Category Archives: books

10 things Indie Authors do wrong and 7 things they do right from Derek Murphy

10 Things Indie Authors do Wrong

 

I read this post over at creativindie and felt I needed to share it here because Derek shares some important knowledge here with indie authors.

Its a long post but worth the read. Enjoy!

Firstly, let’s define “wrong.”

A lot of indie authors are motivated by passion and say things like “it’s not about the money.”

But if we can’t agree on the goals of publishing, we can’t agree on the best practices.

I think, no matter what kind of book you’re writing, we should be able to agree that it would be nice to get some people to read it, and it would be even nicer to get lots of people to read it. And even if it’s not about the money, few authors would refuse it if it started pouring in.

So let’s start there: indie authors want more readers, and possibly more money, and are trying to do things that bring both. The problem is, the methods they are using do not produce the results they’re after.

So by “wrong” I mean, “inefficient” – as in, these are things indie authors do, but that they should stop doing because they don’t produce positive results (and can actually do more harm than good).

Not considering the market

Most indie authors write the books they want to write, and don’t think about reaching readers until after they’ve finished writing. That’s OK for experienced writers who are writing in popular genres. But beginner writers don’t even bother to learn what kind of stories resonate with readers, and they think they don’t need to learn.

Which means, they are producing a product that won’t be enjoyed.

And most indie authors think “fine, I don’t care, I write for myself and my enjoyment.”

But beginning from the belief is a fundamental flaw in the writing behavior of anybody who actually wants to make a living with their writing. You must consider readership if you hope to please and entertain readers. You must read in your genre to recognize what type of writing and stories are successful to readers of that genre.

And you must give a shit about being as good, or better, than those kind of stories.

If you are willing to face this idea, you can deliberately craft commercially successful books.

If you are unwilling, you’re relying on luck and chance, and frankly you don’t deserve success, because it’s nobody’s responsibility to fund your hobby.

Ineffective website

Does your website get traffic? Do people sign up or buy books? Then what’s it for? Most indie authors try to model their website after major bestselling authors. That’s a problem.

Bestselling authors are already famous. People are searching for them by name. They don’t need to worry about being found; they don’t need to use their website to sell books or build credibility. They just offer a cool space for fans to learn more about the author.

If you’re an indie author, your website needs to be a workhorse. It has to pull in the right readers with natural traffic (to reduce your marketing and advertising costs). It has to build trust, attract the right readers, and get them to sign up for a free offer or sell a book well enough to get strangers to take a chance on it (with lots of reviews, an excerpt, and amazing cover, etc).

Ugly book cover

How many indie authors have ugly covers? At least half. Probably more.

Book covers are such a trivial and silly thing: you spent a ton of time writing your book, but that simple JPG will make or break your success. People won’t read your description if your cover doesn’t hook them. The cover has to appeal to the right readers enough to get them to read the description – that means it has to convey mood and genre immediately. I understand it can be too expensive to hire a professional designer, but there are plenty of super cheap options to getting a cover design (fivver.com, wordswag, canva.com) that are still better than the majority of crappy, homemade book covers I see on Amazon.

Spamming people

If you’re not sure you’re being spammy, read this post. Lots of authors just copy what they see other indie authors doing. The majority of indie authors rely on spam, and consider it “book marketing” – which sucks because it makes us look unprofessional, desperate and annoying.

Anytime you talk about, mention, or link to your book to a stranger, you’re being spammy.

When you Tweet quotes of your book, when you share your awards, or sales, or special offers, or new reviews, you’re being spammy. It’s OK to do it to YOUR followers, if they really followed you because they liked your books, but YOU DON’T NEED TO MARKET to those people, because they’re your fans.

So just stop.

Instead you need to be building relationships with peers and fans, because it’s OK for them to share your news, but not for you to share your news.

Marketing, however, is getting NEW fans – and strangers on the internet don’t give a shit about your book.

You need to make them care first, by producing great content that gets in front of them; cool and interesting stuff that isn’t spam and gets shared. Then people come back to your website to find out about you.

Think about everything you post or share: are you giving or taking? If the purpose of what you post is to ask for a sale, you’re taking. If you don’t care anything about whoever is reading it, other than hoping they buy, it’s spam.

You need to be giving 90% of the time.

It’s OK to share a book launch, for a new book, and talk about stuff you’re doing surrounding the launch, but you shouldn’t keep talking about it for months after (you should have produced a lot of content during launch that brings in continuous traffic.

