Bye-Bye, 2013!

This year has been awesome in a lot of ways, but also kind of shitty in others and I can therefore say quite emphatically that I'm looking forward to 2014! 

But. This is not a post that will dwell on the rubbish parts. So here's me looking back at the best bits of my 2013. (And yes, I'll probably remember in a couple days that there were other best bits that I've forgotten to include. Oh, well.)

1. My son turned two this year. TWO. He might as well be twenty. Where does the time go?!

2. I rewatched pretty much all my favourite episodes of Doctor Who this year. That's a good forty episodes or so. At least twice. Which means my toddler is now a fan too. He can identify all the Doctors and comes running the moment he hears David Tennant's regeneration music; he only recently learned to say "please" and "thank you", but he's been able to say "Doctor" for months. (Yes, I am that parent who lets her child watch the Doctor change faces so that she can write her book. I AM NOT ASHAMED.)

3. Favourite book I read this year? I don't know! I've read so much great stuff this year and the problem is I'm quite fickle, which means the most favourite books that pop into my head are the ones I read and loved most recently and not necessarily the ones I loved the absolute most. But I'll have a stab at it and name a few: Sarah Rees Brennan's Untold, Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity (or did I read that one late last year? Damn it.) and both of Jenny Colgan's Rosie Hopkins sweetshop books (if you haven't read them, DO IT. They're so fuzzy and funny and awesome.) There are definitely others I've loved as much, but I just can't think of them right now!

4. I wrote a book. I started it in November of 2012, but it's very much my 2013 book. I've worked on it literally all year and am working on it even now. And I discovered today, on the very last day of the year (thanks, Wendy and Soumi!), that it's up on Goodreads. Yay! 

I have no confirmed title, cover or pub date to share with you yet, but I'm going to copy in the teaser here because hey, what a great way to bring in 2014!

To those who don't know better, Greymaren is a glittering city of order and great invention, its skyline spiked with spires and its shadows playing host to enchanted, dangerous markets where anything may be bought for the right price.

But beneath the city's surface is a much older and darker place: a city where the bitter winters can kill, where witches sometimes have the answers, where memories can be bought and sold and stolen, where mad mothers are locked away - and where Elizabeth Graves is about to risk everything to punish a thief.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Zero Title Ideas

Hello, everyone! Just a quick one today to share a few things.

I'm over at the brilliant Author Allsorts blog, talking about what it's like after you get the coveted book deal.

The US edition of The Lost Girl made it into the top 100 Kindle bestsellers today! I still can't quite believe that. I keep looking at it just to make sure I haven't imagined it (and obviously I've saved a screenshot, because it won't last!)

Crime thriller fans? Karin Slaughter's Will Trent books are awesome. I started the first one last week and am now on the third. They're so addictive.

How to Get the Word Out

Part of my job, as an author, is to talk about my books and get the word out about my books and generally find ways to make readers aware of my books. Of course, there's a polite way to do this and there's an obnoxious way to do this. No one wants to listen to the person who does nothing but tweet their book release date or quotes from their book and NOTHING ELSE.

So in this post, I'm going to touch briefly on what I personally feel are the most effective ways of getting the word out (online). I'm basing this not just on my own efforts but mostly on the methods other authors have used that have successfully caught my attention and, more importantly, my interest. I'm going to keep it short and sweet because I think most of these are self-explanatory.

1. Contests and/or giveaways
I think human beings have an innate competitive streak. Also an innate fondness for goodies. Free stuff is always a winner. I've entered a giveaway in the past and gone on to explore the author's other work.

2. Glimpses into the process
Interesting, funny and honest peeks into the process of writing a book or working on a character always get me interested. And if the glimpse is particularly cool or funny, I will remember the author and the book.

3. Blogging
Fairly obvious, I suppose. But I think blogs also have to be fun places to be. If a blog reader enjoys coming back again and again to read your posts, chances are they'll think they will enjoy your books too. I know I do.

4. Tweets or posts about popular things
This isn't actually about self-promotion, nor should it be, but I often find I remember tweets and authors who talk about things I love - or hate!

And me? What's my favourite way of getting the word out about my stuff? Well, I just shamelessly post cute photos like this one...

Writers, how do you get the word out? Readers, what captures your attention best?

Five Random Things for March and Aprll

(YES! I'm back!)

