Damsel in a Dirty Dress

A need for solitude - to embrace the darkness

2012-02-17T15:38:00.001+13:00

An ominous title, no? *grin* Nobody panic! Nothing awful has happened in 'real' life but I've decided that to write the horrible dark scenes in Feel the Burn, I need absolute solitude. Solitude where things such as my lovely partner, the internet, TV etc etc aren't there to distract me.

So me and my furry critter Sable (known to readers of the BirthRight Trilogy as Audrey) are going bush for a couple of nights. To the cabin my family has in a forest park not too far from our home. And by that I mean a half hour drive and then a two hour tramp (hike, for those in the US ;p) to the cabin. But it will be worth it!
I have my laptop all charged so that should give me 5-6 hours of writing time. No, there is no electricity OR cell phone coverage at the cabin. And I'm not about to hike up the mountain our cabin is near just to do a bit of internet surfing *grin* I'm pretty sure a two hour hike straight up would put anyone off that!
Glenn will stay at home and be terrorized by our demanding cat, Griffin. And by that I mean she'll take absolute delight in insisting on being let in so she can eat two bites of food and then demand to be let out the back door. Then she'll wait on the picnic table so that when he goes toilet she can 'yowl' anxiously, right outside the bathroom window, until he scrambles off to let her in again. At which point she'll regard the now open sliding door suspiciously and saunter off to scratch one of the posts on the deck while Glenn splutters and curses her. Then, once he's done, she'll come cozying up, purring furiously around his legs and when he bends to pat her, dart off like he's the grim reaper.
*hee* Oh I love that cat!
And while Griffin is showcasing exactly how well trained she has her human, I'll be (hopefully) bawling my eyes out and typing. All the while hoping like hell that no intrepid trekker comes across the cabin. I really need to immerse myself in the characters as fully as possible for the current part of Feel the Burn and that means crying/yelling/fury/stomping and I'll probably scare any wanna-be axe murderers far, far away (oh yeah, and you think YOU'RE crazy - you ain't seen nuttin yet!).

*sigh* But it will all be worth it. I just need to get to certain plot points and then I'll be able to relax the awful tension a bit and I can't wait to get there! We have our Aussie trip on the 1st of March and I'd really like to be past these current plot points by then as they really don't equal the laid back holiday mood I intend on adopting once we're on the plane.
Work hard, play hard!

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

Characters of the BirthRight Trilogy - Introducing Alek

2012-02-13T19:18:00.002+13:00

Alek is the head of the Griffon Guard at just twenty five years old. It wasn't a role that was simply handed to him and he's proved his worth several times over, even as the youngest of the Guard. Life on Gar'nyse can be hard and Alek began training as part of the Griffon Guard when he was just ten years old, when he first linked with Loushka; a gorgeous tan griffon with red undertones in her mane and wings. Alek was made head of the Griffon Guard when he was twenty three, after he made a dramatic rescue of other members of the Guard from an exceptionally volatile situation. While neither a straight up good/bad boy, Alek does have a strong sense of honor and justice. But his training and personality makes him far from a pushover and he isn't afraid to offend people when necessary. While he can be quite diplomatic, as his role requires, he won't hesitate to act on instinct.

At 6'3 tall with a broad, strong figure he stands out in a crowd and his handsome face with striking dark blue eyes and black hair, makes most women he meets go rather fluttery ;p He is aware of it and was a bit of a player for a few years there, happily catching up with 'friends' in different towns. Alek's heritage has always meant he's expected to make an arranged marriage—but as many of you know, a certain red-head throws a spanner into those plans.

A bit of a loner in life, Alek's close friends are those of the Griffon Guard and Loushka. He is of course well known and liked through out Elion but enjoys his solitude and makes the most of escaping to a cabin in the mountains when he has time.

I haven't yet found one actor I want absolutely to play Alek and the best I can do is show a selection of those who have a similar look to him. Currently the selection is:

Tom Welling

Chris Hemsworth (I photo shopped the hair/eyes ;p)

Chase Crawford (a bit too boyish for my liking, but hey! By the time this gets turned into a movie he may have improved ;p)

Chris Pine (this guy got Glenn's approval cause he was Capt. Kirk—he's growling at all the other suggestions ;p)

Tell me your thoughts or suggestions *grin* I'd love to hear them!

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

Explaining - why I blame Disney - and Disney Porn (seriously!)

2012-02-11T22:48:00.001+13:00

As some of you will know I practice German long sword fighting, originally so to understand it better and now just cause it's damn good fun! After my first few lessons I confessed to the instructor my actual reasons for taking his classes (research!) and he in turn decided to read my book. The lesson after he read it we naturally discussed it. There were a few amusing points he'd had opinions on and then one which surprised me.

Colin: 'I thought women didn't like 'big' guys?'

Me: 'Eh?'

Colin: 'Well the guys in your book, they're all big with muscles.'

Me: '…come again??'

Colin: 'Well, I got told that women didn't like that.'

Yeah, as you can well tell—not in my world! But it occurred to me last night, while watching Pocahontas, that I really have to blame Disney for my preference of muscular guys with strong jaws and nice big biceps…. And yes I'm drooling ;p

Can you think of any scrawny Disney guy leads? I can't. And a life time of loving Disney movies has now left me with this very obvious preference. Perhaps I have to blame it too, for preferring black hair to blonde (which amuses my blonde haired, glacial eyed partner to no end ;p). Wow, the more I think about it the more conclusions I can draw *grin* but enough of that boring stuff - here's some eye candy, Disney style!

..Okay, I'm totally ROTFLMAO! But how awesome are these *chortle*

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

I blame disney

2012-02-10T21:55:00.000+13:00

But I'm too tired at the moment to explain ;p I'll go into my thoughts tomorrow. For now, the wonderful world of LOL cats in Disney theme! Happy Friday :)

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

Piracy

2012-02-10T19:54:00.000+13:00

It's apparently a common issue for many Indie authors or ebook authors in general now. And I've just discovered both my books on a couple of torrent sites. Part of me is flattered that people think my books are good enough to go to this trouble for and the other part of me is just pissed off. My first book is already free pretty much everywhere on the internet. My second is all of $3.00 US which for a full length novel is damn cheap. I've reported the links to the site owners and whether or not they do anything remains to be seen but I am going to say this.

The Arrival took 18 months of my life to write. Most of the characters are based on people I genuinely know and adore in real life. It took an IMMENSE amount of work to create the world, Gar'nyse, and an immense amount of work to get the story to where I wanted it.

Awakening was 12 intense months of work. Again an enormous amount of my free time because being an ebook author doesn't pay well, not in the beginning that's for sure! Hell, if I get on the top 100 on Amazon and stay there for a year or so, maybe then I'll be able to quit my 9-5 job and take up writing full time. But until then, I'm a full time receptionist who's working her arse off in her free time, moonlighting as a novelist.

I began writing The Arrival because I LOVE the story, not because I expect to be a millionaire (hence buying lotto this week ;p), but at the same time I don't open myself up to ridicule from readers/reviewers just for the hell of it. I published The Arrival because I thought others might enjoy it, and then I made it free because I wanted people to have an obligation free way of seeing whether or not they enjoy it. Charging for Awakening is a way for readers to essentially say they enjoy my story that much that they're willing to pay a fee (however small) for my hard work. And I am grateful for every single purchase. Because it means that person is a fan of the story and essentially me and mine. Unless you know me, or meet me, most of you won't realize how very personal this story is to me. Yes the setting is fantastical but the ideas and characters behind it are based on reality a fair whack of the time.

Please do the right thing by hard working indie authors such as myself, and take the time to purchase our works. You wouldn't steal from me in the street, why do it online?

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

Characters from the Trilogy - introducing Laura

2012-02-06T20:49:00.001+13:00

Laura

Laura, also known as Loi, is the youngest of the four friends at just 21, (Sian is 24, Cat, 25 and Kass, 27) but with being the tallest of the bunch at 5'8 she doesn't appear it. Loi has beautiful thick glossy black hair that reaches her waist. It's the first thing people notice before being caught by her large brown doe-like eyes. As the youngest in a family with three older brothers, Loi has always been a bit of a tomboy. For years she was the gawky girl in her class, over tall and all eyes, so she often forgets how she looks. Loi is a very confident equestrian, thanks to her parents owning a ranch when she lived in Scotland, and having only lived in New Zealand for four years, she misses the ranch lifestyle. Occasionally quiet and moody, Loi has eclectic music and reading tastes and like the others, loves to be amongst a crowd but also needs her solitude time. A big lover of animals, Loi loves to cuddle and play with Lucky and Audi as the apartment building she lives in doesn't allow pets. Loi, like the others, is a black belt in jujitsu and also practices Kenjutsu. While the other girls don't ever make anything of her age, Loi is aware of being the youngest and often won't speak up until she's certain of her point of view. She is a quiet thinker and is good at wearing a 'mask' so others can't read her. She's absolutely loyal to her friends and will support them unhesitatingly.

Who could potentially play Loi in a film

Analeigh Tipton would be perfect! If you haven't seen 'Crazy stupid love' yet, you should watch it, she is just how I imagined Loi (obviously with adjustments to her hair/eye colour ;p)

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

It's nearly the end of the month

2012-01-30T20:04:00.000+13:00

And I thought it might be amusing to do a blog post on the most random searches people have made this month, to reach my blog. I've decided the basic rules for this is that they have to have spent some time looking at the blog once they've found it. So here are the top 20 random search requests that have led people to my blog. And the spelling/phrasing is exactly as searched.

I feel sick
Archery pin up
cartwheel
Centaur fantasy
Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries
cute kitten paw prents templates
dark and die
dog puncture abscess
drawings sailor moon step step
dyslexia damsel
extremely risque dress photos
funny birthday animal pictures (this person spent 29+ minutes on my blog!)
funny fat redhead babies
i love people but i hate humans (I wonder if this is the same person as the next…)
get the fuck out of my gene pool (this person, apparently, is a little angry…)
lyrics what's the 411 hun the jeans fit her like a glove (seriously - how on earth did this get them to my blog??!)
naked masquerade (you would have thought they'd be rather disappointed, but they spent 5+ minutes pottering around the blog)
nike goddess tripping
you will poke me for the last time
картинки глубокая вода (and yeah, I have no idea what that says either…)

I have to say, it's fascinating to see what leads people to you! Of course there were lots of obvious searches (for the books etc) but these where the most random of the bunch ;p If you don't have google analytics set up to track your blog, you might want to consider it. It gives you a good idea of whether or not people are finding the stuff you want them to find. For example, I'm thinking I may need to set up a page explaining about downloading Awakening from this blog for those that have epub ereaders (Nook, Ipad, Sony ereaders) as it appears to be a very common request. I also can see what percentage of newbies are hopping on my blog and how long they're spending on it (even what pages they're looking at). It's a very useful tool. So that's my blogging tip for the week *grin* Do you have a blogging tip to share? Let me know in the comments!

