My Statement on NaNoWriMo

Hi all,

For those of you unaware, NaNoWriMo has recently made some statements that have completely devastated the writing community. Instead of condemning the use of AI for writing books, they have instead labelled those who oppose it as 'classist' and 'ableist'.

I've participated in NaNoWriMo for six years and have written over one million words due to it.

But now, I'm going to leave it.

I don't agree with their stance on AI writing nor their comments about those who oppose it. There are so many authors out there who work so hard on their books on their own merit and they are having their work stolen to train AI into writing books.

For NaNoWriMo to support this, completely goes against my views. I do not support this type of writing and find it shameful that they would choose to do so.

Many have now backed out of NaNoWriMo and a few board members have stepped down because of this. Although they are now trying to backtrack and claim that their words were misconstrued, the damage has been done.

I will be looking for an alternative to NaNoWriMo to write my books in the future and will no longer participate in any of their events. I know there are many in the writing community who feel the same. When I find a suitable alternative, I'll let you all know.

See you next week. 

Novelist Review

Hi all,

If you've been following my blog for a while, then you may know that I write mostly using my phone. I used to use Evernote, but then they started placing restrictions on how many notes and notebooks you could create unless you paid a subscription.

Not writing on my phone wasn't an answer and I did try many things before finally settling on what I use now, Novelist!

It's an app for writers that can be used to plot books. You can split everything into chapters and notebooks, which is pretty handy! Although the app itself says it's not for writing books, I've used it for two books now and I'm really enjoying it.

It has a real time word count visible at the top of the screen, as well as characters, sentences and paragraphs. I usually only check the word count, but it's nice to have everything on display. It's much better than having to exit the note to check the word count.

I tend to write in dark mode as it's easier on my eyes, which is lovely little feature that I didn't consider before.

You can format the text as you go or just leave it as it is. I still prefer to do my formatting after in Word, but I think it's useful nonetheless.

It's great for keeping notes of all of my books in tidy places. I have different note books for book ideas, the books themselves and blog posts. This post was written in Novelist!

I would highly recommend Novelist for anyone who wants to either plot or write a book. It's changed how I write and I absolutely adore it. When Evernote first started placing restrictions I was initially worried that I wouldn't be able to find another app to use. I went through the notes app that was already on my phone, Word, OneNote and a few other apps that I downloaded. I found that Novelist is the best by far and I will continue using it for my writing and plotting.

That's it for this week! See you next Sunday. 

PS; if you’re looking for a new series to binge, check out this book bundle:

All Genre Boxset Readathon!

My Casual Writing Project

Hi all,

This week I'm talking about the newest book that I'm working on, though this one I'm doing a bit differently.

You may remember The Core from a poll that I put up a few year's ago. Street Rats won the poll but The Core came in a close second. I've renamed the book now but it is by no means a final title.

I'm now writing Cloud's Core, which is a standalone book that I've had in my ideas folder for years. Unlike past projects where I try to complete the book as fast as possible, this time I'm taking it slow.

I'm calling it my 'casual' writing project.

That means that I have no deadline to finish and I'm taking it at my own pace. There's no goal to meet day by day or even week by week. I just write whenever I feel like it.

So far, I write early in the morning when I'm getting ready for work and then I don't touch it for the rest of the day. I'm able to write about a thousand words each time doing this.

So far I'm not sure if this is the best method for me as I'm terrible with procrastination. If I don't have to do something, I will just keep putting it off. I think I need goals to motivate me to actually finish a project. NaNoWriMo is great for this as I'm motivated to get the project done every day until the end of the month. At the end of the month I am really tired but the method works.

I don't know if Cloud's Core will continue like this or whether I'll eventually put a goal on myself. But for now I'm happy to test this out and see how it goes. This method might not work for me but it could work for others.

That's it for this week, see you next week! 

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All Genre Boxset Readathon!

The Plague's Hope Pre-Order Live

Hi all,

The first book in the Curse of Anubis series, The Plague’s Hope, is now available to pre-order on Amazon! You can get the ebook version below, with the hardcover and paperback coming out on release day.

It will be out on October 8th 2024.

While you’re waiting for it to come out, why not sign up to my mailing list?

You get:

• Five FREE enovellas.

