I need help with my new #YA series. Anybody for a #blogtour post in June?

Hi all:

You know I’ve been pestering you all about my new YA series ‘Angelic Business’ and asking questions about marketing to try and put a plan together. OK, I’m not sure it’s a fully-fledged plan, but I’ve decided a few things.  As I’ve written already the three novels, I will put them in Amazon in pre-order this weekend (with about a month in between the releases of each part), at low prices to begin with and then they’ll go up. I might later on make the first one free (either temporarily or permanently, but we shall see). I haven’t yet decided on the KDP Select thing. Might try initially (I haven’t had any of my novels in Select for a while) but…

I want to give a go at having somebody organise a blog tour for me at some point, but I think it’s probably best to wait until  the first novel is out already. So here it goes. I’ve seen people organise an unofficial tour for their books, and I thought I’d ask if any of you could share a post about ‘Angelic Business 1. Pink Matters’ some time in June. I haven’t set a date for the release yet (I’ll do this weekend) but it should be around the 24th or 25th of June. I will create an html post that just needs to be copied into the blog. I am not planning on making it too long or elaborate. If I can manage to get my wits about me I might try and create a book trailer of sorts, but otherwise it will be the cover, description, link, and perhaps a bit of a sample…

I had already asked if anybody would want to have a look at the book and had a couple of replies. If anybody has the time and feels up to it, do let me know and I can provide it in any format (although it will be a draft version and home conversion so…). But if you can just fit the post somewhere…

I’ve been saving a few appearances in blogs to try and time them up with the release, so I’ll be a bit busy but…

Oh, the cover of the first book was featured in this guest post, by the wonderful Sally Ember but of course, I also had to share it with you. Thanks to my friend Lourdes Vidal for her creation.

Angelic Business 1. Pink Matters

I’ve updated the description so…

You are Pink, not the prettiest girl, but smart and with plenty of resources. What do you do when your best male friend offers to have sex with you, because he thinks you’re a lost cause? You plot your revenge with your two best female friends, of course!

It seems you’re in luck when a new and mysterious student appears. And, to top it all, he seems interested in you too. He could take part in the plan. But then, he seems to have a plan of his own… He insists he’s not just an ordinary boy. And what seemed so easy to begin with, gets more and more complicated when Heaven and Hell come knocking at Pink’s door.

PINK MATTERS is the story of Pink, a 17 year old girl, good student, articulate and smart. What she has never been the centre of attention or made the top ten of the most popular and attractive girls at school. When two guys, both claiming to be angels, insist that she is, indeed, ‘special’, fight for her attention and help and tell her she is the key to the future of the universe, she can’t help but ask: Why me?

And now, as a treat, I thought I’d leave you this:

Thanks so much for reading, if you’re interested in featuring a post, I’d be eternally grateful, so please, just leave me a comment and contact me here or wherever, and of course, if you’d like the book, let me know, and share, like, comment… and may the angels be with you!

Guest author. Vanessa Wester and her Evolution Trilogy

It’s Friday today and we have an author guest. This time we have a familiar face. Vanessa Wester has been a guest in my blog before, but this time she’s coming to tell us about her now complete Evolution Trilogy and how she came to write it. Without further ado, I leave you with Vanessa Wester!

Ever since I started writing The Evolution Trilogy, I have worked really hard to take my baby to childhood then adulthood… I hope it can now go out into the world with its head held high.

A lot of the Trilogy has been based on some of my experiences when arriving at university in the UK as a foreigner (colonial), from my swimming days as a teen, my experiences as an adult, and my upbringing on the Rock of Gibraltar. BUT, a huge amount has come from my warped imagination…

When I found out I was pregnant again in 2008, on the same week I received my contract to return back to my teaching job after 7 years, I was convinced it would be a nightmare. My first two children were born 18 months apart and I had struggled with weight gain, depression, an under-active thyroid, loneliness, and the rest that comes with becoming a new parent…

My cousin also passed away aged 27 from a brain tumour, and other events happened to close family members that broke my heart. These made me reflect on my own life all the time, and I did not feel I had the right to complain about any hardships I faced. What could be worse than losing your life?

