Quarterly Writing Plans – What’s next? #amwriting #amediting

Posted on September 7, 2022 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

Things haven’t been going to plan at the moment, at least not the plans I set myself a few months ago. I still like to look back, take stock and make new plans in the hope I can get back on track. With this in mind, I’m going to take a moment to celebrate what I have done so far this year.

Achievements in 2022

I’ve published not one, but two short story anthologies!

Fantasy Short Stories

Love, Loss and Life In Between

After a barren couple of years of not publishing anything, it’s been brilliant to break back into self publishing. These are passion projects that I hope fans of my writing will enjoy, but they will also hopefully help me reach new readers too. I had a blog blitz for Fantasy Short Stories in June and have another planned in October for Love, Loss and Life In Between. Rachel’s Random Resources is still taking sign ups for anyone interested.

The Mermaid Hotel Romance series

I’ve edited and rewritten parts of Evie’s Song, including adding a new VP character (the match making hotel owner Mrs Shallon) and adding more scenes which include a prologue and an epilogue. I’m trying to find time to read through all the changes and decide if it’s finally ready or not.

I’ve spoken with a few agents via the Winchester Festival in June and have taken steps to make changes to Evie’s Song as per their suggestions.

Probably the most fun thing I’ve done this year is go to a weekend writing retreat run by Alison May and Janet Gover. It was so helpful and wonderful to spend a whole weekend just focused on writing, in particular Evie’s Song. The 1-2-1 feedback was invaluable! I would love to do it again, but funds are tight so it maybe a while before that is possible. They run these retreats 3 times a year and I highly recommend them.

Not gone to plan

Starlight Prophecy

The trilogy has stalled while I worked on the two short story publications and focused on Evie’s Song. I haven’t looked at it for months, but hopefully my subconscious has been working on those plot issues while I’ve been busy. I love fantasy and really would love to get this going again. I’d hate to abandon the 139k I’ve written between books 1 and 2, and Delaphine is an awesome anti-heroine I can’t wait to share her with the world!

MH Romance Series

I had hoped to have up to 3 books in the series published in 2022. Evie’s Song is coming along nicely and I have the drafts of books 2 and 3, but I just haven’t gotten around to continuing with them. With funds tight, the idea of self publishing may have to go on hold, and I’m still toying with the idea of approaching agents and publishers direct. We’ll just have to see where things stand in a few months.

Plans for the rest of 2022

The Mermaid Hotel Series

Finish Evie’s Song and make a decision on publication method. If self publishing I would love to have this ready by December. But I’m not sure yet. And is December / Christmas the best time to release a summer romance anyway?

Work on the drafts of book 2 and 3 so they are in more publishable shape.

Plan and develop series arc.

Starlight Prophecy

I want to work on this, even if it is just to plan the series and characters arcs so I can finish the first draft.

Future Projects – no date in mind

Reworking the old

Whilst watching the first episode of the House of the Dragons (the difficult birth scene) I was reminded of the second fantasy book I ever wrote. It was written 20+years ago, and will no doubt have many amateur mistakes. But as I started explaining the scene to my husband and all the events leading up to it, I got really excited for the idea again. I also realised I had a pretty twisted imagination back then, I’m definitely a lot kinder to my characters now!

I would love to revisit my old novels and see how much effort it would take to re-write them because I still want to tell those characters stories. I’ve even transferred them to my kindle so I can read them without being tempted to start editing straight away. It’s been in the to do list a long time!

Series and other ideas

I would love to write a fantasy series with shorter instalments than my trilogy. I’m think around the 100 to 150 pages mark. I have a project in mind, but nothing planned beyond the first few chapters.

I have ideas for a timeslip romance, and spin off stories around the Mermaid Hotel series.

Silent Sea Chronicles

I would still love to write the prequel to book 1. I recently reviewed the prologue I’ve written for it and really like it, but I’m still not sure if a prequel would spoil the rest of the trilogy. That’s what’s been holding me back for so long.

