Friday 22 July 2011

Doing Nothing, Part 2

So a while ago I set myself the challenge of doing nothing. I don’t often get the chance to do nothing, but I had a window of opportunity and I took it. It was a dismal failure. See here: http://someonewotwrites.blogspot.com/2010/10/doing-nothing.html

And now, nine months later, I've had the time and opportunity to give it another go:

I tidied up the lounge (monumental event) and turned off my laptop (super-monumental event). Then I leaned back into the sofa and tried not to get annoyed by the traffic noise outside. The worst bit was the fidgetiness - the thought of all those things I could be, should be doing. But when these intruders came into my head, I kicked them out and tried to think of beaches, mountain streams, forest glades … I was flitting to all kinds of places of outstanding natural beauty, finally settling on the shore of a lake with my toes in the water.



My shoulders relaxed, my fingers tingled, my toes felt light and fluffy. The coloured energy bars in my body began to power up, multiplying and changing from red to go-girl-green. The cells in my body sighed: ‘We like this. We like this a lot’.

I managed this for a whole ten minutes, but it felt great and I know I should do it more often. I’ll try not to wait another nine months before revisiting the shores of my lake.

Wednesday 20 July 2011

Friday 15 July 2011

Author: Shawn Maravel

Shawn Maravel was born in a small New Jersey town parked right smack dab in the middle of farm country. She has a twin sister and two kid sisters. When her husband joined the Army and was stationed in Germany she packed up her things and moved to Germany to be with him. Making the most of the Army life Shawn has traveled around Europe as much as possible and considers Germany home after spending the last two and a half years there. She spends most of her time reading, writing books, and spending time with her husband, faithful Rottweiler, and ninja cat.
In the book Volition Joel seems to enter Charlotte's life at just the right time, or just the wrong time, depending on who you ask. His easy charm and good looks are assumed by her friends to be Charlotte's biggest distraction in seeing him for who he really is. But the question isn't who he is, it's what.

His bright green eyes match Charlotte's exactly; his hair is the same chocolate brown. Are these just a coincidence or is there a reason for their similarities? Are they connected somehow? Well...that would be absurd...wouldn't it? Charlotte doesn't even know Joel. He's charming and sweet and has the air of innocence, yet he seems to know maybe just a little too much.

There's a fine line between mysterious and dangerous. But where does Joel fall? And why won't he tell Charlotte anything more than that he's "here to protect her." Well that definitely clarifies nothing. Sure she had a close call at the club a few nights ago and things could have ended badly but they didn't...right? Well, that's when Charlotte met Joel and she did happen to meet him in a dark hotel room after she'd passed out at said club. Wait. Now everything is just beyond confusing.

Joel seems honest and something in Charlotte's gut says that he's telling the truth...but what exactly has he told her apart from nothing?


What will readers like about your books?
I think that readers will like my characters and find them very relatable. In book one, Volition the story is built up, the characters developed, the plot and suspense begin, but in book two the action, romance, and suspense really take off. And in book two you really get a feel for the characters even more, discovering what they are willing to do for love and in some cases, revenge.


What inspired you to write them?
The first story I wrote, With Eyes That See I wrote when my husband, then boyfriend, enlisted in the Army. It was something to focus my attention on. That story was inspired by my grandfather who was diagnosed with glaucoma when he was in his early twenties. I am actually re-writing it now. Volition and Severance were similar, I started writing Volition when my husband deployed to Iraq for a year. It started off as one book, inspired by a question that I had asked myself one day, “Who loves you more than anyone else, puts you first, loves you for all that you are and has known you your entire life, putting their love for you before all else.” I developed characters and a plot from there. And soon one book became two books!


Do you have any new works in the pipeline?
I actually have one book called The Wanderer that I will be releasing in January. It is a story about a recently retired Army Veteran. It was originally inspired by my love for a man in uniform and how fabulous I think they look riding a motorcycle in uniform. Seriously…I cannot get enough of it. The main character, Landon Bradley is the kind of man who is not used to sticking around for too long in one place. He packs up his motorcycle and heads North West in search of peace and maybe even a place to finally settle down. But what he finds in a small Wyoming town scares him.

