Write Here, Write Now

Hey guys! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your support yesterday. I'd been so down for so long, it was a relief to get it out of my head, and your kind words made all the difference. Your comments shifted me right out of my misery, and I am just about raring to get moving again! Before you all think I totally forgot, it's time for me to announce the winner of the Letting Go Bloghop! Every single entry was superb, and I had such a hard time choosing a winner, I just gave the entries to my mum to read lol! Bless her, she sat down yesterday afternoon and read every single one. She was just as impressed as I was but after much deliberation, she picked her winner so ... everyone please give a huge congratulations to Scribbles From Jenn ! I will be in touch very soon about your prize! Thanks to everyone who participated - you were all amazing! And now, it's time for that thing everyone is talking about! Yup, it's NaNo! It starts tomorrow and a huge spanner

This post comes with a warning - it isn't very fitting with my usual sunny vibe - but I'm hoping that taking the time to unload this crap from my head will help me feel better and back to normal in no time! So, you may have noticed I've been ... not away, but not as present as usual. Last week, I turned 30. Yeah, I know, no big deal, right? And it's not, I am a firm believer that age is just a number. But saying goodbye to my twenties hit me pretty hard. I am feeling the first stirrings of failure because I can't afford to live alone, I don't have the things most other people my age have, and I'm not sure where it went wrong. What happened? How am I THAT girl? When I first read Bridget Jones' Diary, I thought it was the funniest thing ever - but now I am at that age ... well, it's not so funny lol. Then there's the writing thing. I always wanted to write. I always WANT to write. But lately, I am plagued by this nagging doubt telling me I suck

Howdy peeps! I know most people make book trailers to promote their books pre-release, but I never really got around to it. Recently, though, I decided I'd have a crack at it! My biggest problem was locating decent music for it - but you know what's awesome? Having friends who are musicians!   Alberto Albis and Erin Alden are both supremely talented in their own right. Alberto is in an AMAZING band, and produces music for other artists, and Erin is a singer/songwriter/all round kickass chick! Having been friends for a long time, it was only natural that they teamed up to create Slow Motion Riot . After hearing their collaborations, I fell even more in love with these two musical geniuses, and was given permission to use one of their songs, Bullet Train, for my book trailer! *cue screams and happy dances* :D So, here is my first ever book trailer for my first ever book - made with a little help from my friends ;) Whaddya think? Now - as Slow Motion Riot have been

 Happy Almost Halloween! Today is the start of the awesome Spooktoberfest, hosted by Jackie and Dani ! Let me tell ya, these ladies know how to host kickass blogfests, and this one is no exception!  Here's the rules:  Requirements : 1.  Your Flash Fiction piece cannot be any longer than 300 words . Sorry… that’s part of the challenge. It can be scary, comical, romantic, whatever you choose. Just be creative! 2.  You must use the MANDATORY 5 words listed below       cobweb(s)       cauldron(s)       jack-o-lantern(s)     ghost(s)   razor(s) 3.  Post your Flash Fiction piece on your blog anytime between ... Friday Oct. 26 - Monday, Oct. 29 th .  The contest ends at 11:59 p.m. Monday. 4.  Follow  Dani and myself if you don’t already. We will follow back. 5.  It’s a blog hop, so hop around to other participating blogs and leave some awesome comments when the stories are posted. 6.  Have fun! Naomi took a deep breath, trying to

Happy Almost Halloween! Kathy at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer is hosting the most enormous giveaway for Halloween! As you can see from the linky list below, there are absolutely masses of prizes up for grabs, so check out the links and see if you can win yourself a prize! I am giving away one copy of Game On, so if you haven't got round to buying a copy yet - WHY NOT? :p LOL, just kidding! One lucky winner will receive a copy of my debut novel, and for those who are new to the blog, here is the synopsis:   After swapping her small town life to work for one of the top soccer teams in the U.S, Leah Walker thought she could finally leave the ghosts of her past behind. However, when she meets serial womanizer, Radleigh McCoy, the memories of her old life come swarming back, and she is forced to ask herself whether she has really changed at all. This contest is open internationally and runs from today, until November 1st. So, good luck everyone, and happy Halloween blogho

