Category Archives: Planning / Plotting

Living Your Best Life

Posted on by
Reply

It has been obvious to me lately that we need to be living our best lives.

So what does that look like for me?
Living my best life is being with those I love, doing the things I love, and not taking things for granted.

Stepping out of my comfort zone and trying something new isn’t something that I do often, but when I do, I’m always grateful for the opportunity to try something new. I always yearn to do the things I love, and I’m slowly getting back into doing those things again.

Writing is something that I’m passionate about, and as long as I can write, I will continue to do so. But recently I’ve decided to go back to writing the slightly off the wall books that I’ve always wanted to write, like fantasy and science fiction. Why? Because that is where I really enjoyed the story telling and developing a whole new world (worldbuilding). To a degree I get to do that with Tuivale and my Men in Kilts series, but it doesn’t have that fantasy aspect that takes the story to the next level, adding elements that are otherworldly, or just out of this realm of possibility.

I will continue to write contemporary romance and Womens Fiction, because I still have a lot of what if questions that need answering, but I have a need to express my inner weirdo to get it out of my head and onto paper.

Celebrations

Posted on by
Reply

My son has just turned 21, which is always a big celebration, no matter where the in the world you live. But do we celebrate other things, like Book Birthdays?

I am probably one of the worst of celebrating. Christmas was never my thing, but I’ve always made a celebration of other people’s birthdays. I like to make people feel special. I’m up for celebrating anything, whether it is finally getting IT to finally do something we asked them to do 6 weeks ago at work, or a friend finally managing to get their wardrobe cleaned out.

But one thing I don’t do enough, is celebrate my own successes. I mean, I’m not raking in the money yet, which would be cause for a celebration, but I don’t really celebrate the release of a new book. By the time I’ve got a book released, I’ve read it over a hundred times and I’m ready to move onto the new and shiny project – which I think every writer can relate to. I’m excited that I’ve released a new book out into the world, but I struggle to really make the release something to celebrate.

And then book anniversary’s. I know what year a book was published, but until recently, didn’t keep track of the month it was published, so while Cursed Love was released eleven years ago, I can’t remember what month I released it. (And eleven years ago, my son was ten!)

When I finish a book, I don’t tend to celebrate, because I’m ready to move onto the next project and start the new shiny idea that is glowing (and growing) in my brain.

A friend of mine, who is a life coach, tells me that we need to celebrate those small achievements, the moments when we have done what we set out to do. We need to remind ourselves that celebration is normal in everyday life, and we should celebrate, and uplift and encourage others to celebrate too.

So I intend to start celebrating a bit more vocally about my books. I’ll tell people more about them, celebrate the topic I’ve chosen to write, I’ll spend time creating posts that celebrate what I’ve achieved, and help others celebrate their wins in life too. Because publishing a book is a win, in a world with AI bots churning out books by the day, any little writer knows that to write, edit, drip blood sweat and tears over a book, and then release it, is worth the celebration.

Worldbuilding 101 – Tuivale Map and some locals

Posted on by
Reply

As promosed, a chance to meet some locals at Tuivale.

The Tuivale Tribune is the weekly newsletter which is produced by Elsie from the Tuivale Holiday Inn. Elsie is a busybody and knows everyone’s story, or at least she thinks she does. Between Elsie and Julie, who runs the Crusty Loaf, they think they know who does what and when.

Ian Tiddsdale owns and operates the Tuivale General Store is a genuinely nice guy who actually does know more than the Tuivale Tiddlers as he calls Elsie and Julie. People tell him all sorts of things, but he keeps mum, because he isn’t one to tell tales.

Glyn Davis runs the Highlanders Arms, the pub, and the adjoining restaurant, the Kilt and Kirtle. He started the Tuesday Night Quiz to bring more people into the pub on a quieter night of the week. Each money, money raised from the quiz is donated to a local group who have requested financial help.

It was Glyn who started the Men in Kilts club as a means to connect with others who had Scottish heritage and proud of it. Turns out, Tuivale has a large contingent of men claiming Scottish ancestry.

But only Old Man McDonald knows how to play the bagpipes, and he does so very badly. Glyn hopes that one of the younger men will take them up.

To give you some idea of the size of the town, here is a map of Tuivale.

Tuivale.pdf – 1

Worldbuilding 101 – Welcome to Tuivale

Posted on by
Reply

Any story, whether contemporary or fantasy needs worldbuilding. Most of my previous stories have been based in Nelson, and I’ve created businesses to fit into that the actual world, but I’ve named streets that don’t actually exist. It’s all for the sake of privacy.

