An authors journey

Writing a speech.

/ lizziechantree / 11 Comments

Hello everyone. I’m currently writing a speech for my paperback book launch on Friday and it’s funny how I can write a 80,000 word novel, but a two page speech is a completely different skill. I’ve been reading up on all types of introductions to a gathering and have been bombarded with tips about making my guests laugh, telling them about my past working life, giving insights into my characters and more. Some say use Powerpoint pictures, some advise not. I’m not using Powerpoint, but I will be showing my new book trailer.

woman with glasses has head down, hands clasped in hair, looking exhausted. Open laptop and blank notebook on desk in front of her

 

My stomach currently feels like a washing machine on full cycle and the churning doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon. I have a friend who loves standing up in front of an audience and public speaking is her forte, but for me, I quake inside. I managed to attend a library for an author event about my latest work recently and gave a speech and chatted to guests for an hour and a half. It was amazing, but I was nervous beforehand. Luckily the attendees were so friendly that I forgot I was the speaker and I relaxed and had fun. This is great, but thinking about standing in front of people and reading my work to them or giving a speech is something I am going to have to get used to. I’m not a shy person and love talking to people, but when it’s focussed on me and I’m in front of a group, I feel my toes turn to jelly.

Time to get on with writing my speech. I’ll let you know how the event goes and will post pictures here next week. My online ebook launch is on Monday, so I will be celebrating with a post that morning too. Wish me luck! 🙂

Logic meme by Lizzie Chantree

 

 

Are you a tidy person?

/ lizziechantree / 10 Comments

Are you a tidy person? By this, I mean, is your desk space clear, your housework up to date and your mind clear and raring to go? Lol:) I try and keep on top of housework and the studio where I write usually has a clean desk space, but with a second book launch and book tour rapidly approaching, I seem to be surrounded by piles of ‘stuff’. I have a corner for gifts for my online facebook launch, boxes for my paperback launch, books ready to sell, paperwork that needs clearing, notes and lists of things to do and suddenly my clear area to work has become an avalanche!

Perty.Lizzie Chantree. Launch party

Multi-tasking is something I am good at, but I’m so easily distracted by another idea that I have to write lists and cross them off, so that I finish one task before I begin another. I don’t always stick to this rule though. My studio, although very well thought out and organised, is quite small, so everything has to have it’s place and I am finding that my space is creeping into other areas of the building as I leave more boxes that I can’t fit into my studio, just outside the door.

Writing this is making me realise that I need to spend a few hours putting everything where it should be and finding a designated corner for book launches. I also have a library talk coming up and need promotional items and banners for that which will take up more space! In fact I need to sell more books and find a bigger studio. You’ve got to have a dream!

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Mailing lists

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Lizzie Chantree blog 7

I’ve read a lot about the importance of mailing lists and with new legislation coming in with regard to privacy, it’s been pretty hectic for everyone who has a subscriber list, not only trying to work out what it means, but also to make sure we comply if we can.

I have been working with my publisher and have a book out this year, another in July and am writing a third. In between this and marketing my books, I have found it difficult to keep up with sending out newsletters or building that all important mailing list. My apologies to everyone. I use MailChimp for my newsletters, have still sent out a newsletter offering my subscribers the option to unsubscribe or to stay and have a privacy page on my blog now.

This has actually given me the drive to begin proper newsletter and to keep up with sending out news of my writing. I’m not going to send it more than once a month, but it will have more content and things that aren’t on my blog. It won’t be a sales letter, but it will be topical news about my writing journey and some marketing tips that aren’t on my blog, which are just for subscribers.

 

Wishing you all a fun filled and creative weekend.

 

From Lizzie

 

🙂

 

Litsy.

/ lizziechantree / 6 Comments

Hello everyone. Happy new week. I’m working with my publisher on the cover design for my latest book this week, as well as beginning a completely new manuscript, which is exciting but oh so daunting!

