Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Moving Blog

After many tantrums over usability problems I have decided to move my blog to...
we are going on a witch hunt

Please follow me, laugh, chat and comment over there.
Thanks.

Monday, June 06, 2011

Sweet!



Thank you to Pippa Jay for this award.
This one comes with strings so to fulfil the requirements here are seven random facts about myself...
1. Writing is my secret identity, I am really a science technician in a school, maybe I should get a mask.
2. I have a smelly rescue Bull Terrier called Keira, she sleeps a lot and is very cuddly.
3. I can't drive - but I am hoping to rectify this soon.
4. I'm a bottle red - sssh don't tell anyone.
5. I could live on chocolate and red wine.
6. My husband took me on the back of his scooter for the first time ever last week, it was the scariest thing I have done since I was a kid.
7. I'm going to get my belly button pierced for my birthday and I'm doing lots of crunches to make my belly presentable - crunches suck.

Now I get to pass this on to fifteen other bloggers, these are some cool places I like to hang out and make a general nuisance of myself...
ruff as old boots
sunnysideup
ilona-andrews
chloe neill
magical words
grazing kate
place of tranquillity
kim harrison
even red heads get the blues
r k vincent
the bloggess
nicole peeler
jeaniene frost
nalini singh
keri arthur

And one for luck although I think she has probably had it ten times over...gayle ramage

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Planner or Pantser?

Writing suddenly feels like pulling my hair out.

I made it to 17,000 words (yay!!) and chapter 7 with no problem but my plans for what happens in the next couple of chapters have started to dry up.

And that's when I started asking, 'Am I a planner or a pantser?'

I always thought I was a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of girl and that planning stops the writing.  But now I'm thinking that will only get me thus far. 

So I have jotted down a couple more ideas to hopefully feed the next 17k and I'm back on with my flying pants.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Mile Stone...


I got to 10,000 words - only another 80,000 to go!





Thursday, May 05, 2011

I've been writing...

So after the drought comes the rain - not an actual downpour but there has been a definite increase in my writing.  I am upto chapter 3 and about 5000 words into Death's Daughter.  I wasn't expecting to be writing this story at all, I haven't done any outlining and am just editing and researching as I go - which I know is not recommended but it seems to be working so far.  I have even had a plot development arrive in a dream which is much easier than my normal route so I think this is what I should be writing and I'll get back to Star when I'm not trying to force it.
Oh and I think Cormac is starting to grow on me, although it does sound a bit too nice to be a reeeeaaally bad boy - but now Drake makes me think of ducks too :)

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Poll - Help!!

Hi as you can see I have posted a poll (and changed the background to make it easier to read the question) and would appreciate your thoughts on which is the best name for a good baddie, or a bad goodie.
I thought the meanings might help;
Conn is Gaelic and means Chief
Drake means Dragon and comes from the Greek for serpent
Cormac is another Gaelic one and has several theories such as Son of Raven or Impure Son
Thanks for voting :)

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

And Now For Something Completely Different...

I started writing something completely different yesterday.  I know.  I'm difficult.  In my defense giving me a project  aka the writing competition makes me put pressure on myself and then my subconscious kicks in with an excellent distraction; ta dah - a whole new story! 
This one has a title and a couple of thousand words already, it's amazing what you can do when you are trying to avoid something else *rolls eyes*
I'll post some as I go but so far it is called Death's Daughter is set in modern day London and is about a 29 year old kick-ass witch called Sam (she is Star's second cousin - family outcast) involves a murder mystery, angels, lost souls and lots of paranormal activity.  Well what did you expect??

Friday, April 01, 2011

That way lay dragons...

I was thinking about entering this writing competition
Never having written children's fiction before I will have to do some research first but I was thinking of writing Star's backstory which was the basis for my final assignment on my writing course.  It will be urban fantasy and will definitely have at least one of these...

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Kick up the pants!

I have been planning and often unplanning my story for such a long time and have recently fallen completely off the writing wagon.  There are so many things that get in the way and I'm not even talking about Real Life here.  Considerations such as research, plot planning, chatting to other aspiring writers online and swapping tid-bits on critique or self-publishing. 
So to summarise I haven't been doing ANY writing lately - but a certain someone has given me a much needed kick up the pants and I shall endeavour to put such distractions aside and just get on with the business of putting words down.  In his words (and I am quoting here), "...you only need a pen and a piece of paper!"

Sunday, March 06, 2011

Witches

How can you tell a witch from the rest of the population?  Easy.   She’s probably prettier than you.  It’s a bitching thing to say but it’s probably true for most.  I look at my twin witch and that’s what I think.  Yeah we were born identical on the outside but it didn’t last long.  Of course she has been using her glamour mirror.  We were both given one for our birthday a few years ago, I think mine is in three pieces under my bed next to my hockey stick and tennis racket.  Angel’s is wrapped in black velvet and kept in an old carved oak box.  She takes it out and talks nicely to it every day.  Her once coppery hair is now waist length blonde and gently curls.  Her freckles seem to have evaporated and her azure eyes sparkle.  And this is all before we have even morphed into our full on witchyness.

