The Creators - Autographing my very first book

My book was officially published on September 5th, 2012 and Mum was the very first person to order one from Amazon, even though at the time it was still only available for pre-order.  I was so excited when she told me she had done this.

Well, who could top this?  I guess my Matthew did.  I have been in hospital recently having shoulder surgery and then a couple of days later, being readmitted for ongoing colon issues.  This resulted in me getting some rather scary news that I have a cancerous tumour in my colon, which will require surgery on October 8th. With all this going on, Matthew appeared on one of his visits and from behind his back produced the very first copy of my book that I had seen. Even my own proof copy from Balboa Press had not arrived.  He had ordered it from Balboa direct and paid extra to have it express posted.

Totally thrilled and delighted with it and with him I spent the evening grinning from ear to ear.

On being released from hospital, I had a chance to sit down with Matthew and sign his copy for him.  Thank you Matthew for this amazing gift. I love you so much.

Watching Mom sign his book

 

Autographing my very first copy of my novel for Matthew

 

 Matthew and I will the very first copy of The Creators that I held.

My beautiful son.  His sisters' did state that they thought he had gone a bit overboard in trying to earn brownie points in getting the book so quickly and early.

No time to rest for a writer

Welcome to another day.  I have discovered that even with shoulder surgery (Wednesday 19th Sept) and a colonoscopy and hospitalisation (Friday 18th - today) - there is still time to be a writer.

Last week I underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery to repair a busal tear and other ligament problems in my left shoulder; as well as having cortisone injections into both carpal tunnel ligaments in my wrists.   Action plan was for a few days rest and then back to writing next week.

Unfortunately, Friday saw me re-admitted to hospital for further tests for ongoing colotis, which had left me dehydrated again!  So by Sunday I was very, very bored and asked for my laptop to be brought into hospital. The joy of modern medicine and modern technology has meant that I have been able to rest my arm on a pillow and sit typing a fresh 2000 words of my non-fiction book. 

I even inspired myself.

Now news regarding 'The Creators' - orders are being shipped from Balboa Press bookstore (my son's copy was delivered express) - he is so proud of his Mom that he ordered it as soon as it became available and is therefore the first in the family to get a copy. The book is also available from Amazon.

Today my bookmarks, postcards and business cards promoting 'The Creators' arrived - they are beautiful. I had the joy of signing my very first autograph in my hospital bed.  One of the nurses has ordered my book from Amazong and I gave her a bookmark, which we asked me to sign. 

So as the title of the post said :  No time to rest - time to write, write, write.

The Prophecy - Balboa Press

Balboa Press has released a 'free preview' from the inside of my book.  As it is written in a 'poem' form in the novel - it has unfortunately been printeded without the punctuation. So for all my fans, here is your own sneak-peak of the prophecy.

In the beginnning, good and evil battled
Humanity - the pieces on the scales
Time will tell who will win
Now is the time to begin

Time and need will produce one of noble birth
One born far away from angels
One whose belief held her gifts
One whose family loved her but never understood her
One whose friends envied and tormented her

The girl-child must grown into a woman
She must be protected to grow into her powers
The girl-child can balance the scales
She can triumph over the Destructor

She will carry within her the gift to end all conflict
She will carry within her the gift to end all rifts
She will be the one who will make for humanity the lasting peace
She will create again the balance . . . . . . .

. . . . . .Beware

To tip the scales, evil will nurture one
One who will become the destructor
The destructor will be undiscovered
The destructor will be alone
The destructor will embrace the evil
The destructor must destroy the girl
The destructor will have the power
To destroy humanity . . . . . . .

Find the hexagon and train them
Build the pentagon to stand strong
Keep the septagon safe
Build a pyramid that will stand
stand the conflict of time

Protect the Noble One and Protect the Protectors

Writing Thought of the Day

Sharing the JOY of writing with others, inspires not only them, but also oneself.

