20/01/2013

First Birthday

There was a really interesting article in Publishers Weekly recently (Jan 15th) about so-called Young Adult books. 

Did you know that 

"84% of YA books were purchased by consumers 18 or older – and a full 35% of YA books were bought by consumers aged 18-29, by far the largest demographic. The second-largest demographic was age 30-44; within that segment, dispelling the notion that the YA books are gifts or purchases for teens, fully 80% of respondents reported “they bought the book for themselves.”

SO, today is the first birthday of my first novel, Aphrodite's Dawn. You have no excuse not to try it just because you can vote. In fact, according to the research above, you are almost required to get a copy just to help maintain the stats. Amazon can help you in your quest, either in the UK, or the US.

Buy now, or you'll never be a trendsetter :)

18/01/2013

The Room of Infinite Distractions

At the top of the stairs, first door on the right, is a dark and forbidding man-cave.

My Office

I used to have the light and airy second bedroom, but now I have the box room.

Its where I go to concentrate on my writing, to work from home on occasion, to think deep and meaningful thoughts. My 'productive zone'

Except is isnt. Not even close. If I want to get any work done, I end up working at the dining room table, usually with nothing more than a notepad, a fountain pen, and my phone to play music.

'Why?' I hear you cry in astonishment, envious that I have a cave and incredulous that I dont work there. I shall tell you. Laptop (and thus internet), TV, DVD, Sky+ (tivo), Xbox.

My lovely quiet working environment has mutated into a second lounge where I get away from the bustle of others and endless TV soaps, and replace them with endless reruns of House MD, Eureka, and Warehouse 13.

The moral of this story? Be strong, and keep your work area clean, simple, and free of distractions

12/01/2013

Be vewy, vewy, qwiet.......

... I'm hunting Agents. Heheheheheh

OK, not everybody is going to get the Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd reference. Oooh, scary thought: what if nobody gets the gag? Horror!

Anyhow, I just declared open season on agents and I have every intention of bagging one this year. Been through my copy of 'Writers and Artists' and made myself a monster list, polished my cover letters and synopsis, and empties my mailbox ready for action.

Now, if someone would just like to volunteer and save me a couple of months of of hope and heartache...?