L.T. Marshall's Blog, page 44
March 17, 2018
Welcome to the Team War
If you are on my Facebook or Twitter, you may have seen some #TeamJake and #TeamArry posts this past 12 hours, scattered randomly across the whole of Facebook.
If you have then bravo, you have seen our war in action and we are now calling upon you to get involved.
I issued my fan group a challenge on Friday the 15th March – and they rose to it with great decorum.
If you have read all the books in The Carrero Series so far, then you know which Team you are on.
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“The aim of this war is fun. You can find inventive ways to post the hashtags around Facebook until Sunday evening.
Join up and make it a team effort, send each other links to rival posts – one rule …NO tagging the hashtag more than once on a thread each. So if you come across a fellow team with a post up , you can only tag yours once before moving on. Your team mates have to come and help to win a thread if someone posts after you.
Hide them, be sneaky with them and post in groups where members cannot access. The last hashtag on a thread wins the whole point for that post. So watch out for rivals.
On Monday we need proof of them so we can count up the wins!!!
Winning team gets a gold star. Collect 4 gold stars in a row and your whole team gets a prize. We shall do this every couple of weeks!!!
#TeamJake #TeamArry “
The rules are simple – you can go anywhere and post the hashtag , some have strayed to outside of Facebook now too. SO now we have decided this is an ALL SOCIAL MEDIA battle. You can Type the hashtag or leave it in picture form.
The team with the most wins on Sunday midnight … is the victor.
Own a post by being the last hashtag before we cut off the clock.
Convene with your Team – we are in it to win it.
You can Tag me for Team Arry or my PA Suzie Cairney for Team Jake to verify the wins. You can Screenshot posts in groups we cannot access. We will tally up all points on Monday!
Team members – Be sly, be sneaky, and think outside the box – Do me proud!!!
[image error]Not sure who to play for ?
Then you are a neutral #TeamCarrero and your comments are still welcome.
The aim of this war is fun. We shall repeat it in a few weeks so come along and join my Facebook page or my Fan group!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LTMarshallFans/ << Fangroup
https://www.facebook.com/LTMarshallauthor/ <<< My Page
And so you are in no doubt as to whose team I am on ……
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March 10, 2018
The subtleties of Carrero
Often I am asked by avid readers and fans about certain aspects of my books, and I think it’s time I shared in one post, answers to all of these things.
Are there characters with mental disorders? I was sure I picked up on traits with a few of them, but as nothing was said, I assumed not.
Yes. There are multiple characters through all of the books who have their own issues. One is a high functioning Asperger’s female. We have a character with ADHD and another with OCD. We also have high anxiety in another, yet I have chosen not to use any pointers or labels for these characters for a couple of reasons. Later you meet someone with depression.
Many adults only find out late in life they have some of these things, in the case of my characters it is true for one or two. Sometimes people with long term illness too, have never been diagnosed. In life some are very open with diagnosis and some are not and I wanted to reflect reality – it’s not always a main focus for conversation with people who have these things.
In the books I did not want to make the story about what varied issues these characters had, instead i wanted all of them to just be ‘people’ and not ‘conditions’. Readers with some of these conditions relate more to the ones they see traits in and I like that it leaves them wondering if they are or are not. A sense of connection. Like a secret they uncovered.
I know a lot of readers form an opinion as soon as you mention a disorder or difference in a character, and it changes the whole tone of what they are reading. Still today its a barrier for some uneducated folks and I was fully aware of that.
I didn’t want that. I wanted them to read about people and see no difference, and not even be aware of it. A lot do not realise that it doesn’t change the fact that we are all just people and we still have a lot in common. I made the traits blend into the story, because that is the truth of people who have them. Some are so un-obvious to other people that they would not know without being told directly they even had a disorder.
And yes….I have some myself.
I love that you brought a gay character into the books, will there be more?
Yes. I wanted to start bringing diversity into the books as I am a pretty accepting person, but did not want to flood the books with a million ‘messages’. I have plans for more varied characters. Not just based on sexuality. I want my characters to have their own space to shine so will litter them sporadically.
