Ruth Ellen Parlour's Blog, page 6

How I Designed my Children’s Characters

Where did the ideas come from?

For the characters, I wanted creatures that were flexible in what they could do (to give me a good scope for plot ideas.) I knew I wanted a natural setting and I did research into wildlife native to the UK.

Initial sketch – designing the water dragons.

I researched kids programs and characters and decided to try and design something fairly unique. I looked at designs of Pokemon (not just because I love Pokemon!) But one of the reasons why it was so successful was because of the appeal and design of the characters. You can’t deny that Pikachu isn’t a cutie!

I based the design of my characters on newts. Amphibious, they can go in water and on land. I designed my character’s anatomy, face, colour and design to be cute but realistically believable. Then I thought, kids love dragons right? And The Water Dragons were born.

Designing the Water Dragon’s Skeleton Structure

I’ve never done cartoons before! With practise and research I went from drawing creatures with little sausages for arms to something that actually has an anatomy and expressions. I did most of my learning as I went along, and I’m really happy with the end result.

The Water Dragons: Too Heavy to Fly. Back Cover.

Thanks for reading! I’d love to know what your favourite children’s character is and why.

In my next article I’ll talk about the setting and how I created my artwork.

Why I Decided to Write for Children.

The Water Dragons: Too Heavy to Fly. Front Cover.

I’ll be honest here. I was approached by someone wanting some illustrations for a kid’s book. The project didn’t go ahead in the end, but I had become enthused about creating some illustrations.

I have a creative degree which I’m not currently using in my career. The two main things I want to do in life is write and create art. I thought the best way to go about this was to create picture books. I had never considered it before until someone else suggested it.

It was an easy decision. I would write my own story and draw my own pictures, what I wanted to do, the way I wanted to do it.

How can someone go from novel writing to writing short fiction for children? I always say there’s nothing you can’t learn to do. I did a course in how to write flash fiction (stories no longer than 500 words) then just applied the principles to a story aimed at children.

I wrote the story before doing any kind of research so as not to become influenced by what I read. When I did do the research I found that most of the advice was standard writing practise and I found only a few tips specific to writing for children.

The most disappointing thing I found in my research was poor quality children’s stories. I read some awful books that I would never read to a child, never mind pay for the privilege. I want to try and create something that children could read over again, that they can immerse themselves in the art, and become attached to the characters. It’s not just a story, I want to create an experience for children.

Can you remember being read to as a child? What your favourite books were? I know I can, and I have some great memories too. If, through good story telling and inspiring art, I can encourage a child to read and help create a positive experience, then what more job satisfaction can you get than that?

I haven’t forgotten my other projects, there’s still stories I want to write but I’m still learning and developing and I’ll eventually build a backlist of both short and long books. This is what I want to do write now and I’m really happy with how it’s turned out.

Thanks for reading!

I’d love to know what your favourite childhood books were, and also, if you’ve recently read any kid’s books that you hated.

In my next article I’ll be talking about the design process for my books.

Cover Reveal of my Secret Project – The Water Dragons

For a while now I’ve been silent on the social media front. Being fed up in a dead end job, I lost myself for a long time trying to figure out what I wanted to do in life. I had a long struggle but I have still been working on my own projects.

I’m not entirely sure why I kept this one semi-secret. Perhaps I was concerned what my peers would think when they found out, or I’m eager to surprise people when I announce the finished work, or I just wasn’t sure how this would turn out.

At any rate I’m going to come out of my cave and start talking about my new book, now it’s close to being released.

The big news is that I’m writing for children.

Yup. I’ve written a story and done the art myself. I’ll be independently publishing a hard copy on Lulu as well as creating a kindle version. It’s a far cry from wanting to write a novel which is what I’ve always tried to do. The Water Dragons: Too Heavy to Fly is a picture book aimed at children ages 3-5.

I promised you a cover and here it is. I would love to know what you think!

