Lauren Dawes's Blog, page 5

Beta Readers Needed

I feel like this is some sort of weird 'Help Wanted' ad, and I guess it is.

I need help! If you're a lover of the Helheim Wolf Pack series, you'll be hanging out for the final book in series. It's been a long time coming, but I promise it it. It's so close in fact that I need an army of beta readers to help me perfect it.

Sounds like something you'd like to do? All you'd need to have is a pre-existing love of my books and characters and the ability to give constructive criticism.

Does it still sound like something you'd like to do? Then send me an email with BETA READER OMEGA in the subject line and the following information, and we can get things rolling!

1) Name2) Number of Helheim Wolf Pack books you've previously read3) How quickly you can read and give feedback (approximate only)
Send your email to:
authorlaurendawes[at]gmail[dot]com

How many books a year does an indie author need to write to be successful?

“I need to produce at least three or four new books a year to remain seen and sought after by readers.”

This is a statement I’m sure many indie authors have uttered in their writing careers. 
I was speaking to a friend and fellow indie author the other day and, as we often do, we were discussing what projects we were working on. She has a comic-prose novel in the works and I have the final installment in the Helheim Wolf Pack series that I’m working on. But then she said that exact statement to me: “I need to produce at least two or three books this year.”
My first reaction was: I need to compete with that, because, let’s face it, the self-publishing industry is nothing but competitive.
But my second reaction was: “How on earth am I going to do that?”
I’m not sure what other authors’ lives are like but mine is B-U-S-Y. I have a nearly three-year-old. I have a husband. I run the household. I buy groceries. I clean the house weekly and tidy up daily. I cook dinner every night. I try to squeeze in some ‘me’ time at the gym. I write when I can (usually after all my other duties are done for the day), but I struggle to find a couple of good, solid usable hours in which to be creative a produce something decent.
So when this statement was made, I recoiled. Yes, I’d love to write 2-3 books a year, but the reality is, it’s never going to happen. You’d be lucky to get one book out of me. But it did get me thinking…
On average, it would take me around 6-8 months to write a book. That’s one book. Add another 3-5 months to go through the editing and proofreading process and to get promotion and social media campaigns in place, and you’re left with approximately 13 months of work that goes into onebook.
Can anyone else see the problem here?
Unless you’re happily unemployed, unmarried and without children, I just don’t see how a target of 2-3 books a year is feasible. 
So I did a little digging to see whether this figure is truly accurate…
Let’s take Stephen King for example. He has written 54 books in a span of 43 years (1974-2017). If you average all that out, Mr. King is producing 1.25 books per year.
Seems weird, right? All right, take JK Rowling as another example. Harry Potter was release in 1997. She is still actively writing, with her last release in 2016. She has written a total of 22 books in 19 years, so she’s averaging 1.15 books per year. 
Still not convinced? John Grisham. His career spans from 1990-2017. He has had a total of 36 books published in his 27 year career. The average? 1.3 books per year.
Here are some more startling stats:
Stephanie Myer (2005-2016) – 10 books ~ 0.9 books per year
Neil Gaiman (1984-2017) – 26 books (novels only) ~ 0.78 books per year
Jodie Picoult (1992-2016) – 27 books ~ 1.1 books per year
Nicholas Sparks (1990-2016) – 21 books ~ 0.8 books per year
Liane Moriarty (2004-2016) – 10 books ~ 0.8 books per year
Of course, there are a few freaks of nature out there who do produce more:
J.R. Ward (2002-2017) – 47 books ~ 3.1 books per year
Dean Koonts (1968-2017) – 115 books ~ 2.3 books per year
Even with these two examples, their yearly production of books is not ridiculous (4-6 books a year, for example; however, some indie authors are producing this many books a year).
So my question is this: where are indie authors getting the idea that they need to become slaves to their readers and churn out books so often? As a reader, I’d rather quality not quantity. 
Wouldn’t you?
Share your thoughts in the comments below, and let me know if you think this notion is crazy or not.

Updates updates!

