TRIGGER WARNING!
The Secret Cuckoo Cabaret Club is a horror novel, and that means there’s some spooky stuff going on in it. I mean, there’s no jump scares (as much as I wanted to, I didn’t have the budget for a pop-up book), but there are some disturbing scenes. One involves some football posts. One involves a pier. And one particularly unsettling one involves a baby…
So if that’s not your kettle of fish, perhaps give this one a miss. Or buy it (because I’d be eternally grateful) and just put it in the freezer when things get a little too scary.
#horrorbooks #horrorbookstagram #scarybooks #mysterybooks #authorsofinstagram #bookstagram #author
EEK! My second book, The Secret Cuckoo Cabaret Club, comes out one week today! All over the world. Scary times. For those who don’t know, The Secret Cuckoo Cabaret Club is about a transgender performer called Sara, her brother Gaten, and something VERY dark that threatens to tear them apart (and tear apart everything else in the process). Oh, and there’s a secret club that’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Here’s the blurb in full:
‘Cuckoo Cove is a gay town. But there are no gay towns in America.’
Sara knows that better than anyone. She’s a thirty year old transgender performer who spends her days being heckled both on and off the stage. But when she discovers the secret Cuckoo Cabaret Club, her outlook on life starts to change.
Serving as an underground haven for the alienated and excluded, the club is unlike anything Sara has ever known — a hotbed of inclusion, dancing, fireworks, and unrequited ecstasy. It’s like a dream, but outside this dream, the world is turning into a nightmare.
The body of a young gay singer has been found on the shores of Cuckoo Cove, and Sara’s brother, Officer Gaten Dalbret, has been handed the case.
As a shadow falls upon the town, Sara and Gaten must figure out which secrets have been revealed, and which remain hidden. But can they discover the truth before the mirrorball breaks and the party is over?
#bookworm #bookish #horrorbooks #mysterybooks #bookstagram #authorlife #beautifulbooks #bookcover #bookfringe
The Secret Cuckoo Cabaret Club is about identity, isolation, inclusion. All the ‘i’s. It’s one for the weirdos, the freak shows, the ‘won’t fit in if you triedo’s’. Those are the people the Cuckoo Cabaret Club is made for.
If you see yourself as different, if you’ve been rocked, beaten, torn, and yet still stand under the mirrorball, there’s a good chance you’ll be invited. All you have to do is listen out for the music.
Can you hear it?
#booksbooksbooks #inclusivebooks #lgbtbooks #horrorbooks #mysterybooks #authorthoughts #writersofinstagram
COMPETITION RESULTS!
Earlier this week, I asked you all what time the Cuckoo Cabaret Club opened, and you answered! Check out the video to see who got it right!
#bookstagram #bookcompetition #booksbooksbooks📚 #horrorbooks #mysterybooks #scifibooks #books
The Secret Cuckoo Cabaret Club started back in the summer of 2021. I haven’t been working on it every day since then (publishing a certain book last year took up a fair bit of time!) but it has been years in the making, which is why I get so annoyed with the whole AI thing.
Every day, I come across an article about AI being used to draft, brainstorm, or sometimes even create entire books. I haven’t been in the game long, but as an author, writing is a craft that I’ve built up over the last two decades. I put my blood, sweat and tears into it, because I love the process of writing, I love expressing my imagination, and I want people to enjoy what comes out of my head.
Now AI has come along, and it’s getting better every day. I can see a future where people don’t buy books anymore, they let an app create them. But we shouldn’t forget the importance of human creativity, the emotion that cannot be replicated, where every word is hard-fought and drawn from human experience.
The future I can see is a future where potential authors cannot let their imagination out of the box. Because there’s no space, no reward, no reason. Let’s not make that future a reality. Avoid generated books/covers/audio at all costs. If you’re a writer, don’t use it. Use your own voice. Trust the process, even though it’s hard. If you’re a reader, don’t consume it. Believe in the importance of human-ness. And let the human writers serenade you.
That’s just my two cents. Thanks for listening!
#writing #writingcommunityofig #writerthoughts #aiisnotart #artbyhumans #notoai #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks
This is one of my favourite spots in Edinburgh. An old structure that has crumbled to myth and history. A shell of itself, and yet still ablaze with its stories from a distant past. I find myself standing next to it. A speck of dust, but with my own stories to tell. My own myths, my own history. I’m gonna be in the grass too, one day. Like this old structure, I’ll just be bones that can’t be read. But the stories will remain. Every author’s will. And if they’re read, they will tell people who we were.
#authorofinstagram #writerthoughts #writingcommunityofig #booksbooksbooks📚 #bookworm #bookish #edinburgh
Two weeks until my book, The Secret Cuckoo Cabaret Club, launches. Two weeks! Ah! I thought it might be easier the second time round. Less stressful, less nerve-wracking. But you know what? It ain’t.
