Day 14

Author Life Month: Living with an autoimmune disease

So you may have noticed that I'm only on day 14 of my posts yet it's the 23rd of May...have I just been super lazy? I wish...

This is not really something I talk about in my 'author' life but the reality is that I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease) back in 2003. So how does this have anything to do with me being writer?

Well, usually nothing. Until I start going through a bad phase where I'm so exhausted that, despite already sleeping solidly for 8 hours, I drop my daughter at school and go back to bed until I have to pick her up. So many people scoff at chronic fatigue but until you are so bone-weary that even putting clothes on and driving 3 miles feels like climbing Mt Everest, you will never truly understand. And this is when it affects my writing...

Because last week I could barely get out of bed. My hubby and daughter had to pick up the slack and deal with my lack of being able to cope with, well, anything. Even just sitting down in front of my laptop to write a simple blog post took every ounce of energy I possessed. So I went back to bed with all these ideas floating around in my head and no strength to actually get anything down on paper. This is when the frustration sets in...because my mind is raring to go while my body has the breaks on and I know if I overdo it, it will just take longer to get back to feeling somewhat human.

Most of the time I'm fine. I manage my condition well and know when I need to ease off and give my body a break. But sometimes a week like last week comes out of nowhere and reminds me that I'm not 'normal'. These are the times when I curse this wretched disease and want to scream about how it limits my life and just how bloody unfair it is. And then I feel guilty because there are so many people living with this disease who have it so much worse than me. 

Thankfully I have an amazing support system of people who are there to look after me...but I really wish they didn't have to.

To find out more about Ulcerative Colitis please visit https://www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/

Day 13

Author Life Month: A Favourite Book

Believe me this has to be one of the hardest decisions I could ever make because I simply can't choose. So many books have influenced my life in different ways so that to choose just one would feel like doing a disservice to the thousands I have read so far.

The first books I really read for pleasure were Enid Blyton's Secret Seven. Growing up in South Africa they really did seem like a world away so they had massive appeal. I quickly moved onto The Famous Five and by the time I was about eight or nine I was reading Judy Blume.

My first foray into the world of adult books probably came when I started nicking my Mum's Harlequin romance novels aged twelve and by the time I was thirteen I had read Flowers in the Attic and had moved on to Jilly Cooper novels. It seems strange looking back to think that I was reading 'adult' books at such a young age but I remember just being completely bored with silly schoolgirl books that didn't relate to my life at all (not that the adult ones did either!!) so I was searching for things that were different. My reading tastes are very varied so throughout my teens I read everything from Stephen King, Kathy Reichs, Patricia Cornwall and James Patterson to name just a few.

The creation of the Kindle was definitely one the highlights of my twenties... no longer did I have to carry two or three books with me (the curse of tube travel and being able to read a novel in a couple of hours), instead I could load up my Kindle with as many books as I wanted. Don't get me wrong...I love the feel and smell of a book... just not the weight, especially when it comes to Harry Potter.

I confess I'm a complete Potterhead and JK Rowling's story, along with Dumbledore's quotes about life constantly encourage me to keep writing. And even Fifty Shades of Grey, whether you love it or hate it (it's a bit like Marmite like that), has had a massive influence on me; when I doubted myself and my stories I just kept reminding myself that Fifty Shades was originally Twilight fanfiction and if she could do it, so can I. So you see, trying to make a decision like that is impossible...I think I'll just carry on reading instead.

Day 12

Author Life Month: Killed Darlings

When I started writing my Thirty Days series I knew that Taylor's arch-nemesis, his own twin brother, would have to have his comeuppance in order for the couple to have their 'happily ever after'. But when I started writing the series even I didn't know exactly how it would end. I have to say that by the time the third book in the series had been completed, I knew that Richard had to die. The main characters, Abby and Taylor, had been through so much together and I found myself feeling almost gleeful in plotting Richard's demise. It felt almost like a game of Cluedo...The butler with a candlestick in the library

It's quite a strange thing to plan a fictional killing. I found that a rather bloodthirsty and sadistic side of my personality began to come out as I considered various situations. It was almost as if this was personal. And I guess it was...these characters had been living in my head for years by this point. I considered his demise from so many angles that it was finally a relief to get to the actual point of writing the crucial scene. But even then, I wasn't prepared for the twist that presented itself out of nowhere. Yes, sometimes we authors even surprise ourselves!

