Saturday, 15 March 2014

Second Book Block - Fact or Fiction?

I am sitting in front of a box of books, MY books, in awe. I can't believe I did it. I really, really did it.


The feeling is indescribable. Joy, elation, stunned silence, disbelief, immense self achievement.  There is nothing like holding a copy of your own book in your hands.

So that is all well and good. But I don't think I'll be able to retire on the sales of one book alone.  I need to write another one.

I've heard other writers say they struggle with second book block and that subsequent books are much harder to write. I wondered how that could be, I was of the assumption the second book should be easier. Up until now.

Of Fire & Roses came fast. The first draft was done in about 6 weeks. I was full of ideas, plot twists and creativity. But now it comes to writing the second book in the Erlanis Chronicles and I find myself stumped at every turn and have to think outside the square to avoid repeating scenes, predictable plots and duplicated phrases.

It is difficult, really difficult. With your first manuscript you could write whatever you wanted. With the second, you have to make sure it matches up with the first. Throwaway lines that you think nothing of, now have to be justified and in some cases, this can be incredibly difficult.

How do you avoid the dreaded second book block? Here are a few things I wish I had known while writing the first book of a series:

  • When choosing dates or time frames, eras etc do a bit of research to find out if it will be difficult to back up what you've send in the first book. e.g. perhaps rethink creating something such as the witch hunts of 200AD when there is limited reference material to be able to do the story line justice. In hindsight, I would have perhaps picked something a little closer to present day so I didn't have to write 2000 years of ancestry. It takes a long, long time.
  • When writing the first book, think ahead to your subsequent books in the series and perhaps draft up a basic arc so you know where things are going and don't use all the best twists and turns for one book. 
  • Think about your character's motivations. Once you get past the initial hero and heroine's primary motivation of falling in love and hopefully living happily ever after, what do they want next?

The main thing, in my opinion, is to think ahead. Think about how something would work in subsequent books, and how difficult it might be to go in to more detail or find research material.

I myself, have started yet another project, whether it is because of having too many ideas or if I'm just putting off writing the second book!

Thursday, 6 March 2014

Spring Fling Blog Hop - Spring has Sprung!


Hello to all the readers, hoppers and writers!

Spring is sprung, the grass is ris, I wonder where the birdies is...

The Spring Fling Blog Hop is kindly brought to you by the generous hosts Jennifer Conner, Danica Winters and Sharon Kleve. 

To celebrate the wonderful season of Spring, they are giving away a new Kindle Paperwhite and a $25 Amazon Gift Card! And I have a little gift as well. I'm giving away a $10 Evernight Teen Gift Card!

Today I'd like to introduce my latest release, the first in the Erlanis Chronicles, Of Fire & Roses. A YA paranormal romance.



Nathaniel West’s mother is dead, his father a lost cause. Anger has become a way of life, until he meets and falls in love with Cora Ewell. Only Cora has a secret, one that could kill them both.

An age old dark magic resurfaces and it becomes a race against time for Cora and Nate to find the long buried secrets to saving everyone they love and each other.

After a near fatal accident leaves Nate in limbo, he must find a way to get through to Cora before time runs out and she is forced into life eternal with the evil wizard, Elias Stafford.



Spring is the season of love, so what better time to get into a new romance novel!

For your chance to win the above prizes, all you need to do is leave a comment on my blog telling me how you celebrate Spring. Don't forget to leave your contact details so I can contact you if you win!

While you are here, please feel free to sign up to my blog to receive all the latest news, read fun blogs and keep up to date on my new series. 

Winners will be announced after March 11th, 2014.  For more chances to win these great prizes and more by all the other great bloggers, go to:




Saturday, 1 March 2014

RELEASE DAY - Lone Wolf's Captive by Sherilee Gray


 I'm so excited announce this fabulous new release from incredibly talented author, Sherilee Gray. 



Published by Escape Publishing

He let her father chase him off once, but this time nothing is getting in his way.
Fletcher Stone was forced out of the pack life, and now he makes his living as a hired thug, living day-to-day without honour or commitments. Shame over his choices and his lifestyle keep him from returning to the pack to claim Delaney — the woman who holds his heart. But when a rival pack hires him to kidnap her, Fletcher takes his chance. Now he must convince her that he never wanted to leave…and reveal a betrayal that will break her heart.
Delaney Jones has spent the last five years convinced the man she loves is dead. Nothing else would keep him from her. So when Fletcher shows up, whole, healthy, and very much alive, she’s devastated — and pissed off. He broke her heart once and he's never going to get close enough to do it again.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR



Sherilee Gray’s always had a big (some may say warped) imagination, and as a kid scared herself conjuring up tales full of terrifying creatures. All grown up, she still has the big imagination and monsters in her stories… only now they’re chasing their happily ever after. Based in beautiful New Zealand with her extremely supportive husband and their two children, she spends her time writing, hoarding books, and eating copious amounts of chocolate.



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Saturday, 22 February 2014

AUTHOR VS FAMILY - Don't Tell Me I Can't Have Both (I'll bite your ankles!)

Now that the short joke is out of the way, on to the serious stuff.

