Free on Amazon This Weekend. Dark Heart Volume One.

Get your free copy of Dark Heart Volume One Free this weekend on Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com and all other Amazon global sites. 

A great chance to read a previous edition of the anthology before submitting your work before MARCH 1st for Volume 2!!

LINKS

UK LINK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B5TCAYO

USA LINK: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B5TCAYO

Grab it whilst you can!

USA Amazon Link : http://darkheartandnightshade.blogspot.co.uk

UK Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00G1PXDCK 

Free PDF Download of Dark Heart Volume One

HOW TO GET YOUR FREE COPY. 

"A delightfully wicked set of tales; highly recommended and I shall definitely be going off to explore more of these writers' works" (Amazon Review 2013) 

As you are aware, the Dark Heart and Night Shade anthology project is not driven by profit, but by the idea of sharing writers' works with a potentially new audience.
Although we do 'sell' the anthology on Amazon platforms for $0.99 (because it won't let you list for free!)  and paperback copies are available (in the hope of covering editorial costs), the main objective is to spread these gorgeous stories by these talented writers.

As a result, (now we have covered the costs - yay!) we have decided to make Dark Heart Volume One even more accessible and are going to offer you the option of downloading it for FREE on PDF (which should load into your various e-Reading devices)

You can download your FREE PDF copy by clicking on the button on the right hands side.

If your e-reader doesn't take PDF then you can also download various e-Reader options by visiting Smashwords, where you can also download Dark Heart for FREE or if you are feeling philanthropic, you can pay what you feel is fair.

DARK HEART VOLUME 2: SUBMISSION GATES ARE STILL OPEN (Closing date March 1st) 

News of Dark Heart & Night Shade being a showcase of talented authors is growing and already the LBPH is raining with submissions for the Mirrors & Tears edition of Dark Heart. We have already read some amazing stories and are looking forward to sharing them with you in July 2014.

If you are an author (either brand new to writing or an experienced hand - whether 14 or 114) then you still have until March the 1st to submit your stories.

We are accepting submissions for

• Short stories of 2,000 - 10,000 words
• Flash fiction pieces of 500 - 1,000 words
• POETRY

We are still really short of poetry submissions! And we really love to use the poetry to break up the narratives and offer the reader a little thought provoking break. 

THE THEME IS MIRRORS & TEARS and that theme is as open to as much interpretation as you like. 

THE GENRE IS DARK FAIRYTALES and the audience is YOUNG ADULT 

Please ensure that your Manuscript is submitted cleanly. By this we mean;

•  it has been carefully proof checked - preferably by a second set of eyes, but if not, with care.
• Please ensure that it is in Times New Roman, size 12
• Ensure that rulers have been used properly so that paragraphs and dialogue are indented by format rather than by the dreaded space bar!!!!

We are looking forward to your submissions. Please send them FAO of Kitty Rackham at the following e-mail address (littlebirdpublishinghouse@yahoo.com) 

Dark Heart Volume 2 Submission Gate Open until March 1st

Submission gates are now open (until March 1st) for short stories and poetry with the theme of Mirrors & Tears.

Dark Heart is our annual anthology of Young Adult Dark Fairytales with a horror or paranormal twist.

It is a non-profit making project, with the main objective being to gather together some of the best emerging indie talent out there and introduce them to a new audience. The anthology comes out in paperback and e-book (any profits after the publishing, editing and art costs go into the charity pot)

It is a chance for authors to add a new publisher to their C.V and to showcase your work through your short story and the attached Bio and author focus at the end of each published story.

DETAILS:

The length of the piece can be anything from 500 words of flash fiction - 10,000 full short story. Please do not submit anything over 10% of the maximum.

Poetry is welcome.

We welcome works from all authors between the ages of 14-114+

It is a Young Adult / Cross over audience - so keep a leash on the gore and sex.

Your work can have been published elsewhere (as long as you hold the copyright and it is not under any kind of agreement)

The theme is Mirrors and Tears (although this is very open to interoperation)


Please ensure the MS follows the following formatting rules - it's just good manners!

• ensure that your stories are submitted in Times New Roman size 12 with a spacing of one and half lines. 

•  ensure that your MS is formatted properly (you wouldn't believe the amount of time it takes our team to sort formatting mess out!!) USE your rulers at the top of the page to set the dialogue / paragraph indents. 


• Use traditional paragraphing format (no space between please) 


• Please, please check your work carefully prior to submission. We know that no matter how careful you are some type errors will be missed - that's the nature of self-editing - however please be as very diligent as you can be, ensuring rewrites and corrections are made before submission. 

Send Submissions To: 
F.A.O Kitty at   littlebirdpublishinghouse@yahoo.com as a word doc attachment.

Introducing you to .... Katrina Emgard

In our latest post introducing you to our Night Shade Volume I authors, it is our great pleasure to introduce you to Katrina Emgard, author of the fascinating and sinister short story 'A Fairytale Ending'. Not only is Katrina an incredibly talented writer, but she is also a very talented graphic artist. It was our absolute privilege working with her and her various art forms. Be sure to check out her beautiful website to discover a whole host of interesting and innovative projects. 

