Rinelle Grey's Blog, page 22

SFR Brigade Presents #2 – Reckless Rebellion

This week I’m joining in with SFR (Science Fiction Romance) Brigade Presents, a group of Sci-Fi romance authors who post snippets every Friday. Check them out to discover other cool snippets.

Today’s snippet is from near the beginning of Reckless Rebellion, the sequel to Reckless Rescue. It’s currently in second draft stage, so this snippet hasn’t been extensively edited yet.

Tyris’s past is becoming more relevant now, and he’s realising there’s a lot he hasn’t told Marlee, and quite a bit he doesn’t really want to tell her.

Marlee watched him, her head tilted to one side. She absently twirled a lock of hair around her finger, something he’d noticed she did frequently when she was thinking. “Tyris, why aren’t some people allowed to have children?”

Tyris winced. He’d avoided explaining to her until now, the reasons he’d been banned from having kids. He remembered Milandra’s face, when he’d admitted that he really had done something illegal. How she’d tossed the word criminal at him.

Marlee wasn’t like that. He knew that she would understand the reasons for his actions. “Because Urslat is overpopulated,” he found himself saying instead.

Marlee’s face wrinkled. “But there are so many planets, are they all overpopulated?”

“No, not all of them. In fact, the idea of encouraging more children was to populate all the other planets. But it turned out most people don’t want to leave Urslat.”

“Why?”

Tyris struggled to explain. At least this was better than talking about his past. “Well, most of the planets were like Semala. They were mining or farming outposts, with few of the comforts and luxuries most people are used to on Urslat.”

 

When Tyris and Marlee return to his home on Urslat, not everyone is pleased to see them, or to find out that Marlee’s people survived the meteor impact. They are, however, delighted to have a new source of anysogen. And they’ll do anything they can to gain control of it as soon as possible.

Marlee thought things would be simpler once they were on Urslat. After all, Tyris said no one would try to break up their relationship there. They hadn’t counted on Tyris’s wife, Milandra, who is determined not to let her husband go now he’s famous. But Tyris and Marlee have one very good reason for keeping their relationship a secret, and for that, they need Milandra to believe her marriage isn’t on the rocks.

In the meantime, there are people who find the idea of a planet where having children is encouraged very interesting indeed. Especially since some of the contraceptive chips have been malfunctioning…

Currently in editing.

Second draft

Love

In many different languages, there is more than one word for love, although I’m finding it hard to pin down how many. There are other words that have similar means (affection, fondness, adoration etc), but they’re really not replacements for the word love, and usually imply a different, often lesser, feeling.

Love can be both a verb and a noun. It can refer to the feelings between a couple, between siblings, between a parent and child, between close friends, or even for a place or object. It encompasses so much, all in one little four letter word.

Such a little word, to describe feelings that can be so huge and awe inspiring, that can take you from the heights of happiness, to the depths of despair. Only one word, to describe so many different things.

And yet, I think there is something to be said for such a simple word. It doesn’t get in the way, it isn’t hard to understand, or for a child to spell when writing an note to their mum. It fits neatly onto a heart (the symbol of love), and looks just write in wooden letters on the wall or a table.

I think it’s probably one of my favourite words.

What do you think? Would it be useful to have more words to represent Love? Or does one word really do it perfectly?

4 Tips for Writing Sequels

When I first started writing Reckless Rebellion, I didn’t think it would be any different to writing the first book, Reckless Rescue. I mean, it’s just a book, right? And I already had half of it written. All I had to do was finish up the book, edit it, and I’d be ready to go. Right?

Wrong.

All went smoothly, until I hit the first plot hole. Usually take a break, think it over, plan, chat to friends, and then once I have a solution, I get back to writing. The problem with sequels is when you hit a plot hole that relates to something that happened in the first book. Reckless Rescue is already published and out there.

So, as I work through writing this sequel, I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve discovered, just in case anyone else is going through the same thing.

1. Keep track of names, spelling and events

This one probably doesn’t need saying, but I’m going to say it anyway. Readers will notice if you character’s name changes from Anne in the first book, to Ann in the sequel. Find a way that works for you. Write a list of characters and places, a timeline, a list of key events. But find something that works.

I plan to read over Reckless Rescue followed directly by Reckless Rebellion before I publish the second book, just to make sure I haven’t missed anything.

2. Jog the readers memory

You may be able to remember all the character names and events of the last book, but even if your readers loved the book, they’ve read 10, 20, or more books since yours.