I have always loved writing, but it was only when I started my Creative Writing courses at University that I found the magic of writing in a community.  My greatest question was "How was I going to write on demand?"  I have always written best when 'inspired' rather than pressured.

Yet, each week I was inspired and challenged, and both of these things allowed and encouraged me to write.

So what holds you back from writing? Is it time, commitment, courage, fear? 

My major breakthrough came when I did NaNoWriMo, (refer to previous blog post) and wrote a 50 000 word novel in 30 days.

I overcame this challenge by breaking it down into 1667 words per day; or 209 words per hour over 8 hours; or just 4 words a minute for 8 hours. Now we work at work for 8 hours a day - so why not be a writer for 8 hours a day.  It became easy and fun.

My advice is the following:  If you think you have a book to write, put it down on paper becuase:

The book is already written you just need to share it with the world.

Amazon has it for Pre-order!

Today was an amazing day - my brother let me know via Facebook that my book was listed for Pre-order.

I could hardly breathe as I clicked the link and found my name as the author - Me - a real, published author.

 

While we chatted I had another special moment, Ian and his beautiful wife Wendy had sent me a parcel which I opened. It was a gift to congratulate me for writing, editing, publishing a book.

 

Thank you to you both for this wonderful gift.

 

So as we all await the print versions and the cover art to be released, I will share with you all the excitement and JOY that I felt today as this moment occurred in my life and let you all know that if you have that book inside of you - it is worth writing it and publishing it. The feeling is amazing.

 

Thank you for your patience - here is a little taste of 'The Creators'

Prologue

Have we found a Major Creator?

Can you see her sitting so quietly at the front of the classroom, so self-contained despite the hurt that is radiating from her? Her hair is red-gold strands of fire, tied back so fiercely as if preventing them from sparking and causing an eruption around her. Her skin is pale with the blossom of summer freckles. Her eyes are blue with pupils so large they absorb the whole world around her. Glasses are perched on the end of her nose, designed to allow her to see the normal world—the world that blocks her view into the Ether . . . the Ether that contains her gifts.

Her thoughts are so crystal clear . . . if only people would listen:

I wish I was normal: tall, tanned, with dark hair. I wish I was popular like Este. She used to be my friend, and now she doesn’t even glance at me. Mum and Dad tell me I am special, that I am an amazing musician. But I don’t want to be a musician. They tell me I can draw; I don’t want to draw. I just want to be normal. The only thing that allows me to escape is my writing.

Adults are drawn to this young woman. She holds a magic within her—the magic of childhood dreams her elders once held but lost so long ago. Her peers don’t understand her, and this reality isolates her from them. Most would have succumbed by now, but she has held strong.

How will she react to selection? We must ensure that we protect this one; I think she may be exceptional.

Marketing Dilemmas!

As a writer, and now a Published Author (doing the happy dance); I am finding myself in the new position of having to market my book.

BUT HOW?

To self-promote is not an easy task for any of us, but if I am not prepared to do it, then who will?

So these are the things I have done so far.

• I have started this Blog
• I have 'attempted' Twitter, but this is a challenge
• I have self-promoted my book at a Writer's Workshop - this one was quite successful and I had fun.
• I have shared my progress with friends on Facebook
• I have been reading marketing strategies and discussing 'costly' marketing packages with my pubishing company

But now what . . .

My book is at the printers, so I feel as though I am in a holding pattern above ground, waiting to land, and running out of fuel.  Excited and impatient.

Some of the ideas that I have:

• To visit all local bookstores and promote it directly to the staff
• To visit our local library and see if they are interested in me doing a reading/promotion/book signing
• To visit local schools and offer a copy for their library - with the information on how to order the book if people want their own copy
• I thought about approaching our local newspaper to try and arrange an interview about being a local self-published author
• To attend fairs/shows and have a signing booth
• Give talks on being a self-published author

So here are my marketing ideas. 

I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas; to get 'The Creators' out into the market place.  It is a book that I am very proud of and I know that the story of Sarah and the Guild will inspire you all.