Nicole MacDonald's Blog, page 27

Meet my evil twin sister..

*lol* I found this while looking for headshot's of myself (of which I found none.. *sigh*) but this pic made me laugh.  It was a paint for the 'Rock 2 Wellington' at the stadium in Wellington and we were painted in the themes of the bands.  I had White Snake, Kiss and Poison and Sian was done in Ozzy style with a beheaded bat *giggle* it was a fun evening and we got to watch the show.  I always love the paints where we get totally transformed into someone (or something) unrecognisable :)

Meet me on Monday

Okay so it's actually Tuesday here in NZ.. but that's just cause we are sooo ahead of the rest of you *grin* A blog I follow - Never Growing Old - does a 'meet me on Monday' blog hop which I think is fun and is a great way to meet other bloggers : ) So Java asks 5 questions that blog hoppers need to answer so we can get to know each other better ;p


Questions: 

1.  What do you put on your hot dog?
Mustard
Onions
Tomato sauce - a kiwi obsession!

2.  Do you play Sudoku?
No.  But I am in awe of those who do - completely befuddles me ;p

3.  What is your favorite vegetable?
I LOVE lightly steamed broccoli  

4.  Do you color your hair?
Yup!  Had my first white hair at 6 so I've been dying my hair permanently since I was 15 and it became necessary :)

5.  What is your favorite brand of clothing?
Its a toss up between Cue and Portmans - both brands fit me beautifully and are soooo classic!

A first draft the second time around

Ahhh ignorance is bliss!  I started my first draft of my current obsession so ignorantly.  I just thought I'd have a shot at writing a story.  It wasn't meant to be for any except my eyes and maybe my friends (who inspired characters).  And it was fun!  I didn't take it too seriously for the first, oh, like five months?  Then as I worked through a plot (I'm a plotter, always have been - I even plot and 're-run' my daydreams ;p) it occurred to me that.. it might be good!?!Then I threw myself into writing and when I was halfway through my intended plot I realised I'd already written a book.  Which was how, after a some intensive re-planning it became a trilogy.  And now I'm onto writing the first draft for book two, current working title 'Awakening'.
OMG is it hard ;p I managed to knock out the first chapter last week and I'm almost at the end of the second… and I really wanted to have the first five chapters done by the end of this weekend.. which probably won't happen (unless I can type like roadrunner runs… FAST).  Why am I finding it so hard?  Because I know how insignificant the first draft is in the scheme of things.  The difference between my first draft of The Arrival and the final version that's now published is huge.  It really is like starting with a dirty hunk of rock and polishing it to a beautiful diamond.  After the end result you just can't believe it started off so dirty and unidentifiable! 
So starting at the beginning again is both liberating and depressing.  Liberating as I FINALLY get to continue the story and depressing because pretty much all that I'm currently writing will be re-written.  It's also rather mind spinning as I try to put all I want to into one book… sometimes I think I should have made it five books!! The Arrival covers just over a 'month' in the girls lives and Awakening is going to cover close to a year - making everything fit is migraine inducing! But it must be done and it will.  And after seeing how The Arrival turned out I've no doubt that this one will be even better *grin*
Onwards and upwards!
And funny pics always help.   Always!


   

The frustrations of writing

You would think an indie author who has only had their book available for the last 23 days and has made just over 100 sales would be satisfied.  Perhaps delighted.  Really they should be utterly delighted.
You may have noticed I have a bit of a one track mind when it comes to what I want.  I don't believe in failure, I do believe hard work brings results.  I absolutely know that The Arrival, and the BirthRight trilogy, will be an utter success.  I will make it that way.  I know the story is fantastic and no, there is no self modesty here.  I worked damn hard on this story.  Now I just find it incredibly frustrating because I want it to be selling well without having to do anything.  Such a silly thought I know, but it'd be really nice ; p
Now I will start on book two.  I do have lots of plotting I want to do but I think I can safely write the first maybe five chapters without affecting the plot in any major way.  Because I use my method writing technique a lot of my plotting is done in my head so if I begin the draft now I can run through it a few times and see how it works.  And I'm hoping it will help me to relax as I make my way into the story.  I really can't wait to see what happens next.  I know the major plot points, that's never been an issue.  But some of the minor plot points are going to be very exciting.  And I think that's why I'm so desperately wishing that The Arrival would just take off.  So I don't have to think about that anymore!  I'm just been lazy really, everyone needs to work the self promotion line no matter what they do in life.  I guess I just wish I didn't have to have a day job at the same time *lol*
So what's making you grind your teeth at the moment?  Dealing with winter?  Stagnant ideas?  Frustrating work mates *grin*.  Life has it's ups and downs.  Stop focusing on the small picture and see the end result you want.
'What you think about, you bring about'
And on that note would anyone like me as a guest blogger?  I'm looking for new ways to reach people so if anyone out there wants an interview/random amusing blog let me know!  If you'd like to do a review on The Arrival flick me an e-mail and I'll send you a free copy J n.macdonald00@gmail.com
Take care everyone!!

OMG!! Thank you all so very much!

I was really joking when I said about hitting the top 100 - sure I'd LOVE for that to happen but... who knows?  Then after all your help yesterday my ranking on Amazon has gone from 66,000+ to 2,500 - so much closer to the top 100 I nearly wet myself in excitement *lol* I can't believe it!!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!  
I'm off for a two day holiday in Auckland shortly and I'm both nervous and excited at what may possibly await when I get back *grin* OMG!