Lyndsey Hall's Blog, page 17

Vote for The Fair Queen in the Indie Fantasy Book Awards!

Thank you so much to everyone who nominated TFQ in the first round of the Indie Fantasy Book Awards 2020! With your help we managed to get into the top ten and go through to the final round!

The votes are now open and it’s even easier this time, all you have to do is click the link below, enter your email address and click on my book and submit!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

I’d be so grateful if you could spare ten seconds to vote for me, I know I’m up against some really big indie authors, but every vote counts and will help me to reach more readers.

Thank you so much if you do take the time to vote! Voting is open until Feb 28th, and I’m planning to do a price drop in the final week before the winner is announced, so if you haven’t read The Fair Queen yet and have been thinking about buying it, you might want to wait until it goes on sale. I’ll let you know here when the discount goes live.

I’m also going to be over on my Instagram account reading snippets of the book on my Stories and maybe even going live over the next few weeks, so if you don’t already follow me over there feel free to pop over and say hi @lyndseyhall.

Catch you later!

Lyndsey

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Help The Fair Queen win Indie Fantasy Book of the Year 2020!

Hi lovely folks! I’ve got a tiny favour to ask of you today, if you can spare me thirty seconds.

TFQ is up for Indie Fantasy Book of the Year 2020, and 14 Jan is the last day for nominations. The top ten go through to the next round, and I’m currently around 15th place so I’d love a few more nominations!

Nominate TFQ (and your favourite 2020 indie fantasy releases) here.

Thank you so much for helping me to reach more readers! I appreciate your help in getting my first book baby into the next round of the awards.

If I win I’ll do a giveaway on Instagram and email you here to let you know about it!

Stay safe and well.

Lyndsey

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Nano or Not?

It’s been a while! How are you?

This month I’m taking part in my fifth NaNoWriMo, attempting to finish the first draft of book two, The Solitary King. Over on Instagram, I’m also participating in a fun month-long meme called #NanoOrNot20, which includes daily prompts to share about your current project, whether you’re taking part in Nano or not (geddit?).

Today’s prompt is about your book’s world, so pop over to my account to find out all about the Fair Realm, and check my previous posts about my MC Aria and my writing goals for November.

Do you take part in NaNoWriMo? I don’t necessarily aim to hit 50k words, but I do find the deadline and focus really helpful for my writing habits, and the community is like no other during November. Writers everywhere come together online and in person (when not in times of COVID) to support and encourage each other, meet beta readers and critique partners, and occasionally to write!

I like to try and join in during April and July’s Camp Nanos as well, usually to rewrite and revise rather than draft. This July, I was actually editing The Fair Queen before publishing in August, but I was that deep into polishing the final product I didn’t give Camp Nano a second thought. And it’ll probably be the same story next year as I get TSK ready for publication before 2021 is out. Release date still TBC.

Writers – what are you working on this month?

Readers – what are you reading right now?

I’m currently listening to the audio book of Crescent City and really enjoying it, I’m about halfway through and starting to see what people mean when they say it starts off about one thing but by the end it’s about something completely different. And I can see the book hangover looming in the distance when I finish this one, S. J. Maas is a killer for that.

What has your favourite book been this year? Mine is currently Hold Back the Tide by Melinda Salisbury, and I don’t see that changing if I’m honest, it was dark and atmospheric and I loved every word of it.

Things are a bit dark and atmospheric in the real world right now, aren’t they? With the UK just about to go back into full lockdown, and the US election dragging on, there’s definite tension and anxiety in the air. If you’re feeling unproductive, uncreative and generally a bit burnt out at the moment, just know you’re not alone. We’re all struggling with the current dystopian plot being played out by the writers of 2020, but we will get through it and better days will come again. If you’re having a hard time believing that, please reach out to someone and talk, my email is always open.

Sending strength and support.

Lyndsey

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ARCs of The Fair Queen now available!

Less than 3 weeks to go until The Fair Queen is published! I got the finished ebook and paperback files back from my interior formatter and cover designer today and it is so beautiful I could cry. I uploaded them to KDP immediately and ordered my proof copy of the paperback so I can check for any errors before the hard copies go on sale. I can’t wait for it to arrive next week!

The Advance Reader Copies of the ebook are now available on Booksprout, so head on over if you’d like to claim a copy in exchange for an honest review. There are only 14 left so get it quick before they’re gone and you have to wait until publication day!

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I’ve been sharing snippets and aesthetics over on my Instagram page for a while, so you can follow me there if you’d like to find out more about the Fair and their realm before you dive into the story. This is the latest snippet I shared:

“Xander, tell me the truth.” She tried to appeal to the boy she saw underneath. Not the crown prince, not the soldier, the boy who looked at her with such intensity it felt like a caress. Or a blow.

