Allan Bott's Blog, page 3

Interview time!

Back in June (OMG JUNE?!), yes – JUNE.  I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the Great Western Writers’ Network!

I was so happy to oblige that I forgot to tell people all about it!  So here it is!  Here is the link to the interview itself.

http://greatwesternwriters.wordpress.com/2013/06/28/swindon-author-scores-three-year-book-deal-and-shares-his-tips/

Not much more book news I’m afraid.  It’s going to be hit and miss until I get the edits back! Sorry!

Until then!

Allan

Hold onto your hats! It’s time to Pre-Order!!

 

 

 

Yeah you heard right!  We’ve hit a new mile stone!  My debut novel “James Knight and the Orb of Ziarn” is finally ready to be Pre-Ordered!  Yahooooo!!

Isn’t the cover the most AWESOME thing ever?  I absolutely love it!  Now we only have to wait another three hundred or so days for it to be released! But in the meantime – Go HERE to Pre-Order your copy now!  It’ll be a first edition too….*just saying*

I would like to thank Neil Trigger @ Ghostly Publishing for all his hard work and putting up with my constant badgering enquiring!

The pre-order page also contains the blurb for the book, so feel free read it and start to get interested in the story!

EXCITING TIMES!

Have you pre-ordered yet?

 

Allan.

Ooops! Left it a while, haven’t I?

 

My humble apologies! I sincerely bow down and kiss your feet as I wallow in the masses of shame that I must carry, due to the lack of updates………….

As if.

Truth be told, there still isn’t really much I can share with you.  It’s been a busy few weeks and I haven’t had much time to write or really – do anything book related.

But there is a shred of good news! My draft cover Idea has been submitted to the design team at Ghostly Publishing and hopefully we’ll have a front cover available soon for you all to drool over.  well if you wont, I will!

If you all recall, last post I said I was going to do an interview of sorts with one of my characters.  That’s been put on hold for the time being as I don’t want to get you all excited, especially as there’s still a long wait ahead of us – 344 days until release day to be exact!

But don’t despair, once the cover has been done and the first few edits come back to me for work, we’ll have a lot more to talk about! Hopefully, when the cover is finished, I can also announce when the Pre-orders can be made. Woop woop!

Book 2 is still making slow progress, 50k words have been done so far – I plan to try and do some catching up this week, perhaps I can make 60k by Friday evening…We’ll see!  Ideally I want to wait until the edits come back for book the Orb of Ziarn first.  Ghostly publishing specialises in books for children and young teens, So I need to double check what’s acceptable and what isn’t before I crack on.  I will tell you now, book 2 is a lot darker than the first, a bit ‘older’ too.  So I may have to change a thing or two. I’m sure I can work around it though!

As I draw this to a close, I will vow to update this blog a bit more regularly!  Saves you all complaining then! haha!

See ya!

Allan.

Sorry! Not much to tell you…well maybe a little…..

Hello! Yes I know it’s been almost twenty whole days without a blog post.  But I’ve been busy.

I’ve started a new job within the last three weeks or so and it’s going really well. So well in fact it’s keeping me busy.  Gone are the days where I could sit for eight hours and write and blog and tweet and blog and write.  Nope – All gone.  So i’ve had to make a compromise with myself.

As of now, Wednesdays will be the day a new blog post appears and will be the day I do some more writing. If I don’t keep to this then nothing will get done. I’m due to get my edited manuscript back soon so I’ll need to set time aside to get that out of the way.

As for the book’s progress, it’s well….slow.  My publisher Ghostly Publishing has been busy, very busy.  They recently moved office and have been out and about promoting their wares at the London book show.  So things haven’t gone as quick as I thought they would.  But rest assured things will come along in no time at all.

The cover should be done within the next few weeks so watch this space!

Next blog, I’m thinking of doing a bit of fun with one of the characters from James Knight and the Orb of Ziarn.  Kind of an “interview” type thing.  It’ll be completely silly and mental, but that’s all it is. Something fun so that you can get to know the characters a little.

The First Character will be Valeria Flintlocke – the Airship Captain from the Kingdom of Tairen.  Those who have read the snippets in previous blogs (HERE IF YOU MISSED THEM) will know she’s a bubbly but feisty character.   She’s actually become sort of famous as she has her own “fan art” already!