However, we all have the right to “suffer” and obtain sympathy for whatever makes us feel down. The characters in my trilogy encounter many difficulties, and I guess in a fictional setting it is easier to make things happen and talk about things that effect us all. The science fiction idea is complete fantasy, and the use of vampires is all for fun.

What I have learnt is that in life things happen for a reason. I have enjoyed every minute of being a parent for the third time. I was so much more relaxed, had fun with my daughter, and balanced three kids with some grace (most of the time… ha ha ha). It was whilst I sat watching my daughter at home that I started to write on a notepad, then progressed to a laptop, then computer… Once I caught the writing bug nothing stopped me and I became obsessed for a while. Every time my daughter slept, I wrote.

I bought a copy of the Writers & Artists handbook and tried to figure out the submissions process. I joined The Word Cloud, read a lot, and learnt to take critique. Then I saw the posts by David Gaughran, who wrote Let’s Get Digital on the Cloud… and decided to go for it and self publish. It took me months to figure out the process of ebook publishing, using the advice on smashwords. I quickly realised Amazon was where a lot of readers bought books – the dominance of the kindle! So, off to Amazon I went… Don’t even get me started on the paperback formatting!

When I was gifted an iPad by my father in law (thank you) my life changed. Social media became easier to use…

Now, I don’t want to bore you… I should write a book about this!

The point is… had I not got pregnant I would never have started writing books. As a child I dreamed of being a writer, but the fact I was scientifically minded made me abandon the dream as the years went by. Yet, the fusion of my interests and dreams has led me to write this Trilogy.

Like I say on my catch line… In the game of life, destiny is the winner

Anyway, my Trilogy is suitable for mature readers of about 10ish and above (my daughter is a fan – aged 9!). In addition, my books have been enjoyed by both men and women of all ages, to my huge surprise, so I hope some of you decide to give them a go.

My latest reviewer said:

“A great set of books. A must read for all. Imaginative story somehow believable. I would like to visit the community myself.”

Thank you for reading, and thank you, Olga, for hosting me on your site.

Vanessa 🙂 xx

Thanks Vanessa. It was a pleasure to have you as guest again, and I hope you’ll visit us with news soon. I leave you links to Vanessa’s works and blogs:

www.theevolutiontrilogy.blogspot.com

www.vanessawesterwriter.blogspot.com

Here a link to her previous guest post. And of course, as always, thanks for reading and if you’ve enjoyed it, don’t forget to like, comment, share and CLICK!

https://olganm.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/guest-author-vanessa-wester/

Hay-on-Wye. A paradise for booklovers

As you will remember I have been thinking about bookshops recently and I wrote a post asking people what their ideal bookshop would be like. Not happy with that, I decided to ask one of the groups in Goodreads (UK group, thanks all) what would their ideal bookshop be like. Apart from fantastic thoughts and ideas, they also told me I had to visit Hay-on-Wye. Hay had been on my list for a long time and with my friend Sumi we had been talking about visiting their literary festival for several years, but we’ve never managed to make our schedules work (or only remembered far too late, as it books in advance, year on year it seems). I didn’t need much convincing and finally booked myself in for a weekend in Hay.

And I can tell you, they were right. Even if you don’t like books, you’d still like Hay. Just over the border in South Wales, it is a beautiful town, with an old market, great shops (evidently over 40 bookshops, but also clothes, crafts, local foods…), great pubs and restaurants…Even the cinema is fabulous, with stone walls and the most comfortable seats I’ve tried in a cinema for ages (and it has a bar…in case that makes a difference).

Granted, the weather wasn’t too great, but it’s October and Wales, so…not too cold either.

I can’t tell you how much I loved it. The sheds/like bookshops, the little ones, the ones like corridors, the thematic ones, the gorgeous/temple like ones, the Penguin one, the pink one…

And I was talking to one of the owners of the Addyman Books shops (they have 3, including one dedicated to crime: ‘Murder and Mayhem’,  the first picture in the post) who was really welcoming, encouraging, talked about how the business had changed, how now you have to be in the internet, how after 30 years in the business the US Library of Congress had ordered a book from them, how it is hard work but if you really love it and have ideas…She told me that all writers wanted to own bookshops and all bookshop owners wanted to be writers, and told me that they were always looking for enthusiastic and intelligent people who could plan events, etc. And yes, getting hands on experience would be good in her opinion.

