'Reawakened', my second book in the Eternal Trilogy, is now available from Amazon, iBooks, Google Play, and Kobo.

To celebrate its launch, I am offering one lucky reader the opportunity to have their name in print in 'Foretold', the final installment of the Eternal Trilogy.

To be in with a chance to be featured on the acknowledgements page of 'Foretold', win a copy of my new novel, 'Reawakened' and a £/$25 Amazon gift voucher, you will need to do the following: suggest a name for a key male fae character to be featured in Book 3, 'Foretold'. Protagonist or antagonist? That one's a little complicated, so I can't really say ... However, the winning entry will receive all of the above and see their character's name in print! Email suggestions to valaoakley@live.com or use the contact form on Eternaluk.com

For more information on 'Eternal' and my new book, 'Reawakened', go to:
Eternaluk.com.

Closing date for entries is 24th December ⛄. Good Luck ��!

Below is a poem I wrote during another play session with Rory's Storycubes!  If ever stuck for creative inspiration, have a go - I highly recommend it!

Within

Sleeping – yet eyes tracking
An imaginary foe – or is it?
A scuttling; dark, foreboding.
Yet like a magnet
Draws me in

I falter
A scratch on my foot
A silent scream escapes my lips
A scarab, black as the night
Beckons me to follow.

Ahead is a door – simple oak
Yet something about it ...
An arrow on the floor
To the wall – I tentatively touch
Crumbling mortar gathers at my feet.
The brick is gone.

I peer within
A chasm of blackness
A voracious mouth
Yet my hand reaches in.
A yellow envelope.
Within it, a key.

Within my grasp
I carry my freedom
Turning the key
I open the door;
The night stretches ahead
The howling moon high.

I bound into the
Forest of fear
My fur flying free.
The cold air
Licking at my gums.
Teeth bared
I stalk towards it.
The tower awaits.

The most fundamental piece of advice, and a realisation I have learnt through experience, is to trust your instincts!  If something doesn’t feel right, stay away from it! 

My first big mistake was approaching a number of UK literary agents, before my manuscript was completed and before I had done any groundwork and preparation into what I should present to them.  This resulted in numerous rejections before I had barely begun.  My second, most costly mistake, was employing the services of a company that claimed to critique the first three chapters of a manuscript and help to prepare a perfect package to present to literary agents.  They took a large amount of money for their services for very little return.  These experiences were both very disheartening and detrimental to my already meagre bank balance.  But as with any adversity in life, one can lie down and give up or dust yourself off and carry on.

I would definitely advise spending money wisely on a reputable professional editorial and marketing service such as Standoutbooks; they will perfect your book and help it achieve the prominence it deserves.  This is not an area to scrimp on – there are far too many badly edited books out there  (in fact, I wonder if some of them have been edited or proofread at all).  This does not present a professional package; it is immensely irritating to read a book riddled with errors, many of which include bad grammar and avoidable typos.  Content editing can be expensive so if professional services are out of the question, find someone knowledgeable and whom you can trust to do a meticulous, thorough job.  In my case, my first three chapters were critiqued by a company providing editorial services; I took on board the comments I felt had some validity and dismissed those that did not.  After this, my husband proofread my manuscript.  However, it was not until I employed the services of Bronwyn and Alex Hemus at Standoutbooks (http://www.standoutbooks.co.uk/), and had my first three chapters content edited by Bronwyn, that I realised that the rest of my novel needed a much more comprehensive edit.  Unfortunately, my finances did not permit me to have this done professionally so my father took on the job of content editing my manuscript.  As before, I took on board all the suggestions made, which not only involved corrections, but also shortening certain scenes and adding some scenes and paragraphs.

Following this, both myself and my father repeated this process twice – I then submitted my manuscript to Bronwyn for a professional proofread – I once again made corrections, my father and I read through it making further corrections, and then Bronwyn checked it again before it was finally ready.  So, even if not using professional content editing, save the pennies for professional proofreading.

