Rachel Morgan's cover reveal

Today I have the great honour of taking part in Rachel Morgan's cover reveal for The Faerie Prince. Look at that cover... How could I not have it on my blog, it's gorgeous!


Title: The Faerie Prince
Author: Rachel Morgan

Publication Date: May 30th 2013

Guardian trainee Violet Fairdale is just weeks away from one of the most important occasions of her life: graduation. After messing up big time by bringing a human into the fae realm, Vi needs to step up her game and forget about Nate if she hopes to graduate as the top guardian of her year. Everything would be fine if she wasn’t forced to partner with Ryn, her ex-friend, ex-enemy, current ‘sort of friend’. They might be trying to patch up their relationship, but does she really want to spend a week undercover with him for their final assignment? On top of that, the possibly-insane Unseelie Prince is still on the loose, free to ‘collect’ as many specially talented faeries as he can find—and Vi is still at the top of his list. Add in faerie queens, enchanted storms, complicated not-just-friends feelings, and a murder within the Guild itself, and graduation is about to become the least of Vi’s problems.

Add THE FAERIE PRINCE to your to-read list on Goodreads.

If you haven't yet read the first book in the Creepy Hollow series, THE FAERIE GUARDIAN, you can find it at the following places:

Amazon, B&N, Apple iBookstore, Smashwords

To connect with the author, visit Rachel Morgan's blog.

Good luck with the book, Rachel!

Another interview? Me? Oh all right then...

I've been interviewed over at The Dan O'Brien Project. Find out whether I've ever been in trouble with the police, who I'd like to have play me in a film of my life and when my autobiography will be out! The post went up yesterday, so I hope Dan won't mind me linking to it a little bit late.

Dan has a Kickstarter project that he's trying to get off the ground, so once you've popped over for the interview, come back and pop over here as well.

Pantsing - the journey of my WIP

At the end of last year, around bloggyland, there was a lot of discussion about plotting versus pantsing; every award/meme contained a question about it. People fall into one camp or the other... and I'm a definitely pantser. The following story of my WIP will make fellow pantsers glad they're not me, and give plotters a good laugh.

In November I wrote a novel for NaNoWriMo. It came in at 150 words over the goal, and I was amazed I'd got so far. I'd been completely ready for a fail.

The aim was to rewrite it over the winter, read and edit and redraft over the spring, and submit by late summer. Yeah, right! Luckily, winter is dragging on so I'm still within my goal, but I'm still firmly in first draft mode because I keep changing my mind over the story I'm telling.

The novel starts with an explosion at a hotel which kills a couple of people. The subsequent stories were interwoven and the characters falling over each other - that was the original way it was written. When that got tough, I sieved out the individual stories, starting each one at the same moment in time - in this case, one week after the explosion and then looking back over the past week.

The trouble with this draft was that one week wasn't enough to tell the story, and I found myself writing in future tense. I thought hey this is wacky and experimental and literary - this is definitely my Booker winner. But, reader, it wasn't easy. Maybe if I'd only been going a couple of days into the future I could have pulled it off, but the original story covered the whole year after the explosion not just the week.

Last night, as I was lulling myself into a restful sleep, I had another idea...

Short stories!

You weren't expecting that, were you? Oh, you were...

Anyway, it doesn't change the main premise of each of the stories I want to tell, but they are now not dependent on a rigid timeline, they will work in isolation without consideration of the other characters. One story is now free to cover the year, while another will take just a few days. I don't have to rush my coma patient into recovery, he can wallow in his subconscious for as long as he needs to.

Am I happy with this decision? Yes, I am... for now!

Reality strikes!

The lovely Linda King has passed this award on to me, and I'm very honoured. I especially love that it includes the word Yippee!

So, now I have to answer the following questions and pass the award on to some deserving people. I'll do the questions first, far easier!

If you could change one thing, what would it be? 
Umm, I have no idea. More shelves for my books, being able to apply make-up properly. And - due to constant badgering from my youngest - I wish I had a little bit of extra money at the end of the month to give to charity - he'd love to save all the animals!


If you could repeat an age, what would it be?
17. That was the year I finally figured out who I was, and had fun. But only if I could take all the lessons I've learnt ever since and apply them to that age, because unfortunately I got lost again for most of my twenties.

What one thing really scares you? 
Heights! I'm slowly conquering this  - for years I'd only walked over my local bridge a handful of times, until the year I started walking across it daily to get to work. I thought it would apply to other heights, but it didn't. I'm scared climbing the ladder into my own loft! But worse, I am now really scared watching other people climbing ladders etc. I have to look away!

If you could be someone else for a day, who would it be?
I'd be everyone. It would be the ultimate in people watching, wouldn't it? And I adore people watching!

And now I'm going to pass this award on to...

Julie Luek, Tina and Joanne Faries.

I haven't checked to see if these wonderful ladies have received this award yet, but even if I have I think they deserve it again... they just don't have to answer the questions!  

