Marissa Farrar's Blog, page 11

Life in a Box - A Post by Serenity.

I first wrote this post for Darcia Helle's campaign to bring awareness for women trapped in violent relationships. I thought I'd share it here as well. I also hope you click the link to take you through to Darcia's blog and read some of the comments left there. Some of the real life stories made me realize just how important it is to get things right in fiction when you're dealing with such a sensitive topic.

Life in A Box

 I live my life in a box. On all sides rise sheer walls of fear. A roof of humiliation presses down on my head so I’m forced to crouch, to curl up in a ball. Bound across my mouth is a gag of shame. I cannot speak about what the person who is supposed to love me the most in the world does to me.And I cannot escape.My husband, Jackson, hits me in all the places no one else can see—the ribs, my lower back, my thighs.Each time it happens he comes to me, curls up behind me, pressing his body against mine. ‘I’m so sorry,’ he tells me. ‘Why do you make me do these things to you?’ As though this is my fault. Yet in many ways I feel responsible. The abuse didn’t start until after I lost our first pregnancy. We’d both been so excited, but then I woke one morning with blood in my underwear—too much blood—and a visit to the doctor confirmed our worst fear, I’d lost the baby.I blamed myself and saw the accusations in Jackson’s eyes. Ruining one of our pans while cooking dinner was enough of an excuse for him to take his loss out on me.Afterward, he’d been so apologetic. We cried in each other’s arms and he promised it would never happen again. Except I would hear those words many times in the years to come.Then I fell pregnant a second time and, once again, lost the baby. With the next I managed to reach twenty weeks gestation but, at the twenty-week scan, the technicians were unable to locate a heartbeat. That one had been the worst. I gave birth to the child, an impossibly tiny, doll-like baby my body had killed. The next time I became pregnant, I kept the pregnancy a secret. When I lost that one at eight weeks, I sobbed in private and tried to act like nothing was wrong.My life has no meaning. Incapable of nurturing a child inside of me, what is the point in my existence? My body kills my own babies; as though I’m poisonous, toxic. I hate myself for it.Consequently, the beatings I receive on a regular basis are nothing less than I deserved. I can’t blame Jackson for hating me. After all, my body has denied him a family. Ironically, Jackson doesn’t tell me he hates me. If anything he is vocal about his adoration. ‘I love you, I love you, I love you’, he tells me over and over, as though those three little words will heal my wounds.I start each day judging the mood of my husband. If he’s in a bad place, his temper radiates from him like heat. On those days I do everything I can to avoid setting him off, but he’s a tightly wound spring and looking for a fight, a release to purge his anger.One time, he dragged me out of the shower by the hair and beat me with the shower head until I passed out. I woke up naked and freezing on the bathroom floor. In so much pain, I had to drag myself to the bedroom. I couldn’t even get on the bed, so I just lay on the floor with a towel over me, trying to stay warm until Jackson came home. When he finally rolled back from the bar, I asked him to help me and he laughed. He told me if I behaved like a dog, I should sleep on the floor like one.Do you know what really got to me?To this day, I have absolutely no idea what I did to deserve that beating. I wracked my brains for weeks wondering if I’d left the breakfast dishes out or if I hadn’t cleaned the floor well enough. I was so paranoid, whatever cleaning I did, I checked, and checked, and checked it again to make sure I had done the job right. I didn’t question my husband’s state of mind to beat me as he did; I questioned my own ability to do the God-damned cleaning!I know people will never understand my position. You’re probably thinking yourself, ‘Why doesn’t she get out? Why doesn’t she leave?’All I can do is bring you back to that box, the one I’m trapped inside. I cannot see a way out so I hide here; hoping and praying one day things will change.That one day, someone will help me out.
~*~'Alone', Book one in the 'Serenity' series, is free to download from a number of different sites, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Female Protagonist Turned Vampire... Cop Out or Not?

*Warning: Spoilers of next season's Vampire Diaries ahead if you're in the UK!*


As an author of a vampire series where the main character is a human woman, I will always be faced with the question 'will Serenity become a vampire'?

In many ways, it's the only real way a human and a vampire can ever be together forever. However, I still find it somewhat disappointing when the main female in a vampire series is turned. For example, I never saw Elena in 'The Vampire Diaries' becoming a vampire and when I realised that was what was going to happen, I couldn't help feeling let down. As soon as the human becomes a vampire, for me, the whole series is over. The point of a vampire/human relationship is all the contrasts: fragility vs strength, warm vs cold, mortal vs immortal. As soon as that is taken away, the difficulty and angst within the relationship vanishes, and often so does the storyline.

