Borderline – a Cloud Lands Short Story

Well, “Borderline” is up on Amazon and most other vendors, as well.

Also, you can sign up to my newsletter and download it for free as a gift.

But what is it all about?

I wrote the tale for a project which had two basic topics: Winter and Romance.

In addition, I wanted to create a short story set in my Cloud Lands world, simply so I could gain more readers through it.

Yes, that’s writing to market, in a way, and I’m not ashamed of that. Because I hope it’s still something you, my dear readers, enjoy.

And I quickly decided that this would be a story about Ylanda, a dragonrider I discovered while writing “Dragon Court” (which is Book Three of the Saga). She dropped a hint about her and her dragon Rakild knowing how to live rough, and that got me thinking.

What if she had been a scout, guarding the border between the Western Kingdom and the Carmine Empire? That’s a region with a huge series of mountain ranges, very hard to control, very hard to even survive in. Only dragonrider scouts have a chance, the area is too rough for armies.

And of course, the Carmine Empire would have its guards on the prowl, as well.

Which made for an interesting idea:

What would happen if Ylanda and a Carmine were thrown together in dire circumstances?

Now, if you have read my stories, I’m a firm believer in human goodness and good, win-win solutions. Not all of my characters can do that, obviously.

But I knew Ylanda could. And then I met Kerrin, and knew he could, as well.

Which made it huge fun to throw both together and watch them make it work. How far would they go? Well, that’s something you’ll have to find out yourself. *grins*

And once I finished the story, I had come to love Kerrin, as well. I couldn’t stand using him as a throw-away character, and I really wanted to find out what became of him.

Which is why I wrote him into “Betrayal”. And while I couldn’t reveal everything Kerrin has become since it’s mad, angry, delusional Ferren who sees him, you can certainly guess.

So how can I get it again?

If you want to read “Borderline”, you can sign up to my newsletter and get it for free. (Go to This Link to sign up.)

Or you can go to this Global Link and choose your preferred vendor if you want to buy it. It’s 99ct everywhere.

Borderline – Books2Read

Please consider writing a review if you enjoy the tale. Thanks!

PS: I have moved my blog to my own domain. It’s at Hannah Steenbock.

Moving the Blog

I’m moving this blog to a new address – my very own domain. So any new posts will arrive at the link below.

Ich schreibe ab sofort unter einer neuen Web-Adresse, so dass all neuen Artikel dort erscheinen werden.

Hannah Steenbock

Looking forward to meeting you all there!

Ich freue mich drauf, euch alle dort zu sehen.

Some More Writing Advice – Beginning, Middle, End

Beginning, Middle, End

Sorry for the long silence. I’ve been working on my other business … and that took a lot of time and energy. Even so, I’ve been overwhelmed with the great responses to my short story ebook, “Sequoia”. Thanks go to everyone who downloaded it when it was free, everyone who bought a copy, and most of all, everyone who commented on it, either on Amazon (8 reviews! Woohooo!), or in any other shape and form. You are wonderful!

Launch of the Ebook Sequoia

Sequoia – a short story

Today, I’m officially launching my brand new ebook “Sequoia – a short story”. It’s free on all amazon stores today, so you can grab it right away and enjoy it!

Now, what made me write “Sequoia”? I really don’t know anymore. This is one of the tales that simply flow from mind to keyboard. I was reading a lot of shamanic books, meditating, thinking about nature, energy and how it is all interlinked. Fun times, and somehow, all this coaleced into this story.

“Save the Cat!” – Ein Drehbuchratgeber

Save the cat *

Stellt euch vor, ein recht unsympathischer, mürrischer Held tritt auf und tut kurz darauf etwas Unerwartetes: Er rettet ganz selbstlos eine Katze. Auf welche Weise auch immer. Und sofort mögen wir ihn. Der Film ist gerettet. Und der Roman auch.

So eindeutig und klar strukturiert kommt das Buch mit diesem Titel daher.

Was ich am Ebook-Marketing hasse

Ebook Vermarktung *

Ich bin ja dem Selbstveröffentlichen gar nicht abgeneigt und habe sogar gerade meinen nächsten Bestseller eine englischsprachige Kurzgeschichte zum Formatieren etc. in Auftrag gegeben. Daher schaue ich natürlich, was andere Autoren in diesem Bereich so treiben, um ihre Geschichten und Romane zu vermarkten. Und ich gebe zu, dass ich dabei Dinge erlebe, die mich als Leserin doch immer wieder ärgern.

What I Hate When People Market Their Ebooks

Selling Books Online *

As I’m thinking about self-publishing, I’m also trying to get a feel for how to market my future bestseller upcoming short story. And I’m stumbling on things that make me, as reader, rather angry.

In fact, I think the last thing I should do as author is to make my readers angry at me.

Dying to Forget – Trish Marie Dawson

Dying to Forget *

The other day, I talked about how writing in present tense is a sign of a beginner and amateur. I still mean it. And that’s why I almost didn’t continue with this novel. Even so, I dug in, and here, present tense works somewhat. That’s because of the special location where the novel takes place, and because of the topic itself. More about that in a moment.

I often get notifications about free ebooks on Amazon. And yes, it’s part of Amazon’s marketing strategy to give away books for a day, to gain a larger readership. These days, I’ve gotten a little smarter and check reviews before I grab a book, even if it’s for free.

Dying to Forget – Trish Marie Dawson

Dying to Forget *

Neulich habe ich ja mal ein wenig über das Schreiben im Präsens hergezogen. Nun habe ich letzte Woche einen kleinen Roman im Präsens gelesen – und es hat ganz gut funktioniert. Das lag unter anderem an dem Ort, wo dieser Roman spielt, und natürlich auch etwas am Thema. Mehr dazu gleich.

Ich bekomme häufig Informationen und Werbung für Ebooks, die für einen Tag kostenlos bei Amazon angeboten werden. Inzwischen bin ich ja etwas schlauer geworden und schaue mir die Rezensionen an, bevor ich so ein Ebook “kaufe”.

Zombies and all that

Zombie Suit *

Well, this is another rant. Kinda sorta. You see, every time when I see another creepy horror cover on Facebook, every time I see a gruesome face covered in blood, every time I see more nightmarish creatures advertising a book, the same question pops up in my mind:

Why?

Why are there people who like this? Why are there people who write stories I would never ever think of in my worst nightmare? Who creates covers that literally make me feel sick? And posts them on Facebook?