5 Reasons Why Flash Fiction Is Good For You

The other day I came across a magazine that accepts flash fiction of up to 800 words and it prompted me to try my hand at writing a really short story. Not only was the story fun to write, but it also made me realise just how helpful flash fiction can be in honing writing skills.

So here are five reasons why flash fiction is good for you:

1. It's actually very difficult to condense an entire story into 800 words. The story has to have a beginning, middle and end like any story, some descrption to set the tone and maybe even a little character development. It forces you to think very carefully about the structure of your story and this can only be beneficial.

2. When writing flash fiction you don't have the luxury of building a scene or using a lot of imagery. Every single word counts and there's no room for extraneous information that's not central to the plot. This forces you to trim back your writing to the bare bones and focus on individual words to a much greater degree than any other type of fiction writing. If you're anything like me you spend your time trying to bump your word count up as much as possible, so writing flash fiction will force you to approach writing in a very different way.

3. Because every single word counts in flash fiction the reader is aware that all information is meaningful. You need to lay down clues without making it too easy to guess the ending. I often get frustrated reading books that include a whole lot of pointless detail that does nothing to further the plot, or mysteries where no groundwork has been laid and the solution comes completely out of left field. Flash fiction can help authors produce much tighter, more logical writing.

4. Most flash fiction and many short stories have a similar structure to a joke and  the ending is like the punchline. In order to pull this off authors must be original and inventive.

5. Flash fiction is an ideal place to start for beginning writers who may feel daunted by writing longer stories. It allows you play around with your style an point of view while you are developing your own unique voice. For experienced writers it can be a great way to  hone skills and experiment between books. There is also a strong market online for this type of fiction, providing opportunities to reach more readers.

For all of these reasons I will continue to write flash fiction and maybe even post some of it on this blog!

Are You a Plotter, Pantser or Plantser?

Are you the type of writer who likes to have everything planned out in great detail before you set pen to paper and begin writing your novel or story? Do you create detailed character profiles and plot diagrams for every twist and turn well before you have composed the first sentence? Do you already know in advance what your themes are and how your characters will develop over the course of the book? If you answered yes to these questions then you, my friend, are a planner.

 

On the other hand if you start writing with no clear idea of where your story is going, who your characters are or even what the story it is about then you fall into the category of pantser. You thrive on uncertainty and see writing as a journey which is as exciting for you as it is for the reader. You delight in coming up with connections and ideas on the run and you give your unconscious a lot of leeway to create.

 

 

These are the two extremes of the writing world, but my guess is that most writers probably fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum, making them plantsers. I'm definitely in the plantser category because I begin with a basic outline for each chapter and an overall idea I want to express, but I don't fill in the details till I actually start writing. Once I begin writing the story and characters change a great deal from my original plan. I believe in giving the unconscious room to play and for me the most satisfying part of writing is seeing connections I hadn't even realised were there, and the plot twists I didn't consider when planning, but which suddenly seem ideal. In a sense, writing is a lot like reading, and if your story doesn't entertain and thrill you as you're composing it, then chances are it won't thrill anyone else either.

I love the term plantser because it really captures the organic process of writing. Just like a plant a story has to begin with a seed planted in the fertile soil of the imagination, and as it begins to grow the roots develop to hold the story together and keep it anchored. Above the soil is the story itself, growing and blossoming in beautiful and often unexpected ways.

Everyone has their own approach to their craft and you have to go with what works for you, but I believe plantsers manage to avoid the pitfalls that come with being a planner or a panser. Planners risk overthinking things and losing spontaneity. Pantsers on the other hand often find that they start out with great enthusiasm but then come to a grinding halt because they don't know how to finish the story. Their characters can come across as superficial because they haven't spent enough time thinking about the motivations and how they will develop. I know this from experience because I have taken a pantser approach with my current WIP and I've found it far more difficult than my previous books. It's not approach I'll be taking again in a hurry.

I've discovered I'm a plantser through and through because this approach combines the best of both worlds. It provides a solid grounding to build on while also allowing the imagination to run free and do its magic. Who could ask for more than this?

What type of writer are you?

The Sound & Fury of Australian Politics

"It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

  William Shakespeare, Macbeth

I wonder what Shakespeare would make of the current state of politics? As a keen observor of humanity and its foibles he probably wouldn't be surprised at the greed, self-interest and hypocrisy that now dominate the political landscape, but I do believe even he would be shocked at just how juvenile and ridiculous political debate has become.

Scenes in Australian parliament this week demonstrate this point. Discussion has now been reduced to slanging matches over the misogyny of the leader of the opposition, Tony Abbott. Recognising that Abbott has a major problem appealing to women voters, Labor has gone all-out with their campaign to portray him as a male-chauvinist pig with attitudes right out of the stone-age.

I have absolutely no doubt there's more than a grain of truth in these accusations, and misogyny is alive in both parliament and wider society. Julia Gillard has been subjected to crude personal attacks and name-calling that male politicians have never had to endure and I  must admitt did get some satisfaction watching her make Abbott squirm.  However, I also believe that this focus on gender and sexism is abeing used by both parties to distract attention from the real issues about the economy and the fact that neither of them can put forward a platform that people will actually support. Rather than acknowledge this, they have to focus on these issues, and that's why parliament has degenerated into childish insults and point-scoring. This article sums it up better than I can.

Those who lauded Gillard for standing up to the bullies have totally missed the point. This article portrays her speech as a "triumph of feminism." Is it also a triumph of feminism to force single parent families onto the dole when the last child turns eight, effectively cutting the income of the most disadvanged families in society, the majority of which are headed by women? There was nothing remotely spontaneous or 'real' about her speech. Every move is carefully orchestrated to hit Abbott in his weak spot with voters and to distract attention away from her support for Peter Slipper, and other important questions. The whole debate is calculated. Gillard is an extremely ruthless politician who will say or do anything to survive, and to see her as some kind of "every woman" finally standing up for herself is ridiculous.

It's not just parliament that has degenerated markedly over the past few years. The media plays a huge role in blowing controversies way out of proportion, and causing people to focus on what is basically a whole lot of hot air while the country goes to hell in a handbasket. I can't believe the number of news reports I've read recently where they quote from Twitter and Facebook. Journalists have taken to scanning through social media sites to find the most offensive comments which they then use to stir up a hornet's nest. I really do despair at the state of the media, politics and society in general, and it can't be denied that all three are in a state of decay.

Climate Change.....Coming Soon to Every Town & City Near You!

 

 

First climate change came for the polar bears and I did not speak out because I was not a polar bear.

(I was also too busy watching The Kardashians).

