Welcome to author Alex Standish, who’s dropping in today to celebrate the release of her new short novel, Changing Tides, from Dreamspinner Press!
Hi, everyone!
First, a huge thank you to The Novel Approach for hosting me.
So, a question I get asked a lot is what do I enjoy most about writing and what I don’t like.
What I enjoy the most is creating the characters, seeing them in my mind, giving them a voice, a purpose. I love giving life to places, creating whole new worlds. I think I like writing so much because I get to live in the story I created, make friends with the characters, share their laughter and hard times.
As for what I don’t like, weird as it seems, the plotting or storyline sometimes drives me a little crazy. I can’t just write romance, I need something more, so I tend to write stories with a lot of plot. Unfortunately, sometimes what sounded good in my head doesn’t really translate well into paper, so to speak. Trying to find solutions to plot holes can definitely be a challenge.
I also don’t enjoy the editing process. Getting your story back from the editors with a thousand little notes and suggestions that you need to get done in a week is a pain.
About the Book
Title: Changing Tides
Length: 117 Pages
Category: Historical
Add It To: Goodreads
Buy Links: Dreamspinner Press || Amazon || Barnes & Noble
Cover Artist: Anna Sikorska
Blurb: While most pirates sail in search of riches, Captain Devon Hall, the infamous Phantom of the Caribbean, is driven by vengeance. Devon has sworn to put an end to the corrupt governor of Jamaica and break the ruthless man’s stranglehold in the Caribbean.
When Devon is wounded and stranded on land, an unlikely rescuer comes to his aid. Brett Campbell is nothing like his uncle, the governor, and his goals are not so different from Devon’s. Brett longs for freedom, but his obligations to protect those under his uncle’s control keep him from fleeing. Throwing in with Devon might increase both their chances of success—and survival.
When the governor’s attempts to destroy Devon escalate and place Brett in danger and in the hands of the ruthless and depraved pirate Captain Blackburn, Devon must risk everything to save the man he loves and repay his enemies.
All Devon’s ever wanted is his ship, his freedom, friends who stand by his side through thick and thin, and someone to love. But facing dangers at sea and on land, Devon wonders if they will live to enjoy it all.
The Excerpt
A good wind was blowing from the southwest, the sea was calm, and the Flying Horse advanced without the slightest bit of resistance.
Everything was ready for the upcoming battle. The cannons and the firelocks were loaded with the greatest of care. Cannonballs were piled onto the deck; carbines, axes, and cutlasses were laid out, and the grappling hooks were placed on the bulwarks, ready to be hurled at the enemy vessel.
All preparations complete, they began yet another day scanning the sea, some from the ratlines, some from the bulwarks, all anxious to spot the Courage. It seemed Devon’s anxiety and restlessness had spread throughout the ship.
He walked nervously from bow to stern, continually scanning the vast stretch of water, gripping the golden hilt of his sword tightly, ignoring his crew’s glances. They had been searching for the Courage for two weeks and had yet to sight the British cruiser.
He couldn’t stop thinking about Brett; how would Brett be faring after a month and a half in the galleys? Devon wanted to storm the seas, board the Courage, and rescue Brett, but until they actually saw the cruiser, there was nothing he could do. And helplessness was not a feeling he was accustomed to.
Then suddenly, a few minutes after midday, someone shouted from atop the mainmast.
“Ship to leeward!”
Devon stopped pacing and grinned. “Battle stations!” he commanded, watching all the seamen who had been hanging from the mast take cover and go to their assigned stations. “John,” he shouted, turning to the man stationed on the mainmast. “What do you see?”
“A sail, Captain,” John replied from above.
“Is it our target?”
“It’s the sail of a cruiser, but I can’t see the name yet. We need to get closer,” John told him.
“Damn…. Where the hell is that ship?” Devon said with a frown. “Very well. Elijah, move us closer. Even if it is not the Courage, we can always use the practice.”
“Aye, aye, Captain,” Elijah said with a grin.
Half an hour passed, during which their ship gained five knots on their prey, and then John shouted once more, the excitement clear in his tone. “Captain, it is the Courage! They have seen us and are trying to get away.”
“Ah, finally,” Devon practically leered. “Elijah, give chase. Don’t let them escape.”
About the Author
Alex Standish lives in Lisbon, Portugal, a beautiful and sunny country in Europe. She loves to read, travel, listen to good music, rock the vacuum cleaner like Freddie Mercury, and hang out with her friends. When she’s not at her day job or trying to win the lottery, she’s typing away at her laptop, Probie, writing homoerotic romance. She’s a multigenre author, striving to create engaging plotlines and characters that could stand on their own and hopefully tug at one’s heartstrings. In the last eight years, Alex has written one short story and three novels.
Social media info: Facebook
Follow the Tour
August 9 – MM Good Book Reviews
August 14 – My Fiction Nook
August 15 – Alpha Book Reviews
August 16 – Happily Ever Chapter
August 17 – Love Bytes
August 18 – The Novel Approach
August 21 – Open Skye Book Reviews
August 22 – Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
August 23 – Dreamspinner Press Blog