Bethany's Camera

 

Bethany believed in magic. She was a witch after all. It was kind of a gimmee that she believed in what she knew to be true.

She’d celebrated Summer Solstice the night before with all her sisters and she’d stolen some of the sunflowers they’d used to decorate the house, to fancy up her studio a bit. They were perfect props for the adorable photoshoot she’d just done with a West Highland Terrier and a three-year-old little blonde girl.

So, yes, an immortal witch in a coven who had just celebrated Summer Solstice obviously believed in magic, but that wasn’t the type of magic she was thinking about.

What Bethany meant was art. Okay, she admitted that sounded cheesy. But it was also true. Art was entirely magical to her.

At first, she’d been drawn to painting but over the last decade or so, she’d switched to photography. She was always hidden behind a camera. Her sisters groaned when they saw her coming, but she didn’t care. Life was intriguing through a lens. It was more beautiful if she could frame it.

Right then, for example, as she walked through the town centre, the flea market was set up, with every stall selling second hand goods, and each topped with a colourful tarpaulin that would have made a bright, uniform image.

She stopped in front of a stall with a red striped canopy, and rain from the British summer trapped in the material. The market stall was selling old camera equipment, and Bethany noticed a particular camera. Vintage and obsolete now, with the range of SLRs and camera phones available, but she smiled when she saw it, because it was the make and model of the first camera she’d ever held.

It had a silver body with black leather and looking through the viewfinder had brought her intense joy. She’d snapped photographs of everything when she’d owned this camera, wasting reels and reels of film on ordinary flowers and overhanging branches, straight roads, wooded forests. None of it had been boring to her.

Now, it was almost ironic that with the unlimited number of digital images she could take, she was much more particular and took a lot less.

The price tag on the camera was £8. It wasn’t worth anything except nostalgia. She searched for the seller of the stall and made eye contact with a man in his late twenties who immediately approached her.

“I’d like this please,” she said.

“Sure thing.” His gaze lingered on her face as she handed him the money. Did she have food on her chin or something? “This is going to sound really forward,” he continued, “But can I have your number.”

The abruptness of the request shocked Bethany. “Um…” What was happening? She wasn’t like her sister Martha. She wasn’t searching for her mate. She wasn’t hoping she would find love now that the goddess had forgiven them and it was possible. She was still enamoured with the world, as terrible and as heartbreaking as it could be, and that was enough for her.

“I don’t think so,” she replied, shaking her head.

“Okay, fair enough. How about instead, you let me buy you a drink. There’s a place there.” He jerked his head at a small coffee shop with silver tables outside.

He was handsome, this man. He had a dimple in his right cheek and the beginning of lines around his eyes when he smiled.

“I have a family thing to get to.” Not entirely untrue. With the number of sisters in her coven, there was always something she could tag onto.

“One coffee. Ten minutes,” he suggested.

She played her old/new camera between her hands. This man wasn’t her mate, and Bethany didn’t go on dates, but maybe it was thinking back to the girl she’d been when she’d first discovered art and photography, maybe it was thinking about how excited she was with what her future held. Something made her say, “Yes.”

The camera sat on the table between them as Bethany spent time with someone other than her sisters for the first time in as long as she could remember. This wasn’t going anywhere. It was just a coffee. But it was something. 

The End

If you enjoyed this story, you can find more on my website by clicking here. 

A New World

 I'm currently working on the first book in what will be my third series. This series is a little different to the others because it doesn't include any supernatural elements. This series will be a love story set in London. 

The Three Series

The three series of books I'm writing are The Shadow Coven, Lunar Falls and this, as yet unnamed London love stories compilation, and these are the worlds I will be concentrating on for the foreseeable future. 

As a romance writer I love creating worlds and watching them develop and I can't wait to write the stories of all the characters who are just waiting to fall in love. Read on for a little information about the worlds that are about to grow. 

The Shadow Coven

When love makes its way to a cursed coven...

