Month: May 2024

Have A Look At What We’ve Been Up To This Month!

BOOK REVIEWS

John Robinson died at birth but was quickly resurrected, however after visiting the afterlife, he returned with a curse. The supernatural power to freeze time. John is no hero however, he uses his power to steal from banks and civilians. After using his power too many times, mysterious men in black suits begin to stalk him, then demons seek John, trying to absorb his life force. If matters couldn’t get any worse, John’s about to meet another being with occult powers. Can he master his powers, or will he succumb to the will of this mysterious stranger, who wishes to expose John as the Invisible Thief that he is?

When Luna wakes to her room engulfed in flames, she knows it’s happened again–a haunting she can no longer ignore. For as long as she can remember, she’s been controlled by a domineering Spectre, forced to commit acts of violence that threaten her and everyone around her. Determined to seize control of her life, Luna teams up with Hiro, a generations-old man who promises not only answers, but a method to rid herself of this malicious entity. But to do so, Luna must enter an unfamiliar and unsettling world buried within the futuristic, neon-laden streets of Los Angeles, destroying other Spectres and building her own superhuman abilities along the way. Between government agents hell-bent on capturing her and a myriad of Spectral threats, it’ll take every ounce of Luna’s being to reclaim the life that’s been taken from her. Will she finally be able to rid herself of this mysterious entity that’s been haunting her entire existence, or will she lose a piece of herself along the way?

It’s the year 3019 (or thereabouts) and the America Kenna Carson inhabits is a place where children can only be conceived following government approval. To ensure this happens, young women are placed an internal device called heranon, which is removed when their family building plans are officially authorised. The fact that Kenna is the town’s Mayor daughter, runs a successful psychology practice and is married to a promising surgeon doesn’t really matter when, turning 28, her application is rejected. ‘These things happen’ her mother and sister tell her, ‘You’ll try again and be successful next time’. Kenna, however, is unable to move on from this traumatic experience to the point that she calls into question the health of her marriage, her family ties and even her self-worth. Her inability to accept a system that is exclusionary by design will cause a dark, unstoppable chain of events that will turn her from model citizen to protest leader, and potentially an outlaw.

FLASH-PROMOS

Written by Medieval history expert (and joust enthusiast) Egil R.R. Moe, this story is about people who lived and historic events that took place on the Isle of Man and in Scotland. It is a story about love, betrayal, superstition and war – the medieval way! Originally published as a hardcover in Norwegian, it was then translated into English and made available for everyone to enjoy on Amazon.

BLOG

A collaboration between our co-founder Alex Mingoni and author Danielle Dunn for UK Mental Health Awareness Week 2024. Three years after the publication of her book ‘What It’s Like to Keep Living’, Danielle discusses with Alex the significance of her debut fiction piece, and the reasons why she made the brave choice to tell the story of young people dealing with social anxiety, bullying (the relentless, senseless type), sexual assault, trauma and bereavement and the plethora of mental health challenges they carry with them. A heartfelt and very personal piece you can read here.

Also known as Blentkills, Daniel Georgiev is a writer and musician, originally from Bulgaria. At the age of fifteen, Daniel made his first attempt at exploring the fantasy worlds in his mind by conceiving and developing the idea for ‘Makiya’, publishing it in chapters online. This web novel grew strong as a top trending book on the exclusively-contracted web platforms he used – Goodnovel and Meganovel, gathering an astounding 45k reads. This further enhanced his ambition to write new stories.
His first self-published novel, ‘The White Phoenix: Birth of An Angel’ was released in November 2023. A few months later (February 2024), Daniel released his second book, ‘Godwalker: Ashes of Destiny’. Book One of his new fantasy series ‘Mathsmagica’ will be released later this year.

SHORT STORIES

A walk home from the train station on a cold January night turns into a trip down memory lane for Beatrice, who’s back to her hometown to support her family after living abroad for years. The people and places familiar to her no longer exist, but the memories of her tortuous relationship with her mother still do. Nothing has changed between them, despite the distance. Follow Beatrice’s recollection of events and interior monologue… until the bitter end.