I would also love to continue the story of the various characters and see what the future holds for them. I just need to decide what format those stories will manifest in. A book of short stories, novellas, or a whole new novel / series?

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I think that will do for this update. I will review my achievements and goals at the end of the year. I can’t believe that’s only a few months away.

Have you any goals to share? Ones you are happy with achieving, or ones you’ve set yourself to complete by the end of 2022?

I will share my reading goals in another post very soon. Until then, happy reading and writing!

Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy and heart-warming romance

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Happy New Year and a quick review of 2020 #amwriting #amreading

Posted on December 31, 2020 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

When I think back over 2020 I’m tempted to say it’s been a wasted year and I’ve achieved nothing, but when I look deeper I realise there are still things to celebrate and be thankful for.

Firstly (and most importantly)

I am lucky to have my health and my family and friends have thus far avoided catching Covid-19. Those few that have had the virus are still fighting fit. Hopefully this continues, and with two vaccines now approved in the UK, I hope we will all soon see the back of this virus and the disruption it has caused across the world.

Writing in 2020

Although I have no published books to boast about this year, I did manage to have two audiobooks produced in 2020 and that is all down to the hard work of my talented narrator George Ellington. The Lost Sentinel came out in September and The Sentinel’s Reign in December. Some very positive reviews have already come in and I have a blog blitz planned in January.

One thing I am hugely excited about is the 9 book romance novella series I began planning and writing in 2020. Yes, that’s right, 9 books!

I will share more about this in my plans for 2021 blog post, coming soon.

Another project I’m excited about working on in 2021 is The Starlight Prophecy. It’s a new fantasy series. Again I’ll share more about this soon, but I’m hoping to get two of the three books published in 2021! Set your sights high, right!

Reading in 2020

I doubled my goal of reading 15 books with a mix of fantasy, romance and non-fiction. I’ve read some cracking books and discovered new authors that I will be following closely and buying everything they write. I’m still hoping to blog about the books I read in 2020 and share my favourites so watch this space.

I did a lot of reading about the writing craft in 2020. I’ve found some great reference books as well as re-reading others. It’s been good to focus on the craft again, especially as I’ve decided to take my writing in a new direction with the romance series. Again, I hope to share more info about these books in another post.

For now I just want to wish you all a Happy New Year. No matter how quiet our celebrations must be this year, we can still see in 2021 with a smile.

Roll on the new year, I’m ready for you!

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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic and heroic fantasy

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Writing Update September 2020 and some writing goals #amwriting

Posted on September 1, 2020 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

It’s September and we’re into the last 4 months of the year – that’s scary! Like most people I think I’ll be glad for 2020 to be over.

To help me through I’ve decided to plan my writing projects for the rest of the year. I’m not setting huge goals, so hopefully I can stick to them.

First it’s always nice to look back and see what I have achieved this year (and gloss over the fact I had originally planned to have published two books by this time in 2020)!

Achieved in 2020

I finally set up my mailing list with Mailchimp. This is a task I’ve been putting off for years. I haven’t started advertising it yet, but if you want to join please follow the link here. I’m working on some free and exclusive stories for my mailing list subscribers set in the worlds of my novels, so there’s a great reason to join me.

My big news for 2020 is that the audiobook for The Lost Sentinel is coming very soon! We’re just waiting for approval from ACX and then it will be on sale through Amazon, Audible and iTunes. Watch this space for more info.

Last month The Lost Sentinel hit number 1 bestseller in several free categories in the US, UK and Canada. It was a pretty big deal for me and I shared a post about how it happened here.

What’s to come

I’ve been writing a romance novella that I hope to publish in 2020. It’s a departure from my preferred fantasy genre but it’s been keeping me sane during lockdown and I’m really excited about it. I have yet to have beta readers feedback so I’m not even sure how good the story is, but I do have my editor booked in very soon so I need to get on with it!

Those short stories for my mailing list subscribers need to be a priority after the novella has gone to beta readers.

