M.B. Feeney's Blog, page 10
July 26, 2015
Second City Signing – The Comedown
So, last weekend (18 July), I attended my first signing as an author. As a reader, I’d attended signings in shops with a single author before, never anything with multiple authors, so I honestly didn’t know what to expect. This is why I chose this signing as my first. It’s local to where I live, so I could run away if I made a complete tit of myself.
I woke up on Saturday morning panicking that I didn’t have enough swag or books, but it was too late to do anything about it. It’s been a busy and tough year, and I’d done the best I could with time and availability of funds. My assistant for the day, Tori from Lily Loves Indie arrived to pick me up. We loaded my stuff up and set off.
We arrived at St Andrews, the home of Birmingham City Football Club, a place I had only ever been inside once – many moons ago for BRMB’s party in the park. We unloaded my gear and went inside.
I’d been seated in the Legends Lounge (That always makes me laugh,for a legend I am NOT) where I met the brains behind the entire thing, Cassie. She was trembling and a little hyper from nerves. I tried to reassure her it was going to be great, but I may have made it a bit worse. She went off to work with the few volunteers that had arrived early to help set up while I went off to find my table – I was the first author in the room.
It didn’t take that long to set up my table, so I was done fairly quickly. It gave me the chance to have a walk round, chat to a few other authors, so I had met before such as Keren Hughes and L. A. Cotton, J. A. Heron, and the wonderful S. M. Phillips – whom I refer to as ‘the wife’. Many I hadn’t met before, but had chatted to online throughout the year and was really excited to meet such as Carrie Elks, Sophie Jackson, and J. G. Clay (DUDE!) – this is just a small selection of the authors who were there.
Soon enough, the doors were open and people flooded in. Now, let me say that for months I have been saying that I didn’t expect many people to stop by my table because I’m not exactly the most well known of authors. A few people came over as they had pre ordered my books or had won a prize from me. I chatted, smiled, and a lot of the time in the first half hour or so, spelled my own bloody name wrong (yep, only me).
I hadn’t thought I was actually that nervous, but I must have been, but everyone I spoke to was lovely and I was soon able to relax. I had a few gaps of time where I didn’t have many people approaching my table, and looking back, I wish I’d used this time to go and catch up with people, but my lovely assistant kept buggering off to do just that (Love you Tori!) So, I didn’t get much chance to get round, which I regret and will make sure doesn’t happen next time.
A lot of people complemented my swag (thank you JC Clarke) and I was shocked at how many people were hesitant at picking it up. I’ll definitely need more next time.
The volunteers were quite frankly brilliant. I have never been asked so much if I was ok, or if I needed anything. Cassie, Kelly and Nicola did pick a great bunch of ladies. And the bingo game was great. It gave the readers the opportunity to approach authors they may never have considered before, get chatting, check out their books, and basically get to know people. Many may not have bought my books, but hopefully, my name will stick in their minds for future reference.
One thing I have come away with is something I want to thank Sally (I think, sorry if I’m wrong) and her daughter for. Up until the event, I hadn’t seriously considered releasing my books in audio book format, but after talking to these lovely ladies, it is definitely something I’ll be looking into in more detail over the next few weeks.
All in all, the event itself was nervewracking and fun. I had no idea what to expect, and it far surpassed anything I could have even thought of. The after party… that was just as great. Dancing, drinking, and having a laugh. What more did we need?
Already, I know what I personally will do different at future signings, and I want to thank Cassie and her fantastic team for putting the event on. When’s the next one?
July 17, 2015
I made it to 2000 likes!
To celebrate hitting 2,000 likes on my Facebook page I asked a bunch of author and blogger friends to donate. They did, in droves and I have managed to build an AMAZING rafflecopter for you.
Click on the picture below to enter to be in with the chance to win some amazing prizes! It runs from today until 24 July, so there’s plenty of time.
Don’t forget to share the giveaway with your friends.
July 4, 2015
Second City Signing – 18 July – Birmingham, UK
As many of you know (If you read these posts), I am attending the Second City Signing this month at St Andrews Football Stadium.
