Heather Burnside's Blog, page 16

5) General Knowledge Quiz

And now for our General Knowledge Quiz. Again, there will be 20 questions for this quiz but you will have until 5pm next Tuesday 23rd September to get the answers to us. Please send your answers by email to: dianewriting@gmail.com.

The winner will be drawn from all those with 20 correct answers or, if nobody gets all the answers right, the winner will be drawn from all those with the most correct answers. The winner will be contacted shortly after the closing date, as soon as we have had a chance to go through all the entries, and will also be announced on the blog. We will also publish the answers on the blog after the competition deadline.

The Prize

As this is a General Knowledge Quiz, our prize will be general in nature too, so we’re awarding a £25 John Lewis voucher to the winner. That means you’ll be able to treat yourself to whatever you fancy.

N.B. We welcome overseas attendees and are willing to exchange the voucher for the equivalent in the country of choice if the prizes are won by somebody from overseas.

Don’t forget that we’ve still got the SLUR Big Prize Quiz coming up later today. The winner of the SLUR Big Prize Quiz gets a £50 John Lewis voucher and a signed print copy of SLUR along with my other two publications. The questions for the SLUR Big Prize Quiz will be based on the book so unless you were lucky enough to win a copy in our Meet the Author Quiz, you might want to buy your copy now if you haven’t already done so. Here’s the link: http://viewbook.at/Slur.

But now back to our General Knowledge Quiz.

The Questions

1. In personal finance, what do the letters IVA stand for?

2. On which British island is the town of St Helier?

3. In which country are the Black Mountains?

4. What is the name of the actress who plays Rachel Berry in “Glee”?

5. In a human embryo, what is the first part of the body to develop?

6. How many points is the letter “s” worth in scrabble?

7. What is the square root of 144?

8. Who was the first labour Prime Minister?

9. Who was Hitler’s Propaganda Minister?

10. Which Roman Emperor conquered Britain?

11. Which element has the chemical symbol Na?

12. Who is Miley Cyrus’s godmother?

13. In what way were the Manchester bands Joy Division and New Order related?

14. Who was the British Prime Minister at the end of the First World War?

15. For which film did Jennifer Lawrence win an Academy Award for best actress?

16. Which is the nerve that is damaged in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

17. What do the angles in a hexagon add up to?

18. Where would you wear espadrilles?

19. Which elephants have the biggest ears – African or Indian?

20. What is a lien?

————————–

Don’t forget to send your answers by email to dianewriting@gmail.com by 5pm next Tuesday 23rd September at the latest.

————————–

4) Announcing the Winner of the Meet the Author Quiz

Congratulations to the winner of our Meet the Author Quiz who is Guy Portman. He has won a signed print copy of SLUR (http://viewbook.at/Slur) together with signed print copies of my other publications, Kids’ Clubs and Organizations: viewBook.at/KidsClubs and  Great Places for Kids’ Parties: viewBook.at/KidsParties  plus a £10 gift voucher. We’ll be sending our bundle of prizes out in the post.

If you weren’t the lucky winner, don’t forget that you can still buy a print or Kindle version of SLUR at: http://viewbook.at/Slur and can download a free app that enables you to read the Kindle version on your computer, tablet or smart phone here. In fact, you’ll need a version of SLUR to be in with a chance of winning a £50 gift voucher and signed print copies of all my books in our SLUR Big Prize Quiz at the end of today.

The Answers

In case you’re wondering what the answers were, here they are:

My ears.
My shoe – it slipped off whilst I was boarding the train.
Once in manual, then I gave up because I absolutely hated it. I returned to learning to drive years later but automatic only and sat my test a further three times, so four times altogether. Driving is most definitely not my favourite thing.
Three – first year, third year and fourth year juniors.
I don’t have a middle name.
Diane Mannion Writing Services.
It was about my late mother. It was back in August 2013 when I hadn’t had my WordPress blog long – here’s the link: http://dianewriting.wordpress.com/2013/08/01/why-i-dont-write-poetry-anymore/.
A 20 year old boy and a 17 year old girl.
Spain.
Manchester.

Staying in Touch

Here’s a little reminder of some of the ways in which you can stay in touch with me or find out more about my work:

Check out my Amazon author page, which lists all my books including SLUR: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Diane-Mannion/e/B008MX8LD0 in the UK or http://www.amazon.com/Diane-Mannion/e/B008MX8LD0/ in the US.

Sign up to my mailing list at: http://eepurl.com/CP6YP and be the first to find out about new releases and special offers on my books. N.B. I use my mailing list solely for this purpose and will never share your details with any third parties.

Follow the blog to find out what I’m working on and get tips and information about the writing world in general. Just click follow in the box to the right of this screen.

Like my page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/DianeMannionWritingServices.

Follow me on Twitter: @dydywriter.

Find me on Goodreads by searching for author Diane Mannion.

Connect with me on Google+ by searching for Diane Mannion.

——————

Literary Quiz

We’re now moving onto our second competition of the day (or first for Saturday), which is our Literary Quiz. I’m very excited about this one as it gives me a chance to introduce some of my talented author friends who have kindly offered to contribute signed copies of their books as prizes.

We still have two more competitions to go, which are our General Knowledge Quiz later this afternoon, with a £25 gift voucher for the winner, and the SLUR Big Prize Quiz this evening. The winner of the SLUR Big Prize Quiz gets a £50 gift voucher and a signed print copy of SLUR plus my two parenting books. (Please note that some of these quizzes will be re-run on Saturday 20th September but times will differ. You can find full details of approximate times for both days at: http://dianewriting.wordpress.com/2014/09/02/launch-party-agenda/.)

But first let me tell you more about our Literary Quiz. We’re giving away a great prize for this one so there’ll be 20 questions but you have until 5pm next Tuesday 23rd September to send your answers by email to: dianewriting@gmail.com. The winner will be drawn from all those with 20 correct answers or, if nobody gets all the answers right, the winner will be drawn from all those with the most correct answers. The winner will be contacted shortly afterwards, as soon as we have had a chance to go through all the entries, and will also be announced on the blog. We will also publish the answers on the blog after the competition closing date.

