Nicky Peacock's Blog, page 49

10 Benefits of an eBook

10 Benefits of an eBook.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love a good list – so let’s look at the benefits of eBooks from both a writer, and a readers’ perspective.

For Readers:

1)      Font: you can alter most readers to make the font easier to read – this is perfect for people with vision problems and children who read better in larger fonts. New readers now also come with adjustable back lights too, so you can read anywhere, any time.

2)      You’re desperate to read that book, all your friends are talking about it – well with an eBook version you can download it instantly. No waiting for the post to come, or searching through library and bookshop shelves. You want it, by heck – you can have it right now! You can download an eBook any time you want – if you’re hankering for a zombies vs vampires undead-appaloosa at one in the morning – you could even download my novel Bad Blood!

3)      They’re usually cheaper that print versions – so you can save quite a sum of money in the long run to spend on, you guessed it, more books! Some of the classics are even available for free, along with other taster books and promotional short stories.

4)      Lighter to carry round than a book. Have eBook reader, will travel. Slip it in your bag and never again have a bored moment: waiting for a bus, for your friend to finish her make-up, or if you’re alone and enjoying a nice frothy fresh cup of coffee in an over-stuffed fake leather sofa in your local coffee joint; just remember to regularly charge your e-Reader!

5)      No more crammed bookcases. I don’t know about you, but my book shelves are dangerously piled high – like some bizarre literature Cirque-de-Soleil act. I love reading books, but I also love buying them and buying them takes less time! With eBooks, you can electronically store as many books as you like, without endangering your safety with a possible book avalanche.

For Writers:

1)      Royalties are higher on eBooks, as production costs are lower. Although, there is still that satisfying rush involved with seeing your work in print, the bottom line is that you’ll earn more from eBook sales.

2)      Production time is less, which means you can produce more work in the year than if you were printing – thus starting the royalty gravy train rolling sooner, rather than later.

3)      You’ll never be out of print. eBooks are always available and not tied to being printed in batches – if your work doesn’t date too much, it’ll be in circulation much longer.

4)      New e-Readers such as the Kindle Fire also include the front cover along with the text, this keeps your wonderfully designed book cover along with your work and is much more aesthetically pleasing to your reader and easily identifiable for you and your publishers branding.

5)      You can add in bonus content for your readers – maybe the playlist you listened to whilst writing, extra character information links, instant access to your website or Amazon author page so they can buy more of your splendid works. The possibilities are fantastically endless and will be consistently evolving.

Now, I’m not an ‘eBooks are the only way’ kind of girl, I’m still in love with paperbacks and hardbacks too – its a hard habit to break, but I must admit that eBooks are becoming pretty attractive. In my humble opinion, can’t they exist side by side, helping one another? To me, the written word is magical – no matter what format it takes.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: authors, bad blood, benefits of eBooks, books, ebooks, eReaders, Kindle, Nicky Peacock, Readers

What is ‘New Adult’ ?

Okay guys, so what is ‘New Adult’? Well to be honest with you, I only heard the term myself  a few months ago. Looking online it would seem that the NA and YA debate has been going on for quite some time, and as I describe myself as someone who writes both adult and YA fiction, I thought it was about time I got to grips with this new genre… NA.

I Googled around a bit to answer this question, and it would seem that everyone has their own thoughts on it – just like they did on YA when it became popular all those years ago. Here’s the sum of my findings; you might not agree with me, you may have your own ideas – and if you do, please feel free to add to this post by leaving a comment below.

Age:

In YA, readers like reading about characters who are just a little above their own age – so the maximum age here is around 19. NA is there to bridge the gap between young readers/ teenagers to, well New Adults – so characters should be in their twenties and therefore have scope to deal with more adult situations. 

Sex:

To me, the biggest ‘no,no’ in YA is sex. You don’t have sex scenes in them, you can elude ever so slightly to them, but you can’t glamorize sex in any way – same goes for drugs and rock ‘n’ roll – no wait, rock ‘n’ roll is fine! LOL

Within the NA genre there is room for sex, as characters are older and it would be quite frankly unrealistic to not include at least a mention , just don’t go too over the top. Personally I’d stick to kissing, and leave the reader at the bedroom door.

