Writing and publishing “Ghost of Me”

It started with an abandoned novel

It was maybe 7 or 8 years ago when I began writing a novel in which the main character finds her own dead body in the morgue and realises she’s a ghost and someone killed her. A handful of chapters into it, life took over and even after I studied some creative writing modules as part of my BA degree, I forgot about the novel while I worked on other projects instead.

I found it years later while looking at old files on a memory stick, around the time I was starting my Creative Writing MA. I rewrote and edited what I had so far and used part of it during my first year, towards my assignments. The plan was to continue writing it and to submit the rest as part of my assignments for the second year. For reasons I won’t bore you with, I changed my mind, although I continued to write the novel and completed it before my course finished.

How did I get my ideas?

I can’t recall where the idea of a ghost solving her own murder came from, but as I continued writing, I liked the concept of getting to see what happens after you die and how people may not react in the way you hoped they would. It helped me to develop the characters in a different way to any of the other books I’ve written. I learned that imperfect characters can be better to read about, rather than unrealistic characters who do everything right all the time.

The protagonist, Sarah has been slightly self-absorbed for most of her life, thinking her fiancé (Paul) is the love of her life. After she’s murdered and becomes a ghost, she discovers that’s not true. The real Paul doesn’t match up to her imagined version of him. In fact, quite a few characters are hiding something, which adds to the intrigue of who the killer might be. Her behaviour is young for her age in some ways, because she hasn’t had much life experience.

Sarah isn’t a bad person; she tries to do the right thing and bring her killer to justice. It’s not just about revenge, even though that’s part of it. She genuinely wants to stop more women from being killed. She also wishes more people would mourn her death, not because she wants them to suffer, but because she wants her life to have made enough of an impact for people to miss her when she’s gone. I’m sure most people want that on some level. Nobody wants to be forgotten.

My first reviews of the book

I put more work in the writing and promoting of this book than many of my other books. So, I was so happy (and relieved) when I got my first review.

“This is a rare find. A great paranormal thriller. Spine-tingling and goosebumps throughout the book. Fast paced and action packed storyline. Keeps you from putting this book down.”

Then it was followed up by a second review.

“This book has an original storyline with Sarah trying to solve her own murder. This story is well written and intriguing, with murder, ghosts, suspense, and twists and turns.”

It’s only £2.28 on Kindle (or the equivalent in your currency, if you’re not in the UK) so you’ve got nothing to lose? (Except for £2.28)

Book Trailer

If you’d like to find out more, about the book, here’s the book trailer, which I had a lot of fun putting together.

Writing about Zombies

I’d watched The Walking Dead since the beginning, and before that I lapped up any TV show or film about zombies. It only occurred to me to write about zombies during Christmas one year. My sister’s birthday was the following March and I thought I’d write it as part of her present. That didn’t leave me long though. So, with only three months to write and edit, it became the novella After the Zombies. The original had so many mistakes due to the self-imposed time limit. I’ve re-edited it since.

When I had more time, I created a novel which followed on from the novella, but could be read as a standalone book. Now a few years on, I’ve re-released Not Human, with extra content which was previously a follow-on novella.

The thing I like about zombie stories, whether on the page or screen, is the characters. It’s not as much about the zombies. Of course they play a part, but I like exploring how people react.

In The Walking Dead, the show wouldn’t be the same if the only threats were slow staggering zombies. Each series usually has at least one human baddie.

I’ve tried to do that in my books too. In After the Zombies, the main enemy is the government who want to cover up a zombie outbreak in Manchester. Not Human has more threats though. Along with the government, Grace and her friends run into some unpleasant characters.

I also wanted to do something a bit different, though everything has probably been done before, but hopefully my combination of different things varies from other writers, not to mention its in my voice and not theirs. In the books, there are human/zombie hybrids (explaining the title Not Human) and a scene involving a zombie baby, but I don’t want to give too much away over that one.

The way I finished the book, ties up certain character’s storylines, with the possibility to write at least one further book. Although, I have no plans to do that, unless I feel it’s wanted.

I’ve got Projects Coming out of my Ears

It’s been a while since I put a writing update on here, but I’ve been busy. As the title of this blog post suggests, I’m working on a lot of projects.

