Happy 2019!

Jan 142019

Here is wishing you a fantastic 2019, wherein all your dreams come true and you go on many adventures both in person and in good stories.

First, I give you my round up of 2018:

Last year was a cracking year for me. I deliberately use the word cracking and as the word suggests, there were both positives and negatives.

On the downside, reality bit in the form of a number of health scares, both for myself and a couple of people very close to me. That anxiety and stress is not something I would wish to go through again and I really hope that with the dawn of the New Year we will rise to happier and healthier times. Thank you to my lovely close friends and family for your support during those difficult days.

On the upside…

In the early summer, I spent a delightful long weekend at “Camping Out” in the beautiful Devon countryside. Such good fun among really friendly people and definitely an experience I can recommend. I was there last year, flogging my wares and enjoying light-hearted conversation in some pretty good UK sunshine. Look out for me and my books in the market on the last day again this year.

The middle of the year was marked by the usual LFEST weekend shenanigans, this time in Llandudno, Wales. Sadly, last year there were no author panels to be seen, but I have it on good authority that the good lesbian authors of the UK will be back in 2019, reading from their latest novels, signing books and partaking in this wonderful weekend’s activities, once more to be in Wales.

LFEST coincided with the publication of my third Sam Skyborne novel — a psychological thriller called “Alice” (http://Dukebox.life/Alice). This is the second of my PI Toni Mendez adventures and is set in the lovely Cape Town. I am very proud of this novel. The feedback and reviews I have had and its reception by you, my lovely readers, has really wowed me. Thank you!

At the end of August, I had the privilege of participating in my first EllCon (European Lesbian Literary Conference), held in Bristol. What a fantastic event! It was well attended by a number of the best lesbian writers, who I had the honour of meeting and appearing with on a few panels. They were all were absolutely fantastic – so helpful and supportive of new writers. This is truly a community that I am proud to be part of.

From Ellcon, I flew out to Lesvos, to spend a few weeks in the sun in beautiful Skala Eressos while I crunched out the first draft of my next book. It was a truly wonderful few weeks of early rises and hard but fruitful work, followed by a rewarding swim in the crystal Aegean and a couple of hours of basking in the glorious sunshine. During the Sappho International Women’s Festival I had the privilege of reading at the wonderful Karolina’s fantastic Wine Women and Word evening – always a fabulous experience.

On my return, I was proud to participate in the first Lesbian Author Panel at Tower Hamlet’s Idea Store’s WriteIdea Festival — another very memorable and rewarding experience – shared with talented authors Clare Lydon and Veronica Fearon: so there was a little bit of everything for the lovely lesbian fiction audience.

Each one of these events has been a complicated and enriching mixture of fun, laughs, effort and most importantly lessons learnt. All, I hope, helping to make me a better author and a better indie “authorpreneur”.

In the autumn, I also had the great good fortune of having all three of my books win awards in the (New York City) NYC Big Book Award and in addition, Risk also took a finalist award in the National Indie Excellence (NIEA) Awards. I have been shy of submitting my books for any awards or competitions before this. I guess we all have our insecurities and my worry that they might not be good enough held me back. Now, however, I am absolutely delighted with this recognition for my stories!

I want to send a very big thank you to everyone, in particular my readers, who have advised, supported and in their own way contributed to helping me along on this exciting journey. I think it is worth it, and I appreciate every comment and every suggestion.

Finally, once again, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or with feedback on my books, my website or my blogs. I really look forward to hearing from you.

And, if you are not already on my mailing list, and you’d like to hear about any promotions and news, then please subscribe here: http://Dukebox.life/Subscribe

I hope you have a truly fabulous 2019 and may all the stories you read be good ones!

Kind regards,

Sam Skyborne x

“Alice” – Celebratory Count Down Deal

#FriFreeB, Alice, Promo, SamSkyborne_Blog No Responses »

Dec 112018

Starts Tuesday 11 December on Amazon!

Alice Count Down Deal Promo on Amazon

Alice: A Sleeping Monkey’s Lie

Winner of the “NYC Big Book Award – Distinguished Favorite”

I am so thrilled!!
So … to celebrate this award I’m running a special Count Down deal on Amazon this week.

Get your copy at http://Dukebox.life/Alice_Promo!

Book review: Stella Duffy “Calendar Girl”

SamSkyborne_Review No Responses »

Mar 042018

I’ve been meaning to read this book for ages, and now thankfully, I’ve finally got round to it. It is a shame there is such a glut of new books and fiction out there as some of the older classics get snowed under by the noise of “new talent”.

Calendar Girl is definitely one of those titles worth uncovering again. It has a great plot with a very elegant twist that is very well written. Duffy creates a fine balance between surprising twist and sinister foreshadowing that makes the ending a satisfying conclusion to the gripping ride. This, first novel in the series, is a great introduction to the private investigator Saz Martin and her adventures.

