Rae Stoltenkamp

I write therefore I am

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Memoirs Launch

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It is
my great pleasure to announce the launch of Memoirs of a Feline Familiar. I merely acted as amanuensis to Jinx Obsidian Bastet (aka Kastaspella’s
famous feline Familiar). In this memoir he tells us of the hardships a Familiar
has to deal with on a daily basis and spills the beans about the famous and infamous alike.

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ON 22 MARCH the E-book will be completely FREE. Just follow the link below.

FREE E-book


Back Catalogue Secrets II

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The
Main Characters

Brueberon
– A very lonely over-sized dragon in need of a friend.
Clarissa Henry – An extreme reader who
dreams of worlds other than the one she lives in.
Kastaspella – A dastardly witch
who detests Clarissa and hopes to make her life even more miserable than it
already is.
A Book Is Born

My
intention was never to write a children’s book. Before I started working at
Inkhead I actively avoided little children quite simply because I was afraid of
them. Okay, terrified is more accurate a description. As a teacher I stuck with
teenagers. Despite their erratic qualities I related to them very well. Perhaps
I was still a teenager at heart.


Ultimately I assumed my writing would focus on
teen and adult themes. At the time I was already writing the first in my Sci Fi
series and was almost done with the final edit of my debut novel. So I was a
little stunned to find myself writing The
Lonely Dragon. I’m even more surprised now to find myself producing a
sequel. And still more astounded to find myself sucked into writing the memoirs
of a character I considered to be minor. I of course mean Jinx, Kastaspella’s
cat and feline Familiar. Let’s just hope he doesn’t read this as he’d
be particularly miffed that I ever considered him minor. I can assure you, my
thinking on that score has been totally revised.
If you
ask where the idea for The Lonely Dragon
came from, I honestly don’t know. The book wrote itself. Bruberon was the
character most prominent in my thoughts. In my mind’s eye he was like the dragon
from The NeverEnding Story but
without the sophistication and assurance that dragon displayed.
Clarissa’s
character is probably most like my own as she spends a great deal of time
reading and daydreaming. The rest of the story is made up of my love of mixing
fact and fiction till the lines blur.


The front cover came about because I worked with a young artist, Anastasia Scudamore and a group of children she was teaching at the time. The aim was to show them that art can be used as the basis for an income. I provided extracts from the book and the children created the most marvellous paintings. The first edition cover featured every single drawing even though book cover designers were appalled. I very much wanted every child to know their work was appreciated. The new edition still uses a cropped image from one of those paintings.
To
celebrate the fact that Memoirs of a
Feline Familiar (the spin-off inspired by a once supposedly minor character)
is due for release as soon as all the final edits are done, the e-book of The
Lonely Dragon is available FREE until 20 March. 


Enjoy!



Back Catalogue Secrets I

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When I
wrote my debut novel Six Dead Men it
was meant to be a stand-alone piece. I was already working on a Sci Fi Novel
and had several other ideas floating about for new novels. It also had a very
different ending to the current one. My ART at the time (a writing group run
by Caroline Natzler) were insistent I change my planned ending. Here was this
bunch of hard core writers who demanded the perfect word in exactly the right
spot and my realistic ending was proving too traumatising for them. Who could
have predicted it? Certainly not me.
It
took me a while to rethink my ending (an entire summer if I recall correctly)
to find a closing which didn’t involve a rewrite of the entire novel. This made
the writing process a touch challenging but I believe it produced a better
book. However, it also woke the voices of the subsidiary characters who then
demanded I write something just for them. It’s the reason I now also have Six Degrees, a book of short stories in
the series. But that is a post for another day.
That
first step of listening intently to what my readers were saying was a crucial
one for me to take. Collective sighs of relief flooded our writing group when I
returned with the altered ending and Kleenex lost out on a considerable amount
of revenue that day. It was initially this experience which made me realise the
importance of having an ART and is the reason I insist on
each of my new books going through the same process. I end up with gut
wrenching anxiety each and every time but know it will be to the book’s
advantage in the long run. With this in mind there is a whole lot of nail
biting going on as my ART goes through their reading of Memoirs of a Feline Familiar. I look
forward to all the comments and edits to come.
Without
my readers I am at best a mediocre writer. Giving you what you want makes me up
my game and improves the quality of my work on a daily basis. So huge thanks for all the feedback.
A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR YOU

If you haven’t read Six Dead Men as yet please take this opportunity to get hold of a FREE e-copy today.