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or download the Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

Characters from the Trilogy - introducing Kassandra

2012-01-30T07:26:00.000+13:00

Kassandra

Known as Kassie or Kass to her friends, Kassie is the absolute sweetheart of the group. Always ready to hug and comfort a friend and always ready to deal to any evil males who may have broken their hearts! Her favorite prescription is chocolate—and in her humble opinion, it cures everything. Kassie has an unusual accent thanks to her Malay mother and American father and living in New Zealand for five years. She also tends to speak rather fast—her friends don't even notice now but people new to meeting Kassie often end up nodding along with her smiles and obvious enthusiasm but understand nothing of what she said. It amuses her friends to no end. Kassie is a real tough nut. She often doesn't appear it, but when push comes to shove—don't get in her way! Just five foot like Sian, Kassie has a rather generous bust and it can make her appear a little top heavy. She tends to play down her bust for convenience sake most the time. She has pretty hazel eyes and crazy curly bronze hair that goes frizzy in the wrong weather and it never does as she wants it to, so most the time she just leaves it as is. Kassie loves to read and buying books means she has little left from her pay (but in her mind, she doesn't need to eat that much ;p). She also loves getting outdoors and often joins Cat on the excursions to the cabin. Kassie has a beautiful tortoiseshell cat called Lucky. Lucky has a sprightly/naughty personality and seems to delight in perplexing her mistress. From stealing random objects; to dashing out the back door and demanding to be let in at the front door moments later; to pushing things off shelves/tables for fun, Lucky keeps Kassie busy!

Who could potentially play Kass in a film

Mila Kunis

Natalie Portman (at my friend Sandra's—who inspired Kassie—personal request)

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

Super cute review on a super cute blog!

2012-01-28T11:56:00.000+13:00

I just got a gorgeous wee review from Di on the Sweet Tea & Book Reviews blog. Pop over and have a look if you like! I'm also combining this with my Friday Funnies (even though it's Sat now in NZ ;p) so have a read and a giggle if you like. This weeks theme is trolls!

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

Characters from the Trilogy - introducing Sian

2012-01-24T19:55:00.000+13:00

Meet Sian

Sian is tiny and utterly adorable, but don't let that fool you! Butter wouldn't melt in this one's mouth. Sian is a Cancer and can be quite the ice queen when she wants to be. Her close friends, however, can see straight through the act but Sian absolutely believes she is ruthless. A scant five feet and a tiny size 2, she's very proud of having some 'junk in the trunk' and nice hips as unfortunately (in her mind—everyone else thinks she looks perfect the way she is) Mother Nature missed her bust. With blond hair and big blue eyes to boot, Sian has been rebelling against the 'doll/fairy' label from a young age and refuses to wear pink because of it (Ada's dress is her ONLY exception ;p). Not surprisingly she went through a Goth stage as a teen and delighted in black lipstick/nail polish and a semi permanent scowl. Now, however, as an adult she can see all the advantages her tinsy stature offers and delights in playing them up. Like the other girls, Sian is a black belt in ju-jitsu and never shy's away from an opportunity to best someone in training or real life. She also does archery and is an excellent marksman. Sian loves to sew and cook and absorbs information like a sponge. Her friends often use her as their walking reference manual. She is very organized and never one to panic under pressure.

Who could potentially play Sian in a film

Ideally - Sarah Michelle Gellar would be perfect!

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

Watching Julie & Julia

2012-01-22T21:40:00.000+13:00

I meant to put something vaguely entertaining on the computer while I worked on the draft for book three. But then I put Julie & Julia on. It's a film I adore—I love any films about beautiful food/houses/gardens/clothes but it's really not a background film. I should have put Marie Antoinette on... Anyway the film has me laughing with how both Julie and Julia are absolutely clueless in regards to how book publishing works. Listening as Julie moans how she has a novel hidden away because no one wants to publish it. But now of course you can. Just stick it into the appropriate web site and voila! Published.

As strange as it may sound (to some of you) having two novels out in the big wide world doesn't seem as exciting as it should at times. Technically speaking, both novels are doing as well as many other traditionally published novels do. Better in fact.

In some part, I think it's due to most of the people I converse with on blogs/facebook and even my friends, are writers—of one sort or another. It kind of feels like everyone's doing this from my POV. It surprises me when people are so surprised at what I'm doing.

I didn't really think about it until my friend Chelsea—who inspired the character Leseach—in the midst of putting dates in her new calendar for the year made me realise I'm 30 this year (July 30 to be exact ;p) and she commented,

'It's really awesome that you're turning thirty and already have two novels to your name.'

It kind of stunned me. Yes, partly because I'm still pretty convinced I'm just twenty five but mainly because of the way she said 'novel'.

It brought me straight back to being a thirteen year old, with just enough pocket money to buy one new book. At that stage, I loved The Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High. My mum wasn't so thrilled with me reading Sweet Valley High (she didn't think it was age appropriate ;p) but as I'd been reading above my age since I was eight she couldn't complain too much.

I remember the absolute joy I felt at walking into the bookstore. The gorgeous smell of new books wafting around me and all those glorious, glossy, beautiful new covers. Touching those crisp, stiff pages and being SO careful not to bend the spines. Even now, even my very favourite books that have been read hundreds of times (yes really! I'm a speed reader) look almost new.

Then after hours of consideration (if I was lucky—it pays to have a mum who loves to read too) I would choose the book, pay for it and take it home. Then I'd promptly resent my parents (yeah, after spending the pocket money they gave me.. teenager ;p) as they asked me to do some task that prevented me from curling up with my new, precious, purchase.

And when I finally got to reading it! Oh, the pages would just fly and before I knew it, the last page and final words would be done. I'd sit there, with a sense of absolute satisfaction at the read and then intense gratitude to the author who'd just provided me with the couple of hours entertainment. I would marvel at how a person could put together strings of words into another world and allow me, the reader, to experience it all. The mere concept of attempting such a task was beyond daunting to me.

So now, to have a friend, a very honest friend mind you—one who warned me that if she didn't like my first book she'd tell me rather bluntly—point out to me that I'd done the same to her with my two books (and this from a girl who HATES fantasy novels *lol*), just stunned me actually.

Sometimes I really need to take my own advice and be excited about what I've done and am doing. I keep setting the bar higher and higher and forgetting the original goals. The first goal was simple, to write a novel. The next was to self-publish it and then the next goal was to have at least one reader who genuinely loved it. I've reached all those goals and while I don't want to 'distract' myself with ego, I should, at some point, feel genuinely excited about my writing.

It's weird, as I type this I get the flutter of tiny, excited butterflies and yet at the same time the rational voice in my mind is firmly stomping them back into place.

Not yet, it says. Not until you've reached the next goal.

*Sigh*

One day I'll be excited...

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

Help for the novice Indie author

2012-01-22T18:39:00.000+13:00

As someone who's been there and done that (and still doing that ;p) I'm aware that there never seems to be enough info out there for indies. So my newest page on this blog is essentially the do's and don't's that I've learned in the last couple of years. I'm sure I'll end up adding to this page as I go *lol* but life is a learning experiment! I've also added a contact me page in case any one has any questions that they don't won't to post for everyone else to see *grin*

Have a fabulous weekend peoples!

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

Is formatting ebooks your idea of hell?

2012-01-20T19:29:00.000+13:00

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of it either ;p So I've added a page to this blog to help newbies out there who are stuck with their formatting. It's just all the things I've learned through trial and error while getting my three pieces up onto Amazon. I hope this helps some of you!

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

Something fun! Friday Funnies

2012-01-20T07:23:00.000+13:00

It's nice being able to get back into my blogging : ) I am very grateful to no longer have the due date for Awakening looming and daydreaming/plotting for Feel the Burn is lots of fun! So I thought I'd get back into my Friday funnies and kick it off with bad (or rather awesome ;p) fantasy moments - via those infamous LOL cats.

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

Let's play make-believe! A renewal of the characters of the BirthRight Trilogy and who would play them

2012-01-19T10:32:00.001+13:00

You know, when Peter Jackson (naturally! Like I'd let anyone else near the story *lol*) calls to option the Trilogy... Well dreams ARE free people! So, to go hand in hand with my somewhat extreme dream, I thought I would re-do the Characters of the BirthRight Trilogy page and we'd better start with Catherine! Here is Cat's little bio and who I think could potentially play her. Suggestions, thoughts, opinions are all very welcome, as are questions about any of the characters in these blog posts as I get through them all.
Do you have a nagging question about a character? Or a 'what if' scenerio you've pondered? Any questions are welcome, except of course there's NO WAY I'm giving away details from book three. So feel free to ask about it but I will totally skirt around those *grin* Hope you enjoy these posts!

Catherine

Catherine is the main voice of the trilogy and great fun. A curvy (DD bust and a US size 6 ) pale skinned, red head, with beautiful green eyes. Cat, as she is known to her friends, is a fun loving and lively Leo with a decent temper if roused. She adores her friends and is extremely loyal, always ready to drop everything for them if required. Cat has a huntaway dog called Audrey (Audi for short) who is rather like her mistress in some ways. A bit noisy, loves to talk, but at the same time needs her solitude. Cat takes Audi everywhere she can and the two often go for runs or excursions to Cat's family's cabin in the bush.
A natural flirt, Cat turns head's easily but remains oblivious to it most the time due to being in her 'own world'. Her friends are always amused at how she manages be innately graceful and yet totally klutzy at the same time. Partially due to her being short-sighted and partially because she's daydreaming but being a bit of an actress (more often comedic - whether she intends it or not) Cat tends to play it up as she loves to make people smile and laugh.
Cat loves to sew, read, and go horse riding and practice martial arts and archery. With a born instinct of flight not fight, yet a strong sense of courage, Cat has spent years training the flight instinct out and is proud of her ability to defend herself.

Who could potentially play Cat in a film (dreams are free remember!)

