Synthetica blog tour kick-off!

Today's the day that the Synthetica blog tour finally kicks off! Hooray!

If you can't tell already by my tweets and this blog post, I'm just a tad excited. In honour of this occasion, over the next few weeks I'll also be popping up lots of Synthetica-related posts on this blog, including character profiles, character interviews and just general Synthetica related goodness. I'll also be tweeting random facts about the series, so if you'd like to join in on Twitter, or ask me any questions - and I hope you do! - I'll be using the hashtag #Synthetica.

If you'd like to check out the tour, here's the blog schedule:

July 6th

Bookwormia  - http://clsmithbooks.blogspot.com/ - Promo Post

The Voluptuous Book Diva - http://voluptuousbookdiva.blogspot.Com - Promo Post

Nejoud Is currently reding  - http://nejoudiscurrentlyreading.blogspot.com - Review

Hope To Read  - Http://hopetoread.com - Promo Post

July 7th

Donnie Darko Girl  - http://donniedarkogirl.blogspot.com - Review

Mythical Books  - http://www.mythicalbooks.blogspot.ro/ - Promo Post

Nerdychampagne   -  https://nerdychampagne.wordpress.com/ - Review

July 8th

The Phantom Paragrapher  - www.thephantomparagrapher.blogspot.com - Review

Travel with Books and Coffee -  http://travelwithbooksandcoffee.blogspot.com - Promo Post

July 9th

The Bibliophile Chronicles - http://www.thebibliophilechronicles.com - Review

Words I Write Crazy -  http://writingcrazyme.blogspot.com/ - Review

July 10th

Sabrina Giles  -  https://sabrinagiles.wordpress.com/ - Promo Post

AM Station   - http://amstationreviews.blogspot.com - Promo Post

July 13th

Bibliobibuli Young Adult Book Blog -  http://bibliobibuliya.com/ - Review

Around the World in Books  - http://www.aroundtheworldinbooks.ca/ - Promo Post

Book Snacks  -  https://booksnacksblog.wordpress.com/ - Promo Post

July 14th

Worth Reading It?  -  http://www.worthreadingit.blogspot.com - Review

Books and Ashes  -  http://booksandashes.wordpress.com - Promo Post

July 15th

The Page Unbound  -  http://thepageunbound.com - Promo Post

The Word is   -  http://suzannefurness.blogspot.co.uk - Promo Post

Writing Pearls  - http://www.writingpearls.com - Review

July 16th

Just Us Book Blog  - http://justusbookblog.blogspot.com/ - Promo Post

Le&ndra Wallace  -  www.leandrajwallace.blogspot.com - Promo Post

July 17th

Random Redheaded Ramblings  -  http://redheatherduff.blogspot.com - Review

Samantha Writes - www.samanthawrites.ca - Review

Paperback Princess  -  http://princess-paperback.blogspot.com - Promo Post

A huge thanks goes to Nereyda over at YA Bound for organising everything, and also a huge thanks to all the bloggers who've signed up for the tour - this literally couldn't happen without you!

Also, in honour of the blog tour (and my KDP membership finally ending - woohoo!), Synthetica is now available for you to buy on Smashwords.

If it gets accepted into the Premium Catalog, then it'll also be available for you to download from iBooks, Kobo and Barnes & Noble and I'll make sure I post up those links as soon as I know it's been accepted :).

So that's it! Let the Synthetica book tour commence! *trumpets sound and confetti falls from the ceiling - wait, is this a book tour or the apocalypse...?*

Synthetica Book Tour Announcement!

So I have some exciting news to share with you all...I'm pleased to announce that in July I'm going on a blog tour for Synthetica!

I'm super excited! This is my first ever blog tour, so I'm just hoping and praying that it all goes okay and that people actually WANT to host me/my book on their blogs. The tour will run from 6th - 17th July, so it'll be a busy two weeks, but I can't wait to throw myself into it.

I know that I'm doing this the wrong way round, and I probably should have done a book tour when I released the book, instead of doing a book blitz, but indie publishing is still a huge learning curve for me and I'm happy with the way everything has turned out :).

