novels

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What Day is it Anyway? Sunday 12th July 2020

My Day:  I have a three day weekend this weekend, which I had completely forgotten about! I had booked Monday off because me and my sister were going to Hyper Japan in London, but that’s been moved to next year now. I didn’t bother cancelling the day as a three-day weekend is always welcome! Especially at the moment when my Perfect World muse is working overtime!

I’m on Chapter 21 now and this novel really is just writing itself now!  I spent much of today re-vamping the Perfect World website and I’m pretty pleased with how it came out. Everything seems to be a lot more organised there now. I’ve also been adding to the Pinterest Board for the series!

Yesterday was the fishing tournament in Animal Crossing so I spent much of the day doing that. I managed to get all the items and then duplicates too. CJ seemed to think I really liked the fish rug as I got 5 of that! I do like the rug, but a bit of variation would have been nice! I also redesigned my campsite as I had some new ideas for it. I keep thinking I have finished making over my Island and then find there’s more I want to do. It’s so much fun though and a good stress-reliever too!

Linda G. Hill came up with this great idea to keep track of the weeks and months ahead. For those who already are, and will be isolated in the coming weeks, it is important to all come together and support each other.

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What Day is it Anyway? Thursday, 11th June 2020

My day: My book proof for Demon’s Life arrived! I am so happy with how it turned out and it looks so good alongside Demon’s Blood too! I’m going to go through them both at the weekend and approve them so they will hopefully go live next week. I can then also order myself final copies! Then it will be on to Perfect World!

DB and DL Proof

I had a call from my bank this afternoon to inform me that an unauthorised charge had been made on my credit card for the grand total of 81p! And thanks to that idiot I now have had my card cancelled and have to wait 5-10 working days for a new one!

I’m still getting on really well with my review backlog! I am now four novels away from clearing it which is amazing seeing I was so far behind!

Linda G. Hill came up with this great idea to keep track of the weeks and months ahead. For those who already are, and will be isolated in the coming weeks, it is important to all come together and support each other.

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What Day is it Anyway? Tuesday, 2nd June 2020

My Day: I’ve been reading so much more since lock-down began and as I think about what has changed since before, I definitely want to keep reading as much as I have done.  I finished another book today and am half way through another which never happened before.

At the weekend I submitted the print version of Demon’s Life so I am now waiting on the proof. I’m really excited to see it and also see it alongside Demon’s Blood. Once they have both been approved I just need to finalise the print versions of Perfect World and New Era and then all my published works, apart from Never Change, will be available in print format! I don’t even have printed copies so I’m really looking forward to being able to get them and put them on my bookshelf.

It’s suddenly got really hot the last few days. I get the sun in my front room in the afternoon/early evening so I have been putting my fan on when I’m on my laptop or watching the TV. I do feel a bit bad though as Tash is scared of it. She sits in her TeePee and watches me and when I go to turn it off she runs out and sits on me the minute I do!

Linda G. Hill came up with this great idea to keep track of the weeks and months ahead. For those who already are, and will be isolated in the coming weeks, it is important to all come together and support each other.

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Demon’s Blood Book Proof!

I received the other week my book proof for the Demon’s Blood reprint! Overall I am very happy with how it came out and I really should have approved it by now but I’m a little stuck on one point and would appreciate your thoughts on it.

DB Proof

As you can see in the photo there is a fold line down the left hand side so when you open it, it folds all nicely. Now my question is about the text. It is currently aligned to the fold line so there is the same amount of space each side but it also gives the impression that it is off-centre if that makes sense? My question is should I leave it how it is or move it so the text aligns with the same spacing each side without taking the fold line into account?

Any thoughts anyone has on this would be very much appreciated as I’m really not sure what would look better.

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Upcoming works in 2020

I hope everyone had a brilliant new year!

I thought I would take this time to share with you what I have planned writing-wise for 2020.

Perfect World

Book 3 is still in the drafting stages and whilst I’m unsure if it will be released next year, it is at the top of my priorities list to get finished. I’m super excited about the direction book 3 is taking and cannot wait to share it with you all!

Demon’s Blood universe

I have been working on a prequel to Demon’s Blood which will cover the early years of Taku and Thane’s relationship, including how they first met. I’m loving writing this as late 1800s Japan is such an interesting period to write about!

Untitled fantasy novel

This novel has literally been in my drafts for over ten years! It was the first novel I ever wrote for NaNoWriMo but for various reasons its never made it any further than drafts until now. I cannot wait to restart working on this and plan to during the latter half of 2020.

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More about Demon’s Life

Demon's Life Cover copyMy latest novel Demon’s Life is due to be released on 4th November and today I would like to talk a little about the novel.

It continues two months from where Demon’s Blood left off with Thane searching for Taku’s sire whom he believes can tell him how to save Taku from the demon Kurai’s possession.

Demon’s Life is predominately set in Japan, with parts in Tokyo and parts in Kōfu and Nagasaki. There are also some chapters set in Hong Kong. I really enjoyed writing the changing settings, especially the ones in Japan as I have been to Tokyo so I incorporated locations that I visited into my novel.

The main focus of the novel is on Thane’s search for answers and much of Demon’s Life is written from his point of view. Thane is devastated by what has happened to Taku and also the knowledge that it is, in part, his fault. His determination to find Koji and the belief that Koji can save Taku is all that is holding him together. However his pain causes him to make mistakes and put his trust in the wrong vampire again.

Thane also learns about Taku’s past, which is explored in more detail. In Demon’s Blood, Taku only made vague references to his life before he became a vampire and also his former deceased lover Minoru due to the pain that the memories cause him. In Demon’s Life he is forced to confront his past and the pain that he’s been keeping buried for over a century. Thane also learns more about Taku’s relationship with Koji and why Koji left him.

When writing Demon’s Life, my main emphasis was on Taku and Thane’s relationship. Their commitment and love for each other spans across more than a century. For Thane, Taku is his first and only love. After Minoru died, for a long time Taku was too afraid to let anyone close to him again. Meeting Thane saved him from a much darker path. Yet more so than their love, it is Thane’s unshakable belief in it that shapes the entire novel. Even when he witnesses the terrible acts that Taku, as Kurai, is now capable of, Thane refuses to give up on him. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but my favourite scene from Demon’s Life shows the strength of Thane’s belief in Taku and their relationship.

So that’s what you can expect from Demon’s Life. I will be posting some excerpts from it very soon which I hope you will check out. It is also now available to pre-order on Amazon!

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Demon’s Life Character Profiles: Part Two

Character Profiles: Part Two

Today I’m posting part two of my character profiles of the four main characters in my upcoming novel Demon’s Life. Today’s profiles feature Koji Takata and Akito Okada.

Demon’s Life is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com!

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