I've moved!
You can check out the new blog and website here.
See you there :)
Friday, September 6, 2013
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Ten Random Facts About Me
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| NY NY to NP NZ :) |
3. I’ve never been drunk.
4. I was signed by a New York literary agent – and she found my book in the slush pile. #itcanhappen :)
5. I completed my degree extramurally.
6. I spent a year as a video shop clerk with a six-a-day movie habit.
7. I was asked to be an expert for Girlfriend Magazine Australia after the editor read my book Total Blueprint for World Domination.8. Fruit (eating / smelling / looking at etc.) makes me sick.
9. I’ve had laser eye surgery to correct myopia (no more glasses!)
10. This month, my book The Jelly Bean Crisis will be in bookshops all over New Zealand. OMG.
Everything is possible!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Playlist
I have a book playlist!
For an author, a book playlist is a kind of soundtrack to their book - it could be songs that they listen to while writing, songs that inspire particular scenes, or songs with themes or lyrics that resonate with the book.
One of my current projects is a young adult urban fantasy fiction. I'm trying a new working style for this book (pantster* as opposed to plotster**) and I'm noticing lots of differences - characters doing whatever they want, twists jumping out of nowhere, book dreams, and yep, for the first time, a book playlist!
* Pantster: Finding out what happens as you go, writing "by the seat of your pants."
** Plotster: Planning / plotting the book out before writing.
So, here are five of the songs from the playlist for my current work-in-progress:
1. Yep, the MC's a bit of a badass:
2. And cute-guy-with-a-secret needs a theme song, right?
3. Here comes the fantasy element:
4. And talk about your romantic melancholy:
5. Save the world? Get revenge? Fall in love? Hey, I'm a pantster this time: I have no idea!
May is New Zealand Music Month, so I'm going to round off my five song book playlist with this from Kiwi band The Peasants:
It's very cool to be able to add a new dimension to the work with music, and I'll definitely aim to be back to update the playlist as the book takes shape :)
Keep kicking ass!
For an author, a book playlist is a kind of soundtrack to their book - it could be songs that they listen to while writing, songs that inspire particular scenes, or songs with themes or lyrics that resonate with the book.
One of my current projects is a young adult urban fantasy fiction. I'm trying a new working style for this book (pantster* as opposed to plotster**) and I'm noticing lots of differences - characters doing whatever they want, twists jumping out of nowhere, book dreams, and yep, for the first time, a book playlist!
* Pantster: Finding out what happens as you go, writing "by the seat of your pants."
** Plotster: Planning / plotting the book out before writing.
So, here are five of the songs from the playlist for my current work-in-progress:
1. Yep, the MC's a bit of a badass:
2. And cute-guy-with-a-secret needs a theme song, right?
3. Here comes the fantasy element:
4. And talk about your romantic melancholy:
5. Save the world? Get revenge? Fall in love? Hey, I'm a pantster this time: I have no idea!
May is New Zealand Music Month, so I'm going to round off my five song book playlist with this from Kiwi band The Peasants:
It's very cool to be able to add a new dimension to the work with music, and I'll definitely aim to be back to update the playlist as the book takes shape :)
Keep kicking ass!
Monday, February 4, 2013
Pick a Pencil (x2)
Okay, so I've disappeared into the Book Cave again :) I'm editing the sequel to Total Blueprint for World Domination (Unlock the (U)niverse - squeeeal!) and it is super exciting to know that it's so close to being with you! (The plan is to launch quietly around August 2013, so beta readers, start your engines!!!)
Meanwhile, I wanted to remind you (and myself!) of a previous blog post:
***
You know that book you want to write? It's inside you. I promise.
It already exists - you just have to start!
Those words will become sentences. Those sentences will become paragraphs. Then chapters.
One hundred words a day? It's a book in a year.
You are the best person to write that book. (You totally are.) Pick a pencil. Open a document. Start!
Why not? What if?
***
Gather supplies, open a file, type two-fingered - whatever it takes! This is your life, your legacy, your mark on the world! Pull your undies on over your pants, and head into your Book Cave! 2013 is totally the year to make it happen!
Everything is possible!
Meanwhile, I wanted to remind you (and myself!) of a previous blog post:
***
You know that book you want to write? It's inside you. I promise.
It already exists - you just have to start!
Those words will become sentences. Those sentences will become paragraphs. Then chapters.
One hundred words a day? It's a book in a year.
You are the best person to write that book. (You totally are.) Pick a pencil. Open a document. Start!
Why not? What if?
***
Gather supplies, open a file, type two-fingered - whatever it takes! This is your life, your legacy, your mark on the world! Pull your undies on over your pants, and head into your Book Cave! 2013 is totally the year to make it happen!
Everything is possible!
Monday, December 31, 2012
2012 Fireworks!
Thank you all for making 2012 such an amazing year :)
Thank you to the beta-readers (Sian Young, Alyssa Young, and Jane Linsdell) for their support and enthusiasm (plus plus plus!), agent Jessica Regel for her persistence – and the emails that always give me goose bumps, Vladimir Nikulin and Vera Simon for gorgeousness inside and out (you’ll see their work more and more!)...
