My Top Three Favourite Genres

Hi all!

This week I'm going to talk about my favourite book genres and what inspired me to write stories in them. In no particular order:

Fantasy.

Elemental Dragons is a fantasy series, so I'm sure this doesn't come as a shock to anyone. I've loved fantasy ever since I was little, so it's only natural that I would write in that genre. My favourite fantasy book series has to be Warrior Cats, and those books have inspired me and influenced my writing style. I hope that my books will bring as much inspiration to someone as Warrior Cats did for me. I love books that contain magical creatures and my all time favourite are dragons!

My fantasy books (written and planned):

Elemental Dragons - four book Young Adult Fantasy series.

Damaged Goods - three book Young Adult Historical Fantasy series.

Aerus Vs Bolt - Young Adult Fantasy standalone.

Sci-Fi.

The newest series that I'm writing, Celestial Plague, is a sci-fi dystopian novel. A lot of my favourite films are sci-fi, including the Alien and Predator series. Every time I watch those films I fall in love with them a little more. Although I'm only planning one book that includes aliens, the rest are more dystopian than sci-fi. I like the idea of writing about viruses and natural disasters and how the characters adapt to their new worlds, which is what Celestial Plague is about.

My sci-fi books (written and planned):

Celestial Plague - three book Young Adult Sci-Fi/Dystopian.

Enna - New Adult Sci-Fi standalone.

Years - Young Adult Sci-Fi/Dystopian standalone.

Horror.

When I was younger I didn't really like horror, but the book that changed that for me was Stephen King's 'Pet Sematary'. After I finished that, I was hooked on the genre. I've now read plenty of horror books and watched loads of films (with one of my cats always nearby, of course). I haven't really planned many horror books due to the fact that it's not really a genre I've ever really written in - but I hope to change that in the future when I get some practice. I've heard its a genre that can be hard to get right, so I want to make sure that my skills are up to scratch.

My horror books (written and planned):

Unnamed zombie series - four book Young Adult Horror series.

That's it for this week! One day I might write a sequel to this for my least favorite genres. If you'd be interested, let me know!

See you next week.

How to Support Your Favourite Authors

Hi all,

With the release date for Blood and Water now exactly a month away, I thought I'd make a post on how to support authors. Most people think that buying their books is all they can do, which isn't true!

Buy/borrow their books.

This is the one most readers know about. If you can't afford to buy an author's book, borrow it from the library instead. You're still supporting them by reading their work!

Write a review.

Authors rely on reviews because it means that more people will see their book. Some sites, such as Amazon, will promote books once they have a certain number of reviews. A lot of book promotion sites also only promote books once they have a number of reviews.

Follow their social media.

By following their social media you're showing an interest in what they're doing. They may also post about what they're working on and events they'll be attending.

Tell them how you feel about their work.

Whether it's a letter or a DM, if you love an author's work, tell them. Authors write for their readers, and most would love to hear their feedback.

Tell others about their books.

By telling other people that might buy their books, they can get more sales and reviews.

Sign up to their mailing list.

You can show that you're a fan by signing up, and in return you get to see what they're working on and when their next book will come out!

Attend events.

If the author is attending a certain event and you can as well, most won't mind if you want to say hi!

Pre-order their books.

To show an author how excited you are to read their work, pre-order their book! It will also help them climb through the ranks on Amazon.

Rate their books on Goodreads.

Books with a lot of ratings will be seen by new readers. Some people base whether they will read a book or not depending on how many other people have rated it.

If they're up for an award, vote for them.

If your favourite book is up for an award, make sure you vote and let other people know. Authors rely on reader's votes in competitions.

That's it for this week. I hope you enjoyed reading!

The Worst Parts of Querying

Hi all,

As #pitmad was this week I thought I would talk about querying agents and publishers.

Before I decided to go down the self publishing route, I queried my novel with over 70 agents and publishers.

All of them rejected Blood and Water.

Querying is nerve wracking enough as it is, but for me, the responses were the worst part. Most of the agents were courteous in their rejections, but seeing that 'no' did make my heart sink. In this blog post, I'm going to talk about the reality of querying.

Some agents never reply.

