Category Archives: Writing

Inspiring Places

My books, Writing, , , , , ,

Apologies for the radio silence, readers. I went on holiday, and somehow all my plans to get ahead of myself and schedule posts before I went didn’t work out.

I suspect they didn’t work out because I was sadly behind on deadlines. I’d intended a week completely free of writing to unwind entirely, but that didn’t go to plan, either and I ended up writing the last 4,000 words of the middle book of my fantasy series while I was there.

Don’t feel too sorry for me, however, because this was my view. It was so relaxing and so inspiring that the last 4k words flowed (fairly) effortlessly.

My view last week

 

If only this were always my office!

Now I’m back in the real world it’s time for the proper work to start: revisions! And in the meantime, my designer is hard at work and I hope to have a cover to share with you soon – watch this space.

Read with mother…

Reading, Writing, , , , , ,

It’s Mothering Sunday and I wanted to give a shout out to mums everywhere. I have no actual memories of reading with my mother, but I know it happened. How could I possibly love books as much as I do without early exposure to the form? Even my decision to become a writer is tied in both with books and with my mum.

Cover of Otfried Pruessler's The Robber Hotzenplotz
My favouritest ever book from my childhood. I buy a copy for all the children in my family now!

The story goes that mum was reading a story to me when I was about four. When she finished I asked if you had to pay to get your story made into a book (this was before self-publishing was any sort of a thing: books needed publishers then). She replied, No, the publisher will pay you if they want to turn your story into a book.

My jaw dropped, my mind was blown and that was the decision made for me.

I don’t remember those times sitting reading with my mother (well, I was very young), but I do remember sitting and reading with my child. Offspring is too old to be read to these days (mostly – now and then I get asked to read a chapter), but I loved those quiet, cosy times with a good book, ensuring the next generation would have a love of books and stories. Bedtime stories might just be the best part of the job of being mum.

What’s your earliest memory of reading? Does your mum feature?

Do you binge?

My books, Writing, , , , , , , , , , ,

 

Cover of Katy Haye's A Clockwork War series
Click to start reading

Excuse the shameless self-promo today, readers, but I’m wildly excited to report that not only is my series, A Clockwork War, complete, but it’s now also available as a bargain-priced boxed set.

Bingeing a series once it’s all available is apparently THE way to consume fiction these days. I feel out of step since I don’t tend to binge read books (I mean, I read constantly, natch, but jumping from one thing to another). I do tend to record TV series and watch them once they’re all out, but I think that’s a shortage of time more than a deliberate choice.

When it comes to books, however, I’ll grab them as soon as they’re out if I like them (case in point, I’m foaming at the mouth for two instalments in novella series I’m midway through that won’t be out until the end of the month, alongside a more distant yearning for the next Tides novel by Alex Lidell which doesn’t yet have a release date).

But, if you’re a binge reader (or even if you’re not!) and you like steampunk, genius heroines, gutsy heroes and dastardly antagonists, do try A Clockwork War. I had terrific fun writing about Clara, her friends and her fabulous brothers (she has five) in a world where England and Scotland remain at war in the 1840s.

Do you start if you can’t finish?

Reading, Writing, , , , , , , ,

Thank goodness for novellas this week, because if it weren’t for short books I’d have almost nothing to report!

Cover of Lili Zander and Rory Reynolds' Dragons ThiefI stumbled upon the entirely excellent Dragon’s Thief by Lili Zander and Rory Reynolds (I agree, I do seem to have a thing for dragons right now – is there a problem with that?). It’s a reverse harem novella (one heroine; lots of heroes) so I’m pleased to have also found an RH novel I loved. Key for me is that the heroine has a really powerful goal which kicks in right at the start of the novel and powers her all the way through.

But my talking point for this week is because Dragon’s Thief is first in a series. I would have gone straight on to the next, but it’s not out yet (although available for pre-order). That’s fine, I’ll wait. Series are so common these days that I would have thought no more about it, except that a friend on Facebook then posed the question as to whether you’d read the first in a series before more were available, or you’d wait until the whole series was out.

A surprising (to me) number said they wouldn’t start until they knew they would be able to finish the series if they liked it. Partly this seemed to be due to the habit of bingeing which we’ve all fallen into. But equally, readers wanted to be sure that the series actually came to an end – with horror stories of books that ended on cliffhangers by authors who then decided they didn’t want to write any more or publishers who gave up on their authors mid-way through a series.

