Wearing Two Hats!

Wearing two hats means life is more than busy as Kathryn Brown talks about her best two hats, wool and paper!

It’s been a tremendously busy time recently as I’ve been hard at work in my other job as a farmer. We’ve been lambing on the farm and every year I draw the short straw and end up in the lambing shed at midnight, often working into the early hours. It’s extremely tiring, very frustrating but incredibly rewarding, especially when a ewe is having trouble giving birth and I step in to help, pulling out a large healthy lamb that’s standing up within five minutes and searching for its mother’s teat. Just watching a new born lamb suckle for the first time gives me a warm glow inside and I stand back, a smile etched on my face and a tinge of pride in my heart. Quite a similar feeling to the one we experience when we have a new book out; the feeling of the paper-jacket in our hands that leaves a deep sense of pride running through our veins, or to see our words on the eReader screen that makes us feel good about ourselves, an achievement to add to a growing collection.

During the busy times on the farm my writing career has to take a back seat but the passion is always there, ideas and potential scenes still play a massive part in my life as a writer. I often spend hours in the lambing shed, running through character names, building a character’s personality in my head, and I occasionally take my Dictaphone with me, as my memory isn’t the best it’s ever been. The recent lambing season had me creating ideas for my third book, a comedy written in the first person, a light hearted read about a young man and his determination to change his philandering ways. I’m about two thirds of the way in now, though it is only the first draft. But it’s one of those books that if I was reading it myself, I’d struggle to put down. Perhaps I’m blowing my own trumpet a little too loudly but I’m thoroughly enjoying it! I’ve read quite a lot of humorous books recently, written from the man’s point of view, and it’s something I wanted to explore myself as a writer.

A few weeks ago I was interviewed on a radio talk-show and asked the question, “Which would you rather do, farm or write?” My answer was simple, “I’d like to write about farming. I’m not sure I could give either of them up because I really don’t have a preference. My passion lies with both my careers; one pays the bills (farming), one excites me (writing), but both I am passionate about.”

Where does your true passion lie, and could you sacrifice something else in order to fulfil that passion?

You can find out more about Kathryn by visiting our Author, Books, Trailer & Review Pages.

Loading an eBook file on your Kindle

Our in house technical expert, Chris Longmuir guides you through the steps for loading an eBook file on to your Kindle.

Kindles are more popular than ever, and many readers only download books from Amazon onto their Kindles. But what happens if you have a Kindle eBook file that you haven’t obtained through Amazon? It may be your own book that you want to check prior to sending it to be published, or it could be an eBook you’ve acquired elsewhere - the Gutenberg project comes to mind. Or you may have been asked to review a Kindle eBook, and you’ve been given a copy. So, how do you get it onto your Kindle?

Well, I believe it’s known as side-loading, and it’s quite easy to do. So here are some basic instructions:-

Instructions for a legacy Kindle - that’s one of the original ones in case you don’t know and applies to all models including the Keyboard one and the Touch (the Fire is slightly different. So here goes:-

1 – Attach your Kindle to the computer with the USB cable.

2 – Open the Kindle on your computer – you’ll probably have the wee dialogue box that gives you options – click on ‘Open to View Files’. If the dialogue box doesn’t come up, look for the Kindle in ‘My Computer’ or ‘Computer’ depending on what version of Windows you have. That’s the window that shows all your drives. Click on the one for your Kindle.

3 – On your monitor you will see the folders that are inside the kindle, usually ‘active-content-data’, ‘audible’, ‘documents’ and ‘music’. Click on the ‘documents’ folder to open it and copy the file inside there. The folder will already contain files for all your other ebooks, so if you see all your books you’re in the right folder.

4 – eject your kindle from the computer and remove the cables.

5 - Open your Kindle and your book should be there, ready to read.

Instructions for the Kindle Fire:-

1 – Attach your Kindle to the computer with the USB cable.