Emma Stone

Scarlett Johansson

Sara Rue

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!
Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

And inspiration comes flooding in

2012-01-13T20:01:00.000+13:00

It's bizarre weather in New Zealand currently. Not that I'm really surprised but normally we can guarantee a decent amount of sunshine in summer. At least enough to make us all begin moaning for rain. But at the moment we have lots of heat and one day shine, the next torrential rain. At the moment we have massive gales and here on the 21st floor, we're swaying, just enough to trigger my motion sickness ;p

It's making my morning runs rather sporadic as I like running in the crisp morning air. 19ºc is NOT crisp!! It's just sweaty on top of sweaty—so very far from attractive *lol*

But when I did get out for my run (just once, Sable is not happy with my slackness!) wow did the ideas flow. And tears. But it's allowed me to work through some of the tricky scenes that I knew vaguely what I needed, but couldn't yet see the details. Now the details are lots more clearer and I think I need to go caving… either that or watch The Descent. But as that is a horror movie and I'm more than a little bit of a wuss with horror movies—caving sounds FAR easier *lol*

I'm really, really excited too as we've just decided to do our first overseas trip in March!! Yes our first, yes we're slack (better late than never) so now comes the exciting part of planning. It's just over to Aussie (Pixie, we're coming your way! Have to do dinner *grin*) to the Gold Coast and we'll do the obligatory theme park visit and the zoo. I'm kinda nervous about the plane flight… for any of you who have read The Arrival, the bit were Cat gets the nervous smile and insane giggles while flying, yeah that's based on my first hand experience (Glenn found it rather amusing). I have managed to dull that down to the occasional monster smile so I'm hoping I'll be able to resist that too *hee* It's weird too, cause I love helicopter rides, they don't bother me at all, but planes. Ahh well ;p

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

Ugh - writing the HARD scenes

2012-01-06T21:03:00.000+13:00

For those of you who have read Awakening, you can probably understand why I'm having trouble starting Book Three. I really hate writing the painful scenes! I know they are necessary and of course I know where they go. But they are still SO hard! Already it's involved lots of tears and Glenn fleeing the room after first cautiously approaching at the sight of me in self-inflicted misery. The code words 'method-writing' explain all ;p

How do other authors do it I wonder? This book really is going to take me to hell and back. I've known that from day one. But it is a fascinating journey! It makes all those endless hours of daydreaming away classes/car trips/long walks/boring days etc etc suddenly valuable as I imagine every inch of the journey that my characters have to take. And what a journey. There are just sooo many things to show! I really do wish I was a person who could make sensible lists and plan it all out in a sane, easy to follow manner (easy for me to follow and write that is).
With each book I write I seem to follow a slightly different method and I'm not 100% sure of what method I'll adopt while writing Feel the Burn.

With The Arrival it was, write in a straight line.

With Awakening it was, write all the scenes that pop into your mind in any order you like, and then bridge them together.

I think Feel the Burn will end up being a mix of those two methods ;p

And now I'd really better stop skiving off, doing other things and get cracking on that first draft *grin* have a fabulous weekend peoples!

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

A new year, another goal

2012-01-03T20:08:00.000+13:00

Awakening is up and selling well. The seemingly massive goal I set myself last year—of writing a novel in 12 months—is done. I say, seemingly massive, as The Arrival took me 18 months to write. But for a first time novelist *grin* I don't think that's too bad. I'm very proud of Awakening and I know, absolutely, that it's better than The Arrival, but then that's me as the author speaking and every subsequent novel really should be an improvement in some way or another.

Starting on the third installment of the trilogy, Feel the Burn, is exciting and scary. As I've mentioned before, I've had the basic plot mapped out since day one, so it's sorting out how to get the characters to those plot points. But that's just the major points; the minor points are building themselves in my mind at the moment and drawing themselves into the major points. It really does feel like I'm weaving some large and elaborate tapestry, where, if I get a thread wrong the whole thing will fall to pieces. The plotting is very exciting and has me watching a fair few documentaries on various subjects *lol* I can't wait to start the actual writing though, I may even start tomorrow! Here's a pic of my current inspiration on my corkboard at home. I hope your New Year's went well and for all those reading Awakening, I hope you're enjoying it!

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

Present time!

2011-12-28T21:04:00.000+13:00

After my momentous previous post and a continuing frustration with Amazon NOT updating all the old copies of The Arrival as they have on three separate occasions promised, I have decided to make The Arrival permanently free on this blog.
Crazy - possibly. But I spent 18 months writing it and guess what! I'd much rather it be read and enjoyed than spending my time hunched over my computer, watching the rankings while muttering 'my preciousss' in a deprived and disturbing voice...
So feel free to take a copy and if you want to pass it around, go right ahead. I can't say I'm being completely selfless - I'm keeping Awakening on price, and Feel the Burn (when it is published in Dec 2012) will remain on price too. I guess this feels more fair to me, if I'm asking you to take a chance on an Indie author—then I better step up to the plate too *grin* And of course for all those people who did purchase a copy, and haven't yet got the new, updated and most importantly—pretty—version, then do re-update your e-reader/mobile/computer with this version. The free buttons are on the left below the cover picture of The Arrival.

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, available for free right here on this blog!

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog (the bright yellow buttons on left!)

Shills and unscrupulous reviews - please fellow Indies, DON'T DO THIS!

2011-12-28T18:17:00.000+13:00

Don't get stung!

It can seem so innocent—I'll review your book if you review mine. The problem is that the reviews are very rarely honest, more a 'pump up the numbers' and indie authors are getting caught in their own webs—whether or not they meant to weave them.

As some of you may be aware, it's not easy being an Indie author. Sure there are the extreme success stories—Amanda Hocking, and John Locke, for example. But most of the time an indie author is a person who loves the story they've written and wants to share it with the world. Unfortunately due to the hype and publicity of the extreme success stories, places like Amazon and Smashwords (which filters on to Barnes & Noble, Sony, Apple etc) are being inundated with badly written—pop a book out a month—authors who are writing for profit alone, quality/story be damned. This 'wham, bam - thank you ma'am' style of writing is leaving MANY disgruntled readers in its wake. And that, in turn, reflects on those innocent writers who are genuinely producing works of love. That's not to suggest all indie writers are good, but one person's trash is another's treasure.

Normally, honest reviews are a fantastic way of finding out if a book you're considering purchasing is any good. But more and more of these types of sites are popping up. Site's where—for a minor fee—an author can 'purchase' fake five star reviews or even have links to their book placed in reviews of books doing well in the book rankings. I've actually experienced that one first hand!

On my erotic short, A wet & wild night, some cheeky buggar has added a link to another erotic short in his 'review' of my book. How do I know this review is fake? Because it's changed three times since it was first posted. The first time it was posted as a 5 star, then it dropped to three stars and then they essentially copied another review my story received and gave it 1 star.

It hasn't affected my sales in the least; but it does annoy me. I did complain to Amazon and while they agreed that it looked like a 'shill' review (the term for fake reviews) because there was nothing to prove it, they couldn't do anything about it. I've decided to be flattered by it *lol*

But the big problem with these paid-for-reviews is it does fool those speed buyers who don't take the time to read the sample. This is turn results in those disgruntled readers I've mentioned. Those readers are then making a damn good effort to bring such authors to their knees. Which I understand and even applaud; we really don't need indie's like that giving the rest of us a bad name. However a number of those annoyed readers are making a very big effort to bring down anything they consider a shill review. This includes those reviews by friends/family/fellow bloggers etc etc.

I'm going to be honest and say I don't fully agree with that. If my parents want to buy my book and review it—they're entitled. That said, my mother can't stand my book *lol* and I suspect my other relatives will only read it if it comes out in hardcopy and I buy a copy for them (and then tie them down and forcibly make them read it… it really ain't worth the effort!!)

What I'm trying to get at (in this incredibly long-winded post ;p) is that if you are going to offer a 'I'll read/review yours if you read/review mine' make SURE that it is for an HONEST review. A five star review in this situation will do you no favours; only rile the vigilante readers against you and your works.

My personal suggestion is put your book up free for a time. You will likely get a stackload of downloads—many from people who would never, ever have read your book otherwise—and this pretty much guarantees at least a few honest reviews. But be warned, this method can result in some scathing reviews from those who, if they'd taken the time to read the sample, would never have bought and thus reviewed your work.

It's a double-edged blade either way, but the only method I've found for genuine reviews in a short space of time. Otherwise patience is a virtue and good, enjoyable books at reasonable prices will sell. And please don't let anyone you know pay for 5 star reviews!! It could easily ruin their name.

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon or in Epub format right here on my blog

(the bright yellow buttons on left!)

Buy Awakening in Nook/Sony/Apple format on this blog - that's right!

2011-12-27T01:04:00.000+13:00

After a few days of serious research and a nice measure of cussing (as goes most my technical ventures with blogger/html/google) I have finally got my buy buttons up for Awakening!! Now any Nook, Sony, Apple e-reader owners can purchase Awakening on this very blog (see the oh-so-subtle bright yellow buttons on the left) and very soon I hope to get The Arrival on here and A Wet & Wild Night. All thanks to the very clever e-junkie site. All purchases go through Paypal and are safe and secure : ) so no worries there!

It's a massive sigh of relief for me because as I previously mentioned, Smashwords is a major pain in the @#% for me, with payment issues, formatting issues and just the time it takes for things to update *groan* It's fantastic to know readers anxiously waiting for book two will be able to read it - right now if you want!

I hope all your Christmas' went well, ours was fab *grin* and now, as it's after midnight (hell! It's 1am - when did that happen??!) I shall attempt to go and sleep after my victorious internet/html struggle ;p

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon

The challenges of being an Indie in NZ - and a solution for my Barnes & Noble/Sony/Apple readers! And a not so great update.

2011-12-23T19:01:00.000+13:00

I actually wrote this blog post this morning. Since then New Zealand, Christchurch, has been hit with another swarm of earthquakes. Big ones too. I actually felt the ominous sway of the 5.8 and later 6 quake but was on the bus when the following two quakes hit. Both in the 5's and all four quakes were shallow, 10km or less. There's no such thing as a good time for big earthquakes, but I can't think of a worse time. My thoughts and heart are with Christchurch at the moment. For anyone wanting to see the latest updates, our national news site Stuff, www.stuff.co.nz is pretty good.

And here is the post I wrote earlier, I know there are readers out there waiting for this update, I've been getting the emails ;p

Awakening is doing really well currently and I'm quite excited! The first feedback is good and I look forward to both books climbing the charts at Amazon. Currently Awakening is in two top 100 lists in the US and three in the UK. Now just to get it on the overall top 100 *grin*

As I mentioned in my last post I've made the decision not to publish through Smashwords. I find their 'meatgrinder' (the ebook converter they use) to be messy and a major pain in the arse and then the payments issue on top of it was it for me. But of course this means my books aren't distributed to Barnes & Noble, Sony and Apple. Because I'm in NZ I can't sign up with Pub-It that B & N has set in place which pretty much left me screwed.