In case you haven’t worked it out yet, I’m one of those writers who’d like to own a bookshop. At the moment collecting ideas, we shall see.

I share a few of the pictures I took with you. They will probably keep coming…

Thanks for reading, and if you have enjoyed it, please, like, comment, and share!

(Oh, and thanks to the owners of the Rothbury B&B for their hospitality. Lovely house and I’d never before tried a bath with feet!)

Link to my previous post on bookshops:

https://olganm.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/what-would-your-ideal-bookshop-be-like-please-comment/

Related articles

• Hay-on-Wye v Amazon: Politicians join fight to stop closure of bookshops in historic town (independent.co.uk)
• Travel the Bookshop Trail (travelbetweenthepages.com)
• A quick visit to Hay-on-Wye (kimbofo.typepad.com)
• Death of a bookshop (timescolumns.typepad.com)

Guest author. Martie Preller (a.k.a. Mary Meddlemore)

I bring you big news. Some of you might know if you follow her blog, but we both thought it needed more exploration and I personally find my guest fascinating. And she’s not only a fabulous and imaginative writer, but a great and supportive friend.

Martie Preller is the author behind Mary Meddlemore and her books. Martie, from South Africa, is a well known award-winning children’s author and has kindly agreed to visit my blog today and talk to us about a few things.

First of all, why did you decide to publish your recent stories under the name Mary Meddlemore? I know Mary is a very important character in Forever After: A Dimensional Love Story but I’m sure quite a few readers will be intrigued.

Thank you for having me, Olga! Well, actually I did not decide to publish under Mary’s name … she decided that! J All my previous books, except my second writing manual, were published by local publishers – mostly in Afrikaans, so self-publishing was a new venture and all Mary’s books are in English, thus I wanted to keep my two careers apart.

And now, the typical question for all authors, how did you start writing? And more important, what kept you and keeps you going?

I quickly turned into a manic reader as a child. When I was halfway in Grade 1 (I was only 6), our family went overseas (England and the Netherlands) for a year so that my father could do research for his doctorate. We went by ship (it was a looooong time ago) and my parents took some books for me to read. I finished them while still on the ship, and as there weren’t any Afrikaans books available, of course, I started reading English. In the Netherlands, where we stayed most of the time, I started reading Dutch.  I had to read!

 

At school I liked writing essays etc and teachers started telling me that I had a lot of talent, but I never could imagine myself as a writer. In those days we still wrote proper letters to friends and family and I loved writing them and everybody kept on telling me I should try my hand at writing, but I didn’t know where to start … Perhaps I was scared that they were just being nice … Then I started writing sketches for the radio .. (loooong time ago!) and short stories for magazines and they were accepted …  so I thought well, maybe I could write … but still not sure and perhaps afraid to be rejected and all those fears we have and then a friend who was a in charge of a college  ordered me to write a play they could produce and I was cornered … because they were waiting for the play and I could not disappoint them … so the play was written, it went down very well and they won the competition and I was in heaven. I sent off a manuscript to a publisher and it was accepted and I was a permanent resident in heaven J and then the plug was out and the stories started rushing out …

 

What kept me going was the ecstasy of discovering new stories and writing them down as well as I could. There was no greater joy – it was even better than reading! When I write I start off with a scene that I can see happening: e.g. someone running away as in ‘Entering’. I want to know why she is running away and I follow her (as an unseen spectator) and look and listen and write and so the story unfolds …

 

I’m very pleased that people kept insisting because I think you’re a born storyteller.

I know bits about it, but can you tell us about your previous published work?

My 37 th book has just been published and number 38 is coming in November. Mostly books for children of all ages and young adults. If you can get a child to read, he or she will be a reader for life. I thought it would be nice to help to get new generations reading.

