Some Quotations I Like

Posted in quotations by heatherbwriter

Words can be very powerful. They unlock a whole wealth of meaning and are capable of eliciting strong emotions. Sometimes you read something in a book, which is so poignant that it stays with you. At other times there are sayings that are so widely used in everyday speech that we overlook where they originated from. This is often the case with Shakespeare.

I’ve put some of my favourite quotations below but I’m sure there are others that I’ve temporarily forgotten. I couldn’t resist adding a few from my own books. I think most writers have moments when they’ve written a line or two that they’re particularly proud of, so please excuse my self-indulgence in including a few quotes of my own.

“We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars.”

Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan

“There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”

Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

“As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods; they kill us for their sport.”

Shakespeare, King Lear

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”

Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!”

Shakespeare, King Lear

“If music be the food of love play on.”

Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

“If there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers.”

Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players…”

Shakespeare, As You Like It

“It was terribly beautiful to Tess today, for since her eyes last fell upon it she had learnt that the serpent hisses where the sweet birds sing.”

Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles

“Justice” was done, and the President of the Immortals (in Aeschylean phrase) had ended his sport with Tess.”

Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles

“Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.”

Shakespeare, Measure for Measure

“O, what may man within him hide, Though angel on the outward side!”

Shakespeare, Measure for Measure

“Ask no questions, and you’ll be told no lies.”

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

“My advice is, never do to-morrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time. Collar him!”

Charles Dickens, David Copperfield

“Time and tide wait for no man.”

Geoffrey Chaucer

“Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained”

Geoffrey Chaucer

“Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”

Alexander Pope

My Favourite Quotes from my Own Books

“Signs of desperation were already painted on their grubby little faces.”

A Gangster’s Grip

“This was his sort of area; a place where the menacing and the vulnerable co-existed.”

Danger by Association

“… eager to escape the foul stench given off by her unwashed clothing and her tendency to leak urine; a result of years of child-bearing to children she rarely saw.”

Born Bad

Have you got any favourite quotations? If so, I’d love to hear them. Feel free to add them in the comments box below.

——————

20Jan2017

Free Promotion of Danger by Association

Posted in Book Giveaway by heatherbwriter

‘Danger by Association’ is the third and final book in the Riverhill trilogy and, according to many readers, it’s the best of the three. It is therefore ironic that sales of this book are much lower than for the first two at around 3000 compared to over 9000 for ‘Slur’ and over 8,000 for ‘A Gangster’s Grip’.

Danger

I hold responsibility for that to an extent – I should have put the book up for pre-order a lot sooner than I did. Then perhaps readers of the first two books would have downloaded the third straightaway, especially since there is evidence that readers of ‘Slur’ went on to read ‘A Gangster’s Grip’.

So, I’ve decided to do a free promotion of book 3. ‘Danger by Association’ will be free to download to the Kindle for three days only on the 20th, 21st and 22nd of January so if you haven’t already downloaded a copy, now’s your chance. Here’s the link: http://viewBook.at/DangerbyAssn.

Here’s the book blurb so you can see what the book is about:

Rita has been avoiding Manchester; it brings back too many bad memories. She still has harrowing flashbacks of ruthless gangster, Leroy, and the death of a loved one. It takes the wedding of her brother, John, to persuade her to return. She agrees on the condition that she steers clear of the Riverhill estate and Leroy’s family.

When her son, Daniel, is placed in danger, Rita is lured back to the Riverhill where she confronts those she believes responsible. She receives support from an unlikely source who promises information subject to terms. Realising that she needs help to act on that information, Rita turns to her brother, John.

But John works for the law. And he will have to go against everything he believes in if he agrees to embark on a maverick mission to help save his sister’s son.

I hope you enjoy it.

—————-

2Oct2013

My Favourite Books

Posted in Books, Holiday reads, Reading by heatherbwriter

I love reading and am one of those people that passes on books after I have read them (unless they are on my Kindle), then I tend to forget them. There are a few books, however, that I haven’t forgotten and a couple of these are so good that I have even kept a copy. My two particular favourites are:

Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

We studied this book for ‘A’ level English Literature many years ago, and I still remember my English teacher raving about it. His observation was that every time you read the book you come across something you missed previously because it is full of imagery and symbolism. I agree with him. I have read the book several times now and periodically return to it every few years. The one disappointment for me is that it has a tragic ending.

