My short story, The Outsider, is finally available on Amazon (and coming soon to Smashwords, and everywhere that Smashwords distribute to).
The Outsider is the first story in a series I've called "Atomic Wasteland Tales". It's a post-apocalyptic setting, many decades after a nuclear war that wiped out the majority of the world's population. The stories (at least initially) aren't linked in an overarching sequence, but there will be recurring characters and places appearing through
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
#ROW80 Week 8 - Sigh
After having a good week last week by crossing off one goal from the list, this week was a bit of a disappointment. Since we're starting to get near the end of this round of ROW80, I"m beginning to get a little concerned.
Write one drabble a day – I only ended up writing three. I have been playing with the idea for the next collection of having 5-6 linked drabbles that fit together to form a narrative arc (the cause, and possible end, of the zombie apocalypse), in addition to the other
Write one drabble a day – I only ended up writing three. I have been playing with the idea for the next collection of having 5-6 linked drabbles that fit together to form a narrative arc (the cause, and possible end, of the zombie apocalypse), in addition to the other
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Author Interview: Michael Crane
Today's interview is very important to me. I reviewed Michael's book, Lessons and Other Morbid Drabbles, back in December. His book was the reason I started playing around writing drabbles, which eventually led me to write The Vampire Drabbles. So I was extremely happy when he agreed to my request for an interview.
Michael is slightly unusual compared to most authors, because he focuses his writing on short stories. He speaks a little about why in this interview. I hope you enjoy it.
JGA:
Michael is slightly unusual compared to most authors, because he focuses his writing on short stories. He speaks a little about why in this interview. I hope you enjoy it.
JGA:
Monday, February 21, 2011
I've Been Interviewed
Keith C. Blackmore has just interviewed me over on his website. It's my first interview, so I'm somewhat excited :) Hopefully I didn't make too much of a fool of myself!
And while it's not as exciting as an interview, The Vampire Drabbles have just been listed on the Excuse Me, Miss list of 99 cent
And while it's not as exciting as an interview, The Vampire Drabbles have just been listed on the Excuse Me, Miss list of 99 cent
Sunday, February 20, 2011
#ROW80 Week 7 - One Goal Crossed Off
I'm very happy with week 7 for ROW - I can finally cross one goal off as being totally completed! :) Of course, to balance that out I didn't do too well at one of my important goals for the week, but I'll give myself a pass anyway ;)
Write one drabble a day – Done! Many zombie short stories are starting to fill my Scrivener project for this collection. I've been hitting pretty close to the 100-word count this past week, usually only needing to delete a few words. I'm not entirely sure if
Write one drabble a day – Done! Many zombie short stories are starting to fill my Scrivener project for this collection. I've been hitting pretty close to the 100-word count this past week, usually only needing to delete a few words. I'm not entirely sure if
Sunday, February 13, 2011
#ROW80 Week 6 - Even More Editing
So, week six has now been and gone. Wow. Not too bad for this week really.
Write one drabble a day – I didn't quite make this goal for the week, writing only five drabbles in the end. But I did manage to write my first drabble that was exactly 100 words when I'd finished my first draft of it - no editing required! Of course, I'll probably edit it later on, but that's beside the point :)
One ~5k short story a month – After two false starts for a paranormal mystery that just wasn't
Write one drabble a day – I didn't quite make this goal for the week, writing only five drabbles in the end. But I did manage to write my first drabble that was exactly 100 words when I'd finished my first draft of it - no editing required! Of course, I'll probably edit it later on, but that's beside the point :)
One ~5k short story a month – After two false starts for a paranormal mystery that just wasn't
Monday, February 07, 2011
#ROW80 Week 5 - Edit, Edit, Edit!
The title of the post pretty much sums up this week - it's been a week of editing and re-writing. Overall the editing has been very successful, although I will be changing my goals again as a result.
From the start I've had a goal to work on my current WiP (On Ice) at the same time as I edit my first novel (Gears of Wonderland) and write a short story. I don't think I can effectively do all three at the moment, since Gears needs ~10k new words as well as the usual fixing of mistakes. So for
From the start I've had a goal to work on my current WiP (On Ice) at the same time as I edit my first novel (Gears of Wonderland) and write a short story. I don't think I can effectively do all three at the moment, since Gears needs ~10k new words as well as the usual fixing of mistakes. So for
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Book Review: Lessons II by Michael Crane
NOTE: I do not accept books for review. Reviews posted here are only for indie books that I have bought, and enjoyed enough to tell others about them. No, I don't post reviews for books I would rate less than 3.5 stars.
