Since releasing my first book in June 2017, I reckon I have just passed having 600 books ‘out there’. That includes both e-book and paperback formats across all 3 books. The reason I put ‘sales’ in quotes is because the numbers include books I’ve gifted or given away. Now, I realise that 600 is not a huge amount, especially if you average it over the nearly 5 years since I first published. But the last 12 months have been pretty useless, so they don’t count 🙂
It certainly has been more slow and steady than I would’ve liked, but hey, it’s all been a massive learning curve. And while I’m still learning it and enjoying the journey … well, I’ll keep going! Thanks for being part of my journey by reading this.
Book 1 Medar – published August 2017. Click here to purchase.
Book 2 Tyrelia – published March 2019. Click here to purchase.
Book 3 Golden City – published November 2020. Click here to purchase.
Golden City – Caleb Award 2021 finalist in YA Fiction category
Look what arrived in the post this week! The certificate came with a bunch of stickers to put on my books. Looks like I’ll have to get more books printed as I only have about 10 left in stock. Or I could stick 10 on each book 🙂
Book 1 Medar – published August 2017. Click here to purchase.
Book 2 Tyrelia – published March 2019. Click here to purchase.
Book 3 Golden City – published November 2020. Click here to purchase.
One of the best things about having a book published is receiving direct feedback from a reader that they love your book! This young man is the grandson of a local writing colleague. As you can see from his cup, he is award-winning himself. He is a very gifted writer at such a young age, and I am privileged for him to be inspired by my stories.
The above is a screenshot from the website.In the end the award ceremony was held online (yes, due to the pandemic), which was great because it meant that I could attend.
I really thought I had a chance in taking this one out. This was the fourth time one of my books had made it through to being a finalist. I’d already had 3 disappointments. Surely, this time I’d finally do it? After all, this was my last book. My last chance, as most awards are only open to books published in the previous 12 months.
I dialled in (well past my bedtime!) and waited with baited breath. But the winner was The Apprentice (and well deserved, too, by all accounts). Sigh.
Since then I’ve been very deflated. This award ceremony was back in October 2021. I haven’t posted anything since July! Sorry about that. I promise to pull myself up by my bootstraps and soldier on.
Book 1 Medar – published August 2017. Click here to purchase.
Book 2 Tyrelia – published March 2019. Click here to purchase.
Book 3 Golden City – published November 2020. Click here to purchase.
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of being part of a panel on World Building. I don’t claim to be an expert–after all, I’ve only created one world. But I have been building it for quite a long time … I started in 2003!
In preparation for the panel, I did a bit of research on world building, and was relieved to discover I’d done some things right. I guess being an avid science fiction and fantasy fan my whole life paid off!
Here’s some of the key things to think about if you’re wanting to build a world:
World building goes beyond setting – you need to think about the written and unwritten laws:
Technology
Governance
Distance unit
History
Geology
Currency
Use other author’s worlds to inspire yours – there are rules around this, but a general one is change 3 things. For example, in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games, she takes a wasp, then makes it genetically modified, adds a hallucinogenic venom and changes its name to ‘tracker-jacker’. But there are some things you can use, like the familiar tropes of elves, gnomes, dwarves and wizards. And others you can’t, like orcs, the Death Star and Oz.
The World is not the main focus!
Plus have a map!
I was pleased to discover I’d thought of most things. In particular, I did have a map. But I was forced to think about the geography a lot more when one of my sisters decided to digitise my world.
“How high is the Golden City?” “How deep is the Chasm?” “How far is the Wall from the Chasm?” These were great questions, and pushed me to consider these elements.
However, as I got further into my trilogy, I discovered that I hadn’t figured out everything about my world, which could have caused a major issue if it hadn’t been for the fortuitous fact that I’m writing fantasy, which means I have magic to sort out a few curly issues. Thank goodness!
So my final piece of advice is: Think about as many elements of your world as you can before you publish. It could save you a lot of time later on.
Book 1 Medar – published August 2017. Click here to purchase.
Book 2 Tyrelia – published March 2019. Click here to purchase.
Book 3 Golden City – published November 2020. Click here to purchase.