Good morning, everyone! I have another post scheduled shortly that I've had planned for a while, but I couldn't let the day go without saying THANK YOU to all of you for your support for If I Let You Go yesterday! If you downloaded, joined in with the bloghop, tweeted, Facebooked and anything else to help me out - I am SO grateful! I will do a proper post with details of how it all went soon - and let you know who the winner of the bloghop is - but for now - just ... thank you! XX

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Letting Go bloghop, to celebrate the release of my novella, If I Let You Go! As an extra special gift, the novella is free today only on Amazon, so if you don't have a copy yet, check it out! The rules: Was there a time when you had to let go of someone or something? How did it make you feel? How did you handle it? Or if that's too personal - which I completely understand - how about writing a piece of flash fiction? The only rules are - obviously - it has to be related to letting go, and please keep it to a maximum of 500 words. When the day arrives, I will hop around to all the entries, along with my independent judge (otherwise known as "Mum" LOL), and the story that touches us the most will win a $10 Amazon gift card!  ** Just for fun, here is my entry - a short piece of flash fiction I wrote a few years ago. :D Brushing away a tear with the back of my hand, I listened to his shallow, hollo

Good morning, and welcome to yet another fab bloghop, hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh and Ciara Knight! This hop is all about sharing the love for your fellow writers. Here are the rules: Post about a book you’ve noticed. You can choose a book that you’ve read, something you saw on a blog or social media site, Goodreads, or a sales website. Anything that caught your eye because of a great cover, blurb or reviews, but DON’T tell the author that their book has been noticed. Instead, shout out on social media sites, and encourage others to do the same, until the author finds his/her book. Leave a blog comment at Ninja Captain Alex or Ciara Knight when the author finds their book. Only two rules: 1) You can’t post about your own book. 2) The book shouldn’t be on the New York Times or USA Today bestseller list. This is your chance to shout out about a book that might not have been noticed by others. Cool, huh? :D I have noticed several excellent books recently, but

Hey everyone! So, I figured with less than month to go before Blindsided is released - EEK - I should probably get the cover out there! Synopsis:  After a successful first soccer season in L.A, Jesse Shaw heads to London with his best buddy, Hunter, but his world is turned upside down when a dangerous prank threatens his career and his blossoming relationship with Hunter’s cousin, Isabelle.  Isabelle Mills lives in Notting Hill with her parents and her twin sister, Georgia. When she finds out her cousin is coming to stay, along with his famous soccer player friend, her first instinct is to hibernate until they’ve gone. However, once she meets Jesse, everything changes. He’s everything she ever wanted, but with so many obstacles in their path, can she really risk putting her heart on the line? ** Now, I know it's a bit plain, but here's the thing, book covers in a series are supposed to match lol! Game On's cover was simple yet effective, so when it comes to

  YAY! It's time for another cover reveal! Today, it's Victoria Smith's debut novel, The Crimson Hunt, which is due for release on November 12th! Victoria Smith is a hugely talented writer, and a flag-flyer for New Adult fiction! Let's take a look at her new book!   The Crimson Hunt (Eldaen Light Chronicles, #1) by: Victoria H. Smith Release Date: November 12, 2012 Genre: New Adult Science Fiction Romance     Book Description: College junior Ariel Richmond is working on year three of Project Normalcy. Her house reeks of keggers past and her bestie is just a slight bit vulgar. But the thing is—they both aid in making life refreshingly uneventful. So much for hard-earned mediocrity when Luca Grinaldi appears on the scene. Luca’s sudden presence on campus is hard to ignore. Those bright eyes act like a beacon to unsuspecting females, and with features like his, he’s got to be moonlighting for GQ. Luca hopelessly captivates Ariel w