I reviewed Michael's first book of drabbles, Lessons and Other Morbid Drabbles, back in December. I became interested in writing drabbles (stories exactly 100 words long) after reading his book, and got so attached to them I'll be publishing my own collection
I reviewed Michael's first book of drabbles, Lessons and Other Morbid Drabbles, back in December. I became interested in writing drabbles (stories exactly 100 words long) after reading his book, and got so attached to them I'll be publishing my own collection
Monday, January 31, 2011
Amanda Hocking - Over Half a Million Books Sold!
No, seriously. She has just posted about it over here on her blog.
I'm sure that there will be people who claim she is lying. I'm sure there will be people who start trying to knock her down, because she's being "too successful" (there are always sad individuals who can't be happy about someone else being successful). But in every interaction I've seen Amanda involved with she has always been a pleasant, classy person. She deserves every success she has had so far, and I wish her all the
I'm sure that there will be people who claim she is lying. I'm sure there will be people who start trying to knock her down, because she's being "too successful" (there are always sad individuals who can't be happy about someone else being successful). But in every interaction I've seen Amanda involved with she has always been a pleasant, classy person. She deserves every success she has had so far, and I wish her all the
Sunday, January 30, 2011
#ROW80 Week 4 - Six of one, half a dozen of the other
So, this is the end of week 4. It's hard to believe that it's been four weeks since the whole process started.
This week has been mostly positive. So without further ado:
Write 2,500+ words on my WIP – Not done - I stopped writing this week and deliberately spent most of the time working on a precise outline, figuring out every scene I was going to have between where I currently am and the end of the book. I restarted writing today, and already things seem a bit easier. I'm going to
This week has been mostly positive. So without further ado:
Write 2,500+ words on my WIP – Not done - I stopped writing this week and deliberately spent most of the time working on a precise outline, figuring out every scene I was going to have between where I currently am and the end of the book. I restarted writing today, and already things seem a bit easier. I'm going to
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Guest Post: Excuses Excuses Excuses
Today's guest post is from Tammie Clarke Gibbs. Tammie is the author of the time travel romance novel Island of Secrets. Her article talks about a problem every beginning author faces - the ease of finding excuses for why we aren't achieving what we want to achieve. I'll let Tammie describe what she means herself.
I believe that sometimes we (authors) are our own worst enemies.
To become a specialist in any occupation a certain amount of time, effort and investment is expected. Yet, as
I believe that sometimes we (authors) are our own worst enemies.
To become a specialist in any occupation a certain amount of time, effort and investment is expected. Yet, as
Thursday, January 27, 2011
What We Are Creating
Over on the Superstars Writing Seminar web site, there is an extremely moving audio from Tracy Hickman about what we are doing as authors when we write our stories. I urge you to listen to it (it's around 10 minutes
Monday, January 24, 2011
#ROW80 Week 3 - Altering Course
Another week gone, in what seems like the blink of an eye! This week was an interesting one for me. I had been on holidays the last few weeks, but alas it was back to work this week. It wasn't something that I'd really thought about too much when setting my ROW80 goals (since I had finished NaNoWriMo fine while working), but it's been pretty obvious this week that with everything I want to achieve, I'm going to need to make a change to one of the goals!
Not surprisingly, the goal I'm going
Not surprisingly, the goal I'm going
Monday, January 17, 2011
Book Review: Decisions by R. Doug Wicker
NOTE: I do not accept books for review. Reviews posted here are only for indie books that I have bought, and enjoyed enough to tell others about them.
I'm a big fan of murder mystery stories, but for some reason I've never read a lot of them. I'm not entirely sure why that is - I guess I tend to lean toward sci-fi, fantasy and urban fantasy as my first reading preference, which leaves little time to read other genres. But I saw a brief description about Decisions on the KindleBoards (the
I'm a big fan of murder mystery stories, but for some reason I've never read a lot of them. I'm not entirely sure why that is - I guess I tend to lean toward sci-fi, fantasy and urban fantasy as my first reading preference, which leaves little time to read other genres. But I saw a brief description about Decisions on the KindleBoards (the
Sunday, January 16, 2011
#ROW80 Week 2 - Stormy Weather
Unlike week 1, this week hasn't been too good as far as meeting my ROW80 goals is concerned. I think it's too early to panic and change my goals, but I will be keeping a close eye on how I go the next two weeks.
