Category Archives: my writing

Mar18

Meet the Author – Sarah PJ White

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Meet the Author – Sarah PJ White

I met Sarah at Swanwick Writers Summer School two years ago and we’ve kept in touch ever since. Here’s her author profile…..

Sarah PJ White was born in Slough, Berkshire, United Kingdom in 1972. She is author of numerous online and offline articles and is also a qualified Life Coach and Alternative Therapist.

Sarah is currently writing her second fiction novel – book two in ‘The Account Trilogy’ – a fantasy novel based on the pretext that the Bible is actually a cover-up for the real, much more sinister truth about Earth and our existence; and who really is in charge.

The founder of ‘Self Confidence Workshops, Sarah writes the material for the courses and articles on her self confidence building website for adults (http://www.selfconfidenceworkshops.co.uk) in her spare time.

Sarah now lives in Thatcham, Berkshire, with her husband, teenage daughter and their rescue pets – two cats (Badger and Fizz) and a hyperactive German Shepherd called Bear.

 

As Sarah was releasing her first work of fiction, I invited her to share more about herself and her writing on my blog….

 

1 How do you write? Is everything plotted, planned to perfection? Do you ever change tack as you go along or always stick to a pre-made plan?

I always spend ages writing a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of my book. I state exactly what is going to happen in that chapter, and if I need to add details later (such as places, names or discussions etc) I’ll put ‘whatever the so and so place is called’, or ‘whoever this person is’.

 

Once I actually start writing however, the characters tend to take over and the story goes in a completely different direction before going back on track at the end! I guess that this appeals to the rebellious side of me – the OCD organised side gets to plan everything to perfection, and the rebellious side tramples all over it! They’re both happy though, knowing it starts and ends where it’s supposed to.

 

2 Do you have a writing ritual? Meditation, certain cup for your tea, writing trousers?

I have a mug I won as part of Ezine Articles ‘100 articles in 100 days’ challenge. It’s probably one and a half times the size of a normal mug, so I get to drink lots of tea whilst I’m writing. I also have to light a candle and have it burning whilst writing fiction – I can stare at the flame whilst thinking my way through things.

 

3 Aside from writing, what makes you tick? Tell us 5 things about yourself we probably don’t know.

Well, I love chocolate éclair toffee sweets (I have a stash of them in the drawer in my office. I always have to collect a couple of shells and stones when we go on holiday & they’re in a heart-shaped dish that sits on a shelf behind my laptop. I’m actually a hopeless romantic and cry over the slightest hint of anything lovely or sad on the television. I’m obsessed with writing in black ink pens – blue will just not cut it and absolutely hate raspberries – the smell, texture, look of them – everything about them!

 

4 If you were stranded on a desert island with shelter, food and water, what 5 items would you want with you?

My two cats, dog, husband and daughter – or if that’s not allowed – a toothbrush, deodorant, second pair of knickers (my gran always said you should have a clean pair of knickers!), an educational course/book (like learning mandarin or something else that would take ages) and some paint to make said island look appealing.

 

5 On said island, what 5 books would you take and why?

The fore-mentioned educational book as I always love learning new things, fly-fishing by J R Hartley (as I always wondered about this one, after watching the Yellow Pages ad!) and Unlimited Potential by Anthony Robbins and Conversations With God: Book 1 (Neale Donald Walsch), because I find both of these incredibly inspirational. The final book I’d have to take is probably one on public speaking – as I’m forever an optimist I’d like to be ready to deal with the paparazzi once I was finally rescued.

 

6 Off the island now, which famous person would you like to have dinner with?­

I’d love to have dinner with Richard Branson, as he’d have lots of things to talk about and I could pick his brain about his entrepreneurial skills.

 

7 Your current writing projects?

Following the release of ‘The Last Angel’, I’m currently working on the chapter breakdown for book two of ‘The Account Trilogy’. I’m also planning a couple of articles and am converting a six week self confidence course into a follow-up to ‘The Self Confidence & Self Esteem Bible’.

