Smitten By A Vampire

Smitten By A Vampire

It all started as a little joke. But then somehow it turned into a little story and then into a novella. So far removed from anything I had ever written before, and during the early drafts, I was advised by those close to me to drop the whole idea immediately. When the last draft was finished the advice changed from dropping the idea to advising me against publishing the crazy story at all. You must be joking was ringing in my ears. But I am nothing if not stubborn and I continued on with my vampire story. However, in my mind, I hadn’t really written a vampire story. Yes there’s

The Self Publishing Rules

The Self Publishing Rules

The self-publishing rules Self-publishing is the buzz word nowadays. When I look at the contacts I have on the various social media platforms I use, one could be led to believe that half the world are now aspiring, budding or indeed self-publishing authors. With so many books being published by so many authors each and every day, I thought it might be about time that I set about explaining the Golden Rules of self-publishing. Golden Rule Number 1. There are no rules. Golden Rule Number 2. Refer to Golden Rule Number 1. This may sound a little like anarchy and in a way it is. Yes, there are terms and

Writers Who Can’t Write

Writers Who Can’t Write

A good writer checks every word they write It never ceases to amaze me how little effort some writers put into their promotional writing for their own books. After slaving away for months or even years writing a book, surely the book deserves a little extra time and effort to promote it in the best possible light. Some book descriptions, author bios, social media bios and other promotional texts I have seen look like mere afterthoughts and in some cases, not even properly proofread. I was prompted to write this post after seeing the word ‘writing’ incorrectly spelt in not one but three author bios just this week. No, I’m

The Subjunctive In English

The Subjunctive In English

What is the subjunctive in English? One part of speech in which I often see grammatical errors or incorrect use is the subjunctive. In other languages it takes a different form or conjugation so is clearly recognisable, but in English, it can be a bit tricky as it uses the second person plural, which looks exactly like the bare infinitive. Then again sometimes it doesn’t worry about the second person and just goes back to the root verb. Be alert, and pay attention. The subjunctive is utilised in formal, and more so now, in Business English when there is a need to express the importance or necessity of something. It