(Click to see the full image)

The proof copy arrived the other day and I’m so pleased with how it’s turned out. I need to tweak a few things and then send it out to my beta testers, then I’ll prep it for release. There’s something very satisfying about holding a copy of your own book!

Thanks for reading!

In my next article I’m going to talk about why I decided to write for children.

Broken Bargains release Tour! Interview with Clare Davidson

Broken Bargain (Hidden)">It was my only job. Publish a sterling interview with Clare Davidson for her new release Broken Bargains (Hidden Book 2) on the 31st of Jan. I realise now it is the 1st of February and like an idiot I forgot (not only that I forgot how to spell idiot.) Better late than never. Sorry Clare!

Hi Clare! Thanks for stopping by the blog to answer some questions on your new book.

Thanks for inviting me over on release day, Ruth.

Was it difficult for you to continue Kim’s story? Or had you always intended on writing a trilogy?

I always knew it was going to be a series, although the length of that series changed from a trilogy to a tetralogy while I was writing Broken Bargain. As a quick aside, I just had to look up what you call a series of four books! The internet assures me it’s a tetralogy. You learn something new every day!

Even though I knew it was going to be a series, it was still difficult to write Broken Bargain. I’d put Kim through a lot in Reaper’s Rhythm, which obviously needed to impact her behaviour in the second book. I also didn’t want Broken Bargain to be a clone of the first book. I still wanted a mystery angle, but I’ve also introduced a romantic subplot to keep things fresh.

Why will this book appeal to a young adult audience? Would adults enjoy it too? Is it important for you to write for a crossover audience?

My aim with Kim was to show a teenager dealing with common issues, as well as the magical elements. In Reaper’s Rhythm, the way she coped with her parents’ divorce was as important as the way she dealt with the grief of losing a sibling. She also had exams to worry about and an annoying sibling to keep her in check. There are some new issues for Kim to deal with in Broken Bargain, with some amusing results.

I know adults enjoyed Reaper’s Rhythm. I try to write books with strong cross over appeal. Yes, my main characters are in their teens, but there are older characters for adults to identify with as well, such as Kim’s parents.

What themes are present in the novel?

The main theme, carrying on from Reaper’s Rhythm, is a theme of self-belief. However it’s further developed into believing and trusting in others.

Did you try and give Broken Bargains (Hidden #2) a similar feel as Reaper’s Rhythm or are you taking it in a new direction?

Oops, I think I already answered this question above! I’ll expand a little more though.

Whilst Broken Bargain does still have a mystery element to it, I’ve placed more importance on Kim’s relationships with other peoples. There are a lot more secrets and lies in this book and we get to see more of Kim’s best friend, Sophie. There’s also an increase in the supernatural elements, to prepare readers for book three.

Sounds exciting! How did you further develop the characters in the second book (without spoilers!) What kind of challenges does Kim have to face this time?

Kim’s main personal challenge this time is about coping (or not coping) on her own. She’s spent a year lying to everyone about what really happened to Charley and, when strange things start to happen again, she struggles to find anyone to turn to.

As I’ve already mentioned, Sophie is a more prominent character in this book. We get to see the tables turned a little. In Reaper’s Rhythm, she was a rock for Kim. In Broken Bargain, Kim has to support her and help her through some tough times.

You also get to find out more about Matthew, but I’m obviously not going to tell you what those secrets are.

What was the most fun part to write, or, what do you like best in Broken Bargain?

I can’t fully answer this question without spoilers!

There is a really funny conversation between Kim and her dad, which was a lot of fun to write. From Kim’s point of view is pretty cringe worthy. I can’t tell you what the scene is about, but you’ll know it when you get to it.

What plans do you have for Kim in Hidden book 3?

All I can really say is that Kim will be haunted by the past in book 3. We also get to find out a lot more about the Baneem.

Thanks Clare! That sounds like a great read and I’ve already bought my copy.

