E. Rachael Hardcastle's Blog, page 6

Update: May 2018

Image: E. Rachael Hardcastle and Noah Finn & the Art of Suicide (2018 Edition)It's been an awful long time since I've updated my online journal. I've missed you guys - how are you? NewslettersI'm hoping those of you already subscribed to my fan club have been safely receiving your monthly newsletters and finding the contents interesting - perhaps what's about to follow will sound familiar (sorry!). But if you're reading this and haven't yet joined, I'm offering the first few chapters of my adult visionary novella free and up to 3 emails p/month (no spam, unsubscribe at any time) in exchange for an email address. Go ahead and do that now if you like... I'll wait. Curious Cat BooksI've wanted to write something here for a long time now; truth is I haven't had the time. Back in February, as some of you may know, I re-released my existing paperback books (Finding Pandora: The Complete Collection, Noah Finn & the Art of Suicide, Aeon Infinitum: Run For Your Life) under my brand new publishing imprint, Curious Cat Books. I decided to design some snazzy new covers, and with the help of the talented Year 6 children at Low Ash Primary School, I perfected my Pandora cover to suit its target audience (thanks everyone - more on your success further down!). Despite still being in love with the blue 2017 edition - and I know you were too from your feedback over the past 18 months - the new printer/ distributor required different specifications and the Noah Finn cover in particular was causing some problems (poor Noah was being chopped off the right-hand side). So I decided to change Noah and Aeon entirely, but keep my blue Pandora covers for the e-book editions, changing only the paperback in the end.If you're new to my work, my YA high fantasy series Finding Pandora begins with 'World' and is on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited now, with another three installments already available to follow.So one thing I've learned since becoming an independent author/ self-publisher or whatever you want to call me (hey, be nice!), and I mean seriously from 2016 - is that you're not going to get everything right the first time round, despite your best efforts. The 2018 Rachael is wiser and (hopefully) more skilled than the 2016 Rachael; I've been implementing various changes, trying new things, testing free services and offering my own, all in an attempt to figure out what does and doesn't work, where/ how to spend money and how to save it, but above all... how to please my readers. Luckily the new covers did just that (or so you're telling me).I think even the most experienced publisher can always find something new to learn or something else to try. So this is a quick note to say thanks to those who are embracing the changes to my platform; as always I appreciate your support.Getting Back To WritingSomething else I've learned since January this year is how to prioritize. I already knew how to do this in theory, but needed to find a way to spend more time writing than promoting, interviewing, updating social media (I spend way too long on there) and the million and one other things now on my list of responsibilities. Naturally something had to give before I ran out of steam. Writing is my passion and I needed to dedicate more time to it (I am an author after all!). I've temporarily put The White Room - my indie writer's podcast - on hold until further notice for this reason. That doesn't mean I've put helping other authors on hold, however, as I'm still offering written interviews for those interested. It's an application process, so I can't guarantee to publish them all to this blog - erotica, for example, isn't suitable for my platform, but for other genres, I'm open to requests.Fingers crossed the podcast can return for season 3 later this year. I'll keep you updated.Like this content? Please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel for more updates.Announcing EventsI'm super excited, though, to also be planning some upcoming events, celebrating the release of my 2018 Curious Cat Books editions including Noah Finn. Updates and events will be added to the website as/ when my attendance is confirmed for anything further, but for now my main 2018 events are as follows:30/06/2018 - Shipley Arts Festival07/07/2018 - Wrose Carnival (Wrose Library)29/09/2018 - Morley Book FairI'm considering re-filming my merchandise/ unboxings this year - many of you found them helpful when planning your own event/s and since posting those I've switched from Createspace to Ingramspark (chaos, but worth discussing I think), so I'll be sure to cover some of their features in the weeks to come. In preparation, I've already ordered my new bookmarks and posters, started scouting for some table decorations and booking my team (my happy helpers, friends and family - you guys are life savers and I love you!). I'm looking forward to all my events this year, two of which are repeats of last year, and signing some books. Be sure to come say hello!#1 BestsellerSome people scowl when I use the term 'bestseller' for anything other than traditionally published books. I've said it before and I'll say it again (which I doubt will be for the last time) - in my mind, 'bestseller' is about the demand for the book (paid or free, e-books or paperbacks, indie or traditional) and NOT how much the author makes from their readers.In 2016 I was blessed to reach #1 in my genre on Amazon US for Finding Pandora: Book One (World), making me a bestseller in their high fantasy (epic fantasy) free category - it was such an amazing, exciting day and the support of my readers was incredible. This month (May Bank Holiday 2018 - UK) I hit #1 again in the free metaphysical category for Noah Finn & the Art of Suicide, meaning I'm now an international bestseller on this platform. Sharing books in any format is so important to me. Being able to offer Noah Finn free of charge was a brilliant opportunity as an author to get my voice and my name out there. I've had downloads all over the world, messages of support and encouragement and kind reviews. This bestseller status may not yet be for the New York Times (never say never), but for now, I'll take it. I'd like to thank everyone who has downloaded, read, reviewed, shared, subscribed and generally supported me. The giveaway was a huge success, and I'm so grateful to you all. If you missed it and would still love to read Noah Finn's story, the novella is available on Amazon now for purchase. All my e-books have now been re-instated into Kindle Unlimited, making them Amazon exclusive and free to borrow, or free to download to those not in their KU programme for 5/90 days.Please do take advantage of any/ all my free offers and discounts! To stay up to date, follow me on social media where I announce them:Facebook: @erachaelhardcastleInstagram: @erachaelhardcastleTwitter: @erhardcastleLow AshI'd like to extend a huge congratulations to the Year 6 students of Low Ash Primary School. Their creativity and hard work produced another two unique short story books this year (exclusively available to the school and its children). Ghosts of Valhalla was such a fun project for us all, and I look forward to congratulating you all in person soon!So that's it for my May update. Thank you again to anyone and everyone who has supported me in any way so far this year. I'm excited to hopefully meet you all at an upcoming 2018 event. Until then, keep reading, keep smiling and write on!Regards,E. Rachael Hardcastle

