Nick Jones's Blog, page 2
July 20, 2018
Now, it feels like a Downstream book
June 5, 2018
Downstream Book 2 will be called…
May 5, 2018
First draft is done
March 31, 2018
What happened again?
March 13, 2018
The end is in sight
January 25, 2018
The halfway point…
December 24, 2017
Is he a police dog?
November 25, 2017
Time-travel and getting nicked go hand in hand
October 26, 2017
Be sure to enjoy the scenery along the way…
January 2, 2015
JANUARY 2015 - Resolutions and excuses...
Happy new year. Its what you’re supposed to say and of course, it’s a good thing to wish for. Actually ‘being’ happy though, that takes effort and commitment. Once upon a time it seemed to come easily, these days I have to try much harder.
I will do my best.
So, onto my New Year’s resolutions. This is like a trap, it means I can look back on it this time next year and see how I did…
Finish Downstream Season 1 Grow my reader list Sell more books Read more books.
On the last one, a good way of doing this is to track the books you read via good reads. It really helps to remind you of what you have read and what’s next. Also, a lot of people have said to me this year, ‘I don’t really have time to read.’ It’s not like I was trying to persuade them to read mine or anything : ) I can sympathise. I read a lot in my twenties and then fiction kind of took a back seat as work took over. Now, haven taken Stephen King’s advice I have it all figured out.
Mine was a three step approach based on my excuses.
Excuse 1: I’m too busy!
Countered with: Audiobooks.
I am busy. A lot. But when I thought about it there was actually a lot of ‘down time’ in my life (Thanks to Murray Bruton for teaching me this first in a karate sense)
By that, I mean periods of time when I might not be actively engaged, but doing something. For example, walking the dogs, driving, working out etc. So, I signed up to audible and haven’t looked back. Audio books hadn’t interested me before but now, I can’t stop. For me, the experience is different to reading but the end result is very similar. The story, the characters, the craft is all there and when I look back it ‘feels’ like I’ve read a book, and that’s all that matters right?
Excuse 2: I’m too tired at night to read.
Countered with: hit the stairs earlier.
Sound familiar? I was going to bed late after fighting tiredness and basically collapsing! Now, I go to bed a little earlier and look forward to getting some pages done.
Excuse 3: There’s nothing that grabs me…
Countered with : A kindle.
With the kindle (and oh my goodness the new voyage is lovely) I can try lots of different books and see what does hook me in. Also, as a writer I am interested as to why those books work and how they draw me to them and make me turn the pages. I love books, real ones I mean, but with the kindle I have found I am definitely reading more, often I will have two books on the go PLUS an audio book!
It means that I am immersing myself in fiction. Input and output, and it seems to be working.
Talking of reading more… the first episode of ‘DOWNSTREAM’ my kick-ass, time-travel series with extra attitude is OUT NOW! and the best bit? It’s FREE!
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00R6XFVPS
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R6XFVPS
It’s also available for nook and kobo too.
NOOK
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/downstream-nick-jones/1120961157
KOBO
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-UK/ebook/downstream-episode-1
And also – in the next few days – it should be out on ibooks for any iPhone and iPad readers.
Happy reading and happy 2015.