Tag: Authors

Books, Life, Self-publishing, Uncategorized

Round-up of the week 9th June 2019

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World News:

Boxing teaches Kenyan girls to defend themselves

In one of Nairobi’s toughest neighbourhoods, a boxing academy is helping girls and young women learn how to defend themselves.

Box Girls uses self-defence training to help women and girls feel safer and to stand up for themselves and those around them.

London News:

Balloon over London
Dozens of hot air balloons took flight over London and filled the capital’s skyline on Sunday morning.
A total of 46 balloons took off from Battersea Park and flew over some of London’s landmarks including The Shard, Canary Wharf and Greenwich.
It was all part of the Lord Mayor’s Hot Air Balloon Regatta – which has been running since 2015.
Funds raised will go to three charities – Samaritans, OnSide Youth Zones and Place2B.

My World:

Carpet is down in the spare room and I’ve begun the process of putting the room back together, can’t wait until everything is back in there and I have my home back to normal.
On another note I have started a new eating plan in an attempt to get my weight/health back on track. My friend told me about Team RH and after watching some of their videos I loved what they had to say, everything makes sense. Healthy eating and exercise. Calories and macros arranged around your height, weight and exercise level. They have a user friendly app and constant support on Facebook. Watch this space.
If you want more information, type in Team RH in google or Facebook.

My Word:
Working on book six, Return to the Streets.

Books, Life, Self-publishing, Uncategorized

The fourth annual UK Indie Lit Fest

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If you’re in Bradford or surrounding areas why not pop in and meet this phenomenal line up of authors on Saturday 27th July 2019 in Kala Sangam Arts Centre.
For more information and a chance to get to know the attending authors, why not check us out on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ukindielitfest

Books, Life, Self-publishing, Uncategorized

Spotlight of the month – Audrina Lane

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Audrina Lane

1. Do you write as a full-time author or do you have to squeeze it in around a full-time job or looking after the children? If you don’t write as your main job what are your aims for your writing?

I somehow squeeze my writing in around my full-time job working for the Library Service in Herefordshire. I’m sometimes not sure where I find the extra time but I can be found writing on the bus on my way to work or during my lunchtime. My aims for my writing are to continue working on my current 3 WIP novels. Hoping to get them all out at some point in 2018.

2. What inspires you to write?

I tend to write everyday type of characters who are either experiencing love for the first or second time around. Or equally about them battling their demons, such as abuse or depression – powerful; topics. On a lighter note, I also love motor racing so one of my recent novels and one of my WIP novels is based around the world of fast cars!

 

3. Tell me about your writing process, when and how? Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I used to use an ipad but have recently switched to a Surface Pro which is both a tablet and laptop when the keyboard is attached. This means that I can carry it around with me and write whenever I find I have 20 minutes to spare. It also means I can write on my lap in the evening in front of the fire. I try and do a little bit each day but longer periods of writing take place at the weekend when I’m not at work! I’m afraid I’m mostly a pantser and just let my character guide me but I generally start out with a basic storyline in my head.

4. How much of your life experience goes into your books if at all?

With my first novel ‘Where did your Heart go?’ the storyline is based on my first love affair, with a few embellishments. But the first kiss for my main characters Stephanie and James was my actual first kiss. I did contact my first boyfriend and asked him if he was happy with the book content and he was kind enough to write the first review I had for the book on Amazon! I do try to draw from life experience because I think it gives the characters more depth and the storyline more meaning.

5. Describe your ideal writing location if money were no issue.

My ideal writing location would be outside my private home on my own island off the coast of New Zealand. I’d be on a lounger next to my swimming pool.

6. What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?

With my current final book in the Bloodstained Heart Trilogy its making sure that I stick to the storyline and conversations in the Heart Trilogy series (it’s a series about one of the characters in my original series) so I need to make sure the timeline stays the same but I bring a different slant to the same scenes. This makes it harder than just writing straight from your head. Also editing!!

 7. What one thing would you fix about the whole world to make it a better place?

Religion, I believe what I believe but don’t push it on anyone and truly think that most of the world’s wars and conflicts are because people have different beliefs and think that theirs is better than the others. That’s about as political as I get in that if we got rid of religion maybe we’d all live more peacefully – although probably not!! There would always be something I guess!