The Prize

I have taken my book launch day as an opportunity to introduce you to the wealth of talent that the independent publishing world has to offer. The prize will be a bundle of five signed print copies of books by talented authors. I have specifically chosen these five authors because I have read books by each of them and I personally recommend them. That’s why I’ve called them my Fab Five. I appreciate that everybody has different tastes in reading matter so I’ve selected a variety of genres. Here they are:

My Fab Five

Each of the following books are included in the prize for this competition. I have read every one of them and they’re all excellent. N.B. Please click on the author name to find out more about the author. By clicking on the book title you will be directed to the Amazon page for that book. If you’re not lucky enough to win the prize, why not take the chance to discover a new talent and buy one of these books from Amazon?

Author


Book


Genre



Joanne Phillips
Can’t Live Without
Romantic Comedy


Rose Edmunds
Never Say Sorry
Thriller


Guy Portman
Necropolis
Black Comedy


Clare Davidson
Reaper’s Rhythm
YA Urban Fantasy


Georgia Rose
A Single Step
Romantic Suspense



The Importance of Reviews

Independent publishing is currently undergoing a bit of a revolution. Because of the difficulties in getting published by mainstream publishers and the stringent rules they apply, increasing numbers of authors are publishing independently. This includes authors that previously had publishing deals, because they prefer to have control over when and how they publish, what design goes on the cover of their book, how they divide their time between writing and promotion etc.

However, the downside of independent publishing is that independent authors do not have the big advertising budgets of large publishing houses and we therefore rely on recommendations and word of mouth. Every time a positive review is published on Amazon or Goodreads it encourages potential readers to purchase our books. If you have read and enjoyed a book, please spare a couple of minutes to leave a review as the authors really appreciate your contribution.

Before I print the questions, let me remind you that we’ll be announcing the winner of our Meet the Author quiz shortly (Friday only). If you aren’t lucky enough to win a copy of SLUR, don’t forget that you can still buy one for as little as £1.99 for a Kindle version or £7.99 for a print version from Amazon at: http://viewbook.at/Slur.

The Questions

1. In “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” by Thomas Hardy, what was the name of the family horse that died?

2. In “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck”, what is the name of the boss’s son on the ranch?

3. In the play “An Inspector Calls” by J. B Priestley, who does Sheila get engaged to?

4. In “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins, what district are Katniss and Peeta from?

5. In the Shakespeare play Hamlet, what is the name of Hamlet’s mother?

6. In “The Lord of the Flies”, by William Golding, what was the conch used for?

7. What is the name of the magician in J. B. Priestley’s “Lost Empires”?

8. What is the name of the royal poisoner in “I Claudius” by Robert Graves?

9. Name the two cities in “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens?

10. What condition does Terry Pratchett suffer from?

11. In the well-known satire “Animal Farm” by George Orwell, what was the novel said to parody?

12. The well-known writing duo Nicci French is the name of a man and wife team. What are their full names?

13. Val McDermid recently did a re-imagining of a Jane Austen classic as part of the Jane Austen project. What was the name of the book?

14. In “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte, what is the name of Mr Rochester’s dog?

15. Where was Robert Harris’s book “Enigma” based?

16. In Robert Bolt’s novel “The Mission”, what did the slave trader do that caused him to become a priest?

17. Who won the 2013 Man Booker Prize for Fiction and what was the name of the book?

18. Who is the bestselling author of all time?

19. What is the name of the warship that saves the narrator’s brother in H G Wells’ “War of the Worlds”?

20. What classic of Latin literature did Julius Caesar write?

——————–

Don’t forget to send your answers by email to dianewriting@gmail.com by 5pm on Tuesday 23rd September.

——————–

3) Literary Quiz

We’re now moving onto our second competition of the day (or first for Saturday), which is our Literary Quiz. I’m very excited about this one as it gives me a chance to introduce some of my talented author friends who have kindly offered to contribute signed copies of their books as prizes.

We still have two more competitions to go, which are our General Knowledge Quiz later this afternoon, with a £25 gift voucher for the winner, and the SLUR Big Prize Quiz this evening. The winner of the SLUR Big Prize Quiz gets a £50 gift voucher and a signed print copy of SLUR plus my two parenting books. (Please note that some of these quizzes will be re-run on Saturday 20th September but times will differ. You can find full details of approximate times for both days at: http://dianewriting.wordpress.com/2014/09/02/launch-party-agenda/.)

But first let me tell you more about our Literary Quiz. We’re giving away a great prize for this one so there’ll be 20 questions but you have until 5pm next Tuesday 23rd September to send your answers by email to: dianewriting@gmail.com. The winner will be drawn from all those with 20 correct answers or, if nobody gets all the answers right, the winner will be drawn from all those with the most correct answers. The winner will be contacted shortly afterwards, as soon as we have had a chance to go through all the entries, and will also be announced on the blog. We will also publish the answers on the blog after the competition closing date.

The Prize

I have taken my book launch day as an opportunity to introduce you to the wealth of talent that the independent publishing world has to offer. The prize will be a bundle of five signed print copies of books by talented authors. I have specifically chosen these five authors because I have read books by each of them and I personally recommend them. That’s why I’ve called them my Fab Five. I appreciate that everybody has different tastes in reading matter so I’ve selected a variety of genres. Here they are:

My Fab Five

Each of the following books are included in the prize for this competition. I have read every one of them and they’re all excellent. N.B. Please click on the author name to find out more about the author. By clicking on the book title you will be directed to the Amazon page for that book. If you’re not lucky enough to win the prize, why not take the chance to discover a new talent and buy one of these books from Amazon?

Author


Book


Genre



Joanne Phillips
Can’t Live Without
Romantic Comedy


Rose Edmunds
Never Say Sorry
Thriller


Guy Portman
Necropolis
Black Comedy


Clare Davidson
Reaper’s Rhythm
YA Urban Fantasy


Georgia Rose
A Single Step
Romantic Suspense



The Importance of Reviews

Independent publishing is currently undergoing a bit of a revolution. Because of the difficulties in getting published by mainstream publishers and the stringent rules they apply, increasing numbers of authors are publishing independently. This includes authors that previously had publishing deals, because they prefer to have control over when and how they publish, what design goes on the cover of their book, how they divide their time between writing and promotion etc.

