Tag: Allan Walsh

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Time for a Quick Update.

Hello Readers,

We are now at the end of January and I thought it was timely to give you a quick update on my goal progress. As you will probably guess, I have been keeping myself busy. I still haven’t secured a new job, but I’m hopeful something will come up soon. I guess it has given me time to focus on my double diploma. I’m now well into unit 2 and boy is it a lot of work, but I am enjoying it.

I have managed to get some writing done, but not enough to be proud of. I estimate I’ve hit about 2000 words since the start of January and that’s across 2 stories I’m writing, so no real dent in anything there.  I have managed to read 3 books out of my 12 book target though, which has really surprised me.

My newsletter following is also growing and has increased from 350 to 412, so it looks like I’m on track to get to 600 sooner than anticipated. If I keep going at this rate I will have to re-evaluate and increase my goal here.

I’m yet to receive an English student through my volunteer tutoring, I was expecting to get someone assigned to me this month, but it hasn’t happened. I think I will hear something on this soon though.

As for increasing my reviews, this is probably my most ambitious target as I’m looking at an additional 8 reviews on each of my books. It may not sound much, but with 8 titles it comes in at 64 reviews and they are not easy to come by. So if you have enjoyed one of my stories and not yet left a review, you would make me very happy if you did so. Not only would it help me move towards achieving this goal, it would also help me as an author by providing the ‘Social proof’ new readers often look for on my writing.

That’s about it for my goals so far. So what about you? How are your goals coming along?

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here.

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Guess Who Got An Honourable Mention.

 

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Hello Readers,

I entered a scary short story contest back in October, and while I didn’t win, I was asked to participate in an anthology of the wining stories and receive an honourable mention.

So, if you want to read my submission or if you’re in the mood to read some other short horror stories you can check them out on the link below.

https://www.supportindieauthors.org/s/Whatever-You-Do-Dont-Turn-Around-Compilation.pdf

Happy Reading.

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New Year, New Freebies.

Hello Readers,

With the New Year celebrations over, it is time to look forward to the year ahead. I am still looking for a new job, I’ve signed up to a double diploma, and I have completed a volunteer English tutor course and will be taking on my first student in the near future. Even with these commitments I plan to achieve more as an author this year, than I did in 2018. This year I hope to build a larger following, obtain more reviews on my books, finish some of my stories that have been neglected for a while, and much more.

Part of my plan to help build my following involves a little author collaboration and a giveaway. It’s a win/win situation! Readers get to try new authors without forking out for their books, and authors may pick up a new fan or 2.  So what better way to start the new year than by teaming up with another author for a free offer. Well that’s just what I have done. I’ve teamed up with author Carol James Marshall.

Carol James Marshall is a California native that now resides in Warner Robins, Georgia with her husband, two boys, and a couple of dogs that are spoiled by all. Marshall’s books are light science fiction with a splash of horror and a decent douse of creepy.  Her short stories are a bit lighter, being more whimsical, but still pack a mysterious yet comical punch. When Carol is not writing she loves audiobooks, reading, classic science fiction and horror films.

To grab a free copy of Carol’s book Starburst just click on the image below:

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STARBURST:

When everything you know is a lie… Will you seek the truth?

Lisa, our anti-hero, only wants to follow orders from her mysterious leader, Superior Mother, then get back to life in The Grey. When she is sent on her first mission among the humans, Lisa realizes she is more human than Superior Mother led her to believe. In her first mission for the Women of the Grey, Lisa begins to not only challenge her orders from Superior Mother but everything she has ever known. Defiant and on a quest for the truth, Lisa will follow orders no more while she creates a path of her own. If you love books with strong female characters that are both heroes and villains, Starburst is a read just for you.
The Women of the Grey is a science fiction and horror trilogy that dives into alien isolation tangled into a secret society. Read Starburst book 1 today to start the journey into the dark and disturbing world of The Grey.

For those of you that do not know me, I am a writer and artist, born in sun-scorched Australia and raised in the grungy suburbs of West London. I’m a keen martial arts fan, lover of fantasy, and a movie buff. I grew up watching movies like ‘Drunken Master’ and ‘Snake in the Eagles Shadow’. My favourite author is Joe Abercrombie and I love the graphic novels of Wendy and Richard Pini. So you will find I’ve been influenced by the likes of Joe, Wendy, Richard and cult Asian film directors such as Jacki Chan and Stephen Chow. I currently reside in Brisbane, where I enjoy creating new worlds through my writing.

To grab a free copy of my book Darkness In Shadows just click on the image below:

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DARKNESS IN SHADOWS:

Are you afraid of the dark? You should be!

Corporal Jackson’s been assigned a new post on a top-secret project and keeping him in the dark might just kill him. It’s hard to hide things from the Russians though. They know about the machine and they want one… but some secrets should stay hidden.

Darkness in Shadows is a sci-fi horror by Allan Walsh. If you like heart-thumping short stories, hair-raising concepts, and scary twists on reality, this monstrous tale will have you jumping at shadows.

Wrap your fingers around a copy today!

Happy Reading!

AW

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Happy New Year!