I think it’s because this novel is quite a risky one. You’ll see why when you read it. It’s different, for sure. Crazier. Darker. But the good thing is, the excitement is exactly the same too. I literally can’t wait. If you can’t wait, either, make sure you follow my account so you don’t miss all the exclusives!
#bookstagram #booklover #horrorbooks #horrorbookstagram #mysterybooks #mysterybookstagram #edinburghbooks
If Seeing Dead was my ghost story, The Secret Cuckoo Cabaret Club is my monster story.
And oh boy, what a monster. I genuinely get a little freaked out that I thought of it.
‘Are you good enough…?’
#horrornovel #scarybooks #mysterybooks #indiehorror #indiebooks #authorsofinstagram #indiehorrorbooks
COMPETITION TIME!
The Cuckoo Cabaret Club is about to open… but when does the party start?
If you want the chance to win a special signed Edinburgh Edition of The Secret Cuckoo Cabaret Club, all you have to do is guess the time the Cuckoo Cabaret Club opens. I’ll give you a clue, it’s somewhere between 12PM and 3AM. The person who is closest to the correct time wins the prize!
Oh, and did I mention, you’ll get the book a whole WEEK before anyone else? That’s right, you don’t wanna miss this one. To take part, check out my story and click ‘Add Yours’. Then make your guess and tag me.
The winner will be announced in Sunday’s video. Good luck, and I’ll see you when the mirrorball spins!
#bookcompetition #bookgiveaway #horrorbookgiveaway #horrornovels #horrorbookslover #mysterynovel #competitiontime #booksbooksbooks
So something a little special is gonna be happening tomorrow. Find out what in this Sunday’s video (and don’t worry, Instagram has ensured I don’t ramble).
#bookstagram #bookcompetition #horrorbooks #authorthoughts #writerthoughts #writersofinstagram
As a kid, I was rarely invited to parties. I remember going into school on Mondays, gossip churning down the corridors, catching fragments of conversations that made it sound like the weekend had played host to the most magnificent party that ever happened.
As a result, I built these parties up in my head. They were a fireball of excitement, scandal, and colours. They were a secret that I wasn’t allowed in on, and so my imagination could only soar.
Well, now I’ve put my imagination on the page. The Cuckoo Cabaret Club is the most ethereal, mysterious, and wild party that has ever happened. And the good thing is… this time, everyone is invited.
#indiebooks #authorthoughts #writerthoughts #horrornovel #mysterybook #bookaholic #beautifulbookcover #books
The Secret Cuckoo Cabaret Club is set in a town called Cuckoo Cove, California. But it was written in a cold flat in Edinburgh, Scotland. I have to admit, I spend most of the time daydreaming about being in the Californian sun, so this wasn’t too difficult. Except my innate Britishness did seep in...
Cuckoo Cove isn’t like any other Californian town. A groggy fog layers the ocean. Something dark whispers in the wind. Things are WRONG. As for what exactly, you’re all gonna have to wait to find out!
#indiebooks #horrorbooks #scottishbooks #californiabooks #horrornovel #scarybooks #edinburgh #edinburghcity #booklover
Can we take a moment to appreciate these two covers? They were designed by Liz Coetzee, one of the best cover artists in the game in my opinion. I could sit and stare at these books all day. Those blues! Those purples! A gorgeous example of human creativity, something which I think should be championed in the midst of all this AI malarkey. Blergh. Get lost, AI. Human creativity is where it’s at!
#indiebooks #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcovers #bookcovers #horrorbook #horrorbookcovers #mysterybookcovers #scifibookcovers #indiewriters #booksbooksbooks
Ahh, music. Where would my writing career be without it? I don’t think it’s possible to write without listening to music. All that would come out is: blah, blah, blah.
When it comes to The Secret Cuckoo Cabaret Club, though, I listened to more music than ever. Mainly as research, because a heap of songs are right there in the pages — and they’re actually important to the story.
This got me thinking: I should do a playlist. A proper playlist where you guys can listen to the music that inspired (and is in) the book to get an idea of what you’re in for. So for the next few days, I’m gonna be posting snippets of these songs in my stories, complete with a link to a Secret Cuckoo playlist on YouTube. By Sunday the entire playlist will be available.
Oh, and by the way, it’s starting right now, with undoubtedly the MOST important song in the whole book. Rocky Horror fans will love this one, so go check it out!
#indieauthor #bookplaylist #musicforbooks #bookmusic #indiebooks #indiehorrorbooks #horrorbooks #mysterybooks #cabaret
Welcome to my crib, IolandaPress. It’s a little empty in here. Just me. Hello! But I like it that way. In a world where traditional publishing is squeezing authors to their limit, and AI is threatening to throw us all out of business, it feels safe and cosy to be operating on my own steam.