So I have been a busy little bee, researching away and I believe I can set up a PayPal button on this blog so that people can purchase my books here! I'll offer them in formats compatible for all other e-readers so that no reader will be discriminated against *grin*

I will still continue to publish them on Amazon, but after trialing the Amazon Kindle Select, briefly, have decided that part is not for me. This won't mean anything to most of you, but for other indie's curious as to my decision - I didn't like that I wasn't allowed to distribute my own book as I liked. I've made the decision to be an Indie author and I'm sticking by it (unless I'm offered some horrendously massive payment in exchange… and even then, I'm reading the contract well! ;p) and I don't want to allow Amazon any extra rights over my work.

I'm really excited about being able to offer my books on here and I'm hoping that I'll have the button up by Boxing Day, a slightly late Christmas present for some readers *grin*

Have a safe and happy Christmas everyone and please, no matter where you are in the world, have a survival kit and emergency plan for your family. You never know when a disaster will strike.

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon

The hard work is done! Awakening is released to the world (or web, at least ;p)

2011-12-20T19:03:00.000+13:00

First things first, I need to thank the people who helped with the creating of Awakening, either as editors or beta-readers. SO an enormous THANK YOU to Kerrin, Vicki, Cathey and Trish! As well as Emily and Alex. All the help was much appreciated and the book is so much more the better thanks to your input.

I have made the decision not to publish it through Smashwords. I have had stack loads of trouble with their formatting and never actually received any cash from them. In short, it's not worth it for me to go to the effort of getting it up on there. That does mean Awakening is only available on Kindle. If you are a person who reads it in another format, get in touch. I'd be curious to see how many there are and if it is worth fighting through Smashwords. So please, do pop me a message via my contact button on the right and let me know if you're one of those readers : )

For those of you still waiting for Amazon to update your current version of The Arrival, I suggest emailing Amazon and requesting it. I've had several e-mails from readers who've done this and received the new version very quickly.

I'm nervous and excited to have my latest 'baby' out there and I hope very much you all enjoy it! And now I think I might go sleep for a week or so, before I begin plotting book three *lol*

Merry Christmas everyone and have safe and happy holidays!

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Awakening on Amazon or UK Amazon

Awakening is LIVE!

2011-12-20T07:08:00.002+13:00

That's right, it's finally available. I am going to do a big 'official post' with links/thank yous/etc/etc but it's just before work and I have to leave shortly so I'm popping this up for those people desperate to get their hands (e-hands ;p) onto it : )

We have a blurb!

2011-12-04T21:38:00.001+13:00

Let me introduce to Awakening, Book Two of the BirthRight Trilogy.

Be careful what you wish for…

An innocuous love spell caused Catherine, Sian, Laura, and Kassandra to cross worlds in search of their soul mates. But more than love drew them to Gar'nyse. Truths are revealed and lives forever altered after an attack at the castle. An age old feud between two archaic families threatens to tear the world they've arrived in apart. As the ultimate weapons in such a war the four girls are the only hope for peace.

But one of them lies unconscious from the attack, and the destiny that awaits her when she wakes will change everything.

And for those patiently (and not so patiently..) waiting for this fabulous book *grin* as I've mentioned, it's with the most amazing (naturally!) line editor and she has promised to have it back to me soon!! Then I need to make the changes, give it another read through, and *GASP* it will be up!!! I'm pretty damn excited (did the numerous !'s give you any hint?) and am half fantasizing that it'll be up by next weekend *swoon* but things never go quite as planned so hopefully by the weekend after next : )

For those of you wanting the new version of The Arrival, I'm following up with Amazon re this, and it is available on Smashwords, in any format, for free.

Have a safe and fun weekend peoples!

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

The time is approaching…

2011-11-29T20:21:00.000+13:00

And it's scaring the crap outta me!! The Arrival has been fully reformatted/edited and now has the additions of a glossary and map. The make-over means it's much easier to read and register the POV changes, as well as a general 'sprucing up' to make it look far more professional (or so I hope). I'm logging on to Amazon KDP frequently, waiting to see when this new version actually goes live, OMG it feels like it's taking forever *grin*. It isn't (it's barely been 24 hours) but I don't care, I want it live NOW! I'm just itching to see people's thoughts on it. If you purchased a copy of The Arrival via Amazon, then you will - in the next 5 days - receive an email asking if you would like your version updated.

Please let me know when you get this! I'd really love to know when it reaches you : ) For those of you that purchased it elsewhere, just get in touch via my contact button (bright yellow button in the right sidebar) and let me know which format you require it in and I'll send it out. Also, if you haven't purchased a copy and would like one, again, just send me a note via the contact button and I'll send a copy through. I can do all softcopy formats.

Awakening is sooo close to done it's scary. I'm going through it once more, before I send it to the fabulous Trish, who is going to line-edit it. Then another once over and it's up *gulp*

I will need your help prior to this though and I'll post here and on my Facebook page when I need this. I want to get The Arrival back on the free list for a month to (ideally) help get Awakening up in the charts, so I will need people to hit the 'priced lower elsewhere' button on The Arrival's Amazon page and provide a link to Barnes & Noble or Sony. I'll put all the detail up when it's ready : )

Better get back to it, once Trish has Awakening I have to work on the blurb and updating the map. I'm rather apprehensive about the blurb, how do you write it without giving it all away ;p I'm going to have to reveal some stuff in it, I guess.

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

English - are we speaking the same language?

2011-11-08T20:22:00.003+13:00

I'm working through notes that my friend Mustang Sally has made on The Arrival, and wow sometimes the differences between kiwi (NZ) and American slang is hilarious. So I thought I would find some of NZ's really out-there slang for you guys to chuckle at.

Over the ditch (or 'across the ditch) - meaning across the Tasman sea to Aussie (our cuzzies ;p)

Bach/hut - holiday home

Buggar - disappointment or an 'oops' moment (like 'buggar, really should have put the handbrake on…')

Cuz - Cousin/friend/anyone NZ decides they want to claim ('eh bro, he's my cuz, right?')

Dear - expensive ('bloody hell that's dear!')

Bloody hell - OMG /WTF /Oh shit - you get the drift ;p

Exercise books - school work books

Fancy - something attractive ( 'Ooo, she's a bit fancy')

Flog/nick/pinch - steal ('I flogged a loaf of bread from the store')

'Good on you!' - approval of one's actions.

Hard yakka - hard work

Hosing down/raining cats and dogs - raining hard

Knackered - sleepy or exhausted (and I used this in The Arrival *lol* without even thinking ;p)

Mate - a term for a friend, or when you're greeting a stranger ('g'day mate')

G'day - greetings - originally short for 'good day'

Oz - Australia

Pong - bad smell ('Whew! That fish pongs!')

Ripped off - you paid too much ('that store owner totally ripped me off')

Remuera tractor – SUV, 4 wheel drive car only on the city’s roads (my absolute pet peeve!)

Shake a leg - hurry up ('Oi, shake a leg - we're gonna be late!')

Sweet as - no problem ('sure mate, sweet as')

Take a hike - go away ('Take a hike you idiot!')

Tramping - hiking

Wet blanket - someone who spoils all the fun

Yonks - a long time ('I haven't seen you for yonks')

And here's a classic Kiwi Advert - excuse the quality, it's rather old and the creatures in the advert are possums.

And for those of you wanting to know how progress is going with Awakening.

Well, Mustang Sally, Alex, and Emily, are currently reviewing it (eeee!) and once they get all their thoughts/notes back to me I'll be racing to correct it then get it off to my line editor.

And that. Is the. Last person… When I get it back from the wonderful Trish (line editor), I will be onto formatting and then *gulp* it will be available!!!

In the mean time I'm making The Arrival absolutely gleam (including full reformatting, editing, a glossary of main characters and a map) and it will be 'rereleased' on Amazon prior to Awakening coming up. All those of you that have an older copy of The Arrival will receive an e-mail from Amazon (if you bought it from there) and a link so you can re-upload it for free : ) And I will need all of your help when the time comes, to get The Arrival back on the free list.

What do I mean by that?

Well unfortunately at the present time, Amazon doesn't allow indies to publish books for free. The only way to get your book free is to make sure that it's listed elsewhere (Barnes & Noble, Sony) for free and then get your friends to pop on to the Amazon page and hit the 'I've seen a lower price for this item' button. Then it's just a matter of providing a link to one of the other sites and once Amazon receives enough hits, they change the pricing to $0.

Technical and tedious much! But very helpful for promoting your book *grin* So when I get to that stage I will provide all the links, if you don't mind spending a moment of your time doing this. I would sooooo greatly appreciate it!

On a side note, thank you all so much for your lovely comments on my last post. Glenn and I miss our little golden boy lots and really appreciated all your thoughts.

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

The hardest decision ever

2011-10-25T17:51:00.000+13:00

I can't stop crying. We had to have our beautiful boy put down today. The short and skinny is that he was getting more aggressive towards males, and other dogs. Then last week he deliberately climbed into our neighbors yard. Our neighbors whom have two French Mastiffs. Otis was only 36kg compared to two dogs that I'd hazard were around 50kg each. You may remember he fell into their yard once last year. They only had the one dog at the time and he still got a hiding from that. That however was an accident and last week's one was intentional. We know because he had to rip down a lot of wire mesh and other building materials to get to them. He also had to squeeze through a bunch of spiky trees. In short, he was damn determined to do it.

We patched him up and Glenn rebuilt the section of fence and added to it. He only stopped limping on Saturday. Then Glenn rang me at work today to say an animal ranger had found him and he needed urgent medical attention. The ranger also said he was too aggressive for her to get close. So we made the heart breaking, but necessary decision to have him put to sleep. We couldn't protect him from himself any more, and we couldn't risk anyone else getting hurt.

It just hurts so much. Otherwise, he was the perfect dog. Always wanting cuddles and following me everywhere for more cuddles. Snuggling next to you at any opportunity. He loved popping balloons and shredding the ends of toilets rolls. He still did his puppy run when you got home and his excited twirl before you fed him. He loved going up the bush and pretending he was a tough bush dog (even though he cried when he got lost). He adored our niece and nephew, and any kids for that matter, and I'll never forget the time they camped out in our lounge. Both dogs took turns watching over the kids (I got up to check on them at 2am ;p). He did the worst farts - period - and had the hardest head known (made me see stars on more than one occasion). His whip like tail drew tears when it caught you across the nose and he never, ever, stopped wagging it. Even when we took him to the vet that last, awful time.

