Turn Me Loose
http://www.amazon.com/Turn-Me-Loose-Paradise-Idaho-ebook/dp/B018IAZMWE/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Wednesday, 27 April 2016
Turn Me Loose
New release from Rosalind James in May 2016...
Turn Me Loose
http://www.amazon.com/Turn-Me-Loose-Paradise-Idaho-ebook/dp/B018IAZMWE/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Turn Me Loose
http://www.amazon.com/Turn-Me-Loose-Paradise-Idaho-ebook/dp/B018IAZMWE/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Tuesday, 5 April 2016
No Alarm
From NZ author Bernard Beckett
http://www.amazon.com/No-Alarms-Bernard-Beckett-ebook/dp/B01BI5FK2S/ref=sr_1_8?s=
A story that speaks to a whole generation of disillusioned teenagers - and reveals something to those who are not.Sixteen-year-old Sharon's had enough. School sucks and even in her repeat year, she just doesn't get it. Her mother Kaz behaves more like a teenager than a mum, and Sharon gets left too often with her young brother Zinny. She wants out.Along comes Justin who offers a way. His hand's on the door to a glittery new world where the risks are high. But it's a world that could pay for her wildest dreams. A dangerous world that could put an end to everything.
http://www.amazon.com/No-Alarms-Bernard-Beckett-ebook/dp/B01BI5FK2S/ref=sr_1_8?s=
A story that speaks to a whole generation of disillusioned teenagers - and reveals something to those who are not.Sixteen-year-old Sharon's had enough. School sucks and even in her repeat year, she just doesn't get it. Her mother Kaz behaves more like a teenager than a mum, and Sharon gets left too often with her young brother Zinny. She wants out.Along comes Justin who offers a way. His hand's on the door to a glittery new world where the risks are high. But it's a world that could pay for her wildest dreams. A dangerous world that could put an end to everything.
Sunday, 3 April 2016
What Makes a Really Great Novel?
I've thought about this a long time. Like, maybe forty years or more. I've read what others think, and mostly they offer good advice. But boiling it all down, the following is my summary, follow the advice carefully and I think you'll write a great book.
1. Have a strong voice
I've read where writers are advised to use an active voice, not a passive one. That's fine but I think you just need to be strong. Sure. To the point. Whether you use long sentences that drag on and on and on. Or short ones. Your voice must be strong.
2. Make it a good story
If you sit around the dinner table and people love the story you're telling, then most likely it would make a good book. Structure the story, plan it, plan the characters, the story arc, protagonist, antagonist, but first make that story a good one that will resonate with a wide cross section.
3. Tell the story well
Get the story out, tell it, make the characters come alive through dialogue. Work on the telling of the story. I liked John Braine's advice (Room at the Top ) to finish each chapter on a cliffhanger. I think what he's saying is to tell the story well. Syntax, get that right, avoid sounding like Yoder. Convey images, and sounds.
Then lastly - and this is where your book becomes great - to get to greatness you have to have at least two of the above in place before you achieve number four. Failure to do that means your story is only adequate or good, not great....drum roll please.....
4. Make the story sing
An obvious example is The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. The song you hear when reading truly great work is a rare thing indeed.
Now obviously, your book has to sell. If it doesn't, no matter how good the novel is, no-one will read it and no lives will have been touched by your work. So everything above is conditional upon survival, but it doesn't have to be a best seller. The book's status can grow over time. If you do all four things right, then most certainly it will.
1. Have a strong voice
I've read where writers are advised to use an active voice, not a passive one. That's fine but I think you just need to be strong. Sure. To the point. Whether you use long sentences that drag on and on and on. Or short ones. Your voice must be strong.
2. Make it a good story
If you sit around the dinner table and people love the story you're telling, then most likely it would make a good book. Structure the story, plan it, plan the characters, the story arc, protagonist, antagonist, but first make that story a good one that will resonate with a wide cross section.
3. Tell the story well
Get the story out, tell it, make the characters come alive through dialogue. Work on the telling of the story. I liked John Braine's advice (Room at the Top ) to finish each chapter on a cliffhanger. I think what he's saying is to tell the story well. Syntax, get that right, avoid sounding like Yoder. Convey images, and sounds.
Then lastly - and this is where your book becomes great - to get to greatness you have to have at least two of the above in place before you achieve number four. Failure to do that means your story is only adequate or good, not great....drum roll please.....
4. Make the story sing
An obvious example is The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. The song you hear when reading truly great work is a rare thing indeed.
Now obviously, your book has to sell. If it doesn't, no matter how good the novel is, no-one will read it and no lives will have been touched by your work. So everything above is conditional upon survival, but it doesn't have to be a best seller. The book's status can grow over time. If you do all four things right, then most certainly it will.