Another example of this happening was in the 'Twilight' books. Bella ends up in the series as a vampire, yet so much in the previous books were about how Edward was trying to save her soul and how he'd rather leave than turn her.

So is turning the female protagonist into a vampire really the only way to end a vampire series? I've not read the final books of the 'True Blood' series, but as far as I am aware, Sookie is never turned. Is this simply because she's part fairy and has her own issues going on? If she was fully human, would Charlaine Harris have felt the need to 'turn' her?

For me, I would like to think a human can hold their own, even against vampires. Yes, there are issues with the 'never growing old' thing, but perhaps there are simply more clever ways to combat that problem. I can't promise how my 'Serenity' series will end - I don't even really know myself (I have some idea, but my ideas have a tendency to change as the book is being written). Some of my readers have told me they hope Serenity will become a vampire, but I'm not sure I want that to be how the series goes.

Serenity is human and that fragility is an integral part of her character. To change it would feel like not only a lie, but an easy way out.

New Release! 'The Vagrant' by Bryan Hall, 'A Southern Hauntings Saga'!

This week has seen a new release from Angelic Knight Press and is available to buy from Amazon!


Creighton Northgate is a man shrouded in mystery and on the run from a past he doesn't even fully understand. Blurring the lines between vagabond, enigma, drunkard, and savior, he spends his days staring into the southern legends and paranormal events that most only speak of in hushed, half-believing whispers.

In the midst of a sweltering southern day, he attempts to help a homeless man who seems to share his curse; a man haunted by a silent figure from beyond this world who pursues his every step. By the end of the day, Crate discovers that some things are best left alone; some truths best left in the dark. 

This novellette serves as an introduction to the Southern Hauntings Saga and its central character Crate Northgate, a man whose shadowy past is slowly catching up to him. The first novella in the series will be released late summer 2012. 
To find out more about Crate visit www.whoiscratenorthgate.weebly.com



Author bio:
Bryan Hall is a fiction writer living in a one hundred year old farmhouse deep in the mountains of North Carolina with his wife and three children.Growing up in the Appalachias, he's soaked up decades of fact and fiction from the area, bits and pieces of which usually weave their way into his writing whether he realizes it at the time or not. He's the author of the sci-fi horror novel Containment Room 7, collection Whispers from the Dark, and the upcoming Southern Hauntings Saga.  You can find him online at www.bryanhallfiction.com

Being Featured on Pixel of Ink: What that Really Means for Sales.

As many of you probably already know, in order to create interest and gain readers for my vampire 'Serenity Series', I give away the first book as permanently free on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. I also have a short story prequel, 'The Vengeful Vampire' which is also free.

Giving the books away for free has been a great marketing strategy for me. However, recently both sales and free downloads have slowed down. I'd still been doing pretty well and while more sales are always appreciated, I was earning enough to live on, so I couldn't complain.

Then last night I discovered 'Alone', together with the rest of the series, had been featured on Pixel of Ink. We all know how important it is to get onto sites like Pixel of Ink when we've got freebies out, but I was still shocked when I got up this morning. As expected, free downloads for both 'Alone' and 'The Vengeful Vampire' increased, and I gained over 5000 downloads overnight. 'Alone' is now #2 in Contemporary Fantasy and #111 in the whole of the kindle free store.

What I didn't expect was the huge jump in sales for the other books in the series.

Over the past month I'd plateaued to around 10-15 sales each night on Amazon for each book, which isn't bad, but could be better. But this morning I discovered sales had shot up, with 'Buried', the second book in the series selling over 80 copies overnight and 'Captured' selling 70! Both books are back in the top 100 for Contemporary Fantasy on Amazon!

These results have proven how important it is to get your free books onto sites such as Pixel of Ink, not just for your free downloads, but for the rest of your books as well, especially if you write a series. It also proves that 'free' is still a great marketing strategy, despite the downturn the result people are seeing from KDP Select.

I don't know how long it will last, but for the moment I'm thrilled. 

Tips to Writing a Novel in 90 Days.

We all have our different strengths when it comes to writing. Some of us are amazing at the promotional side of it, others create spectacular prose. My strength is simply getting things written. To this date, I have four novels published, plus numerous short stories. I have three other novels which are written and just waiting for the editing process, and two WIPs. And that's all just in my Marissa Farrar name!

