Deby Adair's Blog, page 5
June 25, 2013
Inspiration...
Don't you love that moment in autumn when all the trees are covered in golden, orange and red leaves and there is absolutely no wind to speak of... then suddenly, a tree will simply let go, and hundreds of precious leaves drift in a wash of happy colour to their final landing on the ground. Still no wind... just a perfect, meaningful shedding - Nature's way.
Deby
Deby
June 20, 2013
Live Dangerously... Battle the Creative Odds & Say Boo To All Those Who Say You Can't.
In one of my Deby moments this is the motto I wrote for myself quite some time back, and which I have posted to my wall... in case I forget.
*Live dangerously, avoid the razor, get hairy and be pleasantly surprised... you only live once, and if you're a Buddhist, you only live once each time... otherwise the long road to ever wondering and regret beckons, beckons, beckons.... when it might have been wonderful instead.
You have to fight to make your dreams come true. And when you think you’re done, turn around; a new fight is waiting in the wings. Become your own best gladiator. Never give up on YOU.
Cheers,
Deby
*Live dangerously, avoid the razor, get hairy and be pleasantly surprised... you only live once, and if you're a Buddhist, you only live once each time... otherwise the long road to ever wondering and regret beckons, beckons, beckons.... when it might have been wonderful instead.
You have to fight to make your dreams come true. And when you think you’re done, turn around; a new fight is waiting in the wings. Become your own best gladiator. Never give up on YOU.
Cheers,
Deby
June 17, 2013
Thoughts from an author & artist. Creatively inspired ... How do YOU create?
Being a writer and an artist means that I'm constantly flip-flopping from one discipline to the next, and it's a great way to go! It's easy to become writing-intensive and to get lost in your written world... it's a nice feeling getting lost in your writing but sometimes it can create an overload of 'information' and that's where the art comes in. Depending on the day, I'll often do the writing which will inspire the art, but very often, when I create the art first, the writing flows from that. Everyone has their own way of creating... in time I'd like to compose some music as well... but that may be something for the future! :) Create well! Deby
June 10, 2013
Love to write, hate to start?
Have you ever sat down to write and suddenly everything makes it stop? The phone rings. Your daughter calls with an emergency. Your son’s school teacher needs to see you about a fight he had in the school yard. Your husband needs his shirt ironed. Your little brother picks that moment to poke his finger at you and start being annoying. You remember that you have to walk the dog. The list is endless… interruptions and intrusions. How will you ever get into your writing zone?
And before you know it, you realise that you promised yourself that you would start writing that short story/blog/novel … wait… was that two months/years ago?
You wonder if it will ever happen… you know you want to write something and you sense a real need inside you to create, but somehow it just never happens and then you often wonder if it ever will.
Here’s the thing… creating takes real commitment and courage. It might mean that instead of watching TV for two hours every night, you might have to write for at least one of those hours. Instead of playing with your smart phone on the train or bus it might pay to use that travel time to pen some of your own words instead.
Writing is a discipline first and a creation second. For busy people it’s a real challenge to go into that creative zone and not have it interrupted by daily realities. So don’t give up your dream… stick with it… and if nothing else, when you get a good idea, write it down. There will come a day when you will wish you had remembered all those great ideas because you finally have the time (and the privacy) to really get cracking on them.
Keep on writing and never give up hope!
Deby
And before you know it, you realise that you promised yourself that you would start writing that short story/blog/novel … wait… was that two months/years ago?
You wonder if it will ever happen… you know you want to write something and you sense a real need inside you to create, but somehow it just never happens and then you often wonder if it ever will.
Here’s the thing… creating takes real commitment and courage. It might mean that instead of watching TV for two hours every night, you might have to write for at least one of those hours. Instead of playing with your smart phone on the train or bus it might pay to use that travel time to pen some of your own words instead.
Writing is a discipline first and a creation second. For busy people it’s a real challenge to go into that creative zone and not have it interrupted by daily realities. So don’t give up your dream… stick with it… and if nothing else, when you get a good idea, write it down. There will come a day when you will wish you had remembered all those great ideas because you finally have the time (and the privacy) to really get cracking on them.
Keep on writing and never give up hope!
Deby
June 1, 2013
What's a unicorn's kiss?
'So why are you called Unicorn Kisses?'
That's a question I hear all the time... so here it is, our youtube clip -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdYDdZ...
And for a chance to WIN - not just one of the books but the entire Wish trilogy, go to www.unicornkisses.com
Enjoy and good luck!
Warm wishes,
Deby
That's a question I hear all the time... so here it is, our youtube clip -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdYDdZ...
And for a chance to WIN - not just one of the books but the entire Wish trilogy, go to www.unicornkisses.com
Enjoy and good luck!