Clare’s novel, Broken Bargains is available to buy on Amazon for Broken Bargain (Hidden)">Kindle and ">paperback

Pre-release Author Giveaway

My good writing friend Clare Davidson is releasing her new book, Broken Bargain (Hidden: Book 2)" target="_blank">Broken Bargains (Hidden #2) on the 31st of January. To celebrate it’s release she has organized a pre-tour, spotlighting a number of self-published authors all eager to give away prizes in a rafflecopter draw!

I’ll be hosting Clare for an interview on her new book on the 31st of January, until then you can check out the tour dates and the featured authors by visiting Clare’s tour page.

Have fun and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

Dealing with Negative Reviews, Why it’s good to have a team.

I know there are lots of blog posts about this topic and lots of writers worrying about this issue, but let me show a different perspective on the matter.

This blog post idea came to me from a friend who recently self-published her debut novel All Things Unholy (An Ikaros Crux Case)" target="_blank">All Things Unholy. I edited this book. I am not a professional editor, only a writer offering my services at a low cost to a select bunch of private clients. She knew from the beginning I was not a proof reader, I edit content only (correcting mistakes as I see but not guaranteeing an error free MS.) I absolutely loved her book and stand by the claim to be her no. 1 fan. She did however get a negative review based on the fact that there were some grammatical errors. This anonymous reviewer claimed to love the book but the errors made him give a two star rating. I loved the book, I gave it 5 stars, a few errors won’t stop me from enjoying a good story.

Why I am writing this is because in an email, Piia Bredenberg wrote to me:

“You do good work, Ruth. I bolded that so you wouldn’t miss it. 

I have seen the results, and you have earned my trust. 

I felt really bad for you when I read that stupid review. They should have seen the draft before you helped me fix it, to get some perspective.”

This is her book but she felt bad for me as the editor. As a writer we know (and dread) we are going to get bad reviews. But because we had both worked on the book, the bad feelings were shared between us, thus lessening the blow of negativity. We had each other to back up and say ‘I loved this book, we worked hard on it and you did a great job!’

What I’m getting at, is when you’re on your own you have to bear the brunt of negativity on your own. When you have a team behind you: critique partners, beta readers, editors, whatever; you know you have their backing. They know you did good, and you know they did good. It’s a reminder to write for the people who matter: those who love your story, world, and characters.

Those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.

Write for the people who care and everyone else can get stuffed (because they don’t matter.)

She shared with me this clip of Bernard Black (from Black Books) writing a response to an MS rejection. I think every writer needs to see this just for a laugh. It also kind of rings true in a sense that everyone deals with rejection, there’s just better ways of dealing with it.

Dealing with Negative Reviews. Why it’s good to have a team.

I know there are lots of blog posts about this topic and lots of writers worrying about this issue, but let me show a different perspective on the matter.

This blog post idea came to me from a friend who recently self-published her debut novel All Things Unholy (An Ikaros Crux Case)" target="_blank">All Things Unholy. I edited this book. I am not a professional editor, only a writer offering my services at a low cost to a select bunch of private clients. She knew from the beginning I was not a proof reader, I edit content only (correcting mistakes as I see but not guaranteeing an error free MS.) I absolutely loved her book and stand by the claim to be her no. 1 fan. She did however get a negative review based on the fact that there were some grammatical errors. This anonymous reviewer claimed to love the book but the errors made him give a two star rating. I loved the book, I gave it 5 stars, a few errors won’t stop me from enjoying a good story.

Why I am writing this is because in an email, Piia Bredenberg wrote to me:

“You do good work, Ruth. I bolded that so you wouldn’t miss it. 

I have seen the results, and you have earned my trust. 

I felt really bad for you when I read that stupid review. They should have seen the draft before you helped me fix it, to get some perspective.”

This is her book but she felt bad for me as the editor. As a writer we know (and dread) we are going to get bad reviews. But because we had both worked on the book, the bad feelings were shared between us, thus lessening the blow of negativity. We had each other to back up and say ‘I loved this book, we worked hard on it and you did a great job!’

