Tellwell’s Top Books for Halloween🕸🕷

Oct 14,2021 / By Angela Gascon / No Comment

Fall has officially arrived and with it our excitement for Halloween! In honour of the spooktacular holiday, the Tellwell team pulled together our top spine-chilling, hair-raising reads for October! 🎃

From horror books with demons and plagues to psychological thrillers with a thirst for revenge, we think you’ll love these eerie excerpts below. 👻

The Plague by Ryan L. Canning

She turned and ran. There was no end in sight. The bodies, the tents, the smell, they went on for miles.
– Ryan L. Canning, The Plague

Get your copy of The Plague on Amazon.

Lit by Mark Anthony

The apartment filled with sounds from another world. Screaming, shouting, music with an unearthly twisted tune played out of the walls. A chorus of suffering, a background of nightmares and fears. It was angry, insulted and outraged.
– Mark Anthony, Lit

Get your copy of Lit on Amazon.

Deathless by Evan S Sullivan

“There are enemies approaching the gate,” a voice said through the dark. “Devilish things.”
– Evan S. Sullivan, Deathless

Get your copy of Deathless on Amazon.

Poppy Seeds on a Grave: A Collection of Short Stories by Mirko Markovic

Every ounce of blood in this man’s body drained from his skin and he froze in time, a statue paralyzed by the shock of what he had just seen.
– Mirko Markovic, Poppy Seeds on a Grave: A Collection of Short Stories

Get your copy of Poppy Seeds on a Grave: A Collection of Short Stories on Amazon.

The Book of Nodd: The Dreamwalker by B.S. Thompson

Suddenly he heard a snap and an electric bolt of pain shot down his arm, but the cottage did not stop rocking, and it would not be much longer before it collapsed on him completely.
– B.S. Thompson, The Book of Nodd: The Dreamwalker

Get your copy of The Book of Nodd: The Dreamwalker on Amazon.

Chains by M Todd

Before him, strewn about throughout the cavern from ceiling to floor, placed within the bluish rocks, were hundreds, or thousands, of human bodies. Men and women, their faces contorted in masks of horror and pain, frozen like macabre cadavers in a monster’s freezer.
– M. Todd, Chains

Get your copy of Chains on Amazon.

The Hallowmas Train by Gloria Pearson-Valley

The timeriders hesitated only briefly before entering the darkness. Shrieks and moans echoed eerily from the blackness that stretched before them.
– Gloria Pearson-Vasey, The Hallowmas Train

Get your copy of The Hallowmas Train on Amazon.

Take Her by Tara White

Without thinking, I knew what I had to do. I tugged my sister out from behind me and moved her around me until we had switched places, me behind her with my hands on her shoulders. “Take her,” I said, and gave her shoulders a little shove forward.
– Tara White, Take Her

Get your copy of Take Her on Amazon.

Vindictive by Ryan Lawrence

Squinting, he focused with laser-like intensity to see what he could of the corpse below. He marvelled at the kaleidoscope of colours and textures the mangled body had created all over the urban canvas.
Ryan Lawrence, Vindictive

Get your copy of Vindictive on Amazon.

Emergence by Ellie Beals

But Just Watching had become kind of a habit, and habits are hard to break.
– Ellie Beals, Emergence

Get your copy of Emergence on Amazon.

Unhallowed by James D. Thorn

He choked as blood filled his airway. It spurted from his mouth as he exhaled, trying to get a breath. There was so much blood.
– James D. Thorn, Unhallowed

Get your copy of Unhallowed on Amazon.

Finding Out by Ava Coughlin

Was my mom a criminal? Did she know something or do something that helped ruin this man’s life? Did Mathis know? Was it even true? There was too much to think about all at once.
– Ava Coughlin, Finding Out

Get your copy of Finding Out on Amazon.

Have a spooktacular Halloween! 🎃 🕸 👻
From all of us at Tellwell!

Meet the Team

Tellwell Publishing Consultant Apple Bertulfo shares the value of creative control and trusting your publishing team

Sep 16,2021 / By Angela Gascon / No Comment

Lastly, don’t procrastinate. If your dream is to become a published author, then make it happen.
– Apple Bertulfo, Tellwell Publishing Consultant

Tell us about your role at Tellwell.

As a publishing consultant, my role is to provide intuitive guidance and support to all authors who want to publish their books. I cover all the details necessary to turn their manuscript into a professional book. I help authors identify their publishing goals, know what they want for their books and then discuss together the steps toward reaching those goals.

