Hank Quense's Two Cents on Visibility for #Authors & Live Book Signings @Hanque99 #AmWriting #PubTip

Hank Quense's Book Signing Horror Story

Two years ago, I had a new novel released and I was determined that I was going to sell a pile of paperback copies locally. I contacted a few libraries and two of them agreed to let me have a book signing appearance. The libraries did a great job and produced flyers to hang around the library.

At the first one, i sat behind a table with a pile of books and waited while the library’s patrons ignored me. Finally, an elderly man approached and looked over the books. I sensed a sale. I gave the guy a description of the book and he picked one up and sat down. He browsed through the book and read several scenes over the next ten or fifteen minutes. Then he stood up, said, “I didn’t bring any money,” put the book down and left. He was the first and last potential buyer at that signing.

A few weeks later, I had the second signing at a bigger library in a bigger town. Only one guy showed up, a member of a write group I belong to. We spent an hour chatting after which I decided to give up and go home. The other writer did graciously buy a copy of the book.

I think the biggest hurdle an unknown writer has to face is his unknown status. A flashy flyer in a library announcing appearance by an author no one ever heard of simply does not attract a crowd. A writer needs more than the flyer and best good wishes of the library staff. The writer needs to get a message out through the community because a lot of people don’t go to the library, or if they use the library, they may not stop to read the flyer. The flyer should be in local stores and other public places.

I haven’t had a book signing since then, but I’m willing to try one more time with Moxie’s Problem. This time, in addition to the flyers the library makes up, I’ll produce my own flyers and announcements and then make the rounds of the local shops and venues to spread the word. I’m hoping more than one guy shows up this time around.

I’m also exploring a different situation in which I join forces with one or two other authors and make it a joint signing.

Do you enjoy untypical coming-of-age stories? Well, you won’t find one more untypical than Moxie’s Problem. Moxie is an obnoxious, teen-age princess who has never been outside her father’s castle. Until now. The real world is quite different and she struggles to come to grips with reality. The story takes place against a backdrop of Camelot. But it isn’t the Camelot of legends. It’s Camelot in a parallel universe. So, all bets are off!

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – Fantasy, Sci-fi

Rating – G

More details about the author

Connect with Hank Quense through Facebook & Twitter

Website http://hank-quense.com/wp/

#Excerpt from THE REALITY MASTER(Vol.1) by @PMPillon #SciFi #YA #AmReading

ARRIVAL

On a cool and clear night, a sheer and towering cliff awaited its approaching moment to become the temporary abode of a celestial interloper. It stood stoic, unimpressed by the clamorous sea imperiously fulminating with an incessant barrage of waves against its base. A stone’s throw away was the exit point of an effluent stream, a capillary of the fecund land mass it flowed through. With the aid of a clear sky and a full moon, a distant horizon was visible in every direction; ocean filling the entire sight in one, verdant and untrammeled panoplies of mountain forest in another. A hundred miles of this California Big Sur coast and its regions to the east were in virtually pristine condition, more than two hundred thousand acres with relatively few human inhabitants.

Inland, the luminescence of moon and stars bestowed an unfettered. evergreen view of redwoods, maples, pines, firs and oaks. Flying about the natural paradise were raucous jays, crows, magpies and woodpeckers. Invisible in the shimmering light, a sonorous ocean air swept in from the west, rustling the trees; a natural refrain emanating from their dancing, undulating branches and leaves, increasing and decreasing in compliance with the invading force. The wind’s voice eerily equivocated, fluctuating back and forth from a bare whisper to an angry, frightening ululation of dominant abandon; now gradually quieting, at last dying, only to be reborn and assiduously grow unto a mature and bellowing rage. Animals added their sounds to the holistic cacophony: a bark, a howl, a burst through bushes, crackling twigs and branches stepped on or dragged. The stars were in full bloom, complimenting the moon to illuminate the peaks, the canyons, and all within.