NEW FOR JUNE…

A Serial Novel By Daniel Georgiev

In the run up to his latest book being released later this year, we asked Daniel Georgiev a few questions about the novel that kicked off his writing career and gave him the idea to self-publish his work.

CAN YOU TELL US WHAT YOUR BOOK IS ABOUT?

In the epic of ‘Makiya’ Andrey Makiya is accidentally falling through a portal into another world. Just a high-schooler thrown into a deadly desert. Left to die, yet a passing army takes him in and shuts him in prison, judging him as a spy, as he doesn’t look like any kind of soldier. A most dazzling young lady, going by the name of Dea’n’ha, neglects all accusations and provides for his new life ahead of him. Andrey’s dormant reserves awaken as he is conducted into constant training and finds himself on a path to explore the world as a battle-mage none have seen before. Yet, as they venture out into the sea, they are met by a force few would imagine existed. Azazel, nothing short of genius, offers him guidance as he hadn’t seen potential such as his before.
Despite the further power growth, Andrey discovers his father had left messages for him in this world. With the darkest of forces gripping at Andrey’s life and mind, the most ultimate challenges linger in wait for him.

WHAT SETS YOUR BOOK APART FROM THE COMPETITION?

Here’s five reasons why ‘Makiya’ is worth reading:

1. A sophisticated plot-line packed with unexpected plot twists
2. Isekai (a character that travels to another world)
3. Epic battles
4. High stakes
5. An original magic system

CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT YOURSELF?

Also known as Blentkills, I am a writer and musician, originally from Bulgaria.
At the age of fifteen, I made my first attempt at exploring the fantasy worlds that were in my mind by conceiving and developing the idea for ‘Makiya’ and publishing in chapters online. This web novel grew strong as a top trending book on the exclusively-contracted web platforms I used – Goodnovel and Meganovel. This helped grow my confidence, inspiring many of my musical pieces, and further enhanced my ambition to write new stories.

‘The White Phoenix: Birth of An Angel’ was released in November 2023 as my first self-published book (read our feature here). This new release was met with enthusiasm by my existing readers, and I also received many messages on social media from my fans asking for a signed copy of the book, something to which I responded with unmatched positivity. A few months later (February 2024) I released my second self-published book, ‘Godwalker: Ashes of Destiny’. I am currently working on my next series ‘Mathsmagica’, also to be released in 2024.

Makiya is available to read online on Meganovel

By Alex Mingoni & Danielle Dunn For Mental Health Awareness Week

Brace yourselves, dearest readers, this is a long story, but I assure you it does have a purpose, a purpose I’d like to think is bigger than us – so I do hope you’ll carry on reading. 

One of the things I enjoy the most about my work as the co-founder of Not for Vanity is the human connections we’ve made along the way (22 months and counting). 

On a gloomy January day this year, author Danielle Dunn reached out to us, like many self-published writers do, to enquire about the possibility to have her book ‘What It’s Like to Keep Living’ reviewed. I was immediately captivated by how Danielle presented her work and how she knew it would not necessarily be a book everyone could read. The reason was very simple and lay in the topics she’d decided to tackle: bullying (the relentless, senseless type), sexual assault, trauma and bereavement and the plethora of mental health challenges they carry with them. Here’s a snapshot of her story…

The first day of college signifies a new beginning for Althea. She does like fresh starts. The last couple of years haven’t been the easiest, having to deal with distant parents barely talking to each other and the very painful loss of her grandfather, who passed away in the worst of circumstances. But wounds, even the deepest ones, do mend, eventually, or so she hopes. The first person Althea meets is Will, a solitary young man who was also dealt a bad hand in life, having to live by himself and earn a living while looking after his seriously ill mother. It will take Althea and Will a long time to really connect and understand how much they mean to each other, initially separated by a wall of shyness, unhappiness, and fear to hurt each other rather than healing together. While Will is ‘one that doesn’t really fit in’ and he’s fundamentally fine with it, Althea tries to make friends, fighting her instinct to hide and that voice inside saying her classmates Sam and Emma and their entourage are bad news. Having to deal with these vicious, despicable monsters who won’t leave her alone as well as her own demons won’t be easy, with setbacks round every corner, but…

“Life is confusing. It’s hard and it’s easy. It’s fast and it’s slow. It’s time, and yet, it’s no time at all. It may be the hardest thing I ever had to go through. But I promise you that it was worth it. In the end, the only person who could save me was me.