However, the downside of independent publishing is that independent authors do not have the big advertising budgets of large publishing houses and we therefore rely on recommendations and word of mouth. Every time a positive review is published on Amazon or Goodreads it encourages potential readers to purchase our books. If you have read and enjoyed a book, please spare a couple of minutes to leave a review as the authors really appreciate your contribution.

Before I print the questions, let me remind you that we’ll be announcing the winner of our Meet the Author quiz shortly (Friday only). If you aren’t lucky enough to win a copy of SLUR, don’t forget that you can still buy one for as little as £1.99 for a Kindle version or £7.99 for a print version from Amazon at: http://viewbook.at/Slur.

The Questions

1. In “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” by Thomas Hardy, what was the name of the family horse that died?

2. In “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck”, what is the name of the boss’s son on the ranch?

3. In the play “An Inspector Calls” by J. B Priestley, who does Sheila get engaged to?

4. In “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins, what district are Katniss and Peeta from?

5. In the Shakespeare play Hamlet, what is the name of Hamlet’s mother?

6. In “The Lord of the Flies”, by William Golding, what was the conch used for?

7. What is the name of the magician in J. B. Priestley’s “Lost Empires”?

8. What is the name of the royal poisoner in “I Claudius” by Robert Graves?

9. Name the two cities in “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens?

10. What condition does Terry Pratchett suffer from?

11. In the well-known satire “Animal Farm” by George Orwell, what was the novel said to parody?

12. The well-known writing duo Nicci French is the name of a man and wife team. What are their full names?

13. Val McDermid recently did a re-imagining of a Jane Austen classic as part of the Jane Austen project. What was the name of the book?

14. In “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte, what is the name of Mr Rochester’s dog?

15. Where was Robert Harris’s book “Enigma” based?

16. In Robert Bolt’s novel “The Mission”, what did the slave trader do that caused him to become a priest?

17. Who won the 2013 Man Booker Prize for Fiction and what was the name of the book?

18. Who is the bestselling author of all time?

19. What is the name of the warship that saves the narrator’s brother in H G Wells’ “War of the Worlds”?

20. What classic of Latin literature did Julius Caesar write?

——————–

Don’t forget to send your answers by email to dianewriting@gmail.com by 5pm on Tuesday 23rd September.

——————–

2) Meet the Author

Now it’s time to find out a bit more about the author with our fun quiz. Don’t forget to send the answers to all of our quizzes by email to: dianewriting@gmail.com. The winner of the Meet the Author Quiz will be drawn from all those with 10 correct answers or, failing that, the winner will be drawn from those with the most correct answers. The deadline for your answers to this quiz is 1pm this afternoon.

We will announce the winner on the blog later this afternoon along with the answers. We’re not expecting anyone to get all the answers right and we realise that a lot of your answers will be guesses. The idea is to have a bit of fun (and maybe a laugh or two at the author’s expense).

If you want to find out more about the author you could sign up to my mailing list by following the link here. I use my mailing list to share details of my new releases, discounted books etc. and will never share your details with any third parties. You might also want to check out my Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/DianeMannionWritingServices.

 

The Prize

For our Meet the Author Quiz we’re offering a signed print copy of SLUR (http://viewbook.at/Slur) together with signed print copies of my other publications, Kids’ Clubs and Organizations: viewBook.at/KidsClubs and Great Places for Kids’ Parties: viewBook.at/KidsParties, and a £10 gift voucher. Don’t forget that you can also buy a print or Kindle version of SLUR at: http://viewbook.at/Slur and can download a free app that enables you to read the Kindle version on your computer, tablet or smart phone here.

N.B. We welcome overseas attendees and are willing to exchange the voucher for the equivalent in the country of choice if the prizes are won by somebody from overseas.

Here are our Meet the Author Quiz questions:

1. Which part of my anatomy is so small that my daughter’s was bigger than mine by the time she was five years of age?

2. Which item did I once drop under a train resulting in a delay as the guard had to have the train moved up the track so he could retrieve it for me then move the train back into position? (Meanwhile all the passengers were waiting patiently to board whilst staring out of the window at my red face.)

3. How many times did I sit my driving test (extra points if you can name how many times were manual and how many were automatic)?

4. And just to prove I’m not as stupid as I might sometimes seem, how many times did I win the top of the class prize at junior school?

5. What is my middle name?

6. Can you give the name of my writing business?

7. I previously published a poem on my blog. Who was that poem about?

8. What are the ages and genders of my two children?

9. Where do I usually spend most of my holidays?

10. In which city was I born?

———————

Don’t forget to send your answers to this quiz by email to dianewriting@gmail.com and get them to us by 1pm this afternoon at the latest.

 

The Story of Slur

The party’s started so grab yourself a cuppa and crack open the biscuits – we’ll save the wine and nibbles till later. I thought I’d start by letting you know what we’ve got lined up before telling you a little bit about the book. In fact, SLUR will be telling its own tale, and I have to warn you that with all this attention it’s become the diva of the book world.

We’ll be running some fun quizzes throughout the day and are offering great prizes (more about that below). All quiz answers should be sent by email to dianewriting@gmail.com. We’ll also be publishing updates during the day so if you want to receive the updates by email, just follow this blog by clicking the box marked ‘follow’ to the right of the screen.

Where to Buy SLUR

SLUR is available from Amazon in both Kindle format priced at £1.99 and print format priced at £7.99 at: http://viewbook.at/Slur. If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download a free app that enables you to read the Kindle version on your computer, tablet or smart phone. You can find the app here.

Great Prizes

You will have a chance of winning a signed copy of SLUR as well as my other publications, Kids’ Clubs and Organizations: viewBook.at/KidsClubs and Great Places for Kids’ Parties: viewBook.at/KidsParties, plus a £10 gift voucher, in our Meet the Author Quiz, which is coming up next. We’ll also be giving away a bundle of books by our Fab Five Indie authors in our Literary Quiz around lunchtime or shortly after.