One of the star lights was moving, and as it came nearer the earth, it grew in size until was clear that it was not a star but a far smaller, soaring, perhaps piloted, object. As it came into the atmosphere, it developed color – an orange tint. A few hundred feet from the ground, it stopped and remained in place for more than an hour. Finally, a smaller light emerged from it, and the larger light rose again until it disappeared. The new light was purposeful, changing directions as it descended. It floated down and meandered among the trees as though surveying the scenery, until eventually it traveled westward, following a gushing stream to its merger with the ocean. Hovering above the beach, the light hesitated, then floated into a crack on a shrubbery-laden boulder that was lodged partway up the cliff next to the stream, as though perching there for a view of magnificent sunsets. The object continued to glow for some minutes, its light gradually diminishing and finally extinguishing completely. Someone who saw it at close range would describe it as small and round, and maybe add that it looked for all the world to be nothing more than an ordinary stone.

His celestial companion was waiting for him

Precariously climbing a sea-side cliff near Big Sur, ten-year-old Joey Blake was as yet unaware that near his grasp was an object, so odd, mysterious and alien to earth that it would change his life forever and the lives of countless others in the next few astonishing days. Reaching up as far as he could for a handhold it was just there; it had subconsciously lured him, occupied his mind, and made him find it. It was like he was meant to see and discover this object of unimaginable power … the power to change reality.

Time travel and more

This young adult series of sci-fi fantasy novels begins with The Reality Master and continues through four other exciting and amazing stories about time travel and mysterious alien devices. Joey and the reader will face dangerous shadowy criminal organizations, agents of the NSA, bizarre travelers from other times and even renegade California bikers and scar-faced walking dead.

- Vol 1 The Reality Master
- Vol 2 Threat To The World
- Vol 3 Travel Beyond
- Vol 4 Missions Through Time
- Vol 5 The Return Home

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Science fiction, Fantasy, Young adult

Rating – G

More details about the author

Connect with PM Pillon on Facebook & Twitter

Sebastiana Randone & on the Writing She is Most Proud Of #AmReading #HistFic #Fantasy

Why do you write?

I write to deal with an overactive imagination, and as a refuge away from the mundane and myself. As I always feel very relaxed after a writing session, I view this activity as therapy.

Have you always enjoyed writing?

Although I have dabbled with creative writing in the past, having penned poetry in my early twenties, I only started writing creatively a few years ago. As a professional dancer over many years, it necessitated that I compose programme notes for the many shows I created. I also wrote numerous grant applications. A form of writing I deplore, due to the style of language one requires to adopt in order to be comply with policy makers. This time consuming, and largely thankless task, actually acted as a deterrent to writing as a past time.  

What motivates you to write?

A desire to see how things will unfold in the story as the work progresses, the more familiar I become with my characters, the more I look forward to visiting their world.

What writing are you most proud of? 

There is a scene in The House, involving a fortune teller who is called upon in the hope that insight into the origins of, the all too mysterious time traveller, may be gained. I then created some scenes that came to the clairvoyant through her crystal ball, thereby adding another dimension to the plot. Speaking in the language of a fortune teller was most enjoyable as it gave me much licence to speak in metaphors and symbols, whilst presenting the reader with genuine clues.

What books did you love growing up?

My parents being Italian did not read to me, fortunately this did not deter me from finding a passion in reading from a very early age.  My early years were devoted to Enid Blyton, of whom I read absolutely everything. This was followed by Alice in Wonderland and by the time I was ten, I encountered C.S Lewis and read all the Narnia series voraciously, not dissimilar to the fervour the Harry Potter books generated in recent times. My primary school was equipped with a comprehensive library, so I was able to borrow each book in succession, with no wait, which was good, as I still recall quite vividly the impatience I felt awaiting the next instalment.  

As a teenager I developed a taste for crime mysteries so I read everything the library had to offer, Agatha Christie, James Hadley Chase etc. Then it was off to the adult reads Harrold Robbins, Jacqueline Sussan, Mitchener, there are too many to mention as I can honestly say that since the age of 7, I have never been without a book. The classics began when I was about 18. The Brontes, Austen, Radcliffe, Dickens, Thackeray, Hardy, George Eliot,Wilkie Collins  the list goes on. By my mid 30’s I discovered the French – Balzac, Stendhal, Zola, Hugo, Maupausant. Then back to England, with Somerset Maughan, Huxley, D H Lawrence, then to Russia, with Turgeniev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy. Then there was Shakespeare which led me to read Homer, Ovid and the Greek myths. There are so many more. Sadly I have not kept a running list of books I have read, but there have been thousands I am sure.

