My first steps into the world of ebook publishing.

It’s been a busy week full of writing and editing. My poetry should have been up on Kindle Saturday afternoon, but I stupidly made the mistake of using the word twilight in my tag searches and as a result my book kept being reverted back to the draft stage. I was in no way trying to link the aforementioned word to the book full of sparkly vampires, I was merely thinking of the time of day when dark and light met before the night takes over. Therefore I thought that the word twilight was an apt word to describe some of the poems in my book. Unfortunately the Amazon search engine thought differently. Of course before I realised this mix up, I was cursing Amazon, thinking they were just being awkward. Well suffice to say the book was published quite fast once I removed the twilight word from my tags.

In the meantime I also set about publishing my book on Smashwords, which was very easy and proficient. I really like the set up that Smashwords have, because they allow you to have a picture, which will scare away any mouse, and also encourage a bio. Smashwords also help distribute your work to all other major e-book sellers, should it pass certain criteria. Which I think really takes the sting out of it.

On the whole my short journey into the world of e-book publishing has been a huge learning curve. The whole editing process was enough to freak me out and send me searching for the chocolate bars, which I am currently trying to avoid, and I wasn’t even doing the whole e-pub formatting; thanks Frassy for that one, I was merely reading and re-reading over and over for mistakes. And of course doing the normal, ‘I hate this one, let’s pull it’; ‘Nope wait, I need to rewrite this one’, type panic that usually ensues when I am losing confidence and nervous about my work. But I am glad I got there in the end and my first set of poems is officially digitally published.

So without further ado I am happy to announce that my collection of poems, ‘Shades of a Dream’ is now available to purchase on the following websites:

Kindle: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00M5OQ6MU/

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/461715

Google play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/C_L_Byiers_Shades_of_a_Dream?id=ASQYBAAAQBAJ

The book may also be available from other e-book retailers soon. I will keep you updated.

Now it’s time for me to get my head down and get back to my manuscript, cause at this rate it will never be ready to send off to the publishers by the end of summer.

A terrible blogger.

I'm sad to say that I feel I have become a terrible blogger. I know I really ought to be more active on here, but truth be told I have been busy working on my first full length manuscript which I am hoping will be out for sale sometime in the beginning of the New year.

I have also been compiling a book of my poems, which will be released on kindle very soon. Some of which can be seen on here, but soon you will be able to own your very own copy, should you so desire. As soon as this book is available I will let you know.

I've been learning so much about my writing over the last six months; spending time with my characters, getting to know their strong points as well as their weaknesses. I have to admit this manuscript has taken me by storm. I am really enjoying writing it and developing the world that my characters interact in. I have more material than I ever dreamed I would and as a result there will be a series of books to follow the first one.

Lilia is my main inspiration for this first book. Her voice was strong from the beginning and I just had to get her down on paper. Her family have now become very active forces in my imagination, planting their supernatural butts firmly on comfy seats and whispering their stories to me. I have to say they don't always speak individually, I often hear them nattering away all at once and I can't get it all down fast enough.

I have found the hardest thing while writing is making sure I keep the momentum going the next day. I often spend hours writing happily away only to get up the next morning, (or rather afternoon, since I tend to work through the night), and find myself doing other things rather than parking my bum down in my seat and writing. It’s not that I don’t want to write, on the contrary, I just lack the discipline. It’s often hard to motivate myself to work when I don’t have a boss hanging over me to tell me they need my work done now, now, now......

But I am learning. I feel that the more I practice the easier the self discipline comes. I know that as soon as I sit down to write I will enjoy it, I just need to start, and that is always the hardest part. Once I begin I can hear my characters vying for my attention. Don’t get me wrong it’s not all wondrous and delightful; I have my days where I am ready to give up. But I am lucky to have a wonderful support team behind me in the form of my partner, practically hubby, and my parents. So now it just falls down to me to keep on writing and get my first book out there.

Until then, here's a sneak peak of the cover for my collection of poems due out on Kindle very soon.

The background image used on the front cover of this ebook is an edited version ofsupermoon by Barbara Eckstein, available under a Creative CommonsAttribution license - (CC BY 2.0).

Rain

The rain chases away my thoughts.

As I watch the world close its eyes,

Deep in sleep they dream,

But sweet slumber avoids me tonight.

These streets hold many memories,

Their lasting legacy of sadness, happiness and youth filled dreams,

Crash around my head.

They lose their radiance a little, the more I walk them,

But brilliant vivid the memories remain.

Amiable rain, teach me how to walk amongst these dreams again.

Show me where the shadows lie so I can avoid the folly.

Let me reach the road that leads home.

So that I can see the warm glow of family from the window,

It’s warm orange light behind the closed curtains, deep beyond the nights reach.

With the rain falling on my pretty dress,

I stand outside, a silhouette in moonlight watching my mother’s shadow.

The path with its pink bright flowers leading the way to the door.

That world I know no more.

Let me be her again,

That little girl who knew so little,

Yet understood so much.

Let her teach me the things I forgot.

Sweet fragrance of the night time world.

Its secrets hold so many wonders.

Deep in sleep they weave their dreams.

And in slumber deep I see the world within.