From start to finish, I give myself three months to write the first draft of a novel. This is a pretty reasonable time frame as a full length novel (for me) is anywhere from 70 - 95K, which means I really only need to write 1K a day in order to have a first draft completed within a 90 day time frame.

So if you're struggling to get your novel finished, take a look at some of my tips for getting words on the page.

1.) Set yourself a realistic goal. If you aim too high, you'll end up failing. If you feel like you're failing at something, then you won't go back to it. I think 1000 words a day is pretty do-able for most people and can be written in about an hour or so. If you don't manage your 1000 words for the day and only do 500, well then you need to be aware that you'll need to catch up the next day.

Break down your novel into 10K chunks. I never think OMG, I've got to write 80K on this book. How the hell am I ever going to get there. I write 10K first and then my goal is to get to 20K. When I hit 20K I'm heading toward 30K, and so on. Again this helps to make the goal of writing a whole novel feel more achievable and less overwhelming.

2.) Sit down with some idea of where you're going. I don't plan my novels from start to finish, but I'll know what's going to happen at least a couple of chapters ahead. If you have no idea what you're writing, you'll sit and stare at the screen.

3.) If you get really stuck, jump ahead! I often write scenes as they come to me and then have to piece them all together at a later date. By doing this, I'm always able to stay motivated about what I'm writing and I get my word count done for the day.

4.) Switch to a notepad. I find scribbling notes and ideas about problems I have in my novel really helps me work them out in my head. The change in medium allows a different thought process and things spring to mind that I wouldn't have thought of if I were sitting at my computer.

5.) Don't worry about the technical side of writing on the first draft. Leave all that worrying about over-used words, grammar and sentence structure to the editing process. Just concentrate on getting the story out!

6.) Above all, be hard on yourself. You're tired? So what? Imagine this were your actual job. If you went in complaining you were tired and you really didn't want to do any work today, what would your boss's reaction be? I bet they'd tell you to suck it up and get on with the job you're paid to do. That's exactly what you've got to do to yourself. Quit making excuses. If you sit and watch tv for an hour in the evening, but then complain you've not got time to write, you have to start asking yourself if you're serious about your writing. If you work a day job every hour God sends, take in a notepad and write during your lunch break.

Follow all these tips (especially the 1k a day) and there is no reason why you shouldn't have completed your first draft in 90 days. Then starts the hard part - the editing - because after all, if you want to be a writer, the actual writing of the book should be the fun part!

Have you got any great tips? I'd love to hear them!

Writers Beware - Things Newbie Authors Need to Consider Before Signing a Contract.

This week the social networking sites have been rife with tales of Anthony Giangregorio and his multiple presses (Living Dead Press, Open Casket Press and Undead Press). One very brave newbie author, Mandy DeGeit, spoke out about her issues with this 'editor' because he completely butchered her story.

I've had my own bad experiences in the past with small presses, from being asked to pay for editing after I'd signed a contract, to non-payment of royalties, to publishers trying to change contracts on me and producing sub-standard paperbacks. Unfortunately anyone can start up as a publisher now without offering any kind of proof that they actually know what they're doing and it's the new writer who suffers.

I know when I was offered my first publishing contract, I was so starry-eyed, I'd probably have signed over my first born if I thought it would help to get my work out there. This was back in 2009 and the wave of self-publishing/e-books hadn't yet taken off (or at least it certainly hadn't in my rural little part of Spain). There were things I didn't even consider. I simply saw that other authors had been published and seemed to be doing well, with blog interviews going on and lots of other promo ops that I hadn't even thought about before.

Although I made mistakes by jumping in too soon and taking the first contract offered to me, I still wouldn't change the route I took. I learned a lot about the industry and my own abilities and worth. Things I was clueless about before. I also got to meet a whole heap of fantastic authors who have done more for my career than any publisher ever has.

However, while writers are continuing to write, there will always be publishers who will be happy to take advantage of them. So what are the things newbie authors need to think about before they jump into a publishing contract:

1.) Google the publishing house. This may seem like a simplistic thing to do and you should really do this before you even submit. If a publishing house has issues behind it, there's a good chance someone will have already written about it.

2.) Ask other authors. If you're not already part of the numerous author groups on facebook, get in there now! It's highly likely someone will have either worked with, or know someone who worked with that particular publisher.