It doesn't matter how much work you put into your first chapters and cover letter, some agents just don't reply. I know that they have to through thousands of queries, but I'd still much prefer a 'no' to silence. Out of the 77 I queried, 31 never replied.

Don't expect feedback.

With so many queries to go through, they can't afford to spend time writing a long email about what could be improved upon. If you receive one of those emails, great. Read their feedback and see what you can action.

Some emails will just be the word 'no'.

Don't get offended. With so many queries to go through, the emails may just be short and sweet. Just be thankful that you heard back so you can query someone else.

It's a lot of research.

A lot of agents like your query letter to be personalised for them, which means that they'll keep an eye out for bits where you mention their favourite book or what they're looking for. Some agents just reject a query if it's not personal enough, whereas some don't like personal details at all. Include one or two, like their favourite book, but don't go overboard.

Rudeness.

Unfortunately, there will be the minority of people who are rude. I had two agents reply to me in a rude manner. One told me that my idea was great but my writing terrible. She told me that I should hand over the idea to someone with 'talent'. Another told me to stop writing forever as I wouldn't get anywhere. Be aware that these responses are rare, and just shake them off. Don't let their words get to you.

Some will make you jump through hoops to send an email.

I once came across an agency that required you to watch three six minute videos to get special 'codes' so you could query them. Emails without these codes would be rejected outright. I would advise against querying these kinds of agencies, it's too much for a simple email.

Their website bios might not match what they actually want.

I queried an agent that stated in her bio that she specifically wanted books about YA books about dragons. Great! I sent her an email and a week later got one back that said she isn't looking to represent YA. I double checked her bio and it definitely stated YA. See what they post on their social media to see if your book would be a match.

You may be waiting months for a reply.

Although some agents reply within a few weeks, some take months. My quickest rejection was two days, but the slowest was seven months. Query between 6-8 agents at a time, and once most have got back to you, send out another batch of queries.

That's it for this week. Hope you enjoyed it, it's just a few weeks now until Blood and Water comes out, so if you want to pre-order your copy please visit my books page.

See you next week!

How Doodling Can Help Your Writing

Hi all!

This week I'm going to talk about doodling and how your writing can improve by doing it.

The good thing about doodling is that you don't need to be an amazing artist to do it. Whether you can draw anything and everything or can barely manage a stick figure, it doesn't matter. I'm not a great artist by any means, but I have a sketchbook filled with drawings and symbols from my novels, written and to be written. I mainly use mine to draw symbols or markings. For example: all eight elemental markings from Elemental Dragons are in there.

Elemental ice markings from my sketchbook

Visual art can help with descriptions.

When coming up with ideas for symbols or markings, it can be good to see them on paper. This will help you when writing your descriptions. You can then also visualise them on characters or covers to see if you like the design and if it fits with the story.

It can give you a break.

If you've hit a rut with your novel you can still work on it by doodling. Actually putting designs on paper may get your creature juices flowing and you'll feel better about writing your story.

Creative designs.

Doodling your ideas gives you the creative freedom to draw them however you want. You may have certain elements that you want in your designs. For example: I use a lot of swirls in my designs because they're simple but still pretty.

You can share them with your readers.

While waiting for the next book to come out, readers will still want new content from you. Sharing your sketches is a good way to engage your readers and they may even draw your designs themselves.

Sketch from Damaged Goods

You can design creatures.

Drawing your creature out can be a good way to visualise them, you can then see what parts of the design works and what doesn't. I've drawn a design of a spider hybrid in my sketchbook, which really helped me decide what features to give it and how I can describe it in my story.

You don't have to be good at art.

Most of my drawings are terrible, but that hasn't stopped me from continuing to sketch them out. You don't need to be an amazing artist to draw.

You don't have to show anyone.

It can be for your eyes only if you want it to be, other people don't have to see it if you don't want to.

You can see what works and what doesn't.

Sketching out a certain symbol on paper may look completely different to what you had in mind. This way you can alter the design or scrap it and start afresh.

That's it for this week, hope you enjoyed.

See you next week!

My First Book Launch Party

Hi all,

For anyone who has missed my social media posts - I attended the launch party for Adverbially Challenged Volume Four and Sensorially Challenged Volume Two on Tuesday. It was my first ever launch party and writing event that I've ever attended.

