The return of …well…of me…..
Yes, folks, it’s me. I have returned. Not that I was gone long. Just long enough to do a little decorating around the place.
New layout, new header, new job, new look….. (more…)
The difference a year makes
I was chatting with a friend recently, whom I hadn’t seen in over a year and I realised it’s been ages since I gave an update on The Great Weightloss challenge and I really should have written this last month since it would have been exactly one year since the surgery but I guess better late than never right? Exactly, that’s what I thought too. (more…)
From Super Sloth to Superwoman
Oh come on. You have to admit, if nothing else it’s a great title.
Even if I’ve not quite made the transition just yet.
(more…)
New blog wins Beautiful Blogger nomination
Awwww – I’m so touched. My new blog for YA book reviews and author interviews – On A Far Away Bookshelf – has received a Beautiful Blogger nomination from Scarlett Rains. Pop on over to the Beautiful Blogger Nomination and check it out - hey this could be my fifteen minutes, I want as many of you over there as I can get.
(more…)
In praise of pioneer women
Our washing machine died. Last week.
No, it did not simply break down. Pffft – that would be too simple.
(more…)
Calling all Indie authors….
Are you an Indie Author? If you are, you still have time to enter this years Best Indie Authors 2012 competition.
The team over at The Kindle Book Review - where yes, yours truly is one of the review team – there are some awesome prizes up for grabs along with the possibility of finding yourself named as one of THE Indie authors of they year.
The six winners will receive $100 cash each and an advertising package with The Kindle Book Review. Only novels are eligible but within that category the following genres are open:
- Mystery/Thriller
- Romance
- Suspense/Horror
- Literary Fiction
- Sci-fi/Fantasy
- YA
There are also prizes for readers available too – a Kindle Fire to one lucky winner, loaded with some of the very best indie books out there. Registered readers are also in the draw for free kindle books each week.
Entries close on May 15 so don’t waste any time – head over to The Kindle Book Review and enter your novel or register as a reader.
You can also follow The Kindle Book Review on Twitter: @Kindlbookreview.
Get ready to jump
As I write this, TMoTH and Mr 13 are watching I Shouldn’t Be Alive. I was going to go upstairs to my desk but both were reluctant for me to leave; I’m not especially sure why but it had something to do with wanting to spend time with ‘their girl’, which is worryingly sweet…. That however is not the point of this post.
On the screen, a team of men on their way to rescue some sailors find themselves in the middle of a perfect storm – and their helicopter is about to crash into the middle of the ocean.
“Get ready to jump,” one of them yells and within minutes they are in freezing cold seas battling hypothermia, major injury, and massive waves. They were cold, frightened, in pain and had no idea if they would be rescued.
I was struck by what an amazing analogy the situation presented for those moments in life when we take a risk or make a determination and have nothing to cling to except our faith and will power. Not for one second do I want to compare a career situation to what those men went through; it was more a recognition that if they could survive that massive storm, I sure as hell can survive my minor one.
I decided a few weeks ago that I needed to commit to my life as a writer – in whatever form that takes, be it fiction, no-fiction, reviewing, blogging – or I needed to walk away. As a the wonderful Kate Alexander once suggested “piss or get off the pot” (those words tend to strike a note when you hear them from someone as elegant and dignified as Kate – trust me). That moment was my moment of ‘getting ready to jump’.
The jump came when I set about committing – and yes there is an obvious joke here but how about we all ignore it. For now. I joined blogging communities, I joined writers communities, I increased my social media presence, I put my hand up to host book tours, I began reading more, I began reviewing more, and yes, I got the manuscript out, blew the metaphorical dust off it ( if only all the dust in the house was metaphorical too) and began typing more.
At times it feels as though I am indeed in icy seas waiting for the next wave to come crashing down on me and that what appears to be rescue lights in the distance is nothing more than my imagination. Then something happens. A review is well received by readers or I pick up an editing client. My badge appears on someone else’s blog or a publishing firm confirms a virtual book tour. I work out the next stage of my novel – or what to do with that non-fiction project that lurking at the back of my mind. My amazing sister surprises me with a beautiful teapot and a canister of my very favorite cinnamon and plum tea – hey life rafts come in a variety of styles…..
I suspect I may have to spend a bit longer in the water and there may be a few more waves to endure yet before I’m back on dry ground but I’m not worried. Well, not too worried – my life rafts are pretty sturdy.