3.) Again, this might seem like an obvious one, but for God's sake, don't give them any money! While many small presses don't pay advances these days, the last thing they should be doing is asking you for money. The moment someone does that, run for the hills.

4.) Don't jump at the first opportunity that presents its self to you. While it is very exciting when someone finally sees something in your work, there may be several more out there who will also be interested in your novel but just haven't had the time to get back to you yet. If a publisher is genuine and really loves your book, they won't mind you taking a few weeks to think it over.

5.) Ask what the publishing house can do for you that you can't do for yourself. Remember self-publishing is still a valid option. You're the master of your own destiny. At least when you self-publish, if a poor product is produced, the only one you'll have to blame is yourself.

6.) Read the contract! How long does the contract last for - two years, five years? Remember this should be negotiable and above all, make sure they specify the length of their rights. I had one contract that didn't do this and the publisher just decided it would be five years from the time I asked about it. Publishers can't do this. If it's not in the contract you signed, they can't just add it in later. Same thing goes with other changes in a contract. Once the publisher has changed or broken their side of the contract (i.e. changing royalty rates) they can't then expect you to uphold your side of the bargain. Remember the contract is there for you as well as them.

7.) Finally, REMEMBER YOUR WORK IS WORTH SOMETHING! You may have spent years working on your 'baby' so don't just give it away. Imagine your book actually is your child. Would you just hand it over to anyone, or would you check out every single avenue to make sure the right person was looking after your offspring? Because believe me, if you've picked the wrong person, you could be in for years of heartache.

I'd just like to end this post by saying that not all small presses and publishers are bad. There are plenty out there who are doing loads for their authors. Just make sure, when someone shows interest in your book, that you don't just say 'yes' because they're the only one to ask.

The End of my Affair... (With KDP Select!)

As I've mentioned in a previous post, the effect of KDP Select on boosting sales has been getting less and less as the months pass. Even those books still getting decent download numbers don't then go on to see the huge spike in sales that we were seeing at the start of the year. Apparently this has something to do with a change in algorithms or some kind of other technical thing that Amazon has in place (which I don't fully understand!).

Because of this, I've made the decision to remove my books from the program at the start of next month. I've been  in KDP Select since the moment it started, and I've definitely made some money and gained a great number of readers from the program, but I'm no longer in a place where it fits with my plans.

Last month we made $2.48 for every borrow, which is great as long as your book is priced at $2.99 or less. Any more than that and the author earns less per borrow than per sale. This amount has gone up, which means there are fewer authors in the program and fewer borrows, so the pot is being divided between a smaller number.

Don't get me wrong - I still think 'free' is a great promo opportunity and there are still authors (particularly those who are still trying to build up a reader base) who will benefit from KDP. However, I no longer think I'm one of them. I have several books out which are now permanently free, but the payoff of being exclusive to Amazon now simply isn't worth the five free days they offer. The freebies I have are across most sites (Barnes & Noble, Apple, Smashwords) and over the recent months I've watched my sales increase as a result of this. I regularly have readers contacting me, asking for my other books to be available on those sites as well, so I'm going to bail.


As I mentioned, my opinion on 'free' as a promotional tool hasn't changed. I plan to put a freebie out next month entitled 'Go Back' which will be a short story prequel to my novel 'Underlife' (due out in August). But unless Amazon comes up with something new and shiny to keep me interested, I'm afraid my love affair with KDP Select has come to an end.

Five tips to sell more eBooks!

2011 was a huge year for the indie author, and 2012 is so far looking strong as well. Unfortunately, ‘indie’ still has a bad name, with people who are just hoping to earn a quick buck or two hopping on the bandwagon. So in this new publishing world, free of gate keepers and quality control, how can we make our eBooks stand out in the ever-growing crowd?
1. The Cover.
Anyone in the publishing industry (and readers alike) know the old adage ‘you can’t judge a book by its cover’ is rubbish. A cover is the very first thing your book will be judged on. If your cover isn’t eye-catching—particularly as a thumbnail—then the reader will by-pass it without a second glance. You can buy a decent eBook cover for as little as $40. if your eBook isn't selling, why not try a new cover? Money well spent!                                2.  The Price.            This has always been a controversial topic. Many indie authors have seen success because we’ve been able to undercut the big boys. The $0.99 price tag has been losing some of its allure as readers are lining cheap up with rubbish. However, the $0.99 price tag does have its place, as does the ‘free’ price tag. I’ve had great results offering both the first book in my series as $0.99 and now as free. Short stories involving the characters from your novel can also be offered for $0.99 and free in order to drum up interest in your novels. However, don’t under price your work. I now offer all of my novels for $3.99, my novellas and short story collections for $2.99 and short stories for $0.99.
         3.  The Blurb.             So your cover has enticed the reader in and the price tag has them thinking they might just take a chance on an unknown author. Now they’ll move on to check out the book itself. The first thing they’re going to read is the pitch. You want to sell your book to that reader. Make it concise and exciting. I read too many blurbs that start with ‘this is a story about...blah blah blah’. Seriously? Read some of the blurbs of best-selling novels in your genre and copy their style!
     4. Formatting.
       Most likely the next thing a reader will do is check out the ‘look inside this book’ option Amazon offers. Make sure your book looks like it’s been put together by a professional. Include a proper title page. Check your formatting hasn’t gone screwy during the conversion process, leaving gaps and different font sizes where they shouldn’t be. Smashwords has a good guide on formatting which is free to download.
         5. Write Another Book.
     One of the great things about the eBook market is that readers can get a quick and immediate fix and when they’ve read something of yours they've enjoyed, they can easily buy something else at just the click of a button.  A collection of short stories at a low price is a great way to introduce readers to your style. Not only that, it doesn’t cost a fortune to have a short collection edited and doesn’t take the best part of a year to write. Short stories will increase your virtual shelf-space and make you more noticeable to the reader.
I hope these five tips have helped if you’re thinking of getting into the eBook market or if you’ve got a book which hasn’t made many sales! Happy writing everyone!

Shiny New Stories...

What is it about the lure of a brand new, shiny idea? No matter how focused I am, those flashes of inspiration of new ideas always try to tear me away.

I don't know about you but for a writer I have a horribly short attention span. I've always been someone who does three things at once - I'll read a book with the television on and the laptop open. Unfortunately these bad habits do transfer over to my writing. I'll always have several projects on the go and I tend to flit between them, writing one until I hit a point where I get a stuck, and then I'll move onto something else until the plot point has revealed itself to me!

Sometimes though, I reach a point where I know I've got too many 'open' projects and I need to wrap some up. It's usually at this point when that brand new, shiny idea hits me, just begging to be written.

I get a lot of my story ideas through my dreams. I can literally dream whole story lines in the space of one night. Awhile ago, I had one of those dreams and I got up and wrote the whole thing down in one of my notebooks. But I have notebooks everywhere, and when it came to me looking the story back up, I couldn't find the damn thing! I was so annoyed because I knew it had been good, but for the life of me I couldn't remember what had happened. Anyway, the night before last, as I was lying in bed, just about to fall asleep, the whole thing suddenly came back to me. It probably won't make a full novel but would be a damn good novella! But I currently have two novels in my WIP pile and I know I really shouldn't add another one until I wrap one of the others up.

So for the moment, I'm trying to ignore the lure of my shiny new idea and shelve it under the 'to be written' pile. I just wish that pile would stop getting so big!

My Writing Life.

I've read a number of blog and facebook posts from other authors this week complaining about the struggle of maintaining a balance between their writing lives and their regular lives. I have to be honest, I'm normally someone who writes obsessively. I will literally snatch every moment I can in order to get a few words down. Sometimes I managed to get a thousand words written in one sitting, sometimes it will only be a hundred. However, those words quickly add up.

This past week I've had Easter to content with, along with my two daughters' birthdays and I've had family come to stay. With so many outside distractions, I've struggled to maintain my usual daily word count. Because I'm lucky enough to be able to write full time, I think I take for granted the guaranteed time I have to write. This week, with the kids off school, birthdays and families to attend to, I've probably only managed half of what I'd normally achieve.

It is frustrating and I sometimes find I become resentful. I'm a driven person and I like to be able to get a set goal achieved each day in order to feel as though I'm moving forward. But I do need to remind myself that time spent with my family and NOT writing, isn't time wasted. It's time well spent. Next to my family, my work is without a doubt the most important thing in my life, yet I never have to remind myself to work. What I do have to remind myself to do is spend quality time with my family and focus on that time. All too often, even when I'm out somewhere with my kids, I'll be daydreaming or scribbling things down in a notepad.

So, for me, while many are struggling to find time to write, I need to make sure I spend time with my family and that I'm mentally present in that time. While my writing will always been hugely important to me, my family always needs to come first.