Book Trailers!

Today's question from Dianna: BOOK TRAILERS! What do you think of them? Do you watch them? Like them? Think they're a waste of time?

I have only watched a couple of book trailers, and those ones were actually interesting. One of my fave's was a trailer for Kelley Armstrong's book, "Frostbitten." It is set out in a forest in Anchorage, so it was set to make you feel like you were running in the dark, snow covering everything, all alone . . . Basically you got the idea that it was going to be isolated, and a little stressful lol It was a fab book.

I can't say that I find book trailers to be a waste of time, because in my opinion the mixture of images, music, taglines and/or quotes help set the tone of the book, and a lot of readers like the tease of an upcoming release. I mean, who doesn't like reading excerpts from books by their fave authors? They get you all twitchy and curious, and you're just dying to get your hands on a copy. It's nice to see the inspirational imagery for the world building of characters, and a playlist is always good for the mood of the book, giving us an idea of the flow. Naturally, those are a package in trailers, and I feel that for many authors they do work quite well.

In saying that, I do think that trailers are more helpful to authors. They seemed to be the ideal tool to help describe what they themselves felt when they were writing, and therefore help pull the reader in a little bit more.

So, I guess yes, I do like book trailers. I have seen some fab ones that made me go "Ooo that sounds interesting." 

I haven't yet made one for any of my books, but who knows, maybe one day I will. ;-P

The hardest part of the writing process.

Elizabeth's question for me: In your opinion, what is the hardest part of the writing process?

My answer: Disassociation from what is happening around you.

It's far too easy to compare yourself to other authors and what they are doing, and how far they seem to have gotten in their career when you feel like you haven't moved an inch. As a self-published author, especially, you can't avoid noticing these things, because you have to be online and looking at newsfeeds and keeping up to date with what is happening where and with whom as part of your marketing research. The tricky part is not taking it seriously; disentangling yourself from it. It's easy to start to feel down about it all, particularly if you're a competitive and ambitious person; particularly if you have bills to pay, and you feel time slipping from your grasp...

Disassociate. Let it go, and be true to yourself.

Like any industry, publishing is a game. If you actually want to "win" you have to play the game and stick to the rules. Here's a tip: change the meaning of "win" to align with your heart's needs, and then make your own rules. Now you have a game worth winning.

The theme song of my life.

Elizabeth asked me, if my life had a theme song, what would it be and why?

Okay, I can't actually answer this in the way she might have hoped, and I totally can't narrow it down to one song only. So, what I've done is embedded four songs that touch me deeply and take me to a part of myself inside where there is just me and no one else. So, these aren't songs I share with anyone else - they are "alone" songs in which I occasionally find solace. Truth is, there are more than four songs that do this for me, but these are the four that I've happened to pick out today.

Why?

No, sorry, I can't tell you why ... because I can't really put it into words. The feelings they invoke run too deep. You're just going to have to wonder why, if you're that intrigued.

Dianna's life ... in four songs:

Who was your first ever book crush?

Dianna's question for me today: Who was your first ever book crush?

I'm kinda ashamed to say that I wasn't big on reading as a child. I enjoyed when my mother used to read me stories at bed time. She would do all the voices and sing my songs - yeah, she's sweet like that - but I personally never thought about picking up a book and reading it by means of passing time.

I wasn't even big on reading in my early teen years . . . I know, this sounds so terrible, especially since I'm an author. It was actually a work colleague from my first job at the age of sixteen who got me into reading paranormal and urban fantasy romances.

I had always enjoyed watching movies and shows that fall under the supernatural, or fairytales, and fantasy etc. and I loved Greek and Egyptian mythology. So, my interest for all of those subjects and genres was there, but I hadn't picked up a book to do with any of the above.

Any way, my work college - who is still a good friend - said to me "it's about finding the right books," and then he handed me, Mooncalled by Patricia Briggs, and I was hooked. He leant me every book that he had in the Mercy Thompson Series until there was no more because he was waiting for the next release. He got my hooked on the, Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews, and then after that, I just kinda went crazy and started looking at any books that were suggested because of these series. I'm happy to say I now have full bookshelves. :-)

Now, I liked Adam from the Mercy Thompson Series, and I liked Curran from the Kate Daniels Series. Both are sexy alpha men. Adam is more relaxed and patient, and Curran is cocky and quick tempered, but although I liked these characters in the first books of each series, it took reading the books that followed to really love them.

Around the same time as me reading these two series, another friend leant me a book titled, Bitten by Kelley Armstrong. At first I was hesitant, it was taking me a while to get into it, but then in walked Clayton Danvers, and I was a goner.

He is imperfect. Right from what he says to how he handles situations. He is overprotective of Elena, constantly getting in her space; pushing, flirting, but you just can't help but love him. I fell in book one, but as I learnt more and more about him - and Elena, because in all fairness I think she is awesome and it is their relationship that also appeals to me - the more I grew to love him as a character.

