So I was sitting around in bed the other night, after finishing another grueling day at my day job and feeling all kinds of sorry for myself because I felt a bit under the weather. I was a little annoyed to say the least, not wanting to waste what precious free time I actually do get, which is next to nothing at the moment; so I decided that I wanted to share with you, my thoughts on other authors' books' - to make use of any free time I get.
This is for a couple of reasons; the first is that I sincerely love to read, of course I do, I have always read books and am very passionate about reading, so to get to read many books in order to review them, well that's just a hugely exciting thing for me, as geeky as that may seem to others.
The second reason I want to review books is because as an avid book purchaser, I, like many others, tend to be encouraged/discouraged by readers' reviews; so if I can give an honest opinion about a book and it means the difference between a potential reader or someone who misses out on reading a brilliant book, then it's the least I can do for those authors' whose work has inspired, encouraged and motivated me to pursue my own dream of writing stories.
So in between writing my own books, working my day job, keeping my house running (or sort of running, sorry hubby!) and trying to keep some sort of social life afloat, i'm going to start reviewing books from today.
Now i'd love to say "I'll do one a week" but realistically speaking I know that I many not get the time to do that so I will just say that I intend to write at least a couple a month, and any more than that will be an awesome achievement for me and hopefully a benefit to you.
After endlessly scrolling through my Kindle library, procrastinating and indecisively choosing a few firm favorites, i've decided to go with 'Flight' - The Crescent Chronicles by Alyssa Rose Ivy for my first review. So watch this space...
TTFN x
Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Tuesday, 11 February 2014
Summer Rain is finally finished!
So my very first book is FINALLY finished, woo hoo! And it's been a long and at times, a difficult path.
But it's also been a massive learning curve for me too and I am pleased to say that I have accomplished something I have always dreamed of doing; publishing my very own book. High five to me!
Hopefully people will like 'Summer Rain' (link below at bottom of page) as much as I do. However, as much as I am pleased with it, I am, as with most authors, very self critical, so I am already picking fault with the story and it's only been available on Kindle for 12 hours so far....It's such a roller coaster of emotions to do something like this, to have other people read and review your work because there is always that slight possibility that you'll be told you're not good enough, that you're talentless or deluded. And that's the scariest thing in the world; not publishing a book for all the world to see, but the fact that some people will undoubtedly have negative comments. But I remain hopeful and undeterred. For now!
The barrage of feelings aside though, it's still a huge achievement for me and it's given me tons of motivation to continue writing, which I hope I can continue to improve upon with the more experience I gain and the more books I write. I am already thinking of a spin off from Summer Rain, which I had originally planned as being a one off. So watch this space for Taylor and Johnny's story...
My next project is a story called 'Who Am I?' which is centred around a girl called Nora Kensington who wakes up from a coma she's been in for 6 months to find that she doesn't know who she is. She is immediately thrust into a life of riches beyond her wildest dreams, a life that she apparently lived all too comfortably prior to her 'accident' but she doesn't feel as though she belongs anymore. Especially not with a suspicious ex-boyfriend hanging around who gives her a really bad feeling. And then there's the dreams she keeps having, of the vaguely familiar sinister voice, chasing her relentlessly, as she flees for her life.Will she ever regain her lost memories? And find out what really happened the day of her accident?
I'm hoping to have the book finished by Spring 2014, all being well, but in the meantime here's a little exert...
But it's also been a massive learning curve for me too and I am pleased to say that I have accomplished something I have always dreamed of doing; publishing my very own book. High five to me!
Hopefully people will like 'Summer Rain' (link below at bottom of page) as much as I do. However, as much as I am pleased with it, I am, as with most authors, very self critical, so I am already picking fault with the story and it's only been available on Kindle for 12 hours so far....It's such a roller coaster of emotions to do something like this, to have other people read and review your work because there is always that slight possibility that you'll be told you're not good enough, that you're talentless or deluded. And that's the scariest thing in the world; not publishing a book for all the world to see, but the fact that some people will undoubtedly have negative comments. But I remain hopeful and undeterred. For now!