...the magical Claudia McKinney from PhatPuppy for taking gorgeous to the next level, the tour hosts, sponsors, and management team for the launch of The Jelly Bean Crisis (particularly Charlotte Russell and Susie Barber for their incredible support)...
...thank you to the reviewing teams at LitPick and Readers Favorite, the dedicated (and super scary!) Goodreads community, the organizers and participants of the Book Blast, the librarians, the tweeters, the Likers, the Frienders and the bloggers, and all of the readers and reviewers, who not only read my books, but also took the time to share their thoughts with the world (and sometimes just with me :)). Thank you all so, so much!
So, what’s next? It’s definitely the perfect time of year to start thinking big and going for those red jelly beans! And while my plan is to disappear into new drafts and edits for a while, there has already been a suspiciously exciting email that might change that…! My advice? Make the big, delicious plans – and then be completely open for even bigger ones to jump out!
“The universe will give you so much more than anything you can dream of!”
- Total Blueprint for World Domination
Everything is possible!
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| Photo by Vlad & Vera |
...the magical Claudia McKinney from PhatPuppy for taking gorgeous to the next level, the tour hosts, sponsors, and management team for the launch of The Jelly Bean Crisis (particularly Charlotte Russell and Susie Barber for their incredible support)...
 |
| A tour prize winner |
...thank you to the reviewing teams at LitPick and Readers Favorite, the dedicated (and super scary!) Goodreads community, the organizers and participants of the Book Blast, the librarians, the tweeters, the Likers, the Frienders and the bloggers, and all of the readers and reviewers, who not only read my books, but also took the time to share their thoughts with the world (and sometimes just with me :)). Thank you all so, so much!
So, what’s next? It’s definitely the perfect time of year to start thinking big and going for those red jelly beans! And while my plan is to disappear into new drafts and edits for a while, there has already been a suspiciously exciting email that might change that…! My advice? Make the big, delicious plans – and then be completely open for even bigger ones to jump out!
“The universe will give you so much more than anything you can dream of!”
- Total Blueprint for World Domination
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| Art by Niobe Carter |
Bring it on, 2013!
Everything is possible!
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
12/12/12 Announcement: $100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!
Giveaway time! 12/12/12 - 12/21/12
Over the next week, book bloggers from all over the web will be hosting The Jelly Bean Crisis book blast with a $100 prize in time for Christmas!
It's super simple - use the Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway :)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
A huge thank you to Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not a Writer - she is a passionate reader, a dedicated blogger, and her sites are just gorgeous! Kathy has been amazing in supporting my books, and organizing this giveaway.
Good luck and I'll see you back here on the 18th for the winner!
Over the next week, book bloggers from all over the web will be hosting The Jelly Bean Crisis book blast with a $100 prize in time for Christmas!
It's super simple - use the Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway :)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
A huge thank you to Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not a Writer - she is a passionate reader, a dedicated blogger, and her sites are just gorgeous! Kathy has been amazing in supporting my books, and organizing this giveaway.
Good luck and I'll see you back here on the 18th for the winner!
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Free books!
There is a place where you can get free books right now. Paperback, hardcover, actual hold-in-your-hands books! (Along with ebooks, audio books, DVDs, CDs, great advice, and snuggly corners!)
Free books! As many as you can hold, as any as you can read. Libraries change lives. I know it.
As a kid I was sure that if I could just live at the library, my life would be perfect. I could work my way through the shelves, learn everything about everything, read every single book, and live a thousand lives.
Even though I don't live at the library (yet!), I still love staggering home with a stack of books, or curling up in a secret corner that I'm sure no one knows about but me.
A library is a place you can find the world - but better than that, it's a place you can find yourself.
So of all the awesomeness that comes with my books existing in the real world, for me, knowing that they are in libraries is THE BEST.
The Jelly Bean Crisis will be heading for libraries before Christmas, and I just visited Total Blueprint for World Domination at the Garden Place Library in Hamilton. SO COOL!
Free books! As many as you can hold, as many as you can read - new books, classics, banned books, secret finds, - and now mine!
*squeal*
Everything is possible!
 |
| A giant brain on the doors? LOVE! |
As a kid I was sure that if I could just live at the library, my life would be perfect. I could work my way through the shelves, learn everything about everything, read every single book, and live a thousand lives.
Even though I don't live at the library (yet!), I still love staggering home with a stack of books, or curling up in a secret corner that I'm sure no one knows about but me.
A library is a place you can find the world - but better than that, it's a place you can find yourself.
So of all the awesomeness that comes with my books existing in the real world, for me, knowing that they are in libraries is THE BEST.
 |
| Why, fancy seeing you here! |
That my spine might jump out at a reader? That my book could be in someone's pile of library jewels? That my words could make a difference to someone I'll never meet? Pfooooar! I can’t tell you how much pride and awe I feel that my books live in libraries.
The Jelly Bean Crisis will be heading for libraries before Christmas, and I just visited Total Blueprint for World Domination at the Garden Place Library in Hamilton. SO COOL!
Free books! As many as you can hold, as many as you can read - new books, classics, banned books, secret finds, - and now mine!
*squeal*
Everything is possible!
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