I get that Carrero’s underlying message is about abuse…so far female only. Are there going to be any male awareness plot-lines?
Yes. I have male characters in the Hunstberger family who have their own scars and in the future planned books, we delve a little into the reality of male abuse.
I aim to always treat the topic with a gentle hand as I do not want it to become the story, just contribute a little.
Why do you base Carrero stories in abuse?
It’s personal. I have known what it’s like to be that silent voice on the darker side. It was a way of healing myself and then it became empowering. I wanted people to see that not all victims of abuse remain so visually scarred that they cannot go on to have a normal life. Some of us are survivors and fighters. Some of us find strength in what happened and I wanted to show those characters in a gentle light. Once the mould was set, it just evolved naturally and now I do not even think twice about an abuse basis for the plots.
I could not relate to Emma – I felt she just acted in a non realistic way.
Unless you have walked in the shoes of a persons path and encountered or endured all they have , then you cannot say what you would do if you were them. You may not relate or agree with what she says or does, but a lot of people do – people who have walked her path too.
We are all different. We all grow and behave differently and you need to remember that her past has altered what a non abused person would do in the same situation. I like psychology in my books and I do not ever just make a character do anything that does not connect to the life they have had.
Emma is Emma. You do not need to relate or agree with what she does or how she is to empathise and love her story. The point of my books are to show you how someone who is surviving may behave or react. From the experience of those who have done it.
I have a sense of hints of feminism in your books. Is that intentional?
Yes and no. I am not what I would call a feminist, I feel that term nowadays no longer reflects what it means and I do not like labels anyway. I am a girl who was never held down by a gender boundary and my characters are of the same mind.
They want to live their lives, making themselves happy in any way. If that is being a stay home mother, or a independent businesswoman then that is okay, either way. It’s about making yourself happy in what you do, wear and chase. Gender doesn’t affect any of my choices in life and when I have chased male orientated goals I was never deterred.
If a girl loves heels, make up and aims for motherhood and the home life, then that is her choice too. No one should make judgements on what makes another woman happy. I maintain that in the books and give my characters the ending that makes them happy and not what is expected in romance novels.
My male leads are people who treat their women as equals, who respect them and understand that ‘woman’ does not mean ‘inferior’ or incapable. The contrary infact. The Carrero men are bowled over by the strength and determination in the women they fall for. They choose ‘partners’ in life and not women they have to shelter, even though they are very protective.
Happy endings are a personal thing.
As my mother told me once – there are many paths to happy ever after and you should forge your own.
The Carrero effect – start a story that keeps you glued to a series….
Buy now – myBook.to/TheCarreroEffect
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March 9, 2018
The Carrero Effect Ebook Giveaway
Rules –
No matter which one you enter, the competition is simple.
Follow me on the platform you are entering on.
Tag a friend in the comments.
Be 18 or over to enter.
That is pretty much it.
Click to enter the Facebook giveaway >>>>>> RIGHT HERE
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Click to enter the Instagram giveaway >>>>>> RIGHT HERE
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What’s it about?
Emma Anderson has everything in her life worked out; the perfect job in a Manhattan empire allowing her to live a quiet and safe existence. Until a promotion whisks her up the ladder, working for handsome playboy billionaire, Jake Carrero. Knee deep in insecurities with a dark past, Jake is everything she is not: impulsive, confident, laid back, and fun. Can Jake break through her frosty exterior,and enable her to finally feel the love she’s always craved.
Contains some mature, adult content and language. ‘This is like 50 shades (but less racy) mixed with a bit of You’ve Got Mail type characters and a Two Weeks Notice backdrop. If you like contemporary romance/ chick-lit, give this one a go!’