The barrage of feelings aside though, it's still a huge achievement for me and it's given me tons of motivation to continue writing, which I hope I can continue to improve upon with the more experience I gain and the more books I write. I am already thinking of a spin off from Summer Rain, which I had originally planned as being a one off. So watch this space for Taylor and Johnny's story...
My next project is a story called 'Who Am I?' which is centred around a girl called Nora Kensington who wakes up from a coma she's been in for 6 months to find that she doesn't know who she is. She is immediately thrust into a life of riches beyond her wildest dreams, a life that she apparently lived all too comfortably prior to her 'accident' but she doesn't feel as though she belongs anymore. Especially not with a suspicious ex-boyfriend hanging around who gives her a really bad feeling. And then there's the dreams she keeps having, of the vaguely familiar sinister voice, chasing her relentlessly, as she flees for her life.Will she ever regain her lost memories? And find out what really happened the day of her accident?
I'm hoping to have the book finished by Spring 2014, all being well, but in the meantime here's a little exert...
My hair flows wildly
behind me as the wind blows through it relentlessly; my hands running freely
through the long blades of grass as I run through the fields towards the old
and beaten barn in the near distance.
Behind me I can
distinctly hear the sound of children’s laughter, high pitched and happy; and
my heart warms automatically at the thought of the delight on their faces as
they play happily.
"Nora….”
A voice calls to me
from somewhere, but I can’t see anyone as I look around at my strange
surroundings.
“Nora…”
I instantly know the
voice is coming from the barn, so I carry on running towards it curiously.
A figure abruptly
emerges in front of me, startling me at first. It’s a boy, or a man maybe, with
the most beautiful smile I have ever seen. But before I can get nearer to him,
he disappears before my eyes. And I feel bereft, lost, alone.
“Norrrrrraaaaa…”
The voice sounds
different now, it’s somehow taken on a sinister tone; whereas before it felt
serene and inviting, now it feels wrong, wicked even; and I feel as though I
must flee from it.
“Norrrrrrrraaaa….”
My heart beats faster
as fear pumps adrenaline through my body at a hundred miles per hour. I don’t
know why but I feel it’s imperative to get away from that voice; I think my life might depend on it.
“You can’t run from me
Nora…” the voice says, causing an ache in my chest akin to what I think a heart
attack must feel like.
I am shaking with fear
now, knowing that I can’t escape it, when all of a sudden my pounding heart
stops.
I drop to the floor,
short of breath and gasping for air, my vision begins to fail. As I begin to
lose consciousness a sudden and terrifying jolt hits me in the chest, causing
me to convulse momentarily as electricity charges through every part of me.
And just like that, I
black out.
Hopefully you're intrigued? Me too! I almost wish I could find out what happens right now...
TTFN x
Saturday, 8 February 2014
It's almost time....
I genuinely cannot believe that it's been so long since I last wrote on my blog..... And that it's been over six months since I had originally said I wanted to publish my first book. Time really does fly!
So due to this and that and other just as lame excuses I have now only just finished my first book! And i'm about to upload it onto Kindle today, the thought of which completely terrifies me. But in the same light I am thrilled and ridiculously proud of myself. I may not be the best author in the world (yet...) but I am beyond ecstatic that I can actually call myself an author now.
In the last year, maybe more, I have learnt a lot about the kind of writer I am and the kind of writer I want to be. I like to think that along the way i've learnt from various mistakes i've made in writing this book, and that i've also learned how to deal with the self-doubt that often plagues even the most talented and gifted authors. So i'm hoping, above anything, that this journey has developed my abilities enough that it won't take me anywhere near as long to write my next book.....
So there it is, just a short note just to check in and now I must get on with something rather important on kindle!
Bye for now.
So due to this and that and other just as lame excuses I have now only just finished my first book! And i'm about to upload it onto Kindle today, the thought of which completely terrifies me. But in the same light I am thrilled and ridiculously proud of myself. I may not be the best author in the world (yet...) but I am beyond ecstatic that I can actually call myself an author now.
