I want to #BeNicholsonsAgent and win his books with @TCBookedUp & @hauntedcomputer http://tiny.cc/uwf8u " and a third for mentioning the promotion and giveaway on your blog. The contest is open to everyone, but I'd love it if you want to follow the blog or my Twitter feed too! The winner will be selected by random.org

Author Q&A with Scott Nicholson

As part of his Be Nicholson's Agent event Scott has somehow found the time to take part in a Q&A with me. Before we get started - A big Thank You for fitting this in!

 When did you first think of becoming a writer and who or what got you interested in writing?

I was creating as far back as I can remember. We were poor and had a big family, so art was an escape, a way to have a little quiet time in the world of imagination. And I just never grew up.

How would you describe your books and style? 

I’ve come to use the umbrella of “weird” just because I write in multiple genres, from psychological thrillers to children’s books. I have written comics and screenplays and I used to be a newspaper reporter, so I have done many different kinds of writing. I enjoy it all and I would get bored if I had to stick to one thing, but the thrillers and the paranormal books are the most common.

Have you ever had any paranormal experiences, and do you believe in ghosts?

I used to ghost hunt and hosted a couple of paranormal conferences, and I’ve collected local ghost stories for years. I had the sensation of being “touched” at a haunted hotel during one conference. But I don’t know if it was psychosomatic or not. I believe in the possibility of ghosts, but I haven’t seen anything to convince me.

Do you start a book knowing what the beginning, middle and end will be or does it take on a life of its own as you write?

I trust the process. I am not all that clever or smart, I just stick with it and let the story tell itself. There’s a misconception out there that writing fast means you are a hack, but I look at it as being truer to the natural storytelling talent we all have. Of course, revision is the hard part!

Are you self-published or traditionally published, and what has been the best and worst thing about the route you have taken?

I’ve done a little of everything—traditional, small press, and self-publishing—and I just signed a deal with Amazon for my Fear series. Each path has its advantages and pitfalls, which is why I try all of them. But I will keep self-publishing as my foundation because I like being responsible for my own work and my own audience. My readers are the only people I have to please.

If this isn't too much like asking a dad which of his children he likes best, which of your characters or books is your favourite?

Yeah, you have to love all your children, even the dumb and ugly ones. I think Ronnie Day in The Red Church is the closest to me, as well as Freeman Mills in Troubled. Or at least as I was at around age 12 or so.

What do you like to read and do you have any other passions? 

Just as I write in many genres, I read in many genres, from literary fiction to Stephen King to Mark Twain to new indie authors. I also do some freelance editing, so I get exposure to a lot of what’s happening, and there are many great writers now getting a chance to reach readers, and readers are enjoying this newfound wealth of talent that had been denied them under the old system of publishing. I think it’s great for everyone except those who want to sell a book for an obscenely high price.

Briefly, considering all the changes in the industry over the past few years, what do you see in the future for readers and writers?

The future is already unfolding. We are seeing new authors getting discovered, ebook prices dropping to a fair and affordable level once all the middlemen are removed, and generally an explosion of reading and writing as it becomes easier for everyone to communicate and share ideas. The walls are coming down and we’re all connected. It’s the Golden Age of Literature. 

Some people who dearly love paper books are afraid because it looks like “they” are taking away paper books, but what is happening is people are taking paper books away from themselves by choosing to buy digitally instead of driving to a store. As long as people find what they want, I don’t see a good or bad to it.

 Finally, what are you working on at the moment that you can tell us about?

I just finished up revisions to Chronic Fear, which will be out on Dec. 20 from Amazon, along with Liquid Fear. I am working on a vampire book with J.R. Rain and H.T. Night called Bad Blood that should be out soon, and I hope to have one new post-apocalyptic thriller out for Christmas. So I better go type on it now! Thanks for hosting me at Booked Up, TC.

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Scott Nicholson is giving away 15 percent of his September ebook revenues to readers who spread the word about his books. Check his blog or sign up for his newsletter to stay up to date. Nicholson is author of more than 25 books, six screenplays, three children’s books, and four comics.

Guest post By Scott Nicholson - Creative Spirit and Art

Creative Spirit and Art

By Scott Nicholson

http://www.hauntedcomputer.com/

My modern Gothic ghost story Creative Spirit was inspired by an actual haunted manor, set high in the foggy Appalachian Mountains. The Cone Manor was built just before the 1900’s by industrialist Moses Cone, who very loosely serves as the chilling antagonist Ephram Korban in the novel. Cone bought up thousands of acres of prime ridge lands and built a magnificent estate, though he didn’t spend a great deal of time there due to poor health and the demands of running an industrial empire manufacturing denim jeans.

Art and music center around many of the ghost stories that swirl around the manor house, and perhaps it’s fitting that the main floor of the house is now a mountain craft shop. (The house was used for some opening scenes in the Stephen King movie “The Green Mile.”) There were portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Cone that occasionally slid from the walls and would be found the next morning leaning against one another. Piano music can often be heard softly playing even when the building is empty. 

People who spend the night in the manor, snowed in during bad weather, report hearing furniture moving around upstairs though the building is empty, and doors often open and close by themselves. I toured the entire house once, which is where I got the idea for the cramped basement, and the creepy upstairs rooms that have “boxcar siding” for walls but are oddly shaped.

The element that served as a prominent scene for the book is the widow’s walk, a porch-like area on top of the house that was a fixture of seaside houses, where the “sea widows” would scan the ocean looking for the return of a loved one. The actual manor view is of valleys and ridges, and I borrowed those for the novel, along with the numerous chimneys in the manor, which seem to suggest Cone was rather cold-natured. Or maybe he had an affinity for fire, another element of the book.

Even after he died, he didn’t find peace, as his body was reportedly dug up because of rumors that he’d been buried wearing jewelry. The grave robbers, upon finding nothing, allegedly left his corpse propped up against the granite monument to his memory. Another legend says the marked grave is not his actual burial site at all.

I couldn’t say for sure whether the actual manor is haunted or not, but it sure gets creepy in Creative Spirit! I hope you journey inside the story and find out for yourself…if you dare.

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Scott Nicholson is giving away 15 percent of his ebook revenues in September to people who spread the word about his books! Giveaways are at http://hauntedcomputer.blogspot.com. Scott Nicholson is author of The Skull Ring, Speed Dating with the Dead, The Red Church, Drummer Boy, and nine other novels, seven story collections, and six screenplays.

You may also want to take a look at my recent review of Creative Spirit and Scott's video showing a little of the manor (The Manor was the original paperback title of the book, changed for e-book release) 

Scott Nicholson Giveaway - Troubled

As part of Scott's Be Nicholson's Agent month (where he is giving away 15% of his e-book earnings for Sept) he has agreed to take part in some giveaways here at Booked Up. We are giving away one of his e-books each week this month.

The first is : TROUBLED
"When twelve-year-old Freeman Mills arrives at Wendover, a group home for troubled children, it’s a chance for a fresh start. But second chances aren’t easy for Freeman, the victim of painful childhood experiments that gave him the ability to read other people’s minds.

Little does Freeman know that his transfer was made at the request of Dr. Richard Kracowski, whose research into the brain’s electrical properties is revealing new powers of the human mind. Kracowski is working for a secret society called the Trust, but also has his own agenda in exploring the nature of the soul. His experiments have an unexpected side effect, though. The electromagnetic fields used in his experiments are summoning the ghosts of the patients who died at Wendover back when it was a psychiatric ward.

Freeman simply wants to survive, take his medicine for manic depression, and deceive his counselors into believing he is happy. When he meets the anorexic Vicky, who may also be telepathic, he’s afraid some of his darkest secrets will be uncovered. But when the other children develop their own clairvoyant abilities, and insane spirits begin haunting the halls of Wendover, he can’t safely hide inside his own head anymore.

Meanwhile, the Trust is installing sophisticated equipment in the home’s basement, aggressively probing the threshold between life and death. And they’ve brought in another scientist who doesn’t share Dr. Kracowski’s reluctance to push the limits.

This scientist is a pioneer in ESP induction, and he performed most of his work on a very special subject: his son, Freeman Mills."

This giveaway is open to anyone, and the deadline for entries is Sat 10th Sept at 12 noon (BST) All you need to do to enter is fill in the form below. Email addresses will only be used to contact the winner and send their book to them. The e-book is available in all the main formats, but if you have any questions on that front please let me know. Even if you don't have an e-reader don't forget free apps are available for computers and mobile/cell phones so you don't miss out.

If you want to get extra entries you can have another one for tweeting "I want to #BeNicholsonsAgent and win his books with @TCBookedUp & @hauntedcomputer http://tiny.cc/twaxo" and a third for mentioning the promotion and giveaway on your blog. The contest is open to everyone, but I'd love it if you want to follow the blog or my Twitter feed too! The winner will be selected by random.org

This week Scott is also giving away $200 worth of gift vouchers, to take part in that contest take a look at his blog.

End of the month, here comes autumn.

As it's now Aug 31st and tomorrow in my mind is basically the start of autumn I thought I'd do a bit of a recap of August and my favourite books of the last month. I haven't read as much as I would have liked, getting out and about with the Monkey means less free time to get into a book, but it's been great to visit so many fun places.

It was a good month for short story anthologies, I read four of them and gave three of those 4*s. However for me one merited a full 5*s -  Walking Through Shadows by Tara Manuel. It is a dark contemporary work where some of the stories are connected, to the point it could be considered a novel rather than a collection of short stories.

Of the novels I read and gave 4*s there was one that stands out to me, probably because it has helped restore my faith in action novels. Hired Guns by Mark Boss includes some great characters, with an almost superhero air about them, and was a real romp around the globe.

My 200 follower giveaway, the first one I have run, attracted a respectable number of entrants, and I hope the winners are enjoying their books.

Looking forward I have plans for more giveaways this month, so keep an eye on the blog and twitter (@TCBookedUp) for updates.


September is going to be an exciting time here, with Be Nicholson's Agent taking place throughout the month. Expect to hear more about that very soon!

Goodbye August, and here's to an Indian summer!

Book Review: Creative Spirit by Scott Nicholson

I read and reviewed another of Scott's books, The Skull Ring, a while back and liked it. He has written a number of books that appeal to me and I was planning on reading more of his work anyway so I was particularly pleased to be asked to join in his Be Nicholson's Agent promotion. He is recruiting bloggers and readers to spread the word about his books, and in return is giving away 15% of his September e-book earnings. You can find out more on his blog and I'll be posting more in a couple of days. I chose represent Creative Spirit in particular, here is the product description:

"When artists gather at a remote Appalachian estate for a retreat, they are unaware that their energy is feeding something unwholesome. Sculptor Mason Jackson and dying parapsychologist Anna Galloway must uncover the dark secrets of Korban Manor before their spirits are trapped forever.
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CREATIVE SPIRIT
A modern Gothic thriller

After parapsychologist Anna Galloway is diagnosed with metastatic cancer, she has a recurring dream in which she sees her own ghost. The setting of her dream is the historic Korban Manor, which is now an artist's retreat in the remote Appalachian Mountains. Drawn both by the ghost stories surrounding the manor and her own sense of destiny, Anna signs up for the retreat.

Sculptor Mason Jackson has come to Korban Manor to make a final, all-or-nothing attempt at success before giving up his dreams. When he becomes obsessed with carving Ephram Korban's form out of wood, he questions his motivation but is swept up in a creative frenzy unlike any he has ever known.

Sylva Hartley is an old mountain witchwoman who is connected to Ephram Korban both before and after his death. Her knowledge of Appalachian folk spells and potions has bound her to the manor in a deeper and darker way. Sylva harbors a family secret that refuses to stay slumbering in its grave.

The manor itself has secrets, with fires that blaze constantly in the hearths, portraits of Korban in every room, and deceptive mirrors on the walls. The house's brooding atmosphere affects the creative visions of the visiting artists. A mysterious woman in white calls to Anna from the forest, while Mason is driven by the whispers of an unseen critic. With an October blue moon looming, both the living and the dead learn the true power of their dreams.

It's a power that Korban craves for himself, because he walks a shadowy land where passions burn cold and even the ghosts are haunted. "

This is one creepy book! The atmosphere created is filled with menace and foreboding, and yet the artists on the retreat feel they are being driven by their creative visions, rather than being manipulated by an unseen force. Some of the descriptions of the locale make it sound beautiful, while Korban Manor itself is sinister and oppressive. The author gradually builds the tension and paces it well, gradually reaching a dramatic climax. Along the way there are some twists that came completely out of the left field for me. I have a bit of an interest in the paranormal, especially when it is married with traditional beliefs as it is in this book (and Baby Jane by M Demers, which I have previously reviewed)