Interesting to note is that the authors of Dragon’s Thief were clearly aware of this – at the bottom of the description was a note stating that it’s the first in a series, outlining the release schedule and warning readers to wait if they didn’t want to have to stop part-way through.

I don’t mind at all. Of course, if you like a book it’s good to find more in the series or by that author to move on to, but I also find anticipation is part of the enjoyment. I’ve now got two dragon-related novellas to look forward to in February, which is perfect for a woman whose main dread in life is running out of books I want to read.

Over to you, reader. Will you start a series when it catches your eye, or do you want to have all the books lined up before you begin?

Oh, and if you’ll excuse a brief plug, this is probably the ideal moment to point out that my 4-book historical fantasy series, a clockwork war, is now complete and available to read (Kindle and KU). The series starts with The Clockwork War, which you can grab now.

A clockwork war series covers

Almost nothing happened.

Reading, Writing, , , , , , ,

I am a dreadful insomniac. I would love to find something that could make me drop off to sleep and stay that way until a decent hour of the morning, but until I do, I just consider the hours of 3 and 4 in the morning to be plotting time, when I run through what’s going to happen with my characters and resolve the holes in my stories.

Just recently, though, I’ve cracked down on my night-time screen time in a bid to sleep better. At 10:00 I turn off the TV, put away my PC and phone and the final half-hour before settling to sleep is for reading in ink and paper while my brainwaves settle to slumber (I think that’s what’s supposed to happen).

Cover of Elizabeth Buchan's The New Mrs CliftonThis week, I’ve been reading a book recommended by my mum. It’s another one that’s completely outside my usual genre (I think it would be classed either as “women’s fiction” or “general fiction”, tags which say next to nothing about what you’re getting. The New Mrs Clifton is set in post-war London and revolves around a German woman who marries an English soldier at the end of the war and comes to settle in Britain.

It’s a very good read, but it’s so entertaining to look at it beside my usual YA fare because almost nothing happens. I mean, that’s not true, there’s a pregnancy and a baby and someone winds up dead, but compared to the usual frantic pace of aliens or armies or assassins it was very subdued. I don’t mean that as a criticism, just a difference in how books approach that thorny matter of exploring something about what it means to be human.

Did I sleep better? Meh, not so I noticed – but planning for my next book is coming on a treat!!!

November means nano

My books, Reading, Writing, , , , , ,

Another tricky week, this week, readers. The Shattered Worlds Read Along finishes today with Miranda Hardy’s Death Knocks, except that I’d already read that, having got myself a bit out of order (it’s fabulous, btw). So there wasn’t a book from the collection that I felt as though I needed to read.

So, I haven’t read a Shattered Worlds book this week. That doesn’t mean I’ve stopped reading. I hope that will only happen when I’m no longer breathing! But this has been a week where I’ve focused entirely on myself.

As well as busily writing my nano words (I’ve hit 42k – OMG, crack out the choccie brazils, I have never written this consistently fast before in my life!) I was also on deadline to get my final clockwork war book to my editor ready for her to start work on Monday. So that’s what was on my Kindle, having a final read through to make sure that any plot holes big enough for me to see were filled in before it was sent off for a professional assessment. There will, sadly, be other plot holes that hid while I was reading, but that’s why I use an editor.

Being at 42,000 words when I’m aiming for a 50,000 word first draft means I’m actually on the home straight. I want to finish by next weekend, so I can actually slow down a lot and still hit my target. I hope that’s going to give me time to read, because I really want to lose myself in someone else’s worlds.

First off is the new release by one of my favourite writers – Kelly St Clare. Blood Oath (co-written with Raye Wagner) came out this week and I’ve only made it into chapter two so far (it’s great; Kelly’s books always are). With a bit less time writing and more reading going on in my life, I hope that will also be finished by next weekend.

Check back next week to see if I’ve met either or both of my new deadlines!

Shattered Worlds Challenge: by the skin of my teeth

My books, Reading, Writing, , , , ,

Well, it was looking like I might not manage a Shattered Worlds book report this week. Life’s been manic and I haven’t had as much time for reading as I would have liked.

However, I’m delighted to report that I reached THE END of The Magic or the Rulership by Emily Martha Sorensen while I was waiting for my takeway last night.

I loved it. It’s set in a fantasy world and had some glorious touches – I adored the idea that being a mathematician was a surefire way to poverty, and the system for power in the world was absolutely fascinating.