Content:

In YA the themes and character arcs are very much all about growing up and turning from child into adult. Responsibility and changing for the better are common traits in YA books. When you hit your twenties you should have already gone through these personality changes, so you really need to think back to the main issues you had at that age. To me, its very much that you suddenly have all these new adult responsibilities, yet still have some childhood restrictions on you. Parents of twenty somethings will know all about this – they’re still a child in your eyes, but in the eyes of the world they’re an adult.

Character:

With NA, you have more room to move on your character’s lives and what they do. In their twenties they could still be at university, or be working. They could even be married, or have a child. To me, NA seems to lend itself more to the supernatural and paranormal genre. Themes and content that were off limits in YA are suddenly back on the menu with NA. And although I’ve never censored either action or bad language in my YA stories, you can really go for the gusto in NA.

As always, check out publisher guidelines before submitting. Most major publishing houses have started splitting off NA into its own imprint and will all have different views of what NA means to them.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Difference between YA and NA, Genres, New Adult, Nicky Peacock, Popular, What is NA?, What is New Adult?, YA

Knowledge and Research in Creative Writing

Being an author sounds easy, right? You immerse yourself in an imaginary world of your own design, then weave it onto the page for others to enjoy. And that is the crux of it, but there are many other facets involved, that most wannabe authors still don’t even realise, like social media, blogging, promotion and research.

Knowledge and research is key to most good books and stories. If you’re going to set your work in a certain time period, you need to be on the historical ball when it comes to the small details that, if not done correctly, can become massive plot holes and almost laughable strikes against your work.

The amount of research really is dependent on what you are writing. Identifying the knowledge you need to weave that story with tight efficiency is a skill all in its self – you need to really explore your manuscript and themes to know what you need know, as the writer, to make it all work. The more effort you put into to this side, the more believe-able your stories become – even if they’re horror, fantasy or sci-fi.

So where do you do research or find knowledge? I’ve learnt a couple of tricks along the way, and below you’ll find a list of options for you to explore. It’s not an all-encompassing exhaustive list, by any means, but its s start to get you on the road – getting to the end of that road, well that’s down to you.

Wikipedia:

Wikipedia is great for short bursts of information with extended reading lists. Wonderful for an overview of a time period and great for looking up genres and other authors/books.

Google Alerts:

These little beauties can be set up through this site to send you any information, on a weekly/daily basis about your subject matter. Great for industries which are constantly changing, like scientific discoveries or even the publishing industry itself. Just put in your email address and what you’re looking for and Google Alerts does the hard work for you.

Going old school at the Library:

Books are still cool! Don’t forget the wealth of information at your finger tips that exists in your local and national libraries. Use their reference books and even take some home with you (check them out first!) Also The Gutenberg Project has a large selection of free downloads online of all sorts of public domain books.

Google Maps:

I’ve mentioned Google Maps on here before, they truly are a wonderfully addition to any scene setting. If your story is set anywhere else than your own home town, then you either need to go there (expensive and time consuming) or have a go at Google Maps and virtually walk the streets. You can also search online for tourist sites and even images to give you a foundation to write from.

Twitter:

A necessity for authors in its own right – but can be used to make contact with people who are perhaps in the jobs your characters are. Making contact and throwing them a few meaning-full questions can really flesh out your characters and you’d be surprised how many people are flattered to be asked such questions from authors.

E-learning:

A great way to learn is through an online course and you can do it for free on ALISON you can take courses on everything from law (if you’re writing a legal themed story) all the way to Psychology. You can even brush up on your grammar skills on this site. Do watch out though as the free option includes adverts, and if you want the certificate at the end you need to pay for it – but as free information goes, its a goldmine.