The Fair Queen by Lyndsey Hall

There’s still time to enter the preorder giveaway too, so if you’d like to get your hands on a signed paperback, a TFQ bookmark with custom character art by Lina Amarego, and a digital prologue, then all you have to do is preorder the ebook and send proof of purchase to my email me@lyndseyhallwrites.com or DM a screenshot to me on Instagram.

Here’s the beautiful character art in question:

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How gorgeous are they? Aria and Xander, as modelled by Sophie Turner and Ben Barnes (natch).

You can preorder The Fair Queen on Amazon Kindle now, and in paperback very soon. And you can add it to your Goodreads shelf here! I’m also answering reader questions over on my Goodreads page so feel free to ask me anything! And there’ll be some fun and games in the week running up to 31 August on my Instagram so you’re very welcome to pop by and see what’s happening in a couple of weeks.

Thank you for all the love and support The Fair Queen has received so far, you’re the best and I can’t wait to finally share Aria’s story with you.

Lyndsey

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Cover reveal and release date for The Fair Queen

Back in January, I decided to go all in and self publish my debut novel this summer. I worked with a cover designer, booked an editor for April and arranged to have the interior formatted beautifully, and started looking into the pros and cons of Amazon and Ingram Spark.

Then the pandemic hit.

I’m lucky that the virus hasn’t impacted my plans to publish The Fair Queen. I know lots of book releases have been postponed until 2021, and lots of debuts have been launched into the world with more of a quiet cheer than the planned explosion of confetti. It’s not the ideal time to be launching a publishing career, but right now we need stories more than ever. People are reading more, not less, looking for an escape, some adventure, romance, and most importantly, hope.

The Fair Queen is available to preorder on Amazon Kindle now, and will be released on 31 August 2020.

I do hope to have a small launch party at a local cafe, but if that isn’t possible then it won’t be the end of the world. I’ll have a little celebration at home with cake and champagne, and maybe move the launch party onto Instagram Live.

Anyway! You’re here to see the absolutely stunning cover Natalie at Original Book Cover Designs created for me and read the blurb for TFQ, so here you go…

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The trees in Hartwood forest are hiding an ancient secret, a door into a magical realm where fairy princes and monsters are one and the same. 

Seventeen-year-old Aria is bored of her small town and dreams of a life filled with excitement and adventure. She’s about to learn the meaning of “be careful what you wish for”. 

After a chilling encounter at the local summer fair, Aria is ripped from her normal life and dragged through the Veil into the Fair Realm by a strange, silver-eyed boy and his band of fairy soldiers. They believe she is the legendary Fair Queen, the subject of a prophecy that promises to unite the war-ravaged realm and bring an end to the centuries-long conflict between the Five Kingdoms.  

But it can’t be true. Can it? 

Beset by terrifying creatures at every turn, and hunted by a tyrannical king who will stop at nothing to prevent the prophecy from coming true, Aria will have to rely on her wits if she’s to escape the Fair Realm with her life. 

I can highly recommend Natalie’s work if you’re looking for a cover designer, whether you want a custom design or are looking for a more affordable option like a premade cover. Check out some of her available designs on her Instagram, @originalbookcoverdesigns.

I’ve also had a book trailer made by my amazing friend Esmée (@esmeeanjou on Instagram) which you can see on my Instagram, along with lots of character and story aesthetics, the opening of the novel and loads of other fun stuff, like my preorder giveaway!

Buy the ebook on Amazon now and you could get a signed copy of the paperback, a bookmark with custom character art by Lina Amarego (@silver_wheel_press_designs) and an unpublished prologue not found anywhere else! You just need to screenshot your proof of purchase and send it to me@lyndseyhallwrites.com.

Thank you so much for all your support so far, I hope you enjoy the book if you read it. And, as you know, reviews are so important for authors so I’d love if you’d leave a comment on Goodreads or Amazon if you do read it. Good or bad!

Traditional publishing vs. self publishing

Happy New Year! I know I’m a little bit late, but I hope 2020 brings you lots of happiness and success, especially if you’re querying or plan to self publish a novel this year.

2019 was a particularly challenging year for me, for so many reasons, and some of the struggles aren’t quite over yet, so 2020 should be a pretty interesting and exciting year. I’m hoping to be in a completely different place by the end of this year (physically and mentally), I’ve got some big plans that I’d like to pay off in the next 12 months, and I’m going to need some accountability. Which is where you come in!

