Tag: #Anthology

Fans, Fiction, & Ballgowns Charity Anthology 2024
1. Monday · Book Reviews · Monday Musings

Fans, Fiction, & Ballgowns Charity Anthology 2024

paulaactonLeave a comment

This weeks read is another anthology I am part of and is available until July!

This intimate collection of short stories will take you on an adventure to all things fae, goblins, cathedrals, balls, forests and your own inner fantasies. Written exclusively for this anthology, each special story comes from fourteen of the attending authors at 2024’s Fiction, Fans and Ballgowns event in a unique collaboration.

All proceeds will be donated to Cancer Research.

by Stephanie Hudson (Author), Paula Acton (Author), Amy Davies (Author), B. Lybaek (Author), Grace Harper (Author), Laura Greenwood (Author), Arizona Tape (Author), Luna May (Author), Maggie Brown (Author), Martin Tracey (Author), Lily Wildhart (Author), Tatum Rayne (Author), Molly Shelby (Author), Adaline Winters (Author) 

Get your copy here

From United Kingdom

Ro

5.0 out of 5 stars Oblivion 5*++

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 March 2024

Short, yummy and on so tempting. This is such a naughty tease of a tale, that I can’t wait to read more of. Stephanie Hudson’s work is the bomb, especially this series.

From other countries

Kindle Customer

2.0 out of 5 stars Too many unfinished stories

Reviewed in the United States on 27 March 2024

Verified Purchase

Some of the stories were great and interesting, and those were typically unfinished, which was just truly frustrating. That just ruined my enjoyment of the book.

Some people will query why I include what could be perceived as a negative review, here is the thing, that review actually praises the stories, they just wanted more. I have been guilty in the past of writing short stories where readers have told me they wanted more but in short story format you can’t always round off every single loose thread as much as you try to. the chances are if you read a story in an anthology you really love it may be reworked at a later date into a full book, or it may be part of a wider world that the author has created that you will fall in love with if you check it out. Every reader is entitled to review as they see fit, I think 2 stars is a little harsh but I choose to take the positives that is was the fact the stories were so good that left this reader frustrated but I always recommend trying things for yourself.

WIP Weds 7th February 2024
Fact Vs Fiction

WIP Weds 7th February 2024

paulaacton1 Comment

Sometimes you find yourself taking on more than you can do, but them somehow you pull it off. That is me and anthologies!

When I sign up I do so thinking I have plenty of time, and to be fair I normally do. The problem is life does not always go along with my schedule, sometimes you find everything piling up on you and question why you do this to yourself.

So you might ask why do it? The fact is I love it and it makes marketing sense, especially if you are in there with authors with bigger audiences than your own. Sometimes it also pushes you out of your comfort zone, last year I wrote my first Christmas love story for one.

The short story I am witing this week is for the Authors At The Armouries signing and it also ties to the one I just finished for the Fiction, Fans & Ballgowns anthology. Both stories form the beginning of a fantasy series I plan to launch next year, once I get my rights back I will put both stories together and possibly extend them a little to make it into a novella.

The story for this anthology is back story on how the Raven Seer fell in love with the mortal Antonio. it wont be too in depth as it is only five thousand words but the plan is to make it steamy.

Hopefully by next week I will be onto something else as I have several projects on the go.

WIP Wednesday

WIP Wednesday – Week 1 2022

paulaactonLeave a comment

This week I am writing mafia, sex, and violence! One of those things is new to me, yes the mafia part lol. I am in the process of finishing up a piece for an anthology. The problem with short stories is that as you create them, you find they take on a life of their own demanding they become a full fledged novel at the very least. So while the short story will be complete in it’s arc these characters will most likely be back at some point in the future.

To research this story I have to say google has been my friend and my enemy, do you know how many hours you can lose doing a google search for gang tattoos…

A few of the google search results that inspired my characters body art

I can’t show you all the images I saved for inspiration, you will learn about some of them at a later date, if the story makes it to a full book or more.

I also have harassed my friend Jakab for knowledge of his homeland, and I won’t lie his voice inspired my main character Cezar, I swear he sounds just like an 80’s Bond villain. When deciding to write a mafia story I was determined I didn’t want to do Italian Mafia or Russian Bratva, so instead I decided to go with Romanian.

Straight away I hit a snag as most Romanian gangs tended to be more street gangs without a larger infrastructure, however, I got around this by Cezar having being trained and having links to the Bratva. His life, upbringing and parentage are all things that will come into play if the story makes it to a full book or series.

The anthology is available to pre-order on Amazon and I will be back with more details about that next Wednesday!