 

8 Other published work and links….

The Last Angel on UK Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Last-Angel-Account-Trilogy/dp/0957367929/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361998788&sr=8-1

 

The Last Angel on US Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Angel-Account-Trilogy/dp/0957367929/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1361998830&sr=8-3

 

The Self Confidence & Self Esteem Bible on UK Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Self-Confidence-Esteem-Bible-Understanding/dp/0957367902/ref=la_B006A5Q0KS_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1361998924&sr=1-2

 

The Self Confidence & Self Esteem Bible on US Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Self-Confidence-Esteem-Bible-Understanding/dp/0957367902/ref=la_B006A5Q0KS_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361998902&sr=1-1

 

My website:

http://sarahpjwhite.com/

How lovely to find out more about Sarah….I had no idea about the chocolate eclair toffees! Do check out her website for all that is happening and new in her world.

 

Jan14

Making plans

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Making plans

It’s a cold January morning…. snow is frosting the roof tops…it’s a great time to make plans and sew your seeds for the Spring.

In ‘Wendy Woo’s Year – A Pocketful of Smiles’, 6 Sow seeds for Spring, is a useful way to start…..

These are metaphorical seeds, the ones you may have been germinating from last year. (see October)

If you haven’t started to plant your ideas and goals seeds yet, you can start now, no problem.

 

We all have wants, desires and ideas in our heads; ‘I’d love to visit Egypt/South America/Snowdonia’, ‘I wish I could play the piano/guitar/French horn’ or ‘I’d love to be able to wear shorts in the summer’ but, unless these ideas are committed too, that’s how they remain, just ideas and wishes.

 

To turn our wants and desires into attainable goals, we need a plan. I’m not keen on the word ‘goals’. It worries me that if you spend too much time reaching for other things, you forget to live in the now. However, I have attached a ‘Wendywooism’ to this process which helps me get over the goal thing: ‘If you don’t have a plan, you can’t change it.’ For me that means, I can make a yearly plan, or a monthly or weekly or even daily one but as long as I have one, I always have the opportunity to change it. For example, my plan was to carry straight on and write the sequel to ‘Destiny of Angels’ as soon as it was available to download. For the following month, I planned out how to ‘create’ three full writing days in my week to write ‘Wrath of Angels’. However, an e book won’t sell itself and I decided to write ‘A pocketful of smiles’ before the second novel so, though my time has been spent on writing, it wasn’t on the book I had planned but because I had made the original plan and allocated my time, it gave me the opportunity to use that time writing a different book and promoting the first. Without the original plan, I would be panicking about not having time to do everything.

 

I found two books useful when attempting to find time in my life to achieve more balance. The first was a tiny book from the library on allocating time and the second is Peter Jones’ book ‘ How to do everything and be happy.’ www.howtodoeverythingandbehappy.comYou can follow and copy all of Peter’s ideas or just dip in and try the ones that seem appropriate to you and your life. It’s easy to read and makes good practical sense.

 

Once you know what you hope to achieve this year, this is a good time for research. If you would like to visit Egypt, check out the cost of flights, decide if you want a hotel based holiday or a trip down the Nile, bellydance lessons or an all inclusive package. If costs look steep, you could start a savings account and plan to go the following year. If you want to play the guitar, do you have one? If you do, check out local teachers, groups and evening classes. If you don’t, start researching possible second hand ones from local music shops or online.

 

This is the time to start sowing seeds for the spring and the year ahead.

Last Friday, I spent a chunk of the day sharing with a friend what I would like to do this year. This is a great way to find out what you really want. Last year with all it’s ups and downs, is also worth reflecting upon as it gives an incite into what worked, what didn’t and why.

Today I’ve a meeting at my mum’s re-ablement centre when I will find out when she will be returning home, hopefully with a new care package in place. Once I have this information, I’ll be able to organise my time better. I’m also looking forward to getting together with Mark Barry, a fabulous author from the Midlands who I met online, to discuss our past year’s successes and disappointments and throw ideas about for our forthcoming year of writing.

The one thing I do know is I will be focussing on writing….Wrath of Angels will be finished, as will a friend’s book I’ve been helping with.

We WILL sell our house and move to Wales…..it’s been tough waiting for this to happen but I do believe my future is in the Welsh mountains.

