Grrr - because I've had so much work over the past week that I haven't been able to spend any time getting my website up and running, or to do any writing!
But Great - because a new opportunity has presented itself to me. Anyone who has read my writing knows that I like to create dark and intense stories. But earlier this year I challenged myself to have a go at writing something much lighter. I came up with three chapters and a rough synopsis for a contemporary romance called the Christmas Windows, which I then put aside so that I could concentrate on the Paranormal Romance I'm hoping to have finished shortly.
But, back in the summer I saw that Mills & Boon were running a competition to discover New Voices, and I sent in the opening chapter of the Christmas Windows. It was rated reasonably well by readers, but didn't win the competition, so I thought no more about it. But last week I got an email from M&B asking me to submit the first three chapters and a synopsis. Now, it is extremely refreshing to have a publisher ask to see my stuff, instead of me endlessley sending out submissions into the void! So, I'm going to grasp this opportunity and do some quick rewrites before sending it to them.
Then next week I'll go back to my dark tale of vampires in Brighton, and finally get my website online.
PS. Amazon shenanigans last week got my husband's book into the top 50 of their Thriller chart - Andrew Thorn, Killjoy - please buy!
Tuesday 30 November 2010
Thursday 18 November 2010
Supplementary
OK, it turns out our little experiment with the Amazon best seller list did work! Getting everone we know to buy it at the same time meant that Andy's book shot up 27,000 places in the overall chart, and is currently at number 54 in the thriller chart. We are really pleased to have so many fantastic friends who are willing to do crazy things to support our writing careers.
Taking a back seat
This week has been a bit odd for me. My husband has beaten me to it and managed to get his first book published by winning the Kinglake Unpublished Author's Competition in the thriller genre. He got that news a couple of months back, and I'm really pleased for him. He started on this insane journey about a year before I did, but the pressure is on for me to catch him up now.
So, although I have managed to spend some time writing this week, all my other projects have had to take a back seat while we've been doing everything we could think of to build up his sales. I've been busy contacting everyone we know and asking them to buy a copy of Killjoy by Andrew Thorn. It has been fun as we asked everyone to buy it from Amazon at exactly 8.15 tonight to see if it soared to the top of their bestseller chart, if only for a minute. Well, lots of people did buy it, but somehow it plummeted down 3,000 places in the charts?
However, he has now sold a good number of copies, and I know lots of people have ordered it from bookshops, so that golden treasure, a royalty cheque, will one day be in his hands and no doubt framed!
With his book out there, I will be back to sorting out my own plans for 'Bitter Roots' next week. The next thing I want to do is to get my website up and running so that people can read some of my work. The domain name is now mine, and the website content is all ready to put up, so as soon as I get a bit of time I'll get that sorted.
But hearing how pleased people were when I told them about Andy getting published has given me a new drive to get on and join him in the dizzy heights of being published, which I now know is an achieveable goal.
So, although I have managed to spend some time writing this week, all my other projects have had to take a back seat while we've been doing everything we could think of to build up his sales. I've been busy contacting everyone we know and asking them to buy a copy of Killjoy by Andrew Thorn. It has been fun as we asked everyone to buy it from Amazon at exactly 8.15 tonight to see if it soared to the top of their bestseller chart, if only for a minute. Well, lots of people did buy it, but somehow it plummeted down 3,000 places in the charts?
However, he has now sold a good number of copies, and I know lots of people have ordered it from bookshops, so that golden treasure, a royalty cheque, will one day be in his hands and no doubt framed!
With his book out there, I will be back to sorting out my own plans for 'Bitter Roots' next week. The next thing I want to do is to get my website up and running so that people can read some of my work. The domain name is now mine, and the website content is all ready to put up, so as soon as I get a bit of time I'll get that sorted.
But hearing how pleased people were when I told them about Andy getting published has given me a new drive to get on and join him in the dizzy heights of being published, which I now know is an achieveable goal.
Tuesday 9 November 2010
Unpublished but undaunted
My novel 'Bitter Roots' is a dark, Modern Gothic romance, where the central character Beth Skye travels to Corfu and discovers shocking secrets about her family's past. The book has already gained high praise from a number of people in the publishing business. The RNA New Writers Scheme said, 'This is one of the best, if not the best manuscripts I've appraised'. A publisher I met at a networking party read the book and said, 'You have a great story. I'm sure the right publisher will pick it up. You have a really good writing style that keeps the reader hooked.' But I haven't found the right agent to represent me yet, so at the moment 'Bitter Roots' is unpublished.
It's a really long slog to get published these days, but I've got a whole campaign planned. My website should be up and running soon where you can read the opening chapters, and hopefully 'Bitter Roots' will soon be available to buy on Amazon as an eBook. I'm also busy building up my network of friends on Facebook.
As this is my first ever blog I'll keep it brief, but I'll keep you posted on all the developments as I pick my way through the complicated world of getting published. In the meantime I'll also keep working on my new book, which should be ready for sharing with the world early next year. It's another dark tale set in the seedy underworld of Brighton.
It's a really long slog to get published these days, but I've got a whole campaign planned. My website should be up and running soon where you can read the opening chapters, and hopefully 'Bitter Roots' will soon be available to buy on Amazon as an eBook. I'm also busy building up my network of friends on Facebook.
As this is my first ever blog I'll keep it brief, but I'll keep you posted on all the developments as I pick my way through the complicated world of getting published. In the meantime I'll also keep working on my new book, which should be ready for sharing with the world early next year. It's another dark tale set in the seedy underworld of Brighton.
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