OUTSIDE THE BOX: Women Writing Women Giveaway & Q&A

Seven authors, all with impeccable writing credentials, present their anthology called OUTSIDE THE BOX: Women Writing Women.

We've each proved our worth with awards, fellowships, teaching posts and commercial success. We've all self-published to keep our hard-earned independence and our artistic identity. Now we’re teaming up for an ebook collection of our full-length fiction featuring a diverse collection of unlikely heroines. There’s no one genre.  Each novel is a character-led page-turner.

We want to prove that fine, original writers are creating work of value and quality. And we want to entertain you.

The anthology will be available for 90 days from February 21, 2015.

BLUE MERCY by Orna Ross

The book: Mercy stands accused of killing her elderly and tyrannical father. Now, at the end of her life, she needs Star, the daughter she fought to protect, to know what really happened that fateful night in 1989. 

The author: Orna Ross writes novels, poems and the Go Creative! book series. The Bookseller calls her "one of the 100 most influential people in publishing" for her work with The Alliance of Independent Authors.

CRAZY FOR TRYING by Joni Rodgers

The book: A regional bestseller short-listed for the Barnes & Noble Discover Award. In the 1970s, a troubled young woman heads west to create a new identity and shake off the burden of her mother's radical past, but love and loneliness take her life in an unexpected direction.  

The author: Joni Rogers hit the New York Times bestseller list with her cancer memoir Bald in the Land of Big Hair.  She is also ghost-writer of numerous other bestsellers and founder of the League of Extraordinary Authors. Joni lives in Houston, Texas.

MY MEMORIES OF A FUTURE LIFE by Roz Morris

The book: In this work of literary fiction, a brilliant pianist’s career is ended by injury. She turns to a mysterious healer and faces the possibility that her life is someone else's past incarnation. 

The author:  Roz Morris earned her spurs as a ghost-writer, selling more than four million books writing the novels of other people.  She is a writers' mentor and a radio show host, and she teaches writing masterclasses for The Guardian newspaper. 

THE CENTAURESS by Kathleen Jones

The book: Bereaved biographer Alex Forbes goes to war-ravaged Croatia to research the life of a celebrity artist and finds herself at the centre of a family conflict after she uncovers a mutilated photograph, stolen letters and a story of indeterminate gender, passion and betrayal. 

The author: Kathleen Jones lives in Italy and is a Royal Literary Fund Fellow.  She is best known for her award-winning biographies, and has also written extensively for the BBC.

AN UNCHOREOGRAPHED LIFE by Jane Davis

The book: Alison gave up the chance to be a prima ballerina when she became pregnant and turned to prostitution to provide for her child, but the tempting hope of a better life may come at a terrible price.

The author: Jane Davis won the Daily Mail Award for her first novel, which secured her a publishing contract. She has now gone on to self-publish four other novels and isn’t afraid to tackle the trickiest of subjects.

ONE NIGHT AT THE JACARANDA by Carol Cooper

The book:  Diagnosed with cancer, Sanjay has no time to waste. Laure is a successful lawyer, Harriet is a struggling freelance writer, and Karen is a single mother of four. Before they can find a soul-mate, they each need to confront who they really are.

The author: Carol Cooper is a London-based journalist and award-winning non-fiction author.  Her debut novel was a finalist in the Indie Excellence Awards 2014. In her spare time she’s a doctor.

WHITE LADY by Jessica Bell

The book: Sonia, unfaithful wife of a Melbourne drug lord, yearns for sharp objects and blood. But now that she’s rehabilitating herself as a “normal” mother and maths teacher, it’s time to stop dreaming about slicing people’s throats. Easier said than done.

The author: Jessica Bell is an Australian novelist, poet, singer/ songwriter /guitarist who lives in Athens, Greece. She is Publishing Editor of Vine Leaves Literary Journal and author of the bestselling Writing in a Nutshell series. 

OUTSIDE THE BOX: Women Writing Women (February 20, 2015 for 90 days) £7.99/$9.99 from Amazon, Nook, iBooks, Kobo and more.

More information on www.womenwritewomen.com.

Some of the authors have kindly answered some questions

Why did you get together for this compilation?

Jane Davis:

Quite aside from the collaborating with a truly inspirational – and international - team of women writers, I’m really excited about the opportunity to showcase a diversity of writing. I am rather fond of Joanne Harris’ comment that she doesn’t like to insult her readers by assuming they only like to read one type of fiction. We will not be insulting any readers. Within this set of seven books, we offer the full spectrum from light (although never frothy) to darker, more haunting reads that delve into deeper psychological territory.

“Most collections are from just one author, or one publisher, or at least in the same genre, whether that’s historical romance or detective fiction. But these seven books are very different. [How] do you think the mix [of genres] will work for readers?”

Orna Ross:

It’s a thematic collection. Blue Mercy is a high-octane drama swirling around the murder of a tyrannical old father. The answers to the mystery are deeply embedded in male-female relationships but also, crucially for this compilation, in something core and primal in inter-female relationships too. It was the obvious book for a collection entitled Women Writing Women.

Jessica Bell is one of my favourite authors, and one of my favourite people. The idea behind the collective she wanted to gather – independent-minded, unconventional authors with page-turning fiction about independent-minded, unconventional women – was irresistible. I hope the project will encourage other writers who believe in their own work to collaborate and experiment together.

What made you self-publish instead of going down the traditional route?
Roz Morris:

Being indie allows us to create books in which we are true to ourselves. As authors who are directly in contact with our audience, we’re gathering readers who click with our interests, our style, our sense of humour, the things we pass on, the things we fight for, and our general vibe. You could call that our brand, but it’s more true – and less cynical – to say that it’s about being genuine, and writing books with that same quality.

That’s a very striking cover. How did you choose it?
Carol Cooper:

I love this cover, which was designed by Jessica Bell, who brought us all together for this project. She’s a designer as well as an author, musician and artist, which frankly is far too much talent for one person.  I love her cover designs – in fact the cover of One Night at the Jacaranda is her work too. In OUTSIDE THE BOX, the books themselves aren’t in one single genre, so I thought the cover would have to be some sort of dull compromise. As you see, it isn’t. And yes, I do think we’ve written our souls into our books. When it came to choosing what the cover image would be, Jessica came up with several completely different designs, and we all gave our opinions, which happened to coincide as we all liked the same one. The final choice came out of that process, with Jessica adding various touches as the design evolved, and the rest of us giving our input at each step.

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Giveaway

1^st Prize- brand new kindle pre-loaded with the book

10 runners up prizes – A Digital swag bag

a Rafflecopter giveaway