 

Then climate change came in the form of extreme weather events but I did not speak out because my home wasn't flooded or burnt to the ground. (And Fox news said the world was actually cooling, not warming, despite the amount of hot air they were personally pumping into the atmosphere).

 

 

Then climate change caused food shortages and many began to starve, but I did not speak out because I still had food in my stomach (And surely this was a third-world problem that could never affect me! They were always starving and dying in those countries, so it really wasn't anyting to work up a sweat over).

 

Then climate change came for the low lying nations and I did not speak out because I did not live in a low-lying nation (Although I did start to get a bit worried at this point).

Then climate change came for me and there was no one left to speak out. (Why the hell didn't anybody warn me about this before it was too late?)

 

The Evolution of Man

Kate Middleton's Breasts & Climate Change

Two articles in Saturday's Sydney Morning Herald really encapsulated for me how reprehensible the mass media is, and how mindless and pathetic we, its consumers, have become.  Strong words, I know, but please bear with me.

The first article titled Spot the Moral in the Fairy Story was about the Kate Middleton topless photo scandal that dominated the news last week. This "story" recieved more coverage than any other news event of the week, with people weighing in from all sides with their opinions. What was a minor emabarassment for the royal family was portrayed as an issue of extreme social and political importance.

 The article about the scandal dominated page 12 in the news review section of Saturdays SMH, with the picture above placed in the centre of the page. Now let me compare it to the shorter, far less flashy article that appeared underneath, titled Four-Degree Rise Demands 90-degree Rethink. This report by Ian Dunlop states that "in the past few weeks, melting of the Arctic sea ice has acclerated dramatically." Interestingly I did not read about this development ANYWHERE else in the media. It got not even a tiny fraction of the attention Kate Middleton's boobs received, despite the fact that it could spell the end of the world as we know it.

Some key points from the article:

* On current trends the Arctic will be ice-free all year by 2030 - events that were not expected to occur for another one hundred years. More concerning, the Greenland ice sheet this year has had unprecedented melting, adding to a trend that will substantially increase sea levels.

* Beyond the Arctic, the world is in the fifth year of a severe food crisis - largely climate change driven - that is about to become far worse as the full impact of extreme drought in the US food bowl works its way through the global food chain.

*The polar icecaps are one of the vital regulators of global climate; if the ice disappears, the absorption of more solar radiation accelerates ocean warming....This may initiate IRREVERSIBLE RUNAWAY WARMING.

*We know how to establish a genuine low-carbon economy, which would stave off the worst impacts of climate change, but it is too late for gradual implementation. It has to be set up at emergency speed. Yet we hear nothing of this from the political, business or NGO institutions that should be leading the response. Why?

Very good question. Why, indeed. Why aren't these issues treated with the urgency required? Why is the media saturated with inconsequential stories about Kate Middleton's breasts when "climate change has moved into a new and dangerous phase"? It's because of the fossil fuel companies that will lose money if sustainable energy is adopted (God forbid! Better to watch the world burn than lose your multi-million dollar pay cheque). It's the complete subjugation of politcal leaders of all stripes to big business, and it's ordinary people like you and me who allow ourselves to be brainwashed an anaesthetised by what passes as "news" in this shallow, celebrity-obsessed culture.

And if nothing changes soon, we're all royally screwed.

When global warming came for the polar bears

I remained silent

I was not a polar bear

*My novella Prude & Prejudice is free for the next five days (24th - 28th September)

Pleasure Island - Chapter One







*Please forgive the dodgy formatting. This was copied from a text file and it will not co-operate with blogger.