Lectures:

I found a site recently, Great Courses which gives you access to brilliant lectures from leading universities and colleges from all over the world. You can buy audio, visual or physical course materials. The information on offer here is huge and not overly expensive either. You can listen to lectures from history courses, myths, writing and literature. A real boon for anyone seeking in depth info on a subject, but also great to gain ideas and inspiration.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: E-Learning, google, Google alerts, information, knowledge, Lectures, library, Nicky Peacock, research, research in creative writing, Twitter, Virtual tours, wikipedia, writing

List of Romance Genres

I just can’t stay away from those lists!

My two top genres are horror and paranormal romance and as I’ve already covered horror genres, I thought I’d do the same for romance. Looking at the list, the explanations tend to be a little obvious, so rather than patronize you with over-blown explanations, I’ve kept it brief and included links to examples where necessary.

Adventure Romance:

Strong hero, even stronger heroine. These face paced and full of danger and can be set anytime and anywhere. Happily Ever After OR HEA is preferred here by most publishers, but as always, do read each publisher’s guidelines carefully when submitting.

Chick-lit:

Relatively new genre, these are romances with a dash of humor and HEA (happily ever-after ending) is more flexible here. It’s a bit cliched but think Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding.

Contemporary/ Main Stream:

Not to point out the obvious, but this is set in the present and will date quickly. HEA is optional. So many authors and examples here, as they are set in the normal world, with natural human characters.

Dark Fantasy:

This combines elements of supernatural abilities and paranormal creatures. It goes a little beyond the normal sword and magic fantasy romps, but can also have quite serious themes. A good example of this is the WindLegends series by Charlotte Boyett-Compo. HEA here is optional.

Erotic Romance:

Not to be confused with Erotica, Erotic Romance focuses on the development of romantic relationships through sex making it a consistent theme through the story. The sex is not there for titillation sake but should be so bound into the story line that taking it out would ruin the plot. HEA is a necessity here.

Erotica:

Shall I just say it… Fifty Shades of Grey. Although there’s a case that E L James’ novels should be sitting in Erotic Romance, as the main character’s relationship is both cemented and complicated through sex. I personally think that the amount of it required to show this is less that what was shoe-horned in. You’ve also got a lot more license in Erotica to delve into the darker/ more fetish related practices here. A great example of well written Erotica is Liliana Hart’s Erotic Fairy Tale books. HEA is optional, although I think still preferred by most publishers.

Fantasy:

Like Fantasy in general there are both saga and political elements involved with this genre. Game of Thrones is a classic example of a good fantasy. When adding this element into your romantic mix though, you have to be careful. It’s a strong genre and can easily over power your romance. It’s kind of like banana in a smoothie, it doesn’t matter what other fruit you put in there, if you throw in a banana – it only taste of banana! HEA is optional.

Futuristic/ Sci-Fi:

Strangely Stephanie Meyer’s The Host comes to mind. Set in the not too distant future, and with a strong theme of ‘love will conquer all’ and an emphasis on the deep love of both family and partners. This is a great genre to really let your imagination run wild. You can create your own world and therefor tailor the situation to the needs of your romance. HEA is not always found in these worlds, but personally I’d always try for it.

Gothic:

I think we’re on the verge of a comeback for Gothic Romance. Often described as brooding and dark, a classic example would be Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Check back at my horror genre list for more info on Gothic Blue Books.

Historical:

Not hard to work out what these ones are all about, but tread carefully, some time periods are just simply not interesting so won’t appeal to either readers or publishers. Lots of information and authors can be found on Historical Romance Writers.

Medical:

Novels in this genre centre on characters in the medical profession and even have their own Mills & Boon line. These books reached their peak in the 1960s but still have a place in modern romance, especially if mixed with other genres. Vampire doctors and werewolf surgeons?

Military:

Don’t just stick to the obvious on this one. Think sexy assassins and sassy bounty hunters – also don’t be afraid to throw in the supernatural on this one too. Kaylea Cross does this genre justice and she also has some great suspense romances too. Usually a HEA here, or Happily Ever After For Now – again check guidelines.