The other thing I truly adored was the humour that infused the story. Tevan’s feelings about his intended, Ainlinn, were extremely wry and amusing, and their meeting with the Ruler was laugh-aloud.

And the reason I’ve been so busy this week? Well, I was racing to finish revisions on the final clockwork war book so I could clear my desk ready for Nano. I am joining that mad band of authors aiming to write 50k words during November. So far, I’m at 16k on day 5, so I’m pretty happy with progress so far. I’ll keep you posted!

This is me right now!

Shattered Worlds Challenge: Curse Breaker

Reading, Writing, , , , , , ,

My blog is late this week, because I only finished Curse Breaker last night (not a slow reader, I’ve been taken up with lots of non-fiction reading this week, all about marketing, social media and advertising, yawn). Curse Breaker is just as lovely as I hoped it might be: a beautifully-realised fantasy world with some fabulous characters, a kickass heroine, heartbreaking prince and page-turning abilities that reminded me of Michelle Madow.

And do you know what, I’m more than halfway through my Shattered Worlds challenge, and I am so impressed by what a fabulous group of writers I’ve joined with. I only knew a couple of my fellow contributors before getting involved in Shattered Worlds (and them only through Facebook), but everything I’ve read so far is creative and powerful and well worth reading. When people are still blowing the tune that indie-published books are in all ways sub-standard I’m proud to be a part of a group blowing that myth out of the water.

Check back next week, I’m jumping into Elizabetta Holcomb’s time slip next.

Shattered Worlds Challenge – a surprising Scourge

My books, Reading, Writing, , , , , , , ,
The Scourge is available only in Shattered Worlds. Click to get your copy of the collection.

This week I read A G Henley’s The Scourge. This took me by surprise in a lot of very good ways. What seemed at first to be a pre-industrial fantasy world turned out to be set in a post-apocalyptic future. There were other twists like that, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers. But in short, very little was quite as it seemed. Narrator Fennel was ideal to experience this story with us, because you really couldn’t always believe your eyes (Fennel is blind, so doesn’t have the option to trust her eyes!).

And that’s the only reading-for-pleasure I’ve managed this week. I have been busy with my own books, though: proofing the paperback of The Clockwork War, the Kindle version of An Airship from Ashes, and revising The Tinker Queen ready for editing while working on the first draft of finale The Immortality Device, so it’s all go in my house!

Paperbacks of Clockwork WarIf you’ll forgive me a bit of self-promo, I’m delighted to say that The Clockwork War is now available as a real life ink-and-paper book. If that’s what floats your boat, check it out.

I’m looking forward to next week when I should have more time for reading. Check back next week to see what I’ve picked from Shattered Worlds.

Hooray for holiday reading!

My books, Reading, Writing, , , , , , , , ,

Oh my goodness, I thought I might slacken off when I didn’t have my Alphabet Reading Challenge to keep my nose in a book. I’m delighted to say that hasn’t happened at all!

Rachel E Carter's Black Mage series
Start with the prequel and I bet you won’t want to stop.

Since blogging last I’ve had a lovely week off, taking a holiday by the seaside. I also caught up on some of the books I wanted to read “just because” rather than because they start with the necessary letter of the alphabet to fit my challenge.

Try the preview

I got through the whole of Rachel E Carter’s Black Mage series (terrific – the list of imaginary worlds in which I want to take a holiday grows exponentially!). I read an out of left field 5* book that just happened to catch my eye in a Facebook group I’m a member of. Ember Burning was unsettling in the best way – creative, eerie and populated by fabulous characters.

Cover of Cortney Pearson's The Perilous In-BetweenAnd finally, I read a book by a fellow author in the Shattered Worlds collection. I decided to start with Cortney Pearson’s The Perilous In-Between to check out her take on steampunk, and it’s glorious – delightfully fantastical and beautifully written.

I’m now back to work and writing hard on my clockwork war series – book two is about to go to my proof-readers, and I’m on the home straight to complete the writing of book three. While I’m doing that, my reading is research for what I’m going to write next (ideas are coalescing, but I’m not certain which story I’m going to pick just yet). I’ll keep you posted!

He could be my book boyfriend any day!

If you’ll excuse me a plug, Shattered Worlds is out now and today is the last day to get it at launch-day-bargain price of .99. Next week it will be going up to the regular price of $2.99, so if you’re dithering, dither no longer and grab a copy!

Amazon
Nook
iBooks