He's just so sexy, and smart, but then dangerous. Oh, and he is a professor . . . yum! He is dedicated to Elena, loves his adopted father, Jeremy, and . . . *gush* I can't even explain it. I just love reading his and Elena's stories. I like all the stories in the series, but the ones featuring them - the werewolf books - are definitely my fave. I think the fact he is a werewolf also comes in to play. I do have a soft spot for werewolves, which would explain why I like Adam, and like Curran, who is a shapeshifter.

I have to say I'm so behind with all of the above series. The last book I read in The Otherworld Series was Frostbitten, a Clay and Elena book, but the final two have been released since then. I have the next books in both the Mercy and Kate series sitting on my shelf waiting to be read, but the following books have been release already. *head desk* So, behind. It sucks. I will catch up, though. Eventually.

So, to answer Dianna's question, my first and official book crush - as in I was hooked from book 1 - is definitely Clayton Danvers from Kelley Armstrongs, The Otherworld Series.

What about you; who was your first ever book crush?

From one story to the next.

Question from Elizabeth

Is there anything in particular you do to help you separate from the story you have finished writing to the one you are planning?

© Antony Rufus | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Answer

What I should do: Go on a two week holiday where there's sun and sea, or anything I can get absorbed or lost in and forget about writing altogether.

What I actually do: After writing, there is editing, proofreading, formatting, publishing, and by the time the book is published, I have not been writing for a month, so I crave getting back into it, so I go straight into it from publishing, feeling a little frazzled.

What I should do, really needs to become what I actually do, lol.

Dianna xx

Lucky omen or mascot? Nope, I have angels. :-)

Dianna's question for me today: Do you have a lucky omen or mascot that helps you write?

The short answer would be no. I don't really feel I need a particular item with me, or that I need to see or do anything before I can write. But one thing that I did actually decide on at the beginning of this year was to put positive items around and on my desk.

As some of you may know - through one of my earlier posts - I suffer from depression. I use to think it was just that I was sad. I spent my entire teenage years thinking that, but it wasn't until my mum - who suffers from OCD - read something out to me about it. I googled the symptoms and when I read the list is actually dawned on me that the reason I sometimes feel tearful, low, helpless, hopeless, restless, and don't want to do anything at all, not even get out of bed, is because I do have depression and it is a lot more debilitating that what I thought it was.

And what it is is a major energy suck, which is one of the symptoms along with losing interest in your hobbies and things you usually enjoy, ie. writing, which is something I naturally love doing. I have actually found it rather difficult to concentrate these last two years and I know it is a little to do with stuff that is going on with my personal life/family and my work, but basically, my depression plays a big part.

I was brought up in a very open minded family, well, the half I spent the majority of my youth growing up with were very open minded. My beliefs are still rather open, I suppose. I believe in fate. I believe we all have a reason to be here. I believe in soul-growth, in reincarnation. I believe in energy, and spirits, and I believe in angels. Anyone who has followed me for quite sometime and has read some of my guest post may remember the ones that I wrote when my angel book "The Collector" was released. I talked a little about my beliefs then.

Why am I talking about depression and beliefs all of a sudden? Don't worry I'm not going off point, I just needed to state all of the above so that when I tell you that I decided to make one side of my desk in to an angel altar you might understand rather than think I'm crazy.

What's an angel alter? It's basically a space in your house - a desk, shelf, windowsill etc - that you choose to make into a tranquil space. A lot of people use them to help with meditation. They bring a sense of calm to the room, I find.

I realize to some people this may sound a little crazy, but just think of it as a positive corner. They're very easy to make. I have a couple of candles, some stones (rose quartz, moonstones etc) I have a couple of angel figurines, my favourite being my angel Michael, which I purchased at a Mind, Body and Spirit fair. You can add plants, flowers, water features, statues of fairies or in my case some mini Buddha. Anything you like that makes you feel at peace of uplifted. The goal is to create a space which brings high energy, and peace . . . Things that I have found I need now I'm older and I have finally accepted that when I feel like shit and I'm in a place that I can't get myself out of, it's okay. I'm having a bad day. So, I light a candle and I sit in my positive space and I tell myself I'm going to be fine tomorrow, and nine out of ten times I am.

As I mentioned at the beginning of my post, I put my alter on my desk, next to my computer, my place of work and pleasure, because writing is what I love. When I am not at work - the retail job - I'm sat here at this desk trying to make things happen, and because it has been hard making words flow for longer that I like to admit, I need that positive energy, I need to feel at peace and capable of doing anything.

