A storm? It is the theme for our writers' group's upcoming short story anthology. Instead of blabbering about it, yet again, this post is a teaser for the interviews of my fellow authors in the project.
Mark those days on your calender, because there is a storm coming, and nothing will be the same again!
3 May - Interview Richard T Wheeler
4 May - Cover reveal STORM Volume I
5 May - Cover reveal STORM Volume II
6 May - Interview Carmen Botman
11 to 24 May - Blog tour (host blogs promoted)
4 June - Interview Charmain Lines
7 June - Interview Natalie Rivener
10 June - Interview Vanessa Wright
Both Volumes will be published on Smashwords in ebook formats suitable for all e-readers and mobile devices.
Tuesday 22 April 2014
Monday 21 April 2014
AtoZ Blog Challenge: R is for REVIEWS
Do you love books? Fiction? Non-fiction? Did you know that by leaving a review for the author will not only help the author, but will also tell other readers about the book?
I am guilty of the sin of reading many books but not formally reviewing enough of them. As a published author I need reviews on my books, and have been taking mental notes while reading to do exactly do that more often.
So how do you review a book? Here are a few tips to help you out.
And while I am on the subject - our writers' group anthology will be published in June 2014, and we are asking for 50 people to volunteer to review for us. We have had people already asking for the ARC (advance review copy) but there are more copies available. Please let me know if you are interested. You can read more about the anthology and how to contact us here.
I am guilty of the sin of reading many books but not formally reviewing enough of them. As a published author I need reviews on my books, and have been taking mental notes while reading to do exactly do that more often.
So how do you review a book? Here are a few tips to help you out.
And while I am on the subject - our writers' group anthology will be published in June 2014, and we are asking for 50 people to volunteer to review for us. We have had people already asking for the ARC (advance review copy) but there are more copies available. Please let me know if you are interested. You can read more about the anthology and how to contact us here.
Saturday 19 April 2014
AtoZ Blog Challenge: Q is for QUESTIONS
Friday 18 April 2014
AtoZ Blog Challenge: P is for PLUS 1
On
this day, 18 April 2014, I can claim to be married for twenty years,
16 days, and no, I have no idea how many hours. It is actually quite
amazing that I had remembered the date for this post. Yep, my husband
is the one that remembers dates, I am useless when it comes to these
things. I am good with numbers, but not dates.
Hopefully
hubby won't mind being a Plus 1 for a few moments, so let me tell you
a bit about him. His name is Francois Venter and he is an engineer
too. We went to the same high school, but didn't date back then since
we are not the same age (I am two years older). We started dating at
university and got married in the week that he had a birthday and got
his degree – trust me, it was a real busy week that year!
We
worked together for the first few years of our marriage, we shared an
office with two other engineers, before our careers started
diverging. He still works as an engineer, while I branched out into
consulting and project management.
His
passion is photography, and he is very good. Biased am I? Maybe, but
the awards, red ribbons and medals that hang on the walls in my
living room, all agree with me on that score. You can see some of his photographs here.
The
funniest thing is however the two of us going to the shops, typically
on a Friday evening after work, to stock up for the next week. We
would traverse the isles - him pushing the trolley, me picking out
food – and then we would whine and complain and chat about our
workday. I mean who doesn't do that?
The
two of us however, talk about weapons and bombs and explosives and
firing trials and stuff like that. Since I work in the military
industry, and he works at a commercial company that designs and
manufactures detonators and blasting equipment for mines, our talks
are normal – for us.
For
everyone else shopping with us, it might sound like we are planning
the end of the world. It is really funny watching people's faces if
they overhear our conversations. Of course, we don't talk about
classified things – commercial companies have those too – but it
remains a treat. We vent on each other's shoulders, and our audience,
well, who knows what they are thinking?
Who
is going to win the rugby on Saturday? Probably :)
Thursday 17 April 2014
AtoZ Blog Challenge: O is for OBSIDIAN
Image Pinterest |
Obsidian
is a shiny, black piece of volcanic rock. I chose this for my O post
in the Challenge because I have recently read a book by my favourite
author, Nalini Singh. The title is Heart of Obsidian and I have once
again confirmed her as my favourite.
The
story is part of a series, but I am not going to go into those
details. Heart of Obsidian is the story of Councillor Caleb Krychek.
You meet him in some of the earlier books, and no, he is not a nice
guy. In fact you believe him to be the worst of the worst by the time
you get to this book.
And
no, he doesn't suddenly become this cute guy that likes teddy bears
and plays nice with the kids. The author never deviates from the
character established in earlier books and that is one of the things
I loved about the story.
But
can bad guys be misunderstood? What motivates him? What drives him to
do the things he did? Can someone like him find love?
If
you like paranormal romance this Psy-Changeling series might be right
up your alley. And Heart of Obsidian? I loved the story because it
delved into the deepest darkest recesses of the human (Psy?) mind to
find the one thing that can, and sometimes will, motivate us to
commit murder.
It
is not a pretty and fluffy hero story, but it was different and an
out-of-the-box romance. If you read as many romance books as I do,
you will find this story unusual for the genre. I couldn't put it
down and sacrificed many hours of sleep to find out if Caleb could
find love before it was too late.
My
rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
Wednesday 16 April 2014
AtoZ Blog Challenge: N is for NANOWRIMO
April
and July presents the opportunity for anyone who wishes to write a
novel to 'practice' for the main event in November each year.
CampNaNoWriMo as the events in April and July are known, differ slightly
from NaNoWriMo in that you can set your own target with a minimum of
10,000 words. It might sound like a lot but if you break it down into
a daily target, it is an easier target. How difficult can it be to
write 10,000/30 = 333.3 words (okay, make it 334) every day for 30
days?
The
benefit is that you get into the habit of writing, you can plan to
write everyday and if you get ahead of your target (which is always
recommended) there is less pressure when the dreaded deadline looms.
And
these events are fun. There are local groups and online groups and
the best thing of all is the support given by everyone taking part.
Not
a novel writer? Why not write a collection of short stories? I have
found that a Plan B, the short stories, is an excellent way of
writing for this challenge. You never know what ideas might crop up
that could be explored in a novel.
My
work schedule is especially nightmarish this year, but the one thing
that I add to my calender on January1st, is NaNoWriMo
- and Camp is the best preparation there is.
Tuesday 15 April 2014
AtoZ Blog Challenge: M is for MY LIFE STORY
I bought a book a while back,
with the title on the cover, My Life Story. No, it is not a novel or
a self-help book, it is a blank journal that you can use to
write...my life story.
It has enough pages for 100 years of your life
and the manufacturer of the book states that if you have filled this
one up, they will give you a new one for free. Ha, I don't know how
many people live past a hundred years, but it is a nice sentiment I
suppose.
I bought mine when I was in
my forties already, so there is a lot of my life that still needs to
be penned down. The hard part is what do I include and what is way
too boring to even mention. And the most important question: when am
I going to find the time to write the details of the years before I
bought it?
To alleviate some of this
problem, I decided to stick to my adult life. My childhood was fairly
normal, and happy. Where I recall a particularly happy or memorable
event, I could always pen that. Wasting pages of paper just to say
that I passed this grade or read that book, would really be dull
anyway. Not that I can remember every single book I have ever read in
my life.
I even bought special
lightweight sketchbook for a drawing or two for this book, since it
has a blank page for every year for a photo. I don't have many
photographs of myself, being a bit camera shy and all that. The
drawings will also serve a double purpose to alleviate the urge to create - for the artist in me.
Have you considered writing
your life story, even if it is only for your own family?
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