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Friday, 6 December 2013

Time to celebrate!!!

It's Friday, which means only one thing: it's time to celebrate the small things with VikLit! This is a great opportunity to celebrate even the smallest of victories you may have achieved in the last week.



 
 
 
I have one main thing I'd like to celebrate with you all this week, and it's something that should go a long way to explaining my absence over the last few weeks.

As of today I am 15 weeks pregnant, and this is the first week that I've started feeling anything approaching normal. I still feel totally exhausted when I get home from work but the sickness is subsiding and I'm beginning to eat proper food again.

My writing itch is also beginning to make itself known, and it's getting easier to concentrate on creative things again. I'm going to be back into it soon but want to keep the stress down as much as I can, and try and enjoy it much more.

I'm looking forward to being able to leave my main work behind for a few months and to concentrate more fully on my family and my writing, the two things that are most important to me at the moment.

How has your week been? Anything to celebrate?

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Wednesday, 4 December 2013

Trying to regain some rhythm - an IWSG post


Welcome to this installment of the Insecure Writers Support Group, or IWSG as it's known around these parts.
This Group is an excellent place to find and give encouragement to fellow writers out in the blogosphere, whatever stage you may be at in your journey.


Founded by the wonderful Alex J Cavanaugh, who always seems to go above and beyond for his fellow bloggers, the IWSG has grown so much since over the last two years it now has its very own IWSG website. 
It has a whole host of places to go for advice and opportunities for anything to do with writing.
You can also find the IWSG sign up list where you can find others writing about their insecurities, and also sign up yourself to make new friends and gain encouragement.


As I came to write this post I noticed how little I have posted over the last two months, something that was wholly unintentional I assure you. I planned to take a sabbatical over October and it just kind of spilled over into the whole of November too.
I'm not going to use this post as an opportunity to apologise for my extended absence, I've been in serious need of the break. A few things have happened since September and I haven't been feeling at my best, it's been a struggle just to manage my normal everyday things of family and work life.

Now though, I can feel that I'm coming out of the quagmire that has been sickness and fatigue, and I want to start getting myself back into my writerly habits. I'd started to build a good rhythm as this year progressed and my confidence has been growing as a result. I feel a little like I've taken a step backwards, but I'm not quite back at square one.

One advantage I have now over then is that I know I have it in me to write. I enjoy it, and others seem to as well, so I haven't got as far to go this time to get back to where I was. 
The bonus this time is that I know I need to perhaps slow my pace a bit so I don't find myself close to burnout again. It was not a nice place to be and so I will be trying to avoid it as much as I can in future. 

It feels good to be back amongst you all again. How have you all been? Do you have any insecurities to share?

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Friday, 1 November 2013

Happy Friday everyone!


Happy 1st November to everyone! I hope you all had a wild Halloween.

It's Friday today, which means it's time to celebrate the small things with VikLit. This is a great opportunity to celebrate even the smallest of victories you may have achieved in the last week.


I've been on sabbatical for the last month, so today I'm celebrating a tentative step back into the bloggy-world.

I've spent most of October catching up on reading and getting my teeth into my creative writing course. The first assignment was due in yesterday, and for once I managed to meet the deadline. What's more, I even enjoyed the assignment, which is surely a reflection on how much I'm enjoying this one.

It's the only writing I've done in the last few weeks, but I'm not feeling bad about it. I desperately needed the break and now I'm feeling relaxed again I'll be able to pick up the pace gradually.

It's good to be back though.

What are you celebrating this week? Any plans for the weekend?

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Monday, 14 October 2013

I'll be back ...

I just want to put a little post up to say I'm having a break from blogging for a while. There are a lot of things going on in my life at the moment, and I'm feeling quite run-down and unsure of some things.

My creative writing OU course has just started so I want to concentrate on that for a while until I find my rhythm again and get back on track.

I'm not sure exactly when I'll be back, but I'll try to make it soon.
www.themanesource.com


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Friday, 11 October 2013

The 13th Floor Collection - author interview!


I have great pleasure in being one of the stops on Christine Rain's tour today. Throughout the whole of October she is celebrating the release of her wonderful 13th Floor series which is being released in one complete collection.

Christine's on tour!!!

And as part of the celebrations she has been under my interview spotlight once again.


HM: Hi Christine, great to have you back. I first interviewed you way back in January, when you were near the beginning of your 13th Floor journey. How does it feel to have made it to the end and be celebrating with a collection of them all?

CR:  I keep going through a whole cycle of emotions over and over again. Excitement about its release, relief that I'm done, anxious about how well it will do, sad it's done, and eager to start on a new project. I love the 13th Floor series, and though I'll miss it, I can't wait to fall in love with something new.

HM:  It's been a tough decision for me to decide which is my favourite in the series. Which is your favourite character to read, and which was your favourite to write? 

CR:  Oh, tough question. Xan and Lois together are my favorite to read. They make me laugh. My favorite to write was Harriet. She's such a sweet soul yet cursed. Nothing was simple with her. She has so many layers. It's tempting to delve more into her life and write more.

HM:   I'm definitely going with The Marquis as mine, Marc is just my kind of guy. I see him as a Wolverine sort of character, very rugged and sexy. 

https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=582b76abc2&view=att&th=1416c3a5cfe0ab1a&attid=0.4&disp=inline&realattid=f_hm6y5fmo3&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P8LbTfdZ1oA3OPrr8tc58ak&sadet=1381428671087&sads=vduTVS6B1_ubqniUGzqfo8nRm8Q 

Do you have an image in your mind for each character? Are they based on well known characters, or straight from your own imagination? 