Buy now – getBook.at/CarreroSeriesJoin my mailing list – http://eepurl.com/dcAhLHMy Website – https://ltmarshall.blog#ClubCarrero #FictionCafeWriters
@pictpublishing
March 8, 2018
International Women’s Day
Now, more than ever, there’s a strong call-to-action to press forward and progress gender parity. There’s a strong call to #PressforProgress motivating and uniting friends, colleagues and whole communities to think, act and be gender inclusive.
Read all about it here!!
#PressforProgress selfie cards <<<< Click to go to the #IWD website
Inspirational Women
Pict Publishing supports #PressforProgress
#IWD2018 #InternationalWomensDay
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As an author and a woman, I am a huge believer that gender should never hold us down. I have spent my life breaking through stereotypes and feel strongly about my role in the world as a person. This is a campaign that resonates with me and my characters in all of my books.
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March 1, 2018
Pict Publishing March Indie Book Giveaway
You can win a signed copy of my novel The Carrero Effect in the
Pict Publishing March Indie Book Giveaway
It’s one of 10 books up for grabs.
It’s FREE to enter – and you can enter multiple times for more chances to win.
February 28, 2018
#blogtour book review… with Where the Reader Grows
I think this is a subject which many often avoid talking about.
“I think [suicide] is an important subject to write about and love that the author does not shy away from such a vital subject.”
Read the full review on Where the Reader Grows.
February 22, 2018
Introducing Pict Publishing – a new wave of female writers.
Pict has been my brainchild for a few months , but only until recently did it really get off the ground running. With the addition of new members, this company has really began to take shape and are taking our first exciting steps.
We now have four very experienced team members and 3 authors within the name and we hope to grow as the year progresses.
February 18, 2018
Updates for The Carrero Series
A lot have been asking where book 6 is, and what’s happening with Carrero as a whole. So I thought it better to write a post and let you all know and therefore easy to share.
1 . Updates to the books.This month my lovely editor Emma Mitchell, who is new to my team, has started on book 1 and re-editing every book I have written to date. This is a time consuming process and we are aiming for one book a month to polish them to perfection.
When I released the books, I was a self published author who made no income from writing. I found it hard to get help with editing as no one I knew had professional skills. Emma is a very patient and amazing professional who will bring the books to the highest standard. This stage takes time and while each one is looked at the covers are being re-addressed.
All the kindle covers have been tweaked already and although it’s minor, it’s a huge difference in how they present.
While this is going on I am slowly removing the paperbacks from all online platforms. The plan was always to replace them one at a time, as each book was finished, but thanks to my fabulous friend Sarah Marie Graye (fellow author , writer of The second cup). I have now the skills and designers to redo all the covers.
At my age I am learning how to use Photoshop so I can remain the controlling voice over my cover designs lol.
Books 1-3 are being downsized from 6×9 inches to 5×8 to match the standard in paperbacks and the Heart books.
The paperbacks will be put back on Amazon one at a time as each book is polished, so this may take several months for the whole collection to appear. The bonus books will be going through the same process.
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2 . Book 6 The third heart book is drafted in its entirety, however, life and changes going on at my workplace and organising the series as a whole has delayed the book. This year I am slowing down my writing process to include the new editing and design stage as I get more professional with my output and I hope you bear with me. This month alone we have gutted the offices and my home, moved and had to build work space so I can accommodate my writing area a little better.
I am a very hands on person when it comes to things dealing with my work or my home, so I have been a part of the ‘doing’ which has taken me from writing. I aim to have the book back in front of me and my focus, as soon as my writing space is clear and pretty once more.
This year is really about me transitioning from hobby writer who also runs an online store, to predominantly writer and taking it far more seriously. The series is growing crazily. I never imagined it would start to become the success it is and I really hope all the tweaks and polished look will make me feel like it is more worthy of the praise it gets.
3 . Audio booksI was approached by an international audio publisher about turning the books into audio and we are currently looking into this. If I go with these publishers I will be up among other clients of theirs, Jojo Moyes for eg, and have access to celebrity narrators. It’s very exciting and we are still in the first stages of seeing if this is plausible.
We are also looking at having the books translated into other languages. 2018 is about expanding outside of the UK.
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