If I knew then what I know now, I don’t think I would have got past the first paragraph of the first draft for Of Fire & Roses. But perhaps my naivety (and possibly pregnancy hormones) worked in my favour. 

So at 6 months pregnant, with a toddler and an office job an hour away from my rural home I decided to make number 1 on my bucket list a reality. 

Some would call this heroic, others might refer to it as suicidal. “What are you thinking?” Their panicked voices rang out. My answer to that- there are 24 usable hours in every day.

So I embarked on writing the first draft of “Of Fire & Roses”.  I was writing when I got up in the morning, during the day and the last thing I would do at night. On the bus on my way to work I had 45 minutes to scribble notes down on any kind of writing material I could find; the back of old envelopes, business cards, old shopping lists, even the odd napkin. In roughly 6 weeks, I had a full manuscript in my hands.

I received my first round of edits from my publisher the day my second daughter came into the world. Throw in a newborn right before my first novel is published and things turn 500 shades of crazy.


It never occurred to me that I might fail. I have discovered if you want something bad enough, you will find a way.

However! That being said, there is a very fine line of doing everything and neglecting your family to the point of breakdown and this is where the balancing act comes in. It took me standing in the driveway of our beach shack at 1.30am when our 8 week old wouldn’t stop screaming, watching my husband drive off with said baby saying I was putting this book before my family.

I shut the laptop lid without a sound, unhooked the Ethernet cable, and re-evaluated my current goals. My babies were growing up before my eyes and I was missing it, not to mention a husband who was not feeling the love.

So how can you have a family AND a writing career?

First and foremost, your family comes first. You don’t want to miss your baby’s first smiles or other milestones because you have your head buried so far into your laptop your counting words in your sleep and burping adverbs.

There are 3 little words that I have printed in 72 point bold on my fridge for when my 2 year old is wailing at me and digging through the pantry at 3pm because she hasn’t had lunch yet.

It. Can. Wait.

The earth won’t stop spinning if you don’t finish that blog post right then and there.  Not every single reader that is going to buy the book will do so the second it is released so you don’t have to do everything right now.

Utilise time when no one is around.  Get up an hour or two before everyone else. These are golden moments when you can take your time.  Have a plan so you know what you are going to do in those moments you do get to work and don’t waste those precious minutes.

Multi-task. God’s gift to you that allows you to do more than one thing at a time.



Finally,  and probably most importantly, remember you are a writer, not a blogger. Make time to write. Everyday. Be it 5 minutes or 5 hours. Otherwise you can fall in to the trap of spending all your time writing blogs, trawling Facebook and Twitter and checking rankings when you should be penning your next masterpiece.

So I’ve made my peace with the craziness of life, learnt to chill out and not take everything so seriously.  I roll with the punches and with the odd exception, try to take everything in my stride.


So these days, I can usually be found sitting on the lounge, computer resting on my lap, coffee within arms reach, rocking a baby chair with my foot juggling play doh in one hand, sending a text message with the other while using voice dictation on the computer.


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Sunday, 16 February 2014

CAUTION! AWESOME BOOK ALERT! Presenting "FINDING EVAN", by Lisa Swallow

I am so proud and honoured to call this incredible author my friend. Her books are full of diverse characters who you laugh with, cry with and occasionally want to smack around the head.  



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Book title: Finding Evan by Lisa Swallow
Series: Butterfly Days #2
Genre: NA Contemporary Romance
Release date: January 15, 2014
Hosted by: Forever Me Romance




“She killed a part of me – the part which trusts when someone tells you they love you, and allows you to trust that person with your heart.” 

Ness and Evan return to Leeds from Europe, and begin their new life together. But the past Evan has buried for years resurfaces and threatens their future. 

After fifteen years, Evan doesn’t want any contact with the woman who abandoned him, but is unwillingly pulled into his mother’s life by Lucy. 

Feeling pushed aside by Ness’s focus on her studies and new friends, Evan can’t confide in Ness about what’s happening. This return to his old behavior adds more distance to their relationship. When Ness’s new friend Ollie picks up the pieces because Evan is away, Evan’s insecurities threaten their relationship further. 

Ness becomes aware of Evan’s situation, and she questions whether he will ever be able to break his ties to those dragging him down. If he can’t put himself first, and live the life he wants, she is unable to see how their relationship could work. In return, Evan struggles with Ness’s inability to get close to people, and her distance pushes him further away. 

The decision about the future of the relationship is taken out of their hands - by something that could end things between Ness and Evan forever…


Book 1 - Because of Lucy Excerpt

     I side step the sink and turn. A guy leans against the doorframe, trying to appear nonchalant but his slackened stance indicates he’s attempting to keep himself upright. His brown hair is longer at the front and spills into his face, and unfocused brown eyes appear to be looking in my direction. He’s one of the regulars. I don’t pay a lot of attention, but he’s a good-looking guy and they never go unnoticed. 
     “Yes?” I snap. I’m so not in the mood.
      His eyes sweep my figure. Unbelievable... I straighten my sleeves and look at him with an eyebrow raised.
     “Are you Abby’s housemate?”
     “Who are you?”
     “Evan.” He rubs his nose. “You’re not a student?”
     “Correct, I am the one not lying in a drunken haze on the floor contemplating my navel.”
     Evan takes a step forward, steadying himself with one hand as my witty repartee sails over his head. “Why?”
     “Why am I not on the floor drunk?”
     “Why aren’t you a student?”
     “Because I work instead.”
     “Hmm.” He pauses and grasps onto the sink, searching for a glass. I pass him the spare one. 
     “Did you fail?”
     “Fail what?”
     Evan fills the glass. “Or are you just not smart enough for uni? What is it you do?” He gulps the water in three mouthfuls then wipes his mouth with his hand.
     Arrogant wanker.
     “That’s right, I’m not smart enough. I’m living with Abby until I can find a nice man to marry then I can have 2.4 kids and a house in the suburbs. Because, as I’m not a student, I have no future.”
     Evan leans against the sink. “Fair enough.”
     Oh my god he believes me. How pissed is he exactly? “So, you think anyone who doesn’t go to university is inferior to you?” I demand.
     I’ve seen her friends looking down their noses at me. Inverted snobbery. On top of that, the locals hate students and the students hate locals. I’m neither. I can’t win.
     We’re close now and he stinks of alcohol and pot, a faint hint of deodorant lingering on his clothes. Evan’s T-shirt has come untucked and rides up as he leans against the sink. He’s toned, evidently works out.      I can’t help myself, I check him out. Beneath his curls he has deep brown eyes. Incoherent eyes. I hate to admit, but something about him is seriously sexy. Even if he is a dick. 
     “Well, if you’ll excuse me,” I say. 
     He sniggers. 
     “What’s funny?” 
     “You sound like the Queen.”
     Not this again. I get enough crap at work. I move from Cheltenham to Yorkshire and suddenly I’m ‘stuck up home counties girl’. I don’t dignify his comment with an answer and turn away from him, and walk out of the  kitchen.
     “Want me to get the guy out of your bed?” he calls after me.
     I stop and look round. “You know him?”
     “I could replace him.”
     My mouth drops open at his arrogance. An attempt at a flirtatious smile plays around his lips but the unfocused eyes kill the effect he’s trying to achieve. He’s serious. I imagine he has a ready supply of eager girls. No surprise with a body and looks like his, such a shame he needs a personality transplant. 
     I step towards him. “Evan. I am not pissed. Nor are you getting into my bed. Good night.” Feeling happy with my retort, I saunter towards the stairs. Behind me, Evan impersonates my sentence with an exaggerated posh accent.
     It’s a good thing that I’m sober otherwise I’d go back there and punch him.



Book 1 - Because of Lucy


Book 2 - Finding Evan

B&N






Lisa is an author of new adult romance and writes both paranormal and contemporary, often with a side of snark. In between running a business, looking after her family and writing, Lisa sometimes finds spare time to do other things. This often involves swapping her book worlds for gaming worlds. She even leaves the house occasionally. Lisa loves all things from the Whedonverse and preferred vampires before they sparkled. 
Lisa has four books published: the ‘Butterfly Days’ series, and two in her urban fantasy series Soul Ties. She is currently working on a new contemporary romance series Blue Phoenix and the first book, Summer Sky is due for release in April. Lisa is originally from the UK but moved to Australia in 2001 and now lives in Perth in Western Australia with her husband, three children and dog.



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Thursday, 13 February 2014

RELEASE DAY! OF FIRE & ROSES - Can I get a woot woot!



Just breathe, in and out, in and out.  Who woulda thought that I would ever see this? I'm standing here doing the 'running man' in the living room. Let's hope you never see that...

Every day I sit in wonder how I got this far. Those people who know me, will be well aware of my penchant for starting things.  I love starting things. It's just finishing that's the problem. So the fact that this even got past first draft is a complete mystery to me!

But here it is. A little book I wrote.  Please enjoy. 

Of Fire & Roses 




* Book #1: The Erlanis Chronicles *

Nathaniel West's mother is dead, his father a lost cause. Anger has become a way of life, until he meets and falls in love with Cora Ewell. Only Cora has a secret, one that could kill them both.

An age old dark magic resurfaces and it becomes a race against time for Cora and Nate to find the long buried secrets to saving everyone they love and each other.

After a near fatal accident leaves Nate in limbo, he must find a way to get through to Cora before time runs out and she is forced into life eternal with the evil wizard, Elias Stafford.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Danielle Belwater adores the concept of true love and truly believes everyone has their Prince Charming or Snow White out there somewhere, even if they have to fight demons, ghosts, and wizards to find it.
Danielle has been having a love affair with words since she was young and in primary school, writing some rather imaginative tales. This love has followed her into adulthood. 
She lives in rural South Australia with her husband, young daughters and way too many animals to mention. She spends most of her time dreaming up characters, stories, ghostly tales, and watching Firefly re-runs.  She also cooks the odd meal for her family to avoid them looking like skeletons at official author functions!
Danielle is passionate about reading and her interests include pretty much anything with words from rolling four volume epics to the daily newspaper.



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