Hi everyone!
First of all, apologies for this blog being a bit quiet of late, and thanks also to the visitors who have still been checking in this week - thank you for still coming to see what's going on here even though nothing has been! I appreciate it.
I set up this blog to talk about my writing and show you some, write about things of interest to me that were going on in the world, and also to interview other writers and showcase them. It all started in 2011 when I discovered The Wonderful World of Smashwords and Kindle, and self-published the first book I ever finished in my life, Kiwi in Cat City (written in 2002 and read by a massive zero people). This was a massive thing to me - a big, wide adventure seemed to open wide, inviting me in, like the door to Narnia, only filled with paper and my laptop rather than snow. I then met loads of fabulous writers and got fully engaged in the online world of writing and self-publishing. I even went freelance at the start of 2012, focused on writing and started editing self-published books at home.
At the end of 2013, reality dawned and I realised I really needed to go back to full-time work. I've always been a layout sub editor, so I applied for those jobs. I found one and started working at the start of January. Although I love writing and I've published 14 books, it's still only a hobby. My writing doesn't pay the bills - like many people with a creative hobby - so getting a full-time job was a necessity plus I missed the social aspect, getting out and about, and talking to more people than my cat on weekdays (although she can rabbit with the best of them... or maybe that should be mew). I'd also developed Working From Home Belly - a strange phenomenon!
So, what I can tell you is that I think I'm finally adjusting to being back at work and I'm going to start making more effort to put things on here. You'll see the Wow Wednesdays returning and interviews/guest posts with/from other writers, and I'll try to write some more poems and keep them going. What you'll never see on here is me criticising other writers and their methods/behaviour. There is no place for that here. I believe in support and positivity. I wish all indie authors great success.
What's going on with my writing? Well, very little since starting a new job, I have to admit, but this will change as I miss writing. So, I'll have to remind myself to turn off The Good Wife (my latest addiction) after work and do a little writing. I think it's Stephen King who said he always writes 2000 words a day, because he worries that if he stops, he'll never get writing. I might take a hint from him and try this too. That's why I love NaNoWriMo, because it gets you writing anything every day. If you're like me and need that kick, you'll know what I mean.
Today I kickstarted 2014, albeit a little late, by entering one of my books into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel award. You can enter too. Just log on to Createspace to find out more. I don't expect to win, but it would be amazingly fandabby cool to get past the pitch stage. This year I'm going to try to enter as many competitions as possible. I hope you do too.
Writing-wise, before Christmas I'd made headway with Haven, the second book in the I Dream of Zombies series. I've written about 90,000 words, so it will be as big as the first book. I have the first draft done, so I need to edit it, and work on some scenes and perhaps expand some. I can promise that book 3 will be interesting and take the series in a totally different direction too, as I already have some thoughts on it. Hopefully, my beta readers will be willing again as they gave me a lot of advice and support last time.
If you have any ideas on what you'd like to see on this blog or would like to beta read my next book, please leave a note in the comments.
Right, I'm going to sign off now. I have a rather delicious looking Topic chocolate bar (how I love those little hazelnut bits) and a cup of tea, and my cat on my lap (as usual). So I wish you a good morning, day or evening, and a lovely rest of your Sunday. I have to iron a skirt for work now (yep, I said the word iron and I'm not going crazy).
So, cheers to you and 2014. Let's hope it's a good one for everyone. I leave you with a few little haiku poems and am aiming to get off my lazy butt and blog a few times a week. Thanks for your support so far. :)
Some distant day she’ll
Return when she sees beauty
In a rainbow sing
In white, snow-lain fields
Leaps the majestic dance of
The Japanese crane
Hunted, the crane drops
Like a stone out of the sky
To flee the falcon
By the sparkling stream
Pale Narcissus wastes away,
His expression rapt
Hiding in the dark
Awaits the midnight hour,
His conscience sour
Blood-red rose falling,
He recalls her face, a smile,
Still beneath the soil
Pale Venus in bloom,
She rises untouched from the
Waves of destruction