A solid marketing strategy is fundamental, so explore the possibilities and utilise what feels right for you.  Writing is a creative endeavour but to sell your book it also important to treat it like a business venture.  I have a website www.eternaluk.com  which features information on my book and myself, a photo gallery, trailers, a blog, a newsletter, sample chapter downloads, a media kit and links to retailers selling Eternal.  I also use Twitter, Facebook, Google + and Pinterest. Guest blogs on literary sites and reviews for your novel also garner much more publicity and exposure for your book.  Additionally, I have a listing on http://findagoodbooktoread.com/fiction-book-list.php, author interviews, guest blogs and hopefully a forthcoming professional book review.

Especially important if selling on Amazon is to obtain a few positive reviews – this will help to improve your ranking and potential future sales.

Writing is my passion and provides an escape route from real life allowing me to indulge in my imagination and fantasies.  When I am writing, I am living vicariously through my female protagonist, feeling her emotions and thoughts.  I believe this really helps create an authenticity and realism that would not otherwise be there.  However, although I find writing provides solace, it can also be quite isolating at times; this is part of the reason I enjoyed making my trailer – it was a wonderful experience to work with others who shared my vision and we had a lovely camaraderie between us.

However, one more essential that should be implemented is a professional, beautifully presented website.  For me, the trailers were also imperative as they provide a visual representation of my book and allow readers to experience the world I have created in my novel.

Another author gave me a great piece of advice: your family and friends are your greatest asset.  Friends and family provide a great network of support and offer great scope for future sales as they are more vociferous in helping to promote your book through writing informative reviews and spreading the words to their friends, who in turn will hopefully tell other friends and so on.

One final word: establish a good support network.  A life/work balance is important so spend time with family and friends and enlist their help.

I apologise for the lateness of this month's blog post; I, in fact, my whole family have suffered the tragic loss of my beloved Aunty Elaine: beautiful, kind, generous, fiercely intelligent, vivacious and courageous to her very last breath; she was the epitome of Carpe Diem and an inspiration to us all. I miss her so much already that it physically hurts.  The painting above is of Elaine, painted by my father, Robert.

It is to Elaine that I dedicate this post, generously contributed by my hugely talented son, Andrew. It is a tale of love and loss, but ultimately, the eternal and unbreakable bonds we share with the truly special people in our lives.  Enjoy!

Revolution of Love, Part 1: Béatitude
by Andrew Dowdell-Stent


A young man in his twenties with blonde hair walks through a portal and vanishes.  He opens his eyes to see a beautiful field and a sign saying “Fraise Ville”.  He looks behind, sees the portal and then presses the remote in his pocket – the portal vanishes.

Just behind where the portal was, there is a river.  He walks along it to see a fallen tree.  He sits down slowly.  A sweet blonde girl then comes up to him and clasps his hand.  Still holding on to his hand, she runs off and he runs with her.  They run pass six conjoined houses and then in the distance they see two houses with a tall bush surrounding them both.
They rush into one of the houses and lean on the wall.  They begin a sigh or relief but are cut off by hands bursting through the door trying to reach them.

They dash into the back garden and help each other over the fence into an adjacent garden.  They knock on the back door hastily and two men open the door quickly and let the man and woman in.  They then dash through the house and make it outside.  The mob of people spot them and begin to chase after them. 

The man and the woman escape but the two men who live in the other house are not so lucky.  The man and the woman then race up to where the portal used to be, they hold each other’s hands.  The woman is torn from the man’s grasp by two men and another man with a torch standing behind the two men.  She quickly signals for the man to leave her but she shakes his head.  She then kicks him with both feet and he falls backwards.

The button on the remote in his pocket is pressed as he falls back, the portal opens and he falls through it.
He falls back into his laboratory where he first created the portal device.  The remote breaks and the portal steams and deactivates.  He spends day and night relentlessly trying to repair it, spending every penny he has.

By the time he finally gets it working, it has been eighty years, his hair is grey and skin is wrinkled, but it is worth it.  He presses the remote, the portal opens and he walks through it.

