Calling all authors!

Come join the party on Facebook and drop in at the Amazon smile day. Meet and mingle with like minded folk, have a drink or two and swap a few likes.

https://www.facebook.com/events/128893870639125/?context=create#

Dear diary,all good things…

…must come to an end, but can lead to even bigger and better things.

My book fayre has been quite successful in that new “friends” have been made, books tagged and “liked” and some even bought.  It finishes this Friday 11th January 2013:

https://www.facebook.com/events/517005471666391/?context=create

I consider it a good start, writing wise, to the New Year and I may very well make it an annual affair – time permitting. Watch out for further events on Facebook and maybe drop by. You never know, you may find something that takes your fancy.

This is my first step towards reaching the golden shore of achievement and moving onwards and upwards to a fresh, new year.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Land-Midnight-Days-Katrina-Jack/dp/0957412649/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356112665&sr=1-1 (Hardback UK)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Midnight-Silver-Flute-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008Z10Y3E/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351100423&sr=1-1 ((Kindle UK)

http://www.amazon.com/Land-Midnight-Days (Hardback US)

http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Silver-Flute-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008Z10Y3E/ (Kindle US)

Dear diary… not doing too bad.

Not done too bad today, 1549 words and another chapter added to my wip. I would’ve done more, but got my characters into a situation I’m not sure I can get them out of. They’re stuck on a speeding train, with no way off and the baddies are getting nearer and nearer… Hmm, might have to have a rethink.

Anyway, no nagging conscience today, no guilt trips and and best of all, a smug sense of achievement. Ain’t life great?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Land-Midnight-Days-Katrina-Jack/dp/0957412649/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356112665&sr=1-1 (Hardback UK)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Midnight-Silver-Flute-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008Z10Y3E/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351100423&sr=1-1 ((Kindle UK)

http://www.amazon.com/Land-Midnight-Days (Hardback US)

http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Silver-Flute-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008Z10Y3E/ (Kindle US)

What’s on your Christmas wish list?

If you like reading then would it be a new book, or books? Maybe it’s a reading device like a Kindle?

What kind of books do you like to read? My favourite genre is urban fantasy. I adore Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series and have both the actual books, plus they’re also on my Kindle.

So, if you’re like me and want the best of both worlds, or perhaps, given the time of year, have your Christmas cake and eat it, Land of Midnight Days is available as both an e book and a hardback.

Miss it – miss out.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Land-Midnight-Days-Katrina-Jack/dp/0957412649/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356112665&sr=1-1 (Hardback UK)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Midnight-Silver-Flute-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008Z10Y3E/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351100423&sr=1-1  

(Kindle UK)

http://www.amazon.com/Land-Midnight-Days

(Hardback US)

http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Silver-Flute-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008Z10Y3E/

(Kindle US)

Coming soon…

…Through the Gloaming, book 2 of The Silver flute trilogy.

Jeremiah Tully sleeps within the Gloaming, a place steeped in twilight, magic and mystery. When he wakes, he will step into a world even darker, filled with those who would take away forever his remarkable musical ability.

How will he stop them? Can he stop them? 

Miss it – miss out.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Midnight-Silver-Flute-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008Z10Y3E/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1345235895&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Silver-Flute-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008Z10Y3E/

it’s raining books – hallelujah!

There’s nothing better than a good book, we all know that, and in these days of electronic reading devices our buying power has never been greater. The publishing industry is on the change too, as the advent of self publishing allows writers the opportunity to get their work out there. However, this can be a doubled edged sword, as some of these books are far from readable and clearly not ready to be allowed out into the world. On the other hand there are a lot of little undiscovered gems too.

So, be it stormy or fair, the writing and reading world as we know it, is changing and expanding beyond its previously rather restrictive boundaries. In the main this is a good thing, allowing readers more choice and the ability to decide for themselves what they wish to read, rather than being dictated to by the trends and fashions the publishing houses churn out.  It also gives self publishing and new indie publishers opportunities that previously never existed.

