Duncan Lay's Blog, page 13

Here it is, the full list of bookstores I shall be visiting over 30 days - June 27 to July 29.
The times for my first day in Brisbane (July 1) and my two days in Canberra (July 9 and 10) may change slightly - I'll post any changes there and you can always check with the store closer to the date.
I'd love to see not just new readers but anyone who has read and enjoyed the books - come up and introduce yourself before I ask you if you like reading!
Sunday June 27
11am A+R Maitland
2pm Borders Tugger...

I almost have my full list of stores now and will soon post dates and times so you can, if you wish, come along and say hello and perhaps get a book or three signed!
Key dates are: Thursday July 1 and Friday July 2 in Brisbane, Thursday July 8 doing the south coast from Shellharbour to Batemans Bay, Friday July 9 and Saturday July 10 in Queanbeyan/Canberra, Sunday July 11 Macarthur and Liverpool, Thursday July 15 and Friday July 16 in Adelaide and finishing up with a Thursday lunchtime (July 2...

It seems amazing but almost a year has passed since The Wounded Guardian first appeared on shelves.
It has truly been an amazing ride.
Now The Dragon Sword Histories is about to end, with The Radiant Child, book three, to be released on July 1.
To mark this, I am planning something special - The Big July.
One of the things I have learned over the past year is how effective getting out into the bookstores to meet both the sellers and the people on the streets is.
Not only do you get the chance to m...

At my frequent bookstore appearances, one of the most frequent questions I get (right behind the hypochondria-inducing ``have you written them all yet? You;re not going to die before you finish the series are you?'') is: What are you writing next?
Now while I have begun writing on the train again (let's face it, my only other alternative is listening to someone gibbering away on their mobile) I am still undecided as to which way to go.
Basically I have four stories I would dearly love to tell, ...

I was at yet another bookstore appearance (Borders Macquarie) and was lucky enough to get a visit from my copy editor, Abigail Nathan. In between me talking and selling, we had a disjointed conversation where she mentioned the fear of speaking to people versus the fear of putting yourself out there through your writing.
At the time I didn't really think about it - being somewhat more occupied with chatting to people - but it struck a real note with me.
Fear is an ever-present part of your life ...

After a short break, I'm back into the bookstores over the next couple of months.
My program is as follows:
February 21: Borders Hornsby 12pm-2pm
February 28: Borders Macquarie 12pm-2pm
March 14: Borders Macarthur 11.20am-1.30pm and Dymocks Liverpool 2.30pm-4.30pm
March 21: A+R Warringah 12pm-2pm
March 28: Borders Rouse Hill 12pm-2pm
Easter is the first weekend in April, then I'll probably have a couple of others lined up then (most likely Parramatta and Chatswood).
Once again there will be free pos...

I was watching an episode of So You Think You Can Dance last week, where the last few hopefuls were told whether they had made it into the Top 20 or would be doomed to disappointment for another year (at least).
At first I was whimsically imagining what Australian Book Idol, or perhaps So You Think You Can Write, would be like.
We'd have a team of judges, eager to put the book into the hopeless hopefuls.
``If I see another vampire story, I'm going to scream!'' the nasty judge would bellow, befor...

As I have written before, all three of my books have been written on the train, commuting to and from Sydney.
As you can imagine, peace and quiet and CityRail trains rarely appear in the same sentence together - unless the phrase ``can't find any'' pops in somewhere.
Thanks to the marvels of the iPod, I can shut out most of these distractions. But music serves as more than a way to block out the gibbering of some idiot at the end of the carriage.
I find music helps my writing and, in fact, I get...

After having a staggered release just before Christmas, to go with its official release of January 1, amazing as it sounds, I have only just got my head around the release of Risen Queen.
I had an unofficial official launch at Infinitas Bookstore at Parramatta on January 28 and it was only there, while giving a short speech, that I truly thought about what the second book means to me.
For those unable to be there - and it was only ever going to be a casual affair - here's a rough account of wha...

After spending the last few months honing my ability to talk about The Wounded Guardian, I'm about to put it all to the test when I go out to talk about The Risen Queen this weekend.
After answering just about every question imaginable about The Wounded Guardian, my inspirations, my motivation and how I came to write, I have suddenly realised I am back to square one with those who want to know about book two ... what do people want to know? How do I sum it up for those who may not have read bo...