If you are interested in taking part in the tour (which, naturally, I know you all are ;)), you can sign up for the blog tour here. The tour will be a mix of guest posts and interviews, and I'll also be providing free copies of the book for you to review - what's not to love?? If you want any more info, feel free to email me at: rachelsramblingsblog[at]gmail.com

Anyway, that's my exciting news for the day! Hope you're all having a great week (and if not, it's still Friday tomorrow - woohoo!) - looking forward to seeing you all on the tour :)!

Look...LOOK, IT'S MY SOON-TO-BE BOOK!

Forgive me for being slightly over-the-top, but I have some news to share with you all!

I say news - I actually set the whole thing up myself, but it's still exciting to me!

Look at this:

Yup, that's right, I've just entered my book on Goodreads :D!! AND listed myself as a Goodreads author!! Me! A proper author! Who would've thought?!

I was initially in two minds about whether to post my book up on Goodreads or not, but then I thought, y'know what? I have nothing to lose. If people don't search for it, or don't review it then that's okay, but at least it's there if someone wants to find it. 

Don't worry by the way - I know there's no cover there at the moment, but there will be hopefully by the start of next week when my designer sends the final cover over to me - eek!

I think I'm just freaking out, because as someone who's an introvert by nature, it's difficult for me to shout about my book. But no one is ever going to read it, if I don't at least try and get it out there. And I can't help smiling when I see that MY book is on Goodreads - it looks just like all the other 'proper' YA books on there :) (minus the cover, obviously)!

So, that's my news! Here's to the first small step of becoming a self-published author!

Happy Monday!

How much is too much...?

Happy New Year, everyone :)!

I know I'm probably a tad late in saying that, but hey, better late than never ;).

I've actually been taking a break from the Internet for a while - to be completely honest, I haven't been in a good place lately and being online has only made things worse, which is why I didn't post for IWSG last week. But this weekend has been the first weekend that I feel ready to face the world again, so it's all good :). One day, I'll write a super long post and bore you all to death with my issues, but for now, I'm back and ready to write!

Anyway, so I had a nice, relaxing break over the Christmas holidays and I barely thought about my book at all - but one day last week, a new idea struck me for my novel. I've been idly wondering for a while if there was any way I could rewrite the beginning of my novel, but tbh, I was pretty happy the way it was and unless inspiration struck, I was happy to keep it as it is.

But then inspiration did strike. And immediately I scribbled down the initial idea, and then I was off - writing down all the possible implications of this new beginning for my novel; would the middle still work? How would it change the overall character? Would it change her relationship with the other characters in the story?

I haven't started writing it yet, but I'm planning to work on it this week and see where it takes me. I love the feeling of once again being super excited about my work, but it also got me thinking....how much rewriting, is too much rewriting? How do you know when to stop? I know that if I rewrite my beginning and don't like it, I can always take it out and put my old one back in - but what if I think of another different way to write it? And then another way? How do you know when to stop?? Is there a writerly sixth sense that simply tells you when you're done - that moment when you write the last word, sit back and think, this is it? Or do writers forever critique their work, and will never be fully happy with it?

As a newcomer to all of this, I'm simply curious to know what other writers do! I know authors could probably spend forever tweaking words here and there, but I'm talking about when you come up with new ideas for your novel - you think you've finished and it's the best it can possibly be, then BAM! Suddenly a new scene, a new chapter or even a new character bursts into your head. What do you do? Do you ignore it? Or do you try it out?

I'd love to hear your thoughts :)!

All the best for the new year, everyone! Let's make it a good one!

Sunday night inspirations...

This weekend has been a bit crazy - for once, I've actually been participating in real life, meaning that although I've barely had the time to write, I feel kinda happy and satisfied at the thought that I've hung out with other human beings (y'know, apart from the ones in my head...). I went to a christening, had a catch up with the Engineer and his sisters, went to the cinema and went out for a meal. Phew!