Very true. Some people take it up later in life, but reading and book for many people is a life-long love affair.

And of course, can you tell us about your books: In the Reign of the Ilev, Forever After: A Dimensional Love Story and The Seventh Sheep? And especially your new book, the marvelous Entering?

‘The Seventh Sheep’ is a reworking of some of the scripts for a TV-series, that unfortunately went down the drain when our public broadcaster went into a financial … ehm … slowdown. It is available as a FREE book (in PDF-format) on my blog.

 

Both ‘In the Reign of the Ilev’ and ‘Entering’ are translated reworkings of locally published books. Mary got hold of them and added ‘Forever-After – A Dimensional Love Story’, because she has a plan for mankind … Mary and I are at the moment busy with the sequel to Forever After. She says what the world needs is some story … BLOOD .. (no vampires or zombies … mankind is strange enough already  … )

Martie and Mary have many other projects, but if you want to know more about them, you’ll better check the links to their wonderful blog, author page and also webpage (although if you don’t speak Afrikaans you’ll need Google translate or another web translator. I have tried and it’s not too bad…)

Blog:

http://marymeddlemore1.wordpress.com/

Amazon author page:

http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Meddlemore/e/B009IAJQ26  (all her books can be found here)

Martie’s webpage (in Afrikaans)

http://martieprellerauthor.wordpress.com/ (need Google translate)

Thanks for visiting and talking to us and I hope you’ll visit again with your new works. It’s been great having you!

And thank you all for reading. If you’ve enjoyed, please like, comment, share and of course, CLICK!

What would your ideal bookshop be like? Please comment.

Bookshop (Photo credit: conxa.roda)

My parents always tell me that when I was a small child, before I learned to read, I always wanted to know what any signs or anything with writing on it said. Later on, once I learned to read, I became an avid reader. My school was a pretty small neighbourhood school (it no longer exists) and it did not have a library, but the readers amongst us used to exchange books and read anything we could get our hands on, from ‘The Famous Five’ and the Adventure Series (I always preferred them to the Famous Five, but that’s me) to ‘Jaws’, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, Gustavo Adolfo Becquer o Mercé Rodoreda.

I’ve always been happier with books than with any other presents (or nearly) and I still am.

When it comes to books I’m like a moth to light, if I see books anywhere I’ll go and have a look, it doesn’t matter if it’s a supermarket, a charity shop, a car-boot sale. And of course, I love bookshops although they’re having a bit of a hard time and have changed beyond recognition. And yes, now we have big bookstore chains, somewhat anonymous but usually reasonably supplied and full of other things, the small specialised bookshop, the independent bookstore, second-hand bookshops that are true time-travelling machines.

Because of my job there have been periods of my life where I’ve travelled a fair bit and one of the things I remember more clearly of the places where I’ve stayed (or visited)  is where the bookshops are (or where). I must admit to feeling really disappointed when I revisit a place where I’ve been before and a bookshop I liked has disappeared. It’s like losing an old friend. When it comes to bookshops, like most important things in life, they are not all created equal

Reflecting on all that, I wanted to ask you, readers, if you could have the bookshop of your dreams, what would it be like? Would it be enormous with everything on it? Or small but quirky with lots of character? Would it only sell books or sell related items (DVDs, e-readers, magazines and writing materials, audiobooks, other equipment…)? Would it sell other kinds of stuff (postcards, craft items, toys…)? Would it have a tea/coffee shop attached? Would it organise events (book readings and signings, host book clubs, run competitions, have other guests…)? Would it have only new books, second-hand books, have a section for exchanging books…? Books in several languages? Best-sellers and less well-known books, local interest books? Would it offer other services like Wi-Fi and e-store? Would it be located in a remote place, around the corner, in a shopping mall, in a hidden nook in a magical place?

Dream on! It’s free (for the time being!)