Instead of making resolutions, sow the seeds for a happy, successful future

 

 

Nov13

My Next Big Thing

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My Next Big Thing

Ngaire Elder, author of The Adventures of Cecilia Spark Series of children’s books for 5-8 year olds, has invited me to take part in a blog-event entitled The Next Big Thing. You can find Ngaire at www.ceciliaspark.com . She is hosting a fabulous giveaway over the next few weeks so be sure to visit her page and enter!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So here it is, a guide to what’s happening now in my world of writing.

What is the working title of your book?

Wrath of Angels – Second Book in the Lilith Trilogy

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I’ve always been interested in where people come from, their start in life and how this affects them as adults. Some people carry their past as a burden while others break free of the past and start their lives anew.

In Destiny of Angels, the knowledge that Angel acquires during her childhood and young adulthood, gives her an unusual perspective on life and with these powers at her disposal, she takes control of her own destiny by deciding to close the chapter in her life that caused her so much trauma. In Wrath, Angel believes she is in control and can handle the powers of Lilith. It’s only once she sees how much her friends are suffering that she realizes what she has unleashed. Six of the deadly sins have been explored but wrath takes the upper hand in this second book.

What genre does your book fall under?

The Lilith Trilogy is contemporary fiction with a spiritual, occult flavour.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Almost a year.

What other books would you compare your story to?

It’s unlike any book I’ve read…perhaps that’s why I felt I had to write it!

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I was waiting until we moved before I began this second novel but with my house not selling and with the story bubbling away inside me, I let the characters have free rein and they are writing the book.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I write about real people, ones we can all recognise as friends, family and acquaintances. From the feedback from the first book, readers were keen to find out how there favourite characters develop and Wrath of Angels takes every one of them a little further on the journey of life.

I’m also just about to launch my first non-fiction book Wendy Woo’s Year – A Pocketful of Smiles – 101 ideas for a happy year and a happy you.

You can find out more about me at these pages:

https://www.facebook.com/destinyofangelsnovel

https://www.facebook.com/WendyWooBooks

And now to pass the baton on……………

Sarah White – www.sarahpjwhite.com

Rach Gee – www.raegee.co.uk

Emma Edwards – www.emmaledwards.blogspot.co.uk

Mary Ann Bernal – www.maryannbernal.com

 

Follow their links to find out about the Next Big Thing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oct22

It’s the singer, not the song

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It’s the singer, not the song

Do you know the phrase, ‘It’s the singer, not the song’?

Upon visiting my mother yesterday to deliver shopping and deal with correspondence, I found the bungalow more cluttered than usual and with the attache case of paperwork strewn all over the bed. A neighbour, on dropping off Mum’s newspaper and finding her frantically searching for a piece of paper, had told her ‘You don’t want to keep all your paperwork in one place! You should get rid of the old stuff you don’t need, archive the papers you do and keep the attache case for ongoing and current paperwork.’ Mother repeated these words of wisdom to me as if they were a sacred mantra from the most auspicious guru….the song I had been singing for 10 years, just like the song about the smoke alarm, the hearing aid, the cooker and the chair with the automatic foot rest. My tune had been discordant, unwelcomed by her ears but once the song was sung by others, Mum’s ears welcomed it.

An interesting bi-product of this paper clear out was the return to me of my old school reports, from junior school through seniors. My school career was detailed from the age of 7-17, ten years of my life commented on by the adult influences of my childhood…fascinating reading.

For example, all comments about art and craft from 7-15 years are of enthusiasm, creativity, dilligence and understanding, culminating in a C- and ‘Wendy struggles with art’. I remember the teacher and the argument I had with her (you will find the whole story in my first non-fiction book ‘Wendy Woo’s Year – A Pocketful of Smiles’ due to be published on 1st December 2012) and how her dismissal of my opinions about my work led me to neither draw nor paint again for ten years.

Another interesting comment came from my form teacher at the time who believed me a mature, thoughtful, intelligent individual who ‘must always use her influence for good when needed’ and ‘is capable of making constructive suggestions to the betterment of the form’. Had this elderly spinster any idea how difficult it would be to stand up in a class of 32 15 year olds and suggest they follow my lead?

I did well through school until 14 years of age and then, in the majority of subjects, I began to struggle. The comments of the teachers for the remaining 4 years were all about what I should do….’Learn vocabulary more thoroughly’, ‘have a better understanding of the basics’, be more organised with revision’ and ‘read more widely’ on a subject but none of them, not a single one, gave me any help, guidance or understanding in how to achieve these goals and yet, in my final year at junior school, I had achieved As in all subjects and was praised for my organisational skills with project work as well as my wide knowledge of a subject that brought depth to the work I produced!