Jackson Moore took one final drag on his cigarette before  dropping it to the ground and raising his hand to his forehead to squint up at the small plane in front of him. Through blurry and bloodshot  eyes, the aftereffect of a night of heavy drinking, he could just make out the name of a regional airline he’d never heard of. He was accustomed to traveling in much greater style than this, but at the
moment, the plane was the least of his worries. What concerned him far more was the fact that, in a very short time, this plane would carry him away to a secret destination somewhere in the South Pacific where he was not permitted to drink or smoke at all, and he didn’t know how he was going to survive.
     “I guess this is it,” he muttered to himself, “my last taste of freedom.” There was nothing more he could do to delay the inevitable, but try as he might, he couldn’t get his legs to work. Instead he dropped his eyes back to the ground and just stood there, staring longingly at the discarded butt at his feet. Noticing the cigarette was still alight, Jack was tempted to pick it up for one final nicotine hit. He was still deciding whether he could get away with this when one of the producer’s assistants from the studio came up behind him and softly touched his elbow, urging him to get on the plane.
    “It’s time to board the flight, Mr. Moore.”
     “All right, honey, don’t rush me. I’m getting there,” he said irritably, still fighting the urge to pick the cigarette up. As she stepped in front of him, Jack transferred his gaze to her butt and gave her a
halfhearted smack on it, causing her to giggle like a schoolgirl.
    “Not now, Jack, I’m working,” she said in a stage whisper, clearly loving the attention. To his disappointment, not even the sight of her firm cheeks straining against the fabric of her skirt could take his mind off the fact that he needed another cigarette. He almost wished he hadn’t screwed her in his hotel room the previous night because then at least he could have distracted himself during the flight by flirting with her and possibly getting some “mile-high” action. He had no doubt she’d be
up for it, and normally he would have taken full advantage of her starstruck awe, but today she just wasn’t enough of a challenge. It wasn’t just the absence of cigarettes and booze either, but the thought of having to spend almost every waking moment on the island with a person he hadn’t even met yet that was causing his blood pressure to soar. The worst part was he didn’t even know why he felt so worried. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt nervous about anything, and he decided the best way to calm his nerves was by drinking as much as humanly possible during the flight. Based on previous experience, that was a lot. As the small plane taxied down the runway, Jack’s heart began to race, and by the time they were in the air, he was struggling to ward off a panic attack.
    “Just what have I gotten myself into this time?” he said as he took his first sip of whiskey and waited for the familiar warm glow to spread through his veins. His agent, Rebecca, had thought Pleasure Island was a fabulous opportunity to resurrect his career, and when she raised it with him while he was in rehab, Jack had agreed with her. In theory he still did. He needed people to believe he was capable of staying sober and finishing a job. It was the only way that he was ever going to get hired in Hollywood again, because at the moment, he was basically blacklisted by every major studio.
In his opinion, it was all blown way out of proportion, but he’d agreed to “clean up” to get everyone off his back. Just because he’d turned up on set wasted and knocked over some props a few times, it
wasn’t any reason to shut down the entire movie. Even he had to admit he’d gone too far when he threw up on the director, but he’d brought the man a new pair of shoes and even stayed home that night to ensure he’d be sober for shooting the next day. When he arrived at the studio at the crack of dawn, ready to get serious, he’d found armed guards waiting to escort him from the set. The humiliation of that moment would stay with him till the day he died. To add insult to
injury, they’d replaced him with Aiden Renshaw, and there was no talk of ever having him back again, even though he had starred in the first three films in the Monster Man franchise. He was Monster Man, and it killed him to see how easily he was replaced. Jack took another swig of whiskey to block out the bad memories and drained his glass loudly. He shook his empty glass in the face of
the assistant who was now seated beside him. Beyond her head he noticed a cute little redhead he hadn’t seen before, and his interest was suddenly aroused. She wasn’t his usual type as she looked to be around thirty and he liked his women younger. She also came across as a bit too repressed and librarianish for his taste, but she was definitely a challenge, and who knew what depths of depravity lay beneath her boring outfit? Could there be the possibility of a little three-way mile-high action with her and the assistant to take his mind off what lay ahead? That was something even he hadn’t tried before. Granted, it would be a little tricky in the bathroom of this small plane, but with a bit of creativity, he was sure they could manage. He flashed his most winning smile at the assistant, Candy, or whatever her name was, and then at the redhead behind her, before shaking his empty glass again in the assistant’s face. She clearly hadn’t been employed for her brains, and Jack felt his annoyance rise as she stared at him blankly.
    “Sweetheart,” he said impatiently, “how many times do I have to ask you for another drink? I thought you were supposed to take care of my every need. Not that I’m complaining about the job you did last night, mind you.” Candy tittered in response, and Jack leered at her before looking
past her to see if the redhead had caught his witty comment. She was staring out the window, listening to her iPod, and Jack’s annoyance rose further. He wasn’t used to being ignored by women, especially nobodies like her, and he made a mental note to find out who she was and make sure that she was fired before the day was out.
    “I’m sorry, Mr. Moore,” Candy said, “but you’re only allowed to have one drink on the plane. It was in your contract.”
    “What the hell are you talking about?” said Jack loudly. “I read no such thing in my contract. Who came up with this bullshit idea?”
    “I don’t know,” stammered Candy. “I was just told not to—”
    “You mean to tell me I’m going to be stuck on this goddamn island for who knows how long with no alcohol or cigarettes, and you want to deny me a last drink now? This is a joke.” He was really
working himself up into a rage. He could feel his face turning red and his eyes bulging, but he didn’t care. “Go and get me a drink right now, or you can tell the captain to turn this fucking plane around and take me back to L.A.” Candy was almost in tears as she got up from the seat and
disappeared down the front of the plane. A moment later, Pam, the producer and host of the show, slipped into the seat next to him. She was one of those women who had been bossing people around for so long that she thought she was a man.
    “I see you still don’t have my drink,” he said sarcastically. “I can’t believe you’re pulling this crap on me when we’re in the air, Pam, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
    “Jack,” said Pam gently, “it was all there in your contract, and you agreed to it. There’s to be no drinking or drugs on the island. We want the world to see you exactly as you are, and it wouldn’t be a great start if you were to turn up there drunk, now would it?”
    “Come on, Pam, get real. What difference is one more little drink going to make? Once I’m on the island, there’s no way I can go to a bar, so why don’t you just let me have some fun while I still can?”
    “When we hired you, Jack, we were under the impression that you were sober, but you’re not acting like someone who can live without alcohol to me.” This was too much for Jack, and he tried to rise to his feet, but sat back down abruptly when he hit his head on the overhead compartment.
    “All I want is one goddamn drink,” he said at the top of his voice so the whole plane could hear. “Why are you making a federal case out of this? You people are lucky to have me on this show and should be doing whatever you can to keep me happy. I have plenty of other offers, you know. I don’t have to be here, and if you don’t get me another drink, I swear to God I’m going to walk from this project and you can find someone else.” Pam gave him a long look before slipping out of the seat and
moving back to the front of the plane. He could see her conferring with the other producers before she nodded her head and then motioned for Candy to get him another drink. Candy came back with a fresh glass of ice and a bottle of whiskey. Just as she was about to pour his drink, Jack reached across and grabbed the bottle out of her hand.
    “No need to worry about the glass,” he said with a laugh. “This will do just fine.” Candy looked helplessly at him before glancing back at Pam, who simply shrugged her shoulders and turned away. They knew there was nothing they could do now. They had invested far too much money in
this to back out now, and he was their star attraction. People were curious to find out what had happened to him after he’d been fired from Monster Man, and he knew they were all dying to see how long he could handle being on the island. He had every intention of outlasting his opponent and winning the $5 million, and he couldn’t believe they were making such a big deal over a few drinks.
Jack swallowed almost a quarter of the bottle in one gulp, and just as he was about to take another swig, he noticed that the redhead across the aisle had taken out her earphones and was looking at him
with an appalled expression on her face.
    “Cheers, princess,” he called out to her, raising the bottle in hedirection. “You look like you could use a few drinks yourself. Might loosen up that tight little—”
    “I think that’s enough,” said Candy, quickly interrupting him and trying to take the bottle from his hand, but without success.
    “Hey, don’t you try to take my bottle away from me,” slurred Jack as he took another sip. “Don’t you know who I am, girl? I’m Jack Moore. I’m Monster Man.”
    “That’s right, Monster Man,” said Candy in a cajoling voice as if she was talking to a child. “Now why don’t you take these little sweets here and have a nice sleep before we get to the island?” Jack’s eyes lit up when he saw the white pills in her hand, and he grabbed them and stuffed them in his mouth. Within ten minutes, he felt his eyelids growing heavy, and he let his head drop onto Candy’s shoulder as he drifted off into blissful oblivion.