I have just joined a readers and authors group called Litsy. Fellow authors told me about it and I would highly recommend it to people who love books. It is a community where people express their opinions on their latest reads, chat to authors and talk to each other about what they love or don’t like about their current reads. They post pictures of books and bookshops, which is like candy to an avid reader and they are so welcoming. It is a phone app and not available on computers. This is what Litsy says:

 

Where books make friends.

Litsy is a place to share and discover your favorite books with your favorite people.

The Litsy community is a groundswell of passionate readers, authors, celebrities, and more. Share bookish moments with Quotes, Reviews, and Blurbs. Measure Litfluenceto discover your “bookprint” in the world. Explore recommendations from readers, not algorithms.

Oh yeah, want to organize your reading list? Our app has stacks for that, too.

It’s fun.  It’s simple.  It’s all about the book.

 

The people registered there are called Littens and they are so supportive of writers and anyone who is really passionate about reading. I set my account up two weeks ago and have already talked to lots of book lovers there. My account is Lizzie Chantree if anyone wants to pop by and say hello.

Writers life.

/ lizziechantree / 2 Comments

Sorry I haven’t been posting here very much lately. I’ve been working on the first edits of my latest romance book and had deadlines to meet. I can’t wait to tell you all more about my new story soon. I now have a publication date from my publisher of the 9th July! I’m trying to work out if I should hold another actual book launch and have almost decided to go for it.

It’s #NationalPuppyDay too, so I thought I’d post a picture of my writing assistant, even though she’s nine, as she still looks like a puppy! She sits on my feet or lap while I’m writing and keeps me warm.

Have a great day everyone.

Get writing!

/ lizziechantree / 10 Comments

Happy new week everyone. Today’s post is about motivation. What motivates you to get up in the morning and then sit at your desk and create your products, or write your books or blog posts? For me it is the feeling of accomplishment when I see a finished manuscript. At present, I am only about 5,000 words into my latest novel, which is the sequel to Ninja School Mum. It’s hard to stay motivated when you still have 75,000 words to write, but the thought of holding that book in my hands when it’s ready, is worth the time it takes to write it.

Lizzie Chantree book quote 7

After a lengthy and exciting book launch for Ninja School Mum, it has taken me a while to re-energise and get back to my routine of 1,000 words a day if I can, as a minimum. This week, to motivate myself, I have written a ten point list of goals for the week and scheduled writing time into each day. This might sound silly, but writing time is very easily overlooked when the washing needs doing, the school run organising, the dinner prepared and the housework and shopping completed. Actually writing a weekly plan for when I will sit down at my desk without interruption, gives my week structure and makes me push other tasks aside for after my writing time.

I have been known to write 5,000 words in a day, or as few as 50, so I will let you know how my plan works. The main point here, is to stop procrastinating and to get writing!

You can’t edit a blank page.

My 10 point goals for the week: Schedule time for each point.

  1. Write 1,000 words a day of my latest manuscript.
  2. Write a blog post for Monday.
  3. Post in my Facebook group, Lizzie’s Book Group.
  4. Visit 4 other blogs to support them.
  5. Write the questions for my networking hour #CreativeBizHour on Twitter.
  6. Post to my author Facebook page.
  7. Post to my author Instagram page.
  8. Write guest posts for other blogs.
  9. Update Twitter feeds daily.
  10. Cover design for my latest book, out in July.

 

Growing your Twitter followers.

/ lizziechantree / 2 Comments

Happy new week everyone! Today I thought I’d stay with the theme of Twitter, as I am often asked about how I get followers on my Twitter account @Lizzie_Chantree There is no trick, but I am happy to share some ideas I use.

