A few days ago, Sasha’s Spirit (Spectrum Security Inc. #2) went to my editor. At this point, I’m supposed to be getting into writing my next Club Aegis book—Soul Lost—which is the 8th book in a planned series of nine. However… Sometimes, the characters take over. Sean and Nia, from Soul Lost, have gone into a bit of a sulk and won’t talk to me. I’m not entirely sure why, but Lucas—or as he prefers to be called, Brand—and Rachael have decided they’d quite like me to look at their story, for a while, at least. Their story is currently provisionally entitled Rachael’s Brand. Lucas is a more mature hero—something…
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New Page – In The Works…
The eagle-eyed among you may have spotted a new link in the menu bar – In The Works. It pretty much does what it says on the tin. It’s a list of the major projects I’m working on at the moment, with an indication of where they are in the process. However, when I say “process”, it’s perhaps too formal a word for the method by which I produce a book. I wish I could say I plot meticulously and then stick to that plot while writing, but I—like many authors—am subject to the whims of my characters. If they don’t want a plot to go in a certain direction,…
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Plans for 2020
Hello, and a slightly belated Happy New Year! I hope this year is a good one for you. I thought it might be a good idea to let you know what’s on the cards for the start of the new decade. Let me first start by sharing the news that I’m going part-time at the day job, so I have an extra full day for writing, which I hope will assist in making at least some of these plans come to fruition. Events: I’m attending one event as an author this year, and that’s Books On The Beach in Blackpool on 22 August 2020. To find out more, here’s the…
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Works in Progress – 21 March 2019
And yes, I do mean Works, plural. I have a butterfly mind, especially when I hit “Publish” on a book—or, as is the case with Charity’s Heart, it goes live in the care of another publisher—and after the event, I have to decide what I’m going to work on next. That used to be relatively easy. Choices, choices. I now have two series on the go, but it doesn’t stop there. Back when I wrote my first book, I used to wonder where the next idea would come from, but now, like many, if not most, authors, I have so many ideas buzzing around my head, it’s difficult to know where to…
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British English v American English
There’s a saying, attributed to various sources, that Britain and America are two countries divided by a common language. Regardless of the source, it’s certainly true that they’re divided by certain spellings! For those of you who’ve read one or more of my Club Aegis books and then gone on to read Charity’s Heart (Spectrum Security Inc. #1), you may have noticed that the Club Aegis books are written in British English, but Charity’s Heart is written in American English, as will the books yet to be written in the series. You may be wondering why. I am more than happy to explain. The Club Aegis books feature predominantly British characters, usually in British locations which is…
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Amazon only or wide – that is the question…
My blog posts are like buses – you wait ages for one, then a bunch come along at once, although I’m not certain two constitutes a bunch. Then again, who knows what tomorrow might bring? This post concerns the vexing question in its title. At least, it’s a vexing question for indie authors like me, who have control of all aspects of the writing and publication processes. I started off wide – that means I listed my books on all the websites I felt comfortable with: Amazon, Kobo, others via a service provided by Draft2Digital (D2D), mainly so I could list on iBooks. For those of you who aren’t aware,…
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The book that turned me from a pantser to a plotter…
Passion’s Last Promise, the next book in my Club Aegis series, is finally in the hands of my wonderful editor. I am so relieved to be able to type that line. This story has been a long time in the writing – the first file I have for it goes back to September 2014. Between then and now, it’s undergone many changes – the main male character has had three different names, and I can’t even remember how many scenes have been added and then removed. Even the physical structure of the story has changed – until very recently, there was a prologue, but I decided that the content was best…
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The Ugly Truth of Publishing…
Dear Reader You may have already heard this from me before – if so, I apologise – but in case you haven’t, you may not be aware that I’m not a full-time writer, much though I would love to be. Bills have to be paid, and since I’m a relative newbie at writing, I also have to work to support my books. They need editing and they need cover art, and if you want those things done to a high standard, you have to pay the going rate. So, I have a day job. When I first told my colleagues that I was having a book published (it was a…
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Permission to be baaaaaad…
I just read a brilliant article on Kristen Lamb’s blog: https://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2015/10/06/good-girls-dont-become-best-sellers-channeling-your-inner-bad-girl-to-reach-your-dreams/ I identified with so much of what Kristen wrote, and I know I’m not the only one. If you write, and you’re like me, and find it difficult to bang the drum, blow your own trumpet, or otherwise be loud and proud about what you create, please read it. Please. Read. It.
