‘A Fury of Angels’ is now available for pre-order

April sees me unusually organised with my work.

With ‘A Fury of Angels’ out for beta reading, I’ve already listed the book provisionally on Amazon, and its now available for pre-ordering, should anyone be keen to read it. 🙂

There’s plenty of time for me to make final changes to the MS before it goes live, but I thought I’d set myself a publication deadline in order to get this, the final story in the (first) trilogy completed and put to bed.

Put to bed? Nah!

It ought to be rising with the lark, ready for the day ahead, its tummy filled with tasty breakfast!

Just to demonstrate that Amazon’s pre-ordering system works, I found this whilst browsing:

Also available for pre-order in Japan. Don’t you love the 21st Century?

Have a great day!

I must now Write On. Half a million words aren’t going to write themselves!

Cover reveal – A Fury of Angels.

It’s been a few months since my last post. I’ve been extra busy this year with artwork, formatting, editing and writing. Already my word count is matching that of 2015, which means I might once again hit half a million words, even though I’d only planned a target of one third million.

One of the projects has been ‘A Fury of Angels,’ the final story in ‘The Angels of York’ trilogy.

Yes, Sara and Michael’s adventures have now concluded, although they haven’t ended by any means.

So here, for the first time, is the third cover, as created by the talented Ravven.

It’s consistent with the previous two covers, featuring the quatrefoil tower, stormy sky and mysterious supernatural character. I’ve already received early feedback that this colourful cover is more eye-catching than the first two, something which was intentional.

Each new cover is brighter than its predecessor, promising a better and brighter future for my characters, even though the stakes are higher and the danger grows.

I’m close to completing the Kindle-formatted ‘Fury of Angels,’ and the Createspace layout is all but finished, meaning the trilogy will be complete and up for sale very soon.

Watch Amazon and Smashwords closely!

Until then, I continue to;

 

 

Is half a million words per year normal for a writer?

Goal achieved.

Fifty-four short stories and a 60K First Draft later, I finally reached my target, with three weeks of 2015 still to go.

*celebrates*

Entering NaNoWriMo for the first time this year probably helped me to hit the magic number a little earlier than I would have.

My average for the year to date was around 1,400 words per day (very much an average. Some days were noticeably better than others), and November’s average was a little over 1,700 per day.  I would still have reached the half million, but the race would have been much closer to the wire.

The obvious question now hangs over me:

Can I do it again in 2016? Would I want to?

The answer would largely depend on how much work I can bring in. 2015 has been particularly fruitful for short story projects, keeping me busy for the entire year. If I work as hard as I did in 2015, half a million is possible.

Over the past few months, I’ve begun to wonder what the ‘normal’ output is for a writer, particularly someone who writes full time. For the record, I also have a full-time job. I was speaking to Sheila Quigley, another North-East (England) writer  about my endeavours. When I told her about my target, she stared at me, then blew out a long breath.

I got the impression that 500k is not the norm. 🙂

My work / life balance means that I work away from home and have my evenings free from distractions as I write in my hotel room. When I’m not away, I find it tricky to concentrate with the TV on in the background much of the time.

So, what is everyone else producing over twelve months? I’d be interested in hearing from both full-time and part-time writers. How do you manage to keep up the pace when you work AND live with a family? What’s your routine?

 

NaNoWriMo – dipping a toe…

Okay, so I’ve signed up for the crazy whirlwind of NaNoWriMo for the first time ever. I want to see what all the fuss is about, and to be honest, I’m still in two minds about the whole event.

However, being a creative sort, and willing to dip my toe into all kinds of new adventures (up to a point), I decided I’d use the opportunity to build the remainder of my third novel, ‘A Fury of Angels.’

Okay, it’s already 36k strong, but I need to add at least 50k to make if full-sized. So, I’m starting NaNo with half a project, but I consider it to be part of my story planning. I know how it will end, and I already have the beginning, so let’s complete the rest.

50k in one month? Well, I’ve already written 442k this year, so I’m merely continuing that pace through November, and adding a large chunk toward my ‘half a million words in one year’ project.

We shall see how it goes… 😀

NaNoWriMo… pros and cons

If you’re still on the fence about NaNoWriMo, don’t get involved with lasers.

I mean…

Well, if you read this you’ll understand.

(This is too funny not to share.)

Why You Should Do NaNoWriMo… And Why You Shouldn’t

Half a million words in a year?

source; Stock.Xchng

Back in June, I wrote a blog post about my aim to achieve Quarter of a Million words by midsummer. That particular goal was achieved, and more, so I looked ahead and wondered if it would be madness to aim for half a million before the end of 2015.

Crazy, I thought. Half a million?

Now, at the time of writing, I’ve somehow (and it still amazes me) racked up 410,000 real words, most of them the in order right.

(Yes, I know I did the same joke back in June) *shrugs.*

So, at this point, half a million words before the year end seems achievable. My target for the end of September (this week), if I had been writing consistently, was 375,000. Bang. Blown that figure out of the water.

How have I been able to put down so many words this year? Having a whole string of short stories to write has been a major part of this, leaving me with no shortage of writing material. Got a block? Simply skip over to another story until the block passes.