Intermission Poem: Blood That’s Scarlet, Heart That’s Black


All men have blood
All men have hearts
They’re both in the body
They’re both body parts.

All men have scarlet blood
But some men have a heart that’s black
And once you’re corrupted
There’s no turning back
It’s definitely not wise
It will lead to your demise

The good men have hearts that are red
Every man will one day be dead
For every man there is a day
Where you find a grave in which you’ll lay


The Revolution of Love, Part 2: Time Unwound
by Andrew Dowdell-Stent


He opens his eyes and sees a tattered unreadable signpost and singed soil in a humanoid shape.  He walks along the river.  He trips over, but he must continue.  He gets up and hobbles along to the fallen tree: it is mossy and mostly withered away, but he sits down.
A ghost of the woman he once loved floats up to him.  Slowly, he follows her to the house where they once hid.  To their shock, they see nothing but a demolished wreck.  So, they go the house owned by the two men. 
He gives two frail knocks and opens the door.  He sees the ghosts of the two men hovering before him.  He walks slowly upstairs and lays in a dusty bed.  Slower than before, he gets his remote out of his pocket.  His hand goes limp.  The remote falls.  Smashed.  His eyes begin to begin to close as he lays there in the dusty bed.  Then, the ghost of the woman he once loved, the ghosts of the two men, and the ghost of himself when his youth, floats there and feels good!

For me, the key to making your characters believable is to care about them: invest in their lives as you would if they were your actual friends and family.  Think about their hopes and aspirations, their deepest fears and insecurities, their strengths and weaknesses.  This may sound a little off the wall but it does work.

When I started writing Eternal, the characters of Vala (my female protagonist), Elvar (my male protagonist) and Amalia (a fae spirit) formed almost instantaneously, with Jelly and Max (Vala’s friends) closely following.  The characters took on a life of their own and the story just flowed. 

Vala, my female protagonist, is ostensibly a younger version of myself, and Elvar, my male protagonist (and Vala’s love interest), possesses all the qualities of my ideal man.  When I am writing, I am living vicariously through Vala, feeling her emotions and thoughts.  I believe this really helps create an authenticity and realism that would not otherwise be there.  Again, Vala’s relationship with her parents is similar to my own.  However, her friends and the other characters are not directly based on real people – I just drew upon certain attributes and personality traits and the characters simply materialised; it was as though they already existed in some alter dimension, just waiting to be actualised as part of my story.  The antagonist of Eternal, the Spindler, is an amalgamation of fear, nightmares, terror, and ancient evil, personified as a powerful adversary.

Because my female protagonist is essentially myself at seventeen, it is easy to cast my mind back to that time.  Mentally and emotionally I still do not feel any older than I did at eighteen so this is not a difficult process for me.  As the plot develops and a character is thrown into various situations, whether they be fantastical or ordinary, I imagine how I would respond and my character’s response reflects this.  To do this it is imperative to completely immerse yourself in that character – shut out any external distractions, any unhelpful internal chatter – live and breathe what your character is experiencing – be in their world, not your own.  Likewise with the other characters, if you have made them real, imagine how they would respond to your story’s scenarios and challenges – base this on their unique personas.  It is paramount to give all characters, not just the protagonist(s) a background – a history; we are all a sum of our life experiences and genetic blueprint.

Another critical component to writing believable characters is their inter-personal relationships and interactions with the other characters.  As I mentioned before, neither my male protagonist, Elvar, nor Vala’s friends are based on real people – however, I imagined them as though they were, giving them fully developed personalities and life histories.  When they interact with each other, I am envisioning them as real people.  As all dialogue is a written expression of your characters’ interactions, it is important to fully immerse yourself in the moment to make it real.  With Eternal, Vala and Elvar’s relationship is woven into the central theme – the main essence of the story, so the believability factor truly determines the story’s success.

