Writing
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Good Morning Sunday ~ Wait, What? Freebies and Other Things
Yes, I know… you’re getting this a day early, but there are things that are time-sensitive so I figured I’d live a little dangerously and send this out Sunday instead of Monday. LOL
First things first… FREE BOOKS. Yes, free books. There’s a whole stack, and you can download them, easy peasy. Awesome books from amazing authors of LGBTQIA+ romance!!
Act quickly though because this fab deal is only good for two days, January 19 and 20!
All you need to do is to click on this link to ProlificWorks (it used to be called Instafreebie) and check out the amazing authors and their books they’re giving away
Lucky – Garrett Leigh
Flashbulb – Clare London
Summer Heat ARC – Jay Northcote
Changing Lines – Rj Scott & V.L Locey
Cronin’s Key – N.r. Walker
Quentin Heart: Vampire Hunter – Amber Kell
Crooked Tree Ranch – Rj Scott
Play On: A Glasgow Lads Novella – Avery Cockburn
Farm Fresh – Naked Organics Book 1 – Posy Roberts
How to Howl at the Moon – Eli Easton
Knit Quick – Annabeth Albert
Colorado Hitch – Sara SJ York
The Altered – Annabelle Jacobs
Scorched Haven – Amy Lane
Goaltender’s Penalty – V.L. LoceyYes, I’m GIVING AWAY copies of Cronin’s Key – just in time for Kennard’s Story to be released later this week! GRAB IT NOW IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT ALREADY!!
Other news of timely importance
Private Charter will be leaving wide distribution and heading back into KU very soon. If you haven’t grabbed it, now is your chance!!
Also…
Nova Praetorian will be leaving Kindle Unlimited in the next few days and will be available at all major retailers asap!! If you’re a KU user, now is your last chance to grab it!!
Are you ready for some excited rainbow vomit?? LOL Because I also have FOUR books up for voting for BOOK OF 2018 at Love Bytes – yes, four!!
You can check that poll out HERE if you’re so inclined to vote. You can choose as many as you like, but you can only vote once <3
NEW COVER REVEAL FOR SIXTY FIVE HOURS!!
I am so excited to share this…
I’ve shared this in my Facebook groups already, but now for you guys…
As you may know, I’ve had to remove all my paperbacks from Createspace and move them to IngramSpark (because Amazon is a mofo) but the cover I had done for Sixty Five Hours (in 2015) wouldn’t comply because Ingram is a lot harder to please lol.
Sooooo, I had to have the cover redone. This book has had its fair share of covers since 2011 (not all of them great) and I wanted to give Cameron and Luc the cover they deserve. And who else better to make a forever-cover than that amazing Reese Dante
And it’s absolutely perfect!!
Things to know:
⭐️ There is NO new content (from the 2015 version)
⭐️ The ebook will stay FREE – new cover to be uploaded at all sites asap!
⭐️ Paperbacks will be available soon! And they are priced as low as I can possibly make them
⭐️ I have two signings coming up and if you’ve pre-ordered the Sixty Five Hours paperback, it will be the NEW cover – unless you tell me you want the old one.
⭐️ I’m so in love with this, you have no idea omg. I will post the wrap cover in the comments because it’s SO freaking awesome!
The new covers should start appearing in the next few days!
CRONIN’S KEY IV – KENNARD’S STORY
Kennard’s Story is out this week!! OMG I’m so excited!! It was so great to spend time with these guys again – I will post buy links asap!! Also, ARCs will be going out today or tomorrow… whenever I can get them done!
Other news…
My WIP is now complete. Upside Down is now 66K words and I’ll be sending it out to beta readers this week! Eeeeek!!
What’s next is undecided… whether it’s the angsty addiction characters, or the angel/devil comedy, I can’t decide. They’re still competing for centre stage in my head. It will more than likely be the angsty one…
My 2019 schedule (subject to change) now looks like this:
Jan 28th – Kennard’s Story
Late March – Upside Down
Late May – Angsty addiction story
Late June – Angel/devil story
Late August – beginning of a cop/cold case trilogy to be released up until Christmas or something like that, idk.
