Rinelle Grey's Blog, page 23

Urslat is Tyris’s home planet, and the central planet in the Colonies. It was the first one that was settled, and is where the bulk of the population lives. Unfortunately, due to this, it’s severely overpopulated.

Since this is a problem we will theoretically face in our own world, and do already in some countries, it’s an interesting one to explore in science fiction. Population controls have already been explored in the real world in China’s one child policy. Though the population controls tried on Urslat (baning anyone with a criminal record from having children) are a little more extreme, the reactions are similar.

I’m not sure there is any perfect solution for overpopulation. Finding more planets is only a temporary solution, as the Colonies found out. The interesting thing is that population in western worlds is actually on the decline, and this causes just as many problems as populations age (and there are less young working people to support the economy).

Sorry for the short (and possibly incoherrent) post today. I’m going to be out all day, so I’m writing it in a rush. Must run, or I’m going to be late. I’ll catch up with comments for yesterday’s post later tonight!

All this month I’m participating in the A-Z blogging challenge, writing a blog post for each letter of the alphabet, on every day of the month except Sundays. Check back regularly to see what else I have in store for you.

Tyris is the other main character in my novel, Reckless Rescue, and a favourite of mine. I found him much easier to write than Marlee, perhaps because he isn’t anything like me at all. Nor is he the typical ‘Alpha Male’ that many romance novels seem to favour. He’s just an ordinary man. Well, as ordinary as a Captain in the Space Force can be!

Right from the start, it’s obvious that he’s one of the good guys. Of course, in his world, a world very controlled by the government, doing the right thing doesn’t always pay, a fact of which Tyris is painfully aware, and is demonstrated in this quote from the first chapter.

This couldn’t be happening. Not to him. He hadn’t killed or hurt anyone. He’d been trying to do something good. And where had it gotten him? He wiped one hand on his pants, but it still felt damp. The letter slipped from his fingers and fluttered to the floor.

Milandra put down her orange juice and picked up the letter. “There must be a mistake,” she said, skimming the document. “You don’t have a criminal record. I’ll talk to Daddy and get this fixed.”

“It’s not a mistake.” His voice echoed hollowly.

“What?” Milandra’s eyes widened and her hand fluttered to her chest.

“I participated in a protest in college.” Tyris closed his eyes briefly. He didn’t expect Milandra to understand.

“You went to a protest; are you insane?” Milandra stared at him. “Why would you do something like that? What could possibly be important enough for you to risk everything?”

What indeed? “They withdrew the pensions for those who fought in the Off World Wars.” A flicker of anger stirred in his belly at the thought, but he squashed it. He couldn’t afford those feelings—they’d already cost him too much.

“You took part in a protest for that?” Milandra’s voice rose a notch, and Tyris winced. “Do you have any idea what this could mean for us? For me?” She covered her face with her hand. “What will Daddy say? What will the papers say? How could you be so thoughtless, Tyris? Why would you do something so pointless? That’s what we have a Justice Department for! They appealed the decision and reinstated the pensions.”

Because we protested. But he didn’t dare say the words aloud. “They shouldn’t have done it in the first place,” he mumbled. “Those people fought under government orders. They earned those pensions.”

A lot of this story (and the sequel, Reckless Rebellion) is about Tyris fighting to discover whether doing the right thing is worth the risks. And whether his ‘perfect life’ was all he thought it was.

What do you think? Would you be prepared to do the right thing, even if it meant risks for you? Do you enjoy reading about people faced with this sort of dilemma?

All this month I’m participating in the A-Z blogging challenge, writing a blog post for each letter of the alphabet, on every day of the month except Sundays. Check back regularly to see what else I have in store for you.

I had a couple of ideas in my A to Z list for S. But then last week, my blog was hacked.

It wasn’t major, and doesn’t appear to have been malicious, and probably no one but me even noticed. The only reason I realised was that I checked my blog on my ipad in bed, watching as it loaded, only to see a strange page of links and spamy type words flash up for a second.

