Vikki Holstein's Blog

Giving my stories life

Giving my stories life

Tw: mentions of broken bones, finger trauma, doctors, needles.

This story starts last Tuesday evening while I was helping hubby put a new timing belt on the car.

I was having fun playing mechanic, and learning more than I probably will even need to know about the insides of a car.

That fun ended when I jammed my thumb between the socket wrench handle and the brake calliper, which I can tell you now, is not fun.

So, after being bullied the next day (Wednesday) by my youngest to make a doctor appointment, I caved in and made one for Thursday.

Then of course, Thursday came with a deluge of rain, and I couldn’t get in to town for my appointment.

Friday came, water levels dropped, and the road into town became passable again, so I made an appointment for that afternoon.

The doctor, like me, thought I’d fractured the knuckle, so she had the nurse dress the small cut I had, and bandage my hand so I couldn’t move my thumb at all.

(I didn’t tell her I’d been out digging drains the day before to stop our driveway from flooding)

She also recommended I have a tetanus shot, as I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had one, then sent me up to the hospital to have X-rays.

Fast forward to today (Monday) and I got dressed to go to the follow up appointment (spoiler alert, it’s not broken ) by grabbing undies and leggings that looked easy to pull on one handed.

It turns out the undies were actually bather bottoms I’ve never worn. Now, for those of you that have never purchased women’s bathers, there is a plastic sanitary strip along the crotch. And yep, you guessed it, mine still had that strip.

I tried to ignore the crinkly feeling, as we were already running late, but the though of sitting in the car, then in the doctor’s room without squirming, had me panicking.

So I stopped, turned to hubby, and said, “I need your help.”

After some jokes and laughter, and me trying to pull up and straighten everything one handed, and failing, so hubby had to do that as well, I was comfortable again.

Now, you may be asking yourself, what does this have to do with story telling, and did we really need to know all of that?

The answer is lots, and yes

In Shattered Truth, the third book of my White Wattle Creek series, Alex has a life changing accident. So far, I’ve delved into the stages of grief he would go through, and the medical recovery side of things, but I haven’t really thought of all the seemingly little things he’d have to deal with, or who he would allow (because he would never ask) to help him.

And I think it’s those little things that can make a huge difference to how characters come across in our stories, and how we can make an audience either love or hate them.

So next time you’re in a seemingly little moment, see if you can use it to sway your audience one way or the other

As always, stay safe, and have fun

Schroedinger’s book

Sitting outside today with my husband, drinking our respective hot cups of tea and coffee, and watching the rain fall, we got onto the subject of unstarted projects being akin to Schroedinger’s cat. If we don’t start the painting we have an idea for, or writing that book that’s been floating around our head, then we can live in hope that it will turn out perfectly, that our vision will be realised exactly as it is in our heads. That we will be successful.

I don’t know if it’s a form of imposter syndrome, a form of procrastination, or just low self esteem, and therefore, I’m not quite sure how to fix it.

I don’t even know if anyone else experiences Schroedinger’s creation syndrome (don’t come after me for making that term up), or if it’s just me.

I do know most of the suggestions will be to JUST WRITE! And I understand that. But when it’s not fear of the blank page that grips you, but fear of a finished project not meeting your internal vision of them, that’s something that JUST WRITE, won’t conquer.

If you also suffer from Schroedinger’s creative syndrome, how do you deal with it?

And, can we start a group please?

Anyway, stay safe and have fun

Reckless Lies is on Pre order!!

I’ve been battling a pinched nerve in my neck the last month, so no writing, or anything, really, done.

But…

The second book of my White Wattle Creek series is out on pre order, with a release date of July 27th

This book was agony to get down as a first draft, and even a second. Only once I got the copy edits back, and could read it from my editors perspective, did I see the story shine through. Now all the edits are done, and I love what Reckless Lies has become.

If you grab a copy, let me know what you think.

And if you haven’t read Breaking Storm yet, I suggest you do so you can find out how the White Wattle Creek friends started.

(Each book can be read as a standalone, but why not get the whole series as they come out )

As always, I hope you are all safe, and find some ways to have fun

Vikki

Buy now

An Update :)

I haven’t written a blog in a while, so here is a catch-up.

It’s been nearly a year since Breaking Storm became a real life book instead of a file on my computer. To say I’m happy with the response so far is a huge understatement. Of course, not all the reviews are great, but for the most part, people are loving Kelsey and Ethan’s journey to a happily ever after.

Over the last year, I’ve also been working on the second book of the White Wattle Creek series, Reckless Lies. Carol’s story has evolved and grown in that time, and I can’t wait to have it out in the world right next to Breaking Storm.

Right now, I’m working on the third book of the series, (working title) Shattered Whisper. This will be Jex’s story, and will be another emotional rollercoaster. I’m hoping to have the first draft finished before the launch of Reckless Lies.

In other news, I’ve discovered Studio Ghibli, and absolutely love Howl’s Moving Castle. My youngest is encouraging me to write some fanfic, and I have to say, I’m quite tempted! I hope to blog monthly from now on, but we’ll see how that goes

I’ll end by saying wherever you are, whatever you might celebrate this time of year, I send you love and peace

Vikki Holstein

One Writer’s Words has me featured on their blog. Go check them out

Listen to love

Most creatives battle with imposter syndrome, self doubt, and that nasty little voice that loves to convince us we’re no good.