Yeah, not the most imaginative title ever, but, it's been a long week! First of all, thanks to all of you who left your thoughts on my last blog post about what makes you dislike a book. I haven't replied to the comments yet, but I found your answers really interesting, and I will reply to them as soon as possible! Next, the beautiful Clare Dugmore wrote an awesome review of If I Let You Go, which you can find here . Thanks to Clare, and everyone else who has taken the time to leave reviews on Goodreads or Amazon - it's hugely appreciated. The novella has only been out for a week (almost), and it's doing pretty well, so another massive thanks to everyone who has downloaded it! The second book in the Game On Series, "Blindsided" is about to go through a massive round of last minute edits. I received a proof copy, and just in the first few pages, there are a bunch of things I want to change. This is no reflection at all on my amazing CPs, it's just tha

Recently, I have become fascinated by reading reviews on Goodreads. Not just for my own books, but reviews on books I loved, and books I wasn't crazy about. It never fails to astonish me how different people's opinions can be. But what I don't get are ratings that don't entirely match up to the review. One thing I've seen over and over is people who made a point to comment that they loved someone's writing style, but were so annoyed by the characters, they only gave one or two stars overall. It got me wondering - what is the biggest factor that makes people decide to give a bad rating? For me, not understanding or liking a character is not a good enough reason. I recently read a book in which I didn't feel any connection to the main characters, and one of them I outright HATED. However, even though I wasn't crazy about the people in the book, I  enjoyed the story, and the writing was excellent. Reasons I dislike books include draggy plots, masses o

Yeah, I know ... three weeks early but If I Let You Go is now available! I am doing the KDP Select thing, so for a while, it is only available on the Kindle, but you can buy it for £1.02 in the UK, and $1.65 in the U.S! If I Let You Go - Amazon UK If I Let You Go - Amazon.com Just because there is an early release, it doesn't mean the bloghop is cancelled or moved - the details for that are still the same! If you want to sign up for it, there is still loads and loads of time! On October 22nd, I invite you to share some stories about letting go. Was there a time when you had to let go of someone or something? How did it make you feel? How did you handle it? Or if that's too personal - which I completely understand - how about writing a piece of flash fiction?  The only rules are - obviously - it has to be related to letting go, and please keep it to a maximum of 500 words. When the day arrives, I will hop around to all the entries, along with my i

Today, I am welcoming CM Brown to my blog, to celebrate the launch of her latest book, He Came For Mine!    Book Two in The Protector Series By C.M. Brown Available as and eBook at: Smashwords and Amazon Price: $2.99 Add He Came For Mine to your TBR list on Goodreads You can connect with Carolyn c.m.brown.books@gmail.com http://cmbrown-books.blogspot. com.au/ Facebook Twitter For the next two weeks Carolyn is holding a Rafflecopter Draw on her Blog, to celebrate the following three reasons: The release of Book Two in the Protector Series, titled: He Came For Mine 2.   One full year of Blogging! & 3.   Twelve months since the launch of Book One in The Protector Series! Prizes will include: One $20 AUD (Australian Dollars) Amazon Gift Card One free eBook of Book Two in The Protector Series, He Came For Mine! One free book cover illustration by Rebekah Romani TO ENTER CLICK HERE ! Also, dur

IWSG time! I'd like to start by thanking Alex J. Cavanaugh for this fab bloghop, and today in particular, it is just the motivation I need to get me blogging again! Today, I'm talking book sales. Now, I don't really know if there is any kind of "average" amount of books sales when you're an indie author. I don't know what is considered a good amount of book sales per month, or whether I am doing better or worse than others. What I do know, is that I am happy with the amount of books I've sold. I self-published because I want people to read my work - and people are reading it - yay! My concern is - what if the sales stop? I know after a time, everyone's book sales will slow down, but I have this fear that I'll check my sales every couple of weeks to find that nobody cares about reading my books anymore.The dreaded 0 will show on my Kindle sales, and I will plummet into a pit of despair. It hasn't happened yet, but Game On has onl

Hey guys! Just wanted to let you know I am back from my blog break, but making my transition back into the blogosphere quite slowly lol. Finding my motivation is hard after 7 days of nothingness, but no doubt it will all come back to me soon! I will be writing up a decent post later this week, but for now, let me know if I've missed anything important! :D