I look forward to reading the next book in this series and getting to know Saz better.

<< Click the image to get your copy.

Kenric Drop in 26/01/2018

SamSkyborne_Blog No Responses »

Jan 172018

I am very pleased to announce that I’ll be doing an author reading from my latest novel RISK: Three Crime-fighting Women Risk All for Love, Lust and Justice on Friday the 26th of January at the Kenric Drop In event at London Friend. This event will be hosted by the lovely Anny and she will be no doubt subjecting me to one of her grueling Q&A’s that will include telling you more about my next exciting project due out later in the spring. Afterwards we will probably decamp to a local watering hole for a more casual debrief.

So, please, come along and join us.

To find out more about how to attend, please visit: Meetup.
Note: there are only a limited number of spaces available so sign up soon to avoid disappointment.

FYI… There will also be a very limited number of signed paperback copies of my novels available on sale.

I look forward to seeing you all there!

Merry Christmas!! – Gift for You!

SamSkyborne_Blog No Responses »

Dec 172017

So…

I have written a short little fic distantly related to the Toni Mendez (RISK) universe called “Stakeout”.
It’s a steamy little dream Toni had about her long term friend and occasional colleague, Lizbeth, one night on a stakeout and what happened afterwards during the early days of her realising her own feelings…. There is no hiding from one’s own unconscious!

Not only because it’s Christmas… but it is a small token of my gratitude to you all for your kindness and support.

Thank you!

Protected: RISK Sample

Holiday Snaps – Hookey and me (Follow on from Holiday Romance)

SamSkyborne, SamSkyborne_Blog No Responses »

Nov 262017

As so often happens with holiday romance stories… sometimes one can get carried away. 🙄 “He”/”she”, who seemed like “Prince/ss Charming” at the time, turns out to be a real toad as time goes by and they forget to text or write or message….

So, just to prove that I was not making it up, I thought I’d post two lovely holiday snaps of my tall dark handsome stranger.

Needless to say he has not texted or written or messaged .. 😔 .. but with climate change he has promised to come visit.
If you’d like to receive notification 📧 of my new posts or book/film releases and promotions 💫🎉 , please add your details here to my private mailing list >>

Check out the right side 👉🏻 column for some of my novels 📚.

* Other NEWS: Promos *

I am running a special promo for “Simulation”, “Cat Sitting” and “Saying Sorry” during the next two weeks on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. Find out more here >>

Whaleshark – Holiday Romance

SamSkyborne, SamSkyborne_Blog 1 Response »

Oct 022017

It is a true story, even though the telling of it is creative…

Sometimes reality is better than fiction. That is me in the picture!

He was a tall (2.5 meter long) dark stranger. We met one morning in late September just off the shore of a beautiful tropical island. I can honestly say, for me, it was love at first sight.

As often happens in these situations, when they sneak up on you, I was not looking at my best. I was wearing an ill-fitting bikini which was clinging a little too snugly across the bulges that had come to rest on my midriff during the recent over indulgent summer holiday. To add to the ensemble, I had a red over sized life-jacket tightly strapped over the top making me look like a beached baby whale in a corset. I had patiently waited my turn to take the plunge off of the twelve foot luxury yacht that had brought us out for our morning snorkel excursion. When it came to it I tried, but I suspect failed, not to plop too inelegantly into the azure water.

I was still catching my breath from the shock of submerging my small rotund self in the chilled salt water, bobbing uncontrollably like a buoy, when he glided up next to me, catching me by surprise. In contrast to my frenetic splutters and splashes, his large, lithe form was confidently languid, moving with effortless grace. His wise but little eyes gave me the once-over and then with an imperceptible nod he invited me on a tour of his world. Yes, he invited me, or so it felt, even though there was a whole gaggle of snorkelers clambering over each other (literally swimming over one another, fighting, flapping fins in faces) to get closer to him.

Very, very calmly and considerately he took the lead, gently guiding our path. Like a true gentleman, he’d slow down when I could not keep up, or I got water in the spout, or I steamed up my goggles. Once I’d caught my breath or he thought I might be getting bored, he’d speed up again, alternating in just the right proportions between diving down, swimming deeper to show me interesting things on the ocean floor, and surfacing to snuggle in closer for a more intimate exchange. Together we danced an intoxicating dance through the cobalt blue of the Indian Ocean and for three short hours I felt like the queen at the prom and he was my king.

Then, when it was over and my ride was ready to leave, I thanked him and blew him a kiss. Like the mysterious tall dark stranger he is, he nodded, bid me farewell “until we meet again” and disappeared off into the deep blue distance.

And we, Hooky and I, will meet again. I’m sure of it.

It was a brief but awesome encounter – the type that will feed fantasies for a lifetime.

If you’d like to receive notification of my new posts or new book/film releases and promotions, please add your details here to my private mailing list.>>