What I’m getting at, is when you’re on your own you have to bear the brunt of negativity on your own. When you have a team behind you: critique partners, beta readers, editors, whatever; you know you have their backing. They know you did good, and you know they did good. It’s a reminder to write for the people who matter: those who love your story, world, and characters. Those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind. Write for the people who care and everyone else can get stuffed (because they don’t matter.)

She shared with me this clip of Bernard Black (from Black Books) writing a response to an MS rejection. I think every writer needs to see this just for a laugh. It also kind of rings true in a sense that everyone deals with rejection, there’s just better ways of dealing with it.

My Review – All Things Unholy by Piia Bredenberg

First of all, I love the cover, it clearly captures the tone, time period, genre, and overall feel of the novel. Also I love purple.

All Things Unholy (An Ikaros Crux Novel)">Here’s the blurb:

It is the Fall of 1890, and there is a serial murderer on the loose in the sprawling Victorian city of Fabler.

Ripping through the dark underbelly of the city, the killer leaves a trail of bodies with evidence of religious rituals.

The police are looking for a mortal. Ikaros Crux knows better.

Crux is nearly sober and on the hunt through the rainy, fog-filled streets, searching for the thing that killed his friend.

Together with an accidental medium, Viola van Wyk, he fights to solve the mystery of the murders while dodging the new Detective Inspector, and finds the truth might be more dangerous than even he suspected.

Characters:

For me, this was the best part of the story. Ikaros Crux steals the show. An alcoholic running a dismal pawn shop, struggling with some sort of supernatural ‘problem.’ He is rude, uncouth, and inappropriate. Also hilarious. There was lots of laugh out loud moments from this character.

Miss Viola Van Wyke is an impoverished noble struggling to survive, looking after her senile mother and keeping an eye on her wayward cousin. She is a modern woman: strong, scientifically minded and very proper. Very opposite to Mr Crux, which in part makes their dynamic a great aspect in the story.

Leonid Sandor is the new detective inspector and clashes with Mr Crux throughout. Ex-military, Sandor is a man who upholds the law no matter what. There’s some great conflict between him and Crux in this book and keeps the twists and turns compelling.

There’s great arcs and development for each character in this story. I felt sympathetic for each one and rooted for them throughout the book.

Plot:

A Victorian murder mystery supernatural style story. I loved ATU from the start, it captured my attention and held it right to the end. The plot moves at a steady pace, introducing the supernatural elements at a believable rate. Gritty, mysterious, compelling, and humorous, there’s lots of twists and turns and numerous factors involved in the complicated plot.

Viola comes across a dying man in the street and feels compelled to find his murderer. She teams up with Mr Crux who is sure the supernatural is involved. Mysterious murders happen throughout the city which are all connected. Both Crux and Sandor are trying to investigate, with very different means and methods. It escalates from there.

I laughed, nearly cried, and nearly jumped out my seat with excitement (no joke.) It’s one of those books that’s difficult to put down. I love Bredenberg’s creation and can’t wait to read the sequel.

All Things Unholy is available on:

All Things Unholy (An Ikaros Crux Novel)" target="_blank">Amazon

and

Smashwords

The Lost Voice Cover Reveal

I’d like to welcome Allison Agius to to the blog today, revealing the cover of her book – The Lost Voice.

 

Blurb:

There’s a reason we can’t hear other people’s thoughts.

Kate Gregory can hear people’s thoughts.

It is something she had learnt to hide.

One day she hears something that may threaten the life of a child.

Now she has a dilemma.

To save the child does she tell people of her ability, will people believe her if she does, and if she’s wrong, what damage will she do?

The Lost Voice is a compelling story for anyone who has ever felt lost and rejected by the world.

It engages from the first page and takes you on an enthralling and inspiring journey.

The Lost Voice teaches us all that, no matter what we may believe, we all have a unique place in the world.

The lost Voice is available as an ebook and paperback from  31st August 2013

Author Bio:

Allison Agius, coming from a chaotic and unstable childhood, did not believe that she was ‘the kind of person who wrote books’.  However, she couldn’t help herself and she has written in the region of about eight novels over the past twenty years, so far only a few have been shared with anyone.

Allison feels that, like all craft, there is an apprenticeship required.  Now she’s ready to start sharing more of her work, and in April 2013 she gave up a successful executive position managing a charity, to write full-time.  

She has savings to last for six months.

She writes modern, gritty, spiritual fiction for the thinking person, designed to challenge, inspire and entertain.

Her life’s purpose is to use her passion and tenacity, to teach and inspire others to release their self limiting beliefs in order for them to realise their dreams.

To this aim she not only writes, but has a private clinic and teaches workshops on how to take control of your life based on her most successful book ‘Hidden Secrets’.

Allison now lives in the North East of England with her husband to be Jonathan, and, (on and off), their five children, where she runs her coaching clinic, helping people be the person they want to be.

Connect with Allison

http://www.allisonagius.com
Allison Agius Writer – Facebook
allisonagius@me.com
@writer_agius – Twitter
They can also sign up for my brief monthly newsletter at the website.

Thanks to Allison for stopping by and I wish her the best of success with her  work!

Also by Allison:

Hidden Secrets Buried Treasure (Non Fiction – Self-help)

This book is packed full of challenging ideas, alternative concepts and simple exercises designed to inspire thought, ignite change and improve your well-being.

A straight forward guide to creating a fulfilling life in a modern world.

Hidden Secrets is for anyone who knows they want to make changes in their life, but are not sure where to start. 

It will:

 Explode myths that have kept you small,
 Give you simple tools to start today and
 Inspire you to be all you were born to be.

Available as an ebook to download, or in paperback from Amazon or me via my website. 

Unfortunately paperback is only available in the UK at the moment because of the cost of the postage…I’m looking for a printer and distributor in other countries.

Fiction:

Treading Water

What do you do when you wake up one morning and decide that your life sucks?  Change it, right?  Not Jackie Lawson. 

Until a woman moves in next door who stirs up murky secrets from her past, and forces Jackie to look at the one thing that she can’t run away from, her true self.

Treading Water is a powerful story of the struggle we all have, to be who we were born to be.

Available as an ebook

The Cross Over

Toni Harris loses her family in a freak accident and unexplained things start to happen in her isolated farmhouse that leave Toni fearing for her sanity.

Then a chance meeting results in Toni, a rational business woman, agreeing to a spiritual quest in the hope of overcoming her grief, banishing the demons of her childhood and carving our a new life for herself. 

What she doesn’t bargain for is a series of events which lead to a struggle to the death.

The Cross Over is a spiritual adventure that explores the concepts of life, death, life after death and who we really are.

Available as an ebook

Private Clinic

Allison also runs a private coaching clinic where she supports people to make the changes in their life they want or need, to become a ‘success’ – whatever that looks like to each individual.

Reaper’s Rhythm Character Interview

I want to welcome Clare Davidson for stopping by as part of her Reaper’s Rhythm blog tour!

Reaper’s Rhythm is an urban fantasy aimed at young adults, which I gave a five star review that you can read here.

When everyone thinks your sister committed suicide, it’s hard to prove she was murdered.

Kim is unable to accept Charley’s sudden death. Crippled by an unnatural amnesia, her questions are met with wall after wall. As she doubts her sanity, she realises her investigation is putting those around her in danger.

The only person who seems to know anything is Matthew, an elusive stranger who would rather vanish than talk. Despite his friendly smile, Kim isn’t sure she can trust him. But if she wants to protect her family from further danger, Kim must work with Matthew to discover how Charley died – before it’s too late.

Enter in Clare’s Rafflecopter giveaway to win some awesome RR goodies!

This is a character interview for the main character, Kim, interviewed by her sister Charley with some just for fun questions. Enjoy!

~*~

Kim (left), Charlie (right)

I’m sitting at my desk in my bedroom, when my sister saunters in. Charley sits on my bed, crosses her leg and grins at me. She’s holding a reporter’s pad in one hand and a pencil in the other.

“You’re not busy are you?” she asks.

“I’m doing homework.”