Biography:

I’ve always had many stories to tell. They’ve been expressed in different ways but writing gave me the chance to place the characters of my imagination in the same room and let them tell me their stories – that’s how writing came into my life and why it stuck. Because it gave me time, time to get to know the characters and time to tell the vivid tales.

One of those stories grew until it expanded beyond the format of a comic or a short story, which I’ve usually written, and became a full scale novel -“In the realm of dreams – Walkers.”

In a near future, in a bankrupt city, a worldwide corporation has gained the ability to manufacture and control people’s dreams.  Kia, a young woman, struggling with reoccurring nightmares and the effect this has on her psyche is searching for a way out of her own personal hell. A journey through the darkest corners of her subconscious, where some people help her and many more try to put an end to it.

More at www.emgaard.com

Interview:

Q: Tell us a little about yourself.

A: As the fog lifts in the morning it reveals: acres of fields, the entirety of the Atlantic Ocean, a bit of forest and in the middle of it all a sturdy, yellow, old house. If you peak through one of the gritty windows you’ll find me writing stories, drinking coffee and occasionally petting my constantly attention seeking dog.

Q:  When did you start writing seriously

A: About 5 years ago I started studying Creative Writing and writing a comic. I soon came to learn that I needed more space for my lyrics than the speech bubbles could offer, and so I moved on to short stories and now I’m working on a novel.

Q: What is the favourite thing you’ve ever written?

A: My next piece is my favorite thing. It’s always like that, lots of new ideas and stories pop up when you’re working. And you can’t wait to get started with them, and as soon as you have, it’s the same thing all over again.

Q:  Tell us a little about your book

A: The book takes place in a near future, in a bankrupt city, a worldwide corporation has gained the ability to manufacture and control people’s dreams.  Kia, a young woman, struggling with reoccurring nightmares and the effect this has on her psyche is searching for a way out of her own personal hell. A journey through the darkest corners of her subconscious, where some people help her and many more try to put an end to it.

The book is currently in the making, check out www.emgaard.com for more updates.

Q: Who’s you inspiration?

A: Joss Whedon for his ability to write dialogue driven action. Jon Aijvide Lindquist for his bizarre imagination and of course Neil Gaiman, for his fairy tale-like, earthy atmosphere.

Q: What are your hopes and ambitions?

A: I want to write, to keep the characters in my head alive and well and hopefully reach out to people with my stories.

Q: What would be you advise to aspiring writers?

A: Don’t wait for inspiration to come to you. Keep writing and work on your stories. No matter what you think of them, just get them out, get them down on paper and finish them. Remember there is something great about every story.

Introducing you to ... Petra Pavlikova

LBPH is really excited to announce  that the paperback edition of the 'Night Shade' anthology is now available in paperback and what better way to celebrate than by introducing you to the rest of the Night Shade authors.

Today it is our great pleasure to introduce you to Petra Pavlikova and her story 'Dark Saviour', a tale of twisted and sinister obsession that is so powerful it breaks all natural orders.

About ...

Petra Pavlíková is a Czech writer, student, and translator. Člověk Sofie v pustině (pub. 2010) is a collection of three pieces she wrote while studying creative writing at Josef Škvorecký Literary Academy in Prague.

“Dark Saviour” is her first story in English. She is currently working on another, an urban fantasy trilogy Hazel the Witch, which is set in Bath, England, but is inspired by folklore of many cultures. She is also rewriting and translating her gothic tale Tangerine from Czech into English.

In 2009 she attended International Summer School at the University of Cambridge. In 2011 she graduated from Anglo-American University in Prague with BA in Humanities, Society and Culture. She studies Romanticism (MA Romantic Studies) at Birkbeck, University of London.

Interview ...

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m from Czech Republic, but now I live and study in England. I love animals and own way too many books. No, that’s not true, there’s no such thing as too many books.

When did you start writing ‘seriously’?

I think it started with studying creative writing at the Josef Škvorecký Literary Academy in Prague.

What is the favourite thing you have ever written? Tell us a little about it.

Tangerine. It’s a gothic tale with a family curse and a little bit of romance. But it also explores the way people follow (or not follow) their dreams and passions. Giving up on what we really want and conforming to society and its expectations can make us numb. But following our truth without thinking it through might be fatal as well.

I’m very lucky, because one of our family friends is an amazing Czech director, musician, and also writer, and he read it and suggested what I could change and what I could improve. It helped me a lot. It’s written in Czech, but now I’m reworking and rewriting it into English.

Tell us a little about your book / series?

“Dark Saviour” is a Victorian ghost story and also the first piece in English I’ve ever written. The characters cross lines which shouldn’t be crossed and show us the darker side of humanity. I enjoy reading stories like that. I think it’s important for us to read about the dark side of human soul, it helps us to acknowledge and deal with our own darkness. Yes, I like Jung a lot. J

Who is your inspiration?