Sadly, due to reasons beyond my control – and a lack of organisation – I will have a VERY limited amount of books for sale. I have a decent amount of books put to one side to honour preorders already paid for and prizes won.
However, I will have an order form on my table on which you can make an order for any of my books for me to mail out to you, signed, after the event.
I can only apologise for being a bit of a tit and not being more organised. I promise to be much more organised in March for the signing in Liverpool!
June 29, 2015
The Craft vs The Art
This discussion came up in a group on Facebook yesterday and it’s been thinking about it ever since. I have never read a book about writing and if I’m honest, I doubt I ever will. It’s something I have never thought was essential to my writing.
I understand they teach the fundamentals of structure, be it a sentence, dialogue, or a book as a whole. This is something that an be learned, but in my opinion, the rest of it can’t.
As a writer/author – whatever the label is these days – I am always learning. I learn from other authors and my editors. I am constantly evolving in how I write and the types of things I write, but at the core, there is something intrinsically ‘me’ about everything I create.
This is the reason I don’t use these books to ‘further my craft’. I don’t disagree with them, but they are simply not for me. I guess, if I’m honest, I’m scared of them. I worry that they’ll make my writing too clinical. Does that sound ridiculous?
I see a lot of other writers raving about different books they have read and how each has helped them in various ways and that’s great. There’s no person more willing to learn than an aspiring author, but I find that these books spend too much time in telling writers how to write rather than giving the advice to just write.
There are ‘rules’ to writing (I couldn’t tell you one at all) that I’ve been told that they are useful to know, especially if you want to break them. But, surely, as artists (Bleurgh, I hate referring to myself in that way), we make our own rules when we create our work? Am I way off bat here?
I don’t want to come across as pretentious and to bleat on about ‘artistic licence’ because that’s not something at the forefront of my mind when I write. Yes, there are things I will argue with my editor about, things I am adamant about keeping in my books, but I am always willing to come to a compromise with her because, at the end of the day, I want to release the best book I possibly can.
If you read craft books, let me know the best thing about them that has helped you with your writing. Also, let me know if, in any way, these books have hindered your writing in anyway because you’ve tried to ‘follow the rules’ too much.
June 26, 2015
I’m going Camping next month… Join me?
I have decided, in my infinite wisdom, to take part in Camp Nano next month. Usually, NaNo doesn’t work for me, but I’m using Camp to work on Buses in the hopes that I can get the first draft finished!
I’m aiming at around 35,000 words to bring what I already have written to about 50,000. If I do more – YAY, if I do less, then at least I’ve written.
If you want to join me in my cabin, here’s my profile, send me a friend request (or whatever) and we can chat together and support each other. If not, hit me up on FB or Twiter :)
Now, here’s the very rough synopsis and a teaser for what I’m working on next month:
Synopsis:
London in the mid 90s. no mobile phones, no mainstream internet, and some great music. Against this backdrop, follow university student Jack and his mechanic best friend Andy as they work out what and who they want in life.
Ruth’s new to the Big Smoke and has never felt more at home. Her path crosses with the best friends, but will a chance meeting be the start of something good or will it lead to her first taste of heartbreak?
My plan for the summer is to get Buses finished (with the help of Camp as I’ve said), to get the next novella (if not next two) in the Exchange Series written, and to make a start on the mammoth job that is reworking an already complete story. It’s standing at around 78,000 at the moment, but that figure will fluctuate like crazy until I’ve finished. I’m also keeping schtum on this project until I’m working on it, because I don’t want to talk myself out of it.
Excerpt:
Rather than answer me, he threw my car keys across the small room at me. “Man. You are my hero.”
“Awww, honey. You say the sweetest things.”
“Fuck off.” I grinned at the feel of my car keys in my hand as I watched him gather his things. “Where you off to?”
“Meeting a chick I got chatting to before your headache meltdown.”
“Mate, we’re not in the eighties anymore. Stop calling women chicks.”
“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, this Emily’s fucking stunning, and I’m hoping she’s stunning at fucking.” My best friend was a complete letch.