Who is your favorite author?

This is a very difficult one to answer as there are many I simply adore and respect. But I think for now I will say George Eliot.  Next time it could very well be Balzac.  There are too many in reality, as they wrote extremely fine books back then.

What book genre of books do you adore?

Classical literature - gothic, romance, political, historical fiction.

What book should everybody read at least once?

Les Miserable by Victor Hugo

Is there any books you really don’t enjoy?

Books that use economical simplified language.

How did you develop your writing?

I write daily. I let it flow, in an improvised manner,(even though the narrative is still the driver)I started this way and am continuing to adopt this method. When I am lacking inspiration, I let my left brain take over and deal with the text pragmatically, through cleaning up the grammar, inconsistencies etc.   

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Nature - the sea in particular, then there is painting, music, dance, poetry, film, and literature of course. Also travelling to Europe, the only place on earth where art and beauty still reigns supreme.

What is hardest – getting published, writing or marketing?

I am self published, so that is not difficult. Writing is extremely enjoyable, so I don’t find that too hard. My individual approach renders my work slightly idiosyncratic, therefore the final product is potentially not something that will appeal to the mainstream. This makes earning money and marketing the most difficult.

By far, marketing is the most laborious and costly.  What makes it particularly difficult is, in knowing whether there are sales from any one promotion. It is quite a silent process, in that, I don’t even know if anybody has purchased a book until after each quarter, and even then, I have no idea what source brought them to my book. 

The House is an adult fairy tale rich in mystery and intrigue.

Here is a tale of a woman so absorbed with historical novels that her own reality ceases to offer any hope of romance and beauty.

Until one day this dreamy idealist finds herself in a mysterious forest. How she arrived there is unknown. Soon she encounters a dilapidated house, within whose ancient walls magical rooms that transport to parallel worlds lie in wait.  There she is transmigrated to 18th century England, where our heroine interacts with an odd mix of characters whose dysfunctional lives become immediately apparent.

Her first tribulation involves a nefarious lord, an archetype of the monstrous characters one encounters in fairy tales. The ramification from this confrontation sets the tone for the narrative.

A magic portal finally enables escape from the austere Georgian dwelling. She is then spirited back to the enigmatic house, and a journey to Regency London follows, where a large cast of eccentric identities present themselves.

Late one night, following a long stay in Florence, a young, heart-broken poet arrives. His introduction to the beautiful time traveller offers promise of restoration and love. But there are several more obstacles ahead before her destiny in this curious adventure is made apparent.

In the end an unexpected twist is revealed. But like all good fairy tales, this surprising conclusion is pleasing, even though the means of getting there are dark, and at times sinister.

Buy Now @ Amazon & Createspace

Genre - Historical, Fantasy, Romance

Rating - PG-16

More details about the author

Connect with Sebastiana Randone on Facebook & Twitter

Along The Watchtower by @DavidLitwack #Fantasy #Fiction #AmReading

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. In less than a minute, I found myself in physical therapy. Like the rest of the hospital, the room was green-tile sterile, but someone had made an effort to cheer it up. Porcelain clowns lined the windowsill. Stuffed circus animals—lions and elephants and a family of monkeys—surrounded the rack that held the free weights. And a variety of fresh-cut flowers had been set in mugs in the cup holder for each exercise bicycle and treadmill. Later, I’d learn from Ralph that Becky kept them fresh, paying for them out of her own pocket. He said she’d deny it, but he’d seen her sneak in on more than one Monday morning with an armful.

Fresh-cut flowers. Mom used to get them every Monday as well, to brighten up the gingerbread house. But after Dad died, she started leaving them too long, not replacing them until they’d decayed so badly they smelled. After Joey died, she stopped buying them altogether.