Warm wishes,
Deby
May 16, 2013
Why Unicorns?
A reader of my books emailed and queried me with a question that people often ask me. “Why unicorns? Why did you begin to write about them? Why are you so interested in them and when did you decide that you like them enough to write them into the WISH trilogy?”
Unicorns have been with me since I was a girl. I can’t remember the exact moment that I saw my first unicorn… whether it was a story, a piece of art or something else, but I can remember when I began to write about them and to draw them. I wanted a horse from the time I was two or three, spoke of nothing else, and for a very long time I wanted a white horse…
I think when I first saw a unicorn, it was my 'white horse' made of magic, even though it had a tuft of beard, a strange tail and unusual hooves.
I was always a writer of stories and poetry but when I was fourteen I sat down to write a long piece of prose about the hunting of unicorns, so I must have read – (being a non-stop reader) – something about the old legends and the tales of unicorns being hunted for their horns. I still have the original artworks and writings which I wrote then, (quite a volume,) so unicorns captured my heart and my mind long ago.
Unicorns represent that which eludes us in this fast and mechanical world. They are the stuff of perfect, loving greatness and of purity. Some texts about unicorns refer to unicorns as being representative of divine love, of Christ, of magic, and of mysterious symbology… the archetype of universal/ Angelic love. And yet, there are some ancient Vedic writings where they tell of a large horse-bodied creature with a red head and black horn, huge feet and tail of a goat, which the wealthy hunted for its horn because it was said that the horn kept away disease and the falling sickness - epilepsy.
Sadly, the Rhinoceros is now driven to imminent extinction, another single horned animal, for the misguided belief that its horn too, will do ‘magical’ medical things for humans. Will it also one day, after being driven to extinction by ignorance, be glorified in stories?
I write about unicorns because their world, the one I’ve created in the WISH trilogy, takes me and my readers to a place that is sacred and not tampered with. And yet, even in my books, there is still a usurper, an intruder, evil lurking to steal the purity and revile it… where there is divine love there is always the threat of darkness… and where there is either, there are always those caught in the adventure to make what is perfect last, and to heal the wounds left by wrongdoing.
That’s why I write about unicorns… well, some of the reasons.
Unicorns have been with me since I was a girl. I can’t remember the exact moment that I saw my first unicorn… whether it was a story, a piece of art or something else, but I can remember when I began to write about them and to draw them. I wanted a horse from the time I was two or three, spoke of nothing else, and for a very long time I wanted a white horse…
I think when I first saw a unicorn, it was my 'white horse' made of magic, even though it had a tuft of beard, a strange tail and unusual hooves.
I was always a writer of stories and poetry but when I was fourteen I sat down to write a long piece of prose about the hunting of unicorns, so I must have read – (being a non-stop reader) – something about the old legends and the tales of unicorns being hunted for their horns. I still have the original artworks and writings which I wrote then, (quite a volume,) so unicorns captured my heart and my mind long ago.
Unicorns represent that which eludes us in this fast and mechanical world. They are the stuff of perfect, loving greatness and of purity. Some texts about unicorns refer to unicorns as being representative of divine love, of Christ, of magic, and of mysterious symbology… the archetype of universal/ Angelic love. And yet, there are some ancient Vedic writings where they tell of a large horse-bodied creature with a red head and black horn, huge feet and tail of a goat, which the wealthy hunted for its horn because it was said that the horn kept away disease and the falling sickness - epilepsy.
Sadly, the Rhinoceros is now driven to imminent extinction, another single horned animal, for the misguided belief that its horn too, will do ‘magical’ medical things for humans. Will it also one day, after being driven to extinction by ignorance, be glorified in stories?
I write about unicorns because their world, the one I’ve created in the WISH trilogy, takes me and my readers to a place that is sacred and not tampered with. And yet, even in my books, there is still a usurper, an intruder, evil lurking to steal the purity and revile it… where there is divine love there is always the threat of darkness… and where there is either, there are always those caught in the adventure to make what is perfect last, and to heal the wounds left by wrongdoing.
That’s why I write about unicorns… well, some of the reasons.
March 28, 2013
The good, the bad and the ugly about book reviews.
Hi all!
I’m sure everyone knows the saying - ‘If you have nothing good to say then don’t say anything at all.’ (And all of its variations.) I think this should apply in some measure to book reviews.
I read a debut novel two years ago from an unknown author. I wrote to tell the author on her Facebook page how much I had enjoyed her book. She responded graciously, with enthusiasm and excitement… she was published and recognised! Then some weeks ago I came across reviews of the same novel on a well-received site and was surprised to see the huge variance of her ratings.