You don’t have to spent three paragraphs summarizing the last book, but do introduce characters slowly (as you do in a first book), and throw hints to jog a readers memory of any key points they need to know.

3. Get creative in solving plot problems

You can’t go back and change your first book, but that doesn’t mean that everything is set in stone. For example, in Reckless Rescue, Marlee remembers her stepfather being the only person who believed they would be rescued by the Colonies. I had in mind a reason for this, but when writing Reckless Rebellion, I wanted to increase the stakes for my characters, so I changed his reason, and added some extra depth to the story. Since I hadn’t given his reason in the first book, this change works perfectly well.

3. Have an idea for the sequel before you publish the first novel

Write notes, perhaps even write a partial rough draft. I had written about half of Reckless Rebellion before I edited and published Reckless Rescue, and a couple of things happened that I hadn’t planned from the start. Because I still could, I went back and added in some foreshadowing for these events into Reckless Rescue. The more idea you have of what will happen, the more the two books will hang together.

Don’t let this make you afraid to make changes though. So long as you can make it work, go for it!

Have you written a sequel or series? Any hints or tips to share?

Reflections on the A to Z Blogging Challenge

This was my first year participating in the A to Z blogging challenge, and I only heard about it in March. I wasn’t too sure about signing up, because I’d already committed to Camp NaNoWriMo, and I suspected two challenges in the one month was a good idea!

Well, probably it wasn’t. A to Z took a lot more time than I had expected, not because of writing the blog posts (which turned out to not be that difficult!), but because there were so many other blogs I wanted to visit and comment on, and so many new friends on Twitter to chat to. Sadly, Camp NaNoWriMo lost out, and although I did make it to 29,000 of my aim of 50,000, I did mostly stop writing in the second half of the month.

But, I’m still really glad I did A to Z. Blogging every day was really good for me, and made me realise that I can do it! I made the effort to learn how to follow blogs (which I hadn’t done before), so now I know how to keep up with all the new friends I made! I also learned that writing a blog post every day is completely possible, and scheduling is great.

You can check out my A to Z blog posts here.

But the best part about it, was getting some active conversation going here on my webpage, and joining in on conversations on other blogs.

Some of my favourite blogs to visit were:

Blabbin’ Grammy - with her awesome continuing story that kept me coming back for each new installment.

CHICADEROCK - for her touching stories about her life in Galicia, North-West Spain. And for being a great person to chat with.

Kelly’s Eye - for writing thoughts, cool songs, and again being a great person to get to know.

One Thousand And One Parsecs - Absolutely the best sci-fi theme, exploring so many different aspects of the genre, and really getting me thinking.

There are SO many others that I really enjoyed reading, it would take me hours to list them all. I have many bookmarked, and plan to keep checking back on everyone’s blogs. A big thank you to all the people I haven’t personally named, you really made this experience great.

And to the moderators, who posted such helpful tips on subscribing to pages, making subscriptions easy, and motivating us to keep going, an extra special thank you.

I’ll definitely be back next year!

SFR Brigade Presents – Reckless Rescue

This week I’m joining in with SFR (Science Fiction Romance) Brigade Presents, a group of Sci-Fi romance authors who post snippets every Friday. Check them out to discover other cool snippets.

Today’s snippet is from near the beginning my SFR novel, Reckless Rescue. The two characters have just been told that they must seperate, and choose new partners, in an attempt to increase the declining population of their world.

Tears glistened in his eyes too. “I hope things work out for you next time.” It was a standard response. Expected.

She didn’t want to hear it. “I don’t want to do this again,” she said quietly. “I can’t.”

Nelor brushed her hair out of her eyes. “Yes you can. You’re one of the strongest people I know. And I know you’ll make a wonderful mother someday. Don’t let what we’ve shared stop you from achieving that.”

She didn’t feel strong. She wasn’t like her mother. She couldn’t live the way her mother had. “It’s not just about having a baby. I don’t want to be with someone else, live a life with them that should have been with you.”

She didn’t want to spend her days with someone she couldn’t be open with, couldn’t cry in front of, or, worst of all, someone she was afraid of.

“We don’t have any choice, Marlee. The council’s rules apply equally to everyone. And if they didn’t, where would we be? Our population would drop even more quickly. We might not like the idea of changing partners so often, but it’s the only way to make sure there even is a next generation.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

Marlee shook her head. She didn’t want to hear it even though she knew it was true. She and Nelor could have been happy together. They had been.

“I can’t keep trying anymore,” she said, her voice dull. “I won’t go through this again.”

 

What would you risk for love?