I’m not a huge fan of resolutions, but I do have a few intentions for the coming year, and the main one relates to my writing.

In 2020, I’m going to publish my first novel, The Fair Queen.

I’ve decided to self publish instead of pursuing traditional publishing any further, for several reasons. I haven’t decided on an exact date yet, as I need to complete another round of rewrites, send the manuscript to a professional editor, and give it a good polish before it’s ready for publication. I’m aiming for September, but as we all know, things happen and plans change, so I won’t announce an official release date until I’ve at least engaged an editor, in case their schedule doesn’t quite fit with a September launch.

So, I thought I’d explain why I’ve decided to go down the self publishing route. I’m going to weigh up the pros and cons of both self publishing and traditional publishing, as there are definite benefits to both, it’s just about personal preference and circumstances really, so don’t worry, I’m not just going to try and convince you that self publishing is the best option for everyone.

Let’s get started, shall we?

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What’s the difference between traditional and self publishing?

In a nutshell, traditional publishing means a publishing house buys the rights to your book, and then they take on the cost of printing and (some) marketing of your novel. The publisher pays you an advance, which they then recoup from sales, and once that’s been paid back you start to earn royalties. Your agent gets a cut too, usually around 15%.

With self publishing, the upfront costs of printing and marketing your novel all fall on you, but once the book starts to sell you won’t have to split the profits with anyone – except perhaps your sales agent, e.g. Amazon.

And that’s pretty much it. Except, obviously there are a million and one other little things that tip the scale in either direction, depending on your specific circumstances and needs.

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The pros and cons of traditional publishing

The number one benefit of traditional publishing is access – access to the best editors and cover designers in the business, access to a much larger market of buyers thanks to a big marketing budget/team and contacts in every major bookstore. Access to information and knowledge that takes years to amass, and thousands of pounds (or dollars, euros, etc.) spent on degrees and courses, membership to professional organisations, and everything else it takes to be at the top of your professional game.

The other main benefit is, of course, the money, as you won’t pay a penny up front and will actually be paid a lump sum for your hard work, before any books have even sold.

Unfortunately, book advances aren’t quite what they used to be (what industry hasn’t had to make cuts?), and they’re normally paid in 3 instalments – the first on signing the contract with the publisher, the second on delivery of the completed manuscript, and the third on publication. And, as we all know, publishing is a very long process, so these payments could be a year or more apart. So even if you were lucky enough to receive a £50,000 advance, you won’t receive it all in one go, and if you’re a full time writer or decide to quit your 9-5 on receiving your book deal, you might struggle to pay your usual outgoings if you rely on your book advance alone.

But, on a positive note, once you outsell your advance, you’ll start to receive royalties. Only a small percentage of books ever actually outsell their advance, and when they do, royalty cheques are usually only paid twice a year, so there could be a six month stretch between each payday. (Here’s a great article on book advances and royalties.) In short, until you’ve published several books and can command large advances, and are bringing in a good amount in royalties, you might want to keep your day job to make sure you can afford to eat and pay the bills.

Some authors are very open and honest about the publishing industry and the money they receive for their books. Mackenzi Lee (author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue) often does Q&As on her Instagram Stories where she answers questions from readers and writers looking to publish, she’s definitely worth a follow (and if you haven’t read her books, I’d 100% recommend them!).

Even if you do get a book deal with a major publishing house, and they decide to invest some of their marketing budget in selling your book, you won’t be guaranteed a book tour, or a stand at YALC, or any advertising. You might find that you still have to organise and pay for these things yourself, if you choose to do them. You’ll likely have to pay for your own travel and accommodation if you do book signings and readings or attend festivals.

If you want to encourage pre-orders (a huge factor in whether a book is successful in its first week, effecting the author’s future advances etc.) you’ll probably have to organise your own pre-order offer, whether that’s a free enamel pin or a postcard with a character portrait you’ve had commissioned.

These marketing methods are all optional, but if you want your book to succeed and outsell its advance, and to improve your chances of selling your next book to a publisher, you will have to play a part in marketing it yourself.

(My day job is actually in marketing, so I’ll do a whole post on book marketing soon and link to it here when it’s live.)

For me, the biggest negative against trad-publishing is that you’re no longer able to write whatever you want. If you planned a trilogy but book one has poor sales, your publisher may not buy book two. You might have a brilliant idea for a space-western-thriller, but if your agent and publisher hate it there’s no point in writing it (unless you decide to do it in your spare time for fun or bonus free content – but now that writing is your job you won’t have as much time to write for fun/free, sadly).

