Auction Donation (BUNDLE!): Amy Laurens

Auction Donor: Amy Laurens is an Australian author of fantasy and science fiction for all ages. A high school English teacher by day, Amy lives with her husband and two small children in the land of upside-downness. That's probably why she's a bit quirky. Amy's short fiction has been published in a range of magazines and anthologies, and she currently has a non-fiction book on worldbuilding in press with Tyche Books (2016 release). 

Donation Items:

**THIS BUNDLE WILL HAVE THREE WINNERS**

The winner may choose one of the following:

1) An ebook bundle in .mobi or .epub of Amy Laurens' titles: To Dust and Other Stories, Cherry Blossom and Other Stories, The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs, and an e-copy of the Tyche Books anthology Ride The Moon.* 

2) Signed paperbacks of Amy Laurens' titles: To Dust and Other Stories, Cherry Blossom and Other Stories and The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs.*

3) A map drawn especially for your WIP identifying key land features, climate zones, ocean current, weather patterns, etc. You will NOT receive a pretty, print-ready map that you can put into the beginning of your book, as I'm not an illustrator; the emphasis is on worldbuilding, looking at the geographical features of your world and how they will affect climate, weather, and especially culture. 

The second place winner may have second pick, and the third place winner will receive the remaining prize. 

* I'll also throw in a copy of Where Your Treasure Is if you think you'll have a use for it. 

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TO DUST AND OTHER STORIES

Welcome to a land where ignorance kills. The only way to survive is to walk the difficult road and stand against the dark.

The maliche are devouring Imber’s world, and in To Dust, the only tool she has to stop them is a magic box. Shame the only ones who can work the magic are the terrifying fae in their forest home. InCertified, Anna is a Raiser, able to raise from the dead anyone she doesn’t know. So what can she do when her best friend murders her boyfriend? In Not Fantasy, Beth knows that the fairy world exists; her best friends are a pink tortoise and a talking pen, after all. Her creative writing professor strongly disagrees – perhaps too strongly, Beth thinks, when strange rifts appear in his office.

In Shoe, Jenna learns the hard way not to take home stray shoes, and in The Chaos Shark, Ellie rescues a stray shark and saves her family. In The Wasporcist, Lily grows tired of everyone thinking she's mad. She knows the buzzing in her ears is more than her imagination, and calls in a Wasporcist. Finally, terminally-ill Adelaide finds an unexpected cure in the Pegasus myth come to life in Sea Foam and Blood.

A collection of YA fantasy stories with just a touch of darkness.

CHERRY BLOSSOM AND OTHER STORIES

The important moments in life are as fleeting as cherry blossom. Love and family are just as ephemeral.

In Cherry Blossom, Ambrose discovers that his quest for immortality brought him more than he bargained for. Can he find a way out of his prison of solitude? In But For Snow, Tundra has finally found the wolf that’s been missing from her magical dreams of snow. Now she has to learn what it really means to love something. In contrast, Guiro in Alone must find a way to say goodbye to those he loves before his soulbond kills him and his family.

When Abbi the Labrador learns that the vet can’t cure her best friend, the rabbit Zac, she’s horrified. But that’s nothing to what she feels when he reveals to her that she will be the one to end his life, in A Final Request For Mercy. In The Day The Dog First Called, Natalia is the only one who can see the cobwebs plain as day, festooning her house, encroaching on her mind. No one else will believe they are there – until the dog comes to call. And in Jellybeans, a woman learns that sometimes even a jar of jellybeans can reveal deep truths about your relationship.

A collection of literary fantasy stories - contemporary themes laced with magic. And of course, a couple of canines.

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THE 33 WORST MISTAKES WRITERS MAKE ABOUT DOGS

Have you ever been reading a book - maybe even enjoying it - but when you got to a crucial point, the author made a glaring mistake that made you want to throw the book across the room? Would you keep reading?

Here's a hint: most people won't.

Time is in short supply, and readers are just looking for reasons to put your book down for a better book, or something else - and you DON'T want to be the writer whose book gets thrown across the wall.

Writers, there are almost 45 million dog owners in the United States alone. 45 million. That's almost 1 out of every 6 people in the US. That's a heck of a lot of people.

And YOU could be causing them to throw YOUR BOOK against the wall, by making mistakes that are so irritating to readers - but SO easy to fix. The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs by Amy Laurens will show you how.

So, your main character owns a dog - or maybe is a dog. What next?

Imagine being able to write a scene from the point of view of a dog, and not having to mention the dog at all - and yet people still 'miraculously' know your main character is a dog. The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs discusses in detail what it's like to be a dog - their senses, their emotions, everything - and you can use this information to create rounded, compelling characters that act like dogs, not people in fur coats.

But what if you don't want to write about a main character who's a dog? And what if you already own a dog, and think you know all about them?

Let me assure you: you still don't know everything you need to know.

The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs includes tips on things your typical dog-owner wouldn't even think to include. Mistakes about dog showing, breeding, the different breeds of dogs and how dogs think and feel - all this and more are discussed in this brand new e-book.

 Here's a sample of what you'll learn in The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs:

•    Dogs don't actually see in black and white. They have dichromatic vision.

•   Dogs can smell things into their component parts - they can recognise the whole and the parts.

•   Dogs don't speak English - but they're very superstitious.

•   Dogs don't do things to 'get revenge'; in fact, they aren't capable of thinking in such terms.

Plus discussions on things like:

•   Purebreds versus mongrels: is one better than the other?

•   Male versus female: is there really a difference?

•   Dogs versus cats: what's the real deal here?

And much, much more!

Pick up your copy right away - you'll be writing like an insider in no time at all, and you'll be secure in the knowledge that no-one will every throw YOUR books against the wall - at least, not for dog mistakes!

   

 *Now includes 4 bonus mistakes!*

WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS

In a series of plays written for a teen audience, “Where Your Treasure Is” explores a variety of Christian concepts, from the real meaning of trust, freedom and forgiveness, to the importance of exercising the gifts we have been given. Plays range from 8 to 70 minutes and usually require 6 or 8 actors.

Drive (a 70-minute play for 8 actors): Two apparently unrelated teens learn what it means to both trust and be trusted.

Where Your Treasure Is (a 40-minute play for 6 actors): Pirates set off in search of the King's treasure and discover the real meaning of forgiveness.

The 5000 (an 8-minute play for 6 actors): Three different perspectives on the feeding of the five thousand.

Gifts (a 10-minute play for 6 actors): A group of teens compare the gifts they received from Christmas - physical and spiritual.

Turning Point (a 30-minute play for 8 actors): The story of King Manasseh demonstrates the importance of repentance.

In Search of Freedom (a 25-minute play for 8 actors): A group of teens left behind after the Exodus discover the real meaning of freedom.

The Journey (a 20-minute play for 9 actors): The Israelites' journey across the desert to the Promised Land is hard, but God is always there.

Suggested starting bid: $15

*Please ONLY bid in $1.00 dollar increments (no loose change).

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Availability: International.