Authors Electric

My first collection of short stories that take place on Moon Meadow Farm Over the last few months the only writing I've completed has been connected to my day job - I teach writing and craft related subjects. So, it's been handouts and those dreaded schemes of work. It's taken a few months but I'm now missing my characters who live on Moon Meadow Farm. So, I decided to build a small library of non-fiction books that would help me write the third in the series (Hare of Moon Meadow Farm). The first book in my new library was 'The Inner Life of Animals (Surprising Observations of a Hidden World)' by Peter Wohlleben. A thoroughly enjoyable read, insightful and it confirmed what I already believed about animals. That in many ways we are exactly the same as they are. I have also added to my reading list one of his other books 'The Secret Network of Nature.' I have also read and enjoyed 'The Wood - The Life and Times of Cockshutt Wood' by Joh...

If you've read some of my previous posts you'll know I have a bit of a passion for hedgehogs. Well, some would say it was more of an obsession. Which, I tend to agree with as I run a hedgehog rescue from my back garden. Our brand new logo I do try not to be 'bang' on about them to much on here. However, as it's Hedgehog Awareness Week this week (5th May - 11th May) I felt it was a good week to ignore myself and write a piece about hedgehogs. Meet Doug, who I hand reared from a few days old last year. Now did you know hedgehog numbers have plummeted? In 1995 there were an estimated 1.5 million, now it's believed we have fewer than a million! Scary isn't it? However, there is a little ray of sunshine trying to peek through that thick grey cloud. It was recently discovered that although we are still losing hedgehogs in the countryside our urban population are fairing a little better. The speed of the loss of established populations is slowin...

My new updated cover I self published my first collection of short stories, Anansi The Trickster Spider  in January 2014. Since then I've self published a further four collections of short stories. With each one I've discovered something new. So, this month I decided to share some of my those things with you. So, in no particular order: One: It always takes longer than you think! So, be patient you'll get there in the end. Two: Take time to get the right cover and if you can then get someone to design it for you. Also remember to think about what it'll look like as a thumb nail image. Three: Keep up-to-date with all your paperwork. Especially the important stuff for example W-8BEN (this ensures you don't pay US tax). To find out how to complete this form  click here . Four: Keep an eye on your sales. The resellers for example KDP don't always get it right and don't be afraid to get them to check. I've done this three times and on one occ...

I recently read a book written by Diana Kimpton ( Plots and Plotting - How to create stories that work - read my review here ). In it she suggests when working on a story it may be helpful to draw a map. This idea obviously resinated and without realising the idea had planted itself somewhere in my  subconscious.   Because when I was working on a new story for my latest work in progress (Fox of Moon Meadow Farm) a nagging voice started telling me I needed a map.  You see I was working on a chase scene which wasn't going to plan. I eventually stopped and listened to that nagging voice.  So, I grabbed a piece of A3 paper and started to sketch a map of Moon Meadow Farm. Once I'd sketched in a few important landmarks, the farm house, the courtyard, the lane, the river and the orchard I realised I couldn't remember all of the places I'd mentioned in the first book ( Hedgehog of Moon Meadow Farm ). So, I started to read the book and as I did I realised I'd put some...

For the last few months I feel that all I've done is send random ideas and suggestions to the wonderful cover designer I have the pleasure in working with. You see at the moment we're working on our fourth and fifth cover designs. Thankfully the cover for my latest title 'Fox of Moon Meadow Farm' (a follow on from  Hedgehog of Moon Meadow Farm ) has reached a stage where we've agreed on the final design and she can start to add colour and make her fab design come to life.   First sketch of my latest character Fox of Moon Meadow Farm Whilst she's been working on this cover I decided (in my wisdom) my first collection of short stories ( Anansi The Trickster Spider  - published 2014) needed a revamp. We've agreed on something totally different, something modern. So, off I went looking for ideas. I sort of remembered I had some books that would help but couldn't find them. I assumed that during my last book purge I'd given them to charity, so...

Have you ever considered joining a blog team like Author's Electric but thought you couldn't because of the learning curve it would involve. Well, don't let that put you off. To help you here's my quick tour for getting up and running.  Note:  For this post I've assume you've taken the leap and joined a team, so you can at least sign in to your account. Top tip: But before we start my top tip is that although blogger auto saves, I'm a belt and braces type of blogger. So, I press save (top right) on a regular basis, just in case.  When you sign in hopefully you’ll get this page – obviously with you at the top and not me. Starting: Click on the ‘new post’ rectangle at the top of the screen near your photo. This page should appear: I begin by giving the post a title which is followed by my name. I tend to place a dot between title and my name (I’m a Mac user so this is ...