For those who don’t know, I’ve made the tiniest of teams for my books. Me, my editor, my typesetter, my cover designer, and a handful of proof readers. That’s it! Every one of them makes up a critical part of IolandaPress (even if they don’t know it!) and give me the ability to release my books onto you. The readers.
This next book is a good one (if I do say so myself) and there will hopefully be many more after that. And who knows, maybe in the future I’ll be able to release more books through IolandaPress, keeping the landscape as accessible for new authors as possible.
Because we all need stories, and we all need to TELL stories. Otherwise what’s left? For now, though, it’s just me (hello again!) and, in a month’s time, a new member of the IolandaPress family.
It’s called The Secret Cuckoo Cabaret Club, and I can’t wait for you to read it!
#indieauthors #indiepress #authorsofinstagram #indiebooks #indiebookseller #indiehorror #indiescifi #indiefantasy #indiewriter
Some of you may remember there was an ‘Edinburgh Edition’ of my last novel, Seeing Dead. This was a gorgeous version of the book printed by Clays, the printers behind publishing houses like Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Bloomsbury.
Not only could you buy this book in bookshops, but there were opportunities for readers to win signed editions right here on Instagram!
And guess what? We’re doing it again. Here is ‘The Secret Cuckoo Cabaret Club: The Edinburgh Edition’. We’ve gone a little darker for this one, because it’s Edinburgh, and Edinburgh’s a dark, gloomy and creepy place! As for how you can get a hand on one of these copies, a big announcement is incoming. Follow my account to find out what!
#bookannouncement #newbook #indiebooks #horrorbooks #mysterybooks #writersofinstagram #edinburgh #edinburghcity
Can’t wait for The Secret Cuckoo Cabaret Club? I have got another book, ya know!
If you haven’t read Seeing Dead yet, it’s about a girl who can see dead people. Original, right? Except, it IS original, I promise! This is a supernatural mystery set in Scotland, full of darkness, a smidge of comedy, and a twist at the end that no one saw coming. Seriously. Pick it up, give it a read, and by the time April 8th comes, you’ll be ready to join the party!
#booksbooksbooks #bookshop #scifibooks #mysterybooks #bookstagrammer #horror
Genre, genre, genre. That’s always the question posed by publishers and agents, and it’s an understandable one. People wanna know what they’re buying!
But as a writer, it can be incredibly hard to categorise your book. Most of us don’t get up and say: I’m going to write a sci-fi/horror/cyberpunk/comedy today. We get up and say: I’m going to write a story!
And stories have multiple layers to them. We want to let them breathe and be who they want to be. No chains!
So what’s The Secret Cuckoo Cabaret Club? It’s a story! Dark most of the time. But also funny, scary, and hopeful. Mad, too! Oh, at times it’s bonkers! But most of all, it’s a blast. And I really hope you pick it up to read it.
(Psst, if you reallllllly wanna know, you can call it a horror/thriller/mystery with themes surrounding identity.)
#bookrelease #horrorbook #thrillerbook #mysterybooks #beautifulbooks #purplebooks #newhorrorbooks #author
Who is Gaten Dalbret?
Gaten is a thirty year old cop in Cuckoo Cove, but first and foremost, he’s a brother. Albeit, not a very good one.
It was ten years ago now that his sibling, Theo Dalbret, transitioned into a woman called Sara Del Bret, and since then, Gaten has struggled to live up to the ‘big brother’ responsibility. At one point in time, he was Theo’s hero, his protector, the person he would curl up next to when the nightmares struck. But when things changed, Gaten became a coward. Useless against the nightmares.
Now a new nightmare has washed up on the shores of Cuckoo Cove, bigger and more terrifying than anyone could imagine, and Gaten must find a way to stop it. Not as a cop. As a brother. But protecting someone from a shadow isn’t easy, especially when you’re the only one who can see it…
#bookworm #bookcharacter #bookteaser #secondbook #authorlife #writerthoughts
Who is Sara Del Bret?
Sara has been living in Cuckoo Cove for years, but she’s always been an outsider. Being a trans woman, she’s never been able to escape the feeling that she’s tolerated, rather than accepted. Allowed, but never made true.
It’s only when she discovers the secret Cuckoo Cabaret Club that things start to change. For the first time, a whole new world is put in front of her — a world of love, acceptance, happiness, and hot, splendid jazz. It’s like a dream. But things are kept secret for a reason.
As the world for Sara Del Bret grows brighter, the world outside the club is cast in shadow. A nightmare has struck the shores of Cuckoo Cove, and it’s not long before it starts creeping into into every corner, every crevice, every dream.
No one is safe. So how long will it be until the fireworks fade and the sky turns dark?
#bookcharacters #writingofinstagram #bookstagram #horrorbooks #mysterybooks #authorsofinstagram #transbooks #bookshelf