 8. What is your favourite review from any of your books?

This one for Bloodstained Heart. Part 1 – Passion. Because I knew I’d captured the essence of Felicity and equally made the reader feel sorry for her when everyone of my readers who urged me to write this story told me that they didn’t want to like this woman!!

 Oooh. You made me feel sorry for Felicity and I soooo didn’t want to. After reading the Heart Trilogy it was great to see what made Felicity the cold and driven woman she became. At the same time I felt so sad for her. Audrina has written this in such a masterful way that you can’t pinpoint the exact moment when the sweet and innocent girl turns into a ruthless murderess. It reads well as a stand alone but if, like me, you have read the original trilogy first then the added dimensions of how the stories link together makes this an ingenious and very satisfying read. Consider this my first nag to you Audrina Lane to get the second part finished asap. I know I’m not the only one waiting with baited breath. Thank you for a great book.

9. When you’re not writing, working, looking after the kids what else do you enjoy doing?

I love music and dancing, so you’ll either find me at a concert or out with my OH who plays guitar in a local band. I also attend a monthly barefoot dance session which is 2 hours of an eclectic mix of music where everyone who attends just dances however they like. A sort of disco but without the alcohol or the blokes trying to chat you up! Its pure bliss and I wish it was more often than just monthly. Also I have 3 black Labradors so I enjoy taking them out for walks. I find most of my poem ideas come from this pursuit.

 10. Can you tell me what you’re working on now?

I must be a sucker for punishment as I have 3 different novels in progress. The first is ‘Bloodstained Heart. Part 3 – Redemption’ which is the final story in this trilogy and the culmination of Felicity’s story. It’s a dark romance and she’s a rather evil, bitch of a character.

My second is another spin off from the third book in the Heart Trilogy series. I started a short story about two of the secondary characters in Closer to the Heart for an anthology. However the anthology never reached fruition so one of my readers who read the short story urged me to turn it into a full length novel. Its called ‘Bonfire Heart’ and is the story of Sebastian and Lena’s life – it may not be a very happy tale as it touches on Dementia and Depression, but is set in my favourite part of the world – New Zealand.

Finally the third WIP is with my co-author Rita Ames and we’re part way through the 2nd book in our ‘Need for Speed’ racing romance series. This one is called ‘24Hrs to Heartbreak’ and centres around Dre and Charlie who meet at the Indy 500 race.

Continue reading “Spotlight of the month – Audrina Lane” →

Books, Life, Self-publishing, Uncategorized

My Review of: Where Did Your Heart Go? by Audrina Lane

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Chuckles

Builds beautifully to an un-put-down-able read.

http://getbook.at/YourHeartGo

When I started reading this book I found it slow going at first, enjoyable but slow going. I could easily put this book down but when I picked it up again it was like putting on a pair of slippers. The author allowed you to get to know the characters until they got under your skin and what happened to them actually mattered to you. This is a story of a love that spans generations, realistic friendships and a spiteful woman who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. I think I was about three-quarters of the way through this book when it became un-put-down-able and I devoured the rest of it and went straight into the second book in the series.

Now about the book: Charlotte is struggling with a teenage romance and in order to help her daughter, Stephanie allows her to read her our diary from when she was a teenager. This is a triple thread story, as we follow Charlotte and Stephanie in the present day and Stephanie’s past through her diary but it isn’t only Charlotte who is reading it, Stephanie can’t resist the urge to go back and take a peep herself. All the deep emotions come back to haunt her. Not sure I’d want my daughter (if I had one) to read through my diary but I thought it was a beautiful idea and slowly Charlotte manages to put the angst of her teenage romance behind her as she meets Mitchell. But this new love brings up unexpected complications.

I sometimes find it hard to read a series by the same author as it can feel samey, but once Audrina had me hooked I couldn’t not read the whole series. The only thing I would have liked is to have had the name of the character’s whose POV we were in. Even though the author did distinguish between them having their name at the beginning would have made it a bit easier for the reader.

 

 

 

Books, Life, Self-publishing, Uncategorized

Author Spotlight Interview

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This month it is my pleasure to introduce Sherri A Wingler who now ranks up there with Sharon Penman and Barbara Erskine (and a few others) as one of my favourite authors. She is currently juggling two different series and I am eagerly awaiting the next in series for both. This is the author who writes the books that I wish I had written.

