Rebecca R. Curran's Blog: A Romantic at Heart...

Well, I have now completed my goodreads giveaway, and I have to say, I was totally blown away by the 1,300+ people who entered to win a copy of Written.

If you entered and you weren't lucky enough to win, I'm sorry, but you should check it out on kindle... at £1.99, it's a steal, trust me!

So, my 5 free copies have gone off in the mail, and I can't wait to see if I get any reviews from those who won a copy. We write for love, but it really helps when people review your work.

As winter draws in, I find myself contemplating other projects... In Written, Rebecca has a relationship with a married man called Richard. (This isn't something I would promote, but he is hot...)

The other day, I found myself watching an old rerun of a TV show in which the man who inspired Richard stars. It got me to thinking, how much I loved the character, and how I would love to delve into his world again. Would it be like revisiting an old flame and being disappointed? Or would writing a new story with this super sexy bounder be just the ticket? What do you think? Do you like to end things when they're good, or do you prefer a second instalment from a sexy male lead in a story? Hmm... It's nice to think about.

If you're feeling kind, check out Written, and see if Richard does it for you...

Written: getbook.at/wonkindle

Today, I have been musing about what change really means.

In my book, the main character sets out to change her life by writing a romance book anonymously. I suppose in a sense I have done the same thing through her. Although, I wasn't writing the story to achieve commercial success, I simply wanted to challenge myself to see if I could leave my fantastical comfort zone, and write something new.

In the story, Rebecca learns a great deal about her personal life through the experience, including that success isn't always what you imagined it to be. Personally, I think I learned that you don't need wizards and dragons in a story to find magic, and I think it has helped me to broaden my horizons with regards to what I'm willing to read and enjoy. Being a purist can close you off to a whole world of great stories and characters.

So, I dare you! Make a change... Read the book you wouldn't normally pick up. Write the story you didn't think you had in you.

If you're feeling generous, stop by Rebecca's story and see if it tickles your fancy...

Written: Getbook.at/wonkindle

You have a lovely shiny new book, now, how do you get people to read it? This is a question that every little indie author faces. You could have written a masterpiece, but the truth is, if you don't have the big guns behind you, it can be hard to get word out there about it.

Every indie needs to find ways to engage with the reading masses, and this week, I am in the throws of the first week of my goodreads giveaway.

I have five delicious copies of Written to give away to you lovely people. If you haven't entered, why not?

Here, I'll make it easy for you... simply hover your cursor over the shiny link below, and you too could get to own a copy of this refreshing new romance!

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

Okay... did I sound like a second hand car salesman? Well, forgive me, I just know that if you lovely folks gave it a chance, you would love the story as much as I do.

What do you think of such giveaway contests? Are they a good way to entice new readers? Do they get reviews for little indie authors? Personally, I'm really enjoying the experience so far, and if I get to reach five new people, that's a success.

Till next time!

This week, I have made some changes. Since the launch of my romance novel, Written, sales have been slow and sparse, something that no writer wants.

It's frustrating, and being an indie in this world is hard enough.

The book is good, I know it's good, so what's the problem? If you believe what you read, then image is everything, so maybe the cover of my book wasn't enticing enough? A book cover can either draw you in, or turn you off, so it is something that self published writers should really consider carefully.

For my fantasy works, I have a fabulous artist, who has provided me with wonderful book covers in the past, but I didn't feel like this book was something I could ask for his help with.

The solution? I have revamped my book, given it a shiny new cover, and sent it out into the world once more... Let's see whether she manages to bag a few more readers with her glorious new look.

I'd love it if you went onto Amazon and checked it out. Written: getbook.at/wonkindle

Do you use your own life experiences in your writing?
In my book, Rebecca is writing a journal of sorts, taking the reader through what happened when she set out to become a romance novelist.
I have heard other writers say that you should always write about the things that are happening to you.
Do you agree?
I must admit that my own life is nowhere near as chaotic as Rebecca's life in the book, and that I think I'm a much happier and grounded person than she is. Yet, in some sense, I did use her to portray certain parts of myself.
She longs to feel more secure about herself as a writer, and she too decides to dip her toe in the water and publish her book anonymously.
Have you ever written a story that was based upon issues you were actually dealing with? If so, did you learn anything from the experience? Did it bring a vibrant sense of reality to the narrative?
I think it's definitely something worth thinking about...
I'd love it if you stopped by and checked out my book. Rebecca's story might win you over...
Written: Getbook.at/wonkindle

A strange question to tackle, I'm sure that we can all say that as we write, we learn to develop our sense of voice and even the kind of characters we like to create. The subject of this blog however, is what writing can teach us about ourselves.

In my book, Written, Rebecca sets out to become a romance novelist, and in doing so, she learns quite a lot about herself. Through creating what she sees as the perfect love story, it becomes glaringly obvious to her what is actually missing in her own life. She has oodles of passion in her long term relationship with her married and very unavailable man, Richard, but is that enough?

Have you ever written a story and found that the process has shown you something about your own life? Creating stories and characters, forces a writer to examine deep parts of themselves, and so it's understandable that some characters and situations can end up reflecting the writers own needs and desires.

What do you look for in a man? Do you long for true love, or do you long for passion? Are these things mutually exclusive?

If you ask yourself such questions, you really aught to check out Written, you know you want to.... getbook.at/wonkindle

What does success as a writer mean to you? Is it awards? Is it positive reviews? Or do you worship the almighty dollar?
I know to me, I like to hear that someone has enjoyed my work; for a stranger to have happened upon one of my books, and delighted in the experience.

In my book, Written ( getbook.at/wonkindle ), the protagonist, Rebecca finds herself contemplating this very issue. She's a little known fantasy writer, and is consumed with the idea of what she thinks success as a writer is. She sees other writers and their successes and believes that they undermine her own.

I'm sure we've all done it... You see other writers on Twitter and Facebook, and think, why can't I have that success? I think it's important to remember that we are all story weavers. All writers are out to promote themselves, and sometimes, the publicised persona doesn't match up to the person behind the laptop. We all just want to tell our stories, and worrying about how you measure up to others isn't going to help that.

So, Rebecca, sets out to become a romance novelist, in the hope that this will help her break through and become the success she wishes to be. She learns a lot about herself, and about what success really means. It means being happy, being proud of your work, and above all else, feeling the story.

So, if like me, you're a little indie, fighting for every sale and review... take heart. We're all in the same boat, and we can and should support one another.

Keep reading!

Written Available on Kindle and Paperback: getbook.at/wonkindle

This is my first post on my goodreads blog, and I must say, I'm excited.

A published fantasy author, I am venturing forth into the world of the Romance Novelist, and I can't wait to get started.

My first romantic tale, Written, was published this month, and I'd love if it you had a quick peek at it. (The link is listed below for you.)

I hope to deal with my experiences and what I have learned while writing this blog, in the hope that it will make me a better writer, and that I can get to know some of you lovely people out there...

So, what did I learn about myself when writing this piece of work? Many things, but the first thing to deal with is probably sex...

With this story, I found myself dealing with sex for the first time. I know what you're thinking, a literary sexual virgin? Yes, I have to admit that it is something I have always avoided in my other work. It hasn't felt necessary. So, I decided to throw away my prudery and have some sex scenes in the book (don't panic, it's not erotica), but for me, it was pretty steamy.

I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself once I got started, and the cut and thrust of a hot and steamy scene came a lot easier to me than I thought it would. Hopefully I managed to capture the heat between my characters without being gratuitously raunchy.

I actually dealt with this very issue in the story itself, as the main character is actually writing her first love scenes herself. Hers are a bit more bodice ripping than those she experiences with her own lover, but clothes are torn asunder...

Let me know what you think!
Till next week,
Keep Reading!

Written: getbook.at/wonkindle