CR:   I'm a visual person. I have a definite image of each character in my mind. Marc came right from my imagination as did his lady, Mae. A few of the other characters have appearances similar to well known ones. I imagined Xan to look like Alexander Skarsgard (Eric Northman from True Blood) and Meira like Morena Baccarin (Inara from Firefly).

HM:   One of my favourite things about this series is how they overlap with one another, with characters appearing in different stories. Did you outline these overlaps from the start of your writing process to all coincide? 

CR:   I'd love to say I planned it all out, but I didn't. I'm a pantser through and through. I knew I wanted them to all happen during the same period of time, but I wasn't sure how it was going to work. I just let the stories take me along as they happened.

HM:   What have you learned on this 13th Floor journey, both about yourself and about your writing? 

CR:   I learned I can write a lot when under pressure. I learned to trust my stories and let them take me where they need to go. I've also learned how to more objectively edit myself. Sometimes it's difficult to critique your own work, but I've gotten much better this year.

HM:   Is there anything you would have changed about how you brought The 13th Floor into the world over the past year? 

CR:   I would have written the entire series before I started to publish them. I was a bit crazy to write them as I went along.

HM:   What has been the most valuable thing that has got you through all the hard work for this project?

CR:   The most valuable things are my critique partners and beta readers. They had to work as hard as I did. I'm forever thankful for all their work. I promise never to set myself on a schedule like that again!

HM;   Will you be taking a well-earned rest after the tour or is it straight on to the next
project?

CR:   I'd like to say yes, I will be, but I'm already starting on the next one. My drive has only increased with the release of the collection.

HM:  Thanks for being here and sharing your thoughts with us on your hard work throughout the year.

CR:   Thank you so much for hosting me today, Heather. I've had so much fun!


The 13th Floor Collection is released on 13th October 2013, only two days away!


https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=582b76abc2&view=att&th=1416c3a5cfe0ab1a&attid=0.3&disp=inline&realattid=f_hm6y1rt92&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P8LbTfdZ1oA3OPrr8tc58ak&sadet=1381428854671&sads=1nPfT6KaMgv6NXMefdTwOYiZEyM
Title: The 13th Floor Complete Collection
Author: Christine Rains
Genre: paranormal romance


Blurb:
Six supernatural tenants
Living in a haunted apartment building
On a floor that doesn't exist.

Six novellas telling their tales.

A retired demon acquires a price on his head.
A werewolf is hunted by her pack.
A modern day dragonslayer misses his target.
A harpy challenges Zeus for the soul of the man she loves.
A vampire is obsessed with a young woman he can't find.
A banshee falls in love with someone who's death she has seen in a vision.
And a sweet ghost must battle a primal monster to save them all.

All the stories take place at the same time intertwining their lives together on the 13th Floor.

Includes “The Shadow,” a bonus short story.

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18460150-the-13th-floor-complete-collection


Author Bio:
Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she's not writing or reading, she having adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor series is her first self-published series. She has eight novellas and twenty-one short stories published.

Connect with Christine:






Purchase Links:


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Thursday, 3 October 2013

A delayed IWSG post - with apologies

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This post is part of the Insecure Writers Support Group. A great place for sharing all those insecurities we writers have, and for offering advice and support for our fellows. To join in head over to Alex J Cavanaugh's blog, you can check out what other people are posting about and sign up yourself too. Enjoy!
 
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I would like to start by saying a huge apology for the lateness of my IWSG contribution this month, but it does kind of demonstrate some of what I'm feeling at the moment.
 
My enthusiasm for blogging has taken a complete dip in the last couple of weeks, something that is filtering through to my reading and my writing too.
 
After spending a little time contemplating this phenomenon, I've come to the conclusion that I need to take a step back and slow down a little with everything.
I've still been posting things on a more regular basis than when I first started, but it's beginning to feel like I'm going through the motions with it rather than enjoying it. Things have started to feel more like a chore and I feel I'm not putting quite as much effort in as I could, or have done in the past.
 
A few days ago I checked my blog feed and there were over 200 posts waiting for me to read, and the thought of it made my heart sink a little. I'm also in a couple of book clubs, and find myself rushing through the current read just to meet the deadline and not fully absorbing whatever it is I'm reading.
I don't know about you, but this is not really how I like to enjoy my book reading.
 
I may have to cut down on a couple of things, and get back to doing one thing at a time and enjoying it as I go. I've heard that it's better to do one thing well anyway, rather than many things but not so well.
 
I hope this post makes sense today, the inside of my head is far from making sense right now.
 
Happy belated IWSG day everyone!!!
 
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Tuesday, 1 October 2013

Happy Birthday Express Yourself!!!

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The Express Yourself meme is a weekly jaunt brought to you by Dani at Entertaining Interests and Jackie at Bouquet of Books. At the beginning of the month the girls will post a gadget with a list of topics, something different for each week. Make sure to head on over to either of these blogs to check out the details more fully and see who else is taking part.

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This week the Express Yourself girls are celebrating the first birthday of this fabulous meme. Happy Birthday girls!!!


To celebrate the topic of conversation is - what has been your favourite questions during the first year of EYM?

I've been doing this meme since the end of May, so I don't have as many to choose from, but one of my favourites in this short time has been my favourite author quotes.

And just for fun, I've found some more:


This morning I took out a comma and this afternoon I put it back again.
Writers aren't exactly people, they're a whole lot of people trying to be one person.
The beginning is easy; what happens next is much harder.
 
I am always at a loss to know how much to believe of my own stories.
I think with my right hand.
Just get it down on paper, and then we'll see what to do with it.
Have you been involved in the Express Yourself meme?
What has been your favourite questions this year?
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