Tips & Tricks

Navigating the World of Instagram Promoters

Sep 3,2021 / By Angela Gascon / No Comment

As we enter into the digital age, the key to success seems to be developing a strong online presence. By connecting with your audiences online, you have the potential to reach hundreds, even thousands, of potential readers with the click of a finger.

Picture this: you’ve just started your author Instagram profile! You’ve set up your Creator profile, you’re sharing fun and engaging content about your book, and you’re using a variety of hashtags to reach as many people as possible (#bookstagram and #indieauthor being some favourite of ours!). Suddenly, your direct messages are flooded with reviewers; all of them telling you how much they would love to read your book and how they can help you gain followers and awareness through their promoting – all for just one simple fee. But, who is a reviewer, and who is a “reviewer”? Who will actually deliver, and who is really just looking for an easy scam?

Don’t fret – we’re here to help!

Authors in the wild: launches, and signings, and tours, oh my!

Jul 15,2021 / By Angela Gascon / No Comment

Now that the world is opening up to a new normal, our authors are diving back into the world of author events. This past month, we’ve seen some fantastic meet-and-greets, readings, and even a cross-country launch! We’re so happy and proud to see our Tellwell authors getting themselves out there to promote their books!

Paula Gregory – Dream High As The Sky

Mississippi-based children’s author Paula McClellan Gregory finished off the month with an adorable book launch at the Gumtree Bookstore to promote her inspiring children’s book Dream High As the Sky. Paula’s book launch included a fun read-along, a discussion about the children’s dreams, colouring time, snacks, exclusive bookmarks to go with signed copies of the picture book, and even a giveaway for a Dream High As They Sky t-shirt!

Dream High As They Sky follows little Zach (based on Paula’s grandson) as he discovers life’s possibilities and ways of achieving his dream of flying like the birds high in the sky. This high-flying children’s book encourages your little ones to follow their dreams. After all, Zach can tell you, “I dreamed as high as the sky, and my dreams came true.”

Paula has a couple of more events coming up soon so stay tuned to www.paulamcclellangregory.com to learn more!

Author Celebrations: Awards, Reviews and In-The-News!

Jun 18,2021 / By Angela Gascon / No Comment

We love seeing our Tellwell authors crushing it! From top award wins, to featured interviews, to rave reviews – we’re offering a huge congratulations to our authors for these terrific accomplishments!

AWARDS

Madalsa and Zuivere’s intergenerational poetry collection Get Lost Dirty Covid-19! won the IndieReader Discovery Award for Best Poetry Book! Described by IndieReader as engaging, emotive and enormously relevant, this poetry collection comes from a mother-daughter duo, providing the perspective of two different generations on this world-changing subject.

The book features nine COVID-19 themes with heart-touching poems relating to the isolation and pain we all felt in early 2020, to the bright and optimistic hope we feel now as we enter the new, vaccinated world.

Author of the Month

How Miami-based children’s author Jennifer Segarra gained traction for her children’s book!

May 19,2021 / By Angela Gascon / No Comment

For May’s author of the month, we are celebrating Miami-based author, Jennifer S. Segarra!

Over the last few months, Jennifer has successfully been featured on a number of influential #bookstagram pages like @the_bookish_mind and @nerdybibliophilee, interviewed by notable outlets like KidlioMag, Children’s Literature and the Reading With Your Kids podcast, and has connected with readers all over the world through her social media!

Author Jennifer S. Segarra with her children’s hit – ***El Lechón Choncho otherwise known as Choncho the Pig***

Tell us a bit about yourself!

My name is Jennifer S. Segarra. I was born and raised in Miami, Florida. My parents immigrated to this country when they were young. My father is from Cuba and my mother is from Puerto Rico but also half Filipino.

I am a married mother of two beautiful children, and have an Italian Mastiff fur baby. I am bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish. My husband is from Cuba and we have been married for 15 years.

I love to cook, travel, discover new things, and LOVE reading books!

What inspired you to write El Lechón Choncho otherwise known as Choncho the Pig?

Since I was a young girl, I always loved reading, and this may sound quite weird but I loved being given assignments where I needed to write book reports, essays and stories in my own words. However, my mother always told me the story, since I was a little girl, of her favorite family pet pig named Choncho. I always told her she needed to make this a children’s book.

Author Highlights: Awards, Reviews and In-The-News!