The Dark Trilogy

Well, it has been some time since the Dark Trilogy was removed from online retailers. I'm working so hard to get all three books back up and available to purchase, but I've recently run into a HUGE problem.

My computer decided to die on me last Friday. I've tried all I can to get it up and running again, but have had no luck so far. It's time to bring in the professionals! I don't know how long this will delay me releasing Dark Desire and Dark Devotion digitally, but know that they are coming!

If you are after paperback versions of the books, I will have a limited number of copies available to buy at Oz Comic Con in Melbourne on July 1 & 2.

The Half Blood Series

In other news, I'm just over 70,000 words into the final Helheim Wolf Pack book. 

"Omega" is the working title, but if there are any other "Half-" inspired titles, I'd love to hear them!

This book is Brax's story and will be the final book in the series. It originally started as a 3 book series, but that soon expanded out to 5.

Appearances

I've been accepted to go to Oz Comic Con in July. (Yahoo!) Held at Melbourne's Exhibition Center, I'll be there selling the 4 Half Blood books and the remaining stock I have for the Dark Trilogy. I'll be having some deals going with the Dark Trilogy - probably buy the first 2 books and get the 3rd for free (!) 

I'm also going to be at Supanova in Brisbane in November. I'm hoping to have the final Helheim book available then, and I'm so excited for everyone to read Brax's story. I'll also have some new stock for the Dark Trilogy with their brand spanking new covers. What an exciting year!

I guess that's it! Stay tuned to social media for any further updates and happy reading!

"A house that has a library in it has a soul" ~ My Dream Reading Space

I was asked not too long ago about where I like to do my reading. The truth of the matter is that I read whenever and wherever I can snatch a few minutes to myself. Usually, I get some reading done at night, just before I go to bed, but I do wish I had a secluded little hideaway somewhere in the house to just disappear to whenever I want to avoid life for a few moments.
<sigh> Sounds great, right? So I did some scouring around online (Thank you, Pinterest) and found some great images that pretty much sum up exactly what I want in a reading space. 
1. A big comfy chair

It's essential, of course. I like pops of color in my life, so I'd love to have a chair that reflects my personality a little. I like lots of cushions to sink into while I'm reading and forgetting about the world. Here are just a few samples of armchairs I've added to my wishlist.

Clockwise from top: wayfair.com / urbanbarn.com / arhaus.com / potterybarn.com

2. A sofa table

This has got to be close by while I'm reading. I'm a tea drinker, and when I get reading, there's no telling how much tea will be consumed. I think I prefer the more relaxed version though, like using an ottoman with a tray on top rather than a traditional table.

Clockwise from top left: arhaus.com/ wayfair.com  / templeandwebster.com.au3. A rug
 
I love a rug I can literally sink my toes into, so I'd need a nice thick pile and a lot of coverage. An area rug is perfect for this! I've gone for a lot of neutrals because I want the space to be calm and relaxed (well, except for the zig-zag rug...I just love the chevron pattern).


Clockwise from left: templeandwebster.com.au / arhaus.com / wayfair.com / templeandwebster.com.au
 4. Some lighting

Let there be light!
  Clockwise from left: arhaus.com / arhaus.com / potterybarn.com / wayfair.com

5. The perfect room

I love the idea of either hiding myself away where nobody can find me, or going to a space in the house that is reserved just for reading. On my 'must have' list, there'd have to be a great window for natural light, loads of shelving for all my books and quite possibly a fireplace.

There are so many great ideas out there for this kind of 'library/reading nook' that I had to share my favorites...


Clockwise from left: patchworkurchin.tumblr.com / bookbub.com / onekindesign.com / homeedit.com /  
And for something really out there...a library net!(how awesome is that??)
Source: geekologie.com


Some of the great Pinterest boards I discovered:
Give Me Books Always... Cozy Reading NooksBookish Places and SpacesNifty Places to Read 
Shelves and Chairs


I think Dr. Seuss said it best: 

It sounds like I've been given free rein to go and buy some more books.

