World Book Day and my Local Library

Yesterday was World Book Day. I was going to post this article on time, but when I sat down at the computer I became engrossed in my manuscript for Love Redeems, the third book in my Redcliffe paranormal romance series. Anyway, aside from writing, I am a life-long book lover. I probably mentioned that already. It kind of goes with the territory of being an author.

Buy Love Redeems (A Redcliffe Novel) today

On Tuesday I took my daughter to our local library for a weekly 'Rhymetime' session. This is a great little group where babies and toddlers are entertained by singing nursery rhymes and reading books. The library assistant who ran the session informed us that in honour of World Book Day, our children would each receive a voucher for a free book. Fantastic!

She then encouraged the adults to peruse a pile of books on an adjacent table. These books were wrapped in brown paper, and were not labelled. We were invited to pick up a 'mystery' book and loan it from the library as part of their World Book Day celebration. I had to check it out! So I selected a juicy looking package and took it home.

How exciting to have a mystery  book! When we returned home, I put it on the table and avoided it for as long as possible to prolong the excitement of this annual event. (Yes I am a geek!) So what was this book? Take a look:

It is a contemporary thriller set on a remote Scottish island. This is a genre that I haven't read for a long time, so it will be quite a treat. Thank you, World Book Day!

Did you enjoy this article? Join my tribe today, and I will send you a fabulous FREE book to get you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will bite!) 

Free Kindle Horror Novel - Highway to Hell

Today I would like to recommend an excellent new horror story written by my author friend Alex Laybourne. Highway to Hell is a contemporary horror which follows the adventures of a group of people during the last hours of their lives, and their subsequent descent into Hell as they are tested, tortured and turned out into the afterlife.

I found it a very disturbing read but very gripping, and it will be free to purchase from Tuesday 7th February until Thursday 9th February. Get a copy, and I am sure you will love it! The sequel is due out later this year, which is good news because Highway to Hell ends on a massive cliffhanger and I cannot wait to see the outcome.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005H93KEM#reader_B005H93KEM

The Writer Loves Books

OK, the title of this post is perhaps a little silly and I am stating the obvious. There cannot be a writer out there who does not love books, but I am open to comments if you can prove me wrong. Anyway, my point is that I love books. I have always loved books. As a child, my mother taught me to read, and would take me to our local library every Saturday morning. I would step into that small one storey building full of excitement and happiness, and spend a few hours searching the shelves in the tiny children's fiction section, picking out my allocated allowance of six books. I would then read them all within a few days, return the following weekend, and do the whole thing again. I loved it!

Now that I am officially a published author, I feel on top of the world. I have just finished writing my third book, and I immediately started writing a fourth. The words flowed effortlessly, the stories are buzzing round my head, and I am both excited and overwhelmed with it all. But that is only half of my situation. I have an enormous pile of books to be read. That is just the paperbacks, and a couple of hardbacks. On my new Kindle I have something like sixty books or more, including samples. And somehow I ended up back in our local library the other day, and came home with another five books to read. Talk about a sucker for punishment!

This obsessive behavior got me thinking. Perhaps I am addicted to books. I have to touch them, to feel the texture of their covers and smell the familiar library smell of the ones I borrow. Even on my Kindle, I like the sharp definition of text, and the neatly ordered electronic pages. I feel such excitement every time I pick up a book, whether it be fiction or non-fiction. The point is I will learn something from each story, and I will experience new people, new places, and new adventures. I love books. I am a bookaholic. Who's with me?

The Redcliffe Trilogy Inspiration

This morning I was feeling a mild sense of panic when I realised that once I finish editing Love Kills and send it off to the publisher, I will then need to start writing the third Redcliffe book. At the time it was only a vague idea in my head, sort of following on from the latest instalment that I just wrote. Determined not to be perturbed, I put the panic out of my mind and sent out a silent plea to my muse.