My teacher in the final year at junior school, Mr Davies, was a great teacher….a great singer. An ex-policeman, big, broad with a roaring laugh, he told me I could vault over a horse in the gym because he wouldn’t let me fall and I trusted him. He believed in Maths, English and sport every day. He was strict and he worked us hard but he instilled in me a belief in my own abilities, irrespective of what others thought. He encouraged the thinking of the individual, being able to support an argument even if you were the only one who believed it and self confidence when faced with new tasks, subjects and challenges. I carried his song in my heart for 3 years until the grammar school teachers stripped me of my freedom of thought and insisted I learned what they said without question.

As a writer, I was most interested in the comments of the English teachers through the years. In my early school life, I reached dizzying heights of achievement with a reading age of 14 years at 9 years old and comments of ‘great ability’, ‘creative storytelling’ and ‘wide knowledge and understanding’ but as the years went on, the comments on the reports reflected the sorry tale that culminated in a C grade English A level.

It seems to me now that I was presented with what I needed to learn but my lack of understanding and ability to bring this knowledge together to form a concise, well planned and thoughtful argument, displays the lack of support I received from my teachers at the time. My maturity was based on a blinkered, narrow world where I was ill-informed and sheltered from unfavourable outside infuences. Instead of spreading my wings in the world of academia, I made myself a hermit’s cave and took refuge in it with my books. I drew my own conclusions and reached my own decisions based on the little that I knew. No longer was I the fun, popular member of the class, form captain term after term but the loner, the odd ball, the girl who came to school early to study and went home late.

I was 17 years old when I took Tom Stoppard’s ‘The Real Inspector Hound’ and shortened it, typing the whole thing to be reproduced on the Getstetner machine by the secretarial staff. I produced and directed the play for Oak House as well as playing the part of one of the critics. Our play won, out of 7 houses, acclaimed by the local councillors and director from the local theatre who judged our end of year showcase….and booed off the stage by the pupils at the school who hadn’t understood it.

Today, as a writer and storyteller, I am the singer….I hope you enjoy my songs.

 

Oct10

Cuppa and a chat

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Cuppa and a chat

If you asked me I’d say I was an outdoor girl. I love nothing more than pulling on my walking boots, wrapping up warm and getting out there.  Being part of nature is uplifting for me.

When I’m indoors, I love a cuppa and a chat.

When I meet a fellow author at the reservoir, we walk and talk…the best of both worlds.

Socialising on the internet was as alien to me as walking into a butcher’s shop to buy a piece of meat…I’ve been vegetarian for over 25 years so have no frame of reference.

But today, I want to send a big ‘thank you’ to Tim Berners-Lee because socialising and interacting on the internet is amazing!

A few weeks back, I was having a bad day. A comment by a fellow author who I’d met a couple of months previously led to us messaging for twenty minutes. We shared, really shared and I knew, she was there for me.

A few days ago I joined a thread on an author group and learned so much about the lives, thoughts and feelings of two fellow authors….one in South Africa and the other in America….to be able to hold a three way conversation across the world is awesome!

Over the past months I’ve run ***The Amazing Karmic Sharefest*** and ***The BOB Bonanza*** sharing events on my Facebook page. I’ve met amazing, interesting and inspiring people but for me, the very best part is that it felt like I had invited them home, made them a brew and then left them to chat and share.

I love being out in all weathers and I love having friends round for a cuppa but I’m also loving the friends I’m making on Facebook. I love meeting new people and learning new things and this medium enables me to do that in a way I could never have dreamed of.

I know I’m old fashioned and suffer from techno fear but I’m learning and if I achieve nothing else from my time on Facebook, I’ve made some wonderful friends.

Aug25

Competition this Friday 31st August!

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Competition this Friday 31st August!