In the last year, maybe more, I have learnt a lot about the kind of writer I am and the kind of writer I want to be. I like to think that along the way i've learnt from various mistakes i've made in writing this book, and that i've also learned how to deal with the self-doubt that often plagues even the most talented and gifted authors. So i'm hoping, above anything, that this journey has developed my abilities enough that it won't take me anywhere near as long to write my next book.....
So there it is, just a short note just to check in and now I must get on with something rather important on kindle!
Bye for now.
Saturday, 22 June 2013
So i've had an interesting week this week in terms of the book. A few cold, hard realizations have occurred which will most definitely delay the date when I said I originally wanted the book to be published.
And here are the reasons why....
I think there are two different kinds of authors; ones who plan everything right down to the last detail before even writing the first scene of the story; and the others who just start typing with nothing but a general idea of what they want to happen.
I thought I was the latter, having written nearly my entire book on nothing but my spontaneous imagination. Then I came to the last few chapters and hit an immovable wall. And I can't for the life of me figure out how to get my characters to where I want them to be in just those few little chapters. It's incredibly frustrating when normally words come so easy to me.
So the last few weeks i've been relentlessly going back to edit my work and have yet again hit a wall with even the beginning chapters, which originally I was super pleased with and was convinced they needed no changes at all.
That was when I realised that there is so much important stuff missing from the story, things I didn't even realise at first would make that much of a difference but now I am positive they do.
I think the story itself is still a brilliant concept and i'm also happy with my scenes and settings BUT my characters are lacking depth and therefore run the risk of readers not relating to or rooting for them. Small things like little traits or habits which help make a person who they are, make a character seem more real, are all but none existent and I do get the feeling that one of my main characters is also a little too much on the depressive side, or at least her back story is too present (and the back story is depressive) which is overshadowing the story itself.
Hmmmm....it's a tricky one to rectify when i've already written most of the book but I think perhaps I may need to take a step back from the actual story writing and do some character back story planning before I continue editing my work.
I've also struggled a little with the passage of time throughout the story. It's difficult when writing from two characters view points, to move the story forward at an agreeable pace because each time I swap which character is speaking, they refer to the same situation that has just happened, to give the reader a look at how each of them views the same situation in a different way. So it's hard to progress the story in that way when I want the story to be spanned over the course of one year, it may end up being a hundred chapters long!
I hope it's not just me, and that all authors struggle in this way too. Being a writer is a solitary job and is also nail bitingly nerve wracking; you might write a chapter you think is some of your best work and then read it two weeks later and think it's rubbish because when you write you are essentially putting your heart and soul into the book, and the thought of other people reading it and not liking it is debilitating to your self esteem and confidence. As someone who is naturally a bit of a perfectionist as well, my need to make this book 100% perfect is a contributing factor to the small part of me that just wants to give up; because I feel like nothing is good enough. Does anyone else ever feel this way with the things they do?
Though I am unhappy with some of the book as it is I am by no means deterred from finishing it. This is my first novel and I knew when I started it that it wouldn't be easy. Having a good imagination is really only the start, anyone could have a good imagination, it's putting that imaginative ideas you have into writing that is the really challenging aspect of story writing. But I know that the challenges along the way will just make it all the more satisfying when I do finish it and see it published.....and hopefully get some good feedback for it too!
So for now i'm getting back to it, and hopefully my characters will tell me a little more about themselves.....
......and in case you were wondering (which i know you will be because it's ace!!) my background is one of the designs for my book cover, courtesy of Patrick Crosby of Patrick Crosby Designs (see my previous post for further information).
And here are the reasons why....
I think there are two different kinds of authors; ones who plan everything right down to the last detail before even writing the first scene of the story; and the others who just start typing with nothing but a general idea of what they want to happen.
