Oops!

Wow, it's been such a long time since my last post here!

Well, I am still writing...Game of Chance, the sequel to All Bets Off is still going, but I found inspiration for another book along the way.  Good news is that it is almost at proofreading stage! YAY!

The title will be announced soon, as will the cover.  If you would like a couple of teasers though, head over to my Facebook page www.facebook.com/kwoods81.

Apart from that, I have been busy writing oodles of Education assignments.  Not exactly my idea of fun, but when you are studying a Masters of Teaching, it kind of comes with the territory! :)

I will try and check back in soon, I promise!

Until next time.
Kelly

Loving Writing!

Well, a few days away from the keyboard with writer's block can be quite daunting.  You have your plot line worked out, but you don't know how to move forward.  Then it happens...that moment where you shout to yourself "aha!"

Well, that recently happened to me while writing 'Game of Chance'...and I spent hours in my own little world, pounding away at the keyboard...before I knew it, it was 3am and I'd written another 4,000 words!

A 4,000 university assignment seems daunting, but how is it so easy to write 4,000 words in one night?  Well, I think it comes to the love of writing.

In my latest writing session, I have written some material which I thought could be confronting and readers might be grossed out completely and want to throw their e-readers at my head.

I had a friend read the three chapters that I had written to get her opinion and see how well the scenes and the chapters intersected...her reply?  "I know why they are going to yell at you. That was oddly titillating but so wrong at the same time!"

So, for now, I shall leave you with this...expect the unexpected.

Cheers,
Kelly :)

Update of Game of Chance

Good morning readers!

Wow, the last couple of days have been very productive in terms of writing the next installment!  Game of Chance has now had its plot line finalised and things for Kate and Charlie won't be smooth...that's all I will tell you for now!

I am having a lot of fun writing this book, and exploring some other themes and whatnot, so I hope that you won't want to throw your reading devices at me when you do finally read it!

I don't have a release date as yet, because I can't even tell you how long it will be! 'All Bets Off was about 34,000 words, and 'Game of Chance' is currently around the 14,000 word mark, and I think there is still a lot to tell yet...we are still to delve into the lives of other characters we met briefly at the beginning etc as yet.

When I know, you will know about a release date, but until then, please continue to follow my blog, and find me on Facebook or Twitter (@melbournrgal81).  Share your thoughts or comments with me on my blog, Facebook or Twitter.

Until next time, happy reading!

Cheers,
Kelly :)

All Bets Off Has A New Cover!!

Hi All,

Sometimes, when you get a run on things, other things can change.  What starts out to be one book becomes a series, and as such, I was playing around with a cover design for 'Game of Chance' and while I know what it looks like, it will be a while before it is revealed!! :)

But then I was thinking about what can make a great series stand out when you are looking through multitudes of books for that perfect one to read...and they all have a common theme...attractive covers.

Another cliche is that you should never judge a book by its cover, but guess what?  We do!!  So, unveiling the new cover of 'All Bets Off'...

I hope you enjoy!  Please feel free to let me know your thoughts on the new design :)

Cheers,
Kelly :)

Books now available on Amazon for Kindle!!

Hello lovely readers!

The Christmas and New Year period has been quite busy, but now it is time to get back into the swing of things and attempt to get more done on 'Game of Chance'.  In the mean time though, 'All Bets Off' and 'An Anthology of Poetry' are now available on Amazon's Kindle.

You can purchase both of these books for only $0.99USD each.  Click on the links below to be taken to the Kindle store at Amazon...

An Anthology of Poetry: By Kelly Woods
All Bets Off

Thank you for your continued support!!

Cheers,
Kelly :)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

Sorry that I have been offline for the last few weeks.  It's been a rather busy time visiting family and friends interstate over the holidays.  Plans are to get writing again soon...as soon as I re-organise my house!  I always feel like it is the right time of the year to get things like this done, don't you?  It's great to start the year with some goals and to be organised.

Plans are to get back into the sequel of 'All Bets Off' soon and bring you the next Kate and Charlie installment!

Until next time,

Kelly :)

Books now available at Apple!