Marlee’s people are dying—the valuable anysogen gas that covers their planet is making the entire population infertile. When the council tells her she must leave her partner and choose another to improve her chances of having a baby, she’s devastated. She swears she’ll never love again—it hurts too much.

Tyris thinks he has everything he wants, despite his world suffering from overpopulation—until his wife leaves him because he is forbidden to have children.

In an attempt to convince his world, and his wife, that he’s worthwhile, Tyris goes hunting for a lost planet said to contain untold riches in the form of anysogen gas.

When he crashes on her world, Marlee and Tyris agree to pretend to live together while they try to repair his ship and escape from the planet. But as they battle the harsh winter on the planet together, keeping their distance becomes even more challenging than the snow, the council and the risks of a real relationship…

Read the first two chapters for free.

Z is for Zerris

I knew, when I started this challenge, that I had Z sorted. And really, I didn’t plan my novels so that I would have planets for the most difficult letters of the challenge. Otherwise I would have had a planet name beginning with Y!

Zerris is Marlee’s home planet. It was the first planet where the anysogen gas was discovered, and a research base was immediately settled on the nearby (more habitable) planet of Semala. Anysogen gas is very important in Reckless Rescue, because it is what allows their spaceships to travel faster than light. However, long-term exposure to the gas also causes severe infertility, making it not a very good place to live.

However, when Semala is destroyed by a meteor, the inhabitants have nowhere else to go. So they settle on Zerris, and try to counteract the pollution by encouraging everyone to have as many children as possible as soon as possible.

However, pollution isn’t the only problem on the planet. Being further from the sun than Semala, it also has a harsh winter, nearly six months of snow. Growing and storing enough food is a constant challenge, and the blizzards and heavy snowfall causes its own set of problems. It’s no wonder Marlee dreams of escaping the planet. Of course, since their only hope of escape, Tyris’s spaceship, is buried under the snow escape isn’t a certainty!

This is my last entry for the A-Z blogging challenge! I can’t believe it’s over. I’ve had a ball writing these posts, and really enjoyed visiting everyone’s blogs, and getting to know some other bloggers. I’m planning to stick to regular posting (though a little less frequently), so please feel free to hang around!

Y is for Young

I wrote recently about discovering that my novel could easily fit into the New Adult category, and since then I’ve realised that I write about younger characters quite a bit. Aside from Reckless Rescue, I have another novel with a nineteen year old protagonist who begins the novel by faking her own death and running away from home. (Well, there’s a little more to the story than that, and it’s not quite what it seems. Really.)

So this made me wonder, what is it I enjoy about writing younger characters? I mean, I’m in my thirties myself, so why not write about characters who are also in their thirties? That would make sense right?

Am I writing about younger characters because I wish I was still nineteen myself? I don’t think so. I’m pretty happy with being in my thirties. I like my life, I like who I am, and I like the experience I’ve gained in those years. I wouldn’t really want to be nineteen again.

Some of it, I think, is that to me, the thirties are the years for having kids. (Not saying it has to be so for everyone, but it has been for me personally.) And while my characters always seem to end up pregnant somewhere in the novels, I rarely write about characters with kids. When I do, I make sure it’s realistic. You won’t find my characters having kids then leaving them with friends while they’re off having exciting adventures. They tend to stay home with their kids. Which isn’t so exciting to write about. (Not in fantasy and sci-fi anyway.)

Mostly though, it’s that at nineteen, the world seems so new and full of possibilities. I love exploring that time and those feelings, even though I don’t want to live them again myself.

And, of course, to balance it out, I do have some older characters. One fantasy novel has a 27 year old protagonist, and in my favourite series, the female character is 73!

How about you? Do you prefer to read or write about characters you age? Or is there another age you prefer? Any ideas why?

All this month I’m participating in the A-Z blogging challenge, writing a blog post for each letter of the alphabet, on every day of the month except Sundays. Check back regularly to see what else I have in store for you.

X is for Ten

In Roman numerals that is!

I had to think long and hard for a topic beginning with X. These letters towards the end of the alphabet are a challenge. Then I finally remembered that ten in Roman numerals is represented by the letter X.

But what could I write about ten? Eventually I decided on a list of ten things. And since my blog is about my self publishing journey, what better topic to write about?

So today I’m going to share ten reasons I love self publishing!