Apr 23,2021 / By Angela Gascon / No Comment

Each month, we’re always excited to highlight the successes of our authors! From top award nominations, to featured interviews, to rave reviews – we’re offering a huge congratulations to our authors for these terrific accomplishments!

AWARDS

Dr. Chelinay Gate, author of Lucky-Child: The Secret, just made it to the Prime Minister’s Book Club in Australia. A huge honor!

This compelling coming-of-age tale is the story of Lucy. Answering her dying great-grandmother’s call, Lucy is lured into the dark red heart of Australia’s Great Sandy Desert. Indigenous mother tongues Mangala and Wajarri exquisitely mimic the landscapes and evoke a feeling of timelessness that transports Lucy and the all-female search party into a Dreamtime World, where she learns to respect the Lore, Country and herself. “Like the striking of an ancient gong, I heard my name, Lucy Lucky-Child.”

Lucky-Child: The Secret also won first place in the Fiction category for the 2020 Next Generation Indie Books Awards! The book also won the grand prize in the First Novel category, and was a finalist in the Action/Adventure Category and Regional Category.

WOMEN RUN THE WORLD: Celebrating Some of the Inspirational Women Around Us

Mar 18,2021 / By Angela Gascon / No Comment

March is Women’s History Month, and we thought it would be fitting to highlight some of the incredible women who have self-published their book with Tellwell, and the moving stories that they have to tell!

Jennifer Robertson

Self-proclaimed Fertility Warrior, Jennifer Robertson is the author behind the inspirational memoir The Injustice of Infertility: A True Story of Heartbreak, Determination and Never-Ending Hope. In addition to her debut novel, Jennifer is a fertility coach, aiming to help other women feel less alone throughout their journey with fertility treatments.

“Infertility was not my first rodeo – but it was the first bull I ever rode that bucked me off and laid me on my ass. It broke me open and created scars that never really healed.”

Jennifer puts everything out there, and her real approach to infertility (no sugar-coating, just empowering, brutal honesty) has connected thousands of women across the web. With this community, she’s helped tons of people understand infertility and the pain it can cause, while providing an insightful helping-hand for any woman that needs it.

In order to help those struggling with infertility, Jennifer created The Lighthouse Project. The Lighthouse Project is a four-week online program that helps provide some clarity and direction in the infertility process, and provides the opportunity for women to feel less alone as they navigate their journey with infertility. .

To be inspired, work with Jennifer, or learn more about her journey, visit her website, www.jenniferrobertson.co.

Book Marketing Tips & Tricks

TIPS & TRICKS: Author resources that exclusively promote POC authors

Feb 19,2021 / By Angela Gascon / No Comment

#imatter: Unicorns Sleep Here by Irony James

When meeting with author Irony James about her upcoming inspirational novel #imatter: Unicorns Live Here, she posed the question of not only what resources were available to her as an author, but also what resources were available to her as an author of colour. Irony is passionate about being a black, female author, and wanted to connect with fellow POC creatives within the industry to share her story.

This conversation prompted a deep dive into festivals, organizations, and platforms that pride themselves on giving black authors a voice, and allowing them to make connections with other POC creatives.

We wanted to share some of our awesome findings with you!

APPLICATIONS

The StoryGraph
The StoryGraph is an up and coming virtual library platform! Created by Nadia Odunayo in late 2019, The StoryGraph prides itself on being ethnically diverse with it’s authors and content, instead of focusing on only mainstream books. Similar to Goodreads, The StoryGraph provides readers with a place to find great new reads, and review their favourite books.

When signing up for the website, readers are prompted to fill out a survey discussing their reading preferences including favourite genres, favourite book characteristics, genres that they would be uninterested in, and what they don’t like about certain books. The StoryGraph uses these preference tags to recommend different books to users across the platform, so readers can request to see books that only feature POC Characters, LGTBQ Characters, books written by POC authors, etc.! Readers are also prompted to rate books based on criteria like themes, moods, pace, and the characters themselves (such as character development, how diverse the characters are, whether or not the characters are loveable, or if their flaws are on display, etc.), so the ratings can’t be skewed or biased.

Similar to Goodreads, The StoryGraph provides users with the option to create reading challenges that are accessible to the whole community. They have a a whole section of these challenges dedicated to reading #OwnVoices, with challenges such as 100 Black Novelist You Should Read, Inclusivity Reading Challenge, and Reading Writers of Colour 2021, among others.

The StoryGraph is definitely a platform to keep an eye on, as it’s going to be one of the most important virtual libraries around!

Author Archives: Angela Gascon