I can’t believe another month has gone by!

Last month I wrote about the change to my imprint. Unfortunately, I haven’t progressed much further with changing Morandoo Press to Lonely Forest Press, apart from setting up the name on a couple of platforms and writing a list of ‘to-dos’. Before I go any further, I have to come up with a logo design. This is close to being finished and I have set myself a goal of getting everything changed over by the end of April.
Writing is still moving slowly. I have had some good ideas to incorporate into the story and again I will make more progress from now on. Plans!

I know, I know, it sounds like I’m not doing much. On the writing front that’s true. I have a good reason. Not only do I work full-time, but I’ve also taken on a course of study which is classified as full-time. What am I studying? Graphic design.

When I chose to be an independent author, I also elected to do as much of the book production myself as possible. This included cover design. I’m the first to admit that it hasn’t always been successful, though it has improved over the years. When I found myself wasting evenings aimlessly wandering around YouTube, I thought doing some part-time study would give me something more interesting to do. As I have always enjoyed cover design, I thought a course that would help me in that area would be a good idea. So here I am, studying graphic design.

And loving it - every second of it!

It does mean that I am also incredibly busy in the evenings and part of the weekend doing course work (the course is entirely online), and other areas of my life have suffered. I haven’t pushed myself to do too much writing as I wanted to get a good start on the course. We have now come to the end of the first term and I’ve managed to keep on top of the work without too much difficulty. I have a few weeks break before study begins again and I plan to get back into a writing routine and keep it up for the rest of the year.

Nothing like a challenge!

In the meantime, I have made my two series-starter books free on Smashwords. If you would like to have a copy on your Kindle or other electronic reading device, head over there and start downloading. You can select your preferred file format and they will send it to you. You can find them here.

That’s it for this month. Take care, and we'll catch up again next month.

​Alison

I'm very happy to announce my next book, Defender, will be released on April 24th, 2020!

This book has taken a while to emerge. I wrote it twice after the original version 'didn't sit right'. I am pleased with the result, and loved writing the characters.

Defender
Be careful what you look for. You might find it.
After a year on the job, Kira is still a new agent in the eyes of her FBI counter terrorism colleagues. When a young man is reported for making violent threats against government agencies, she is given the chance to lead the case. Keen to prove herself, Kira dives in, determined to find the man before he can hurt those she has sworn to protect.
When a photo leads her to the suspect, Kira discovers a clue that takes her down a path she never dreamed she’d have to walk.
Sometimes the answer is closer than you think.

Now for the obligatory sales pitch.
The book is available for preorder: direct from me if you live locally (send a message via the contact page), from this website HERE (price includes postage), Amazon and Smashwords for Ebooks. It will also shortly find it's way to your favourite online bookseller.
Sales pitch over.

A big thank you to everyone who continues to support and encourage me. I appreciate every one of you!

Take care, stay safe.

Alison

I have wanted to update the covers on my White Rose series of books for a while now. It's always seemed to hard, but I finally set to and redesigned them. I also tweaked the New London books at the same time. It was a long job, but I'm pleased with the results.

I hope you like them!
​

A couple of things have been going on in my writing life over the past week or so. I contributed to a Kickstarter for WMG publishing, a company run by two of the few writers whose advice I respect. They were gathering funds to produce a short story magazine, and along with the reward of a subscription I gained access to seven different workshops and lectures (GREAT value!). One of the lectures was about designing covers for mystery and thriller books. The woman giving the lecture is a publisher and her marketing knowledge, when it comes to books in particular, is extensive. I listened to the lecture, and what happened next was many hours of image seeking and cover tweaking. I'm concentrating on the White Rose series of books and I'm pleased with the mock-up designs at this point. When the new covers are ready, I'll put them up here for you to have first look at them.

My current writing project is coming along nicely. The words come a little easier some days than they do on others, but forward progress is being made. I'm still on track to complete the first draft by the end of November.

Now I'm getting closer to finishing the current story, I'm starting to think about the next one. I'm toying with the idea of doing a straight romance, probably a little shorter than my current books. I also have another White Rose book (or two) waiting, plus story ideas I've had kicking around for years. Plenty of choice!

Thanks again for your support - Alison