If general knowledge is more your thing then you could have a chance of winning a £25 gift voucher by entering our General Knowledge Quiz later this afternoon/early evening. Lastly will be our SLUR Big Prize Quiz at the end of the day where we will be giving away a £50 gift voucher and a signed print copy of SLUR plus my two other publications. Questions will be based on SLUR, and the winner of this one will be announced in a few weeks’ time to give you a chance to find the answers. Please note that some of these quizzes will be re-run on Saturday 20th September but times will differ. You can find full details of approximate times for both days at: http://dianewriting.wordpress.com/2014/09/02/launch-party-agenda/.

N.B. We welcome overseas attendees. As all our prize vouchers are in GBP, we will give equivalent vouchers in a relevant currency if overseas entrants win our prizes.

The Story of SLUR

I first started writing my debut novel SLUR back in 1999 and finished the first draft around 2002. It took almost three years to write because I was studying for my writing diploma at the time as well as bringing up two toddlers. Sadly, it has since been on the backburner. In fact, my book has waited such a long time to be published that I thought it only fair for SLUR to tell its own tale. After all, it’s been around so long now that it’s as though it’s taken on a personality of its own. Over to you SLUR:

Thank God for that, I was beginning to think my time would never come. 15 years is one hell of a long time to wait for your moment of glory, you know!

Well lovely readers, it all started back in 1999. I can still recall the first stroke of the keyboard, her initial excitement, the way she couldn’t wait to start tapping away at the keys once the kids were in bed. I had high aspirations of course – first the bestseller lists, a film adaptation, then all the glitzy award ceremonies – you know how it goes. I figured I ain’t no flavour of the month celeb with a tale of instant stardom; I’ve got staying power!

So I was toted around the agents. I remember hearing their conversations like it was yesterday – ‘good writing style, nice opening – starts with a bang, great characterisation’. Then there were the naysayers – ‘the author’s unknown, we’re taking a risk, what niche would it fit into?’

Swines!

I swear, if I could have sprouted a pair of hands out of all those sheaves of paper I would have done some serious damage.

Anyway, at the end of the day I guess it was just one rejection letter too many so my printed manuscript got filed and locked away. Even now I can hear the sound of the key as it rasped painfully around the lock mechanism like scissors slicing through my aching pages – OK, maybe a bit dramatic, but you get the idea.

Then she moved onto other things – the magazine articles, the writing services business, the parenting books – phut! But I knew my time would come. As the saying goes, “I’m Beyonce, I ain’t no Kelly Rowland.” And I ain’t no poxy parenting book either – I’m the real deal!

So here I am with my beautiful new jacket complete with image of attractive heroine, admittedly looking a bit distressed – well she would, wouldn’t she? Her whole world’s fell apart, the poor cow! She’s still got to prove her innocence before she breaks down altogether. That’s if she’s got enough feistiness left after she’s been through hell!

Well, that’s enough of me, I must dash before she changes my title to ‘Diva’. I’m going to show off my gorgeous, sexy new jacket now. And when it gets opened I’ll be glad to finally put my goods on display and show the world just what I’ve got to offer. It’s show time! (Slinks away singing)

“Cos tonight I’m gonna party like it’s 1999, da da, da da da.”

———————–

1) The Story of Slur

The party’s started so grab yourself a cuppa and crack open the biscuits – we’ll save the wine and nibbles till later. I thought I’d start by letting you know what we’ve got lined up before telling you a little bit about the book. In fact, SLUR will be telling its own tale, and I have to warn you that with all this attention it’s become the diva of the book world.

We’ll be running some fun quizzes throughout the day and are offering great prizes (more about that below). All quiz answers should be sent by email to dianewriting@gmail.com. We’ll also be publishing updates during the day so if you want to receive the updates by email, just follow this blog by clicking the box marked ‘follow’ to the right of the screen.

Where to Buy SLUR

SLUR is available from Amazon in both Kindle format priced at £1.99 and print format priced at £7.99 at: http://viewbook.at/Slur. If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download a free app that enables you to read the Kindle version on your computer, tablet or smart phone. You can find the app here.

Great Prizes

You will have a chance of winning a signed copy of SLUR as well as my other publications, Kids’ Clubs and Organizations: viewBook.at/KidsClubs and Great Places for Kids’ Parties: viewBook.at/KidsParties, plus a £10 gift voucher, in our Meet the Author Quiz, which is coming up next. We’ll also be giving away a bundle of books by our Fab Five Indie authors in our Literary Quiz around lunchtime or shortly after.

If general knowledge is more your thing then you could have a chance of winning a £25 gift voucher by entering our General Knowledge Quiz later this afternoon/early evening. Lastly will be our SLUR Big Prize Quiz at the end of the day where we will be giving away a £50 gift voucher and a signed print copy of SLUR plus my two other publications. Questions will be based on SLUR, and the winner of this one will be announced in a few weeks’ time to give you a chance to find the answers. Please note that some of these quizzes will be re-run on Saturday 20th September but times will differ. You can find full details of approximate times for both days at: http://dianewriting.wordpress.com/2014/09/02/launch-party-agenda/.

N.B. We welcome overseas attendees. As all our prize vouchers are in GBP, we will give equivalent vouchers in a relevant currency if overseas entrants win our prizes.

The Story of SLUR

I first started writing my debut novel SLUR back in 1999 and finished the first draft around 2002. It took almost three years to write because I was studying for my writing diploma at the time as well as bringing up two toddlers. Sadly, it has since been on the backburner. In fact, my book has waited such a long time to be published that I thought it only fair for SLUR to tell its own tale. After all, it’s been around so long now that it’s as though it’s taken on a personality of its own. Over to you SLUR:

Thank God for that, I was beginning to think my time would never come. 15 years is one hell of a long time to wait for your moment of glory, you know!

Well lovely readers, it all started back in 1999. I can still recall the first stroke of the keyboard, her initial excitement, the way she couldn’t wait to start tapping away at the keys once the kids were in bed. I had high aspirations of course – first the bestseller lists, a film adaptation, then all the glitzy award ceremonies – you know how it goes. I figured I ain’t no flavour of the month celeb with a tale of instant stardom; I’ve got staying power!