The ups and downs of writing

By steenslag (P1010533) [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

It's been a horrible week. It started on Monday when I got annoyed with the internet, my blog, myself and everything. By Tuesday, I really didn't want to pick up my laptop at all, and instead I went to the gym and did a lot of cleaning. On Wednesday Hubby'd had enough and took me shopping for shoes (very pretty shoes, I posted a pic on Facebook, if you're friends with me over there), but I was still feeling low on Wednesday evening.

However, on Thursday, I woke up with several scenes for my current/partially abandoned WIP running around my head. Yay! Annoyingly, I had to go to work in the morning, but I came home and went straight to my notebook (Reader, I didn't even switch on my laptop to check my emails!) I wrote almost six pages in teeny, tiny handwriting.

You see, I've known for a very long time that I write best when I'm feeling a little bit down, not fully depressed but not singing and dancing in the rain either. Further still, I can't wake up in the morning, feel slightly sad and immediately write a fantastic chapter... No, I have to feel like it for a few days or weeks.

I've done some very basic research on the connection between writers (artists in general?) and depression, and the current theories swerve in the opposite direction - you are happy while the writing is going well, and fall into a fug of depression when it slows down or goes wrong.

It happens when:

• you start comparing yourself to Stephen King, JK Rowling, Ali Smith, Margaret Atwood, EL James... whoever you consider to be at the pinnacle of your genre
• you start to feel lonely and hopeless
• you receive yet another rejection.

I couldn't find - granted, this was very simple first-two-pages-of-Google research - any article which made the case for writers needing to be depressed to write. I'm sure I can't be the only one - although I like to think I'm pretty unique, in a world of 7 billion it's highly unlikely.

Without prying too much, I'd love to hear your opinions.

The post that keeps changing name

Apologies for being MIA during the Top Ten Movie Countdown Blogfest on Monday. I had my post up, then released no one could see my pictures, then - because I was already... erm, in a less than jolly mood - I pulled the post, sulked and didn't comment on any more posts.

Just so you know, I'm aware how lame that sounds.

I am so sorry. I feel like a teenager. All I needed was a pot of black paint and I'd have been in my element, and Hubby would have been left trying to wipe black paint off our ceilings.

So to make up for it, I'm taking part now. But - and this is REALLY IMPORTANT - I don't want you to comment. Because I sulked and didn't comment on yours - I did read them though! - you shouldn't comment on mine. Deal? In fact, to make sure you don't, I'm turning off comments.

Also, I've learnt my lesson, and I've taken off the pictures I attached the first time around. Without further ado, my films in no order at all are...

Love Actually Hugh Grant dancing, Emma Thompson listening to 'Both Sides Now' by Joni Mitchell, the seen at the wedding when the band start playing - there are so many scenes in this film that I love. It's the perfect Christmas film too - around about September, when I'm feeling Christmassy, I watch this film. And then I watch it on a monthly basis until Christmas, when it gets promoted to twice during Christmas week (it does help that as a gigging musician, Hubby is quite busy at that time of the year!)

Fight Club When I tell people I love this film, they assume it's because of Brad Pitt, but actually... no. Does no one get how awesome an actor Edward Norton is? Does no one love Helena Bonham-Carter as much as I do? This film grabs you from the opening!

Reservoir Dogs My favourite Tarantino film without a doubt. Magnificent soundtrack, brilliant dialogue, and - honestly - who hasn't mimicked the walk at one time or another? I first watched it with a group of friends when we were 17 - I was the only one to get the humour, everyone else sat in shock. They later caught up! While checking out the spelling of Tarantino (one R or two... simple stuff) I found these fun facts: George Clooney, David Dachovny and Samuel L Jackson all auditioned. It was a much bigger hit in the UK than the US, due to almost no promotion in the States.

It's a Wonderful Life Yes, I cry at this one too. I watch it every year. It used to be shown on TV, but one year when it wasn't, I went out and bought a copy. I love James Stewart, simple as that! The one scene that always bristles with me is when we see the spinster Mary - apparently if beautiful women don't marry at the right time, they turn into dowdy librarians who need to wear glasses and are scared when a man merely looks in their direction!

Shallow Grave Two years before Trainspotting, Danny Boyle made this film, a story of three flatmates who interview for a fourth. Any thing more than that would be a spoiler, if you haven't seen it - but I really recommend checking it out. It's very funny and dark. Boyle's father considers this to be his best work, according to a Top Gear interview I saw once (and then several times more, courtesy of Dave!)

The Usual Suspects Kevin Spacey is amazing. That's all. Again, great humour and banter between the characters - dialogue is hard to write well, and that's even more obviously when you find a film where it's so very well done. I'm still completely astounded by people who don't get the ending... apparently, there are quite a few in the UK, and I know most of them. Head. Wall. Bang.

Fiddler on the Roof I think I've written about this film before. Long story short - my maternal grandparent's were Ukrainian - although not Jewish - but would have grown up in a similar village, albeit with less singing. As a result, my mum used to watch this film a lot, which meant I used to watch it a lot, so it's seeped into my psyche. Topol was made for the role of Tevye (fun fact: he was only in his thirties when he played the part).