1. Do you write as a full-time author or do you have to squeeze it in around a full-time job or looking after the children? If you don’t write as your main job what are your aims for your writing?

I look at my writing as my other full-time job. I squeeze time whenever I can to write, but I’m constantly thinking about my story. The brain is a wonderful thing. I can hit a snag, with no idea how to get myself out of the corner I’ve written myself into, and three days later the answer will come to me, seemingly out of nowhere. Usually, it comes at the most inopportune moment.

2. What inspires you to write?

Reading a really good story from someone else is always inspiring. Mostly, I write the books I want to read.

3. Tell me about your writing process, when and how? Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I want to be a plotter, but I’m more of a hybrid. I start out with a loose outline and adjust it when the story starts twisting itself into knots.
I’ve found my best hours to work are between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., but I have a full-time job, so those hours only work when I’m on vacation. Usually, I grab whatever time I can. I write on my phone a lot and transfer the file to the main manuscript later.
I would love to say if I get an entire day to write, I sit down and whip out ten thousand words, but I’m guilty of procrastination. So guilty. I’m fine once I start, but I’ll find fifty things to do before I start.

4. How much of your life experience goes into your books if at all?

My first book is about a teenaged girl who falls in love with the Angel of Death. It took a reviewer pointing out that ‘if Death came along and intervened in her life, they’d have a serious talk.’ I’m paraphrasing, but it got me thinking. If Death intervenes, you have no choice… you adapt to a new normal. That’s when the lightbulb moment happened for me. My mother died when I was seventeen. Some twenty years later, my brain put a different spin on the story and “Wings of Darkness” was born.
I think all the characters have a certain facet of the author’s personality, even the villain.

5. Describe your ideal writing location if money were no issue.

I can write anywhere, but I require peace and quiet to produce my best work. I have a small, beautiful office I never get to use because my dogs throw a fit if I’m out of sight. Most of my work is done with at least one cat hanging off me and a dog staring at me till I pick him or her up for cuddles. They have me so trained.

6. What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?

Getting started. Have I mentioned the procrastination thing? I waste more time thinking about why I should be writing, than actually doing it.

7. What one thing would you fix about the whole world to make it a better place?

I feel like the world would be better if people cared more for each other, or cared less, maybe. For my own part, I don’t care about someone else’s religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. If they’re happy and aren’t hurting someone else, it’s none of my business. I don’t get excited about much unless it affects me or mine.
Animal cruelty breaks my heart. If I had one wish it would be for the punishment to fit the crime in those cases.

8. What is your favourite review from any of your books?

It was for “Wings of Darkness,” and it wasn’t even a 5* review, only a 3*. The lady didn’t like the snarkiness of the characters, but at the end of the review she said it was “very well written and well edited book.” I had to love it just for that.

9. When you’re not writing, working, looking after the furry kids what else do you enjoy doing?

I like to think I’m crafty. Every so often I get on Pinterest and find some fantastic project and produce the ugly step-sister version of whatever it was. Halloween is coming up, and it’s my favorite holiday. I’ll be whipping out the hot glue and fake cobwebs pretty soon.

10. Can you tell me what you’re working on now?

I’m working on a couple of things. I’ve got the third book of “The Immortal Sorrows” series almost finished, and I have the second book of “The Dark Woods” series at the halfway point.
“The Immortal Sorrows” is a tale of Reaper angels with a shot of Greek mythology thrown in. It explores Time, Fate, and Death as beings instead of concepts.
“The Dark Woods” is my loose interpretation of the Red Riding Hood story. I’ve taken a lot of liberties with it, and had so much fun doing it.

 

A Glimpse into Darkness: Prequel of The Immortal Sorrows

http://amzn.to/2wG2byp

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Clotho has everything; beauty, power, and immortality. She has everything she could ever want, except the love of the one she wants the most.
Witness the moment when obsession turns to hate… and love to madness.
Author’s Note: This is a short story and serves as the prequel of “The Immortal Sorrows” series. Attached is a free sample of book 1, “Wings of Darkness.” I hope you enjoy it!