2 – Open the Kindle on your computer – you’ll probably have the wee dialogue box that gives you options – click on ‘Open to View Files’. If the dialogue box doesn’t come up, look for the Kindle in ‘My Computer’ or ‘Computer’ depending on what version of Windows you have. That’s the window that shows all your drives. Click on the one for your Kindle.

3 - On your monitor you will see a window with one icon in it, which says ‘Internal Storage’. Click on this and the window that opens shows several folders. Look for the folder labelled ‘Books’. Click on that and a window will open with loads of folders and loads of files, depending on how much you have in your Fire. Copy the ebook file into that window as a file, do not put it in any of the folders. If you scroll down the window you will probably see all your other books there, although they will all have numbers not names. The only books that show names are the ones you’ve side-loaded into the Kindle.

4 - Just to make sure you’ve got it, you open the folder that is labeled ‘Books’, but you do not open any of the folders inside the ‘Books’ folder. Your book file should join the other files already there.

5 – eject your kindle from the computer and remove the cables.

Your book should now be inside your Kindle fire, but for some peculiar reason, you won’t find it under the ‘Books’ tab in your Kindle. It will be in the ‘Documents’ tab.

I hope this post is helpful to you, and I hope I haven’t confused you further

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

http://chrislongmuir.blogspot.co.uk/

Amazon author page UK

Amazon author page US

Find out more about Chris by visiting our Author, Books, Trailer & Review Pages

Peggy Stanton Chats with Caroline James

Peggy Stanton slips on her trainers to chat with the lovely Caroline James!

Peggy: During my life I've been quite an active person and I could still give many a run for their money, even with my cronky knees. Now having mentioned the word run, I hear you've slipped on a pair of trainers and started gallivanting through parks and along narrow lanes. Now what is that all about?

Caroline: I had an epiphany Peggy! I overheard a conversation about an App called Couch 2 5k - everyone was raving about it and discussing how even the laziest person could get off the sofa and be fit enough to run a race in a matter of weeks. I was curious and thought I'd give it a go. I was hooked from the first day! It's just like having a personal trainer run alongside you and if I can do it, anyone can! I haven't felt so well in years. You have to listen to your body though; I have a few groans from the knees and legs and know when to rest, but am also learning to run through the pain. The App makes sure you cool down properly too, with brisk walking and stretching - so important to avoid stiffness. Got my first race in four weeks!

Peggy: You’ve almost convinced me to find this app, but I’m going to stay sitting on the fence, but you go for it, you certainly have the enthusiasm and the legs for it. Now that you've got the get fit bug, what happens to your writing, have you abandoned it or are now super energised?

Caroline: Running only takes a small part of the day and I get up early to do that, it seems to set me up with a new energy. As a consequence, I find I am getting much more done and that includes writing. Anything that improves my potential to write has to be good?

Peggy: Mmmm maybe I should slip of the fence and think more about this running malarkey. Let me see, yes, you've published one book; Coffee, Tea the Gypsy and Me, love the title and it’s on my list to read, that I promise you. Now are you writing another one?

Caroline: Oh yes! So You Think You’re A Celebrity…Chef? Will be published in the autumn and I am currently editing it. The book takes a light hearted look at today's world of celebrity chefs as the heroine, media agent Hilary Hargreaves, endevours to manage the mishaps and mayhem they experience as she pushes them forward on their journey to success. The book is a romance too and hard-hearted Hilary has some soul searching to do! I've really enjoyed writing this book and have already started to plan the next.

Peggy: Sounds like a good read to me, let me just make a note of the title then I can make sure it appears on my Kindle once it is published. Good luck with it by the way. So apart from being a successful author and a likely candidate for next year's London Marathon, I know that you have been a chef in a previous life - many bows to you apron I see; please tell me what kind of a chef are you? And I don't mean good or bad!