Her novel had been published by a large publishing house. It had beautiful layout, an amazing cover and perfect editing. I thought the story was enchanting and fascinating, but not everyone thought so. She scored a host of ratings around one out of five, not much in the middle, and then seemed to soar to four and five out of five. I noticed that she had taken down her Facebook page since. There were well over a hundred reviews, so unless she was extremely social, her high-end scores could not all have been given by friends! Imagine being a first time writer and creating this kind of conflict of opinion amongst the reading public? Imagine how tough it would be to take, after your hard work, acceptance by a publisher, the excitement of recognition and then, the ensuing confusion.
If the author is already hugely successful, has published thirty books and then written a bad one, then it’s hardly likely that it will hurt them to receive bad reviews for one or two novels. However, in writing a review for a debut novel, there might be a couple of things to take into consideration. The writer has just begun a journey, (and no, not everyone is meant to write books,) but destroying someone is also not the answer to helping their writing future.
And one more word on reviews: A good review is not supposed to be a spoiler, and there are some reviewers that appear to be confused about this; I would imagine it might be a fast track to losing them credibility. Also the length of a review needs to stay within the realm of sanity. When a reviewer dissects a novel to shreds and turns their review into a short story, I switch off, walk away and lose interest in the review altogether. I think a good review lets us know just enough of ‘why, how and where’ and then lets us get on with the job of reading the book for ourselves, if we choose.
I’d love to hear any opinions… because this topic affects us all.
I’m sure everyone knows the saying - ‘If you have nothing good to say then don’t say anything at all.’ (And all of its variations.) I think this should apply in some measure to book reviews.
I read a debut novel two years ago from an unknown author. I wrote to tell the author on her Facebook page how much I had enjoyed her book. She responded graciously, with enthusiasm and excitement… she was published and recognised! Then some weeks ago I came across reviews of the same novel on a well-received site and was surprised to see the huge variance of her ratings.
Her novel had been published by a large publishing house. It had beautiful layout, an amazing cover and perfect editing. I thought the story was enchanting and fascinating, but not everyone thought so. She scored a host of ratings around one out of five, not much in the middle, and then seemed to soar to four and five out of five. I noticed that she had taken down her Facebook page since. There were well over a hundred reviews, so unless she was extremely social, her high-end scores could not all have been given by friends! Imagine being a first time writer and creating this kind of conflict of opinion amongst the reading public? Imagine how tough it would be to take, after your hard work, acceptance by a publisher, the excitement of recognition and then, the ensuing confusion.
If the author is already hugely successful, has published thirty books and then written a bad one, then it’s hardly likely that it will hurt them to receive bad reviews for one or two novels. However, in writing a review for a debut novel, there might be a couple of things to take into consideration. The writer has just begun a journey, (and no, not everyone is meant to write books,) but destroying someone is also not the answer to helping their writing future.
And one more word on reviews: A good review is not supposed to be a spoiler, and there are some reviewers that appear to be confused about this; I would imagine it might be a fast track to losing them credibility. Also the length of a review needs to stay within the realm of sanity. When a reviewer dissects a novel to shreds and turns their review into a short story, I switch off, walk away and lose interest in the review altogether. I think a good review lets us know just enough of ‘why, how and where’ and then lets us get on with the job of reading the book for ourselves, if we choose.
I’d love to hear any opinions… because this topic affects us all.
March 24, 2013
Thank you to everyone who entered to win!
Hi all,
A big 'thank you' to everyone who entered to win a copy of 'Wish-Dream's Beginning' and of course we're always happy to say congratulations to the Goodreads winner!
Best wishes,
Deby
A big 'thank you' to everyone who entered to win a copy of 'Wish-Dream's Beginning' and of course we're always happy to say congratulations to the Goodreads winner!
Best wishes,
Deby
March 9, 2013
The validity of appraisals, writing courses and good editing.
Hello everyone,
I was recently approached by a writer who took advantage of my current fee-free offer for manuscript appraisals.
Her story was excellent. But there was a lot of work to do. She felt that she had given me a final product but I felt as if I were reading a synopsis.
She was a gracious and willing listener and avidly soaked up the tips and ideas that I gave her.
When it was her turn to ask questions she hit the nail right on the head. ‘Should writers do a course to improve their skills or is talent enough?’
Good question! And my reply is always the same.
‘Yes! Take advantage of a good writing course.’
A writer is fraught with small pitfalls in their style, no matter how talented. This is where good editors, and I mean good ones, (not your friend who’s known you all your life and has a bias toward your brilliance,) are vital before we proffer our final products to the world.
Independent manuscript appraisals are also very important. For a realistic assessment of your work it should come from someone who doesn’t know you. This is especially important for the self-published writer!
Not everyone is born with a perfect gift… even the very talented, whether it is in music, art, drama, dance or any creative skill or other interest can only benefit from some guidance and training.
