Book

Pay it forward.

/ lizziechantree / 8 Comments

Today is Rave Reviews Book Club’s Pay It Forward day (#PIF). It’s my pleasure to introduce you to an author who is so supportive of others and I’d love to help you discover her work.

D.l. Finn

D.L Finn

Author D.L. Finn is an independent California local, who encourages everyone to embrace their inner child. She was born and raised in the foggy Bay Area, but in 1990 relocated with her husband, kids, dogs and cats to the Sierra foothills in Nevada City, CA. She immersed herself in reading all types of books, but especially loved romance, horror and fantasy. She always treasured creating her own reality on paper. Finally, being surrounded by towering pines, oaks and cedars, her creativity was cradled until it bloomed. Her creations vary from children’s books, young adult fantasy, adult paranormal romance to an autobiography with poetry. She continues on her adventure with an open invitation to her readers to join her.

Click the book covers to buy your own copy and start reading!

Review for No Fairy Tale:

No Fairy Tale takes a look at the author’s life from childhood to adulthood and the struggles inherent along the way. What makes this memoir unique is that the author chooses to tell it in third person substituting a “princess” for herself throughout the narrative.

I was initially wary of reading this, knowing it would touch on issues of abuse, something I have a hard time reading about. But the narrative is so strong and heartfelt, it’s impossible not to be caught up in the writing. The journey is rewarding, especially seeing how the author grows and is able to find peace, not only in her life, but with those around her.

The second half of the book is devoted to poetry. Reading through these, the mood often conveys what the writer was experiencing in her life at that point. Some are beautiful, others sad and dark. My favorites are Meadow, Valentine Kittens and Get Old.

Well written, No Fairy Tale, has the capability of aiding others in similar situations to rise above circumstance.

This Second Chance by [Finn, D.L.]
Book blurb for This Second Chance:
D.L. Finn’s first adult fiction, which has just been released!
Newly married Rachael Battaglia finally had it all. The only detail that stained Rachael’s perfect wedding was a gift she received. It was the exact present that her late ex-husband had given her on their wedding day — a snow globe. That marriage was not what she had envisioned, and she endured years of his abuse and charm until one night she escaped with two kids and one on the way.
Now Rachael was headed to Hawaii with an amazing man and her chance at happiness. Unbeknownst to Rachael, she had an Angel on her side, although this Angel might not be able to save Rachael and her family from the evil that surrounded them. This is a tale of love, past relationships, things unseen, and redemption. Will Rachael find her happy ending, or will this evil thing get its way?
More books by D.L.Finn
An Unusual Island by [Finn, D.L.]   Elizabeth's War by [Finn, D.L.]   Things on a Tree by [Finn, D.L.]
You can find D.L. Finn on Twitter: @dlfinnauthor 

Calling you!

/ lizziechantree / 25 Comments

Perty.Lizzie Chantree. Launch party.jpg

I’ve recently been told by my publisher that my new book with be out on the 30th Jan 2018. Hooray! The thing is …I now have to plan a virtual book launch. You may have seen my Twitter or Facebook post on this topic, where I have basically pleaded dramatically to anyone who can help me to make this process a success, to step forward! I have already published three books myself on Amazon, but this is my first launch and it is a complete mystery to me.

I began by thinking that the launch date was so far away, that it was too early to start planning, but seeing other authors with launch dates near mine already having book covers and blog tours planned, I’m starting to sweat and shake with nerves. Apparently it’s good to have live video Facebook feeds from your launch party, giveaways, quiz questions … What would make you attend a virtual book launch and what would draw you into interacting on Facebook and getting to know more about a book you hadn’t read yet?

So far I have set up a closed Facebook group that anyone can request to join. I will be jotting down launch day goals and explaining tips I have been given in case it helps anyone else in the group. I’m hoping that the people who have joined will jump in and have a great party with me on launch day. If you would like to be part of that experience, click the link here to join in with the launch group. The more the merrier!

 

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My Author Facebook page:

Lizzie Chantree. Author photo 3

Click here if you’d like to be added as a friend of my author page.

Click here if you want to pop by and like my author page.

Many thanks. From Lizzie :) 

Monday Marketing. #3QuickTips

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Lizzie Chantree Monday Marketing2

Welcome to today’s Monday Marketing and #3QuickTips. These tips are about looking after yourself as a writer.

1.  If you work in a distracting environment, like an open plan office, you might need to work out a few strategies to be able to concentrate enough to get some work done. A good idea is to make some mental distance and create a detached view of your working space. This technique is known as self-distancing and helps you to focus on the work in front of you and not the irritation of any distractions around you.

2.  Know when you’re done. Once you have planned, written, rewritten, edited and polished your work, be mindful of pondering. At some point you have to stop over analysing and just go with it. Be thoroughly prepared, but objective. Don’t miss out on moving forward because you can’t finish the last project.

3.  Take care of your body and mind. As writers, we often forget time and space and days can whizz by without us remembering to look up from a manuscript. You will be much more alert if you take regular breaks and eat and exercise properly. It gets your blood flowing and wakes up your mind.

