Tuesday 7 October 2014

Nobody Knows cover reveal, and other news

Today I'm helping out author friend Kyra Lennon with the cover reveal for her upcoming "rock band romance", Nobody Knows. Having been lucky enough to read an early copy I can safely say it's a riveting, racy read which you'll want to add to your TBR pile as soon as! Also, fantastic news to hear that it will be the first of a series...

::::BOOK INFO::::
Title: Nobody Knows
Author: Kyra Lennon
Genre: NA Romance
Type: First in series (Razes Hell Book 1)
Cover Design: Najila Qamber Designs
Photographer: Lindee Robinson Photography
Release Date: November 3rd 2014



::::SYNOPSIS::::
It's not easy being friends with rising rock stars - especially when you're the glue that holds them together.

Razes Hell has taken off in the charts, and Ellie can't believe her childhood friends, Drew and Jason Brooks, are on TV and drawing crowds after years spent playing in dodgy bars. From obscurity to overnight success, Ellie soon realises life in the public eye isn’t all it’s cracked up to be as dark secrets become headline news and old conflicts are re-ignited. When a fake feud meant to boost the band’s popularity threatens to rip the boys apart for real, Ellie finds herself torn – a position which only gets more uncomfortable when her loyalty to Jason collides with her blossoming relationship with Drew.

Nobody knows how deep their issues run; nobody but Ellie. With friendship, a music career and a new love on the line, can Ellie keep their tangled pasts from ruining their futures?

:::::Goodreads Link:::::

:::::Pre-Order Links:::::

::::ABOUT KYRA LENNON::::
Kyra is a self-confessed book-a-holic, and has been since she first learned to read. When she's not reading, you'll usually find her hanging out in coffee shops with her trusty laptop and/or her friends, or girling it up at the nearest shopping mall.

Kyra grew up on the South Coast of England and refuses to move away from the seaside which provides massive inspiration for her novels. Her debut novel, Game On (New Adult Contemporary Romance), was released in July 2012, and she scored her first Amazon Top 20 listing with her New Adult novella, If I Let You Go in November.

:::::Connect With Links:::::

:::::Hosted By:::::
Concierge Literary Promotions -

Kyra has been busy and is also getting ready for the release of her anthology for Cats Protection, which I was proud to participate in recently. I couldn't not show the cute cover in this post!


Coming November 10th!

Two Kristas (McLaughlin and Wayment) are bringing something wicked your way...



Hosts: Krista McLaughlin
           Krista Wayment

When: October 29th, 2014

Who: You, of course, and the villain of your choice.

What: The "Something Wicked" Blogfest is in honor of Halloween and the release of Krista W.'s new book in her Trusted series. Krista and I are name twins, who ironically published books at the same time, both with a character named Lainey. Sometimes I wonder if I share part of her brain... We both thought it would be fun to share about villains!

The rules are very simple - you have 400 words or less to write about a real villain, one you created in a novel, or write a flash fiction. Your villain doesn't have to be necessarily a murderer or stalker, but any anti-hero in your writing will work just fine!

Prizes: 4 winners!

Most Evil - Krista M.'s Winner
E-book copy of "Breathless" AND First 3 Chapter Critique
Guest Post on Krista McLaughlin's Blog

Most Creepy - Krista M.'s Runner-Up
E-book copy of "Breathless"
Guest Post on Krista McLaughlin's Blog 

Most Villainous - Krista W.'s Winner
E-book of "Trusted: Dragons' Trust Book One" AND e-book of "Burned: Dragons' Trust Book Two"
Guest Post on Krista Wayment's Blog

Most Suspicious - Krista W.'s Runner-Up
E-book of "Burned: Dragons' Trust Book Two"
Guest Post on Krista Wayment's Blog

Sign up here!

I also wanted to update you all on what I've been up to, as I haven't been too good at doing that recently. First of all... today's my birthday... but that's not such a big deal. Our youngest turns six on Friday, and will have a fabulous Frozen party with all her friends, then on Monday we depart on a cruise to the Canary Islands for two weeks. My mum will also come up on Thursday and stay for a couple of nights, which is nice, but as you can imagine things are hectic here as we get everything organised. During the cruise, we will be celebrating Andrew's 20th birthday on the 22nd, and Emma turns 14 on the last day in the hotel. Phew... and not to mention this little old blog will turn three this Saturday, but it'll be a quiet one. 

Essentially, I will be on a break until the end of the month, as when we get back I will have five days of frantic planning before... NaNo! Yes, I'm yet to crack that particular nut and I'm hoping third time's a charm. This year, I'm "rebelling" (I think?) as I aim to complete Draft 1 of Book 2 of my YA dystopian trilogy and make a start on Book 3. I'm not quite where I aimed to be with progress, so hopefully this will help... ask me again in six weeks' time to see if that's the case! And I'm always up for new NaNo buddies for some mutual encouragement.

What are your plans for October? Doing NaNo this year?

Wednesday 1 October 2014

IWSG - Anthology

It's time for another installment of the Insecure Writers' Support Group and a very special day for the group. It's the first anniversary of the IWSG website and also three years since the first IWSG post. To mark the occasion, the team have decided to put together a very special anthology featuring the collected wisdom of the IWSG members. Many of us are contributing a 300 word piece with advice on either writing, publishing and marketing. I'm sure this will become an invaluable resource for all writers at every stage of the game.


Here is my submission, which I give the IWSG team full permission to use in the book. I hope it's deemed worthy! It's in the writing area, as I don't have too much experience in the others yet.

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Trusting your Gut

When it comes to writing, the best piece of advice I've found is to do what works for you. There are no hard and fast rules; it’s such a personal thing that after practicing for a while, hopefully some sort of instinct takes over. That said, here are some pointers that have helped me along the way which I try to bear in mind.

Show, don’t tell. I know we hear this one over and over again. One of the most useful ways to apply it is to delete the infinitive (to walk, to talk etc). Don’t say “he lifted the phone to talk to his wife”. If he’s lifting the phone, it’s pretty clear he’s going to talk to someone. Show us something about their relationship: “He lifted the phone. Would she listen this time?” You don’t even have to explicitly state who he’s phoning, as that will be shown in the dialogue.

If you like structure and timeframes to your writing, try to set a minimum word count each day so you’re know you’re getting x amount done. If you exceed it, great. One way to keep yourself moving is to leave off each session partway through a scene. That way, you always have something you can pick up again the next day.


Finally, a word about that inner editor. Some people hate theirs as a nagging voice constantly telling them they’re not good enough. I think the trick is to know when to listen. Your inner editor can tell you when something feels off, or could be tightened up, or removed. By listening at the right times, and not becoming too cocky, you will constantly be moving forward and improving as a writer. Like I said above, it comes down to instinct - and trusting your gut.

Bio: Nick Wilford is a writer, parent, freelance editor, and publisher of the fundraising anthology Overcoming Adversity: An Anthology for Andrew; he can be found at his blog, Scattergun Scribblings.

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The sign-up list can be found here for the other entries. I'm looking forward to soaking up a massive wealth of advice, and I suggest you do the same. Happy IWSG day!