I thought I was the latter, having written nearly my entire book on nothing but my spontaneous imagination. Then I came to the last few chapters and hit an immovable wall. And I can't for the life of me figure out how to get my characters to where I want them to be in just those few little chapters. It's incredibly frustrating when normally words come so easy to me.
So the last few weeks i've been relentlessly going back to edit my work and have yet again hit a wall with even the beginning chapters, which originally I was super pleased with and was convinced they needed no changes at all.
That was when I realised that there is so much important stuff missing from the story, things I didn't even realise at first would make that much of a difference but now I am positive they do.
I think the story itself is still a brilliant concept and i'm also happy with my scenes and settings BUT my characters are lacking depth and therefore run the risk of readers not relating to or rooting for them. Small things like little traits or habits which help make a person who they are, make a character seem more real, are all but none existent and I do get the feeling that one of my main characters is also a little too much on the depressive side, or at least her back story is too present (and the back story is depressive) which is overshadowing the story itself.
Hmmmm....it's a tricky one to rectify when i've already written most of the book but I think perhaps I may need to take a step back from the actual story writing and do some character back story planning before I continue editing my work.
I've also struggled a little with the passage of time throughout the story. It's difficult when writing from two characters view points, to move the story forward at an agreeable pace because each time I swap which character is speaking, they refer to the same situation that has just happened, to give the reader a look at how each of them views the same situation in a different way. So it's hard to progress the story in that way when I want the story to be spanned over the course of one year, it may end up being a hundred chapters long!
I hope it's not just me, and that all authors struggle in this way too. Being a writer is a solitary job and is also nail bitingly nerve wracking; you might write a chapter you think is some of your best work and then read it two weeks later and think it's rubbish because when you write you are essentially putting your heart and soul into the book, and the thought of other people reading it and not liking it is debilitating to your self esteem and confidence. As someone who is naturally a bit of a perfectionist as well, my need to make this book 100% perfect is a contributing factor to the small part of me that just wants to give up; because I feel like nothing is good enough. Does anyone else ever feel this way with the things they do?
Though I am unhappy with some of the book as it is I am by no means deterred from finishing it. This is my first novel and I knew when I started it that it wouldn't be easy. Having a good imagination is really only the start, anyone could have a good imagination, it's putting that imaginative ideas you have into writing that is the really challenging aspect of story writing. But I know that the challenges along the way will just make it all the more satisfying when I do finish it and see it published.....and hopefully get some good feedback for it too!
So for now i'm getting back to it, and hopefully my characters will tell me a little more about themselves.....
......and in case you were wondering (which i know you will be because it's ace!!) my background is one of the designs for my book cover, courtesy of Patrick Crosby of Patrick Crosby Designs (see my previous post for further information).
Sunday, 16 June 2013
Book extract...
So excited to share with you a small extract from my book. Since the book isn't technically finished yet any extracts i post on here may be subject to change but my story will persevere so any changes will most likely be the wording i've used.
I wanted to share the books prologue; this a is a new piece i've only recently added in to the story to introduce my male lead character, Ariel, because although the story is based on a young adult female called, Evelyn, because Ariel is her guardian angel i suppose you could say that the story is as much about him as it is about her in some ways.
I would love it if you could share this page with anyone you think might like my writing and i'd love to hear any comments you might have.
Hope you enjoy.....
I wanted to share the books prologue; this a is a new piece i've only recently added in to the story to introduce my male lead character, Ariel, because although the story is based on a young adult female called, Evelyn, because Ariel is her guardian angel i suppose you could say that the story is as much about him as it is about her in some ways.
I would love it if you could share this page with anyone you think might like my writing and i'd love to hear any comments you might have.
Hope you enjoy.....
Ariel
I
waited patiently for her to return
home, sitting unmoving in the white wicker chair in the corner of her room whilst
my heart pounded erratically, the way it always did until she returned home
safe and sound.
It had become almost a
nightly ritual for me to be there, waiting, just to make sure she was okay. How
things had changed since I started this mission over seventeen years ago.
