National Novel Writing Month

So it's that time of year... the month when writers buckle down and drive themselves crazy trying to write a novel in 30 days. This year has been a strange one... I started with great intentions and, despite sitting down on numerous occasions, the words have just refused to come out. So with 25k written on one novel and 16k on another, I am setting myself the challenge to complete not one novel, but two!

Call me crazy but it's all or nothing, and hopefully by the end of the month I will have two shiny new novels. Let's do it...

#amwriting #NaNoWriMo2016

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 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 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