The girl I met in the courtyard stood over a rolling aluminum table, organizing things I didn’t much like the look of. She was sufficiently absorbed that she didn’t notice us until Ralph called out.

“Afternoon, Becky. Brought you some fresh meat.”

She turned and grinned. “Always love a new victim.”

“Great. I’ll leave you two alone. Sounds like you need some privacy.”
After he left, she went back to finishing her preparations, making me wait. Finally, she came over and extended a hand.

“We already met, but let’s make it official. You’re Lt. Williams, but I can call you Freddie. I’m your worst nightmare, but you can call me Becky.”

I reached out and shook her hand. She didn’t seem scary.

“Ralph says you’re the best, that if anybody can bring me back, you can.”

“Ralph’s wrong. I’m just the guide. You’re going to do most of the work.”

“But are you the best?”

“Let’s say I haven’t lost one yet.”

“So I’ll be back on the basketball court in no time.”

Her grin vanished. She grabbed a chair, dragged it over and sat next to me.

“We’re going to be spending a lot of time together, Freddie, so we need to be straight with each other, right from the outset. My goal is to get you back to as normal a life as possible. If you work hard, I’ll have you out of that wheelchair and on crutches in a month. A month after that, maybe a cane.
Beyond that, we’ll see. I make no promises other than to work as hard as you will.”

She stared at me. I stared back, captivated by my reflection in her gray-green eyes. She blinked first and went back to the rolling table.

. . . . . . .

She sat down again and undid the Velcro from my brace.

I winced. I hadn’t looked at my leg much since my peek the week before. The incision was less angry and the oozing had stopped. But what shocked me were the muscles. Where once I had bulges, now there were hollows. Not the leg of an athlete or soldier. Not the leg of a guy who might someday dunk. The leg of an invalid. Becky’s words rattled around in my brain. Crutches, then a cane. After that, we’ll see.

“It may not be pretty,” she said, as if she’d read my mind, “but it’s yours. Take a good look. Let it motivate you when you start making progress. And trust me, you will make progress.”
She squeezed some ointment from a tube onto her hands and rubbed them together.

“This will feel a little cold.”

She spread the ointment, swirling her fingertips over what had once been my quad. When she started the e-stim treatment, I felt the muscle spasm and contract involuntarily, a strange but not entirely unpleasant feeling. As she slid the wand around, humming along to its buzz, I noticed her touch more than the current.

She spoke out of nowhere. “I read the report. Says you have no family.”

I kept staring at her making figure-eights on my leg.

“Is that right?” she said.

I nodded.

“What happened?”

“I was born an orphan.”

She turned off the e-stim and looked up at me.

“Want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Ralph said you don’t talk much.”

“I talk when I want to. I don’t want to talk now.”

“Fine with me.” She resumed the treatment, hummed a few more bars, and then spoke without looking up. “Ralph was right about another thing.”

“What’s that?”

“You are a hard case.”

She was quiet after that, going about her job while I focused on the clowns at the windowsill. Every now and then, I’d sneak a look at her. A beautiful, happy optimist. But she’d never lived my life.
Crutches and a cane. After that, we’ll see. I was different from her—a realist. I knew what “we’ll see” meant. I’d need more than physical therapy to bring me back. I’d need a miracle.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Contemporary Fiction, Fantasy

Rating – PG

More details about the author and the book

Connect with David Litwack on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.davidlitwack.com

Eternal Night by @JadeKerrion #AmReading #Paranormal #Fantasy

Ashra pushed past the blackness at the start of his memories, expecting deeper darkness. Instead, the colors shifted into shades of ochre and gray. Memories, older than his body, resided in his soul; memories of an Earth long since lost to them—a planet surrounded and nourished by water; images of tall buildings glistening beneath a benevolent sun, and of thriving cities filled with the bustle of humans; memories of quiet and intimate conversations beneath a silver moon, the same silver moon that now graced Malum Turris with its light, though a thousand years older and viewed only from beneath the protection of the dome.

