Ray Ronan's Blog: One Size Fits All

Dear reader,

I write books not only on my own but I’m lucky enough to collaborate with well-known authors, such as Glenn Meade.

I fly big jets which means when I have my flying hat on everything is calculated and conforming. However, when the creative hat rules on the ground, in New York to San Francisco, Chicago or Dublin, Ireland, then all cards are on the table. I’ve travelled most corners of this earth, seen, heard and experienced enough to fill more books than I could possibly produce.

I create stories I would like to read myself. How and where the ideas come from, how a book comes together I’ll reveal in personal emails to you in my readers club. My writing and your reading is an adventure best shared.

I love hearing from readers like you and lets me know I’m not alone in this mad pursuit of great stories and helps shape future books. So talk to me through a book review, or sign up to hear from me.

Life has given me a deep well from which to draw these accounts. Come with me, read on and see where it takes us…

 

The Aeroromance Series, are short stories following the lives of VisionAire CEO, Charles Stross and his favorite crew. Pack your emotional baggage, but leave it at home. We’d offload it anyway on VisionAire!

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!
SIGN UP FOR FREE EBOOKS AND UPDATES OR I’LL HAUNT YOU!
OR MAYBE THE OWL WILL.

 

Sign up with me Telma and get a free short story from my series.
Great for when you don’t have a lot of time, they are all leading up the full length book myself, Ray and author David Woodby are working on for the new year.

It will reveal the story of how our CEO Charles Stross pulled himself from small time lost boy to CEO and owner of one of the worlds biggest airlines, VisionAire.

 

 

The stratospheric love affairs on this high velocity stage crash and burn regularly, and there is always one love affair on the up while another is rapidly on its way down.

There are stories from myself, Telma and Trella Mathews, who moonlights as a webcam technician…and has made more than a million dollars at it!

 

You have to meet Captain Grant Edwards, ex fire fighter and chisel jawed funny guy. Steve Lansdowne, ex surfer pro who Grant has nicknamed Billabong! Grant has taken a shine to the cool surfer. There is ex CIA pilot Chris Anderson who falls for Tamara Wilkinson, but he just can’t shake his past and it threatens their relationship beyond endurance.

Hard to imagine, but the airline business is small. Word gets around from crew room to aircraft galley to overnight bar and hotel crew rooms where only airline crew are allowed to socialize. (You didn’t know about that did you?) And this is where I get a lot of juicy gossip and full on descriptions of crew antics.

Just let me know what you read  ebooks on, kindle, kindle app on your device, or maybe you use a nook. Sign up now, just click on a pic or with the form below. I’ll send you on a free ebook and updates, also if you write me a review I’ll send you another free one. And so it goes!

As we say, happiness is gear-up in nowhereville.

Love Telma Cortez xx

How to write a story. Or not.

The most common question I get is where do you get your stories from?
I'm not sure. Sorry. The fact I surround myself with colourful friends, and that includes my family, might help. Also,I watch and read a wide range of subjects and ask what if questions.
That said, I can tell you what happens when I come up with an idea and how that seed gets used.,

Be warned, my opinion and a dollar may only get you a cup of coffee. Its a proven fact!



I will note here for any pending court cases about my own process in the book sections of my website, but I will say that every story starts with a single line.

Like pro-creation, the amazing seed, (or egg) grows into a full page outline as I flesh it out. At this stage I may have only two of three parts, beginning middle or end. The missing element presents itself later. I then write up one chapter, just to get a feel for the story, to see if it grabs me. If it does then I go back to my word processing program, in this case Scrivener, and start building the book.



Building the book

I'll write up as much as I can about my story, and what I think will happen, in one go. Its free flow time, the moment where your missing element may present itself. If not, I have an idea of what is missing from the off and it will sit in the back boiler. So, I keep going and don't worry about a title, that may not pop into my head, or one of my beta reader's heads until the book is in final edit!
My point is, I write an outline. I don't try to start a book until I am happy I know what is going to happen, to who, when and why.

The final outline step

Is to read through what I have. And the best part is, TA DA! I should now have the chapters right in front of me. As I read, natural breaks in the story should jump out.
I just did this with my new work, and I ended up with, crap, have to go and check... Got it, 41 Chapters.
That will increase in number as the trend now is for shorter chapters. My trend.
I still don't have an opening, or inciting incident, in the first and currently empty chapter. But that will come. Please...(update, I just got a super opening)

So, when I sit down to write that book I open up each chapter and there is my work plan right in front of me. Really helps when you only get short bouts of time to write.

That's it.
I am working on Thriller number 4. The first of them should be released soon after my editor gets her hands on it. I'll post up some book covers to get a feel for what you think of them.
You can see the book pages on my website, rayronan.com
I'll post up some excerpts from the books shortly.
Cheers for now.
RR

How to write a story.

The most common question is where do you get your stories from?

I’m not sure. Sorry. The fact I surround myself with colorful friends, and that includes my family, might help. Also, watch and read a wide range of subjects and ask what if questions.

That said, I can tell you what happens when I come up with an idea and how that seed gets used.

Firstly as this is my opening for this new blog that at least both of us will read, let me say something about the publishing world as I and many others now see it. And my opinion and a dollar will buy you a cup of cheap coffee. Its a proven fact!

 

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Publishing has changed forever…

There are many publishing options for anyone wanting to write. The days when the only authors you could find were those taken up by publishers, are well and truly gone. Does not mean it’s suddenly easy. There are no quick fixes and AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE, any books or courses that promise otherwise.

Knowing you have a story to tell is the first step. Educating on how to write is the next. After that, write till your fingers bleed, then keep writing. Learn to write often and write well.

I will note here for any pending court cases about my own process in the book sections. But I will say that every story starts with a single line as this instructional slide shows…

 

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Like pro creation, your amazing seed, (or egg) grows into a full page outline as you flesh it out. At this stage you or I may have only two of three parts, beginning middle or end. The missing element presents itself later. I then write up one chapter, just to get a feel for the story, to see if it grabs me. If it does then I go back to  my word processing program, in this case Scrivener, and start building the book.

 

Building the book

I’ll write up as much as I can about my story, and what I think will happen, in one go. Its free flow time, the moment where your missing element may present itself. If not , you have an idea of what is missing from the off and it will sit in the back boiler. So, keep going. And don’t worry about a title, that may not pop into your head, or one of your beta reader’s heads until the book is in final edit!

My point is, write an outline. Don’t try to start a book until you are happy you know what is going to happen, to who, when and why.

The final outline step

Is to read through what you have. And the best part is, TA DA! you should now have your chapters right in front of you. As you read, natural breaks in the story should jump out. No? Then I’m weird.

Highlight the break. With Word, insert page break, in Scrivener, right click and ‘split with selection as title’. I just did this with my new work, and I ended up with, crap, have to go and check… Got it, 41 Chapters.

That will increase in number as the trend now is for shorter chapters. My trend.

I still don’t have an opening, or inciting incident, in the first and currently empty chapter. But that will come. Please…

So, when I sit down to write, I open up each chapter and there is my work plan right in front of me. Really helps when you only get short bouts of time to write.

That’s it.

Get started now!

Then come back and see if I can help you with the next part. I’ll think of something.

 

Book censorship is back with a vengeance.

Apparently there were some very ‘dubiously legal’ titles out there by independent authors.

So WH Smiths will no longer publish books by self published authors after erotica had found its way onto their ebook shelves. So, does that mean that ‘Publishers’ don’t publish erotica? At All? Fifty Shades of Grey would not have passed the new witch hunt. God help us, when the censorship mob get momentum we are all in danger of being in the firing line.

WH Smiths, well done for slamming the door in the indie publishing world’s face. You have saved us all from uncensored rubbish and we can all return to buying only what you and your publishing friends deem suitable.

They also shut their site down completely, to ‘Protect The Public’! Those Gotham heroes…

Amazon are pulling books of all sorts without any explanation to the authors as did Kobo and BN. What about the authors who depend on selling those books for a living?

This is the problem that authors have always come up against, the middle man who is the gate keeper between readers and authors.

Authors, the time of the self publishing apps is approaching.

Watch this space.