Nicole MacDonald's Blog, page 15
July 22, 2011
Friday Funnies - Animals that got stuck
July 20, 2011
Eating humble pie.
You know that thing you swear you'll never do? I did it. I'm not proud of it and I really wish I didn't have to learn some things the hard way. Especially when I did know better… *mooch* And for those of you that haven't guessed I responded to negative reviews. The one thing an author should NEVER do. And I knew that. So I'm making myself buck up, put on my big girl panties ;p admit I was wrong and get on with life. Am rather shamefaced about it all, but that's pretty normal when you make a fool of yourself. So my writing tip for Thursday is, don't do what I did. Never respond to a negative review. If a review is abusive and personal (i.e attacking you, not your work) then you can hit that report abuse button if you feel it's necessary.
Okay slinking off to lick my wounds and work on book two. Head down, bum to chair.
Take care all! Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon
Okay slinking off to lick my wounds and work on book two. Head down, bum to chair.
Take care all! Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon
July 19, 2011
Writer Wednesday - Introducing Penelope Fletcher
I met Penelope via e-mail when she found me after reading my book : ) And it's only fair that after she interviewed me (so long ago it seems now *lol*) that I interview her. Enjoy!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?I am 22 years old (23 on July 22 *whoop*), British, and I'm engaged to my boyfriend of seven years. Let's see … I am loyal, scatterbrained, I love cans of Coke, I close my eyes a lot when I talk, and I have a tendancy to become disinterested in non reading and writing tasks extremely quickly. That's me in less than 100 words, lol.
How did you choose the genre you write in?*wise yoda face* It chose me.
My story is a simple one. I sat down, started writing, and out came Demon Girl (funny how you can distill two years of erratic typing into one sentence). Once it was done I spent months trying to slot it into a sub-genre and ended up going with *drum rolll* Fantasy. Keeping it simple works for me.
I also write Paranormal. I have always loved the supernatural, and come across as moody and dark. I developed a fixation with the unexplained, and otherworldly occurances at a very young age. I don't think that will ever change. Monsters fascinate me.
What do you do when you are not writing; do you have a day job as well?I do. I am the Compliance Officer for a mobile telecommunications technology company (private), but, I have reduced down to three days a week and have agreed with my boss I am leaving in September. I work my ass off for that company, and it will be sad to leave, but I have bigger aspirations now. The whole situation has worked out wonderfully for me, but then again like I said, I am a hard worker, so I had a lot of respect from senior management to work with when It came to arranging something for the future.
Honestly, I am a bigger reader than I am writer. Books are a wonderful escape, and I love that anything is possible. So … when not writing I read a lot, wherever I am. I spend a lot of time with my family, my boyfriend, a few close friends. Outside of that I don't have time for much else. Writing really is a rather solitary and demanding profession, which compliments my personality perfectly.
How many books have you written? Which is your favourite?Well, I have written five, two of which (Demon Dark, Die, My Love) are unpublished, and have published three (Demon Girl, Demon Day, Lunar Light). I am on the cusp of releasing Die, My Love, so that published number will be changing by the end of July.
My favourite book? Oooh. If I must choose, I pick Rae (due to be released in Sept2011). Simply because it is the omnibus of my first series and contains the last stretch of my story arc (Demon Dark). All my characters are steamrolling into The Big Event. Everything up untill now has been driving towards this one moment, a sequence of events that will explode and decide the fates of my characters. J And yes, I realise I cheated on that question!
What is your work schedule like when you're writing? Hectic. All consuming. Scary. You do not want to mess with me when I am In The Zone. You'd be better off trying to storm Buckingham Palace. Nothing comes between my and my stories. My boyfriend does go Cave-Man-Style on me ever so often when I get too involved, or don't have enough breaks. He keeps me grounded in the real world, bless him.
If you had to go back and do it all over, is there any aspect of your first novel or getting it published that you would change?I generally tend not to go there, as there are loads of small things that if done differently would see me 100% better off right now, but the main one is that I would have started social networking much sooner, and started marketing my book three months before I published. I'm having to build meaningful relationships from the ground up and expand my reach whilst trying to do everything else. Not easy.
What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?Due to the nature of how I write I get criticised a lot, so I can't pin point any one situation which sticks out more than any other, as they all suck (lol). I naturally write stream-of-conciousness, and it is the single thing that gets "bashed" the most. Writing this way reflects me as a person, how I think and releate to others in everyday life (opposed to a concious descision to write in a certain way diferent to how I usually write). It does not matter if I write in past tense, present, from multiple points of view, the structure of the prose itself is always the same. It makes sense this charatcer trait of mine would be reflected in my writing, so when it is labeled as "written badly" it does make me gloomy, as it's like people are critisizing the way I think. However, I'm generally okay with this. I am not an easy person to deal with in everyday life, I expect my books will be no different.
The best compliment has to be when readers email me, tweet me, or post on Facebook just how much they loved my book. How refreshed they are to read something that is actually different not just pretending to be different. Nothing makes me happier then when a reader contacts me just to say thank you, there is no higher compliment for a writer.
What has been the hardest part of being an Indie Author?The frustration I sometimes get from watching the way other Independents conduct themselves. The mob like way we react as a community to people condemning self-publishing as the end of the world. I've seen some … shocking things. It can be so disappointing, and I don't think people realize each time they blow their emotional loads all over the internet how much it damages the entire concept of self publishing as a whole. However, I live in hope we will move forward as a community of professionals into a bright future *jumps down from high horse*
Thank you so much for having me Nicole!My LinksFacebook.com/DemonGirlBookPenelopeFletcher.comTwitter.com/Miss_FletcherFictionFierce.blogspot.com
My books are available on Kindle (UK&US), iBooks and Nook.
Hope you enjoyed meeting Penelope : ) I can vouch that I recently read Lunar Light and loved it - dark, steamy and freaky!Take care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?I am 22 years old (23 on July 22 *whoop*), British, and I'm engaged to my boyfriend of seven years. Let's see … I am loyal, scatterbrained, I love cans of Coke, I close my eyes a lot when I talk, and I have a tendancy to become disinterested in non reading and writing tasks extremely quickly. That's me in less than 100 words, lol.
How did you choose the genre you write in?*wise yoda face* It chose me.
My story is a simple one. I sat down, started writing, and out came Demon Girl (funny how you can distill two years of erratic typing into one sentence). Once it was done I spent months trying to slot it into a sub-genre and ended up going with *drum rolll* Fantasy. Keeping it simple works for me.
I also write Paranormal. I have always loved the supernatural, and come across as moody and dark. I developed a fixation with the unexplained, and otherworldly occurances at a very young age. I don't think that will ever change. Monsters fascinate me.
What do you do when you are not writing; do you have a day job as well?I do. I am the Compliance Officer for a mobile telecommunications technology company (private), but, I have reduced down to three days a week and have agreed with my boss I am leaving in September. I work my ass off for that company, and it will be sad to leave, but I have bigger aspirations now. The whole situation has worked out wonderfully for me, but then again like I said, I am a hard worker, so I had a lot of respect from senior management to work with when It came to arranging something for the future.
Honestly, I am a bigger reader than I am writer. Books are a wonderful escape, and I love that anything is possible. So … when not writing I read a lot, wherever I am. I spend a lot of time with my family, my boyfriend, a few close friends. Outside of that I don't have time for much else. Writing really is a rather solitary and demanding profession, which compliments my personality perfectly.
How many books have you written? Which is your favourite?Well, I have written five, two of which (Demon Dark, Die, My Love) are unpublished, and have published three (Demon Girl, Demon Day, Lunar Light). I am on the cusp of releasing Die, My Love, so that published number will be changing by the end of July.
My favourite book? Oooh. If I must choose, I pick Rae (due to be released in Sept2011). Simply because it is the omnibus of my first series and contains the last stretch of my story arc (Demon Dark). All my characters are steamrolling into The Big Event. Everything up untill now has been driving towards this one moment, a sequence of events that will explode and decide the fates of my characters. J And yes, I realise I cheated on that question!
What is your work schedule like when you're writing? Hectic. All consuming. Scary. You do not want to mess with me when I am In The Zone. You'd be better off trying to storm Buckingham Palace. Nothing comes between my and my stories. My boyfriend does go Cave-Man-Style on me ever so often when I get too involved, or don't have enough breaks. He keeps me grounded in the real world, bless him.
If you had to go back and do it all over, is there any aspect of your first novel or getting it published that you would change?I generally tend not to go there, as there are loads of small things that if done differently would see me 100% better off right now, but the main one is that I would have started social networking much sooner, and started marketing my book three months before I published. I'm having to build meaningful relationships from the ground up and expand my reach whilst trying to do everything else. Not easy.
What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?Due to the nature of how I write I get criticised a lot, so I can't pin point any one situation which sticks out more than any other, as they all suck (lol). I naturally write stream-of-conciousness, and it is the single thing that gets "bashed" the most. Writing this way reflects me as a person, how I think and releate to others in everyday life (opposed to a concious descision to write in a certain way diferent to how I usually write). It does not matter if I write in past tense, present, from multiple points of view, the structure of the prose itself is always the same. It makes sense this charatcer trait of mine would be reflected in my writing, so when it is labeled as "written badly" it does make me gloomy, as it's like people are critisizing the way I think. However, I'm generally okay with this. I am not an easy person to deal with in everyday life, I expect my books will be no different.
The best compliment has to be when readers email me, tweet me, or post on Facebook just how much they loved my book. How refreshed they are to read something that is actually different not just pretending to be different. Nothing makes me happier then when a reader contacts me just to say thank you, there is no higher compliment for a writer.
What has been the hardest part of being an Indie Author?The frustration I sometimes get from watching the way other Independents conduct themselves. The mob like way we react as a community to people condemning self-publishing as the end of the world. I've seen some … shocking things. It can be so disappointing, and I don't think people realize each time they blow their emotional loads all over the internet how much it damages the entire concept of self publishing as a whole. However, I live in hope we will move forward as a community of professionals into a bright future *jumps down from high horse*
Thank you so much for having me Nicole!My LinksFacebook.com/DemonGirlBookPenelopeFletcher.comTwitter.com/Miss_FletcherFictionFierce.blogspot.com
My books are available on Kindle (UK&US), iBooks and Nook.
Hope you enjoyed meeting Penelope : ) I can vouch that I recently read Lunar Light and loved it - dark, steamy and freaky!Take care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon
Searches conducted today while writing and a technical question for comma freaks!
Where is a scabbard placed while riding? (still haven't confirmed entirely… any experts out there?)
Can you rise up while riding bareback? (yes you can but use your thighs only. Using your calves gives the horse the wrong signals - including hurry up.)
Flail's - I know them for their agricultural uses (used for threshing, to separate grains from their husks) so I was researching them as a weapon. Apparently it was originally used in Germany as a weapon and was a spiked metal bar hinged to a long (two handled weapon) wooden shaft. And this (as quoted from Wiki) is why you would/wouldn't use a flail.'The chief tactical virtue of the flail was its capacity to get around a defender's shield, by striking against the shield's edge with the tip of the main handle. The chain, cord or hinge would then let the striking end whip around behind the shield and strike the defender a forceful blow. Contrariwise, its chief liabilities were a lack of precision and the difficulty of using it in close combat, or closely-ranked formations' Which then led onto morning stars
And maces. The difference between these rather similar weapons is that Morning stars have spikes… Maces can have flanges or knobs but not spikes. The mace also has the dubious honor of being the first weapon specifically designed to kill humans. Ewww.
And maces led onto the very cool (yes in a sick 'Ooo pretty weapon' way) Chinese weapon, the Meteor hammer.
And important question… does this make sense? After a reviewer criticized my over use of pronouns (do I? Quite possibly…) I'm trying to desist over using them. If you have good suggestions as to how to avoid over use I'd love to hear them. I'm all for learning and improving *grin* And what's too many? Anyone know? I did some extensive googling but couldn't find any particular information which was rather frustrating. Here's the quote, another sneak peak into my current draft of Awakening.
'The sensation of the spiked metal head biting into Sian's flesh made my stomach lurch and I sucked in a sharp breath. Then with the others hurried to where she lay, sprawled on her back with blood pooling about'
And before you point out that the character shouldn't be able to feel the other characters pain, trust me, it makes sense when in context. And where would you stick the commas in this? Any comma freaks out there? I mean that in a good way, I seem to fail miserably at it ;p
That's all for today, back to writing!! Must get this draft done.Take care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon
Can you rise up while riding bareback? (yes you can but use your thighs only. Using your calves gives the horse the wrong signals - including hurry up.)
Flail's - I know them for their agricultural uses (used for threshing, to separate grains from their husks) so I was researching them as a weapon. Apparently it was originally used in Germany as a weapon and was a spiked metal bar hinged to a long (two handled weapon) wooden shaft. And this (as quoted from Wiki) is why you would/wouldn't use a flail.'The chief tactical virtue of the flail was its capacity to get around a defender's shield, by striking against the shield's edge with the tip of the main handle. The chain, cord or hinge would then let the striking end whip around behind the shield and strike the defender a forceful blow. Contrariwise, its chief liabilities were a lack of precision and the difficulty of using it in close combat, or closely-ranked formations' Which then led onto morning stars
And maces. The difference between these rather similar weapons is that Morning stars have spikes… Maces can have flanges or knobs but not spikes. The mace also has the dubious honor of being the first weapon specifically designed to kill humans. Ewww.
And maces led onto the very cool (yes in a sick 'Ooo pretty weapon' way) Chinese weapon, the Meteor hammer.
And important question… does this make sense? After a reviewer criticized my over use of pronouns (do I? Quite possibly…) I'm trying to desist over using them. If you have good suggestions as to how to avoid over use I'd love to hear them. I'm all for learning and improving *grin* And what's too many? Anyone know? I did some extensive googling but couldn't find any particular information which was rather frustrating. Here's the quote, another sneak peak into my current draft of Awakening.
'The sensation of the spiked metal head biting into Sian's flesh made my stomach lurch and I sucked in a sharp breath. Then with the others hurried to where she lay, sprawled on her back with blood pooling about'
And before you point out that the character shouldn't be able to feel the other characters pain, trust me, it makes sense when in context. And where would you stick the commas in this? Any comma freaks out there? I mean that in a good way, I seem to fail miserably at it ;p
That's all for today, back to writing!! Must get this draft done.Take care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon
July 18, 2011
Creating a new species or race
As I've mentioned in previous blog posts I'm coming to the end scenes of Awakening. The BirthRight Trilogy has all of its major plot points set in place but it's surprising how much more the smaller plot points fill it out. Things I never ever imagined seem to happen before my very eyes, the creation of new creatures is a common one. I'm pretty finicky when it comes to creatures. I like to plan why they're there, what their role in Sytas's (the planet I created ;p) eco-system is, what they eat, what eats them etc, etc.Most of this stuff never makes it into the book in its entirety because lets face it that'd be pretty darn boring, but it does help me to better describe it if I can actually 'see' what I'm describing. For example I do have rough blue prints for the castle stashed in a drawer which I reference when describing where characters are. There is a world map I've drawn too but it's not yet at a stage that I want to put it in the book. Maybe in book three, Feel the Burn, when I've basically finalised it *grin*So at the moment I'm creating a race which is essentially the Southern enemy's neighbour. I'd actually never thought about them until two days ago when some fantastic drumming inspired some exciting concepts. Now I just need to hash out what this race looks like. I do know they have an exciting method of using their 'gifts' and already I can see it developing into the full-on scenes that will occur in Book three. This now means studying how drums are made and potentially doing a bit of research on sound waves *hee* Okay so I've given lots away with all that but hey, I know most of you are going to read it anyway ;pHope you all had great weekends! I'm trying to decide who to do next on the Character Monday's if you have a suggestion or request let me know.Take care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon
July 15, 2011
Working on scenes, have a look at the current inspiration
I LOVE Elfwood! A site where anyone who's so inclined can post their artwork and I so often find fantastic inspiration there. Have a look at my current inspiration - I'd love to hear your thoughts : )
The above pic is by a fav artist of mine on Elfwood, his stuff is ridiculous fun ;p
Take care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon
The above pic is by a fav artist of mine on Elfwood, his stuff is ridiculous fun ;pTake care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon
July 14, 2011
Friday Funnies - what I'd LOVE to be doing right now
*grin* After a 2 hour session of swordplay last night (Squeee! So much FUN!) and then a run on an icy cold morning - full moon and all with frost glittering everywhere *brr* I'd really love to be crawling back into bed rather than going to work.... dreams are free ;p
Take care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon
Take care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon
July 13, 2011
Need a laugh - have a read of my v. public blonde moment via twitter
Ahhh twitter, just another place to embarrass yourself on.. Have a laugh at this little exchange I had with a certain twitter buddy this morning. I should have remembered he's the first to mock me given half an opportunity (or an apparently blatant one *sigh*). So I was really, really tired this morning when I tweeted this.
