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Andrea McNamara, daughter of Catholic parents with a lifetime of 'protest' behind them, and granddaughter of an Irish matriarch, has finished university and is looking forward to starting her new life.
But then she meets Chris, her former boyfriend, and self-styled classics geek and atheist.
The meeting prompts Andrea to look back at her her final year at high school when she met Chris for the first time and when her life began to change in ways both challenging and unexpected.
This brief but powerful (and expertly constructed) novel is at once a love story and an acknowledgement of the part belief systems of various kinds (religious and pagan) still play in the lives of an ostensibly secular pair of young lovers.
Bill Nagelkerke, from New Zealand, has a highy distinctive voice and approach to constructing his fiction. ACHUKAbooks launched its digital list with THE FIELD, Bill's short novella about a girl who is visited by Marian apparitions. We're delighted to be publishing a second and longer work by him now.
Just pointing out that, for one more day only, every book on the ACHUKAbooks list is 99c/77p, before reverting to full price on Monday October 1st.
This includes DEMONS, the new novel from New Zealand author Bill Nagelkerke, and REARRANGED, jointly written by Ruth Saberton and Sofia Latif. These are both books which, in their different ways, illustrate the continuing influence of religion on relationships.
ACHUKAbooks publishes the seventh title on its list, a longer work of fiction by Bill Nagelkerke, whose short novella The Field launched our digital imprint at the start of the year.
To celebrate, we are offering every title on the list at 99c/77p, and The Field is on a 24hr free download. The perfect opportunity to taste and discover the quality of this New Zealand author, and indeed the other ACHUKAbooks.
We are keen to get DEMONS reviewed. Please contact us to request a review copy.
The first Big ACHUKA Thing of 2012 was the establishment of an exclusively digital imprint, ACHUKAbooks.
The next Big ACHUKA Thing will be happening on Monday, with the launch of a new, mean, lean site look, designed with mobile and handheld technologies in mind.
Amazon has announced that us plucky Brits have really developed a taste for the eBook recently, as the online retailer is are now selling more Kindle eBooks through its platform than any other type of physical paper book in the UK.
Just to clarify; that includes all paperback books including hardback, paperback and children's books that have now been outsold by Amazon's own Kindle eBook format.
Amazon has stated that for every 100 print books sold by Amazon.co.uk in 2012 they sold 114 digital versions of books. Additionally, Amazon has seen a rise in book sales overall with the rise of the eBook reader, with the company stating that people are just more keen to buy books of any kind since the Kindle's release.
All ACHUKAbooks titles are currently exclusivley available on the Kindle store... Click here
from the opening chapter of this highly entertaining, thought provoking novel co-written by two authors from different cultural and religious backgrounds:
My nickname is no coincidence. I was rebranded as Mills after my parents caught me devouring a Mills & Boon novel instead of the intellectual material they thought I was reading for my A-Levels.
I want what most girls want. I want to have my wedding cake and gobble it, too. I want the whole works - the dress, the confetti, the honeymoon and the outrageously attractive groom who's crazy about me. I want a gorgeous husband that I'm in love with.
What's wrong with that?
The problem is that I'm not in charge of the search for him.
Find my own husband? Are you kidding?
'Love? No such thing! Love comes after marriage,' say all my elders. Yak yak yak, until my ears are practically bleeding. Marriage, they say, is a tradition. Almost all the parents I know have taken their son's or daughter's marriage into their own hands, because that's just what happened to them, and to their parents too. No one in our family has ever denied their parents' wishes. Mummy-ji and Daddy-ji had an arranged marriage when they were really young. I think that mum was only about seventeen and dad couldn't have been more than twenty, and of course it all worked out brilliantly, which is great news for them but more down to luck than judgment if you ask me. Not that you could ever convince them of that.
I don't think I could take the emotional pressure if I don't 'see reason' and agree to their choice. My parents are fantastic. Not fanatics, dictators or control freaks, and all they want for me is my happiness. They see themselves as wholly responsible for this, and if I go against their wishes they'll be failures and bad parents in the eyes of our community....
By no means a heavy, issue-laden polemic, but rather a fast-paced romantic comedy with some highly cinematic set scenes - great holiday reading, in fact, so why not put it on your Kindle straight away?
Two fabulous ACHUKAbooks titles are available for FREE on the Kindle Store today.
The first is our latest title, REARRANGED, by Ruth Saberton and Sofia Latif, a fast-moving and entertaining romantic comedy about a young woman who has twelve months to do what she can to avoid an arranged marriage - a highly topical read.
The second is the debut short story collection WATCHING HORSEPATS FEED THE ROSES by Caroline England, published earlier this year and already picking up some highly favourable reviews. We are so impressed with these stories that ACHUKAbooks will be publishing a full-length novel by Caroline England, probably early in the autumn. She really is a writer to watch, and here is your perfect opportunity to see if you agree with our estimation.
