Plans and Musings

I thought a follow-up to my last update was required, so here it is.

I started ADHD coaching, and it's going great. My coach is so insightful, and I'm trying to make changes already. I know I've got a way to go, but I feel like I'm making positive steps.

I also heard back from the referral for an assessment, and I'm now in their system, so I imagine I'll be hearing back again in February-March. It's a long wait, but it is what it is.

I'm still waiting on a few other things to help support people with their mental health so they can get back to work, so we will see how that goes.

Overall though, I am feeling SO much better. I feel like a dark cloud has been lifted from over me, and now I see the future stretching out before me.

So, what does that mean both for my literary career and writing?

Well, I'm starting a proofreading course today, with the aim of launching a proofreading business in the new year.

I've done a little proofreading before and loved it. I feel like it will be a good use of my skills, and also fit in with my interests. 

I've decided to go the self-employed route (rather than applying to publishers etc.) because I want control. One thing I realized is that part of why ghostwriting wasn't working for me anymore was because I didn't have enough control. 

Hopefully with some changes to my routine and mentality, and skills learned in coaching, I can build a successful business while maintaining a better work-life balance, and not end up burned out.

Writing-wise, I'm working on a paranormal romance that I'm really enjoying. I have a vague plan for how the rest of the story goes, so I'm writing happily and seeing where the story takes me.

The story is actually set in the Ancile universe, and that's been making me think a lot about Liches, Legends, and Love. I very much want to finish the story, but I'm wondering if I should work on re-writing it so that it's a paranormal romance, rather than a contemporary fantasy with romantic elements so that it's more in line with my current WIP.

Another question I keep coming back to is what will I do with the story(ies) once they're finished. I'm *trying* to live in the moment, and just enjoy writing, but my mind inevitably goes to "what comes next?"

I LOVE serial web fiction, but it seems not everyone else does, as Liches only had one regular reader. Part of me wondered if it was genre-related, but I was posting to genre-specific sites, like Royal Road, so who knows.

I'm tempted to give serials one last try on Inkett and Ream, but I'd LOVE some feedback.

Who here reads online web fiction? If so, what draws you to a story?

Has anyone published a successful online web fiction? If so, what tips and tricks do you have for me?

That's all I have for today, and lunchtime is almost over, so it's time for me to get into work mode.

I'd love to hear if you've got any news you'd like to share with me.

Until next time.

Stay safe, and keep writing.

Liches, Legends and Love - New Chapter Coming Soon!

 

After a brief hiatus, my serial urban-fantasy web-fiction LICHES, LEGENDS AND LOVE will be back this Friday with a new chapter. Get all caught up here: http://claredugmore.weebly.com/webfiction

The Dark Heir, by Corrine M Knight

It's Day Twelve of the Write Here, Write Now LoveFest, and we've got Corinne M Knight and her Contemporary Fantasy THE DARK HEIR. 

The Dark Heir (Book 1 in Of Knights and Monsters series)

The Order of the Dragon looms ominously over Europe, controlling and manipulating every supernatural creature within its grasp.

When member Lucien de Winter is assigned a case that involves mysterious demonic activity at a privileged academy, he meets Avery, whose electric spirit captivates him.

Avery can’t help but be pulled into the maelstrom of danger and supernatural creatures surrounding Lucien. With no idea of what lies ahead, she knows she must do whatever it takes to help Lucien stay alive.

But when Lucien is forcefully turned into a vampire, the Order ruthlessly dispatches its knights to hunt him down.

Embarking on a perilous journey across Europe, Lucien must find Vlad Dracula—the one person who can save them both and tear apart the Order of the Dragon forever.

Purchase Link: books2read.com/TheDarkHeir 

Find the author on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/corinnemknightwrites

 

Liches, Legends and Love -- Chapter Sixteen

 

Chapter 16 of my serial urban fantasy web fiction LICHES, LEGENDS AND LOVE is now live!

http://claredugmore.weebly.com/webfiction/liches-legends-and-love-chapter-sixteen

Memorable Mondays: Free Books from both Kyra Lennon and Mary Pax!

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope your week gets off to a productive start! 

We're experiencing a heat-wave in the UK, and the warm temperatures are killing my creativity; I'm such a winter baby! Hopefully I can make some progress on my WiPs though.

Yesterday saw a little later than usual Favourites Friday post on my personal blog. If you've got time, and want to see what I've been up to with the family, please drop by.

Continuing with the posting schedule this week, and back to Memorable Mondays: book releases, cover reveals, blog tours & blog hops etc. from around the Blogosphere.


Two of my favourite authors, and friends, are giving away books this month.

A Beginner's Introduction to the Game On Series -
available for free on Smashwords. 

First of all we have Kyra Lennon, who's just released "A Beginner's Introduction to the Game On Series."

If you were around for the 2012 A-Z Blogging Challenge, you'll remember Kyra's wonderful posts, written as diary entries by characters from her Game On series.

Since then, we've had two books from the series, as well as a special Christmas snippet, and I know Kyra has plans for a third Game On book later this year. 

For those of you not familiar with the series, Game On and sequel/ spin-off Blindsided, are contemporary romances, centred around L.A's (fictional) soccer team the Westburg Warriors. 

The first title in the series, Game On, sees British expat, Westburg's physiotherapist Leah Walker battle with her feelings for womanising soccer star Radleigh McCoy. The second book, Blindsided sees McCoy's younger team mate Jesse Shaw vacationing in England, where he meets shy British girl Isabelle Mills, and events while on vacation put Jesse's career on the line. 