Caroline: London Marathon?? I will if you will Peggy! When I cooked professionally in a hotel and restaurant I owned, my staff said I was like a female Keith Floyd with a hint of Basil Fawlty and I can see where that came from! My recipes were a culmination of lots of experiments and plenty of slurps of wine and the hotel certainly had a Fawlty Towers atmosphere. It was a lovely old place though, with enormous charm and character and I found it a huge privilege to cook well and satisfy guests, who were taking time out of their busy schedules to stay there. I love to cosset, care and fuss and that's probably a key element to cooking well, no matter how simple the dish. But I hung up my apron a long time ago and now just cook for family and friends.

Peggy: What a pity as it all sounded so chaotic, homely and right up my street. Pity, maybe you’d like to adopt me so you can cook for me… !  Anyway, I digress. Looking at my notes I see I don’t have your address, I’m going to sack my assistant for failing to write it down, so do tell, which part of our beautiful country do you reside in?

Caroline: I currently live in Cheshire. I grew up seven miles away from where I live now. I never, ever expected to live here again and when I left all those years ago, I vowed that I'd never return for good. I hated my school years and couldn't wait to set out on my own. I traveled the world and lived in many different places and it's strange that I should come back here, but Cheshire is a beautiful county and well located with airport, motorways and trains. Home is where the heart is? Yes it is. I don’t know where my heart will take me next, but it's an exciting prospect!

Peggy: You’re a romantic, I can tell. Bearing this in mind, what is your favourite colour

Caroline: Cerise. Absolutely cerise every time. I love love love it! It brightens my life. I love colour and cerise is my favourite.

Peggy: I couldn’t agree more a splash of colour in our lives, makes such a difference. What about clothes, are you a jeans or dress sort of person?

Caroline: I love jeans but I like to dress up too. Business meetings seem to have changed in my world and what was unforgivable a few years ago seems quite acceptable today. I often wear jeans and smart jackets to meetings, in the past I would have cancelled at the thought! Suited and booted no longer seems to apply, so a good pair of jeans is an absolute must.

Peggy: If I was your age again, I’d wear nothing but a decent pair of jeans, but with my bottom, good grief, not now! And finally, if I was to invite you to my little bungalow, what would you bring for me to taste?

Caroline: I'd bring you a big jar of my home made pesto. I grow basil in the greenhouse and garlic in the garden and use pine nuts, olive oil, lemon juice and parmesan - all lovely sunny Mediterranean ingredients to compliment your lovely sunny world.

Peggy: Sounds define, but my little bungalow in Surrey can be a long way from the Med sunshine, but hey ho, I can dream. Thank you Caroline for making my day with your lovely chat and colourful jacket, now where did you get that cerise jacket from?

Caroline: Thanks for our chat today Peggy, have a perfect summer and as for the jacket, I bought it at…….

Find out more about Caroline by visiting our Author, Books, Trailer & Review Pages

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What, Where & If with Joanna Lambert

Interesting answers from Joanna Lambert on what, where and if, but what would you have replied?

Where would be your most ideal place to write?

Somewhere that’s soundproof I think as I tend to play music fairly loudly while I’m writing.  I do actually take a pad away on holiday too (writer’s never switch off do they?) and two years ago when we were in Minorca the villa there had a wonderfully cool loggia at the front which overlooked the valley.  When I’d had enough sun I’d sit there with an A4 pad and write.  I got several scenes down in the time away and surprisingly did it without music! Think the cicadas may have helped!

What is the most disgusting food or drink you have ever tasted?

I absolutely hate the taste of Campari.  I drank it long ago on holiday in Italy and once was quite enough! And Shellfish  - mussels and scallops not only look disgusting, they taste awful as well – definitely an acquired taste!

If you won the lottery what would be the 3rd thing you would spend your money on?

Someone to do the ironing, it’s my least favourite task next to vacuuming!  I have to say though, the ironing pile has changed since my husband took early retirement last September – next to no shirts now!

If you were invisible what would you like to witness?