* * * *

Allie Read watched the whole episode unfold with a growing sense of horror. She had found out just a couple of hours ago that Jackson Moore was the celebrity she was going to be stuck with on
the island until one of them gave up and begged to go home, and if she hadn’t already signed the contract, she would have been very tempted to walk away. There was no denying the man was gorgeous with his dark, wavy hair, chiseled jaw and broad, sexy shoulders. He had the classic looks of a leading man but that in no way made up for his complete lack of talent. She had seen just one of his films, when her friend brought it over for a laugh one night. They had ridiculed the acting and plot, and then felt really depressed that such a bad film could become a huge box office success. Allie also knew a little about Jack’s reputation as an obnoxious drunk, and he had just confirmed that this reputation was spot on. She wished her friend, Danny, was there with her right now so that she could throttle him for talking her into going on this trashy reality show, which was bound to be a disaster and could be very damaging to her career. When he had first suggested it over lunch at their favorite café in the inner-city Sydney suburb of Surry Hills a few months earlier, she had thought he was joking.
    “I’m a serious documentary filmmaker. I don’t even watch reality TV, let alone audition to be on it,” she had protested.
    “Don’t you see what a great opportunity this is to find out how things work behind the scenes? You might even get a documentary out of it.”
    “Don’t pretend you’re actually concerned about my career. I know the only reason you want me on this show is because you’re obsessed with Hollywood and all of the terrible reality shows that come out of it.”
    “True, but you can’t deny I have a point about getting an insider’s perspective on the audition process, and you’re always looking for fresh new ideas for your documentaries.”
    “Why don’t you audition, then, if you think it would be that educational?” she had asked sarcastically.
    “You know I’d love to but they want women only, and although I am a very convincing actor, even I couldn’t pull off a bikini on the island. Just do it for me, pleeaasse. It’s not every day that you get a
chance to hobnob with Hollywood types and then tell me all about it. For some reason they seem to want an Australian for this part, and I think you’d be perfect.” In the end, she had agreed to put together an audition tape just to shut him up. Danny had wanted her to really spice it up by acting
super outgoing and bubbly, and he had ransacked her wardrobe, pulling out sexy outfits for her to try on. Allie had tried to do it his way, but then given up because she just couldn’t pretend to be
something that she wasn’t. Instead she had worn her usual cargo pants and T-shirt and introduced herself simply as she was—an environmentalist, vegan, Buddhist, feminist, documentary filmmaker.
She had mentioned some of the documentaries she had made and spoken passionately about environmental issues. Danny had looked extremely disappointed when he left, and Allie knew he had lost all hope of getting an inside track to Hollywood. They had both forgotten all about the whole thing, when, three weeks later, Allie got the call to come and audition in person. She had arrived at the studio with Danny on an overcast morning, and when she saw the lineup for the audition, she almost turned back. There seemed to be hundreds of women there, and they were all trying their hardest to outtalk and outshine each other, even before the cameras started rolling. She noticed that they were all different shapes and sizes, too, so it really wasn’t clear what the producers were looking for. It seemed like they had decided to audition as many different types as possible to try to get an idea about what would work, and Allie was mortified that she had let herself become part of this circus.
    “Do you know how many thousands of people sent auditions in for this?” said Danny when she told him she wanted to go home. “And you want to throw this opportunity away with both hands. It’s
sacrilegious.”
    “I think you’d better look up the definition of sacrilegious before you use it again,” said Allie, but then she had started talking to some of the women in the line about why they wanted to be on the show, and the filmmaker in her took over. She found it fascinating that most of them saw this as an opportunity to break into show business and escape their mundane lives. Fame for its own sake seemed to be their overriding goal, and many of them didn’t care what they had to do to get it, just as long as they got their shot. They seemed to think that becoming famous through reality TV would solve all their problems and give them a ticket to a life of endless glamour and excitement.
    “Don’t you realize how many reality stars have sunk without a trace as soon as their shows ended?” she had asked one young woman in the line.
    “But it will be different for me. I’ll make sure of it,” she replied. Most of the women she spoke to could name at least ten people off the top of their heads who had carved out show business careers for
themselves after starting in reality TV, and they all believed they would be just as fortunate. There was definitely a project here, she realized. As she made her way down the line talking to women, there was plenty of speculation about who the mystery celebrity was going to be.
    “I’m sure it’s going to be an Australian,” several women had said. “I heard they are only auditioning here.” Many names were flung around, but not once did Allie recall hearing Jackson Moore mentioned, even though he was one of the biggest Australian stars to make it in Hollywood in the last decade. She guessed it was because he had left the country a long time ago and rarely seemed to come back, so people didn’t associate him with Australia anymore. His life was also such a train wreck that nobody would have expected him to agree to a fly-on-the-wall show like this. Even though he had not yet turned forty, the consensus seemed to be that his career was over. Despite Danny’s hopes, Allie’s actual audition was very unglamorous. She was given two minutes to explain before the camera why she should be on the show, and she had basically
repeated what she had said in her audition tape. Two hours later, when she heard her name called as one of fifty who had made it through to the next level, she thought there must have been a mistake.
    “Can you please check that they got the right person?” she had asked the lady who announced the finalists, and when she came back to confirm that, yes indeed, Allison Read had made it through, Danny had actually cartwheeled across the room.
    “Why aren’t you excited about this?” he demanded when Allie didn’t share his enthusiasm. “Don’t you watch Idol? When people get through to the next level, they don’t just stand there like stunned
mullets.”
    “At least on those shows they actually have to have talent to make it through. I’ve done absolutely nothing to deserve this, and I’m very confused about why I’ve been chosen.”
    “Don’t you see?” Danny, gripped her shoulders. “It’s you they love just the way you are, and that is so much better than all the talent in the world.” Allie couldn’t help laughing, and she decided to stop analyzing it too much and just enjoy the experience while it lasted. They had to wait around for another hour before she was called again, and Danny passed the time giving Allie’s competitors death stares. Finally the remaining women were broken into groups of five, and in these small groups, they were given a murder mystery to solve while people with clipboards stood around observing them. It was exactly like a job interview Allie had been to a few years before. She was teamed with four women she nicknamed the Botox Sisters because they had all obviously had work done, and were too busy tossing their hair extensions in each other’s faces to listen to the instructions. When it came time to solve the mystery, they kept talking over each other and attempting to prove how “bubbly” they were. No one seemed interested in actually discussing the mystery, and after sitting back and watching for a while, Allie had reached the end of her patience.
    “For God’s sake,” she said, “do you have a brain between you? We are supposed to be working on this together.”
    “Why don’t you just tell us who the murderer is, then, if you’re so smart?” one of the women said, and the others laughed, ticking Allie off even more.