I wish so much that we hadn't had to do it. But part of me knew last week when he did it, that this was a possible outcome. His sister is lying beside me, silent for once. We know she knows. I can only be so grateful we had such a fantastic 7+ years with him. He was such a beautiful, cheerful and happy dog. I'm gonna miss him so much.

3am Eureka moment

2011-10-20T21:15:00.000+13:00

Do you ever get those? The solution to the problem you've been trying to solve suddenly occurs to you at 3am - when really you'd rather be sleeping. I've figured out where to end Awakening so am racing through the notes from revision two, so I can write the ending. The next person in the revision line will soon be done with The Arrival and she's doing a FANTASTIC job! I'm very, very excited at the new editors I have lined up I know, with no shred of doubt, that both books will be as perfect as poss! *grin* And at the very least, I will be satisfied. It's very scary thinking about how close Dec is and how much I want done by then. Better get back to the books then!

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Review number 2 is done... but do I have to rewrite the ending?

2011-10-14T19:56:00.000+13:00

WOO! Review number two is complete and I'm working on the notes. The only problem is the comment that the end of the book isn't right... Which is concerning because it conveys what I want it to convey but that doesn't necessarily mean the reader reads it that way. So I've asked my fabulous flow editor to have a scan over it and reconsider it with this other person's thoughts. Nothing about writing is straight forward or easy *sigh* I have an insane amount of work to do in far too little time (or so it feels like). At the same time as all this I've re-edited and re-formatted The Arrival and the wonderful Sally Mustang (a blog buddy, no not her real name *grin*) is going through it as well as my friend Alex. Excessive comma usage is being addressed and words I didn't even realise I'd missed (found a few of those in the re-edit *blush*). All this is happening so I can ideally have The Arrival and Awakening in e-book format AND paperback format at the same time. The Arrival is also having a world map added; Oh, and I've changed the name of the world from Sytas, to Gar'nyse - so to prevent any possible trademark/copyright issues; and I'm adding a Glossary of Main characters. So each book in the trilogy will have a glossary with a super brief explanation as to who is who (or what) and each map will include the places mentioned in that book. WHEW! I actually can't stop to really think about how much I need to do, it gives me panic attacks, all I can do is get into it. With sporadic updates here and on Facebook when I get the chance : )

Hope you're all well : )

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Progress on Awakening and help support an Indie Film Maker - Chaz Harris

2011-10-04T21:16:00.001+13:00

I'm so excited! I have fully re-written Awakening and it's off in Kerrin's hands now, for edit number two. I have three definite other people to pass it to, before it's *gulp* done. And we're making the most of a dry spell Glenn's having at work, by having an impromptu break. Sure a lack of work is a budget issue, but I've got ten days owing so might as well take lemons and make lemonade : ) In my glorious six days off we'll be walking the dogs, clearing the section (spring is here! Soon BBQ time!) and I'll be ready grammar books as well as working on The Arrival. Only problem being, half of me is seriously tempted to fully re-write it, which I suspect is a very bad idea ;p So I'm going to resist temptation there and instead work on re-formatting it (I think I've finally figured out how to make line breaks in kindle!!!) and adding a glossary of names to the beginning, as well as checking my grammar stuff *grin* Once that's all done, I've format it for Createspace and finally be able to see it in print!

On to the second part of my title is asking for your support to help a local indie film maker, Chaz Harris. He's written and directed a film about a young boy called Max Petersen who is being bullied at school and has an abusive father at home. One day, when playing alone in the woods, he makes a mysterious discovery that will change his life forever.
It's called Broken Glass and has attracted the support of Shine; New Zealandʼs largest single domestic abuse organisation registered as a charity. In 2011, Shine is celebrating 20 years of doing what works to stop domestic abuse. With the issues of bullying and domestic violence at its core, "Broken Glass" is told from a childʼs point of view but contains some quite adult content at times. A similar contrast between ethereal childhood fantasy and a young childʼs harsh reality was also achieved in the film "Panʼs Labyrinth". The aim is to create a story of fantasy realism that revisits a time in filmmaking when audiences were asked to use their imaginations instead of being shown with visual effects.
So help spread the word about this awesome project by sharing this post and/or pop onto the link here and hit the like button! Help spread the word peoples :)

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Working smarter, not harder

2011-09-25T20:31:00.000+13:00

Or so goes my current editing theory anyway *grin* I'm at 60% of the full re-write, which isn't as far through as I wanted to be by now (I wanted to be done!) but I am really pleased with the results so far. There have been major additions and some major subtractions and WOW is this book busy! Lots happening on Sytas *grin* I'm working my ass off and really, really hope to have it off to critiquer number 2 - aka Kerrin, before the end of the week. Then while she is looking over that, I'm going to motor through the few grammar books I have and finish the edit on The Arrival and get it into the right layout for Createspace *eee* So I'll have a week, maybe two to do that ;p But as the title of this post says, I'm all about working smarter not harder this time. With The Arrival there were too many half-assed re-writes before the final doozey and that's why I started with Vicki's critique first. And as with The Arrival I do believe at least 95% of her advice has been taken - because it is GOOD advice, proving the most valuable thing in the world to an indie author is a good critiquer. After Kerrin is done with book two, I'll go through all her notes and then I intend on printing it out and going through it line by line, backwards. To spot errors....Ecccckkkk just discussing all this is making me exhausted *lol* Anyhoo, thought I'd give you all an update.

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Out of order - for the moment

2011-09-08T07:19:00.001+12:00

I have an insane amount to do with Awakening (like 10,000 words a day insane) so am going to stay off the blogging for a bit. If you need to get in touch either use the contact form or the facebook page : )

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UKAmazon

Woo! Progress and a very cool occurrence

2011-08-31T18:24:00.000+12:00

First and foremost - two of the new scenes are written and worked in! Now two definitely to go, with a possible other two on the horizon. The two new scenes clear up certain issues that according to my first critiquer weren't that comprehensive. Then once all the new scenes are worked in (ideally before this weekend) I am going to do something pretty radical. Granted it might not seem that radical to others but it certainly is to me.

I am going to load the current draft to my kindle (just mine, yes you can do that *grin*) and then re-write it fully. Line by line. Essentially I'll be sitting on my favorite chair at home with my notebook on my lap and my kindle beside me, re-wording/correcting or flat out re-writing each line across. My theory with this is the same as why I gave it to Vicki to critique first. Do the hard slog FIRST! Then, ideally, the next person (Kerrin) who critiques the draft will see it much closer to the final product. This is a 'work smarter not harder' train of thought. Because with book one I didn't do the major re-write until the very end. Which was damn hard work and as you might know, I'm running through another edit of it as there are lines I want re-worded. Fingers crossed this theory works *grin* I'm trying very hard to keep my distance from book two and this re-write will be the first time I've read through it in its entirety. The reason for this is to keep it as 'fresh' as possible so I can really spot the mistakes. So that's the current book update. Now onto the very cool occurrence.

At work we sub-let the corner of the floor we occupy to another company and one of the employees of that company, a gorgeous girl called Alex, has read and enjoyed The Arrival. The other day as I sat at reception she came skipping out to tell me about 'this amazing dream' she had. In her dream she met Kassie who was showing off her engagement ring! That's right, Kassie was showing off a stunning, pink diamond, engagement ring. Alex gave me a full description of this ring and Kassie. How cool is that? Certainly made me smile.

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Must be Monday...

2011-08-29T06:29:00.000+12:00

Okay so for you lucky critters in the Northern Hemisphere you're not there quite yet (and I'm hoping none of you have done a Dorothy over the weekend with the crazy ass weather) but it's early here in NZ when I'm posting this and it's Monday. After a few weeks of no Friday Funnies I feel we are in need of Monday Funnies. Enjoy!

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

A very cool idea - thought up by a Kiwi, naturally grin

2011-08-26T07:16:00.001+12:00

Ever heard of it before? It's a relatively new and (I think) super exciting concept!

Essentially it is music set to your ebook and designed to change appropriately as you read. I'm not pretending to understand the mechanics of it at all but from what I read in the Herald (one of NZ's newspapers) the basic idea is that the music keeps pace with the story as you read it. So in the slow moments it's easy going and in the exciting bits its tension filled. How cool is that!! I personally find music a huge inspiration to my writing and there are even tracks I recognize in my mind as scenes.

Here's a hint of a spoiler from book two, Awakening. 'Heaven help us' by My Chemical Romance is locked in my mind as 'the harpy scene'.

So the idea that not too far in the foreseeable future authors will be able to do this, it's so darn exciting! I want all the books I love to have this, how much fun would that be? Okay, tell me one of your favorite scenes from a book and what music you'd love to hear playing as you read it.

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Introducing Patricia Lynne and Being Human

2011-08-25T07:12:00.000+12:00

Patricia is a blogging buddy (and twitter pal too!) who is bringing out her first self-published title! And yes this cover is the beautiful handiwork of the lovely Keary Taylor. We blog buddies stick together. Have a read of this fantastic interview and go give Pat's book a whirl, I know I will be (once book two is done,I promise *grin*)

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am a born and raised Michigander, lived in the upper part most of my life. I’ve always been creative, but it was mostly with drawing (not painting, I barely have the patience unless it’s abstract.) What influenced my art was my Grandpa Beaudin. He did a lot of oil paintings and I loved them and wanted to do something creative as well. All though high school, I took art and went to Grand Valley State University for a 1.5 for art. I dropped out because I couldn’t see where an art degree would take me besides teaching… I have the maternal instincts of a rock. In fact, a rock has more. About two years ago, I got a little idea and decided to write it down for fun. Then I got another. And another. They just kept coming! Honestly, sometimes I’d like to turn the ideas off.

Do you have a day job as well?

Ugh, yes. It’s not a bad job, it’s just EARLY. I work at hotel/restaurant as the morning prep cook. I make sure the continental breakfast is stock (meaning sometimes I have to be in at 5:30am and I am not a morning person.) Plus I make muffins, desserts and pasta salads for banquets, weddings and the weekend salad bar.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I think I have yet to consider myself a writer. Maybe it hasn’t sunk in yet or won’t until I finally have a published book in my hand.

Can you tell us about your upcoming book?

It’s a story about a boy, Tommy, who is a vampire and trying to figure out what being human means even though he doesn’t remember being human. When I wrote it, I wanted to get away from the usual cliché of whining vampires. All the vampires seemed to bemoan their lost humanity and any vampires that didn’t were the bad guys. I wanted a vampire who enjoyed being a vampire, killed humans and was the good guy. What I ended up with was Tommy. It’s also a bit of a love story but not in a boy meets girl sense. It encompasses all kinds of love. Love for family, love for friends along with romantic love.

What made you decide to become an Independent author?