In my personal experience, developing the antagonist’s character, was a slightly different process.  My antagonist’s provenance came from a piece of poetry I had written years earlier based on an early (and highly unpleasant) paranormal experience.  The Spindler is an insidious, dangerous character – however, his conduct and speech patterns still reflect the fae world of which he is a part.  He is much more of an enigma than the other characters as his origins are unknown so we do not, in the first instalment of my Eternal trilogy, find out his motivations and background.  I believe a little mystery surrounding a character is absolutely fine – it creates intrigue as your reader will be itching to discover more.

To conclude, just write from the heart – whether you love or hate a character, it does not matter as long as you have a strong emotional response to them as indifference is a killer and will make your characters flat and dull, creating an uninspired story no matter how clever the plot.  If your characters are believable, your story will come alive and be a delight to the reader.

There are many favourite authors I admire for their contribution not only to my own repertoire of books, but to their contribution of enjoyable, well written literature to society as a whole. 

While growing up my childhood favourites included Maurice Sendak’s ‘Where the Wild Things Are’, ‘In the Night Kitchen’ and ‘Outside Over There’.  I adored the way Sendak painted such a vivid fantasy world – one I could truly escape into, and he did so with just a few choice words and clever illustrations.  In ‘Where the Wild Things Are’, I particularly loved the way Max’s bedroom transformed into a wild forest; I used to lie awake at night and imagine my own bedroom undergoing the very same process – I liked the way I could explore strange new worlds, yet still have the security of my bed to retreat to whenever I needed.  ‘Outside Over There’ portrayed an almost dream-like, fantastical world with ephemeral landscapes, goblins and an ice baby.  ‘In the Night Kitchen’  had that same dream-like quality but was a much more light-hearted fun romp through colossal bowls of dough, gargantuan bottles of milk and Herculean chefs that looked like Oliver Hardy.  These stories fuelled my imagination and inspired me to write my own.  I also loved magic, paranormal and ghost stories; having experienced the death of loved ones and contemporaries at an early age, I hence forth held a fascination with the after-life.  Frank. L. Baum’s ‘Oz’ stories were also influential and captivated my imagination.

In my teens, I became a huge lover of poetry and classic literature – from Tennyson (‘The Lady of Shalott’ is my all-time favourite), Byron, Shelley, Clare, Poe and Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (I have always been a romantic) and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (a story about the fae – what is there not to love?!).  I particularly lapped up anything romantic or with a paranormal slant (which there is plenty of in Edgar Allen Poe’s strange and macabre tales!).  I started investing a lot more time in my own writing at this point, mainly as an outlet to escape the pressures of exams and the teen years in general.  I wrote mountains of poetry, much about heartache but some uplifting too.  My stories became lengthier at this time, with more involved plots and three dimensional characters.

From my teens to the present day, the Young Adult Fantasy genre remains my favourite. I love Libba Bray’s ‘Gemma Doyle’ trilogy – the rich descriptions and atmosphere are fantastic; she creates a truly immersive, chimerical world with interesting, believable, though sometimes rather sinister characters. Lesley Livingston’s ‘Wondrous Strange’ trilogy tells a colourful, interesting story set between the fae and human worlds, yet with relatable ‘real’ characters.  And Kelly is a tremendously likeable female protagonist, as is her gorgeous love interest, Sonny.  Aprilynne Pike’s ‘Wings’ series takes a different stance on what the fae are – in this instance, plant not animal.  Katie. M. John’s ‘Knight’ trilogy is a fun Arthurian paranormal adventure. Alyson Noel’s ‘Immortals’ is fast and exciting with beautifully portrayed extraordinary realities where thought can literally shape reality and manifest our very heart’s desires.  ‘Arise’ (and its sequel) by Tara Hudson is a wonderful exploration of existence between life and death, as is ‘Dead Beautiful’ by Yvonne Woon.  I was a big fan of Stephenie Meyer’s ‘Twilight’ series long before it gained the cult following it has today; the lure of eternal youth and perfect health is very appealing, as is spending an eternity with the perfect man!  I will admit to being a big Harry Potter fan too – the magical world created by J. K. Rowling is truly spell-binding!  There are many other authors whose work I enjoy immensely, though I think it is wise to draw to a close here!