For my Men in Kilts series, I wanted to have a seaside town, that was fictional, and I didn’t want it to relate to any existing town, so I created Tuivale. It’s a popular tourist spot, being on the gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park. With a population of around 2,500 people, the numbers swell during the summer season when visitors arrive to start the Abel Tasman Track and visit the golden sand beaches to sunbathe.

Tuivale has a town centre, complete with a supermarket, two cafe’s, two restaurants and a pub called the Highlanders Arms. The restaurant based at the pub is called the Kilt and Kirtle. There’s a garage for all the mechanical needs, along with a car parts shop, a handyman complex that sells outdoor living and plants. There is also a beautician and women’s wear shop. There’s even an engineering workshop, where the first of my protagonist’s work.

There’s a school that caters for years 1 – 8, but they will have to head to Motueka High School to complete Year 9 – 13. There is a small facility in Tuivale, however, that caters for the small number of people who are in apprenticeship training, called the New Zealand Training Institute. It looks after those doing apprenticeships, including the studying part of their training.

There is a sports complex next to a sports field, which provides for soccer, netball, rugby, rugby league and hockey. The inside facilities cater to pickleball, basketball, squash, badminton, and has a rock-climbing wall. One of the inside arena’s also plays host to the occasional Roller Derby tournament.

There is a First Responders Station where the fire brigade is based with easy access to the main road, along with an ambulance and a one officer police station. There is a small emergency department and maternity suite at the First Responders Station.

Tuivale is a popular place for young professionals – but not a yuppie haven. There are a few retired people who live there, but they are in the minority. The average age is about 45. Most of my heroes and heroines are in their late twenties to mid-fifties – with a variety of tropes to cater for every story, like age gap, fake dating, one bed, boy next door, best friend’s sister,

Over the next few weeks you’ll get to meet some of the people who populate the town, and some of them will have books of their own to tell their love story.

Next week we’ll meet some of the people who populate Tuivale.

Progress Report

Posted on by
1

We’re half-way through 2025, how did that happen?

So I thought I better update you on progress I’ve made so far. I’ve published Finding Sam Healey, thanks to those who brought a copy. It was a low key entrance into the world, but I’m seeing some results, so that’s great.

I’m currently working through edits on Carols Christmas, which is a modern day retelling of the Christmas Carol. This is due to the editor on 26 June, and I’m steadily getting that finished. It isn’t a big book – clocking in only just at 40k, but I love the story, and the fact that so many people helped me to write this book is just mind blowing. Thank you to everyone who has talked to me during my research into Breast Cancer. Two of them will get to read the finished product before anyone else for their comments and thoughts before I release it, which I’m hoping to do in August 2025.

I’m battling my way through my Angel story for my new pen name. I’m only struggling because I keep running out of time when I’m editing so much at the moment. I want to try and limit my writing to three months, so getting a story written in three months, which is totally doable for me. I just need to be a bit stricter with my deadlines.

Once Carols Christmas has been through the editor, I have the first of my Racing Harts books to be edited. There are three of them. Finding Faith, Gaining Grace and Having Hope. Those names might change, but that’s what I have at the moment.

Writing-wise, I’m in the process of making vision boards and plotting out my Men in Kilts series. Hence the very odd photo I posted yesterday (if you didn’t see it… here it is again… I can’t stop looking at it, for all the wrong reasons so I can’t use it. It’s AI generated…)

He’s rather stunning, but I can’t take my eyes of her missing thigh…and what is her arm and hand doing???

There are seven books in that series so far, and it will be a fictional New Zealand Town that it’s set in, and I can’t wait to start delving into the lives of these men who like to wear kilts (Thanks Mum!)

So the next six months will be busy with writing, finishing off the first angel book, then two more, and starting on my Men in Kilts, and editing the Racing Harts. All going well, I might get one of the Racing Harts books out by the end of the year… Fingers Crossed.

Excitement is building

Posted on by
Reply

After what seems like forever, I’m finally back writing. I think it was only two weeks, but when you’re a writer, two weeks can seem like two years. And because I write when I have a spare moment, and before I go to work, an hour a day feels like a lifetime ago. But I managed to get in three writing days, and a couple of days editing.

I have Finding Sam Healey up for pre-order, and I’m working out what my next projects will be. I have a little bit of writing to go on my last Racing Harts story, and then I think I will write my Cinderella retelling. Editing-wise, I’m working on Carol’s Christmas, and hope to have that out, maybe October or November. But it could be earlier than that. It’s still all up in the air.

What isn’t up in the air is wanting to sell my books myself. From my own website. With my ebooks, that means I’ll make 90% of the costs, rather than 70% (or as low as 60% with an aggregator). It means that I can also provide paperback copies to New Zealand readers at a more reasonable cost as well. I already sell my books for $15, but I’m looking at increasing the costs, mostly due to the fact that it is costing me more to getting them in, but it would still be reasonable. $25 plus $5 postage.

With selling on my own website, I can offer more merchandise as well, like bookmarks, and other publications that aren’t available through any other platform. It also means I can offer discounts on my eBooks, and currently I’m looking at selling them at US$2.99 through my website, while increasing the costs to $4.99 through the other book places (Amazon, Kobo, Apple, Google, Smashwords and other online retailers.

I want to get serious about selling my books, and this is one way I can do it. I would love to sell more paperbacks, but I’m still working out the nuts and bolts of advertising.

So watch this space…something big is happening here soon…

Trying Something New

Posted on by
Reply

I hinted that I would be trying something new earlier this year (was that only three weeks ago?). I wanted to see if I could do it before I told you about it.

And I can actually do it, so what have I been doing? I’ve been writing two stories at the same time.

And it isn’t that hard either. With one exception.

I knew that I had three months to write some stories, before I had full time work for a couple of months, so I wanted to see if I could write three stories at the same time. I had a Racing Harts story to write, an Urban Fantasy story, and a fairytale.

The only reason I wanted to try this, was because I can only write for about an hour a day before my brain goes to mush. It was a gamble; would I be able to write three stories?

The answer is no. And here is why. The fairytale and the Racing Harts story were both contemporary romances, so I couldn’t switch between the two stories comfortably. But I am able to switch between a contemporary romance and an Urban Fantasy with no issues, so I have been writing two stories a day since 5th January.

It’s been an interesting experience, but it also gives me twice as much to think about and plot out before my next writing session.

And then I got news, I have a part time job, working 20 hours a week, mostly in the afternoon, which meant that my original idea of focusing on my writing this year is still happening.

I’m looking forward to my new job, I’m moving back into office work, which is somewhat scary, but also exciting. It means that I’m inside all day, even in winter, so no more finding sunny spots to start the day.

I hope to continue writing two stories at a time, with plans to write the fairytale next, then the Men in Kilts series, so there could be a few new books out next year.

My publishing plan this year is to publish Finding Sam Healey (tentatively April 2025), Carol’s Christmas (July/August 2025) and Faith’s story in Racing Harts (October/November 2025).

I’m looking forward to sharing my successes with you all.

2025 Goals, Dreams and Wishes

Posted on by
Reply

Welcome to 2025! Did you set any resolutions? I didn’t. I don’t because I can’t keep them. But I do make small changes in my habits throughout the year, which culminates at the end of the year with a fitter, healthier, slimmer me. I’m pleased with the changes I made last year and hope to make more this year.

I do set goals for my writing, and I have purchased Joanna Penn’s Your Author Business Plan because this year, I am going to take my writing seriously.

I was out for a walk on Friday and decided that since I’m not working (at present, I have work for about 12 weeks over apple picking season), I will write until my fingers bleed (okay, maybe a little bit less dramatic than that), and work towards building up my writer business, platform and products. If I can build my writing business to make at $50,000 then I won’t need to look for full time work.

Of course, this is a big leap for me. I made my first $100 last year, from the previous 9 years of writing. So, I haven’t even reached my first goal from last year of making my first $1000. It’s a huge leap to expect me to earn $50k from my books this year, but if I don’t try, then I won’t know if I can do it or not.

I also want to write at least three books this year, again, and stretch for that fourth book. I did write three last year and published two books. This year I want to publish at least three (Finding Sam Healey, Carol’s Christmas and the first of the Racing Harts books).

But to start the year off, I am embarking on a little secret project. So, secret that I can’t tell you otherwise I’d have to kill you. But all will be revealed. I should know in the next couple of weeks if I can do it or not. But I know that I can write a book in 30 days, so I plan to give myself a little grace and work on 45 days. I should be able to write just over 8 books a year if I mathed right. But I don’t want to burn out, and I know that at least two weeks in between in a good break, because I’m normally busting to keep writing again after two weeks off.