After lunch I finally dragged myself away from the computer and decided to take myself, the baby and the dog out for our daily walk. The weather was beautiful. It was sunny and fairly mild for a January day in England. We strolled along by the canal, my daughter chattering away happily in her pushchair, the dog running off ahead exploring the undergrowth.

My mind wandered as I stared out at the water, and I admired the way the sunshine reflected in warm colours of orange, yellow, and even hints of blue on the gently rippling surface. There were no boats moored up in their usual spots, which surprised me, but then I remembered, it is winter. We continued on our walk, following the gentle sweep of the recently resurfaced towpath, and we didn’t encounter anybody else on our way.

And then it hit me. I was mentally organizing my current edit of Love Kills, and then I started to think about what would happen next to Jessica Stone and Jack and Danny Mason. The story suddenly panned out in my head, clear and exciting and ready to be written. Hallelujah! My muse has spoken, and my prayers have been answered. As soon as Love Kills has been despatched, I will get started on the next book, as yet untitled.

But that wasn’t all. I was in luck today, and it must have been the sunshine drawing out my inspiration. Not only did I mentally prepare the third Redcliffe book, but an idea for the fourth one started to grow as well.  And it sounds good! And then, to top it off, I came up with a plot for a completely separate novel featuring a character that appeared in another novel. She is a powerful and ancient vampire, and I now have a clear idea of where she came from, and how her story should be told.

All in all, it was a very successful walk. I feel refreshed and invigorated to continue my work, the dog is happy after running round like a puppy and playing with sticks. And my daughter had some fresh air and a little stimulation as she saw the ducks, the water, and the beautiful countryside in which we live. Clearly I was brought to live in Middlewich by some sort of divine intervention!

If you haven't yet read Love Hurts, get it now for Kindle on special offer until the end of January!

For the Love of Books

I have finally embraced the digital revolution, and have acquired a Kindle. I love it. I was resistant at first, because I am of the old school generation where we believe there is nothing better than curling up with a good book. I realise now that it doesn’t have to be one or the other. I can enjoy both, and each has their own merits and advantages.

The Kindle, for example, is like a portable library. I had great fun one evening browsing the top 100 free bestsellers (I’m a penniless writer, there you go!). Anyway, my husband was greatly amused as I sat giggling away to myself, and proceeded to download somewhere in the region of 50 eBooks. Add to that a couple of PDFs that I had acquired, and my reading list is now looking extremely busy.

My Kindle is perfect for reading one-handed, for example while I am propping my daughter up as she learns to walk. Or I can stand in the kitchen with it while I am cooking dinner. And I have a very handy reading light so I don’t disturb my husband while I’m sitting up in bed at night. Oh, and I can comfortably recline in bed with the Kindle, something I struggled to do with my books before.


I was also very excited when I searched for my novel Love Hurts on the Kindle and found it second in the list of books with that name. It means my sales are doing well and I'm getting some exposure. Thank you my adoring fans! And for those who haven't yet read it, why not? It is even on special offer now until 5th January, so snap up a bargain while you can.

Do not despair my precious books! I still love you just as much. There is nothing quite like picking up a nice shiny new paperback, opening it for the first time, and inhaling that special smell of excitement and adventure. Every book is different. I love smoothing my fingers over the covers, and feeling the texture and shape. I love seeing the crisp, white pages of print just waiting to be explored. And I love walking past my bookshelves, and glancing at rows of beautiful, delightful, tomes of imagination.

So I have deduced that the Kindle, or indeed any other eReader tablet, is a great gadget for an easy to handle, quick to access book, and also a means of storing various books, magazines and newspapers. This is perfect for a frequent traveller, and saves lots of bag space for a young family with a modest car. But the good old-fashioned paperback, or hardback book, is a sacred and beloved text. It is to be treasured, revered, and will never be cast aside or forgotten, at least not in my world.