So, how did I do?
Average 1,000 words a day on my WIP – not at all. To be honest, my average for the week was just under 500 words a day. Looking to improve this week!
Write one drabble a day – done.
One ~5k short story a month – I've added a few more words to the
So, how did I do?
Average 1,000 words a day on my WIP – not at all. To be honest, my average for the week was just under 500 words a day. Looking to improve this week!
Write one drabble a day – done.
One ~5k short story a month – I've added a few more words to the
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Author Interview: Keith C. Blackmore
Todays post is an interview with Keith C. Blackmore. Keith writes in the horror and epic fantasy genres, two genres that I enjoy reading. You can read more about the books Keith has written at www.keithcblackmore.com.
1. What are your influences and sources of inspiration?
I was an avid reader of comic books and later got into trade paperbacks. I read a lot of different stuff, from action adventure to horror, SF to fantasy. The first novel I read was Conan by Robert E Howard, and a
1. What are your influences and sources of inspiration?
I was an avid reader of comic books and later got into trade paperbacks. I read a lot of different stuff, from action adventure to horror, SF to fantasy. The first novel I read was Conan by Robert E Howard, and a
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Guest Post: Six Fantasy Cliches To Avoid
Todays post is a guest article by William Meikle. William is currently holding a blog tour across many author/writing blogs, and is running a contest to help gain interest. Anyone who comments on this blog post will be entered into a draw to win a Kindle loaded with all of William's books. So get commenting! :)
Six Fantasy Cliches To Avoid
Fantasy fiction is doing good business at the moment, but there are certain situations that have been overplayed. So much so, that they have become genre
Six Fantasy Cliches To Avoid
Fantasy fiction is doing good business at the moment, but there are certain situations that have been overplayed. So much so, that they have become genre
Monday, January 10, 2011
Book Review: Dark and Darker by Ryne Douglas Pearson
NOTE: I do not accept books for review. Reviews posted here are only for indie books that I have bought, and that I enjoyed enough to tell others about them.
I can't remember how I initially stumbled across Ryne Douglas Pearson's books - I think it might have been a link to his web site on the Kindle Boards. Anyway, while looking at the list of books he had written on his site I saw Dark and Darker. I've become interested in short stories lately (since I'm writing a few myself :) ), and
I can't remember how I initially stumbled across Ryne Douglas Pearson's books - I think it might have been a link to his web site on the Kindle Boards. Anyway, while looking at the list of books he had written on his site I saw Dark and Darker. I've become interested in short stories lately (since I'm writing a few myself :) ), and
Sunday, January 09, 2011
#ROW80 Week 1 - Clear Days
Ok, so officially we're supposed to check in for ROW80 on Wednesdays and Sundays. I'm not a "check in twice a week" person, so I'm just going to be doing the Sunday updates :)
So how has week 1 of ROW80 gone? Very well so far! Obviously we're only at the start, but looking at my goals for the challenge...
Average 1,000 words a day on my WIP - done for the first five days this week (I work out the average for the week on Fridays, since I don't write a lot on the weekend). I was worried I
So how has week 1 of ROW80 gone? Very well so far! Obviously we're only at the start, but looking at my goals for the challenge...
Average 1,000 words a day on my WIP - done for the first five days this week (I work out the average for the week on Fridays, since I don't write a lot on the weekend). I was worried I
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Indie Author Sales in December
Over on the Kindle Boards indie authors are once again giving details on their sales for December, and once again I'm compiling them all into a single list.
It's fascinating seeing the difference between November and December. Authors on the Kindle Boards were saying that they were seeing good sales for December as the month progressed, and the final results definitely show that.
In November, after the authors who had less than 30 sales for the month, the largest group was authors who got
It's fascinating seeing the difference between November and December. Authors on the Kindle Boards were saying that they were seeing good sales for December as the month progressed, and the final results definitely show that.
In November, after the authors who had less than 30 sales for the month, the largest group was authors who got
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