Tag Archives: Writing

Books

Day 19 #MarchoftheWriter

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  Method to your madness

There’s certainly a method I follow with all my books. First, I break the rules constantly. But hey, that’s my style. My books are easy to read, thrilling page-turners. Explosive!

I had a hard time getting around the well-known phrase ‘SHOW DONT TELL’. It’s instilled in me now, but my editor still catches my slip-ups.

I love writing in first person, as it helps me get into the mindset of the character, to feel her thoughts and experience the good and bad with her. However, some of my stories are in third person.

I always start my books off with a conflict. A scene where the reader HAS to know the reason for the conflict, and the conclusion. Once that scene is done, the plot is set and characters introduced then the rest will flow and if I get stuck on a spot, I will skip it, write another scene with a fight, sex or something dramatic happening in it, then I can go back to the scene I was stuck on, and continue.

I put a lot of twists in my storylines that throw a spanner in the works. The strange thing is I don’t do these twists deliberately. They just happen naturally and it’s not until I read the chapter back, that I’ve realised what I’ve done.

I’m trying something different with the new book I’m currently working on, In Times of Violence Adult edition. It’s risky and I haven’t tried doing this before, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
I’ve mentioned earlier about when you get into the zone and characters start talking, you listen and you follow the path. Well, the path took me in a whole new direction causing the genre of the book to change, and I didn’t want that. So there is a time skip of a year and I’m going to write a novella, of everything that happened that year. For readers to have the choice to buy the book or not. The story works well as a straight one year skip, but I think the novella will be an exciting addition to the new book. It’s a risk, but sometimes you have to step out of the box!

Books, Promotion

Day 14 #MarchoftheWriter

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Return of the pitch

So a pitch is just like being a salesperson. You have maybe 5 mins to sell your product to that manager of the shop, factory, office. A story is no different. The first line has to be the shocker, the lead line; Leading the agent or publisher to read the next part.


The rule of pitching SHORT BUT SWEET. But then you all know I like to break the rules! 😉

So without further ado here’s my pitch.

What do you do if you’re stranded in a barren land and the sky turns red, a sign that the acid rain is about to pour down on you and melt your skin and bones?
Bez is thrown out of Mount Elta for having a big mouth. Kyte for being an instigator and disturbing the peace. The Committee, are the law inside what was their home. No one would dare stand up to them in fear of being cast out.
Now with a backpack containing an acid-proof tent, a little food and medical supplies all created from the precious Terra Plant, the two hunt for the OutCasts; those that had somehow survived. There was proof of their existence but not of their habitat. Can they find them in time, and more importantly, will they be welcomed?

So how did I do?
Does it make you want to know more?
Can you work out what genre of fiction this book is?

Books, Music, personal

Day 13 #MarchoftheWriter

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Treat-yo-self

This is a hard one for me. As I’m so busy working many hours with Author Assist, I find it hard to make time to write, let alone think about self-care.
I guess when I’ve finished a book or got something done in time for a deadline, I start to breathe again. Meaning I take a deep sigh and then move on to the next project.
I don’t have any quirky traditions I do at the end of my first draft. I write The End and sigh.

However, receiving the final copy in my hands is another matter entirely. If you’ve seen my live feeds of my opening. You know I’m practically jumping up and down and have tears in my eyes. It’s a very special moment that I want to share with the public and especially my readers and tribe.

I do have another hobby, other than reading (see last blog post) I love to sing. I sang in choirs, I’ve sung lead in a rock band and I even represented Greece in the World Karaoke Championship.
Sadly there is a downside, for those that don’t know the other side of my life. I have bad health with two serious medical conditions, that affect my daily life. Last year one of them, decided to take away the second passion I have and that is to sing. It decided it would mess up my vocal chords. If I talk for too long, my voice breaks and I can no longer talk. Now imagine that happening when you try to sing, how much more strength and use the vocal chords have when you sing. So much power is needed from them. But I’m not one to give up so easily. I refused to allow what the Drs told me to be true. So with the help of my daughter who has an amazing voice, I started looking for a song that I could sing without too much effort. Songs that I could train my voice to sing. And so I did. And I had a wonderful summer, showing off these new songs that I now tackled with and won. And I entered the WKC and got to the semi-finals, which was exciting. I never had any dreams of winning, I guess I wanted to prove to myself that I still had it. Even though I can’t sing like I used to, I have trained my voice and not accepted defeat.

