From Joey's Instagram

A snapshot of my work place right now. Getting a chapter done in bed with a kitty snuggled at the end. #beingawriter #joeywrites #indieauthor #writerlife #authorsofinstagram #authorslife #joeyisanauthor #awesome #youngadultbooks #amwriting #jowrimogo #bonuschapters #writersofinstagram #writesofig #authosofig #ilovewriting #kitty #cuddles #catsofinstagram #MrDash #snuggles

Review of Hushed by Joanne MacGregor

Would you sacrifice your voice for love?

18-year-old Romy Morgan desperately longs to escape the boring future her parents have planned for her, and explore the world.

When she saves her celebrity crush, superstar Logan Rush, from drowning, Romy is offered a job as his personal assistant. She strikes a deal to reinvent herself in exchange for entering the exciting world of the movies, and love sparks between her and this prince of Hollywood. But Romy soon discovers that she has traded her voice and identity for an illusion of freedom.

When she discovers a dreadful secret with the power to destroy Logan, Romy must choose between love, revenge and finding her own, true element.

If you like contemporary young adult romance with all the feels - and a twist of humor - then you’ll love this refreshingly modern and realistic spin on the classic tale of The Little Mermaid from award-winning YA author, Joanne Macgregor.

Amazon

My review: 5 stars
Wow, I loved this book! Starting with the introduction of Romy and her seeming obsession with the famous Logan Rush, the story soon takes a turn. You follow Romy as she is being forced to choose either her father's profession or her mother's and actually she wants to go her own way. A break before university starts and the one thing she wants to do, seems to be out of reach. Until saving Logan gives her an in to the world of movies, celebs and divas. Finally she's able to get to know the real Logan, and the more she knows the more she loves. As to whether this work out, I'll let you find that out for yourself. The book is heart-wrenching and funny, and kept me glued to the spot flipping through the pages and desperate to get to the end. When I thought all hope was lost, I really hoped I was wrong. It's an excellent book and one I thoroughly enjoyed! Highly recommended!

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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

A review for Dying Thoughts - Fifth Secret! Buy it here for 99p until May 22nd: http://amzn.to/2mOMy1O Thanks for the awesome review Amanda! #beingawriter #joeywrites #indieauthor #writerlife #authorsofinstagram #authorslife #joeyisanauthor #awesome #youngadultbooks #mysterybooks #paranormalbooks #readersofinstagram #reading #DyingThoughts #dyingthoughts5 #writersofinstagram #writesofig #authosofig #bookstagram #bookboost #bookreview

From Joey's Instagram

75% catpacity. A Miss Penne, then a Mr Dash and finally a Miss Violet on the windowsill. Just missing a Miss Hetti. #catsofinstagram #kitty #missviolet #snuggles #misspenne #pastacats #MrDash

From Joey's Instagram

Got my first actual Telegram today to congratulate me on ten books published! Happy Release Day to me! #beingawriter #joeywrites #indieauthor #writerlife #authorsofinstagram #authorslife #joeyisanauthor #awesome #youngadultbooks #mysterybooks #paranormalbooks #readersofinstagram #reading #DyingThoughts #dyingthoughts5 #writersofinstagram #writesofig #authosofig #ilovewriting

From Joey's Instagram

And it's live!! Dying Thoughts - Fifth Secret is out in paperback:http://amzn.to/2qhLmsW and Kindle: http://amzn.to/2mOMy1O It's 99p on Kindle until May 22nd! Grab your copy now! #beingawriter #joeywrites #indieauthor #writerlife #authorsofinstagram #authorslife #joeyisanauthor #awesome #youngadultbooks #mysterybooks #paranormalbooks #readersofinstagram #reading #DyingThoughts #dyingthoughts5 #writersofinstagram #writesofig #authosofig #bookstagram #bookboost #releaseday

"Oh You Should Never Do That..." - The Creative Process

"OH YOU SHOULD NEVER DO THAT..."

Last week I talked about how I was a hybrid in regards to how I planned and outlined my books. That led to a ton of questions about whether I was just *not* a planner and was more of a pantsa. I thought I was clear, but I figured that while I was going to continue on this subject, I'd clear up a bit of what I meant in my last advice piece.