We’ll get back to port …sooner or later.
May the 4th be with you…..
I’ve managed to get a lot of mileage out of that phrase today. And much to The Offspring’s horror, I will be continuing tomorrow for all my northern hemisphere pals….
You see I am of an age where not only do I get to do what I like as long as it’s legal but where I can remember attending the release of the original Star Wars movie. So, sorry Offspring – you’ll just have to get over it.
1978 was a rough year. Dad was diagnosed in February with terminal cancer and we had to leave our farm to move into town so Mum could care for him. I was 11, Daniel was nearly five and Erana was three. So yeah, things were….rough.
When Star Wars was released I was really excited and I remember waiting for it to arrive in our small farming community. Waiting, waiting, waiting. I so desperately wanted to see it because it looked So Cool. Cooler even – if such a thing was possible – than Star Trek. Jeez, I was already a geek back then.
Opotiki had only one cinema – it had only one of most things except oddly enough pharmacies and bookshops, of which there were two each, but I digress – so when Star Wars arrived the whole town knew about it.
To my huge delight Mum agreed I could go to the Friday evening showing with kids from class. I would go to the Saturday matinee any chance I possibly could; if needs be my Grandmother was always good for the $2 that got me in and put an ice-cream and a candy bar in my sticky little paws. Any chore was worth doing if the reward was a movie – and funnily enough, I’ll still do pretty much anything in exchange for a good film. I was very relieved the day I read that Stephen King was as much a movie buff as he was a book lover – I hadn’t made a monumental mess up in career choice after all.
Anyway, Mum had agreed to the Friday night showing and I was so excited I could hardly contain myself; I had been to movies at night before but never without an adult. That was when things got momentarily tricky. Dad had a sudden reluctance to his eldest daughter going to the movies by herself at night, even if she was being dropped off and picked up by Mum and couldn’t get into any mischief in our tiny town where everyone, their dog and their dog’s fleas knew my parents. Especially my Dad. I have a vague recollection of a protest from Dad – the words ‘but what about boys?’ may have been uttered – and Mum making suitably soothing noises and the result being me letting go of my held breath with relief. I was going.
Mum dropped me off and handed me the money and told me she would be there to pick me up when it finished. She didn’t need to warn me not to go anywhere – no way was I risking this privilege by doing something dumb. Several kids from my class were already waiting, we bought our tickets, stocked up on candy and took our seats.
From the time of the now iconic opening sequence to the last credits, my eyes never left the screen. I was captivated. Poor Luke – his family killed by Storm Troopers. What about that funky Princess Leia – how cool was she even if her hair was kinda weird? (Though even then, I did kind of wonder why they put her in that stupid dress). Darth Vader – oh boy, he was creepy in a way Klingons never were. He was almost as creepy as the Daleks on Dr Who (the only things known to give me nightmares to this day – knowing they are glorified salt shakers doesn’t help). Chewbacca – a Tribble on steroids. And, and, and – Han – tremble- Solo. My little 11 year old heart was spellbound by Han Solo. He was not only cool in a way I had never known existed but he was seriously HOT. Luke was cute but Han Solo was - well I was too young to actually know what he was, but I knew he was something.
The first thing I did when I got in the car after the movie was ask Mum if I could go back the next day. I would even take my brother. Now you need to know how much of a sacrifice this was for me. My brother is six years younger than me, and at five, none of the descriptions I had for him included the words ‘cool’ or ‘neat to be around’. Today we’re very close and I find him both of those things, but back in 1978 I was only just getting over the horror of him starting at my school. Also, he didn’t have the greatest track record when it came to movies. He tended to get bored easily and I remember getting home from Disney’s The Lady and The Tramp and declaring “never, ever again” – he’d been a royal pain in the seat all afternoon and I missed the Siamese cats do their song because he had to go to the bathroom. But, if taking Daniel with me meant I got to see Star Wars again, I was prepared to risk it.
Mum agreed and the next afternoon we were sitting in the dark, with as many snacks as I’d been able to get in order to keep him quiet and waiting for the magic to begin. Little did I know it really was magic.
Daniel didn’t move. He didn’t utter a peep. I don’t think he even ate his candy. He was as mesmerised as I was. These days he is an even bigger geek than I am – though if you tell him I said so, I’ll deny it, he’s bigger than me. Of course, he’s one of those cool geeks….go figure.
That Friday night was one of the few times I did something with kids my own age and felt like I belonged – something that never really happened again until I was an adult and found other Springsteen fans. On the Saturday I discovered a shared passion with my brother that has lasted over 30 years.
Looking back, I know even that overheard conversation between my parents was a gift – I got to hear my Dad being a loving Dad and worrying about his daughter; he died a couple of months later. I still miss him.
I never really got into the three newer movies – although The Offspring prefer them to what they call ‘Mum’s Star Wars‘ – but oh those first three movies, how I loved them. Especially Star Wars itself – and it still delights me as much today at 45 as it did that night in Opotiki, in 1978 when I was 11.
Thank you George Lucas.
Innovative Online Book Tours
{EAV:1b7b8ffe500d4ad3}I am thrilled to announce that I have just been accepted, over on Just Heard, Just Read, Just Seen as a Online Book Tour Host (yes those are Winnie The Pooh capitals, no I’m not correcting them – move on) for Innovative Online Book Tours.
I’m really excited about this as I’ve been working really hard to grow my blogs over the past few weeks. I’ve overhauled how they look, I’ve updated them, I’ve tweeted them, I’ve Facebooked (oh look I know it’s not a word but it’s late so for tonight – just move along, nothing to see here) them and I have joined what feels like a million blog communities. In fact, girls and boys, I’m starting to feel like I’m something of a social media tart. But I swear I’m not a love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of community member, I’ve been logging in faithfully every night to each of them. In fact by the time I’ve visited each of them there’s no time left to write or blog. Ooooops.
So, I am very excited to see it starting to pay off in small ways. My traffic is increasing, my book review requests are increasing ( hmm those who can, write – those who can’t, review? Let’s not go there…), and of course becoming Online Book Tour Host (oh look Winnie strikes again).
For those of you who don’t know, basically publishers organise for blog owners to ‘host’ an author and/or book during its release. This can mean an interview, a review, an excerpt, a give away, or a guest blog from the author. It’s an all around win situation – the author gets exposure, the blogger gets exposure and readers get great material.
Of course, all of this means I need to order – let me think – oh another 24 hours in a day should just about do it. Reading, reviewing, editing, blogging, posting, tweeting *pant, pant* – and that’s all before I head downstairs to make breakfast for The Offspring, put on my suit and head to the day job, or kiss The Man of The House good morning.
Am I super woman? Hell, no. I’m nuts is what I am.
Seriously though – there is method in my madness. I love to write, I love to connect with people, and I love the cyber world. It seemed to make sense to start building my writing career in a way that worked with those components. While I admit it would be nice to be making more money at it - used to have a guitar teacher in France, who used to roll his eyes and mutter “Angelique, your problem is you want the moon and you want it yesterday, which should tell you something about my patience level – I have to say that I’m feeling creatively quite satisfied with myself.
In other news, we’ve had a sad couple of months here at The New Beach House. Both our darling old slobradogs have left us for the doggy playground on high – Fitzy in January and Barney just a couple of months ago. While it was very sad, having to say goodbye to them it was a comfort knowing they had good lives, were very much loved and brought much love to everyone.
The Terrible Twins and Rosie now have full run of the place. The Twins spend a lot of time curled up at my feet at my desk while I write. My writing desk is upstairs in our bedroom, looking out over the water – and as the chimney runs up through our room, it’s lovely and cosy on blustery day (sigh, NZ winter is looming, dammit).
The Offspring are all settled in school for the year and doing really well. Master 19 – and I’m sorry but no he is NOT turning 20 in September, I don’t care what he says – is doing brilliantly in his third year at music school and has a lovely girlfriend named Sammi, who we all adore. Master 13 is enjoying being a high school student (I think) and has taken up parkour – aka free running, aka driving your mother’s blood pressure through the ceiling. Miss 11 is loving being in the senior grades at primary school and to the horror of all the men in her life, turned into a teenager while they weren’t looking. The cute little girl is gone and a rather formidable (not to mention beautiful) young woman is emerging – look out world is all I can say.
Next week is my one year anniversary of my sleeve surgery – I’m trying to think of something special to do to celebrate it both in the real world and something to share here with readers. Especially as over the past year I’ve lost a little over 50kg….I am literally half the person I used to be. Stay tuned.
See you a little further on up the road guys.