I think I’m a control freak. LOL! I was going to go traditional at first, but with all the changes in the industry and after doing some research, Indie just felt like the better option. I could make the final decision on everything, pick my own cover and get the book out faster.

Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?

Growing up, I read for pure enjoyment, I wasn’t looking to books for inspiration. I do have an author who was the biggest inspiration for me to do this. Heather Brewer, author of Chronicles of Vladimir Todd (and soon The Slayer’s Chronicles. <3 Joss.) I love her books and follow her and check her site regularly. I just felt if she could do it, then I could at least attempt to publish a book. Plus she loves Green Day and that is just adds a hundred awesome points to a person.

Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?

Does the small scene where Tommy’s brother, Danny is talking with friends about some child abductions and one says “Kate is freaking out, she won’t let Emmet out of her sight.” count since my sister Katy has a son named Emmet and she can be a paranoid mom at times?

How did you come up with the title?

I am horrible with titles. I can’t sit and think up five different title possibilities for a story. One is pure luck.

What was your favourite chapter to write and why?

I didn’t do chapters; I did parts so I guess my favourite part is Part Three: Monsters. It was so fun writing Tommy’s four year old niece, Mackenzie and giving her a child-like innocence. Favorite scene is when she’s telling her mom about her day and Billy Duncan. Billy Duncan did this, Billy Duncan did that and her mom says, “Sounds like Billy Duncan has a crush on you.” Mackenzie’s reply is, “What? EW! Boys are gross, Mommy.” I don’t know if it will amuse readers but it amuses me.

How do you market your work? What avenues have you found to work best for your genre?

I’m hoping this blog tour works really well. I have the book listed on Goodreads and a facebook fan page. You can find me on twitter too. I plan on joining the kindle boards because I hear that’s a good thing to do and there a few kindle blogs I’m going to try to get on. I’ve asked a book reviewer I follow on twitter for a review (need to send him the book!) and plan on finding a few more. My biggest thing is to try it all and cross my fingers. I figure it doesn’t matter if you go Indie or Traditional, in the end you’re still crossing your fingers and hoping people find your book and buy it.

Where do you get your ideas?

In bed. Sometimes the shower. Pretty much any place where it’s inconvenient to have a pen and paper or computer. My mind is evil like that. Seriously, though? One story I got from a dream and a few others I’ve gotten inspiration from books. Being Human was partially inspired by MT Anderson’s Thirsty. It ended with such a hopelessness for the character and I couldn’t stop thinking up ways for a happy ending. Next thing I know, I have Tommy bouncing around in my head.

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

I'm blaming the snow…

2011-08-23T19:17:00.000+12:00

I have a cold and it sucks. You know the drill so I won't go into details except to say I am doing a fantastic zombie impersonation at the moment ;p To make it even better I'm having to go through a spreadsheet of tiny numbers at work and it feels like the hardest thing in the world right now! It is good for keeping my mind off my draft. I'm still waiting for my critiquer to get it back to me and not surprisingly it’s on my mind constantly. And this is even with my cold addled 3 second memory. If your brain is like a sponge then mine is currently soaked in snot *cackle* okay I'll bet that grosses out more than one person.

But as I wait I'm reading a f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c book on grammar that is currently on the free lists on Amazon. So if you have a kindle or have a kindle app go get it now!! It's called Grammatically Correct, by Anne Stilman. It's pretty rare to find a textbook that doesn't make you want to go to sleep and this is one of them. I'm only 1/4 of the way through and have learned heaps already. So as I wait to tackle the draft of Awakening I'm learning and applying what I learn to The Arrival as I prepare it for Createspace (paperback). While doing all this I had a 'light bulb' moment but on second thoughts I've decided it won't work. I thought about bolding the first word of every point of view change in the e-version of The Arrival. After giving this a shot I can confirm it's an epic fail. It is horribly distracting ;p I guess it's just going to be one of those things *grin* and anyway most those who love The Arrival get the hang of it in the first chapter - or don't even notice. I am so looking forward to seeing it in paperback, very, very exciting! Just as with everything writing related it seems to be taking forever. Oh well patience is a virtue ;p

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

A fight for freedom - help free Morgan!

2011-08-18T21:08:00.002+12:00

I read about Morgan in the New Zealand Herald today (captive orca going mad) and her story just makes me feel ill. Please help by signing the petition here and by sharing this article and any article on Morgan you find. This girl needs to go home! The following is from the website Free Morgan.com

Morgan, a young wild orca, is currently being held in captivity in the Netherlands. She does not belong in a tank. She belongs in the ocean.

In late June, 2010, a young orca was seen in the Wadden Sea, off the coast of the Netherlands. The little orca appeared to be ill, so she was captured and brought to the Harderwijk Dolfinarium, a captive facility about an hour from Amsterdam. She was named Morgan. For more than a year, she has been living in a small tank at the dolphinarium. She is currently on display, where visitors can see her every afternoon – an interesting experience for visitors, but for Morgan, it’s like living in a prison.

The Dutch government permitted her capture on the basis that she would be rehabilitated and then released back to the wild.

On December 10, 2010, the dolphinarium announced that she would not be returned to the wild.

Morgan doesn’t belong in captivity. She doesn’t belong to a private company which sells tickets to see her. She belongs in the ocean. Anyone who cares about orcas should insist that Morgan be returned to the wild.

In July, 2011, it was announced that Morgan would be moved to an amusement park called Loro Parque, in the Canary Islands, and the Dutch government issued a permit for her to be exported.

On August 3, 2011, a group of activists supporting Morgan scored a victory in an Amsterdam court. The group, called Orca Coalition, went to court to prevent Morgan from being sent to Loro Parque. They won their case against the Dutch government ministry responsible for Morgan, and therefore Morgan won’t be sent off to the Canary Islands. However, she will still remain in a tank in Harderwijk, and her long-term fate is still unknown. It will depend on the activists and the dolphinarium working together to find a solution.

Please share this post! And you can friend a facebook page for Morgan too, here.

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Sometimes you just need a damn good read

2011-08-17T20:01:00.000+12:00

Okay I wasn't going to do my big review of this book because technically speaking it's not available yet. Why? Because the author scored a contract with a publishing firm after a phenomenal performance on the New York Best Seller list and her book is being re-edited with extra stuff put in then re-released next Feb (I think). I'm talking about Diary of a Mad Fat Girl by Stephanie McAfee.

Today is a meh day. Nothing is going quite as planned and thanks to the storms raging overhead during the night I have had a really crud sleep and all the passion I normally live with has relocated to Florida.. Or at least somewhere waayyyy warmer than here. The exciting adrenaline inducing snow storms have now dropped to nasty miserable wet and sleety storms. Not fun. The white stuff around the house is gone but at least we got some pretty pictures. The weather now is a lot more Wellington norm. Anyhoo. I decided to re-read Stephanie's book today. It's one of those reads (for me) that I just love. Ace, the main character is doing everything I want to be doing right now but don't have the 'eh' for ;p Okay so I don't want to be doing it all but I am seriously wishing I was as quick witted as this character is. I'd sooo love be telling certain peoples where to stick it at the moment. Actually that list is getting longer by the second (..it may be that time of the month…).

Don't you just love that book? The one that makes you laugh and blurs by remarkably fast while you let your inner self run havoc in its pages (okay, e-pages - you get the drift). It is the best tonic for me at the moment and that's what I love about indie e-books. Cheap to buy and when you find a gem OMG it's so nice not to find an over edited, dumbed down version of a story you might have enjoyed. I really do feel the best writers I read appear to write for themselves, FIRST, rather than what's popular or easy. The fans that love it just happen to be on the same wavelength *grin*.

Okay I'm rambling, have a great evening/day peoples.

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Crazy Beautiful

2011-08-15T21:31:00.000+12:00

It's snowing in Wellington - even the CBD. The first time I've ever seen it like this and the first time many have seen it like this. It's also my first time in 'proper' snow *grin* There have been thunderclaps and lightning flashes as well and two power cuts!! Absolutely crazy. Here are some pics and I'll keep it short before we lose power again : )

Not impressive to those who get snow I'm sure, but if you consider that we're getting snow flurries in Auckland, something that was last recorded in 1930 you might get an idea of how WOW this is to us right now *grin*

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Just incase you missed it.. The cover to AWAKENING

2011-08-13T20:26:00.003+12:00

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Friday Funnies!

2011-08-12T23:00:00.000+12:00

Apparently NZ will have the perfect conditions for an awesome snow storm next week. This could get very interesting! I've really never been in decent snow before (just haven't got around to it ;p) so I'm rather excited! Hence the theme of the funnies *grin*

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

A sneaky move...

2011-08-10T20:34:00.000+12:00

This isn't unheard of but it's the first time I've seen it. An indie author whose work I've read has listed themselves as a published author (in the sense of 'traditionally published'). They've even set up a page for the publisher – not surprisingly it isn't accepting submissions at the current time lol. Now I'm going to be utterly honest, half of me is green with envy at the idea and the other half is hoping like hell for the author concerned that none of the nasty reviewers figure it out. The more I learn about editing the easier it is to spot an indie writer through the common mistakes we make (and I do mean 'we' grin very much a learning process!) and this author's work has the hallmark mistakes that I'm currently trying to edit out of my own work.

The idea is cunning. People who deliberately avoid indie author's (like moi) are buying and gushing over the book. It's doing quite well in the rankings and rightly so as it's a good read. And that's where I'm chewing on my own liver a bit. It's an easy enough thing to do but I've set myself up as an indie author and I want to continue to support the indie movement, even if it feels like an uphill battle at times. Yet with that clever move this author has sorted out some of the biggest issues Indies get labelled with. So far no one has attacked the editing, yet had it been an indie there would be at least one comment by now. The book is selling well and the author's name is set in peoples mind as a 'real' author. I don't blame the author at all for doing such a thing, they are doing well and will continue to succeed. I guess in the long run I'll be satisfied with doing the 'loud and proud' indie method but I'm not going to deny that what this author's done is a damn clever way of solving quite a few issues. It's also very cool to see those good reviews from people who've given scathing reviews to indies. It proves the points that so many of us know about those reviewers who are now painfully obvious (to me at least) in their judgemental and aggressive attitudes.

I wonder if it will all go this way? Does it matter? Would you feel 'cheated' at finding out someone you thought was traditionally published is actually an indie author? What if groups of indie authors used this method, that would be one heck of a way to throw a spanner in the works, wouldn't it? Actually just the thought of that makes me want to do my best 'Mr Burns' impression mwahahahaha. Watch out indie snubbers! You'll never know where we're hiding ;p

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Why is it when you finally get a break?