I tell you, I panicked! I jumped out of bed and spent over an hour making sure it was clean and securing it to make sure this didn’t happen again. Sure I’d heard of other people having their blogs hacked, but I didn’t believe it would ever happen to me! But apparently this month there has been a huge spike in the number of attacks on WordPress blogs.

How did I fix it?

Well, at first I thought I was going to have to go through all the individual pages to find this strange bit of code, and given how many pages and templates wordpress has, that was going to take AGES. But then another thought occured to me, and I went looking for and found an Anti-Malware plugin.

Phew. This nifty little plugin found that spammy little bit of code, and removed it for me!

Then I did a bit of searching on how to prevent this in the future!

I found another nifty little plugin called Better WP Security and though I haven’t turned on everything in the plugin (some of it is over my head), I do feel a little more confident about the security of my site.

This plugin logs access attempts, and bans people if they attempt to login more than a certain number of times. I’ve already had two people banned!

Another plus is that it also lists 402 errors that occur on my page (they can be a sign of people trying to find a way in if they’re searching for obscure links), and this has helped me fix a couple of broken links!

How secure is your website/blog? Have you ever had your page hacked? Any good advice on securing your site?

All this month I’m participating in the A-Z blogging challenge, writing a blog post for each letter of the alphabet, on every day of the month except Sundays. Check back regularly to see what else I have in store for you.

 

The Journey of a Novel

I’ve wanted to write since I was a kid, but it wasn’t until November 2006 that I got serious about it. By January 2007, I’d finished my first 120,000 word first draft. Then I started on the sequel. For a while, I thought I wouldn’t be able to write anything other than that particular series (which is still unpublished), but eventually other ideas came to me.

One of those ideas was Reckless Rescue (originally titled Worlds Apart). It took me two years to finish the first draft (which included part of Reckless Rebellion as well).

But it was only mid last year that I got serious about publishing. Initially, I set a goal to have the book ready for publication by November. I think I was being a little optimistic! But even when I knew I couldn’t do it by November, I kept working. And in Feburary this year, I finally did it. I hit publish on my first book.

You can read a little about the story below.

What would you risk for love?

Marlee’s people are dying—the valuable anysogen gas that covers their planet is making the entire population infertile. When the council tells her she must leave her partner and choose another to improve her chances of having a baby, she’s devastated. She swears she’ll never love again—it hurts too much.

Tyris thinks he has everything he wants, despite his world suffering from overpopulation—until his wife leaves him because he is forbidden to have children.

In an attempt to convince his world, and his wife, that he’s worthwhile, Tyris goes hunting for a lost planet said to contain untold riches in the form of anysogen gas.

When he crashes on her world, Marlee and Tyris agree to pretend to live together while they try to repair his ship and escape from the planet. But as they battle the harsh winter on the planet together, keeping their distance becomes even more challenging than the snow, the council and the risks of a real relationship…

Read the first two chapters for free.

So today, since I’ve done a little promoting of my own, I invite you to do the same. Include a link to your own novel, blog, or other work in the comments below. Thanks for visiting.

All this month I’m participating in the A-Z blogging challenge, writing a blog post for each letter of the alphabet, on every day of the month except Sundays. Check back regularly to see what else I have in store for you.

What place do questions have in novels? I’m not talking about the questions characters ask each other, but rather, the ones they ask themselves. After all, aren’t many of our internal thoughts questions? Will I get home before it rains? Can I afford another book? Will my daughter go to sleep at a reasonable hour tonight?

So shouldn’t our characters do the same thing?

When it comes to internal questioning though, there are two ways you can write it. Consider the paragraphs below. (From Reckless Rescue of course!)

Excerpt 1

He wondered if this was the planet he was looking for. His heart rate accelerated. He coudln’t think of any other reason for its absence from the star maps. This area had been explored long ago and the surrounding star systems mapped. He wondered why they had missed this one. For the first time since he started this journey, he started to believe he might just do this.

Excerpt 2

Could this be the planet he was looking for? His heart rate accelerated. What other reason could there be for its absence from the star maps? This area had been explored long ago and the surrounding star systems mapped. Why not this one? For the first time since he started this journey, he started to believe he might just do this.

Which one reads like you’re actually sitting inside the characters head? Which one is more exciting?

All this month I’m participating in the A-Z blogging challenge, writing a blog post for each letter of the alphabet, on every day of the month except Sundays. Check back regularly to see what else I have in store for you.

Any writer who has been published (traditional or indie), soon learns that having a book out there in the big wide world is only half the battle. You sit back and wait for the sales to come rolling in, and at first, they do. Of course, that’s just all your friends and family buying up your novel. Once they all have a copy, suddenly, it stops.

There are thousands and thousands of novels out there, and every day there are more. How is your  story going to find it’s place amongst them? How are you going to let people know that your book even exists?

There are lots of articles out there that say that Twitter is the answer. Or Facebook. Or having a blog. Or doing guest posts, or interviews, or giveaways, or blog tours. There are so many different ways of promoting your book, that sometimes it gets a little overwhelming, and you just plain don’t know where to start.

I’m fast coming to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter. No, not that promotion doesn’t matter, that it doesn’t matter WHERE or WHAT you do. So long as you do it. Get out there on Twitter and make friends. Follow pages you like on Facebook, and comment. Follow blogs you enjoy, and get involved in the discussion. Join groups on GoodReads, and participate.

Do you have to do the hard sell?

Do you have to write promotional posts about your book all the time? I don’t think so. At least, I don’t do it. I might post now and again, usually about the first two chapters of my novel being available for free, or if I have a free promotion running. But mostly, I just chat to people. I don’t know about you, but as I get to know a writer, I tend to get curious about their books. Eventually, I have to check them out. If I like what I see, I will often read all of their books.

I don’t have huge sales yet. I only have one book, and from what I hear, the more books, the more sales you get. So I’m starting slow.

How do you know if it’s making any difference?

It’s always hard to tell. But I’ve noticed lately, as I’ve been so busy with the A to Z challenge, that I let my promotion efforts slip. I worked hard on my blog, and my A to Z comments, but I’d been neglecting the other avenues, especially GoodReads (which I think has more potential than authors realise). And my books sales definitely shown a decline.

Is this directly relational? I’ll never know. But I dived back into my social media efforts, and had a new sale almost immediately. So I think I’ll keep it up for now!

How about you? Authors, what do you feel has been your best promotional tool? And Readers, what influences you to buy a book? Where do you find out about new and interesting books?

All this month I’m participating in the A-Z blogging challenge, writing a blog post for each letter of the alphabet, on every day of the month except Sundays. Check back regularly to see what else I have in store for you.

Not the A to Z challenge this time, but editing. I reach this point several times during a novel/edit, once early on, at around 20,000 words, when I’m past the opening scenes, and the enthusiasm that comes with starting a new story, and then again around the middle, when it starts to seem like I’m never going to finish!

I’m at that point right now with Reckless Rebellion. I’ve edited close to 50,000 words, and I’m reaching the middle bit that needs a fair bit of work. I’ve discovered two new chapters I need to write, but I only have half ideas what I want them to achieve, not how to achieve it. The middle probably also needs a bit of waffle (where I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going) that needs to be cut out, but I’m  not sure exactly what yet.

And looking ahead, I know I still have to figure out the ending, which isn’t written at all yet. So instead of writing, I’m finding other things I ‘need’ to do. I haven’t written/edited in a couple of days now, and I know that the longer I leave it, the harder it will get. I also have a busy day tomorrow, taking my daughter to a 3 hour science workshop. (Of course, by the time this goes live, that will be finished!)

Thursday and Friday should be better, my husband will be taking our daughter to trampolining and art, and I should have a few hours uninterupted (something that’s been surely lacking lately), and hopefully I will be able to jump in, and knock over at least some of this horrible middle section.

And just so this post isn’t totally negative, I have some tips for dealing with these writing/editing difficulties here. (Technically it’s about procrsatination, but I think the tips are applicable to ‘over ititis’ too.)