    “This is supposed to be a team effort, and the whole idea is for each of us to contribute our ideas so that we can then work out who the killer is. It’s not up to one person to find the solution, because we
are being judged on how well we can work in groups. In the real world, detectives don’t solve crimes by themselves, and if you can’t prove that you can listen and work with other people, then how do
you expect to make it onto a show like this, or anywhere else, for that matter?” The women were silent, and Allie continued, knowing her comment had struck home. “Okay, I think we should read through the clues again and then go around the table, and each of us can say who we think the murderer is and why, and then we can all vote on the final answer.” The Botox Sisters were a little more subdued as they read the material and gave their answers. Allie took notes and recapped what everyone said, before pointing out the flaws in each of their arguments and pushing them none too subtly toward her choice of suspect.
    “Clearly it couldn’t have been the business partner because he is a large man, and according to the witness, the murderer was small. The cleaner fits the physical description, but he has a very good alibi. The wife is obviously the main suspect, but none of you picked up on the fact that she is weak on her left side due to a stroke. According to the detective, the murderer would have needed both hands to lift the sword. I think it’s very obvious that the door-to-door salesman is our man.” After they had voted secretly, she counted the vote, then recorded the final answer on a piece of paper and handed it to one of the producers. She waited for her to confirm they had found the murderer,
but to her surprise, the lady, who had introduced herself earlier as Pamela Evans, didn’t even glance at the piece of paper.
    “That’s all for today, ladies. Thank you for your time, and we’ll be in touch,” she said, dismissing them with barely a nod. Allie couldn’t help noticing the dirty looks the women shot at her
as they left, and she felt a slight twinge of guilt. They all really wanted to win, and by not letting them compete for the limelight, they clearly thought that she’d ruined their chances. Oh well, she said to herself. She had just made sure they completed the exercise properly, and if she had ruined their chances, she’d done them a big favor because only losers would go on a show like this.
As she was about to step out the door, she couldn’t resist asking the producer if the answer she had come up with was right. Pam looked up from the notes that she was scribbling on a clipboard and
smiled slightly when she saw Allie.
    “Sorry, dear, I can’t tell you.”
    “Come on, it’s just a group exercise. Why the secrecy?”
    “I can’t tell you because there is no correct answer. The clues are contradictory. The exercise is designed to get you interacting and debating. The final answer you come up with is actually irrelevant.”
    “Oh,” said Allie, “I don’t believe that is entirely true because I think we put together a pretty good case against the door-to-door salesman. He had knowledge of the layout of the house, and also a
motive. If you remember—”
    “I can assure you, dear, that there is no single right answer, so you’ll just have to live with that,” said Pam, interrupting her and clicking her pen shut. “Good-bye.” Apart from feeling put out that the group had been given a mystery to solve with no right answer, Allie gave little thought to the
audition over the next week. She was at home working on her computer on a Tuesday afternoon when her phone rang, and she was surprised when Pam introduced herself. Allie had assumed all the
rejects would be informed by letter that they hadn’t been chosen for the show, not personally phoned by the producer. She was lifting her coffee cup to her lips and trying not to laugh, when, to her absolute amazement, Pam announced that she was the chosen one.
    “Shit!” she screamed as she dropped her cup and scalding coffee dripped down her legs.
    “What was that, dear?”
    “Sorry, I just dropped something. Is this some kind of joke?”
    “Of course it’s not a joke,” said Pam, going to great pains to point out that she, Allie Read, had been chosen out of the thousands of women who had auditioned to live on a deserted island with an as-yet-unnamed celebrity. They would be filmed for twenty-four hours a day by remotely operated cameras, meaning there would be no camera crew on the island with them. They would have no contact with any other human beings the whole time they were on the island, and they had to be together in the same room, or within a certain distance from each other on the beach, for at least fourteen hours every day, between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. The person who broke
first and asked to leave the island would lose, and the other person would take home $5 million in prize money. After recovering from the shock, Allie confessed to Pam that she’d only tried out for a joke and that there was no way she could possibly go through with it.
    “Seriously, Pam, I think you’ve got the wrong girl because I just can’t see myself doing something like this. I’m just so surprised that you’ve picked me when there were so many other women there who really wanted it.” Pam had refused to accept her withdrawal and pointed out that this show was going to be different from other reality shows because it would be about psychology, not cheap thrills.
    “I can promise you it will be unlike anything that’s been done before,” she said, but Allie had remained unconvinced.
    “Sorry, Pam, but I really don’t think it’s for me.”
    “You don’t have to give me an answer now,” Pam had said, realizing Allie was seriously turning her down. “Take some time to think about it, and I’ll call you back in a week.” That week had been one of the most difficult of Allie’s life. All of her friends, even the ones who looked down on reality TV as much as she did, were blown away that she had been chosen, and they had all
urged her to go ahead with it because it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Danny, of course, had been the most vocal, telling her she could become rich and famous and that it would be great for her
career. Allie had absolutely no interest in money or the kind of fame that the women she had talked to at the audition craved, but she did see that this could be an excellent career move for her. It would give her a much bigger public profile, meaning that more people would see her
films and hear her important messages about the environment. It also meant she could make a documentary about the whole experience of being on reality TV, and in the end, this was what had convinced her to go ahead with it. By the time she arrived in L.A. two days before
they were due to fly out to the island, she was feeling very excited about what lay ahead of her.
The first setback had come when she found out that the show was called Pleasure Island.
    “It sounds like a porn movie,” she had complained, but Pam had reassured her there was nothing to worry about.
    “It’s just a cute wordplay on Treasure Island. There’s nothing at all for you to be concerned about. You can trust us completely.” Then, just as she was about to get on the plane that morning, she
had learned that her mystery companion was Jackson Moore. The original plan was to fly the two of them to the island separately, but the private jet that had been chartered for him had developed
mechanical problems. Given what an arrogant jerk the man was, there was no way they could hide him from her on the same flight, so they’d had to tell her. Even though she’d been asked to keep a low profile till they got off the plane, Allie couldn’t conceal her contempt for the man. She had been expecting a Hollywood himbo, but Jackson Moore was a step too far! Everyone knew he had only just gotten out of rehab after destroying a film set on Monster Man, and that he’d been struggling with alcoholism for years. She glanced over toward him again, and her heart sank even
further as he stirred in his sleep and then belched loudly before trying to grope the poor assistant who’d been given the job of babysitting him. Allie looked out the window at the swirling water below and wondered if she should find the emergency exit and jump before this went any further. Something told her she might be better off taking her chances with the sharks down there.

