Sunday 22 September 2013

Coming 1st October 2013


As the launch of his book is drawing nearer I invited Bruce Blake onto the blog to give us an insight into his writing.
First off lets start with some facts about Bruce.
 
Bruce Blake lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. When pressing issues like shovelling snow and building igloos don't take up his spare time, Bruce can be found taking the dog sled to the nearest cafe to work on his short stories and novels.

Actually, Victoria, B.C. is only a couple hours north of Seattle, Wash., where more rain is seen than snow. Since snow isn't really a pressing issue, Bruce spends more time trying to remember to leave the "u" out of words like "colour" and "neighbour" than he does shovelling. The father of two, Bruce is also the trophy husband of burlesque diva Miss Rosie Bitts.
 
Over to you Bruce - what can you tell us about the writing of your book When Shadows Fall.
 
When I tell people I wrote the first draft of my upcoming novel, When Shadows Fall (The First Book of the Small Gods) in fourteen days, they either stare at me with a blank expression, make me repeat it to ensure they didn't mishear me and I actually said forty, or they ask me how I managed to churn out an entire novel in such a short time. Since you are not looking at me, and it clearly says 'fourteen' days in the last sentence, I'm going to assume you fall into the third group...so here's how it happened.
 
Firstly, it's important to realize I am a full-time writer—making stuff up is what I do. This output didn't happen in half-hour snatches here and there, but in 5-7 hour chunks of tapping on my laptop's keys. Before you stop reading because you don't have that much time to write, realize that what's most important about this output is how much I produced in the time I had—consistently about 1300 words/hour. This number—your productivity—is how all authors should evaluate the effectiveness of their writing time, with a goal of maximizing the number of words written in the time available. It can be difficult to work around a day job, family, and other commitments—and none of us can jam more hours into the day—but you can control what you do with the time you have and get the most out of the minutes you put in at the keyboard. Here are the steps I took to keep my word count high.
 
1.      Pre-planning. More effort went into the planning of this book than any I've ever written. For a month, as I was writing and editing another project, I spent my evenings world-building for the Small Gods series. It was really during this phase that the seeds of the story grew and blossomed. The more I learned about the background and history of this world, the more the story I was planning kept taking twists and turns I wasn't expecting.
2.      Outlining. There's always a debate amongst writers about outlining versus writing by the seat of your pants. Simply put: I find I'm more productive when I have a pretty good idea where I want to go. It means I don't lose writing time by stopping to think about what to do next. This dovetails perfectly into the next point.
3.      Daily planning. This is a tip I picked up from Rachel Aaron's great little writing book 2000 to 10000: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love. It's a simple concept...take the first five minutes of your writing session, grab a pen and paper (that's right—the old-fashioned way) and jot down what you will be writing about. Include actions, bits of dialogue, descriptions; all the points you want to hit, plus some of the detail. This is your road map for what you will write today—not tomorrow, not yesterday, but today.
4.      No editing. Sounds funny, doesn't it? Of course I edit, just not while I'm writing the first draft. I know too many writers who never get to the end of their manuscript because they spend too much time polishing the first half of the book to perfection. Not only are first drafts supposed to suck, I know the way I write; chances are good that, if I did a bunch of editing before I finished the rough draft, something else would change and I'd end up going back to rewrite all that careful editing, anyway. Time well wasted.
5.      Unplug. The internet is not your friend. If you are writing and you can't find the word you're after, can't come up with a great name for a new character, or need to do a bit of research, bookmark it and save it for non-writing time. Seriously, it will still be there at 10 o'clock on Thursday night when there's a commercial during The Amazing Race...do it then. Don't even get me started on Facebook and email
6.      Make writing a priority. We all hear many writers lamenting that they can't find time to write. I never have that problem because I plan my writing time, then make everything else work with it. I did the same thing when I was working sixty hour weeks...the job schedule was the only thing that was inflexible, everything else had to realize I had a book to write.
 
With planning and forethought, it's more than possible to write quickly without sacrificing quality. Be ready, be focused, be dedicated...now go write.
 
Cover blurb:
A hundred hundred seasons have turned since the Goddess banished the Small Gods to the sky, leaving the land to mankind alone.
 
For Prince Teryk, life behind the castle walls is boring and uneventful until he stumbles upon an arcane scroll in a long-forgotten chamber. The parchment speaks of Small Gods, the fall of man, and the kingdom's savior—the firstborn child of the rightful king. It's his opportunity to prove himself to his father, the king, and assure his place in history. All he needs to do is find the man from across the sea—a man who can't possibly exist—and save mankind.
 
But ancient magic has been put in motion by a mysterious cult determined to see the Small Gods reborn. Powerful forces clash, uncaring for the lives of mortals in their struggle to prevent the return of the banished ones, or aid in their rebirth.
 
Named in a prophecy or not, what chance does a cocky prince who barely understands the task laid before him stand in a battle with the gods?
 
So don't forget the date :1st October. To find out more about Bruce visit his Goodreads page http://www.goodreads.com/author/Bruce_Blake where you can follow his blog and see all the other books he has published.
 
Thanks for reading,
 
Marie.
 

Friday 20 September 2013

Book Launch


Get your glad rags on and join the party for the launch of  Darkest Day the second book in the What She Knew Trilogy.

Was 'what she knew' enough to save JFK?

A must read raves best-selling authors RJ Parker, CJ West and Jodi Thomas.

"What She Knew Trilogy" is a fast paced novel of intrigue and mystery involving America's favorite sex goddess, Marilyn Monroe. This book has all the elements of the next blockbuster hit raves The Times. The authors weave a story of intrigue, mystery, and a touch of conspiracy. In this period piece; high profile, never forgotten, iconic, historical characters are resurrected and showcased in a new light; bringing humor, depth and warmth to an all-star cast.


Given the popularity of Marilyn Monroe; they've simply utilized the events leading up to her death and added their own take on what happened. Following the historical timeline closely as well as the world events of the day, they have created a compelling novel of what if Marilyn had lived and 'what she knew' was enough to save John F. Kennedy from assassination.

The party details https://www.facebook.com/events/167382770114127/

 You can follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatsheknew.krhughestlburns

To buy your copy: http://www.amazon.com/Darkest-What-Knew-Trilogy-ebook/

I wish you ladies the best of luck with your latest book.

Marie.

www.mariegodley.moonfruit.com




 

Kiera's Quest: Sacrifices


Today I'm featuring Kiera's Quest: Sacrifices on my blog.


Book Two in the Tween Fantasy

After almost beating the villainous Witch Queen, Kiera’s triumph is tainted with sadness for the loss of Joe and Daz. When the handsome Prince Zakk asks Kiera to re-enter his world in order to save her friend, she does not hesitate. On their perilous journey Kiera realizes that she is there to save many lives. As she comes face to face with her evil nemesis once again, Kiera comes closer to finding out the truth to why she has been chosen. Will she succeed? Will this be the end to Kiera’s quest?

This book has it all action - betrayal - loss - and survival. You will probably need to read book one  before you read this one but the cliffhanger will soon have you reaching for book three in the series.


Kristy Brown - Author

"I live in the North-East of England, UK. From an early age I had a love of writing, mostly poetry and short stories.
I trained and graduated in Performing Arts. After time went by, I wanted to re-visit my real passion. So after my first son was born, I began writing Kiera’s Quest.
I live happily with my very supportive husband and my two beautiful boys. I have many ideas for stories! I just wish there were more hours in the day."
Find out more about Kristy at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kieras-Quest
Thanks for letting me read Sacrifices Kristy and best of luck with the series.
Marie
 
 
 
 

Sunday 15 September 2013

Jennifer Loiske



Today I'm delighted to welcome my good friend and fellow author, Jennifer Loiske onto my blog, as part of her blog tour. She's here to tell us about her inspiration behind her writing.
 