Good morning everyone!

Just a quick note to tell you that 'All Bets Off' and my Anthology are now both available on Apple's iBook Store!

'All Bets Off' will continue to be FREE while the Anthology will only set you back $0.99 USD.

Take care and happy reading!!

Cheers,
Kelly :)

Books now available on Sony eBooks!

Hi Readerlings!!

Just a quick note to let you know that my books are now available on Sony eBooks.  You can find them through the following links:

Anthology of Poetry:  https://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/kelly-woods/an-anthology-of-poetry-poetry-by-kelly-woods/_/R-400000000000001165999

All Bets Off:  https://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/kelly-woods/all-bets-off/_/R-400000000000001165803

Cheers,
Kelly :)

FREE COUPON FOR MY ANTHOLOGY!!

If you haven't already checked out my Anthology (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/381855) it is available FREE until February 14th with the following coupon code: EK68A.

In other news, writing has stalled the last day or two thanks to a summer cold and needing to sleep!  Being unwell so close to Christmas isn't at all fun and definitely not what is needed.

Take care everyone, and if you ever want to leave me feedback about my work, please send me a message on my blog, or give me a review on Smashwords.

Until next time,

Kelly :)

Plots, plots & plots!

Wow, where have the hours gone!  Tonight I have finalised the plot to Game of Chance and been writing madly!  The plot is going to be much more serious than in 'All Bets Off' and may even have some readers wanting to throw their furniture at me!  I promise you though...all this will lead to a third installment!

Well, I best be off and try and re-energise my mind so I can have another creative burst for you soon!

Goodnight my readerlings!!

Cheers,
Kelly :)

Game of Chance

Hi Readerlings!!

Just a quick note to tell you all that 'Game of Chance' is coming along nicely!  Be prepared to see A LOT more from Charlie's dad in this one!  I'm loving digging my teeth into this one, and if you found Kate annoying, just wait until you see more from Charles Snr!

Anyway, I am trying to write as much as I can while I can.  I just wish it was my full time job and I could devote 10 hours a day to my writing, but unfortunately, I still have bills to pay ;-)

Thanks for your support and I will continue to work hard over the next few weeks and get it to you ASAP!

Cheers for tonight! :)

Kelly

Book 2 Title Announced!

Hi All!

Hope your weekend is going well!! :-)  The title for the sequel to 'All Bets Off' is now official!  Stay tuned as the saga continues in...

'Game of Chance'

A little teaser preview for you all...

Charles switched the television off in disgust.  His son had brought shame on the family name by putting himself into this position.  It had to be fixed, but he needed to plan his next move carefully.  He needed to get to know his enemy to know how to best attack them.  He was a strong believer in business that ‘the best defence is a good offence.’

 

I look forward to getting this one to you all!

Have a great Sunday!

Cheers,
Kelly :)

All Bets Off Sequel

Here's a little spoiler alert for those who have read 'All Bets Off' and are eagerly awaiting Book 2! :)

Here's a little teaser for all you folk that have read 'All Bets Off'...Meet Charles Matheson Senior, shrewd business man and owner of Matheson Shipping. He is handing over the reigns to his son Charlie when he retires. Or is he?? Charles always gets what Charles wants...no matter what the cost, or who he hurts along the way. What is his ruthless plan and how will it affect the characters you fell in love with?? Stay tuned for the second book of the series...

Cheers,
Kelly :)

Thought for today...

Hi Everyone!

Wow! So I finally let friends and family in on my secret yesterday and the response has been encouraging.  Thanks to everyone for your support!  I had so many private message and text me saying that they would love to write a book, and I'm here to tell you that you can!

Now, please remember that I don't purport to be a 'professional writer', so anything I say in this blog is personal opinion. I first tried to start writing a book when I was about twelve...writing by hand in a notebook!  I still have it, and when I look at it now I cringe! :-)  But over the years, I have learnt more, practise more and understood more about writing and language.  So here it is! My advice...