Pleasure Island is available on Amazon for $3.19
You can also get a free copy in exchange for an honest review through Goodreads.

 

 

Pinterest: A Powerful Tool For Authors?

Dazzling or distracting?

No one could ever accuse me of being an early adopter of social media. I'd heard of Pinterest but I didn't have much of an idea about it until I read a tweet today which made me take a closer look.

To cut a long story short, I had put aside this Sunday afternoon to do some writing, but after opening an account on Pinterest that did not happen. Instead I spent the whole afternoon creating boards for each of my books and also for my WIP. You can take a look at them here.

I love this site for so many reasons. As a visual person I get a lot of inspiration from images and this site is brimming with amazing pictures. Since I started writing I've always made Powerpoint presentations with photos of characters and settings, so this is really no different from what I've been doing anyway, but it's more exciting when you can share it.

I was surprised to discover that Pinterest is the fastest growing social media site ever.  I can understand the attraction, but part of me worries that I'll now spend hours trawling through images when I could be writing. I really don't need anymore distractions. I also read somewhere that it's a bad idea to put pictures of your characters on your book cover because it robs the reader of the chance to use their imagination. Are sites like Pinterest and also book trailers doing readers a disservice by providing the images of characters and settings for them? Is this site just another exampe of image and spectacle superseding content?

It's difficult to tell what social media trends are going to catch on and which ones will fizzle out and die. From the very brief research I've done on Pinterest so far it seems like it could become an excellent tool for communication and collaboration between readers and authors. This is the direction I see publishing heading in, and I believe online fanfiction communities are the precursors of this.

What do you think of Pinterest? Is it a powerful tool for authors and readers or just another distraction?

Life Lessons From Writing

People often accuse writers of being dreamers who retreat into their own worlds to escape the harshness of reality. While there is definitely a grain of truth in this stereotype, I have to say, my own experiences as an author have taught me many valuable life lessons that it may have taken many years to learn otherwise.

Far from allowing you to escape from the real world, sending your writing out there to be judged will quickly dispel your illusions and give you a strong dose of reality. Authorship is not for the faint-hearted dreamer, I can assure you, but a guaranteed way to rip your head out of the clouds and plant your feet firmly on solid ground.

Here are the top 5 lessons I've learnt from writing, which have helped to make me a healthier (and humbler) person:

1. Getting published will not change your life: It seems that everyone on the planet has a desire to write a book. There's just something about being a writer that is so appealing to the majority of the population, but as many writer's manuals point out, only a tiny percentage of people ever manage to start, let alone finish a book. When they do actually manage to finish a novel, most author's see it as a life-changing event. When that novel gets picked up for publication (or you self-publish) it's like the heavens themselves have split open and choirs of angels have appeared to herald your success. You dream of the new-found respect and income that will surely soon be yours. Then the book comes out, and if you're lucky some people who don't know you and aren't related to you buy it and read it. Some love it, some hate it, some think it's okay.  And life goes on as usual.

Life lesson:  Your achievements don't really mean that much to anyone besides you. Even your own family and friends don't care that much and some won't find the time or energy to buy your 0.99 cent book on Amazon.

2. Some people just won't be that into your books: Even when you've poured your heart and soul into a book and are convinced that everyone who reads it will fall instantly in love with it, it is an absolute certainty there will be many people out there who simply don't like your writing, don't appreciate your message and don't think you should continue to kid yourself that you can actually write. Even if you manage to write the greatest novel the world has ever known, there will still be people who feel this way about your book. 

Life lesson: Many of the people you meet in life are not going to like you or understand you. Don't ever let this prevent you from living (and writing) your own truth.

3. Criticism can be good for you: The other day I made a comment in a writer's forum about how I won't review books that are below 3 stars in my opinion because it could make me vulnerable to pay-back reviews from disgruntled fellow-authors and their fans. Someone implied on the forum that even a 3-star review these days is considered insulting to some authors and could have the same result. Since when is a 3-star review considered a 'bad' review? There are so many 4 and 5 star reviews being thrown around for first-time authors that I believe it's making the whole review system irrelevant. I know that reviews are based on subjective opinion, but when the classics and Shakespeare are being ranked alongside a first-time indie book that is riddled with typos and grammatical errors, then something is truly rotten in the state of Denmark (yes, I include my own self-pubbed books in this assessment). There is such a thing as literary merit, and authors (especially newbies) need to toughen up and accept that their first books are not works of sheer genius deserving only of unqualified praise.

Life lesson:  Don't ever believe you are beyond criticism. Keep an open mind and don't let your ego get in the way of the truth, no matter how painful it might be. Develop the wisdom to know the difference between constructive advice and mean-spirited comments designed only to tear you down.

4. Sour grapes are a waste of energy: It can be very discouraging for authors to see books they consider undeserving rocket to the top of the bestsellers lists while their own books languish at the bottom with all the other undiscovered masterpieces.

Life Lesson: Newsflash: Life is unfair. Get used to it.

5. Don't believe the hype: Everyone knows that if you continue to try your hardest and keep believing in yourself, you will eventually get what you deserve. Wrong. How many authors toiled away in obscurity only to be discovered after they died? How many great works were rejected by short-sighted publishers and then thrown on the fire by despairing authors? How many ground-breaking books are mouldering in dusty attics even as I write this, and will never see the light of day?  How many brilliant books are there are on Amazon that have been drowned in the tsunami that is self-publishing and will never gain the readership they deserve? Sobering questions, but ones every author needs to ask themselves.

Life Lesson: If at first you don't succeed, try and try again....but don't be naive enough to think you'll actually make it big.

It's true that many authors enter the world of publishing with unrealistic ideas, but it doesn't take very long for reality to set in. If writing and publishing are fraught with disappointment and shattered dreams, why do so many people continue to write? I can only answer for myself when I say I do it because I couldn't live without it. Writing fulfils a need in me that nothing else can. If writing makes you happy and complete, then all of the other stuff doesn't matter. To find the courage and determination to follow your heart and do what you love, even if you never gain any recognition for it, is the most valuable life lesson of all.

This above all: To thine own self be true, And it must follow as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.

William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Buffy and the Heroine's Journey

***I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review

This book is a must-read for not only die-hard Buffy fans, but anyone who writes fantasy novels or is interested in symbolic meaning. I loved the focus on the heroine’s journey as opposed to the hero model popularised by Joseph Campbell, and I also learnt a great deal which I can apply in my own writing. I always felt that Buffy was a strong character for young girls to admire and after reading this I understand why. Sadly, in my opinion there is no other heroine of Buffy’s calibre in popular culture at the moment, but books like this might help to address this disturbing lack.

Frankel does a fantastic job of first outlining the heroine’s journey in comparison with the hero’s journey, and then exploring in great detail how it is developed in the Buffy series’.  I love to dig beneath the surface and find hidden meanings, and I just lapped this book up. The academic style of writing may not be to everyone’s taste, but concepts are explained clearly and there is no difficult jargon used. The meticulous research and knowledge of Buffy are very obvious.

After reading this I want to go back and watch Buffy again from the very first episode. I didn’t know that the series continued in comic form and it was very interesting to read about the new developments in Series 8. I take heart from Frankel’s conclusion that “Buffy, a modern classic like Harry Potter or Star Wars, will surely last. It will be repackaged, rereleased, and most of all rewatched by long-time and new fans the world over.”

When I was teaching English I often thought about developing a unit on the series, and this book would have been a great resource. Hopefully other teachers will discover it. I also hope the author writes more books on the fascinating subject of the heroine’s journey because it is at the heart of so many stories and myths throughout history. In her own words:

"The heroine’s journey, like the hero’s, is the quest for identity, to become the best “self” possible by exploring the dark side and learning to wield its awesome, impolite, rule-breaking strength. Only thus can the child grow to adulthood, becoming the awesome savior of herself and the world around her.”

For an exploration of the archetypal heroine’s journey through the lens of popular culture you won’t find any better than this.

Daybreakers: A Vampire Film With Bite

I just saw the 2009 film Daybreakers and I can't believe I'd heard so little about it! In a world of seemingly endless sparkly / erotic vampire tales here, finally, is a story with real bite. A while ago in this blog I raised the point that IMO vampires have become so prevalent in popular culture because they give expression, in a convoluted way, to some deep-seated fears and preoccupations in modern society.

This film actually makes this connection more directly than any other vampire tale I've come across. It delves into the same territory that I tried to cover in my Eternal Hunger series (no doubt much more successfully).

In the film most humans have willingly been turned into vampires, and those who refused to give up their humanity are now hunted down for food. Blood farming corporations have sprung up to make profit from this natural resource. Due to the intense demand, the supply of blood is dwindling rapidly, and the vampires are frantically trying to come up with a blood substitute. Edward (Ethan Hawke) is a scientist working on the substitue for a major corporation, and he is also a vampire with a conscience. He refuses to drink the blood of humans and is disgusted by the way they are treated. We later learn he was turned against his will by his own brother.

It's interesting to read about the different interpretations people have of the film. One reviewer saw the way the humans are treated as a comment on the brutality of the capitalist system of food production,while another on Amazon claimed that blood actually symbolises oil:  "Also, the political aspect is also a brilliant factor. Vampires being a metaphor for politics. Blood being a metaphor for OIL. This movie is very symbolic of how the government is greedy as hell when it comes to oil."

Both of these interpretations fit because I think it's a pretty all-encompassing critique of modern society and the greed that drives it.

The most powerful scenes in the movie for me are the one where the vampires turn on each other as the blood supply begins to run out. The poor are the first to suffer the effects of deprivation and they became public enemies to be rounded up by the state and killed. Those more fortunate have no sympathy for their fellow vamps and care only about protecting their own interests. They are completely oblivious to the fact that they will be next. The scenes with the military killing civilians and then turning on each other are spectacularly gruesome and effective.

Daybreakers takes the vampire metaphor and uses it to explore the true horrors lurking beneath the surface in modern society in a way that I think would make Bram Stoker proud. As the reviewer in the SMH said: "Daybreakers is a perfect panacea to audiences averse to the tweeny romanticisation of the undead by Twilight and its ilk."

Another blogger commented: "Someday Hollywood might make the vampire movie we really need, one in which the Dracula figure is a hedge fund manager or an oil company executive. This will be the fitting epigraph rolling across the screen in the opening credits:

Capital is dead labour, that, vampire-like, only lives by sucking living labour, and lives the more, the more labour it sucks.

–Karl Marx, Capital V. 1

I'll drink to that!

Dennis and Dad (A Short Story)

The short story is an art form which I believe is about to undergo a renaissance due to changes in publishing. I personally prefer to read novellas and short stories on my Kindle rather than full length novels, but the problem is finding really good ones. I recently received a free copy of Dennis & Dad by Giselle Renarde through Goodreads and I'm pleased to say it's one of the best short stories I've read in a while.

This is a deceptively simple short story which actually has quite a few layers of meaning when you later think back on it. It is a snapshot of a moment in the main character Chris' life when he has to face up to the fact that his ageing father's mental health is deteriorating quite rapidly. The story is set on father's day, which also happens to be Chris' 38th birthday. This is very meaningful because the story is also a meditation on fatherhood and what it means to be a family. It also marks a significant moment in Chris' journey towards maturity when he must not only deal with his father's frailty, but also his own unconscious prejudices.

I found it interesting that Dennis seems like more of a parental figure to Chris than either of his biological parents. I also liked the way his father gave voice to Chris' deep-seated bigotry which he guessed at himself but couldn't openly acknowledge. The small gesture at the end is very meaningful and reminds me of all the reasons I love short stories because every single word counts. There is a lot of meaning packed into this story, showcasing the author's ability.

Reading intelligent stories like this makes my brain feel good!

5 stars from me.

Self-Publisher's Remorse

Self-publisher's remorse: That sinking feeling in an indie author's stomach after they have hit the publish button and then realized their manuscript is not fit for human consumption. For many the first symptoms of self-publisher's remorse do not appear until the book has been enrolled in the KDP Select program, committing the author to three months on Amazon.

My story: The first Kindle Select promotion for my Eternal Hunger series just finished, and there were a respectable number of downloads over the twenty-four hours it was free. I should be feeling happy about this, but instead I've been struck down with an acute case of self-publisher's remorse.

Why is it that you can never see all of the glaring mistakes in your manuscript until the free promotion is already well under way? Up to this point I'd only had a couple of sales so it didn't matter so much that only a few people would see the errors before they were fixed (although I do feel bad that they actually paid for it). Now my book is out there, typos and inconsistencies on show for hundreds to see. The worst part is I have no one to blame for this but myself. My husband has told me repeatedly that once I've finished a book I should sit on it for a least few weeks (figuratively speaking) before looking at it with fresh eyes. All the articles I've ever read about publishing give the same advice, but I'm one of those impatient people who get so excited about finishing a project I just want to see it out there....until self-publisher's remorse sets in.

All of the things that make Amazon such a great platform for self-publishers are the very same things that make it so dangerous. It's just too easy to upload a book without going through it with a fine-tooth comb to make sure it's perfect. In an ideal world we'd all be able to afford professional editors, but without them the best scenario for people like me who don't have anyone they want to burden with proof reading is to take ten steps back and just let it rest for a while. It's amazing just how much you miss when you read over the same pages continuously. You just become so accustomed to skimming that you don't even see the words on the page anymore. I found this out with Hunger of the Wolf because it was with a publisher for over three months and during this time I put it away for at least a month before re-reading and fixing errors I'd never noticed before. Unfortunately I didn't learn from this experience.