2011-08-09T19:35:00.000+12:00

Your fingers and mind refuse to be idle? Even just for a few days? The sewing hasn't happened unfortunately and it's never something I push as with my sewing skills that promptly equals LOTS of unpicking ;p

I'm researching for the YA series that's been on my mind for awhile and have also started another story. While beginning the draft for book three *grin* I'm still not sure where this other idea sprung up from… it seems to be a combination of thoughts that have been swirling (and no, it's not the crazy cat lady story.. that'll be after BirthRight is done). I also want to get book one ready for CreateSpace. Which means… I need to ask for a couple of favors from anyone willing *CheesySmile*

Is anyone interested/willing to be another pair of eyes over The Arrival? I'm wanting it to be as perfect as possible when it's in print so if anyone out there is a fantastic proofer and willing to help OMG would I be grateful!

The other query I have is - do you or someone you know (who's willing to put up with somewhat random questions from me) live in San Francisco? The YA series I'm working on is situated there and I really need to get a better feeling for the city (any videos/documentaries/books you can recommend?).

Oddball questions I know and as mentioned I will be super grateful to anyone who can help or point me in the right direction.

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

THE FIRST DRAFT IS COMPLETE!

2011-08-05T18:57:00.000+12:00

Now into the craziness of re-writing *gulp*. I've done so many things differently this time around. With The Arrival - as I didn't actually consider publishing it in the beginning - I read it constantly. It was great fun to do, having never written a novel before. With Awakening I've read through sections but not the entire thing. I know how many times I'll read it whilst re-writing and I don't want to dislike it too soon (we all get to that stage, it passes but for a while you despise it ;p).

With The Arrival I wrote in a straight line time-wise. From beginning to end.

With Awakening I wrote what ever scene took my fancy then jig-sawed them together.

When editing The Arrival I had a few close critiquers who went over it again and again. This time around I have added a few more critiquers/editors to the pot and I am trying to make sure they only see it once. I want all eyes on the MS to be as fresh as possible. It's going to be an interesting few months. My fingers are already twitching to begin re-writing but I don't expect to see my first critiquers thoughts for at least a week… I think I might do lots of sewing to keep my fingers occupied *grin*. It is a GREAT start to the weekend and I sooooo can't wait to see it complete!

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Indie authors vs Indie authors?

2011-08-04T21:14:00.000+12:00

When you're part of a minority that tends to get looked down upon, you'd think you would support one another. Unfortunately the big green monster of envy appears to be biting more than one indie author and the toll begins to stand out whether it's in reviews or down voting or just straight bad mouthing. A frustrating thing when really, we're all in this together. Yes I can understand where it stems from. Watching a book fly up the rankings when you regard yours as a far better read must be hard. Still, when one person can read numerous books a year (my mum can easily read 10-20 a week) is there really any competition? And your opinion is the same as anyone else's - your opinion, not an actual definition. I don't really understand how some seem to think certain books exist or succeed merely to piss them off ('scuse the language) but you see it frequently in reviews.

No I'm not referring to any of mine ;p I read some of John Locke's reviews on his Donovan Creed novels. I bought two on the weekend and placed a review on one I read, then, as you do, had a peruse of the other reviews there. The first thing I noticed was someone had intentionally gone through and down voted any positive reviews and up voted negative reviews. How could I tell? It was just one vote each time, a tell tale sign of someone with a grudge. It intrigued me because while I'd never say the novel was outstanding, it was entertaining. It was something I'd read again and for .99c it was a good read. Yet someone had taken such offence that they didn't seem to realize others could enjoy what they so despised. I have seen other articles on indie's attacking indie's but hadn't really thought that much of it. Probably because the blogging community is so fantastically supportive. Recently however, while chatting to an indie author who has really succeeded (NY bestseller and all) I was astonished to learn that they too, had been on the receiving end of one of these attacks. So much so that after trashing this author on one site the attacking Indie then went to another site and trashed them there too. Thankfully someone picked up on it and as soon as it was revealed the attacker disappeared from those two forums. But I do wonder now, how often this happens? And really if you have to attack someone to try and make your book seem better, well it says a lot for your book now doesn't it…

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Those final three days...

2011-08-01T07:22:00.000+12:00

I'm up to the last three days of the plot in Awakening. OH MY GOD does it feel like forever (and no, it isn't boring for the reader! Just frustrating for the writer ;p). This is the part that requires a delicate and forceful touch as it will lead onto book three, Feel the Burn. Yes it will be somewhat of a cliff hanger, but that's how continuing stories work - otherwise it'd be a series, not a trilogy ;p
These last pages are really clear in my head, it's just taking sooo long! Feels like when we used to go tramping with Dad as kids, Brad and I would ask (often... as kids do) 'how long is it till we get there?' And Dad's invariable response would be, 'Ten minutes.'
It never was ten minutes (I swear it!). Or if it was, wow that was the longest ten minutes ever. Period.
So that's where I am now, in that final 'ten minutes' which feels as though it stretches on and on and on. The final hill climb before I can send it off to the first critiquer. Ahh the joys of writing *grin*

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Woo! It's my birthday - some themed pics for fun : )

2011-07-30T19:39:00.000+12:00

I am officially now twenty nine *grin* I have been spoilt rotten by Glenn with a gorgeous jewellery set, a fantasy art book, a BIG day out and dinner at my fav restaurant. Also Barnes & Noble finally has a price on my book *yay* so a very, very good day. Enjoy the pics people : )

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

It's FRIDAY!! (sorry to those still stuck on Thurs in Northern hemisphere ;p)

2011-07-29T07:07:00.000+12:00

But at least it's summer where you are *grin* I'm in a fantastic mood today and it feels great! I don't have much time for a post so I thought I'd re-post a poem I wrote and posted last year : ) Enjoy

She walks betwixt

Between the realms she walks

Feet light on the boundary

Others watch

Curious

Her feet stay grounded

As she ascends to the heavens

Snatching glimpses of dreams

Threads to weave

Tapestries to create

Lips whisper words

Eyes dazed

As she passes those on the street

Walking in another world

Visible only to her

And her pen

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Is Smashwords really worth it?

2011-07-27T20:21:00.000+12:00

With indie e-book publishing there's two main options for you to publish on. Smashwords and Amazon. I use both but as I continue to experience hassles with Smashwords I really wonder if it's worth it. I know you can publish directly with Barnes & Noble via Pubit but it isn't available to authors out of the US yet which really sucks. The problem I'm having is that I want to take The Arrival off free on Amazon and have it back at .99c. The free idea is great but I don't know if it's something I'd do permanently, I'd prefer to have it for a few months at a time. But because the book still shows as free on Barnes & Noble I can't get the US Amazon to take it off their free list. UK Amazon just did it, looks like they allot a certain amount of time for each book to be free which is a clever idea.

So I popped on Smashwords and changed the price. Then waited. And waited. And waited. Then bombarded them with e-mails after the first several I sent over a few weeks were never replied to. I got a terse reply from the creator of Smashwords along the lines of 'what's your problem?' which had me pointing out that no one had replied to any of my emails until now. After I'd sent LOTS. He told me it'd be sorted in their next shipping of books. Okay, cool. Three weeks later, it hasn't been shipped yet and I'm still waiting *sigh* It's more than a tad frustrating. Not surprisingly I'm wondering if it's actually worth being on Smashwords. Sales wise I've made all of $12 and the download count is low. Really low. I know the appeal with Smashwords is that you can get the book in any format so I'm beginning to look into the idea of creating a 'buy' button on my blog. Then I can send it through in whatever e-format the reader requires. Also the idea of never having to deal with that god-awful meatgrinder Smashwords has *swoon* now that's a nice thought! This is just one of my current frustrations with e publishing.

The other biggee is the actual allowed formatting. E books are great but because of the current HTML requirements they still can't match paper books. As you're all well aware, I use multiple shifting point of views in The Arrival. It's a style I chose for the trilogy as it conveys the story in the way I want. The problem is that in paper format it's far easier to make out the switches (if you're a person who finds them a little confusing) compared to e-format. Because in e-format there's just two paragraph styles to choose from and you CANNOT use both. If I could use both, it might work better. Now that I have my kindle and I'm reading stack loads more books I'm seeing this format issue in pretty much every single one. Whether it's through a publisher or whether it's an Indie author. I think it has to be one of the most common complaints in reviews - formatting! But having worked behind the scenes in this I have utmost sympathy for anyone trying to make their e-version convey what their paper version does. Thankfully technology always progresses so I'm just waiting for it to move along in this. Until then, my kindle is as prized a possession as my books are and I won't be stopping my paper back purchases anytime soon.

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Friday Funnies - Animals that got stuck

2011-07-22T21:00:00.000+12:00

My three furbabies are nosey as anything. A few of these pictures I've seen my own do *lol* enjoy!

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Eating humble pie.

2011-07-21T16:27:00.001+12:00

You know that thing you swear you'll never do? I did it. I'm not proud of it and I really wish I didn't have to learn some things the hard way. Especially when I did know better… *mooch* And for those of you that haven't guessed I responded to negative reviews. The one thing an author should NEVER do. And I knew that. So I'm making myself buck up, put on my big girl panties ;p admit I was wrong and get on with life. Am rather shamefaced about it all, but that's pretty normal when you make a fool of yourself. So my writing tip for Thursday is, don't do what I did. Never respond to a negative review. If a review is abusive and personal (i.e attacking you, not your work) then you can hit that report abuse button if you feel it's necessary.

Okay slinking off to lick my wounds and work on book two. Head down, bum to chair.

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Writer Wednesday - Introducing Penelope Fletcher

2011-07-20T18:32:00.000+12:00

I met Penelope via e-mail when she found me after reading my book : ) And it's only fair that after she interviewed me (so long ago it seems now *lol*) that I interview her. Enjoy!

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am 22 years old (23 on July 22^*whoop*), British, and I’m engaged to my boyfriend of seven years. Let’s see … I am loyal, scatterbrained, I love cans of Coke, I close my eyes a lot when I talk, and I have a tendancy to become disinterested in non reading and writing tasks extremely quickly. That’s me in less than 100 words, lol.

How did you choose the genre you write in?

*wise yoda face* It chose me.

My story is a simple one. I sat down, started writing, and out came Demon Girl (funny how you can distill two years of erratic typing into one sentence). Once it was done I spent months trying to slot it into a sub-genre and ended up going with *drum rolll* Fantasy. Keeping it simple works for me.

I also write Paranormal. I have always loved the supernatural, and come across as moody and dark. I developed a fixation with the unexplained, and otherworldly occurances at a very young age. I don’t think that will ever change. Monsters fascinate me.