It’s quick. You still need to do all that writing and editing, but once it’s done, it’s a matter of 24 hours (probably less), before your book is available for everyone to see!
No one is going to reject me because ‘that type of story isn’t in fashion at the moment’.
I don’t have to spend ages researching how to write a query letter, then researching again every time I submit to a new publisher.
Marketing – my way. I was sold on self-publishing the day I read that even if you are signed through a traditional publisher, you’ll still have to do your own marketing. What does a traditional publisher have to offer then?
I can fix any typos and mistakes I find in minutes.
I can try different marketing strategies, change the blurb and cover at any time, without having to justify myself to anyone.
Data – I have full access to all the download data on my books, including who is buying them and where from.
Royalties – as a self-published author, I see 35-70% of my books cover price. Way better than traditional publishing royalties.
It’s all mine. All the glory and accolades (of course, the opposite is true too, no one else to blame for the mistakes)
Control – I have control over my cover, what changes I make during editing, the price, what stores it’s sold in, what promotions I will do.

How about you? Do you self publish? Do you have any advantages of self publishing to share, or do you want to counter with some advantages to traditional publishing?

All this month I’m participating in the A-Z blogging challenge, writing a blog post for each letter of the alphabet, on every day of the month except Sundays. Check back regularly to see what else I have in store for you.

W is for Webpage

And coincidentally, mine runs on WordPress, another W word.

Webpages are one of the must haves for authors. Everyone debates the merits of Facebook, Twitter or a blog, but I don’t think anyone disagrees that an author should have at least a basic webpage. So what should an author webpage include?

An Author Bio

There are lots of options for writing your Author Bio. You can make it humorous and witty, pick a few interesting facts about yourself to include, use photos, or tell a little story about yourself. Whatever else you do though, I’d steer clear of making a dry list of your writing accomplishments. That’s not what readers want to see.

Book Info

Again, there are different ways of doing this. You can include all your books on one page, with a little bit of info about each one, organise them by series, or if you only have a couple of books yet, give them each their own page! Don’t forget to include a link to where people can buy them!

News/Blog

A page where you can post small updates on the latest news on your books or writing is useful, and stops your page from being too stagnant. These days, most people choose to do this in blog format, but that’s not the only way. (Though it is often easier to update than a static page.)

A Contact Page

If readers want to contact you, make it easy for them. Include your e-mail address or a contact form, your Facebook page or twitter profiles, or any other methods of contact you use.

Optional Inclusions

Aside from the above necessities, what you choose to include on your author wepbage is limited only by your imagination! You might like to include diary entries from the POV of one of your characters, deleted scenes, character bios, FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions), drawings you or fans have done of your characters. The list is endless.

Above all though, make sure your webpage is clean and uncluttered. Make it easy for readers to find the link they’re after. There’s nothing worse than coming to a webpage and not being able to find the list of books, or how to contact an author if you want to.

What are your must haves in an Author webpage? Have you seen any great ideas that I’ve missed?

All this month I’m participating in the A-Z blogging challenge, writing a blog post for each letter of the alphabet, on every day of the month except Sundays. Check back regularly to see what else I have in store for you.

 

V is for Video

Video might not be what you’re expecting a post on on a writing blog. You might be asking, “What does video have to do with novels?”

Well, there’s a trend recently of authors making trailers for their novel release.

I’m not too sure what I think of this. On one hand, many of the trailers I’ve seen are pretty cool, and the idea of having a trailer for Reckless Rescue is kind of appealing. On the other hand, it does seem a little… over the top?

But as a marketing strategy, does it really have anything going for it?

I don’t have any hard evidence on whether it’s effective or not, so I’m just going to give my opinion.

It’s a new marketing avenue

Videos are big right now. YouTube is big right now. A lot of people are watching it, and I think there are only going to be more, so having your novel out there can’t possibly be a bad thing. You might reach reader you might not gain through other channels.

It gives you a chance to create an atmosphere.

Moving pictures, atmospheric music, a few carefully chosen phrases. We all know it works in the movies, so why not for your book? Writers are used to only using words, but the potential once you add sound and images is huge. There is a chance to post your trailer on places such as GoodReads and Amazon, as well as YouTube, and of course, your own webpage.

My only advice would be, if you’re going to do it, do it well. (Just like anything else.) A badly made trailer won’t reflect well on your book. Better to have no trailer than one that puts people off you’re book. Keep it short, you want to give an impression of the story, not tell it in the video!

So over to you. Have you watched any book trailers? Did they sway you towards checking the book out? What do you think about book trailers? Any great ones to share?

All this month I’m participating in the A-Z blogging challenge, writing a blog post for each letter of the alphabet, on every day of the month except Sundays. Check back regularly to see what else I have in store for you.