Busy, Busy, Busy

This poor blog has been a little neglected recently I’m afraid. Just one of those things where life gets in the way. But I figure I can probably kill two birds with one stone – I can get a new post up on this blog, and fill you all in on the desperately exciting drama that is my life…or not!

The first, and probably foremost reason for the neglect of this blog is Rock the Book. What is Rock the Book? I hear you ask.

You see not too long ago I started chatting with these two lovely, delightful Indie authors online. They were much like me. Working hard to make themselves known in the Indie world. Struggling to balance writing with promotion and all that goes with it. We began to conceive of ways to spread the word more about Indie authors like ourselves. To show the world that there are great and brilliant Indie books out there. Rock the Book was born! Rock the Book is a blog dedicated to helping out other indie authors and spreading the word about great books we find (and our own of course! We’re not completely altruistic!).

It’s a brilliant blog that we are all really proud of, and we’re pleased that other people have started to join the team.

On the downside, it takes up a lot of time.

The second reason for the neglect of the blog is that last week myself and my other half moved house. We had a lovely little cottage on the tiny island we call home, but if I’m honest it was getting a little old and tired. It needed a lot of work doing to it, and as tenants we weren’t really going to put the time in. Plus on the downside despite being on a little Caribbean island it had no outside space. No porch or deck. We heard on the grapevine about a property that might be up for rent and went to take a look. And fell in love. This picture might help explain why…

My new 'office'!

 

It’s lovely inside too – but the porch is what makes it. Unfortunately moving always takes more time than you expect (though I think we are down to the last box to unpack now) and we encountered a few problems like no internet or phone line (no facebook for a week??? What??!!). Again, small island living meant it took a little while to get that sorted, but we’re now just about there!

All of that did mean however that I had almost no spare time for my blog, the few snatches of internet time I got were used up checking emails…and Facebook I’ll admit. I also had no time to write. I was too busy and surrounded by boxes – not exactly conducive to creativity.

But we’re all settled in now – so life can begin to get back to normal.

Having had a ‘week off’ I am now plunging back into the writing at full tilt, and have now added a fourth book to the list of projects I’m currently working on. But I am now just a few thousand words away from finishing my West Haven Series novella, a few thousand words away from finishing the Pendragon Series Book 2, and well started on Being Alpha the next book in the series after Chasing Freedom.  The fourth book I’m playing with is a sci-fi, post-apocalyptic end of the world type of thing. Fun!

So there is an update on my life. Less excitement and more work than I’d like, but life is good.

Don’t forget to check out Rock the Book – we feature some great books on there and you might find something new to read!  

My Two Least Favourite Words

One day. (Or it’s variation – Someday.)

Two words that, in my opinion, should never be used together.

Yet, I hear it all the time. ‘One day I’d like to write a book’. ‘One day I’d like to visit Asia’. ‘One day I’d like to quit my job and do something I really love’. ‘One day I’ll tell that person I love them’.

A thousand dreams, a million plans for the future, all prefixed by the words ‘one day’. And I hate it. I hate it with a passion. And so should you.

Why? Because, to my mind, one of two things will happen.

Either, you’ll wake up, some distant version of yourself, and find that ‘one day’ has come and gone. That suddenly you are too old, or too in debt, or too tied down to ever do the things you dreamed of doing. Those old dreams have become submerged in a different life and different dreams. That’s not to say those new dreams are bad, but there will always be that tiny part of you that regrets the things you didn’t do. You will always wonder ‘what if’.

Or, worse, ‘some day’ will never come. The future, the plans, the dreams will disappear in the blink of an eye. You will be gone and the only thing left will be the regrets. There is no knowing how long we have in this world, and today may be the only day we have left. Depressingly sad maybe, but true.

And so the answer is this. Don’t say ‘one day’, say ‘today’. ‘Today I’m going to start writing that book’. ‘Today, I’m going to start saving for Asia’. ‘Today I’m going to look for a new job doing what I love’. ‘Today I’m going to tell him I love him.’

We only get one life. One chance. One opportunity to experience everything this crazy, incredible universe has to offer. (Now I feel like I’m stealing from a rap song). But it’s true. I sometimes think people don’t realise what an incredible blessing they have – just being alive. Life is crazy and wild and never turns out quite how we expect. But we have to take charge, we have to experience everything we can, whilst we still can.

Mark Twain says it better than I can – “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

So my friends and family can take this as a warning. If you say ‘one day’ around me, expect my wrath. It will be terrible. Tell me your dreams and plans and aspirations by all means. But don’t tell me that maybe, perhaps, one day, sometime you might do these things. Tell me you’re striving for them, you’re working towards them. Tell me you’re putting every ounce of passion and intellect and heart you possess into achieving those goals.

Don’t tell me ‘one day’, tell me ‘today’.

Desert Island Books

I was chatting to someone the other day about reading, and how much I love to bury myself in a good book, and they asked me ‘if you were stuck on a desert island, which 5 books would you absolutely have to have with you?’ It was something no one had ever asked me before and it’s a bit sad how long I had to think about it.

(Owen Island)

Of course, I didn’t like to mention to them that I pretty much do live on a desert island when it comes to getting hold of new books to read. (I swear about 50% of my salary when I did work full time went on buying books for my kindle.) But even though my Kindle is my life-saver I do like still love proper paper books. Maybe it makes me old-fashioned, but I really do feel that there is a difference between curling up with a kindle (or Nook, Ipad whatever) and a proper book.

That aside, if someone told me I had to pick 5 books, what would they be?

1.       The Lord of the Rings (obvious answer for anyone who knows me). And I class that as one book not three. It doesn’t matter how many times I read them, they will never get old.

2.       Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I know I can’t really get away with classing all 7 books as one – so I have to pick my favourite. But Harry Potter in general will always have a special place in my heart. I’ll be the first to admit that J.K isn’t the absolute best writer, but she is a Master of story-telling.

3.       Flowers of Algernon. Honestly just one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s beautifully written, incredibly engaging and wonderfully thought-provoking.

4.       Pride and Prejudice. Again, don’t think I need to say much about this one. To be honest I love all of Jane Austen’s books – but Mr Darcy *sigh*.

5.       Every. Single. Book. Written. By. Terry Pratchett. Ok, so I guess I have to choose one. But to be honest it’s almost impossible. If I could only read the entire discworld books over and over again for the rest of my life, I don’t think I would get bored. The man is a genius. But, if I do have to pick one it would probably have to be Guards Guards! It’s the first book where we meet Vimes and the Night Watch, and introduces you to my favourite character. (Vimes!)

That’s my 5 (or 7 if you’re really being picky) books that I class as my top reads – and the books that I will happily read over and over and over again.

Now it’s your turn. What are your top 5? What books do you go back to year after year?

 

I have a mortal enemy – He’s called procrastination.

So, in just the last day or so my wonderful Muse has decided to make a reappearance (I think he’s been on a long extended vacation). Brilliant news because I’ve been struggling to write more than a couple hundred words a day.

Unfortunately, with the reappearance of my Muse comes my mortal enemy and the enemy of any writer. Procrastination.

I know what you’re probably thinking. Isn’t writing this blog a form of procrastination? Shouldn’t I be busy scribbling away wrapping up the glorious and thrilling conclusion to the sequel to THE LAST KNIGHT?

Well yes. Exactly.

But it’s tricky see, because I’m not just wasting time. (Honest! I swear I’m not).

The social media are essential to my marketing. I don’t have some huge, wealthy publisher to pay for my marketing. I have to do it all myself and the cheapest, easiest form of marketing is social media. So you see, when I’m on Facebook it’s work. No. Seriously, it is. Stop laughing.