She saw herself as he must have seen her, a much-younger icrathari, still hopeful for the future, never realizing that the Earth they had all known and loved was irretrievably lost. Had she ever looked that vulnerable? Had her smile ever been so beautiful, so filled with love as she looked upon—

“Rohkeus?” Oh, blessed Creator, was that stricken whisper her voice?

Ashra pulled back and stared at the human. Her mouth dropped open. Her heart pounded in her chest, its beat erratic. It couldn’t be. It simply couldn’t be—

She looked up at Tera. The other icrathari nodded.

Rohkeus’s soul reborn…in a human.

Ashra threw her head back and laughed, a despairing sound.

Elsker stepped forward. The sole male icrathari was slightly taller than the female icrathari, and dressed in a black silk shirt and linen pants. His silver hair was cropped short, and his light blue eyes were wide. “Rohkeus reborn? That’s impossible.”

Siri shrugged, her red gown shifting around her curvaceous frame. Her silver hair, cut short, framed her face. “Stranger things have happened.” Her pale violet gaze raked over the human. “At least he had the good sense to choose a pretty body.”

Ashra shook her head, the movement jolting her out of her daze. Her prince, her love, reduced to a human? Her slender fingers coiled into fists. Her golden eyes glittering, she pushed away from him, though her body trembled from the loss of his warmth. No, the human was not Rohkeus; he could never be Rohkeus.

Steeling herself against the gasp of pain that escaped from his lips as the anesthetizing effect of her kiss faded, Ashra rose to her feet with sinuous grace. “He is not one of us. Not anymore.” Nothing had been more devastating than losing Rohkeus to a human assassin. To see his soul reborn in that contemptible and weak race was an insult to the person Rohkeus had been.

“Should we turn him into a vampire?” Tera asked.

“Kill him. Set Rohkeus’s soul free.”

Siri seized Ashra’s hand before she could turn away. Siri’s lips, painted the same provocative color as her dress, shaped an O. “You’re not serious. How many people are offered a second chance at the love of a lifetime?”

A second chance? Her traitorous pulse raced even as her lips curled with disgust. “He’s human.”

“We can make him immortal—a vampire.”

Ashra swallowed hard. “But not an icrathari.”

Siri’s gaze fell. “No, of course not.”

“Kill him.”

“You can’t.” Siri stepped forward, placing herself between Ashra and the barely conscious human.

“This is amazing. It’s never happened before—a soul reborn.”

“Rohkeus is dead, and I rule Aeternae Noctis.” She turned to Tera. “I told you to kill him.”

Tera hesitated for a fraction of a second, and then she shook her head. “I won’t do it, and neither will Siri or Elsker. If you want him dead, you’ll have to do it yourself.”

Genre - Fantasy, Paranormal

Rating – PG-13

E-books available at Amazon / Amazon UK / Apple / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Smashwords
Paperbacks available at Amazon / Amazon UK / Barnes & Noble / Book Depository

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jade Kerrion developed a loyal reader base with her fan fiction series based on the MMORPG Guild Wars. She was accused of keeping her readers up at night, distracting them from work, housework, homework, and (far worse), from actually playing Guild Wars. And then she wondered why just screw up the time management skills of gamers? Why not aspire to screw everyone else up too?
So here she is, writing books that aspire to keep you from doing anything else useful with your time.
Her debut novel, Perfection Unleashed, spawned the Double Helix series which has won a total of seven science fiction awards, including first place in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2012 and the gold medal in Readers Favorites Awards 2013. She is also the author of Earth-Sim and When the Silence Ends, which placed first and second respectively in the 2013 Royal Palm Literary Awards, Young Adults category.

She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with her wonderfully supportive husband and her two young sons, Saint and Angel, (no, those aren’t their real names, but they are like saints and angels, except when they’re not.)

Connect with Jade: Website / Facebook / Twitter

@TheSMBoyce Shares Her #WriteTip for Researching Your Story #AmWriting #BookMarketing

Heyo! I'm S. M. Boyce, author of Lichgates and the rest of the books in the Grimoire Saga.