Ultimately, there are some huge pros to traditional publishing, you’ll have the support and assistance of entire teams of qualified and experienced people, and you won’t have to worry about cover design, formatting, getting your book into shops or on Amazon, plus you’ll start earning money almost straight away. If you can get through the query trenches and find an agent, and get a publishing deal, it’s definitely worth taking the offer of traditional publishing, if only for the exposure you’ll receive and the contacts you’ll make. Just remember that it’s not all easy-breezy and wonderful, and you might not make as much money as you always imagined – especially not from your first book. Go in with your eyes wide open, and you could become hugely successful as a traditionally-published author.

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The pros and cons of self publishing

Self publishing is the DIY option for getting your stories into the world, and that comes with lots of positives as well as a few negatives. First of all, you have complete control over what you write, your book’s title and cover, how much it costs for readers to buy and whether it becomes a six book series or remains a standalone. You get to decide when it’s released, where it’s available to buy or download, and how it’s marketed.

Unfortunately, this also means that you’re solely responsible for doing and funding all of the above. Which means spending a lot of time reading and researching, whether it’s genre standards your novel will need to fit, such as length and style, or cover design basics (your book should sit well next to others in its demographic and genre, so you’ll need to maintain certain elements of cover style to look like your book “belongs”, whilst also standing out enough to be picked).

You’ll either have to learn how to format your novel and convert it to the right file format, or pay someone else to do it for you. You’ll need to learn about publishing platforms and chose the right one for you, and decide whether to publish just an ebook or offer a print version too, via a Print-on-Demand service. Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing is probably the easiest and most well-known option, but you may also want to get your book into physical shops, and, you’ve guessed it, that all comes down to you with self publishing.

Ingram Spark, the other well-known self publishing service, will make your book available to book stores and libraries, but they have to know about it and request it, so you’ll still need to get the word out there about your book yourself.

You might have seen other books with cool features, such as maps, custom character artwork, quote prints and enamel pins, book trailers and fancy online ads where elements of the cover art appear to move. And there’s no reason why you can’t have any or all of these things, but unless you learn how to design and create them yourself, then you’re going to have to pay a professional to do it for you, and the cost of design and production can be prohibitive when you’re just starting out and haven’t made a penny from book sales yet. Fiverr is a good place to start, or search on Instagram and ask for recommendations from your online author friends.

You may need to build an author website, create a presence on certain social media (Twitter and Instagram have the biggest bookish communities), maybe even start a blog or email newsletter in order to reach your audience and build a readership. These can all be done completely free, but your time is your most valuable resource and you don’t want to waste it on marketing efforts that may or may not work for you.

Have you noticed I haven’t mentioned writing yet? Let’s assume that you’ve got a pretty solid book written already, it’s got a beginning, middle and end and an appropriate word count for your genre. (Here’s a great blog post on word counts by genre). In order to make it the best book it can be and get it ready for publication, you’ll need to get as many eyes on it as possible, and not just any old eyes, but other writers, readers who know and love your genre, and professional editors. (I wrote a post a while back about alpha and beta readers and critique partners, give it a read if you’re not sure which kind you need.) The only one of these that should cost you money is a professional editor, but I wouldn’t recommend skipping this step unless you yourself are a trained editor, and even then there’s definitely going to be something you miss as the author that another skilled editor will pick up on.

The most important thing a self published author needs is a community, as you’ve missed out on the all-important access that traditional publishing offers – you need to build a network around you of other writers, especially other self publishing authors who can support and advise you along the process. You want to find other writers in your genre to share manuscripts with and offer critiques and feedback, to recommend great editors, cover designers and marketing professionals, to you. To celebrate and commiserate with through the ups and downs, to share each others books and help spread the word to your audiences, and to become lifelong writer friends.

In summary, the biggest pro of self publishing is the freedom – deciding what to write and when to publish it, without falling prey to the whims of agents and publishing houses. And the biggest con is that you’ll have to do it all by yourself, or part with your hard earned cash to get professional help.

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What is hybrid publishing?

In recent years, as self publishing has become so much more accessible, there has been a growing trend in hybrid publishing. As you can imagine, hybrid publishing refers to a combination of both traditional and self publishing. For example, an author who has a traditional publishing deal for an ongoing series of crime thrillers may also love writing cosy mysteries, but their publisher doesn’t want to damage the brand they’ve built up in the author’s name, so they won’t publish the cosy series. The author may choose to self publish, possibly even under a pseudonym, as long as it wouldn’t impact on their publishing deal.

Some authors start off as self publishers, but are eventually discovered by an agent or publisher who loves what they write and offers them a contract. They might continue to publish some books themselves whilst also writing for the publisher, or they may leave their previous publications up and go fully trad-pub, having gotten their big break as a self-pubbed author.