Wings of Darkness: Book 1 of The Immortal Sorrows series

http://amzn.to/2vziTz6

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Death comes for everyone eventually, but Izzy Maitland plans to live forever. At nearly eighteen years old, it’s not an unreasonable goal, but Fate has other plans. Izzy has a car accident. A bad one. Suddenly, strange things start happening and her ordinary life is turned upside down. She wakes up tasting blood, more often than not, and her injuries heal at an alarming rate. Her friends and family weaken, and every day, Izzy grows stronger. Strangest of all, she seems to have acquired a stalker, and he might be the Angel of Death.

Wings of Shadow: Book 2 of The Immortal Sorrows series

http://amzn.to/2wURuaC

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Mortals never see me in their final moments. Isabel saw me. From the very beginning. She saw me, knew me for the monster I am, and still she loved me. That beautiful young woman with fire in her blood. I wanted her the moment I laid eyes on her. She was perfect, made just for me by a cruel and merciless twist of Fate. Isabel was my mate and my match, in every way, but loving me destroyed her.
Fate stole my love from me, simply to watch me suffer. Oh, it cost her, but not nearly enough. A few dead Reapers were nothing compared to what I would do when I found her. The River of the Dead could run red with the blood of the guilty, and it would never be enough. My revenge would be a bitter-sweet thing, for it would never bring my Isabel back to me. Once she faced Judgment, she would be lost to me, forever.
I could not accept that. I would not.

Crimson Moon: Book 1 of The Dark Woods series

http://amzn.to/2wFW2SF

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In the old days, people whispered about the wolf, said he came only at night, and only by the light of the full moon. They locked their doors and huddled close to their fires, safe in the knowledge they could prepare for his coming. The truth is, no one is safe, because the wolf walks in the skin of the man. Always.

Harlow Hayes is a runaway, thief, and failed Southern belle. Forced to grow up fast after what her mama delicately referred to as, ‘the incident,’ she learns the hard way not all strangers are kind, real monsters hide in plain sight, and family can be found in the most unexpected places.
Harlow Hayes is about to meet the Wolf.

 

Thank you very much, Sherri, for sharing so much with us. If you aren’t lucky enough to win an e-copy of one of Sherri’s books then I would highly recommend you go and buy them, she is a phenomenal author

If you have subscribed to my newsletter then you will be entered into the August prize draw, don’t forget sometimes the emails make their way to the junk folder! (How vary dare they!) The winner will be announced one week later.

 

Books, Life, Self-publishing

My Review of Bloodgifted: The Dantonville Legacy 1 by T M Lacoba

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This book has been jumping up and down screaming ‘Read Me’ for quite some time now. The cover is very alluring but it has sat on my Kindle for a while. This is a tale of a woman who at the age of fifty discovers a family secret which is passed down to her at her coming of age – yes that is at the age of fifty, not eighteen or twenty-one. Laura who is comfortable in her new relationship with a Police Officer finds her whole world turned upside down. For her own protection, she is assigned a hot guardian, Alec Munro, to protect her. This story contains love, betrayal, lies, family loyalties, greed and vampires galore. The pacing is perfect as it the characterisation.

Will I read more by this author? Hell yeah!

Books, Self-publishing, Uncategorized

Author of the Month – Rose English

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 I will be featuring one author of the month who will spotlight with a brief interview and showcase their books. For anyone who has signed up to my email mailing list you will be entered into a prize draw, a week after I send my newsletter, to win an e-copy of one of the spotlight author’s books.

This month we will be starting with a lady who I have come to know well and have the pleasure of calling friend. I know her by the name of Su but she writes under the name of Rose English.

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1. Do you write as a full-time author or do you have to squeeze it in around a full-time job or looking after the children? If you don’t write as your main job what are your aims for your writing?

I work four days a week in a hospital taking care of the medical equipment. To be honest I am not sure I would actually want to be a full-time author, I am more a Read-a-holic and I write as a hobby. I lose myself in reading for pleasure and often for research. Perhaps I will feel different when I actually retire (still a way to go though).

2. What inspires you to write?

I often get inspiration from things that I read, for example a few years back I picked up a book in my local library about the longcase clock. It inspired more research about how this type of clock became the grandfather clock and finally I turned it into ‘The Magic of Grandfather Time.’