“Excellent, you can help me out then, can’t you?”

I roll my eyes and spin my chair round to face her. “With what?” I make sure I sigh when I speak, so she knows how annoyed I am at the interruption. The only problem is my lips tease up into a smile I can’t suppress.

“I need to test out these interview questions on you,” she says. “I’m meant to be doing a feature for the school newspaper each half term, spotlighting a pupil.”

I purse my lips. “And you want to interview me?”

“No, silly. I want to test the questions on you.” She waves her hand. “I’ll find someone interesting to interview for real.”

It’s a good thing I know she’s not serious. I tuck my feet beneath my bum. “Okay,” I say. “Fire away.”

Charley flips her pad open. “Tell us about your family.” She bites the end of the pencil, whilst she waits for me to reply.

I arch an eyebrow. “Really?” I can have far too much fun with this. “Well, Mum’s a store manager who hates cooking. Dad works in IT. He refers to his job as getting to play with computers all day. I have a wonderful kid brother who’s always so helpful and a really irritating big sister who thinks she knows everything.” I grin at Charley.

She narrows her eyes into a semi-serious glare. “Next question. What was the scariest moment of your life?”

I thatch my fingertips together. I’m not sure anything really scary has ever happened to me, except… “When Mum and Dad told us they were splitting up,” I say.

Charley clears her throat. “Moving on. What do you want to be when you grow up?”

I shrug. “You know I don’t have any idea,” I say. Unlike Charley, who seems to have her life mapped out.

“Boring,” she complains with a yawn.

“Fine,” I snap. “I don’t want to work in an office and I couldn’t be a teacher. Maybe a research scientist, or something? I like science.”

“What songs are most played on your iPod?”

“Try, by Pink and I think I Wanna Marry You by Bruno Mars.”

“Bruno Mars? Seriously?” Charley asks. “And for a second there I thought you might have some taste in music when you mentioned Pink.”

I cross my arms and press my chin against my chest. “Next question.”

“If you could apologise to someone in your past, who would it be?”

I twirl a strand of hair around my finger and put on my best innocent expression. “You, for dropping you in it when you broke Mum’s necklace.”

Charley gasps. “I knew it was you who told on me.” She pouts dramatically and then consults her notepad for the next question. “Do your friends think you’re an introvert or an extrovert?” When I hesitate she says, “Do you want me to answer this one for you?”

“No.” I chew the inside of my cheek for a second. “An introvert,” I say. “I have a few good friends, but don’t really put myself out there.”

Charley nods. “That’s what I would have said. You know, sometimes I wonder if you really are my sister,” she adds with a grin. “What’s something people would be surprised to know about you?”

“I have an annoying sister?”

“A serious answer, please,” she says in a prim voice.

“I was being serious. Even though I haven’t done gymnastics or dance since I was ten, I can still do the splits.”

“Really?” Charley asks, lifting her eyebrows. “I didn’t know that. Last question. What makes you happy?”

“Helping out my pain in the neck sister, obviously.”

~*~

Reapers Rhythm is available in paperback and ebook forms from Amazon.

Clare Davidson is an independent writer, based in Lancaster. Clare is a high school teacher, mother and character-driven fantasy writer. Clare was born in Northampton and lived in Malaysia for four and a half years as a child, before returning to the UK to settle in Leeds with her family. Whilst attending Lancaster University, Clare met her future husband and never left. They now share their lives with their young daughter, a cranky grey cat and an insane white kitten.

She published her first novel, Trinity in July 2012. Trinity is a young adult, fantasy novel, which currently has seventeen five star reviews on Amazon UK.

Her second novel, Reaper’s Rhythm, is due to be released on the 26th July 2013. Also aimed at a young adult audience, Reaper’s Rhythm is an urban fantasy with a dash of mystery.

Ways to connect with Clare Davidson:

Website: http://claredavidson.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClareMDavidson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClareMDavidson

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6445758.Clare_Davidson

New releases mailing list: http://eepurl.com/zpjGf