Saturday, January 17, 2015

Fiction Addiction

Sorry, can't blog, too many books to read. I'm on the last chapter of Tom Sawyer Abroad, and then I want to get back to The Empire Striketh Back, and then I need to buckle down and get through the research material for my current writing projects.

Occasionally I will introduce myself as a writer at a social gathering and the person I’m talking to will respond, with a guilty sigh, “I should read more.”

If they're lucky, I will not be swallowing a drink at the moment and spew it all over them as I laugh hysterically. It’s like hearing someone say “I should breathe more.” I want to ask, “How do you stop yourself from reading?” For writers, reading is an addiction that must be controlled if we are to experience any sort of real life at all. We learn to multitask, to sneak a few pages here and there while we eat, wait for a ride, or get ready for bed, just to keep us going.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Chronic Challenge

I can't blog because this weekend is devoted to autoimmune repair. I will be resting, drinking litres of water, preparing bland but nourishing food to soothe my innards, and generally grumbling around feeling sorry for myself. And no, I refuse to blog about these conditions! I prefer to convert them into bizarre alien viruses in my future SF novels.

I'll tell you who does have an excellent blog about chronic disease; Madelon Smid. I was among the many sufferers of chronic illness she interviewed to research her online book, Chronic Challenge: Living Well With A Chronic Disease. Our secret identities have been concealed with code names. To be honest, I'm not sure I have correctly identified myself in the book. Our histories are so remarkably similar. You can read the book on Madelon's blog.

Update: Chronic Challenge: Living Well With A Chronic Disease is now available as an eBook available from Amazon. The Chronic Illness blog is no longer active.

Friday, January 2, 2015

Lady Oak Abroad

I had to stop blogging for a couple of years to work on Dinosaur Dogs and my new YA fantasy novel. The fantasy novel won the publication race. On the tenth anniversary of the launch of my first novel, The Prairie Dogs, I launched my first eBook, Lady Oak Abroad.

The first year of the new millennium has not been kind to Audrey. She’s been dumped, expelled, and run over by a bus. She firmly believes her personal life, along with the entire planet Earth, is damaged beyond all hope of redemption. She jumps at the chance to escape both when her loony old aunt goes missing from her front yard. Her search for her aunt takes her across the magical Migrara and many other worlds that overlap our own. But the universe is not the epic amusement park she thought it would be. In fact, it’s kind of a mess. As Audrey blunders through the magical and political minefields of worldhopping, she picks up a motley crew of companions; the mysterious outlaw mage Keirt, the treacherous Prince Nicholas, and the overzealous warrior woman Latiana. But no one is what they seem—not Aunt Ellen, not even the adorable little girl who lives down the block from Audrey. Even the beautiful world of Migrara hides a terrifying secret that might destroy everything Audrey holds dear. Fortunately, Audrey discovers some powerful magic of her own; and more importantly, Impulse Control.

Whether you’re thirteen or thirty-three, you’ll love the chaotic adventures of the irrepressible Audrey O’Krane. You can download it from Amazon Kindle in Canada, the UK, the United States, and other Amazon sites around the world.

No eBook reader? No problem. Download Amazon's free reader software, or read the book online using Amazon's Kindle Cloud Reader.