Back home!

My apologies! I have been away for a few weeks and only came back last week, so I wasn’t able to post!

We had a great time, caught up with family, got to see Newcastle, NSW, and met two amazing dogs, Haze and Bella.  They love their humans.

The weather was awesome and there have been lots of changes since I was last in Newcastle. We actually stayed in a small semi-rural area just south of Newcastle and had an absolute ball. The weather was beautiful most of the time, although for our day in the Hunter Valley, clouds did cover the sun. Weather was pretty good, though.

We also went all the way down to Wollongong – just to drive along the Sea Cliff Bridge. What an amazing piece of architecture that is! It was another beautiful day, but if you’re planning this trip, make sure you don’t go during school holidays – talk about busy! We didn’t get much footage, so our family is going to go back down there and take some pics and a better video of the bridge.

Mind you, the small town of Scarborough is gorgeous to drive through. Very picturesque.

But enough about my holidays and me! You want updates on my writing!

Updates

Clans in Conflict

On the coming weekend, the ebook versions of Dark Dimensions Part 1 and 2, Dark Reign and Deadly Convergence will be available for free across all platforms. This is part of the “stuff your kindle” extravaganza, but I will post more details about that later this week.

The Dark Road – this is currently on the backburner while I finish other work. I am still looking for more beta readers for this, so if anyone’s interested, just buzz me and we’ll chat.

Dark Beginnings – until I get The Dark Road published, this is on the backburner. So, if you want to know about Vlad’s rise to power, please contact me about being a beta reader and we’ll talk.

There will be another short story in Torkandisch coming out soon. It’s just going through editing at the moment, then I’ll get the cover art for it.

Consequences

Heart of Deception Edition 2 – there has been a slight hiccup with the cover art – just needs tweaking – but I have a release date (unless there’s another hitch) of 28 November 2025. There is a reason for this – originally, I’d planned for 31 October (obvious reasons) but with the hitch, I’ve delayed the release. 28 November is my Dad’s birthday, so it’s fitting that I use that date.

Legacy of Risks Edition 2 – again, looking for more beta readers for this – especially someone who has experience in a wheelchair or a back injury. Just buzz me if you’re interested.

Dangerous Heart – this also needs beta readers. So, same message.

Once these three are out, I have some short stories that I’ll put up in Kindle Unlimited. All about Marek and Squeak when they were a lot younger.

Other Universes

Paranormal

Strefinobhan

Both of these are on backburner due to my involvement in the Otherworldly Emergence with Bushland Castle Productions.

Bushland Castle Productions

As mentioned above, I am currently editing both stories for Bushland Castle Production’s Otherworldly Emergence Novella series.

I have finished editing the other one and am about to submit that story. I’ll be trying to lose something like 2800 words, however. As usual, I’ve gone overboard.

Pitches for this novella series has now closed and we are working hard on our manuscripts to bring them to you in a timely manner.

All of the information regarding the novella series is at the website:

https://www.bushlandcastleproductions.com/emergence

While you’re on the website, is information about their nonfiction series Australia: Living in the 70s. If you have a life story about living in the 70s in Australia, check the website for more details on that series. I know if I were to submit, it would all be about CountDown, Sandman vans and learning about Unionism through school (and other things, of course).

Also check out their podcast – Finding Elara. Learn about Mindfulness from other creatives – not just writers, but other creative persons, as well as worldbuilding and other information.

At the end of each segment, there’s a prize drawn. Go in to win books and other goodies!

New resources

As I said last week, thanks to Selina Shapland’s recommendation, I am utilising The Emotion Thesaurus all the time.

Not only that, but I’ve also invested in The Emotional Wound Thesaurus and The Emotion Amplifier from the same authors. I can’t wait for them to arrive!

Reviews

I don’t know what is worse and best for a writer.

As writers, we go through various stages when we are creating our worlds and characters for everyone to enjoy.

And sometimes, even:

These are natural thoughts and we all have them go through our heads at one point or another.

To help us with these thoughts, we share our work with trusted friends and family. People who will tell us they love our work and that we should keep going. Get it out there. Publish it! People are going to love it.

And those are great words of encouragement.

But sometimes, as an author, we need more. We need objective feedback. We need constructive feedback. Even if it’s after we’ve published – that’s why we can unpublish a book – or even make it a second edition.

And that’s where reviewers come in. They often pick up issues that our proofreaders, editors and beta readers (and those who are lucky enough to have them, ARC readers) may miss. Because they have an objective outlook.

They are professionals at what they do. They love what they do and they love helping authors by giving them the truth of the work that they’re reviewing.

Some reviewers out there don’t want money for reviews. They do it for the love of reading and helping authors.

Now, this may not be the glowing review you crave, but if you read into the review, they will often point out issues and make constructive comments about resolving those issues. They can be one last minute check to make sure everything works.

Most of them have rules that are clearly spelt out on their website – or some will clarify in an email – if they receive a genuine question about their rules and expectations.

So, my advice is – if you approach one of these free reviewers, read their rules and expectations carefully. Make sure you understand what they want from you and what you can expect from them. If you don’t, then ask for clarification.

There is nothing worse than someone not providing what a reviewer has requested.

Reviewers are ordinary people like you and me. They have a right to respect and that respect includes providing all of the information the reviewer has requested.

They don’t get paid for reviewing your book, but they can get lots of readers to read what you have written. They can get you those readers who want more. Who are invested in your characters, your world, your plots.

So, please, pay reviewers the respect they deserve.