 

 

Grab a new Summer read!

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Tips for writers.

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Lizzie Chantree Monday Marketing2

Today’s Monday Marketing and 3 tips that are quick and easy to read are about writing. The tips can be used in any writing, including emails, novels, blog posts and more.

1.  Focus on how your reader can really jump in and enjoy your work. Will your reader understand the terminology you use? You don’t have to avoid technical jargon, but be aware that your reader’s knowledge might be different from your own. Choose words or phrases that most people will understand, unless you are aiming for a more limited audience.

2.  Create a compelling opening to your work. The first paragraph is all important. This is true of books, emails, marketing campaigns, blogs etc. If you fill the first few sentences with information, you might send your readers to sleep! Use catchy tagline for emails and try and use the name of the person you are sending to in the address. Most people ignore email addressed to an email address and not a person’s name.

3.  Be confident in what you are telling people. Keep your work to the point and don’t fill it with flowery words that are unnecessary. If you show your work in short manageable paragraphs, it helps the reader to stay with you. This is especially helpful in newsletters where you have to grab someones attention quickly and keep them interested in your topic.

Lizzie_Chantree twitter header 2017

Your vibe.

/ lizziechantree / 16 Comments

Your vibe attracts your tribe. This made me smile. I think my tribe would be full of slightly zany creatives, or people who enjoy creativity and unusual books!

Lizzie Chantree blog 2

The vibe you give off and the person that you are, attracts like minded people. You can often tell what a person is like by those around them. Surround yourself with people who will lift you up and enjoy your individuality. Most of my family and friends think I’m a bit eccentric, but they encourage me anyway. Thank goodness for that!

#BeYou 

Monday Marketing. #3QuickTips

/ lizziechantree / 8 Comments

This week I’m going to tell you about visibility and loading times for a WordPress website. Most of my Monday Marketing tips are ones I’ve discovered on my journey as an author, but I have been in the retail and wholesale business for over 20 years and studied design, marketing and advertising at college and university, so the #3QuickTips may be helpful to other businesses too.

Lizzie Chantree blog. WordPress

 

1.  Some wordpress themes contain code that slows them down. Some of the content you add can also slow the site down. By visiting a site called GTMetrix.com and typing in your site address, you will be shown a report on how well your site is loading for users.  Ideally you want an A or B rating.

2.  You will be shown Page speed, YSlow, Timeline and History tabs. Click on these to be shown elements of your site and how they preform. Here you can check if the theme of your site is slowing it down. If the theme is causing problems, then you might want to think about changing the theme.

3. Creating fresh content for your blog or website is a great way to make it load quicker. If text is copied from the internet, it can have hidden links and code inside from the originator which shows search engines that it’s not new and should be ignored.

 

Guest post by E. Rachel Hardcastle.

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I have started inviting guest posts to my blog and it’s my pleasure to introduce you to author E. Rachel Hardcastle. Here she shares details of her latest work and I hope that if you live nearby, that you manage to visit her book signing event to find out more about her writing.

MEET THE AUTHOR!(1)

Book Signing Event with Bradford Author E. Rachael Hardcastle.

Date – July 1st 2017

Time – 1100-1430 hours

Location – Wrose Library, Wrose Road, Shipley, West Yorkshire, UK, BD181HX

 

In November 2016, local Bradford author E. Rachael Hardcastle visited Low Ash Primary School in Wrose, Shipley to deliver a creative writing workshop to their Year 6 pupils. At no charge to the school, E. Rachael Hardcastle ran several hours of idea-generating activities tailored to their topic of study, which resulted in the children writing short stories of their own.

Later that month having received and compiled the children’s finished work, two independently published books titled ‘Children of War’ were published and delivered for the school’s library, creating over 50 young authors in less than eight weeks.

At the end of January 2017, E. Rachael Hardcastle returned to the school with further copies of ‘Children Of War’ for the children to take home. It wasn’t long before their story was picked up by a local television station, Made In Leeds, who interviewed E. Rachael Hardcastle and the children on The Lowdown Leeds show in February 2017.

To meet her local readers and aspiring writers, E. Rachael Hardcastle recently contacted Wrose Library, Wrose, Shipley to arrange a book signing event. She hopes to encourage the community to visit the library more often and to meet the hard-working volunteers there.

The event will take place on July 1st 2017 between 1100-1430 hours to celebrate both Wrose Carnival and Bradford Literary Festival. E. Rachael Hardcastle will be taking along copies of her brand new high fantasy release ‘Finding Pandora’ and her post-apocalyptic novel ‘Aeon Infinitum: Run For Your Life’ to personalise and sign for her guests.

Entry to this events will be free of charge. For more information about E. Rachael Hardcastle, her books and her workshops, please visit www.erachaelhardcastle.com.

Social Media:

www.facebook.com/ERHInspired

www.twitter.com/ERHardcastle

Library Website:

www.wroseparishcouncil.gov.uk/wrose-library.html