Before I knew it my last day of college ever had arrived. Everything I had dreamt of over the past few months. I stood looking at the front once again. That front was where an important chapter of my life had begun. My fresh start.

The trees now held buds, flowers and leaves starting to peep out at the world. The grass was green and healthy once more. The sky was a painting filled with warm colours: pinks, peaches and oranges, with only a few clouds circling. Warm air followed me wherever I walked. Is this Hell? Is this Heaven? I often used to ask myself those two very important questions. I finally had my answer. No. I thought.

This is what it’s like to keep living”.

The ability with which Danielle managed to bring her main characters to life, making them jump out of the page – to the point that it almost felt like she was embodying them while writing – is impressive. The choice of a dual point of view was also a winning one in my humble opinion, making the reading more dynamic.
While not exceedingly graphic, the ‘toughest’ scenes especially are very well written and poignant, creating a rollercoaster of emotions that elicited feelings and thoughts I didn’t even know were in me.
The thing I probably appreciated the most is Danielle’s courage and determination in telling the story of young people struggling with social anxiety, having also to deal with things that are bigger than them and should not really have to deal with at their age. 

I’ve said that before, but ‘What It’s Like to Keep Living’ is not an easy read. It surely wasn’t for me, having been a victim of bullying in my teens, forced to face people my age belittling me and openly insulting me for no real reason, while taking advantage of the fact that I was a good student, so they’d force me to help them with homework and other things. When I was growing up back in the 1990s there was no word for it, so I couldn’t understand. Thankfully, this is not the case today.

After reading the book, something urged me to reach out to author Danielle Dunn once again to hear her side of the story… that’s how the mini interview below was born.

Can you tell our readers why you chose to tackle these topics? 

I have struggled with my own mental health in the past, and also work in mental health. Offering a more personal perspective has always been important to me. When I was struggling, I felt alone and like no one could possibly understand what I was feeling and how I was thinking. This story will forever be extremely important to me, because even if it helps one person to feel heard, or understood, or less alone, then writing it was worth it. 

What’s the message you’d like people to take away from your book?

It would be nice for people who have not struggled with their mental health to understand a little. To be able to be there for the people they care about if they’re struggling. To maybe look out for signs or to be able to think about what might be helpful in those situations. Most importantly, I want people to start a conversation. Mental health is talked about more now than it ever has before, it’s more understood than before, but we can still do better. 

Tell us a little about yourself…

This is a loaded question. I have loved writing since I was 6 years old and I wrote my own version of Sleeping Beauty. Writing has always been my biggest coping strategy when things get tough. I tend to write poems when I am struggling rather than work on stories though. I have an undergraduate degree in psychology and a masters degree in forensic psychology. I have a partner of 9 years and we’re actually getting married soon, and we have 2 dogs. Both are complete nut jobs. I love my family and my friends and I feel exceptionally lucky to be a part of their lives. And the last thing I guess, is that this book was my baby, I worked on it for a long time. Is it perfect? No. But I will forever be proud of this book and what it represents. 

What are your future plans in terms of writing?

I started a new book, what feels like a long time ago now. I haven’t had much time to work on it recently. However, I do hope to work on it in the future, as I think there are still some very important stories to be told.

In honour of Mental Health Awareness Week 2024 (13-19 May), Danielle Dunn’s ‘What It’s Like To Keep Living’ is available for free on Amazon until Friday, 17th May: https://amzn.to/4dzmqSO

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Editor’s Note From Alex

During our conversations Danielle and I shared meaningful insight on the challenges we faced growing up and as adults. We both strongly believe that, while mental health is a hot topic and top priority in the eyes of public opinion these days, a lot more can be done to ensure young people especially do not have to face the hurdles we have.

