The Sound of Silence

Hi everyone,

I’m currently in week four of lock down and the one thing I’ve noticed where I am is the silence. While it has in a strange way helped to make me more productive, it also seems to have the days blurring into one. When I get up to start writing it is not the sound of cars I hear, but nature. The sound of the morning chorus is calming and wonderful, a perfect pick me up.

In regard to my writing, I’ve released book three in the Hell Bound Chronicles series, entitled Reversal of Fortunes and it is now available across Amazon. I’m currently working on book three of the Resurrection City series which should, fingers crossed, be out end of June.

Well, that’s all for now.

Raven.

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Popping Up For Air

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the radio silence, the muse has been keeping me busy. October saw the release of the third book in my Vampires of Rose City series, Blood Tears, which can be found on various sites, just hit the title then make your choice. With that completed the muse and my insistent voices got me starting on my last release of the year which will be the second Demon Prince Novel. Add into the mix I’m working on something secret and as you can see I am a busy Raven.

With this being November, I have started making my plans for 2020. While this year has overall been good to me, I intend on making next year better. Planning, determination, and believing in myself will be the keys to achieving all my aims. I’ve already worked out what books will be released, so it’s already shaping up to be a busy year, but that’s fine with me.

Well, that’s all for now, so I’m heading back into my writing cave to see what new paths my characters are going to take me down.

Until next time,

Raven.

A Long Month

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the radio silence. August has been a long month, one that brought with it a few changes. One of which I will be talking about at a later date, but it’s a good one 🙂 The others that have taken place have made me look at the bigger picture and I believe that is a good thing. So, I’m refocusing on my writing and what I want to achieve. My new plan is taking shape, and this time I’m going to ensure I keep to it 🙂

To those of you who are fans of my Vampires of Rose City series, the third book will be released next month. I’ll be announcing the release date soon.

Never let anyone tell you to give up on your dreams. Pursue them, fight for them, achieve them.

Raven

Ch…Ch…Changes

Hi everyone,

Sorry for not putting up a post sooner. Life, and a particularly nasty virus combined to knock me on my proverbial rear. I’m currently playing catch up on a lot of things, but during my illness something strange happened.

As a writer my books usually take between two to three months to complete and that’s from the first idea to publishing. With my current wip that has changed. I anticipated on getting Ghosts of the Past out around the start of April, but it didn’t happen. At some point prior to that date my viewpoint regarding my writing changed.

I’m now spending more time over what I put down on paper. I’m stepping out of my own way to listen to what the characters want, not what I think they want. After all it is their story I’m telling and I want it to be the best it can be. More hours are being spent on editing, proofreading, checking research, and if needed, rewriting chunks of it.

Does all this mean I’ve grown as a writer? Yes. As creators of worlds I think we all reach a point in our journey where we are ready to take the next step. My step increased my confidence in my ability as a writer, it also made me less afraid to change a release date if I believe changes need to be made. New adventures await us all, so let’s keep moving forward to embrace them and share them with our readers

Raven

Research?

Hi everyone,

As can be seen from the one word title, today is about research. I admit this was something that at the start of my writing journey I didn’t think much about, but as time and my writing has progressed I’ve realized it is important. It can take many forms from using Google to delving into books or talking to people knowledgeable in a particular field. It sounds daunting and if you are not careful it can be. What I’ve found works for me is when I’m getting the bare bones of a story down, I try to make side notes on things I need to research so I’m not scrambling around later.

Of late that research has bounced from the layout of gothic mansions to the structure of a police force, but everything gathered creates in a way your own encyclopedia. It becomes a point of reference for you to access when working on other stories. I already have a folder full of written notes and printouts, all of which are there should I need them. Yes, research can be disposable, but it can also be as precious as gold because what we uncover can provide that added layer to a story which helps bring it to life.

Raven

A light bulb moment? Maybe.

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the radio silence, things have been crazy in the World of Raven. Edits for Ghosts of the Past are nearly completed and I’m already tinkering with something new. Today though has been a day of epiphany. Yes, I know that is a strange word to use, but I think it is appropriate. Today I found a level I didn’t know I was looking for. Yes, I can speak and write English, but as a writer there is so much more to learn. There is punctuation, nouns, ect, and I admit I am not the brightest bulb when it comes to dealing with them. I’ve finally realized that as a writer I am on a constant learning curve and for the first time I have accepted it is one I am willing to tackle.

I will study, I will learn, all this will be done while I continue to write, and I know that doing all this will help me become a better writer. Life is the classroom and we are the pupils, so make sure to pay attention.

Raven

Surroundings, Surroundings

Hi everyone,

Well, editing has me well and truly in its grasp which means coffee has become my closest friend again. While dealing with all the words I realized something – where I work and the atmosphere around me has an impact on what I do. Now I will be honest and say that when I started out I occasionally sniggered at those authors who said they had to have certain things in place, or had to write in a certain area. But guess what? I’ve become a convert.

Whilst I’m not locked into ensuring the smallest detail is met, there are certain things I ensure are set like having a vanilla scented candle alight when I’m writing, having a playlist I created for my wip playing, being in my office with the no phone to avoid distractions. I know that other writers love to be in coffee shops or libraries and that’s fine because we all work in different ways. What motivates one won’t necessarily motivate someone else. We all march to the beat of our own drum and that’s one of the things that helps make us, us.

With that said, editing calls so it’s time for me to light the candle, fire up my playlist, and get back to it. Keep writing, keep dreaming, and keep marching to the beat of your drum.

Until next time,

Raven.

Time to…oooh shiny!

Hi everyone, welcome to my latest blog post. Today I’m going to talk about something which does tend to drive me crazy at times — distraction. Now sometimes this is caused by a new voice chirpiing up or a new story idea making its presence felt while I’m writing. While I’m happy for both to visit, I do sometimes wish their timing was better. Other times my mind will just drift, locking onto whatever takes its fancy, dragging me away from what I should be doing.

Now I’m not saying that all distraction is bad. Sometimes its our minds way of telling us to take a short break, maybe step outside and get some fresh air, and that’s okay. We all need to take a break occasionally. For me though I tend to find many of my distractions are caused by my annoying demons of doubt trying to drag me away from what I love. Yes, there are times they’ve won, but of late I’ve learned to acknowledge them because it takes away some of their power.

I think many writers have these pests sitting on their shoulders, whispering in their ear that they are not good enough, that their writing sucks. Don’t you believe them for a second. At those times when they shout the loudest it usually means you are close to succeeding. As long as you carry a love and a passion for what you do, you will silence them. They are a distraction you can beat,

Raven.

Chatter, Chatter, Chatter.

Hi everyone,

I’m currently knee deep in edits and found myself feeling as if I was trying to anticipate what my characters would say. Never a good move as it can derail the story, leaving you confused. So, I decided to step back this afternoon, give my brain a break before diving back in and one of my characters spoke up. The moment they did, everything fell into place and I realized where my story needed to go.

The lesson I learned from this is never assume you always know better than your characters. After all it is their story you are writing, so who would know it better?

Until next time,

Raven.

I’m Late, I’m Late…Or Am I?

Hi everyone,

The title of my post might seem a bit strange but there is method in my apparent madness. Something I’ve noticed when on my social media is that some writers are worried that because they can’t publish books at a great rate they aren’t good enough. Let me tell you that you are. We all work at our own speed. Where some are prolific, publishing eight or more books a year, some only publish one or two. There is no right or wrong way. You find your rhythm, find what works for you. Don’t stress, don’t worry that because you only publish two in a year you are a failure – you aren’t.

Continue to write, to share your stories with us all. Most of all do not lose your love of writing.

Until next time,

Raven