I lost a couple of hours this weekend to a quirky, fantastically fun game of Square Heroes. I must admit, what lured me to purchase the game on Steam was a completely egotistical desire to see the new character names and dialogue I had created, but what kept me playing (between social and domestic obligations) was the kick-ass kills and phat loots!

There is something extremely satisfying about beating a monster with a rubber chicken whilst wearing a tiara. Choosing the right weapon and approach for each type of battle (Gnome Hunt, Team Death match etc.) becomes more important and fun as the game progresses. Don’t get too trigger happy with the big hitters though, as you are likely to annihilate yourself (along with your foes) in a feat of superb suicidal splendour.

I’m looking forward to further improving my skillz, playing the single-player tournament, while convincing my friends to get on-board!

If you don’t put yourself out there, you can miss out on some amazing opportunities. I recently landed a fantastic writing gig by simply asking a small games company, who does your writing? The answer was, we are looking for a writer right now actually. Bingo!

I love gaming and I love writing and now an opportunity to combine both passions was dangling in front of me. Since I didn’t have any games writing experience to speak of, I offered to write some short bios for the foe AI in their latest game. They agreed that would be useful so I created some cheesy character histories based on a provided comic strip. To my delight, my contact reported that the bios were just the kind of thing they were looking for and that they, would like me to re-write the dialogue used in the game! Double Bingo!

I spent my recent holiday writing up the dialogue to describe each level objective while also moving the underlying game story along. I really enjoyed the process and certainly didn’t expect any mula for my efforts, but after handing in my work, I was offered some $$ AND my name in the credits. Wooot! I can’t wait for the new game release so I can see my character names, attitudes and dialogues in action.

A question that many writers ask themselves. I’m not going to lie, it is tough but it is also totally achievable. Last weekend, a good friend of mine asked me to read the first three chapters of her new book. She has never written a book or even a short story before so I was extremely impressed when I was carried away by her story.

Once I’d convinced her that she had talent (in my opinion anyway), she asked how I had managed to produce two books while working 9 til 5 in a completely different industry. Here is the advice I gave her:

Schedule your writing time (after work or on the weekend) and stick to it. I always write on Saturdays and unless I’m sick, hung over or on holiday, I ALWAYS write on Saturdays.

Choose a place to write that inspires you. I cannot be at home or else I want to do the dishes or put out the washing. I go to a local cafe and buy myself breakfast as a reward for my hard work.

Chip away at it. Don’t think about how much or little you have written, just keep writing. Before you know it you’ll have a first draft.

Don’t sweat the details. If you can’t think of the word you want to use or you are unsure of the correct grammar, then type ??? and come back to it later. You will have plenty of time to edit the story at the end. Just get to the end first!

I’m looking forward to reading the rest of my friend’s story later this year. I hope these tips inspire you to complete that half finished tale that you know has promise.

Heartless, the second book in the Ruthless Series is OUT NOW!

I’m loving the cover, created by my good friend Ben Roestenburg. We worked together to revamp the Ruthless cover as well so now they compliment each other beautifully.

Soulless, the third and final instalment is on it’s way. I’m thinking… mmm March (that means July 2015).

I’d appreciate your support, so please pick up a cheap copy of both Ruthless and Heartless on Amazon.com.

(Heartless is also available via Smashwords retailers in multiple formats. The story stands alone, so don’t hesitate to start from there 🙂 )

I am just about to push the big red button and release my new book Heartless (the second book in the Ruthless Series). But before I got to this exciting ‘button-pushing stage’, I had a little hiccup with my new CreateSpace project (for those of you who don’t know, CreateSpace is the print publishing arm of Amazon).

Unfortunately, cocky me, chose Expert setup, and that meant that I could only upload a PDF as my interior file. I use a Mac and PDF generation in Mac Word is not very nice, so my preference was to upload a Word document instead. Sadness and confusion ensued.

Never fear, if you too were overly confident in your ability to use the CreateSpace interface – I eventually found it can be reversed without having to delete the whole project.

Just do this:

1. From your Member Dashboard, click on the title of your book
2. Within the Setup section, locate the Looking for Help box on the left-hand side of the screen
3. Click “Switch Now” and confirm this change by clicking “Continue“

If you are looking for a way to thank me for this wonderful work-around, feel free to purchase a copy of my first book Ruthless (ebook or print). By the time you are finished, the sequel will be ready! 🙂

Have you ever read a book by a famous author and struggled to read one or more of the main character names? Below are just a few examples:

Daenerys Targaryen 1996 A Game of Thrones
Princess Mariya Bolkonskaya 1869 War and Peace
Piscine Molitor Patel 2002 Life of Pi
Thérèse Defarge 1854 A Tale of Two Cities
Zaphod Beeblebrox 1979 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Many of the above may be easy for you to pronounce in your head now, since their books have been made into film or TV series, but imagine trying to read “Daenerys Targaryen” without ever having heard the name said aloud.

Using such names for main characters is brave and a luxury afforded to already famous authors. As a new writer, I assume assigning such handles to my characters would be author-suicide. The less ‘hurdles’ for my readers, the better. I need to give them every excuse to read on and none to give up.

But then again, the success of the stories these characters live within has been phenomenal. Perhaps difficult character names are not a curse after-all, if they are as interesting as the story line.

A few times I’ve received feedback about Eternally Ruthless’ protagonist, Ruth Wroth being quite unusual, but I still stand by the name. It’s like Lois Lane, Peter Parker or Severus Snape. There is a pop culture feel to it. I’ve almost finished the Ruthless trilogy (the next epic trilogy) now, so perhaps in my next series I’ll splash out and try an unusual, difficult character name.

My new supernatural suspense story Heartless is finished! Currently some of my most favourite anally retentive friends are proofing the 99.99% finished product, then it will be ready for a final primp before release. “When?” You ask. Well, I am sorry to announce to those of you dying to know what is in store for Ruth after reading Ruthless, that I won’t be releasing Heartless until the new year (update: Here it is on Amazon and Smashwords). In the meantime, here is the synopsis I’ve been flip-flopping over. I hope it makes you want to read on!

“The devil is in the detail.”  

Like any other large corporation, Hell’s employees need to be acquired, managed and when necessary, terminated. Now in limbo, Ruth Wroth is the unwitting Human Resources manager of Hell’s Earth branch- GlobalCore. Forced to work for the charismatic Lucifer, Ruth must reap the souls of her heinous assignments in devilish style. Although killing scumbags for an eternity is strangely satisfying, Ruth has a plan to resign but first she needs help from the competition.

To secure salvation for her tarnished soul Ruth must find her seeing-sphere, the heavenly object that reveals the good deed needed to absolve her sins, but it is locked within a library managed by Heaven’s Earth branch- Stratus.

When Christian, an undeserving angel offers Ruth a lifeline in return for a date, she reluctantly agrees. Soon Ruth finds herself grappling with love, loyalty and lies as she is forced to choose between the better of two evils.  As the Rapture nears, will Ruth’s journey to the truth leave her heartless?

What is a Novella?

A Novella is a short novel, usually between 20,000 and 50,000 words in length.

Should I write one?

Yes. Well in fact I already have. This post is really a personal reflection on why I and potentially other indie authors tend to deny that the products of their hard work are actually novellas and NOT novels.

I released my first book Ruthless in February 2014. The book is the first in a supernatural-action trilogy and it took me three long years to write (mainly because I didn’t do it very often).

It comes in at an underwhelming 48,888 words- including the dedication, acknowledgements, etc. When I gave it to friends to proof read, the faster readers of the group finished it in less than a day. Although that was extremely handy for me and my proofing process, it also felt like a kick in the guts –three years of writing, condensed into just a few hours of reading.

Being a brand spanking new author didn’t help. I felt like I had something to prove. I told people it was a novel, I marketed it as a novel and I defined it as a novel.

It is not a novel. It is a novella but now I realise that is a good thing!

There are some fantastic novellas out there and many of the classics you will know:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (166 pages): This novel about an ambitious scientist who conducts an unorthodox experiment and creates a “monster” is an early example of gothic horror writing during the Romantic period.

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (55 pages): No one should miss Kafka’s tale of a man who wakes up one morning to discover that he has been transformed into a gigantic bug.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (180 pages):For those of you who haven’t read this book, get to it! It’s only 180 pages. This classic, referred to by some as “the Great American Novel” is about a man who lets his love obsession get the better of him, and it ultimately leads to his demise

The Awakening by Kate Chopin (128 pages): This novel focuses on a woman who is trying to reconcile her views on femininity and motherhood with those of the very conservative South. It does not have a happy ending.

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (144 pages): This crime novel features Chandler’s famous character PI Philip Marlowe. An old man is being blackmailed and he wants Marlowe to make it stop.

War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (160 pages): This classic science fiction novel about alien invasion is where so many bad book adaptations get their ideas. (Don’t watch the movies! Read this book instead!)

Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote (160 pages): This novella is fairly different from the movie version (the male protagonist is gay…pretty big difference) and Capote’s prose is simply stunning, so even if you’ve seen the movie, this is still worth the read!

Animal Farm by George Orwell (140 pages): Orwell’s novella is an allegory for the Russian Revolution, and the hypocrisy of the newly-instilled leaders. Of course, it’s overtly political, and uses talking pigs, sheep, and horses to illustrate Orwell’s viewpoints.

If it’s good enough for old George, then it is good enough for me. I write short books that are action packed, easy to read and just as good as any novel.

Ruthless by Esther Krogdahl (288 pages): When career-driven Ruth lands a seemingly perfect job at GlobalCore- a chic yet mysterious global corporation, she prepares to dish out her cold and merciless brand of human resource management. But there is something different about this company. Ruth finds herself climbing the corporate ladder but this time as a matter of life or death. She must compete with angels wearing Armani as she struggles with her new eternal occupation that redefines “employee termination”.

I have almost finished the second in the Ruthless trilogy- Heartless, which will end up around the 45-50,000 mark also. This time, I’ll be marketing the book as a novella- loud and proud.

I’ve always been a problem solver. I enjoy understanding a problem and then plotting to solve it in numerous different ways. I guess this is why I ended up in IT and moved towards programming. Although people tend to think of programming as a boring mathematical discipline, it is actually extremely creative. After all, you are given a problem – “create a system that does X” and ultimately you have thousands of ways to solve it. Programming is just a series of puzzles you need to complete in order to end up with a working system.

Now that I have started writing, I find this is just another puzzle. I liken it to a jigsaw. The complete puzzle is the entire story. The plot and character development are the pieces. It is always easier if you can refer to the complete picture on the box, but that is only a guide; you still have to fit the pieces together yourself. I am one of those people who like to pick out the corners and edges first. These are the characters and key events that drive the story forward. I then fill in the middle pieces with description, thought, and speech, which is easier now I have a sturdy frame.

I am currently travelling through Mexico, inhabiting a small island called Holbox (Casa Blat ha) as I write this. So I find another puzzle to compare programming and writing with- learning Spanish. This time, I don’t have a picture on the jigsaw box; it is just too big to visualize. What I do have is friendly locals and travelers who can give me new pieces of the puzzle and show me how they fit together. In this case, the edges are the verbs and their conjugations as well as what I would call “connectors” (to, from, and, etc). The pieces that make up the centre are nouns, adjectives and a vast array of vocabulary that add colour and focus to the bigger picture.

Before I left Australia, I sent Heartless- the sequel to Ruthless, to my editor, so now I can begin collecting the corners and edges for the third and final book in the trilogy- Soulless. I’m sure there will be elements of my travels that impact what the complete puzzle will look like. If it is anything like the view I am gazing upon now (long white beach with aqua blue water beyond), it will be my best book so far.