How about you? What points do you find hard to write? The beginning, middle or end?

All this month I’m participating in the A-Z blogging challenge, writing a blog post for each letter of the alphabet, on every day of the month except Sundays. Check back regularly to see what else I have in store for you.

In the last few years, books in the Young Adult category have been taking the world by storm. Harry Potter, Hunger games and Twilight, to name a few. And the funny thing is, it isn’t young adults who are reading them with such fervour. Adults are fast discovering that these books aren’t simple or dumbed down, but that they are really enjoying them.

However, there’s a few books sandwiched somewhere between Adult and Young Adult, that didn’t quite fit into either category. These deal with younger characters, somewhere between 16 and 25, dealing with growing pains of a slightly more mature type. Thus the New Adult category was born. It’s still small, and relatively unknown, but I think it has some potential.

When my beta readers and editors read Reckless Rescue, a few commented that it read a lot like Young Adult. Not just one person, about three I think. It made me pause. I didn’t see my book as Young Adult, despite the age of Marlee, one of the main characters, because the topics it deals with (infertility, forever relationships, and of course, sex) seemed too old for that group. So I kept it as Adult.

However, I think it would quite neatly fit into the New Adult genre. This isn’t to say I’m putting it into that category specifically (especially not since it doesn’t exist in most places yet), but I does give me an extra keyword to add to my listing, and an extra group to market to.

Have you heard of New Adult? Do you enjoy Young Adult books? Or do you think all these categories are going a bit overboard?

All this month I’m participating in the A-Z blogging challenge, writing a blog post for each letter of the alphabet, on every day of the month except Sundays. Check back regularly to see what else I have in store for you.

The post N is for New Adult appeared first on Rinelle Grey.

Marlee is one of the main characters in Reckless Rescue. She is nineteen years old, and has spent her whole life stranded on a harsh planet, where everyday life is a struggle. Despite this, she is usually pretty positive about life. Why wouldn’t she be? It’s the only life she’s known.

I found her rather difficult to write though, even though her personality is similar to mine in a lot of ways. I wanted to show a character who had a lot of strength and confidence, but who hadn’t learned to trust them yet. She’s confident and shows her true self to her friends and those she’s close to, but as soon as anyone talks her down or yells, she’s suddenly not so confident.

Initially though, I ended up making her seem to nervous and afraid, to the point that my editor was constantly saying that the confident things she was doing were out of character, such as this scene, near the beginning of the novel.

“So, has Marlee told you what we’re planning?” Tyris asked.

“She has.” Nelor sounded more interested now than he had earlier.

“And are you willing to help us out?”

Marlee turned in time to see Nelor’s grin. “You haven’t been around Marlee long enough to know the answer to that. I wouldn’t dare say no to her.” He glanced over at her, giving her a look that was for her alone. She felt a blush stealing over her cheeks and turned away, using the water hissing in the kettle as an excuse to hide her face.

So, instead of turning her into a shrinking mouse (as the editor suggested), I just toned down a few of the scenes, made it more obvious she was sure of herself, in her own thoughts at least. I hope it turned her into the character I intended. I believe so!

The post M is for Marlee appeared first on Rinelle Grey.

Today is Sunday, so there’s no A to Z blogging challenge post. I thought instead that I would take today’s post to thank Rebecca Tirabassi from Mad Scientist, Crazy Mom, for awarding me the Liebster Award. It’s my first blogging award, so I’m rather excited!

Although no one seems to be too sure where this award originated, it seems it was created by a German blogger (makes sense, since Liebster is a german word), and is passed on from blogger to blogger. Kind of like a big blogging love award!