The most fundamental piece of advice, and a realisation I have learnt through experience, is to trust your instincts!  If something doesn’t feel right, stay away from it!  My first big mistake was approaching a number of UK literary agents, before my manuscript was completed and before I had done any groundwork and preparation into what I should present to them.  This resulted in numerous rejections before I had barely begun.  My second, most costly mistake, was employing the services of a company that claimed to critique the first three chapters of a manuscript and help to prepare a perfect package to present to literary agents.  They took a large amount of money for their services for very little return.  These experiences were both very disheartening and detrimental to my already meagre bank balance.  But as with any adversity in life, one can lie down and give up or dust yourself off and carry on.

I would definitely advise spending money wisely on a reputable professional editorial and marketing service such as Standoutbooks; they will perfect your book and help it achieve the prominence it deserves.  This is not an area to scrimp on – there are far too many badly edited books out there  (in fact, I wonder if some of them have been edited or proofread at all).  This does not present a professional package; it is immensely irritating to read a book riddled with errors, many of which include bad grammar and avoidable typos.  Content editing can be expensive so if professional services are out of the question, find someone knowledgeable and whom you can trust to do a meticulous, thorough job.  In my case, my first three chapters were critiqued by a company providing editorial services; I took on board the comments I felt had some validity and dismissed those that did not.  After this, my husband proofread my manuscript.  However, it was not until I employed the services of Bronwyn and Alex Hemus at Standoutbooks (http://www.standoutbooks.co.uk/), and had my first three chapters content edited by Bronwyn, that I realized that the rest of my novel needed a much more comprehensive edit.  Unfortunately, my finances did not permit me to have this done professionally so my father took on the job of content editing my manuscript.  As before, I took on board all the suggestions made, which not only involved corrections, but also shortening certain scenes and adding some scenes and paragraphs.  Following this, both myself and my father repeated this process twice – I then submitted my manuscript to Bronwyn for a professional proofread – I once again made corrections, my father and I read through it making further corrections, and then Bronwyn checked it again before it was finally ready.  So, even if not using professional content editing, save the pennies for professional proofreading.

A solid marketing strategy is fundamental, so explore the possibilities and utilise what feels right for you.  Writing is a creative endeavour but to sell your book it also important to treat it like a business venture.  I have a website www.eternaluk.com  which features information on my book and myself, a photo gallery, trailers, a blog, a newsletter, sample chapter downloads, a media kit and links to retailers selling Eternal.  I also use Twitter, Facebook, Google + and Pinterest. Guest blogs on literary sites and reviews for your novel also garner much more publicity and exposure for your book.  Additionally, I have a listing on http://findagoodbooktoread.com/fiction-book-list.php,  author interviews, guest blogs and hopefully a forthcoming professional book review.  Especially important if selling on Amazon is to obtain a few positive reviews – this will help to improve your ranking and potential future sales.

Writing is my passion and provides an escape route from real life allowing me to indulge in my imagination and fantasies.  When I am writing, I am living vicariously through my female protagonist, feeling her emotions and thoughts.  I believe this really helps create an authenticity and realism that would not otherwise be there.  However, although I find writing provides solace, it can also be quite isolating at times; this is part of the reason I enjoyed making my trailer – it was a wonderful experience to work with others who shared my vision and we had a lovely camaraderie between us.

However, one more essential that should be implemented is a professional, beautifully presented website.  For me, the trailers were also imperative as they provide a visual representation of my book and allow readers to experience the world I have created in my novel.

Another author gave me a great piece of advice: your family and friends are your greatest asset.  Friends and family provide a great network of support and offer great scope for future sales as they are more vociferous in helping to promote your book through writing informative reviews and spreading the words to their friends, who in turn will hopefully tell other friends and so on.

One final word: establish a good support network.  A life/work balance is important so spend time with family and friends and enlist their help.

A little romantic tale for Valentine's Day ...