Guests of the Emperor by Janice Young-Brooks

I had never heard of Janice Young-Brooks, an American author, before I read this book and, from what I recall, I think I just stumbled on the book by chance. I had heard that the 1980s TV series ‘Tenko’ was based on this book, which tells the story of a group of women taken prisoner by the Japanese during World War Two. However, as the book was published after the TV series was screened, it might well be the other way around.
The appeal of the book for me lies in that classic theme of triumph over adversity. Right from the opening, when many ladies had to swim to shore after they were shipwrecked, the book had me gripped. It is a tale of resilience, bravery and resourcefulness, and it is amazing how dire situations can soon become accepted as the norm even by those used to a life of privilege. I enjoyed the book so much that I got hold of other books by the same author and read every one of them. Unfortunately though, I didn’t find any of them as enjoyable.

Favourite Genres

I also like to explore different genres but there are a couple of genres in particular that I always come back to. These genres appeal to me at various times; sometimes I’ll fancy reading a good thriller and at other times I want to lose myself in a saga, especially a tale of triumph over adversity or rags to riches. Some cynics may say that this type of book always ends the same i.e. the heroine wins through in the end. In fact, my son enjoys teasing me about my love of sagas. My mother in law also enjoyed sagas and when my son teased her about their predictability, she replied, “It’s not about where the heroine ends up in her life, but what she went through to get there.” Well said!

I also have my favourite authors for each of these genres:

Thrillers

I think that I have read virtually everything written by Geoffrey Deaver, Nicci French, Minette Walters and Val McDermid. The first time I ever read a book by Geoffrey Deaver I just couldn’t put it down. He’s brilliant at building up the tension and suspense. Minette Walters is another great writer and one of my favourite Minette Walters books was ‘Acid Row’, another one that I couldn’t put down. Nicci French is actually the name used by a husband and wife team who write together. Their real names are Nicci Gerard and Sean French, a couple of Oxford graduates who also write individually. I haven’t tried any of their individual books yet but I’ve read most of the ones that they have written as a duo. They are excellent at psychological thrillers. Val McDermid has also written many good books, some of which have been adapted for television. I can honestly say that I don’t think I have ever read a bad book by her.

Sagas

When I go on holiday to Spain there are a few English second-hand book stores in the town where we stay, and I love to rummage through for what I call my ‘granny books’. I can really lose myself in a good old rags to riches story whilst chilling on my sunbed – total relaxation! There are so many well-known authors that write for this genre; Catherine Cookson, Meg Hutchinson, Anna King etc. My favourite by far though is Sara Fraser who wrote the Tildy series. Surprisingly the writer is actually a man; Sara Fraser is the pen-name for Roy Clews, a former Marine Commando. The Tildy series recounts the struggles of Tildy, a strong, resilient woman who survives a life of hardship during 19th century Britain. Clews does an excellent job of writing from a woman’s perspective; perhaps the male touch is the reason why the character he has created is so tough.

I am also discovering a wealth of new books by independent authors. The beauty of these books is that there is so much diversity and they are introducing me to a wide range of genres and cross-genres. In the last few months I have read chic-lit, thrillers (both from a male and female perspective), a Western, literary novels, comedies, true life accounts and non-fiction.

I hope you have enjoyed finding out about my reading habits; I’d love to hear about yours too. What type of books do you like to read and why? Do you have any favourite genres or authors? Please feel free to share your views by leaving your comments below.

22Jul2013

Post Holiday Writing Plans

Posted in Book Promotion, Books, Independent Publishing by heatherbwriter

There’s nothing quite like a holiday to help you clear your head and put a new perspective on everything. Before I went away I was feeling quite stressed as I had a lot of things on the go. I still have many plans in terms of my writing but I’m now feeling more relaxed and prepared to take things in my stride. Instead of trying to do things all at once I will let them take their turn and will accept that it will take as long as it takes. Before detailing my plans I thought I’d share a couple of holiday snaps while the memories are still fresh: Book Promo I will be holding my first free book promo in the next couple of weeks for my book entitled “Kids’ Clubs and Organisations – A Comprehensive UK Guide”. I need to contact a few websites and other avenues first to ask if they will publicise the promotion so I haven’t fixed the date yet. I will make the first promo a one day only event and will give further information via the blog in the near future.

2nd Parenting Book My 2nd parenting book is about 70% complete. I have reached a bit of a sticking point with some of the research so I really need to push this further to enable me to finish the writing. I will be taking measures to complete the research and will give more details about the book via this blog as I get nearer to the publication date. It will include a few special features though, which will be likely to appeal to a wide range of parents and children.