1. WE HAVE INTERNET! We cancelled the old service and got a new one wired in and now it's up. I can't begin to tell you how happy this makes me. Now I work properly, I can stream stuff again, I can connect my iPad to the network and sync the notes I make there, I can use Skype or FaceTime on a decent-sized screen, I can play songs on repeat on Youtube, basically THE WORLD IS MY OYSTER.

2. The IPL is back. I hate it. Unfortunately my husband, brother and baby love it. Which is means it's on TV all. The. Bloody. Time.

3. Snow. Snow in April. Wtf?

4. BOOKS! Without the internet, I've had more time to read and have read some pretty awesome stuff in the last couple months. I'll post a proper list of the best ones next week, but for now my favourite new reads include the tenth Princess Diaries book (by Meg Cabot. I used the love the others when I was much younger, but somehow never got round to finishing the series), Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (clever and heartbreaking) and Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan (I love that it's set in England and it's so, so funny).

5. My book. I've been writing my New Thing for something like four months now and I am still so very much in love with it. Whether my agent will love it too, however, is another question... but we'll see. Word count: 81k. I probably have another 25-30k to go.

Hope everyone is having a lovely week! What have you been up to lately? Read anything good?

A Day in the Life (Part Two)

I am completely run off my feet today, so I'm just going to point you to my guest post over at the Random House blog. I'm their Author in Residence this month, which is totally cool, so do pop over and have a look!

I wrote about a day in my writing life a couple of years ago and so much has changed since then (book out, baby out, moving house) that I thought I ought to take stock again. That guest post is the result. Here are tiny extracts from both posts to compare:

Then

3.50 PM: Notice that I received a text message half an hour ago. Odd. Why didn't I hear that? Hmm. Forget to reply to text message because brain is fully lost in book-world. 

4.10 PM: Realize I'm hungry. Even odder. Have I not eaten today? Oh. Why didn't I? Hmm. Forget to eat because brain is fully lost in book-world. 

5 PM: Brain aches. Eat a plum.

Now 

10.30AM – 12.30PM Baby asleep. Put baby very gingerly down in cot and race like a maniac to laptop. Write one blog post, two pages of book and answer interview questions for blogger. Start writing a third page of book. Consider eating. Baby wakes up and interrupts.

It's amazing how much difference a tiny baby can make! (And also how some things don't change at all...)

Hope you're all having a fantastic week.

My Top Writing Apps and Tools

There are a lot of 'Best Apps' posts out there, and a lot of those posts are devoted to the best apps and digital tools for writers, specifically, but I thought I'd have a go at making one of my own anyway. Partly because a few of my best-loved apps never seem to feature on any of these other lists, partly because I get a silly giddy feeling when I download a cool new writing/bookish app and I want to share, share, share!

I won't make an exhaustive list here, because I'll just run on forever, but here are some of my favourite apps and tools for writing and/or bookish people.


1. iA Writer

App. I love, love, love this app. I wrote virtually the entire first draft of my most recent synopsis using this. This seems to be Apple/iOS only. Its beauty is in its simplicity. There's no messing about with fonts or settings or formatting. There are no options. You open it and you write. That's it. For someone as obsessive-compulsive about fonts and how things look as I am, it's remarkably restful to be forced to just get on with it.


2. Scrivener

Tool. There is, alas, no iOS or Android version of this yet. 

I tried this out for the first time only recently. And promptly wondered how I'd ever done without it. You can use this to write, but I use it to outline. Much as I love notebooks and pens, I'm also a sucker for Post Its, corkboards, pinning things to corkboards, and visual representations of my notes, and Scrivener gives me all those things (minus the tactile pleasure, of course, but honestly I hardly miss it!). I can make character sketches, create little corkboard notes for places and chapters, move things around and have my actual content move around too, and probably a whole host of other things that I haven't quite gotten to grips with yet! It's amazing. 

Note: you do have to pay for it, but you can try it out for free for 30 days and, if you don't like it, can export all your content before the trial expires.
 

3. Dropbox

App and tool. This is like having a suitcase hovering above you, weightless, unnoticeable and unobtrusive, but it's there when you need it and you can dip into anywhere. It's a handy-dandy way to store and back up all your important files and, most importantly, to be able to open them on any other device on which you've downloaded and installed the Dropbox app. You have an account, you can access it from virtually any computer as long as you're connected to the internet, and all the content stored in your account syncs across all your computers, phones, iPads, iBrains (I'm pretty sure we'll have those instead of real brains one day...)


4. Evernote

App and tool. It took me a while to get Evernote, mostly because I had a bunch of other apps and notepads that did separate, individual things like allow me to make voice notes, checklists, take photos and label them, etc. Evernote kind of makes those other apps redundant. It does it all. Record ideas like a voice memo, take photos, tag locations, make checklists, write notes, file everything in themed digital notebooks - it's all there. And, like Dropbox, you can use and sync your content across all kinds of platforms and devices. 


5. ColorNote
App. I don't use this anymore, because there doesn't seem to be an iOS version of this (at least not last I checked), but I loved this app when I had an Android phone. It's a little like Scrivener and, while it doesn't have most of the tool's cool features, you can use this app on your phone. If you love sticky notes, as I do, you'll love this. It arranges all your notes via color-coded Post Its. You can create notes with plain writing or have checklists. And - my favourite bit of all - you can add one of your notes or lists to your phone's home screen (I used to do this with my To Do list) and it looks just like a little sticky note stuck to a surface!


Do you use or love any of these tools? Do you have any favourites to share? Tell me about them!

On Telling People

It's not a special anniversary or anything, but I've been thinking about being a writer, or, more specifically, about being an official, real, proper writer - in other peoples' eyes. It's no secret that I've had many strange, irksome and hilarious reactions to telling friends, families and outright strangers that I write. Or that I'm having a book published. Or anything in that vein. I've devoted whole blog posts to it.

So, on this dismally grey and dreary afternoon, I thought I'd share the highlights. Enjoy!

3. The Lady on the Bus

HER: So what do you do?

ME: Erm, I'm a writer.

HER: Oh how lovely! Do you work for a newspaper?

ME: No, I write novels.

HER: For a living? Oh you poor dear. Haven't you been able to find a real job?

2. The Guy Checking Passports at the Airport

HIM: So what do you do, miss?
ME: I'm a writer. 

HIM [perking up no end]: Really? A writer! What kind of stuff do you write? 

ME: Books. Novels, I mean. Fiction.
HIM: Wow! Any, like, crime?
ME: Erm, no. I write teen fiction. Young adult.
HIM [totally crestfallen]: Damn. I'd have asked for your autograph if you wrote crime.

and finally, a real gem-

1. My mother

ME: I have an agent! Also a book deal!

HER: Wow! Hooray! You know this is because I lit a candle to St. Jude, right?

ME [totally at sea because this is so not the kind of thing my far-too-practical mother normally does]: What?

HER: You know? The patron saint of hopeless cases?

Thanks, Mum. Thanks.

Anybody have their own 'when I told people' stories to share?

Catching Up

I've been somewhat absent the last couple of weeks. There's just been so much going on, so this will be a quick stop to catch up!

1. Last week I was interviewed by Ashelynn Hetland over at her blog; we talk about THE LOST GIRL's cover and she asked me some really fun questions, so be sure to check it out.

2. Jeremy learned to roll, which now means I now have to keep both eyes on him all the time, or he's off who knows where...

3. Steve, Jeremy and I went on a little holiday up north, to the gorgeous Lake District and thereabouts. It was even more special for me, because up north is where Steve and I went to university, and a lot of my book is set in those places. I have plenty of photos so I'm going to do a 'Key Moments from THE LOST GIRL' teaser post soon.

4. I've been doing a fair bit of writing, which is very exciting. There's nothing quite like the feel of a shiny new project, is there?

5. I've just realized my last 'Day in the Life' post is sadly out of date. With a baby in the way, and planning for when we move house next month, and so much work that doesn't involve actual writing, that portrait of my day is, alas, no longer entirely accurate. So keep an eye out for a new one soon!

Hope everyone's having a good Tuesday! What's going on with you this week?

What's going on?

There seem to be so many amazing and exciting things going on in the blogging/writing worlds right now, so, with the weekend around the corner and my brain virtually on holiday already, I thought today would be a great time to talk about fun stuff.

For starters, Talli Roland recently revealed the cover of her next book, CONSTRUCT A COUPLE, and it's so pretty you simply have to go check it out!

Saumya Dave has just signed with an agent, which is one of the most awesome things to happen to any writer, so huge huge congratulations to her!

If you don't know Alex J. Cavanaugh already (and I'd be amazed if you didn't), pop over to his blog and check out his next book CASSAFIRE's release party, it's going to be massive! The launch is on February 28th and Alex is giving away five copies of CASSAFIRE.

