Online Book Awards: the end of the year mentions that make the year's work so worthwhile

At the end of each year I look forward to putting together my 'Best of' list of the memorable books of the year.  I love to spread the word about my favourites, especially if they're self-published, just starting out, don't have a huge following, or whatever, because it's so damn hard to gain recognition in these days of total market saturation and goodness knows how many millions of books on Amazon already, with thousands more being released each month.   So here's my favourite books of 2016, if you aren't amongst the *large number* of people who've already looked at it on my book blog!

Another reason I like to put this list together each year is that there is nothing quite like discovering your book on someone else's 'best of the year' list.  Almost more than anything, these accolades make all the hard work and the 'oh God I've just written 30K words of total garbage' days worth it.  I was over the moon to see The Devil You Know on four book blogger 'best of the year' posts.  So a big huge enormous thank you to Lizanne: Lost in a good book, Between The Lines, Mrs Bloggs' Books and Alison Williams :).  

I was also delighted to see The House of York named in EmmabBooks' list of 5* rated books for 2016.  I'm so grateful for all the reviews for both books this year, and for my novella Best Seller which I released in March.  I was surprised and bowled over to see it named as 'Favourite Overall' for 2016 on Ellie Firestone's blog.  I got this book ready for publication whilst laid up in bed after a knee op.  Being immobile had its upside!  My husband got me one of those table things like they have in hospitals, for my laptop; through February, March and April my world was my bed, my crutches and my laptop on that table.

I think anyone who tries to sell something they've produced, be it a book, music, art, whatever, spends half the time assailed by self-doubt, and the validation of a reader considering your work good enough for a 'best of' post is such a confidence booster.

   
So, will I be calling myself 'award winning'???  I love what fellow writer Carl Rackman said.  He's going to call himself an award winning author, because he won awards for swimming in 1987, and he's an author.  My husband made the same suggestion to me a while back: "They don't know the award is for the backstroke" (and no, I won't be calling myself an 'award winning author'!). 

 

Jera's Jamboree: Book Review (Novella) : Best Seller - A Tale of Th...

I was so thrilled by this lovely review for Best Seller, from book blogger Shaz Goodwin :)

Jera's Jamboree: Book Review (Novella) : Best Seller - A Tale of Th...: If you're a regular blog reader you will know I always thoroughly enjoy a Terry Tyler novel. Terry peels back those layers of tangled...

BEST SELLER ~ it's live!

My new novella, BEST SELLER is now available on Amazon (click title for link).  It's 40k words long, a quirky little tale about three writers trying to succeed in the modern publishing industry ~ by fair means or foul....  

Best Seller is only 99p/99c, and is also available on Kindle Unlimited.  Enjoy!

13 Reviews in the first 13 days:

"It’s a terrific plot which is immediately engaging, the writing accomplished and expressive. The author has a flair for defining complex characters realistically with believable dialogue and qualities"

 "Terry Tyler has an exquisite talent for creating fully rounded characters 
who leap off the page and become a part of your life."

"...a tale of three writers whose lives are woven together 

in a full and engaging plot that throws up surprises 

right to the end."

 "One of the most outstanding features of any of Terry Tyler’s books is her ability to create rounded characters that come alive the first time they open their mouths"

"...overall, this book is absolutely brilliant. 

If you have any interest in authors, writing and books, 

this book is for you!"

"With fascinating insights into the world of contemporary publishing, 

the novella is hugely entertaining but it has a darker side too 

and poses some serious moral dilemmas"

"This book should also be required reading for all those 

who think they have a story in them. 

It is a masterclass in the ups and downs of writing in the hope of publication."

Three women, one dream: to become a successful author.  

Eden Taylor has made it—big time. A twenty-three year old with model girl looks and a book deal with a major publisher, she's outselling the established names in her field and is fast becoming the darling of the media.   

Becky Hunter has money problems. Can she earn enough from her light-hearted romance novels to counteract boyfriend Alex's extravagant spending habits, before their rocky world collapses? 

Hard up factory worker Jan Chilver sees writing as an escape from her troubled, lonely life. She is offered a lifeline—but fails to read the small print... 

In the competitive world of publishing, success can be merely a matter of who you know—and how ruthless you are prepared to be to get to the top.   

BEST SELLER is a novella of 40k words (roughly half as long as an average length novel), a slightly dark, slightly edgy drama with a twist or three in the tale.

Best Seller: my new book ~ that's the title, btw, but one can hope :)

So there I was, just writing the first couple of chapters of the first draft of the sequel to The House of York, when this idea popped into my head for a novella. I scribbled down a few notes for looking back at later, but then thought, perhaps I could just write the first chapter now... three months later, I'd written Best Seller ~ the tale of three writers :)

The Blurb in progress:

Three women, one dream: to become a successful author. 

Eden Taylor has made it—big time.  A twenty-three year old with model girl looks and a book deal with a major publisher, she's outselling the established names in her field and is fast becoming the darling of the media. 

Becky Hunter has money problems.  Can she earn enough from her light-hearted romance novels to counteract boyfriend Alex's extravagant spending habits, before their life collapses around them? 

Hard up factory worker Jan Chilver sees writing as an escape from her troubled, lonely life.  She is offered a lifeline—but fails to read the small print... 

In the competitive world of publishing, success can be merely a matter of who you know—and how ruthless you are prepared to be to get there. 

BEST SELLER is a novella of 40k words (roughly half as long as an average length novel), a slightly dark, slightly edgy drama with a twist or three in the tale.  Enjoy!

....well, it's back from its first test/proofread, and was given the thumbs up  - PHEW!!!  I hope it will be out around mid March, all going well, fingers crossed and wood touched :)  Now for the second proof/test reader.... 

Meanwhile, it's back to Elodie, the sequel to The House of York!