A Conference for the Indie Author

While there are plenty of events for authors published by traditional methods, finding a conference outside of London that focuses entirely on the needs of an indie author is difficult.

May 30^th sees the first Indie Fire arrive at the Kirkgate Centre in Shipley. This is a writer’s conference aimed at all things indie...and speculative. Included in the ticket price are a day’s worth or writing workshops, discussion panels and a book market. 

Hornsea Writer Shellie Horst will be running a workshop on how to get the most from your book cover artist, as well as appearing on a panel about Author Mindsets.

There’s also the chance to catch a live broadcast of The Great Western Woods Podcast to inspire your world building and wordcount!

The schedule is already live and tickets are currently only £20.00. So if you’re considering going down the self publishing route with your Fantasy YA, that hard Science Fiction, or a splendid Steampunk novel, this is an ideal chance for you to come and learn from those who have been making it work for them. You can see more on their website: https://www.subscribepage.com/indiefire

Shellie Horst is the author of several science fiction and fantasy short stories and also reviews for SFFWorld & The Future Fire. Her story, My Little Mecha has been nominated for a BSFA Award as has her cover art for Distaff. You can follow her on Twitter @millymollymo and find out more on her website www.millymollymo.com  

Looking back over beginnings

It is exciting to launch a new book. There are a lot of different ways to do it ... and it doesn't always go to plan.

In this post on interviews, Linda Acaster riffs with some of the writing greats whilst launching book 2 of her Torc of Moonlight trilogy; and Stuart Aken is interviewed for an online launch for book 1 in his fantasy trilogy, A Seared Sky.

Launch parties might be physical events with champagne corks popping, but these days are more likely to be online. Stuart launched his trilogy with a Facebook event and Linda launched hers with a blog tour.

Science fiction and fantasy author, Shellie Horst, went to the World Science Fiction Convention in Dublin to launch Distaff: A ScienceFiction Anthology by Female Authors. In this article she talks about women science fiction authors.

But not all book launches go to plan…

A mix-up over delivery saw Joy Stonehouse launching Witch-Bottles and Windlestraws without any books. Writers are creative, it’s what they do. Read this post to see how she handled the bookless book launch.

There are several new launches in the pipeline. Sign up (top left, just under the Welcome message) for advance notice of Hornsea Writers’ 2020 books.

Busted! Penny Grubb’s Life of Crime

Over the festive period, a local newspaper outed me for my new criminal tendencies. Noting my recent retirement from my job as a lecturer in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Hull University, the article says, “Penny Grubb has decided to turn her retirement to a life of crime.”

Not that the local area need be concerned; I don’t have the energy for traditional bank jobs these days, nor the skills for the modern online equivalent, but yes, I do intend to devote some time to the pursuit of crime – in particular the completion of my eighth crime novel which I hope to see released on the world before the end of the year.

The first 3 books in the Annie Raymond mystery series have been rerelease as a trilogy, Falling Into Crime.

Hone Writing Skills Via Entering Competitions

There's nothing like setting ourselves targets - New Year's Resolutions or not - and the continued honing of our writing skills should be a priority. 

One of the easiest methods is to write outside of our comfort zones. It truly makes us think about sentence structure, characterisation, and speech patterns other than those used as a norm.

However, writers are often strapped for time, and so writing as an exercise can too easily be pushed down the workaday list of priorities. 

Writing specifically for competitions circumvents this by offering a targeted set of constraints: market, wordcount, theme, deadline. Writers merely need to add the creative spark.

Across on his blog, member Stuart Aken runs a massive Resources page which includes a link to a substantial Creative Writing Contests Table, updated on a regular basis. Even better, many are free to enter; all offer prizes.

So what's stopping you?


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Happy New Year!

As we embrace a New Year, let us be grateful for what we have, for the people who bring encouragement and smiles into our lives, and for the promise of what might be achieved if we put our minds to a goal. As Charles Dickens wrote:

 

No one is useless in this world 

who lightens the burdens of another.

 

We think that an excellent goal for 2020.

 

With many thanks to our readers on whichever continent you reside. May you all live a happy and healthy year ahead.