The rules of this award say I need to give 11 random facts about me, answer 11 questions asked by the person who gave me the award, and nominate 11 bloggers with less than 200 subscribers. Shouldn’t be too hard…

11 Random Facts about Me:

I was homeschooled from grade 6 to grade 10, 5 years in total.
I love to craft. Knit, sew, crochet, you name it, I’ve probably tried it. I especially love to make things out of recycled materials
I have a degree in psychology, and one in teaching. Both of them were great experiences and I learnt a lot, but I haven’t really used either of them professionally.
I had a pet goat called Goatsy Oatsy as a child. I loved that goat!
I also had a pet chihuahua called Fang. He lived for 14 years, and was the best friend ever.
I’m allergic to cats and dust mites.
I love Milo, which is a chocolate drink mix that you add to milk. If you don’t live in Australia, you probably haven’t heard of it, but it’s really yummy!
I don’t drink either tea or coffee, can’t stand the stuff.
I didn’t start driving until I was 28, when my daughter was 6 months old. (Even though I had my licence at 19.)
I love to cook. Especially lamingtons. And meringues. And marshmalows. And chocolate fudge.
I prefer vanilla flavoured to chocolated flavoured.

Answers to Rebecca’s 11 questions:

What is your favorite book/genre? – Romance! I’m particularly partial to fantasy romance, but I’m not picky. I’ll read just about anything so long as it has a HEA.
What is your happiest childhood memory? – That one’s hard. I remember most of my childhood as pretty happy. Probably either running around the paddock with my sister and our goats, or climbing our favourite tree.
Cat or dog? Dog. And not just because I’m allergic to cats. I just love dogs.
If you could have a super power, what would it be? – Ohh. Tricky. I think I’d love to fly. I can fly sometimes in my dreams, and it’s always amazing. To do it in real life would be cool.
What has surprised you the most about how your life has turned out? - Sometimes I look around my entire life, with my wonderful husband, adorable daughter, lovely house, and my job as a photographer/writer, and I’m pretty amazed at all of it really.
If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be? – I wouldn’t change a thing. There are some bits of my past I’m not perfectly happy with, but they are part of what made me who I am today. To change my past would be to change who I am, and I like who I am.
Why do you blog? – I started this blog because everyone said you had to have a blog to promote your book. And now I keep doing it because I love meeting people and chatting about writing, and whatever else comes up.
What do you like best about where you live? – I like being away from it all. We have 3/4 of an acre about 15 minutes from the nearby suburb. It’s quiet, we have lots of wildlife (birds, kangaroos, koalas), but if we need something, it’s not too far away.
If you could bring only 1 thing with you on a trip, what would it be? – My ipad! I don’t go anywhere without it!
What is your ultimate vacation? – Somewhere near the beach. Quiet, relaxing, and hopefully no mosquitos. Maybe Bora Bora? ;)
If I were to meet you in person, what is the first thing I would notice? – Hmm. No idea! Maybe that I’m short?

In return, I nominate the following blogs. All of these people have made me laugh, inspired me to come back and read their blog, or read their books. Hope you enjoy them too.

Although I have nominated you, you are under no obligation to accept the award.  However, I nominated you because I would love to get to know more about you!

writermummy
chicaderock
Kelly’s Eye
Penetrating Syllogisms
Impression Evergreen
Volvo Diaries
Sherri Lackey
Maui Jungalow
Surrounded By Books

Reviews

OK, I could only make it to 9, because most of the rest of the blogs I follow clearly have more than 200 followers. So 9 will have to to

If you do choose to accept, here is what you need to do:

Post the award on your blogs
Thank the blogger(s) who gave you the award and link back to their site
Post 11 random facts about yourself
Answer 11 questions that the presenter of the award has asked
Nominate 11 new bloggers with fewer than 200 followers that you want to pass the award on to
Ask your nominees 11 questions

Finally, my 11 questions for you:

What pets do you have?
What’s your favourite food?
Do you prefer sunrise or sunset?
If someone gave you $1000, what shop would you hit first?
Who is the most important person/people in you life?
What is your biggest personal achievement?
Do you have a goal for this year? If so, what is it?
What’s your favourite computer game?
What sort of camera do you use?
What’s your favourite YouTube video?
If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be?

 

The post Liebster Blogging Award appeared first on Rinelle Grey.