And thinking about this and after a fellow author and good friend sent me some pictures of one of her favourite bookshops, I decided to start a board on Pinterest dedicated to bookshops, and once I started checking I was amazed at the fabulous building and beautiful pictures people had pinned. Have a look, and if you’d like to pin your own pictures or others you find, let me know and I’ll invite you to pin with pleasure.

http://www.pinterest.com/olganm7/bookstores-booshops-and-interesting-shops/

Thanks for reading, and if you’ve enjoyed it remember to like, comment, and share!

books (Photo credit: brody4)

Related articles

• Travel the Bookshop Trail (travelbetweenthepages.com)
• Browsing the bookshop of the future (bbc.co.uk)
• Celebrating Bookshops: Books Are My Bag (broadconversation.com)
• Tiffany Jenkins: We must fight to save bookshops (scotsman.com)
• US author pledges $1m to bookshops (bbc.co.uk)
• What’s in My Book Bag… (thescribbleemporium.wordpress.com)
• Run, Bookseller, Run (arrowgatepublishing.com)
• Beautiful European Bookshops to Visit (francesob.wordpress.com)
• Hay-on-Wye v Amazon: Politicians join fight to stop closure of bookshops in historic town (independent.co.uk)
• Charlie Byrne’s: Bookshop of the Year (historyatgalway.wordpress.com)

If life came with an instruction manual (or a manual of use) what would you expect to see there? Which section would consult first? Please, discuss.

English: Instruction manual of the Nirvana Sutra (大般涅槃経集解, daihatsunehankyōshūge) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hi dear readers. I’ve been talking to one of my friends (and fellow author) about this and that and the other, and we got to talking about SELF-HELP books. As many of you know, understanding Amazon algorithms is beyond mere-mortals powers. Their categories are also puzzlement to me. I guess it might work out OK if you start writing with them in mind, but trying to fit in something already in existence to these categories, other than the more general ones, is interesting to say the least. You could always try with one of your favourite books and see how far you get.

I digress, as usual. My friend and I got looking at categories in self-help world and it’s as full of the weird and the wonderful as anywhere else there.

It made me think about one of my “issues”. Yes, I have many of them. You buy a camera; it comes with an instruction manual. Your phone, the same. Even pretty basic things. Life, that’s quite complicated by most people’s standards…nothing. No manual, no video, CD, DVD, no book of instructions. Not even a leaflet. Swim or sink approach.

In one of my short stories, ‘The Novel’ one of the characters, Denver, decides that life would be much easier if we lived it as a genre novel, because we’d know where we stood, understand conventions, characters, etc, and she has a good go at it. As you might suspect things don’t go according to plan. But it was worth a try, I think.

If suddenly you were given the task of creating an instruction manual for life (it would have to be pretty general, just the basics), what would you include? What would be in your table of contents?

And if you were sent one, what would you check first? Keeping healthy? Family relationships? Love? Income and finances? Gaining perspective? Surviving?

I’m curious. Let me know what you think, please.

Thanks for reading and if you enjoy or it makes you think, please, please, please, comment and share!

Related articles

• Hope (everfaithful83138.wordpress.com)
• Books That Need to be Written: Day 26 July Blog Challenge (jcckeith.wordpress.com)

How to download e-books from Amazon

I have had some of my friends complaining that they could not work out how to download/buy, electronic books in Amazon (other sites are available but I don’t have any other electronic readers so can’t be of much assistance. I’ve bought books in Smashwords, and like anywhere else, you need to have an account and follow the instructions, although depending on the format it can be a bit tricky).

I thought about doing a video but unfortunately between my computer and my lack of technical acumen I didn’t get very far (the apps to capture screen images I understood would not download in my computer or were not trusted, others had disappeared and others…I just couldn’t work out), so here is one with images.

First things first, you must have an account with whichever is your local store at Amazon. You’ll need an e-mail address, you’ll need to create a password and if you’re intending to buy anything they’ll ask you for a credit or debit card (a bank card of some sort). I cannot show you the bit of setting it up (I’m sure there are ways to do it, but I already have an account and my computer knows that so…).

You can go to http://www.amazon.com If this is not your local store, you can always scroll to the bottom of the page and you have a list of other stores where you can click and it takes you there. If you try to buy an item in an store that is not your local the website will recognise that and ask you if you have moved (you can change your store) or direct you to click to go to your store.