As for me, it's been a mad, hectic week, but it's not all been baby-related. ARCs of THE LOST GIRL arrived yesterday and I spent most of the day jumping around, squealing, and just generally staring lovingly at the books. I can't actually believe this is real. Even with a copy in my hands, even reading it, doesn't feel real. It feels like I'm reading another author's book. Maybe it will sink in one day.

But I'm going to share the joy! Look out for an ARC giveaway with my cover reveal next week...

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

What are they saying about you?

Earlier today, CassaStar author and ninja blogger Alex J. Cavanaugh talked about authors reading reviews of their own books. Should we do it? 

A lot of people have different opinions on this one (Alex thinks we should read them, for example) and I thought his was such a great post that I'd chime in.

Euurreaaarrrgh. That's pretty much how I feel about the topic. Should we read what people are saying about our own work? On the one hand, I think, no. We shouldn't. Reviews are written so that readers, or prospective readers, have a sense of what to expect and what other people think of the book. They're not a letter to the author. 

But on the other hand, I think, yeah. Sure we should. For the same reasons Alex talks about. Certain things highlighted in a review - praise for excellent writing, for example, or a rant about a horrendously two-dimensional villain - can help an author do as well or better next time. We may get a sense of what worked and what didn't. We can learn a lot from readers' responses to our work. 

But then on the third hand, I think, no, we shouldn't read these responses. Because the 'learning a lot' thing can backfire. Spectacularly. Dramatically. Cataclysmically. A lot of other -icallys. 

What if you start writing things because you think a reader wants it? What if it takes you away from the story you really need to be writing? I won't mention any specific books here, but there has been many a time that I've got to Book 3 or 4 of a popular series, only to find that things suddenly seem a bit... off. And it seems a little like the author's been reading too many reviews. (Yes, if you're wondering, I do have a morbid fear of this happening to me!)

So should we read reviews of our stuff? Euuuurreaagh just about sums it up.

As for the other question... will I read them anyway?

Hell yes. I won't be able to resist.

What do you think?

Sherlock, Sherlock, Sherlock

I've always been somewhat addicted to Sherlock Holmes. The stories, I mean. The adaptations have been somewhat hit and miss. I like the TV series with Jeremy Brett, hate the Robert Downey Jr. movies with a passion, and love, love, love Sherlock, the new(ish) version with Benedict Cumberbatch. The second series just ended and I'm already suffering from serious withdrawal symptoms.

But I'm not here just to swoon over handsome detectives and profess undying love for Sir Arthur's original tales. No, I'm going to try and be useful for a change. 

Sherlock is awesome. It's also an example of great storytelling. Here's how I figure we can absorb the winning formulae-

Be funny. Sherlock may be the star, but John's exasperated expression and his doomed efforts to curb Sherlock's rudeness make for some of the best and funniest moments in the series. Everyone likes a laugh. No matter how grim or dark or tragic a story is, it needs some levity somewhere. You wouldn't call THE HUNGER GAMES light reading, but it has a few laugh-out-loud moments. We, as readers, need a respite. The odd funny line or outright dose of hilarity can turn a good book into a great one.

Make your protagonists loveable. No matter how rude, callous and cold Sherlock is, we love him anyway. Because he's clever. Because his characteristics make us laugh. Because underneath it all he so clearly cares about a few important people in his life. And John has his flaws, but he's steadfast and loyal and oddly sweet. By the time we've spent an hour and a half with them, we love them. 

There's no secret to creating a character every reader will love - and maybe that's not possible - but if you can make your readers love a character so much that he or she can make them laugh and cry, you're already on to a winner.

Be clever. This is hard. Even harder than being funny, because the only thing worse than a writer who is obviously trying and failing to be funny is a writer who is obviously trying and failing to be clever. The brilliance of Sherlock Holmes has been the character's selling point for a hundred years and Sherlock's detective is no different. But it's the cleverness in the actual storytelling that's truly brilliant. A good twist, surprise or neat puzzle can make a book sparkle.

Don't take it too seriously. I have no doubt Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have a blast every time they sit down to write an episode of Sherlock. Have fun. If you have fun writing it, people will have fun reading it.

And while you're at it, casting Benedict Cumberbatch won't hurt either.

Any other Sherlock fans out there?