“You have such a way with words. Just don’t wake me up again. I don’t appreciate listening to ‘ooh yeah, right there’ for about two hours.”
“You’re just jealous of my sexual prowess. Maybe if you worked harder at satisfying a woman, you’d enjoy the screamers. And you’d last longer too”
“I’ve not had any complaints about satisfying a woman, never mind how long I ‘last’. Now, piss off and leave me alone to watch a video.” Laughing, he walked out, slamming the front door behind him.
This is slated as a romance, but the main story is about the friendship between Andy and Jack… I love these boys and some of my pre readers have already picked a team. What about you? Just from this excerpt, who’s team do you think you might be on?
June 5, 2015
IT’S HERE!!!! The new cover for Just Like in the Movies
I hope you like it :) I’d love to hear what you think in the comments!
To celebrate the re release of her romance novella July 2015, M. B. Feeney shares her new cover.
Genre: Chick Lit/ Romance
Ava Jones has settled for a life that she’s not sure she wants anymore, but won’t admit it. Her best friend, Erica Davidson talks her into taking a break on the Isle of Wight. Her days on the island are spent thinking things through, and arguing with Morgan whom she hates on principal.
Is it so wrong for her to want a life that follows the script of a honest to God romance film?
Created by the wonderful J. C. Clarke over at The Graphics Shed
Losing myself in the titles, covers, and blurbs, I faintly heard footsteps behind me.
“Hey, can I help?”
I turned to face quite possibly the most beautiful man I had ever seen. His light brown hair had been bleached by the sun, and the bundle of messy curls made my fingers itch to tangle them among the chaotic strands. The man’s hazel eyes regarded both me and the slim book in my hand. His tall, lean figure was clad in skinny jeans, with an open, oversized shirt over a t-shirt and well- worn biker boots. He looked a little out- of-place among the surfer types I had noticed wandering around town.
“I’m just looking, thanks.” I couldn’t help but blush when he gave a slight smirk at the sight of the Mills & Boon book I held.
“If you’re after more . . . err . . . books in that particular genre, there’s a wider selection over here.” He indicated a bookcase to his left.
“This? Oh, no. This isn’t my type at all. I was just moving it out of the way to get at the new James Patterson.”
He cocked an eyebrow and his smile grew at my obvious lie. “Yeah, okay. I’ll leave you to . . . peruse.” He chuckled to himself as he made his way back behind the counter.
I slammed the bright pink book down so I could grab the James Patterson, the one I’d initially been after, and walked over to pay. “I’ll take this one.” I thrust my card at him and waited while he ran it through. I knew it was a simple misunderstanding, but it rubbed me the wrong way. Why couldn’t I just accept that he thought I wanted the Mills & Boon book? It was an easy mistake to make, I guess.
“Are you sure you don’t want the other one, too? It seems a bit more . . . your style.” He looked me up and down, taking in my denim shorts, skimpy vest top, and flip-flops.
His scrutiny made me nervous. I took a deep breath and ran my fingers through my hair to calm myself. “What would you know about my ‘style’?” I demanded, snatching the book out of his hand and clutching it to me, almost as if it were a security blanket.
I moved to retrieve my card, but he whipped it just out of my reach.
“I’ve worked here for at least five years, and in that time, I’ve become very good at reading people. You are definitely steamy romance material, with your pretty hair and . . .” He indicated my clothes and swallowed, “. . . And your skimpy clothes.”
“Well, it just goes to show that you’re not as good as you thought, then. Please give me back my card.” I held out my hand.
Once he’d returned the piece of plastic, I spun on my heel and walked out. I planned to read my book slowly, because I wasn’t going to go back there.
May 25, 2015
So, this happened today…
YA Romance that crosses thousands of miles.
Dear Diary – 99cents/FREE on KU!
US: http://amzn.to/1FA3ldC
UK: http://amzn.to/1KvOqFC
April 4, 2015
Easter Sale – The One That Got Away
As it’s Easter, and a long weekend, I thought I’d have a 0.99 sale on The One That Got Away.
Head to Amazon UK and US to grab it before it goes back up in price!!