So, it's not that I have a lucky omen or a mascot; I don't have anything I feel I need to have to write, but what I do have is a handful of angels sitting around my desk keeping this area clear and positive because my desk is where my energy is needed the most. :-)

Which historical place would I like to visit?

Which historical place would you most like to visit and why? (asks Elizabeth.)

Hmmm ... I feel really lucky because England is historic. In some ways, I feel as if I've visited so may historic places already, from churches built in the 12th century, to rolling mounds of barrows that surround ancient stone circles. So, I can't say I have an urge to venture to any specific historic places for the most part.

I have also been to Olympia in Greece  to see the very first athletic stadium ever built. That was pretty monumental - I could imagine demi-gods duelling with mortals, and it wasn't actually that much of a stretch to the imagination. Standing there, among the temples and olive groves, it was actually hard to picture the scene with only mortals, and hard to believe gods don't exist (the angry kind, too, lol).

I think, if I had the money right now, I would love to visit Egypt and see the pyramids. I have never been there, and Egypt will feature in Heart Of The Wolf, so I am feeling a sense of longing for it, and not just because it's historical, but because it's mystical. If you add historical with mystical, I am there!

I'm also positive that I've had (probably more than one) past life in ancient Egypt - I've had vague memories, although, bizarrely, they have been waking memories and not dreams... I'll put it in a book one day ;)

Dianna xx

From the heights of these pyramids, forty centuries look down on us.
Napoleon Bonaparte

A superheroes pet

Dianna's question for me today actually made me laugh: What's the best pet for a superhero, or paranormal romance hero to have?

Superheroes can of course have pets. As an average pet I would say a dog. One would imagine being a hero can be rather lonely and dogs are fab company.

As a pet for them in super mode, or for a paranormal romance hero, I guess it depends on what type of super hero or paranormal hero they are. I would say hawks and eagles, any form of big cat - jaguar, leopard etc - of a wolf would be my top choice. Birds are nice and stealthy and can deliver messages etc. Cats and wolves are protective, can stand their own ground and help in a fight.

I suppose it is all dependant on, like I said, the character of the superhero and what the purpose of a pet would be.

Now, the reason I actually found the question amusing is down to one of my back-burner projects. You may, or may not, recall me mentioning a WIP called Charged. Now, this book actually features a vigilant whose partner actually is a shifter of sorts. Naturally, he's not her pet, no where close, but he is important to her despite the fact that his morals are a little to grey for her liking.

Here's a rough excerpt - and introduction to Christopher - from the first draft:

It was amusing how despite three years away I could still navigate my way through the streets of Boston. How the stench and the noises were like breadcrumbs on trails I had walked so many times. It was also amusing how the mass amount of scum inhabiting this once successful city still hung about in their usual holes; how they kept to their routines as if they had nothing to worry about, ever.

It was funny how easily people forgot who the hell I was and why they hired me in the first fucking place.

The amusement was well worth it, especially when I swung in to the VIP lounge of The Cube and surprised Jimmy McKenzie and his entourage. The look on his face alone was enough to lift my mood for the next few hours.

Tension automatically took over his skinny form as his dark eyes widened at the sight of me. He dug the heels of his Italian loathers in to the crimson carpet as he clutched at the leather beneath him and scrambled to his feet. “You?”

I flashed him a smile as I slid my glasses in to my inner jacket pocket. “You look surprised to see me, Jimmy. Is there a reason for that?”

“Kill him.” The words were rushed as they stumbled past his thin lips.

The click of metal sounded to my right.

Grabbing the goon with the gun, I hauled him up and over, throwing him in to the pair on my left. The three females that had been draped over the curved leather sofa finally clocked on, and with decibels almost strong enough to break my eardrums, they trampled over one another to get out of the room.

I launched myself at a stunned Jimmy. The weight of my body knocked him back on to the sofa. I pressed my right knee in to his gut. I rammed my extended nails into his upper arms. A rough scream vibrated in the back of his throat as I pinned him down.

“Tell your men to leave the room.” I placed my face a mere inch from his and showed him the edge of my fangs. “Now.”

Charged as well as it's interlocking story Tainted are currently on my back-burner. This is the type of story - series and world - where it took me a while to figure out what I have so far and as I write I keep discovering more and more. I'm a panster. I tend to let everything come to me and then write out plans. It's not always the smart way to go about writing stories. Trust me.

This series is big, and a little complicated, and although I have 15k on Charged and 8k on Tainted, I can't and wont rush with these two books; even though I really want to write them. But as it currently stands I don't have the time to work on them at the moment due to a sudden change in schedule brought on by me getting my rights back to some or my other books. Something I intend to explain in some detail over at my blog this Friday.

So, what's the best pet for a superhero? In my opinion, and if I were a superhero I would totally get me a big cat, and if he just so happened to shift into someone as delicious as Christopher, well, bonus. :-P