Raven is rambling
again.
Getting to be a
habit, but a very nice one.
This writing lark
is exciting you know. From a tiny idea that springs up from goodness knows
where; to finding I have (or don't) a title, and writing the first line, the
adrenaline rush begins. Then it's a case of trying to keep my hands hitting the
keys as fast as my mind is sharing the story.
As I'm still a
two—well okay very occasionally three—fingered typist, and have fibromyalgia, which
can make my fingers take on a mind of their own at times, this can make for
some unusual words to say the least. I've discovered the best way for me to get
things down in a m/s is to type like crazy and edit each paragraph that has the
dreaded red this-is-not-a-proper-word underline straight away. Otherwise, half
the time I have no idea what I mean. I've lost many an hour, and several
hundreds of words because I thought I'd just type on and sort out the typos
later. Nope, not a good idea. I spend ages staring at vutrhfsy, or vsn to
realize (or not) I meant birthday, and van. I say I have dyslexic fingers, as I
do tend to put the letters in the wrong order, when I'm hitting the keys.
It's a bit like my
texting. Evidently my kids say that they'd know a text was from me because, of
the incorrect words. I'm not the most techno savvy person in the world, and
autocorrect is frequently not my friend.
All that apart
(see I said I was rambling), eventually, the story's finished, and I read it
over, get a friend to redit it. No, that's
not a typo, it's our word for nitpicking and finding everything and anything we
can that's wrong, and highlighting it, before it's submitted to wherever it's going.
If I'm lucky to
have the story accepted, it gets even more exciting, because as well as edits,
and at Breathless Press we're very lucky to get several round of edits before
the book sees the light of day, we get cover art.
Yet again, we get
a chance to have an input in how we would like the cover to look, and a preview
before it goes out into the big wide world. When I see the email from the cover
artist, it's very much heart speeding up time. Then I open it up and gaze in
awe at the way my book will look. That thrill never goes away. Not only is it a
wow that's my name on there moment, but it's one step closer to publication.
Finally, it's the day and I get goose bumps of the
best kind. The book is published, and I'm all over the place like a rash
shouting about it, and hoping someone will buy it.
That's sounds all
so easy eh, but believe me it's not. I love every second of it, but I'm very
conscious that I want to do the very best I can. That a lot of people have put
in many hours, on my behalf, to help me produce the best work I can, so anyone
who parts with their hard earned cash isn't shortchanged. It wasn't until I
started writing I realized just how many hours it does take to get a book to the reader.
And on that note,
I better get back to Regency England and find out what my latest heroine is up
to. I left her begging for help in learning how to attract a certain tall dark
and handsome hero…
Oh my next book to
come out from Breathless Press, is called A Matter of Faith…
Blurb…
Leonora knew she'd
wait for Justin to come home. She hadn't expected it to be so long or so
fraught.
When Justin joined
his regiment, and was sent to the continent, Leonora promised to wait for him
to return. She didn't think it would take so long, or she'd have so many
difficulties to face.
Strong willed and
determined, her life changes, as she struggles to cope without Justin, and keep
his estate running.
With someone out
to destroy all she holds dear, Leonora has to fight for her beliefs and her
family, and hope they get the happy ever after they deserve.
If you want to
find out more, keep checking at www.breathlesspress.com,
and look for me. It will be up there once we have a publication date.
Nosy links…
Raven lives in Scotland, along
with her husband and their two cats—their children having flown the
nest—surrounded by beautiful scenery, which inspires a lot of the settings in
her books.
She is used to sharing her life
with the occasional deer, red squirrel, and lost tourist, to say nothing of the
scourge of Scotland—the midge.
A lover of reading, she
appreciates the history inside a book, and the chance to peek into the lives of
those from years ago. Raven admits that she enjoys the research for her books
almost as much as the writing; so much so, that sometimes she realizes she's
strayed way past the information she needs to know, and not a paragraph has
been added to her WIP.
Her lovely long-suffering husband
is learning to love the dust bunnies, work the Aga, and be on stand-by with a
glass of wine.
You can find out more about Raven
here…
https://www.facebook.com/rmcallan
(my page)
https://www.facebook.com/ravenmcallan (author
page)
Great post Raven :)
ReplyDeleteI have dodgy typing skills too lol so I know exactly how you feel! Auto correct on my phone is hilarious sometimes! :D
Nice to be here... thank you :)
ReplyDelete