What, will you ask, happens if I don’t have a Kindle? Can I still read electronic books? Well, yes. Amazon offers you the possibility of downloading an App for your PC, tablet or smartphone. If you search on the box for any book (you can go directly to Kindle store on the menu and that will only show you e-books) on the right it will show you the App. See here, highlighted.

Once you have downloaded that (and you can download it to more than one computer or device) any books you buy will directly appear on your reader. If you were to later buy a Kindle device, they will appear there once you’re connected, like if it were by magic (it’s fascinating if you’ve never experienced it. And you can make the letters bigger and smaller that it’s great for people who’ve just started using reading glasses. Yes, like me.).

Let’s say we want to buy a book. As an example, let’s say my new romantic novella ‘Click Me Happy!’ (yes, of course I’m trying to sell books too.)

We put the name on the search box, click search:

In this case I have a Spanish and English version. I’ve highlighted the English version. We click on that book:

I have highlighted on the right all the options. If you click on the top one (supposing you have an account, details of you card, etc), you are buying the book and it will appear on your reader. If you have more than one (PC, phone, Kindle)  you can choose which one you want to send it to from dropdown box (see following image) but you can also later go to manage your Kindle and download it anywhere else you want (I bought a device for my mother and can download the books to both in so far as they are connected via Wi-fi to the net).

You can also request a sample (tends to be the 10% of the book) and this will be send to your reader. You can check it and if you like it then buy the book. (If you notice, in the picture of the book there is an arrow saying ‘Look inside’. If you click there it also gives you an option to check inside of the book, not the whole book, but it also give  you an idea of if you’ll like it or not).

The third option is again to download the App wherever you wish, just in case you don’t have one. (Of course they also tell you that you can buy a Kindle and they’ll be happy to send it to you.)

Just for clarity, I clicked on the link that explains how buying works, and that is what comes up. I add it here for clarification.

Probably the video would have been better, but…I hope it’s of some use.

Thanks for reading. If you’ve find it useful, leave comments, share and get clicking! If you have any doubts, please ask, although I’m not an authority in the matter, but willing to try…And sorry to those of you who know this inside out…I promise to go back to writing about random things next week…Maybe…

Related articles

• No Kindle?? No Problem!! (authorteresajones.wordpress.com)
• Why I use a Kindle (joshdthompson.com)
• Kindle Convert (brouhaha.io)

Have you had enough of book marketing?

Cover via Amazon

I started publishing last October. Whilst writing I’ve been doing for a long time, publishing it’s a new thing. Yes, I heard about digital publishing and thought it was worth a try. What I didn’t quite comprehend was that I’d have to become an expert in marketing to try and get my book sold.

But I read about it. I tried what blogs, articles, books, word of mouth said. I must say I can’t read one more word on the subject. My head is spinning, I have no time to do everything I’m supposed to be doing. I have a full time job, I don’t have much of a life but still, a tiny bit of it, and there’s no human being who can do everything that is suggested and survive.

I was talking to a friend and fellow author and ranted on marketing, as we both were saying we needed time to write: Here goes what I wrote, among other things:

Join this! Do that! Blog the other! Sign here! Become an Associate! Pay me and I'll make you gold! Are you gold? Everybody gives advice. 'I published my book and sold thousands' Well, I'm pleased for you. Keep doing it. If you make so much money why do you want mine?

She loved it and I couldn’t help but keep thinking about it. And came up with a few more:

Change your cover! Change your description! Create an author page in Amazon! Not only in Amazon.com, in all of its stores! Publish in other platforms! Join KDP Select! Get off KDP Select! Get paid reviews! Don’t pay for reviews! Create a book page in Facebook! Create an author page in Facebook! Like my page! Do a press release! Organise a giveaway and give your book free! Don’t give your book free; it has a negative effect on everybody else! Increase the price! Reduce the price! Change the categories! Understand the algorithms! Use analytics! Use calls to action! Do a cover reveal! Join Pinterest! Join Goodreads! Be my friend! Join Twitter! Retweet! Have a book trailer! Do contests! Use Rafflecopter! Do blog tours! Do blog hops! Pay for promotion! Use free sites! Content is key! Style is key! Know you target audience! Create a platform! Interact don’t just advertise! Be interesting! Be yourself!