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Photo by trung nguyen on Pexels.com

Hello Readers,

Happy New Year! Wow, another year is behind us. Doesn’t time seem to have travelled so fast when you look back on it and yet the end of 2019 seems so far away right now. No doubt that when we look back on this new year it will have flown by too.

My 2018 has been busy, but it was not as productive as I would have liked on the writing front. While I have added to a few novels I have been working on, I only finished 1 non-fiction title and a new short story. I haven’t published the short as I want to put into an anthology of tales I’ve written. This year I think I’ll sit down and plan out a schedule to complete the goals I want to achieve by the end of next year.

So, let’s have a look at some of the events and things I achieved over 2018:

  • I read 20 books this year
  • I reviewed 14 books
  • I visited Tasmania for the Dark Mofo Art festival
  • I wrote and published a non-fiction title
  • I wrote a short story
  • I attended 2 monthly writers groups (although I didn’t manage to make every month for both groups)
  • I signed up and completed a course for authors
  • I have created a new website with my own domain name
  • I automated my mailing list sign up process
  • I’ve tried my hand at advertising my books and while I have not had a great deal of success, I have learnt some valuable insights
  • I created an author page on D2D
  • I signed up to Kobo
  • I moved house
  • I got made redundant
  • I updated my resume and commenced job hunting
  • I have started a double diploma

And there you have it. It’s not an extensive list, but more than enough to give you a feel for what I’ve been up to. I hope I can make 2019 a more productive year. I feel I have set some strong foundations over 2018 and once I have my schedule planned out it will keep me on track for a great year to be. I wish you all the very best for your 2019 and hope it is your best year ever, whatever your goals and dreams are.

Happy Reading.

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What is Christmas like in Brisbane, Australia? I’ll share my experience with you.

Hello Readers,

In the spirit of Christmas I thought I would do a quick post around the festive season here in Brisbane, Australia.

As a child, I was raised in England, UK, where Christmas is cold and wintry, everyone rugs up in a coat with a hat and scarf, and there is a traditional roast dinner spent with family. The Christmas cards have pictures of snowmen, vendors on street corners sell roasted chestnuts from wood-fired, oil-drums under the Christmas lights of Oxford Street, and if you are really lucky… it snows.

As an adult, I moved to Brisbane, Australia, where Christmas no longer felt like Christmas. December falls in the peak of summer here and it is hot! Along side the traditional snow pictured Christmas cards, there are those with Santa in sun-glasses and board-shorts, riding a surfboard. Christmas dinner is a barbecue with king prawns, steak, salad and a cold beer. And much of my family are still in the UK.

Well it has taken many years, but I must say that this year feels more like Christmas than any other year I have spent in Australia. I now live in an inner city suburb, and yesterday I went to the theatre to see ‘A Christmas Carol’. It was a great production and I thoroughly enjoyed it (here is a photo of the set before the show started).

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A five minute bus ride took me to the Arts Centre in the heart of Brisbane where the festivities are everywhere. Just look at these photos of the decorated bus I caught (apologies in advance for the poor picture quality).

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When the sun goes down the Christmas spirit continues with things to do and see – like the stories projected onto the Town Hall and the Solar Christmas Tree at King George Square (incidentally, a short story by an author friend of mine was turned into a light show for this years Town Hall projection – Well done Mel).

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Then there is the street parade among the decorations and Christmas lights along Queen Street Mall, that unfortunately I do not have photos of… yet! And I mustn’t forget the Enchanted Garden at Roma street that is on my list of things to see this year.

So for those of you whose lives have changed this Yule, those experiencing a different world this silly season, those who are missing family and friends, or struggling at this time when everyone is meant to be having fun. Hang in there. It may take a little time, but things will change. The things we appreciate… the things you do today… they will shape the things to be.

And for those who have it all and are loving life right now, don’t be a scrooge – why not do something nice for someone less fortunate and spread the Christmas cheer.

Merry Christmas to all.

 

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The Continuous Balancing Act of Writing.

 

Picture of a typewriter
Picture by Thor

Hello Readers,

It’s time for another quick update.

You are probably well aware that there is more to writing than just writing. Any writer worth their salt will read, not just for the love of it, but to hone their skills. Then there is the research for our stories, the blogging to keep our audience engaged, the management of the financial side of writing, the updating of keywords to help people find our books, and everything else that goes with being a writer.

Personally, I have spent a bit of time over the last month or 2 trying to source some new reviewers interested in a free review copy of my book. This is a time-consuming process, but it pays to do a little research to find legitimate reviewers that like to read in the review book’s genre. After all, there’s no point sending a fantasy novel to someone who only reads non-fiction titles, as they are not likely to enjoy it. It also helps identify reviewers whose style I like, potentially providing a quality review or some good constructive feedback on my writing.

There have also been some changes to amazon lately. This has seen a drop in sales for a substantial amount of authors on the platform. It prompted me to check and update my blurbs and my keywords across all my sales channels. A good thing too, because when I checked my book blurbs on Draft 2 Digital, I noticed that I only had 1 category selected for some of my books (when I can choose up to 3 categories). Categories help place my book so it can be found in relevant searches (for instance I could put a book into Fantasy/Dark Fantasy and Fiction/General fantasy). This is strange as I know that I selected 3 categories originally, but things change, systems are updated and sometimes things drop off or become obsolete. So, I guess it is a reminder to me (and any other author out there) to do regular maintenance checks on the books uploaded.

As far as actual writing goes, I started out writing as a ‘Pantser’ – someone who just sits down and writes and sees where the story takes them. The more I write though, the more I move towards becoming a ‘Plotter’. It gets harder for me to ‘pants’ the further into a story I get; I tend to have the need to go back and read over things before moving forwards. This wastes time, and when I only have an hour or 2 to write, it can have a big impact on how much writing I actually get done. I have found that if I complete an outline it gives me a direction to follow, and it helps me stay on track (without referring back to previous writing so much). It also doesn’t hinder my ‘Pantser’ creativity. In light of this, I have just gone and dug up a half completed story that I put aside a while ago. I have had a look at all the scenes and filled in some descriptions so I can create a detailed scene list. This is a step further than my outlining process, and I’m going to see how it pans out for me. I’m hoping that it will give me both the motivation and the direction to finish this piece.

On another note, and call me crazy if you will, but I have just signed up as a volunteer English tutor, and I have taken on a double diploma – all while I continue to look for a new job. So, let’s see how I manage with the extra work I have committed myself to. It should keep my busy for a while.

Happy Reading!

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Short Horror Stories by Allan Walsh

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Hello readers,

I thought I would pull this old post out especially for Halloween.

Enjoy!

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Do You Like Spooky Stories? I Sure Do.

candle creepy dark decoration
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Hello Readers,

I have just finished a short story for a Halloween ‘Scary Story Competition’ that I’m entering.  The story is titled ‘Little Monster.’ I enjoyed working on this piece after having a bit of a break from my writing while I’m trying to find a new day job.

On Halloween I will send a free copy of this short story to everyone who has signed up to my newsletter/mailing list. If you’re not signed up yet you can do so by clicking on ‘sign up’ at the top of my website. If you are signed up, this is a little free gift to say Happy Halloween and thank you for subscribing.

Happy Reading.

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Have You Tried to Loan a Book this week?

Picture of the local library
My Local Library – West End.

Hello Readers,

I thought I would write a quick post to remind you all that my stories (both print versions and e-books) are available in libraries. I know that here in Australia they are available in The National Library, The State Library of Queensland, Brisbane City Libraries and Logan City Libraries. It is very possible they are also available in others. You can even check online to see if they have a copy and if not you can request that they order one in, all from the comfort of your own home.

Our libraries only remain open if we use them, so why not help your local library and loan a book today. You never know… you may just enjoy it!

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in some libraries.

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Ups and Downs and Silver Linings… Oh My.

Hello Readers,

A lot has been happening in my world lately. My partner and I have recently moved house. She hates that word by the way – ‘Partner’. She says it sounds like a business relationship – wants me to ‘make an honest woman’ of her. But I have digressed… we had our old place on the market; the sales market is slow, so we switched it to a rental and now have tenants in place. We are still trying to organize the new place. It’s much smaller, so we have had to refurnish and get rid of a lot of stuff.

I’ve also been out and about, exploring my new neighbourhood… and I’m loving it! I’m living in a Brisbane suburb called West End and it is really diverse. A crazy juxtaposition of new and old, rich and poor, shabby and chic. This makes it really interesting. There is so much to do here with all the transport options, cafes and bars, markets and communal gardens, the museums and theatres, thrift shops and second hand book stores, the list goes on…

In my day job I manage a team,  but we’ve all been told our jobs are being made redundant. I’ve been trying to support them through this and manage my own situation at the same time. Luckily I am a glass-half-full kind of guy, and as much as this is changing my life as I know it, I’m looking for the opportunities that come from these changes and encouraging them to do the same.

On the writing front I have been trying to maintain a presence at my Writers’ groups and critique the submissions that go hand-in-hand with them. All the change has taken a bit of a toll on my creativity though. With so much going on it’s been hard to knuckle down and write. So I took the opportunity to dig out an old book I was working on. One I finished a few years ago and never got around to publishing. It’s a non-fiction title that has been sitting on my hard drive collecting virtual dust. It’s a guide to self-publishing, but the longer it sat there the older the information was getting. Now I have pulled it off the drive, done an update to ensure the info is relevant and published it. Until things settle down a little I’m not sure when I will get back to the fiction titles I have been working on. I have started running a new ad for my ‘Blood Rage’ series and I’ll see how that goes as time ticks by. I’ve also pulled a couple of stories down from KDP select (which made them exclusive to amazon) and I have now published them across multiple channels.

For those that follow my blog, you may (or may not) have picked up that I’m a bit of an art lover. Well, West End is full of art, hopefully it will start to stimulate my creativity again. Anyway, while on my explorations I have been taking some photos and I thought I would share some with you. Here they are, enjoy!

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Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in some libraries. 

If you liked this post, why not share it with your friends?