Joseph Hunt's Blog, page 11

Virtual Blog Tour - Laci Paige! (4/6)

Hey guys, let's welcome Laci Paige!




First I want to say thanks to Joseph for hosting me! “Thank you!” I am a follower of your blog, and I truly enjoy it.

Okay, so I hate music questions, and today the theme is music related. I’m one of the strange people that don’t need or even want music playing while they write. I need complete silence so I can crawl into my writer’s world alone. No distractions, no influence, just me, myself, and I in the solitude of my brain (that’s a scary thought in itself).

Since I am not a music buff when I was faced with the question of what song reminds me of my current work (Let’s Keep On Truckin’), I turned to my husband to ask what his opinion was. Since I write erotic stories he belted out a round of “Bow Chicka Bow Wow”. There’s never a dull moment in my house. I can promise you this.

Anyway, I would have to say when this question first came to be, the song that I thought of first was, “Life Is A Highway”, by Rascal Flatts.











http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osuhlptx0J8


Now that will be in my head ALL day! But that’s okay, it’s a good song! And take it to mean whatever you’d like ;)

~Laci

Laci Paige is an erotic romance author. Her debut novella was released one month ago with the promise of more to come. Laci lives with her family on the east coast (USA) and she loves Nutella and all things chocolate.

Visit her at: http://www.facebook.com/lacipaige


“Let’s Keep On Truckin’” can be found at many fine online eBook retailers.

http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Keep-on-Truckin-ebook/dp/B00816ZX9S/






It was great having you, Laci! And I really like your song choice; I've listened to it a couple of times now. Ha!




-Joseph




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Doing My Degree: Creative Writing & English

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Recently a lot of people have been asking me what I want to do with my life... and I tell them the same thing, I tell them that I want to be a successful author. I think people keep on asking me because I'm heading into my second year of university, which means that I have 2 years left... and then after that I'm supposed to know what I want, and I can assure myself that I don't have a clue what I want.



So yeah, my first year is over, in fact, it's been over for quite a few weeks now, but last week I chose the modules that I would be doing for my next two semesters and I've also been doing a lot of thinking about what I want to do with the rest of me life. AND I JUST DON'T HAVE A CLUE... I used to know, I used to think that the future was a lot simpler than it is now... back a few years ago I had this plan of wanting to do things, go places, and meet new people... so far I've met a lot of new people, I haven't really been places --well that's a lie, I went to Wales last week for a camping trip-- I mean to university: I stayed close to home, though not by choice.



However, one thing I have known since I was younger is that I want to do one thing with my life and only one thing, and that thing is to write books. Well, I want to travel as well, I want to go to America and travel around Europe.



I don't have a clue what I can do with a degree in English... I could go on to teach, or when I finish I could go on to take my masters (probably in creative writing), or maybe I'll go into working at a publishing company or something. I have a lot of life to live, right?



I don't think that having an English degree will make me a better writer... in fact, there is a slight regret in doing it. Maybe I should have done something like history, or Greek history, something that I could write about, a topic that I had a passion in. However, I am having a great time, I get to read books, and I get to write for both myself and also for a degree.




Did you do a degree? If so, what did you do?

And what are you doing now?


-Joseph




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10 Tips for (Teen) Writers!

I am still a teenager (18) myself, and if you're a teenager then here's some advice... and hey, even if you're an adult, then you can still read the advice.




1. You're Crap.
First you must realise that you're not the best writer, but you love writing... and that's what counts. Everyone's writing is crap when they first start out, but we're always getting better, always. You are a better writer then you were several minutes ago; you are forever learning.




2. Don't Define Yourself.
You're too young to say that you only write poetry or fantasy or romances, similarly with your reading, you're not allowed to only read fantasy or romances etc. read the things you hate as well. Back in February I wrote a couple of posts on writing different genres, so Tips for Writing Romance and Tips for Writing Horror and Tips for Writing Drama, and in those posts I give points on WHY these genres are essential to every writer.