As writers, we fall into small comfort zones with our writing… unconscious glitches where we either favour a particular word, repeat ourselves, become trapped by the over use of description and sometimes writing ‘in our heads’ and excluding the reader….
There are dozens of ways that we can all benefit from more knowledge and a sharp eye telling us what works and what might not.
Maintaining a healthy attitude and a willingness to change is important if we’re to become the writers we aspire to be. Writers can only benefit from pointers given by those who understand how things such as sentence structure, word use and other writing skills will benefit us and keep readers captivated.
Also important are such things as layout which can show whether you verge on amateur or professional. We all want to be professional so if you’re winging it, find a course… it doesn’t have to be a university degree or even a long and expensive course... it can be something that the local book club is running or a recommended inexpensive online course.
In a nutshell, no matter how talented, like anything worth doing it involves a lot of work, and that’s how it should be. Otherwise anyone could write a story.
Best wishes,
Deby
I was recently approached by a writer who took advantage of my current fee-free offer for manuscript appraisals.
Her story was excellent. But there was a lot of work to do. She felt that she had given me a final product but I felt as if I were reading a synopsis.
She was a gracious and willing listener and avidly soaked up the tips and ideas that I gave her.
When it was her turn to ask questions she hit the nail right on the head. ‘Should writers do a course to improve their skills or is talent enough?’
Good question! And my reply is always the same.
‘Yes! Take advantage of a good writing course.’
A writer is fraught with small pitfalls in their style, no matter how talented. This is where good editors, and I mean good ones, (not your friend who’s known you all your life and has a bias toward your brilliance,) are vital before we proffer our final products to the world.
Independent manuscript appraisals are also very important. For a realistic assessment of your work it should come from someone who doesn’t know you. This is especially important for the self-published writer!
Not everyone is born with a perfect gift… even the very talented, whether it is in music, art, drama, dance or any creative skill or other interest can only benefit from some guidance and training.
As writers, we fall into small comfort zones with our writing… unconscious glitches where we either favour a particular word, repeat ourselves, become trapped by the over use of description and sometimes writing ‘in our heads’ and excluding the reader….
There are dozens of ways that we can all benefit from more knowledge and a sharp eye telling us what works and what might not.
Maintaining a healthy attitude and a willingness to change is important if we’re to become the writers we aspire to be. Writers can only benefit from pointers given by those who understand how things such as sentence structure, word use and other writing skills will benefit us and keep readers captivated.
Also important are such things as layout which can show whether you verge on amateur or professional. We all want to be professional so if you’re winging it, find a course… it doesn’t have to be a university degree or even a long and expensive course... it can be something that the local book club is running or a recommended inexpensive online course.
In a nutshell, no matter how talented, like anything worth doing it involves a lot of work, and that’s how it should be. Otherwise anyone could write a story.
Best wishes,
Deby
January 28, 2013
Wish-Dream's Beginning
Hello all!
Well, we were going to run the Goodreads Giveaway for 'WISH-Dreams Beginning' much later in the year but then there was a spate of emails in our inbox asking us at UnicornKisses if we could run another giveaway for 'WISH AGAIN-Dreams Truth' because people had heard from friends how much they enjoyed reading it... so... we've put up the 'WISH-Dreams Beginning' giveaway now... and then later in the year we'll run another 'WISH AGAIN' giveaway from Goodreads. Phew. (Actually, we're enjoying it all.)
As of mid February, we'll also be running a competiton from the website www.unicornkisses.com for some Limited Edition Prints of some of my artwork... and at UnicornKisses we're hoping that everyone enters for a chance to win.
The unicornkisses website showcases a small selection from the Deby Adair Collection but the prize is something we haven't showcased and which is in very limited print with only TEN ever to be released, EVER.
Thank you all for entering our giveways!
Good luck and best wishes.
Deby
Well, we were going to run the Goodreads Giveaway for 'WISH-Dreams Beginning' much later in the year but then there was a spate of emails in our inbox asking us at UnicornKisses if we could run another giveaway for 'WISH AGAIN-Dreams Truth' because people had heard from friends how much they enjoyed reading it... so... we've put up the 'WISH-Dreams Beginning' giveaway now... and then later in the year we'll run another 'WISH AGAIN' giveaway from Goodreads. Phew. (Actually, we're enjoying it all.)
As of mid February, we'll also be running a competiton from the website www.unicornkisses.com for some Limited Edition Prints of some of my artwork... and at UnicornKisses we're hoping that everyone enters for a chance to win.
The unicornkisses website showcases a small selection from the Deby Adair Collection but the prize is something we haven't showcased and which is in very limited print with only TEN ever to be released, EVER.
Thank you all for entering our giveways!
Good luck and best wishes.
Deby