***BLOG COMP***

at the Destiny of Angels page!

https://www.facebook.com/destinyofangelsnovel

Instead of our BOB Bonanza this month, I’ve decided to run a competition to celebrate one year of blogging. The prize is an amethyst crystal and a few little goodies in keeping with the themes of Destiny of Angels. Amethyst is often called the all-healer but I like to think of it as the soother, relieving headaches and stress and allowing ones mind to see more clearly. Worn, used for divining, hung in a window or secreted under a pillow, amethyst is one of my favourite crystals.

I promised a competition that could be done in a tea or lunch break or two, as I know you are all busy writing so, here are the rules….
RULES FOR ***BLOG COMP***
1 Visit my blog at www.wendysteele.com
2 Using one of the blog titles, write in a flash (max. 100 words) how the blog or title is either
a) relevant to you ie what it makes you think of
b) how it inspires you
c) a response ie your take on my view of something
or
d) a flash fiction story
3 Post your piece on the Destiny of Angels page on Friday 31st August
4 Browse the posts and like any/some or all….the post with the most likes chosen by YOU by midnight GMT on Friday will win the prize.I do hope you will all take part and feel free to spread the word about the competition:-)

Jul23

Confessions of a wiggly worm addict

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Confessions of a wiggly worm addict

Wiggly Worm
When I learn something new, take on a new task, I like to give it everything.

The launch of Destiny of Angels and my career as a writer were no exception.

Within days of reaching 30 likes on Facebook, I became a wiggly worm addict.

I’ve never been a fan of statistics. Words I can handle while numbers make me nervous but making my wiggly worm climb became an obsession. Different posts cause different reactions. Photos are popular but, surprisingly, simple posts unshared from others, simple words of my own, make the wiggly worm reach for the sky.

For three months I’ve connected with the Facebook family and shared. I’ve shared my love of books, music and dance and photos and words that inspire me. I’ve opened my page to the Amazing Karmic Sharefest and the BOB Bonanza, monthly sharing events, where I’ve made friends and enjoyed meeting like-minded people. I’ve learned from their posts about the publishing industry and the difficulties and choices of writers across the world. In those three months I’ve expanded my ‘Friends of fans’ from 2,000 to over 65,000 and my ‘reach’ from a handful to over 3,500……but the obsession stops now.

My non-fiction book is almost ready to ‘go’ as is my short story anthology. Over 1700 copies of Destiny of Angels have been downloaded, at least a dozen paperbacks have been sold and  I have 5 5* reviews on Amazon and I’m proud, really happy that I have achieved all this in three months but………….

I miss writing fiction.

From today, 23rd July 2012, my focus is on writing the second book in the Trilogy, Wrath of Angels. The hours I have given to the wiggly worm are to be transferred to writing fiction. The Sharefest and the BOB Bonanza will still run on the Destiny of Angels page but my obsessions with the wiggly worm stop now.

Wish me luck…….

 

 

Jul2

Guest blog interview – Mark Barry from Green Wizard

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Guest blog interview – Mark Barry from Green Wizard

One author I met at the Amazing Karmic Sharefest on Friday was Mark Barry of Green Wizard.

Here’s your chance to get to know him a little better……

Wendy: How do you write?

Mark: I’m a scribomaniac, Wendy, like Charles Bukowski. I cannot not write. I am always writing, but its only recently I started writing novels.

Generally, an idea comes to me, I plot it in my head, spend hours thinking about it, come up with an opening line and then I’m away.

I write fast, like old school pulp writers. One of my heroes is Jim Thompson, who wrote After Dark, My Sweet and Hell of a Woman. He could bang a novel out in a month. They had to do so, or they didn’t eat.

Besides, I need to write fast. I get bored easily and on top of the current six, I have ten half written novels which bored me before I could finish them. How a novelist can take eleven years to write a novel is beyond me. Hollywood Shakedown, my first novel, took about a year with help from my proofreader and friend Kelly Sherwood, and by the end, I was glad to move on.

My last book, Carla, took about six weeks and I was happy with that. A book should never overstay its welcome in your head. There are always other books to read and write.

I’ve done nothing but write in the past two years, to the point where I have RSI in my fingers and have to write with my index finger taped to the second finger with green masking tape.

I change my mind all the time. In the horror novel, The Ritual, I worked backwards from the ending, which I visualised on the bus, and then, when it came down to it, I couldn’t go ahead with the plan.

That’s the great thing about novel writing. You are God. Your characters are your subjects. You can do what you like with them, go where you want with them.

