Launching into a new era...

When I published Gabriel's Game, Part 2: the Black Knight in April I marked the occasion with a Vlog:

http://authorpreneur.amymorse.co.uk/business-is-a-journey-not-a-destination/




Talking about Tom Sheridan and Sasha Blake's story with someone new makes me realise just how fond I am of my fictional hero and heroine, and how they feel like part me. I cry, when they cry, laugh when they laugh, and bite my lip and cross my legs when they're being intimate with each other; in Gabriel's Game, Part 2: The Black Knight there is a particularly sensual and explicit scene between them when they are taking a shower together.


It's fascinating looking back at the journey I've been on to get to the end of this writing era. In January last year, when I was writing Gabriel's Game, Part 1: The White Queen, I shared this version of the first chapter.

http://ideaism.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/a-little-literary-diversion-chapter-1.html

After beta reading, proof reading, editing, structural edits and re-writes it's a little different and punchier - take a look at the preview chapter on Amazon for the updated version.

I had a launch party for Gabriel's Game, Part 2: The Black Knight this month:

Graham Morse, my husband, business partner and book cover desi

gner taking care of the fizz!

That's it, the Sheridan and Blake Series is now finished, and next will be a new series of books, starring Kat Orlov 

(who you'll meet in Gabriel's Game)

2 hands, 2 drinks!

I've not written much of the next book, but I have a concept, the beginning of a plan and a title:

Finding The Scream

In August last year I did a mini 'NaNoWriMo' (National Novel Writing Month) and wrote a big chunk of Gabriel's Game, Part 2: The Black Knight in 30 days.

At the time, I published this blog post with top tips to write a novel in 30 days :

http://authorpreneur.amymorse.co.uk/30-days-to-first-draft/


I plan to do the same with Finding The Scream. 

Watch this space for updates.

 I'm still figuring out the detail, but the concept for Finding The Scream is:

Two children are playing in a disused mine in Austria when they stumble across a cache of forgotten Nazi loot. The children tell their father who goes to his reporter friend. The reporter, Harvey Doyle, is an American working as a foreign correspondent for a large German newspaper. He calls Kat Orlov for help to solve the mystery of the cache, and she calls her former agency partner - a man with knowledge of stolen Nazi art from his years in the British Army - Tom Sheridan (yes, Tom has a cameo in this book). He helps her to recover the finds and repatriate them with their original owners. Kat is on a journey of her own too, to seek revenge on her cousin Jon Solomon, but will Tom get in her way?

Here's a sneak peek at some of the raw writing for this book so far:

“What's with the waistcoat?”

“What's wrong with the waistcoat?”

A mischievous smile tickles Kat's lips.

“Nothing, it's just, in all the years I've known you, you've always dressed in shades of grey. About the most colourful thing I've ever seen you in is a pale coloured shirt or blue Jeans. Whatever happened to hiding in plain sight?”

“That was in another life. I’m an art dealer now.”

A snort escapes. “Art dealer. What, colourful waistcoats are your form of artistic expression are they? Trying to fit in with the London set are we?”

He narrows his eyes, nostrils flexing.

“Oh, here comes the disgruntled huff.”

His face pinks, as if he's been caught out in a lie. The amusement warms Kat's belly, it's so too easy to wind him up. She turns on a heel and strides the platform. The sound of his footsteps clunk behind her. She's enjoying this too much to continue on in silence.

“Married life has made you soft," Kat glances back over her shoulder, letting her long ponytail flick out close to his face like a whip, “And a little pudgy too.”

She hears his muffled growl and smiles to herself; there it was, right on cue.

A Face for Radio

This week for

Operation Author: 365 Actions to Becoming a Successful Author

I am still working through Gabriel's Game for NaNoWriMo and dedicating any time I can spare towards that goal. I'm still doing some small acts of marketing, but November's priority is writing.

