Natasha Duncan-Drake's Blog, page 38

So Who's Doing the #AtoZChallenge This Year?

So Who's Doing the AtoZChallenge This Year?Just in case there are readers who have no idea what I'm taking about, the AtoZChallenge runs every year during April. It is a challenge for any bloggers who wish to enter. The idea is to make a blog post every day, except Sundays, inspired by the letter of the alphabet that goes with that day, 1st=A, 3rd=B (because 2nd is a Sunday) etc.

The lovely banners/badges were created by Jeremy from Hollywood Nuts. You can find all of them over at the AtoZChal...

Guest: Creating an Alien Werewolf by Patricia Josephine + Abducted Life NEW RELEASE

Please join me today in welcoming Patrica Josephine (aka the lovely Patricia Lynne) to my blog to talk about alien werewolves and he new book, Abducted Life, which launched this week.
Creating an Alien Werewolfby Patricia Josephine
The dream I had that inspired Abducted Life was about a vampire trying to escape aliens. He had the cliché vampire traits like fangs, but for Abducted Life I wanted Savannah and Evan's looks to reflect the fact that aliens messed with their genetics to make them...

Guest: 4 Tips For Writing Short Serialised Fiction by Tiffany Shand

Please join me in welcoming the wonderful Tiffany Shand to my blog to talk about serialised fiction.

4 Tips For Writing Short Serialised Fictionby Tiffany Shand
Serialised fiction is usually made up of a series of parts of a novel or book series. They aren’t just short stories and are different from novels, they’re more like episodes like you see on TV. Charles Dicken famously released his novels in magazines, newspapers or instalments. So instead of releasing and writing a novel all at once it...

Flash Fiction: Vampire Valentine by Natasha Duncan-Drake

So I've written a short piece of flash fiction for Valentine's Day and, as you can guess from the title is has vampires in it :). Please be aware the story has mature concepts. It mentions sex, quite a lot, although there is no explicit sexual action, and drops the f-bomb a couple of times.
Vampire Valentine (m/m)by Natasha Duncan-Drake
"You don't want to do this."
"Oh, but I do."
"I'll taste terrible."
"I beg to differ."
"I'm not a virgin, aren't you supposed to go after virgins?"
"Boring."
"I don't...

The #AtoZChallenge 2017 - Changed, but only a little. It will be awesome!

The #AtoZChallenge 2017 - Changed, but only a little. It will be awesome!
For those who don't know what it is, the AtoZChallenge is an event that happens every April with thousands of blogs participating. Every day in April, apart from Sundays, bloggers post using the letter of the alphabet for that day (1st = A etc) as an inspiration. Many blogs have themes that run through their monthly posts. I've done it for four years so far, this will be number five and it is a great way to meet other bl...

Paperback Here I Come! The Tribulations of Going From Kindle to Print

Paperback Here I Come!The Tribulations of Going From Kindle to Print
I am really excited today because, for the first time I have a novel out in paperback! I have had short stories in other people's paperback, but never one all to myself.
Happy Dance!Having been publishing in eBook form for several years now I am very used to the rigmarole involved in that, but preparing for print is another step up again. We still need the description and a killer title etc, so I won't go into those here, but...

Recipe: Harissa Chicken & Butternut and Moroccan Style Vegetable Couscous

I have had another success in the kitchen with a new recipe, so I thought I'd share. :)

Gluten Free: since this has couscous it is not gluten free, however, subbing in quinoa or wild rice would work just as well. Also make sure your harissa paste has not been bulked out with gluten.

Vegetarian: Quorn or Tofu would make a good substitute for the chicken.

Vegan: Vegan Quorn  or Tofu instead of chicken and a soy or coconut yogurt would work well to make this dish vegan friendly.

Harissa Chicken...

AtoZChallenge Has a Very Important Announcement Coming Up

AtoZChallenge Has a Very Important Announcement Coming Up
The AtoZChallenge is making some changes this year and they will be announcing what exactly they are on:

February 6th
 Their post about it is here: A Big Announcement Coming

So put the date in your diaries and be ready to find out what is going on this year.

Exciting stuff!!

The Listener - Telepathic Paramedics FTW! #FanFridays

The ListenerTelepathic Paramedics FTW!So Rob and I have been re-watching the last two seasons of The Listener and it makes me wish there was more and I so want to share the love.
The premise is that Toby Logan is a telepath and he uses this gift to help people, but it turns into so much more.

So why do I love this show?The characters are awesome.The cast is brilliant.The plots are entertaining and engaging.The scripts are well written.It kept coming back from the dead.So first a little warning,...

The Wonders of Pen and Paper #WriterlyWednesdays

The Wonders of Pen and PaperNow I am the first person to reach for the keyboard most of the time when I'm writing. I know some people swear by pen and paper for their first draft, but I just can't write fast enough to keep up with my brain.

Well I can, but reading what I have written afterwards is like trying to decipher hieroglyphs without the Rosetta stone :).

I haven't used anything except a keyboard to write fiction since I was at uni. My fingers work much faster when typing than they do wi...