Whichever way it works out, hybrid publishing may be the best option for a lot of writers. Say you have an idea you know the big publishing houses are desperate for right now, you could write and query that, whilst self publishing the strange little story that whispers in your head at night, but that you know no agent or publisher will want to touch. There are almost no limits to hybrid publishing (as long as you keep to any contractual terms and conditions), so it’s worth considering when deciding whether to trad-pub or self-pub – you don’t have to choose just one!

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Now you know the basics of traditional publishing, self publishing and hybrid publishing and can make an educated decision when the time comes to send your words out into the world. Let me know how you plan to publish, or if you are already a published author then how you decided which way to go!

Lyndsey

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Review: Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

It’s been almost a year since I finished Kingdom of Ash, the final book in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, and one of my all time favourite book series. I think that means it’s about time I wrote a review, right?

I wanted to wait until I’d read the entire series before I reviewed it. It’s a long one, with seven increasingly wordy books (the final book is over 1000 pages!). Sometimes it’s nice to know whether it’s going to be worth your time investing in a long series before you start book one. And honestly, when I read Throne of Glass I had absolutely no idea the story would end up where it did in Kingdom of Ash, a lot happens between books one and seven (A LOT) , so even if you read the first book and weren’t all that enthralled, you might end up loving the series overall. Let me give you a tiny taste of what to expect from this behemoth of a series, so you know whether to invest your valuable reading time in it…

TL;DR Ex-assassin and slave, Celaena Sardothien is plucked from the salt mines by Prince Dorian to be his contestant in a deadly game to choose the King’s new royal assassin. Spanning a year in her life, the series follows the sassy and silver-tongued trained killer as she rediscovers who she is underneath all the layers of shame, secrecy and tragedy. Only by facing her past head on and accepting the path she’s been forced to take in order to survive, can she uncover the truth about her heritage and become who she was always destined to be.

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Rather than review each book individually, which has the potential to be incredibly spoilerific – and nobody wants that – I thought I’d give you a brief overview of the series as a whole. If you prefer to go into a new series without knowing anything though, stop reading right here and go pick up Throne of Glass, because I’m not going to be able to write this review without giving certain things away. You have been warned!

In Throne of Glass, we meet our downtrodden heroine, Celaena Sardothien,  who has been imprisoned for murder (what with her being an assassin and all) and sentenced to a life of slavery in the salt mines of Adarlan. Until one day a handsome prince arrives to whisk her away – oh wait, no, that’s a different story. He’s actually come to drag the notorious assassin out of one kind of imprisonment and into another, as his champion in a competition to become the king’s new royal assassin. Better than slavery though, right? Well no, not to Celaena, who hates the king with a passion and is not thrilled to compromise her own personal (very morally grey) code to kill for him.

We’re thrown into a classic competition trope, with a terrifying bunch of brawlers, hard-men and nimble-fingered thieves all hoping to escape their respective prison sentences and legitimise their criminal ways. No judgement here. When people start turning up dead – outside the confines of the highly dangerous competition – Celaena realises there’s something darker going on underneath the surface at the glass castle.

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Along the way, Celaena gathers a tight-knit group of friends – from Fae warriors and magic-wielding royals, to skilled soldiers and even a pup named Fleetfoot – building a band of brothers (and badass sisters) to rival any army.

Throw in a coven of wyvern-riding witches, a pirate king with a supernatural knowledge of the waves, and hordes of dark demonic parasites that can possess human hosts to wreak their own special brand of chaos, and you’ve pretty much got ToG in a nutshell.

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I can’t say much more without potentially spoiling a lo for you (if I haven’t already!), so if any of that sounds like your cup of tea, please go and pick up Throne of Glass and see what all the fuss is about. You (probably) won’t regret it!

If I can give you one tip on picking up this series, it would be to get the audio books. Not only does it make reading such a long series a much less daunting task, it also means you get the perfect pronunciation of all the crazy names and places – and if you’ve ready any Maas books you’ll know how much she loves a difficult-to-pronounce name! You’re on your own with the spelling though…

Oh, one last thing, this is more New Adult than Young Adult and there are a few somewhat steamy scenes in the later books, so it’s definitely one for the older teens and up.

Enjoy, and let me know what you thought of the series if you’ve already read it!

Lyndsey

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Review: The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

As epic fantasy novels go, it doesn’t get much better than The City of Brass! Set partly in ancient Cairo, it’s a richly diverse and beautifully descriptive novel, and even better, it’s the first in a series! The Kingdom of Copper is out now and The Empire of Gold is due in 2020!

