Thursday 12 November 2015

NaNoWriMo Update

Hello dear readers!

As I previously mentioned, I am participating in NaNoWriMo but not formally. For me it's just about getting it done. Sitting down and writing something.

Well I am pleased to say that I have been getting stuff done. The WIP is coming along slowly. I got Book 2 back from the editor and I will be sitting down with it soon to start formatting. I'm really excited for it to come together and I cannot wait for people to read it!

It's a little bittersweet for me without my Mother here. The first time Rebirth was released (under different title etc) she got to see it, it actually came out about 6 weeks before she died. It makes my heart ache thinking about it.

But with NaNoWriMo in mind I have been more productive, which is great. I wish I could keep track of word count but since I write from my phone I haven't figured it out.....and I don't want to be consumed by word count. That's not that this is about for me.

Are you participating this year? Want to chat about it? Post your comments here or head on over to my facebook page!

http://www.facebook.com/RebirthBookRTM

Wednesday 21 October 2015

NaNoWriMo

I have decided to unofficially participate in NaNoWriMo this year.
I have always meant to but could never get my shit together in time and always missed certain key days, but this year I am jumping in. And I say unofficially because I won't be signing up for their website, I will just track my progress on here and possibly facebook to see how I do. And I will have to track my progress differently then word count, because I do my writing on my smart phone and it's not the same as putting pen to paper or typing on a computer.

I'll be participating with my current WIP that is unrelated to The Afflicted series. As Book 2 of The Afflicted is at the editor and making its way to publication I have been spending my time with something new before I return to my first draft of Book 3 and start working. There are certain threads I need to connect before I can get going with a new draft and I am hoping that once I see how certain aspects of Book 2 are received I can start to connect those threads. I am super excited for you all to read Book 2.....it's really coming! Sooner then you might think.

NaNoWriMo may also be a good time for me to take a look at Blueprint Your Bestseller by Stuart Horowitz, which is sitting right at the top of my TBR pile. I'm not sure if I mentioned that it's a method that JK Rowling uses and, frankly, the Harry Potter novels are some of the best plotted novels I have ever read and if I'm going to plot in such a fashion I might as well learn from the master, right? (I have always been a pantser, for the most part, but with novels involving history it makes things a bit tricky so I need a new method)

I am excited, actually. As I have mentioned, this new WIP has opened some interesting pathways in my mind that I didn't expect to find and I like where they are taking me.
Hopefully doing NaNoWriMo will take it that extra mile and turn it into something real.

Thursday 1 October 2015

On the complexities of grief

Having experienced grief fundamentally changed me as a person.
I have always been someone who feels strongly and deeply, but since losing my Mother I no longer feel connected to the world like I did. I don't feel for people the way I used to - I feel for my husband, my daughter and stepson and that's it, really. I am okay now, where I wasn't before, with my lack of friends my own age. And I don't feel anything for other people's problems like I used to. I empathise but it doesn't cut me deeply.

I haven't seen my supposed best friend since Christmas. And I accept it, and I wonder if I am better for it. A rift has come between us, I had to make a decision for the good of my family that she said she was fine with and she lied about. She has told me multiple times she was going to visit and has not, was even in my neighbourhood on my birthday and walked passed me in a store like she didn't see me but didn't call. She made a big production about coming for cake on my baby's 1st birthday about 2 weeks before then never called, never came, and I heard nothing for months.
Years ago this would have gutted me, made me a bumbling mess. Now I am indifferent, disinterested, and tired. Tired of being the only one who cares about anything, really.
It's easier on me not to care. If no one else does why should I?

As long as I can write and be with my family everything else doesn't even scratch the surface. My connection to the regular world seemed to die with my Mother, and that emotional raw nerve I once was has closed. I sleep better, and my stomach hurts much less.

But grief does that to you. It makes you question everything and everyone, because if it doesn't have a point then what's the point, right?
(I apologise if I sound like I am ranting. I am really clearning my head).

My Mother was really the light in my darkness. And now with her gone, even with the light that is my husband and children my grief has carved a more permanent place for that darkness and it is a part of me like it wasn't before. It is a comfort now, I can retreat to my quiet dark place when I lose interest in the world. It makes for interesting writing and I hope that it will add something to my WIP that I have been trying for but somehow missed. I find that writing has become more raw and emotional and I am  retreating into it like I did as a child, and I like it. I have always been drawn to the dark so it makes sense that's where I would end up.

Wednesday 23 September 2015

Slowly.....It's coming

So!
Good news is an editor has been found, and the ball is officially rolling. It will take some time BUT it has begun, which is the important part.
It's been a relief to finally get the ball rolling with Book 2 because having it sitting there collecting dust was really weighing on my brain.

I also picked up a copy of Blueprint My Bestseller in anticipation of this. If you don't know, Blueprint is a method of organizing a manuscript that JK Rowling uses and, really, if you don't know how brilliantly plotted the Harry Potter books are then, well, go read them again!
I thought I might need it during the editing process. But we'll see.

I will keep you posted!

Saturday 15 August 2015

Any Editors?

I thought I'd post something here to see if I get a response.
I am looking for an editor for Book 2. It's a big project - over 100,000 words - and I think I'm ok for continuity but I need spelling, grammar and punctuation.

If this piques your interest and you don't mind coming in for Book 2 please send me an email ravinmaurice(at)gmail.com .
I would like a quote of cost and some idea of what you have previously worked on. Keeping the historical atmosphere is a prioriety.
Also, I will provide a copy of Rebirth.

Thanks!