Okay, that’s it for this week. I’ll be back next week with the buy links for Kennard’s Story!! Eeeeeek! So excited!!!
Until then…. <3
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Good Morning Monday! And the struggle is real.
This is going to come off as sounding whiney… but writing is hard. LOL As Hemingway once said, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” And man, he wasn’t wrong.
But, here’s the thing. Writing is different for every single author. Every author has strengths and weaknesses in their craft, parts they love, parts they loathe. We each have our Achilles heel, and do you wanna know what mine is?
Me.
My own brain tries to sabotage me every damn time. I get to the 75% marker of a manuscript and my brain says “OMG THIS IS THE BIGGEST PILE OF STEAMING DOGSHIT ON THE PLANET – WHY DO YOU EVEN TRY?”
Aaaaaaand, predictably, we’ve hit that milestone in my current WIP.
Self doubt and imposter syndrome are not mutually exclusive. I’m forging ahead with no idea of what I’m doing or whether any of what I’ve written so far makes sense, and that little voice in my head keeps telling me I’m utter shit and to scrap it and write something else.
It’d be easier if I wrote a standard contemporary. Less research, less stressful, less everything. But would it be less of a story? Would I be doing these characters an injustice if I threw up my hands and quit on them? (the answer is yes LOL)
And so the struggle goes full circle. *sighs*
My kids are on school holidays for the next two weeks, so my focus will be even worse, and the time I have without constant interruption will be close to nil. I’d love to finish this first draft by the end of the next two weeks but that’s now looking very unlikely.
Anyway, that’s how my week has been. Fingers crossed this week is better…
Until then. <3
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Good Morning Monday! *sings* And a Happy New Year!
Welcome to 2018!
Before we look forward, let’s take a quick look back at the year that was 2017. It was a busy, busy year, that was for certain. To highlight the positives, there was:
- Eight new releases
- Four re-releases
- Ten translation releases
- Eight audio book releases
No wonder I was busy! LOL I also had a trip to the US for GRL which was an absolute highlight for me. I also dealt with/am still dealing with some health issues but Australia legalised marriage equality, so I’m considering 2017 a win! 🙂
Also, I have a range of books voted for Best of 2017 on several sites, Best Cover for 2017, (with Imago and On Davis Row) and I’m also up for Author of the Year as well. I’m so honoured and stoked, truly. I really am blessed to have the best job in the world, where I get to create worlds were love wins, and I get to meet and interact daily with the best people. <3
So what does 2018 have in store for N.R. Walker?
Well, I’m hoping for much of the same. I said to a friend on Facebook the other day, all I want for 2018 is peace, health and happiness. Because if I have those, then the words will surely come 🙂 It’s about finding balance and peace of mind, and cutting the negativity out of my life. All I want to do is write books! Lots of them!
And so far my schedule for 2018 looks like this:
- Re-release of Sense of Place (Jan 17th)
- Release of Finders Keepers (late Jan)
- Re-release of Taxes and TARDIS (Feb 21st)
- Release of RDH4 on audio (possibly Feb)
- Re-release of Three’s Company (March 21st)
- Release of current (unnamed) WIP (late March)
- Spencer Cohen Series (all four books) audio releases – Book One in March
- Turning Point Series (all three books) audio releases – Book One in January
- Translation of The Weight of It All in German.
- Translation of Sixty Five Hours in Thai.
- I have NINE pre-made covers I want to write books for (I’m obsessed with pre-made covers LOL) though they won’t all be released this year, but possibly four of them will be.
- And there is the very real possibility of a new series beginning in 2018.
I’m what’s known as a “pantser” meaning I don’t plan or outline my books. That also means I don’t plan or outline my writing schedule. Well, I do. I try to, but it changes. I have no control over which characters get their story written first/next/at all, or how long each book will be. So you can see this writing schedule is pretty vague. The titles I’ve named are the ones I *know* are happening (audios/translations/re-releases). But the new books? Well, we’ll just have to wait and see.