So I was toted around the agents. I remember hearing their conversations like it was yesterday – ‘good writing style, nice opening – starts with a bang, great characterisation’. Then there were the naysayers – ‘the author’s unknown, we’re taking a risk, what niche would it fit into?’

Swines!

I swear, if I could have sprouted a pair of hands out of all those sheaves of paper I would have done some serious damage.

Anyway, at the end of the day I guess it was just one rejection letter too many so my printed manuscript got filed and locked away. Even now I can hear the sound of the key as it rasped painfully around the lock mechanism like scissors slicing through my aching pages – OK, maybe a bit dramatic, but you get the idea.

Then she moved onto other things – the magazine articles, the writing services business, the parenting books – phut! But I knew my time would come. As the saying goes, “I’m Beyonce, I ain’t no Kelly Rowland.” And I ain’t no poxy parenting book either – I’m the real deal!

So here I am with my beautiful new jacket complete with image of attractive heroine, admittedly looking a bit distressed – well she would, wouldn’t she? Her whole world’s fell apart, the poor cow! She’s still got to prove her innocence before she breaks down altogether. That’s if she’s got enough feistiness left after she’s been through hell!

Well, that’s enough of me, I must dash before she changes my title to ‘Diva’. I’m going to show off my gorgeous, sexy new jacket now. And when it gets opened I’ll be glad to finally put my goods on display and show the world just what I’ve got to offer. It’s show time! (Slinks away singing)

“Cos tonight I’m gonna party like it’s 1999, da da, da da da.”

———————–

Who are my Fab Five Indie Authors?

My Fab Five Indie Authors will be playing a special role in my online book launch party for my debut novel SLUR: http://viewbook.at/Slur, which is a crime thriller set in 1980s Manchester. So, I would like to say a big thank you to each of the Fab Five for their contribution. You can find out more about my launch party by checking out the agenda. The book launch party will be taking place on this blog on 19th and 20th September.

Each of these talented authors has kindly agreed to donate a signed print copy of one of their books as a prize for our Literary Quiz. This means that the lucky winner will receive a bundle of all five books. The books cover a range of genres to cater to different tastes but the thing that they all have in common is that they are particularly well written and a good read. The books included in the prize are: Can’t Live Without, Necropolis, Never Say Sorry, A Single Step and Reaper’s Rhythm. To find out more about each book, please follow the links under the author details.

Given the wealth of talent in the independent author community, it was difficult to choose just five authors, and there were some others that I would like to have included. However, I have chosen these five because I have read and enjoyed books by all of them, and can recommend their work. I have also made a personal connection with each of the authors and found them friendly and supportive. I would therefore like to tell you a little more about these five exceptional people:

Joanne Phillips

Joanne is a popular and prolific author of romantic comedies and cosy mysteries. Her debut novel Can’t Live Without was an Amazon top 20 bestseller and her books regularly appear on Amazon category bestseller lists. To date she has published four novels, a short story collection and a novelette.

Apart from being a talented author and a lovely lady, Joanne is a great supporter of the Indie community and runs a very informative blog sharing advice about the book writing, publishing and marketing process, which you can find at: http://joannegphillips.wordpress.com/. Readers can also find out all about Joanne’s books on her website: http://www.joannephillips.co.uk/.

Guy Portman

Guy has published two novels which differ in subject matter but both are peppered with Guy’s unique sardonic humour. He writes in a literary style that doesn’t conform to current writing trends. In fact, because Guy’s writing style is so individual I think that it can be considered timeless, and I can see his second novel in particular, Necropolis, becoming a cult classic. Although the graphic content may not suit everybody, this book will stay with you for a long time after you have read it.

Guy also publishes a regular literary blog, which is both witty and informative. It can be found at: http://guyportman.com/.

Rose Edmunds

If you’re looking for a fast paced thriller with plenty of twists and turns, then Rose’s debut novel, Never Say Sorry, is a must. Rose is a skilled thriller writer who knows how to grab readers from page one and keep them turning the pages.

Never Say Sorry is set in the world of corporate finance and involves a conspiracy to suppress a natural cancer cure. It has received great reviews to date and the good news is that Rose has a second book due out soon called Concealment, which is a psychological thriller. You can find out more about Rose’s forthcoming thriller, Concealment, at: http://www.roseedmunds.co.uk/.

Georgia Rose

Camera shy Georgia prefers to hide behind her blue rose symbol. Georgia is relatively new to the independent writing scene but has already made an impact since publishing her debut novel A Single Step at the end of 2013. This romantic suspense novel has received many excellent reviews and been featured on a number of popular blogs. A Single Step is the first in a trilogy, and the second novel, Before the Dawn, will be released on 26th September, so Georgia’s fans won’t have long to wait.

Georgia publishes a lively blog, which features author interviews, book reviews and recommendations, as well as giving an insight into her writing journey. You can find out more about Georgia and her work at: http://www.georgiarosebooks.com/.

Clare Davidson

Clare writes fantasy novels for the young adult niche, but the characterisation is so strong in Clare’s novels that they appeal to more than just a young adult readership. I have read two of Clare’s novels, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and I found myself empathising with the lead character who is a teenage girl. To date Clare has written a standalone novel, Trinity, and three novels in the Hidden series, of which Reaper’s Rhythm is the first. She is currently working on the fourth novel in the series.

Clare also runs a stimulating and thought provoking blog, which you can find at: http://www.claredavidson.com/blog/.

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As well as our Literary Quiz, we’ll be running three other quizzes for our launch day celebrations so don’t forget to join us if you don’t want to miss out on the fun.

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Launch Party Agenda

On Friday 19th September 2014 and Saturday 20th September I’ll be having my online book launch party for my debut novel SLUR here at my blog. The book is already available to purchase at: http://viewbook.at/Slur. It’s been 15 years since I first started writing SLUR, which I always said I would publish one day. That day has arrived and I plan to have one hell of a celebration. I’m having a full day of competitions and prizes on the Friday with a top prize of a £50 gift voucher and a signed print copy of the book plus my other two non-fiction books in the end of day competition. Then I’ll probably chill and open a bottle of the fizzy stuff.

