lindleyreviews: Lover by Moonlight by Emily Arden

I love the latest review of my first book - thanks EL!

lindleyreviews: Lover by Moonlight by Emily Arden:   Lover by Moonlight is an engaging erotic romance that takes the reader on a whirlwind of emotions, set against an idyllic backdrop ...

Writing frenzy

Yesterday was crazy! I wrote a brand new scene (4k pages) for a book which was just undergoing its final proofread, and then I had a new concept for a novella (spinning out of that scene), and before I knew what was happening, I had finished a first draft of said novella - 10k pages. It's true I didn't get to sleep till 6.30am - but still, that's a lot of writing for one 24 hour period. Looking forward to reviewing the novella when I'm feeling a bit fresher!

What next? Life after Deception... (Exploring the French Revolution)

While my first series is with the proof-readers, I have not been idle. I have enjoyed immersing myself in research about the French Revolution. A few days ago I finished the first draft of 'Isabel's Choice', the second book in my 'French Connection' series. The first and third in the series are also coming along pretty well (I am writing them somewhat in tandem as the plots overlap). Can't wait to spend some more time on them! (Back to my day job tomorrow)

My first series - Deception

It is wonderful to feel that something is finally ready! After years of writing and re-writing and all the other challenges that go towards creating works of fiction, I have finished my first series. It is called 'Deception', three contemporary romances about women who are deceived by men pretendng to be someone they are not. As the books are interlinked and follow the lives of three friends (Rosa, Tamsin and Sarah), I wanted to finish them all before I published the first one. And that book is now back from the final proof-reading. So stay tuned for 'Lover by Moonlight'. I hope the e-Book will be distributed soon!

Right brain vs Left brain

You would think that writers need to be super creative : more right brained than left. But I have been finding that you also need to be very organised to get it all done! Especially if you are working on more than one book at a time, and they are all at different stages of writing/publication.

Being good at multi-tasking is essential.You need to be writing, editing, working with proof-readers, designing a cover, working on distibution, publicity and promotion... There is a lot to work on, and you need to keep as many balls in the air as you can to keep the momentum going. In some ways, writing the book is the easy bit... certainly the most fun... :-)

"If at first you don't succeed..."

One of the most important traits you need to be a writer is to remain tenacious. Sometimes it is hard to keep the faith - to believe you can do it. I like this simple quote:
" 'Tis a lesson you should heed: Try, try, try again.
If at first you don't succeed, Try, try, try again." (William Edward Hickson)

From single volume to series

It seems an eternity since I finished the first draft of my first book, yet there is so much to do before publishing! Of course there needs to be proof reading/editing and beta reading, but one of the exciting (and time consuming) things was that the first story turned into a series of three. After all, there were three strong female charatcers, and I wanted to write each of their stories... I was not keen to publish one before I had at least drafted all three as the links between them might need to be developed. And so now I have three books, edited, proof-read, poured over. Just need to go the next step to PUBLISH!