*brrrrrrrr* windows just got hit with a cold blast of rain and soon I have to leave for work :( and kick poor puppies outside, meh to winter
And got this reply Sonofhood William Robehod @DmslinaDrtyDrss Getting your puppies out in winter shows courage & imagination.To which I naively replied (hey, in my defence I was talking to him just yesterday about my dogs!)
@Sonofhood and lots of pushing, shoving n coaxing ;pAnd then I clicked.. (yeah I know DUH! We don't really refer to them as puppies here - and I'm an animal lover, puppies = four legs and furry - NOT boobies!)@Sonofhood OMG okay I was too tired for that one - Bad you! ;p *blush* you knew what I meant!And yeah I did actually shriek 'OMG' when I clicked - scaring the dogs ;p He had me in fits (while still bright red) of laughter when I got this back Sonofhood William Robehod @DmslinaDrtyDrss Fuck me i thought you had been hit on the head for a minute there.
So we've established that I really am useless with lack of sleep (yep, that line is in the book for a reason ;p) And now I'm off to get lots more needed zzzz's *lol*
Take care all!
Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon
*brrrrrrrr* windows just got hit with a cold blast of rain and soon I have to leave for work :( and kick poor puppies outside, meh to winter
And got this reply Sonofhood William Robehod @DmslinaDrtyDrss Getting your puppies out in winter shows courage & imagination.To which I naively replied (hey, in my defence I was talking to him just yesterday about my dogs!)
@Sonofhood and lots of pushing, shoving n coaxing ;pAnd then I clicked.. (yeah I know DUH! We don't really refer to them as puppies here - and I'm an animal lover, puppies = four legs and furry - NOT boobies!)@Sonofhood OMG okay I was too tired for that one - Bad you! ;p *blush* you knew what I meant!And yeah I did actually shriek 'OMG' when I clicked - scaring the dogs ;p He had me in fits (while still bright red) of laughter when I got this back Sonofhood William Robehod @DmslinaDrtyDrss Fuck me i thought you had been hit on the head for a minute there.
So we've established that I really am useless with lack of sleep (yep, that line is in the book for a reason ;p) And now I'm off to get lots more needed zzzz's *lol*
Take care all!
Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon
July 11, 2011
Welcome to my new readers
Okay so no my number of followers hasn't suddenly skyrocketed up but visits to my blog have *grin* If you have a blog and don't use Google Analytics you really should! It gives you heaps of information on how people find your blog, what they read while there, how long they spend on it and whether or not they are a new or repeat visitor. The key words that people can stumble across your blog with might surprise you, they certainly have me! Damsels in dirty dresses anyone ;p and that's the tamest *giggle*Anyhoo I'm getting a lot of new visitors either looking for book two (I'm working on it I swear, this is a momentary pause) or checking out the characters of the Trilogy pages. It's fantastic to see and proves very much that reviews really are just the tip of the iceberg. If you are a new reader do say hello via the comments form, I won't tell you off for being off context (this isn't the Kindle forums no down voting here).Otherwise I'm still working hard through the end scenes of Awakening and also looking for suggestions for the cover. Any ideas? I described the second book to Keary (my fantastic cover artist/writer extraordinaire) as 'An influx of truths, horrible and not'. Cryptic much *grin* At the moment I'm thinking perhaps deep water… but as with everything the beginning concept will probably end up vastly different to the end product.
Take care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon
Take care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon
