Blog tour: Witchcraft - Guest post and a giveaway

Why I went Indie?

By Emma Mills

Big thanks to Mist for having me on her blog today, as she is a very busy blogger, with mountains of books stacked up (probably to the ceiling). She hasn’t yet read my Witchblood series, so instead of a review…which I hope will happen one day soon… she asked me to write a guest blog.

I thought a chat about why I chose to self-publish might be interesting and would let you know a bit more about me, so here we go…

I wrote Witchblood after becoming, quite frankly addicted to paranormal YA fiction. I happily devoured the Twilight series and then moved on to all the vampire fiction that followed. As a quick aside, some of my favourites are, the Sookie Stackhouse Series, Vampire Academy…I’m a big Adrian fangirl, Wings by Aprilynne Pike and more recently The Hunger Games.

The one thing I couldn’t find, at the time, was anything set in the UK. Now I have read, loved and become friends with some great UK authors, but they are hard to find in this genre. I also couldn’t find any YA fiction with witches in it…I hadn’t come across The Secret Circle then! So I decided to combine my two favourites and mix it up a little... vampires and witches, set against the wet, cloudy backdrop of my local city, Manchester.

I wrote Witchblood throughout 2010 and after a thorough edit I was overjoyed to land myself a UK agent, who loved the book and believed in me. However, by the time she was sending to publishers it was the second half of 2011 and the response was always the same: We like her writing style but we have stopped taking on vampire fiction, or The market is saturated, could she write something else?

In one way their feedback was great…at least they thought my writing was good enough, but on the other hand it was SO frustrating. I knew that Witchblood was different, and I knew that people were still buying supernatural YA, but the tides had turned and there was nothing I could do. I did try writing something new, but my heart wasn’t in it. I still wanted to write the whole three book series I had planned out. My characters had become real to me and I couldn’t shut them away in a drawer, so when a friend suggested I self-publish on Amazon, I looked into it and decided I had nothing to lose.

Would I recommend becoming an indie author? Definitely! Do I still want a publishing contract? Of course I do, but I’d think about it carefully! Basically, self-publishing is hard work. I am the author, editor, cover designer and promotions team all rolled into one! The good thing about it, is that I can set my own timeframes and deadlines. For example I have just had meningitis, and I didn’t think I’d be able to publish on my planned date, which I had brought forward to coincide with this tour, but apart from a promotions angle, it wouldn’t have mattered. If I feel poorly or the words aren’t flowing, the only pressure I’m under is my own. I have total control over my work, when it’s published and what price to set.

On the other hand, I haven’t yet published in print, because self-publishing in print, in the UK, is tricky and can be costly. However, I would love to see my books in print on the bookshelves of my local bookstore.

Do I think supernatural YA fiction is ‘over’? Not from what I’ve seen. Witchblood has had over 5000 downloads in its first six months, and its fans are asking for the second book…

Well, here it is, and I hope you enjoy Witchcraft!

Witchcraft by Emma Mills

Witchblood book two.
Jess is no ordinary vampire. Protected by the Manchester vampire clan, and initiated by her family’s east coast American coven, she is sought after by every dark witch and warring vampire faction. Jess must fight if she wants to keep hold of her friends, her sanity and finally her existence.

As the dead bodies of human girls begin to stack up, and her recently accepted vampire boyfriend, Daniel, finds himself in prison, Jess goes on a crazy, forbidden trip to London, racing against time to save an old friend and solve the mystery behind Daniel’s incarceration. In battling new enemies and finding new friends, Jess’s confidence finds room to grow, but who will she lose along the way?

Buy Witchcraft on Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Smashwords - coming soon to B&N, Kobo and Nook.

If you like the sound of Witchblood then here's your chance to win a copy for your ereader.

The giveaway is open internationally for a week.

Just fill in the form.

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