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Posts Tagged ‘middle grade fiction’

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From the latest Author Earnings Report over at http://www.authorearnings.com:

‘When we look at just debut authors from the past five years, we find more indie authors now earning a $50K-or-better living wage than all of their Big Five and Small/Medium publisher peers put together… even after we throw in that overgenerous 2x multiple for traditionally-published non-Amazon revenue.’

Looks like it was a smart business model to keep our author rights, hey Cracker? Now, all we’ve gotta do is get our audio books and foreign rights happening and we can split the 50K profits, whaddaya reckon?

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Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday dear author

Happy Birthday to you

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This is a story about a book, well, three books really, and a boxed set, and dreams of riches and infamy, and it goes like this:

Once upon a time we had an idea, and another one, and another one, so we wrote ’em down and turned ’em into books, and people bought ’em, well, some people bought some of ’em, and I’m guessing they would have bought all of ’em if we had kept the dream alive.

But

Editing needed to be done

And time passed

And like all once upon a time stories, our dream disappeared into Netherland with Peter Pan and stayed a childhood fantasy forever

Until one day, reality hit. Dreams only become reality if you do the work.

Or, in Diver Smurf’s case, learn to swim.

Merinda’s Gold, Book 3 of our Cracker Mystery Series, is alive and swimming towards publication.

Anyone wanna buy a boxed set?

 

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Just received this email from Amazon’s automated preference service. Alas, no The Miner’s Wife. 

TMWBook

A bit sad really, if it wasn’t kind of funny…can’t wait to see what happens to my ‘Around Australia in 8 Romances’, except I’ve wised up and they will be published under Mel Hammond.

Around Australia in 8 Romance Novels pic

And to make matters worse, my co-author is equally as infamous, sort of…ever heard of a bloke who carried a fridge around Ireland??

From here on in just call us Lindy and Dick😇

 

 

 

 

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KABOOM!!!!

A CRACKER & GILLY MYSTERY – Book 4

CHAPTER 1

Oh, Ooh, Kablooie, We’re in Trouble Now Boys

Kablooie, and from the shops side of the beach to above Pyang Avenue, from the Surf Lifesaving club to the Bowling Club, the lights went out, the stars and moon in the sky the only light to be seen.

‘Run to the beach, geez, run.’ Cracker pushed his two mates toward the beach where even the minimal light from the moon failed to pierce the night darkness.

Trann and Bone needed no persuasion and leapt in to full speed. Unfortunately, the boys hadn’t been given clear enough directions and they crashed into each other and fell to ground in a sprawling entanglement of arms and legs.

‘Stop mucking about you fatheads. We could be in serious trouble. Run that way!’ pointed Cracker, ‘Duck down when you hit the sand and hide under the lee of the beach.’

The three boys fled to the beach where they found a deep depression which would conceal them from even the most determined searchers.

After a space of three to five minutes three heads appeared and looked back at the electricity substation that, as a result of one arrow fired into the night had unexpectedly turned the boys night of adventure, by exploding in a fizzing, sizzling, spark flying nightmare.

‘Keep calm,’ Cracker ordered. “We go home and say nothing. Meet back here tomorrow at eight, ok?’

Not quite meeting each other’s gazes, the three boys hi-fived and went their separate ways.

 

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Cracker and Gilly are going to Paris to meet Madeline and dance on the Pont Neuf, the bridge Madeline fell off into the Seine River in “Madeline’s Rescue”. It was the first story I read to my daughters in French and it will be a fitting place to launch our middle grade mystery series on an unsuspecting Parisienne audience next September. So if you see the occasional mot de francaise creep into our blog posts it’s because we’re practising for the big launch. I meet with my translator next week. Le Mystere au Hangar Plage is the working title for the French edition of Forbidden. Roughly translated it means The Mystery at Boatshed Beach.

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In ‘Novel Writing, a Writers’ and Artists’ Companion’ Philip Pullman says, ‘Don’t make plans. A plan is not a map, it’s a straitjacket. Your imagination needs the freedom to roam wherever it wants to go, and if you constrain it the book will suffer.’

And I have to agree.

There is so much advice around now in the Indie Publishing world that says outline your novel, fill in the blanks, press ‘publish’, and you will make thousands. Alas, there is little written about the creative process itself in comparison, a process that takes time, lots of it, sweat, lots of that too, and tears…in order to to trust your imagination and give it the freedom to roam you have to step back at see where it takes you…and nobody can sell you anything to make the process any easier.

Remember, the best things in life are free. All they take is time, hard work and tears…there are no shortcuts.

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My new SCBWI magazine arrived today and my twelve year old immediately started taking pics with her photo apps (about a dozen of them)…my question is how can we, as writers of middle grade fiction, not pay attention to what excites our audience?

In my case, as I continue to put together my Instruction Manual For Young Writers, I’m being forced by my daughter to consider the visual appeal of writing for young readers. What can you and I learn as writers from an app addicted young generation??

imageWell, the first thing for me is to learn how to use all the apps😇😇🐥…but don’t worry, my twelve year old has promised us a guest post to teach us the basics.

Hmmm…and I thought I was the teacher in this family…

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Our summer project: image We’ve made the how-to-build-billy-cart youtube video, written Dirt Busters, Book 2 of our Cracker & Gilly Middle Grade Mystery Series, and now that school’s out for the summer it’s time to work on our non-fiction book, how to write middle-grade fiction.

We have quotes from great authors, examples from illustrators and wise words from readers…and now it’s time to share.

Over the summer we will upload chapters, quotes and advice from successful authors…but we also want to hear from you, so let us know what you think as we share our work with you.

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Finally…

It’s taken six months but I can finally announce the publication of Book 1 of our middle grade Cracker and Gilly Mystery series…FORBIDDEN…it’s a long story and an even longer learning curve (a story I’m saving for another post)…both Book 1, Forbidden, and Book 2, Dirt Busters, are now available in both print and ebook from Amazon and other retailers…

Forbidden web cover…and if you’re curious what I’m up to during the holiday break, I’m preparing Book 3, Merinda’s Gold, for publication…all good fun…I think…

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