Wendy: Do you have a writing ritual?

Mark: I’m writing this in my dressing gown, wearing an Inuit hunting cap with those dangly bits on either side,and a pair of thermal socks. I’m watching horse racing. I won’t get dressed till twelve. I drink green tea and suck glacier fruits. I eat yoghurts and chocolate biscuits and listen to music – metal and progressive. I packed in smoking five years ago, otherwise I would be dead by now. In my online horse punting days, I would smoke sixty to eighty Benson and Hedges per day. I once had three cigarettes in the ashtray and I didn’t know I had lit any of them.

I like writing in the morning and I like open prairie writing. That means I know I have four or five days ahead of me with no commitments so I can lock my door, shut my curtains, turn on Pink Floyd or Tangerine Dream, and just write, only leaving the house to go to the chippy or the Co-op. I wrote Carla in similar circumstances. 42,000 words in four days in the middle of April. I try to emulate Martin Amis’s 2,000 words a day, but it doesn’t work for me. I’m a binge writer, Wendy, and besides, writing is affected by mood and if you spend too long on a book, the beginning and the end are sometimes two very different places.

Wendy: Aside from writing, what makes you tick?

Mark: I go to the gym every day and I’ve developed my father’s appetite for running. He’s a race winning multi-marathon runner at seventy and I’m following suit. I love my family, conversation, music, reading, horse racing and Notts County football club. Life, too.

Wendy: What five items would you take on a Desert Island?

Mark:

  1. CD player and a box full of my CDs.
  2. A laptop with unlimited Internet access
  3. A pen with unlimited ink
  4. A pair of sunglasses
  5. My Inuit writing hat

Wendy: Five desert island books

1   Martin Amis – Money: Simply the best book written in the English language in the last fifty years. An astonishing piece of work. Every sentence is its own masterpiece. I cannot believe this only reached eighty odd in the Times Best 100. I worship Martin Amis. Yes, he became contented after meeting his second wife and thus his writing lost its crackle, but in the early eighties, there was none better – none – and its better to write one masterpiece than twenty mediocrities.

2   Jim Thompson – Omnibus Two: Four novellas including A Hell of a Woman and A Swell Looking Babe. Psychological masterpieces. Not a single redeeming feature in any of the characters and plots squeezed tighter than a raisin. Beautiful writing from a forgotten genius.

 

3   Paul Auster – The Music of Chance: America’s finest living writer and after a long think (Book of Illusions and Oracle Nights are a close second and third), this little gem gets the verdict. An existential classic with one of the bleakest endings in modern literature.

4   Magnus Mills – All Quiet on the Orient Express: If you’ve never read any Magnus Mills you’re missing a treat. I discovered him quite late. A proper novelist who makes you wonder why you bother writing. He’s that good. This book, about a laid back fellow who gets asked to do a series of odd jobs at an out of season campsite in the Lake District, took me about two hours to read and I still haven’t got over the ending a month later. How did he do that to me? Ninety nine percent of writers wouldn’t be able to do what he does here. You can be bitter about published writers – there are some seriously poor published writers too – but not this fellow. Love to meet him to work out how he did this.

5   Miguel De Cervantes – Don Quixote: I’m going to need a cool coffee table book to rest my keyboard on. Ulysses, Finnegan’s Wake, Gravity’s Rainbow and Underworld were all seriously considered, but no unread classic wins you more literary friends like Sancho Panza’s tale of his airhead interlocutor and windmill tilting boss. (I have a good friend who will read this book, and probably already has done and I admire him for that.)

 

 

 

 

 

Wendy: Invite a famous person to dinner.

 

Mark: Can I have three dinners? I’ll pay! I just can’t make up my mind, Wendy, between superbitch actress and racehorse owner Claire King, cult actress Maggie Gyllenhaal or Addison Timlin from Season IV of Californication. Please let me have three, Wendy! It will make me very happy.

 

If you’re going to be tough, I suppose it would have to be Maggie Gyllenhaal. Something about that woman. I love intelligent women and she has intelligence seeping from her ears.

 

Wendy: What are your current projects.

Mark: I’m three quarters of the way through The Illustrated Woman, Wendy, an urban romance set in inner city Nottingham on the border between New Basford, Forest Fields and Radford. It’s about a brilliant Cello prodigy who rebels, has her first tattoo, falls pregnant at college and is subsequently abandoned by her parents. Living in a small flat in the inner city and embracing a nihilistic new life of hip hop clubs, estate parties, one night stands, and local gangsgters, she charts her fall from grace through a grand illustration tattoed across her left side. Just before the illustration is completed, she gets involved in a love triangle between a safe, rescuing, nurturing older man and a handsome and alluring young hoodie. The decision she has to make affects everyone’s life, including her own and her young child, and forms the final tattoo of the illustration. But what is it going to be?

This is the final book of the City Trilogy which began with Ultra Violence, a novel about an ex football hooligan having a nervous breakdown, and carried on with Carla, a dark romance set in Southwell.

 

Carla is my favourite book so far, Wendy. If you have female friends and readers, they’re going to love this. It’s a real absorbing odd couple romance. It will be on Createspace on July 9th and its going to be a lovely paperback to have on your bookshelf. Until then, it will be an e-book available on Kindle Amazon. It’s getting extremely positive reviews.

 

This trilogy is my lifetime achievement. I’m a professional bid writer and have won large amounts of money for various organisations, I’ve lectured, been a psychologist and I survived for two years as a professional horse gambler, but skillwise, writing this trilogy is the act I’m most proud of. The trilogy deserves to sell thousands, but really, that’s irrelevant. It’s a nice piece of work. Like every writer, I can produce some utter bollocks, but these three books are about the best I can achieve and sometimes that’s enough.

I’m a prodigious blogger too. I write a blog which charts Green Wizard’s progress and is currently charting the progress (or otherwise) of The Illustrated Woman. I have a book coming out in August called Gyrospoons about five unemployed Newark ne’er do wells and I’m about to start a co-writing project with Dawn Smith, my new friend and talented cover designer from Dark Dawn Creations, who designed all my covers and my Green Wizard Publishing page. That’s scheduled for July with an EPD of August 10th. So it’s really busy at Green Wizard. Look forward to meeting you all.

Greenwizard62@blogspot.co.uk

Facebook: Green Wizard Publishing.

Handle: Wiz Green 9

 

Thank you Mark for sharing a little of your writing life, loves and passions on this blog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jun25

Sharing the Love

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Sharing the Love

holding handsFriday was  ‘The Amazing Karmic Sharefest’. Friday was a happy day.

As you know, I’m a new girl to the writing industry. With only one book ‘out there’ (at the moment!) I’m at a disadvantage as I have no back catalogue with which to tempt my readers but, as a new girl, I came to this thrilling adventure with no preconceived ideas, just a feeling of excitement at being able to share my stories directly with my readers.

My excitement grows each day.

Many times my approach to life has been criticised as naive, my trust in human kindness besmirched and my belief that love is the one true answer to a happy life berated.

On Sunday, I heard the Dalai Lama asked about the plight and causes of the failing British economy and ongoing recession in the world and what he felt people should do. His reply was threefold. Greed was the catalyst and speculation without supportive knowledge the blight. With ease and succinctness he summed up the problems of our world today. His final words were not those of impending doom but words of hope…..don’t lose sight of what is important, believe life will get better, look to a future of peace and happiness.

I choose to live my life and conduct my business with the teachings of the Dalai Lama in my heart.

Of course I want to sell my books and share my writing with as many people as possible but money is not my ruler. I write because I can’t not write and to share my stories is what makes me happy. Writing is what I do, it’s what I am and to be able to share that with others is a privilege.

On Friday, a bunch of people, many who had never had contact before, shared their endeavours, loves, passions and stories on ‘The Destiny of Angels’ page. Some sold books, others found friends and support but everyone had fun in the spirit of sharing.

‘The Amazing Karmic Sharefest’ will be back on Friday 22nd July and before then, ‘The BOB Bonanza’ on Tuesday 3rd July will give readers and writers another opportunity to share.

Come and join us….. keep sharing the love.

 

 

Jun11

Going Indie – A new girl’s view

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Going Indie – A new girl’s view

Its’ been nearly three months since ‘Destiny of Angels’ facebook page went up and I joined the eager writers, keen to encourage readers, writers and publishers to their page so, for all you other newbies or anyone who’s taken on the challenge of juggling the extra balls of marketing and promotion into their writing time, here are my findings about the ‘Brave New World’ of Indie publishing.

1 Continually promoting your book on every page you can find…..doesn’t work!

I began by following what other writers were doing on facebook. Enticing headlines, links to the novel, using capital letters for emphasis….It felt wrong! Approaching ‘strangers’ on fb felt like grabbing people off the street and shouting in their faces….they didn’t know me or my writing so, why would they read my book?

2 Some pages are better than others….find your groove

Some pages just encourage the above while others help, educate and support authors. You’ll know the helpful ones in a couple of days…..they bother to read posts posted by ‘others’ and you get the ‘feel’ of real interaction happening rather than a continual stream of new books to buy and special offers.  My favourite page that isn’t a fellow author is The e-readerhouse https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-e-reader-House/289972744414836. The page is helpful, interesting and has lots of interaction.

3 Be yourself!

My good friend and fellow author Peter Jones ‘How to do everything and be happy’, told me to be myself and promoting my novel would be easy. In the first few weeks, I called him a liar! After a few more weeks, I knew what he meant. I left comments on pictures and articles that I liked and enjoyed, began to share information and gradually, I began to feel part of the community.

I began to follow certain pages regularly….these were the pages I felt part of and then I noticed that some authors were always active on my page. We began to share stories and links, promoting the other author or his/her friends…..and the idea for the Amazing Karmic Sharefest came to me!

4 More than a writer

Over the weeks I discovered that the successful writers pages were offering more than their book. Some offered interviews/blog swapping, others book reviewing, promotions, competitions, giveaways and some technical info about the internet and the world of digital publishing…..where did I fit in?

Brought up with the adage ‘Do as you would be done by’, I decided to make the ‘Destiny of Angels’ page a place for sharing, helping and promoting but not just books…..crafts, dancing, cake making…..lots of creative, inspiring pages to help spread the word for all the artistic community. I’ve started interview/blog swapping too, asking the questions that I would like answered as a reader to an author. Anyone who would like to ‘swap’, please contact me.

5 One book is not enough

When ‘Destiny of Angels’ launched on 21st April 2012,  I truly believed I was launching my writing career into the world and that everyone would want to read my story. I was naive. As nearly 1,000 books were downloaded on my free promotion days, I figured half would read it and half would love it enough to post a 5* review on Amazon…250 glowing reviews….WRONG! Almost three quarters of the downloads were in the US………nobody posted a review.

Having said that, I’ve had some wonderful feedback and great reviews on Amazon UK but still the books aren’t whizzing to the kindles and one of the reasons is……I only have one book.

This was an important lesson for me.

6 Important lessons for me

I can only spread myself so much. I’m enjoying interacting on facebook now, learning about the publishing world as it changes daily and picking up tips to make all aspects of being an Indie writer easier. However, for the moment at least, you won’t find me on twitter or other interactive sites. I am a writer but I’m also a dancer, dance teacher, reader, partner,  mother, friend, sister………As parts of my personality, they are part of what makes me the writer I am and I don’t want to lose touch with the other parts of my life.

In the past, I’ve spread myself too thin, said ‘yes’ to everyone….and been poorly.

Decide who you are and how you are going to interact on interactive sites. Being consistent is important. For me, I’m happy to say that if any of you met me ‘in the flesh’, you would find the same person you’ve been talking to online.

Decide what you can give to the Indie community.

Do what rocks your boat….don’t try to interact like others do, unless it’s you. Book trailers look really exciting…..I’m going to wait until all three books of the Trilogy are ‘out there’ and then have a go!

Decide how much time you are willing to give over to promotion. I’m sure there will be people at this point who will insist that to be successful you have to give everything……

Decide what it is you really want. For me, having the opportunity to share my story with as many readers as possible is my aim and…….

The more books the better! I’ve decided to make sure that my time is more evenly spread between writing and promotion and………….I have a second book, non-fiction this time, coming out in September!

Now I can see myself on the path to becoming a successful writer….success for me is writing the books I love and having them read and enjoyed by readers all over the world. It’s only one small step and you’ll see me there, lantern in hand…….one step at a time.