Sliding Doors This is a film/book/story I wish I'd written. It actually encompasses my beliefs that our destiny is written (within reason), but our journey is our choice. I love John Hannah in this film... oh okay, I love John Hannah in any film.

Dogma Another film with fantastic dialogue, courtesy of Kevin Smith who also plays Silent Bob. Alan Rickman is perfect as the sarcastic voice of God. It's been a while since I watched this, so I can't make a full-on argument for this film. After listening to other people talking about this film, I realise you either love it or hate it.

10 Things I Hate About You There were several contenders for a Heath Ledger film (because he had to be included). My other favourite is A Knight's Tale... but - but - what swings in this film's favour is Ledger singing Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You, and the look in his eye when he's sitting with Kat on the swing. And the awesome soundtrack. And, okay, I cry at the end of this one too.

There. I'm done. I hope we're friends again!
Normal blogging will resume soon.

The Pasty Tour!

Today I'm interviewing Marjie Myers, a brand new author who's just launched her first book, Twelve Days/Young Eighty.


The Blurb
12 Days

A romantic comedy; a man, a woman, a dog, a challenge, romance, laughter, memories, love & hope.
Young 80 A horror; a young woman, a foggy night, a race home, trapped, scared, confused, crazy, an old woman, an empty room, a lost love and hope.




Welcome to my blog, Marjie. An easy one to start with, tell us a little bit about yourself...
haha! Thats easy?

Marjie Myers is my pen name & my actual name is Kate...well Katy and I have a blog, The Suddenly Kate Show, which is a year old this month. I am often described as 'Bubbly' which I strongly dislike but is a true description and I have a kitten Muse.

Congratulations on your blogaversary! How long have you been writing? Why did you start? 

Thanks. I have been writing for about 6 months and I started on a whim last September. Up until then I had been writing music and travel reviews, two of my other loves, and I think it was a poem that started it all, that became flash fiction and then the rest they say is history.

I'm curious about the book you've just released. The two stories seem very different - what made you put them together?

I'd like to say that I carefully considered the decision and the relationship between stories but in reality I thought it would be nice, a kind of sweet and sour, a pasty if you will and hence the tour name. Reflecting on the choice I can see that both stories have the same key themes running through them of Love and Hope.

Ah, 'pasty', I knew there'd be a reason for the name :-) What inspired these stories? Did you hear or see something, or did you just wake up one day with them running around your head?

12 Days was written because every year I read a romantic comedy at Christmas. I love Christmas and so instead of reading one I decided to write one. I sat down with the idea to write a rom-com at for Christmas and then went from there.

Young 80 was inspired by a Halloween flash fiction challenge which I had wanted to expand on. The idea for that came from my own experience of walking home in the dark combined with some fears.

Generally, I just sit down to write and go from there, my ideas are often inspired by a real life scene, emotion or character. But in these cases it was simply Christmas & Halloween.

Do you have any writing rituals that you've developed over the last 6 months?

I don't know...i've not really thought about it...erm, not yet.

Lol... just wait... every writer has weird rituals eventually! What are you working on next?

I have the NaNoWriMo novel that needs retuning as it were as its still in its very raw stage. But I know I wont be happy with that alone, I still have my weekly series which is ongoing and then there are the music reviews, the flash fiction, the A to Z Challenge and I am keen to work on a sci-fi story that I began as a Write for Ten piece, I want to know where it leads and what happens and....I think you can be sure the list is endless but this is the next few months.

That sounds fantastic. Who are your favourite authors? Are there any you aspire to be compared to?

Currently, Barbara Kingsolver & Gabriel Garcia Marquez & Leon Uris & Phillip M Margolin & Tom Clancy & Robert Kirkman but there are so many good writers, it depends on genre too and what way the wind is blowing! I like Hardy, Dickens, & Conrad.

I like all the above writers for quite different reasons, some its style, some its story, some its combination but to be compared to anyone who writes from the heart is good enough in my book. The first person who came to mind when I read that was Maeve Binchy because she was prolific and also her books are easy to get cosy with and pleasurable.

Some great names there. Finally, is there any advice you wish you'd been given 6 months ago - either writing or blogging related?

Blog related: That lack of comments doesn't mean that no-one is reading it (especially in the case of music reviews) and ultimately you should write what makes you happy. Your blog is for you.

Writing related: That its a drug..Class A.

Thanks for visiting today, Marjie - it's been great talking to you.

Finding Marjie/Kate:

Facebook

Twitter: Marjie Myers (writing only) or @Tsk_Show
Goodreads
Blog: The Suddenly Kate Show
YouTube
Soundcloud 

(This post has been scheduled. I'm taking a brief sabbatical - in fact, it'll probably be so brief that you won't even notice, but it means I might not get around to replying to comments on this post for a couple of days. Apologies to anyone who stopped by my blog yesterday for the Movie bloghop and left a message - I took the post down and didn't replace it due to circumstances beyond my control.)