We would really like to know what you think of these two titles, so if you could post an Amazon review when you have finished reading that would be great.
On the shortest night of the year, June 20th 2012, writers, readers and publishers are again joining forces to celebrate the short story on International Short Story Day...
Watching Horsepats Feed the Roses by Caroline England
The first ACHUKAbooks title for adult readers was a collection of short fiction by a new author. These cameos of quirks and cruelty will delight all those who find the short story form appealing. And for fiction so quintessentially English in atmosphere, the author's name is decidedly apt.
ACHUKAbooks will be publishing a novel by Caroline England later in 2012.
All three characters are equally well developed which is extraordinary. Jamie could so easily have been nothing but a foil, yet he has as valuable a role to play - it reminds me of the line from About a Boy where the boy realises that two people aren't enough in life - 'you need backup.' Each of the characters provides a 'backup' to the others at points in their joint journey.
Throughout the novel, realities change for all of our teens. Luke gains insight, Kate grows up and Jamie gains depth of emotional engagement. The novel shows some unpleasant (yet familiar) realities as well as some more unfamiliar (and perhaps scarier) ones but offers the characters (and readers) the chance to face up to and cope with all that is thrown at them, in the process enabling the development of understanding and awareness that the 'norm' is not a reality. It doesn't shy away from the difficult stuff but it offers a way of dealing with many of the issues that young adults face about issues which are so difficult to talk about inter generationally. I think this is a valuable book for the teen market, but also for adults, who it may give an insight into the nature and issues of young adults in our contemporary society. CALLY PHILLIPS
REARRANGED, a fast-paced romantic comedy about a young woman's attempt to avoid an arranged marriage, co-written by Ruth Saberton and Sofia Latif, is OUT NOW and available for 48hrs at an initial 77p/99c price.
So keen are we to hear what readers think of My Brother Will, the latest ACHUKAbooks title, published just a few days ago, that we will give a free copy of each of the five previously published ACHUKAbooks to the first three people to write a substantive review of the book on Amazon, or elsewhere online.
The story of a pivotal year in the life of the Shakespeare family in Stratford, when Will was on the cusp of manhood, and told in the voice of his younger brother Gilbert. Informed by the theory that the Shakespeare family were crypto-Catholics, it is a rich evocation of daily life in sixteenth-century Stratford and the surrounding countryside, centred around four festivals. It is a most unusual book which is written in a style pungently reminiscent of the period, yet without quaintness, and rests on a good deal of research on all kinds of aspects of Shakespeare's background.
If you are a regular online reviewer/blogger we would be very happy to send you a review copy of the book. Just write to kindleATachuka.co.uk
Published today, ACHUKAbooks #5, MY BROTHER WILL by Sophie Masson
A richly rewarding read, presenting a year in the life of the young William Shakespeare, still living at home in Stratford, on the cusp of adult independence, as seen through the eyes of his younger brother Gil.
My Brother Will is as much an evocation of what it was like to be young and alive in Elizabethan England, where the medieval rituals and festivities of country life were still deeply embedded in the cycle and rhythms of the year, as it is about the character of a future playwright.
Look out for new ACHUKAbooks publishing very shortly. In the meantime, a reminder of the four titles already available.
We are still actively seeking new submissions.
Please read the ACHUKAbooks FAQ
Yesterday was the traditional celebration of Shakespeare's birth, and the launch day for the months-long World Shakespeare Festival, and we're excited to announce that the next ACHUKAbooks title will be My Brother Will by Sophie Masson.
Told in the voice of William Shakespeare's younger brother, the book charts a year in the life of the teenage brothers. Although Will(iam) barely speaks in the novel, we see him as a youth on the cusp of manhood and his life's great adventure. It's a superb and highly evocative piece of writing.
Sophie Masson's The Hunt for Ned Kelly won the Patricia Wrightson Prize for children's fiction in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards(2011), and was also shortlisted in the Book of the Year category in the same Awards, as well as being named as a Notable Book by the Children's Book Council of Australia(2011).
The Hand of Glory won the Young Adult category for the 2002 Aurealis Awards for Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Snow, Fire, Sword was shortlisted in three categories in the 2004 Aurealis Awards for Science Fiction and Fantasy, including in the Fantasy section, where it was the only children's book to be listed.
In 2008, Thomas Trew and the Island of Ghosts was shortlisted in the children's section of the Aurealis Awards.
In 2010, Sophie was awarded a residency in Paris by the Literature Board of the Australia Council, for six months at the Keesing Studio, which took place from February-July 2010.