My dream is to be writing “full time” within 5 years (4 if I count last year). Is this achievable? Maybe, I have a whole dream board with my five-year plan on it, including what cars I want and when, and then I had to calculate in my partner’s Monaro as well.

It’s going to be a big year for me. One I am ready to tackle head on, because I can do this, I just need to put the effort and work in.

What are your goals and dreams for your future?

Moving Forward

Posted on by
Reply

A lot of reflection is done at this time of the year. Looking back to see what went well, what didn’t, how things can be improved, and a writer’s life isn’t any different.

What went well this year – the launch of Second-Hand Daughter. It actually went better than I expected, and I can’t explain why. I wonder if it was the topic, discovering your husband had a secret second life you had no idea about. Anyway, the book sold okay (not thousands, that will be in years to come) but it sold well.

What didn’t go well was the launch of Compromising Positions – this is a fun little romance, but for some reason, I didn’t sell many copies at all. Another writer friend of mine launched her contemporary romance at the same time (November) and she didn’t make many sales either. We both have to wonder if it was too close to Christmas, and people were looking at big ticket writers for their books. It’s hard to say.

As a writer, we often bombarded with so many mixed messages. Write to market / don’t write to market. Write from your heart / don’t write from the heart. Write what you know / write something new / don’t reinvent the wheel. This year, I followed my own thoughts and feelings, and now, more and more people are saying, follow your own goals. I published two books this year, the most I’ve published before. And I loved every minute of the writing and editing process, until I have worked on the piece entirely through and think it’s shite. Then I put it out into the world, and let it float away into the abyss of Amazon / Kobo / Draft2Digital to be swallowed up in the millions of other books out there.

I’m really pleased with both of the books I produced. I’m looking forward to putting more out there next year, which will include Finding Sam Healey, which I am currently editing, and then Carol’s Christmas. Whether I start publishing the Racing Harts series I’m not sure, but I intend to write three books next year.

I wrote three novels this year. The Dragon story, which is part of a five book series, and needs a lot of work, because it became a never-ending story. That doesn’t work in the publishing world, but that’s okay. It needs work.

I also wrote 2 other novels, in the Racing Harts series, Fatih and Hope’s stories. And I hope to have Grace’s started in January. I have ideas for about five other stories, which are all up in the air at the moment, so I’m not sure what will come next, but I’m hoping to write my Ice Planet sequel, featuring the son of Kelvaras and Vyvica.

I’m contemplating splitting off my fantasy / science fiction books under a separate pen name, but again, not something I am fully decided on just yet. If it happens, I’ll let you know, because you’ll want to follow one or the other, I don’t expect everyone to follow me on both. There will be the odd one or two of you, like me, who will read just about anything. I read a large variety of books, and can’t say I’m solely a romance reader. If I have a thriller, I will enjoy the storyline even without romantic elements. But that’s a whole other blog post!

I will list out my goals for 2025 on 6th January, I intend on having a decent break this year. No laptop, no notebooks, just 10 – 14 days of nothing but reading. We’ll see how that goes then aye?

Anyway, I hope you all have a lovely Christmas. Stay safe out there and look after one another. Look forward to catching up with you all in the New Year.

Reading, Writing, Editing and Planning, Oh My!

Posted on by
Reply

I finished Hope’s story on Thursday, much to my relief. Because coming up to Christmas things will start to get really busy, even if I’m not working.

I’m hoping to start Grace’s story in January, because when I write, I like to keep the flow going by writing every day, and with Christmas, then New Years, there would be too many disruptions for me to keep the continuation of the story. And as I explained last week, Grace’s story is actually going to be the second story, even though I’ve written it last. There is an overarching story over all three stories, and threads of that will need to be woven in with Grace’s story and then continued on when I edit Hope’s story. This is the story of their dad, who left the girls when they were young, after their mother died. I also plan on writing a prequel novella and sequel novella to wrap up the story.

And talking of stories, I’ve headed back into Finding Sam Healey and reworked my first chapter or two. The first part of the book are letters, so that part has been edited. And now I’m into the diaries part. I’m enjoying what I’m reading and sometimes surprise myself with how much I like what I’ve written.

I’m toying with my next few stories and starting to think about my plan for next year. There will be at least two books published, possibly three, but we’ll see how we go. Planning the next twelve months will be fun.