Mystery/Thriller/ Suspense:

Danger abound in this genre. There’s usually something to solve either a murder or another crime. These can get pretty dark and HEA is optional.

Paranormal:

My personal favourite. I love reading them and writing them. They’ve never been so popular and have even morphed into Dark Romance too. The best example, and one of my fav authors, is Keri Arthur, although some of her books also drop into other genres listed here too.

Regency Romance:

The Regency period was between 1811 to 1820 and although strictly a Historical Romance, is so popular that it has a genre all to itself.  For a massive list of books see Regency Reads.

Time-Travel:

I shy away from time travel in my stories, as its hard to keep a good grip on what’s going on. If you tackle this one you have to be ubber vigilant with your plotting. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger is a strong example of this genre.

Urban Fantasy:

So, as per the horror list, this is supernatural elements within an industrial/ town/ city setting. I personally love these as the setting itself makes the paranormal aspect slightly more believable. Lots of examples here, however there’s a really comprehensive anthology aptly called The Urban Fantasy Anthology which would give you a great selection of authors such as: Kelley Armstrong, Holly Black & Patricia Briggs.

Young Adult:

The Young Adult category was introduced in 1983 and includes all the above, but for a younger audience. We’ve spoken a number of times about this genre and of course the most obvious and popular example for this genre is The Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer.

 

There are probably hundreds of more genres for romance, after all, its one of today’s most popular reads. If I’ve missed any off this list, please feel free to leave a comment with the addition, a description and links to good examples.

 

 

 

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Charlotte Boyett-compo, Chick-Lit, Dark Fantasy, Dark Romance, E L James, Emily Bronte, Erotic Romance, erotica, Fantasy Romance, Fifty Shades of Grey, game of thrones, Gothic Romance, HEA, Historical Romance, Holly Black, Kaylea Cross, Kelley Armstrong, Keri Arthur, Liliana Hart, Medical Romance, Military Romance, Mills & Boon, Nicky Peacock, paranormal romance, Patricia briggs, Regency Romance, Sci-fi romance, stephanie Meyer, The Host, Thriller, Time Travel, Twilight Saga, Urban Fantasy, vampires, werewolf, WindLegends, Wuthering Heights, YA

BAD BLOOD – Coming soon!!!

Oh yes! My first lone author novel ‘Bad Blood’ will be released soon through the publishers Noble & Young (an imprint of Noble Romance) – they’ve already interviewed me on their website CLICK HERE to read it. Below you’ll find Bad Blood’s back cover write-up:

“I am Britannia. I am your protector. I will fend off the hungry hordes of undead hands that reach toward you. I am your steadfast defender. I will stand between you and the zombie masses as they try to taste your flesh. I am strong, unyielding, and dedicated to your survival. All I ask from you… is your blood.”

A five-hundred-year-old bloody game of vengeance will need to be put on hold if vampires are to survive the zombie uprising. Britannia and Nicholas, bitter enemies and the only two surviving vampires left in London, have to work together to save un-infected humans and deliver them safely to a vampire stronghold in the Scottish Highlands. Unable to drink the zombie ‘bad blood’, the remaining vampires need the humans to stay alive. But will the vampires tell the survivors who they are and what they want from them? Will Britannia be able to hold back her vengeance for the greater good? Is survivor Josh the reincarnation of Britannia’s murdered true love? And can she bring herself to deliver him to the ‘safe’ hold? Survival instincts run deep, but bad blood can run deeper.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: bad blood, books, Britannia, horror, Interview, Nicky Peacock, Noble & Young, vampires, Vampires VS Zombies, YA, zombies

My Bad Blood playlist – Musical Inspiration Blog Hop

So, I’ve been teasing you all for quite some time about my first lone author novel, Bad Blood. Well, you’ll have to wait till next month for the actual release (not long now!) but I thought I’d take this opportunity to share with you how music helps me write and create some of the important scenes in my work.

Bad Blood is a vampires vs zombies so is choc-full of action scenes and has a very strong undertone of romance. Listening to certain songs whilst writing really helped me to speak through my main character, Britannia. Personality wise, her’s is a million miles away from my own and I found it hard to make her do what I wanted, I even had to change parts as I went along, as she grew as a person/ vampire.