The Indie Writer does NaNoWriMo

November is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo to everybody involved or aware of it.  This is an international competition, which has no prizes and no entry fees.  Participants are simply expected to write a novel with a word total of 50,000 during the month.  It is a wonderfully simple way of motivating yourself to finally write that story that has been festering in your head for all these months or years.

I have entered this competition.  Having published my debut paranormal romance novel, Love Hurts, in July this year, I now need to write the sequel.  Indeed I need to write the whole Redcliffe series, but this is my starting point.  I decided that NaNoWriMo would be the ideal opportunity.  It would motivate me to actually finish another piece of work, instead of procrastinating and avoiding the inevitable.

My sequel is called Love Kills and picks up the story of Cornish bookshop owner Jessica Stone as she recovers from her life threatening injuries sustained from a werewolf attack.  She is settling back into normal life, but struggling to deal with the reality of having a vampire boyfriend, and werewolf friends.  She is also working through the revelations that she is a witch, and deciding whether she wants to pursue her training and unlock her powers and abilities.

Finally, Jessica’s best friend and business partner has just given birth.  The new baby will throw up all sorts of challenges between the friends, and also between Jessica and her lover Jack Mason.  That is where my story stands at the moment.  As of today (Monday 7^th November), my word total is 19,148, and I am very pleased with that.  It was easy to start my novel because the story was already in my head.  Indeed, I had begun the story while I was finishing writing Love Hurts, but I had to separate the novels out, and make time to write Love Kills. 

That is why NaNoWriMo is important to me.  I have informed all of my close friends and family about the competition, and warned them that I will become a social hermit while I get my novel finished.  My plan is to complete the 50,000 words, and hopefully even write more than that as quickly as possible.  I certainly have the story; I just need to find time to write it around my duties of motherhood and housework.  But now that I have told people, they will expect me to complete this challenge, and that is my motivation.  NaNoWriMo, I will succeed!

Stories in my Head

I am struggling at the moment, to find time to sit down and write all of the stories in my head.  I have a young baby, a family, and all the associated housework to deal with before I can focus on my writing.  Unfortunately the writing has to be a sideline to my role as Mother. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

           

Anyway, just because I can’t physically write up the stories, does not mean they don’t exist.  For example, I am currently attempting to write the sequel to my recently published paranormal romance novel Love Hurts.  I have actually written a rough draft of about the first five chapters of Love Kills.  In my head, I am probably on about chapter twelve, or possibly even further along.  It gets a little confusing.

My stories are a good source of escapism while I am stood before the kitchen sink, or cleaning out the turtle tank, or ironing, or hoovering, or any number of other boring household tasks.  I even formulate the stories while in the shower, or in bed, out walking, or even when I am out in the car.  My characters take on their own lives, and draw me in as a spectator.  It is my job to remember what they tell me, and commit it to paper (or computer) as soon as possible.

Sometimes it can be embarrassing, like the time I headbutted a neighbour’s hanging basket because I was engrossed in my personal fictional dialogue.  Other times people can be talking to me and I simply don’t hear them.  I sort of snap out of a daydream, and have to wake up to the reality around me.  I am sure this is not an isolated situation.  I must be one of a million writers in a similar position.

Maybe I should invest in a Dictaphone, and dictate my stories while I work.  Perhaps then I can at least have something to write up at a later date.  I find sometimes that when I actually get to the physical writing stage, my stories fly off on a tangent, totally different from what I had originally imagined.  Sometimes this works, sometimes not.  I must be away to bed soon as the night is moving on.  Who knows which story I will dip into, and where I will travel before sleep takes over…

My First Book Signing Event

I recently attended my very first book-signing event. It took place at Waterstones bookseller in Crewe, Cheshire in the North of England. I did not know what to expect so I was faintly nervous but approached it with an open mind. I would surely sell some books, even if no one came specifically to see me. I had been publicizing it widely in local newspapers and on the Internet so I was hopeful.