Wednesday, 30 March 2016
The Crushing Son
I am pleased to announce the release of my second novel, The Crushing Son. It is set on the Gold Coast, Australia in the quarrying industry, an industry I know a lot about. The story is about family rivalry, intense competition, feuds, and the heat that oppresses everyone.
The Crushing Son
The Crushing Son
Wednesday, 23 March 2016
All Washed Up And Nowhere to Run
Free on Amazon Kindle, March 23 and 24, 2016
http://www.amazon.com/All-Washed-Up-Nowhere-Run-ebook/dp/B01CPZNMLQ/
When a horrific event turns a holiday of a lifetime into a nightmare, Lara Adams finds herself stranded on a remote tropical island. She joins three previously-shipwrecked men already waiting for rescue.
http://www.amazon.com/All-Washed-Up-Nowhere-Run-ebook/dp/B01CPZNMLQ/
When a horrific event turns a holiday of a lifetime into a nightmare, Lara Adams finds herself stranded on a remote tropical island. She joins three previously-shipwrecked men already waiting for rescue.
Monday, 28 September 2015
Tuesday, 11 August 2015
Monday, 3 August 2015
Putting The Price Up
I'm in a funny place at the moment, contrary to most other authors, my book does not sell well on Kindle, but it does sell well on Amazon through CreateSpace.
This is the book here << Click on This is the book here
So I've put the Kindle version up in price from $2.99 to $4.99, making it a 50% discount on the paperback version. What may have happened is the lower price meant lower quality in most readers minds.
Another observation, it seems to come down to what kind of book you have to sell. Some do well on Kindle, while others lend themselves to the physical copy. There is no absolute in terms of what to do.
This is the book here << Click on This is the book here
So I've put the Kindle version up in price from $2.99 to $4.99, making it a 50% discount on the paperback version. What may have happened is the lower price meant lower quality in most readers minds.
Another observation, it seems to come down to what kind of book you have to sell. Some do well on Kindle, while others lend themselves to the physical copy. There is no absolute in terms of what to do.
Thursday, 30 July 2015
Friday, 17 July 2015
Saturday, 27 June 2015
CreateSpace Expanded Distribution
Something I didn't see the importance of but just ticked the box and forgot about it, turns out to be very significant. I'm talking about making my book available to resellers. I don't get as much out of each sale as I'm no longer the retailer, but the book is made available across a much wider platform. Basketball Obsession is now being added to resellers inventory all the time, with prices as high as US$31.69 (must be a mistake, I think it's meant to be $13.69). One reseller has a secondhand copy and a new, with the secondhand copy higher priced than the new one.
Wednesday, 17 June 2015
Kindle Library Rule Changes
Good news for writers of longer work with readers who see the book through to the end. Kindle have changed the rules relating to how writers get paid for loans from the Kindle library.
In the past writers got paid a share of the cash pot for every read past 10% of the book. The obvious response to that would be for writers to write short reads, or books that simply fell over past the 10% mark. It made no difference if the book was finished or not.
Now Kindle will pay based on the average number of pages read each month. Good writers, who have longer work that readers finish, will get more.
In the past writers got paid a share of the cash pot for every read past 10% of the book. The obvious response to that would be for writers to write short reads, or books that simply fell over past the 10% mark. It made no difference if the book was finished or not.
Now Kindle will pay based on the average number of pages read each month. Good writers, who have longer work that readers finish, will get more.
Sunday, 31 May 2015
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Friday, 8 May 2015
Treasure trove of NZ classics
From Creative NZ...
Auckland University Press has produced a treasure trove of more than 240 classic New Zealand books, some long out of print, as ebooks in multiple formats for readers in New Zealand and around the world.
With the support of Creative New Zealand, Copyright Licensing New Zealand and the Vice-Chancellor’s Strategic Development Fund at the University of Auckland, the Press has mined fifty years of great publishing to bring back its classic books in these new formats.
Good to see...
Friday, 1 May 2015
21 Dumb Mistakes To Avoid
That's right, we've all made mistakes, this blogger has some good tips:-
http://boostblogtraffic.com/ebook-mistakes/?hvi
I like this piece of advice
http://boostblogtraffic.com/ebook-mistakes/?hvi
I like this piece of advice
#9: Quitting Just Before it Gets Easy
After you’ve been working on your e-book for weeks, perhaps months, you may find that you’ve not made the progress you’d hoped for.
Whatever the exact cause (illness, workload, etc.), you’ve hit a wall. You aren’t even halfway through the draft, and there’s a long way to go.
Thursday, 23 April 2015
Wednesday, 22 April 2015
Monday, 20 April 2015
New Novel, Nelson Author
The Cry of the Kuaka
NZ Author Roly Andrews, no idea what this is like but the premise sounds interesting.