I hadn’t particularly cared
about the missions I was given back then; the only reason I’d joined the
brotherhood was with the intent to kill demons; and as a result I’d resented any
missions involving humans. Not because I didn’t like humans, I thought they
were an enviable race is some ways, but all I’d ever wanted was to help waste the
demon scum who walked the earth and being a humans body guard wasn’t exactly
fulfilling in the same way as sending a demon back to hell.
Being an angel, or a
seraph to be more precise, you didn’t get many career choices. It was
compulsory within our race to do one of two things when you came of age. The
first choice wasn’t one to be taken lightly, joining the high council; which I’d
never wanted to do. The elders on the council made decisions for all of mankind;
and that seemed like too big a burden to bear. The second career option was one
many, lesser angels shied away from, joining the brotherhood; a fellowship of heavens’
almightiest angels, an army trained to protect and serve for the greater good.
And that was me, my calling; I was one of the strongest of my kind, so it
seemed like a given that I should join, using my abilities to ensure the
survival of mankind and my own race.
Technically there was a
third option but it wasn’t one I had ever contemplated. Some angels chose to
live like lemmings, as I liked to call them; who just wanted to live
peacefully, no excitement, no action, and no life at all. That choice was the
one I feared the most, having no purpose, leading an altogether boring
existence; eternity was a long time to just exist without actually living.
Compulsory career
choices aside, there was one other less revered choice which I may have
considered for the smallest moment. The rebels of our kind, fallen angels who
were outcast for breaking our laws or those who chose to leave of their own
free will, if you can call it that; they left our world, abandoning their race
and forsaking their purpose. Despite the fact that the fallen were exiled from
heaven, they were the ones I envied the most. They had their freedom.
I couldn’t deny that
for most of Evelyn Grey’s life I’d been absent; I couldn’t feign interest in
watching over a child playing with her dolls when I’d wanted to be out hunting
all the things that go bump in the night! At times I suppose you could say I’d
been resentful about it; human missions had always seemed so stagnant to me and
a waste of my abilities. My friend and second in command, Temperance, tried
over the years to get me to take an interest in the mission but what did I care
about some human girl who as far as I could tell was just that, human?
But things changed
unexpectedly when Temperance told me that the reapers, death angels, where
coming for Evelyn’s parents; I couldn’t deny my intrigue. Although I was a lieutenant
in the brotherhood, I was still too low in rank to be told anything of
importance and that meant I had no idea why we’d been sent to earth to watch
over her. Part of me wondered if reapers taking her parents had anything to do
with who she really was, so I stuck around more, hoping to find out.
Ever since then I’d
watched her closely. What once was a genuine vague interest in finding out what
she was, had turned into a startling fascination, an unwanted attachment to her
which I struggled to control. Since her parents’ death Evelyn had demonstrated
such strong will; something most humans don’t have. She carried on with life
even through the pain of loss I knew she felt; she went to school; she went to
work; and she even continued to date that all too perfect kid she’d known since
childhood; like any other normal girl her age. And even though she fell, broken
beyond words, at the end of every day, she still got up each morning and carried
on. She was one of the strongest humans I had ever known.
I sensed something within
Evelyn, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on about who she really was and
why I’d been sent to protect her and so I suppose part of me wanted to be there
for the sole purpose of finding that out but deep down I knew the other part
of me wanted to stick around just to see her every day; her captivating looks
were almost unearthly and I could see those green eyes vividly whenever I closed
my eyes. Her presence both soothed and calmed me and I was drawn to her in ways
I couldn’t explain. But I couldn’t go there, she was human and such things were
forbidden to our kind; I was her protector, her guardian angel and that’s all
it could ever be.
I hope you're all intrigued into reading more of the story now! I might post another chapter later on this week....but for now i must get back to it, enjoy the rest of your Sunday whatever you're doing.
Lindsay
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
...a day in the life of an aspiring author
I am a little ashamed that this is only my second blog since i created this account as when i first joined e-blogger i had all of these good intentions of blogging all the time; but i admit that i am struggling to find any free time at the moment to do anything other than finishing my book!