Thirty Days: The Complete Series (all four books in one) 

is now available to buy for only $4.99 from

Amazon | iBooks | Kobo | Nook

Day 11

Author Life Month: A Fave Review

Reviews, as much as we authors would like to deny it, are kind of like our lifeblood. A good one can make you feel like the hours of self-doubt, countless cups of coffee and stress headaches were all worth it. A bad review, on the other hand can make you cry, reach for a bottle and in the case of a certain few who I won't name, go completely mental and stalk the reviewer! Most of the time reviews tend to be pretty samey but every now and again someone will write something brilliant that has me going 'that person just really got me'. This one totally rocked my world!

Day 10

Author Life Month: A Non-Author photo

Ooh! So many to choose from but I think this might be my favourite one of all time... My daughter fast asleep in her daddy's (who was also fast asleep!) arms. After what felt like hours of screaming (my daughter is lactose intolerant and had reflux so the poor thing permanently had a scrinchy belly) it was one of those rare moments of absolute peace and contentment which begged to be photographed and always reminds me of just how precious my little family is.

Day 9

Author Life Month: A Challenge Overcome

What do you do when you write about something you've never actually experienced? Of course, the whole point of fiction is to write... well, fiction. But if you're anything like me, you like a good dose of fact with with your fiction so I generally tend to write about places and situations I actually know about. The people and their stories may be pure fantasy but it helps to to be able to inject that bit of reality if I can actually describe a place I've been, an aroma I've smelt, a taste I've experienced.

I think one of my biggest challenges so far came when writing the BDSM scenes in Tied to You, and in particular the caning scene. Given that I have never been caned myself, nor had an inclination to, it was a particular challenge to capture the emotions and sensations Liv would have felt. So thank heavens for Google, and a couple of people in the scene who were happy to divulge a few home truths. 

These days I love trying to write a little more on the wild side...indeed my search history may raise more than a few eyebrows. I swear there are no bodies though!!!

Day 8

Author Life Month: An Awesome Moment

Oh my word... how could I even try an pin down one in my thirty-five years? There have been so many with highlights including my hubby proposing in New York, our wedding, the day we brought our daughter home from the hospital... and so many more.

From the perspective of being an author however... hmm, I guess it would have to be my first review from someone I didn't know.

Writing my first novel was an experiment in itself in that I had no idea whether I could even get the story out of my head and onto paper. It took three months to produce something I felt was ready to be put out there and even then I wasn't sure how it would be received. But when I checked my Amazon page (which we authors know we shouldn't do and can't help ourselves!), I found the following words...

Really Gripping read, couldn't put it down!

Squirmed, laughed and cried.

Loved it and Can't wait for the next one.

There is nothing nicer than when someone just 'gets' what you were trying to achieve. And when they take the time to leave a review, from an author's perspective that's pretty special. So, on behalf of authors everywhere, please leave a review. Even if it's only a couple of words, your thoughts have the power to make us authors smile or reach for the bottle of wine!

Day 7

Author Life Month: Music

I love music. But not just any music... I love rock and metal. Most people take one look at me when I tell them this and double over with laughter because, apparently, I don't look like the kind of girl who's into that 'stuff'. That's not to say I don't like other music, because I do, but my go-to choice will always be some of the 'hard' stuff.

When I was writing my Thirty Days series, music featured heavily in the backdrop to Abby and Taylor's lives because music features so heavily in mine. Just hearing a particular song can take me back in time to some particular moment, like meeting my husband in a club at university while Reef's 'Put Your Hands On' played in the background. So when I was writing pivotal scenes in Abby's life, I could always find inspiration for feelings and motivations in certain songs.

So grab yourself a copy of Thirty Days Have September, settle in with the playlist and immerse yourself in Abby's (and mine, of course!) world.

Get your FREE copy from

Amazon | iBooks | Kobo | Nook

Listen to the playlist

HERE

Day 6

Author Life Month: Fan Art

   

Katrina's Art

  

Peanut Button

One of the things I love seeing is people's own interpretations of art, whether it's books, music or movies, as you can see from these two awesome examples.

As yet no one has created any fan art for any of my books (major nudge people!) but I would be super excited to find out how people see Taylor and Abby or Alex and Liv. So if you fancy creating some art in exchange for a free ebook drop me an email at author.bibipaterson@gmail.com

Visit these amazing pages to see more fab drawings. Both take commissions!

> Peanut Button

> Katrina's Art

Day 5

Author Life Month: That'll cover it

The evolution of a book cover is a curious thing... We are always told not to judge a book by its cover but how can we not when it's the first thing we see?