3. WRITE!
You have to write every day, and keep on writing. Work by writing prompts etc. just get your juices flowing daily and don't think about what you're writing, just write. Thinking too much is taking a lot of time away from your writing. So just write. Maybe set yourself a daily goal.




4. Just Do It!
This is one that I'm sure everyone can benefit from. You know those mundane tasks that you have to do, like, cleaning up, washing the pots, going food shopping etc. they are actually helpful, they give you time to think about what you're going to write, and think up new plot twists.




5. Life Experience.
You have to go outside sometime, and you have to live a little bit. You can't write realistic text because there's no realism in you. I'm not saying that you should give up writing or dreams of publishing while you're young, I'm just saying that having a good time with friends and exploring different places once in a wild isn't going to hinder you.




6. Other Interests.
Having other interests is always good... like stamp collecting! No, but seriously, you can't just have an interest in writing. I like to have an interest in a lot of things, I have an interest in vampires, werewolves and all of that fantasy stuff, I also have an interest in spiders (even though I hate them SO SO much), and I have an interest in people! I love people watching!




7. The Industry.
Before you even think about self-publishing or going down the traditional route you first need to do A LOT of research on the subject. Recently there has been a lot of movement on the self-publishing front, there are new means of publishing, there are new companies popping up onto the scene, some very shady companies and some that do what they say. YOU need to do research, if you go into it blind then you're going to bang into all of the walls, and just like the maze that publishing is, you'll get stuck and frustrated at yourself for not waiting.




8. Publish!
When I say "publish" I don't mean start formatting your 70,000 word manuscript and upload it to Kindle Direct, I mean start small, start publishing in a school newspaper or newsletter, maybe even submit to magazines for teenage writers... there is so much out there for teenagers who want to get on the writing scene, you just have to look for it. Maybe even submit your poems for anthologies etc.




9. Get Used to Rejection.
Every writer will experience rejection, because face it, your book is not going to be for everyone... a lot of people hate Twilight, a lot of people love it... and that can be said about every book! You just have to find ONE person to love your book, hopefully they're a literary agency or a publishing company. Just remember that rejection is one step closer to acceptance.




10. Critique & Friends.
These two words are so contradictory because no matter how much you ask your friends for constructive criticism on your writing THEY WILL NEVER GIVE IT... they can't be honest to you because you're their friend. So here's a lesson... friends are there to tell you that your writing is good, but get a PROPER critique partner and they will be constructive, and it will hurt! But don't worry, you'll get used to critique over time, and learn to develop a thick skin, because you can't be a writer if you're a wimp.




Have any of these been helpful?

Do you have any other suggestions?


-Joseph




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Blogging 101: Promote Your Writing

As a writer who wants to do well, who wants to be known etc. you naturally want people to read your work, and one promotional activity that you can do is offer a free short story... around 8,000 words! Everyone loves a FREEBIE!



No writer who has thoughts of self-publishing should ever go ahead and just publish their book without first giving readers something to trust the writer... or trust that they will enjoy the writer's style.




Give them a FREEBIE!


A freebie can be classed as a couple of passages, an excerpt, a whole chapter, a full short story or just a piece of flash fiction. If they enjoy your style of writing they may go on to purchase your books etc. and then that's a win win situation because you've just found yourself a reader... it's up to you to be a great writer and if you are then they'll recommend you to other people and so on.



Self-publish through Smashwords and / or Kindle Direct, here you can monitor how many people have downloaded a copy of your freebie, and they'll also be able to rate it and leave comments. This could be a great start to your writing career.




FREEBIES are great... it's trying before buying.




Do you have any free eBooks you'd like to share?

Are you going to try these methods of promotion?


-Joseph




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WHAT JUNE BRINGS!!

I have a huge love for June... you know why? BECAUSE IT'S MY BIRTHDAY IN JUNE! And it means that we're now halfway through the year, so 2013 is just over the hill.