Below is a play list that really spoke to me whilst writing; I used it to evoke Britannia; you’ll find links through to YouTube videos so you can listen to each track too:

Basement Jaxx – You don’t know me

Black Lab – Sun & Moon

Coldplay & Rihanna – Princess of China

Flyleaf – All Around Me

Florence & The Machine – Howl

Gabriella Climi – Defender

Mona – Shooting the Moon

Young Guns – Bones

Lady GaGa – Teeth

Skepta – Hold On 

Black Stone Cherry – Stay

Dot Rotten – Are You Not Entertained?

Rob Zombie – Dragula

Kevin Rudolf – Let it Rock

Johnny Hollow – People are Strange

LifeHouse – Everything

Lamb – Gorecki

The Civil Wars – To Whom it May Concern

Angus & Julia Stone – For You

Iko – Heart of Stone

The Fray – Be Still

Stateless – Bloodstream

Snow Patrol – Set Fire to the Second Bar

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Angus & Julia Stone, bad blood, Basement Jaxx, Black Lab, Black Stone Cherry, Dot Rotten, Florence & the machine, Flyleaf, Iko, Johnny Hollow, Lady Gaga, Lifehouse, mona, Music, Music blog hop, Nicky Peacock, playlist, Rihanna, Rob Zombie, Skepta, Snow patrol, song story press, Stateless, The Civil Wars, The Fray, Vampire, young guns, zombie

Guest Blog – Something Borrowed…

Fifty Shades of Decay is an anthology of zombie erotica, yes you read that right. It shouldn’t work, but somehow it does.  I share this book with 49 other authors  - and one, Armand Rosamilia has kindly let me guest blog on his site. To read how I managed to make zombies sexy and why you should buy this book, click here

To buy Fifty Shades of Decay on Amazon.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: 50 shades, amazon, anthology, armand rosamilia, decay, erotica, fifty shades, horror, Nicky Peacock, published, sexy, writing, zombies

Playing well with others.

 

Two years ago I participated in a bold new writing project called ‘The 48 Hour Book’. It was set up by Northamptonshire Libraries (in the UK) and was planned to coincide with World Book Day on 5th March 2011. At that time I wasn’t a published writer, so was eager to learn everything I could about the craft, and of course meet people who were currently ‘living the dream’ as full time writers.

The crux of the project was to write a whole book in 48 hours. Impossible I hear you cry, and you’d be right. We didn’t manage to write a whole book in that time, but we did manage to come up with a setting, characters, a plot, the ending along with a fair amount of prose. The book that the project birthed was called ‘Vicious Circle’ and was set in Northampton at a travelling Fair.

How it worked was that each writer took a character, then we worked out their journeys together. When characters interacted we sat with the writer they belonged to and talked it through. It was hard work, but with the guidance and patience of our leaders, Judith Allnatt and Ben Elijah, we managed to produce a great book at the end of it all.

As an idea, The 48 Book was ambitious to say the least, but writing with others can prove exhilarating and inspirational. The ‘Beautiful Creatures’ series is a product of two writers working together and having others around you reliant on your input can motivate you into working harder. It’s easy to let yourself down, much harder to let someone else down.

A lot has happened to me in the past two years. I’ve had over 40 stories published/ accepted for publication in 5 countries, and my first novel ‘Bad Blood’ is due out next month through the publishers Noble & Young. I’ve referred to writing as a hobby in the past, and to honest that’s quite misleading. To be a writer you need an overwhelming passion for the written word. You need enough free time and motivation to dedicate to your words, and getting them out there. You need to be willing to adapt and be flexible with your life enough to include writing time, submitting time, and promotion time. It’s hard work – but sooooo worth it!

If you’d like to learn more about The 48 Hour Book click here. You’ll notice that I somehow managed to worm my way into the middle of the photo!