We work, closeted away from friends and family, missing social engagements because of deadlines and the crippling need to just get it done.

We agonize over every detail, second guess ourselves, worry what others will think, or if anyone will even be bothered to look at what we’ve done.

One of the worst things I think we do, is listen to that nasty inner voice instead of the people who see what we’ve done, and tell us we’ve done it well.

It’s easier to believe ourselves. We say what we’re terrified others will, and if we get in first it won’t hurt as much, will it?

We give ourself a false sense of negative security. And we stop ourselves from truly believing in what we do, what we can do.

So listen to the people who tell you they love your work. Listen to family and friends who encourage because they want to see you succeed.

Listen to strangers who take the time to tell you your work touched them, changed them, or took them away for a bit.

Listen to the love people offer, hoard it like a dragon does gold, bring it out whenever that nast voice starts its lies, and please, please, be nice to yourself.

And as always, have fun.

It’s been a while…

Blogging has taken a back seat the past few months. In fact, it’s been shoved out into the trailer, covered with a tarp, and forgotten. And not because I don’t have anything to say, but because I have been busy learning the ins and outs of the editing process.

I’m lucky enough to have a brilliant editor who encourages what I do well, as much as she offers suggestions for things that need working on. She doesn’t change my voice, or my core themes, but shows me how to make the story stronger, and a better read.

Which leads me in to why I haven’t been blogging. So many things have been happening, besides the writing and editing. So many behind the scenes things that seem to be easy, but turn out to be emotionally complicated, like marketing questions and avenues, especially when the book deals with the after effects of abuse.

So, with my first book to be published early next year, and book two coming together, with book three not far behind it, I have a growing to-do list, on top of which is revamping this website, and regular blogging.

If anyone has any suggestions on making a great author website, please leave me a comment. And if there’s anything you want to see more of, let me know

It’s been a while…

So much has happened in the last six months. I signed a contract to get Hold Back published, then a couple of months later it fell through. I got angry, disenchanted, disheartened, was bolstered by friends and loved ones, and found that my determination was stronger than anything else I felt. 

So, I sent Hold Back off to other publishers, agents, and competitions. I started rewriting Break Away, the second book in the series, and tried really hard not to be jealous when other writers posted their happy publishing deals.

When I saw a call for submissions from Vulpine Press, looking specifically Australian and New Zealand stories, I thought why not?

Well, I’m ecstatic to say that not only did Vulpine Press offer a contract for Hold Back, but the whole series!

I’m thrilled, and still at the someome-please-pinch-me stage, and I know I have a lot of hard work ahead of me, but it’s happening. It’s really happening

That time of year.

It’s hectic, loud, expensive, and in Australia, Christmas time is hot. It’s a time for family and friends, either the making or breaking of them. It’s the time of loss and gain. For a lot of us, it’s a time we find harder to cope with for whatever reason.

Finding time to write among the chaos, and battling the guilt of taking that time when so many Christmas parties and breakups are going on is beyond hard. 

One thing we must remember this time of year, when our energies and emotions are stretched in all different directions, making us exhausted before we even get out of bed each morning, is to practice some self care.

Take that hour (or however long) each day to write, to let yourself steep in the world you’re creating.

Know you can say no. To parties, shopping, Christmas Caroling, or anything else that will zap what little time and energy you may have hoarded.

Tell that little nagging voice that says you are selfish, that people depend on you to be there, that you should do all these things, to shut up. Just because most people thrive on the crowds, the buzz, the energy of this time of year, doesn’t mean we all do.

If your energy charge is to lock yourself away for a certain amount of time each day and write, then do it.  

Better to be relatively sane over the holiday period, than a wreck who breaks down and screams that everyone will end up in the next book as victims of some awful petulant plague that kills its victims viciously and horendiously painfully slow.

Just my thoughts.

I hope you all have a good holiday season, a happy Yule, merry Christmas, and any other holidays celebrated this time of year.

As always, have fun

A dream come true, or hard work paying off.

Being published is something most writers aim for at some time or another. We draft, polish, rewrite, edit until we have something we can look at and say “You know what? I’m happy with how that’s turned out.”

Then we send our work, that we have put so much of our self into, for other people to look at and decide if it fits what they want.

Most times, it comes back as a no.

Up until now, it has been varying degrees of that “no” for me.

Now though, I’ve had that elusive “yes” and have signed a contract with After Glows Publishing for Hold Back.

I’m still getting over the this is a dream bit to the okay, this is really  happening bit, and though I want to say it’s a dream come true, I can look at the last nineteen years of writing and know that without sticking to it through the good times and bad, without taking each “no” and saying I’ll do better, and without the support and belief of the people around me, that dream would have always stayed just that.

A dream.

So for those of you out there still getting that “no”, or still dreaming, go for it, make it happen. Drag that dream to you kicking and screaming, just never let it go. 

You will get there.

But as always, have fun while you’re doing it