The Fight Against Fake News
If you haven't heard the term "fake news" yet, please come out from under that rock and join the rest of us. As for the rest, you will no doubt be aware that fake news has been linked to extremist politics, social division, mob violence, and crime. As writers, we know...
It Takes 100,000 Viewers to Buy a Book
Chris McMullen recently shared some statistics which gave me pause. He was making the point that every little bit helps, even the copyright page. But his main argument was that, even though the book title and cover can attract readers to check the book out, it's the...
7 Tips for Writing Fantasy
Reedsy recently published some great tips for fantasy authors--tips which can be easily applied to any fiction writing. Here is my summary of a selection of these tips. 1. Identify your Market If you think it's enough to say, "oh, I write fantasy," think again. With...
A-Choo!
Apologies for missing yesterday's post. It’s because of the various bugs that the wee one’s been bringing home since her school reopened after the Christmas holidays. Last week we had to keep her home every day but Monday, so that threw a spanner in the works: I...
The Ultimate Guide To Dystopia (Infographic)
While researching keywords for Eaux Infinies, my recently published French edition of Infinite Waters, I came across an infographic on Human After HAL exploring the various dystopian subgenres, created by YA author Erin Bowman. Enjoy! Note: if the image appears too...
Top 9 Trends in Publishing for 2019
The Written Word Media (WWM) regularly posts great material examining the latest trends in publishing; trends of interest to every author - particularly Indie ones. Here is my summary of Ricci Wolman's predictions for 2019, along wth my comments: 1) Amazon Advertising...
Have You Been Pwned?
This is an unusual topic, but it touches upon so many of us that I had to ask: have you received one of those threatening emails that claim to have hacked your computer and/or camera and recorded you pleasing yourself? They then ask for a large amount of money paid in...
Mary Bradford: My Journey to Writing a Novel
This is a guest post by author Mary Bradford. She is sharing here with us her writing journey. My Journey to Writing a Novel When I began writing short stories and flash fiction, I wondered if I'd ever write a full novel, but I often dismissed the thought. Sitting...
Infinite Waters now Released in French
Infinite Waters: 9+1 Speculative Fiction Short Stories has probably the strangest history of all of my books. Its launch was marked by the closing of Greek banks and the imposition of capital controls. As a result, instead of a big promo, all I could do was depend on...
Prepare your eBook and Paperback Using Kindle Create
Last October, I started using Kindle Create to prepare my manuscript for publication and wrote about my experience using Kindle Create to create your manuscript. Amazon has now released an Early Access feature that shows the direction the company wants to take their...
PDFelement: An Alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC
When I started writing my own books, I realized I also needed to format them. At first, I worked with a graphics artist who handled that for me and sent me a PDF file, ready for upload to CreateSpace. A few weeks after uploading the manuscript, realized I needed to...
In the Bleak Mid-Winter, a Bonanza
Okay, the holidays are over but the weather in Greece certainly qualifies as bleak mid-winter. If you don't believe me, just check out this photo I took a couple of days ago, showing the wee one in our garden. Yes, that's Athens, Greece (albeit in the northern...