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, consider yourself lucky. If you do, don’t worry, we’re all in the same boat. Hopefully it won’t be the Titanic.

Keep smiling.

I feel better now.

(As an added noted, I’ve met great people in the process, made new friends, and have some laughs along the way. But oh boy…)

Ah, and the piece of advice I’ve decided to follow (because it tells me to do what I really want to do, and what better advice than that?) is to write more, because the more books you have, the more likely you are to be discovered as your books will cross-promote each other.

So I’m off to write. Thanks for reading!

Guest author and filmmaker: Magda Olchawska

Hello all:

If you remember a while back I talked about Magda Olchawska and how she was one of the first people to offer me advice and support in this task of not so much writing, but trying to promote your own books. Magda writes, is a very talented filmmaker and offers professional advice on how to promote your books (including creating book trailers. She did a wonderful job with the trailer for ‘The Man Who Never Was’), how to turn your book into a script, and many other things. She’s very generous with her advice and tips and after only a few months I consider her a good friend.  Did I forget to say? I met her through Twitter. Yes, another one of my Twitter treasure finds.

As I’ve said we’ve kept in touch and Magda has kindly agreed to be a guest in my blog. She has replied to some questions for us and at the end of the post I’ll include some links and also the link to the trailer for ‘The Man Who Never Was’ she created for me.

Here I leave you in the very capable and kind hands of Magda!

When did you first start writing?

I started writing when I was pretty young. I read a lot of poetry so, naturally, I started writing poetry. However seeing no success in my writing or rather not believing in myself too much I gave up writing for few years before I came back to it full time.

What inspired you to write?

The film scripts I write are usually based on my observation of daily life with a pinch of my imagination.

 

The children books I write are mostly based on my son’s stories and my experience & observation of his behaviour and life.

 

The novel I’ve just started to write is based to some extent on my experience, with rather huge dose of my imagination.

Have you always been intrigued or wanted to write a particular genre?

No, not really.  When it comes to writing scripts I write various genres.

 

When it comes to books I write for children and just recently extended my writing to more grown up writing.

 

What I definitely don’t want to write & won’t write is horror, or zombie or vampire stuff.

How did you come up with the idea for your newest/current project?

“Untitled Novel for Women Only” has been on my mind for some time. However, I couldn’t get the form just right. So it took me quite a bit of time to figure out what would be the best format for the novel. After I had the right format in my head I started writing. To write one novel post it takes me up to a week. I’m planning to post novel posts once a week.

Every week it’s going to be a continuation of the previous post. However, if readers decide to read just one post they will still be able to find their ground in the novel.

Do you write as a full time occupation? If no, do you think your everyday job provides you inspiration for writing or is it a necessary evil?

I’m a full time film director and writer. I also run social media management business so these three related occupations keep me both, busy & inspired.

If you could meet any writer (or writers) in the history of literature (dead or alive) who would you choose? And why?

Oh, dear it’s a difficult one. I guess at the moment I would love to meet Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

 

I just love “The Little Prince” and it reminds me so much of my childhood.

What do you think about social media? Do you use it mostly as a promotional tool or is it an integral part of your life?

Social media has become a big part of my everyday life. I work with social media on daily basis to promote both my clients’ work as well as mine. I think social media are time consuming but at the same time give artist the freedom and opportunity we have never had before.

 

If the social media are used in a coherent & wise manner I don’t see the reason why they wouldn’t work to the artist’s advantage.

Any tips for people thinking about writing/publishing?

Just keep writing and re-writing. Don’t give up and don’t waste time on people who try to put your down.

Tell me a new thing you have discovered recently that you think should be shared.

Working hard 4 hours a day is fantastic & very productive .

Tell me an old thing you’ve rediscovered that you think shouldn’t be forgotten.

 

Importance of family in one’s life as well as taking time off and relaxing makes life not only more pleasurable but also more productive.