I knew Achuka published children's fiction and was intrigued by their new adult fiction venture with a new author. The tales are dark, stylish, well-written with a neat twist in the tail... ...I look forward to more from the Achuka/Caroline England collaboration if they can deliver more like this. DONNA SAUNDERS, on Amazon
This is an interesting piece, except that Joseph Peschel, the author only talks about self-published ebooks, and does not consider ebooks that have been through an editorial process and been published by a digital publisher, as in the case of ACHUKAbooks.
As MacRae and other established writers have started to change their minds on the indie-publishing question, some book section editors appear to be getting ready to adapt to a new world of publishing. The Times's Cowles, for instance, says, "We're keeping a close eye on developments in publishing and have had many discussions about how to handle the rise of electronic publishing and the possible move toward self-publishing among some established writers." Athitakis could see himself "reading and perhaps reviewing a self-published book if it spoke directly to some personal interest of mine, was written by somebody whose previous works I admired, or came very highly recommended by somebody whose opinion I respect." But for now, the Star Tribune's Hertzel is sticking with reviewing "good quality books from legitimate publishers." But "I think about this problem a lot," she admits, "as more and more people turn to self-publishing. I may change my philosophy at some point." Charles asks, "Will we miss some great books by ignoring self-published books? Of course. But we can't review anywhere near all the good books we want to review now. The last thing we need is another 100,000 galleys to consider every year."
We're delighted to see the short story collection, Watching Horsepats Feed The Roses, doing so well in the Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store fiction charts.
Yesterday it had broken in to the Top 30 in the short stories category.
A fine achievement for a debut author in the first week of publication.
What's more, we're holding the low introductory price for a few more days.
Take advantage of the low introductory price on ACHUKAbooks' latest publication and download a fine collection of short stories for under a pound/dollar.
Be the first to review Watching Horsepats Feed The Roses on Amazon and we will reward you with three free ACHUKAbooks. You can choose to have the three titles already published, or save your free copies until new titles are released.
What if you get pipped to the post? Don't worry, the second reviewer will get two free ebooks.
ACHUKAbooks is celebrating its first World Book Day with another special Kindle promotion.
Each of our first three published titles is available for 24hr free download starting at 8am on World Book Day morning UK time (midnight US West Coast time).
The Field by Bill Nagelkerke, a novella about a 12-year-old girl who says that she has seen the Virgin Mary. It reminded me of Robert Cormier, and I didn't hesitate to publish it.
Mental by Sherry Ashworth, is a novel about a young man's psychotic breakdown and the effect this has on his younger sister and a mutual friend. An exciting pageturner of a read, already picking up highly positive Amazon rewviews.
and our most recent title, The Baby Universe by Tim Johnstone, a children's book for 7+
When Jim's grandmother asks him to look after something she calls a 'Baby Universe' he doesn't know what to think. Can it really be what she says? And what about her claim that an alien will be coming to collect it? Jim soon finds himself wishing he'd never got involved. And then things take a turn for the worse. Much worse...
Exciting science fiction adventure married to a charming narrative style.
Really looking forward to seeing what reviewers think of this.
Our 4th title is nearly ready to go to e-press. Something completely different. A short story collection for adults by a new author, Caroline England.
Follow @achuka on Twitter so you don't miss offers and announcements.
ACHUKAbooks will be celebrating its first World Book Day tomorrow with another special Kindle promotion.
Each of our first three published titles will be available for 24hr free download starting at 8am on World Book Day morning UK time (midnight US West Coast time).
The Field by Bill Nagelkerke, a novella about a 12-year-old girl who says that she has seen the Virgin Mary. It reminded me of Robert Cormier, and I didn't hesitate to publish it.
Mental by Sherry Ashworth, is a novel about a young man's psychotic breakdown and the effect this has on his younger sister and a mutual friend. An exciting pageturner of a read, already picking up highly positive Amazon rewviews.
and our most recent title, The Baby Universe by Tim Johnstone, a children's book for 7+
When Jim's grandmother asks him to look after something she calls a 'Baby Universe' he doesn't know what to think. Can it really be what she says? And what about her claim that an alien will be coming to collect it? Jim soon finds himself wishing he'd never got involved. And then things take a turn for the worse. Much worse...
Exciting science fiction adventure married to a charming narrative style.
Really looking forward to seeing what reviewers think of this.
Our 4th title is nearly ready to go to e-press. Something completely different. A short story collection for adults by a new author, Caroline England.
Follow @achuka on Twitter so you don't miss offers and announcements.
Sherry Ashworth answers 5 questions about her new young adult novel, MENTAL, published as an ACHUKA(e)book, and 5 more general questions about her writing.
She also tells us what she's been reading, watching and listening to recently.
A year on from last February's eathquake in New Zealand - not to mention a continuous sequence of mini-quakes and earth tremors - there is much that remains shattered and unbalanced there beyond the shaken physical structures.
One of New Zealand's leading authors for children and young adults has written about this with marvellous skill and creativity in The Field, an ebook published by ACHUKAbooks just last month.