Another easy test of whether you’re being spammy: do you know who you’re talking to and what they want? Or are you just “shotgunning” the internet, hoping somebody accidentally takes notice and buys your books?

PS) On any platform that is mostly spam, your own spam will be ignored. That’s why paid Book Blasts by Twitter accounts with tons of followers won’t work, because they post that stuff all the time and people tune them out. You need to find people with a specific, tailored audience, who have readers who trust them, to share your book.

PPS) Advertising is annoying, but it isn’t spam: it’s OK to advertise your book directly to your target readers and make it look and sound good, just make sure you either put your ad on a very targeted, genre specific website, or you use Facebook advertising to narrow your audience. Don’t just advertise your book anywhere, for anyone, without knowing who is going to see it.

Being Overprotective

I get that you want to safeguard your work, and plagiarism sucks. Here’s the truth: if you make it big, sites will pirate your books. And even if you don’t make it big, some sites pretend to pirate your books so they’ll get clicks from people, even if they don’t actually have your books. And sometimes, although it’s extremely rare, some crazy author will actually just take your work and claim it as their own.

But the legal fees to correct such a thing are probably more than you’d ever earn from the book itself, and for the vast majority of authors, none of this stuff matters because your book is invisible anyway. Don’t be worried about sharing your book with editors or beta readers. They’re doing you a favor. Don’t make them sign NDAs.

Just sell so many damn books that everybody knows it’s your story.

Paying too much

Indie authors are usually overwhelmed by “publishing” and feel more comfortable signing with a small press, even if they have to pay for it, because they think it’s like being “really” published instead of self-publishing.

Vanity and small presses charge big fees for publishing packages that include doing things for you.

But to publish a book, you really only need cover design and formatting (and probably editing, but that’s your choice). Then you have to learn how to upload your files, and maybe build a website.

If you sign with a publishing house, it’s fine – you’re paying extra for hand-holding. It’s like paying for an author assistant (and if you need one of those you could probably hire one for less). It is really nice, and does save a lot of time, to have someone on call who can just answer everything and explain everything to you.

But the truth is, most of those companies selling packages outsource all the work, so the critical pieces like cover design are marginalized. They do an adequate job, which might look professional to you, but probably isn’t good enough to be successful. Most small presses (and even big companies like Createspace or Lulu) show at best very boring cover design samples, and at worst tragically ugly ones (and those are their best examples!)

If you self-publish, it means you can choose the best designer and give them the money directly, instead of paying someone else who is going to take a big chunk just for administrative work. Educate yourself, learn to self-publish on your own, and use your money economically to get the best design you can afford.

Promoting without reviews

You can’t launch your book, or do marketing or advertising, if it doesn’t have any reviews yet. I think you need at least 15 before you can even begin, so I hate seeing indie authors who have had books out for a year or two and are still struggling with marketing, and still have less than 10 reviews.

Yes, getting book reviews takes a lot of work and effort, and it kind of sucks to ask people (especially strangers) to take  chance on your book. You’ve got to suck it up and do it anyway. If you’re sending out requests and nobody will review your book, it’s probably a sign that your book cover sucks (they never even started reading) or the writing isn’t good enough. Also, read this:why people won’t review your books.

Betting the farm

Most authors go all out for their first book and spend lots of money. It’s understandable, so I’m not saying don’t do it. Just keep in mind, since you don’t know what you’re doing yet, you’ll probably waste a lot of money and not see the results you want (trust me I’ve been there).

Firstly, your first book probably isn’t your best; secondly, a profitable writing career is usually built up by launching a dozen or so books, as quickly as possible. So do the best you can on your first book, but make sure you also have ideas ready for your second, third and forth. Each book you publish will probably do a little better, because you’ll be learning and improving all the time, and growing your author platform (unless you’re one of those writers who is completely ignoring your author platform, not learning anything about marketing, and just hoping to get lucky).

Asking people to like their page

It’s cute when indie authors trade likes and all support each other by liking each other’s pages.

But it’s also pretty useless.

Yes, you need more likes on your author page. Until you have about 1000, new readers won’t take you seriously. You can get a bunch of likes quickly by running book giveaways (and you should totally do that). But you shouldn’t ask people to like your page.

Why should they?