So, let’s all join together to sing and dance in the rain of revolution and immerse ourselves in this bright new writing paradise.

http://www.ecanuspublishing.co.uk/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Midnight-Silver-Flute-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008Z10Y3E/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1345235895&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=land+of+midnight+days

How does it feel…

…the weight of a real book in your hand, compared to holding a Kindle or similar device?

On the plus side for reading devices, there’s the convenience of having hundreds of books at your disposal, without the inconvenience of having to cart them around. One quick swipe with a duster and the screen’s cleaned, saving hours of dusting bookshelves, arranging the books, or if you’re like me, having to find a particular book amongst the many you have occupying every available space.

But does a reading device have a soul, the way actual books have souls? Does it sit in your hand like a living story teller, filling your head with the images and characters so lovingly printed on the pages of a real book? Don’t get me wrong, I love my Kindle and wouldn’t be without it. It saves damage being done to my precious tomes, such as dog eared pages, creased covers and horror of horrors – torn pages!

Since owning my Kindle, I’ve reached a happy balance: Kindle is used outside the house, books are read inside the house – bliss. But, as we say up North, there’s nowt to compare with the real thing.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Midnight-Silver-Flute-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008Z10Y3E/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1345235895&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Silver-Flute-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008Z10Y3E/

What drives me to write?

The answer is a restless, ever churning imagination, which may make me sound slightly unbalanced. Most people are constantly thinking about this and that, what they need to do after work, like shopping, the kids, all the the little things that make up life. Well I have those thoughts too – minus the kids – but they’re always interspersed with ideas for short stories, my blog and my work in progress.

Not a minutes goes by that I’m not thinking up plot lines, characters and new worlds to take my readers to. The curse of being a writer is worrying if your next book will be as good as, or even better, than the previous. The constant nagging feeling that you’re “losing” the ability to write can wear you down and create constant crisis of confidence. So why do it?

I could no more not write than not breathe. The older I get, the more I’ve come to rely on the escapism writing brings me. It pushes away boredom and the realisation that my life is a wee bit stagnant at the moment. Perhaps writing success will change all that, I’ve yet to find out. But hope springs eternal and the path to the sunlit horizon is sprinkled with prose, leading me on to the writing Nirvana that surely awaits me.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Midnight-Silver-Flute-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008Z10Y3E/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1345235895&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Silver-Flute-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008Z10Y3E/

Write yourself a world to escape to.

What is speculative fiction all about? Well the answer is obvious, escapism, even if the world you create is grim like the setting in Land of Midnight Days. No matter what the genre, you can give your characters as easy or as hard a time as you like. You can have the hero succeed or fail, have the heroine find her man, or lose him – the world (your world) – is your oyster.

Having said that, the writer has a bit more to play with in the genres of sci fi or fantasy fiction. You can create worlds where the impossible becomes possible, using either technology that doesn’t exist yet, or magic. That said, you still have to make things believable and the characters must have traits your readers can empathise with. You still have to have the basics of love/hate, weakness/strength and so on. The world you build, be it based on the everyday or the fantastical, must ring true with your readers. They have to feel they can step into your creation and live and breathe it.

So build your worlds with care, make them 3 dimensional. In your eagerness to create, don’t overlook the little details that will bring your story to life – they’re important. Writing is a craft, just like any other, so make sure your work is pristine, from the characters and setting, to the spelling and grammar – they’re all ingredients that make up the whole.

Build your worlds high, build your worlds strong.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Midnight-Silver-Flute-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008Z10Y3E/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1345235895&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Silver-Flute-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008Z10Y3E/

Word count and chapters rising

 

Feeling a bit smug today. Written two more chapters of the second book in The Silver flute trilogy, Through The Gloaming.

Word count is now 43,112 and about to begin Chapter 28.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Midnight-Silver-Flute-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008Z10Y3E/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1345235895&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Silver-Flute-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008Z10Y3E/