3. Tell me about your writing process, when and how? Are you a plotter or a pantser?

The best time I have written is during National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo I seem to be able to organise myself a bit better having a set target to work to, 50,000 words. However I am very easily distracted by research, via books or online so I would say I am a bit of both plotter & pantser. I have lots of notebooks all over the place and scraps of paper, sometimes I will come home from work with my pockets full.

4. How much of your life experience goes into your books if at all?

Sometimes my life experience goes into my stories, generally they are GREATLY exaggerated. Or they may be from true life tragedies not my own. I like to mix a little reality with my fiction. I am working on a collection of ‘Shoe Shorts’ and my title story ‘One Night in Fabulous Shoes’ is loosely based on a tragedy that happened in Frecklton where my brother lives. During the war the Americans were based close by, whilst out on a test flight the weather turned and one of the planes crash landed into the infant school killing many children and teachers.

5. Describe your ideal writing location if money were no issue.

I dream of a log cabin either overlooking a stream or away from anywhere in the snowy mountains. (Dreaming of winter with hot chocolate & masses of floating cream)

6.What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?

I have a real problem with my points of view (POVs) I very easily get mixed up with writing in first person or third and so on.

7. What one thing would you fix about the whole world to make it a better place?

There are so many things wrong in this world I really would not know where to begin, but my pet hate is exhaust fumes and pollution hence why I’ve made my home out in the countryside. So although I feel I should say something like work hard to defeat terrorism and stop child abuse etc. I would like to breathe clean air.

8.What is your favourite review from any of your books?

It was only a 4* review but I thought it summed up the short story perfectly. This sticks in my memory most. Plus it is one of the first reviews I ever received.

4**** ‘One Breath’

Beauty in its brevity….

A tale that pulls on the heart strings, stimulates the senses and paints a vivid picture for the reader. Skilfully written to leave a lasting impression.

9. When you’re not writing, working, looking after the kids what else do you enjoy doing?

I am a Read-a-holic any spare moment I get I read, walking from the carpark to my place of work anywhere. Oh I do enjoy walking in the woods listening to the wind in the trees and I have been known to hug a tree on the odd occasion (have you seen the beautiful texture on the trunk of a redwood?)

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10. Can you tell me what you’re working on now?

I have a couple of projects on the go one I mentioned earlier an anthology of ‘Shoe Shorts’. I once photographed my shoes when I was trying to have a clear out, I have images of 50 pairs of shoes and just thought hey why not write a story based around each pair of shoes?

Also I have a story that I finished ages ago ‘The Seal Mother’ I want to add images but keep changing my mind or something comes up it is about a Selkie seal maiden a folktale. I started to extend the story by writing a tale of a Selkie man. I thought why not two short stories together to make one decent sized book. However, my Selkie man is not lending itself to being short, so currently it is on hold. Watch this space.

The most complete novel is another in ‘The Magic of Grandfather Time’ series called ‘Last Orders Jack’ but it needs a lot of work still before it could go to the editors.

Rose’s books:

‘The Magic of Grandfather Time’

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Buy me: http://amzn.to/2biVzim

‘A grandfather clock has a face and a voice. As its name suggests, it is more than a piece of furniture; it is a member of the family’

Richard C.R. Barder 1983

DECEMBER 1880. There will be no jolly Christmas cheer this year. The harsh winter had descended; snow blankets the ground and the lake is frozen solid. Within the walls of Clement Cottage, the fire is dwindling, its embers barely bright enough to cast the shadow of the broken man upon the wall. Cole is lost in his deep sadness; he has just one heartfelt wish. To be re-united with his beloved, the soulmate so cruelly stolen from him – Cornelia.

A sad mournful ticking comes from a blackened corner of the parlour where a longcase clock is hidden. Tall and stately, noble of face, loud of voice and keeper of great secrets, he is Grandfather Time. Bestowed with the gift of magic from Old Father Time himself, as he begins to chime out the magical hour of midnight, can he grant Cole his wish?

~*~

‘Rainbows & Roses – Poetry & Prose’

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Buy me: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rainbows-Roses-Poetry-Colour-Illustrations-ebook/dp/B01IQAAL5O/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1482657213&sr=1-3&keywords=rainbows+and+roses

‘Today I am the soft summer rain,

You are my sweet golden sunshine.

Together we’ll build us a rainbow

To last, a life time.’

‘Rainbows and Roses’ is a delightful selection of whimsical short stories, along with a collection of poetry inspired by memories from childhood, the environment, together with a little bit of fun.

Featuring:

‘One Breath’: a heartfelt story of love and loss.

‘The Symbolism of the Rose’: with some basic history, myths & legends surrounding the ‘Queen of Flowers’.

‘Grandfather Time’: An ancient longcase clock with a spark of magic.

 

~*~

 

‘Lost Love in Spring’

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Buy me: http://amzn.to/2ilzq56

 

‘…And many a weary heart shall sing The Snowdrop bringeth Hope and Spring.’

(From the book Poetry of the Flowers by Mrs CM Kirtland 1800)

Hope is all Emmeline has. After a raging storm Alfie is felled by some unseen force Emmeline drags her unconscious husband back to their cottage. Throughout the winter she ministers to his needs, following her Grandmother Aspasia’s recipes collected over the years in her delicately penned book of ‘Home Remedies’. Alfie appears to be on the mend when the gentle, shivering snowdrops begin to raise their dainty heads above the snow, bringing hope. But sadly Alfie takes a turn for the worse and Emmeline loses her soulmate.  

With the arrival of ‘The Anniversary’ comes a surprise visitor. Will this visitor rekindle the light in Emmeline’s delicate brown eyes? Can the hole in her heart ever be healed?

This heartfelt short story now includes a sample of some of ‘Aspasia Cherry’s A~Z of Herbal Remedies’ along with poetry, a few myths and a little magic about the local flora that would have been found in and around Emmeline’s cottage.

~*~

 

Thank you very much Rose for taking part in my spotlight of the month. I can highly recommend all her books, if you want to check out my reviews you can see them on the Gibbsdream Reviews page. Don’t forget if you are signed up for my newsletters you will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky winner will receive an e-copy of one of Rose’s books. If you aren’t one of the lucky ones I would highly recommend picking up a copy for yourself.

Maria x

 

 

Books, Life, Self-publishing, Uncategorized
gibbsdream

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Each week I will be doing a round up of the week which will be a piece of global news, London news, my own week and what I have been up to as an author. It may be news/information you already know or it may be something you haven’t heard – either way I hope you like these little posts. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and any news you would like to share in return.

World: Online retail giant Amazon is buying Whole Foods in a £10.7bn deal ($13.7bn). Whole Foods has more than 460 stores in the US, Canada and the UK employing 87,000 people.

It would seem that Amazon are taking over the retail industry in the way that supermarkets took over from the local shop.

London: This week has seen the tragic events unfold at the Grenfell Tower in West London. This twenty-four storey tower block burnt down leaving an empty shell, the latest numbers suggest 58 people dead or missing, leaving a community homeless and devastated.

Londoners and people from surroundings communities have come together in an amazing show of unity to provide practical supplies, giving of their time and money. People from across the globe have started raising funds to help those affected. People from all walks of life have come together in support to show what a great community we have when we work together. My heart goes out to everyone affected.

My World: A fairly normal week for me, work, writing and visits to the gym to try to shift the excess weight that has crept up on me and is clinging like an octopus and refusing to leave. Friday night I combined a social visit with my friend Shirley, we’ve been friends since about the age of ten years old, with a visit to her gym, a swim and jacuzzi. Felt very pampered and chilled afterwards, the perfect way to start the weekend. A relaxing day of sunbathing on Saturday combined with some writing, oh and I was also able to pick the first batch of my homegrown spinach. Today, Sunday, is Father’s Day and very shortly I will be meeting my parents and my sister at a local restaurant. So a nice family day to round off my week.

My Word: I haven’t written very much this week as I’ve been focusing my attention on editing. The first novel I wrote is finally approaching the stage where it will be given to my editor.

I started writing it approximately fifteen years ago and it has gone through numerous edits and lost about 80,000 words in an attempt to make it a tighter, readable book. I put it aside for a number of years as I worked on other books, including the three novelettes and one novel that I’ve published already. I also have a backlog of forty something WIPs (Work in Progresses) in various stages of completion. But I digress, and now you can see why I had to purge 80,000 odd words, LOL.
Anyway I have about 2700 more that I need to remove to get it to 80,000 words and then I will hand it over with trepidation to a new editor and hold my breath (not literally of course) until I receive the red-marked pages back.