They either like your page because they like you and your writing, or you’re asking them to lie and pretend to like your page. That’s a terrible, self-serving practice; everybody only likes your page so you’ll like their page, and nobody actually gives a shit about each other (I’m being dramatic, actually indie authors are very supportive and nice, but I’ll talk about that later).

You want to get readers of your genre to like your page.

But actually, having lots of likes is still useless, because when you post content to your page only 10% or less will actually see your content (Facebook is funny like that). Instead of scrolling through a thread and liking dozens of other author’s pages, you should be focusing on growing your email list.

EXCEPT FOR…. it’s a good idea to like the fan pages of other authors in your genre, and share all of their great content on your page. Instead of needing to think up new content ideas all the time, if you follow a hundred awesome indie authors, with or without big platforms, and reshare all their content, your own platform and followers will grow quickly and those authors are more likely to share your content out of gratitude.

So yes, liking and sharing can be smart marketing.

But don’t just ask people for likes. It’s lame. Post remarkable content. Be helpful and useful. Follow others and get on their radar by sharing their content.

Complaining that people don’t value books.

Indie authors sometimes complain about how low ebook prices are devaluing literature, but they’re really just grumpy because nobody is buying their books. But people don’t buy based on price.

Readers value books and are willing to pay for them.

They just don’t value your book yet.

Convincing them that your book is worth 2.99 or 9.99 is your job. If you can’t convince anybody to buy your book even at 99cents, then give it away for free.

But when you say “Buy my book! Support indie authors!” you’re asking for charity to support your writing habit.

7 Things Indie Authors do Right

OK, maybe that was harsh, but I’m trying to be helpful. The nice thing is, so many authors are doing so many things wrong, publishing successful is actually pretty easy when you do everything right.

Here are some of the reasons I’m proud to be in the indie publishing community.

These are really cool things that some indie authors are doing, or should be doing.

Try

Indie authors believed in their books enough to self-publish them, even ifthey tried to go traditional and couldn’t get an agent or a publisher. That takes guts. I love that we can now publish and reach our readers directly, even if the traditional industry doesn’t think our book would be profitable enough to publish.

I know authors who have a lifetime of manuscripts tucked away in a drawer and hundreds of rejection slips. Keep trying, and if nobody else will publish you, publish yourself and get it out there.

Support Each Other

Some indie authors are weird and crazy, and I think writers are naturally awkward people with poor social skills (I certainly am)… but there’s a tremendous amount of support in the indie publishing community, with organizations and watchdogs and bloggers trying to help one another.

The only danger is hearing a bunch of other authors “support” you when you’re making big mistakes (like when you ask for feedback on an ugly cover and everybody says they love it). It’s true you need a lot of support and encouragement, so it’s awesome that indie authors are so kind and friendly. But make sure you’re getting expert advice on the things that matter. Remember, only %.000625 of authors are actually making any money.

Find the ones that are making money and learn from them, or imitate what they’re doing.

Are Willing To Learn

Indie authors have a ton to learn and do the best they can. It can be really frustrating, especially if you hate computers. I had to force myself to learn ebook formatting and then InDesign when I got sick of paying others to do it for me. The more you publish, the more skills you’ll learn. The more skills you have, the cheaper and easier it will be to market your books and make a profit.

Are Grateful

I think all readers probably love their fans, but indie authors are grateful, because they’re overcoming a lengthier period of insecurity. When you’re traditionally publishing, you already know that somebody found some value in your work. It’s nice to hear from fans, but you’ve already gotten paid. For indie authors, you often have no idea whether your book sucks or not until you’ve published… so when you start getting actual feedback from strangers who enjoyed your books… it’s a powerful feeling.

Are Patient

 

If you’re self-publishing, it’s good to be patient…. as long as you’re building your platform and publishing more books. Things take time to catch on. However, don’t think, if nothing is happening and you aren’t selling, that things will just magically happen later. If you aren’t selling, you probably have a problem with your platform (either no visibility, or nobody wants it because it isn’t presented well enough). You need to be patient and think long-term. Be flexible with deadlines, and don’t freak out at your editor/formatter/designer. These things take time, and everybody is dealing with their own crises. Try to keep positive, and relax, even if things seem like the end of the world.