When I first started designing the cover for my first book I had this idea of going completely against the grain of what was typical of the erotic romance genre. I briefed my vision to a fabulous illustrator and what she came back with was exactly as I asked for. At full size on my screen it looked amazing and I proudly uploaded it onto Amazon when I was ready to release my book. But when I brought up my listing on Amazon all I felt was disappointment. What had worked so well on my screen did not translate into a tiny thumbnail; all those tiny little details and nuances were simply lost and simply looked amateurish amongst the other covers.

The second version worked better as a small thumbnail. I'd learnt a lot from looking at other covers but I was still determined to make my cover stand out by going down the illustrated route. Yet when it came to promoting the book it became clear that the style and genre of the book did not fit with the cover. With a background in Marketing and my dissertation written about colour theory in product packaging I had to concede that I'd messed up. Instead of working with the genre, I had been working against what people expected, confusing them and damaging my sales.

So I did what I should have done in the beginning. I looked at what worked for those bestselling covers and went back to the drawing board. The result was something I finally felt could stand on its own amongst the other books in the genre. It fit in with what people expected when looking for a story in the erotic romance genre yet still felt unique to me.

But in the end design is subjective. What appeals to one person is not necessarily another's cup of tea so in the end you can only put your cover out there and hope the sales follow.

Day 4

Author Life Month: My WIP

For the last couple of years my writing has centred around my Thirty Days series. Taylor and Abby had taken up permanent residence in my head and it wasn't until I finally released the last installment that I was finally ready to move on to something new.

Introducing...

Coming this summer I will be launching a new series set in Docklands' West India Quay. Crazy barmaids, rockstars, threesomes and unexpected pregnancies are just some of the dilemma's facing the residents of Port West. 

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Day 3

Author Life Month: My last 5-star read

Reading is such a personal thing and everyone has a different idea of what makes a 5-star read. My biggest turn off when reading something, whether it's anything from a Facebook post to a full-length novel, is bad grammar or horrendous spelling. But the occasional typo is not enough to put me off. Which is what got me thinking about my last 5-star read.

I'm a voracious reader and can read up to 4/5 novels a week when I'm not writing. It's rare that I find a book that I can't finish and even rarer to find a book that makes me 'feel'. However, when I find something that makes me cry, or laugh out loud, or even mourn the end I can't help but put that in my 5-star pile, even if the occasional typo crops up.

So here's the thing.... my last 5-Star read... Harry Potter fan fiction. When I found myself sobbing into my pillow at two o'clock in the morning, I knew that I'd found something special. By the time I'd finished the story, I was hooked and it's inspired me to start looking beyond the usual places for something new to read.

So when you're looking for your next read, why not try something new? A new genre, a new author, something 'indie', something unpublished... You never know what kind of gem that might surprise you!

Day 2

Author Life Month: My Author Photo

Here's a secret (well, it's not one any more obviously!)... 

I hate having my photo taken. 

I'm 35 so that makes me part of Gen Y... pre-social media and the dawn of the 'selfie', I grew up with rolls of film that you would take to the chemist to get developed and would then marvel at the fact most of them had my finger across the edge. I wish I could say I have perfected the pout, or the way I should tilt my head, or even that amazing cat-eye liner that celebs are sporting these days but I'm still as clueless as I was in my teens.

I do like this picture though. 

I wish I could say it was a quick snap but in fact it took my sister half an hour to do my make-up and then an hour of being shot from every angle with a professional digital SLR camera to get one shot I was happy with. I guess that's why I keep it even though I no longer wear the glasses (thanks to laser surgery). I know I'll have to update it at some point but for now I'm content for this to be the image people associate with me as an author... the saucy book lady with the bright pink hair!

Day 1

Author Life Month: My Books

All my life I've been creating stories in my head. I always thought I was a little strange as I couldn't fall asleep without some story playing out in my head like a movie. It was only through a series of (un)fortunate events that I suddenly ended up with a lot of free time on my hands and a need to do something to stop myself going crazy. So I started writing down a story that had been stuck in my head for months.

This was the start of my Thirty Days series. Two years later, not only had I written all four books of that series, I had also written a standalone novel and a couple of short stories. If you had asked me when I started writing that first chapter whether I could write an entire book, I would have laughed at you. You see, and here's the thing, the characters were driving me crazy. I started writing them down to get them out of my head. And you know what? It worked. So I wrote and wrote, and wrote some more and all of a sudden I had a book. But the story wouldn't leave me alone and four books later I finally had a complete series.

What started as a way of getting some peace and quiet in my life has turned into a passion. I'd always toyed with sitting down and writing a book but first my career and then a baby became my sole focus. Now, I'm somehow managing to balance all three. And when the voices start becoming too loud in my head, I know it's time to turn my laptop on and get writing.

Find out more about my books HERE