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: 48 hour, bad blood, Beautiful Creatures, Characters, Inspiration, Judith Allnatt, motivation, Nicky Peacock, Noble & Young, Photo, working as a writer, working with other authors, writing

Paramourtal 2 – Now Available!

 

PARAMOURTAL 2 IS OUT NOW!

This anthology contains my longest short story (that kind of sounds like an oxymoron!) published to date.

Split Apart sees Genevieve, a Fae, and Michael, a human, are two halves of the same soul, destined to be lovers. But when they are tricked into becoming enemies, it may damn both their races forever.

Published by Cliffhanger Books Paramourtal 2 is out now and available through Amazon here: 

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: cliffhanger books, cliffhangeroks, fae, Nicky Peacock, paramourtal 2, paranormal romance, Split Apart, vampires

YA vs Adult

Writing for the puppy, not the wolf.

Writing for both YA and adult markets, I’ve discovered the line between these two target audiences is very slim indeed. YA is typically about 13 years and above, and as sad as it is, teenagers seem to grow up much faster nowadays. Gone are the days of Enid Blyton and Narnia, these wholesome books are now only taken up by a much younger audience than they were originally written for. The generations behind us are still avid readers, but you need to appeal to the modern youth adult which has not only moved on, but is consistently evolving their tastes.

So, what are the rules and differences between the two? I’ve put together the sum of my knowledge on this below. I’m sure there’s more to it than I’m putting down here, but to get you started, here’s my opinions:

Talking down:

Your work should not talk down to your YA reader. I would never sugar coat my plot or characters for a younger readership. Subjects such as: drugs, sex, violence and horror, should be confronted, but not glamorized or endorsed – remember your responsibility to your reader. Also its good to remember that most YA readers like to read about characters who are older than them – so typically your characters should be late teens/early twenties.

 Let’s talk about sex:

Your YA audience will be more than aware of sex. God forbid, some might even be having it already. However you should always leave your YA reader at the bedroom door. It would be boring and unrealistic to not have it at least mentioned between characters in your story, however there should be no graphic descriptions and certainly nothing kinky going on; these guys are just getting their heads round vanilla, let’s not introduce them to whole ice cream menu so soon.

 Horror:

I always love the warnings on movies that say ‘Contains mild peril’ – I mean, really? How do you measure peril? It’s the scary things that people love – young and old. And it’s always the most imaginative and well written horror that stays with you once you turn off that TV, or put down that book. Dr Who is designed and aired specially for a young audience, but can be quite scary (even for adults) Those Weeping Angels were a particularly gruesome concept that made me look at statues in a whole new light! Dracula and Frankenstein are now taught in school and some of the most popular YA books are packed with supernatural creatures, deadly deeds, and peril-a-plenty. So desensitizing your work could be a big mistake. I’d recommend writing your YA story to your own boundaries then letting your publisher/ editor lead you to tone down, or crank up, where appropriate.

 The Super – Supernatural:

One word: Twilight. It certainly wasn’t an original book or a pioneer in the industry, but it did appeal to a massive market and got a huge amount of teenagers reading again. I personally didn’t mind the books, Stephanie Meyer can certainly spin a good yarn and although her main character was a bit wet to begin with, she came good in the end. It re-vamped vampires and made werewolves hot – in simple terms it reignited people’s interest in the supernatural and carved a path for other authors to follow suit. The supernatural has never been so popular with both YA and adult audiences and really, anything goes here in terms of horror and sweet romance.

 The Series:

YA audiences read quickly and can get addicted to good characters, so bare this in mind when writing your novel. Either leave it open so you can pick it up again in a second book or have a series in mind when you’re writing it. A note of caution here though…when writing a series don’t hold back action or information for an explosive finale – if your first books are boring, you’ll never get to show off that great ending. Make sure that each book has a main story line that can end, but a consistent story arc that can carry on. This keeps your readers engaged and desperate for the next one. It also means there is a definitive ending for each book, rather than just letting it go on and on – something I particularly hate as a reader!

What’s your favourite YA book series and why?

 

Filed under: Uncategorized