 

  1. Have interesting content on your Twitter timeline. Why should people follow your Twitter account? What would interest them?
  2.  Does your Twitter timeline represent your personality? I write romance books and am interested in creativity and people in general, so I often tweet about lifestyle, families, design. business, and romance. I also like to chat to people on Twitter. I think it’s a great networking tool and you can reach out to contact people you might not be able to otherwise. It would be a bit confusing if I suddenly began posting random pictures of cars or elephants.
  3. Make your bio interesting. The first thing people who visit your page see, is your profile picture and bio. What do they say about you? I very rarely follow anyone without a bio photo or description. I assume they are not really interested in their account.
  4. Follow a few more people each week, then unfollow any that don’t follow you back after a couple of weeks. They might not be interested in your Timeline, or are not active enough on Twitter to respond to your follow  with a follow back. You can use programmes like Manageflitter for this, or CommunIT.
  5. Interact with people. I chat to different people every day and really enjoy networking. People are more likely to follow an active Twitter user as there are many programmes out there that will tell you if a Twitter account hasn’t tweeted for the last year, month, day few hours.
  6. Respond to your notifications! If someone is tweeting to you, take a moment to reply. You might be busy, but it takes seconds to respond with a thank you if someone has retweeted you.

 

Ninja School Mum Book Link

Meet Catherine Green.

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Today I have been chatting to author Catherine Green about her latest book release, from her urban fantasy series The Redcliffe Novels, My Vampire Boyfriend.

Catherine Green

Book blurb:

The witch, her vampire boyfriend, and his identical twin werewolf brother. What could possibly go wrong?

The pretty seaside town of Redcliffe in Cornwall is a popular location for holidaymakers during the summer season. It has good waves for surfing, good pubs for socialising, and a vibrant tourist industry. It is also home to a hidden werewolf pack, and several vampires and witches, who all live within human society, pretending to be just like the rest of us.

Bookshop owner Jessica Stone used to be one of those humans. Then she met Detective Jack Mason and his twin brother, Danny. They took her on a wild adventure that shows no sign of slowing down. Now she is deeply embedded with the vampires and werewolves, and learning the power of their lust, and a magnetic attraction that is just too hard to ignore. She is also learning about her own true heritage, and how to feed her desires and satisfy her powerful animal familiar that resides within.

This anthology contains adult themes, and scenes of a sexual nature.

Book Link:

 

Cathrine’s website:

https://spookymrsgreen.com/

 

Meet Ailsa Abraham.

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It’s my pleasure to have talented author and fellow Crooked Cat, Ailsa Abraham, on my website today. Ailsa Abraham has worked at more jobs than she can remember, finally ending up teaching English in France over twenty years ago. Now on early retirement due to health problems she can devote herself to her passion for writing.

Her other interests include campaigning for animal welfare, motorbikes and studying ancient and modern religions. Her passion for genuine ritual practices are reflected in her writing.

As Ailsa Abraham published by Crooked Cat, she has written: Alchemy a romance / intrigue centred on environmental concerns and big business. Shaman’s Drum – a love story with adventure. She also writes detective fiction and has contributed to stacks of anthologies, usually for charity.

Ailsa Abraham.jpg

Book blurb:

“In Attention to Death, Ailsa Abraham pulls off something I wouldn’t have thought possible – a steamy romance with a twist of murder and a splash of social conscience. A remarkable book that will have you turning pages as quickly as you can to find out what happens next.” ~India Drummond, author of the Caledonia Fae series

Finding a murderer among a group of killers is not going to be easy for two Royal Army Military Police investigators, Captain Angus Simpson and Staff-Sergeant Rafael ‘Raff’ Landen, whose Christmas leave is cancelled for an investigation into a suspicious death on a base in Germany.

The case is further complicated by unhelpful senior officers who make pre-judgements on colour, creed, race and sexuality. Yet the insight of the investigators helps them uncover a sinister plot, although they too have something to hide: their own fledgling relationship.

Will Angus and Raff be able to solve the murder without giving away their secret?

The best and worst of human nature is represented in this story, which is why it is suggested for over 18s only.

Contact the author: