Cover Reveal - First Christmas - Heather Karn

 

First Christmas

Vixen is an ice dragon shifter whose obsession with Christmas increases each day. Her clan’s village is located at the North Pole: the home of the one and only Santa Claus and his elves. She lives a life of carefree celebration until an attack from a vengeful dragon lands Vixen at the feet of her mate, a man who has never celebrated Christmas.

Lunar is from none other than the South Pole, the farthest place on Earth from Vixen’s beloved home. And as for her favorite holiday, he’s never joined in any of the human rituals surrounding it. If anything, he’s purposefully avoided them. Vixen must now take the reins and teach her mate all about the joyous time of year she celebrates year round. 

Just when their relationship starts to blossom, Vixen is kidnapped and held for ransom. Lunar will stop at nothing to save her as his first Christmas draws near. After all, there is no place like home for the holidays.

PRE-ORDER FOR 99p AMAZON UK | AMAZON US

RELEASE DATE: JULY 8TH 2017 

From Joey's Instagram

It's #myalgicencephalomyeilitis and #fibromyalgia awareness day. I've been up all night and my lungs are extra bratty. I guess you could say I am very aware! But still I'm writing in bed. #beingawriter #joeywrites #indieauthor #writerlife #authorsofinstagram #authorslife #joeyisanauthor #awesome #youngadultbooks #amwriting #jowrimogo #chronicillness #spoonie #oxygenuser #brittleasthma #flare

Interview with A. P. Bateman and Review of Shadows Of Good Friday

I am delighted to be welcoming fellow #DarkerSideOfFiction2017 author, A.P. Bateman to my blog today for both an interview and a review of his latest novel Shadows Of Good Friday. Here's a bit about the man behind the stories.

A P Bateman is an Amazon #1 best selling author. Three of his novels have reached the # 1 slots in Amazon's paid top 100 categories.

A P Bateman has previously worked as a private investigator and trained and worked in close protection with ex-military, police and special forces. Having trained on US SWAT ranges in the past with serving police officers gives him a unique insight into weapons and tactics which adds realism to his writing.

He has recently released his sixth book, Shadows of Good Friday, and is currently working on another thriller.

And now onto the interview!

What kind of writer are you: plan or not?
I have planned some books, others have taken a more casual route. The Contract Man and Lies and Retribution were planned meticulously, as they take place in various time zones, have multiple characters and sub-plots within. The Town was a writing prompt from my daughter. "Start with a man drinking a cup of tea and someone being nasty to someone," she said. I changed it to coffee and eight weeks later it was finished. I didn't make a single note.

What attracted you to your chosen genre?
I trained and worked as a bodyguard and private investigator. I also trained on SWAT ranges in the US. I met people and went to places that inspired me to write. The espionage/military route was what interested me the most. I am working on a new series with a less than moral detective. It's fun, because he crosses the line to get justice, he has more than a few personal issues and I think that makes him interesting and more human. I plan to set the series in Cornwall, where I live, and it's interesting to write from the perspective of an outsider who wouldn't have ended up down here but for fate.

How have other writers influenced your own writing?
Hemingway, Fleming and Chandler all had a minimal approach. There really is no need to use ten words when two will do. Three of my novels were adapted from manuscripts I wrote fifteen to twenty years ago, and I laughed at some of the descriptions. I took thirty-thousand words out of The Contract Man - an entire sub-story. There's nothing worse for a reader than an author trying to be too clever.

Do you prefer to type or hand write?
The first two manuscripts I wrote were hand written. I only ever type now. Sometimes for the sake of pace, I'll cut and paste entire chapters.

Do you have a writing playlist? Or do you prefer silence?
Too much shooting has left me with tinnatus! I like some kind of background noise, as total silence is like listening to a clam shell! I made the mistake of listening to narrator interviews for The Town while writing recently and it messed up my plot! Sky news in the background is ok, because occasionally I'll pick up on a report and get an idea for another story.
 
Do you have any hobbies?
Swimming, shooting, cars - most of my other activities are with my children like bike riding, archery, walks and shouting a lot.

