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CHARACTER INTERVIEW WITH ANGEL OF DARK GALALEE.

I would like to take a moment to announce that the head angel of Dark/ness Galalee will be joining us today, but because of his inability to cross into the human realm and my inability to hear into ........

TYPES OF CRIME FICTION

What type of crime fiction do I write? – I have been asked this a lot of times as it does not fit in the stereo typical image of the genre for it intertwines with several mains themed g ........

THE PITCH

-A pitch is an overview of a project that you put to / send to an agent in hopes that they will be intrigued enough to ask for the whole manuscript. -An elevator pitch is exactly the same but done i ........

MEDIEVAL WEAPONRY AND FIGHTING IN SCENES

Conducting a fight scene can be a complicated experience when thinking about plotting it into a novel. There are many types of factors that must be considered when planning one, from the use of lang ........

EXPLORE THE ‘HERO’ WITH ME

Classically all fantasy novels would admit to one Hero within their character line up. Often the writer creates these ‘hero’s’ with specific characteristics and abilities; a stereo typical structure ........

FANTASTICAL CREATURES WORD SEARCH

Fancy a little fun?  a c a d o u b l i c o r n ........

AN INSIGHT INTO VILLAINOUS CHARACTERS

So as before, villains are an important part of the fantasy novel structure as well as many more genres, as they help our hero’s to mature and provide an achievable goal whilst simultaneously brinin ........

STORMY WEATHER

stormy weather The weather can play a vital role in emphasising the feel, the emotional texture of a scene.  For example; if you’re characters are in a haunted house and they step outside into glor ........

FANTASTICAL CREATURES WORD SEARCH

Fancy a little fun? a c a d o u b l i c o r n q ........

CHRISTMAS READING TRADITIONS

December is all about traditions for those of us who celebrate Christmas and reading books is one of those traditions for a good amount of the population. In Iceland on Christmas eve, they snuggle ........

ONOMATOPOEIA WORD GAME

Let’s play a word game using Onomatopoeia!First, we need to know what Onomatopoeia is;Onomatopoeia refers to the use of words which sound like the noise they refer to. ‘Hiss’, ‘buzz’, and ‘rat-a-tat ........

ANXIETY GROUNDING

2020 has been one hell of a year and many of us are finding life stressful right now so I thought I would share some anxiety grounding tips with you. Grounding comes in steps like the scenes. We h ........

MAIN CHARACTER VIEW POINT TEASERS

As a crime fiction book, I felt the best way for me to convey my story to people was to do it from multiple characters’ viewpoints. So, I have four main characters within the book and here they are ........

FAVOURITE CHARACTER

Hello and welcome everyone, I really appreciate you tuning in to find out what’s going on! Remember your voice counts – I want to know what you think, you’re questions and anything else you want to ........

INTERVIEW WITH ILLUSTRATOR

I thought it might be interesting to ask the illustrator of my cover, Blaze’s picture and the name illustrations, I use, a few questions. (Note she is the illustrator only – the text was applied af ........

AUTHORS ADOPT

I am very proud to announce my involvement in Authors Adopt 2020 founded by New York Times Bestselling author Penny Reid.The aim of the project was to provide literature, fiction and non-fiction, ........

HEARTS AND KISSES

A few of you have been asking why I sign off with the phrase hearts and kisses. Well, here I am to fill you in. It all came about when I was at high school, I used to write adventure and noir stori ........

WHAT KIND OF FAE ARE YOU?

Below are a series of questions, all you have to do is pick an answer a b or c note it down and see what you have the most of at the end. 1- do you- A/ have a wickedly sharp tongue? B/ prefer to ........

THE EFFECT WRITING CAN HAVE ON OUR HEALTH

Okay, so there are many forms of stress relief but did you know that writing can be one of them? How can writing help us to expel some of the negativity in our life’s? Keeping a journal can be thera ........

GET YOUR READ-ON!

Its #summerreading time so fill up you #Kindle stock up on #paperbacks and have the adventure of a lifetime your friends will all envy – without even leaving home. Books are mesmerising objects fi ........

MAGIC

Here’s the BIG question; How do writers make magic real?I find there are a few things that can trick the mind into allowing the fantasy of magic to be relatable and in some such terms, viable. ........

LIBRARY FUN!

Libraries are not what they used to be. Silence is still appreciated or hushed talking but children more now than ever are encouraged to visit them. With their free borrowing system here in the UK ........

A ROMANTIC THREAD

Let’s face it, most of us look for a little romance in our lives and so expect the same of our character friends in books.The way I write, I like to create romance through friendship- as I believe ........

SPIRIT REALM GAME

Congratulations, you’ve made it into the spirit realm. There’s obviously a little angel in you – but what kind? Answer the game questions and make a note of the letters you choose.   Question 1 – ........

SHOW DON’T TELL!

Now some people do this because they like it and it’s their style – and that’s ok. It’s their style. But for those who do want to understand the ‘show don’t tell’ concept then check out the ordin ........