Please…get an editor
It doesn’t matter who you are, what genre you write, how old you are, whether you are aspiring, published, or still hiding under your desk quivering at the thought of writing. You need an editor.
I realize that for some readers, this post will sound dreadfully self-serving – me being an editor and all – but honestly boys and girls, I don’t care who you get to edit your manuscript, just get someone.
You see, in addition to writing, editing, blogging, listening to Bruce, chanting, and being bossed around by the resident Cat People, I also review books. Over on Just Heard, Just Read, Just Seen I review (mainly) mainstream books from mainstream publishers, On A Far Away Bookshelf I concentrate on Young Adults (YA), and on the soon to be live Incredible Indies the focus will be Indie authors. In other words, I read a lot. Let me say that again: I read A LOT.
Today, I want to talk to those of you who are Indie and/or self published writers. No, Virginia they are not necessarily the same thing. Some Indies will be published by small, indie publishing houses, while others will take the self publishing route. What’s more, I am a big fan of Indie writers – there are some amazing authors out there who are just not getting the exposure they deserve because of some silly notion that to be a ‘real’ writer, let alone a good one, you must be published by one of the big mainstream publishers. But I digress.
Every day I get books across my desk – the real one and the cyber one – from authors and indie publishing houses asking for reviews. I add the book to my list, load it up on my e-reader/fold back the cover and settle in to read. Let me tell you, boys and girls, there are some very talented writers out there, with some very cool stories to tell. Invariably, though, there comes a point when I think “uh-oh…”
These ‘uh-oh’ moments are generally editing issues. Issues the writer has not noticed for a variety of reasons, the most common of which is knowing the story too well. As writers, we know what is happening and is going to happen, we know what we mean, and we know every little detail about our character and plot. After months of working on the project, we forget other people don’t know those details. We also don’t notice we have used the word ‘angry’ in every sentence on an entire page, or that we have consistently misspelled a word or that our formatting is inconsistent.
We simply don’t see those things. Our friends and beta readers might pick up some of them, but chances are high they will assume they are issues you intend to sort out anyway. A good editor will assume nothing. A good editor will cover your beloved manuscript with all kinds of red marks and comments that will make you wonder why you bothered starting the project in the first place. And a good editor will explain to you that in fact you started because it’s a good story, you are a good writer, and if you just put down the heavy object you are about to throw in her direction you’ll see why.
Correcting grammar, spelling and formatting issues will give your book a better chance of a good reception with readers and publishers – and should be the first thing you address. If you get an editor to look at nothing else, get them to check for these things. It’s not about writing like Shakespeare, it’s about keeping your reader engaged.
Trust me, even the worst spellers out there will notice something wrong with “the cat’s pause were covered in butter” ( I kid you not).
Oh and repeat after me: “I will not rely on spell check”.
When it comes to plot, character, style, genre think of your editor, not as a Big Bad Witch but as your cheerleader. Remember it’s going to look good on her portfolio too – especially if it turns out you really are the next J K Rowling.
Any issues your editor identifies are an opportunity for you to take your writing from good to great. If you have used the same adjective fifty times on one page, maybe you do need to go back and think about what you were trying to get across. Maybe you could expand on a description or perhaps the reader doesn’t need to know every little detail of your character’s morning routine if it doesn’t advance the story.
An editor who just looked at the first 1,000 words of my current WIP had an issue with a joke I had included. She didn’t get it. When I reread it, with that comment in mind, I realized two things: first, most people would be like my editor and not get the joke and secondly, it didn’t add anything to my story anyway. I deleted it.
Sometimes your editor will be wrong, but in examining why you are including the paragraph she wants to kill, you will gain a better understanding of your story and your potential reader.
Nearly every ‘uh-oh’ moment in a book I am reviewing could be resolved with a little judicious editing.
Indie authors are less likely to have access to an ‘in-house editing team’ provided by a publisher, so they need to take matters into their own hands. Start by asking in your writing group for names. Remember google is your friend. Do your homework until you have found someone who is a good fit for you – someone who will be strong enough to tell you the truth but who isn’t going to bully you. Editors are just as susceptible to being wrong as anyone else (but if you tell anyone I said that, I’ll deny it).
Remember the greatest marketing your book will get is not the review I give it or the press release your publishing house sends out; the greatest marketing your book will get is the way readers are talking about it. So, please, do as much as you can to get them talking about your story and not your spelling.