The downside of all this is that my third book, and the last in the trilogy, ‘A Fury of Angels,’ has slipped behind schedule, so if I’m to complete it in time for my editor to savage (kidding!) in January, I need to put aside at least a month to complete it.

If only I had a cloning machine…

Live action book trailer for A Construct of Angels.

image courtesy of jaylopez at Stock Xchng, modified by Andrew Toynbee

 

In the past few days, I’ve released several teaser trailers for ‘A Construct of Angels,’ my live-action trailer.

Now here’s the full video, which has gone through many phases of editing, as well as a beta review by several friends.

A Construct of Angels (novel).

image courtesy of gianni testore at Stock Xchng

As with writing, it’s only once you embark on making something like this, do you realise how many people become involved. Creating something as complex as a novel or a short movie requires patience, dedication and a number of good friends, willing to lend a hand.

There were many other elements I wanted to add to this short trailer, but time, money (i.e. the lack of it) and a wish to see this released on September 16th, the day the first book begins, all led to the video being wrapped up in late August, with a few last-minute edits (inevitably).

I hope you like it. I’m not sure if I’ll ever have the time to make a sequel, but who knows? If the response is encouraging, then it would be worthwhile.

Until then, I endeavour to Write On…

 

Teaser trailers for ‘A Construct of Angels.

It’s been a long time coming, but my efforts to create a live action trailer for my novel are nearing completion:

(Teaser1)

(Teaser2)

(Teaser3)

(Teaser4)

The full video was released on September 16th, which is where the trilogy begins. It’s been almost three years (November 2012) since I conceived the idea of a live-action trailer. Finding people to feature in it has been difficult.

I’ve tried in vain to engage drama schools in both Burton-upon-Trent and York areas. Finally, with the help of a work colleague I managed to find Tamar, the young lady who acts out the role of my main character, Sara Finn.

More on this feature in a couple of days.

Logo created by Tarnya Rutheford

 

 

Week 3. Summer Beach Read Extravaganza! B-)

From June 21^st until July 21^st Candace, Sonya and Andrew are coming together to bring you three amazing books, plus priority shipping in the USA for one low price of $45!

For that price you get three signed books and bookmarks, and your name instantly added to the weekly giveaway drawing each Monday.

There’s some pretty awesome stuff up for grabs each week as giveaways get unlocked.

Quantities are limited – Only 14 bundles available!

Here’s how it will work:

Week #1 June 21^st – June 27^th

3 total sales unlocks the first giveaway of a $10 Amazon egift card! Purchasers names will be entered in a list randomizer, selected and announced Monday June 29^th.

Week #2 June 28^th – July 4^th

6 total sales unlocks the second giveaway of a UtopYa swag bag full of goodies! All purchaser names will be entered in a list randomizer, selected and announced Monday July 5^th.

Week #3 July 5^th – July 11^th

9 total sales unlocks the third giveaway of a $25 Bath and Bodyworks egift card! All purchaser names will be entered in a list randomizer, selected and announced Monday July 13^th.

Week #4 July 12^th – July 21^st

14 total sales unlocks the fourth giveaway of a Kindle Paperwhite! All purchaser names will be entered in a list randomizer, selected and announced July 22^nd.

Don’t forget to check in with the Candace, Sonya and Andrew. You might find a random giveaway or two during this month long Summer Beach Read Extravaganza!

**Already have Everlasting or The Summer I Fell? You can switch them out with other works of that series. Contact either Candace or Sonya for more information.

Thanks for stopping in, we hope you take advantage of this amazing offer!

Summer Beach Read Extravaganza!

From June 21^st until July 21^st Candace, Sonya and Andrew are coming together to bring you three amazing books, plus priority shipping in the USA for one low price of $45!

For that price you get three signed books and bookmarks, and your name instantly added to the weekly giveaway drawing each Monday.

There’s some pretty awesome stuff up for grabs each week as giveaways get unlocked.

Quantities are limited – Only 14 bundles available!

Here’s how it will work:

Week #1 June 21^st – June 27^th

3 total sales unlocks the first giveaway of a $10 Amazon egift card! Purchasers names will be entered in a list randomizer, selected and announced Monday June 29^th.

Week #2 June 28^th – July 4^th

6 total sales unlocks the second giveaway of a UtopYa swag bag full of goodies! All purchaser names will be entered in a list randomizer, selected and announced Monday July 5^th.

Week #3 July 5^th – July 11^th

9 total sales unlocks the third giveaway of a $25 Bath and Bodyworks egift card! All purchaser names will be entered in a list randomizer, selected and announced Monday July 13^th.

Week #4 July 12^th – July 21^st

14 total sales unlocks the fourth giveaway of a Kindle Paperwhite! All purchaser names will be entered in a list randomizer, selected and announced July 22^nd.

Don’t forget to check in with the Candace, Sonya and Andrew. You might find a random giveaway or two during this month long Summer Beach Read Extravaganza!

**Already have Everlasting or The Summer I Fell? You can switch them out with other works of that series. Contact either Candace or Sonya for more information.

Thanks for stopping in, we hope you take advantage of this amazing offer!