Are Fast

The first book might take years to write, but I have at least a dozen friends who can (and do) finish a book a month (both fiction and non-fiction). Most successful indie authors publish every three months. It’s important to keep Amazon ranks high and engage with our fans. Of course this is easier if you’re writing series and know what happens next. But if you want to make a living, you need more content, and you’ll need to be producing quickly. Traditionally published authors waste years sending out queries, waiting for answers, then trying to sell the manuscript, then preparing it for publication….it’s one way to do things, but it’s much slower.

Take responsibility

 

Taking responsibility is probably the key to success in any field. Don’t blame others. Don’t complain. Everything is under your control, but only you care enough to take action and make things happen. It’s not enough to want it really badly, you need to be willing to learn what it takes to succeed and do what’s necessary. I know a lot of authors whose only limiting beliefs about money or art are crippling their success.

You CAN do this – there are people lazier and dumber than you (not that you’re lazy or dumb) who are making money with their writing. You’re a smart, likable person (I can tell). If you want to make a living with your writing, you can do it, but it won’t be handed to you, and it doesn’t happen by luck.

A Dream of Ashes-My new book

A Dream of Ashes
A Dream of Ashes

So Warriors of the Way is done. It only took four years to finish the series( huge sigh). I’m currently working on the Sepia Blue stories ( on book two of five) but in between those two worlds I got slammed into this one-A DREAM OF ASHES.

First of all look at that awesome cover!

Big thanks to Carl Greaves at Extended Imagery. This is an ongoing series of books-Chronicles of the Modern Mystics with each one being a standalone. read. You can find it here.

Here is the description:

Mystics. Magic. Murder.

Ava James is a fire mystic with the Mystic Investigative Division. As a branch of the Enclave, a worldwide mystic organization, the MID is feared, respected and reviled.

When the half-charred body of a Mystic is found, the Enclave sends her to investigate the strange death. Ava finds that all the clues point to the killer being a fire mystic, one of her own. Accused by the Enclave of working with the killer she must solve the case before a secret buried in her past is revealed and destroys her world.

Can she save herself? Will she find the murderer?

If you like hardcore, fast-moving action, complex mystical powers and an unstoppable heroine, then you’ll love Orlando A. Sanchez’ thrilling new series, Chronicles of the Modern Mystics.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself writing this book. Its a darker story than my other books, but also it flowed faster and easier. Ava’s story was easy to tell and the momentum ramped up pretty fast near the start of the book. Pick up a copy and let me know what you thought.

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The Dark Flame

The Dark Flame
The Dark Flame

So I have been away from the blog for a bit due to writing and most recently editing. In the midst of this i have released a short story which is the prequel to the next book.  You can find this book on Amazon here.

This short went through a few changes. I had to add several chapters because if I didn’t I was threatened with bodily harm from my beta readers. I cant go into detail without spoiling it for you. Pick it up and let me know what you think.  

The next few months are going to be full of activity. The next book is scheduled for early May I will have a cover reveal soon. 

Stay tuned!

Synopsis:

He would sacrifice all for love.

Roland James is an Arch Mystic and an expectant father. When the Enclave discovers his wife-Mei is pregnant, they demand he adhere to the rules and give up the baby for mandatory reprogramming and Enforcer training. When he refuses, the Enclave decides he is better off dead, along with his wife and unborn child. Now, together with Mei, they must evade the Enclave forces sent to kill them long
enough for her to give birth. They must find a way to escape the Enclave or lose it all.

I enjoy hearing from you! Leave me a comment below or send me an email.

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Book 4 The Warrior Ascendant

The Warrior Ascendant
The Warrior Ascendant

This book has been ready for some time now but I didn’t want to release it until book 5 was nearly done and on the horizon. This one will be available this month and book 5 will be available early next year.

Here is a brief synopsis:

The Wheel has unleashed the Kriyas. Creatures of fearsome power that devour life-force. They have been set on a path to destroy anyone who stands in the way of recovering the three foci, weapons of immense power. Dante, having undone the searing must now locate the third foci, Shadowstrike, the only weapon powerful enough to stand against Maelstrom and Lucius.

From his prison in the forgotten plane, Lucius now with the power of Maelstrom has been patiently restoring the connection to the Nexus. One more weapon will complete the bridge. Once restored every plane will be in danger of destruction. Dante, together with Sylk and Meja, return to the Akashic Records. There they will seek to uncover the identity of The Wheel. Will they find Shadowstrike, stop the Kriyas, and prevent Lucius from escaping?