Maxine Abrams, more affectionately known as Max makes him think that maybe he is the kind of man that can be loved, after so many years of thinking otherwise. In the end he must chose which call to heed, his heart or the open road. It really was a very fun story to write. It only took me two months actually. And I love Landon just as much as Max. I think that I created two very strong and believable characters, and a love story that will melt the hearts of my readers.

The story I am working on now, the re-write of With Eyes That See, is arguably my favorite, just because it is my first and re-writing it is something I kind of thought I had lost hope of ever doing. I mean, I wrote three books in between! You can read more about all of the books of course in greater detail on my blog.


Who are your favorite authors?
My favorite authors vary. I read mostly YA books and literary fiction. Those are the two genres that I write as well. For literary fiction I like Nicholas Sparks and Jodi Picoult, though I’ve only read one of Jodi Picoult’s books as of right now, Salem Falls which honestly blew me away. Very well written. And for young adult I like Stephenie Meyer the most, at this point in time. I’m not a crazy Twilight fan by any means but as a writer I envy her easy flow and her ability to write a story that is so fluid.

I didn’t read at all until I finished a book called The Wild Girl by Jim Fergus (I honestly read it just because I loved the cover so much) and it was really good though it was hard, as someone who didn’t read, to get through it. The next book I picked up was Twilight and by that point all four were already out and as someone who found reading difficult…I have never read a book so fast in my life, let alone four, even as someone who enjoys it now. In fact…I can thank those books in part for picking up writing again in the first place.


Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.
I don’t drink, at all. Not for any religious reason or family issues or anything like that. My twin sister and I just grew up very stubborn and just about anything that “everyone did” that was considered "cool", we rebelled against. So even to this day, at age 23 neither of us drink. Everyone I know personally knows this of course but it’s kind of a strange thing about me that always surprises people.


Thanks so much, Shawn!

You can find more information on Shawn and her writing in the following places:

AmazonAuthor Page
Twitter

Wednesday 13 July 2011

Hidden Makes The Headlines!

This week I've been featured in The Dursley Gazette! Now that might not mean a lot to most of you, but it's SO exciting for me. It's the local paper where I grew up and I used to read it every week and scan for stories about anyone I knew - stories like 'Vandals Destroy Rugby Posts' and 'John Smith Wins Fruit Basket at The Dursley Carnival'


Well, now it's MY turn...


Gazette Series

Dursley author to make it big with cult vampire novel

By Claire Marshall                        
       
A FORMER Rednock student is on her way to making it big as an author with what looks set to become a cult hit vampire book.

Shalini Boland could be hot in the heels of Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, judging by the success of her new vampire novel, Hidden.

The book is selling well in the UK, but it is in the US where it is really taking off and the reason could be ...  Read more

Tuesday 12 July 2011

BiteMarks by Drew Cross

Drew Cross is a thirty-year-old former model and ex-cop (sadly never a model cop!), now masquerading as a Financial Services professional, from Nottingham, England. He is married with two young children - The Zeds (Zac and Zara) - and a stroppy weimaraner called Charlie. When he's not reading, writing, toddler-wrangling or weimaraner-wrestling, Drew likes to practice martial arts, cook south-east Asian cuisine, and meditate. He hopes one day to break the habit of referring to himself in the third person.


Blood, lust and bloodlust collide when the police hunt for a vampiric attacker threatens to shine an unwelcome spotlight onto the dark secrets of one that they call their own...








What will readers like about your book?
Despite the darkness of the subject matter, there is a good scattering of humour and playfulness throughout the book. Shane Marks is a memorable and complex character (which we'll continue to see as the other books in the series are released), and this is not a paint-by-numbers police procedural, there are several big surprises to keep you guessing. Please ignore the publisher blurb though, guys; this is not a 'vampire' novel, it's crime fiction and there are no supernatural characters involved.