And then there’s Twitter. Oh Twitter how I both loathe and love you. It should be so easy to just throw out a few tweets, a few #hashtags. A little witty comment here or there. But I’m a writer – I LIKE words – and 140 characters does not give me nearly enough words!

Of course, there is also this blog, which mocks me when I don’t post often enough.

And whilst I’m engaging in these fun and thrilling activities my Muse is tapping his foot and getting impatient, threatening to take another long vacation if I don’t get my act together.

So I better go and get writing. I’ve got a great scene to write about…wait, can’t tell you. Spoilers! You’ll just have to read the book. One day. If my Muse doesn’t quit on me before then.

 

Coming Soon: The Last Knight sequel has a title at last – Woo hoo. THE LAST KNIGHT is getting a new sexy cover – Woo Hoo.

Happy New Year

I feel that right now this is the only post I can make today.

There are a few things I want to talk about – a few things that I would love to share, and I feel that today is the day to do it.

Today is a day to say Happy New Year.

It might be a few days late – but then it’s probably taken my brain a few days to recover enough to put words together properly, to find the right things I want to say.

The whole New Year thing for me has always been a little odd. Do I really want to celebrate yet another year of my life gone? I suppose if I had had an eventful year I would want to celebrate those events.

There have been some good moments. My sister got pregnant. This won’t be the first time I’m an Auntie, but considering that the first time it happened I was two years old, at least this time I’m old enough to actually understand what it means and get excited about it. So I am looking forward to 2013 bringing someone new into my family, a nephew for me to coo over and spoil rotten.

But to be honest 2012 went by so quickly I’m not sure I even know where the time went. It’s strange to think that when I first moved across the world to this little Caribbean Island it was 2011 – it’s now 2013.

So am I sad to see 2012 go? Not really. It was a good year for me, but it wasn’t a great year.

2013? Well –I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

I’ve never been one to make New Year resolutions. I think most of them are kept for about two weeks before they get forgotten – and why make a promise to yourself that you’re not going to keep?

I know that I could swear to drink less – god knows my bank balance and my liver would probably thank me for it – but it would only last until the next big night out. And to be honest it won’t make me any happier – healthier maybe, but that’s a different story.

I could swear to lose weight – but I make that promise ever year. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. mostly I just torture myself when I fail.

So this year I am making just one resolution. I’m going to try harder.

At one thing in particular, but mostly just try harder in life in general.

I turn 30 this year. I’m not as scared of that as I once was, but it still feels like a big milestone. 30 years on this earth and as ashamed as I am to admit it, I’ve never really tried hard to make my life better.

I’ve been lucky. I’ve had opportunities and chances and experiences that most people would kill for. I have lived in half a dozen different countries, I have met incredible, wonderful people, and I now live a life that most people dream of. But most of that was lucky breaks. I had wonderful parents who took the biggest risk of their lives about 28 years ago, and gave me a childhood I will treasure forever. Without really trying I got the grades to get into a brilliant University and met some incredibly special people, one of whom continues to shape my life even today by helping me get to the porch on the beach in the Caribbean where I’m writing this. I worked in one of the most iconic places in the world, in a job I loved even when I eventually decided it wasn’t really for me. And now I live on a small island that most people would describe as paradise.

To be honest I have been one lucky, lucky (insert swearword of choice).

But have I really tried and worked for any of it as hard as I could? I don’t feel like I have. Sometimes it feels like the universe has just dumped it all in my lap.

Now I want something more than I have ever wanted in my life. And this time I am going to try to get it. I’m going to try my hardest. I am going to put everything I have into achieving the one goal that really means something to me right now.

Will I succeed? Who knows. But maybe all I can ask for is that when I look back I will be able to say that I gave it my all. That I did everything I could. After all, what more can I do?

So that is my New Year resolution. I’m going to try. Really try.

Oh, and Happy New Year. 2013. It’s going to be interesting….

Goodbye Really Is The Hardest Word

Goodbye Really Is The Hardest Word

Everyone always says that goodbyes are some of the hardest moments of our lives. The proper goodbyes that is – the ones that really mean something.