There are many people I admire for different reasons: Carl Jung, Jane Austen, Anton Chekhov, Daphne du Maurier, J. K. Rowling, Neil Gaiman etc. But I also love mythology, folklore, and fairy-tales. I love literature and music. All these things are my inspiration. And to look around yourself and pay attention to what you see and not see is a great thing as well. J

What are your hopes and ambitions for the future?

I want to write in English more. It’s a challenge, but challenges are good for you.

Also, I want to do yoga more regularly.

What would be your advise to aspiring writers?

Read, write, and read. Believe in your dream. And brace yourself, because there are going to be many rejections. And learn to accept criticism.

Introducing you to .... Laurie Lyons.

It's launch week for Night Shade Volume One, and the LBPH are so proud of the first Night Shade Volume. It has some really fabulous stories written by some genuinely talented writers. Today it is our pleasure to introduce you to Laurie Lyons. Well actually, it might be more accurate to say, 're-introduce' you, as we had the great pleasure of hosting Laurie's work in 'Dark Heart Volume One.'

Laurie's story

Laurie's contribution to 'Night Shade' is the seriously creepy and sad story of 'The Gatherers'. Set in the close knit community of the Fire Fighter's families, 'The Gatherers' is the tale of the newly widowed Emily and her daughter Ava. Fire was a part of their families life, and it seems tragically that it is now defining their deaths. In a tale that blends traditional ghost elements with more contemporary paranormal. you're sure to find yourself doing a double check of the fire-alarm.

About

Laurie Lyons wrote her first story at the age of 8 and hasn’t really stopped since. She lives in Calgary Alberta, Canada with her husband Trevor and their two clever children. She loves writing, reading and spending time with her brilliant friends. One of which is her friend Scott Walker who played a huge part in clarifying a great deal of the Firefighter facts for this story. ‘The Gatherers’ is her second story with Little Bird Publishing House. Laurie is the author of The Feather Trilogy with Ring of Fire Publishing. 


Interview

Tell us a little about yourself.

I live in Calgary Alberta Canada. I have a terribly handsome husband and two crazy, clever children that love roller coasters. When I am not writing, I am a teaching assistant at a local preschool and visit local school to talk about being a writer. I do yoga most days and drink wine on the others. I also have Celiac Disease and write a foul-mouthed blog about my adventures. Favorite things include, reading, writing, chocolate and my snake-skin pumps.

When did you start writing ‘seriously’?

About four years ago. I have always written short stories, have started a few novels but never got too far. I got the idea for FEATHER and wrote it down in notebooks over six weeks. I knew I had something special, I knew that this was what I should be focusing my time on.

What is the favourite thing you have ever written? Tell us a little about it.

My newest book FAITH is coming out soon and its final chapter is one of my favorites. It took me weeks to craft every sentence. It was so important that the trilogy ended perfectly. I wanted the reader to feel like the story was complete and yet that they had gone through the ringer to get there. I wanted the journey to feel worth it. Its beautiful and I am so proud of it.

Tell us a little about your book / series?

I have written ‘The Feather Trilogy’. In FEATHER, we meet Lucy, a college student with a fairly normal life except for the fact that she has a photographic memory. On the night of the Spring Equinox, she runs into a man named Nathaniel who at first appears to have amnesia. Lucy feels deeply connected to Nathaniel but soon falls into a spiral of confusion as she discovers that Nathaniel is invisible to everyone but her. Determined to find answers, Lucy seeks answers and ultimately learns that Nathaniel is a fallen Angel. His time on Earth is limited though and Lucy and Nathaniel have to battle Heaven and Hell to stay together.

In GATES, Lucy and Nathaniel are together and at first everything seems perfect. A series of terrifying events leave them wondering if something evil is lurking below the surface. They must find out who, or what is behind the attempts on Lucy’s life. The story builds to a breatheless ending that will leave the reader wanting more.

FAITH, the final installment of The Feather Trilogy, picks up seconds after GATES ends and Lucy is struggling to find a way to save Nathaniel and her friends. Little does she know though, that far more is riding on her decisions. The entire human race is depending on her to do, not necessarily the right thing, but the right thing at the time. FAITH carries the reader through a story of love, heartache and terror that is worthy of Lucy and Nathaniel’s love.

Who is your inspiration?

I am inspired by the authors who fought and perfected their craft over time to make their word read and succeeded.

What are your hopes and ambitions for the future?

I would love to see my books in every book store in the world. However, I get people telling me how much they love my work all the time. Students listen to me speak and want to become a writer. Fans read my work and give me five stars and a rave review. If all that continues to happen for the rest of my life, I will die a happy old lady. My writing has been a great blessing and I just want to be able to keep doing it.

What would be your advise to aspiring writers?

Don’t stop writing, no matter what you do. Keep working because you will get better when you do. Develop your voice, perfect your craft, use the written word to make a difference and you will be happy with the result. No matter what though. Don’t….stop….writing.