Monday 28 April 2014

My writing process blog tour!! :D

Hello :)

I have to begin by thanking Ellie Irving for inviting me to the blog tour :D It turns out that Ellie grew up in the same area as me. Small world as the saying goes! :) You can find out about Ellie & her work here; www.ellieirving.com


Now, although my last post was on the negative side, this one is all about writing...and that's the part I LOVE ❤ the most :-D


Also, even though I tried to find 3 others to pass this over to, everyone was already involved or had already posted...which proves how popular a blog tour it is. Visit 2 new friends of mine, Lauriane Povey, here; http://t.co/zt3TD7rHLm who is also posting today and continuing the tour, and the Blondie Camps blog; http://t.co/LgXRrKCYFj - I know she is due to post soon, too :D


Q1 - What am I working on? Okay. I have...6...yes, you read that correctly...6 books currently in different stages. Some new, some nearing completion. Wow O_O 6? Really?

Here's a run down - Amelia Maylock, book 5. Fantasy/ magic for the tween/ teen reader.
Holly Silverstone, book 2. Fantasy/ gothic/ magical for the tween/ teen reader.(Darker than the Amelia Maylock books)
The Long journey to ...? ;) I haven't decided on the title yet. It is the follow on to The Long Journey to Sincerity, my YA dystopian.
A supernatural/ gothic/ YA/ fantasy(Oh, yes, I mix it up!)
A new dystopian.
The Danny Monroe series. Tween/ teen supernatural.

Q2 - How does my work differ from others in the same genre?

As Q1 shows, I do not stick to one genre. I think the best way to answer this, and I know others will have said the same, is that we(authors) put so much of our own personality in our work. I didn't realise until recently that nearly all of my books have a sarcastic or humorous character in them. Even my dystopian YA finds time to lighten the mood with some dry wit ;) Places are based on my own surroundings, as are many situations. I also seem to have a 'thing' for characters wearing masks. They pop up all over the place. I think it is because I believe everyone 'wears' a mask, at some point in their life...trying to be something else, or act a certain way. Ooh, I'm such a sneaky writer! ;)

Q3 - Why do I write what I do?

This is difficult to answer. Why do I write about magic, different realms, dimensions, creatures...science fiction and all the rest. Break these stories down...to the absolute base level and you'll find the strongest theme is self belief, overcoming the dangerous/ terrifying etc situations that the characters face...believing in yourself, and good or truth winning out. Also, I believe there are many parts to life that can't be explained. Never let your light go out. There's a good reason that is one of my quotes on Goodreads :)

Q4 - How does my writing process work?

I mentioned this recently in a YouTube video here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJilWzqSMNw&list=UUmkp6YYM5yVMeiwxD7N460A
The ideas pour out sometimes. There might not even be a story yet the words are there :) Some ideas shout louder than others. As you can imagine from my previous answers, I have a lot of scribbled notes, notebooks, files saved and so on. Today, hopefully, I will have a new piece typed up that will be a raw, unedited mass of words. If you can, and I do very often, set a goal of an absolutely ridiculous word count for one day in the week. I'm talking 5,000+. Then, just go for it :D

Okay, thanks for reading :D


Saturday 26 April 2014

Failure ... it gets to you.

I've copied this over from my FB author page. I'm just having a moan ... things are bugging me, a LOT.


So, I published my first book a loooong time ago. Self-publishing etc was new, brand new. Vanity publishers charging 1000s of pounds/ dollars were fading as better, inexpensive, companies emerged and gave authors a chance to see their work in print. This isn't a blog/ rant about self-publishing, though, more about 15-20 years of banging my head against a brick wall networking and promotion and ... failure. Yes, failure. I have no problem admitting to that.
So, my stance from the beginning has always been a love of writing. Wanting to share my stories with others. Giving the readers my tales and ideas.
Writing isn't easy. Once the words flow and you reach a certain point in the book ... usually about 10,000 words in my case, then it becomes a lot easier, but that's irrelevant ... I'm just typing as it arrives in my head.
Back to banging my head against a brick wall. Yes, from the beginning I knew that I could not aggressively market or promote. It isn't me. It's rude in my opinion. If someone says no, they mean no. They don't mean 'Maybe. Keep hassling me, though, in case I change my mind.'
This hasn't changed over the years. It's grown worse because of all the other places on the internet to post, blog, share etc. The temptation and opportunity to bombard potential readers/ customers has exploded. Personally, I repeat in capitals, PERSONALLY(I'm not associating my thoughts with any others) can't stand the same link or book cover or tweet or excerpt or whatever appearing all over the place.
Here's a quick sidestep - something I have yet to succeed at is building a 'base'. By this, I mean a group of readers who have followed me from the beginning, or who subscribe to all my updates, check in on my latest work etc. If every author/ upcoming author did this, they wouldn't have to plaster the web a bazillion times with their news. Good news spreads itself.
I think this is one of the reasons I am moaning and melancholy today(well, for a while now to be honest) - I have been around for a while, feeling my way through the publishing world, watching it change and grow, sometimes overnight. I don't like how it has changed and what it has become.
READERS are the most IMPORTANT element in the publishing world. Yes, some will disagree, but they are to me. Readers are put off by in your face tactics.
This brings me close to the end of this post and also back to failure. It annoys me, upsets me, angers me - plus a million other emotions - because I've been the polite author, the listening author, the helpful author, and it hasn't brought me any success. I have spent many years making friends in the publishing world. I've helped authors promote, I've shared links for them, I've purchased books that interest me, I've suggested books to readers. I have also asked for the same in return and been ignored, or told no :/

I've been the one in the background, typing away, releasing books without all the fireworks and mass posts. I tell myself that the selective marketing/ promotion/ pre-publication reviews etc will be enough to get the word out. FAILURE ... or FAIL ... FACEPALM ... whatever is usual these days.
I don't want to disappear among the louder voices. I believe I have stories to tell that the readers will love and remember. The reviews tell me this is the truth. SUCCESS?? Maybe ...

Wednesday 2 April 2014

Review & mini interview ... with me :D

Bits & Bobs: Jason Ellis | The 12th Year Awakening + Mini Q&A W...: Little did Amelia know that as she dressed for school on a normal Friday morning at the beginning of March, her life would soon change for...