In January this year, I started Printed Words; originally intending it to be an e-zime, but it seemed to force its way into print and became a magazine too. It’s been an experience; reading submissions, replying with acceptances or rejections and feedback whenever possible. I was worried that people might not react well to some constructive criticism, choosing to take it personally or become defensive. Instead, I’ve received a positive response. Most of the writers whose work I haven’t accepted have appreciated the feedback at least. As many seasoned writers will know, rejections often contain nothing to tell the writer why their work wasn’t accepted.

For anyone wanting to find out more about the e-zine/magazine here are the links to the guidelines and the Facebook page.

Printed Words Facebook Page

GUIDELINES

Submissions will re-open in mid-June.

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I’ve also re-edited and re-released After the Zombies, which was originally written as a present for my sister. If you’re reading this before 24^th May you can enter to win a paperback copy HERE

Otherwise, you can buy a copy HERE or from your local Amazon website if not in the UK.

If you’d like to read the book for free, you can. It’s available as an e-book on several platforms.

Click here to find your preferred choice (not Amazon, unfortunately).

The full-length sequel “Not Human” and the novella “Life After Zombies” which followed on the story will be re-edited and combined into one book, for release later this year. I’ll be sticking with the title “Not Human” and the amazing cover which was turned down from Amazon ads because the zombie was covered in blood.

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I’m also working on numerous poetry projects. One I can’t talk about here, another is a collection of the poems I’ve written over the last three years. I’ve narrowed it down to 51 so far, but might cut a few more before it goes to print.

I’ve designed the cover already.

Another collection I’m putting together will involve Father Christmas dying repeatedly in a series of unfortunate incidents. It’s funnier than it sounds (I hope.)

Here a teaser image from an of the image which will accompany one of the poems.

I’m also working a series of seven-word poems with my partner. This is in addition to a collection about an imaginary couple inspired by his collection. There will be a crossover poem where the two couples meet.

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Before I forget to mention it, my long-awaited YA novel “First Charge” has been given a June release date. This was previously self-published briefly, before I un-published it and was given a contract by Gnome on Pig Productions. They also want to publish the other two books in the series. I’ve written book two and am halfway through the first draft of book three.

If that’s not enough, I’ve just started writing a sci-fi novel which I’m really excited about, but can’t discuss yet. The ideas are flying around and I’m in the process of world-building, which is something I’ve never done to this extent before.

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I joined Medium this month and have written some articles on there too.

I believe you have to be a paid member to read them all in full, but it allowed you to read a few articles before asking you to pay.

So, check out some of my articles HERE

Finally, the monthly book review podcast I co-host with Andy N is still ongoing too. I find having to come up with two or three books a month encourages me read some of my books, even if I do keep buying them faster than I’m reading them. As Stephen King says, if you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time or the tool to write. Hopefully, the books I’m reading are providing me with the right tools.

Listen to the latest episode here

 

Reading in Bed episode 5

Episode 5 of Reading in Bed is now here.

This month we reviewed poetry and fiction.

We discussed mixing fairy-tales with zombies, and I talked about a book I hated and why. As (possibly) the last two people on the planet who hadn’t read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Andy and I both read and reviewed the book. You’ll have to listen to hear our thoughts on the book though, or to find out about the reply I had on Twitter from the author.

See the list of books and the podcast below.

Remember, if you are a writer we may be interested in reviewing your book. We just ask for a free copy, either in print or as a PDF. We can’t promise to feature all books received on the podcast. If for whatever reason we can’t fit yours in, we will write a review on Amazon (or another platform if you prefer).

Contact me through my website.

http://amandasteelwriter.simplesite.com/439723719

 

This month’s books

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon

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Guilt Game – L.J Sellers

Plague: The Tale of Sleeping Beauty – Mark Mackey

Sending a Drunk Text Whilst Sober – Simon Widdop

 

 

A new podcast and free or discounted books

First of all I’ve started a new podcast with my partner. We review and discuss books which we’ve read. This month we read Nightmare Realities by Amanda J Evans, Queen and Country by Greg Rucka and Things We Never Said by Nick Alexander.

To find out what we thought of them, check out the podcast.

https://readinginbed.bandcamp.com/album/podcast-1-january-2018

My other piece of news is that I’m planning to unpublish my novels and novellas (or at least start the process) at the end of this month (January 2018).

That means these books may never see the light of day again, or they may get taken on by a publisher.

I’m running various offers before then. The Kindle versions of some of my books will be free or reduced.

I’ll be posting these offers on my Facebook and Twitter, so like/follow me to find out more.

https://www.facebook.com/AmandaSteelWriter/

https://twitter.com/Amanda_S_Writer

Kindle Scout update

 

I Posted on my blog at the start of my Kindle Scout campaign. That post can be found HERE. Unfortunately, Kindle Scout didn’t choose my book as one of the lucky few to publish. So for anyone who is considering trying Kindle Scout in the hope of publishing their book, I’ll tell you what I tried as part of my campaign. Although they don’t seem to select books just on votes alone, I’m guessing it plays a part in their decision. So you’ll probably need to do more than I did to stand a chance.

I started off well by tagging everyone I thought might vote for me in a Facebook post, as well as posting to Twitter and my Facebook author page. This got me in the hot and trending category for five hours.

The few days following that I was short on ideas, other than reposting on social. I didn’t want to sound like I thought I was the next JK Rowling by contacting newspapers and the media in general and saying the should interview me/write about me etc.

I did contact a local newspaper hoping they could help, but they ignored me. After that I asked two people I know from local radio stations and they were kind enough to give my book a plug three times between the two of them. One of them even read out an extract of the book. I read out an extract myself at two different spoken word events in an attempt to get votes.

I was also interviewed by a podcaster and had a handful of people who shared my requests for votes.

So the bottom line is, you probably need a large following and/or lots of contacts who can publicise your Kindle Scout campaign for you, or maybe just a more supportive local newspaper.

Despite Kindle Scout not picking my book, I will be self publishing it and the release date is 15^th May. Follow the links below if you want to pre-order it.

Alternatively, I will be running a competition to win PDF copies and possibly even a paperback copy. More details on that to follow at a later date.

US link

UK link

Kindle scout campaign – day 3 update

I’m now into day three of my Kindle Scout campaign and already beginning to wonder why I ever though this would be a good idea. I had ideas for who to ask for votes. Unfortunately, I used up the majority of those ideas on day one. The excitement of been “hot and trending” for an entire five hours has now gone. My book slipped back down into obscurity.

So, what now? I could contact a local radio station and try not to sound too big-headed as I ask them if they would like to interview me. If I do that, I should probably do it soon, as there’s only 27 days of my campaign left. I could have contacted them earlier but there was no way of knowing if my book would be approved. For anyone considering Kindle Scout, you should know that they give you two days notice before your campaign goes live, if it is approved.

I have more things to try on social media and I will writing my progress of lack of it on here.

For anyone who might want to vote for me, I’ll tell you a little about the book and my inspiration for it.

I’ve written and self-published before, but like many writers I want to be able to say I’ve been published. I was trying to have a lie in one Sunday morning, back in October 2016 and the idea came to me for my book, First Charge, the first is a three part series of YA books.. It was obvious I wasn’t going to get any sleep and I had to start writing down the ideas as they came into my head. I had other projects I was working on and told myself I would start it in the new years. I started it in November instead, it just kept nagging me to write it.

Meredith (the main character) is descended from Mermaids, although she’s not a mermaid (or at least not at the start of the story) and Theo is descended from shape shifters. The two of them and others who are also descendants of mythical creatures are either destined to be part of the Destiny Initiative or The Destroyers. The prologue explains a little about what each side does. The short version is one side protects people with important destinies. The other side tries to stop them.

I enjoyed writing the book and exploring both sides, because each side had some valid points. Though as Meredith hints towards further in the book, if you’re saving the world, what kind of world do you want it to be? I definitely lean more towards her viewpoint that there has to be something worth saving.

Here’s the link if you want to read more and maybe vote while you’re there.

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/3LNFS6YEHHYC9

 

Amazon author page

So I decided to set up an Amazon author page. It was quite simple to do. I put the least awful picture I could find of myself on there. my forthcoming novel as well my short stories and a bit about me (if anyone cares lol) I’m like a real writer now.