Win Stuff and be Awesome!

Hey everyone,
time to ramp up the ferrety fun with a competition.

HUGE prizes!
Ebooks!
Post cards!
& A pewter ferret pin!

First prize is:

1. A fine pewter ferret pin, made by George G Harris, valued at $11 US (plus the postage from Australia, which is anyone's guess!)
2. Two rare postcards from Brugel, which I'll post via air mail to the winner's nominated address.
3. The first two ebooks in the Ondine series, The Summer of Shambles & The Autumn Palace.

(If the winner already has these first two titles, I'll send the ebook of The Winter of Magic.)

Second prize is:

Fine pewter hand crafted in the USA
From the George G Harris
Wildlife Collection
"Wearable art for the outdoor enthusiast"

The first two ebooks in the Ondine series, The Summer of Shambles & The Autumn Palace.

Third prize is:
The first ebook in the Ondine series, The Summer of Shambles.

"Shut up and show me where to sign?"

Starting June 10, and running until July 17. Tell your friends. In fact, if you do, you'll stand a better chance at winning. It's that insidious easy!

Click away below and you're in with a chance. Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Update - as you can see, the comp is closed and I've announced the winners.
Congratulations to Rae, Vivianne and John, and happy reading :-)

The Winter of Magic is here!

Sound the trumpets, pop the corks on the bottles of bubbly and pass the canapés, The Winter of Magic is here.

This is the trequel in the ONDINE series and I'm so happy I could burst.

"This third enthralling instalment in the young adult fantasy romance series takes a dark turn, as the country of Brugel descends into anarchy. 

Mutating magic is spreading across Europe. 'Normals' are developing supernatural powers at a startling rate and 16-year-old Ondine appears to be at the heart of it. 
To unravel the mystery, Ondine and her boyfriend (and part-time ferret) Hamish infiltrate CovenCon, a gathering of hundreds of witches presided over by wanna-be-witch-queen Mrs Howser. There, she tempts Ondine with an intriguing offer - but can Mrs Howser be trusted? It transpires the powerful witch has her claws in the arrogant royal heir Lord Vincent, in a covert bid to control all of Brugel. 
As dark magic riots break out in the nation's capital, Ondine is left with a heart-breaking choice that could tear her apart from her beloved Hamish. Forever. 
The Winter of Magic is the third novel in Ebony McKenna's comedic and wonderfully weird four-part ONDINE series. Fans will devour this spellbinding adventure, which will have readers gasping in shock and laughing with delight. Occasionally at the same time."

You can buy it from the ibookstore, Amazon, kobo and nook.

It's available worldwide too. None of that pesky "This title is not available in your territory" guff. If you want it, you grab it.

All proceeds from the sale of this book will be syphoned off into the Venzelemma 2026 Winter Olympic Games bid, run by the "Board to Make Brugel Better and Beautiful" (BMB3).

Can't Get You Out Of My Head

Is this Grand Duchess Elmaree I
of Brugel?
Picture credit here.

The problem with authors is they can't let characters go.
That must be why they return, time after time, to write novels based on the same characters. Or characters within the same family. Or characters from the same club/friendship group/workplace/country.

And series books sell. Let's not forget that.
Speaking with some author friends recently, their publishers are telling them that 'stand alone' novels don't sell as well as 'series' books. 'Write a series' they tell them.

I love a good stand-alone, because I know the story will have a proper ending. I've been writing plenty of these lately, and sending them out all over the place to find a proper home.

On the other hand, I also love a good series. Provided each book within the series has a proper ending but leaves the door open for more. Instead of ending on an almighty cliffhanger and I have to wait a year for the next instalment.

I used to think a series came about because the author couldn't let characters go. I adored The Belgariad but felt The Mallorean was an excuse to hash things over again.

Now I too have become a hypocrite an author who can't let go of characters. More to the point, I can't let go of the world I created in Brugel. So many characters from Brugel's history are clamouring for attention in my noggin.

Elamree, Brugel's first ever ruling Grand Duchess, wants her story told. Needs her story told.
Who am I to turn her down? Her life is bangin' good yarn.

This was a common nursery rhyme about Elmaree, back in the day:

Elmaree,
Born under a tree.
Sits in a place
Where a boy should be

Best be off to get some index cards so I can plot this one out.