Happy New Year!!!

The New Year is nearly here and I've never been one for mad partying on this night, preferring to spend it quietly at home. Tonight we will share it with our daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren.

I know many people have a lot of difficulties at this time of year and life isn't always easy, which is why I am so utterly grateful for having so many wonderful elements to my life.

I feel blessed having a wonderful family and lots of dear friends, and even though I manage to find things to complain about, my life is enriched not only by them, but by the lovely and happy home I live in, by the joy of looking out every single day on a beautiful part of Ireland, by being able to have enough food on the table, and a warm house to live, by only being afraid of self doubt, but still striving forward despite the prospect of failing, by making stuff up in stories, and other people reading them, by being able to make mistakes and start over.

Now, as the kettle is on, having done my word count for today, I wish everyone a wonderful, happy and healthy 2015. 

Thank you for making 2014 so special, and I look forward to many adventures together over the next 12 months.

xxx

Louise  

“A new heart for a New Year, always!” ― Charles Dickens

Two Steps Forward and One Step Back!

A day of two steps forward and one step back novel wise, but at least it has moved on.. I think! Head exhausted now and a sleep on couch is looking very tempting....Does anyone else feel more tired when they're making stuff up??? 

Milestone and other stuff....

I reached a milestone in word count terms today, which is good. I still have more to write than I have written on novel 4 (current working title - A Beautiful Death), but as Stephen King says, writing is something you do one word at a time. 

We also got our Christmas stuff up in the house today, so it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas around here, and I certainly realise how lucky we are.

Chosen charities this year for us were Focus Ireland because of the terrible homeless situation and Childline who badly need help to keep their 24 hour line open for children who need them no matter what hour of the day it is. If you can manage a contribution, do what you can.

Finally, lots of great wishes to you all for a safe, happy and healthy Christmas and New Year.

xx

Louise

The secret of becoming a writer....

"The secret of becoming a writer..., write, write and keep on writing," or in the words of Ernest Hemingway..."There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."

It was the final session of the Write That Novel course in Carousel Creates last night, and it was a mighty session. Once again, there was a great group of writers coming together to explore areas of the craft. I may be biased, but I think writing brings out the best in people. It was certainly a pleasure for me to facilitate this lovely group.

Thank you all for being so enthusiastic, and for your lovely present and handmade card. I was really touched.

x

Louise 

It's a scary and fun thing, making stuff up...

Being in writing hibernation means I will be turning up for Christmas dinner on the 25th December and not much else. The last 'Write That Novel' session is on tomorrow evening and after that I have kept my diary clear for writing until February (other than the day job, the family, the dog and the XFactor final).

It's a scary and fun thing, making stuff up....

I don't plot, even scarier....

I don't outline, except near the end....positively nerve wrecking....

I have a broad idea (a very broad idea) of what the story is going to be about. Then I have a day like today when one idea gets linked to another one, which forms the motivation for a particular character and the reason another character needs to be afraid and you start getting to the enjoyable and exciting part.

I also discovered that LAST KISS is in the Easons Christmas Catalogue - see pic below....(3 for 2 too!)

I remember picking this up from Easons every Christmas, never having a notion that I would ever have a novel in it....well there you go....making stuff up can be life changing!

True friendship!

Great friends travel to even greater heights for you!!! Thank you Mary McGroary for giving me my little piece of the USA with the Irish Echo in New York!!! (Maybe, I will actually get there some day!!)

The Sam McRae Mystery Series!

As I will be in writing hibernation for some time, I'm delighted to have fellow writers visit and spread good news or information about their work. I've known Debbi Mack since I started on Twitter a couple of years ago and her story is an unusual one, so I hope you enjoy it!!

ABOUT DEBBI MACK

Debbi Mack is the New York Times ebook bestselling author of the Sam McRae mystery series. She’s also published Five Uneasy Pieces, a short story collection that includes her Derringer Award–nominated story “The Right to Remain Silent.” Her short stories have appeared in various other anthologies and publications. Her most recently published short story is “Jasmine”, appearing in Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays.

Debbi is also a screenwriter and aspiring indie filmmaker. Her first screenplay has placed highly in both the Scriptapalooza and the Austin Film Festival screenwriting contests.

A former attorney, Debbi has also worked as a journalist, librarian, and freelance writer/researcher. She enjoys walking, cats, travel, movies, music, and espresso.

So I’ll hand you over to Debbi….

I never planned to self-publish my work. My first novel, Identity Crisis (part of the Sam Mc Rae Mystery Series) was published by a small press that went out of business nine months after the novel came out. Identity Crisis is a hardboiled mystery involving identity theft, murder, and how past mistakes and lies can lead to trouble. In 2009, I decided it couldn’t hurt to reissue the book myself, in print and ebook formats.

Much to my surprise, my ebook sales made significantly more than I expected. Frankly, I hadn’t expected to make much money at all from writing fiction. However, when I saw how well I could do selling ebooks, I decided to stop freelancing and devote all my time and effort toward writing and marketing my novels.

It was in 2011, after publishing the second Sam McRae mystery, Least Wanted, that my first novel hit the New York Times ebook bestseller list. Further, both novels became Kindle bestsellers in the U.S. and the U.K. Least Wanted also took the series into a darker direction than the first book.

In 2012, the market became flooded with ebooks. My sales suffered as a result of that, as well as having been worn down by the continuing demands of writing and marketing. Nonetheless, I published a third novel, Riptide, in which Sam solved the mystery in a strange — even hostile — environment, and her relationship with her best friend is tested and deepens, as a result.

This year, I re-published Identity Crisis under my own imprint. Now, I’m just months away from releasing the fourth novel in the series, Deep Six, another story that explores Sam’s personal relationships and delves into the subject of land use, politics, and corruption. I’m also releasing Invisible Me, my first young adult novel, as well.

In anticipation of releasing the new Sam McRae mystery, I’ve published a boxed set of the first three novels, Law Can Be Murder. I’m also throwing a big Facebook party for the boxed set’s release. The party is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 2, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. EST. There’ll be trivia contests and prizes for the winners.

If you can would like to find out more information, you will find Debbi online here:  http://www.debbimack.com

Twitter: @debbimack and @debbimacktoo

YouTube at: http://bit.ly/13AZEWT

Instagram at: http://instagram.com/debbimacktoo/

Tumblr: http://debbimacktoo.tumblr.com/

 Law Can Be Murder is available on Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple iBooks, and Smashwords!