Don't mind if I do, Dr. Seuss; don't mind if I do.

Share your own ideas for a dream reading space in the comments below!

Cover Reveal: Dark Desire - book 2 in the Dark Trilogy

Ready for some before and after action? Here's the new cover for Dark Desire, which should be released on e-book in the next few weeks!


Before: 

After:

Book Trailer: "Dark Deceit"

This is the re-release of the book trailer for Dark Deceit. Enjoy!

Cover Reveal: Dark Deceit - re-release

It's been too long between posts! I'm so sorry. Life has been a little crazy. I've been busy writing the fifth and final book in the Helheim Series as well as taking on editing and proofreading jobs. But I do have some news...
I've had the opportunity to redesign the covers for the Dark Trilogy!
Curious? Here is the first book, Dark Deceit - before and after. 
Let me know what you think and please share this around!
BEFORE 

AFTER



The time of the Aesir gods is over. Now live among the humans in their bustling modern cities. Their brutal dominion over the other gods and humans may have ended, but their actions have not been forgotten.
Korvain is one of the last full-blooded dark elves, and is feared like no other. His ruthlessness and cold heart are legendary, but when he is given the task of killing one of the most fabled goddesses of all time, he is left with an undeniable desire to make her his own. Failure in his task means only one thing: death. Will he follow his orders, or will he follow his heart?

Bryn's whole world crumbled when she left Odin's service to protect the other Valkyries. Now living with the humans, she is the only thing standing between them and total destruction. But her beliefs are about to be shaken to the core when she meets Korvain - a volatile, completely irresistible dark elf who threatens to take away more than just her innocence ...

#norsegods #urbanfantasy #paranormalromance #Odin #Loki #Valkyries

Huge Bundle Giveaway

I'm having a giveaway!
 This is a HUGE bundle. You can get all 4 Helheim Wolf Pack books between March 19 and 31. 
What's the catch I hear you ask?
There isn't one! You just click the link and download.
Easy. Peasy.
If you love indie authors, all I ask is that you leave a review when you've finished reading. It doesn't have to be long. Here are some sentences you can cut and paste/tweak as you like!
A great book. Can't wait to read the next.
This series is a must for lovers of vampires and werewolves.
An amazing read. 
Hot alphas and kick-ass heroines. Where's the next book?? 
An intense roller coaster ride.
Overall, a really enjoyable book. 


Happy reading!

Guest Post: "Creating Strong Characters" by Tracy M. Joyce

  Creating Strong Characters.