1:  Practise! Practise! Practise!   You may think that I have spelt 'practise' incorrectly - well, no, it isn't.  It is the verb - to do.  The other 'practice' is a noun.  As in, 'at her medical practice...'  You need to be familiar with what nouns, verbs, adjectives etc are.  Grammar is paramount to the understanding of your story.  To enable your readers to comprehend what you are writing, you have to have an understanding of the mechanics of the English language.  If you have a pretty good grasp on that already, you are already part way there!

Now you have to practise with the mechanics...what I mean here is try and write something...anything...everyday!  You might describe your day, a drive somewhere, something you saw.  Next, find a thesaurus.  Yes, a thesaurus!  Try and learn one synonym (word meaning the same) and one antonym (word meaning the opposite).  If you can learn two words a day and use them, after a year, your vocabulary knowledge will thank you!

Here's a challenge:  Find something to write about (a picture, a flower, a person).  Make notes about what it looks like.  Start basic...for example - 'My rose bush is flowering.'  That might turn into...'Spring has finally arrived.  I hear the birds chirping and the bees buzzing.  The rose bush in my garden has started to bloom.  It is a delicious, rich scent emanating from the flowers.  They are a rich, deep red, almost the colour of blood.'

You will see how the reader is then put into the experience.  They don't have to try and make up what THEY think the rose looks/smells like...you have told them using a variety of adjectives and full sentences.

2:  Read, read, read!  If you have an idea for a story, think about what genre you want it to be.  Do you want it to be historical fiction? Contemporary romance? Paranormal? Science fiction?  The list of genres is endless, but you will know what setting you want to put your characters in. 

Next, read a huge variety of that genre!  From the research I have done, apparently romance is one of the easier genres to start with, so I read A LOT of romance novels over a twelve month period...some brilliant (like the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, the Crossfire series and Gabriel's Inferno books 1 & 2), and you will see how these writers develop characters, settings, climaxes (exciting bits of the book...not the sex in them!) ;-)

Once you have read quite a bit of your chosen genre, have a go yourself.  If you choose historical (which I tried once), be careful.  You have to devote a lot of time and energy to research.  Your 'historical facts' must be correct.  Example - if your book is set in say early 1800's, don't say things like they got into the car...car's weren't invented.  Even steam trains weren't around til mid 1800's.  People travelled by horse and cart and boat.  This will then add credibility to your story.

If you choose to write humour, please be careful...in other words, avoid 'Dad jokes.'  Also, make sure you have a couple of friends who can be brutal with you.  Humour needs to be careful.  It has to happen naturally, and flow well.  It can't be forced.  If you are not a 'naturally funny' person, I would suggest you avoid this one until you have practised your writing skills for some time.

3. Just do it!  Have a go! Don't be shy!  If you are worried you don't have a novel in you, try a novella.  Novella's are much shorter than 'proper' novels.  If you don't think you can write a novella, start with a short story.  Expand where you can.  By expanding your short story in different places, you can add more substance to characters, scenes, events etc.

My biggest tip for this though is make sure you don't bore your reader.  I have read brilliant and not so brilliant books.  If an author hasn't got me after the third or fourth chapter and I find myself wanting to skip forward to get to the good bits, I normally give up.  You don't want your reader to do this.  You want people unable to put your book down.  Of course, not everyone is the same and some things will interest them more than others.  The joy for me when I read is not just content but the author's style of writing and the way they can engage the reader.

There are books that I thought I would never enjoy (aka Fifty Shades!) but the pace and the style was fantastic.  Some bits I was like 'hurry up' when it got 'samey' but it was still good.  Obviously since it made the New York Times 'Best Seller List'.

Always make sure you have several climaxes in the book...something will happen 'cute meet' for example...then it becomes a little bit about them, then something else.  Keep building these up...think of them as points on a mountain.  If you plan to have more than one book in the story, finish on a big one that makes the reader want to come back.  It's usually a good idea to have the climax at the end of your chapter to make the reader want to continue.  This is how you make your reader late for work, or want to read on the bus or train!

Always have at least one protagonist in the story to cause conflict.  This just makes things a little more exciting.  Have you ever read a book without some sort of conflict or something that tries to challenge a character?