Today I'm going to give you some pointers on how to do research that is crucial to your story. Without proper research, a story will lack what’s called verisimilitude—the tidbits of real-life that make it all seem real. These elements allow readers to suspend belief and fall headfirst into your tale.

While it’s crucial to research and understand your world (be it a fantasy land or modern Earth), how you approach research usually depends on your writing style.

The writing process is different for everyone. Some people get an idea and start writing instantly. Others, like me, outline the entire thing before starting on the first paragraph. If you are the type that outlines, research is going to be much easier for you and you'll be able to get most of it out of the way before you begin to write.

For many, research can be an arduous task, but for some it can actually be an inspiration. So, for those of you who don't outline, the research might help you fill in the gaps of your story, effectively building an impromptu outline in your head.

Tip #1: Chunk it!

When you research, I suggest you lump topics together and work through them one-by-one. So, if you are researching the rainforests of the world, types of horses, and a foreign culture, work through each topic separately so that you can keep your facts straight in your mind.

Tip #2: Stay Organized

Notes are extremely important when doing research. Some prefer the notecard method when taking notes; others prefer a big notebook or the freedom of a word document. Whatever your method is, stick to it and stay as organized as possible.

Scrivener, a program used for writing, actually lets you keep all your research notes with your story.  For those of you who don't use this program, you may want to look into it. Though it has a heck of a learning curve, it’s incredibly useful once you get the hang of it. You can do just about every step of the writing process from this one program.

Stay focused, Boyce

Back on the subject of researching. Sorry.

It's important to save the locations of your resources so that you can refer back to them. Most internet browsers will let you create a folder in your bookmark tab. Do this and create one just for the links to research sources for the book you are working on. If you are using non-digital sources, keep a list of the materials you've used with your notes.

As you work through each resource, label the notes you take so that you know where they came from. This will help later if you need to refresh your memory on certain facts.

Even though you are doing most of your research before you write the book, you will likely have to go back to it at some point during your writing. Research is an important part of writing. Even if you are making up a world of your own, you will need to research one thing or another. This process is what helps bring our stories to life and it's also what gives our stories some amount of credibility in the reader's mind.

Let’s open the floor. What are some of your best researching tips?

"The writing is flawless. The kingdoms and surrounding landscapes breathtaking. The Grimoire is a piece of imaginative genius that bedazzles from the moment Kara falls into the land of Ourea. - Nikki Jefford, author of the Spellbound Trilogy

Spring 2013 Rankings

#6 Kindle Store | #1 Science Fiction & Fantasy | #1 Epic Fantasy | #1 Sword & Sorcery | #1 Teens

Now an international Amazon bestseller. Fans of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and Eragon will enjoy this contemporary remix of the classic epic fantasy genre.

----------------

Kara Magari is about to discover a beautiful world full of terrifying things: Ourea.

Kara, a college student still reeling from her mother's recent death, has no idea the hidden world of Ourea even exists until a freak storm traps her in a sunken library. With nothing to do, she opens an ancient book of magic called the Grimoire and unwittingly becomes its master, which means Kara now wields the cursed book's untamed power. Discovered by Ourea's royalty, she becomes an unwilling pawn in a generations-old conflict - a war intensified by her arrival. In this world of chilling creatures and betrayal, Kara shouldn't trust anyone... but she's being hunted and can't survive on her own. She drops her guard when Braeden, a native soldier with a dark secret, vows to keep her safe. And though she doesn't know it, her growing attraction to him may just be her undoing.

For twelve years, Braeden Drakonin has lived a lie. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. Though he begins to care for this human girl, there is something he wants more. He wants the Grimoire.

Welcome to Ourea, where only the cunning survive.

----------------

Novels in the Grimoire Saga:

Lichgates (#1)

Treason (#2)

Heritage (#3) - Available Fall 2013

Illusion (#4) - Available Fall 2014

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre - Fantasy

Rating – PG13

More details about the author

 Connect with SM Boyce on Facebook & Twitter & Pinterest

@NRNadarajah's #WriteTip for Meeting Deadlines & Staying Sane #Fantasy #GoodReads

Allow me to tell you about a little something I learned when I was just a wee little lad. Several times a week, my dad would sit me down and ask me: “so, what’ve you got planned for the day?” It was a simple question, and one I should’ve had an answer for each time he asked. But that was usually never the case. I hardly ever had an answer for him, and when I did, it was a fleeting thought about something that I might’ve wanted to do a day or two down the road.

“You need to make a schedule,” he’d then tell me. “Make a schedule and organize your thoughts. Create a checklist or something like that. You’ll be more productive that way.”

Did I listen to him? I’d like to tell you that I did.

So, how have I managed to write two YA fantasy novels, as well as two other picture eBooks for adults, while sticking to my deadlines without driving myself barking mad?

You’ve guessed it. I finally started listening to what my old man had to say. Here’s how I’ve incorporated his advice into furthering my productivity and finding success along the way.

Every Sunday, I’d take about five to ten minutes out of my time and sit down to make a checklist. Trust me on this. Make a list and write down everything you’d like to accomplish that week. And then when you feel like you’ve listed out and scheduled your entire week, add a few more items you’d like to accomplish.

There are seven days in a week, which equates to 168 hours. That’s a whole lot of hours just waiting to be used up (or wasted. That decisions up to you). 168 hours. There’s so much we can do in that time. There’s so much we can accomplish, and yet, the majority of us find that we’re only ever able to complete a fraction of what we intended to finish. The reason, I find, is because for the most part, we end up wasting our time trying to figure out what to do next, or how to kill that time which is given to us.

This is where the checklist we created comes into play. Take it as a challenge to accomplish each and every item on that list. Because you’ve already written down the things you’d like to get done by week’s end, there is little or no time wasted trying to get yourself organized. What’s more is that you’ve written down more than you can accomplish. Try your hardest to get all of it done. Chances are you won’t. But by reaching for the stars, you know how the rest of this cliché goes.

So how does making this checklist and trying to complete the items on that list help you meet your deadlines and remain sane while doing it?

Creating that list and hoping to check off the items as you finish them isn’t enough to get the job done. Sometimes, it is. However, along the way, we tend to bite our nails, repeatedly bang our heads on the table, grit and bare our teeth at our laptops hoping for some miracle to happen, take naps to calm our mounting frustration, etcetera, etcetera, and another etcetera, why? Because we tend to look at the project as a whole.

Don’t do that. It can be rather overwhelming considering the amount of work that needs to be done to complete whatever it is that you’re trying to complete.

Instead, take a deep breath. Relax. And while you’re making that checklist to start the new week, remind yourself to take this one day at a time, one step at a time. And while you’re at it, remind yourself why you’re doing this.

No one’s forcing you to be a writer.

This is your passion. Your choice.

You’re pushing yourself beyond your mental endurance because you want to see your book, your creation, come to life.

So why stress over that deadline and hurt yourself while trying to meet it.

You’ve got the tools. You’ve got the want and the will. And now, you’ve that magical little checklist to guide your way. So start cracking and start checking off those items as you breeze right through them.

If you’re a writer, you’re reading this, and you’re trying to meet a deadline, always keep one thing in mind. We’ve already embarked upon a quest that makes us partly insane. So tell me, fellow writer, what’ve you got to lose?

Haunted by memories of his massacred settlement, sixteen-year-old Weaver seeks cover in a hidden refuge among the remains of a ruined city. In the midst of building a new life, Weaver discovers that he has the amazing power to cast his dreams into reality. Convinced it’s just an anomaly, Weaver ignores it. That is until he learns of a mysterious man who shares the ability, and uses his power to bring nightmares into existence and wage war on the world. The peaceful life Weaver hoped for begins to unravel as waves of chaos begin to break loose about him. In a race against time, Weaver must learn to accept his role as a dream caster and master his new power, before his new home is destroyed and humanity is pushed to the brink of extinction.

Buy @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – Fantasy

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with Najeev Raj Nadarajah on Facebook & Twitter