I know for me each time I say goodbye to my parents to travel across the other side of the world I break down just a little – all right, a lot. Saying goodbye to my sister is always heartbreaking, especially now she has this new baby on the way. When I say goodbye I know I’m going to be missing important moments in her life – moments that I will hear about, but won’t be a part of. The same with my closest friend in the world – their lives go on without me, and I won’t be a part of them in quite the same way.

Today I said a goodbye that I didn’t expect to be as painful as it was.

I said goodbye to two great friends who are moving on to bigger and better things – a better life for them. So I am happy for them, pleased that they are doing something that will make them happy.

But for perhaps the first time in my life I’m the one staying behind. I have always been the one moving on – leaving friends and family behind to start afresh somewhere new. I didn’t realise how different that would feel.

I know that the sadness comes not just from saying goodbye to two people I consider great friends – people I feel so pleased to have met and got to know – but also from the fact that I am saying goodbye to a sense of familiarity.

They have been here on the small island I call home since I moved here, and picturing this place without them seems almost impossible, because all of my images of this place include them. Many of my happiest times on the island have been spent with them – not doing anything special, just talking and sharing and enjoying life. I find it hard to imagine an evening at the bar after work without them there. Without him mixing up a fabulous cocktail, and her sharing the funny stories that invariably come from doing the kind of job we do.

All that said, whilst goodbyes are hard, they are often the start of something new. A new experience, new friends, new memories.

So I will say a sad farewell to two people who have kept me sane, shared a lot of laughter, but thankfully very few tears. I can only wish them good luck.

No, perhaps I won’t say goodbye – perhaps I’ll just say ‘see you soon’, and know that it’s not an ending, just a change – and change is always good. Right?

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

In ‘Cheers’ it was a good thing. Going to the place where everybody knew your name. Trust me when I tell you that it isn’t always a good thing.

“So you’re ‘So and so’ – I’ve heard all about you.” That was the start of most conversations during my first few weeks on the island. In some ways it’s kind of cool. You feel like a little bit of a celebrity.

You realise pretty quickly though that if you’re the hot topic of gossip on the island there can’t be a whole lot going on. If what I’m doing is the most interesting thing on the island then that’s pretty scary.

But gossip is definitely one of the national pastimes for a lot of people on this tiny island. Unlike a lot of places though it isn’t malicious. It’s mostly just boredom.

Most people here don’t have T.V’s, so instead of watching the soap operas, we watch each other.

Secrets are impossible. If you’re going to start dating someone, you might as well put out a memo.

“Attention all,

Joe Bloggs and I are going on our first date on Friday at 7pm. Don’t forget to bring the popcorn.”

It might sound like I’m bitter. I’m not – honest. I don’t exactly date so I’m more likely to be the one bringing the popcorn! But it does make it hard sometimes to just do the things you want to do. It’s easy to feel judged. It’s easy to feel that if you do something crazy, just once, you’re the talk of the island. What’s the Terry Pratchett line - ‘A lie will race around the world before the truth has got his boots on’ – feels very true here sometimes. At other times it’s like the world’s biggest game of Chinese Whispers. With each telling of the story it gets exaggerated and expanded to the point that it’s barely recognisable as the truth.

Having said all that, the everyone knows your name thing does have its perks. It’s hard to feel lonely on an island when no matter where you go there is always going to be someone you know, someone to talk to. I’ve also never lived anywhere with such a strong sense of community, of togetherness. Just recently we had our Pirate Festival with a big parade of floats. It sometimes seems that there are more people taking part in the parade than watching it – but to me that’s great.  Everyone joins in, everyone gets involved, and the day really is about the community.

So, long story short, some days I wish I could be anonymous – some days I wish there was a crowd to lose myself in, but mostly I love being on an island where everybody knows your name. Because even though I’m single and ‘alone’ – I’m never lonely.