TL;DR An Aladdin-esque fantasy with djinn warriors, elemental spirits and a smart, sassy con-woman. Nahri accidentally conjures a mysterious djinn warrior during a supposedly fake exorcism, and ends up being hunted by fire spirits across the Egyptian desert. When they escape into the legendary city of brass, Daevabad, Nahri discovers a history she never knew existed. One in which she and her ancestors are deeply entangled…

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Trying to make a living as a woman alone on the streets of Cairo isn’t easy, but Nahri has always survived on her wits. She uses her ability to read people, and a sort of ‘sixth sense’ for what ails them, to pray on the gullible, weak and desperate.

Nahri cons rich Ottoman nobles on the streets of Cairo, performing fake palm readings, healings and exorcisms. It’s all an elaborate performance to make money, until one day Nahri accidentally conjures a real djinn, who drags her across Egypt to a hidden, magical city. Her abilities make her a target and a spectacle, but her arrival in Daevabad, the city of brass, sparks more than just intrigue. Unrest has been building between the residents for centuries, and Nahri’s appearance might just light the fire of rebellion in them.

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The City of Brass focuses on three main characters whose lives and stories weave together to create a captivating and shocking depiction of life in Daevabad:

Nahri, the courageous, sceptical and self-sufficient con-woman, fighting for survival in the human world; Dara, the centuries-old djinn warrior who is conjured by Nahri and escorts her to Daevabad to face her true destiny (and his own); andAlizayd (Ali), the youngest son of the king, in training to be his elder brother’s ‘Qaid’ (captain of the royal guard).

By following these three through the novel, we get to see events from every angle and understand the actions and motivations of both the ruling class and the rebellious civilians, which is crucial in a novel of such rich culture and history. If we only saw Nahri’s perspective – as with many portal fantasies where we experience the new, thrilling world alongside the protagonist – we’d miss out on a lot of the finer details and political intricacies of Chakraborty’s world.

I absolutely loved being immersed in the Middle Eastern culture that inspired the story, I haven’t read many novels set in Africa or Arabia and it was really refreshing to find a fantasy story that wasn’t based in Europe or America. I’ve recently read An Ember in the Ashes, and have Children of Blood and Bone and Rebel of the Sands on my TBR, so it’s amazing to see more diverse characters and stories from different cultures being published. Chakraborty does a phenomenal job of creating an imaginative and stunning backdrop, mingling history and fantasy, and a compelling story that combines themes of family, loyalty, politics, love and revenge.

If you’re bored of the usual fantasy settings (dark forests and magic schools still have their place, but it’s nice to try something new every now and then) then you can’t go wrong with The City of Brass. Pick it up if you love a brave, morally-grey female protagonist and a lush magical world with more history than you could shake a wand at.

I’m currently listening to The Kingdom of Copper on audio book, and loving it. Can’t wait for the third and final book to come out next year!

Lyndsey

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The one writing podcast you need

I’ve been a podcast addict for a few years now. If you’re sceptical, don’t worry, you’re not alone. I don’t particularly like listening to the radio because I just want to hear my favourite songs, I don’t need all the inane chatter – so when it came to podcasts, I assumed that’s all it would be. That, or dry topics like politics. Nothing that would interest a creative type like me. *flicks hair*

Reader, I was so wrong.

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A brief history of my love for podcasts

The first podcast I ever listened to, and still my number one, is My Favorite Murder. If you’re into true crime, with a side of humour and heartwarming honesty, you should definitely give it a listen. It was recommended to me by a friend and after just a few episodes I was hooked. The hosts are incredibly open and honest about their past struggles with addiction, mental health problems, and their advocacy for therapy as self care. They’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for causes like End the Backlog and helped raise awareness of some really important issues, with their signature mix of humour and heart. I’ve been to see Karen and Georgia live twice now and am the proud owner of a “Here’s the thing” mug and t shirt. (SSDGM to any fellow Murderinos out there.)

The next podcast I came across was the aptly named My Dad Wrote a Porno. I think it was Samantha Shannon on Twitter that first introduced me to this one, and when I saw several other well-known authors tweeting about it I knew I had to check it out. Essentially, Jamie’s dad writes erotic adult novels under the pseudonym Rocky Flintstone (they’re real, you can buy the ebooks), and his son reads them aloud on air, a chapter at a time, while his two friends and co-hosts poke fun at the cringe-worthy writing. It’s hilarious and a great lesson in how not to write, but as the presenter is the author’s son, it’s all in the name of good fun.

Since then, I’ve discovered lots of other favourite podcasts from recommendations by friends and people I follow online, including:

Crime Junkie – straight up true crime covering cold cases and under-reported crimes, plus its spin-offs Red Ball and Full Body ChillsThe Murder Squad – crowd sourced investigations, helping give John & Jane Doe’s their names back and solving cold cases through web sleuthingHappy Place – mental wellbeing and self care chats with Fearne Cotton and other famous folkCtrl Alt Delete – conversations about careers, business and growing up online with the “internet generation”Is this Working? – a look at the modern day world of work and how it has changed, and how we can make it work for us

But the real reason why I’m shouting in your face about podcasts today is this…

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88 Cups of Tea

Never heard of the 88 Cups of Tea podcast? If you’re a storyteller of any kind, you need to rectify that immediately.

88 Cups of Tea is hosted by Yin Chang, an actress and writer from the US, who interviews authors, screenwriters, agents and other figures from the publishing and entertainment industries. If you have a favourite author, particularly within the YA category, then they almost definitely have an episode of 88CupsOfTea.

All the greats have been on it, including Victoria Schwab (her episode is an absolute must-listen, whether you’ve read her books or not), Holly Black, Sarah J. Maas, Holly Bourne, Elizabeth Gilbert, Cassie Clare, Renee Ahdieh, Marissa Meyer, Maggie Stiefvater, Sarah Dessen, Susan Dennard, E. Lockhart, Angie Thomas, Beth Revis, Marie Lu, Sabaa Tahir, Samantha Shannon, Maureen Johnson, Tamora Pierce. NEED I GO ON???

With over 130 episodes, a fair few of which are with literary agents and industry insiders, there’s definitely something for everyone, even if you can’t commit to listening to every single one. (I still haven’t listened to even half yet!)

The beauty of 88Cups is that it doesn’t matter what genre you read, or write, or whether you’ve even heard of some of the authors interviewed, they all have something to say that you will benefit from hearing. I can’t emphasise this enough, you will learn something and take away some little – or large – nugget of information, inspiration or motivation from each and every episode.

Yin has a way of making you feel like you’re listening to two old friends chatting, and she isn’t afraid to ask the big questions. You’ll hear about the guest’s childhood and upbringing, how they fell in love with books and started writing, what challenges they faced in making time for their writing around work or kids, or the years they spent in the query and submission trenches, and how they got their “big break”.

Ultimately, you’ll realise with every episode that you are not alone. Choosing to live a creative life and making a living from our art isn’t ever the easy option, but the passion we have for what we create makes it worthwhile. If you need a hit of inspiration, or a little reassurance that your art is valuable, or even a kick up the backside to pursue your passion, then just listen to an episode of 88Cups and you’ll soon be back at your keyboard, with a cup of tea in your hand and a fire in your belly.

Lyndsey

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Writing and emotional blockages

Wow, six months really flew by! Sorry for the radio silence, I’ve been busy with work, being a mum to a now one-year-old (how did that happen?!) and actually reading again! After months of barely managing to pick up a book and read more than a sentence before my eyes drooped shut or someone needed me, I’m starting to get some time back for myself, and have even gotten back to my writing. (And maybe even blogging?)

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I wanted to do a sort of update to my previous post On the Writer’s Block, in which I talked about writer’s block and what sorts of things can cause us to struggle to put words on the page, and how we can break through the blockage. I’ve been thinking recently about my own experience of writer’s block, and how I don’t think my past post went deep enough or covered enough of the broad spectrum of reasons for feeling blocked.

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I won’t reiterate too much of what I said last time, so feel free to go and check out On the Writer’s Block and pop back to read this post. In a nutshell, I explained how perfectionism and performance anxiety can lead us to feeling unable to write, and the best way to get over the blockage is to keep writing – whether that’s free writing to get your thoughts and feelings out, or just slogging through the hard days, and fixing (or deleting) your work during the editing stage.

What I hadn’t considered when I wrote that post was the effect your emotional and mental health can have on your ability to write. Events going on in your personal life and struggles you may be facing can have a real impact on your writing, from causing you to feel blocked or even showing up in your stories, especially if you’re someone who works through their emotions and processes thoughts and experiences on the page.

In hindsight, this is what’s been going on with me for the last couple of years. Yes, years. I’ve only just realised after all this time what’s been preventing me from writing. I think I haven’t wanted to look too closely or acknowledge the problem, so I just put it to the back of my mind and carried on with my day to day life, all the while knowing something was missing and wishing I had the time, or the energy, or the headspace, to write.

