The First Glowing Review For The Exercise Of Vital Powers

Credit: The Qwillery

 

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better for my SPFBO entry, along comes Kitty G’s video review of The Exercise Of Vital Powers, yesterday. Not only did Kaitlin produce a very complimentary overview of my book, watching the video has actually made me seriously start to believe that it’s a better story than I previously thought. I still don’t think it’s polished enough to progress to the final round, but Kaitlin’s praise has already had a positive effect in terms of increasing interest in my book, as well as causing a spike in sales. In that respect, entering this year’s Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off has definitely paid dividends so I’m really glad to be involved. Anyway, that’s enough waffling from me; you can watch Kaitlin’s review below.

#SPFBO Update: My Book Lives To Fight Another Day

Credit: The Qwillery

 

Greetings folks, it’s time for a quick SPFBO update for those of you who haven’t been keeping up with the latest developments in this year’s Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off. First of all, with more or less two months having elapsed since the contest officially got under way, just over a third of the 300 entries have been eliminated from the competition so far. (You can view the list of titles that have fallen by the wayside at this point by visiting Mark Lawrence’s blog where he is keeping track.)

How Do I Deal With Writer’s Block?

 

It’s a Bank Holiday today and I’m bored so I’ve decided to answer one of the default questions that Goodreads presents to every author who signs up to their author program. The question I’ve chosen to tackle is perhaps the most common one an author gets asked: how do you deal with writer’s block? What I find most interesting about this particular question is the assumption that writer’s block is inherently a problem, and that it needs to be overcome. Personally, I’ve never viewed the matter in those terms, hence writer’s block has never been a genuine source of frustration to me. Whenever my own creative writing is brought to a grinding halt by writer’s block, I take it as a sign that I need to take a break from my story, so that’s exactly what I do. And depending on my frame of mind that break will manifest in one of the following six ways.

#SPFBO Update: The Exercise Of Vital Powers Makes An Impression

Credit: Laura M. Hughes

 

I have an exciting (to me at least) update about the Self-Published Fantasy Blog off contest, and it concerns my humble entry, The Exercise Of Vital Powers. To my surprise, #SPFBO judge Kaitlin aka “Kitty G” read my debut novel this week during her trip to Worldcon in Finland, and even more surprising than that was discovering that she really liked it. Yesterday she posted an initial review on Goodreads, awarding my book a 4.5 stars rating and it’s fair to say it has made my year. Knowing that my story struck a chord with a reader who has no vested interest in kissing my behind has gone a long way to making me feel a little less like an imposter.

Poll: What Initially Attracts You To A Book By An Unknown Author?

 

Greetings folks, today I’m giving you the opportunity to help me with some research I’m undertaking for future reference. As a new author, I have a vested interest in knowing what makes a reader decide to purchase and read a book by an author they haven’t heard of. That being the case, I have set up a poll so you can let me know which of the following five factors is most responsible for persuading you to risk reading a book by an author previously unknown to you.

Who Wants To Help A Brother Out?

 

As much as I hate asking for help with anything, sometimes it’s just unavoidable, so I have a minor request for whomever reads this post. If any of you guys are Facebook users, would you mind liking my author page the next time you log in. Apparently, it’s necessary for 25 people to like my page before I am are eligible for a custom URL. Under normal circumstances I would just wait for it to happen of its own accord, but I suspect I’d be waiting for Godot if I don’t issue this call for assistance.

Update: Work In Progress Slowed Down By Bumps In The Road

 

It’s time for another update on my current work in progress. Unsurprisingly, last week was not as productive as the previous week, though surprisingly it wasn’t due to any of the usual suspects negatively impacting my freedom to write. The time I was able to devote my WIP wasn’t significantly less, but I only have a single chapter to show for it. What hindered my progress in the end were two time-consuming bumps in the road: the first was minor, therefore easy to resolve, while the second proved to be a major problem that took much longer for me to figure out.

The Journey So Far

 

Earlier this year something rather unusual happened to me; I had a 150,000 word unpublished story on my hands. Certain facets of this manuscript were different from every other story I had ever written in my life before, the most notable difference being that it was a finished novel. Prior to its completion, the only stories I had ever successfully completed were short stories and the occasional novella; all previous attempts at novel writing resulted in abandonment, usually because I unceremoniously tore up or deleted the offending work. It was also different in that it was the first story I had written with the explicit intention of having it read by persons other than myself. And perhaps the most unusual thing about the manuscript was fact the that I was actually happy with it, which shouldn’t have been possible; I am never satisfied with my own writing.

Update: The Work In Progress Report

 

Last week was a surprisingly productive week for me with regard to my current work in progress. That being the case, I feel it is worth my while to provide an update of where I am, so far; even if only a handful of my (soon-to-be) legion of rabid fanboys and fangirls notice. For those of you now scratching your head wondering what I’m working on, you obviously missed (or didn’t pay attention to) my announcement in late June, in which I mentioned my decision to focus on writing a follow up to my debut novel, The Exercise Of Vital Powers, even though it was originally written as a stand-alone tale. While at this early stage of writing I hesitate to claim that significant progress was made on my “untitled sequel” last week, I certainly feel like I’m finally on a roll now, to the extent where I hope to have the first draft completed a full month sooner than expected.