Debut Novel I have already written my first novel and can’t wait to launch it but I’m waiting until after I have launched my second parenting book. I still need to edit, fact check and proofread the novel, which is a crime thriller. Not having touched the manuscript for some time it will seem strange to revisit it, but I am really looking forward to the task. I must admit that I am becoming a bit frustrated with the process of collating all the information for the parenting books, which are heavily research based, so it will be good to take a break from them and concentrate on fiction instead.

Client Projects I probably should have put this at the top of the list since client work has to be done as and when it is received in accordance with agreed client deadlines. In addition, I have a few regular commitments that I have to meet. It is for this reason also that the books will take as long as they take because client work must always take precedence.

Originally I planned to release the non-fiction book in the late summer and the novel at the end of the year but I now realise that I was perhaps being a little bit over ambitious. I’ll have to see how I progress with the non-fiction book and will detail my experiences via this blog as I go along.

26Jun2013

Why it’s Important to Support Independent Authors

Posted in Independent Publishing by heatherbwriter

You may have noticed on Twitter and other social media sites that there is a growing breed of independent authors and publishers (or Indies as we’re affectionately known). You can spot an Indie author as they’ll usually be doing all their own book promotion and will often accompany their promotional tweet with ‘#indie’. You can also check their books on Amazon or other book websites to see who is listed as the publisher; you’ll find that many are listed as both the publisher and the author.

Even if the name of the publisher is different from that of author, it may still be an independent especially if it’s a publisher you’ve never heard of. This is because many authors that self-publish choose a different name for the publisher when they list their books. For example, I publish my books under the name ‘DM Writing Services’.

As the number of independent authors continues to grow it’s important to support us for the following reasons:

– It is harder than Ever to Publish through Traditional Channels – You may have heard the stories about bestsellers (and resulting blockbuster movies) in the past that were initially turned down by the major publishers. This is increasingly the case and it deprives the book-reading public of some excellent books. Traditional publishers rarely take a chance on an unknown author no matter how good the book is. This is because they have to finance the publishing and promotion, and they want guaranteed returns.

Sadly, this means that talentless celebrities are far more likely to get published than talented authors just because they already have a following. Ironically, once an independent author proves that they can sell shedloads of books, publishers then vie for their attention. Time for the two finger salute I think.

– We’re not Pigeon Holed – Most traditional publishers want books to fit into specific genres, which stifles creativity. Generally they don’t like to take a gamble and often prefer something that has been tried and tested. However, not all books are mainstream and some can spread across a number of different genres. For example, my forthcoming novel could probably be described as ‘crime thriller meets 1980s chick lit’.

– We’re Raising Standards – We’re now combatting concerns over poor standards in indie books through organisations such as IndiePENdents and Awesome Indies. These organisations have volunteer readers who review books so that the organisations can give the books their seal of approval if they reach certain professional standards.

Just because a book is self-published doesn’t necessarily mean that it is of poor quality in terms of spelling, grammar, flow, plotting and all the other essentials. In fact, I seem to be finding a higher incidence of grammatical errors with traditionally published books and even some by major well-known publishers. I wonder if other people have also noticed this. Could it be that they are cutting corners to enable them to compete with the rising powers of the Indie army?

– We Don’t Have Big Marketing Budgets – Most of us do all our own promotion. We contact magazines, newspapers, radio, websites etc. in the hope of having our work featured, and we ‘shout’ about our books using social media and blogs. Word of mouth is vital for our success.

– We’re the Future – More and more writers are choosing to self-publish their books and there are several reasons for this:

a) Digital media makes it easier.

b) We don’t want our creativity to be stifled because of restrictions imposed by the traditional book publishing industry.

c) It’s now cheaper to print books due to the availability of platforms like CreateSpace.

d) We’re disillusioned with the traditional publishing industry.

e) Certain promotional tactics can make it possible to compete with big publishing companies and, consequently, a few independents are making a good living from their writing.

How you can Support Independent Authors

Here are a few quick and easy ways that you can lend your support:

1) If you have read and enjoyed a book by an independent author, be sure to leave good reviews on websites such as Amazon and Goodreads.

2) Help us to spread the word by sharing any promotional comments that we post on social media.

3) Read and respond to our blogs and share them too if you like what you see.

4) If you have a blog, offer guest post opportunities to writers whose books fit your business niche.

5) If you run a magazine or newspaper that features book reviews, include more books that are written by independent authors.

I hope that you have found this blog enlightening. If you have any comments to add, or if you are an author and there is something I have missed, you are welcome to leave your feedback below.