Interview with me at the Indie Book Lounge.

Seems that ordering in a tonne of books through the publisher isn't at all pricey, so the convention is a certain. Just need to book a table, which I will do next week. My first convention, scary thought. Just hope I sell lots of books! Planning to organise some book signings here in Swansea as a practise beforehand though.

Well it's coming along. Slowly. I'm getting to a point where I need to try and fit things into the right places, like a jigsaw. Things have to develop at a natural pace, not just within the book's time, but within the words that you're writing, that is, it has to be a few days for Candale, but also a few scenes for the reader, otherwise it all seems piled on top of each other and rushed. I remember when reading the Tamir Trilogy by Lynn Flewelling, in the last book the wife of the King went from hate to love very quickly (and the other way for another character) which seemed very unnatural to me. A lot of time might have passed, but without the scenes to show the development, it just seemed sudden. And that's what I'm dealing with now. Candale needs to make someone jealous enough to strike him, but I need to develop that jealousy properly.

Also working on my book launch BBQ. Hoping to get a cake with a picture of the cover on it. Tasty. :)

After 6 years (I first sought a publisher for the Shadow Seer back in 2005, it was accepted but the publisher went under) I now have a print copy of my book, in my house, on my table, next to me. It's a little surreal and a bit scary, to be honest! Now it's real, when it wasn't before. Before this it was just a picture on the Internet and the little blurb that I wrote. Now it's a book. Now I'm an author.
Exciting!
And now I need to get on with arranging book signings and doing conventions and things. No more excuses.

Nice review on Book Lovers: review. They liked it, which is always good, though they did say I repeat myself, which I do. I try hard to avoid falling into that trap of drumming things home, but it's hard. I do find it interesting how this review, and one other on my review page, all say that I have built a great world and shown it well and so on, yet another review I had said I had not. I suppose it all depends on what your levels are, I suppose.

Children of the Shadow is coming along. Slowly, granted, but Candale is finally learning some long awaited truths, which is good. The start of the book is going to be filled with shocks for the poor boy, I hope he can handle them.

After a very long wait, and a lot of price changing, the Shadow Seer is finally available on Amazon.co.uk

The Shadow Seer
Please check it out, buy it, review it :) Been waiting a long time for this and now it's here, I'm a bit stunned! But this does mean I will be able to attend Bristol Con this year, at the end of October. I guess I better practise my handwriting :)

Well, for some weird reason, the publisher cannot set one price for the UK book and one for the US so all you lucky Americans can get the Shadow Seer from Amazon for ten dollars, instead of it's original 14.99.
http://www.amazon.com/Ellenessias-Curse-Part-Shadow-Seer/dp/1921636122/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1305889567&sr=8-8
It's got five stars (out of one person voting) but still! :)
Not sure how long it will take for it to be out in the UK.

Writing of the third book is coming along. The chapters are a little short, but I should be able to stuff them out when I've had some proper thinking time. At the moment I'm getting on with what I know, trying to get to the scary bits, I think! Also a problem, wanting to write the exciting bits first!

This is the cover for the second part of the Shadow Seer, minus the wording, of course :) Looks fab, I think. We had a few issues with getting the angle of the face right in the foreground, but it's all done now. Suitably spooky. Personally I preferred the child's face when it was chubby, but she's meant to look half starved, and now I think she does.

And on Children of the Shadow:

7448 / 200000
(3.72%)

It's a start! I finally have it underway with a beginning that I don't hate. Now I just have to stop with the facebook games, and sitting out in the sun with the cats, and get on with it.