Friday, March 04, 2011

Star's City

This is where the story is set. Okay these pictures are a bit gritty, but it's kind of pretty-gritty. I'll post some showing the other side of the city she loves next.


Saturday, February 05, 2011

*Contents may be a little offensive*

So this is the same character, Star again, only later on in life. Again it's short as it was another activity for a writing course - anywho I'll stop rambling :)

They were playing the thumping music so loud I could feel it vibrating in my rib cage.  Hot bodies were pressed all around me, jumping to the beat and lights flashed in the darkness.  I looked around but could not see my quarry.  I pushed between the writhing masses and tried to head toward the bar, I might be able to get a better look around from there.  I barrelled out from the dance floor and straight into someone.  A very tall and broad someone.  I looked up and up, about to mouth my apologies when I was caught in a bruising grip and familiar glare.
            ‘What the fuck?’ He said.  I’m not very good at lip reading but even I got that much.
            ‘Ah, hi Josh, fancy meeting you here,’ I rambled on trying to extricate my arms, any harder and I would have a nice set of finger bruises.  He shook his head at me and motioned to the side, I guess he couldn’t hear either. 
Josh clearly didn’t share the same problems getting through the crowd I had, people simply cleared out of his path like Moses parting the Red Sea.  But maybe if I was over six foot and had a natural air of menace about me perhaps I wouldn’t have been getting trampled all night either.  I was not impressed, however, to see I was being hauled into the Men’s toilets.  Josh shouldered the heavy black door and heaved me in after him as I wriggled and literally tried to dig my heels in.  There was a man standing at a long stainless steel urinal.  Nice. 
‘You!’ Josh said loudly in the relevant quiet, ‘Piss off.’ 
The poor man jumped back as if he had been struck and without putting himself away, yes unfortunately I did notice, he staggered out.  I looked resentfully after him.  I could argue with Josh, in fact I would argue with him, but we both knew I wouldn’t win.  My night’s hunting was about to come to an untimely end.

Thursday, February 03, 2011

The Love Potion

Okey dokes, I've decided this blog will probably always be 'Under Construction' or just constantly evolving so I'll just dive straight in and post some writing. 
This was written as a short activity for a writing course I recently completed...hope you like it!
Love potions are not banned.  Apparently they are not considered ‘dangerous’ enough by the Federation of Witch Hunters to warrant even strict regulation.  Fools.                    
Angel, my sister, blames herself.  I can understand that.  I blame her too.  Before she gave in to her vanity we were leading normal lives.  Well as normal as our kind can.
            The object of Angel’s desire, Brad, was a year above us in school.  Sure he was good looking and he had an apprenticeship at a real professional football club at only sixteen, but he was not a nice person.  Just like his sister Jess, who was unfortunately in most of my classes, he delighted in ridiculing and humiliating people.  Everyone would laugh because they thought he was so cool. Maybe that’s why I didn’t talk Angel out of it; maybe I wanted him to suffer a little bit too. 
Unfortunately we either made it too strong or he was hiding some feelings of lust for Angel that the potion exacerbated the hell out of because one day we were invisible and the next he was a scary, obsessive love machine!  He literally jumped her during morning registration – right in front of the teacher who had to haul him off.  The look of abject horror on Jess’ face almost made it worth it.  No on second thoughts, it didn’t.
            I chewed on already stubby nails and looked at Angel.  She had a slightly shocky expression on her face, that ‘no-one’s home’ look.  I had to get her out of there.  I briefly considered jumping out the window and dragging her back home to cook up an antidote, but there were twenty eight other horror-struck kids in the classroom and I didn’t think we needed to draw more attention to ourselves.  So, stupidly, I decided to wait it out. 
After school I had hockey practice, Angel had a piano lesson and Brad had football.  I knew this because Angel had spent the last three years rushing me to get a quick look at Brad as he came off the pitch.  My brilliant plan was for us to split up, find our teachers and respectively cry off, rush home and make the antidote.  Preferably one you throw in someone’s face.  They work the quickest and Angel could get him after football and make it look like she was in a fit of temper.  What could possibly go wrong?
            Well unfortunately Brad had a brilliant plan of his own.  He lay in wait for Angel behind the music block.  Luckily her screams alerted the teacher but nothing we said could stop him from calling the police and Brad was arrested for attempted rape.  Angel refused to press charges but he still lost his place at the football club, his Dad left his Mum and she overdosed on anti-depressants. 
            Based on this incident the Federation of Witch Hunters are considering reclassifying love potions.

Under Construction

Hi - This blog is currently under construction. Will hopefully be looking suitably snazzy soon!