Subscribe here for a free copy of my book The River and the Ravages.
The River and the Ravages Giveaway!
Choose your struggle
Choose your struggle A week ago I decided I was going to walk away from my stable and secure public service job and start my own business. Told my manager, decided on a date (20th June). All very exciting, even a little dramatic. That night there was so much anxiety in the front of my neck I could barely speak. It’s a good job, after all. I work four days per week. The days I’m not at work I spend writing novels. It’s been a good arrangement for several years. In fact, some years were brilliant, the work that came…
No ideas without music
No ideas without music I don’t think I’m alone when I say that sometimes I feel a little lost in these times we live in. I feel there is a fundamental awe in the world that gets chipped away with technological advancements. Human beings reduced to consumers. Something that helps me enormously in these times is music. Music makes the ordinary, extraordinary. We’ve all had that sense of being moved deeply while listening to music. We watch scenes in movies and the soundtrack is what lifts us up, elevates the scene to a higher realm and in doing so, elevates…
Love and Hate are two sides of the same coin
Love and Hate are two sides of the same coin I cannot tell you how many fights my sisters and I got into while we were growing up. When it was on, it was on. My poor mum had to deal with constant dramas as three girls turned seemingly innocuous events into scenes of emotional upheaval worthy of an Oscar. Thankfully there was no rushing to the hospital due to hair pulling getting out of hand. But I think there were plenty of close calls. Better or for worse though, I wouldn’t change it for anything. There’s a reason why…
Under the Rose
Almost at the end of 2018 which just makes my jaw drop. I’m working on book two as fast as I can, but being very mindful that I want it to be an absolutely cracking great read with as much honesty and originality as I can muster. I’m not going to put a book out unless it’s the best I can make it. Something I’m currently doing research into for book two are medieval secret societies. I first became interested in intelligence when I joined the Army Reserves and was posted to an Intelligence Corp for a couple of years.…
And the next book is….
The second book in The River and the Ravages series is well underway, and has progressed from being a nameless, amorphous thing to a book with 1) a title, 2) a description, and best of all, 3) a pre-order arrangement. Yes, pre-order is here. But let’s get to that in a moment. The title of book two is…drum roll, please…. The Tempest and the Turning. I’m incredibly excited by this one. It’s been going great. But hey, I’m bias. You be the judge! The book blurb goes like this… You can’t run from who you are… Aaliya, a woman with…
The Most Important Thing I’ve Learned as a Writer
In July 2017 I achieved something I never thought I would do. I published a book. I’m 46. For me, it wasn’t a lifelong goal. I haven’t harboured aspirations to be an author since I was 12 years old. It literally happened because I believed I had some good ideas for a story, could write pretty well, and probably most importantly, live my life with a pretty solid armour of perseverance. Writing a book, like all journeys, involves the stuff you know is going to happen, and the stuff you either know about but are not prepared for, or don’t…
Handmade Renaissance
Most people have an interest in being creative in some way. Our jobs are often just not big enough for us. Not many define themselves by their Monday to Friday jobs, but ask them what their interests are and you start getting to the essence of the person. In the very early days of writing The River and the Ravages, I knew I wanted the protagonist, Aaliya, to be a saddle maker. This wasn’t just a random selection of a trade relevant during medieval times. I wanted saddle making for its association with practicality and for its incredible range for…
Forthcoming attractions (and me!)
Ah, that long, lovely lull at the start of the year. Everyone (certainly me, anyway) dragging themselves out of holiday mode. I’ve made it to mid-February and looking down the barrel of the remaining months in 2018…it looks set to be a biggie. Book 2 in The River and the Ravages trilogy is now in full swing. I’ve done my all important plans, I’ve pondered, I’ve ruminated…and now I’m writing like a demon. Every which way you look at it, there’s going to be edginess and grandiose struggles, characters are going to find themselves up to their eyeballs in problems,…
New cover for The River and the Ravages
New year, new book cover. The cover is the most important tool an author has to sell a book. We’ve all heard the dangers of judging a book by its cover, but it’s amazing how many people do. And why not, anyway? A cover is a split second glimpse into what a story is about. It either captures the nuance of the story (and announces the genre and sets the tone), or it doesn’t. It’s that important. When I first released The River and the Ravages, I thought I’d have a crack at the cover…for a range of reasons (money,…
The Happy Writer
Six months since the launch of The River and the Ravages and I’m starting to get some of those blessed things called reviews. Yes, we authors love ‘em, crave ‘em, scan the internet like crazed narcissists seeking them out and positively feel like bathing a kind and cheery reviewer in hand crushed rose petals when we come across one. Possibly something most of you readers don’t know is that we writers are strange people. Yes, this might come as quite a shock but we’re a bunch of people whose crippling self doubt is often just slightly outweighed by our monumental…
Join my newsletter
sending...