• Cover reveals before anyone else.

• First chapter reads before anyone else.

• Monthly news.

• Character design polls.

• Merch giveaways.

• Free and discounted book deals.

• Exclusive short stories.

You can sign up below:

That’s it for this week, I hope you check out Curse of Anubis! See you next week.

Last day to check out this book bundle before it disappears:

Binge-Worthy Books to Read on Holiday!

Seeing Snow Leopards for the First Time

Hi all,

Two months ago my boyfriend and I visited Chester Zoo when we were up in Liverpool. My main reason for wanting to visit is the fact that they have a brand new snow leopard exhibit! If you've read my previous blog posts, then you probably know by now that they are my favourite animal. I've only ever seen one in pictures and video, so to see one in real life was amazing.

That's the very first animal that we went to see and they were so sweet! Both of them were sleeping in front of the viewing window and rhey looked so cute.

I knew that they were smaller than most big cats but I was still surprised. From looking at them, I felt like I could scoop one up in my arms for a cuddle. I know that I can't do that, but a girl can dream!

When it started getting busy, we had a walk around looking at the various animals and sat in the bat cave. Another animal that I really wanted to see was the jaguar. I've seen the previously but I really wanted to see Inka again. I remember seeing her birth announcement on Twitter and thought she was such a cute little cub. Now that's she grown, she's still as beautiful as ever.

Because I'm a child at heart I got a soft plush jaguar to take home with me. I've named her Inka, and she is always paired up with Cobalt, the snow leopard plush that I got on my last visit.

If you haven't been to Chester Zoo before and you are able to, I would really recommend it. All of the animals are amazing and they have such large habitats. I would love to visit again at some point if I ever go back up.

That's it for this week! What's your favourite animal? Have you ever seen one outside of pictures? Let me know in the comments! See you next Sunday. 

PS; don’t forget to check out this book bundle before it disappears:

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July 2024 Camp NaNoWriMo Wrap-Up

Hi all,

July Camp NaNoWriMo ended two weeks ago and it’s time for the wrap-up! This time I was writing the first draft of Empty Skies #3: Burning Constellations.

My final word count is…

80,082 words!

I wasn’t expecting to go so far over my word count for this book, I was aiming for 75K. But it ended up working out quite well as I could fit in more backstory about The Remnants and how they were treated by the gods.

This book does have a happy ending, which I’d planned from the beginning. When I was writing the first book in the series, the ending was the first thing I came up with. Some might call it bittersweet, but I think it’s the best ending that the characters could hope for.

In this book, Ataraxia discovers more about The Remnants and why they act the way they do. She resolves to try to help them in any way possible when the gods return. She is even willing to sacrifice her own life over it.

Laelaps meanwhile is trying to keep the group together and doesn’t care for the reasons why The Burning has done what she did. He is desperate to get back to his old life and doesn’t want to visit Earth again for a while so he can recover.

NaNoWriMo begins in November and for once I’m not sure what I’m going to write for it. I could do Original Elementals #8: Turf or one of my standalones that have been planned for years. Once I get closer to the time, I’m sure I’ll make a decision.

That’s it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week.

PS; don’t forget to check out this book bundle if you’re going on holiday:

Binge-Worthy Books to Read on Holiday!

I Participated in Another Strong Women, Strange Worlds Live Reading

Hi all,

I attended another live reading done by Strong Women, Strange Worlds on August 2nd. I aboslutely loved the first one and really wanted to do another one, so when I was invited again I was ecstatic! I read an excerpt of Mute this time and offered to give away two copies to two lucky winners!

This time I was the last one to read, which gave me a lot of breathing room to prepare before it was my turn. I also loved hearing everyone else’s stories and the different genres that were read. If you want to check out the other authors, here are their websites:

Dianna Gunn

Liza Wemakor

Kelli Owen

J E Hannaford

M V Melcer

Once again, the stories were fantastic and were all read so well. We did another Q&A session at the end where we discussed our next projects and advice on how to stop short stories turning into longer novels.

If I get invited again I would love to attend as the organisers are so lovely. Both times I’ve been on I really enjoyed it once my initial nerves passed. I would highly recommend checking Strong Women, Strange Worlds out and giving them a listen when they hold another live reading.

That’s it for this week! If you attended Strong Women, Strange Worlds, thank you for doing so! See you next week.

PS; don’t forget to check out this book bundle if you’re heading on holiday soon:

Binge-Worthy Books to Read on Holiday!

Willow & Rose

Hi all,

Iron Faerie have published another anthology containing one of my short stories! You can check it out below…

Willow and Rose is a compilation of fantasy, horror and speculative drabbles and flash fiction from authors worldwide.
Within its pages you will find enchanting stories of myth, legends and fairytales woven throughout.
Dive into the magic and wonder of these 50+ tales in Volume Five.

I love submitting to Iron Faerie as the stories contained are always amazing. They always ask for submissions with great themes and prompts so I will continue submitting to them in the future.

This short story follows Sekhmet and her encounter with a man trying to sell Ancient Eygptian artifacts. If you think that this will go down well with the goddess, then you’ll need to read the story to see her reaction…

That’s it for this week, I hope you check out Willow & Rose! See you next week.

PS; don’t forget to check out this book bundle if you’re heading on holiday:

Binge-Worthy Books to Read on Holiday!

My Writing Playlist Part Three

Hi all,

It's been a while since I've done a writing playlist post so I thought I'd correct that!

Black Mambo - Glass Animals

Gooey - Glass Animals

Wonderful Nothing - Glass Animals

Peregrine - Mako

Maria - Dua Lipa

People I Don't Like - UPSAHL

Mr Fear - Siames

Labour - Paris Paloma

Love You More - Llynks

Honey Lavendar - Iuean

Next Up Forever - AJR

Time Machine - Robyn

Where Have You Been - Rihanna

I think this year's playlist is the most upbeat so far! A lot of these songs I just like to listen to while I'm writing. A few of them have inspired a few short stories that I've written to.

Of course, Glass Animals is on the lost for third time! They're my favourite band and I love listening to their music. They've just released a new album too which I've been listening to. My favourite one so far is Wonderful Nothing. I'm sure their album will inspire some future stories too.

I think most of the songs on this playlist will inspire mythological stories. I'm starting to plan my Norse mythology series and I'm looking into other world mythology too.

That's it for this week! Let me know if you listen to any songs I've mentioned! See you next week. 

PS; don’t forget to check out these horror books before they disappear:

Kindle Unlimited Horror Bookfest!

Celestial Plague Complete Collection now Available on Amazon

Hi all,

The Celestial Plague Complete Collection is now available on Amazon in ebook format. All four books in the Celestial Plague series have been bundled into one book bundle.

Read the complete collection of the Celestial Plague series, containing the following:

Nirvana
Heaven
Purgatory
Hell

The world as we know it is over and all it takes to survive is your humanity.
The SARJ virus is an epidemic that is quickly overtaking an already broken world. Dividing it between the Bitten and Unbitten and forever changing the course of human history. For Shannon to make it to Nirvana she’ll have to spread the virus. But can she live with the consequences of those actions?

The survivors seek Heaven, but sanctuary comes with a price, one that could cost them everything.
Ashleigh has now been infected in an effort to save her life. Feeling betrayed and distraught over being Bitten causes friction among her and the other survivors which threatens to tear them apart. And when she starts having visions that show her the only way to Heaven is to infect more people, will it be the end of them all?

The world is slowly being swallowed up by monsters and disease.
Ashleigh awakens with no memories of her past and becomes a pawn. The man who created the Sarjs calls himself a god and forces them to do his bidding, including her. She leaves her friends behind to follow him, but a part of her is still in there, fighting to break free from his control once and for all.

Between the spreading Sarjs and impending doom of The Rot, the world continues to crumble into ruin.
Ashleigh, Shannon, and Raya have now all succumbed to the virus. When Jenna and Cindy escape to a forest, they come across a girl who can see into the future. She tells them that Jenna can stop The Rot with the combined powers of herself and three others. However, their situation becomes even more dire when the group discovers an alarming new type of Sarj, one that resurrects with The Rot.

That’s it for this week, if you’ve picked up a copy of the Complete Collection I hope you enjoy reading! See you next week.

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles before they disappear:

Fantastic Fantasy and Sci-Fi in Kindle Unlimited!

Kindle Unlimited Horror Bookfest!