It’s probably better to ask me what I’d like to release, and what I’m aiming for is:
A new release every two months. So far, though it’s subject to (and probably will) change, those months will be Jan, March, May, July, Sept, Nov, and maybe a short Christmas story thrown in sometime around Dec.
But real life will be the determining factor, and my good intentions may all go to shit by mid-January. LOL
I’m not sure what signings or cons I’ll be doing this year. I do know I’ll be at the Sydney Author Event in April (not as a listed author as such – more details to come later). I want to try and do more Australian-based events, so I’m looking around to see what’s on and where.
It’s very unlikely I’ll be at GRL in 2018, but I won’t know until it gets closer.
But in exciting news, I’ll be the Author of the Month for all of January at My Fiction Nook!
Aaaaaand what would a New Year’s Celebration be without a cover reveal?
Made by James at Go On Write, here’s the totally cute cover for Finders Keepers, due out late January. Blurb to come soon!
Okay, so that’s it for today! Wishing you all a very happy and safe New Years! And all the very best for 2018! I’ll be continuing my Good Morning Monday posts, so until next week…
<3
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Good Morning Monday!
My second Good Morning Monday post in a row! Look at me go! LOL
So, this last week as been fairly productive. My word count on Spencer 3 is now at 38K, and I’m thinking there will be approx 10K to go. I have also done first round edits on Spencer 2, tweaked a few things in Spencer 1 before getting ARCs ready and formatting. I’ve also pre-read, proof-read and read for fun! 🙂
I also have some more info on my 2016 writing/release schedule. Please bear in mind this can, and probably will, change. Sometimes things outside our realm of control happen, and sometimes other characters decide their story will be told before someone else’s. But as of today, 2016 looks like this:
Spencer Cohen, Book One – Feb 18th
Spencer Cohen, Book Two – March 17th
Spencer Cohen, Book Three – April 21st
Romance/angst book with Maasai warrior/white Aussie guy – possibly June/July
Romance book with overweight guy/personal trainer guy – possibly Aug/Sept
Romance/angst book of two guys switched at birth – possibly Nov
And I might also do a short follow up to Ten in the Bin as well at some point.Please note I’ve not given any tentative titles to books after my Spencer Cohen Series. I will share the actual titles when I have them, and when/if the actual books are written. I once mentioned the title of a book I wanted to write, and the next day it was on Goodreads. And they wouldn’t remove it. I tried explaining the book hadn’t even been written, but alas, they still wouldn’t take it down. *sigh* Ah, good ol’ Goodreads. Never fails to dismay. LOL But all jokes aside, I now don’t give titles unless they’re the final thing. Not even working titles, not tentative titles.
Oh, and the above schedule doesn’t include translations – I will be having six translated titles this year, I believe. Red Dirt Heart 1 into French, Red Dirt Heart 1 &2 into Italian, and my Cronin’s Key series into French also.
In other news, I will have the rights to Starting Point return to me in April. This will be re-released with a new cover probably early May. The rest of the Turning Point Series will stay with Pride Publishing until mid to late next year 🙂
Speaking of Pride Publishing, my friend S.A. McAuley has the last book of her series out tomorrow!!! If you’ve not read the Border’s War Series, you must grab it now! It’s a M/M futuristic/apocalyptic thriller/romance. You can get the first book for FREE, and the second book for just .99c. I can’t rave about these books enough: the characters, the political complexities, the plot…. THE PLOT, PEOPLE! There is so much plot! LOL I just love Merq and Armise.
You can grab them from Pride Publishing HERE
Until next week… <3
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The Fact and the Fiction
** SPOILERS AHEAD**
If you don’t want spoilers for Cronin’s Key, please don’t read 🙂
Cronin’s Key has been out for a little while now and I wanted to shed some light on research; the fact and the fiction. As all writers know (or at least they should) research is a huge part of any story. And out of all my books (all 20 of them), I think I have done more research for Cronin’s Key than any other.
