28 September 2011

Thanks to my knights on Eastgate

There's nothing like living in a small town for people coming to your aid in a time of trauma. I'd like to thank the young man and the woman with the dog, and everyone else who showed concern when I decided to audition for a starring role in Swan Lake across Eastgate crossroads - either that or I was attempting to make a leap for an imaginary try line with my shopping. All I could think of as the tarmac was rushing up to meet my face was "my mother did just this in August".

Thankfully I didn't end up in A&E, but managed to walk home with the shopping, though hobble would be a better description by the time I had the key in the lock. I'm going to be sporting an large irridescent bruise across one foot by tomorrow. There has never been a better use for frozen peas.

Good job I'd bought some.

17 September 2011

Guest Blogging + 5 star Review for Reading A Writer's Mind...

I have a guest post today on Stuart Aken's blog, and the fantastic man has not only read the book in very quick order, but has given it a cracking in-depth review which closes with...

"...I place this one alongside the excellent Dorothea Brande's book ['Becoming A Writer'] ...and Stephen King's 'On Writing', both of which have been formative in my writing..."

Who could ask for better? Check it out.

http://stuartaken.blogspot.com/2011/09/reading-writers-mind-exploring-short.html

Reminder: Reading A Writer's Mind: Exploring Short Fiction - First Thought to Finished Story is on a launch offer of 86p/99c until the end of September.

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16 September 2011

Guest Blogging with "Reading A Writer's Mind"

Ooh, it's beginning to happen! My first guest posting has gone live on Toni V Sweeney's blog. Drop by and chat, or leave a problem for me to solve . I'll be dropping in all weekend.

And talking of weekends, my first #SampleSunday for the new book will be ready. Do call back!

11 September 2011

Remembering

Remembering the day.

Remembering the horror.

Remembering the bravery.

Remembering the survivors who remember every day.

4 September 2011

It's Live! Launch Day Offer: "Reading A Writer's Mind...

That caught me unawares. I only uploaded to the Amazon Kindle Store late yesterday evening. I hadn't expected it to go live until tomorrow. It's been live on the Smashwords site for a couple of days and should be filtering through to the Barnes & Noble store, the Apple i-Bookstore, the Sony store, and the rest, in the next couple of weeks.

Reading A Writer's Mind: Exploring Short Fiction - First Thought to Finished Story is a culmination of my other life as a tutor of fiction, first for an East Riding Adult Education establishment, then a UK distance learning college, and currently as a reader for a London literature consultancy - with a liberal sprinkling of series and single print articles on the techniques of writing fiction.

The book is aimed at those wanting to improve their writing techniques. Ten stories are taken from initial idea, through the story itself, to a commentary explaining the decisions made during the writing, thereby setting a path to follow and showing the tools to use. Each commentary concludes with suggestions for using the discussed techniques in the reader’s own fiction.

Sections include:
* Lyrical narrative v terse dialogue; using tone as a descriptive tool (Mainstream)
* Characterisation through deed and thought (Horror)
* A calendar structure using the Tell technique (Women’s Fiction)
* The importance of pacing, and of duping the reader (Twist in the Tail)
* The use of alliteration, rhythm and subliminal detailing (Romance)
* Using the Show technique to elicit an emotional response (Cross-generational)
* Building fiction from a given line using an unsympathetic narrator (Crime)
* Working with a parallel storyline via past and present tense (SF)
* Making the everyday fantastical by preying on insecurities (Fantasy)
* Writing for performance and sound effects (Historical)
* Editing: ten common problems explored

From October the ebook will retail at $2.99 / £2.10 / Euro 3.05

Launch offer valid until 30 September: 

Kindle UK £0.86  
Kindle USA  $0.99

Smashwords for formats: mobi / e-Pub / pdf (for I-pad, Nook, Sony, etc)
Add 66% discount code BN46H at Checkout for sale price of  $1.02
If you live in Europe you *may* have to pay 15% VAT on top. Unfortunately this can't be helped; just feel proud that you are helping to pull millions out of recession (yeah, right). 

If you find something of interest, or some useful tips to help your own writing, don't be shy: leave a short review so other prospective readers & writers can see what's waiting for them.

And thanks, I appreciate it. 

Linda