I was asked recently how I go about creating strong female characters.  The question took me aback, you see I don’t set out to create “strong female” characters – just diverse, believable characters of either sex.  (BTW I think characters should be “strong” regardless of gender and the term strong characters implies far more than their mere personality traits, but I’ll get to that…)
This question actually made me sit down and count the characters in my book. I had no idea how many women I’d included in Altaica and Asena Blessed.  The preponderance of female characters within my stories is most certainly due to the women around whom I grew up.  My mother was a woman capable of doing any of the farm work on our family farm that my father did, worked long hard hours and still found time for her children, despite her own exhaustion – super woman?  Yes, she was.  My grandmothers were both a huge influence on me too - their stories were far from easy and deserve their own novels.  My family is not unique.  These stories of strength, resilience, compassion and love are all around us and not just amongst women.
Let’s start talking about strong female characters? Well, what does that really mean?   Does it mean populating our writing only with female characters who are tough kick arse types?  No - of course not.  Yet too often I think the notion of strong female characters is seen only in this light.  Are these characters fun to write? You bet?  But you know what? They’d never reach the heights of popularity of characters like Katniss Everdeen, Rose Hathaway or Celaena Sardothien and Alanna of Trebond without having more substance to their characters than their astonishing combat skills.  What about characters like Hermione Granger, Scout, Hester Prynne, Jane Eyre, Anne Shirley?  (Yep I’m digging into the archives, but hey they’re all strong female characters!) 
In our current adoration of the warrior type, particularly in so much YA fiction (yes...I'm guilty), I worry that there is a risk of undervaluing for younger generations, however inadvertently, other roles for women in fiction and real life.  It’s clear why the action heroine is popular, but our female characters can also be doctors, lawyers, scientists, kick arse types and mothers.  (If you think mothers aren’t a tough bunch then think again.) 
My point is strong female characters, or rather strong characters in general, come in all shapes, sizes, physical abilities, races, ages, gay or straight.  They are diverse!  They are not one dimensional. And there is more to being strong than kicking arse.
Now did I write a kick arse character?  Yes several in fact – Isaura and Asha immediately come to mind. Are they just warriors?  No.  They are young women who, for all their confidence, have insecurities; who, for all their bravery, have stark fears.  Isaura has grown up as a refugee in her community and has been subjected to racism and treated with suspicion most of her life, yet she tries to rise above this.  Her whole life has been one of struggle, and yet she keeps going. She is absolutely “no angel” - she makes terrible mistakes and pays the price physically and mentally, yet she keeps fighting.  Asha is forcibly removed from her home at a young age to train with a religious order – a role she doesn’t want.  Unlike Isaura, she is valued and has special rank within her society, yet has no choice in the future before her.  Events she witnesses as a child have left her scarred and in the end she must face them with terrible consequences.
In my novels you’ll also find a loving mother, Lucia, with no martial skill yet who strives in the best way she can protect her family and a granny, whom my friend and fellow author, Kat Clay told me "breaks the mould".   For these characters, it is their personality traits that we initially see as strong – courage, resilience, loyalty and love.  Looking at these traits you could think, “Well,yes of course! They’re brave we all love bravery.  That goes without saying.”  BUT here’s the thing: without portraying their weaknesses and their fears they would not be perceived as believable and strong in either a literary or psychological sense.
So what if a character is portrayed as being weak or not psychologically strong? That does that make them a weak a literary sense?  Of course not!  Another of my characters is a woman who suffers from mental health issues and whose treatment by those around her has only worsened her condition. She can be spiteful, neurotic, jealous, anxious and protective of her family whom she loves deeply.  Her story is complex and she is battling daily against internal demons not of her making.  (In a way her continued battle makes her strong despite her mental fragility.  Like the others she keeps trying, even though her view of reality is warped.) 
All these characters are different, but they all have complex backstories that have shaped and haunt them, they’re fallible. They face daunting challenges, some succeed and others fail, but they’re all “strong”.
Their real strength lies not merely in their personalities, but in how we write them.  It lies in their literary construction.  You want your readers to feel what your characters feel; you want them to laugh and cry with your characters; you want the characters and their story to capture their hearts and not let go.  Their strength and that of your story lies in the diversity and complexity of their creation which in turn leads to believability.   About now you’re probably thinking, “Well that’s just marvellous, but how do we it?”
Let's drop the “strong” female characters tag.  Just think about strong characters of EITHER gender. The same rules apply:
Remember: The real world is not a homogenous society – nor should the world you build, or the characters you create, be.
So what do you consider when you create strong characters? Where do you start?
Look around you.  You’ll see people from all walks of life, all races and various socio economic statuses. Watch how people around you behave – how they react.  Be observant and be discreet. (Don’t freak people out and get a restraining order taken out against you!)  Avoid Stereotypes, or turn them on their head Diversity – on the simplest level in terms of looks, think also race, religion, politics, psychology, sexuality, physical ability, psychology, physically Vulnerability Flaws – psychologically and physically. Disabilities? (Don’t be afraid to write a disabled character, just do your research well!) Courage / lack of it Insecurities / confidence Backstory – happy? Traumatic? Influence on  developmental psychology; world view Reactions – show don’t tell (BTW I hate this phrase.) Specific mannerisms.    Nuances, ticks, Realistic dialogue – (read it aloud! It will help) Motivations. Character growth.  (Character growth doesn’t always have to happen in a story, some characters can remain static and simply enact the adventure that is your book, However having them grow, learn and change can make for a more interesting story.) Mental health issues
Now that I’ve given you this lovely little list and my ramblings, I’m going to add one other thing that I think can lead to difficulties, particularly for the beginning writer.  The above list implies planning – some of which is always good.  However, I’ve seen writers spend so much time planning their character profiles and writing screeds about them, that they neglect to start their story; or their character construct then becomes immutable and they loose flexibility in their writing because of it. 
The one thing you should remember is that a character you create should be strong
REGARDLESS of gender.
 