 
 
Jennifer Loiske lives in Finland in Naantali, which is a small sunny town on the southwest coast. She is a pre-school teacher by profession but she stayed at home when her youngest daughter suffered brain fever, which developed severe epilepsy in 2004. She is a workaholic Teen/Young Adult author, who loves dark fantasy, teen movies, animals and warm sunny days. She’s also very keen on charity work and a big part of her royalties goes to the charity. She’s a part of the team that makes Epilepsy Finland magazine and an international Authors For Charity organization. You can find out more about Jennifer on www.jenniferloiske.com
 
Over to you Jen
 
I’ve always been fascinated by folklores and myths. My debut novel was about the shape shifters, and it wasn’t a big surprise I ended up writing a book about witches. But somehow, in spite of how much I enjoy reading stories and watching movies and series about vampires, I never thought I’d include those creatures in my stories.
However, as I writer I try to listen those ‘little voices’ in my head and follow my instinct. And when a certain voice becomes too loud and irritating I simply have no choice but to listen to it. And that’s how my Immortal Blood Series was born.
My youngest daughter has severe epilepsy. In fact only 77 people in the word has the exact same illness as she does, so you can imagine that everyday life is a struggle most of the time. My way of escaping the reality is to write. In my Shape Shifter Series (which is under heavy re-editing as we speak) I had a chance to put some of my pain on the paper so when I started to write Club Number Five, part 1 of Immortal Blood Series, it was a welcome change. I had a pretty good idea how the story would go from the beginning so I knew I could have fun with the words without thinking about every hidden meaning. One reader once said that he could feel how easily the words must have flown and how much fun I had as I wrote the story. And he was absolutely right. I did have fun. Lots of fun. And now as I’m writing the final part, Blood Master, I found it quite difficult to let go off this series. I’ve grown to love my characters and feel as if I could just continue their story forever. Oh, well, I might need to try something with angels next J
 
Anyway, Club Number Five is only 99c/77p until 20th of September, so grab your copy and I hope you have as much fun while reading as I did when I was writing it!
A couple of reviews for Club Number Five:
“Wow! This kept me on the edge of my seat for as long as I was reading it! I loved the different twist to the vampire myth – and even the first person point of view of a girl going through `the change’ (and no, not THAT change!) Imagine being torn between two guys…one who granted you your new life, the other who would be your perfect match otherwise…”
 
“I loved this book! Steamy, sexy, fast paced and exciting Club Number Five is a must for anyone into the vampire genre. Keeps you guessing throughout and, with a shock to the end, will leave you wanting to re-read it once more. Loiske spectacularly enters into the mindset of the adolescent, female protagonist, and the book will relate to anyone who is, or has ever been, a teenage girl, even if they weren’t managing quite the same problems as Samantha….! Cannot WAIT to read Lucas, the next part of the Immortal Blood series!”
 
Oh, and the second part, Lucas, is out, too, so no worries, if you like the story you don’t have to wait a year to read the next part!
Now Jen has left you wanting to get copies of her books I'll let you have the links.
 
 
 
 
 
Thanks for stopping by on your tour Jen. Best of luck with the rest of it.
Marie.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Friday 13 September 2013

Cover Reveal


 Today I'm happy to be part of Bruce Blake's cover reveal.


Coming Oct. 1: the first book of a new epic fantasy series from Bruce Blake, author of the best-selling Khirro's Journey trilogy.

When Shadows Fall (The First Book of the Small Gods)

 

A hundred hundred seasons have turned since the Goddess banished the Small Gods to the sky, leaving the land to mankind alone.

 

For Prince Teryk, life behind the castle walls is boring and uneventful until he stumbles upon an arcane scroll in a long-forgotten chamber. The parchment speaks of Small Gods, the fall of man, and the kingdom's savior?the firstborn child of the rightful king. It's his opportunity to prove himself to his father, the king, and assure his place in history. All he needs to do is find the man from across the sea?a man who can't possibly exist?and save mankind.

 

But ancient magic has been put in motion by a mysterious cult determined to see the Small Gods reborn. Powerful forces clash, uncaring for the lives of mortals in their struggle to prevent the return of the banished ones, or aid in their rebirth.

 

Named in a prophecy or not, what chance does a cocky prince who barely understands the task laid before him stand in a battle with the gods?

 Keep a watch on Bruce's Goodreads page for competitions: Bruce Blake - Goodreads
I will have a guest post with Bruce in a couple of weeks so be sure to check back.
Thanks for reading,
Marie.
www.mariegodley.moonfruit.com