 One of David Cameron’s cabinet meetings just to see what goes on behind closed doors at No 10 and how he handles things as head honcho in the government!

If you were given three wishes what would you wish for?

a) I think I’d definitely like to be taller.  Being a small woman does have its advantages of course but the big disadvantage is the choice of clothes available.  Although there are petite ranges in most brands the variety is far more limited.  I also have trouble with shoes, taking a size 36 – on occasions I’ve even been known to get into a 35!  Some shoe stores don’t do anything smaller than a 37.

b) I’d also wish for my beautiful long haired ginger and white tabby cat Max to return.  He disappeared last September and has not been seen since despite a huge local advertising campaign.  Having not found evidence he has met his demise we still think he may be out there somewhere!

c) And thirdly?  I’d love my books to be turned into TV drama.

What would you never wear and why?

Shell suits – I absolutely loathed them when they were around.  I always swore no one would get me into one.  However this is one vow which got broken (not intentionally I hasten to add!).  An accidental soaking walking along the beach while on the coast for a day visiting friends saw me borrowing one of these dreadful two pieces.  Worse than that I actually found myself having to wear it out for a pub lunch while my clothes were drying.  My humiliation was complete, added to which, the friends we were with knew about my dislike of shell suits, so it made for a good laugh! 

I think the only other thing I can think of is hats.  For a start they don’t suit me, I feel totally swamped (another problem with being small) and then there’s the hair issue.  It great if you have thick hair, it just springs back once you take the hat off. But I had the misfortune to be born with fine hair which either clings to the hat (with static) when I take it off, or gets completely flattened – not sure which is worse!

You can find out more about Joanna by visiting our Author, Books, Trailer & Review Pages

Breaking News! The Last Word is Written !

Chris Longmuir is asking for your help now that the last word is written!

I’ve been a bit absent on the media front lately because I’ve been working hard to meet a deadline.

Are you curious?

Well, a few weeks ago I wrote the last word in the last sentence of my new crime novel Missing Believed Dead. Since then the book has been edited to within an inch of its life, the cover has been designed, thanks to Cathy Helms of Avalon Graphics (it’s a cracker). And no, I’m not going to show you the cover today, nor am I going to tell you what it’s about - not yet anyway. I’m waiting until the book launch in July, before everything goes public.

Oh, and did I tell you that the launch of the paperback will be at Waterstones, in Dundee, on 11 July at 6.30 pm. Anyone who lives within spitting distance of the Dundee store is welcome to pop along and have a wee glass of wine with me. Of course, you’ll have to put up with me rabbiting on a bit, but it should be a good evening.

However, if you want a sneaky preview of the book, I’m looking for reviewers who can deliver a review by the first week of July. I want to have a bank of reviews on Amazon as soon as the book goes live. So, if you think you can meet that deadline, while I’m still working towards my deadline, then send me your email address and I’ll send you a prepublication Kindle file, and that way you’ll be able to see the lovely cover as well as read the book.

P.S. It would be great if one of Famous Five Plus Reviewers was able to send a review to FFP to be included on the web site.

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

http://chrislongmuir.blogspot.co.uk/

Amazon author page UK

Amazon author page US

Find out more about Chris and her publications by visiting our Author, Books, Review & Trailer Pages

HUG A BOOK with Suzy Turner

Hug A Book is sponsored by

Volkan-Watches

It’s HUG A BOOK and this weekend it’s with Suzy Turner

And

You could win a Kindle copy of

The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw

A Morgan Sisters novel

Meet Suzy

Suzy Turner was born in Yorkshire in 1975. She lived there until 1986 when she and her family embarked on an adventure to a land where the weather was warmer and the people spoke a strange language.

It didn’t take long for Suzy to pick up the Portuguese language in her new home of the Algarve, but it was the English language that always enchanted her. She could usually be found with her head in a book, whether she was floating around in the swimming pool or tucked up in front of a roaring log fire (yes, Portuguese winters are chillier than most people imagine!).

After completing her A’levels (including English Literature), Suzy was offered a job as a trainee journalist for a local English newspaper. Although her love of writing began to develop, so did her hatred of intruding into people’s lives and so Suzy found herself working behing the scenes, which eventually led to writing features.

Accepting the job of Assistant Editor for a popular lifestyle magazine proved to be a position she particularly enjoyed, especially as she was often given the chance to meet and interview people from all walks of life. This led to her becoming the Features Editor back at the newspaper before eventually becoming Magazine Editor. The recession, however, had others ideas and Suzy had no choice but to accept redundancy.

With an ever supportive husband behind her, Suzy decided to do what she had always dreamed of. And so she became an author, writing books for teens.

Suzy continues to live with her husband in Portugal, although they are currently planning an adventure of their own - moving to another country!

Details of Book

Adopted sisters Lana Beth and Emma Jane are polar opposites, but when the same strange ‘tattoo’ suddenly appears and winds its way up their bodies within days of each other, they soon realize there’s more to their relationship than they could ever have imagined.

Sent off to London for two weeks of ‘work experience’, the Morgan Sisters soon find themselves being initiated into the ancient Praxos Foundation, one that protects the innocent while fighting evil, both human and supernatural.

At the same time, Lana Beth and Emma Jane must also investigate why the sweet but sometimes pesky ghost of Josiah Grimshaw just won’t leave them alone.

Available for Kindle (& paperback soon!)

Excerpt

Staying put on the side of the road, Lana watched him cycle away into the distance. She didn't want to go home and she certainly didn't fancy going back to the hospital, so she hopped back onto her bike and took an easy ride towards the old churchyard. As she approached the crumbling remains of the building that had been destroyed in 1953, she kept a close eye on Carlton Point which stared back down as if goading her.

But instead of pulling up at the churchyard, something made her continue cycling. It was if they weren't her legs pedalling. She just kept going. Breathless, her heart thumped in her chest as she came to a slow about halfway up the steep hill. Stopping, she climbed off and pushed her bike to the grassy expanse to the side of the pathway, letting it fall to the ground. She followed it and sat down for a few minutes, getting her breath back.

The wind picked up temporarily and with it came a gentle sound. It sounded like someone calling out her name. Turning to look up towards the very top of Carlton Point, Lana couldn't see anyone. Its just my imagination, she thought. It's just because my heart is beating like God knows what. But the sound continued persistently: 'Laaaanaa..... Laaaanaa.... Laaaanaa...'

'What the...?'.

Standing, Lana did a full circle squinting her eyes before chuckling nervously, 'Very funny, Scottie. I know it's you. You can come out now!' she yelled.

But nobody appeared.

She fidgeted with her fingers nervously. Her plan was to climb back on her bike and cycle away but her legs moved in another direction: towards the summit.

No, she thought, no...

But it was no good. She no longer had any control over her body and she continued walking until she reached the pinnacle of Carlton Point. Lana was terrified. She'd always had what she thought to be an irrational fear of heights. Just like Emma had an irrational fear of water. There was no explanation to either phobia. Then why am I here? Why did I climb up?

At the very top of Carlton Point was a small circular patch of ground surrounded by an ancient stone wall. On one side of it was the pathway she'd just walked along... although steep, there were no scary edges as such. But the other side was an altogether different story. She'd seen it in pictures, and from afar, but she'd never seen it up close.

Standing dead centre as she let her handbag fall to the ground, Lana closed her eyes just for a second. I'm not here, she thought, I'm in bed having a nightmare. But the gentle breeze told her a different story. She gulped hard and opened her eyes, her limbs incapable of moving further. But she was no longer in the centre of the circle. She was now looking down at a sheer drop hundreds of feet below.

She could hear her heart beating, feel it thudding in her chest. She couldn't open her mouth; it was too dry. All she wanted to do was scream but she couldn't even do that. Please God don't let me die, she thought.

