Author Archives: Jodie

• Author Q&A – N.M. Thorn

  Posted at 8:24 pm by Jodie, on August 31, 2020

  Welcome to my August Author Q&A, and I’m excited to introduce you to N.M. Thorn. After meeting through Instagram, we quickly became friends in the writing community, a place you really need to explore if you are a budding writer.
  I’m currently five chapters into The Burns Fire, the first book in Thorn’s Fire Salamander Chronicles, and I can definitely say that it’s a gripping read. Being the creative genius behind my book cover for Sorceress of Truth, I think we can all agree that N.M. Thorn is a very talented lady!

  

  N.M. Thorn is an author of the Fire Salamander Chronicles, Urban Fantasy action-adventure series. Currently, she lives in South Florida with her husband and son. Owner of a digital marketing agency by day and a writer by night, she loves spending her time creating new worlds, paranormal planes of existence and anything that could be described as supernatural. 
  
  When she is not busy working with everything digital or exploring fantasy worlds, she spends time with her family, reading, painting or practicing martial arts.

  Getting to Know You

  

  What motivated you to become an indie author?
  What if I told you I have no answer to this question? Looking back, I don’t know why I started to write, and what motivated me to open a Word document and type in the first word. It was some internal drive that cannot be explained. A burning need to do it, no matter what. It took me a while to publish my first novel. My husband and my friend, who’s a successful indie author, convinced me to publish my first book. Since I’ve never considered the traditional route, indie publishing was the only choice for me.

  When you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?
  My husband and my son are my biggest supporters, and I enjoy spending time with them. I love art and anything creative. Digital art or hand illustration is something I do for a living and as a hobby. Besides that, I practice a few different styles of martial arts, but I hold a black belt in Tae-Kwon-Do. The best decision I’ve ever made was to share my love for Martial Arts with my son.

  What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
  It is the response from my readers and the communications with them. Answering emails and messages on social media is the favorite part of my day. Knowing that people read my stories and enjoy them makes me incredibly happy. I hope that in the current situation, my books provide at least some escape from reality, allowing my readers to take a break and relax.

  The Writing Process

  

  What is your writing process?
  I always start with the research. Every book of the Fire Salamander Chronicles starts with either a real historical event or a legend, and until I complete my research, I don’t move forward with the writing. I don’t do a detailed outline. However, before I start writing, I make sure I know where my story is going and how it will end.

  My editing never ends, and it begins with the first word I put on the paper. I know it is not recommended to edit while writing the 1st draft, but that is exactly what I do, and it works for me. Once I complete a chapter, I read it over. Once I complete an act of my story, I go back and revisit everything I’ve written so far. Not so much to catch the typos, but to make sure I didn’t leave or introduced any holes and that everything, including the dialog, makes sense. I do catch typos and correct them, too. After the first draft is complete, I put my work through three-four more rounds of editing before I finally format the manuscript.

  How do you get inspired to write?
  I don’t wait for inspiration, I just sit down and write. Every day. No matter how I feel about it. In most cases, the inspiration comes while I’m writing.

  What’s your advice for aspiring writers?
  Believe in yourself. Give yourself some credit. Trust that you can do anything you put your mind to and don’t let people’s negativity stop you from doing what you love. Read, learn the craft, write, and then keep writing. This is the only way to improve.

  Reading

  

  What are your five favorite books, and why?

  • Storm Front by Jim Butcher. Actually, any book of The Dresden File series. These books are what made me fall in love with the Urban Fantasy genre in the first place.

  • The Witch World by Andre Norton. This was the book that introduced me to the Historical Fantasy Genre. The writing style is absolutely beautiful, and the story keeps you at the edge of your seat all the way to the last page.

  • A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. I would read anything written by this amazing writer, but the The Earthsea Cycle Series is my favorite.

  • The Iron King by Maurice Druon. My love for historical fiction started with the Accursed Kings series. It is still one of my favorite series in this genre.
    
    
  • The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. Historical fiction action-adventure. Please don’t watch the movie. Read the book. Even in translation, it is an amazing masterpiece.

  How do you discover the books you read?
  At the moment, I read mostly books written by Indie Authors. Most of them I discover through Instagram, but I do read books recommended by family and friends.