Oh, and seeing as how the Engineer works ALL THE TIME, he dragged me into his office yesterday afternoon so he could finish something off. He did try to persuade me that this was a good thing, as I could work on my novel uninterrupted for a few hours. "That's all well and good," I grumbled, "but what if I don't WANT to work on my novel? In case you haven't noticed, my muse has TOTALLY AND UTTERLY DESERTED ME!"

I still went (because I'm sucker when it comes to promises of a mocha and chocolate). And you know what? Even though I didn't touch a word on my manuscript, it was a surprisingly productive evening.

I finally pulled together all my scattered notes on the second and third books in my planned trilogy. I added in details to those notes. I made folders for each book on my laptop (this always gives me a geeky rush). I started to get flashes of inspiration for certain scenes in both my current WIP, and the second book which I hurriedly scribbled down. I thought of a vague plot for the third book (which I've been drawing a complete blank on, until now) And finally, finally, I felt myself getting excited about the world that I'd built once again.

And that's not all. I think I may have found a way to drag myself through my rewrites. I knew I wasn't getting anywhere by just opening up my manuscript, copying and pasting a chapter, editing it and then pasting it back in. It still felt like an overwhelming task, even with my beat sheet. So I thought, what was it that got me through my first draft? What did I do this time, that meant I actually finished the damn thing? And that's when it came to me - I needed a new detailed synopsis.

Now, I know this probably seems like a step backwards, but I don't think it will be. I'm not going to do one for my entire novel (at least, not yet). Instead, I'm just going to do it up until my 'inciting incident'. I've chosen to do this because it's the beginning of my novel that needs the most attention - it's the part that I'm essentially going to rip apart and put back together again. To me, this is far to big a task to do with just a few scrawls on my beat sheet. 

We'll see how it goes. I've only just written the first scene for my new detailed synopsis, but already I'm getting a good feeling and what's more, I want to keep writing. I'll let you know how it goes but hey, even if this just turns out to be another form of procrastination - at least it's bound to help my writing in one way or another.

Happy Monday, everyone!

It's finally time...

After waiting and waiting for weeks, it's finally here....the summer holidays! *cries in relief*

Now, I know most people will be grumbling and saying that no one needs as much time off as teachers/TA's do, but let me tell you something - when you look after over sixty 4-5 year olds every day for weeks on end, as well as dealing with their parents - you need a break. Otherwise you'll just burst into tears and have a nervous breakdown. I love my job, I really do, but when you've had to put up with kids arguing with you (yes, even at that age), parents shouting at you, children getting hyper because it's approaching the end of term, as well as dealing with the 101 things you have to do as part of your daily job anyway....trust me, you're glad for the break.

On another positive note, we finally have internet in our house - hooray! Although the slight downside is that I'm now away for the next four weeks...but I have constant internet access where I am anyway, so there's really no excuse now for me NOT to blog regularly (apart from y'know, sheer laziness).

Anyway, the real point of this blog was this....

I think I'm finally ready for a Critique Partner.

I'm at that stage in my novel where I've edited (most of) it, I know what I want it to sound like...I now need someone to tell me how to whip it into shape, and to call me out on some of the dreadful writing I know is in there, but I just can't see it. And of course, I will reciprocate in kind :).

I guess I'd just love someone to read though it and let me know as someone who; A) isn't related to me and B) has no obligation to be nice to me because of point A, whether or not my story works and what I can do to improve it.

This is a big thing for me - for years my work has been private and I've shied away from sharing it with anyone because I'm just simply too terrified that people would hate it. Now, I think (and I honestly don't mean to sound arrogant here) I finally have a novel that I'm willing to share with the world.

So if you're a YA author and you're at all interested in becoming my CP, please just let me know :). I'd love to send you a couple of chapters for you to check out (don't worry, I won't bombard you with the whole thing at once!). The email address you can contact me on is: rachelsramblingsblog@gmail.com.

Or alternatively, feel free to leave me a comment in the comments section of this post :).

Like I said, it's a two way thing, so I'm more than happy to critique your work in kind. And just so you know folks, now is probably the best time for me to review your work as I have a long loooong summer ahead of me ;).

Happy writing!

March IWSG: But is there any substance...?

Guys, just going to apologise now if this post is a little short/rushed!

Welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG)! On the first Wednesday of every month, authors from across the world/interweb post up their fears and insecurities about their writing, and we all provide support/tea/cake/virtual hugs to encourage all your lovely authors to keep writing.

IWSG was set up by Alex J. Cavanaugh (you can check out his blog here) and there's now an official IWSG website, which is full of helpful tips, tricks and encouraging posts – you can check out that awesome site here.

So this month I'm focusing on my actual plot line – I'm currently halfway through writing a proper detailed synopsis for my NaNoWriMo novel (which I'm praying will turn into my first actual real novel) and something struck me as I began to flesh out each scene: do I have enough substance in my story?

I'm pretty sure I know who my characters are, what their motives are, where it's going to be set etc, but as I wrote out each scene, I began to wonder which of my scenes were essential to the story (which I'm hoping will be all of them) and which ones were 'filler'.

I hate the thought that 75% of my book might be made up of those awful, stilted dialogue scenes, or scenes that describe in minute detail of how my MC got up, stared out the window, made breakfast, ate breakfast, put on her socks, had a completely random argument with her parent(s), brushed her hair exactly 100 times, put on her shoes, picked up her bag, stared soulfully at her reflection in the mirror (enter convenient description of MC's physical appearance here) before finally running out of the house and catching the bus to school. Or something along those lines. You get the picture.

Are there some scenes you should leave in so the reader gets a bit of a background of your MC, or should every scene have a specific purpose? I personally prefer the latter option – but I'm just hoping that my opinion on what's essential to the storyline doesn't differ too much to my reader's!

So that's it for now! Hopefully I'll get a chance to blog more often this month – there's a couple of book reviews I'd love to write up for you guys to read :).

Until next time - happy writing!

Just a quick note...

Just wanted to apologise, guys, for my IWSG post not posting yesterday - I thought I'd try to be clever and write it a couple of days in advance and then schedule it to post itself on Wednesday, thinking I could then kick back and relax with a big mug of tea, knowing that for once, I'd managed to write my post on time....

But alas, it was not to be.

I don't know what happened but for some reason technology hates me, so I've had to post my IWSG message today instead.

That'll teach me to try and be clever.

Anywho, on a different note - I had a brainwave about my novel while I was in the car on the way to work this morning (why does this happen the moment I can't physically find/get to a pen?!) - so my plan for tonight is to quickly scribble it down tonight before I forget and try to do some more work on my WIP before the inspiration deserts me completely.

Hope everyone else's Thursday has been good - only one more day til the weekend, folks! We're almost there!

Xx

It's almost here!

The countdown to NaNoWriMo has begun!

In just one and a half hours (if you're running on Beijing time that is), NaNoWriMo 2013 will begin! Although on the one hand, I'm completely psyched to get going on my novel, at the same time, I'm terrified! All I can think about is - have I put enough work into planning my novel? What if everyone hates my characters? What if I hate my characters? What if my world isn't believable...? Wait...stop, stop, STOP!

I'm actually having to try and mentally shut my brain down before it goes into overdrive - NaNoWriMo isn't about having the perfect plot or story arc, or characters....it's about writing. So that's what I'm going to try and do - from tomorrow, I'm going to stop worrying so much about the nitty gritty of my story and just simply...write! Who cares if the background to my world isn't complete yet? Who cares if I don't know every little thing about my characters yet? NaNoWriMo will give me the chance to discover all these things - and once I've written my 50,000 words, that's when I can go back through it all properly and edit it. But for now, I'm just going to have fun letting my creative side out!

I'm off to bed now so I can get a decent night's sleep before the craziness of November kicks in tomorrow. Good luck to everyone who's participating this year - I know you'll do great! And if you fancy having someone to cheer you on/cry on, feel free to add me on the NaNoWriMo website - my username is REPattinson1 :).

Good luck!

X