The Author Interviews: N. J. Cartner

To give my readers and fellow writers an insight into the processes and successes of other like-minded creatives, I'll be featuring some hardworking authors in my journal .Today's author is N. J. Cartner and he's independently published.***Photograph courtesy of Mark AllottWhat made you want to become a writer? I’m not sure really. From my late teens there was always this little voice in my head telling me that it was something I had to accomplish someday. I think in my own dreamlike state I naively imagined that being a writer would be my ticket to never having to work a typical 9-5 job. At that time I wasn’t really inspired by books. I always found more influence in film and music, but for years I didn’t know what to seriously write about. It was more of a pipe dream at that point. It was only by gaining more life experience when ideas started to flow more freely. I began my first serious writing steps days after returning from a trip to Las Vegas, and I suddenly found that I was writing a novel. From there the floodgates opened and I got involved in writing within the music industry by reviewing gigs and albums, which I still do today.What are your thoughts on the indie vs traditional publishing argument? From a literature side I’m not very knowledgeable on the subject, and others will have a better idea than me, but given my music background I can see a similar argument when talking about being signed to a record label or going solo. I don’t think that being traditionally published means that success is a given as I’ve heard horror stories from people going down that route, unless you sign with one of the top publishers. But, I don’t think doing it all yourself is anything to fear as it can lead to something bigger as we’ve seen with a few books, and at least you retain control. I’m self-published and I’ve not regretted the decision. I might not have the same reach or knowledge as a traditional publisher, but no one will be more passionate about selling my book than me, and I think that can count for a lot if you truly believe in yourself and are prepared to work hard to achieve a dream.Can you tell us a little bit about your latest novel? It’s called ‘Lost in Manchester, Found in Vegas’, and it’s a coming of age/travel story about a 28 year old man who breaks up with his girlfriend, and with that comes the realisation that life has passed him by, so he goes to Vegas with his three friends to find himself and who he really is, and what direction he wants to go in, which in Vegas can be a dangerous thing to do given the city’s seductive nature. It’s ultimately about how Sin City can influence a man at a crossroads in his life. There’s a lot of humour to it, and a look into the male psyche, with observations of our American cousins from an English point of view, but there’s an undercurrent of emotiveness and honesty which brings more depth to the story and keeps the laddish behaviour to a minimum. There’s also a lot of music used to aid the atmosphere of certain scenes and create a better understanding of the emotions the main protagonist is going through.Please share your top 3 marketing tips with us. I would say organising book signings is the main one that’s worked for me. Getting out there and promoting your book and meeting people is fundamental to getting your name known. Social media is obviously a huge thing these days with its various channels. In the creative arts I believe that marketing starts with your immediate friends and family and can grow from there. Reviews/interviews/features are also huge, whether they are on amazon or on other sites and publications like what you’re doing, Rachael. People can have a reach that you can’t. Contact your local press too and try and build up interest that way. I’m sure there are many other avenues I’ve yet to explore too that work for other authors, but one thing I feel reluctant to do is to go down the paid review route.Tell us about your typical writing day. Despair, lack of motivation, self-loathing, lack of confidence, moody, another cup of coffee, avoid the laptop, write, hate what I’ve done, then repeat the process until something pops. Isn’t that what most writers go through? Haha. I wouldn’t say every process is to this extreme, but elements do appear from time to time. I think in the main, inspiration can come at the strangest and most inconvenient moments, and equally, it can blossom when you’re in the full flow of writing. The important thing to do is just to write and see what happens.What is your definition of success? Would you say you are a successful author? I think everyone has the same dream of becoming a bestselling author and it becomes a full time profession. The reality is that’s not likely to happen for most of us. But I think if you manage to complete a book, that itself is deemed a monumental success as it’s not an easy feat to achieve. I have the utmost respect to anyone who completes a book, and if just one person takes something from your story and gives you a pat on the back then you’ve done your job and that should be seen as success. Anything after that is a bonus and should be enjoyed.Share some of your writing goals with us. Have you met any of them yet? Completing a book and getting it out there was my major goal. Having people enjoy it and taking something from it was a secondary goal, but now those are complete I’m just happy to keep plugging away with promotion and working on another book. I’d love to see ‘Lost in Manchester, Found in Vegas’ on screen someday, however far-fetched that may seem, but many people do see a film in it so who knows – it’s good to dream. I do have ideas for about five or six other novels so I would love to work towards releasing at least that many books throughout my life and have a catalogue of work as my legacy. I could live with that. Photo courtesy of Matt JohnstonHow do you deal with negative reviews and criticism? Constructive negative reviews and criticism I can handle and will take onboard as everyone has an opinion and some of them can be useful. I’m lucky that so far these are at a minimum. I understand though that ‘Lost in Manchester, Found in Vegas’ won’t appeal to everybody and that’s fine. I don’t expect everyone to love it. What I don’t tolerate is rudeness and people crossing boundaries with their comments. I think there’s a deeper issue going on from the accuser if that happens so I’ll take no notice if any come my way.Do you have a favourite author for fiction and non-fiction? Why are they your favourite and which of their books would you recommend? I’m not sure I have a definitive favourite author or genre, but I like different authors from different genres, fiction and non-fiction. Nick Hornby and Rex Pickett are fictional favourites of mine from authors who can tell a relatable story mixing humour and emotion, like ‘High Fidelity’ from Hornby, and ‘Sideways’ from Pickett. I love Charles Bukowski and Hunter S Thompson for their extremities, and these do kind of fall under non-fiction in many respects. ‘The Rum Diary’ and ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ are favourites from Hunter S, and ‘Women’ is a favourite from Bukowski. They’re so raw, and I’m attracted to that mentality of the times. I do like a good fictional thriller too, Jillianne Hoffman’s, ‘Retribution’ is possibly my favourite from that genre. I do find myself truly gripped by Dan Brown novels too. ‘Angels and Demons’ was probably my favourite from his catalogue. These are proper page turners. Of course, being a lover of music I’m gripped by autobiographies/biographies of rock stars – with Jerry Hopkins’ ‘The Lizard King: The definitive Jim Morrison’ being my favourite.Where do you get your ideas/ how do you find inspiration? Music is a huge source of inspiration. Because of my love for film too I can hear a song in my car, or wherever, and visualize it soundtracking a specific scene I conjure up in my head, which I will then look to use somehow in the novel I’m writing. A lot of general inspiration comes from everyday living and what I’ve already experienced in life. I have a tendency to experience something or see or hear about something and either use it or go off on a tangent in my head and completely embellish a what if story around it. Whether that’s how other authors gain inspiration I don’t know. It’d be interesting to know actually.Can you share any free resources or tools you have found helpful? The internet can be a minefield but you can generally find advice on publishing and marketing etc if you look at various sites and judge for yourself what’s best for you.Do you outsource your work (editing and cover design specifically)? I was lucky enough to know people who helped with my editing and proof-reading (thanks Judy Marsh) and an illustrator (thanks Stacey Knowles), who designed my front cover. Just want to say a huge thanks to both in helping making my dreams come true.Are you a plotter or a pantser? I think I’m a little bit of both. I plot in my head but I find that when I’m writing ideas come to me and I can go off in a different direction than I initially intended. I’m not sure I have any pre-writing processes, but I do like to start with a coffee by my side and with music playing to kick start the creative juices flowing.Why do you write? Because there’s a twisted and compulsive need inside of me that tells me to do so and to not have any regrets in life.What is your mission statement? “You can ultimately fail at what you don’t want so you might as well do something that you love!” – Jim CarreyWhat do you love the most about writing and why? I love writing something that readers find inspirational in some way. There’s no greater sense of achievement than when someone tells me how ‘Lost in Manchester, Found in Vegas’ has inspired them. That’s the highest compliment I can attain.What do you dislike about writing and why? The constant re-reading and editing of work – and that horrible period between saying you’re going to do some writing and actually sitting down at your laptop. It’s weird, there’s like a fear and you do everything possible to avoid it, even though you ultimately made the decision to write that day – no one else did.Do you ever visit other authors' websites and if so, what do you look for? Why? Occasionally I do, but I should do more often really and learn from my peers. I don’t look for anything in particular really – only what books they have and what they are about.***Thank you so much to author N. J. Cartner for sharing his insights on writing and publishing books. If you would like to support N. J and his work, please consider purchasing a copy of the book, Lost In Manchester, Found In Vegas available on Amazon now. Check out the handy link below:

Personal Productivity Planner, 2018

I'm thrilled to announce my Curious Cat Books imprint is launching a new brand of personal planner this month, and I'm so addicted I might just keep one for myself!I owe much of my success to my planner - it helps me to keep track of appointments, ideas, social media, contacts, tools and much more. I know from hunting for the perfect planner myself that there are some expensive options out there, most of which are dated, so limit how and when you can begin using it (unless you want to waste a few months!). I wanted to help other independent authors find their very first handy design by creating a low-cost, flexible planner, containing everything you'll need on your road to success. And the great thing is, the dates are blank and it's super easy to personalise. I like variety and choice, so my Personal Productivity Planner comes in three cover options:Blue Floral (as seen in the video) - a blue/ green background with flowers across the bottom.Black Grunge - a black and white marble effectPeacock - vibrant peacock feathersThe cover design is the same front and back, with the word 'planner' written on the front to identify its purpose. The contents are the same regardless of the cover you choose, and inside you will find:1 Personal details pageOver 1 year of weekly spreads (Mon-Sun)1/2 to-do bar1/2 sidebarNotes pagesJournal pages9 habit tracker boxesContacts A-ZThe planner is designed to be easy to personalise and decorate, with lots of white space and a clean, plain layout you can adapt to any purpose. The planners are A5 and flexible, with gorgeous glossy covers in bright colours. The binding is a black plastic spiral so you can fold it around or lay it completely flat, making the planner easy to use and manipulate. The blue floral, as seen in the video below, was the first cover design to be released. It was soon followed by the black grunge, released for anyone wanting a simpler (less feminine) design, and the peacock, which is my personal favourite!Like this video? Consider subscribing to my YouTube channel for more free content and don't forget to hit that thumbs up!The first page in the planner is an information sheet where you can fill in your personal details (name, address, telephone number, email address and date of birth) should your planner go missing, and note up to five important dates to remember. You can also find my website address and logo on this page. *Tip - use the important dates section to celebrate successes. When was your first book published? When did you sell your first 500 copies? When did you become a bestseller?"Turn the page and you will find the first double spread - your weekly layout with Mon-Sun across the top and four square boxes beneath each day for you to use at your leisure. Meetings, social media/ blog plans, coffee dates, to-do lists etc. The dates are completely blank, allowing you to start using your planner at any time without wasting sections, and inside each planner is over a year's worth of spreads, giving you time to choose and re-order another when it's full.On the right hand side of this spread, you will also find a sidebar (split into two), for use as a to-do list. Beneath each page there are two lines for inspirational quotes (or general notes) and at the top, a single line for you to fill in the date.Your second weekly spread is a little different. On the right are nine square and rectangular boxes for you to track habits, social media platform increases, orders, deliveries - literally anything - and decorate in any way you like. You can also monitor fitness, healthy eating, water, word count, mood, finances, TBR lists and anything else you have in mind.*TIP - Don't be afraid to use stickers and white-out tape to re-purpose any of these sections.*On the right is a blank journal page for you to reflect on the week, or use as a notes page. The paper is white and reasonably thick to reduce the likelihood of pens bleeding or ghosting through to the other side. At the back of the planner you will find an A-Z contacts section with one page per letter and room for up to 5 entries. Fill in a person's name, business, email address, address, telephone number/s and post code. You are then provided with 10 notes pages, plus a final blank page at the very back. To keep costs low (and quality high), these planners are exclusively available through Lulu.com (independent publisher and printers. You can order your own planner for just £9.99 + postage.Order Blue Floral: CLICK HEREOrder Black Grunge: CLICK HEREOrder Peacock: CLICK HERETo view Rachael's store at Lulu.com and choose your design, click HERE.Like what you see? Share this with your friends on social media using the hashtag #PPPLANNER2018.If you'd rather print and bind your own planner sheets, you can now purchase and download the blank spreads, A-Z contact pages and notes pages direct from my website. Buy once and re-use them as many times as you like - just be sure to set the PDF page up correctly before you hit 'print'! *TIP - if you have your own binding machine at home, why not save money and print/ design your own A4 planner?*Check them out - click HERE, ***Thank you for checking out this brand new Curious Cat Books product with me. I hope you find it helpful and if you're interested in seeing some other cover designs, you can submit your ideas and requests via email to curiouscatbooks@outlook.com- I'd love to hear your thoughts!