For this reason, I decided to share links to three UK charities very close to my heart, in the hope they might help if you too feel overwhelmed.

Mind UK | A charity fighting mental health, ‘for support for respect, for you’. Mind operates in England and Wales, supporting minds and making mental health an everyday priority. It offers help through information, advice and local services and brings together a network of individuals and communities – people who care about mental health to make a difference.

https://www.mind.org.uk

Mosaic LGBT + Young Person Trust | A charity aiming to support, educate and inspire young LGBT+ persons and those around them by providing accessible activities, programmes and services (including counselling) to empower community members, provide essential resources, advocate for young LGBT+ rights, and embrace, promote and endorse the diversity of young persons. 

https://www.mosaictrust.org.uk

Anxiety UK (endorsed by The Prince’s Trust) | A national charity helping to support people living with anxiety, stress and anxiety-based depression. The charity was originally founded in Manchester in 1970 by Katharine and Harold Fisher as a direct result of Katharine’s personal experience of agoraphobia and with the sole aim of getting support in place for others living with anxiety. Today, they are helping people struggling with anxiety, stress, anxiety-based depression or a phobia all over the country.

https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk

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Mental Health Awareness Week 2024 runs from Monday, 13th May to Sunday, 19th May. With this year’s theme ‘Movement: Moving more for our mental health’, the UK Mental Health Foundation wants to help people find moments for movement in their daily routines, as it is proven to have a positive impact on mood and overall wellbeing. For more information, visit https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk.

A Novel By Daniel Georgiev

In the run up to his latest book being released later this year, we asked Daniel Georgiev a few questions about his work to date.

CAN YOU TELL US WHAT YOUR BOOK IS ABOUT?

In the second most prospering city in Bulgaria – Plovdiv, a girl led a mundane life; covered by her family’s riches and comforted by her flat’s four walls. Until she encounters a man shrouded in mystery who steadily and seamlessly drives her into who she really is. Forcing her into self-discovery, a secret agency that covers up all the paranormal activities happening in the country, scouts her. She proves to be the perfect asset to the unfortunate small team, as her newly found powers prove to be the most necessary asset for The Agency of Special Visions to battle against the Visions of S – once people, now a threat to all of humanity. Join Elena on her path to becoming The White Phoenix and understanding the role she must play on the playfield orchestrated by cosmic powers. 

WHAT ARE YOUR BOOK’S USPs?

1. So many twists!
2. A polished, fast paced writing style.
3. A strong female lead.
4. Fantasy elements in our world.
5. High stakes.
6. The original plot-line.

DANIEL GEORGIEV: ABOUT

Daniel Georgiev, also known as Blentkills, is a talented writer and musician, born in Bulgaria. At the age of fifteen, he made his first attempt at exploring the fantasy worlds in his mind and the idea for “Makiya” was born. The web novel grew strong as a top trending book on the exclusively-contracted web platforms Goodnovel and Meganovel. The success with “Makiya” drove him into confidence, inspiring many of his musical pieces, and further enhanced his ambition to write new stories.

‘The White Phoenix: Birth of An Angel’ was released in November 2023 as his first self-published book. Daniel received many messages on social media from his fans in an attempt to get to a signed copy from him, to which he responded with unmatched positivity. The book grew his following, as many of the thousands of readers from “Makiya” immediately leaped over for Daniel’s new release.

With a passion close to unrivalled, Daniel already released his second self-published book, ‘Godwalker: Ashes of Destiny’ in February 2024 (read the NfV feature here) and is known to already be working on his next series as well – ‘Mathsmagica’.

WHERE CAN OUR READERS GET IN TOUCH?

Your readers can find me on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Youtube. Alternatively, they can also visit my Goodreads page.

‘The White Phoenix: Birth of An Angel’ is available for purchase at: https://amzn.to/4dt4YPQ