D. Michelle Gent's Blog, page 3

Christmas and New Year

Between the two main celebration nights can seem like a bit of a limbo. OK, there are sales and stuff, other parties etc to go to but between one and the other is always a bit of anti-climax/anticipation for me - it's a feeling that is a bit weird and never happens at any other time of year.

Last year was different, me and my husband were away from home at Christmas and though we had a wonderful time with some fabulous people, it just didn't quiet seem like 'proper' Christmas.

This Christmas has been simply lovely. The day itself was spent with our children and their boyfriend and girlfriend and the day was relaxed, chilled and thoroughly enjoyable.
We didn't open any presents until everyone arrived, mid-afternoon and the anticipation was all the better for it.
The Christmas dinner went very well indeed and I was so well-prepared that I had made a pudding from scratch. It wasn't the usual heavy Christmas pudding that my grandmother used to make, instead I made a delicious panna cotta with rum-soaked sultanas at the bottom - it went down exceptionally well if I do say so myself.

Boxing day was spent shopping for bargains - coats and (more) notebooks - I'm a hoarder when it comes to notebooks. Then we went on to family and friends.

Today will be spent doing what I love - at my computer or in a chair somewhere, writing, jotting down ideas and plots, story structures etc. I truly am blessed that I can do this and I appreciate that everyone that has read my work seems to enjoy the stories. Even when someone doesn't enjoy the story, they still seem able to tell me what they didn't like about it and that helps me to improve my writing in the future.

Now, New Year's Eve... I'm looking forward to it although I haven't made any resolutions yet.

I know one thing... next year's Christmas will be entirely different in our household - there's going to be a new baby and so the cycle starts all over. Christmas will probably not be as relaxed as this one has been - not for a few years to come - and I can't wait!

Wow, this has been a random and rambling blog to get me back into the swing of things... I suppose I have to make a New Year's resolution then - to try to keep this up as a regular thing.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and for New Year? I can only wish one thing:

A Hopeful and Healthy Happy New Year to you all!

Gutted by the ravening horde!

My target for my novel has been totally scuppered for the moment. On Saturday I was about 800 words behind on my total but I picked that back up on Sunday morning so I was enthusiastic and hopeful for the day.

But it was not to be! The ravening horde that are my neighbours awoke with a bang and a bump and a screaming child and though I tried to concentrate, my office window on the back of the house had to be closed for me not to hear the crying. She's not a happy child it seems and if she is crying then she's screaming. I've witnessed the tantrums as she stands on the back garden, arms folded and stamping her foot on the ground... I mean really?

Anyway, once the child had calmed down, then the drilling started - again. I'm not sure if they are getting rid of all the walls in their house by the "Drill millions of holes until there's a doorway" method but that's what it seems like. For the past 15+ years one neighbour after another has partaken in DIY on that house. If it falls down tomorrow, the demolition report would read DIY'd to death! I'm sure.

Well, I will not be put off on my project. It's all quiet at the moment and I'm going to catch up my word count as much as possible and forge ahead. If I get more than 4000 words done today, I'll be pleased as punch.

30325 before I start today - almost 3000 down but determined! Wish me luck - I'm going in to where the Werewolves live!

Update after the weekend

I started out with all great expectations on Saturday morning. I was on target and up to date with my writing and I started well but after 2000 words it began to go awry. My neighbours who are not the most considerate bunch on the planet, decided that they really needed to do some DIY so I took a break from writing but they never stopped. So, 1000 words short of my target, I gave in for the day.

On Sunday, I woke up at 6:30, did a little bit of essential housework (washing on lines, I know... I lead such a glamorous life) and then down to writing. I really did crack on and wanted to get caught up and past my target if I could. The ravening horde that are my neighbours did decide to disrupt - kids screeching (I don't know how they stand it... oh hang on, yes I do... they buy lots of toys for the kid and then leave her outside with them and let her tease my dog). Still! I managed to get the task at hand completed AND then went to a Psychic Fair run by Evolved which is headed by Michelle Hare and Lee Roberts and managed to sell three books and give one to St John's Hospice Appeal in Mansfield, Notts.
I won the Teddy draw by guessing the name 'Jack' for the Teddy, I had inspiration from my book, Cruel... and Unusual and I also won a prize on the raffle but because all profits from these events go to Charity, I donated both the teddy and the raffle prize back to be won by someone at the next event.

Then on to this morning's work. I got up again at 6:30 (and believe me, this is a habit that I intend to break ASAP!) and got right on to it. The next door's ravening horde seem to be out and so I'm making hay while the sun shines. I've nipped onto Blogger to write this and keep everyone up to date (thanks for the interest) and then I'll get back to the writing.

Just over 16000 words done of my 18000 target for today and I'm pleased and confident that I'll manage that. I'll be back again possibly on Wednesday to let you all know how it goes. Thanks for watching :)

Hub Pages? Nah, not this time!

This is the Hub I published earlier today. It has been rejected by hubpages for 'violation' of their Terms of Use... yeah yeah yeah...
Day 2 - 21st JulyWell I had a lot of encouragement yesterday because of the Hub and the subject. I'm not sure if everyone believes it will be a success but I'm determined to give it my very best effort.Yesterday: I wrote around 2600 words on Blood... on the Moon and I 'found' a piece that I'd written a number of weeks ago but I'll not count the 3000 words of that in with my totals as I'm not going to touch that until the editing phase.I have also got a short story to write for New Writers UK Anthology which is also due to be launched on Oct 7th & 8th at the Book Festival at West Bridgford, Notthingham and last night I wrote 700+ words on that, so in total, 3000+ words were achieved... I hope I'm going to get some slack on my total then?I am grateful for the encouraging words I've been sent and for the generous offer of a celebratory bottle of champers for the launch event - so thank you for that!I was writing until 2am this morning and it would seem that sometimes, that's when I do my best work and the time certainly flies in the wee small hours.Today I have started on my coursework and so I'm pleased with what I've done so far today. I am just about to start writing again and it will probably be another long night.Shell
If you'd like to see this from the start, here's the first:http://hubpages.com/hub/Brand-new-project-A-book-written-in-1-month-just-over
The email from Hub pages:HubPages is not like a traditional blog site, where you publish journal-type entries. Hubs can contain some personal content, but should be interesting, useful, and easily understandable to someone who does not know you personally.   Your Hub has been unpublished, giving you the opportunity to revise it. When you are ready to have HubPages review it again, please edit it and click the "Submit for Publication" button. We will then review your Hub and publish it if it appears finished.  You will then get an email saying that the Hub has been cleared for publication and republished.
Here are examples of high-quality Hubs that you might want to take a look at:
I'm not really bothered about looking at 'some other interesting Hubs' I've done some quite nifty ones myself. If the Hub that would have taken a journey towards a finished novel from scratch is not suitable, then PfffffffffffffffffffffffT! I'll publish my journey here and add the link to the Hub page day by day.

In the words of Victor Meldrew "I don't beleeeeeeeeeeeeeve it!"

New Authors

Over the past few months I have had a real blast! I've met people that have read my book and enjoyed it and I've also met people that have been inspired by my journey to become published. I have not met one nasty or obnoxious person because of my writing and I am very thankful for that.

I have joined a writers group called New Writers UK who are a collection of interesting and diverse people with one important thing in common, they all enjoy helping other new writers. I went to Wookey Hole at Easter for an event that New Writers put on and another event yesterday at Rufford Abbey in Nottinghamshire. They get about a bit and promote their work as a non-profit organisation. On Saturday the Children's Writing Competition for 2011 was launched and it is to be judged at County Hall in Nottingham in October. It is open to children from Nottinghamshire aged 8 - 15 and is growing year on year.

The other Authors I have met lately have been mainly from Facebook and, love it or loathe it, Facebook helps bring like-minded people together if you know where to look.

Help is out there if you want to become published or learn how to edit your work to the standard that publishers want. There is help and advice for all aspects of writing but the best advice I can give, I think, is Dont give up! Keep on writing and honing your craft and ask other people. Writing is a very solitary occupation but you don't have to be solitary all the time.

Last but certainly not least, Glenn and Sherrill are two of the new authors that I have met on Facebook and their novels are linked below.

Thanks for reading,
Shell

Gingernut Books Ltd
Deadlier... and Cruel... signed copies order page

My Amazon page

Glenn 'Alienbutt' Scrimshaw's novel

Sherrill Willis's novel

Deadlier Than The male Excerpt which was not allowed on Hub Pages

This is the piece that I deleted from my Hub Page because it constantly failed to get through the manual submission part. Apparently it's not 'Original' because it is part of a piece on Writer's Muse website, I was asked to submit a piece of my novel to the site and was most pleased to do so.

This is the part that caused so much trouble on my Hub. I hope you enjoy it.


She moved on again, through the deserted car park. She noticed a lone car - perhaps left by its conscientious driver who had had a drink and left it until the morning. The cynic in her thought otherwise, in a perfect world maybe he had, but more likely, he was too drunk to remember where he had left it. The open space of the car park gave her a sense of security that she knew would desert her as she approached the alley. There was nowhere to hide in the area surrounding the pub and so she knew he was not so close behind her.As the distance to the walled passageway was eaten up by her self-assured strides, she started to slow down as though she was trying to delay getting there. Again she hesitated. At the mouth of the alley, she leaned forward just a little as if trying to see around the bend in the middle. Her bag was grasped in one hand and as she leaned forward, it swung against her leg. She looked down as if she had only just noticed it was there. Then, as though deciding that she should make a move before she could scare the living daylights out of herself, she entered the mouth of the narrow and enclosed walkway.
The stalker forced himself to be patient as he waited until she had entered the alley, then he moved - fast and silent - around the perimeter wall. He scaled yet higher walls with ease, running across the tops of them, moving with the agility of a cat to get ahead of her. He had the advantages of surprise and shock and he intended to use them both to maximum effect. His hands flexed as he waited in his chosen position just ahead of his victim, listening for her footfalls.
She tried not to think of the violent and bloody attacks that had happened in the neighbourhood - one a few weeks earlier and another just the previous night. She managed to keep a poker-face as her colleagues delighted in telling her the gory details - exaggerated no doubt, she hoped.  When she told them that she was parked in the same secluded car park as the two victims had been, their humour had turned to concern. Her dismissals of offers to drive her to her car or to accompany her were accepted with reluctance. She thought that acceptance of escort would be seen as weakness. She was probably right.Reports in the local paper after the first incident had described a woman being attacked and brutalised. One had described the attacked woman as being mauled. A hospital porter had gone to the paper and told of the victim's hysterical and not-quite-coherent deathbed ramblings about her attacker who slashed and bit with tooth and claw. Last night's attack was, as yet, unconfirmed by official sources but that didn't stop gory details circulating along the rumour mills.Her pace was no longer as brisk as it had been. She was by now, dawdling along the pathway, hesitating more and more as she approached the sharp bend in the path, stopping to look behind time and again.
He heard the sigh of relief when at last she rounded that bend and could see the rear bumper and one light and she knew her car was within reach. Her pace picked up a little and she straightened up, regaining her self-assured stance of before.
She was just two metres from the exit of the alley and no more than four metres from her car. Her keys were already in her hand - as they had been since The Swan. Her guard dropped for a split-second as she made sure it was the right key for the lock. A split-second was all that was needed to pick off a victim.
He landed in front of her, from the top of the wall. She was surprised into an exclamation of "Shit!" and she staggered back a few steps to lean against the high sandstone wall. His grin was full of cruel humour but she tried to return the smile with one of her own. What looked like an attempt at a confident smile did not seem to make her feel any better.He knew adrenalin would have begun to course through her veins, she looked to have it under control for now, but who knew how long she would manage that? At the very next shock, her whole system would be flooded with it and that would convert her brain into a useless lump of offal. Powerless to think clearly, it would in turn, make her limbs incapable of response – this is the result of the 'fright' instinct. Or, she could start punching and kicking and screaming like a banshee – the instinct to 'fight'. The last alternative would be the 'flight' instinct, but she had nowhere to run, he blocked her path to the safety of her car. He had been the cause and seen the effects of all possibilities and used them many times as tools of his trade. He studied her for a moment, then he lifted his chin and sniffed, catching her scent – she smelled clean but wore no perfume - a bonus - he preferred that. He half closed his eyes and savoured her scent.
The alley was not very broad, just wide enough to pass another adult in, and he seemed to make the spaces on either side of him appear too small to allow her to get past him.He spoke first as though this situation was normal: "Hello" he said with a smile, very aware of how attractive he was. "You're quite fit, aren't you?""What?" She stammered, perplexed at his opening statement. She was still leaning against the wall as though her legs were having difficulty in supporting her. Then, seeming to realise that she already looked like a victim, she pushed herself upright. She brushed aside his attempt at conversation and said "Excuse me please; I need to go to my car." She raised her hand in indication to the direction she wanted to go."Sure" he replied, his smile not wavering as he moved closer to one wall, he knew that the broad smile he flashed, his silk shirt which clung to his muscled torso in all the right places, combined with his slightly exotic features helped to distract females in this situation, it was just one more tool for him to use as he indulged in his favourite nocturnal activity.There was still not enough room in which to pass without invading what she considered 'his space' and she did not move. He tipped his head in the direction of the exit, as if to indicate that she was keeping him from his journey. She appeared wary, but took the hint and started to go forward, not wishing to appear foolish by being scared of this amenable and striking man.She tensed as she passed him because she knew that he would grab her, yet when he did she was rendered rigid. With her tucked under his arm like a bundle of laundry - he was deceptively strong, even taking his height into account – he carried her back down the alley with little effort. 
He didn't need to cover her mouth; the woman was in shock already and could not even make a murmur, let alone scream. Not like that one bitch last month, she screamed the place down! Still, screaming didn't do her any good, and this one's silence won't save her either.

Hub Pages...

So, I started a Hub thingie - all well and good... it gets me out there and noticed.

Thing is... I have to make absolutely certain that I don't duplicate my work anywhere else on the net. Not usually a problem unless I'm sharing a piece of my books Deadlier... Than The Male or Cruel... and Unusual with my followers on Goodreads, Facebook or this Blog. Then I get Duplicate at the side of my Hub titles. I may be the only one that sees this, but I'm not sure I like it. It's MY writing, MY work and if I want to put it on my Facebook Notes, my Goodreads Profile and my Blog as well as my Hub then I should be able to. I understand that Hub want original work out there, but my work IS original. It's also MINE!

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Cruel... And Unusual Update

The release of Cruel... is looming. The cover has been done and approved and things are starting to become exciting again!