ARTs – An Author’s Frontline

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I’m hoping to do my best Henry V imitation and exhort many of you to join
my Advance Reading Team (ART) immediately.

A quick Thank You here to my current dream team. You know who you are so I won’t embarrass you by naming names.
What exactly is an ART?


An
Advance Reading Team is an indie author’s first line of both attack and defense. The war terminology
is out in full force now. What I mean by this is that they spot glaring errors
and help us authors gain support and enthusiasm which is so crucial when
launching a book.
What do you get out of it?


As a member of my ART you would get:
  • A
    FREE advance e-copy of any upcoming books
  • The opportunity to name a character in my next book
  • Your name listed in the front matter if you have provided feedback in the review period

 What do I get out of it?


In
return, at the time of the book’s official release, I’ll ask you for an honest
review either on Amazon, Goodreads or both. This is because reviews can be the
difference between an author succeeding or failing. They are critical for several
reasons:
  • They
    give other readers the chance to discover new authors of genres they enjoy
  • They
    allow authors to qualify for advertising and promotional opportunities
  • And
    they boost a book’s online visibility by moving it up in rankings lists

–        What you need to know before
you sign up
1.  You
need an Amazon account in order to post reviews. You can set one up here for free.
2.    Or a Goodreads account. You can set one up here for free.
3.    You
must be signed up to my author newsletter as this is an exclusive opportunity
for my newsletter subscribers and faithful supporters.
4.   Advance Review Copies (ARCs) are sent out to members of the
ART about 3 weeks before the scheduled release
5.    Your
privacy is as important as mine is to me! So I will never share your data with
third parties. For more on this please read my privacy policy.
6.    You
are in no way obligated to read and review every book you receive
.
If you’re ready to join, please click the image below. 
Claim your FREE e-copy of Memoirs of a Feline Familiar by entering the redemption code: ARTs. 
And you’re done!


 If you’ve subscribed to my ART I’ll be in touch soon with your first Advance Reading task.

Thank
you for your continued support of my writing. Wishing you countless happy
hours of reading!

Multi-coloured Creativity

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Hello again to the regulars and a very warm welcome to the latest followers. It’s a pleasure to have you here.


Ever
wondered what writers get up to when they’re not writing? Well my passions have
always centred round reading and dancing. But I have several others I indulge
on occasion. I’ve always loved drawing and painting. I took an Art GCSE and my
very first holiday in the UK was a painting one in Scotland. It was the first
time I’d ever used any other medium besides pencil and watercolour. And it was
liberating.
For
many years, whenever I went on holiday I’d take a travel set of watercolours
and paint postcards for people. I haven’t done that in far too long and am
thinking of starting again. I take endless photos though and spend ages
deleting and editing till I’m happy they’re worthy to post on Facebook which
has been my online photo album for years now.
On one
trip back to South Africa to visit dad, his girlfriend taught me the rudiments
of jewellery making. I made several pieces for myself and friends over the
years but now mainly use my tools for repairs rather than making.
Recently
I’ve been feeling a need to return to drawing and making. I’ve always had a
desire to create stained glass and have done several projects for the house in
a very cheaty manner i.e. self-adhesive lead and glass paints. With this method
I created a panel for my front door. Now though, I’m having a go at the real
thing. Yes, the actual cutting of the glass and everything. If you follow me on
Facebook I’m sure you’ve seen the videos and pictures I’ve been posting. As
part of a course at a local college I’m required to document my work process so
it’s amazing to see the weekly progress. It’s happening a great deal faster
than I thought it would.
The
great thing about an artistic endeavour other than writing is how absorbing it
can be. The exacting nature of creating gives it a meditative quality. Alongside
this is an enormous sense of achievement once a final product exists. I had
forgotten how satisfying that is. Getting back into all things arty has replenished creativity which I hadn’t even realised was running low. So I plan to ensure that doesn’t happen again. I’m currently scouting out other creative opportunities.
Who knows where my next undertaking will lead. I’ll be sure to let you know.

My completed panel

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