When I said I was a hybrid I meant that I do both. I plan and outline some books to the point of not really having many surprises, but for other books, I have the bare minimum of a chapter plan and off I go. Both of which combined together make me someone who straddles both ideas - hence the term hybrid.

Since then I've come across a couple of things that made me think I should do another advice piece on how not following other people's rules of writing is okay. Without naming names, there's an author I follow who gets a ton of advice questions, and we disagree on a few things, but as far as her advice goes, it's spot on. Except the other day she was asked whether or not you should change POV in a book. To be clearer, let me explain. The anon wanted to know if it was okay to switch between 1st Person POV in one chapter to then use 3rd person POV in another. The author's reply was something along the lines of "you should never do that." And...that brings me to my post.

It's something I heard a lot in my first years of writing. It's something a lot of people who write or create have a whole ton of opinions on. And I'm not exempt from that, by any means. But I'm also aware that, as I said in my last post, there are no real hard and fast rules when it comes to writing. And in the case of switching POV's in books, it's been done and done well before. A few that come to mind are: Christine by Steven King, Bleak House by Charles Dickens as well as a number of the later books in the Alphabet series by Sue Grafton.

This isn't meant as a criticism to that author, everyone has their own style and way of writing, but something I do hear a lot is: Don't ever do this. And then the this they mention is actually something you can do. I was talking to a friend about it, and she was quick to point out that even some classics have been done where punctuation isn't even included in the novel. While I don't recommend you do that for your first book, my point is that the rules of writing are, and always have been, flexible.

I've been writing for so many years, been published for nearly twelve and have had many ups and downs as I've found what works best for me. One thing I have always been clear on is that as far as writing goes, pretty much anything goes. There are rules, but those rules are flexible. So long as you're properly editing and formatting your novel before publication then you can pretty much do anything.

I can hear you all cringe at the idea that people shouldn't follow rules to write. But writing is a creative pursuit. It is something people with skill do. I'm not suggesting people word vomit onto the page and publish. I am suggesting that with every creative outlet, there is wiggle room as far as hard and fast rules go. I am by no means an expert on writing. I've never claimed to be and I'm certainly not claiming that now, but I am a writer.

I've had an unconventional way of doing things, I always have, and I'm okay with that. Authors opinions will differ on so many subjects. We get told to show and never tell, when actually they both have merit. We get told to avoid passive voice, a good rule of thumb. We also get told to only write this way or plan that way, and to do this trick to avoid writer's block, and that tip to make sure we're writing what readers want to read. And so on and so on.

As I've said, not an expert, but I think a lot of the time, new writers are told to do x, y and z to guarantee success when actually they should be focusing on just telling their story. That's what writer's do at the end of the day, we tell stories. So when I'm told, or I hear someone being told "Oh never do that" it makes me wonder: why not?

I do what works best for me, and in doing that have written my stories. I do wholeheartedly agree that you should learn the rules of writing because then you can learn how to bend them. As always though, your mileage may vary, and that's okay.

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Release Day - Dying Thoughts - Fifth Secret

It's Release Day!!

Join Tara in the fifth Dying Thoughts book

Tara has an admirer, someone who thinks the world revolves around her. The problem is, they won’t reveal their identity and the notes they’re sending her are getting weirder and creepier.

Then there’s the fact that she thinks she’s being watched. And the notes seem to be coming from someone she knows. Now she’s getting scared.

Can she find out who they are before their behaviour escalates and Tara pays the price?

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From Joey's Instagram

Another day, another chapter to write! Today is a #CrampingChronicles day. And it's flowing nicely which is always good. I'm going for 24 chapters at a minimum, maybe even 28! Which would be a new record! #beingawriter #joeywrites #joeyisanauthor #jowrimogo #writerslife #writersofinstagram #authorslife #authorsofinstagram #writersofig #authorsofig #amwriting #worksinprogress #ilovewriting #youngadultbooks #awesome #bonuschapters #writinggoals