March 28, 2015
The Predictability of Romance Books
As someone who both reads and writes romance stories, I’m hyper aware of predictability in this genre. I remember once, when I was about 15/16 and working Saturdays in a library, I had a lunchtime lecture from one of my co-workers about Mills & Boons books. They were the only books this woman read (I’m not judging, honest) and she had realised over the years that there were a staple set of story lines that were used over and over again.
“Why do you read them if you know what is going to happen?” Was my question. I always read to escape, so I couldn’t get my head round the idea of knowing what was going to happen at the end.
“It’s not how the story ends, it’s how the reader is carried to that ending that is important.” Her response has always stayed with me.
Now I’m an adult, I can completely see where she’s coming from. We’ve all read those books where we know exactly how it’s going to end, but we still read it. The predictability doesn’t affect our enjoyment of the story in any way, and most of us forgive the tell tale giveaways, especially if the story takes us on a journey with a few twists and turns that the reader isn’t expecting. Yes, we may well be able to guess how a book is going to end, but if we are still compelled to turn the page to see how the characters get there, surely that author has done their job well, right? - This is a quote of something I wrote in a review of Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover over on my review blog. For me, that shows an author’s skill.
A lot of readers want to know if there is a HEA at the end of the book before they read it because they don’t like cliffhangers or sad endings. Personally, I don’t. I like to get stuck into a book without reading existing reviews and knowing little about it. There’s a magic about reading a book for the first time, especially if you end up loving it, even if you ‘kinda’ know how things will pan out.
How do YOU feel about predictability in books.
***Disclaimer***
I know this isn’t just common in the romance genre, it’s just the genre I have used for this post. I have seen it happen in fantasy books, horror, erotica and other genres.
March 13, 2015
Someone spill the secret
Have you ever had one of those weekends where you shut the world out and just read? I did that a couple of weekends ago.
One Thursday evening, I sat and watched the Divergent movie. It has been on my ‘to watch’ list for a while, the books on my TBR list even longer. As soon as the end credits rolled, I downloaded the first book to my kindle.
On the Friday, my other half went shopping while myself and my daughter (who was off school sick) stayed home – her reading Harry Potter on her Kindle, me reading Divergent on mine. He came back with the paperback boxset of all three. Big mistake – I did bugger all the entire weekend.
What I’m getting at, I guess, is what makes a book (or series) unputdownable? Is it plot, characters, or setting? Maybe it’s all three and more. Maybe it’s word of mouth. How do these books get the readers in the first place who then go on to tell their friends about it which then snowballs, making an author suddenly propel into bestseller lists and author superstardom?
I guess if we all knew the answer, there wouldn’t be such thing as a bad book – sadly, I have read many in my many years – and we’d all be considered best sellers.
Breaking into the world of publishing isn’t as hard as it used to be with the addition of self publishing. Literally anyone can write a book, upload to Amazon (or similar) and sell it. I think self publication is fantastic as it’s removed the fear of rejection. In most, this is a good thing as many people who would never have had the guts to approach a publisher or agent are self publishing and happily continue to do so. For some, the fear of rejection has boosted confidence where it’s unwarranted. There’s a saying – just because you own a tambourine, it doesn’t make you a rock star (I don’t know who said it, I may have even made it up), but the same goes for writing. Just because you can string words together, it doesn’t mean you can write a novel.
Having said that, making yourself and your books a success in such a competitive market is hard. For your one book, regardless of genre, there’s another ten that could be seen as similar, or released on the same day.
So, how do you get your book noticed? If I had the answer, I’d be giving up the day job and writing full time in a swanky, private office with a lock on the door, but sadly I’m not. I’m still working towards my teaching degree and writing in my spare time.
I wish someone with a far more logical brain than I, would come up with a foolproof formula and share it. I don’t deny that I get envious of authors hitting the big time seemingly out of nowhere, even though I certainly don’t envy their new pressures and stresses that come with it. I’m not saying I want to be the next E. L. James or Veronica Roth, but I would like to be able to say my writing contributes towards my bills now and then. Wouldn’t we all?