This week, I have been preparing things for my launch events for Solomon's Secrets, despite my diversion to NaNoWriMo, I've still managed a few of my weekly seven actions:

1) I'm having a celebration event next Saturday, which is invitation only, where I will be sending my guests of a treasure hunt / pub crawl around King Street in Bristol. I've been putting together the clues and making up goody bags.

2) I fluttered my eyelashes at the nice man in Timpson's at Asda Bedminster and acquired a big handful of old keys for the treasure hunt.

3) Anything left over from Saturday's event will get used at the Launch Event at Small Bar on Wednesday 26th.

This is an open event and I'll be talking about my book and selling signed copies.

If you are in Bristol that evening and want to come along the details are on Eventbrite:

http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/solomons-secrets-book-launch-tickets-14242701303?aff=eac2

My biggest news this week, and most exciting was that I was interviewed on BBC Radio Bristol on Friday.

I always said I had a face for radio...hopefully a voice for it too...

It is possible to listen to the interview for 7 days after it was on, so hurry if you'd like to hear it:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02b4vdg

I was interviewed by Steve Yabsley on the lunchtime show.

Here's some notes from part of it, in case you see this after the recording is available;

Steve: Amy has come to tell us about her new book, her second book, called Solomon's Secrets, written under a different name, Amy C Fitzjohn. It's a mystery adventure, a bit Indiana Jones-ish. Let's find out about you. You were born in Swansea, any memories of Swansea?

Me: Not really, I was a wee nipper when we moved away. We moved to the East Midlands, my mum's family come from the Leicester area

Steve: Then you moved to the South West. Where did you live in Somerset?

Me: Wellington, I don't have many memories of the East Midlands, we moved as a family when I was about 10 or 11

Steve: What about eduction, did you go to university?

Me: I didn't, well, I did for a week but that's another story.

Steve: Did they not like you or did you not like them?

Me: Well...I couldn't possibly say.

Steve: What were you hoping to study?

Me: English and teaching. I always thought I'd quite fancy being a teacher, but when it came down to it I didn't want to work in a school. I ended up taking a year out and my dad, who's probably listening, got me a job at the VAT office. I did that for a while and discovered a world beyond education. 

Steve: These days you're a business trainer and entrepreneur and you have connections to Bulgaria. You lived there fore while, tell us about that?

Me: A few years ago my husband and I had a couple of properties which we sold and he was made redundant from his job. We'd always talked about living overseas.

Steve: What is it like as a country to deal with, is it safe?

Me: Yes, we got there when they'd just joined the EU, there is still corruption there but the solicitor we used was the most honest solicitor I've ever met, we also had some great agents there.

Steve: Were you selling property there?

Me: No, we bought an unfinished new build and did it up. We were thinking about starting a business but just wanted to experience living there.

Steve: What's wonderful over there is how the coast is quite well developed but you only have to go a few miles inland and it's like stepping back in time.

Me: It's amazing, our property is in an village called Nevsha with stunning scenery. Most people there are farmers and there are chickens and geese in the street. There are more horses and carts than cars.

Steve: :Let's talk about your passion for writing

Me: I started my first book as a teenager and got a lot of encouragement from my teachers. I finally finished that book, Running Free, while we were in Bulgaria. I'm now writing my fifth book. I had to write three pretty terrible books before I wrote something worth publishing.

Steve: Let's talk about your first book, published last year, The Bronze Box. Tell us about the characters, Sasha Blake and Tom Sheridan?

Me: They are the hero and heroine of all the books. Sasha is quite conflicted and a bit of a loner. Much of Solomon's Secrets is set in Bristol and she's working at Bristol University but in the first book she's a student, working on a dig site in Bulgaria. An artefact goes missing and she is recruited by a covert organisation, The Agency, years later to find it. Her mentor at the site is suspected of stealing it and she is determined to clear his name.

Read a short story about Sasha Blake, here: http://ideaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/get-to-know-sasha-blake-i-met-someone.html 

 

Steve: What about Tom Sheridan?

Me:  He is an Agent working for The Agency. Have you seen the movie, Monuments Men? Well I read the book and it inspired me to come up with an organisation that specialises in repatriating stolen antiquities.

We talked about the movie at this point - I'd have liked to have said more about Tom Sheridan, but there wasn't time. If you'd like to know more about Tom, read a short story about him, here:http://ideaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/get-to-know-tom-sheridan-interview-with.html

Steve: Have you always had an interest in archaeology?

Me: I've always been interested in history and exploring. I travel quite a bit, especially around Europe, and I like to research the history of a place, spending time in museums and exploring.

Steve then described the books as:

Combining history and intrigue, travel guide and crime novel

I talked about my favourite writer, Paul Sussman, who influenced the genre I write in.

I then went on to talk about crowdfunding Solomon's Secrets and about the sales of my first book, The Bronze Box.

We discussed marketing and my mini manuscripts.

I've since updated the short stories about Tom and Sasha and will publish these versions another time

Keep up the momentum

I made a commitment at the start of this year to blog seven actions weekly. I call the project:

 Operation Author: 365 Actions to Becoming A Successful Author

It's been tough keeping the momentum up for all this time.

Last week, I took the decision to focus on writing and take a break from such intense marketing. However, I have still completed some marketing actions this week;

Action 1:
Promoting and sharing the great guest blog by Marc Guberti 

Thanks Marc :)

Action 2: 
I visited some venues in Bristol and now have the venues for the treasure hunt booked. I still have a few bits and bobs to do for my crowdfund Celebration / Launch Party for Solomon's Secrets and I have also booked in another date for a Book Launch



Action 3:
I have created an Eventbrite listing for the launch event

Action 4:
I've been sending out invitations and scheduling in social media announcements about the event on Wednesday 26th November from 7pm at Small Bar in Bristol

Action 5:
Like many writers and creatives I love keeping lots of notebooks around. 

I've started using one notebook for Listography. I have been listing possible ways to market my book. Just the act of writing lists is useful and if I write them down I'm more likely to do them (I'm also fond of coloured pens!):

Action 6:
I'd like to showcase some work of other writers on here. 

As it's NaNoWriMo maybe you have some tips to share? 

Or are you willing to post the best 200 words of your NaNo project?

Action 7:
Writing, writing and more writing. I'm a bit behind on NaNoWriMo this week as we're in the middle of decorating but hopefully I can make up some time next week.


Bonus action this week:


I'm really excited about this one...

I am being interviewed about my writing on BBC Radio Bristol this Friday on the lunchtime show. Tune in: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radiobristol



 

 

 
 

Book ordering and beerhouses

This week my seven actions for...

Operation Author: 365 Actions to Becoming  A Successful Author

...have been related to the final stages in the process of getting Solomon's Secrets complete and ready to publish.

My first action has been continuing to read through the final proof and I have rewritten a few scenes as a result of the editorial report. 

It's now finally finished - Hoorah!

My second action has been uploading it onto Amazon for review.

My third action was to order copies of the book - they'll be delivered mid October.

My fourth action has been to put an update on the crowdfund marking this milestone and explaining what happens next.
 

https://www.fundsurfer.com/project/independently-publishing-solomons-secrets/update/its-alive-the-creature-lives

My fifth action was going to a start up drinks networking event. I took flyers with me and talked about my writing to several people there.


I left one of my mini manuscripts at the Engine Shed, where the event was being held and have had 2 tweets from people who've found it there.

My sixth action was booking the venue for my launch party. 

The event will be on the evening of Saturday 22nd November at the Bavarian Beerhouse. 


Get in touch if you'd like to come to the...

Solomon's Secrets Launch Event Treasure Hunt.

I added an image to the Fundsurfer update about the idea behind the treasure hunt

My seventh action this week has been making contact with other writers to write a guest post for me. The fabulous Donna Marie Oldfield has come through for me an sent me a guest post on balancing the time you need to write with the time it takes to do book marketing. I'll publish the post mid-week, so look out for it.