A little about Tracy... 
Tracy writes epic fantasy for teens through to adults.  Her  stories are gritty, a little dark and morality is like quicksand.  You won’t find any unicorns or fairies here…
Although her stories include romantic elements, they are not romance driven novels. Do not buy these books if you’re after a fairytale….
Consider this a warning: Expect kickass heroines, battles (big ones, small ones - let’s face it, if she’d put gunpowder in this world then there’d be explosions too!)  gore, political scheming, horses, archery and a touch of magic, but NO fairies, elves, pixies, orcs and definitely NO unicorns.  (Unless, of course, its a combat trained unicorn with stealth capabilities …. then…maybe…)


 Website | Twitter | Facebook

A huge thanks to Tracy for sharing her thoughts on creating strong characters! For those aspiring authors reading this right now, stop reading and get writing!

Book Review: Over the Edge by Meredith Wild

Olivia Bridge has always been a good girl—good grades, good friends, and a good job that her wealthy parents handed her. Desperate to carve out a life that is truly hers, Liv walks away from it all and takes on the challenge of helping her brothers open a chain of fitness centers in New York City. Just as she’s beginning to find her footing in a new place, she’s caught between two men who couldn’t be more determined to turn all her goodness inside out.

Will Donovan has the capital to make the Bridge brothers’ entrepreneurial dreams a reality. Taking their uptight sister to bed seems a reasonable perk for the risk. Liv is the smartest, sexiest prude Will’s ever met, and he can’t wait to break her down.

Life is too short for Ian Savo to play by anyone’s rules. Sharing women with his friend isn’t anything new, so when Will introduces him to Liv, he can’t wait to get a taste. But falling for the same girl, or falling at all, was never in the plans... 

Genre: RomanceLength: 304 pages
Wow, that was intense. And spine-tingling.And, oh, so satisfying to read.
Meredith Wild certainly delivers when it comes to romance – realistic characters, scenes that scorch the pages and the ability to tug at the heart strings. In “Over the Edge” we’re introduced to Olivia Bridge. She’s a good girl. She’s followed her parents’ lead for so long, but now she’s stepping out on her own, desperate to make a name for herself. She would never do anything to bring her reputation into disrepute…that was until she met Will Donovan – a savvy, handsome entrepreneur who has his sights set on breaking down Olivia’s straight-laced world.
But there’s a twist. “Over the Edge” explores the often taboo subject of ménage à trois. I’ve read other books that delve into this world, but none that do it as well as Wild has. With a multiple POV format, we can see how each character is feeling, where there head is at and how the two men in her life recalibrate their worlds and hearts to sharing Olivia.
I’m a huge fan of Wild’s unique writing style. She has this amazing ability to drag you into her character’s worlds. I was intensely interested in their welfare, celebrating with them when they had their wins, and commiserating when they were at their lowest. In my opinion, that ability is what makes a great writer. 
Even though this is the third book in the Bridge Series, I found I wasn’t spending all my time playing catch up. You could definitely read this as a stand-alone, and not feel as if you were missing out on something. This is a well thought out, well-paced and extremely sexy read. If you’ve never read anything by Meredith Wild, do yourself a favor and pick up any of her titles. You will not be disappointed.
This is a 4.5 star read for me.
Where can I get a copy?



About Meredith

Meredith Wild is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of romance. Living on Florida’s Gulf Coast with her husband and three children, she refers to herself as a techie, whiskey-appreciator, and hopeless romantic. When she isn’t living in the fantasy world of her characters, she can usually be found at  www.facebook.com/meredithwild.
Connect with Meredith
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