Writing this book was quite a challenge and the last book (book 5) has been exciting to write. The Warriors of the Way series spans 3 years of my life. I hope you enjoy it. I’m on to another project that is a departure from this type of story. Its a little darker but it has been bouncing in my head for a long time now.  The only thing I can say about it now is that its a mystery and the protagonist is a mystic. More to come soon!

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Story Fix by Larry Brooks

Story Fix
Story Fix

As a writer I am always working on perfecting my ability at the craft of writing. In order to do this every crafts-person needs tools. Larry Brooks has once again provided an excellent tool to improve the craft of writing. I am currently reading Story Fix and it is indispensable in my library of writing books. This is a book I will read, reread and use often in my pursuit of excellence in my writing craft. I highly recommend this book along with Story Physics and Story Engineering also by Larry Brooks.

Here is a short synopsis of book:

Reinvigorate Your Fiction!

You’ve written the first draft of your novel or screenplay, and you’ve released it into the world: to your critique group, to your most trusted beta readers, or even to an agent or an editor. But something’s wrong. You’re not getting the glowing response you had expected, or you might have even received a rejection. Your story is getting a “Meh…” when you had hoped for an “Amazing!”

But have no fear–the piece you’ve sweated and bled over isn’t dead on arrival. It just needs fixing.

Story Fix is the answer to your revision needs. With practical techniques from critically acclaimed author and story coach Larry Brooks, you will learn how to:

  • Develop a story-fixing mind-set
  • Navigate the two essential realms of revision: story and execution
  • Evaluate your novel or screenplay against twelve crucial storytelling elements and essences.
  • Strengthen your concept and premise.
  • Punch up the dramatic tension, pacing, thematic weight, characterization, and more.
  • Align your story with proven structural principles.

Filled with candid advice on the realities of the publishing world and helpful case studies of real authors who fixed their own stories, Story Fix isn’t just about revision–it’s about resurrection. Infuse your fiction with a much-needed jolt of electricity, and bring it back to life.

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Author Interview-Alexis Radcliff

A vanishing Glow
A vanishing Glow

I recently read a great new debut book by Alexis Radcliff.

Here is a the synopsis: It is an Age of Revolution, an Age of Industrialism. Constructs, living men who are as much brass and steel as they are flesh, man the factories and wage the wars of a ruling elite who gorge themselves on the fruits of the common man’s labor. Mystech, a brilliant fusion of magic and machine, gives rise to a new class of privileged inventors and merchants even as the country festers with wounds from decades of internal strife.

I’m not a huge steampunk fan, meaning I dont actively read the genre but this book will change that. It is an excellent read. Alexis writes  believable and complex characters. The story has twists and intrigue to keep you guessing for the length of the book and more. Alexis was gracious enough to be interviewed. Please pick up her book and give it a read. You can find sample chapters and  the links where the book is available in the interview below.

Thank you again Alexis!

Alexis Radcliff
Alexis Radcliff

Name: Alexis Radcliff

Age: 30

Where are you from?

I grew up in a small town in the Midwest, but I moved out west after college to work in tech and live nearer to both mountains and ocean.

When and why did you begin writing?

I’ve written my whole life on and off, and I worked in journalism all through college, but I didn’t start really thinking about fiction seriously until I was in my mid-twenties.

Do you have a novel/collection published? Would you like to tell us about it?

My first published novel is A Vanishing Glow. It’s an exciting blend of epic fantasy, steampunk, and flintlock fantasy set against a Victorian backdrop with an extremely rich world.

What inspired you to write your first book?

While growing up I read a lot of high fantasy, so by the time I went to college I was hungry for something different. The seeds of the world I built for A Vanishing Glow started there, and it just sort of percolated in my head for the next decade or so.

Do you have a favorite character from your book? If yes, who is it and why?

I’m really partial to Nilya Valsu, one of my two protagonists. I just have so much planned for her, and I think she’s a really fun character to write: she’s resilient, smart, and proactive, but she also has a lot of emotional depth to her.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

There’s a lot of intrigue in my plot, and if I could do it all over again, I might have picked a slightly easier or more straightforward plot for my first book. I’m happy with how it all turned out, but I spent a lot of time wrestling with the plot points to make sure everything wove together properly.

What are your current projects?

I’m currently working on Mystech Arcanum novella, and then the third volume in the series. I also have a very exciting superhero series planned for 2016 that I can’t wait to share!