Years ago the sisters of the Shadow Coven committed an act of evil and for that they were punished. The witches of the coven would no longer find their soul mates, but be destined to live out their eternity alone, without true love and without children. 

The descendants of these witches have lived knowing they only had each other, but centuries after the evil act, a goddess has forgiven the witches and now they're soulmates are finding their way to The Shadow Coven and a world of witchcraft. 

Protecting Their Heart

Home to the Accalia wolf pack.

Lunar Falls is a small town and it's the home of the Accalia pack of wolves. Their land is in this town and though the shifters' and humans' lives are intertwined in town, the territory of the wolves is forbidden to all without an invitation. Trespassers will be killed - not eaten. 

That is until Penny, a human female who lives on the border is chased onto their land and into the arms of two male shifters. Not only is this trespasser spared. They want to keep her. 

Now, with every story, the wolves of the Accalia wolf pack are connected to others outside their pack. 

The London Series

Love and passion in the city of London.

Four roommates living their lives in London are each about to find love in a way they never expected. It's not just one man for these women. In this menage series, it's two men for each woman. 

These four friends are about to be whipped into a world of money, romance and passion. 

Still to Come...

Along with the first instalment of this new series, the next books I'll be releasing will be Martha's story in The Shadow Coven and Rose's story in Lunar Falls, both characters we've already met in River's Story and Protecting Their Heart. 

You can visit my website for book extras, including free short stories, or take a look around this blog and read more here. 

Expectations vs Reality of a Romance Author

 

Hands up if you thought being a romance author would be more romantic.

Visions of reclining on a chaise longue, sipping champagne and eating chocolates while the words flow out of me and onto the page may not have been quite accurate.

Misconception Number One: I’m a writer. I’m gonna be rich!

It’s hard to type when I’m laughing so hard at the hilarity of that thought. Rich…? Good one.

Hours at the laptop, hours on social media sharing posts and making connections, hours writing blogs and researching book marketing, and still no guarantee that the books will sell. You can do all the right things, and still be lucky to earn sixty pence a month.

There’s always the dream to be the lucky one. To be the one who will be discovered, the one who defies the odds of being a self-published author and makes millions, but the reality is – that more than likely – you will probably work a day job and write in the spare moments you scramble together between the responsibilities of your normal life.

Misconception Number Two: I’m a writer. I must be smart.

No.

What I am is a person who daydreams a lot. Sure, some of the things I write require research, but what that means is I google a lot of stuff and then promptly forget it as soon as the book or story is finished.

Any visions I had of swanning around with my hair in a chignon, smart-lady glasses and a pencil behind the ear, while I spout facts and answer any question asked has been replaced with a scruffy ponytail, finger-smudged lenses, and a confused expression on my face.

Misconception Number Three: I’m a writer. Nothing else matters.

Hmm… I like to eat food and have a roof over my head, so the day job is a little higher on my priority list. As is my family, my dog, my friends. I love writing, but I personally need time with all the people I love, and so I do give writing as much time as I can, but not at the cost of relationships.

I’m an introvert by nature. I’m mostly happy in my own company, and I’m lucky that pairs well with being a writer, but other things are important to my mental and physical health, and they definitely matter.

 Misconception Number Four: I’m a writer. I write every day.

As much time as I do spend writing, it’s not necessarily every single day. There are days where I work long shifts, or I go out, or I have other tasks of equal importance that need to be done. There are times where I just don’t want to, and though I can push through it, I don’t always do it, because if I make writing an ordeal, I won’t want to do it, and right now it’s an important part of my life.

I write often, but that doesn’t mean daily. I’m finding the balance important.

Misconception Number Five: I’m a writer. I don’t need to read.

Every book I read helps me develop as a writer. Whether I like the way it’s written, and the story told, or I don’t, there’s usually something to be taken from it. I feel like it seeps into my brain and lives there.

I’ve always been a reader. From my first book, I was hooked. Sometimes they’re rereads, sometimes they’re new, but I always have a shelf full of books, and I think I’m a better writer for every word I read.

 

Misconception Number Six: I’m a writer with rejections. I suck at this.

Or maybe not.

Every failed attempt at writing success doesn’t mean it wasn’t well written or a good story. What it means is that it’s hard to stand out in a mass of other works by equally ambitious writers.

I’ve been rejected a lot, because I’ve tried a lot. I remember a famous actor saying that for every success he gets six rejections. Sure, for me the ratio is tilted heavier toward the rejection side – one book I’ve written was rejected nearly thirty times before there was even a hint of someone showing interest – but rejection is a part of being a writer, and as I’m told often in rejections, writing is subjective. Just because one says no, doesn’t mean the next will. Keep trying. Your next attempt might be the yes you need.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Valentine

 Love Day is rolling around again!

As a single woman, this day, where all the social media streams and timelines are filled with the romantic gestures of those in love, it can be a tough one to get through. It’s no coincidence that singles awareness falls around the same time.

 

Supermarkets turn into florists. Their brand colours change to pink and red. It looks like cupid exploded. 

 

Well, I've been single a long time, so Valentines is generally a day that takes me by surprise, but as I always say, being single isn't so bad, and over time I've become really good at it. I sleep diagonally in bed, I eat what I want and mostly my time is my own, but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss the feel of another body in my bed. (Not counting the dog, no matter how much room she takes up.) It just means that to give up the things I love about being single will take someone special.

 

I’ve read a lot of articles that list the best reasons to be single and if I’m honest, they don’t always apply to me. Things like ‘spending time with your friends’ only works when they’re not in relationships which all of my friends are. ‘Having sex with anyone you want’ – well I’m too prudish to take advantage of that one. My reasons for being single are simple but honest. I don’t want to be with someone who makes me wish I was alone.

 

I’m not a bitter single woman. I’m a hopeful single woman. And I’m a patient single woman. I’m okay being by myself until I meet the one who changes that, and if that doesn’t happen, then I can honestly say, I’m pretty damn happy being single. 

This Book Won't End

 

I feel like I've been working on my current WIP forever. 

My shifter romance, the first book of the Acalia series, and the characters don't want to wrap things up. I reached 60,000 words and didn't feel very far along, and now even even further into it and the word count keeps growing. 

How do you make your characters sort things out when they just want to keep gong on? If anyone learns, could you tell me, because if not, Protecting Their Heart may never end. 

I think what could help would be if I could go somewhere with no internet and no people, and just a typewriter. Unfortunately, in real life, I have a day job, I have responsibilities and I have to work around those things. 

Trying to find time to write is hard enough, but when its for a book that won't reach it's end, sometimes it feels futile. 

This book has to end though, even if it's so I can find out what will happen to my characters myself. I need my characters to reach their resolution. 

Writing. Not Marketing.

 

Last year I did a lot of work on my website, my blog and my social media. I regret that now.

I spent many many hours writing blogs, planning posts and generally trying to interact with other people. The impact that had on book sales was zero.

I’m a writer, and somewhere along the way, that shifted, and I felt like I was working more in marketing. The repercussions of that were that I wrote less, I published less. I missed out on doing what I love doing, and that is just writing stories. It was my own fault. I thought it was important to being a writer.

Don’t get me wrong. I like social media for engaging with others, but last year, I think I looked at it wrong. I concentrated on it too much, to the detriment of my writing, and that meant that word counts and completed works took a hit.

I’m doing it differently this year. This year I’ve decided to concentrate on writing more. Not because I think marketing isn’t important, but at the end of the day, you can’t market what you haven’t written, and I write because I love it. Because I want to share my stories with others, even if that story is only shared with a few people.

I appreciate each and every person who takes a chance on me by buying my books, and downloading my stories, and so this year, I want to get more of them out there.

I still want to engage, I still want to talk to others, but I want to do it so that I can share with you. I want social media to be fun.

This is my year of writing. Not my year of marketing. I am a writer after all.

 

What I'm Reading

 

I was reading The Lords of the Underworld series by Gena Showalter. I’ve finished Torin’s book, but until I can afford the rest of the series, I’m going to have to switch to a different author for a while.

So, this week, I’m on a bit of a Betty Neels kick. I’m finishing up Philomena’s Miracle, and then moving onto Saturday’s Child. I’ve read them before, but I’m a big Betty fan.

I love her books for many reasons. I’m a sucker for romance in general, and the innocence of Betty books make it a truly sweet read. When I read one of her books, I have expectations for them. I expect a rich doctor of some kind, often Dutch, and a woman who loves him, even if it takes her forever to realise. Jersey dresses, afternoon tea, dogs and cats, trips to the Netherlands, big houses, inspecting linen closets, a man who help the doctor and a woman who looks after the house. Often there’s a beautiful but cruel woman who wears the latest fashions and noisy bracelets.

It’s the vintage feel of her books that lures me. There are no passionate sex scenes just romance. Chaste kisses and a promise of what will be.

Betty Neels is one of my favourite writers, and I will always reread her books over and over.

Ideas All Over The Place

 

I like to write a blog every week. It makes sure I’m writing, and it keeps everyone up to date with what I’m doing.

Lately, though, things have been pretty quiet, and I haven’t had much to say. I was looking at a webpage to get ideas for what to write about in a blog post and one of them was about ideas of what I plan to write. But that list is too long. I have ideas and ideas and ideas and ideas.

The problem isn’t ideas, the problem I have is too many stories and not enough time to write.

A quick update on what I’m working on at the moment: The Shadow Coven’s second instalment is still in progress. Martha’s story is being told. I’m also working on a shifter menage romance, which is nearing completion. It’s a little longer than planned, but that’s just more story for your money.

I have other shifter romances and erotic stories, some sci fi stories, some contemporary menages. All ideas waiting to be developed. Stick with me, for more stories.

Are all Writers Strange?

I blame the fact that I’m a writer for my stationery addiction.

Pens, pencils notebook, paperclips. There really are no restrictions to what I like, and one of my favourite times of year is when the stores get their Back to School range in. A trip to the supermarket doubles in time.

I have drawers full to bursting with supplies that well probably dry up before I ever get to use them, because even though, I’m constantly replenishing my stock of pens, I have this thing, a quirk if you’d like, where I use one writing utensil at a time.

If I’m working on one writing project, then I have one pen or pencil that I use through the whole piece of work until I finish either the book or the pen/pencil runs out. I also prefer to stick to two notebooks. One large for at home, one small for on the go.

It got me to wondering about quirks. How many writers have superstitions or habits that you follow when you’re writing? Are we all odd, or is it just me? Am I alone out here in my weirdness?

A Late Introduction

I’m a romance writer with a day job.

I work for minimum wage to keep my dog and I in the lifestyle to which we’ve become accustomed, which is frugal budgeting and only spending when I have to.

That being said, we have a happy little life together, just me and her. I’m content with my life as it is right now. It doesn’t mean it’ll just be us forever, but for now I’m happy as I am.

I work in the day and I write in the evening. I have romance in my veins, in my heart, and in my brain. I’m a romance writer.

Things at the moment are extra crazy. They’re scary and devastating times, and as someone who is considered a key worker, it means the day job continues for me. Writing is my escape from hard times and it always will be. So, the new books will be coming, but not any faster than usual, because I’m fitting it around the day job.

Writing full-time is the dream, but it’s not the reality yet. Romance day and night is the dream, but it’s not the reality yet.

Right now, though, I’ll get back to the stories, and to everyone who reads this, stay inside and stay safe. Read books! It’s a fun way to spend your time.