I liked Mason, and as his past was revealed got a good feel for why he was so driven. I also enjoyed the relationship between him and Anna, who at first seem very mocking of one another. She is a very interesting character, who seems to have a lot of strength and courage, either in spite of or maybe because of her diagnosis. Having the story told from the viewpoints of several characters works well in this instance. The reader gets details of a range of strange experiences of a number of the guests as well as the perspective of the staff, some of whom have already been "fetched" by Korban and others who are terrified that they will be next. There were a number of characters I felt very drawn to, rather than the usual one or two, which to me suggests very good characterisation on the part of the author. I thought the author's gentle poke at a a certain type of author, or indeed other creatives, was an at times amusing aside.

I was reluctant to put the book down and every time I picked it up I was hoping to find out more about what was happening and why. This is a very good book, that drew me in and put me on edge. I did finish it feeling a little unsure about whether certain things Anna had been told were true or false, but other than that it was a satisfying read. Modern Gothic describes it very well. At present it's a bargain on Amazon, so if it sounds like your kind of book snap up a copy, enjoy and contribute to the sum to be handed around to Nicholson's readers and bloggers.

Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 4*

Lazy Friday

This week has been a fun week for me, it's my town's carnival and air show so loads going on to see and do. I've been a little neglectful of my reading as a result! However this week I have reviewed :

Hired Guns by Mark Boss, an action novel
...and Night Falls by Tommie Lyn, a crime thriller and
Twists & Turns, A Red Adept Collection of short stories

I've just finished another anthology of short stories, review coming later, A Selection of Meats & Cheeses by Danny Gillan. I previously reviewed his novel Scratch and Danny is the focus of this week's special over at Webbiegrrls's Writings. Take a look to find out more on this Glaswegian author and his works.

And now onto Follow Friday. At parajunkee.com the question for today is:

If you could write yourself a part in a book, what book would it be and what role would you play in that book?

I don't have a particular book in mind, but I would love to be a kick-ass, adventurous, tough yet smart girl. I like to surprise people, hate the idea of being average, and I love new experiences so an outdoorsy type who turns their hand to all manner of extreme sports, acquitting herself well in hand to hand combat while would be kind of cool. I guess a Lara Croft kind of character would be great.

No Book Blogger Hop over at crazy-for-books.com so I'll try and come back to that later.

Last but by no means least I am excited about an upcoming promotion I'm taking part in. Author Scott Nicholson is running Be Nicholson's Agent, details are on his blog here. It should be fun and will give bloggers and readers the chance to win gift cards, freebies and prizes. Keep an eye out for more news on this soon.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend, I'll be trying to relax and enjoy a break from running around like a maniac. TC x

Book Review: The Skull Ring by Scott Nicholson

This is the first of the author's books I have read, although he has several books. It is described as a psychological thriller which appealed to me. Scott is another author I have found thanks to kindle broadening my horizons.

Julia Stone has moved to a small Appalachian town to try and find some peace. She is haunted by the disappearance of her father when she was just 4 years old. With the help of therapist Dr Forrest she is uncovering disturbing memories of that night and is struggling to keep panic attacks and paranoia under control. The memories evoke images of satanic rituals. Strange things start to happen in her home and she starts to question her sanity but when she returns to her old family home she finds a skull ring with an engraving "Judas Stone" that seems to be solid proof of what she's remembering.

This book made me feel really uncomfortable and on-edge, and I felt so sorry for Julia struggling to make sense of what is happening to her. Was she the victim of a satanic cult, is she being pursued by that same cult now or is her therapist planting false memories under hypnotherapy with some ulterior motive? Julia also has to contend with an unsympathetic fiance who seems to have an agenda of his own. Until close to the end I was as unsure as Julia of who she could trust and what secrets really lay in her past.

At one point I found myself drifting a bit but as the story picked up pace I was pulled into it more. I also found Julia almost irritatingly childish in places, although I suppose this was intentional as she becomes more and more needy being dragged back to her childhood repeatedly by her therapist. It didn't stop me rooting for her through. My main gripe would be the ending which I found a bit trite and not entirely satisfying. However as a psychological thriller it gave me what I expected, a tense read, and I had no complaints on the proofing and formatting front. I'll definitely be looking at other books by the author.

Format: Kindle, bought by me
My Rating: 3*