For those that can’t make it on the Friday, I’ll be repeating three out of the four competitions on the Saturday. The closing date for two of the competitions is the following Tuesday 23rd September, and the closing date for the final (big prize) competition is Friday 31st October. Therefore, those attending the party on Saturday 20th September still have a chance of winning these three competitions.

I’d love it if as many friends, family, clients, fellow authors and acquaintances as possible could attend the event. In fact, everybody is welcome. If you can’t manage a full day, you might want to just pop along for part of it. I’m therefore detailing my agenda with approximate times so you know what to expect.

N.B. Please note that we welcome attendees from oversees. As the prize vouchers are in GBP, we will exchange them for equivalent vouchers if overseas entrants win any of the competitions.

Friday 19th September 2014

N.B. All times are GMT

1. The Story of SLUR (approx. 9.30am – 10am) – We start with an introduction of what we’ve got lined up for the day followed by The Story of SLUR. It’s been so long since the author first put pen to paper (or was it a feather quill?) that SLUR has taken on a life of its own. This witty passage takes a look at the story of SLUR from the book’s own viewpoint, and I have to warn you that now SLUR (http://viewbook.at/Slur) has finally stepped into the limelight, it’s become a bit of a diva.

2. Meet the Author Quiz (approx. 10.30am – 11am) – 10 fun questions about the author. The answers to a lot of these will be guesses but the emphasis is on having a bit of fun. Answers to be sent by email and the deadline is 1pm. The winner will be drawn from all those with 10 correct answers or, failing that, the winner will be drawn from those with the most correct answers. The winner will be announced on the blog later in the afternoon and the prize is a signed print copy of SLUR (http://viewbook.at/Slur), signed print copies of my two parenting books, which you can view here and a £10 gift voucher

3. Literary Quiz (approx. 1pm) – Introducing my Fab Five independent authors – each one is donating a signed print copy of one of their books as a prize. The winner gets a bundle of all five books. The quiz has 20 questions and the winner will be drawn from all those with 20 correct answers or, if nobody gets all the answers right, the winner will be drawn from all those with the most correct answers. Closing date is the following Tuesday 23rd September at 5pm. The winner will be contacted shortly afterwards, as soon as we have had time to go through the entries, and will be announced on the blog along with the answers. 

4. Announcing the winner of our Meet the Author Quiz (approx. 3pm depending on the number of entries). Along with this announcement we will publish the answers to the quiz. This blog post also lists ways in which you can stay in touch with the author or follow the author on social media.

5. General Knowledge Quiz (approx. 5pm) – This quiz has 20 questions and the winner will be drawn from all those with 20 correct answers or, if nobody gets all the answers right, the winner will be drawn from all those with the most correct answers. Closing date is the following Tuesday 23rd September at 5pm. The winner will be contacted shortly afterwards, as soon as we have had time to go through the entries, and will be announced on the blog along with the answers. The prize is a £25 John Lewis gift voucher.

6. The SLUR Big Prize Quiz (approx. 7pm) – there are 20 questions for this one, which are all based on the book. Entrants have six weeks to submit their entries as this gives them plenty of time to buy a copy, read it and find the answers. The prize will be a £50 John Lewis voucher and a signed print copy of SLUR (http://viewbook.at/Slur) as a keepsake (or to give to someone as a present), plus a signed print copy of each of my two parenting books, which you can view here. The winner’s name will be drawn from the names of all the correct entries. The winner will be announced on the blog after the closing date of Friday 31st October at 5pm, and will also be contacted by email.

 

Saturday 20th September 2014

N.B. All times are GMT

1. The Story of SLUR (approx. 10am) – We start with an introduction of what we’ve got lined up for the day followed by The Story of SLUR. It’s been so long since the author first put pen to paper (or was it a feather quill?) that SLUR has taken on a life of its own. This witty passage takes a look at the story of SLUR from the book’s own viewpoint, and I have to warn you that now SLUR (http://viewbook.at/Slur) has finally stepped into the limelight, it’s become a bit of a diva.

2. Literary Quiz (approx. 12noon) – Introducing my Fab Five independent authors – each one is donating a signed print copy of one of their books as a prize. The winner gets a bundle of all five books. The quiz has 20 questions and the winner will be drawn from all those with 20 correct answers or, if nobody gets all the answers right, the winner will be drawn from all those with the most correct answers. Closing date is the following Tuesday 23rd September at 5pm. The winner will be contacted shortly afterwards, as soon as we have had time to go through the entries, and will be announced on the blog along with the answers.

3. General Knowledge Quiz (approx. 2pm) – This quiz has 20 questions and the winner will be drawn from all those with 20 correct answers or, if nobody gets all the answers right, the winner will be drawn from all those with the most correct answers. Closing date is the following Tuesday 23rd September at 5pm. The winner will be contacted shortly afterwards, as soon as we have had time to go through the entries, and will be announced on the blog along with the answers. The prize is a £25 John Lewis gift voucher.

4. The SLUR Big Prize Quiz (approx. 4pm) – there are 20 questions for this one, which are all based on the book. Entrants have six weeks to submit their entries as this gives them plenty of time to buy a copy, read it and find the answers. The prize will be a £50 John Lewis voucher and a signed print copy of SLUR (http://viewbook.at/Slur) as a keepsake (or to give to someone as a present), plus a signed print copy of each of my two parenting books, which you can view here. The winner’s name will be drawn from the names of all the correct entries. The winner will be announced on the blog after the closing date of Friday 31st October at 5pm, and will also be contacted by email.

N.B. We also welcome overseas attendees and are willing to exchange the vouchers for the equivalent in the country of choice if the prizes are won by somebody from overseas.

I hope you can make it. Bye for now.

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Slur Chapter 2

Here is chapter 2 of Slur. If you missed the blog post showing chapter one, you can find it here or read the pdf, which you can find on the books page of my website at: http://www.dianemannion.co.uk/books.html. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the box that reads, ‘Read a sample chapter’.

I have now fixed my official launch date as Friday 19th September and I’ll be throwing a big online launch party with competitions and great prizes. For those that can’t make the Friday, I’ll be re-running some of the competitions on Saturday 20th September, because most of the competition answers don’t have to be in straightaway.

If you’re tempted by the first two chapters of Slur and don’t want to wait till launch date, the book is already available to purchase online at: http://viewbook.at/Slur.

SLUR – Chapter 2

Friday 20th June 1986

It was Friday night, the big night out of the week. Julie was sitting at her dressing table putting the finishing touches to her hair and make-up. When she was satisfied that she had achieved the desired result, she pouted her lips and kissed her reflection in the mirror, saying, ‘you’re gonna knock ’em dead tonight – you sexy beast.’ She was disturbed by the sound of a, ‘tut tut’ coming from the doorway of her room. It was her mother, Betty.

‘Julie Quinley, I don’t know. You get dafter by the minute. When you’ve finished dolling yourself up, Rita’s downstairs waiting for you.’

Julie took no offence at Betty’s comments as she was accustomed to their friendly banter. She turned in her chair, gave her mother a beaming smile, then dashed across the room and planted a kiss on her cheek, saying, ‘Here I go, don’t wait up!’

She headed downstairs to find Rita in the hallway. As they greeted each other, Betty passed them on her way to the living room. Julie stepped away from Rita, allowing her mother to pass. As she did so, she noticed what Rita was wearing. “My God, she’s really gone to town this time!” she thought, observing Rita’s white lycra mini skirt, low cut red top and towering, white stiletto heels.

‘You look nice Rita,’ she commented politely.

‘Oh thanks,’ Rita replied, preening herself.

Julie then heard the sound of voices coming from the living room. She put her fingers to her lips, motioning Rita to keep quiet as she led her towards the living room door while they listened in on Bill and Betty’s conversation.

‘She’s at it again, is she?’ Bill asked.

‘Aye, she’s only kissing the bleedin’ mirror now. I swear she gets more puddled by the minute that girl,’ replied Betty, in an amused tone.

Julie looked at Rita and managed to stifle a giggle as she heard her father grumble, ‘I can’t understand it me, young women out till all hours of the night up to God knows what, and with all these dubious characters hanging about.’

‘Yes, I know your feelings Bill, you have mentioned it once or twice.’

‘Well, she’s twenty years of age for God’s sake! She should be married with a family now, not stuck in some nightclub getting drunk, with a load of riffraff!’

Julie held up her hand for Rita to see as she formed the shape of a mouth opening and shutting, in imitation of her father’s familiar complaining.

‘She’ll have plenty of time for settling down when she’s had a bit of fun and built up a career for herself,’ Betty replied. ‘A lot of women don’t even think about having children until they are in their thirties these days. Anyway, she’s got her head screwed on the right way. She won’t do anything daft.’

‘Huh,’ was Bill’s response, followed by silence.

Julie and Rita backed away. Julie then opened the front door and they stepped out into the street, shutting the door as quietly as possible so that Julie’s parents would be unaware of their eavesdropping. As soon as they were outside, they gave in to uncontrolled laughter.

‘I bet your mam was a right one in her day!’ giggled Rita.

‘She might have been, given half a chance.’

Julie thought about her mother and the tale she had told her many times about her married life. Times had been hard for Betty when she got wed and their finances were fully stretched after Julie’s birth. Therefore, they decided to postpone extending their family until they could afford it.

When Julie was in school, Betty found herself a job in a store in order to bring in some extra income. After a few years of being stuck at home, Betty was a bit apprehensive at first, but she soon settled in and made lots of new friends. This in turn improved her social life and she began to relish her newfound freedom. After that, there never seemed to be an appropriate time to have more children.

However, as Betty reached her thirties and sensed her biological clock ticking away, the desire grew to extend her family before her time ran out. This resulted in the birth of Clare, twelve years Julie’s junior, and now a likeable, sweet girl of eight.

Although Betty was immensely proud of both her daughters, at times she regretted not doing more with her life, and every time Julie thought about her mother’s lack of achievements, she was determined not to make the same mistakes.

As Julie and Rita made their way up the street, on the way to their friend Debby’s house, the familiar clickety clack of high heels reverberated on the pavements.

Julie’s home was in a street full of three bedroom semis in a Manchester suburb. Many of the houses looked dreary and run down, a result of the poverty in the area. The home of Bill and Betty Quinley, however, was one of the more presentable houses in the street. The front garden was well tended and baskets of bright blooms hung at either side of the front door.

Julie’s sister, Clare, and her friends, who were playing further up the street, paused in their play as Julie and Rita approached. For a group of eight year olds, the image of Julie and Rita dressed to go out was a sight to behold, and they gazed in awe as the two older girls walked by.

‘Bye our Julie,’ shouted Clare.

‘Bye sweetheart. I’ll see you in the morning and don’t forget to be a good girl for mam and be in at eight o’clock.’

‘I won’t,’ said Clare, full of respect for Julie who she saw as a role model.

Julie couldn’t help but swell with pride as she sensed the idolatry glances of the young girls, and caught snippets of their conversation on passing.

‘Wow Clare, I wish I could go out all dressed up like your Julie, wearing make-up and everything!’

‘Our Julie lets me wear her make-up sometimes.’

Julie turned to Rita and they smiled at each other on hearing these childish comments. They looked an oddly matched pair: Julie, tall and elegant, and Rita, who was just a year older than Julie, smaller, brasher and louder in every sense of the word. Julie, although slim, was also curvaceous and well proportioned. Her features were sharp but nonetheless attractive.

She usually opted for the sexy but sophisticated look, and tonight she was wearing a shortish pale blue skirt with a matching fitted jacket, which bore the popular shoulder pads of the eighties. She wore the customary white stiletto heels and had a white leather handbag to match. Her make-up was subtle and served to define her striking features, and her blond hair was naturally wavy.

As they rounded the corner at the top of the street, Rita opened up the conversation, by talking about her day at work, which was at a food factory.

‘Me and Debby were talking to Charlie at work today. He’s a card! He told us this joke…What’s white and slides across the dance-floor?’ Then, pausing for effect, she added, ‘Come dancing,’ the double entendre being a reference to a popular TV dancing show around that time. ‘Well, that was it! We couldn’t stop laughing after that. The slightest thing set us off.’