  The Fire Salamander Chronicles

  

  When you’re a supernatural weapon of mass destruction, it can be hard to walk in the world of humans, especially when you work for the FBI…

  Zane Burns–a.k.a. Gunz–is a Fire Salamander who works for a secret paranormal division of the FBI. After receiving a late-night call from his boss, Zane gets involved into a multiple homicide investigation. Little does he know, he is headed right into a storm of supernatural mayhem powered by dark magical forces.

  Chased by supernatural thugs and blackmailed by the Russian mob, soon he becomes entangled in a web of lies and intrigue, making it impossible to tell who is friend and who is foe. Time is running out. The stakes are growing. And if he is to survive, he must push himself and his abilities further than he ever has before.

  The Burns Fire – The Fire Salamander Chronicles Book One

  ---

  What inspired you to write The Fire Salamander Chronicles?
  The idea of the Fire Salamander was born while I was working on the character of Kal, the Fire Elemental. I was researching all possible magical beings who could represent the magnificent Fire Elemental and came across Salamanders in medieval lore. That’s how the idea of the Fire Salamander came to life. The character of Gunz (Zane Burns) was introduced in a trilogy that hasn’t been published yet, but the Fire Salamander Chronicles is the spin-off from the trilogy.

  Is there going to be a follow up to The Burns Enigma?
  Yes. If everything goes as planned, I am planning to release the sixth book of the Fire Salamander Chronicles in September.

  The Fire Salamander Chronicles are available from Amazon, and free on Kindle Unlimited.
  Sign up to N.M. Thorn’s newsletter for a free novella prequel to The Fire Salamander Chronicles, The Burns Path.

  Posted in Author Q&A | 0 Comments | Tagged #august2020, #blog, #inspiration, #interview, #nmthorn, #novel, #Q&A, #thefiresalamanderchronicles, #worldindiewarriors, #writing

• I’m a warrior!

  Posted at 9:16 pm by Jodie, on August 27, 2020

  

  Okay, so I don’t quite mean swords and shields, and blood and gore. That’s a little too… energetic for my liking, unless there’s a roaring fire, fluffy slippers and a mug of hot chocolate waiting for me.

  No, I’m a World Indie Warrior!

  “What the heck?” I hear you cry, but bear with me.

  World Indie Warriors began its life as a collective group of creatives who got on really well and all had something in common, they were independent, meaning they had no multi million pound establishments backing their work. Everything they did, they did themselves —writing, editing, formatting, cover design, publishing, marketing— or they scrimped and saved their hard earned cash to pay another company to do some of the work for them.

  I won’t go into the how’s and why’s, I’m sure many of you have already had experiences of your own, but the industry isn’t kind to indie creatives. As I mentioned in a recent Heart-to-Heart with The Magic Book Corner, there is a lot of information out there about self publishing, and most of it contradictory, but I can’t help feel that it is a tactic on behalf of the big business to dissuade us. In a world that is dominated by five or six big named publishers (Many of the small publishers being owned by these bigger companies also.), they certainly wouldn’t want the masses to eat into their profit margins, it just isn’t good business.

  And thus lies the problem.

  To these big publishers, an author or a poet (e.g.), are just numbers on a page. And, even if you do manage to make it onto their books, as soon as the numbers don’t make sense it’s “So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye!”, if you’re lucky. They could, depending on the contract you signed, retain all the rights to your hard work, your sweat and tears and late nights downing red wine (Is that just me?).

  “But it’s my dream to be published!” I can imagine you shouting at the screen of whatever device you’re reading on and, guess what, it was my dream too. But, having looked into this more and more, and seeing the number of writers with publishing deals backing away and doing it themselves, I can say that traditional publishing is not the rosy pipe dream you may be chasing.

  So, to cut a very long story short, World Indie Warriors was born. A safe haven for these intrepid trailblazers to commune, discuss, and share their expertise and wisdom. To stop a creative industry being about numbers and breathe fresh life into it. But, they didn’t want to keep all of this to themselves like Gollum and The One Ring. Something this powerful was destined for bigger things. The doors were flung open and others were welcomed in, not just writers but poets, artists, photographers, voice actors, book bloggers, cover designers and any other industry you can think of where you are an indie creative, or you provide a service or offer support to indie creatives.

  If you’re an indie, you belong.
  If you’re thinking about being an indie, you belong.
  If you like the indie community, you belong.
  If you’re flirting with the idea of maybe checking out indie creatives, you belong.
  You belong!

  – World Indie Warriors

  Now, with a growing following, there is a Facebook Page, Instagram Page, a members Facebook Group and a website. We also have a regular brochure, which is about to become an eZine where, as a member, you can advertise your books and services. In the coming months, exclusively for our members, we will be holding a host of workshops. These will be on everything from grammar to psychology and marketing to planning.

  Want to get involved? Just take a look at the links I’ve dropped above and, before you ask, there is no catch. There is NO membership fee and there is NO charge to be on the eZine. We don’t have expectations to give back, but we do have lots of opportunities ranging from writing a blog to being a mentor, to being on a team. The group wasn’t created with money in mind, we are all volunteers doing it for the love of ours, and others, craft.

  This group to help expand the stage for diverse voices. Your voice. My voice. Our voices. Voices that have been muffled or silenced. We are here to support those voices and expand the stage for ALL of our voices.

  World Indie Warriors

  This is what World Indie Warriors is all about, and this why you should get involved. I can’t wait to see you in our members group.

  Jodie xxx

  Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment | Tagged #august2020, #blog, #catchup, #inspiration, #update, #worldindiewarriors, #writing

• YouTube: I’m Her Biggest Fan

  Posted at 7:42 pm by Jodie, on August 13, 2020

  

  Author Ally Aldridge

  So in my first YouTube video I declare myself as author J.D.Groom‘s biggest fan. I’ve got the book, the mug, the coaster, the candle…

  

  In my debut YouTube video, I share the fabulous Sorceress of Truth merchandise I got my hands on. We’ll have a closer look at the book, and I’ll discuss why this author means so much to me.

  If you enjoyed this, you’ll love:

  Book Review: Sorceress of Truth by J D Groom

  Book Review: Envy by J D Groom

  Behind the Book: Sorceress of Truth by J D Groom

  Making his YouTube dream come true…

  View original post

  Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

• August – meh!

  Posted at 9:19 pm by Jodie, on August 11, 2020

  

  So it’s August… anyone else feeling completely deflated?

  This time of year I’ve normally just been to spend a few days with family, had a night or two away just my daughter and I, had several fun and interesting days out, and would be in the middle of packing for our annual camping trip to Wales.

  Instead, I find myself locked at home in another local tightening of rules that prevents me from seeing any family. While the campsite that we stay on is open, we don’t feel comfortable going there and using the shared facilities, and the same goes for attractions. Many shops and museums, etc, are open around us but, unless it’s an outdoor activity, we aren’t willing to risk it.

  It’s made me feel really horrible as a mom. My daughter’s summer holiday is passing by at the speed of light, and she’s not been able to enjoy any of it. I know I’m not alone in my thinking, and there are plenty of people in a much worse situation than us, but it doesn’t ease my sadness and, if I’m honest, anger that by the time this is over she can pretty much wipe a year from her life. Our life.

  We’ve been robbed and cheated. It’s not to say that this year would have been super amazing. For all we know things could have conspired against us and we would have had to cancel plans anyway, but that would have been on us.

  I don’t want to be one of those people going on about missed education. Yeah it’s important, and yes homeschooling was a nightmare, but it goes beyond not knowing their times tables and the difference between to, two and too. It’s all the other things that go along with it, like school trips, building relationships and, in our case, my daughters first overnight residential.

  I hope that if you are experiencing something similar, by speaking up I’ve somehow helped and, that you know you aren’t alone. If you do need someone to talk to, I’m always around (Mostly on Instagram.).

  With all of that being said, it will come as no surprise that I didn’t push myself too hard during Camp NaNoWriMo. I set myself a goal of 7,000 words towards my mafia series and somehow managed to smash that with a total of 14,108 words.

  As I concentrated on my writing, unfortunately I wasn’t able to keep up with reading. In fact, I didn’t even pick up a book during July! But, as I searched for activities to entertain the little one, I did dip my paintbrushes into some watercolours, something I haven’t done in a very long time. Perhaps I might bring them out again, when I have that golden egg called time.

  I had intended for this post to come out right at the start of the month but, just like everything else at the moment, it seemed to pass me by. It wouldn’t be a monthly catch-up without my goals, so here they are:

  In August I aim to write 1,000 words per day on Sorceress of Flame. I’m hoping that will bring me much closer to ‘the end’ and I’ll finally have that elusive first draft. To date I have managed around 10,000 words, so I’m not too far off achieving that.

  My second and final goal is to have fun. I want to try and enjoy what time we do have left as a family before school restarts, even if it is just going for a few walks and eating garden picnics.

  Once again, I ask for you to sign up to my newsletter. I’m not sure when it will start yet but, please sign up below and you will receive all of my news straight to your inbox.

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  Right! Time for me to do some housework and stop the living room from looking like a bomb has hit it.
  
  Stay healthy. Stay safe.

  Speak soon, Jodie xxx

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged #august2020, #blog, #campnanowrimo, #catchup, #coronavirus, #divineprophecy, #donofavery, #goals, #inspiration, #sorceress, #update, #writing

• Sorceress of Truth

  Posted at 10:36 pm by Jodie, on July 30, 2020

  

  Normally around this time of the month I review a book that I’ve recently read. I’ve been super busy with Camp NaNoWriMo, so I’ve hardly had the chance to pick up a book, let alone finish one. So, for this month I thought I would do something a little different.

  Over the last year I’ve been involved with some fantastic podcasts, interviews and takeovers, and I’ve also received some amazing feedback and reviews for Sorceress of Truth. I want to share these with you and relive some of the highs.

  First up we have the podcast that I recorded with Dr. Aparajita Jeedigunta just before I released Sorceress of Truth(SofT) in November last year. It was part of her LEGupward Inclusion Spotlight and I got to talk about all things SofT, as well as more serious matters such as real life influences and Diversity and Inclusion.

  You can take a listen here. And, FYI, I was super nervous!

  My first big review came on release day form The Magic Book Corner and, at 4.5 out of 5 stars, I was bouncing around the living room reading it excitedly to my husband. The comments I was most proud of were about originality, and the realness of my characters.

  “Extremely imaginative and beautifully written, this YA novel seamlessly intertwines pretty cool magic with vampires, fae, elves, angels and demons, as well as a promise of much more to come. And in a fantasy world where all the above elements have already been depicted in a myriad of ways, this author still manages to pull off something new and bring originality to the table.”

  The Magic Book Corner – Read the full review here!

  When I took part in my first author Q&A, that was probably the moment that it really sunk in that I was a writer. Ally Aldridge asked me to appear in a new feature on her website and I simply couldn’t say no. It was a lot of fun, and it made want to do more. So I did!

  Behind the Book, with Ally Aldridge

  Heart-to-Heart, with The Magic Book Corner

  My most recent interview was a Heart-to-Heart with The Magic Book Corner as part of #TheMagicBookCornersWednesdayatWIW . There we discussed in depth not only Sorceress of Truth, but also my short story, Envy, and other projects I have going on in the background.

  Since releasing SofT, I’ve been so happy with all of the reviews I’ve received, and the latest from Sarah Neofield is no exception.

  “For all its similarities to Twilight, ‘Sorceress of Truth’ is more on almost every level. It contains a much richer world of mythical creatures, for starters.”

  Sarah Neofield – Read the full review here!

  This comment alone made my day. Actually, scrap that, I’ll go with year! I know for many Twilight isn’t the epitome of YA literature, but you cannot deny the popularity and huge fandom that it created.
  
  During the early years, as Sorceress of Truth was coming to life, Twilight was THE novel that everyone was into. Even now the series remains sitting on my bookshelves next to all of my other fantasy novels. I can’t say that they didn’t inspire me in some way because I’m almost positive they did.

  So, to put it a different way… would you like your book to be compared to a best seller that has sold over 100 million copies world wide and come out on top? I think the correct answer would be, ‘Hell, yeah!’.

  If you haven’t read Sorceress of Truth yet, I think you should add it to your ‘to be read’ pile straight away. But, of course I would say that, wouldn’t I? If you need a little more encouragement, I’ll leave you with one final review quote.

  “Sorceress of Truth is the first YA fantasy book I’ve read in a while, and JD Groom’s book is the perfect example of why I love this genre.”

  Melanie – Read the full review here!

  Posted in Book Reviews | 0 Comments | Tagged #blog, #bookreview, #catchup, #divineprophecy, #interview, #July2020, #novel, #Q&A, #review, #SofT, #SorceressofTruth, #update, #writing

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