What do you do when you are not writing; do you have a day job as well?

I do. I am the Compliance Officer for a mobile telecommunications technology company (private), but, I have reduced down to three days a week and have agreed with my boss I am leaving in September. I work my ass off for that company, and it will be sad to leave, but I have bigger aspirations now. The whole situation has worked out wonderfully for me, but then again like I said, I am a hard worker, so I had a lot of respect from senior management to work with when It came to arranging something for the future.

Honestly, I am a bigger reader than I am writer. Books are a wonderful escape, and I love that anything is possible. So … when not writing I read a lot, wherever I am. I spend a lot of time with my family, my boyfriend, a few close friends. Outside of that I don’t have time for much else. Writing really is a rather solitary and demanding profession, which compliments my personality perfectly.

How many books have you written? Which is your favourite?

Well, I have written five, two of which (Demon Dark, Die, My Love) are unpublished, and have published three (Demon Girl, Demon Day, Lunar Light). I am on the cusp of releasing Die, My Love, so that published number will be changing by the end of July.

My favourite book? Oooh. If I must choose, I pick Rae (due to be released in Sept2011). Simply because it is the omnibus of my first series and contains the last stretch of my story arc (Demon Dark). All my characters are steamrolling into The Big Event. Everything up untill now has been driving towards this one moment, a sequence of events that will explode and decide the fates of my characters. J And yes, I realise I cheated on that question!

What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

Hectic. All consuming. Scary. You do not want to mess with me when I am In The Zone. You’d be better off trying to storm Buckingham Palace. Nothing comes between my and my stories. My boyfriend does go Cave-Man-Style on me ever so often when I get too involved, or don’t have enough breaks. He keeps me grounded in the real world, bless him.

If you had to go back and do it all over, is there any aspect of your first novel or getting it published that you would change?

I generally tend not to go there, as there are loads of small things that if done differently would see me 100% better off right now, but the main one is that I would have started social networking much sooner, and started marketing my book three months before I published. I’m having to build meaningful relationships from the ground up and expand my reach whilst trying to do everything else. Not easy.

What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

Due to the nature of how I write I get criticised a lot, so I can’t pin point any one situation which sticks out more than any other, as they all suck (lol). I naturally write stream-of-conciousness, and it is the single thing that gets “bashed” the most. Writing this way reflects me as a person, how I think and releate to others in everyday life (opposed to a concious descision to write in a certain way diferent to how I usually write). It does not matter if I write in past tense, present, from multiple points of view, the structure of the prose itself is always the same. It makes sense this charatcer trait of mine would be reflected in my writing, so when it is labeled as “written badly” it does make me gloomy, as it’s like people are critisizing the way I think. However, I’m generally okay with this. I am not an easy person to deal with in everyday life, I expect my books will be no different.

The best compliment has to be when readers email me, tweet me, or post on Facebook just how much they loved my book. How refreshed they are to read something that is actually different not just pretending to be different. Nothing makes me happier then when a reader contacts me just to say thank you, there is no higher compliment for a writer.

What has been the hardest part of being an Indie Author?

The frustration I sometimes get from watching the way other Independents conduct themselves. The mob like way we react as a community to people condemning self-publishing as the end of the world. I’ve seen some … shocking things. It can be so disappointing, and I don’t think people realize each time they blow their emotional loads all over the internet how much it damages the entire concept of self publishing as a whole. However, I live in hope we will move forward as a community of professionals into a bright future *jumps down from high horse*

Thank you so much for having me Nicole!

My Links

Facebook.com/DemonGirlBook

PenelopeFletcher.com

Twitter.com/Miss_Fletcher

FictionFierce.blogspot.com

My books are available on Kindle (UK&US), iBooks and Nook.

Hope you enjoyed meeting Penelope : ) I can vouch that I recently read Lunar Light and loved it - dark, steamy and freaky!

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Searches conducted today while writing and a technical question for comma freaks!

2011-07-19T19:48:00.000+12:00

Where is a scabbard placed while riding? (still haven't confirmed entirely… any experts out there?)

Can you rise up while riding bareback? (yes you can but use your thighs only. Using your calves gives the horse the wrong signals - including hurry up.)

Flail's - I know them for their agricultural uses (used for threshing, to separate grains from their husks) so I was researching them as a weapon. Apparently it was originally used in Germany as a weapon and was a spiked metal bar hinged to a long (two handled weapon) wooden shaft. And this (as quoted from Wiki) is why you would/wouldn't use a flail.

'The chief tactical virtue of the flail was its capacity to get around a defender's shield, by striking against the shield's edge with the tip of the main handle. The chain, cord or hinge would then let the striking end whip around behind the shield and strike the defender a forceful blow. Contrariwise, its chief liabilities were a lack of precision and the difficulty of using it in close combat, or closely-ranked formations'

Which then led onto morning stars

And maces. The difference between these rather similar weapons is that Morning stars have spikes… Maces can have flanges or knobs but not spikes. The mace also has the dubious honor of being the first weapon specifically designed to kill humans. Ewww.

And maces led onto the very cool (yes in a sick 'Ooo pretty weapon' way) Chinese weapon, the Meteor hammer.

And important question… does this make sense? After a reviewer criticized my over use of pronouns (do I? Quite possibly…) I'm trying to desist over using them. If you have good suggestions as to how to avoid over use I'd love to hear them. I'm all for learning and improving *grin* And what's too many? Anyone know? I did some extensive googling but couldn't find any particular information which was rather frustrating. Here's the quote, another sneak peak into my current draft of Awakening.

'The sensation of the spiked metal head biting into Sian's flesh made my stomach lurch and I sucked in a sharp breath. Then with the others hurried to where she lay, sprawled on her back with blood pooling about'

And before you point out that the character shouldn't be able to feel the other characters pain, trust me, it makes sense when in context. And where would you stick the commas in this? Any comma freaks out there? I mean that in a good way, I seem to fail miserably at it ;p

That's all for today, back to writing!! Must get this draft done.

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Creating a new species or race

2011-07-18T19:58:00.000+12:00

As I've mentioned in previous blog posts I'm coming to the end scenes of Awakening. The BirthRight Trilogy has all of its major plot points set in place but it's surprising how much more the smaller plot points fill it out. Things I never ever imagined seem to happen before my very eyes, the creation of new creatures is a common one. I'm pretty finicky when it comes to creatures. I like to plan why they're there, what their role in Sytas's (the planet I created ;p) eco-system is, what they eat, what eats them etc, etc.

Most of this stuff never makes it into the book in its entirety because lets face it that'd be pretty darn boring, but it does help me to better describe it if I can actually 'see' what I'm describing. For example I do have rough blue prints for the castle stashed in a drawer which I reference when describing where characters are. There is a world map I've drawn too but it's not yet at a stage that I want to put it in the book. Maybe in book three, Feel the Burn, when I've basically finalised it *grin*

So at the moment I'm creating a race which is essentially the Southern enemy's neighbour. I'd actually never thought about them until two days ago when some fantastic drumming inspired some exciting concepts. Now I just need to hash out what this race looks like. I do know they have an exciting method of using their 'gifts' and already I can see it developing into the full-on scenes that will occur in Book three. This now means studying how drums are made and potentially doing a bit of research on sound waves *hee* Okay so I've given lots away with all that but hey, I know most of you are going to read it anyway ;p

Hope you all had great weekends! I'm trying to decide who to do next on the Character Monday's if you have a suggestion or request let me know.

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Working on scenes, have a look at the current inspiration

2011-07-15T22:10:00.000+12:00

I LOVE Elfwood! A site where anyone who's so inclined can post their artwork and I so often find fantastic inspiration there. Have a look at my current inspiration - I'd love to hear your thoughts : )

The above pic is by a fav artist of mine on Elfwood, his stuff is ridiculous fun ;p

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Friday Funnies - what I'd LOVE to be doing right now

2011-07-15T07:26:00.000+12:00

*grin* After a 2 hour session of swordplay last night (Squeee! So much FUN!) and then a run on an icy cold morning - full moon and all with frost glittering everywhere *brr* I'd really love to be crawling back into bed rather than going to work.... dreams are free ;p

Take care all!

Nic

The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Damsel in a Dirty Dress

A need for solitude - to embrace the darkness

Characters of the BirthRight Trilogy - Introducing Alek

Explaining - why I blame Disney - and Disney Porn (seriously!)

I blame disney

Piracy

Characters from the Trilogy - introducing Laura

It's nearly the end of the month

Characters from the Trilogy - introducing Kassandra

Super cute review on a super cute blog!

Characters from the Trilogy - introducing Sian

Watching Julie & Julia

Help for the novice Indie author

Is formatting ebooks your idea of hell?

Something fun! Friday Funnies

Let's play make-believe! A renewal of the characters of the BirthRight Trilogy and who would play them

And inspiration comes flooding in

Ugh - writing the HARD scenes

A new year, another goal

Present time!

Shills and unscrupulous reviews - please fellow Indies, DON'T DO THIS!

Buy Awakening in Nook/Sony/Apple format on this blog - that's right!

The challenges of being an Indie in NZ - and a solution for my Barnes & Noble/Sony/Apple readers! And a not so great update.

The hard work is done! Awakening is released to the world (or web, at least ;p)

Awakening is LIVE!

We have a blurb!

The time is approaching…

English - are we speaking the same language?

The hardest decision ever

3am Eureka moment

Review number 2 is done... but do I have to rewrite the ending?

Progress on Awakening and help support an Indie Film Maker - Chaz Harris

Working smarter, not harder

Out of order - for the moment

Woo! Progress and a very cool occurrence

Must be Monday...

A very cool idea - thought up by a Kiwi, naturally *grin*

Introducing Patricia Lynne and Being Human

I'm blaming the snow…

A fight for freedom - help free Morgan!

Sometimes you just need a damn good read

Crazy Beautiful

Just incase you missed it.. The cover to AWAKENING

Friday Funnies!

A sneaky move...

Why is it when you finally get a break?

THE FIRST DRAFT IS COMPLETE!

Indie authors vs Indie authors?

Those final three days...

Woo! It's my birthday - some themed pics for fun : )

It's FRIDAY!! (sorry to those still stuck on Thurs in Northern hemisphere ;p)

Is Smashwords really worth it?

Friday Funnies - Animals that got stuck

Eating humble pie.

Writer Wednesday - Introducing Penelope Fletcher

Searches conducted today while writing and a technical question for comma freaks!

Creating a new species or race

Working on scenes, have a look at the current inspiration

Friday Funnies - what I'd LOVE to be doing right now

A very cool idea - thought up by a Kiwi, naturally grin