Well, there you go.  That's some of my writing tips.  I hope you find them useful, and if you would like to share some of your 'practise' then please comment below.  We can only improve by having constructive feedback ;-)

Cheers,
Kelly :)

Anthology

Wow, talk about blast from the past!  During the process of putting together my anthology I found so many things I had forgotten that I had written!  But alas! The Anthology is now complete.  I certainly don't write as much poetry as people like Byron, Wordsworth and Shakespeare, but I hope you get the chance to read it and enjoy it!

Find it at Smashwords now:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/381855

Cheers,
Kelly :)

The Journey Continues....

I think I have found my writer's groove again people!! I have discovered my old uni book where I undertook a 'writing poetry' course as part of my Bachelor of Arts degree.  I had forgotten I had written so many of the things I had!

Stay tuned because my anthology of poetry will be available soon! :)  This anthology will cover the poetry that I have been writing over the last ten or so years. 

Anybody can write.  You just have to understand the mechanics of writing and have one single idea.  It also helps if you can practise just a little each day!!

Cheers,
Kelly :)

The "All Bets Off" Sequel

Drumroll.......

The sequel for "All Bets Off" has been started!  I'm not going to be making any promises of a release date yet, but a spoiler alert is....

Charlie's father will play a much more integral role in this sequel.  We really only met him at the end of the first book.  He will be quite spiteful and two-faced and is only out for one thing...his own interest!

For now though, it is officially less than one month until Christmas (today is 26th November in Australia), so if I don't get a chance before then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, your family and your friends.

Cheers,
Kelly :)

All Bets Off

"All Bets Off" is my debut novella.  Kate is a broken young lady with a troubled past. Charlie is a party-boy businessman getting groomed to take over the family empire. When these two literally collide, sparks begin to fly. Not everyone in their lives are happy with their new found relationship though. Sinister plots to derail Kate and Charlie emerge, but will their strength and belief in one another be enough to save them?

This book is now available on https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/381181

If you have read this book, I would love to hear your thoughts!  What would YOU like to see happen next for Kate and Charlie?

Til next time,
Kelly :) 

So it begins!

Hi everyone!  Well, I finally did it.  I can now tick published author off my list.  Well, I was able to do that back in May when I won 3rd place in a state literature competition, but I wanted to be an author with a published book.

My journey first started twelve months ago when I wanted to try writing a romance novel.  The novel turned into a novella as I didn't want a boring and cumbersome book to have to write.  I was looking into all sorts of methods to get it published without having a publishing house.  All I can say is thank goodness for e-books!

At first I was a little nervous about doing this as it seems quite egocentric to publish your own works.  You worry whether or not your work is actually any good or not.  Having friends and family read your work isn't always ideal, but you need some honest friends in your life who won't stroke your ego.

After much deliberation, I finally finished my debut novella "All Bets Off" in November 2013.  It is now available at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/381181.  Within 48 hours is has been downloaded almost 200 times and is in 7 libraries.

To me, writing can really let a person into your mind and is quite scary!  You are pretty much leaving yourself open, and well, if it's bad you have to be able to accept any negative comments that you will receive.  It is important to remember for aspiring writers that not everyone will like your work.  In fact, some people will downright hate it.

So far I have had a couple of nice reviews on the story and just to have even one person I don't know who enjoyed it has given me such a thrill.  Writing is such a therapeutic release for me and I love it!

So, welcome to my 'official blog'.  A good friend of mine from high school (thanks Kelly!!) has given me the courage I needed to pursue this.  She keeps reminding me that now I have published this book I have to be there to promote myself with social media and blogs...let potential readers know who I am and what my style is like.

Some people pursue this writing passion in the hope of making big bucks.  Not me though.  While I intend to actually sell some future books, they will not be expensive.  E-books are a great way to cut down on costs and make buying of books so much cheaper!  I can't tell you how many e-books I have downloaded in the last eighteen months!

Well, anyway, I think that's enough of my rambling for now, so thanks and it has been a pleasure to meet you!

Regards,
Kelly :)