But it wasn’t just about having the time, or the energy, or the headspace. Yes, those things are important and necessary, but I could have made time, I could have chosen to write when I felt awake and energised (rare, but it did happen on occasion!). I could have journalled, and meditated, and created some headspace in which to fit my stories. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t face looking too closely at why I was feeling blocked, or digging deep into my mind and heart to find the words for my story, because I was afraid of what I would find. Afraid to admit I was battling against my own mental health and struggling with anxiety.

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For a little bit of background, my writing journey really started in 2016 when I got the idea for my first novel. I’d written a lot as a kid and a teen, but just for fun and never anything close to a full length novel. I actually wrote a poem in the style of Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes at primary school, and when the Ofsted assessor came to visit the school my teacher showed her and she loved it and asked if she could take a copy to show at other schools. So that’s probably what gave me the bug for writing. I also wrote Harry Potter fan fiction, as I think all writers of my generation did (or do)!

In the summer of 2016 though, the idea for my novel THE FAIR QUEEN came to me when me and my husband moved house to a village near Sherwood Forest. And the compulsion to write a novel came from the fact that we were trying to conceive and having some difficulty, so I wanted a sort of project to distract myself while we tried and waited and hoped. We’d decided to get a dog, our beautiful German short-haired pointer Bailey, so I was walking her twice a day in these woods near our house, and the story just came to me. Whenever I was struggling with a scene or a plot hole I’d grab Bailey’s lead and we’d go for a stroll through the woods and I’d almost always come home with the scene fully formed in my head and it would just spill out of my fingers.

I took part in NaNoWriMo in November 2016, finished my first draft in January, rewrote through Camp Nano that April, and entered Pitch Wars in July 2017. I didn’t get picked, but I did have an amazing experience just entering, I won a mentor’s help with my first chapter, which resulted in me cutting several thousand words of padding off the front of my story, and learned so much invaluable information and knowledge about writing, editing, querying and the publishing industry. I would absolutely recommend entering to anyone with a completed manuscript. Even if you don’t get in, if you make the most of the community and the learning opportunity, you’ll come away a better writer and that’s a win in my book.

Right around the time I was waiting for the Pitch Wars mentees to be announced, I found out I was pregnant, and immediately it didn’t matter whether I got in or not. Not because I intended to stop writing or didn’t need the distraction anymore, but because I was so happy and relieved. But I wasn’t giving up on my writing or my dream to be published one day. And I always like to have a project on the go, to occupy my thoughts and distract me from my anxiety. (There’s that mental health beast again.)

I sent out a few queries in October, and even started outlining and drafting something new – a sort of YA contemporary that soon became a paranormal/fantasy as I realised I’m not that interested in reality and fantasy is where my heart lies. I wrote about a fifth of a first draft and then shelved that project. I sent out a few more queries for TFQ, received a few more rejections. Nice ones, some that said my submission stood out, but ultimately they weren’t interested.

And then my son arrived. This time the relief was palpable. After everything we’d gone through I’m not sure I believed everything would turn out OK, even to the very last second of my pregnancy. But here he was, and now I definitely didn’t have time to write, and if I queried and an agent was interested I wouldn’t have time to revise or go to meetings, so probably better not send any more queries. And suddenly another 6 months had passed and I hadn’t typed a single word.

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It’s a chicken and egg situation for me, writing helped me manage the anxiety I suffered while we struggled to conceive, and then when I was pregnant and during the first year postpartum my anxiety was so bad that I wasn’t able to write at all. I’m not sure one can be blamed for the other, I think they go hand in hand, round and round in a vicious cycle, and there’s a balance that needs to be found in order for me to feel able to write.

I think I’ve found that balance now. I decided to start working on book two to THE FAIR QUEEN, which is called THE SOLITARY KING, because I wanted to get back to writing. I knew that making some time for myself would help my mental health, and returning to the world I created and love was easier than trying to start an entirely new project from scratch at a time when I was struggling just to think about writing. And it has made a huge difference, but I can’t credit writing with bringing me out of the black hole of anxiety I’ve been living in for a couple of years now, I think I needed to start to heal first before I could even consider writing again.

I’ve learnt that writer’s block isn’t as simple as running out of ideas, or being afraid that no one will like your book. It might be that you’re going through a really difficult time and your brain can’t comprehend creating a story right now, or that you’re scared to bare your soul on the page because it’s too raw, too painful. You might not be able to persevere through what you’re going through, you might need time, and other methods of self care to help you heal the wound that’s preventing you from writing that book you know is inside you.

And that’s OK. That’s more than OK. You will write again, one day, when you’re ready. There’s no rush. But the world needs your story, so please don’t give up. We’ll be here waiting for it when you’re ready to tell it.

Lyndsey

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