Vala and Elvar are twin souls, so when asked about their ideal Valentine's date, both replied that any time spent in each other's company would be idyllic, no matter where they might be or what they might be doing.

However, Vala admitted that Elvar's surprise for their first wedding anniversary was pretty special and a date she would never forget.

It was a typically sunny Saturday morning in Avalonia.  Vala was gently awoken by a comforting warmth on her face and patterns of amber light dancing across her eyelids.  She inhaled deeply and stretched, slowly opening her eyes to seek out Elvar. She was disappointed to find herself alone in the bed, but as Vala sat up, she noticed a large flat box covered with ivory damask and a wide lilac organza ribbon.  She pulled the box onto her lap and opened it - inside was a long sleeveless empire line lilac silk gown; the bodice was embroidered with a swirling cream brocade and the skirt had a chiffon overlay.

As Vala was admiring the gown, her reverie was interrupted by a knock on the door.  Elvar stepped inside, smiling as he drank in the sight of Vala.  Carrying a tray of steaming Amarivir porridge and hot chocolate with Chando pods, he slipped into bed beside her.  They breakfasted together, cocooned in a romantic haven of bliss. After eating Vala snuggled into the familiarity of Elvar's arms. The nearness of Vala's body was electrifying.  His hands ran over her curves and they hurriedly undressed each other, making love for the remainder of the morning. 

In the afternoon, with his satchel and her dress box under one arm and Vala under the other, Elvar literally whisked her off her feet as they ascended high into the air, finally alighting in a deep canyon at the mouth of a grotto from which emanated a deep blue glow.  Removing their shoes and socks at the entrance, Elvar led Vala inside, directing her into a hollow with a wooden door, and handed her a bathing costume as he changed into a pair of swimming trunks.  He took an intrigued Vala by the hand and they stepped into another chamber - it was a subterranean thermal spring, the waters magically illuminated by the deep blue light seen from the entrance.  The atmosphere was calming and relaxed. Elvar and Vala took the time to swim, talk, and play.

In the evening, Elvar took a blindfolded Vala dressed in her lilac gown to the beautiful verdant valley of their very first date.  Alighting at the edge of the lake and whispering an incantation, he removed Vala's blindfold.  Her vision was dazzled by a spectacle of lights in a myriad of colours, some seemed interwoven into the foliage, but others were magically suspended in the air.  The contrast against the ebony sky was breath-taking and Vala squealed in delight, excitedly wrapping her arms around Elvar's neck and kissing him fervidly.  After Vala reluctantly released him, Elvar knelt down, touched the surface of the water and transformed it into a field of ice. Re-enacting their first date, they stepped onto the ice and danced to a variety of music including Vivaldi's ‘Winter’ movement and Adele's ‘To Make You Feel My Love’ - both had featured as part of their wedding day.  The music was not provided by magical means however, but by Vala's phone.  Following their dance, they enjoyed a moonlit picnic.

To end an already perfect day, Elvar flew with Vala to the cave at Fantasy Falls - the tropical paradise where they had first made love.  He carefully slipped off Vala's gown and laid her down on a Furlomyn coverlet.  Removing his own clothes, Elvar snuggled in beside Vala, curling his body around hers, and they slept in the starlight till morning broke and a new day dawned.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2015! I have a good feeling about this year and all the amazing potential it holds.

Whilst reflecting on the past can be both nostalgic and sad, it is important to look forward - we can't change what once was, only what may yet to be.  For me, I have set personal and professional goals that I will strive to achieve; yes, there will always be obstacles, but if we accept them as challenges and as an opportunity for growth - a learning curve - then this can only be a positive experience in the long term, even if it's excruciatingly annoying at the time!

I have already started this year with a long 'to do' list!  However, I will now refine it and prioritise what is truly important to me first - my son's birthday preparations being right at the top!

Take care of yourself, because if we don't look after ourselves, we can't be at our best for anyone else - it's like running a car on an empty fuel tank.

Lastly, watch this space  for my new book, 'Re-awakened' - not quite ready yet, but hopefully not too long either!