I turn 19 on June 9th... so hopefully I've got something set up to give you guys... yeah, I WANT to give you guys something to celebrate my birthday!




What do you think I'm giving you guys?


Anyway...


What May Brought!




Other than a lot of stressing over university.






Facebook: 1,623 (+33)

Twitter: 1,751 (+34)

Blogger: 267 (+14) with 44,200 hits (+10,839)

Scribd: 215 (+1) with 11,408 reads




Facebook| Joseph's Writing

Twitter| @Joe_Eastwood

Scribd| Joseph Eastwood

Goodreads| Joseph Eastwood




May also brought my love for 2 new TV shows... Grimm and Fringe! OMG. Just. Oh. My. God. I absolutely love both of these TV shows, and just when I thought my TV list had finished I realised that I get Teen Wolf, Pretty Little Liars and also TRUE BLOOD back in June. I'm so happy... I'm going to pretend that they're my birthday presents from the TV companies for being such a loyal viewer.




So that's what happened in May... and I'm going to continue with my daily blogs in June, hopefully, more daily, than in May. HA!




What are your plans for June?




-Joseph




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Virtual Blog Tour: Kristina Jackson (27/5)

The first day of the blog tour starts today, and I'm hosting Kristina Jackson! This is how she get into writing. Enjoy!




How did I get into writing?

I can’t honestly remember a time when I was not writing. Which indicates how early I started. By the time I was 8 or 9 I had a short story printed in the school magazine. I knew in my heart it was what I wanted to do. I would scribble poems in the back of schoolbooks. Spelling and grammar have never been my forte. However hard I try I don’t see my mistakes. Therefore people said I would never do it. I have had six poems published in various anthologies but never did anything more than that.

More recently dame fate came tap dancing in. I hit a low point in my life, I was frustrated with my disabilities. My illness POTS had taken so much away from me. The ability to run and play with my kids, walk more than 20 yards without collapsing. Stand in the playground and wait for them.

My good friend Sarah Barnard challenged me to do Nanowrimo in 2010. I won it, in the fact I wrote 51,000 in a month. Despite finding out my grandfather was dying with terminal cancer. I still lacked the confidence so she gave me the final kick up the butt. I wrote Feathers. Then I went on to write Tales from the Beyond, a collection of ghost stories with a real difference. But it was not until I was part of the Book Junkie community did I get the confidence to finally write my novel. Now, onwards and up!


Kristina Jackson Bio 

"One day you will write your own book, just let your heart guide you."

Those were the immortalised words of my teacher in the 5th Year of Primary School; I was 8 at the time. I'd just had a short story published in the school magazine, and won a prize of a book for my privilege. I knew I had wanted to write since I could write sentences. 28 years later I am realising that dream.

I am Kristina Jackson. I am in my mid thirties, wife, mother of two, owner of one dog and slave to two cats. One of my cats, Bono, is my writing companion. He is often found sharing my lap with my laptop or partially draped over the keyboard if I am using the laptop on the desk.

I suffer from a condition called POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) I have become disabled by it, but as physical doors have shut the mental ones opened. Now I have so many ideas, and the ideas are throwing out so many characters who are each threatening to run away with my remaining sanity.

It is anybody's guess where this will now lead.

Kristina Jackson - Facebook Author Page
Facebook Profile
Twitter



Websites & Blogs
http://wyndwitch.blogspot.com
http://kristina-jackson.blogspot.com
www.kristinajackson.co.uk
www.littleacornspublishing.com


Excerpt from The Fool’s Journey 


Moira let herself be led; up the stairs and then the tugging stopped below the loft hatch. She stood there wondering how she was going to get up there. A pole came floating through the air, one with a hook on the end. Moira had to stifle a scream as it hung there in mid-air. Gingerly, she took it and hooked it onto the mechanism on the hatch. Giving it a tug, the hatch came down with a ladder attached. Moira's heart was in her mouth, and the palms of her hands felt sweaty. Aware of the thudding in her chest, she climbed the ladder.