THERE IS POWER IN A NAME

As many people will attest Death is a scary subject.  But more than that it is a questionable point in every living things life. An inevitability that causes much debate about what lies after.   I ........

#STAYBOOKEDATHOME

Hi Everyone, so I get the whole isolation thing is starting to get to everyone, so why not share our TBR lists and what we love about the books were reading? So I am one of those people who reads a ........

HOUSE EDITING

House editing is what publishers do to your manuscript when you sign a contract with them for your book. It is a process of intense editing of paragraphs, spellings, title pages, chapter numbers an ........

WORD GAME CHALLENGE!

In celebration of – encouraging a young writer’s day I thought we should play a game. I challenge you to find three words in the word search below and then make a paragraph out of them. Example – ........

A RAY OF HOPE

In this time of darkness for the world, during the mist of this pandemic virus, I wish to share with you the candle of hope.Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot d ........

WRITING YOURSELF INTO A CORNER?

Okay, so everyone does it at one point in time or another and then others of us do it purposely to test our imaginative minds. But how do we really get out of it? How do we stop? I will begin by ........

WORLD BUILDING – REALM HOPPING

Welcome everyone this blog is focused on Realm Hopping and how to achieve it (in fantasy ).First, we have to ask ourselves how we are going to hop realms. Is there a portal? A secret gateway, a magi ........

FAN PHOTO!

The grey days of January brought me to award winning Crickhowell, where I was met with sunny smiles from literature fans and local holistic shop owner.

WORLD BUILDING – SETTING THE SCENE

If your feeling grey this January I have the perfect blog fix for you;First of all, it is often best to make notes of any places you go to or see that inspire you. Take photos, do sketches and then ........

ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS

Okay, so today in order to shake away some of those January blues I am going to answer some of the questions sent to me via my social media network.   If your not following, follow now on;   Fac ........

CHRISTMAS CHARACTER INTERVIEW – SPECIAL!

Hi everyone, so today Blaze is going to tell us a bit about her childhood – before her identity was uncovered by the herd, as a Doublicorn.So Blaze what do you remember of your childhood? My family ........

ACRONYMS

Ok so first – what’s an acronym? An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the first letters of a/ multiple words that is actually said like a word in its own context – CSI for example. So I though ........

THE POWER OF A GOOD COVER!

A cover has to reflect your novel. But not tell its conclusion. There’s no point in reading the book otherwise.   Think about what you want but don’t be too specific for all artists have their own ........

THE WEEPING ANGEL

‘He stood in his full glory, stretching his wingspan and willing himself to cry-’ – Xander Chase and the Unicorn Code (chapter 22, page 142)– Xander played the classic angel weepingThis particular s ........

THE PURPOSE OF A NAME.

The purpose of a name can express a belonging too or show an existence or a social standing. A name is a very powerful thing. It grows with us as we age as we are often given nicknames which indicat ........

UNICORNS AND DOUBLICORNS.

Hi everyone, so it’s time to talk about mythical creatures. Unicorns are known widely in myth as pure creatures that can do no wrong. But how realistic is that really? Everything has a dark side a ........

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Do you have a lucky charm you can place in your sacred space? A few words of inspiration? A quote from your favourite book or a compelling illustration?   Anything that makes you happy belongs in ........

A SACRED WRITING SPACE

Everyone knows you can write practically anywhere, whether it be on a laptop, i-pad, tablet or just classic paper.   But by creating a space that is solely for writing you are creating a pivot in ........

ESSENCE – PART 2.

Knowing your character.   Many character structure sheets can be found on the internet with things such as age/race/features. But personally, I like to create my own fact  file sheets on my charac ........

ESSENCE PART 1

As you can see from my earlier blog ‘ Talula’s interview’. All characters need an essence for the reader to bond with. Something that makes them more than just words on a page.   This comes in two ........

EXCLUSIVE CHARACTER INTERVIEW

Hello and welcome. Today we are talking to Talula.Hi, I am here today to talk to you about my profession as a coroner.Yes that’s right – (I but in) – so tell us what made you want to be a coroner?Ri ........

A DETECTIVES NATURAL TOOLS AT A CRIME SCENE

Okay, so today we are going to explore the puzzles or crime and how a detective can solve them.Most people know that detectives carry notebooks and pens to take statements from witnesses and notes a ........

CHARACTER PICKING.

Hi everyone, so blue moons and magic, what’s next? Character of course!!!   Well first things first – I had to start thinking about what kind of a character can cause a blue moon?   Well this i ........

WHAT CAME FIRST???

Hi everyone, so I bet you’ve been wondering what came first – the chicken or the –No,  the character or the concept?Well in my case I stumbled (as I often do  ) across a rare phenomenon that sparked ........

WELCOME TO MY WORLD!!!

Hi everyone, a big shout out to all of you who are reading this – thanks!!!As you already know Xander Chase and the Unicorn Code is my debut novel – just to point out, that I am a complete novice a ........