All the readers at the event

My boyfriend and I went to a cat cafe, You & Meow, beforehand to try and settle my anxiety. Although I have a cat at home, Bristol is a two hour drive from where we live, so I needed to pet some cats just before the launch party. The cats were all very sweet and playful, they even had some new kittens! Overall it was a great experience and helped me calm down a bit. We also had some delicious carrot cake that we had to eat quickly because a few of the cats were eyeing it up.

One of the cats trying to get a taste of my smoothie

Now, for the launch party itself.

There was quite a lot of people there, most getting ready to read their stories in front of everyone. My stomach churned the entire time as I was waiting for my slot. Eventually my turn came and I managed to make my way up to the stage without tripping. Although the reading of my story, Mother Cat, was short and a bit rushed, I managed to do it. The entire time I was waiting to go up I felt like I was back in school again, about to do a presentation in front of the whole class. The whole experience made me very thankful that I'm not in school anymore!

Me, reading ‘Mother Cat’ from Adverbially Challenged Volume Four

The evening was great and I loved the stories that were read out by others. I've never seen so many authors in one place, and it was good to see that so many people have a passion for writing.

Would I do it again?

Yes.

Would I read another story out?

Maybe.

The experience brought back a lot of bad memories from my school days, so I'm not sure if I could put myself through that again. I'm so glad I faced my fears and did it though, and that my boyfriend was there to support me.

I hope you enjoyed this week's blog post.

See you next week!

Why I Chose to Dedicate my Book to my Grandfather

Hi all!

This week I'm going to talk about dedicating Blood and Water to my grandfather.

At first, I wasn't really sure if I would use the 'dedications' page in my book, I didn't really think about it too much. But, then my grandfather got admitted to hospital. Although he's much better now, the thought of him being so ill hasn't left me.

So, I thought I'd put his name in Blood and Water.

Yesterday I gave him the very first physical copy of my book and he absolutely loved it. He even said he would read it before he went to bed!

Throughout my writing journey, he has always supported me and read my stories. Even when I was younger writing about Warrior Cats and stories about my own cat, he continued to read them and encouraged me to keep going. He loved hearing my ideas about Rocky being a spy cat or a runaway feline trying to find his way back home. The ideas were silly, but he still encouraged he to keep going.

Almost every time I see him, without fail, he'll ask how my writing is going. He's known of my plans to become an author since I was young, and never tried to dissuade me from following my dream.

Although there are many people (and cats) I can dedicate my books to, I wanted him to be the very first. I wanted to thank him for supporting me.

He didn't notice the dedication at first because he was so excited, but once I pointed it out he was ecstatic.

Me and my grandfather

In my mind, there was no-one who deserved the first dedication more than him. Some authors choose not to dedicate their books to anyone, which is their own choice. Don't feel put off by adding a dedication, it just shows that you want to highlight the person in your work as a thank you. You don't even have to dedicate books to a person, you can pick an animal or organisation if you want. It's your work, do whatever you want with it, and don't let other people tell you otherwise.

That's it for this week! Next week I will be attending the launch party for the anthologies that I was published in earlier in the year: Adverbially Challenged Volume Four and Sensorially Challenged Volume Two. So, my next post will be about that experience and how I'm going to attempt to reduce my anxiety beforehand.

See you next week!

The Elements of Elemental Dragons

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about the elemental powers in the Elemental Dragons series.

Each character has one or two of these elements, though being born with two is rare. For their training, they are separated into groups with others of their element. For those with two, they pick one as their primary element and mostly train with that one. There are eight elements:

Water

Water Elementals can use their power to manipulate water, create it, and swim underwater using air bubbles. They are also unaffected by rain as they can stay dry, and in their advanced training they'll be able to detect when it will rain and how to manipulate clouds.

Strengths: Earth, Fire.

Weaknesses: Electricity, Light

Markings: Tiny swirls surrounded by dots in random patterns.

Colour: Royal blue.

Fire

Fire Elementals can use their power to create fire, manipulate it and walk through it unscathed. Their lungs are different from other Elementals, as they can breathe in smoke and ash with no problems. When the weather is hot they don't feel it and also lack the capacity to sweat.

Strengths: Wind, Ice

Weaknesses: Water, Earth

Markings: Fireballs surrounded by dots in a tight circle pattern.

Colour: Orange.

Earth

Earth Elementals can create rocks and ivy, manipulate plants and breathe life into dead plants. They are natural climbers, and thrive better on a purely vegetarian diet, though not all Earth Elementals are vegetarian. Forests are their favourite places, as they love to hear the wind whip through the leaves.

Strengths: Fire, Light

Weaknesses: Water, Wind

Markings: Ivy-like tendrils surrounded by dots that resemble leaves.

Colour: Emerald green.

Wind

Wind Elementals use their power to create wind and manipulate it. They are unaffected by powerful gusts and in their advanced training they can learn to float a few inches off the ground. The most powerful move they can learn creates tornadoes, but due to how dangerous this is very few are granted permission to learn it.

Strengths: Earth, Electricity

Weaknesses: Fire, Dark

Markings: Cloud-like wisps surrounded by dots in a swirl pattern.

Colour: Grey.

Electricity

Electric Elementals can create and manipulate electricity. They can survive longer without food as long as they have a source of electricity close by, which they can use for energy. Electronics running out of charge is never a problem for them, as they can quickly charge it with their power. They are also natural lightning rods, so other Elementals give them a wide berth during thunderstorms.

Strengths: Water, Dark

Weaknesses: Wind, Ice

Markings: Lightning bolts surrounded by dots in a tight lightning bolt formation.

Colour: Pale yellow.

Ice

Ice Elementals create and manipulate ice and sometimes snow. Cold temperatures are not a problem for them, and their feet never sink in the snow. Advanced Ice Elementals will be able to detect when it will snow, and how to manipulate clouds.

Strengths: Light, Electricity

Weaknesses: Fire, Dark

Markings: Complex snowflakes surrounded by dots in a random pattern.

Colour: Electric blue.

Light

Light Elementals can create and manipulate light. They are natural light sources, in some instances they have been known to glow in the dark. Bright lights don't bother them, and they are the only Elemental that doesn't get sunburnt.

Strengths: Water, Dark

Weaknesses: Earth, Ice

Markings: Tight vertical lines that spread out further from the source surrounded by dots in a random pattern.

Colour: Pale pink.

Dark

Dark Elementals can create and manipulate darkness and shadows. They can dissolve into shadows and travel through them. When advanced enough, they can even bring non-Dark Elementals with them. Their eyes are naturally adjusted to dark places and they don't need as much sleep as other Elementals.

Strengths: Wind, Ice

Weaknesses: Electricity, Light

Markings: Small splotches surrounded by dots in a circle pattern.

Colour: Dark purple.

Only dragons get the colourful markings, which can decorate their scales in a variety of places. The most common places to get markings is on the feet, chest or back. Those with two elements do not get overlapping markings, instead one element will appear on one part of the body while the other appears elsewhere. The only exception for this is the face, which can have different markings on each side.

That's it for this week! If you would like to preorder Blood and Water please visit my 'Books' page for the Amazon links.

See you next week!

Blood and Water Preorder Live

Hi all!

You may have already seen my posts yesterday, but if you haven't - Blood and Water is available for preorder!

I can reveal that the publication date will be October 15th 2019 for both ebook and paperback.

If you would like to preorder the ebook version I have linked the UK and US Amazon sites below, but it is available worldwide if you don't live in either of these places:

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07VY4QZQS/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=Elemental+dragons+blood+and+water&qid=1564849975&s=gateway&sr=8-4

US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VY4QZQS/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=elemental+dragons+blood+and+water&qid=1564849744&s=gateway&sr=8-1

In the meantime if you want a taste of my writing and the Elemental Dragons universe, sign up to my mailing list to receive a free ebook. It contains four stories from the series that tie into the books, three of which have never been published anywhere else!

https://www.subscribepage.com/jessicaturnbull

Thank you to everyone who has supported me so far, I couldn't have done this without you!

See you next week!

Why I Didn't Use a Pen Name

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about why I didn't use a pen name instead of my real name for my books. For those who don't know, a pen name is a pseudonym for an author to write under instead of using their real name. There's a variety of reasons why authors choose pen names, but that's not what this blog post is about.

As I've written about in the past, I do suffer from depression and anxiety and have done so for many years. Although I'm much better now, I spent years in the dark with regards to my mental health as not many people listened. I only got diagnosed three years ago, after going to three separate doctors at three separate surgeries.

I was so tempted to use a pen name because I thought that the people who I went to school with wouldn't be able to find me. I wanted to hide from them, in case they decided to go after me again and everyone sided with them. Many of my 'friends' ignored how I was feeling, and thought I was just making it up for attention. I was worried that they would find my books and slam me online if I used my real name. I thought they would just tell people that I'm lying and they would be instantly believed.

I didn't want my career dragged through the mud.

I didn't want those people dragging me back to my darkest days.

However, once I started taking medication my mindset changed. I didn't want to hide from those people anymore.

I wanted them to find me.

I wanted them to see that despite everything I've still kept going and I haven't succumbed to their idea of me - a quiet girl doing absolutely nothing with her life.

I want them to see that despite mentally being destroyed for years, I'm still pursuing my dreams. I don't care if they find me now. I don't care if they find my books and hate them.

I beat them.

I beat their preconceived idea of me.

Now that my anxiety has lessened, I now realise that it was silly to think that everyone would side with them. Many people I've met on Twitter have been extremely supportive of me, and I doubt one nasty person slamming me online would sway them so easily.

Many authors use pen names for a variety of reasons, but I realised that a pen name won't protect me from these people. It was the wrong reason to use a pen name, to hide from people I hadn't seen for years.

So, I am using my real name.

If people want to use a pen name to hide their identity - so be it. I'm just glad that they're getting their work out there. It's just that using one wasn't for me.

Some of these people have found my Facebook or Twitter pages I'm sure, but I'm not bothered. It means they can see what I've become now - a strong woman rather than the timid little girl they still envision me as.

That's it for this week, hope you enjoyed the post! A little update on Blood and Water - it will be available for preorder over the next few weeks, so keep an eye out!

Elemental Dragons Artist Showcase

Hi all!

This week I thought I'd do something a little different. There have been so many people involved in bringing Elemental Dragons to life, and I want to dedicate a blog post to them. This week I'm going to showcase the artists that have been involved in Elemental Dragons. From posters, illustrations to book covers.

First off, I'm going to start with Deranged Doctor Design.

They designed the ebook and print covers for Blood and Water, which look gorgeous. They also designed the banners for my website, Facebook page and Twitter page. They are always so helpful and seem to know exactly what I want! That's why I have booked all the covers for Elemental Dragons with them. If you want to check them out, I have linked their website below:

http://www.derangeddoctordesign.com

Blood and Water Ebook cover

The rest of the artists I discovered when I signed up to Fiverr. Their art is gorgeous and affordable, so if budget is a problem I would recommend going there for book covers, illustrations or promotional work.

The first Fiverr artist I want to showcase is stevcelazarevsk. They created the picture of Aqueous which I will be using for promotion. They're really talented, and I would highly recommend checking them out below:

https://www.fiverr.com/stevcelazarevsk

Aqueous, which I will use when promoting Blood and Water

Another Fiverr artist that I commissioned is Autumn9th, who created the illustrations inside the Elemental Dragons Short Story Collection. (Which you get for free when you sign up to my mailing list!) They knew exactly what I wanted and always delivered on time. You can check them out here:

https://www.fiverr.com/autumn9th?source=Order+page+seller+link

One of the four illustrations in the Elemental Dragons Short Story Collection

The last artist is shashika2, who made the cover for the Short Story Collection. I wasn't totally sure what I wanted and gave them the option of doing whatever they thought was best. I was very surprised at the end result as I loved it and it was better than I'd imagined. You can see their work below:

https://www.fiverr.com/shashika2?source=Order+page+seller+link

The cover for the Short Story Collection

That's it for this week! One day I'll do a showcase for everyone else who has helped with Elemental Dragons, which includes: my editor, blurb writer and poster designer.

See you next week!