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Monthly Archives: October 2013

A new book, and more editing

28 Monday Oct 2013

Posted by Paula Beavan in Uncategorized

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Charlotte Ledger, Kate Forsyth, Nano, NaNoWriMo, planning, publishing, writing

Reader, it’s only days until November and that means 30 days of intense writing and not much else.

NaNoWriMo

Except I’ve enrolled in a two day writing course with Kate Forsyth. Yay, I am so excited. To add to the already hectic schedule that’s scribbled on my calendar I am still trying to get the editing finished on Something In The Water.

As I draw closer to the time to send SITW out to some publishing houses, I get ever more nervous of doing it. I wonder if I will ever feel that it’s ready to go. Each time I read through it I find I am still changing things. Restructuring sentences and deleting extra full stops. Instead of feeling as if I’m getting closer, it’s making me more nervous about it ever being good enough to send to an editor. I could pay to have it edited but I really don’t have the money, so instead I’ll go over and over and over it.

books

The feed back from Charlotte Ledger has been helpful, and as I apply her recommendations it only serves to make me feel that I’m not up to par. On the other hand, I think I should just send it out and see what happens.

Finding where to send it is a whole other ball game. I’m simply not sure where it sits in the market. I didn’t write it with any particular imprint in mind. If I’m honest I didn’t even know what an imprint was when I wrote the first draft for last year’s NaNoWriMo.

As I approach the pointy end of writing, the bit where I have to do the hard slog and not just spew out convoluted prose, I can see that my dream to be a writer is a dream worth the blood, sweat and tears. And yes reader, there has been all three. While day dreaming about my story I’ve managed to cut myself instead of the carrot I was chopping. I’ve trudged up steep hills to visualise a scene for my story. I’m cried because I can’t get a scene right and feel like giving up. Or cried because my hobby is now a job and therefore it required that I actually work and not faff about.

So, is it worth it? I think so. Whether I ever get to sign a contract to have one of my stories published or not, I know that I will continue to write. Because I actually enjoy it. Well maybe not the editing, but the making stuff up, absolutely.

Do you write? Do you feel like it’s all too hard sometimes? Or is it just me and my wimpy tendencies? (note- you can lie here)

writers blockBy the time we chat again reader I’ll be firmly bogged down in NaNoWriMo and just back from a weekend of writing in Sydney, so keep an eye open for a crazy dribbling post from me. Have a good week, I’ll be getting my house in order before the madness begins.

A quick hello

07 Monday Oct 2013

Posted by Paula Beavan in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

beta readers, Charlotte Ledger, editing, Harper Impulse, Novel, rewriting, something in the water, working together, writing

underwaterReader, I’m fully immersed in yet another edit on Something in the Water. I have feedback from Charlotte Ledger of Harper Impulse and am getting stuck in.

As a new and so far unpublished writer, it’s a fairly steep learning curve to work with someone on my novel. I’ve had great feedback and help from my beta readers. Who I will name as they are wonderful friends and writers too. Sean Wright, has been a great help and is a fabulous writer and poet, check him out here. Two very good friends have been with me through all the ups and downs of each and every sweep over, thanks to  Deborah Turner and Phyllis Khan. I’ve other non writer friends who’ve read and encouraged and pointed out inconsistencies and head scratching moments.

It’s a long weekend Monday here in New South Wales, Australia and I’ve set myself up on the front veranda to work. I’m enjoying the sunshine, cool breeze and playlist I made before I started in on the first draft of Something in the Water.

It took me a little while to digest and be ready to implement the suggestions that Charlotte made. And while I didn’t necessarily disagree with her, I had a bit of trouble trying to get my head around working them into the story.

images

But, after a short time of mental processing, I’m getting stuck in and can see the benefits already.

So today reader, I’ve only a short and sweet “Hi” from me. I am determined to get this done and hopefully have it ready for submitting somewhere.

Mind you, it might take me a bit longer to work up a decent synopsis. But that is a whole other story reader.

Hope your Monday is going well. Are you up to anything interesting?

Special Edition ~ featuring guest blogger, Juliet Madison

01 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by Paula Beavan in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Australian Romance Author, Guest Blogger, Juliet Madison, new book release, Reading, Romance, special edition

HAPPY RELEASE DAY! Starstruck in Seattle (plus bumper giveaway)

Starstruck

Juliet Madison is celebrating the release of her third book with Escape Publishing, STARSTRUCK IN SEATTLE, a contemporary romance novella with a touch of magic (romagic).

Aspiring actress Anna Hilford might only have a small role in a leading television drama, but she longs to be dreamboat Karl Drake’s leading lady. Sick of being loveless and overlooked, Anna seeks the help of intuitive love coach, Lulu, from LuluTheLoveAngel.com to give her the courage and determination to follow her destiny. But fate has different ideas, Lulu has undisclosed power, and Anna is about to realise that life happens while you’re busy making plans…

Juliet tells us a little about how this book came to be…

“I got the idea for this story when Sleepless in Seattle was on TV. I thought, instead of a call-in-radio show where people ask for advice, what if there was a website that specialised in helping people anonymously with their love dilemmas? So I thought up the idea for a Love Coach, but as I like to do in many of my stories, I decided to give it a slight magical twist, and gave the character of Lulu some other-worldly powers that help her to give destiny a shove in the right direction. But, as Lulu discovers, doing destiny’s work can be a pain in the wings, and may be more challenging than she thought. ”

 

~ BUY NOW: >> STARSTRUCK IN SEATTLE is available worldwide and you can buy it from all ebook retailers, including:

Amazon / Amazon UK / iTunes iBookstore / B&N Nook / Kobo / Booktopia / JB Hi-Fi / Google Play / ebooks.com / All Romance ebooks

 

~ You can also add it to Goodreads here, and visit Juliet online at her website, blog, facebook, and twitter.

 

~ GIVEAWAY>> Juliet is giving away four prize packs of ebooks from Escape Publishing until 10th October (20 ebooks in total). See the prizes on offer and enter here

Here’s what you could win. Enter one or all of them!

#1 Fun, Fast, & Fabulous novella pack:

Christmas Wishes, New year’s Kisses, and Valentine’s Dates by Rhian Cahill; I Dream of Johnny by Juliet Madison; The Virginity Mission by Cate Ellink; and Bonjour Cherie by Robin Thomas.

Enter here

#2 Escape from Reality pack:

Fast Forward by Juliet Madison; Red Moon by M.A. Grant; Fish Out of Water by Ros Baxter; King Hall by Scarlett Dawn.

Enter here

#3 Out and About pack:

Matilda’s Freedom by Téa Cooper; Getting Wild by Sarah Barrie; Swift Runs The Heart by Mary Brock Jones; Riding on Air by Maggie Gilbert; Dark Oil by Nora James.

Enter here

Wow, so there you go! You have to be in it to win, so click on those links and you could be a winner. All the best dear reader, and Congratulations to Juliet, I’ll certainly be reading Starstruck in Seattle soon.

Thanks everyone for dropping by, Paula.

Paula Beavan Author

Paula Beavan Author

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