Magda is so right…Here are her links:

This one takes you to ‘Untitle Novel for Women Only’ that as Magda explains she’ll be posting every week:

http://magdaolchawskablog.wordpress.com/

This is her webpage where you can find more information about her, her projects and her consultation services:

http://magdaolchawska.com

This link is to her page about her children’s books (where she also shares her thoughts and posts):

http://mikolayandjulia.com

Check this link for her online media management:

http://originalmediamanagement.com/

I hope you enjoyed reading about my friend Magda and I leave you also a link to the video she created for my novel ‘The Man Who Never Was’

http://www.youtube.com/embed/qvUitFG2D20

Related articles

• Book Trailers: An Effective Marketing Tool (platinumstarz.wordpress.com)
• The Power of a Good Book Trailer (magicandmarvels.wordpress.com)

Guest author Diane Major. Fantasy adventure, children and young adult writer.

I met Diane through ASMSG one of the writers groups I belong to. She’s written a number of Young Adult novels and she kindly agreed to come and talk to us about her writing.

My Books:  Enmitus – The Transformation, Enmitus – The Children,  I am Nine, Children of Fury, Like Hell Itself, and Children’s Book – Mason and Bess, The Adventure Begins

Author: Diane Major

Genre: Fantasy

 

 

Author Bio:

I grew up in Horden, a mining village in the North East of England.  I gained my professional qualification in Youth & Community Work, BSc Open Degree (Hons) as a mature student. During my career I worked both in the voluntary sector and then for local government which offered her the opportunity to develop many skills.   I worked with people of all ages and from a wide variety of backgrounds.  I enjoyed watching both staff and service users gain skills and become confident people.

I worked on my first book in the genre of fantasy adventure named “Children of Fury” for almost 2 years and at the same time completed my second novel “I am Nine.”   To date I have published 5 fantasy adventure books, a Children’s Book and am almost ready to publish a young adults story.

Now retired, I enjoy spending time with my family, writing, walking and fundraising for a local voluntary organization.

A little about some of my books:

Children of Fury : Within a period of turmoil for the immortals Heron is born.  A Fury like no other, Heron has a legacy for vengeance which spans thousands of years.  In England during the 1400’s he meets a young woman named Aimee who has already met her soul mate.  As their paths collide with catastrophic results a story of retribution lasting centuries and continents unfolds.

I am Nine:  Is about Naomi’s journey.  Something strikes and almost wipes out the Earth’s population.  Naomi is taken from her parents and grows up with strangers on a ship.  On reaching America Naomi and two other boys are sent on a scouting mission to find out if the land is safe enough for the community to build a new home.  Naomi is separated from her companions and faces danger, until something saves her.  On her journey Naomi faces great wild dogs and cannibals.

Enmitus – The Transformation: People leave a dying Earth and travel for centuries until they find their new home.  As they travel the people on board the individual ships become tribes.  One of the tribes settle on Serenitus and the adventure begins.  Corinna’s hand in marriage is promised to Omar who is already besotted with an evil woman.  Once this arrangement is made Corinna has to leave her home planet for Enmitus where she finds, hatred, deceit, cruelty, lies and love.  I am currently writing the sequel.

found where we expect it least……

How long did it take to write the books?

It took almost two years to write my first book and after that I found it took less time for each book.

What inspired you to write ? 

My interest in writing really started when I read C S Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia as a child.

When I did start writing I wanted to develop stories that would take people away from everyday life for as long as it would take them to read one of my books.

Talk about the writing process. Did you have a writing routine? Did you do any research, and if so, what did that involve?

I write every day but not at any set time.

What do you hope your readers come away with after reading your book?

Having enjoyed an escape from reality.

Where can we go to buy your books?

Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones

Amazon USA

http://www.amazon.com/Diane-Major/e/B008R5S3KO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1363795100&sr=8-1

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Diane-Major/e/B008R5S3KO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1363795057&sr=1-1

Any other links or info you’d like to share?
www.dianemajorauthor.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/DianeMajorBooks

http://dimajor.blogspot.co.uk/

 Thank you for reading and don’t forget to CLICK!