For those of you who are still undecided about taking a chance on my debut novel, The Exercise Of Vital Powers, this is advanced notice to let you know that the Kindle edition will be free to purchase from Amazon on Monday 26th June, so you will no longer have any excuse to continue to holding off getting your copy. If you are a Kindle Unlimited subscriber you can read it for free, right now, until 16th August 2017.
Having now made the commitment to fully pursue my nascent writing ambitions, I have recently been pondering what it is I most want to accomplish as an author. Following on from this, the one thought that has repeatedly come to the forefront of my mind is whether critical acclaim or commercial success is more important to me. I’m sure this thought crosses the mind of every aspiring author at some point before being published; maybe it is something even published authors think about, also. Ultimately, it is difficult to favour one over the other if you come to the conclusion that both options are equally desirable.
Since publishing my first novel at the end of April, I haven’t had time to do much in the way of writing; at least not in terms of writing a second novel. Leaving aside the personal circumstances that (as usual) have been constraining my time and ability to focus on my fiction writing, the other factor that had been preventing me from starting any meaningful work on a second book was my indecision concerning what story I want to tell next. I began outlining two stories at the same time until I could make a decision about which of the two I wanted to proceed with. Fortunately, that decision has now been made.
I have reluctantly come to the conclusion, recently, that I have a self-promotion problem, one that is potentially insurmountable. That problem, in a nutshell, is me; or more to the point my personality. I am what is known as an introvert. (People frequently mistake introversion for shyness, which is incorrect. For a more accurate insight into the psyche of an introvert check out this Huffington Post article.) One of the consequences of this character trait is that I really dislike being the centre of attention. In fact, I go out of my way to avoid bringing attention to myself. Now you’re probably beginning to see my problem.
I’ve decided to pimp my latest book review that is now live on my book blog Another World. Today the book is the dark fantasy novel, Daughter of the Blood, the first book of The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop; feel free to go and check out my in depth thoughts on what is a very strange tale by clicking THIS LINK. I awarded the book a score of 4 out of 5 which might come as I surprise when I mention that the first time I read it (a little over a decade ago) I didn’t like it at all. Admittedly, this had a lot to do with the fact I had no idea what was going on, principally because I had been led to believe it was an urban fantasy (which it most certainly isn’t) but also because I had never read anything quite so bizarre before.
I have generally taken it for granted that every author, whether they be published or unpublished, has one specific book they read during their childhood that planted the seed which would eventually grow into the desire to be a storyteller. I know that I can trace the beginning of my own journey to becoming an author to a book I first read when I was just seven years old. From that moment, reading and writing became my principal hobbies (although being born into poverty meant I couldn’t afford to do much else).
Credit: Laura M. Hughes
If you have been keeping abreast of the third running of the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off that gets under way in July, you should be aware that my debut fantasy novel, The Exercise Of Vital Powers, is among the pool of thirty novels due to be reviewed by popular BookTuber, Kitty G. If you’re wondering what a BookTuber is, it refers to a book reviewer who uploads filmed book reviews to their YouTube channel.
A little over a week ago, Kitty posted a short video outlining her role as a judge for this years #SPFBO contest, which you can watch below. Yes, Kitty butchers my name; but hey, when you have a non-Anglo sounding name (as I do) you get used to having it mispronounced. 😉
Hello folks; this is a call to all you Goodreads users out there. I would like to bring to your attention that fellow user, Kitvaria Sarene, has recently started a Listopia list for the 300 entrants for this year’s #SPFBO contest. My entry, The Exercise Of Vital Powers, is in dire need of your votes today. Having reached a peak of 87th position, it is now in joint 97th place, and falling. Your votes can reverse this downward trend, and send my book back up the list where it (probably doesn’t) belong.
Those of you who have been holding off purchasing my debut novel, The Exercise Of Vital Powers, no longer have an excuse for continuing to doing so. This weekend the kindle edition is available free of charge on Amazon, so now is the time to download it, while you can. The title is also currently enrolled into the KDP Select program, so those of you who are Kindle Unlimited subscribers can read it for free at least until 16th August 2017.
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Back in April I wrote a post about the use of tropes in fiction, and how they don’t have to be a negative. Despite having made the case that any trope can be used successfully with strong writing and characterisation, there is still one trope that I really dislike regardless. The use of this trope in a fictional work has the ability to infuriate me like no other, and can often put me off reading books which prominently feature this trope. I am of course referring to the trope known as the Love Triangle.