What inspired you to write it?
When I left the police force a number of years ago I felt that I'd had an insight to the both job and to the city that I live in, that many people never get to know. I also had a ton of resentment and anger, so this seemed like a constructive way to channel those feelings!


Do you have any new works in the pipeline?
Loads! There's TrackMarks - the second book in the 'Marks' crime fiction series; a YA fantasy trilogy called 'The Scarmap'; a WIP YA novel called The Girl and Her Ghost, about a girl who upon choosing to end her life meets somebody who already has...I've also just released 'Under The Influence' a vicious and creepy horror short on Smashwords; and finally (for now), there's a satirical piece under construction too called 'Selling It', which can't decide whether it wants to be a script or a novel.


Who are your favorite authors?
Thomas Harris, John Connolly, Mary Shelley, Robert Louis Stevenson, Poppy Z Brite...probably a dozen others that will occur to me once I've sent this mail too!


Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.
I have a Mensa tested IQ of 155.


Thanks so much, Drew!

www.drewcross.blogspot.com

Bitemarks is available from Amazon and Smashwords

Thursday 7 July 2011

MUSIC BLOGGER: EMMA SUTHERLAND

Aspiring music journalist, Emma Sutherland, talks to me about gigs, bad rappers and her prediction for the next big thing…

Hi Emma! Have you always been a writer? 
No, I've only got into writing in the last year or so. I started by writing for the Daily Echo (and still do from time to time) and have written for the Mr Kyps website and an online youth magazine in the North of England. It's a nice hobby I have at the moment but I would really love to do it as a full time job.

How did you get into writing music reviews?
I've always loved music and love the atmosphere you get at gigs; the build up and excitement of seeing a band you love is a great experience. I realised after seeing a few gigs in Bournemouth that I could write about them so as I have a permanent memory of the gig. I got in touch with Nick Churchill (the Daily Echo's entertainment editor until last year) and asked if he accepted gig reviews from anyone or if you had to be a staff writer. Fortunately the Daily Echo have a small army of ordinary people doing reviews and he asked me to send him a review I had done. Off the back of this he offered me a review job for the band Wild Beats at 60 Million Postcards in Bournemouth and despite not knowing all of their material I had a really good night. They're one of the best live bands I've seen and in such a small venue it was a great opportunity to see them up close and get a feel for the band and their music.


Do you have a favourite place to write?
I go to Mr Kyps pretty regularly so I think my favourite place to write is in there! It's great because I can stand at the bar and still see the onstage action while sipping a nice cold beer, which sometimes, if I'm lucky, I get for free!


Best ever gig you've ever been to? Why?
There's too many to mention! I've seen some great acts but I think my favourite has to be Muse at the SECC in Glasgow. This was a couple of years ago before I was thinking about writing gig reviews but it was amazing for a number of reasons. One, Muse are one of the best rock bands in the world so what could go wrong? Two, I went with some lovely people and three, it was a proper road trip!


And the worst gig ever?
There was a night of poetry and music in The Winchester pub quite a while ago and a guy that came on stage to rap towards the end of the night was pretty poor - quite a few people left the pub, me included!

Top three albums?

Ghostpoet 'Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam'

Metronomy 'The English Riviera'

Tricky 'Knowle West Boy'


What are you listening to at the moment?
Ghostpoet and Foals' first album 'Antidotes' are been heavily repeated on my iPod at the moment. They're both so easy to listen to and I love Ghostpoet's talented lyrics 


Your prediction for the next big thing...
I went to The Great Escape music festival in May this year which is a three day event for up and coming bands as well as a good few established ones. Among my predictions for this year are two two piece girl bands, one called 2.54 and the other Smoke Fairies. Both different in musical style but emerging talents for 2011 (hopefully!)


What's your dream job?
Being a full time, paid, music journalist. 


Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.
I'm a massive Formula 1 fan and was lucky enough to go to the Canadian Grand Prix this year. We got absolutely drenched by the rain but it was well worth it!


Thanks so much Emma!

You can check out Emma’s music reviews here: