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 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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Freebie Friday

Welcome to the weekend! If you are looking for a saucy read that is being described as"a feel good Harlequin Signature novel meets Fifty-Shades" then look no further than Tied to You.

Book description:

What happens when you hit rock bottom and can’t see a way out? Do you take the handsome stranger’s indecent proposal that seems too good to be true?In a word, yes. 

Desperation will make you do crazy things, like giving up a year of your life and travelling halfway around the world to marry a gorgeous Aussie winemaker who seems to come with more baggage than he knows what to do with. 

I know I should keep my distance but there is something about him that just draws me in. Maybe it is the way he always seems to be there for me when I need it most, or that he just seems to know the right thing to say. 

All I know is that the moment he kisses me on our wedding day, I am in trouble. 

Get your FREE copy today:

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