indie author Archives - Christina Engela: Author

14 Jan 2020 No Comments

Pet Peeve: Genre Fan Groups That Don’t Support Its Authors

Imagine for a moment what it’s like being an indie author. It’s not that difficult I think – especially when put into the pretty harsh light of marketing. Basically when you’re indie, it means that if you don’t market yourself, you don’t get marketed at all. Social media plays a vital role in this self-promotion process, and especially (unfortunately), Facebook.

The unsocial media platform has groups – oodles of them – dedicated to fans of particular genres of writing. I doubt anyone has ever counted or taken stock of them all.

At first glance, all a writer needs to do is to join some of them – those that lend themselves to helping that writer market their work. It’s a great way to market your books if you’re an indie author – and there are many that do.

Unfortunately, it’s not always as simple as it could be.

Rant upcoming.

by ChristinaEngela in Blog Tags: author, bias, Facebook groups, hypocrisy, indie author, marketing, pet peeves, unfairness

09 Jan 2020 No Comments

Have You Read The Quantum Series? You Should!

Christina Engela’s stories in this series champion that and it’s an important modern cause to stand for in literature. She manages to do and say that without being preachy and while also and importantly telling fun, action packed, sometimes quirky but always enjoyable stories.”

“Have you read the Quantum Series? You should!” – Lee Hall, writer & reviewer.

“Black Sunrise”

Book 1

“A fun and enjoyable quirky multi-character story that carries an important message…’ That message which is intertwined with some action, comedy, and overall fun is all about diversity and inclusion. There’s even a talking plant!”

“Overall I found this story enjoyable with a positive message that puts the ‘conscience over paycheck’ concept into practice. There are some parts I found to be genuinely funny while in other moments it was thought provoking.

Seeing as this book is a part of the wider ‘Quantum’ series I will be sure to check out the others.

5 Stars” – review.

“The Time Saving Agency”

Book 2

“A highly enjoyable time travel caper…”

“Overall ‘The Time Saving Agency’ is a fun read which sees the ‘Quantum Series’ taken on an unexpected journey of time travel while also continuing the journey of the characters seen in the previous book in the series (‘Black Sunrise’). The narrative is delivered with a sophisticated level of humor and sometimes sarcastic wit that never allows for a dull moment. 4 Stars ” – review.

“Dead Man’s Hammer”

Book 3

“Suspense, drama and modern issues all of which are tackled in a fun but important way…

As the Quantum series unfolds, it grows more and more impressive. Dead Man’s Hammer is proof that Christina Engela can build an established world and insert so many genres into it along with retaining a unique style of writing that not only tributes her influences but has a way of confiding in readers.”

“Suspense, drama and even tragedy are ways that I would describe the journey this story represents, not to mention that crime-mystery theme along with some more important issues that these books are not afraid to tackle; as much as this sounds heavy, it’s a fun read! Throughout Engela’s writing style naturally flows and is fun to read. 5 stars.” – review.

“Loderunner”

Book 4

“A fun tale about the perils of voyaging through space to earn an honest buck with a meaningful important message…”

“From the early stages of this story Christina Engela makes great efforts to not only tell a story with wide appeal but also includes a powerful inclusive message about the subject of transphobia and embracing who you really are on the inside. “

“What ensues is a story with a powerful meaning along with the usual fun moments Engela is known for, space stories really are her specialty and the setting makes the writing feel very much at home. 5 stars.” – review.

“Prodigal Sun”

Book 5

“Fun, quirky and most probably the strongest of the Quantum series!”

“As the story unfolded it became more and more gripping as events turn for the worse. Sheriff Peggy Ann-Muller may well be in over her head even if she does express exactly what is going on through a powerful quote ‘Anyone else want to be on the wrong side of history?’ Powerful is probably the one word which sums up the plot of ‘Prodigal Sun’ but as usual there is way much more happening.”

“5 Stars – Great read.” – review.

“High Steaks”

Book 6

“An epic ensemble of characters fighting for the importance of inclusion…”

“The Quantum Series carries a consistent theme throughout all six of it’s stories; that being inclusion no matter how different one is or where they come from. Whether you are human, alien, plant or anything else in between. No matter your beliefs, non beliefs, orientation or anything else that may set you aside and make you different. Christina Engela’s stories in this series champion that and it’s an important modern cause to stand for in literature. She manages to do and say that without being preachy and while also and importantly telling fun, action packed, sometimes quirky but always enjoyable stories. It’s also what is being fought for in this book.”

“Quite late on I realized this wasn’t going to be the final book of the series, at first I felt a little disappointed but then elated that what will follow if there is a 7th which will be one hell of a culmination and I am more than interested in reading.

Overall I have very much enjoyed reading the books in this series. They are fun, quirky, imaginative and their biggest quality is that the style and the way they read is very much accessible to pretty much anyone. I highly recommend the Quantum series to everyone!

5 Stars – Fun and powerful.” – review.

Coming soon – “Underground Movement”, book 7 in the Quantum series!

Read more:

Visit Christina’s shop pages at Amazon, Smashwords, or Lulu.

TIP: If you want to know what Christina Engela writes, or who her focus group or target market is, please read here.

If you’d like to send Christina Engela a question about her life as a writer or transactivist, please send an email to christinaengela@gmail.com or use the Contact form.

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