Do you have any advice for other writers?

The more I see what gains traction and what doesn’t in both social media and sales (from my own experiences and those of other writers), the more I realize how big of a deal writing more books is. Nothing will help you succeed more than having additional books out, particularly at the early stages.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Write. Publish. Repeat!

What book are you reading now?

I am currently bouncing back and forth between a few nonfiction books, Station 11, and Annie Bellet’s Twenty-Sided Sorceress series. All very enjoyable!

Do you remember the first book you read? If not tell us what your favorite book is and why.

I remember that the very first “grown-up book” I read was Piers Anthony’s A Spell for Chameleon, and I was so proud of myself for finishing it! The very first book I read on my own was probably something by Dr. Seuss, but my mom had been reading to us for years at that point.

Other than writing do you have any hobbies?

I run, I play videogames, I hang out with my husband, and sometimes I like to bake. Mostly videogames, though, haha.

Blog: http://www.lexirad.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ARRadcliff

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lexirad

Bio:  Alexis Radcliff is an author, gamer, unashamed geek, and history junkie who spent the better part of a decade working in tech before dedicating herself to her first love, literature. When not writing, she spends her time reading, running, playing way too many videogames, and thinking too much about everything.

Purchase links for my novel:

Amazon.com | Goodreads | Read Sample Chapter 1 | Read Sample Chapter 2

 

Author Interviews- Alice J. Black

The Doors Alice J.Black
The Doors Alice J.Black

In the spirit of giving back and connecting with my writing tribe I have scheduled monthly author interviews to showcase authors you may or may not have heard of. They will be a combination of indie and traditional with the focus being to give an insight on the writing life.

Alice, who is an online friend graciously asked me to be part of her interview group. I thought it only fitting that she be the first author in my monthly Author Interviews.

Please pick up her book and follow her blog.

Her social media links are provided, you can find her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (where she has some great pics!) drop by and kindly give her a hello!  Please leave a comment on what you thought. If you know or are an author and would like to be highlighted in the monthly interview drop me a line or leave me a comment below.

Enjoy the interview!

 

Name: Alice J. Black

Age: 28

Where are you from? The North East of England.

Tell us a little about yourself ie. education Family life etc. I grew up and have spent my life in the North East of England. Ever since I can remember I have always loved reading and writing and though at times it hasn’t always been a priority in my life, I have always come back to it. More recently when I got my first role in my career I have gone back to writing which I love doing. I try to write every day!

When and why did you begin writing? I have always loved writing. From a young age I liked to write stories and I was always encouraged to do this by my family. I still have some of my really old scribblings now and it’s great to look back on. I can’t say why I started writing other than I really enjoyed creating a different world. Continue reading Author Interviews- Alice J. Black

New Rise of the Night Cover Reveal

Sepia Blue New Cover
Sepia Blue New Cover

I had a very talented artist redo the cover for Sepia Blue. Originally it was a cover I had done when I was starting my writing and I felt I could do it all. Also at that point it made financial sense to do it myself. I have learned a bit since then and if there are two things to invest in when you are an indie writer its editing and cover art.

This is the new cover for Sepia Blue -Rise of the Night and it looks great.  Kudos to Jake Logsdon. If you find yourself in need of a cover artist or even if you don’t but know someone who may, go to his site and take a look at some excellent illustrations (he illustrated this cover) Visit  his page .HERE.

Thanks again Jake! It looks great!

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Lies Ripped Open by Steve McHugh

Lies Ripped Open
Lies Ripped Open

I just finished the fifth book in the Hellequin series. Here is the synopsis:

Over a hundred years have passed since a group of violent killers went on the rampage, murdering innocent victims for fun. But even back then, sorcerer Nate Garrett, aka Hellequin, knew there was more to it than simple savage pleasure—souls were being stolen.

Nate’s discovery of the souls’ use, and of those supporting the group’s plan, made him question everything he believed.

Now the group Nate thought long dead is back. Violent, angry, and hell-bent on revenge, they have Hellequin firmly in their sights. And if he won’t come willingly, they’ll take those closest to him first.

The battle begins again.

I have to say this series of book is fantastic. Steve does an excellent job of pulling you in and immersing you in his story world. I get bonus points because I read this while I was in London so it felt even deeper.

Go out and get this series! You will root for Nate and find yourself turning pages even when you said you were done for the day.

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