Cronin’s Key is a paranormal, supernatural, fantasy, sci-fi, action romance. So, by rights I could have ignored all fact and just gone with fiction. I could have taken creative license and created a world all it’s own and made it all up as I went along, and in many ways I guess I did.
But there is an awful lot fact in this fiction. And if you’re a history buff you might get the references as you read the book, but for those who aren’t, I wanted to outline some of it for you. 🙂
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My Village
I don’t often post about the technicalities behind writing. I am not a master of my craft, I don’t pretend to know one grammatical rule from another, nor do I have profound, life-changing advice to give aspiring authors. But the one truth I have taken from writing, is that there is very little “self” in self-publishing.
It takes a village.
I’m writing this on the tail end of a book release. Red Dirt Heart 4 came out last week, and has been a true success. In the first 48 hours of release, it was #1 on Amazon (gay romance) in SIX different countries. At once. That’s a HUGE feat, and I am in awe of the readers and reviewers who made that happen. <3
So how does someone get a book to #1??
I have no clue. If someone asks me how I got to have so many books ranked #1, I can only shrug. There isn’t one definitive answer. A good story? Characters people can relate to? A HELLUVA lot of luck? All three? I just don’t know.
But I can tell you what I do know. And that’s behind every book I’ve written is a village of people who have helped, toned, fixed, contributed, added, and enriched, to make each book what the reader reads. And I’d like you all to meet them.
Okay, so that’s a little Disney for me…
My village people look a little more like this… 😀
So, let me introduce you to them:
My Beta-readers / Pre-readers
I have some very trusted people I send my manuscripts to before anyone else. I finish the first draft and send it along for some fresh eyes to tell me, 1) if it sucks, 2) plot holes, 3) general suckness. LOL I need honest critique, and what they, as readers, see in my work. And they tell me.
My Editor
Yes, I might write the words but believe me, if you saw them before Erika got hold of them, you’d probably throw your Kindle. Yep, not even kidding. Every page is a rainbow of correction colours to fix grammatical rules I just can’t seem to learn.
And this is a gross understatement, but I truly can’t put a value on the work she does to make me look good.
My Cover Artist
We shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but damn, we all do. And I have been truly blessed to have Sara’s stamp on my books. I send some links to Sara of royalty-free pictures which I think suit the characters/setting, and she makes magic happen when she puts them all together. I can’t even draw stick figures, so how she does graphic design is beyond me. She is also a fabulous author! You can find more on Sara at her website HERE
My Support Crew (aka My Saving Grace)
Wow. The most invaluable part of my village, and the biggest. This is where I can rant and rave about my latest WIP, through the “OMG I can’t wait to start this awesome story” stage, right through to the “WTF am I doing?” stage and finally the “YAY! I did it!” stage. I can talk through plot problems, discuss relative issues and ideas, and gripe about the daily trials and tribulations of being a writer/wife/mother. We bitch, we whinge, and we laugh. We network, we help, and we encourage. And believe me, these people are the reason I haven’t had a major public meltdown yet.
If “my village” were an actual village, this is the house where there would be wine and chocolate on tap, comfy writing/reading couches, and a punching bag in the back room.
My Proof readers
Think of proof readers as the polishers. They tidy up any tiny little blemishes and make it all shiny and pretty, ready for consumption, and they are fab!
Marketing
I am no marketing/advertising guru, believe me. I hate it, to be honest. I hate talking about myself, so taking a public stage to self-promote is difficult for me. Add in the fact that I’m super busy and incredibly lazy, and that’s where Will comes in. Pride Promotions runs blog tours, cover reveals, book blasts etc and have been a Godsend for me. I tell him what I want, and he makes it happen. 🙂
<3
And all of this happens before the first ARC has been sent, before the first reader sees a cover on their ereader, before the first review goes live. Because that’s a whole other village of people who make my books what they are 🙂
So, as you can see, there are literally up to 15 people that make my books what you see. When you read one of my books, it might have just one name on the cover but believe me, there is a village behind it.
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