When Life gets in the way...

It's official - occasionally I suck at this whole blogging/self-promotion/tweeting side of being an author.

I just checked - the last post I wrote was over a month ago. That's shameful.

Unfortunately, life seems to continually get in the way. Real life, whilst not as exciting as the lives I write about, does tend to take top priority. Weddings to plan, immigration rules to dig through and understand, and a dog and a boyfriend that do occasionally require attention.

But I do want to post an update. Just in case anyone is interested.

A couple of things have happened.

I now have a full and rather beautiful (if I do say so myself) website.

www.nicoladorrington.com 

It's nothing special but I am rather proud of it.

The Forever Queen has now been out for over a month and is selling nicely and so far only had positive reviews.

And more excitingly, despite my original intentions there will be another Pendragon book. Maybe even two! More on that soon!

Until then, have a fabulous weekend. With any luck where ever you are is having better weather than we are!

Why do I do it?

A week ago today I published my third book.

You'd think it would get easier with every book, less doubt, more confidence.

I'll tell you this - I was as terrified about a terrible response to the third book as I was about the first. Possibly more.

In fact, I spent the three or four days before Blood Calling came out, asking my Other Half if I was doing the right thing. After all, I kept telling him, it's not like other books are flying off the shelves. Why do I keep putting myself through it all, for so little reward?

Well, two things happened over the course of the following week that answered my question for me.

The first was a couple of brilliant reviews of my first book, The Last Knight. Reviews from readers who had really connected with the book, and loved it.

The second was that I got stuck into writing something that will probably never see the light of day - but I loved writing it none the less.

The point is, these two things reminded me of why I write. And it's not for sales.

The two reviews were from free copies I had provided. I didn't make a dime. But it doesn't matter because I always wrote not for the money, but because I love telling a story that can entertain people. Even if the only person it entertains is me.

I knew when I got into indie publishing that it wasn't about the money. I was never going to make a fortune. It was about getting my books out there, finding people to read my stories (other than just my mother and my Other Half). It was about touching one or two, or if possible, a thousand readers.

But it was never about the money.

Sometimes with the promoting and advertising, and desperately trying to get heard, I think I forget about that. The obsessive (sometimes) checking of the sales graph, the constant research into how I can get my book to a wider audience. That becomes the only focus.

It's good sometimes to remember that I write because I love to write. And those sales? They're just a bonus.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Escaping - Just for a little while

So this year so far has been a tough one. There can be no denying that. I still have my moments when I think I'm going to wake up and find out it's all been some really horrible dream.

When I think that yesterday was 7 months since Dad left us so suddenly, it shakes me to the core. How can life have just kept going on as usual for so long when he's not here any longer? But I have to confess that the good moments are slowly starting to outweigh the bad. And the bad moments are often touched by a kind of happiness.

This last week I've been escaping from everything. Myself and the other half took a camping trip up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (which is quite possibly one of the most beautiful places I've been). We found ourselves in a beautiful campground, miles from anything, with no internet and no phones. It was a kind of heaven.

 

But when he disappeared off to get firewood from a little store down the road I had one of the bad moments. Camping was and still is something I associate with Dad. He loved to camp. He was a Scout leader for many years and there were a number of Scout camps he took us kids along on.

 

So sitting there in that stunning campground, with only really the sounds of the wind in the trees and the river running along the back of our site, I couldn't help but think of Dad. I couldn't help but think that I was in a place he would have loved, doing something he would have loved, and I wouldn't get to tell him about it. I wouldn't get to send him pictures of the tent, and tell him how it ended up being way bigger than we expected and how we managed to put it up backwards. I could picture his reaction, he would have laughed and told me some funny story about some scout camp I could barely remember, or given me some tips for 'next time'.

 

But even though I was sad, and I cried a little, sitting there on my own under the trees, listening to the river, I was also smiling. Smiling as I thought about Dad, and his stories and how happy he would have been that I was out there camping at all.

 

It's getting easier to remember the good things, easier to deal with the sad parts. I know that it's never going to be easy, but it's getting better.

 

But this escape was more than just about Dad, and dealing with everything that goes with it. It was also a nice reminder that I can go without internet and phones if I need to. Something I have to admit I was starting to doubt. Neither of our phones work in the U.S.A, and internet was out of the question, so it was just us, no distractions. And it was heavenly.

 

 

 

Now, don't go thinking that I'm about to dump all my modern technology. I can do without it, and enjoyed being without it, for a while, but it also reminded me how much I rely on it. My family is scattered across the globe, as are my friends, and as much as that is by choice, it also means that the internet is the only thing that connects us. Even if it is just a 'like' on a picture on Facebook, it helps me feel as though my sister, my mother and my brother (along with all the rest) are still a little involved in my life, and me in theirs.

 

So have no fear, Facebook, I am not abandoning you just yet.

 

But escaping from technology, from people, from life itself, just for a little while, is probably the best thing I've done all year.

 

I highly recommend it.

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!  

You Gotta Know When To Fold Them

How do you know? How do you know which gambles to take? Or when to walk away?

I feel a little like I’m playing the biggest game of poker of my life. I feel like I’ve got this great hand, and if the last card goes my way I could win big. I could win everything I’ve ever wanted. But if that card doesn’t come up, then I’ve lost everything.

And I’m down to my last chip. Do I fold? And keep hold of something? Or do I call, do I play and gamble that somehow that card will come up right?

I don’t see myself as that much of a gambler, a risk it all and take my chances kind of girl. But when I look back on my life I think I probably underestimate myself. I’ve taken some chances. I’ve taken some huge gambles.

Not all of them paid off, but some of them won me the whole pot.

But now I’m sitting here, with the biggest deal of my life, waiting for that last card to turn and knowing that it will make or break me. I’m clutching my cards close to my chest, and praying, just praying that I know what I’m doing.

It feels like publishing The Last Knight all over again.

But I’m going to do it. I’m going to throw in my last chip and gamble it all.

Because life is too short to fold when you’ve got something good – even if it isn’t quite what you thought you wanted. And if that last card doesn’t come up?

Well, it’s been on hell of a game!