Wednesday 12 February 2014

Optimism

On Monday night I went to bed full of confidence and good cheer. I just had two job interviews which I thought had gone well and the Netherlands were heading the medals table in the winter Olympics. Tuesday morning I got up and after many days of rain, it was a glorious sunny day. I jumped out of bed and told my self: 'this week is going to be great!'
What an idiot I can hear you say, never assume the best, you're setting yourself up for a fall.

First I received a call from one of the jobs; they had picked someone else for the 1st of March start, but they may have something for me in April. Disappointing but no disaster, still in the running for the other job.

Then I looked at how my book promotion was going. Again no disaster but things could have gone better, to cheer my self up I went to Youtube to look at the videos of my kitten Clicquot. As I observed the number of hits I realised that my cat would probably be famous before me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVU8ZeqqJVc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VSMFERu0Uk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-Ddtwioj_U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IfD6H_2-YY
No problem there I still think he is adorable and I wish him well in his acting career.

Then I braved outside and enjoyed a nice walk along the beach in the sun and on the way home I stopped at a cash dispenser to get some Euro's. Transaction went as normal until the notes were due to come out. The machine made an attempt to spew out the notes but didn't succeed, it frantically dinged urging me to take my cash. It was 30€, again no disaster but the surly attitude of the bank staff who just would not believe me, really put me in a bad mood. Now I have to wait for my online transaction statement and somehow prove the BNP bank stole my money!

I just got home when a friendly neighbour informed me that some of our cellars were flooded including mine. They had done work on the heating system and now there was a layer of water in the cellars. Not too much got soaked and I wouldn't say it was a disaster, I mean, how dare I speak of disasters when Somerset  in England has been under water for 8 weeks and most of Europe had to deal with some flooding crisis or another.

Here on the mountainous côte d'Azur we had problems with the unusual weather patterns too. Rain/snow fall is 40% above normal and is creating a lot avalanches, landslides, flash floods and even a train crash;

when the rain dislodged a massive boulder which hit the train and knocked it of the rails, unfortunatly 2 people where killed and many injured.

So all in all my life is still pretty good and I have a lot to be grateful for, but I will think twice about jumping out of bed saying: 'This week is going to be great.'
This week is going to be average and that will have to do, it could be so much worse.

Friday 7 February 2014

Free book giveaway


In order to get more reviews for my book I'm running another free book promotion from the 7th to the 11th of February. It's the last push to promote this book before I hopefully have something else to put out there. If you haven't read it, this is what it is about:



This funny story follows Scottish vampire Cameron Blair, as he comes to terms with his new ‘life’, from his first days as a hapless vampire in war-torn France to the glamorous modern day setting of the Côte d’Azur. Along the way, he develops a distinctive taste for the finer things in life: jewels, yachts, small dogs and champagne-infused human...


Time is running out as the job market is hotting up here. A lot of companies on the Côte d'Azur recruit now for the summer season, and I'm pleased to say that I have 2 interviews lined up. As much as I would like to become a full-time writer; it's not a realistic prospect just now. The seasonal contracts run from about March to October so the race is on to get as much done as possible before that. 

So time for this writer to take off those comfy lounge about the house garments, apply make-up and uncomfortable shoes. To put on that smile that says: 'No writing is just a hobby, I really, really want to work here and in 5years time I see myself in a senior role!'

Tuesday 4 February 2014

ISBN

I'm having a very frustrating day looking into promoting my self published book. I'm feeling very overwhelmed by all the advice and information that is out there. One handy site I got was for Bowker.
www.bowker.co.uk
according to their site, Bowker is the world's leading provider of bibliographic information management solutions designed to help publishers, booksellers, and libraries better serve their customers. The company is focused on developing various tools and products that make books easier for people to discover, evaluate, order, and experience. Their service is free and came recommended. I decided to give it a try and went on to register. Soon I came unstuck as I am the publisher and I don't have an ISBN number hence I don't exist as such even though I have published via KDP.  To my surprise I discovered that you can request an ISBN number for an e-book.

Via the same link I ended up on their page to buy an ISBN number at 125$. Even though this was via the UK site it gave me an US form and no way to fill in my french details. After some more research I discovered that you have to request an ISBN number in the country where you live.

My heart sank as I went on the AFNIL (the french agency for issuing ISBN) I encountered a website that could do like a few things here in France, with being dragged screaming and kicking into the 21st century. I tried phoning them as I wasn't quite sure if the 'Agence Francophone pour la Numérotation Internationale du Livre' was quite the right place for my English language book. After trying all 3 options on their automated service I got either referred to their website or could leave a fax number after the beeb. What I have learned here is not lose patience and just start filling out forms, if you do it wrong they bounce them back and you start again. (I know a laborious way of fact finding but it often is as quick as reading all the websites, making calls and getting it wrong anyway.) Forms dully filled out, scanned and dispatch by email and now we have to wait for 3 weeks with baited breath.

Yes I would have liked a nice website with an easy online registration form to get my ISBN straight away, but unlike US company Bowker  who charges 125$ the french registration is free. The French appreciate their art and literature and if you have the patience and determination there is a lot of help to support you in your endeavors. So today I have to say, vive la France; if all goes well you'll have saved me 125$

Sunday 2 February 2014

New reasons not to be writing

To be honest, I haven't done too badly with writing this week as I exceeded my target and now have 4 short stories for a planed co-written bundle. The follow up to Language in the blood is also progressing, but rather than adding words, I deleted large sections and rewrote them.

But the next weeks are going to bring many distractions in the form of Clicquot. Not the brand of champagne but the equally orange little tomcat we decided to adopt from the local animal shelter. He is about 4 months old and as all kittens; very lively. Most of yesterday was spend following the kitten about with a camera. We managed to capture a great video of him attacking the mirror; below the link to Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVU8ZeqqJVc#t=18

He is currently asleep on the chair next to me so I can get some time to catch up with emails and write this blog post. Next week I will have to seriously look at promoting the book, so be on the lookout for another free promotion period coming up. Meanwhile I hope you will enjoy Clicquot's antics.

Wednesday 29 January 2014

Book reviews: Dark and Fanaticism by Cody Alan Reel



I down-loaded both these books for free as they are self-published books. A lot of you don’t bother with self-published, but why not? It is not easy to find a publisher these days that will take the risk with an unknown author. More and more writers are now taking the self-published route so amongst the terrible you might find a few gems. With Cody Reel I found both. Let’s start with the gem.

Fanaticism by Cody Alan Reel
This is a short novella about Richard a fanatical sports fan, who spends most of his time following his favourite American football team; the Philadelphia Eagles. He is overweight and apart from a resemblance to the Eagles coach Andy Reid he hasn’t got a lot going for him. It gets him abuse when the team loses, but free beer and lots of it when they win. Then he meets Violet, an attractive woman and the two get along great apart from the fact that she isn’t interested in sports. He is in love and tries to see things her way. He tries new things and discovers gradually that there is more to live than just sports.

I found this a sweet story, Cody describes the sports fan and his budding romance with Violet with humour and warmth. My problem with the story starts when Richard decides to help out at the children’s hospital. He gets mistaken for coach Reid again. The line that had a doctor saying that a sick kid was dying to meet him, had me spitting up my coffee; was it meant to be funny?  Probably not, as the story turned rather serious after this. I did like the story a lot and the ending was heart-warming although a bit naive for my liking. I rate it worthwhile reading and give it a 3.5 out of 5.

Dark by Cody Alan Reel

In short it is about the fictional Village of Marion. The sun is slowly dying and when it does murder, rape and mayhem ensues, until a group of children decides to make a stand.  

When I started reading this book I could hardly believe it was by the same writer as Fanaticism, as that was written with some understanding of humanity. I struggled through this book and when there was an alternate ending I screamed. ( but hey, I read this so you don’t have too, just wanted to make sure there wasn’t a good bit at the end) I don’t know if Cody has a 10 year old child, but it feels like it was written by said child. I give you an example from the book:

The rapists were also happy at the cover that the darkness allowed at their arousal. They would pick up women as they screamed: the town in a dark chaos that was sometimes too busy to hear. Most men tried to be heroic and safe her, but a murderer would appear and kill him before he could. Then the murderer would kill the rapist and the woman.

What? Why? Anyway, don’t bother with this one. I rate it 1.5 out of 5.

Monday 27 January 2014

Get to work!

The holidays are done, the husband is back at work and nothing should stop me from writing? Nothing apart from those dirty windows and...... oh dear that balcony looks filthy. Decided to just spend today going around the house cleaning, tidying and fixing all those little things that needed fixing. The living room has been nearly a year without a proper lamp. That bare bulb on the ceiling was an embarrassment; well no longer! Surly tomorrow I will be able to switch on my computer with a clear conscience.

3PM and I finally get to switch on my computer to catch up on my emails and maybe I can get some writing done before I need to put dinner on. Now the windows are clean and the light is streaming in I can see that the paintwork looks like it has seen better days. It will have to wait. It is too easy to get distracted again as there is always something that needs fixing, so I'm setting myself a target for the week. Maybe if I'm done by Thursday I'm treat my self to a Friday of painting walls;)

Target for the week:
1.Write 5000 words for the book, seems a lot but I'm a quick writer.
2.Write a short story(cheating here as it is done, it just needs a bit of editing) I'm very exited about this project as I want to publish a book with a few friends, featuring our short stories. I only have 2 so far, so some more work needed.
3.Do a book review on the blog.

Not overly ambitious, but there are a few other projects I want to look at like doing another book promotion. Oh and yes looking for a job.....

Monday 20 January 2014

Marrakesh






Writers don’t go on holiday, they research a setting for a book, get inspiration or go on a fact finding mission, well that’s my excuse at least for the employment office. It’s true in a way, as I’m trying to see this place through the eyes of Cameron and what he would make of the place and I'm writing this blog.



Marrakesh is certainly a culture shock; you know you’re not in Europe anymore. Not just because the sight of Camels and the typical Moroccan architecture but because the chaos around you. Not only do you have to avoid Taxis, cars and scooters while crossing the road, now you have to avoid horse drawn carriages and donkey carts too.

Then there is the poverty, according to one statistic I saw, 40% of the population in Morocco lives below the poverty line. This contrasts sharply with the number of extremely luxurious Hotels you can find in this city. You have to keep this in mind when you walk about and you get accosted every 5 seconds. Taxis, trinket sellers, snake charmers; everybody wants a piece of you. Small wonder, it’s easy to forget how good we westerners have it.


Would I send Cameron here? I can’t imagine him liking the place, the amount of stray dogs is more than offset by the amount of stray cats; they would hound him out of town. It is warm and sunny for 10 months out of the year, but I think a vampire would struggle to find a dark and quiet spot here during the day. I do think he would like all the clubs and the amount of tourists to prey on…..I have a few more days here to let the millions of impressions sink in more and then we will see if a trip to Morocco is an option. One thing is for sure; Marrakesh is an inspiring place and it will take me a while to process all these impressions.