As it was, I sold 6 books. This may not sound like a lot, but for an unknown author with a new book, it was pretty damn good! I am very pleased with the result, and with the whole experience in general. It has filled me with renewed vigor and hope for my second book-signing event in two weeks. The people that I met were very supportive and the bookshop staff was really helpful and accommodating.

Although I didn’t really expect my friends and family to drop everything and come and see me on their precious weekend day off, I must admit it was a little disappointing to see no familiar faces. Well, my father-in-law did turn up and he took some professional photographs (he is a photographer by trade, very useful!) to use on my websites. I did have a wonderful surprise when a great-Uncle and Aunt came to see me. I was really touched that even though they haven’t see me since I was a child, they took the time to come and show some support, and more importantly, bought some books.

When I first arrived there was a customer waiting for me, a lovely woman who supports local authors and wanted to read my book especially because of its Cornish setting. It was very amusing that every time I stood up to stretch my legs, customers would approach me to ask for assistance in the shop. Even though I wasn’t in uniform and had no name badge, apparently I looked like a member of staff! I suppose once you work in retail and customer service, you never really lose that professional, helpful stance and persona.

It was a useful learning experience. I had recently read a lot of negative stories in the media, saying that bookshops are in decline and people are no longer interested. Even in this small retail center, there were enough customers coming and going to fill me with confidence that the industry is still strong, and is still worth pursuing as a viable career. There were a lot of parents with young children, and many teenagers buying books. Not everyone has defected to the digital revolution just yet.

My First Booksigning Event is Imminent

It is a very exciting time for me. I will be visiting the Waterstones book store in Crewe, Cheshire this coming Saturday (17th September) to do a book signing event for my debut novel. I have no idea what to expect. The manager says that I will be given a table in the fantasy section, and from there I can greet my visitors (and hopefully I will receive direct visitors), and I can talk to new customers and try to sell them my book.

I am still struggling to decide what to wear. I know, I am such a girl! But it is very important. No matter how much we would like to believe differently, humans will always judge on first appearances. I want to appear professional, friendly, but I want to stand out from the crowd at the same time. I wondered whether to wear my favourite blue velvet tie-dyed dress, but decided against it since I might come across as a 'bit of a hippy.' I don't want to wear formal office wear because that just isn't natural to me. I do want to enjoy the opportunity to dress in something other than jeans and t-shirts for once. Oh well, I will ransack my wardrobe and see what there is.

Vanity aside, this will be a very interesting day. I have featured in several local newspapers recently, so hopefully people will show some support and come see me. I would like to find someone who has read my book (besides my close friends and family), and get a review from them. Which reminds me, I must assemble my personal file. I have decided to take a folder with me, displaying newspaper cuttings, book reviews, and relevant information about me as an author. Sort of like a portfolio of my work I suppose. Better check the ink levels on my printer.

I will report back next week, once the event is over. Hopefully I will be full of beans, bouncing with delight, and looking forward eagerly to my second book signing event in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent on 1st October. If the day proves to be quiet and uneventfull, it will at least be a permanent milestone on my journey as an author.

Love Hurts - Booksigning Event - Waterstones Bookseller

The Authors that shaped my Writing

A question that has popped up lately is that of the writers that have influenced me in my work. Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel) is a paranormal romance novel. Immediately I imagine many people will associate it with the recent Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. I don’t mind this association because I expect the readers of this series to move on and read my own Redcliffe novels series.

My own personal influences came from other writers, and many of them not even in the paranormal genre. When I was a young child I read Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl. Any serious child reader has to experience the joys of these authors. They are amazing! I was a huge fan of the Mallory Towers series and The Famous Five. I also read a few Secret Seven books but these were never quite as magical. But they all fired up my imagination.

And then there was Matilda, The BFG and the Witches. These were my favourite Roald Dahl books, closely followed by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach. My husband has recently started reading Matilda to our daughter for her bedtime story, and once again I sit transfixed by the story. I adore the use of language, and Quentin Blake’s illustrations just finish the book brilliantly.

As I grew older I did find my way to the paranormal genre. It started with some Penguin classic ghost stories, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and a couple of anthologies of vampire short stories. Then I discovered LJ Smith. I read the Nightworld series, and I was hooked. The books described pretty much exactly what was happening inside my head, but from an American perspective.

It was Nightworld that really fired up my imagination and put the first stirrings of Love Hurts (A Redcliffe Novel) in my head. Back then I would invent the story of a man who was a vampire, and a human woman who discovered his secret. Sometimes the heroine was the vampire. Eventually I discovered the Mason brothers and Jessica Stone, and the rest is history. In fact, I am very surprised at the way my story evolved over the years. It is as though the characters wrote it themselves and I translated.

Finally I discovered Anne Rice and her Vampire Chronicles. These books showed me that I could be controversial, and that it was acceptable to write about what was really important to me. I didn’t have to disguise my vampires behind senseless violence just so they would be accepted. And now, during the last decade, I have been reading the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K Hamilton. 

All of these amazing authors leave me with a lot to be desired. But hey, eventually they must retire, and maybe by that time I will be experienced and decent enough to take the reins in the paranormal world. A girl can dream …

Join my tribe today, and I will send you a fabulous FREE book to get you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will bite!) 

Love Hurts Surprise Book Reviews

I have been speaking to various people about my novel Love Hurts. Being a paranormal romance, it was more than likely going to fall into the category of Young Adult for audience appeal, but that was not my original intention. Indeed, the story content is very adult and I would not recommend it for anyone under the age of 18. I had intended the book for an adult market aged roughly between 18-35, although of course I would not begrudge anyone reading it.

I was greatly surprised to find that several older people have read and thoroughly enjoyed my book. Here is a classic example of my cultural and social conditioning rearing its face. I automatically assumed that any people over the age of 50 that read my book would think it far-fetched and probably ridiculous. This was not the case according to some recent word of mouth reviews I have received.

Two people in particular stand out. The first is my paternal grandfather. I have never known him to read a book that didn’t include photographs of classic cars and engines. He reads newspapers but that’s about it, and my grandmother agreed that she too had never seen him read a novel before. But he read mine, I thought just because I was his granddaughter. Actually he told me that it was really interesting, very descriptive, and he thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so that he read it within about two days!

The second surprise positive review came from the grandmother of my brother’s girlfriend. This was a review from someone who doesn’t know me, and I was really happy to be told that this lady thought my novel was really exciting. Apparently she enjoyed it, and is keen to see the sequel when I finally complete it.

After these, and several other positive word of mouth reviews, I am filled with renewed vigour for my writing. Now I have established that there is actually a whole new older audience, I cannot wait for them to read some more of my work. And my lesson for the week is to never underestimate what people are prepared to read.

Getting Down to Business

As mentioned previously, I have been so involved with networking and promoting my book recently that I have been rather lacking in actual writing. So tonight, after another busy day with the baby and various jobs, I forced myself to sit at the computer and not jump straight onto the internet.

I have actually managed to write another chapter of The Darkness of Love, and at the moment this book is drawing me back in. Marcus Scott is a hot character, I have to say, and this story is all about classic Victorian vampires. It is sultry, sexy and alive, despite the undead characters!

There is still a lot of work to do with this. Firstly I must persevere until all of the chapters are written in rough. The story has been buzzing round my head for months now, and I have to stop suppressing it. Then I can start at the beginning, read through, and amend the chapters as necessary.

Once that is completed, I will need to format it and find a publisher. Easy! 

Highway to Hell by Alex Laybourne

Heaven and Hell, Angel and Demons, these things were once considered opposites, but now you will see that they are neighbors, allies…. friends.

Marcus, Becky, Richard, Helen, Sammy and Graham. All complete strangers, different ages, backgrounds and even countries, but they all have one major thing in common…They all must DIE.

Sentenced to offer their penance in the many chambers of Hell, their lives are nothing but a torturous experience. They are brought face to face with their past, their mistakes and the implications that had for others. Until one by one they are rescued and thrown together. Waking in a dying world, they are introduced to their rescuers who do anything but conform to their angelic stereotype.

Together, bonded by an unknown destiny the group is set on their quest; to find one individual buried deep within the many Hell worlds. Not only does the fate of their world rest on their shoulders, but that of existence itself.

Writing In A Foreign Language by Alex Laybourne

I moved to the Netherlands in 2006. It wasn’t really a big adjustment for me as I had always wanted to leave England, or certainly the area I lived in, and with my mother being Dutch, and me moving to the same town she grew up in – that is another story entirely – you could say I really was moving to a home away from home.

Now, almost five years down the road I am married, with three wonderful children and have never regretted making the move. However, I have learned that being a writer in a different country certainly comes with some limitations. Let’s face it, if we boil it down, I am writing in a foreign language. Sure almost everyone in Holland speaks the language, but there is a difference between speaking and being able to read a full length novel and understand it well enough to at least feign enjoyment.

Thanks to the Internet this problem has never hindered me, and now with Kindles and e-readers galore stocking the shelves, getting my hands on an English book is not a problem. Writing and promoting one on the other hand is a different kettle of fish; from writing circles, critiques, friends to bounce ideas around with, beta readers. Ok the last one is probably stemming from my somewhat Luddite lifestyle.

It goes without saying that a large percentage of Indie author promotion is done online, hanging around the social media scene, dropping links and making your presence known on sites such as Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Authors.com and Wattpad, but there is still a lot to be said about face to face interaction and sales. Approaching local Indie bookshops and even larger stores (I have read several people saying that they approached their local Barnes and Noble for book signing sessions and have been given a place on the shelves in that particular store) and requesting some of their time and pitching a sale the old fashioned way.

Don’t get me wrong, I knew what I was getting myself into, and I accept that the majority of my sales will be via the online promotion work that I am doing. I am not afraid of hard work and am looking forward to the adventure that self-promotion is proving to be. I am not the first writer that is trying this, and I will not be the last. All Indie writers face an uphill battle for promotion, regardless of where we live.

Introducing Alex Laybourne Author

Horror writer Alex Laybourne was born in the UK but relocated to The Netherlands to be with his wife. Together they have three wonderful children who despite their young age are showing all the signs of following in their father’s creative footsteps. 

Alex’s debut novel Highway to Hell is a 96.000 word horror novel and the first in a trilogy that will take readers on a journey not just into hell, but through it.

Highway to Hell can be found on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and Amazon.de, and for all non-kindle readers via Smashwords.com for just $2.99. You can also download a free sample of the novel at all of the above sites.

Alex is always interested in making new friends both readers and writers alike. You can find him at most hours of the waking day on Twitter under the name @vanplank or on his blog www.alexlaybourne.com

 

Redcliffe and Real Life

It is so hard to leave my book alone when I want to write! I could happily sit up all night typing away, but I know that I must sleep. We have a mother and baby yoga class in the morning, then a playgroup in the afternoon. Thursday is a busy play day!

I have managed to write another chapter of my spin-off novel The Darkness of Love which tells the story of how Marcus Scott came to be a vampire. This is potentially more of a steampunk novel, but we will see. It seemed to drag for a bit, but every time I return to it I am pleasantly surprised at my work, which must be a good thing!

And I have at least written another partial chapter for the sequel to Love Hurts. Jessica is struggling with her feelings for Danny, the forbidden brother, and as the novel deepens so will the intrigue. There are more secrets to be broken, more danger to encounter, and even I am not sure what the outcome will be...

My Debut Novel Out Now

My debut novel is finally available for download. The paperback version will follow shortly, but for all those 21st century readers, check it out! This has been a labour of love for several years but has actually been written and published fairly quickly once I put my mind to it. Enjoy!

Love Hurts (The Redcliffe Pack)