I’m writing a spy story with a friend. We’re not sure how long it will be, but I’ve already suggested we publish it at some point. This will be my friend’s first self published book and it’ll be great to share a joint project with the world. Again, testing out a new genre is exciting as well.

I have other romance novella ideas that I hope to start drafting over the coming months, but I really must get back to my first love – Fantasy! Which leads me to…

My planned trilogy. If I can just get on with it I might be able to publish the complete trilogy in 2021. That is a big ask, but book 1 is almost complete (if I don’t end up planning any major rewrites) and book 2 only has about a 1/4 to go. Book 3 is another matter, but I’ll worry about that later.

There are always more projects in the back of my mind including the book of short stories I’ve been itching to put together and a non-fiction book on writing and self publishing that keeps rearing up and forcing my attention away from other things. These are ideas I’ll sort out one day, I’m just not sure when.

Other News

Silent Sea Chronicles has a blog tour running from 6th to 12th September. Run by Storytellers on Tour, there will be some fun Q&A’s and lots of reviews and promo posts hitting over the week.

I’m also planning an Audiobook 1 day event for The Lost Sentinel in the next few months with the help of Rachel’s Random Resources.

I’ve signed up for an online social media course to help me understand some of the platforms I’ve been ignoring, so hopefully I can learn a few tips to reach a wider audience.

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I think that’s about all I should consider for now before I dig myself an even bigger writing hole to get lost in.

Tomorrow I have a book post from a debut author to share and then I’ll be blogging about my reading plans for the rest of 2020. Thanks for stopping by.

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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic and heroic fantasy

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#Indieauthor April Update #amwriting #amwritingfantasy

Posted on April 24, 2019 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

Hi Everyone

It’s been a while since I’ve been around. I sort of stuck to my plan of a social media ban, and the best news is that I finished WIP The Sentinel’s Alliance – Book 3 in Silent Sea Chronicles! It’s already had beta reader feedback and I’m now working through some edits. Very soon I will be sharing the cover, pre-order links and the blurb.

I’m aiming to publish 6th July 2019 so the next few months will be busy. It will be worth it to finish the trilogy. I can’t wait to see what you all think. Let me know if you want to go on the list of ARC reviewers.

I also have some big news about Visions of Zarua to share very soon and lots of book reviews to come mainly how-to writing guides but also some brilliant fiction I’ve been reading lately.

I’m still on the look out for reviewers for The Lost Sentinel, The Sentinel’s Reign and Visions of Zarua. If you’re interested please comment or use the Contact Me form. The blurbs and goodreads links etc are in this post An appeal for reviewers.

Lastly, before the publication of Book 3 in the Silent Sea Chronicles trilogy, Rachel’s Random Resources has organised a blog review tour for books 1 and 2 starting 21st June. If you want to join in, I think there a still a couple of spaces available.

I will be back soon with reviews, news and I’ll be setting down some targets for the summer. See you then.

Suzanne Rogerson – Author of heroically epic fantasy

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Writing update and festival news #amwriting #amwritingfantasy

Posted on March 4, 2019 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

This is a quick update as I know I’ve been absent for most of 2019.

Work is going well on The Sentinel’s Alliance – Book 3 in the Silent Sea Chronicles. I feel as though I am on the home straight and I’m looking forward to passing the book to my beta readers very soon. I hope to stick to a publication date of the end of June, but I won’t rush it if it’s not ready. I’ve also been sitting on the beautiful book cover for months. I’m looking forward to sharing it with you but I made a promise to myself that I’d wait for the completed draft. Fingers crossed that’s not too long now!

Festival news

Next week I will be going to the London Book Fair for the first time ever. I’m going as a self published author looking to pick up tips but also a hybrid author. This is the first time I’ve really acknowledged the fact that I’m now a hybrid! My Czech publisher will be at the fair and I’m hoping to pop by and say hello.