I also discovered how easy it is to overlook things with my first two trade published books Shadows of Yesterday and Pleasure Island. These books were professionally edited and I was stunned at some of the things the editor's picked up. For instance in once scene a character threw a gun across the floor and then in the next paragraph she was holding it again. How could I not have noticed that? Even professionals can miss things because in Pleasure Island, Jack, gets lost on the beach one night and is forced to call out to Allie to help him find his way back to the house. As he yells out her name he realizes it's the first time he's ever said it out loud.....except that three paragraphs earlier when he's talking out loud to himself he mentions her by name. D'oh!

This time around in Eternal Hunger Lucia is shocked at how much Drake L'amour has changed since her turned her into a vampire "against her will." The only problem is he didn't turn her against her will, he tricked her by failing to mention the downsides to being immortal (like the unquenchable thirst for blood), but she was the one who made the decision to be turned.  In another scene the characters are standing on the porch, but then they are described as walking back towards the house. Double d'oh! Then there were the usual problems with the wrong character's name being used and numerous typos that should have been picked up before I hit publish.

They might seem like minor errors but they take the shine off what should be a proud event, and they are the sort of mistakes that really stick in readers' craws. And so they should because they stick in my craw too when I come across them in other people's books. (I've never really been sure what a craw is, but it sounds quite painful to have something stuck in it).

I decided to blog about this because I know I'm not the only person guilty of the crime of premature self-publishing before a manuscript has been polished and buffed to its absolute best. My advice to myself and fellow authors is SLOW DOWN and don't be so eager to get your book out there because it is so much better to wait a few weeks or months and publish something you can truly be proud of. Otherwise you too will suffer the pain of self-publisher's remorse, and you may find it becomes wedged  in your craw permanently. Ouch!

Perhaps I should have bought a copy of this book before I began my self-publishing journey:

Totally Addicted to Book Covers

****Eternal Hunger (The Complete Series) is free on Saturday, 4th August****

We all know the old saying "you can't judge a book by its cover," but is this actually true? Personally I think you can tell a great deal about a book by the way the author or publisher have chosen to package it, and I think the cover plays a huge role in sales, at least initially. It's true there are some great books out there with terrible covers. When these books start to develop a reputation the cover is not as important anymore, but for new authors the cover is absolutely crucial. It can make or break your book.

Most readers would have had the experience of being attracted to a book because of its gorgeous cover only to be let down by the story. Perhaps the saying should be rephrased as "you can't judge a book entirely by its cover," because covers do count. It's the very first impression a reader has of your book and it will determine whether they decide to go further and read the description, hopefully leading to a sale. If the cover doesn't grab the reader's attention they will simply keep looking until they find one that does.

This is Marketing 101, but it's surprising how many dull and unspiring book covers are around, from both publishing houses and indie authors. I've also seen some beautiful self-designed covers from indie authors and I wish I had the skills to create my own, but sadly I'm a bit lacking in this area. That's why I was thrilled to discover premade covers which can be quite inexpensive and give your book the quality appearance that will attract readers. I absolutely love looking through the galleries of covers available because it's a geat source of inspiration. I usually start looking for my next cover before I've even finished the first draft of a book, but I don't allow myself to actually buy it until the final draft is almost completed. It's a reward to myself for my hard work, and monitoring the site to see if someone else buys it first adds a little excitement to my life. Maybe a sign that I need to get out more? hmmmm

Obviously people have very different tastes when it comes to books and covers, but what are the fundamentals of good cover design? While I don't actually design my own covers I've done a bit of research in the area and these are the three main points I've come up with:

1. A  clear image that gives the reader an immediate idea about what sort of book it is. This doesn't mean it has to be literal.  Cover art is symbolic and you should aim for an image which captures your overall themes. (I found out the hard way about this as, according to some people, the cover for my first book in the Eternal Hunger series, Desires of the Flesh creates the impression my vampire book is erotica! I guess the title doesn't help much either, but you live and learn). If your book is mysterious or abstract, use an image that will convey this and intrigue potential buyers. These are the covers that appeal to me the most because I like books which are challenging and interesting. Don't use composite images pasted together as they are very obvious and look tacky.

In order to choose the correct image you must have a very strong idea of who you are targeting. Closely related to this is an understanding of visual literacy. For instance if the person on your cover is looking directly at the viewer this creates an immediate connection with the reader. This is a good image to use when you want your reader to relate to the character. People who are looking away from the viewer come across as preoccupied or untrustworthy. It's very important that the image can be seen when it is reduced on Amazon and other book selling sites, and this is why simple images work best.

2. An eye-catching colour scheme that creates the right tone for your book.  Thrillers and horror novels often make use of dark colours, which work well if there is at least one bright colour to lift it. Many romances use pinks and pastels, which are effective in capturing the interest of the target reader. The advice from designers is never use more than three colours.

3. Balance: All the elements on the cover must balance so the cover has symmetry. This is a tricky one to master, as you can have different sizes and style of fonts on a cover, and yet still achieve balance. It's hard to define, but we know it when we see it. Don't feel you have to fill ever bit of space on the cover, as this comes across as too "busy," and doesn't look good in thumbnail. The human eye is attracted to symmetry and by ensuring you cover is harmonious, you will give your book a head start.

The KISS principle is very relevant when it comes to designing or finding the right cover for your book, and will help you to avoid the most common mistakes made by new authors.

My favourite of my own covers is Prude & Prejudice because I think it captures the tone of the book perfectly. The bright, happy colours create let the reader know it is a romantic comedy, while the butterfly symbolizes the journey my character is on. She also happens to run her own organic farm, and because the novella is based loosely on P&P I wanted to conjure up images of the English countryside. This cover was ideal for all these purposes.

Below is the cover for The Marriage Pact by MJ Pullen which demonstrates the KISS principle in action. From memory I think this book reached no. 1 on the free kindle list in romance, showing that it grabbed people's attention. The image is simple but the impact is powerful. The ring obviously symbolizes the union of marriage, which the main character is violating by having an affair with a married man. She also made a pact with her friend to get married to each other if neither had found someone by the time they turned 30. The use of pink writing against the dark background lets the reader know this is chick-lit, lightening the tone. The cover would be bleak without this splash of colour, creating the impression the book is more serious than it is.

Here's the cover for my current WIP, which actually breaks some of the rules I've just written about, including my own for not buying the cover till the book is nearly finished (oops!). The cover implies that this book is chick-lit, and although it's about a group of women, it falls into the genre of women's fiction rather than chick-lit (there are no men or romance in the book at all). The cover itself plays a part in the story, but you will have to wait till it comes out to discover how. I'll be very interested to see how the book is received because I think many people download books based on the cover alone and don't bother to read descriptions. I might have a few irate readers who are expecting something completely different!

Check out the 10 worst book covers in the history of literature here.