The Author Interviews: J. B. Richards

(Image courtesy of J. B. Richards)To give my readers and fellow writers an insight into the processes and successes of other like-minded creatives, I'll be featuring some hardworking authors in my journal each week.Today's author is J. B. Richards and she's independently published.***What made you want to become a writer, J.B.?I’ve always had a knack for creative endeavors—like drawing, handicrafts, woodworking, and such, but it wasn’t until I had a debilitating accident and developed a neurological condition that caused me to lose feeling in my hands that I turned one of my favorite hobbies into a career—Writing. I’m an avid reader of mostly historical fiction and fantasy, and I found writing came so naturally once I started thinking up my own stories. Once I had the idea to pour my history and psychology studies into a novel series, the decision was made… “Miriamne the Magdala” became my first novel and my career as a writer just took off from there.What are your thoughts on the indie vs traditional publishing argument?I can certainly appreciate the need for both forms of publishing. Traditional publishing is great if you can get a publisher to accept and review your manuscript, then select it over thousands of other manuscripts that are submitted each day. If you’re selected for a publishing contract you might be paid an advance and most of the publication and promotion process will be handled for you. But, the author has little control over deciding royalties, the price of their book, or where it can be marketed.Traditional marketing has its good points in that an author doesn’t have to worry about the day-to-day processing and promotion of their book, but you must sign a contract with your publisher for exclusive rights to your book and that can be highly restrictive. You may be limited as to which vendors can promote and sell your book. Extra costs may be incurred for changing the text or cover galleries for your book. You may have to be available for author signings, corporate appearances, and writer conventions. And meeting the terms of your contract might prove costly when deadlines can’t be met.On the other hand, Indie publishing allows more control over the publication process. If you use publishing programs like Kindle Direct Publishing, you can update the content of your book and its galleries without paying any exorbitant fees. You can view your actual sales on a daily basis. While the publication process may be a breeze, aside from formatting your work, an Indie author is responsible for all their on marketing and promotion. While traditional publishing usually provide a certain amount of media exposure, an Indie author must go through a learning curve to discover and employ marketing resources to promote their book to the public. Unless you have experience advertising literature, or have an effective team of likeminded Indie authors offering their assistance and promoting your work alongside theirs, it can be very hard to break into the highly competitive world of selling books and target an audience of readers. Fortunately, the Indie community is starting to realize that, only by coming together to help each other in the spirit of professionalism and cooperation, can each of us successfully meet our individual goals.Watch the Indie Fabs in their second group appearance (DEC 2017) on my podcast, The White Room!Like this content? Please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel and hitting that thumbs up for more!Can you tell us a little bit about your latest novel?Of course! I’ve been fortunate in gaining a dedicated fan base since my debut novel, “Miriamne the Magdala” premiered, and when I published “The First Christmas: A Yeshua and Miri Novel Series Short” just before the holidays this past December, sales of the novel went quite well. The story focuses on the facts surrounding the Nativity story—which has become an integral part of the Christmas tradition. The novel is a short read at only 40 pages, and it’s told from the point of view of 6-year-old James—Yeshua’s eldest brother (Yeshua is Jesus’ name in his own native tongue of Aramaic, by the way!). It deals with many of the questions we all want answered; What happened on that first Christmas day? Were heavenly angels singing praises about a new savior as shepherds looked on in awe? Did a magical sign in the heavens lead wise men to a special Child?Feedback from readers is leading me to believe that “The First Christmas” is destined to be a holiday classic, but even with the season over, if you loved “Miriamne the Magdala” and can’t wait for my upcoming second chapter of this amazing family saga, “Yeshua the Christ: The Silk Road”, spend some time with James and his family as they witness “The First Christmas”. It’s available on Amazon, and free to read now on Kindle Unlimited—and can be accessed along with my other novels directly through my website!Can you share your top 3 marketing tips with us?Know your audience—Don’t market a historical fiction novel about the life of Jesus to Sci-Fi fansStick to your budget—There are a lot of companies/individuals out there offering to promote your book for a fee. Make sure you compare prices because you can also find the same services for a much lower price… or even for free!Join an author team… NOW—Get to know other Indie authors through social media (I’ve found Facebook is best for this purpose) and either ask to join their author team or, if you have come to know a group of like-minded authors who are willing to trade services and support each other with book promotions, author takeovers, and other marketing aimed activities, form your own group. I know there’s no way I would be where I am today without my Fabs—Aliya DalRae, RM Gauther, Eva Pasco, Lyra Shanti, and Joanne Van Leerdam. I owe them more than I can ever say. They are my dearest friends, my sounding board, my “pick-me-ups”, my advisors, my business associates, my editors… Well, you get the gist of it. They have taken me from an inept amateur to a mentor and advocate for other Indie authors and a vital part of my community.Tell us about your typical writing day.I’m sorry to say that—for me—there is no “typical” writing day, lol! Working from home has its perks because you can often bend your work around family and personal obligations. That’s what’s so wonderful about being an Indie author—There are no office hours or deadlines. Having said that, it’s also what’s so horrendous about being an Indie author—Your personal life can often override opportunities to write and interfere with other projects... especially if you have kids; big or little. The key is setting priorities and self-discipline.I’m a married woman with a husband on the cusp of retirement. He works several different positions in his job, and working any type of schedule that even remotely resembles “regular hours” is beyond the scope of reality. I often get notified a day in advance—usually well after I have set my own schedule—that his hours have shifted and he now has the day off. Oh, goodie! I also have an adult special-needs son who depends on me to help him deal with a variety of daily issues. Though he spends most of the day on his own, I try hard to keep my schedule flexible enough to meet any last-minute needs he might have. Those times happen often and at the drop of a hat—usually a huge knit cap he uses to cover his dreads, lol! And, as if this wasn’t enough, I have a lot of health issues. The list could give anyone nightmares… or at least keep them up at night, so we’ll just leave it as I’m on the living room couch with my two dogs draped over me often, have regular appointments with my seven doctors, and have a weekly physical therapy session for pain control. My days are anything but typical.Through all these challenges, though, I manage to stick to an evening writing schedule, and I intersperse my day with promotions, responding to inquiries, mentoring authors, running my IHI Book Review Project, and being an all around Super Mom each and every day. One of the most important things an author in my position can do is to explain to their family that 1. Mom needs an interest outside the home, 2. Mom has a “real” job… sure, it’s flexible, but it’s still a job, and 3. We’re all going to stick to a schedule that will help our family function well while giving Mom her space.I’ve found that, once I explained my needs to my family, they became quite understanding and supportive of all my efforts. It also helps to spend your first royalty check on a wonderful dinner out with the boys!What is your definition of success? Would you say you are a successful author?Wow, citing all the things I just talked about… being able to work and write despite all the pain in my body and constant distractions… I’d scream it from the rooftops—“SUCCESS!”Seriously, I don’t think of Success as a generic term, and I believe that each of us has our own individual measure of what success is. For a first-time author, it may be picking up a pen to start their first draft… For another, it may be their first publication or book sale. One author might be trying to hit a goal in book reviews or sales while another may be hoping to win a prestigious award.Despite all our inadequacies and failures, each and every day, we achieve success just by picking ourselves up and starting over again. We don’t need a boss’ approval or kudos from an associate. We just need to know that our family is happy that we’re happy doing what we love. That’s true success.Watch the Indie Fabs in their first ever appearance (JUL 2017) on my podcast, The White Room!Like this content? Please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel and hitting that thumbs up for more!Share some of your writing goals with us. Have you met any of them yet?I have so many goals, I can hardly list them all. I’ve met many of my goals with the publication of “Miriamne the Magdala”, “Once Upon a Fabulous Time”, and “The First Christmas”. But, I still have a lot of books rattling around in my head. Here are a few of my most important goals for the immediate future:I hope to publish at least 3 novels this year; “Yeshua the Christ: The Silk Road” and 2 short story spin-offs on The Yeshua and Miri Novel Series.I’d like to squeeze in another novel in the very near future based on my own experience with childhood sexual molestation.I aim to start drafting my new fantasy novel series at the end of this year (due to be published in 2019), “The Dragon’s Heir”, which—by the way—is previewed in the “Once Upon a Fabulous Time” fairytale collection by me and my Indie Fabs.I would like to begin a new space opera/sci-fi series in 2019 based on a strong female lead I first created in my teenage years.I am in the process of redesigning my website to enhance my IHI Book Review Project, promote the Indie Fabs as a model author team, and provide more resources for Indie authors interested in free and low cost services.I hope to find a way to implant a chip in my head that will automatically take my thoughts and transcribe them into a physical document that I can then use to either develop my writing projects or navigate my schedule for the next day.How do you deal with negative reviews and criticism?No author wants to hear that a reader absolutely despised their novel, but I welcome negative reviews—valid ones—as a means to improve my writing. The only feedback an author ever has about their work comes in the form of a book review, so opinions really matter and can become a genuine catalyst for writing the next story.Do you have a favourite author for fiction and non-fiction? Why are they your favourite and which of their books would you recommend?Because I’m an historian and expert on the Roman occupation of Palestine in the 1st-century CE, I tend to favor books in that genre—whether they are fiction or non-fiction. I have a whole library of non-fiction books on the Roman Empire, Mediterranean culture, Judaism, the rise of Christianity… all by various authors spanning the centuries—including notable historians, biblical archaeologists, and scholars like Josephus, James Meyers, Elaine Pagels, Herschel Shanks, Peter Heather, Susan Wise Bauer… The list goes on and on.I adore and collect fairytale books—not the Disney chapter books or kid’s lit of today, but antique tomes that take one back to a time when magic wasn’t a Hollywood production but a spark of imagination and curiosity. My most prized item is a 1890 first-edition of “Echoes From Storyland”. I have a special section of my library dedicated to that particular genre that is behind glass and protected from the elements. One of my proudest moments was when I added my fairytale anthology “Once Upon a Fabulous Time” to my collection this year. This book, penned by my beloved Indie Fabs, holds a featured spot among my most treasured books.I also have a diverse library of standard fiction. My favorite reads are standout novels with complex characters in diverse and unexpected scenarios. My taste for literature is extremely diverse— Oddly enough, one of my ultimate favorite authors is Anne Rice, but it’s her Christ the Lord Series, and not her vampire novels that I find most compelling and provocative. I loved the Fallen Series by Lauren Kate, the Beautiful Creatures Series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, and various other fantasy novels. I’ve relished novels by Steven King, Steve Perry, Jeffrey Small, and yes… even Dan Brown (though I find some of his theories a bit off-kilter).But my favorite reads now come to me as a result of my IHI Book Review Project. Did you know that Indie authors are among the most talented writers in the world?! Aliya DalRae, RM Gauthier, Eva Pasco, Lyra Shanti, Joanne Van Leerdam, SK Wee, Sarah Northwood, Val McBeath, Megan Cutler… These are just a few of the amazing authors who, time and time again, continue to earn 5-Star ratings!Where do you get your ideas, J.B.?Oh my goodness! May I confess a secret? I have ADD, so my mind is continuously cluttered with images and ideas. An idea for a scene in one of my books might come from watching a couple of kids playing Noah’s Ark in a doctor’s waiting room (which ended up inspiring a scene with 6-year-old Lazarus and Little Mara in “Miriamne the Magdala”), to a Christmas billboard in our downtown area depicting a huge gold star (the Star of Bethlehem in “The First Christmas”), to a dragon appearing in a favorite TV series (inspiring “The Dragon’s Heir” in “Once Upon a Fabulous Time”). Book ideas are all around you—All you need to do is follow the clues!Watch J.B's first solo appearance (FEB 2018) on my podcast, The White Room!Like this content? Please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel and hitting that thumbs up for more!Can you share any free resources or tools you have found helpful?Absolutely! One of the best online resources I’ve found for Indie authors is The Indie Writers Cooperative—A Facebook group that hosts authors of all genres and experience levels. The group acts as a place to ask questions, network, talk about all facets of the writing process, get writing prompts, and even brag a little when something wonderful happens to come into our lives.I would also like to mention that I’ll be setting up a special section on my website featuring the Indle Fabs that will also provide links to groups like The Indie Writers Coop, free author services, an Author’s Toolbox section, and various resources we’ve researched and recommend. This new feature will debut on March 3 when the Yeshua and Miri website relaunches under my name.Do you outsource your work (editing and cover design specifically)?Part of having an author team like the Indie Fabs is having the ability to trade services, and we often exchange talents like graphic design, marketing and promotion, editing, ARC reading, etc. We also “pay-it-forward” with each other by providing advice and services simply as a courtesy of our friendship and business relationship.When my team is unable to provide a service for some reason, we do turn to outside services that offer special promotion deals, review services, or book contests, but we always make sure to let each other know the ins & outs of the deal once we’ve independently checked into it. That way, we can avoid paying too much for a service that may be free or cost less on another site.Are you a plotter or a pantser?Um, what’s a “pantser”?! My rewriting process is this: Find some free time, grab a cuppa something, sit down quick and write!Why do you write?It keeps me sane!What is your mission statement?I share the same Mission Statement as my Indie Fabs—In fact, I wrote it shortly after I founded my author team. It goes like this… "All for One, and One for All!"The Indie Fabs believe in paying it forward by offering support, assistance, and guidance to Indie authors in order to build a strong bond of cooperation and fellowship within our community. In turn, we ask the authors we help to extend that same courtesy, for it is our greatest hope that we can all achieve success by working together!What do you love the most about writing and why?I love hearing a character speak to me, knowing that I’m the only one who is able to tell their story!What do you dislike about writing and why?That it can be frustrating to find the opportunity to write. Most people don’t understand authors when they suddenly have to run to the bathroom to jot down a few lines and email them to themselves. If a writer doesn’t get an idea down right away, it could be lost forever. Bathrooms and private spaces are wonderful—No one can bother you until you’re done!Do you ever visit other authors' websites and if so, what do you look for? Why?I look for upcoming releases and events. I look for how they put their website together—there are some really great ones out there. And I look for their bio, so I can find out what makes them tick!In order of importance (most important first) when shopping online, what do you look at first? Examples: cover design, formatting, reviews, description, price, publisher, author name, page count, preview, formats available.Definitely, reviews come first. I won’t go past the reviews if I see most of them are vapid, obviously written by friends or family, or can’t give the book a rating above a three.Description.Price—I won’t pay over a set amount for an ebook, and I base that price on the number of pages and content of the book.Next comes the book cover—Judging a book by its cover is a real thing!Page count.Author name.The rest just isn’t important to me.***Thank you so much to author J. B. Richards for sharing her insights on writing and publishing books. If you would like to support J.B. and her work, please consider purchasing a copy of the book, Miriamne the Magdala, available on Amazon now. Check out the handy link below:

The Author Interviews: Andre Govier

(Image courtesy of Andre Govier - Facebook)To give my readers and fellow writers an insight into the processes and successes of other like-minded creatives, I'll be featuring some hardworking authors in my journal each week.Today's author is Andre Govier, and he's indie published.***Author BIO: I have helped to raise money for Reverse Rett for 6 years. This has normally been by completing a ridiculously long walk. Since then I decided to try and use my writing skills to help raise funds to get this horrible condition cured. My latest book tells the story of the amazing Livvy Meredith who would not be defined by Rett Syndrome. All royalties are going to the charity, Reverse Rett. Please help these girls by purchasing this inspirational story and writing a review.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liargirl2016/What made you want to become a writer?I read an article that only 10% of books downloaded online were read beyond the first chapter. I thought this was ridiculous and decided to try and beat that percentage. Some people don’t want to be intimidated by large books and for that reason I started with easy read teen fiction first person narratives.What are your thoughts on the indie vs traditional publishing argument?If you have the skills to self-publish, then I would recommend it. The traditional publishing route puts too many fingers in the pie and there is no pie left for the author.Can you tell us a little bit about your latest novel?My latest book is a true story about a little girl who suffered terribly from Rett Syndrome. All the Royalties are going to www.reverserett.org.uk who are the charity funding the search for that extremely close cure. The story is told through the eyes of a West Midlands mother whose little girl develops normally until twenty months of age but then suffers a violent regression which takes her ability to walk, talk, communicate, eat normally and even breath properly. It also leaves a little girl having an extremely high number of seizures each day. “Living Like Livvy” is not actually a book about disability but actually a book about ability. Livvy’s mum forbid the word can’t and replaced it with “How shall we?” Yes, it is very sad in places but also incredibly inspirational and uplifting.Watch Andre's second appearance (Feb 2018) on my podcast, The White Room!Like this content? Please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel and hitting that thumbs up for more!Please share your top 3 marketing tips with us.Keep launch lists of contacts to message on all social media platforms and email lists.Drip your advertisements in slowly rather than blasting people with the same thing constantly. Gently remind buyers of how you appreciate reviews.Tell us about your typical writing day.For this latest book I had a series of very long recorded phone calls with Livvy’s Mum, Sara Meredith whilst writing this book. I would then try and find a quiet place on my own to write. My favourite place was my caravan next the sea in North Wales. I prefer to write in 2-hour sessions and I’m always better in the moorings.What is your definition of success? Would you say you are a successful author?I think my answer for this would change each year. At present it would have to be success is hitting your goal. As this book is for charity and I have put a lot of work into it over a year I want it to generate the desperately needed funds. My sponsored events normally raise about £7000 so I will consider this book successful if it beats that figure in royalties.Share some of your writing goals with us. Have you met any of them yet?My goal in 2018 is purely to spread awareness of the horror of Rett Syndrome which wrecks the lives of one in 12000 girls each year and is known about by few doctors and gets zero funding from the government. I also want to raise maximum funds. Next year, maybe I will return to writing for my own goals.How do you deal with negative reviews and criticism?I can’t please everyone. I listen and never assume there is no space for improvement. I don’t however loose sleep.Watch Andre's first appearance (Jun 2017) on my podcast, The White Room!Like this content? Please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel and hitting that thumbs up for more!Do you have a favourite author for fiction and non-fiction? Why are they your favourite and which of their books would you recommend?I like both the fiction and non-fiction of Andy McNab. I think that Bravo Two Zero is the best book for shear “Can’t put it down” value, I have ever read.Where do you get your ideas?My fiction was from experiences and a bit of people watching and a few shovels of imagination.Do you outsource your work?I have only outsourced having a cover design made. I found a nice German graphic designer who did this using the app Fiverr.Are you a plotter or a pantser? Please tell us why and what your pre-writing processes are.I made a story on a big blank page. I put all the events in here. I then make a list of all my characters and on a page for each I write a sort of cv. I then get a big pad and write by hand one or two words at the top of each page. I then go through the pad and scribble my story out. I then use the computer to type it up and do the tidying up.Why do you write?Previously for fun. Last time was motivated by wanted to help thousands of sick girls with Rett Syndrome.What is your mission statement? I don’t so much have a mission statement about writing, but I do recognise that reading is how people build intelligence. The people who read books are more articulate and have skills which open more doors. I hope my books written in a way that makes them easy to read, help other people open more doors.What do you love the most about writing and why?I like that moment when you press save and it is complete and ready to share.What do you dislike about writing and why?Wanting to read books at the same time as wanting to do my writing.Do you ever visit other authors' websites and if so, what do you look for? Why?I use writing groups on Facebook to test ideas and also to make sure phrases are easily understood in other English speaking countries.In order of importance when shopping online, what do you look at first? Examples: cover design, formatting, reviews, description, price, publisher, author name, page count, preview, formats available.1. Blurb2. Cover3. Price4.Reviews5. Size of bookLeave a comment or note of thanks for your readers?I would like to say thank you for reading this far down. If your still with me, please consider buying Living Like Livvy and supporting these girls. Don’t buy my teen fiction as any money made on those I shall just waste on chocolate or beer. Each penny of Royalties from Living Like Livvy is going directly to the charity.***Thank you so much to author Andre Govier for sharing his insights on writing and publishing books. If you would like to support Andre and his work, please consider purchasing a copy of the book, Living Like Livvy, available on Amazon now. Check out the handy link below:

The Author Interviews: Ja-Mel Vinson

(Image courtesy of Ja-Mel Vinson)To give my readers and fellow writers an insight into the processes and successes of other like-minded creatives, I'll be featuring some hardworking authors in my journal each week.Today's author is Ja-Mel Vinson and he's planning to independently publish.***Author BIO:Ja-Mel Vinson II is a paranormal and fantasy author.Website: www.jamelvinson.comFacebook: @AuthorJVinsoniiTwitter: @JVinsoniiWhat made you want to become a writer?I started writing when I was 10 after I got an assignment in my English class. I was told to write a true story, and I completely disobeyed my teacher. I wrote a fantastical story about getting trapped in the bathroom, saving a princess, and killing a monster. It was a silly, goofy little story, but it was incredibly fun for me to write and every single idea I had went onto the page. After I showed it to people (something I was never shy about with me also being a performer) and they loved it, I decided to continue writing, not only for myself, but to one day share my stories with more and more people.What are your thoughts on the indie vs traditional publishing argument?I believe that both indie publishing and traditional publishing are viable options. I’m publishing indie because I want to have more control over my work, the cover design, etc., be more involved in the publishing process as a debut novelist, and be able to set my own deadlines for when to get things done. Marketing is something that will have to be done in either publishing method, but indie publishing is definitely more expensive if you want to get it right, as you’ll have to give out at minimum $800 for everything that needs to be done (depending on the word count and rate, this could go up, but $800 seems very minimalistic): cover design, book formatting, editing (I recommend the comprehensive edit, and would leave the plot issues and inconsistencies to the beta-readers, but you could do what you’d like for this part), and, sometimes depending on your website and where you made it (wordpress, wix, etc.), you may have to pay for add-ons, to get SEOs and generate site traffic, and a host of other things. Indie publishing, while seen as an amazing and noble thing, is a bit stigmatized as of late due to rushed and poorly edited novels, but I guess that makes it all the better for you if you go this route because, depending on how well you market and edit, your book may gain more readers by word-of-mouth and generally make rounds for how good it looks and sounds. You also lose the opportunity to get literary awards for those books, so that’s a drawback only if you consider it so. Traditional publishing has a lot of things taken care of by the publishing house, you get a cover design team, editing team, marketing team (which doesn’t do much because authors are expected to do marketing now), and possibly more, but it’s less expensive. You get paid an advance as dictated by the amount on your contract, but it requires more writing on your part. Getting an agent, sending query letters to publishers, it takes a lot of time and is very time-consuming. Your book is only on bookshelves for a few months I believe (don’t quote me on that), but you’re able to, at least, make your money in the beginning, and, depending on how well it sells, negotiate for a larger amount of money for the next book. Royalties are less than what you’d typically see with indie publishing, but I definitely see how it could be worth it to some people. Writing isn’t a get rich quick thing, not in either publishing method though.Can you tell us a little bit about your latest novel?In Dreamer, we follow a college freshman named Maya Lilac. She has a nightmare the night before she moves in that involves her getting attacked and being saved by a clone of herself. She wakes up and, throughout the day, starts to hallucinate bits and pieces of the dream until it eventually comes true. She finds out from that point that she’s a Dreamer, can make her dreams real, and that her clone is a very real threat. Not only that, she’s the True Dreamer, so she has to use her powers to save her species from genocide, along with the rest of the world, and that includes stopping her clone. The problem in this arises from the fact that no one, not Maya nor her mother nor her sister or the Angels can come to a decision about what to do with her. So Maya has to learn how to be a hero, go through school, and decide if she trusts her own judgement against her family’s when she doesn’t have the memories of her powers or her previous heroics.Please share your top 3 marketing tips with us.Doing interviews like thesePromoting the book/website/social media accounts to my friends and familyBook reviews and guests posts on sitesTell us about your typical writing day.When I’m not in class or working, I would typically go to the computer, write for a little bit, eat some lunch, watch a bit of Youtube or read, do some more writing, eat dinner, do homework, and watch some Youtube, and then sleep until the next day. Otherwise, I write whenever I’m able to throughout the school day.What is your definition of success? Would you say you are a successful author?I define success as creating something that people enjoy. No markers of money or status matter to me because I fell in love with writing because I just wanted to write stories that I liked, that were insanely creative, and that people enjoyed (my love of performing has helped this develop). So long as there are people who like what I write, and I personally feel satisfied with the work that I’m making, I’d say I’m pretty successful.Share some of your writing goals with us. Have you met any of them yet?Some of my writing goals are to finish this version of Dreamer and start to find a cover designer. I also want to get some character cards and a book trailer made for the book, and figure out who exactly my mystery characters are and what red herrings I’d use to throw the readers off (that’s right! We have a little mystery in this story folks!). I also want to figure out how to make the romance between Rosemary and Astrid relevant beyond a simple point of study for the Daemon. I’ve met the character-driven and mystery points, but the others are more geared towards the future and things that will require quite a bit of money for me to do.Watch Ja-Mel's first appearance (JAN 2018) on my podcast, The White Room!Like this content? Please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel and hitting that thumbs up for more!How do you deal with negative reviews and criticism?I try to find something positive in all the reviews I receive, and keep an open mind and ear when it comes to critiques. When I do get something that particularly stings, I try to remember that it’s ultimately a suggestion and that I as a writer have the final say on what I want to do. I know more about the story and the direction of it than the reader would, so I can exercise my judgement to say whether it’s a valid point.Do you have a favourite author for fiction and non-fiction? Why are they your favourite and which of their books would you recommend?I don’t have any favorite authors, but I do have some books that I particularly love and enjoy. I really like Animal Farm by George Orwell, Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (Martian Chronicles is a description goldmine, I swear! Love it so much for that!), The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, and so you don’t think it’s all classics, Antigoddess by Kendare Blake (so far, I’ve enjoyed what I read), Montmorency by Eleanor Updale (though that may largely just be nostalgia), and a few others from my childhood. Haven’t read much as an adult, but I’m fixing that.Where do you get your ideas/ how do you find inspiration?The ideas honestly just come to me. “Dreamer” popped in my head as the first story I made after I fell in love with writing, “Fairytale” (future series) came about first as a sequel to Maleficent (2014) but has become its own thing, “Chronicles”, “Crystal Waters”, and a host of future stories all just popped in my head. A few I got from writing prompts and pictures and such, but a large majority of them just came to me one day as a story idea. Some from dreams, but others from simply living life. So, keep your creativity going. Never shut something down; you never know what it could become.Can you share any free resources or tools you have found helpful?I don’t really use many free resources, but one that I recently discovered that’ll help you keep writing is fighter’s block (google it). It basically gives you a character and an enemy (a block) that has a certain level of health. You set your word count, start the timer, and for every word you type, you simultaneously keep your health up and knock down the health of your opponent (who will keep attacking you). Meet your word count and you gain that much experience! A technique I learned about in my Computer Science for Education course that I think would work well for writers is the Pomodoro Technique. You set a timer for 25 minutes (or more), and just get going. You document every time you get distracted, but you don’t stop going. Make it to the end of the 25 minutes and that’s about it. You can either start the timer again, or simply stop and assess. There are timer apps that you can use for it that’ll play calming music, give you a sort of fail screen if you exit the app to do something on your phone, and all manner of other things.Scrivener and yWriter were apps that I tried using for my two main WIPs but didn’t find too useful because they were already so developed at the time, but I’ve heard people swear by it and can see how they could help some people out. Me, I just take it all in stride and document everything in word documents and folders on my flashdrive. A good site for short story prompts and ideas is blog.reedsy.com/short-story-ideas/ You can type in a genre and it’ll give you prompts for that genre. You can also use prompts from other genres or from the homepage and give them a fantasy or a romance or a sci-fi spin. I took a mystery prompt about disappearing footprints in the snow and merged it with a fantasy, so it can be done. And it can be fun too!Do you outsource your work?Yes. I’m planning on outsourcing both editing and cover design. I’ll have my beta-readers take looks at the story in between rounds of professional edits.Are you a plotter or a pantser? Please tell us why and what your pre-writing processes are.I’m a plantser (both). Really weird, I know, but the way I do it is: I get the idea, and from there, I’ll figure out a bit about the characters (their names, maybe a basic appearance, their powers, etc.) I don’t know the power or magic system (depending on the story) in its totality yet, and I don’t even fully know the characters, but I start writing anyway. I write for a bit, get some of the way into it, and go back through editing. While I’m going throughout this process, I may do some character interviews once I know more about them, figure out the history of the world, how they operate, things like that. I really just learn about the story as I go, but I do also take some steps along to help assist that like my character interviews for personality (and those do change the histories of the characters. They say things that I don’t expect them to, but I go with it), generally figuring out the story beats, writing out any excerpts I get, having them battle my friends’ characters to see how powerful they are and then make situations where they can showcase those abilities, and a couple of other things that I do at sporadic points. Also, dreams, thoughts, and random ideas that just pop in my head can affect the world too, so nothing is ever really set in stone, more of just constantly evolving and ever so slightly being a bit consistent.Why do you write?I write because it’s something that I love. I love creating worlds and characters, crafting histories and powers, seeing how people interact. I love that writing can effectively make me a god of sorts (just a joke I have), and that it gives me an outlet for all my wild and zany ideas. I love showing people my work and talking about what I do. It makes me extremely excited when showing them what I’m working on, and getting feedback to make it better, and even the editing is fun because I get to perfect my words and my craft. It’s something that I can’t imagine myself not doing because it’s been with me for so long. I can’t let my characters down too; they’re real people in my stories, and I’d be disappointing them if I just randomly stopped and didn’t keep coming back to see how their lives unfold.What do you love the most about writing and why?The thing I love most about writing is how creative you can be with it. Inventing a new thing and going extremely in depth in it, learning about something that you probably never knew or coming up with new inventive ways to do something. For Dreamer, I made a dream I had into a story about a girl’s dreams coming true, then they were destined to come true as I introduced The Fates from Greek mythology to the mix, then I fixed the villain and made her an antagonist (there’s a difference there. “Villain” is evil, “antagonist” just opposes our good guys. Doesn’t mean they can’t be an anti-hero or tragically misunderstood), then Maya went through a very brief lesbian phase (I threw that out of the main Maya that we see because her relationship with her boyfriend, and her friendship with her best friend serve two different purposes. Still, I like to think there’s a universe where Maya and Rosemary date and fall in love), then she flipped back, and… you can make anything happen in a story so long as it makes sense according to the world you’ve built up. The possibilities are literally endless and only stretch as far as your imagination is willing to go and how much logic you want to apply, and I love that about writing. It lets me explore everything that I’d never be able to in real life. Novels give me an outlet that film and playwriting and poetry and creative nonfiction don’t. Two are limited by people and a pseudo-reality that I can’t be exceeding complex in, one relies on truth more than fiction (though the line there is pretty blurry. Still, can’t make everything up), and another has lines and stanzas and doesn’t give me as much of an artful flow as I’m used to with novels and short stories. It’s truly something that I enjoy and can see myself doing forever.What do you dislike about writing and why?I don’t think there’s a particular part of writing that I dislike. Editing is fun because, although it is tedious to overlook your work, you can develop things more, notice problems you didn’t see previously, fix mistakes, add in phrases, establish lore in a more artful way, and all manner of other things integral to a story. Rewriting makes what you write what you write. It makes everything better. Since I love learning and am always looking for more knowledge, worldbuilding is one part that I immensely enjoy because I’m discovering things that I’m coming up with and pulling from the internet and my own mind for.Do you ever visit other authors' websites and if so, what do you look for? Why?I don’t visit other authors’ websites often (I do have a list), but when I do, I look for their site presentation and order, their bios, headings, information on their site for their latest book (it appears that I post more information for my stories that other sites do, but I don’t particularly see that as a bad thing since it alternates between excerpts and information about the world like powers and history and stuff).In order of importance (most important first) when shopping online, what do you look at first? Examples: cover design, formatting, reviews, description, price, publisher, author name, page count, preview, formats available.1. Preview2. Description3. Cover Design4. Price5. Page Count6. Reviews7. Formats Available8. Formatting9. Author Name10. PublisherLeave a comment or note of thanks for your readers?I would like to say thank you to all of you for reading this and I hope you learned, at least one thing about how I do things and maybe stuff you can apply to your own writing. Check out Dreamer if you’re interested, and you can find my other information there. You can subscribe to my mailing list if you want to be up to date on my writing (I send out ONE email at the end of every month, so no spam! I hate spam.) Also, THANK YOU RACHAEL! You’re so nice and kind and helpful and amazing. I really appreciate it all!***Thank you so much to author Ja-Mel Vinson for sharing his insights on writing and publishing books. If you would like to support Ja-Mel and his work, please consider visiting his website.

The Author Interviews: Joanne Van Leerdam

(Image courtesy of Joanne Van Leerdam)To give my readers and fellow writers an insight into the processes and successes of other like-minded creatives, I'll be featuring some hardworking authors in my journal each week. Today's author is Joanne Van Leerdam, and she's independently published. ***Author BIO:Joanne Van Leerdam is a poet, blogger, writer, thinker, puzzler, teacher, traveller, photographer and generally nice person. Despite having lived all her life in Australia, she has, thus far, avoided being killed or consumed by any of the deadly wildlife, which is probably a good thing. Other than Australia, Canada is her favourite place in the world. In addition to writing powerful, thought-provoking poetry and short-but-incredibly meaningful stories, she keeps teens enthralled in her senior high school English, History and Drama/Peformance classes. She is an active member and performer in her local theatre company and has directed high school musicals for ten years. Her poetry is contemporary, sensual, moody and easy to read - and it will get you in the feelings. Her horror fiction is deliciously creepy and macabre, and should not be read in a graveyard unless you're incredibly brave. Joanne has also written two "reimagined" fairy tales, published in a fabulous collection with stories by five other writers. Website: www.jvlpoet.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/wordynerdbirdTwitter: www.twitter.com/jvlpoet & www.twitter.com/mrbooksquirrelWhat made you want to become a writer, Joanne?I have always written things – stories, poems, reflections. I recall wanting to write a book when I was younger, but that idea got put on the back burner at some point – I have no idea why. A few years ago, friends started encouraging me to seek publication for my poems, so that was what I pursued at that point.What are your thoughts on the indie vs traditional publishing argument?The publisher I had for my first book was not very good at all, so I withdrew it and republished a second edition as an Indie. Since then, I have not looked back.I’m a firm believer in indie publishing. Why should someone else benefit from all my hard work? Can you tell us a little bit about your latest work?‘Curious Things’ is a collection of macabre and horror stories featuring Friday, a black cat who just happens to be present when strange events take place. Each story involves someone doing the wrong thing and encountering poetic justice laced with dark humour.I’ve also just had two reimagined fairy tale novellas published in a fairy tale anthology collection with five other authors: J.B. Richards, Eva Pasco, Lyra Shanti, Aliya DalRae and R.M. Gauthier. Together, we’re known as the Indie Fabs. ‘Once Upon A Fabulous Time’ is unique among the fairy tale collections I’ve seen, so that’s very exciting. It’s also a new genre for me, so that’s been both challenging and highly rewarding.Can you share your top 3 marketing tips with us?Engage on social media – let potential readers see more than just your book cover.Don’t make everything about buying your book. It may be what you hope for, but how attractive is it seeing “buy my book!” all day, every day?Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Use a combination of various social media platforms, blogs, and paid promotion to get your work out there.Can you tell us about your typical writing day?I work part time as a teacher, so my writing fits into my work day depending on my schedule. It generally happens in the evening on school days, and more regularly throughout the day when I’m at home.Watch Joanne's first appearance (July 2017) on my podcast, The White Room!Like this content? Please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel and hitting that thumbs up for more!What is your definition of success? Would you say you are a successful author?Success is a complex concept. One does not have to become a millionaire in order to be considered successful.As a poet, I’m successful because people read and enjoy my work, and they let me know when something really touches them. It’s not realistic to think I’m going to strike it rich writing poems, but to know that my writing can change someone’s mind, heart or life – and has done so? That’s powerful stuff.My horror stories and the fairy tales are a different entity. They’re getting out there and making steady sales, which is really encouraging.Overall, I’m starting to see more a slow, steady build in sales, so I believe that is also an indicator of success.Have you met any of your writing goals yet, Joanne?When I started out, I was excited to have one book published. Now I have four poetry books, two horror titles, one general fiction and a couple of fairy tales. This gives me a huge sense of satisfaction, but I still have plans for two more horror story collections and another book of poems in 2018. There might be more fairy tales, too!How do you deal with negative reviews and criticism?I roll with the punches. Nobody is going to write something that absolutely everyone loves. I don’t always feel positive about every book I read, either. It’s not realistic to think every review will be four or five stars, nor should they be.Do you have a favourite author for fiction and non-fiction? Why are they your favourite?Apart from the Indie Fabs and their excellent books – and I’m not saying that out of bias, they’re genuinely brilliant writers – the author whose work I have absolutely loved lately is Eric Tanafon. His reinvention of Robin Hood is incredible, and his Father Winter tale is superb.Where do you get your ideas? How do you find inspiration?It all comes from things I experience and feel. My writing is not all autobiographical, although a fair proportion of my poetry is. The rest is based on my observations of life, people, pain, and challenge. Everything I write has a deeper meaning. One of my favourite messages that I want my readers to understand is that you can resist anything that tries to destroy you, and you’ll discover you’re stronger than you realise.Can you share any free resources or tools you have found helpful?I have a number of free resources for indie authors on my website, including helpful articles about using social media, a list of supportive groups on Facebook, and a list of excellent podcasts about indie publishing. I share lots of useful and thought-provoking articles and blog posts that I find, along with lots of books, reviews and author appreciation in my twitter feed. I am very committed to promoting lots of other authors’ work on my book blog and, from there, into my social media.Do you outsource your work?I do as much of it as I can, then consult and outsource the rest. I’ve designed my own book covers in consultation with designers and artists. I’m an English teacher, so careful proofing and editing before having someone else edit at my writing saves me a few dollars. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to just edit their own and publish without a second or even third pair of eyes going over it first.Are you a plotter or a pantser?I’m a plotter, although sometimes my characters develop a mind of their own and do things I was not expecting. I do like to have a sense of direction when I’m starting out on a story, but I always reserve the right to choose to take a scenic detour.I start with a general outline, and develop that into more detailed chapter outlines. Then I start writing.Why do you write, Joanne?I write to appease the muse who puts words into my head and leaves them clanging around in there until I do something with them. I write to process and deal with my thoughts and emotions. I write because actually hurting and killing people is frowned upon by society. I write because I love writing. I write because the rush of creating something that someone else reads and loves is more powerful than any drug.Watch the Indie Fabs' second appearance (Dec 2017) on my podcast, The White Room!Like this content? Please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel and hitting that thumbs up for more!What is your mission statement?Joanne Van Leerdam is an award-winning poet and multi-genre author who is committed to writing meaningful and thought-provoking literature for the enjoyment of her audience. She is a thinker and puzzler, a reader and musician, a traveller, and a teacher who has never lost the joy of learning. Joanne draws inspiration from her own experiences and observations of the world around her, crafting those ideas into works which will encourage those who struggle to persevere and inspire others to see the world from a new perspective. She aims to continue to grow her readership into a fully global and inclusive audience.What do you love the most about writing?It’s so satisfying to craft a poem or write a story that is powerful and meaningful, and then to have readers tell me that it moved them, or that they enjoyed it.What do you dislike about writing?For me, the hardest thing is that my passion for writing is something that only other writers really understand. I honestly wish that some folks, including a number of my friends and family, would recognise it as more than just a hobby or a passing enthusiasm. You might as well tell certain people that you’ve cut your toenails as announce that you have a new book. Personally, that can be really tough.Do you ever visit other authors' websites and if so, what do you look for?Yes. I like to see what others are writing and I love looking at their covers and reading blurbs. Then I usually discover that I’ve clicked a button or two and bought another book. Or three.In order of importance (most important first) when shopping online, what do you look at first? Examples: cover design, formatting, reviews, description, price, publisher, author name, page count, preview, formats available.1. Cover – doesn’t everyone? That’s why we put so much effort into them.2. Description.3. Author name. For certain authors, though, that’s enough to sell me a book.4. Reviews.5. At this point, I might use the ‘look inside’ feature if it’s available for the paperback.6. Page count.7. Price. To be honest, if it’s something I really want to read, this doesn’t matter much.I generally don’t look at who the publisher is, unless it’s to confirm why a price is ridiculously high.Would you like to leave a comment or note of thanks for your readers:I would like to say thank you to everyone who has read and responded to my work. It’s an enormous privilege to be allowed into your mind and your heart, and to leave an impression there.***Thank you so much to author Joanne Van Leerdam for sharing her insights on writing and publishing books. If you would like to support Joanne and her work, please consider purchasing a copy of the book, Nova, available on Amazon now. Check out the handy link below:

The Author Interviews: J. A. Myers

(Photo courtesy of J. A. Myers)To give my readers and fellow writers an insight into the processes and successes of other like-minded creatives, I'll be featuring some hardworking authors in my journal each week.Today's author is J. A. Myers, and she's independently published.***BIO:I'll keep this brief; there is one thing in this world I dislike and it's talking about myself. But in me there are different parts, the writer, the reader, the editor, then there is a photographer (not a particularly good one) and a speed freak.Blog:www.findjodiee.wixsite.com/jamyersWhat made you want to become a writer, JA? I enjoyed getting lost in a book, but when looking for the next book to read, I couldn’t find the right one. So someone told me, 'if you can’t find the book you want to read, write it'.What are your thoughts on the indie vs traditional publishing argument? It depends what you want from the book. I am just happy to say my book is out there. I did want to be traditionally published, but abandoned the idea; when self-publishing on Amazon you can do everything and monitor it all yourself.Tell us a little about your latest novel. Phaser came out on 02/08/2017, five years after it was written. It’s about a young girl who is struggling to find where she fits in, until a character called Jason introduces her to a whole new world and a gift she could only dream of.Watch J. A. Myers in her first interview (Jan 2018) on The White Room! If you like this content, please subscribe to my channel and remember to hit that thumbs up for more author interviews!Can you share your top three marketing tips with us?For me I don’t really count my sales. I don’t push it as much as I should. I was told in a networking session at university that if you only push your book and aren’t interested in anything else, the audience might not be as persuaded to buy your book because they don’t know you. I have my website which covers a range of different things, from writing tips to reviews and it advertises my editing services. I have a gallery page because I enjoy photography. I want people to know who I am and what makes me tick before they are introduced to my book. I think it bridges the gap between reader and writer.Do you have any productivity tips you can share with us?I don’t write when I’m not inspired, I edit instead. This allows my brain to think in a different way, rather than trying to be creative when I don’t feel like it. Don’t force yourself to stick to a plan. I find if I have a plan it gives me a reason not to stick to it. I like to be a bit spontaneous and creative with my time.Tell us about your typical writing day. It depends on what I am doing and who else is in the house. I am a little too sociable; I like to be around people, so if there is something going on I couldn't concentrate. I usually have my music on (loud). The music helps get my mind to flow and to relax. I do about 5-6 hours, flicking between writing and editing.What is your definition of success? Would you say you're successful? I am a successful author because I have a book that is published. I have succeeded my own goals. I think as long as the writer succeeds in their own goals they are successful, it can’t be determined by someone else. Don’t feel like you have to compare yourself to someone else who might have gone further. Everyone works and moves at their own pace. Would you share some of your writing goals with us. Have you met any of them yet? I have 7 more books I would like to publish over the course of the next few years. I would also like to become some sort of editor as well. If that’s just by running on my own, or getting a job in a company, I don’t mind either way. As long as I can edit other people’s work and help them achieve the goals they have set.How do you deal with negative reviews and criticism? I haven’t come across any yet. But I have been declined by publishers, which is hard, but then you think about all the times you apply for a job and don’t get it. To me it is the same thing; there is something they don’t like and most of the time it is based on personal preference. It doesn’t mean it will never happen, it just hasn’t happened yet. There is no point getting hung over it and winding yourself up about it. Book reviews are all based on personal preference, read the review and see if there is anything that you might be able to improve on. It’s a way of refining your skills and learning about your own writing.Do you have a favourite author for fiction? Why are they your favourite and which of their books would you recommend? I have many authors I love, I could be here all day to name them all. They change every time I find something else that’s fun and exciting to read. Jon Graham’s Reaper is one I recommend to a lot of people, because of the writing style. But if someone was struggling writing fantasy, Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breed series is great, it’s a vampire series written in the real world based in America. Lucy Blue inspired me to write 2 of my books, so they are very special to me. I love Robert J Crane's Sanctuary series because they are just incredible. I actually recommended them to family members and they have enjoyed reading the series immensely. Where do you get your ideas/ how do you find inspiration? Every writer hates this question because no one is satifised with ‘they just appear to me’. It’s not what they want to hear because it’s not exciting enough, but for most writers it is true. You could be looking at a cloud and it reminds you of a dragon. Or something someone says might link two ideas together. My dad has a thing about scary trees, we had a whole conversation about scary trees, by the end we came up with a whole new vampire concept. Honestly, ideas just happened, they can’t be stopped or forced.Like this cover? I designed it! To check out my design services, please visit the 'Services' page. Quote 'PHASER' for 10% off. Can you share any free resources or tools you have found helpful? Grammarly is a brilliant tool that has helped me understand a lot. It’s free to download the basic version but you can pay for the whole lot. I used it a lot in my coursework and my novels.Can you share your top world building tips with us?Research. Understand how the world works before you start creating your own. I created a whole world for one of my novels and someone asked me which way my rivers flowed, and I had no idea.Be creative. Once you understand how the world works you can bend the rules to what you want.Are you a plotter or a pantser? Please tell us why and what your pre-writing processes are. I don’t plan unless it’s a world building situation. I don’t like planning, I feel like I’ve already written it and I lose interest. I get the idea down first. Why do you write, JA? I enjoy the chance to get away from normal life and explore in a different one. And now for the real reason - control! I love being able to make all the decisions, well most of the decisions.In order of importance (most important first) when shopping online, what do you look at first? For example, cover design, formatting, reviews, description, price, publisher, author name, page count, preview, formats available.1. cover design2. description3. reviews4. price5. page count6. author name7. formats available8. formatting9. publisher10. previewIn order of usefulness (most useful first) when marketing your book, which techniques do you recommend? For example, social media, media coverage (newspaper, TV, podcasts etc), blog tours, perma-free/ giveaways, writing more books.1. social media2. writing more books3. giveaways4. media coverage5. blog toursAnything else?I appreciate the support from readers and audience, and thank you to all those who have downloaded my book so far.***Thank you so much to author J. A. Myers for sharing her insights on writing and publishing books. If you would like to support JA and her work, please consider purchasing a copy of the book, Phaser, available on Amazon now. Check out the handy link below:

The Author Interviews: Kristen Martin

(Image courtesy of Kristen Martin - Facebook)To give my readers and fellow writers an insight into the processes and successes of other like-minded creatives, I'll be featuring some hardworking authors in my journal each week.Today's author is Kristen Martin, and she's independently published.***BIO (from author's website):Kristen Martin is the international Amazon bestselling indie author of THE ALPHA DRIVE trilogy and the SHADOW CROWN series, a writing coach, a YouTuber, a podcaster (That Smart Hustle), and an entrepreneur. She lives in Southeast Texas and loves all things young adult, science fiction, and fantasy. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorkristenmartinWebsite: https://www.kristenmartinbooks.com/What made you want to become a writer, Kristen? Most people would probably say they idolized a particular author while growing up, but I never truly had an author I looked up to. I just loved to read and write. When I was nine years old, I carried a spiral notebook with me everywhere and wrote short two-page stories about the most random things.  I even illustrated my thoughts in the margins. My family's favorite story was called The Christmas Monkey in which a monkey tried to save Christmas from being destroyed by an evil king.  It was a masterpiece (kidding, of course).  My point is, I knew I loved to write, so that's what I did. Why did you choose to write in this genre? Have you ever considered trying other genres? There has always being something so fascinating to me about science fiction and fantasy stories. Maybe it’s because of their ability to transport you so seamlessly into other worlds and allow you to escape reality for a little while, or because I will always have a curiosity about worlds other than our own. I love reading in these genres, so I figured I would like writing them too. And I was right! I have considered potentially writing a dark suspense novel, similar to Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, but this is definitely a-ways down the road. What do you love most about writing and why? Writing is the only thing that allows me to get out of my own head, away from my inhibitions and doubts. In a professional sense, I am a very analytical person, so I use my left brain pretty much all day, every day at work. But my right brain, where my creativity lives, is where I truly thrive. Writing gives me that space to discover new thoughts and ideas without the pressure or worry of being judged or criticized. What do you dislike about writing and why? I dislike when I doubt myself and my writing. Every writer goes through this more often than not, and it is not enjoyable at all. When I catch myself thinking negative thoughts, I usually need to step away from my computer and pick up an inspirational book. My favorite is You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero. I highly recommend it for literally everyone! If you could trade places with any of your characters, which would you choose and why? I would trade places with basically any of my characters in my new dark fantasy series! I don’t want to give too much away since it hasn’t been released yet, but I would give anything to have just one day with some of these magical powers. If you could live in any of the worlds you have created, which would you choose and why?This kind of goes along with my answer for the previous question. I would live in the world I’ve built for my young adult fantasy series. Again, I can’t say much, but the magical elements I’ve been creating are really fun and I wish I could do half the things my characters are able to do! Watch Kristen's appearance (June 2017) on my podcast, The White Room!Like this content? Please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel and hitting that thumbs up for more!What's your writing routine or schedule like? Do you struggle to find time to write? How do you stay organised and keep to your deadlines? I tend to do my best writing at night. I used to be a night owl, but unfortunately my full-time job changed that. I schedule my writing time between 8-10PM on weeknights. Sometimes, it is a struggle to find the time to write, especially if I’ve had a long day at work or I don’t feel inspired. I find I work best using a calendar with daily word count goals where I can record and keep track of my progress. Writing down my achieved word count for the day makes me feel accomplished and gets me excited for the next day’s goal. Who or what inspires you? Where do you get your inspiration? Honestly, this is a really hard question for me to answer. I am inspired by incredible authors, like Chuck Palahniuk, Sylvia Plath, J.K. Rowling, Sarah J. Maas (just to name a few), but I think what it comes down to is my inner motivation and desire to write and share my stories with the world. I love writing with every ounce of my being; without it, I honestly don't know who I am. It's my passion, the thing that drives me forward and makes me hop out of bed every morning. Just knowing that I get to sit down at my computer and create is inspiration enough for me. With that being said, my inspiration doesn't come from external sources, but instead, from deep within. It's what I love to do, so I do it!Do you have a favourite author and if so, why do you enjoy their work? I do! I absolutely love Chuck Palahniuk, and one of my newer favorite authors is Sarah J. Maas. Chuck Palahniuk has such a unique writing style – I’m not exactly sure why I enjoy it, but I do! It’s dark and twisted, and he does such a great job connecting the reader with his characters. I love Sarah J. Maas as an author because of her world-building abilities and flow of the stories. I’m hooked on the Throne of Glass series. Those books are hard to put down! What do you find most challenging about being an indie/ self-published author and why? Exposure is definitely the most challenging part of being an indie/ self-published author. We don’t have the large reach that traditional publishers do, so getting our names and our books out there is a huge hurdle, but I’ve found that engaging regularly with readers and writers alike is a great way to grow your author platform and get your name out there! Starting a YouTube/ BookTube channel has also really helped me reach my target audience. ***Thank you so much to author Kristen Martin for sharing her insights on writing and publishing books. If you would like to support Kristen and her work, please consider purchasing a copy of the book, The Alpha Drive, available on Amazon now. Check out the handy link below:

Facebook Live Summary (2017)

On November 10th 2017 and November 30th 2017, I braved my first ever Facebook live events. Over two videos, I covered 22 writing-related questions, which I've also answered below for your convenience.***Enjoyed this content? Please subscribe to my Youtube channel and hit that thumbs up! Catch other live Facebook videos at www.facebook.com/erachaelhardcastle.Of your published books, which one is your favourite?Finding Pandora has always been a comfortable world for me to write in, probably because I know the characters so well and it was my first ever attempt at speculative fiction. For this reason, you could argue Finding Pandora is my favourite. But I always say my most recent work is at the top of my list because it's fresh and exciting, and it displays my current skill level. For this reason, I guess my favourite right now is Noah Finn & the Art of Suicide. Which is yours?How do I book a podcast interview on your show, The White Room?Please send me a quick email expressing your interest and I'll get back to you with some more information. At the moment, the show is fully booked until March. I'll be inviting new authors to confirm interview slots in mid-February.How do you make your book covers? Is it complicated?Ebook covers, I think, are the easiest. Once you have your ideas and images together, log in to a free online resource called Canva.com and use one of their handy templates to create your finished design. They have Kindle and Wattpad sizes already uploaded so you don't have to worry about finding a template. They also have some lovely designs ready-made and free for you to use if you get stuck.For paperbacks, I use a free Photoshop-type programme called GIMP which you can download and install to your PC. It's trickier to master than Canva, but does a lot more. For free images, I use Pixabay.com. Please read their terms and conditions before you proceed.I really enjoy designing book covers, which is why I now offer this service to authors. If you get stuck, please feel welcome to contact me.Where do you find the confidence and content to film your vlogs?I'm an introvert so I wouldn't use the word 'confidence' here. I push myself to do things outside my comfort zone every day because I think it will be beneficial for my business. So far, this mindset hasn't let me down, but I know vlogging isn't for everyone. Podcasting has helped me a lot - chatting with another person is much less awkward and the conversation flows naturally. You can bounce topics and opinions off one another, and it might also help you to interview others first. With regards to the content, I usually save up FAQs like these or talk about what's happening in my own life (writing-related) that I think could help other authors.Do you have any marketing tips in relation to merchandising?Yes, I have a free marketing webinar you can watch (see below) for marketing and merchandising tips. It's 30 minutes long and you don't need to subscribe to anything to access the content.You can download my marketing workbook here to develop your skills and understanding further: www.erachaelhardcastle.com/webinarLike this content? Please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel and hitting that thumbs up for more!I'd like to try one of your books free of charge. Is this possible and if so, how do I go about downloading it?I currently have two free books available. The first is available only when you subscribe to my fan club. This is my romantic short story, Forgotten Faith. You can also download Finding Pandora: World which is book one in my series free of charge at www.books2read.com/findingpandora. If you enjoy the book, I'd really appreciate an honest review through your favourite online retailer. My young daughter wants to write fiction. Do you have any advice?When I teach creative writing I tell children to have confidence in their own skills and abilities. I also tell them to write the stories they want to write; to be as creative and imaginative as they want to be and most importantly, to have fun. Then, when they have the initial story, they can re-read and make changes or improvements.I think it's important they have the support and encouragement of their relatives, too, especially if it's something they can transfer through to what they're learning in school. Offer to read what they're working on and be supportive and positive, then help with spelling and punctuation etc if required.I've found Rory's Story Cubes to be a huge help when I run workshops. Do you have any book signing tips?Lots. My top two are as follows:- never underestimate how much stock you will need. It's better to have too much than not enough.- think of some fun merchandise you (as a reader) would like to purchase, then create and offer those things to your own fans. For example, bookmarks, pin badges, pens etc.How do you find the time to write?I don't, I steal it. I use the minutes between other responsibilities to make notes and tinker with my website. I write by hand on my lunch break and instead of browsing Facebook, force myself to write a few hundred words instead. It's difficult when you're working full-time, taking care of a house and kids etc, so don't put too much pressure on yourself. Learn to recognise the opportunities, then take them.If you're struggling to be productive, have a go at NANOWRIMO this year (National Novel Writing Month 2018 - https://nanowrimo.org/) and work to a specific word count each day. You'll find having a deadline forces you to put pen to paper more often.Are you ever scared to admit you're a writer?I used to be, but not any more. I think people sometimes fear this because writing doesn't seem like a 'real job' to other people. Once you are published - self or traditionally - it gets easier because people seem to validate what you do, especially if you're an 'author' rather than a 'writer'. I don't know why, but it's something I've noticed.If you love what you do, be proud and admit you're a writer/ author. You'll feel tons better if you face your fear, and you'll be surprised how many people will just want to hear all about your work.Enjoyed this content? Please consider subscribing to my channel and hitting that thumbs up!Catch other live Facebook videos at www.facebook.com/erachaelhardcastle.Why do you write across genres?I write the genres I enjoy reading and whatever I think will be enjoyable to explore. I transitioned from romance to fantasy and from fantasy to post-apocalyptic, but my most recent book is a visionary novella, which is unlike anything I have ever produced. I had lots of ideas and wanted to share some of my own morals and values through a character I felt deserved a story, so I went with it. I change genres sometimes to ensure I please a wider audience, but mostly to ensure I have fun!What's the relevance of Noah's handkerchief?Noah's handkerchief is an important part of the novella and it's hard for me to explain the role without giving away most of the story. All you need to know is that it means a lot to Noah, and serves as a reminder. Where did the initial idea for Noah Finn come from?Originally I wanted to write a story about a man who goes to work via train every day and, when he dies, finds he's on that train heading to either heaven or hell. His destination would depend on the answers he gives Death, who is accompanying/ testing him. After several weeks of planning and outlining, I managed to develop the story further, adding subplots and symbolism to create the novella that exists today. I want to write a book. Where should I start?I always tell people to write their ideas down first and work on an initial draft before they do anything else. Don't worry about spelling and grammar and don't show anyone else - you don't even have to tell people you're doing so! Keep it personal and private and have as much fun as you can. When you have a completed story, get out your red pen and think of ways to improve it.Now would be an ideal time to buy a writer's notebook.Why did you choose 9/11 as the setting for Noah Finn?I wanted Noah Finn to learn some important life lessons. In order to teach him life is precious, show him how little control we have, how some people aren't so lucky and how we should always love and be kind to one another, I set the book on 9/11. So many people sadly lost their lives that day, and Noah needed to see that some things are more important than greed and selfishness.What are you writing now?I'm writing the rest of the Aeon Infinitum trilogy (The Wanted and Faded Realm - a prequel and sequel to Run For Your Life) and the remaining 8 Pandora books (across 2 paperbacks, The Resurrection of Pandora and The Rise of Pandora). What are you reading at the moment?Since filming the Facebook live events, I've read The Jungle Book, Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom and a few of the short stories from Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks. I also recently read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and I'm now reading Humans, Bow Down by James Patterson.As you can see, I read across genres too!What writing software would you recommend?I use Scrivener which is brilliant, but it can take some time to learn. I also use a free word processor called Open Office, which works the same as Microsoft Word but is free to download and install. If you're planning an e-book, download Kindle Create through Amazon and have a play with their features. It's free.What Noah Finn merchandise do you currently have available?As of December 2017, I have Noah Finn bookmarks and pins available. Blue handkerchiefs are also available with any gift set purchased, but these are by private request only. Merchandise can be purchased through my online store at https://www.erachaelhardcastle.com/merchandise.***If you have a question you'd like me to cover in my next Facebook live event, please use the contact form on my website or find me on social media.FB: www.facebook.com/erachaelhardcastleTW: www.twitter.com/erhardcastleThank you for your time today, and as always if you need help or clarification in relation to this content, please get in touch with me.