From the sounds of things I will be spending a lot of time in the Author HQ area where lots of talks sound interesting and relevant to my current situation. I’m hoping to meet the team of the Writing Magazine whose advice I have been using since my late teens. I also just want to soak up the atmosphere of a place dedicated to all things books! Plus my friend mentioned a stationery area – now that will be dangerous!

Another first for me is that I finally have the chance to go to the Winchester Writer’s Festival in June. I’ve secured the three agent / publisher appointments I was hoping for and will attend a whole day workshop based on writing fantasy. I’m super excited but also nervous about the pitching as this will be a chance to move my dreams of being a hybrid author in the UK one step closer.

I’m already planning my letter and first chapter, but the idea of pitching something new is terrifying after working on a trilogy for a good few years.

I look forward to sharing my experiences of these festivals with you in the future.

Over to you

Are any of you going to either of these major UK events?

Do you have any advice to make the most of the days ahead?

Have you got any writing festivals to recommend?

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Tomorrow I hope to share a book review of a 5 star book I just finished last night. After I wiped away my tears, I closed the book and thought to myself that was bloody brilliant! Stop by tomorrow to find out what book I’m talking about…

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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of heroically epic fantasy

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Updates giveaways and pre-order info #amwriting #indieauthor #fantasy

Posted on May 29, 2018 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

The first of my updates is on the appearance of my blog. I’ve finally been able to update the header with all three of my books. It’s a great feeling to see them altogether. The Cover Collection have done a wonderful job on all three covers and the banner.

It’s officially 1 month before The Sentinel’s Reign is published – 29th June 2018, which is so exciting. I’ve just finished reading it through and have a couple of small changes to make before the ARC is ready to send out to reviewers. Please get in touch if you are interested.

Don’t forget you can already pre-order you copy here The Sentinel’s Reign

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There are just a few hours left to enter the giveaway to win a signed paperback or ebook of The Lost Sentinel. Please follow the link and enter up to 7 times.

Rafflecopter giveaway

Yesterday The Lost Sentinel received a brilliant review from Sofia – A Book. A Thought blog. She said; The world building is incredible, it’s my favorite aspect of the book and I think it’s the best achieved. The descriptions are exceptional, without doubts.

Please click on the review link to see what else she had to say in her 4 star review.

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Finally as this is an update post, the latest on the Czech translation of Visions of Zarua is that it will be published in the Fall 2019! This is such an exciting time for me, and perhaps it will lead on to bigger and better things. I certainly hope so!

Monthly writing & reading update #amwriting #amreading

Posted on February 4, 2018 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

It’s taking me time to get back into blogging, so I apologise for the infrequency of my posts. Plus January was a very busy, and interesting, month for me…

I’ve finished the second book in Silent Sea Chronicles – The Sentinel’s Reign and have passed it to my first wave of beta readers for their feedback. Once received, I’ll be making the changes and passing to the next stage of beta readers. Then it’s the final edit / proof read and hopefully I will be ready to publish before The Lost Sentinel’s 1st anniversary in June.

It’s been a quiet reading month with only two books completed. And so much for my decision to focus purely on fantasy, the second book I read was woman’s fiction, which totally absorbed me.

See my review here

( Review to follow next week. )

I’m currently reading…

And I plan to read my own books next; The Lost Sentinel and then The Sentinel’s Reign. Reading them back to back will ensure they feel like a series and hopefully fill me with inspiration to complete book three – The Sentinel’s Alliance.

What are your views of adding your own books to your Goodreads bookshelf and marking them as currently reading etc?

As to my other new years resolutions, I’ve joined Slimming World and have bought a treadmill, both of which have seen me well on the way to achieving my goal of getting healthier in 2018.

I have also been toying with the idea of approaching agents, after some unexpected and amazing developments that I hope to share with you all very soon. With agents in mind, I’m hoping to attend The Getting Published Day 2018 workshop taking place in London in March. It feels like the right time in my writing journey to take this step. Depending how this goes, will determine whether I stick to my publishing schedule for The Sentinel’s Reign.

Look out for more posts from me next week; book review of The Cornish House by Liz Fenwick, a guest post and excerpt of Susan Leigh Noble’s new book – Blood Bond, and perhaps an update on my very exciting news…

Have a great Sunday!

Writing Update #amwriting #amediting

Posted on October 12, 2017 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

I haven’t done an update in a while so in order to clarify things in my own head, I thought I’d share my plans for the rest of 2017.

Update 14/10/2017 – The giveaway is now over and in total 1831 people entered. The Lost Sentinel is now on over 1000 tbr bookshelves and I have gained close to 30 new followers on Goodreads. All these figures are fantastic, it’s just a shame the person who won is a serial competition entrant who has clocked up a massive 59k book on their to read list. They appear to give those they do win away, so I hope my book will find its way into the hands of someone who wants to read it.

(There are just a few hours left to enter the Goodreads giveaway for The Lost Sentinel – over 1500 people have entered so far. Don’t miss your chance to win a copy before 8am GMT 12/10/17.)

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I’m just a few scenes away from printing The Sentinel’s Reign (Silent Sea Chronicles #2) for what I hope will be a last proof read before I pass it to my beta readers. I love this stage where I find out what works and what doesn’t!

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I’m really excited to be taking part in NaNoWriMo this year where I hope to draft out the major part of The Sentinel’s Alliance (Silent Sea Chronicles #3).

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My hunt for book covers goes on, but I hope to have a cover reveals for book 2 and 3 soon.

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I hope to contact some book reviewers by the end of the year regarding The Lost Sentinel and Visions of Zarua.

However, if you are a book blogger reading this and would like to receive a review copy please get in touch via the comments or my Contact Me form.

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I have several other book ideas to work through including a time slip novel that appeared to me in the summer and is itching to be written.

It looks like I have a busy few months ahead of me.

How is the rest of the year looking for you and have you signed up for NaNoWriMo yet?

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If you want to find our more about my books, please click on the universal Amazon link below where you can read the blurb, check out reviews and download a free sample.

The Lost Sentinel

Visions of Zarua

Update from Suzanne Rogerson Fantasy Author

Posted on March 28, 2016 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

First off the price promo on the ebook / kindle has ended, but the pricing has gone wrong on Amazon, so it’s still at a bargain price for a short time. If you fancy a dark and thrilling read that keeps you hooked from beginning to end, check out Visions of Zarua.

It’s already got 6 great 4 & 5 star reviews on Amazon, but I would love to get some more. If you have read and enjoyed it, I would really appreciate it if you could spare a few moments to rate and review it on Amazon uk/us, goodreads, or whatever format you feel comfortable with. Getting discovered is all about the reviews. Plus I love reading the feedback, it lets me know all the stress and sleepless nights have been worth it.

The UK Goodreads Giveaway for Visions of Zarua has finished and a winner has been picked at random. It wasn’t as successful as the worldwide giveaway, but I was still very pleased to see 192 entered and that currently Visions is on over 800 peoples bookshelves to read. Of course, I didn’t time the giveaway well, finishing during the long bank holiday weekend means I can’t post the winner their prize until tomorrow.

I am shortly to embark on the April A-Z Blog Challenge, where I will blog everyday, except Sunday’s. My theme will be Crafts, but will also cover writing, editing, foraging and possibly a little magic!

My work in progress has to take a back seat for a few weeks during the Easter Hols and while I prepare for the A-Z blog challenge. I’m still determined to publish the first book in the Bloodlines series during 2016 and can’t wait to start working on the cover art etc. I’m really excited about self publishing the second time around, doing cover reveals and creating some pre-order excitement. Plus, I also hope to send out a few advanced review copies, and maybe do a blog tour beforehand. These are all things I didn’t know about the first time around. Self publishing is still a big learning curve, so if anyone has any advice, I’m happy to receive it.

Finally, I have also just joined Rosie Amber’s team of reviewers. Over the last few months I’ve really enjoyed writing reviews of the books I’ve enjoyed, and it’s great to have the opportunity to join a team of well established reviewers.