In the last days before signing the peace agreement, an IRA splinter cell mounts an operation on the British mainland using English criminals. This unprecedented move intrigues MI6 and they assume command of MI5’s surveillance operation.
A career criminal is released from prison and aims to win back the wife and child his sentence has cost him, but before he can, he is forced back into his old world. The stakes have changed and his family have become leverage for the most ruthless people imaginable.
A woman imprisoned in an abusive relationship, desperate to escape with her son and rekindle her past becomes the pawn in a deadly world of deception, violence and retribution.
A clandestine wing of the secret intelligence service tests its newest recruit. Alex King has trained and operated in the shadowy world of intelligence and now he must kill for his country, but before he can, he needs to discover more about the men he has been sent to kill.

Amazon

My review:  5 stars
I grabbed this one because I do love me a good thriller and this was very much a good thriller. I haven't read the others in the series, but it was clear from the blurb that it could be read as a standalone. I enjoyed it very much. The story opens with a man on the run after some kind of job he's done that has obviously gone wrong. It pulls you in from the first page and then you're hooked from there on out. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and will be picking up the other Alex King stories. Highly recommended!

You can follow A. P. Bateman here on Facebook.

Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here.

From Joey's Instagram

So it's not actually a writing day, supposed to be editing, but I finished all the edits and I thought I would see about doing some writing, and bam, here I am in the middle of an awesome scene! I love it when that happens! #beingawriter #joeywrites #joeyisanauthor #indieauthor #authorslife #authorsofinstagram #amwriting #writerslife #writersofinstagram #ilovewriting #jowrimogo #youngadultbooks #worksinprogress #authorsofig #writersofig #awesome

From Joey's Instagram

We had our hair did! Mine is short and purple again and B's had hers cut and the ends done blue. Feeling good about the hair! #beingawriter #joeywrites #indieauthor #writerlife #authorsofinstagram #authorslife #joeyisanauthor #awesome #youngadultbooks #amwriting #jowrimogo #hairdid #bestfriends #selfie

From Joey's Instagram

So another day and another chapter to write. Hoping to get a bunch done today but we shall see how it goes! #beingawriter #joeywrites #indieauthor #writerlife #authorsofinstagram #authorslife #joeyisanauthor #awesome #youngadultbooks #amwriting #jowrimogo #writing #ilovewriting #authosofig #writesofig #writersofinstagram

Being a Hybrid - The Creative Process

BEING A HYBRID

One thing I have learned through the years that I've been a writer is that there are always going to be some things that work for you, for me, but don't work for other writers. I get messages on Tumblr, and other sites about how much planning I do before I write a book. And one of the big things I see other writers being asked is: do they outline and plot? Or do they fly by the seat of their pants and make it up as they go along? Something that always rang true for me was that I couldn't completely go by the seat of my pants, but yet I never seemed to do the detailed outlines and planning that I see other writers doing and/or talking about. So what was I? Basically I'm a hybrid.

Today I'm going to talk about my writing process from the very beginning to where I am now. I've been writing for over fifteen years, been published for almost twelve and still writing pretty much every day. I know that a lot of my readers are other writers at various points on their journey as well as readers of my works and others. So I'm gonna make one thing really clear. What works for me may not work for you. This is not a solid guide to how *you* should write, but more about how I write. If it turns out that it helps and works for you. Great! If not, then that's fine too.

My writing process is different to a lot of other writers. I have always been someone to have some idea of what comes next in the story. In the years I was writing the Dying Thoughts series, I found it easier to ease back on the planning and let the juices flow on their own. In a way that's what made me make the switch from detailed planner to kinda making it up as I go along. As a hybrid, I walk the line between someone who plans to the tiniest detail and someone who doesn't plan at all. I have my system and it's always been something that had some level of adjustment to it. Looking back at the way I planned my first few books and the way I plan now, I don't really remember completely when I made the switch. Of course, if I'm really honest, I don't think there *was* a switch.

Going back to writing Blackout, did I plan in detail? Outline and work out every plot point? No, I didn't. I had a notebook and wrote out ten chapter headings and then went from there. Same with the characters, they were in that same notebook. When I moved onto note cards, I did more planning character wise, but I have always kind of stuck to a chapter plan that contains minimal information. It's only been when I've done planning for the books while writing another one, that I've done any kind of outline. Even then, it's just thoughts and scenes rather than plotting out the whole book. It's a method that works for me, has done my entire career and it's a method that allows me to keep motivated and on target with the story. So, I embrace my hybrid status and know that while it's not for everyone, it is for me.