I have also taken the plunge and set up an email sign up on my website so that I can email out a monthly newsletter. If you would like to hear from me occasionally then please add your details to the pop up and then check your junk mail as they often get sent there.

What can you expect from me by signing up? 

I’ll keep you informed of any new releases from me, some you might like/love and others you won’t as I can’t stick to writing in one genre, I write anything that is in my head and needs to be released. A sometimes scary prospect. 🙂

Giveaway: Once a month I am planning on doing an author slot from the Indie authors I love which will include one free kindle copy of one of their books going to one of my readers who will be picked at random. More details to follow.

Little snippets of information that I think you might find interesting – forgive me if I get that wrong sometimes – please let me know what you like and what you don’t like and what you’d like to see more of.

As this is new to me it will grow organically and hopefully you will look forward to finding my newsletters once a month in your inbox.

Maria x
Books, Life, Self-publishing, Uncategorized

Jealousy & Envy

gibbsdream

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I had decided on this blog thinking I was writing about jealousy only with envy being a synonym but after doing some research I discovered something I hadn’t known which is that jealousy and envy are considered to  be different.

Dictionary definitions:

Jealousy: feeling or showing an envious resentment of someone or their achievements, possessions, or perceived advantages.

Envy: a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck.

The dictionary would suggest that both these emotions are the same but some psychologists differentiate between the two emotions:

Jealousy is relationship based and involves a third person. It’s an emotion that makes a person fear for their relationship with another – partner, parent, friend etc… The person sees a threat to their relationship which could be real or perceived.

Example: Your husband has a female friend and you see that friendship in a different light. It could be a simply platonic relationship but it could also be an affair which threatens the fabric of your marriage. Jealously has its roots firmly in both the logical and illogical camps.

Jealousy can be healthy, in that it produces that fear which makes you work at protecting your relationship but equally it can be a destructive force eating away at you from the inside and ruining your relationship.
Finding the right balance is the key.

Envy however is an emotion that is caused between two people only.

Example: You are envious of what your friend has, possessions or life.

Again this emotion can be put to good or bad use. If you use this to better yourself and achieve the goals you have then this has been for the force of good, however if you allow this envy to fester you can become dissatisfied with your lot in life and your friendship will suffer as you become resentful.
Finding the right balance is again key.

I try to avoid the extremes of both of these emotions as they can be so destructive, you should allow them to drive you not to overwhelm you.

I chose this as a subject matter as some of the characters in my books show these emotions which makes for great reading.  I have three examples from two of my books – please read on:

A Lifetime or a Season

Amazon link: http://mybook.to/A-lifetime

Diana

Diana is envious of her young daughter Athena, who is pretty and has her whole life ahead of her. Diana is a beautiful, superficial, selfish woman who has men flocking around her and has no shortage of admirers but she knows that the passage of time is upon her so she callously puts down and undermines her daughter so that Athena sees herself as plain. Diana tries to stamp out Athena’s spark of independence wanting her daughter to fawn over her rather than live her own life.

Check out Athena’s short story to see whether Diana was successful or not.

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A Boy from the Streets has two examples of jealousy.

Amazon Link: myBook.to/BoyfromStreets

Teo

Teo is a lovely, loyal man who is eaten up with jealousy. He is devoted to his friend Leandro but Leandro has a closer bond with Daniel. Even years of separation doesn’t dim this friendship but as the year go by Teo’s jealousy develops to the point where he places himself and others in danger. Will his jealousy lead him to commit the ultimate betrayal?

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Pedro

Pedro is a young boy who is abandoned to the streets of Brasil at the age of one year. His life is harrowing and filled with the horrors that life on the streets brings including being used by the corrupt police force who should be there to protect him.

At the age of twelve he discovers that he has a twin, Jose was adopted into a life of luxury.

Pedro experiences both jealousy and envy during the coming months but despite his life and the trials and tribulations he stays grounded. His own caring nature allows him to rise above these emotions – but when he is pushed to the ultimate level will he be able to keep his head or will it overwhelm him?

 

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If you want to discover how any of my characters cope with these emotions and what the future holds for them you can find out by clicking the links and reading their stories.

I look forward to hearing back from you.