“Today I’d like to sit and read,
Forget I have a job I need,
Ignore the things I have to do,
And just enjoy a book or two”
-Oscar Wilde
Don’t we all feel this way like….always?!
I’ve been Nominated for the 777 Challenge (Yay!)
Thank you to Marjma for nominating me!
Her blog is fantastic you should check it out. Click here to visit her page.
The idea of the 777 challenge is to share a snippet from a WIP (Work in progress) then nominate others to do the same!
Here are the rules:
– Go to page 7 of your WIP (Or an older work that you have done and just love.)
– Scroll down to line 7
– Share the next 7 sentences in a blog post.
– After the excerpt tag 7 other writers to continue the challenge.
BUT I’ve recently shared the seventh page within the prologue to my fantasy YA novel Creeping Shadow so I’ve decided to share line 7 of the seventh page counting from chapter one (I hope that’s not breaking the rules too much! – try calling 777 if you’d like to complain hehe)
So here’s my excerpt:
“Should we go in?” May asked, peeking under his arm.
Oliver nodded and crept into the room. He brushed his fingers across a box on the bed and found a layer of dust deposited on it. A tingle ran up his spine as he got the distinct feeling that the room was somehow sacred, left untouched for years. He pushed his fingers under the lip of the closed box and lifted it slowly. The cardboard resisted, unmoving. He frowned and tugged at it harder but the box wouldn’t open.
And here’s my nominations:
1) Phantomwriter143 http://phantomwriter143.wordpress.com/
2) Isabellesudron http://sudrobelle.wordpress.com/
3) Rachelloon http://racheliliffe.wordpress.com/
4) C.S Wilde http://www.cswilde.wordpress.com/
5) Jacobemet http://jacobemet.wordpress.com/
6) Rlsharp http://rlsharpe.wordpress.com/
7) Dileepsankhla https://dileepsankhla.wordpress.com
Coming soon (as in the next 24 hours soon!)…Creeping Shadow Prologue!
Was that chills running down your spine or are you reading this in a cold shower? Either way! I’m super super SUPER excited to be publishing the prologue of Creeping Shadow (Book One of The Rise of Isaac series)
AND THAT’S NOT EVEN THE BEST PART!
The best bit of all is that YOU guys are getting it first! (I promise!)
In the next TWENTY FOUR HOURS I will be publishing the prologue of Creeping Shadow here at wordpress before anywhere else! Because I love you all and you’ve stuck there right with me from the beginning of my blogging life (#blife) and hopefully along my journey to becoming a published author (eek!)
I’m literally about to pee my pants with excitement right now – I’m sorry for the mental image but I just can’t help it!
So for those of you who are interested….
Creeping Shadow is the first book in my upcoming five part fantasy YA series The Rise of Isaac.
SYNOPSIS:
After sixteen year old Oliver Knight discovers the existence of six other worlds, his adopted sister is struck ill by a lethal curse. The curse links her to the fanatical terrorist, Isaac Rimori, who murdered Oliver’s father in cold blood ten years ago. Now, Rimori is plotting to wage a war that will change the face of the seven worlds using the monstrous creatures that live in Vale to aid him.
On his quest to save his sister, Oliver and his friends must compete in near-impossible challenges to gain access to the Gateways that are the portals to the other worlds. But with time running out, devastating secrets unfolding, and Rimori thwarting them at every turn does Oliver Knight have what it takes to save his sister?
The Would You Rather Book Tag
I’ve been tagged in the would you rather book tag! Thanks so much to lovingyoochun for tagging me whose blog you can find here: vilviohora@wordpress.com
Would you rather only read trilogies or only read standalones?
Trilogies! I find a standalone leaves me wanting. One book just doesn’t quite have enough platform to get me truly head over heels LOVING the characters.
Would you rather only read male or female authors?
I wouldn’t consciously choose male or female but looking through my favourite novels I definately have mostly female authors so I guess I have a subconscious preference!
Would you rather shop at Barnes and Noble or Amazon?
Definately
Definitely Amazon! I am a bit of an Amazon fiend actually; I use them for Kindle, Prime Instant Video and generally order all my DVDs etc from them. I also plan to publish with them later this year so I’m practically their biggest consumer haha.
Would you rather books were made into TV shows or movies?
I can’t deny I LOVE going to the cinema on opening night for the latest book adapted film e.g Hunger Games – BUT if they made the Hunger Games into a TV series I’d be in Heaven. So it has to be tv for me – it has the same affect as a series of books I just get so much more attached to the characters and the experience lasts so much longer
Would you rather read only 5 pages per day or 5 books per week?
Five books per week! I have been known to do this anyway…
Would you rather be a professional author or reviewer?
AUTHOR – This. Is. My. Ultimate. Dream!
Would you rather be a librarian or a bookseller?
Booksellar I think as Librarians have to be so quiet and I’d rather chat away discussing the books with the customers
Would you rather read only your favorite genre, or every other genre but your favorite?
Favourite genre for sure! Though I’m not sure if I could pick between fantasy and sci fi!
Would you rather only read ebooks or physical books?
Hmmm…I love real books but I have to confess I generally read everything on my kindle since I bought it. It’s just so practical and easy to bring every where I go! I can also prop it up when im in the bath on a bath tray which has solved the issue of me getting books damp!
I also love the fact that I can basically carry my entire book collection with me everywhere I go. When I go on holiday I have a whole array of books to choose from and there’s no weight limit like there would be with real books!
Thanks for reading! Here are my book tags (if you’ve done this before don’t worry about doing it again!):
Naming Your Novel (What Really works? And Does it Even Matter?)
I think novel names are either intuitive (spring into your mind in a eureka moment!) or depressingly hard to come up with…
Thinking through some names that I love I think that best ones somehow sum up exactly what the book is about with just a few words.
Take A Game of Thrones for example – I mean wow! That tells you just what you’re getting into! It’s a genius name!
But then on the other hand there are abstract names like Twilight which works just as well but, to be honest, doesn’t say much about the story…
But does it really matter? If a book is popular it’s going to be whether it’s called ‘Flutter’ or something that gives more away like ‘Dancing with the Fallen Fairies’ ( Both could be the same book!)
What’s in a name? Would you choose a book because of a name or is it the cover what draws you? Or do you disregard all of these things and judge it based on the blurb and reviews?
Does the title of your book have to imply the genre?
If so then….
– Beautiful Creatures sounds like a book about pretty animals
– I Am Number Four sounds like someone waiting in line for an argos purchase
– The Giver….well it depends how filthy your mind is here…
– Fifty Shades of Grey…if you pick this up expecting a colour chart then you’re going to be in for quite a shock
However, I think people know something about a book before they pick it up because of what I believe to be the biggest promiting factor; word of mouth.
So is a book name important?
Yes, but…it needs to be combined with sveral other factors to be effective: cover, blurb, and most important of all content – the book has to be a great read and then, whether it’s called Poo Bucket or A Game of Thrones, it’s going to do well!
Guest Post: Rejection is coming…(and dragons…maybe)
Hey guys check out my first ever guest post!
Sadly I can’t figure out how to turn the comments on at John’s site 😦 if anyone has any tips they’d be greatly appreciated!
So for my first guest post in my blife (blogging life) I have decided to talk about rejection (Gasp!)
No, wait! Keep reading! It’s not all that bad…..I promise!
Rejection is inevitable as a writer…I’m sorry…it just is. Let’s all take a moment to deal with that, deep breath, and move on!
Whether you’re rejected by a literary agent, a publisher, or your mum (yes! Even your mum might hate your writing! – What? She might!) it’s pretty much a done deal that someone is going to reject you once you start putting your work out to the general public – even popular authors have people who hate their books, you just can’t please everyone.
And to be honest….who cares!
Screw everyone who hates what you write. You love it! I know you do! Or you wouldn’t have spent all that time writing and rewriting and rererewriting until all your…
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Update on my YA Fantasy Series: The Rise of Isaac
So I just finished the first draft of the third book in my series: The Rise of Isaac, Book Three: Turning Tide
Eek! I’m so excited!
Its current word count is 81,900 words but I think it will be somewhere in the 90-100 thousand region when finished.
As to the released date…I am planning on publishing at least the first three books in the series on Amazon Kindle around Christmas 2015
I am currently on such a role that there is a chance I will have at least the fourth book ready by this point too and (big gasp!) possibly the final fifth book if all goes well – you can’t deny my optimism hehe
The Rise of Isaac Synopsis:
After sixteen year old Oliver Knight discovers the existence of six other worlds, his adopted sister, May, is struck ill by a lethal curse. The curse links her to the fanatical terrorist, Isaac Rimori who murdered Oliver’s father in cold blood ten years ago. Now, Rimori is plotting to wage a war that will change the face of the seven worlds using the monstrous creatures that live in Vale to aid him.
On his quest to save his sister, Oliver and his friends must compete in near-impossible challenges to gain access to the Gateways that are the portals to the other worlds. With time running out, Rimori thwarting them at every turn, and devasting secrets unfolding about Oliver’s family, he must overcome his demons and do whatever it takes to save his sister, even if that means ultimately giving up his life…
I can’t wait to share this story with you all!
Thanks for reading!
I Just Got Nominated for the Encouraging Thunder Award! – (and I’m feeling pretty damn smug about it!)
Firstly, I want to say a HUGE thank you to Erich Michaels for nominating me for this award!!
You can find his blog here: https://erichmichaels.wordpress.com
(Definately spare a second to check it out! His writing is wonderful here’s one of his poems called Frost Shadows:
The sun’s rays have crested the horizon
My love dances in dew laden grass
I stand in the umbrage of the weeping willow
My breath a billowing cloud
My feet shuffle in the frost shadow
where the sun may never shine
(I told you he was good! – what are you still doing here!? Go check out his blog! Get gone!)