It was cold in the attic. Her breath hung in the air. The solitary light bulb cast only a dim light; it rocked slightly by some unseen and unfelt force. The shadows danced. Moira took a deep breath. The laughter of earlier seemed far off. Up here, it felt eerie. The air had a metallic tang. Moira felt the tug at her clothes again and stepped forward carefully. Stooping slightly, treading only on the wooden beams, she moved carefully, questioning what she was doing. A voice, no more than a breath said, "That's it."

Then she saw it in front of her, despite the gloom. It glowed faintly. As she reached out and touched it, it moved. She screamed. What was in the chest?


How'd you start writing?

Are you a participant of the blog tour?

-Joseph




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21 Blog Topics for Writers!

Recently, a blog seems to have become something that every writer must possess, and I agree, I think that every writer should have some form of blogging platform, whether it's mircoblogs like Twitter, or full-on 500 word blogs here... EVERY WRITER WANTS TO BE HEARD, and every writer wants to make a name for themselves... that's the main reason why blogging has become a must for writers, that, and the self-publishing boom.



And if you're still wondering whether or not you should get a blog, just think about it, a blog is a great marketing tool and it gives you the opportunity to showcase some of your writing. So it's in your interests to have a blog.



Okay, now that you have a blog, what do you blog about? Well, that's a good question, and I have created a list to get your internal cogs turning... so in no particular order... here goes:





1. Make a List!

Just like here and now, look this is a list. YAY! I've made lists before, and believe me they get traffic to your blog because everyone loves a list... but you have to make a list of something that people care about, or want to know about. So if in doubt about a blog post, go on ahead and write a list about something, I'd recommend it be a list of something to do with your audience.



2. Guest posts!
Having people write guest posts for you, or writing guest posts for other people. They're an awesome way to direct traffic from your blog to another's, or from theirs to yours. If you want to write a guest post for me then just email me at josepheastwood@ymail.com 



3. Blog tour / Carnival
Join one and write a blog post about the tour or carnival topic. These are promotional events that are used to drive traffic to different blogs, so it's kind of in your interest to join them.


4. Tips
If you have any tips about your field... any writing tips at all... then share them on your blog. Write a HUGE blog post with lots of information, the more information and the more it helps a writer, the higher the chance that they'll follow you. YAY!


5. Interview an author
Writers and authors love to be acknowledged. HOWEVER, don't just go for the standard interview, ask them questions that they probably haven't been asked before... think outside the box.


6. Write a Review
The preference among writers and authors is usually books. Write a review about a book... how about tie it in with your interview with an author.


7. Do a Giveaway!
People love giveaways, if you're giving something away for free then people are going to be interested! This can be tied in with your review, maybe you're giving away a copy of their book, or a copy your book.


8. A Writing Prompt
Post a picture on your blog... a picture that speaks 500 words and maybe ask people to write about it, and even write about it yourself. Or use a different kind of prompt, write some flash fiction from it, and ask people to write about it themselves.


9. Have a go at Six Sentence Sunday!


Six Sentence Sunday is a weekly tour where about 100 other writers/authors post six sentences from any WiP or previous work. You then go there on a Sunday and enter your link for the post, and people hop on over to your blog and comment on the post.


10. What or Who Inspires You?
Self-explanatory. Write posts about things that inspire you... maybe a certain food or drink. Maybe a book. Maybe an author. If you can be inspired by it, then write about it.


11. Your thoughts on publishing or self-publishing.
Again. Another self-explanatory title... everyone has an opinion on it, so give your readers yours.


12. Share some Writing
You're a writer, right? Then show your readers... you don't have to just blog about things that could be helpful, people have to know if you're a writer they want to read more of... share an excerpt or chapter: it's free marketing


13. How-to...
A little bit like the "Make a List" title, this one should also be informative. Maybe it's a how-to... write flash fiction, or how to write a romance etc. people love those titles, people love instructions... or maybe that's just me... but they wouldn't be pulling in traffic if people didn't love 'em.



14. Your writing environment
People are always interested in how others write... I know that I am. Do you write up to a desk? Do you listen to music? Is the room cold? Hot? etc. and you can probably connect with your readers by asking them to share how they write.


15. Video Blogging
Podcasts and Youtube, something I have yet to take a part in... but very effective. Sometimes if you want to get your passion across on a subject then video blogging is the way to go. I definitely think this will be something that I'm going to start soon.



16. Social Media
As a writer who wants to be self-published the social media is the greatest platform you can be a part of. If you want to get your name out there, you need to promote yourself through Twitter and Facebook as well... so talk about your social media profiles on your blog.


17. Talk about your writing. Your progress.
I love reading other peoples progress reports. I love seeing how much someone has achieved that day, that week or that month, and maybe you do them weekly or monthly (I wouldn't recommend daily, maybe for Facebook instead).


18. Share your favourite quotes!
If you've been inspired by some quotes on writing then tell your readers, maybe they'll be hit by that same wave of inspiration. What I love is when I read a quote and there's a CLICK and everything just makes sense.


19. Make a Recommendation!
Much like giving books 5 *'s you can also write posts recommending sites that you've used. If you've been using a great editing software... recommend it! If you've been on a website full of useful tips... recommend it! It's simple.


20. Public / World Events
If you've been following my blog for some time then you might notice that I've used world events to inspire blog posts... my most popular posts have been my LGBT posts that I posted back in February. Use these to inspire posts.




21. Themes!

Think up themes... maybe think of them like genres... and write a bunch of tips for that week, posting over 5 days (Mon-Fri) or whenever you schedule your blogs for.


Have any of these been helpful?

Are you going to use any of these?


-Joseph




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New Release: Open Heart by Emlyn Chand

The Farsighted series continues with Open Heart! And to celebrate, Emlyn has some freebies and some goodies to give away! So join in on all the fun HERE!




Blurb






Simmi Shergill's life is a mess. Her powers of psychic feeling are on the fritz, and Grandon Township's sudden population boom has brought quite a few unsavory characters to town. She also looks like an over-blown balloon in her size 14 pants, but not even starving herself seems to be working as a diet plan. Well, at least her boyfriend, Alex, loves her so much he'd do anything for her. Last summer he even risked his life to protect her from the mysterious boy everyone was convinced wanted to kill her.

The problem is, she's not so sure she feels the same way. Is Alex really the man of her dreams? And why can't she stop fixating on her would-be killer, Dax? Whenever he's around, part of her wants to run screaming in the other direction while the other part longs to run into his embrace, no matter who she’d hurt or what she’d risk.

Simmi's loyalty is on the line. Who will she choose—the blind seer who loves her, or the charming telekinetic with "bad idea" written all over him? Emotions run high as the tension mounts in book two of the Farsighted series.


Warning: the excerpt shows an eating disorder.


Excerpt

I’ve done it twice now, twice in the same day. Starving myself was painful and risky. Eventually, Mummy, Shapri, or somebody else would have noticed. Besides, throwing up is far simpler, safer, and only hurts for a second. I can eat whatever I want and gorging makes me feel good, which is why I’m such a deplorable blimp in the first place.

I wake up the next morning and all the comfort I obtained yesterday has disappeared. My skin covers me like a hollow container; my gut contracts in pain, wanting something, anything, to make it full. My feet carry me away from bed, while my mind screams, “No, no!” My body doesn’t listen; it just moves forward like a zombie. This is more than just needing food. Something else is missing, something my body craves desperately. If only I could figure out what I need to be full, maybe I could stop myself.

No one else is awake yet, leaving me alone with the well-stocked kitchen. I grab a bag of Lay’s potato chips, a container of sour cream, and a king-sized Twix and steal away to my bedroom. Click, the door locks behind me. No one will ever know. I tear into the wrappers. My mind has resigned to the inevitability of what I’m about to do, what I’ll keep doing, probably forever. I slide fistfuls of food down my throat, hardly bothering to chew. Maybe I’ll get lucky and choke.

I finish my meal and my stomach churns, going from hollow to overflowing in a matter of seconds. The food claws at my throat, desperate to escape.

What ugly thing lives inside me? I am still debating this question when my body springs to action. I kneel at the toilet and grasp the cool porcelain between the outstretched fingers of my left hand. My right hand reaches down my throat, finds the tender part on my neck, and pushes.

Acid stings my skin, but I don’t care. Everything comes back out—smooth, jagged, white, brown, yellow. The colors and textures swirl together in the clear water, a hideous portrait of how I look inside.

There, that’s the part of me that’s ugly. If I get it all out, the ugliness will leave, too.

My knees tremble as I rise and go about my morning routine. By the time I’m sitting at my bureau and working my hair into a side braid, strength has returned to my limbs, and for the first time in weeks, I can’t sense my stomach. There’s no pain, no emptiness, no discomfort. This could work for me. I can lose these excess kilos and become beautiful, someone worthy of Alex, someone I can love.

Where can you purchase Open Heart from?
· Amazon US
· Amazon UK





Where can you purchase Farsighted from?

· Amazon US
· Amazon UK
· Barnes & Noble
· Book Depository  







Bio and Contact Links - Emlyn Chand emerged from the womb with a fountain pen clutched in her left hand (true story). Since then, she has always loved to hear and tell stories. When she’s not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm Novel Publicity. Learn more about Emlyn at www.emlynchand.com or by connecting with her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or GoodReads.  Don’t forget to say “hi” to her sun conure Ducky! 








What did you think?

Have you read Farsighted?




-Joseph




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Film: Carrie (2013)

The other day I found out that they were remaking the film, Carrie, which is my favourite Stephen King book. So as you can guess I was pretty excited about it, and then I saw the casting, and I'm ever more excited now!

Chloë Grace Moretz, is an amazing actress, and I realised yesterday, that a few people didn't know who she was. WELL... I think she's going to be one of those actresses whose career will always be strong. AND SHE'S ONLY 15! Let's just hope it doesn't turn out to be another Lohan-esque disaster. You might know Chloë from Kick-Ass, or Hugo, or Let Me In... she's even in the new Tim Burton film, Dark Shadows!

It's a really good book, and I'm afraid that I can't say anything about the original film because I haven't watched it, although I guess that's a good thing because I've heard quite a few people moaning as it is a remake of a film that was popular.



I, however, think that this is going to be a great film, even if it is a remake! AND THAT PROMO POSTER! I love it. It's great, I absolutely love it!



The film is scheduled to be released on March 15th.




What are your thoughts?

Good? Bad? People should stop doing remakes?

I don't know... that's why I'm asking! So leave your thoughts in the comments below! =]


-Joseph




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A Readership!

I don't know how many of you guys are reading my posts, and the page views are not so reliable... over the past week I've had over 400 hits per day, but that's not on my new posts. However, getting that many hits a day is GOOD so I'm not going to moan.



I don't know of any definite way to work out what my readership is... although I do have 262 followers, I don't think every 262 of them read each new blog post. However, I know that there are a few people who aren't "followers" but still read my posts from the links I post on Facebook and Twitter.



Anyway... I'm going to give you some tips on building your readership... you could say that I've done well so far (I hope I've done well so far).




Build A Readership


To build a readership you must first have an audience in mind, and then you must write about something that interests people.



For me, my audience is other writers and authors, and people who want to follow me on my journey into publishing. But you can't just write the blog posts and see if anyone will come, you have to promote yourself, you have to TELL people that this is what you're bringing, and that this is your view.



You should also blog to a schedule, just like a newspaper or magazine is published on a schedule so that your readers know when your posts will be up. It's one of the best ways to build a relationship with your readers. Also, responding to comments and being interactive helps!




Do you read my posts on a regular basis?

What's your blog?


-Joseph




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