Marissa De Luna's Blog, page 7

If you do not breathe through writing...

If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don’t write, because our culture has no use for it. Anaïs Nin
Hurrah January is nearly over! I normally hate January. I mean what’s to like – it’s cold, it’s dark it’s miserable. I’m usually broke from the year before and carrying a bit of Christmas weight making my muffin top look like a pound cake. However, this year January has not been so bad. It has been rather pleasant- a bit long and a...

It's all in the symbols - In a nutshell.

It is all in the symbols - adding symbols to your novel. Part of the 'In a nutshell' series.
I have studied quite a bit in my time from a degree to a masters to a professional qualification… but when I started writing I didn’t want to study about anything. I wanted to just get on with it. The end result was Goa Traffic. I didn’t think about adding any symbols or the likes but subconsciously I must have known about the importance of using symbols in a novel because when I look back now I see th...

Be proud of your achievements.

Be Proud of your achievements. Many talk about writing books but few reach THE END. - Mary Malone
And it's the new year!
So 2014 is here! Where did 2013 go? At the beginning of last year I set myself some writing goals. One of them was to have over 500 twitter followers. I know it’s not a large number but I needed something to get me off the ground. I achieved it! Yay but my tweeting and re-tweets is less than impressive. I think I need to read Nicola Morgan’s Tweet Right again.
Another goal was...

You get a good review, and it's like crack. You need another hit.

“You get a good review, and it’s like crack. You need another hit. And another. And another. I know authors are like Tinkerbell and generally need applause to survive, but it’s a slippery slope.” - Alexandra Bracken


Well I hope you enjoyed my blog tour for The Bittersweet Vine, and that you are now following some of the other blogs mentioned! Most of the blogs mentioned belong to other writers with some great talent so if you haven’t checked them out do so now. You can scroll down to see...

Marketing is a contest for people's attention

Marketing is a contest for people's attention - Seth Godin

So today my attention turns to marketing! Last week I contacted a couple of independent book shops to see if they would be interested in stocking my new novel, The Bittersweet Vine. Today The Book House in Summertown, Oxford has a couple of copies and to me that was a huge bonus. I mean within  a week I got a bite. The Ocelot said they would publish my press release in January and hopefully I have a library talk in the new year. I...

The e-book revolution!

The e-book revolution

The independent book seller is a great way to get your novel out there. 1) They are small and so they care. if you are local they care even more. they know you will spread the word (Which you should) if they stock your book and word of mouth is everything. If you don't visits a local book seller try and find the time to do this and buy something. Don't just look and then buy it cheaper on Amazon. Buy something and help them out. I know this is rich coming from me. As I ha...

Thames River Press Book Launch 2013

So as you may have seen mentioned on my blog before on the 28th October I was part of the Thames River Press Book Launch. The event was fantastic a great platform for a new author like myself. I must admit I didn't know what to expect from it. I was a bit apprehensive (I am just one of those people I guess) but comforted by the fact that there were quite a few authors presenting their latest books. It was held in central London which was good and there was quite a turnout.  Some authors...

The Bittersweet Vine Blog Tour @ Robin Triggs Blog

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The Bittersweet Vine blog tour @ Gabrielle Aquilina's Blog

Today The Bittersweet Vine Blog tour hits Gabrielle Aquilina's Blog. The post is a short article on the importance of adding detail to your manuscript and tips on how to hone in on your observational skills. I do hope you enjoy it!

I met Gabrielle Aquilina (don't you just love her name?) at Abingdon Writers back before Goa Traffic was published. Gabby was one of the founders of Abingdon Writers and without this group I would be lost! Gabby has written a novel herself and the chapters that I ha...

The Bittersweet Vine Blog Tour @ Author Luke Murphy's Blog

Today The Bittersweet Vine Blog Tour stops at  Luke Murphy's  blog . You may have read about Luke's story on The Coffee Stained Manuscript earlier this year on how he turned from Hockey player to international bestselling author. I hope you have all got your copy of Luke's novel, Dead Man's Hand. This blog stop features part 2 of my author interview.

And this week there is more! On the 22nd October at 3:00pm (UK Time) I will be doing a live interview on BBC Radio Oxford on the Kat...