Friday 7 August 2015

On Motherhood, I'm sure the first of many

Becoming a Mother changed me in so many ways.
Good ways, I think. Having to be responsible for someone else emotionally and spiritually as well as physically really makes you reevaluate the world around you.
From the moment I saw her, I wanted to be better, do better, show her that her Mom was even half as amazing as her Mema. My Mother is a tough act to follow, I must add.
I want to show her that you can achieve your dreams, even if you got kicked when you were down. Several times. That if you keep fighting things will get better, which was something I had to figure out on my own.
Being a Mother has given me focus, lit a fire under me that had gone out after my Mother had died. I'm still working on taking care of myself as well as being a Mom but that's not easy. It feels a bit selfish and I have to work on knowing that's not what it's about.

Someone told me when I was pregnant that having a baby changes everything, but they made it sound so negative. When in reality it's not. My daughter has given me a reason. I say a reason because it covers a variety of categories that she ticks the boxes for.

I only wish my Mother was here to see her. Raising a daughter, a child in general, without your Mother to turn to is hard. I wonder if it has been extra hard because of the relationship I had with my Mother. Not saying I have it worse, but I think most new mother's have friends they can turn to for help and advice and I don't. My Mother was my only real friend. I have her friends that I turn to, but its not the same as having people my own age.

But I am learning to move passed that and work with what I have. Because I have so much and I am grateful.

Saturday 1 August 2015

Public And Private

In the age of the internet, everyone is concerned by how they are perceived by the world. When I was growing up it was mostly about gossip, having photographic evidence of your missteps was rare, video evidence even more rare.
Now, especially if your in the public eye, you have to think very hard about something before you put it out online because once you do it's out there and it's not going away. It makes the already self concious uber cautious, and to me it's always felt a little fake and forced.
When I had a traditional publisher I was much more concerned about it because my actions affected other people. Now that I do this on my own it all only looks bad on me. But sometimes in an effort to not make myself look like a jackass I feel like I'm not being authentic and that makes me inaccessable, and that's not what I want.
Of course I'm not going to air my dirty laundry all over the internet, that's just not part of my personality. But in an effort to connect more with you, dear reader, I'm going to try to be more authentic. I was going to write honest but this isn't really about honesty, it's about showing you who I am as a person as well as a writer. Maybe that's a huge mistake on my part, but I have found that I personally have connected more with authors that have shown a bit of themselves as people (I am hugely inspired by Laurell K Hamilton's blog and RM Gilmore, if you're wondering).

This also came about because of my current sidebar work in progress (WIP) that has nothing to do with Katrine and The Afflicted series. This new main character is very raw emotionally and writing her is bringing out some things in me emotionally that have been dormant for a while, but I think it's time for me to allow that side of myself to resurface.

My Mother's death and having my daughter have changed me quite signifigantly. I have lost and gained many things, but I think my unique perspective is something I can share with the world.

Thursday 23 July 2015

Finding Time

When you have a child it's an interesting process trying to find time to do things. In the beginning it felt really selfish to even think of myself, but now that she is a bit older and more independant it really keeps me sane.
What I do is work around her schedule, with both my writing and finding time to read. I thought it would be hard for me to fall asleep because reading always helped calm my body and mind before I went to bed but most of the time I just drop. She has always been rather active so by the end of the day my energy is spent and its hard to think of anything other than sleep, and getting enough sleep before she wakes up.

I don't know what most parents do but that is the way I have decided to handle things. My child's welfare is my highest prioriety and always has been, and I had to learn to take the little moments (like when she was sleeping) to myself and do something no matter how small. Lately it has been working on a WIP on a word processing program on my phone, but I hope to get back into reading soon since the TBR pile is getting enormous.

Next on my list, especially since the paperback of Rebirth is now available, is to get the editing of Book 2 done and get it out to the world. It's tricky, but it'll happen. So please be patient! It's coming.

Wednesday 15 July 2015

Goodreads review of The Scene by RM Gilmore

Hi all!
Head over to Goodreads to check out my review of The Scene by RM Gilmore - which is currently FREE in ebook on Amazon!

Evolution of Process

Until the birth of my daughter, I was an old school pen to paper sort of writer. I had developed that process in college when I had the ability to just pull out a piece of paper and write, which was a switch from my earlier process.
But when my daughter was born I quickly learned that pen and paper wasn't going to happen. If I wanted to write I had to find another way to do it.
As any writer knows, changing your process is not easy. It stunts your creativity in a major way, but it also gives you time to seriously think. You have to make every moment count, especially when you have a small child because you don't know when you will get a chance to write again.
So I started writing on an app on my phone. At first I wasn't feeling it and it would majorly hurt my hand after a while typing on the touch pad. But then something clicked and I now quite happily write on my phone. Maybe it was the story I was working on (something new, not saying anything yet) or my muse just decided that if I didn't do this I wouldn't be able to write it doesn't matter because its working.

Have you ever had to change your process? How has having kids changed your creative process?

Saturday 11 July 2015

Been A Long Time

Well, let me be the first to say that I'm deeply sorry that I have neglected this blog, and I will try not to let it go so long without updating again.

I have wonderful news for my first post back! Rebirth has a brand new amazing cover, and is available in paperback!
I made some friends this year, and the lovely RM Gilmore at RMGraphX hooked me up with some amazing new art. Don't believe me? Go check it out. And please check her out for any of your art needs over at RMGraphX, and her own books featuring the kick ass Dylan Hart (I'll be posting a review of her first, The Scene,  very soon).

Wanna see the new shiny?






Amazing, right? Head over to the Amazon link to view the full paperback cover.

http://www.amazon.com/Rebirth-Afflicted-Ravin-Tija-Maurice/dp/1483973107/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436671382&sr=8-1&keywords=ravin+tija+maurice

But I'm back. I missed you. Did you miss me?