Ace.  Hope you look forward to many exciting events to come. =]

Until next time…..

Allan

A small update and a guest among us!

It’s been a bit quiet on the western front regarding the book.  Since signing with Ghostly Publishing, I’ve contacted many media outlets hoping for some sort of attention from them regarding my first novel.

But while it’s quiet for me, my fellow friend and author Lisa J Hobman is bouncing up and down today as her first novel ‘Bridge over the Atlantic’ is officially released today!  Happy book day!

Although i’m insanely jealous of her, I am very happy also as it wasn’t so long ago that twitter brought us together – a pair of hopeful wannabe writers dreaming of publication.  And what result, we both get our dreams! Though Lisa gets to live hers out before I do. Boo hiss boo!

Because it’s launch day today I asked Lisa if she’d be a guest on my blog and she’s agreed to it! Yay!  So without further ado, let’s get down to it!

Interview with Lisa J Hobman – Author of ‘Bridge over the Atlantic’

So Lisa  – What made you decide to write a book?

I had started to write a blog about our relocation to Scotland and enjoyed writing so much I wanted to do more.  I’d thought about writing a book before but work and study didn’t allow it.  Relocating gave me the perfect opportunity.

Can you tell us a bit about Bridge Over The Atlantic?

Bridge Over the Atlantic is a passionate love story.  It’s centred around a young woman who has been unlucky in love and has concentrated on running her business, meaning her love-life has suffered.  A chance meeting changes everything.



Do you relate to any of the characters in BoTA?

Absolutely!  Mallory my main female character is a curvy girl who struggles with self-esteem.  I relate to her all too well and I think there are little bits of me in her.  I suppose that’s to be expected really :-)

Will there be a follow up or a direct sequel to BoTA? Will we see Mallory again?

To be honest, I had no intentions of writing another book about Mallory.  Her story is completed really in BoTA.  My novels are tending to be stand-alone stories but I am working on an idea for a trilogy right now.  But that will be a long way off!



As there are so many books out there, what makes yours stand out from the rest?

Oh wow, there are so many wonderful books out there…I have written about things I know and things that are easy to relate to.  The people I write about are realistic characters which I hope will endear readers to them.  I hope it stands out foe being a wonderful story amongst other wonderful stories.  I am not out to steal readers but to attract readers who love the romance genre.



What was the hardest part of the publication process for you?

Waiting!  I am so impatient!  And I worry…A LOT!  I think I kept waiting to wake up and find it had all been a dream.  But as of April 4th it’s all official.  And my second novel has been signed now too so I guess I will be starting the whole process over again!



Speaking of publication – tell me more about your publisher!

5 Prince Publishing are based in Denver, Colorado, USA.  They are growing rapidly and taking on different genres in addition to romance.  They believed in my story and have been absolutely wonderful.  My editor, Bernadette, has taught me so much that I really feel I am growing as a writer.  They work with fantastic people who design their cover art and have just been so supportive.  I can’t thank or praise them enough!

Sounds great – Where can I get my copy of BoTA?

Well, Allan, you can pop on over to http://www.5princebooks.com, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes and Smashwords depending on how you would like your copy!  From April 4th it’s available in eBook and Paperback!  Yay!

Any tips for aspiring authors?

Yes!

1)Learn how to present a manuscript. (This is SOO very important!  Publishers and agents can dismiss a fantastic story if the manuscript is untidy.  There are many websites out there to help with this.)

2) Look into Point Of View for your work (I have to admit to not realising this was an issue until the editing process)

3) Be persistent – you will get rejections – but don’t let them put you off!

4) Find a small team of people who know you well enough to be honest with you about your work – they will be your beta readers.

5) Remember WHY you decided to write.

6) Enjoy what you do!  The minute you don’t it’s time to stop.

Many thanks for this brief, but insightful interview Lisa! Good luck with release day!

Thanks, Allan for giving me the opportunity to spread the word about Bridge Over the Atlantic!

A lovely lady!  Hopefully I can bring you some more news regarding ‘James Knight and the Orb of Ziarn’ soon, but until then, please please please, check out ‘Bridge over the Atlantic’, I know I will be!

Images used courtesy of 5 Prince Publishing, Craig of Craig Photography and Viola Estrella.