Having critiqued both books, I know how truly amazing they are. Kyra's stories are packed full of twists and turns; they're not your predictable love stories, but it's the super realistic, life-like characters that really make the stories shine.

So if you're looking to get into a fresh contemporary series, with wonderfully deep characters, why don't you pick up A Beginner's Introduction to the Game On Series, and get to know a little about Leah Walker, Radleigh McCoy and Jesse Shaw, as well as Game On secondary characters Bree Collinson, Fraya Phillips and Will Cater; who will all feature as main characters in future books. 

The second author giving away free books this month is the wonderful Mary Pax, who's boundless imagination knows no ends. 

The Renaissance of Hetty Locklear
now only 99 cents. 

Her brilliant New Adult Contemporary Fantasy with a Contemporary Sci-fi twist, The Renaissance of Hetty Locklear,  is on sale this month for 99 cents. And beginning July 15th two signed paperbacks will be given away through Goodreads, and 10 ebooks will be given away through Rafflecopter. 

"The journey into adulthood is stranger than she expects.

Graduation from community college isn’t the magic elixir Hetty Locklear counts on for becoming an adult. Her parents, who work the Renaissance fair circuit, insist she spend part of the summer with them. Hetty doubts pretending to live in the Middle Ages will help her find her way. 

 To make it worse, an entity haunts her at her dead-end job, warning her of a dangerous man she doesn’t know. The ghost leads her to a lover who has a lot of secrets. He pulls her farther into peril and into a strange, hidden world of genetic experimentation. 

New Adult Contemporary Fantasy with a contemporary sci-fi twist."

That's not all Mary is giving away. Over on her blog is the free episodic novel Under the Moon, which is currently on part five. 

"Dennis Merrill shouted at the driver to stop then rushed out into the wild night clutching his pack. The land resembled nothing he had ever seen. All the brush grew low, the trees sparse. Palisades crooked through the landscape in an awing tumult. The rock faces sang, beckoning."

Read the full chapter - and find previous instalments - here ...


Thanks for dropping in, I hope you find something you enjoy in the offerings from Kyra Lennon and Mary Pax. 

Check back next Monday, where I'll be taking part in the cover reveal for the second book in Carrie Butler's amazing New Adult Paranormal Romance series The Mark of Nexus, entitled Courage which you can mark as 'to be read' on Goodreads now!

And if you're so inclined, please drop by again on Wednesday, where I may or may not be discussing a new project. 

Camp NaNoNoWriMo: Day 16

Thanks for all the comments on yesterday's entry guys. It's nice to know you don't think I'm crazy, and the encouragement/ kind words really meant a lot to me! <3

Day: Sixteen

Where I should be: 26,656

Where I actually am: 35,587

Word count for today: 2664

Favourite line from today's writing: "You're a Roman myth? Callie, I don't understand, you're not making any sense."

Experiences of the Day: This is actually from yesterday, but I forgot about it. Do you ever have a scene in mind, and then write something completely different? I was all prepared for my MC and her LI to have their first sexual encounter, until they entered his bedroom. Then Callie noticed Leto's collage of Polaroids, and they ended up talking about the Jack Russell puppy he had when he was nine! It did lead to some interesting back story, and explained a key event in Leto's pre-novel life, but it certainly wasn't what I had planned when I started writing that scene. As to whether they eventually got it on? Well you're just going to have to wait and see! ^_~

Camp NaNoWriMo August '12 Begins Next Week

So, Camp NaNoWriMo August '12 begins next week and I CANNOT WAIT. Seriously, At this point I've been having to hold myself back.

In the last week - since getting hit with inspiration and finally deciding what I'm writing for NaNo - I've been plotting and planning, by writing notes, jotting down plot points and building character sheets. I feel like I'm all ready to go on August 1st.

This time around I'll be writing a New Adult Contemporary Romance, that has a strong under currant of fantasy, with the working title of Cupid. 

Here's the synopsis: 

I'm a Cupid, it's my job to make other people fall in love with each other. Sounds awesome, right? Well you're wrong. I'm not even a fully trained Cupid, I've still got to fill my quota. In just six months I have to make one-hundred couples fall in love. You know what happens if I don't fill my quota? A demon called Abraxas gets my soul, and I become part of his "collection" of cupids who've been turned to stone for eternity. I'm on forty-seven … should be simple, right? Now throw into the mix my job as a romance columnist for the local newspaper, Cordelia - 'the boss from hell', and the landlord breathing down my neck for rent. Oh, and did I mention there's a boy … there's always a boy! His name is Leto, and he's a guitarist in a local bad. Sad thing is, he doesn't even know I exist. At least I have my best friends Rathi and Phoebus the cheer me up. They're awesome. And that's my life. I'm Callie Gibson, and I'm a Cupid.

And yes, for the first time in a long time, I'm writing in first person perspective, which is always a challenge for me. I hope I'm up to it, and don't have to change my plans partway through.  

For the duration of NaNo, I will mostly be blogging daily updates (though the few fests I've signed up for are schedualed to post too), and though I'll try to still try to keep up with you all, visiting blogs is going to take a back seat in August, so I can focus on writitng. 

For my updates, I'm adopting the style Laura over at Stranger Than Writing used for her June NaNo updates, in the following format:

Where I should be:

Where I actually am:

Word count for today:

Favourite line from today's writing:

Experiences of the Day: 

Who else is taking part? I'd love to hear what you've got planned, and maybe we can be cabin buddies? You can find me here.

AND, if that's isn't enough NaNo-y goodness for you, under the cut is a character sheet that includes my main character, her love interest, her two best friends, and the two antagonists of the story. I've also made a mock-up cover, if you're interested.