But, I hear you wonder, don't I get writer's block? Yeah, I do, but not much. I usually get it when I'm telling myself that it has to be perfect to mean anything. Other things it'll be because I'm struggling with other aspects of my life. And rarely, and I mean very rarely, I get blocked because I don't know where to go next. In those cases, planning would help me. And if you're finding that you need to plan otherwise you stay blocked, then I completely agree that you should. The creative process is different for everyone and you should be using whatever works to keep those words flowing.

On the other side of it, I know a lot of advice given to new writers is that they should outline and plot and plan and have everything ready from start to finish in intricate detail otherwise they can't start writing. There are of course the other writers who don't plan and tell you to just pick up pen and start from there. I'm basically saying that there is a middle ground. You can be both, and it is okay. As a writer I have found that sometimes I've done a chapter plan and my story chunks and then the plot swerves and the story changes. Planners would tell me that would mean my outline needed tweaking, and maybe they're right, but in my eyes, the way I write works for me. I enjoyed going in with the bare minimum but I also enjoy having the option of doing more.

I like to think that bar a few grammar rules, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to writing. So many times you'll be told to do this and not do that, to never do that. But the things is, there are always loopholes. Part of being a writer is learning which ones to follow and which ones to bend. Part of writing is looking for those loopholes and making them work for you. Though, as always, your mileage may vary.

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Dealing with Self-Criticism [CC]

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From Joey's Instagram

Another day, another set of chapters to write. Today is a #LightsOut day, and so am working my way through a chapter despite feeling pretty crap health wise. But almost done! #beingawriter #indieauthor #authorslife #amwriting #authorsofinstagram #authorsofig #writerslife #writersofinstagram #writersofig #ilovewriting #youngadultbooks #jowrimogo

Review of Birdy & Fishy, Destination: Freedom by Lily Amis

I am delighted to have the chance to share with you the new release by Lily Amis. She's the mind behind the Read My Mind blogger magazine that launched in April. Here's a little bit about Lily.

Nominated Multi-Genre Author, Blogger and Artist Lily Amis is the Author of “Destination: Freedom” and eleven more books. With her honest memoir she has enjoyed strong media exposure and public interest during the refugee crises in summer 2015. Placements included two features with British newspaper the Daily Mirror as well as interviews with popular UK’s lifestyle websites Female First and Frost Magazine.

Lily Amis had to fight against injustice, prejudice, discrimination and social isolation for almost three decades to become who she is today. An Independent Author living in Switzerland with the goal to entertain and educate readers about important and eye-opening topics in our society with her books and blogger magazine “Read My Mind”.

Her free online magazine is an entertain & educate project by Lily’s Publishing company nasSima design. With passionate and talented Authors and bloggers from all over the world she is inspiring aspiring Authors and readers as well as Indie Artists from all kind of genres such as music, movie and art. The first issue was published on April 4^th 2017 and the RMM team is working on the summer issue now.

The symbolic meaning behind “Birdy & Fishy”

This deeply meaningful short, age- and timeless story inspired by the two memoirs Destination: Freedom and Definition of Freedom is a reflection of Lily’s Life in a foreign country.

Fishy’s desperate desire for freedom, a circle of loving friends and a caring family, the feeling of belonging somewhere and of being accepted and integrated, is what many refugees/immigrants feel and struggle with. Some struggle, just for a while, but others for their entire lives. But, as they say, there is always light at the end of the tunnel and this story, with a happy ending, is a good lesson, to never give up on hope, faith, dreams, goals, wishes, and desires, despite the challenging obstacles, of destiny and our selfish, elbow-society! 

Amazon 

My Review:  5 stars
A short, but sweet story about Fishy's desire for freedom, and the way in which Birdy helps her to achieve that. Enjoyable and a nice quick read. I liked it very much, along with the message it sends to the reader in that you don't know how lucky you are until faced with your own privilege, and that there is always hope, you just have to find it.

You can find out more about Lily here on Facebook, Twitter, her blog and her website. 

Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here.