The Nutcracker Bleeds release date set for December 3rd

Hello all! Back with the exciting news that my lovely, horrific and wild spin on a classic, The Nutcracker Bleeds, is going to be released on December 3rd!

Yes, I do mean this year. And yes, I do mean in 4 days!

Some of you have read it, some have not, but it is – I think – one of my most intricate stories. If the amazing and dark world of rodents and toys is not enough, the characters are some of the best I’ve created, each one having his/her place in the plot, their lives woven together so well that this novel was not a burden to write in any respect. This is one of the longest, but possibly the easiest books I have written, at 165K. One thing I love most about this story is how surprising it is, and since that is the case, I won’t spoil it for you by giving more details. You’ll just have to see for yourself.

** I’d just like to say officially that while some of my work might borderline on YA, this story is definitely for mature readers. There are many adult themes, not to even mention the violence and gore, but actually, much less bad language than Nevermor. **

Here’s the lowdown on the different formats that will be available: (And I’m afraid I can only speak for US)

EBOOK: Currently, the ebook version is available for preorder on Kindle and Smashwords, which will branch out to other channels (Barnes and Noble, Kobo, so on) by the release date (hopefully). The price of the ebook version is $5.99.

PAPERBACK: The CreateSpace paperback is still in the works. but I hope to have it ready to be ordered by December 3rd, and will probably be listed for $14.99. The paperback will be listed on Amazon and will be enrolled in Kindle Matchbook, which means that if you purchase this paperback version from Amazon, you can get the Kindle version as well for only $.99.

HARDBACK: With this release, I’ve done something a bit special, and I mentioned it earlier, but I’ll say it again: I’m releasing a hardback version of The Nutcracker Bleeds. This is my first time for this, so I’m pretty excited. It’s ready, and will be for sale on the release date. I hope to have a special deal for this version, and I’m going to show it off as soon as I get my own copy, but for now, I can only speak of it and let you know that it’s going to happen. Due to limitations in my production of the hardback version, this version will only be available to purchase through Lulu.com, and also as of right now, it is for US only sales. I’ll let you know the price soon. I made mention of ordering copies and selling them myself, but I think that will be too much of a hassle for me right now.

You can read a sample of the newly revised beginning on Smashwords, and should be able to view it on Amazon at least by the 3rd. I’ll also be listing the book on Goodreads, so please look for it there and add it to your lists!

I’ll get back here soon with more info on the print versions. And by soon, I certainly mean in less than 4 days. :p

A Dash of Horror for Your Holiday Tradition: Lani Lenore’s ‘The Nutcracker Bleeds’

Time to rewrite your wishlists: Lani Lenore has a new book release announcement!

The holiday season is rushing upon us. Yes, I know it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but already I can’t turn my head without seeing Christmas decorations. So whether you’re already in the spirit or not – or even if you didn’t quite get enough of Halloween – I’ve got just the thing for you.

I’m celebrating this Christmas season by releasing my holiday/horror/fairytale concoction, The Nutcracker Bleeds.

A horrific retelling of the classic Nutcracker story. On Christmas Eve in 1905, a household in London finds itself under a centuries-old curse when a strange new toy is brought into the house.

A young nanny named Anne is immersed in the horrific world of her unstable charge, Olivia, when a bite from a mouse makes her the size of a doll. She must brave a world of mangled and demented toys that have come to life. Each has his own vendetta – the most unrelenting of which is the mysterious and handsomely-carved nutcracker, who becomes Anne’s only sane ally.

There is war in the lower levels of the house between the rodents and the toys, yet Anne’s only concern is getting Olivia and herself back to the way they once were – before it is too late for either of them.

I’ve been perfecting it for a bit, trying to get it print-ready, and I was actually supposed to have it finished already, but I’m getting close now. I’ll try to have it finalized by the beginning of December, at least. Plenty of time to read by Christmas.

Plan:

Unlike my other publishing projects, I’ve considered doing this a bit differently. Instead of making the ebook format my greatest effort, I wanted to see what would happen if I released a nice hardback copy of the book around the same time – just the right format for getting cozy by a warm fire or near a glittering tree, to get lost in the horror and mayhem which is The Nutcracker Bleeds. I want to make this happen, and if I can get the print going, I may try to do a preorder for the hardcover that I can ship out myself by Christmas (and hopefully to arrive by then. (I know I’m running low on time to pull this off, but I have plans to make this happen.) It’ll be cheaper that way, and I can even sign each copy.

Content:

For those who have read it before, and are expecting the story to be the wild ride it was when you first read it, rest at ease knowing that I didn’t change much of the content. The story still plays out like you might expect.

One thing I am trying to do is alter the beginning just a bit to make it more from Anne’s perspective. She is the main character, after all, and I think the story flows better that way. When I originally wrote it, it was my decision to be lazy and start with Olivia’s perspective and then swap to Anne’s after a certain point, but now that I’ve grown as a writer, I realize that’s not what’s best for the story (only what was best for me at the time, and I didn’t feel like changing it). So, I’m rewriting the first few chapters just a bit for that purpose. I also want to explore Anne’s character a bit more than I originally did, and even touch on a bit of her past to explain why the demented toy world is a particular counter to her personality.

One other detail that I changed was one of the character names. After thinking of it, I decided that a man named William might not have a brother named Liam (since Liam is short for William), so, ‘Liam’ is now ‘Euan’. All else remains the same.

Many of you may know that The Nutcracker Bleeds is one of my personal favorite works, and I want it to be the best that I can make it while staying true to what I created before.

I plan to have more news about this soon, as I’m winding down in my edits and getting ready to produce a proof copy of the hardback, and I’ll be able to let you know about the costs of that soon as well.