I have a good set-up at home and sing nearly every day now, rehearsing for the next WKC and trying out new songs.

So I guess, I’ll be brave and leave something on here for you to listen to, or not. I’m not a professional, I don’t claim to sing like an angel, I just love singing.

Books, films, personal

Day 12 #MarchoftheWriter

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Filmspiration

Ooooh, this is a good one.

Tolkien’s, Lord of the Rings, inspired me to write my YA fantasy duology, Illusional Reality.
However, you will not find elves, trolls, hobbits, dragons or wizards in my books. They are unique in name and character no stereotyping for me.

Did you know I was one of the managers of the UK Lord Of The Rings fansite?
I knew everything you needed to know about the books and films. And I can tell you that even though LOTR is the best movie EVER made, the fans were not happy. They believed that essential scenes were left on the cutting floor or never even filmed. Me, I was happy with how much they could fit into the movies.

The OUTSIDERS by S.E.Hinton was the reason I became an author. It was the film ( and book) that inspired me to write my own novel. In Times of Violence. I had a story to tell and I wanted to get my novel on the reading curriculum at schools. (That never happened) but my book, which was once my bestseller, was the one that started it all.


The film stared the brat pack, Emilio Estevez, Rob Low, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Matt Dylan and the rest of the greasers. Many of those actors played the next main roles, in her other book-based films, like Rumble Fish and Tex and That was Then This is Now.

You have heard me mention his name once or twice in these #MarchoftheWriter blogs.
Yes, it is my man Mr Quentin Tarantino. I must have watched every film he directed ( and acted in) but it was the film Death Proof, that inspired me to write Lawless Justice.

So they are just a few films that I have admired, loved and helped me as an author.
Special mention to West Side Story, Basketball Diaries, Drugstore Cowboy, Wild Ones, The Godfather trilogy, Goodfellows and Romeo & Juliet.

Books, Promotion

Day 11 #MarchoftheWriters

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Writer Wisdom

Gosh, where do I start? This is what I do so I could go on for hours but I’ll list the most important lessons. (I will be tough.)

  • Write about what you know.
  • For example, this is your first book and you’re writing a detective mystery about a body being found on an archaeology site. Why would you do this to yourself? Do you know how much research you would have to do? What do you know about police procedures? What do you know about archaeology?
  • Write about what YOU know. When you write about something you’re passionate about, something you’ve actually experienced. That will come across in your writing. Giving it depth, realism and valid description.
  • Remember the three essentials.
  • Editor (No, not your mum or next-door neighbour)
  • Formatter ( No, not a converter. A formatter makes it pretty inside, adds the chapter and front and back matter.)
  • Cover Designer (No, not Canva or Fiverr)
  • These three essential cost a lot of money and if you don’t have that money, then you are not ready to publish.
  • Don’t cut corners.
    Your book has to be polished before it goes out to the public. It needs the three essentials and a kick-arse blurb. Your book has one chance to be a success, if you send it out after writing the first draft, not having it edited and using a cover you did, I can guarantee failure. And that’s a word we authors DON’T want to hear.
  • Have that first line ready.
    The tag line is what you will use on your promos, graphics or posts. It’s going to be the first thing a potential reader sees when they look at the blurb. That one line has to have power, it needs to pack a punch so that the person who reads it will then continue to read the rest of the blurb.
  • Anything worth dying for is certainly worth living for – Catch 22.
  • Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same – Wuthering heights.
  • Paul Sheldon used to write for a living. Now he’s writing to stay alive. – Misery.
  • They are feared, hated, hunted down and destroyed….and yet they are mankind’s last hope. -The Aldoron Chronicles.

Serving authors since 2015

Art, Books, YouTube

Day 8 #MarchoftheWriters

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Writer’s DNA

Well, right now with my dark romances, it’s sex and violence. Sex sells, so does violence. Now imagine a book with them both!

I always throw my readers through a loop. Twists just come naturally to me, I don’t even know I’ve thrown one in there until after. I don’t want my novels to be predictable. I like to keep my readers on their toes. Just when you think you know what’s going on… you really don’t. Trust me.

Conflict. Every novel or flash fiction has to have a type of conflict. Conflict gets the juices going, the adrenaline rush and keeps those pages turning.

There is always a piece of me in my books, some more than others and I would never tell you which parts are fictional and which are reality.

I like my female characters to have heart, compassion, but still be strong and able to kick arse, either literally or with magic.

A satisfying ending. That doesn’t mean there will be a HEA. I write about real life, and real-life is dark and gritty. And in my fantasy, you still have the darkness – the good vs evil and the darkness the protagonist is fighting.

I had to put this in. DNA by BTS

Books, personal, Promotion

DAY 7 #MarchoftheWriters

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Author Tribe

Gosh, there are so many people I should thank for helping me to get where I am today. 

I certainly wouldn’t have as many books published if it wasn’t for a group on Facebook, which at this time I can’t remember the name of, but I do remember it was run by Marjory. 
We would trade fake money to buy a service. Such as, say I would beta read someone’s short story and was given $1000 trading bucks by the author. I need a new cover but I don’t have enough trading bucks to pay for it so, I will trade a cover from a designer, in return for a book trailer. She gets the book trailer, I get my cover and we’re both happy. This went on for years. Huge shout out to Sharon Lipman from Fantasia Cover Designs. 
We traded, we swapped services, and we were able to get our books finished and ready for publication without it costing us anything. I know I didn’t have the money back then to afford an editor, let alone a book cover. 
Sadly as life moves on, so does your tribe. I can’t remember what the group was called as it was so long ago, but I know I still have around 140,000 trading bucks in my bank. lol

Next, I want to shout out to all the members of the Authors-Professionals Co-op on Facebook. The group has now almost come to a standstill, which is sad. But I know how much the regular, active members got from this group. I’ve made lifelong friends. I met my co-author, Karen J Mossman, with who, I wrote Toxic with. And an amazing man who helped get my daughter, Alexia’s, first illustrated book published. He’s the brains behind the EE branding Electric Eclectic, and he’s an amazing author, Paul White. There are more members, but I can’t remember names, so thank you for your support and for helping me along on my journey. 

You’ve heard me mention his name several times already in posts. He’s an advocate for indie artists, owning and running one of the biggest media platforms for indie artists such as authors, directors, actors, musicians and more, And he’s an author himself, with books you all need to check out called, Amongst The Killing and We The Moral Majority. So big thank you for all you’ve done for me Mr Joe Compton and on behalf of all indie artists that you have helped promote, with Go Indie Now, we salute you.

And, recently I met a wonderful lady who runs The Writer’s Tribe Facebook group. I haven’t been a member here long, but I’ve been welcomed into the tribe and then practically forced to write by Venessa Giunta and her sprints, lol. So, shout out to our cheerleader, who is inspiring, bubbly and always encouraging the tribe.

So many other people have played a part in helping me on my journey. Please forgive me if I haven’t singled you out that doesn’t mean I think any less of you, it just means my memory, which I have problems with, couldn’t remember you at the time I wrote this post.

I am just a little cog in the indie writing community but you are MY TRIBE.

Dark grey background. Two hands toasting with champagne glasses. Text in white underneath Cheers to my tribe

Books, personal, Promotion

Day 5 #MarchoftheWriters

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Sweet spot: writing session length

What is a sprint?

I’ve been an author for the last 28 years, and I’ve never taken part in a sprint before. The thought of everyone being on camera and just working didn’t make sense to me… until now!

On one of the panel shows by Go Indie Now, with Joe Compton. I met a very busy, talented lady author by the name of Venessa Giunta. And she runs an amazing group of writers on FaceBook called The Writing Tribe (TWT) and Nessie ( I call her that) organises sprints.
I went to the first one last month and I couldn’t believe how enjoyable it was to work in a group for twenty minutes, then we stop, talk about what we managed to get down, the words count and so fourth. We have a chat, sometimes and then back to work for another 20 minutes. She also does a Zoom sprint where we are on camera and don’t need to type our conversation. These last around 30 minutes and after a couple of them, everyone has a chance to share any good news they have. It’s such a supportive community of talented writers. I have been trying to attend the sprints regularly, and in the beginning, I used the sprints to get AuthorAssist work done, such as newsletters, promotions, and podcasts. I had a book I needed to write, but I was avoiding the damn thing. However, I started work on it last week, and every sprint I’m getting over 1k done, and Nessie has solved some dilemmas I’ve had with the book. I know without TWT and the sprints, I wouldn’t be writing as much or at all. So I am very thank full to the group and Nessie.

Art, Books, Narrations, personal, podcast, Promotion, Radio, YouTube

New Challenge

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You know me I love a good challenge and when I take on something, I don’t back down.
This one is called March of The Writers and every day, we are given a prompt and it could be to write about a book, introduce myself, write flash fiction and so forth. I will be given a prompt and see if I can do one every day through March. This will be fun.

From the crazy mind of Author and YouTube addict, JD.Estrada. You can follow his blog and journey on https://jdestradawriter.blogspot.com

DAY ONE.

 New month, who dis?

Well, hello world. I’m Karina Kantas award-winning author and filmmaker. I have 15 books published, some independently, some under publishing contacts. I write in most fiction genres and I go through binges. Right now it’s Dark Romance.
I’m from the UK but I live on the Island of Corfu.

I’m a BookTuber, YouTuber, Podcaster and Radio Host and I also run Author Assist which offers affordable assistance to writers, authors and those in the publishing business. I’m a VA , Author Manager, Publicist, Book Trailer Creator, Designer of Graphics, Social Media Consultant, Marketing and Promotion Manager and Narrator… plus a few more I haven’t mentioned.

I’m the host of the Author Assist Radio Show. Which has just celebrated five years on the air. My YouTube and audio podcast is called Behind The Pen and I get to chat and have a laugh with many in a business where they use a pen such as Illustrators, writers, musicians, and so forth.

For all links for my social media ( I’m everywhere) and for the podcasts and my YouTube channel go to

https://linktr.ee/karinakantas

Books, new release, Promotion

SCAM

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SCAM! by Stevie Turner

Winner of the 2021 Electric Eclectic Novella Prize

Lauren West and Ben Hughes are saving frantically for their forthcoming marriage and mortgage deposit. When Lauren sees an advert online from a firm of brokers extolling the profits to be gained by buying and selling Bitcoins, she is interested enough to pursue it further.

Lauren clicks on the advert. She is soon contacted by Paul Cash, a knowledgeable stockbroker whom Lauren trusts straight away. He is affable, plausible, and seemed genuinely interested in her welfare. Lauren looks forward to making enough money to be able to surprise Ben and bring the date of their wedding forward, and also to put a deposit down on their ideal house.

 What could possibly go wrong?

An Electric Eclectic book, published by Crimson Cloak Publishing

UK, https://amzn.to/3uRK74W

USA & International, http://getbook.at/scam

BIO

Stevie Turner is a British author of romantic suspense, humour, paranormal stories, and women’s fiction family dramas.

She is a cancer survivor and lives in the same picturesque Suffolk village she and her husband Sam moved to in 1991 with their two boys. Her boys are now grown, and she and Sam have 5 lovely grandchildren.

Stevie Turner’s debut novel ‘Mind Games’ was self-published in October 2013 and took her 30 years to write.  Stevie now had the writing bug big time!

Her serious suspense/ thriller ‘A House Without Windows, won a New Apple Book Award in 2014, and a Readers’ Favorite Gold Award in 2015.

The screenplay ‘For the Sake of a Child’, won Stevie a silver award in the 2017 Depth of Field International Film Festival.

Now SCAM! championed the EE Novella Fiction Prize.