Since i do work like most people do, there are just not enough hours in the day to get done what i need to do. Holding down a 9 to 5 job and then coming home to cook a meal and then spend two to three hours writing is exhausting to say the least and i admire anyone who can do that. But i especially admire my lovely husband, who supports me constantly with the hours i spend locked away hunched painfully over a laptop; i know it isn't easy for him and i am very lucky to be married to someone who accepts that an author tends to lead a very solitary existence because writing stories doesn't happen over night, it takes many many many hours of work, silence and most definitely mood swings! It's a challenging existence and yet i persevere because i know it will be rewarding in the end...if i don't collapse in an exhausted heap before then......
Anyway I wanted to use this post as an opportunity to talk about a friend of mine which i am sure he won't mind me doing since it's free advertising for him...
He's someone i met through work (my actual day job, the one which pays the bills....sort of...) and he is an extremely talented person.
Definitely one of those 'trendy cool types', Patrick is an aspiring designer who agreed to design the front cover for my first book. And obviously as with anything where you know someone who could help you out with a project it's always a risk as there is always a slight chance that it won't turn out the way you want it to and so ensues horrible awkwardness and feelings of resentment.
However....that has absolutely not been the case in this instance, everything i have asked for, any ideas i have put forward and any little changes i wanted to make regarding my book cover have been done and then some! I am thrilled with it and i hope that it helps give some well deserved recognition to the designer himself.
People with such a natural talent and flair for creative design who are also very laid back and modest, are a rarity and i am fortunate to now be working with Patrick on the cover for my book and hopefully the books that will follow.
When my cover is finalized i'll post a picture and you'll see what i mean but for now, for anyone with design needs, just visit Patrick's portfolio to view his work at patrickcrosbydesign.com follow him on twitter @pcrosbydesign or email for enquiries to patrick@patrickcrosbydesign.com
Oh and Patrick....you owe me money for the 'free advertising....'
Take care all x
Since i do work like most people do, there are just not enough hours in the day to get done what i need to do. Holding down a 9 to 5 job and then coming home to cook a meal and then spend two to three hours writing is exhausting to say the least and i admire anyone who can do that. But i especially admire my lovely husband, who supports me constantly with the hours i spend locked away hunched painfully over a laptop; i know it isn't easy for him and i am very lucky to be married to someone who accepts that an author tends to lead a very solitary existence because writing stories doesn't happen over night, it takes many many many hours of work, silence and most definitely mood swings! It's a challenging existence and yet i persevere because i know it will be rewarding in the end...if i don't collapse in an exhausted heap before then......
Anyway I wanted to use this post as an opportunity to talk about a friend of mine which i am sure he won't mind me doing since it's free advertising for him...
He's someone i met through work (my actual day job, the one which pays the bills....sort of...) and he is an extremely talented person.
Definitely one of those 'trendy cool types', Patrick is an aspiring designer who agreed to design the front cover for my first book. And obviously as with anything where you know someone who could help you out with a project it's always a risk as there is always a slight chance that it won't turn out the way you want it to and so ensues horrible awkwardness and feelings of resentment.
However....that has absolutely not been the case in this instance, everything i have asked for, any ideas i have put forward and any little changes i wanted to make regarding my book cover have been done and then some! I am thrilled with it and i hope that it helps give some well deserved recognition to the designer himself.
People with such a natural talent and flair for creative design who are also very laid back and modest, are a rarity and i am fortunate to now be working with Patrick on the cover for my book and hopefully the books that will follow.
When my cover is finalized i'll post a picture and you'll see what i mean but for now, for anyone with design needs, just visit Patrick's portfolio to view his work at patrickcrosbydesign.com follow him on twitter @pcrosbydesign or email for enquiries to patrick@patrickcrosbydesign.com
Oh and Patrick....you owe me money for the 'free advertising....'
Take care all x
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