Insecure Writer's Support Group: The Art of Trying to Avoid Reviews

Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

        I published my debut novel Poison in September and I’ve been really lucky (and dropped a bunch of money!!) and have received a good number of reviews. In the beginning, I was religiously watching as the reviews came in and depending on whether the review was good or bad my mood for the day would change accordingly. Am pretty sure this is the reason why the doctor suspects I’ve got a stomach ulcer. So a few weeks ago I decided that I would just ignore the fact that I have published a book altogether. If one of my goals before I turned 32 wasn’t to publish a book I would have waited until I had more ready go as per all the advice blogs I’ve read. I’ve stopped refreshing sales pages and Googling my book. For the most part it’s super easy to avoid all contact except on Goodreads.

         I love Goodreads. It’s a great site for readers and authors and the features are awesome…except if you’re trying to avoid looking at reviews of your books. As a Goodreads author, every time I sign on using a PC (the app is terrible IMO) and click on the home page in the top right hand corner is a summary of my book stats including how many rating and reviews I’ve gotten. From there it’s a simple click to see what my overall star rating is and how many people are currently reading my book. I can’t seem to find a way to not see these things and as a result I’ve pretty much avoided Goodreads altogether for the past few weeks. Even going on there to post a review myself is fraught with tension. Stupid, I know but one of the tiny ways I’m trying to do to manage my craziness.  So if you've tried to contact me on there, I'm sorry I haven't responded, it's not that I don't like you! What about you guys? How do you manage to stay away from having an author meltdown?

NaNoWriMo 2015!!!!

It’s that time of year again! I can’t believe how quickly November comes around these days. In a way I’m thankful because NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWrimo seem to be the only times of year that I actually get much writing done.

       This time around I have had some foresight and have asked for  time off work in order to concentrate on my writing. In previous years I’ve worked throughout the month and have almost killed myself trying to make the word count. I’ve gotten sick every year without fail and that has meant I always end up making a really mad dash for the finish line which is just not fun at all. Having, said that, I am a bit of a loon and given that I’ve got time off I’ve decided that instead of just shooting for the 50k word count I’m going to try and write most of the novel in November so I’ll aim for 75k instead. I don’t like my chances because I tend to get a bit bored of my worlds after a big stint of writing so I’m going to have to be very well prepared so as not to lose steam.  

       To all those who are thinking of participating in NaNoWriMo this year: GOOD LUCK! Hit me up on the website if you’d like some encouragement. My username is write_obsession. I have some blog posts prepared to go live during the month so that I don’t get too stressed about keeping up with social media. Besides that I shall see you all on the flip side. Hopefully with a full novel under my belt! Oh and in case anyone is wondering, I am writing book 3 in my Wind Dancer series!

 

I Finally Did It! Poison Release Day Post

It's been an extremely long time coming but Poison was finally released today! I am equal measures proud and petrified but looking forward to the journey ahead. 

Poison Synopsis:

Since the night her mother was murdered, sixteen-year-old Rory Gray has known one truth: There are no good Seeders.

In post-apocalyptic Australia, the scientists known as Seeders have built a Citadel surrounded by food-producing regions and populated with refugees from the wars and famine. To maintain their control, the Seeders poisoned the land and outlawed the saving of seeds.

It’s been six years since Rory graced the Seeders’ circus stage as the Wind Dancer and still the scars on her body haven’t healed. Even worse are the scars on her heart, left by a Seeder boy who promised to protect her.

Now the Seeders are withholding supplies from Rory’s region for perceived disobedience. Utilising the Wanderer knowledge she received from her mother, Rory must journey to the Citadel through uninhabitable terrain to plead for mercy.

However, the Citadel isn’t as Rory remembered. The chief plant geneticist is dying and rumours fly that the store of viable seed is dwindling. The Seeders are desperate to find a seed bank they believe Rory can locate, and they will stop at nothing to get it.

To defy the Seeders means death. But Rory has been close to death before--this time she’s learned the value of poison.

Recommended for fans of The Hunger Games, strong protagonists, circuses and nature!

*Pick up your copy at Smashwords / Amazon US / Amazon AU / Amazon UK / Kobo