Also a quick thanks to the creator of the award and if you wanna read a bit more about it then check out this link: http://encouraginglife.co/about/encouraging-life-blog-awards/
So what does this award mean to me?
Well! A hell of a lot! I’ve only been blogging for a couple of weeks and, frankly, the whole idea scared me a little!
But everyone has been so welcoming and I’ve literally been drawn into this incredible, crazy blogosphere possibly to the point of blog addiction…oops! And I’ve chatted with so many cool, interesting people who are all into the same things as me! It’s like a community and it’s something I absolutely didn’t expect to find from blogging! I look forward to checking my notifications while I’m on break at work and have little moments of inspiration about my next blog posts throughout the day!
But enough rambling! Get on to the nominations I hear you cry! Please people I know you’re excited but don’t start a riot on behalf of an award (think of the children!)
So I want to give this award to some of the people who have supported me/followed my blog/commented on or liked my posts/ replied to my rambles and generally been there in these early days and hopefully (fingers and toes crossed – or not toes because that’s kinda gross) will stick with me for a long and prosperous blife (blogging life)
So! In no particular order, I nominate the following bloggers for the Encouraging Thunder Award:
- Marjma2014 http://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/
- Phantomwriter143 http://phantomwriter143.wordpress.com/
- Pistachios http://pc63.wordpress.com/
- Nick Founder http://nickfounder.wordpress.com/
- Isabellesudron http://sudrobelle.wordpress.com/
- Rachelloon http://racheliliffe.wordpress.com/
- Sonya Solomonovich http://sonyasolo.wordpress.com/
- Mypersonalteenlife http://mypersonalteenlife.wordpress.com/
- C.S Wilde http://www.cswilde.wordpress.com/
- Abirami http://teenblogzz.wordpress.com/
- Husbandandhusband http://husbandandhusband.net/
- Jacobemet http://jacobemet.wordpress.com/
- Rlsharp http://rlsharpe.wordpress.com/
- Jacqui Murray http://worddreams.wordpress.com/
- Brittney Sahin http://brittneysahin.wordpress.com/
- Kait King http://kaitking.wordpress.com/
- Christine B https://theblogofchristineb.wordpress.com/
- Strider Turing http://stridersthings.wordpress.com/
- Tasha https://headinthecloudsheartinthebooks.wordpress.com
- Nicole https://mylifeasasecretwriter.wordpress.com
- Dileepsankhla https://dileepsankhla.wordpress.com
- Angela http://booksandopinions.com
- John Guillen https://johnguillen.wordpress.com
- Connor Rickett http://citiesofthemind.com
- Damyanti https://damyantiwrites.wordpress.com
What you can do with Encouraging Thunder award?
– Post it on your blog
– Grant other bloggers with the award
What you can’t do with Encouraging Thunder award?
– Abuse or misuse the logo
– Claim that it’s your own handmade logo
What you should do after receiving Encouraging Thunder award:
– Enjoy the award
– At least gives thanks via comments and likes and or mentioning the blog who give the award 🙂
Happy blogging!
Imagination Vs Reality
I am a shameless daydreamer, book reader, and story maker-upper and I need my fix of escapism to get me through the day!
I had a thought when I was writing this morning – how strange is it that all of these characters are just coming out of my head? Imagination is a strange and powerful thing, don’t you think?
As far back as cavemen painting on walls, humans have had a fascination with story telling and escaping from reality! We are captivated by fictional tales of heroism, tragedy, love, loss and all other manner of human emotions – despite these stories not being remotely true!
Does that mean our lives are so dull that we are coming up with (or distracting ourselves with) lightning scarred wizards, sharp-toothed love interests who like to eat people, a teenage battle to the death in a screwed up dystopia, and sexually messed up rich guys (oh my!) ?
Yes and no. Our lives aren’t all bad, right? (RIGHT!?) but humans have an ingrained setting to always look beyond their own reality for something better. We like to explore our feelings through characters and read about unrealistic scenarios to wonder how we might fair in the same stiuation or simply to marvel at the main character’s ability to overcome adversity or fall in love against all odds etc. etc.
Here’s an odd question for you to ponder…
Would you rather know (don’t ask me how just accept that you do) that all the books you loved actually existed in some other reality but it could never affect your life OR would you prefer books to be just the way they are, wonderful, beautiful fiction?
Thanks for reading!
This Sentence Has Five Words
So I came across this little piece of brilliance today and thought I’d share it with you:
What a simple, fantastic and clever way to show how sentence structure can alter the way a person feels when reading!
It’s easy to get wrapped up in the content of your writing (which of course is super important too!) but how easy it may be to forget the importance of how that content is formatted!
Sing for me writing! Sing!
Caroline Peckham 