B. Random's Blog

Somehow life has a habit of stealing our time, with careers, families, finances, fitness, relationships and social life getting in the way. We don't even take time to pat ourselves on the back for what we struggle through every day. Life isn’t easy.
Very few of us snatch moments where we can actually just sit quiet and think. It’s too easy to turn on the TV or pick up a phone to surf. Silence has become anathema, alien.
But that quiet space is really important. Imagine standing in the silence on top of a mountain, huffing in that crystal air. Doesn't that feel amazing? That's nature at its finest: Where we belong.
We have great respect for our thinkers, with Think Tanks to deal with each crisis. It would be interesting to know when they think, whether they retreat from the world to do it.
We’re told we only use a fraction of the capability of our brain. No wonder. We’re spoon-fed, drowning in data. At our fingertips is every vlog, video, movie or game ever made. Reading seems hard work. Why strain our brains to think something new for ourselves? If we unlock that potential, imagine what wonders we could discover!
Wouldn’t you like to be able to think that deep? Maybe you can. There is a massive rise in the number of people turning to meditation. They’re clawing back that essential stillness.
If you want to write, that quiet space is necessary. I know there are writers about who write in coffee shops, but most thrive in a familiar, quiet spot perhaps in a gallery or library, if not at home. There are writers who get up pre-dawn to write, before the family wake up. Others burn through midnight at the other end of the day, when the world sleeps. The word ‘headspace’ used more lately, seems to sum this up well.
When I travelled to college, I remember a glimpse from the bus of peaceful meadows leading down to the river. I would put myself there in my head and that moment would sustain me all day. Similar glimpses on commutes since have had to provide my still space. That snapshot grounded me, stopped me going insane when I didn’t want to be there or had no daylight. I hope it works for you too.
We're all so busy rushing around that we don't realise what we've lost. Let’s get it back before it's too late.

Starting off in the writing business is a serious crisis of confidence. I know, I've been there.
Yet lately several people have come up to me at shows and book fairs, asking how to get started. Usually they have some l project in mind or some unfulfilled ambition from childhood. We all have something back there in the closet screaming to get out, I suppose.
One lady said she was afraid of reading her writing out in public, although she had written loads. What a waste!
My answer every time is to join a creative writing class, because it wasn't that long ago I was the same. I loved to write as a shy child and a teen. It was an escape, a still place where I could live out my fantasies, explore new avenues. My own personal bubble.
That's what you find at a creative writing class. Admittedly you are sitting in a room with other people, listening to someone else. But you are away from your job, your home, your daily life. Reality can be suspended.
The basics will be reinforced, of course, punctuation etc. You will learn what has changed over the years since you did it before. A host of new friends will support you to achieve your goals.
The best bit: You'll be given a prompt to write about, a smell, a sound, perhaps a scenario. Quiet descends while you sink into the depths of your imagination, bringing back smells you remember from your grandmother's garden, the sound of a neighbour's wind chime, the taste of strawberries on your tongue, the feel of worms running through your fingers.
Perhaps the scenario is: You're stuck in a lift while the firemen shout from outside; or you see a thief snatch a purse and consider what to do.
When you surface, a variety of tales will emerge, something different from every writer. It's absolutely amazing.
Once you get into the swing of it, you, like everyone else will be reading your work out for enjoyment and critique. This is done for your benefit, with everyone else feeling the same. So, over time you gain confidence in what you write and the critique helps you improve. What you can achieve is startling. You'll surprise yourself. And the more you write, the better you get.
Go for it. Change your life for the better!

I am finding so much help and support from other writers, it's giving me a warm, fuzzy feeling.

I have had to get my head around so many things with self publishing and the learning never seems to stop. Some days it's invigorating and other days I feel I will explode with frustration. I have reluctantly embraced social media, even You Tube, for the cause.

So in that same spirit of sharing, I thought I should spread the love and offer the details of the upcoming online conference from the Alliance of Independent Authors. It is for established authors, as well as aspiring ones, as I was when I joined. I have never regretted joining and there is a wealth of information shared. Don't miss it.

SPACon is a two-times a year, online conference for self-publishing authors, brought to you by the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), attached to the major global publishing fairs.

ALLi brings together the most up-to-date self-publishing education and information available and broadcasts it to authors everywhere.

Our next event is a Self-Publishing Advice Conference attached to the London Book Fair (held 10-12th April 2018). Our SPACon theme: Self-Publish for Pleasure and Profit. For 24 hours, beginning at 10am GMT on April 14th, the Alliance of Independent Authors is pleased to provide you with the industry's best about what you can and should be doing to have the most success in publishing and selling your books.

For anyone starting to write, I cannot speak highly enough of the writing community and I recommend joining a group of like-minded people, whether you join a class or a casual group. It's amazing how many stories can be generated from one little idea. So take a leap of faith, you won't regret it.

Well I am glad to say the show at Worthing went really well. Considering, of course, that the snow was just beginning to melt and few people brave enough to emerge into the gale despite the sunshine. Luckily only three authors didn't manage to get there, mainly from Scotland I think. The support team there worked tirelessly outside all day and did pull in quite a few people during the morning but unfortunately attendance fizzled during the afternoon, probably because everyone stayed in to watch TV or snooze after their Sunday lunch.
Some authors had turned up with just a pile of books and I don't believe they sold much. Thankfully, I had some big banners and lots to draw people to my table. Almost all the children I spoke to were intrigued, and most persuaded family to buy them a copy. I was lucky and most grateful to a teacher who bought a copy to share with her class, and another school librarian who bought for her school library. A big thank you to them. I love that my books are getting out there into the world for children to enjoy.
Certainly lessons have been learned and next year's UK Southern Book Show is already in the works, scheduled for May.
Meeting those children certainly brought home to me how difficult it is to sell to the age group I have chosen. If I were writing YA, teenagers have more access to money and the internet. But I picked pre-teens, who still rely on parents or grandparents to approve and provide. So not only do I have to interest the children, I have to persuade today's cash-strapped parents to part with precious pounds.
I am beginning to offer author talks in schools and I am happy to do workshops (actually, I love that). I enjoy going to writing courses myself still, despite writing every day. It's amazing how many different viewpoints a class can find from one small subject. It's imagination in action, totally my thing.
So that's where I am at the moment. Trying to get my books out there in subtle ways. You may see me at a library or scout pack near you or hopefully at a school, doing a workshop. I am hoping my books will pop up at you on Amazon and you may even see my videos on You Tube. All this, of course while working on Book 3!
Plus I have the joy of the Hursley Park Book Fair coming up in June near Winchester. I am resisting the urge to rush Book 3 through for that. I don't think I could handle the stress.
So in the meantime, enjoy your Easter and revel in your chocolate hangover.

Hello again. Thought I would just share a little of my panic right now. Maybe it'll be cathartic.
As you probably know, I am booked to attend the UK Southern Book Show in Worthing the first Sunday in March 2018. So I'm getting ready. No problem, you might think.
Indeed, Mrax Book 1 Alienship is already out there. All I have to do is get some posters done. You're right, I do.
The trouble is, I'm ambitious. Mrax Book 2, Survivorship, (and you heard this here first!) is being edited. The new cover is under way. I want to take it to Worthing.
Trouble is, it's out of my hands. The edits could take a while. The cover may need to go back and forth to the designer and until I have it, I can't get anything printed. And then I have to publish and get print copies delivered in time. I have 3 weeks! So I'm starting to bite my nails.
I've tried to get everything in place. It's going to be very close and I will be on pins the whole time.
So if you do come to see me at the UK Southern Book Show, please forgive my haggard face. If Book 2 is not there with me, have sympathy. I tried.

Hello and welcome to my very first blog. I spend a lot of my day writing but I'm usually in another world living someone else's life, so it's going to be tough for me to try to keep my feet on the ground and talk real.
I love reading, so it seems natural to me to write. I have a wild imagination and it's a great way to capture what's boiling in my head. Sometimes I just write it all down and then sort it out later. It's like daydreaming. At least you can capture it in the daylight, whereas dreams you have at night seem to fizzle soon after you wake up. Maybe my brain can't tell the difference. I don't know.
I think children understand, that's why I feel comfortable writing for them and talking to them. They see no limits. There are no rules except the ones adults teach them. If they ignore those, anything can happen.
So that's where I sit, really. One day, in a paper boat on Willy Wonka's chocolate river, ducking under the candy canes and fighting through candy floss. The river can be any colour I want, maybe stinky cabbage soup instead. I can eat the candy floss or turn it into butterflies. I can change the umpalumpas for raptors or maybe sloths. I can make it all smell of oranges or horse dung.
Another day I can be flying on a dragon into a mountain where the snow is popping candy or the crushed skulls of mutants. He can breathe fire or cascades of blueberries, pennies or chicken gravy. We can join with a thousand others to take over the world or do it all ourselves with the help of flying fish.
On a bad day I can swim through rivers of blood to claim the golden chalice that poisoned the king five miles under the Earth. I can rouse the earthworms to revolt or teach slugs to fly. I can turn an orphan into a witch with diamond nails that will scratch out a demon's eyes.
Nowhere else can I be in such total control. It's my escape from the pressures of daily life, earning money, catering to family. What's yours?