Scary excerpt from my book - Happy Halloween!

Here is an exclusive excerpt from my book. Hope you like it!
http://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/blogs/fiction/the-witchs-list-excerpt/

Still humming and hawing over the cover...

I've chosen a few possible images for the cover on adobe stock:
https://stock.adobe.com/uk/stock-photo/africa/14135346
https://stock.adobe.com/uk/stock-photo/african-mask/68172123
https://stock.adobe.com/uk/stock-photo/african-mask/68172126

Any comments?

Now set to conquer Dundee, Tayside, Scotland... the world!

Waterstones Dundee and Perth are showing interest in promoting my book!
https://www.waterstones.com/bookshops/dundee

How to make your book as popular as the Kelpies?

Met up with my old university mate, Gregor Ewing, last week at the Kelpies in Falkirk.

He is now an author too. Check out his great travelogue / Scottish history books:
Charlie, Meg and Me
Bruce, Meg and Me
We discussed how we could make our books as popular as the Kelpies - approximately 1 million visitors in first year of opening!

Dundee

Met Dundee librarian, Alistair Wilson, for a chat on promoting my book to library users, reading groups, etc. Dundee is a town which is forever reinventing itself: from ship-building, to jute-jam-and-journalism;  computer games to art and design. The council seems to be run by a bunch of guys that take pleasure in building things, only to demolish them in a decade or two, to build something else instead. The latest project is the Waterfront development with a new Victoria and Albert design museum, due to open in 2018.
I think Dundonians embody this attitude of fearlessness in changing  and trying new things. If it doesn't work out, change it or do something completely different instead. 
My book is a new departure for me. Will it allow me to reinvent myself as a writer? 
Follow this blog / facebook / twitter to find out. Buy the book to help me make it happen! 

Goodreads

Have just set up my author profile on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5779164.Andrew_Cairns
Feel free to follow, share, etc.
I plan to do a Goodreads giveaway when the book comes out. Just sign up for free and you may win a free copy of the book to read and review.
ps Goodreads, as it says on the website, "is the world’s largest site for readers and book recommendations." It has nothing to do with Rastafarian guys with gooey dreadlocks ;)

Dundee Literary Festival : Oct 21 to 25, 2015

Dundee's happening literary scene. Will have to get my book in the programme for next year.
https://literarydundee.co.uk/festival/

"The Witch's List" - the horror novel even non-horror fans love!

You don't have to be a horror fan or horror aficionado to appreciate "The Witch's List". The book is a mixture of genres: horror, mystery, thriller, suspense, coming of age, culture clash, etc.
Great reviews so far:

• "Andrew Cairns has written, quite literally, a bewitching novel, one that speaks to an underbelly which lies dormant in us all. The Witch's List bridges our world of convention, with that of a fabulous Twilight Zone, what may be true reality -- a realm of magic and ultimate possibility. I recommend this book because, behind the smokescreen of simplicity, there lies a masked bedrock of extraordinary power." - TAHIR SHAH, author of The Caliph's House, In Arabian Nights, etc.
• "An excellent story with three dimensional characters." - Krystina Kellingley, author. 
• "...new angle, good story and the characters are well rounded." - Maria Moloney, author. 
• "Entertaining... I enjoyed the story." - Matthew Cairns, wwoofer.
• "Mental!" - Dr Mary Cairns.

Publishing Contract Signed!

I have chosen John Hunt Publishing, Cosmic Egg Imprints - http://www.cosmicegg-books.com/ - for my book. They specialise in fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and paranormal. My book falls loosely into the horror genre, with mystery, thriller, coming-of-age aspects. I'm really looking forward to getting it out to the masses!

What is the book about?

Sandy Beech doesn't believe in witches and the supernatural. However certain strange events occur which put his scepticism to the test: a burning book, a falling crucifix, a mysterious illness, and a fire in a convent which kills all twelve nuns. On her death bead, Bernadette, the last surviving nun, warns him to control his lusts and avoid African women. Sandy finds this difficult, since he is attracted to dark-skinned women and after his hedonistic University exchange year in Paris, marries Rocky from the Ivory Coast. Five years later, childless and with the marriage souring, they decide to visit Rocky's home country. Sandy is drawn into a world of strange beliefs and practices: he finds out about the Witch's List - a list of people destined to die, and is attacked by various animals starting with a ferocious dog in Abidjan. He delves further and further into the realm of African witchcraft, but the horrific truth remains obscure...