Best news in the world! I DID IT!!!!

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Yes, I know it’s been a while since I last posted something, probably been about three weeks in fact. Could be less of course.  But there’s good reason for that.  I’ve been very busy and just been unable to update you with anything new. It’s been a quiet few weeks unfortunately.  But I digress….

When I started this blog, I did it so that I could keep myself motivated. I’ve got a habit of starting something and then dropping it like a hot potato as  I realise I actually have no interest in said activity.  But there was something about writing a novel that inspired me to keep going.  Many members of my family kept telling me to keep my chin up and carry on.  So I did.

And thanks to them, and too all of my friends who believed in me I can finally stand on top of a very tall building, stretch my arms out wide and proudly proclaim….

I’M A SIGNED AUTHOR AND I’M GOING TO BE PUBLISHED!!!!!!

Yup! You read it right, all my hard work has finally paid off and my dream is going true.  On Monday afternoon I signed a contract with Ghostly Publishing – an independent publisher of children’s fantasy books!  They were impressed with my novel and decided to give me a shot.  So thanks to them my début novel “James Knight and the Orb of Ziarn.” Will be released next year!

It still hasn’t sunk in yet. It really hasn’t.  Although I’ve signed the contract, been in contact with the MD of the company and even discussed front cover ideas….I still think I’m in shock.   But it’s really happening! I’ve finally achieved something I’ve always wanted to do – write a book and have it published by a reputable publisher!  It’s always nice to achieve a dream, that’s two I’ve done in my lifetime!

The next steps are going to be challenging, I have lots of editing to do once my manuscript comes back to me and I have plenty of plugging and advertising to do.  If you don’t hate my constant plugging now, then you will by the time the book is released!  As soon as pre-orders are up, I’ll let you know!!

More importantly, I have to thank Ghostly publishing for giving me the opportunity and I hope that we’ll work together for many years.

please check them out here...http://ghostlypublishing.co.uk/  They have a great range of books!

I also have my own little author bio on there now too! http://ghostlypublishing.co.uk/authors/Allan-Bott_19.html

Again, I can’t thank you all enough for your help and support and thanks to Ghostly Publishing for recognising my talent!

Until next time,

Allan

 

Waiting with bated breath…..

Another week passes and another blog entry appears,  there isn’t much more to report other than that I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that by within the next few weeks I can official say I’m a published author!! Huzzah!

But until then, I continue to impatiently wait like a child on Christmas Eve.  I’m trying my best to make some distractions, but they aren’t working as well as I hoped. Book 2 is coming along slowly. Nicely – but slowly.  I’m ploughing in as much time as I can at present, which isn’t a lot.  Now that work appears to be picking up.  I’ve also been adding little chunks to the “spin-off” novel I’ve been doing which follows the early life of one of the main characters in Book 1.  So a lot more is to come, but we need to get book 1 published first!

I also had an interview with the guys over at Glipho.com – a social website for bloggers and writers alike. It’s a good place to get a following with people who share your interests, goals and dreams.  You can check out my interview here.

Unfortunately, that’s all I have to report, I’m still one step closer to being published, but there’s just one more step left to go!  I’m crossing anything that can be crossed!  Let’s hope the news comes soon.

Allan

One step closer!!

 

Happy Friday to you all!  I genuinely mean that too, I think it’s been one of the happiest Fridays known to man! haha!

The reason I say this is because, I’ve had had some rather good news regarding the book publishing front. Yay! A publisher got in contact last weekend after reading my full manuscript.  Initially, I dismissed it as it was a rejection – of sorts.  Although they had rejected it I was offered a chance of them working with me so that we could get my MS to a point where they felt the could publish it! woop woop!

Basically they have asked for some more character development and a couple more “hooks” in the story to keep the reader interested.  So this week my mind has been in overdrive and I’ve been frantically going through each chapter, finding things to add so that each character now has more life and feels like they have more of a motive that is believable.

When I first thought about doing it, I got on my very high horse and proudly protected my work, proclaiming it was the best thing since sliced bread! Of course, when you sit and analyse it a bit more, yes – it does need SOME work, but the rest of it is still good.

So that’s been my week, I have today off from work, so i’ll be ploughing through it and I’m hoping to finish my changes asap and get them back to the publisher.

Wish me luck!

 

Allan