They both laughed at this and Julie replied, unwittingly. ‘Oh I wish I worked somewhere like that Rita. It sounds as though you have a great time.’

‘Why not?’ Rita replied enthusiastically. ‘I can let you know when there’s any vacancies. You should get a good reference from your place and you’ll soon learn the ropes. There’s not much to it really and I can put in a good word for you so it won’t matter if you haven’t got any experience.’

Julie was a bit taken aback by this as deep down she saw herself as being a bit above factory work, but she didn’t quite know how to put her thoughts into words without offending her longstanding friend. So she replied with caution.

‘I’d love to, but I don’t want to waste my qualifications.’

‘Come off it Julie, what’s a couple of ‘O’ levels? Besides, if you decide you don’t like it at the factory, you can always go back to office work. Anyway, you’re a bloody receptionist for Christ’s sake. You’re hardly gonna qualify for the High Achievers Award, are you? I mean to say, I earn more than you do.’

Julie resented Rita’s views concerning her choice of career, but tried not to show it. Despite her resentment, she appreciated Rita’s open and frank manner, which she had been grateful for in the past, so she maintained a cautious approach.

‘It’s what it can lead to that matters. I could do a course in computers or something.’

‘Like as if. You’re too busy enjoying yourself to stick a college course. Besides, I could do a course in computers, come to that.’

Julie didn’t wish this to escalate into a full-blown argument but felt that she must assert herself, so she replied, ‘You haven’t got the ‘O’ levels or the office experience.’ Then, realising that she was now becoming a bit confrontational, she tried to lighten the conversation by joking, ‘Anyway, the talents always a bonus.’

Rita, however, was not so easy to pacify. ‘Come off it. All men who work in offices are bloody wimps! You can’t beat a bloke with a good trade. That’s what my dad says and it’s true.’

‘What’s the use of a good trade if there’s no work around for them?’

‘Oh that’s just temporary. They’ll be all right now we’re getting over the recession. It’s all down to that bleedin’ Maggie Thatcher anyway.’

‘Well while all your blokes with a trade are still busy looking for work, there’s blokes being promoted at our place.’

‘Yes blokes, exactly! Anyway, Vinny’s a builder isn’t he and there’s nowt wrong with him?’

Knowing the mood that Rita was in, Julie guessed at what was to follow, and she was reluctant to discuss the subject of her boyfriend Vinny.

‘Yes, he’s all right, I suppose.’

‘But?’ prompted Rita.

‘Well, I just wish he had a bit more ambition, that’s all.’

‘You know your trouble Julie? You don’t know when you’re lucky. Vinny’s gorgeous. Loads of girls fancy him. I wouldn’t kick him out of bed myself! He’s got his own place, and he’s good between the sheets, from what you’ve told me.’

Julie smiled, amused at her friend’s audacity. ‘Well he does know which buttons to press and when to press them, but there’s more to life than sex you know Rita.’

‘Oh yeah? Well when you find it let me know, and I’ll have a double helping,’ Rita quipped.

As Julie laughed, she turned to Rita and said. ‘Let’s stop being so bleedin’ serious! It’s Friday night for Christ’s sake! We’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves, not putting the world to rights.’

Rita decided that she had made her point anyway, so there was nothing to be gained in pursuing the matter. ‘Yeah, you’re right Jules. Come on, let’s go for it.’

They carried on walking for a few moments before Julie asked Rita, ‘What time are we supposed to be at Debby’s house?’

‘Dizzy Debby?  Oh I said it would be about seven by the time we got there.’

‘Don’t be rotten. She can’t help being a bit slow at times.’

‘It’s all right, she’s used to being called Dizzy Debby. It’s her nickname at work. Anyway, there’s an offy on the way so we can grab some booze and have a few before we go and meet your friends. Eh, I tell you what Julie, we’d better make sure we give your friend Amanda a good time, seeing as how it’s her birthday night out.’

‘Don’t worry, we will,’ replied Julie with a smile.

When they reached Debby’s house, it was Debby who answered the door and led them straight up to her bedroom. Her home was in complete contrast to the one that Julie had just left, and the décor was shabby and dated. Julie recoiled as they passed the bathroom and smelt the pungent aroma that emanated from it. She looked at Rita for her reaction, but Rita didn’t respond. Julie wondered why; could it be that Rita was used to it so it didn’t bother her. “No,” she chided herself. “Rita’s home might be a bit untidy, but it was certainly a lot cleaner than this one.”

Julie could see that Debby was excited about the forthcoming night out and was anxious to get started. When they entered her bedroom she noticed Debby already had three half pint glasses ready and the sound of Luther Vandross was blasting out of the stereo.

‘Don’t your parents mind you having your music that loud?’ asked Julie.

‘No, they have the bloody tele so loud, they can’t hear it anyway.’

‘Mine are as bad,’ said Rita. ‘Ever since my dad came home from the pub with that dodgy VCR he’s been like a bleedin’ kid with a new toy.’

The girls seated themselves and began to pour the cans of lager. Julie pretended not to notice the greasy marks that covered the glasses. She inwardly cringed on observing Debby’s choice of clothing, accessories and make-up, but was too considerate to comment. Everything about Debby was overstated, from her fluffy bright blond hair to her fashion sense. All of her clothes were in vivid colours, uncoordinated and clung perilously to her large breasts and rotund hips.

The girls settled down with their drinks and began to discuss music, fashions and other topics of mutual interest. At eight o’clock, in a more animated state than when Julie and Rita had arrived, they set out, giggling, towards the nearby bus stop in order to make the trip to the city centre which was just a few stops away. When they got off the bus they had a short walk to the pub where they had agreed to meet two of Julie’s workmates, Amanda and Jacqueline, at eight thirty. While they were walking along, they spotted two policemen just ahead of them.

‘I think it’s time we had a bit of fun!’ said Rita.

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I hope you enjoyed it. I’ll be publishing the agenda for the online launch party a couple of weeks beforehand. We’ve got lots of fun lined up so if you can’t make the full day you might want to choose which events you want to take part in.