A sudden massive gust of wind took her feet from beneath her and she was forcefully pushed from the top of Carlton Point, falling silently and peacefully to the rocky hills below.

Suzy’s Links

website: http://suzyturner.com

Blog: http://suzyturner.blogspot.com

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Suzy-Turner/e/B0050BSH1I

Facebook: http://facebook.com/suzyturnerbooks

Twitter: http://twitter.com/suzy_turner

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/suzyturnerbooks

Question

What does Lana have a fear of?

Answers in the comments and good luck!

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A Leopard Changing It's Spots!!

Can this leopard change her spots? Asks Debbie Ingram, author of Poppy Days and Angel Girls.

I don't much like being pigeon holed. Whenever people find out that I write novels, their next question is invariably along the lines of "What type of books do you write?" that always throws me, as I am always at a loss as to what I should say.Just what is my particular niche? I usually er and um a bit before chundering on self consciously.If I say my books mainly appeal to women because they are about women's lives I get told that I write chick lit. I hate that term, though. I always have, even before I started my wobbly steps along the writers path. I find it dismissive and it seems to imply that it is inferior to any other genre. It sounds very sexist too.Or is that just me getting defensive?  Why is loving books that appeal mainly to females somehow light weight and inferior? it has always made me cross. Romance doesn't quite fit the bill, either. Even though there are romantic elements in my books. Hmm, trickier to pin down a genre than I thought!

If I say I write about strong female characters who triumph in the end, I'm told that I write feminine literature, which sounds to me as if I have a soapbox to stand on and a point to hammer home. Not true. I just try to write stories that I would like to read. My stories are influenced by some real life events but they are fictional characters and fictional stories. I do not have any hidden agenda. I just seem to find that words flow when I write about people I can relate to. I have often thought it would be far easier to write in a different genre altogether.

I wondered a while ago what it would be like to write a murder mystery even though this area is way out of my comfort zone. In fact , I liked the idea so much I actually started writing a new book where a who dunnit happens. It is proving to be a lot harder than anticipated. I had all the ideas in my head and it began well. I was brimming over with enthusiasm about this work in progress, and spent many months on it.I had sketched out and written down all the characters, and built up the plot until it got to the point where I bumped off my chosen victim. However, when it got to the nitty gritty so to speak, nothing. Not a word could I  write. I have read endless who dunnit books and enjoy them enormously. I now take my (writers) hat off to those authors, because I just cannot do it with any conviction. Try as I might, what I wrote sounded trite and totally unconvincing.It just was not happening. I got frustrated and worried that I had completely lost my mojo! The odd thing was, as soon as I changed tack and began another story, the words just began flowing again.  I have not given up on my murder mystery idea, just put that particular book  on to the back burner. I think it is going to be an up hill battle, but I don't like giving up on a potentially good idea and if I start something I like to finish it. The frustrating thing is I still think it was a good story idea. Trouble is, at the moment I just can't get my brain and my writing fingers to cooperate!

I also love horror stories. In my early twenties I read that particular genre back to back. My first tentative attempt at novel writing back then was, in fact, going to be a horror story. That was worse, far, far worse than my venture into the dark world of murder mysteries! It was so bad it was laughable. I am thankful that lap tops and indie publishing had not been invented back then. I may have inflicted an atrocity on to the world if it had been! That memory makes me smile though. I sat for hours every spare minute I had with my portable type writer and yes my bottle of Tippex tapping away writing drivel. Sorry to spout a few clichés now, but it really is true to say  we all have to find our feet and learn to run before we can walk. I had to find my niche. May be I can not change my spots?

I still like the idea of not being pigeon holed though. Who knows, maybe when I finish my current work in progress the words for that murder mystery or horror story may come flooding to me! Just don't hold your breath....

 Find out more about Debbie by visiting our Author, Books & Review Pages