On the Loose

December 13, 2011
The big news is that my fantasy novel, Discord's Child, is now available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006KRYYOK. The process was far easier than I had imagined.  In the event, I wasted a lot of time worrying about converting the manuscript to a Kindle-ready version before deciding to simply upload the .doc file and let Kindle convert it for me (which is free). The preview facility allowed me to check everything was okay before finally clicking 'Save and Publish'.  Anyone who is worried that publishing on Kindle is irrevocable can relax.  You can check and amend things at any stage in the process - both before and after publication.

There's lots of helpful information on the KDP site and heaps of forums.  What I found was that the more research I did, the more bewildered I became.  There's no foolproof way of knowing whether the price is right or whether the description is intriguing enough until you try, so once you're sure your manuscript is as good as you can get it, my best advice is to jump in.  What have you got to lose?

On the subject of winning and losing, my biggest problem was coming up with a cover that I was happy with, so I'm going to hold a contest to find the ideal design for Discord's Child early in 2012.  Check out the website in January for full details.
 

Bad News, Good News

November 13, 2011
Last week I discovered that Drollerie Press, which was due to publish my fantasy novel, Discord's Child, has closed. Ouch! I can't deny it was a blow, but in the best Pollyanna fashion, I'm determined to turn this setback into an opportunity.  How? By publishing Discord's Child myself online.  
I've already registered at https.kdp.amazon.com, now all I have to do is format everything, get my marketing plan in order and upload it - oh, and find a cover.  There are lots of sites recommended for...
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Housekeeping

November 1, 2011
I know it's autumn, but I decided to give my website a spring clean.  If anyone has come straight to this blog, take a look at it.  I've posted a few pieces of work - poems and fiction, and added links for everything I can find archived.
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A Private View

November 1, 2011
Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to the private view of artist Pauline Wood's latest exhibition in Northampton.  I love her work - it really sparks the imagination.  I've found it hard to keep up with all the weird and wonderful ideas it's inspired since.
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Good News

November 1, 2011
I've had two pieces of good news in one week.  Bridge House Press has accepted my story, 'Heavy Air' for its science fiction anthology due out in March 2012, and my entry in the Brighton Cow competition, The Architecture of Hate' has been short-listed and selected for broadcast on Brighton hospital radio.  As good things are supposed to come in threes, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
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Playing Truant

October 20, 2011
I've often seen advice in publications for authors, that the best way to be productive and to avoid writer's block is to establish a routine for writing.  Set aside a regular time slot, preferably daily - even if it's only for ten minutes or so.  If you're struggling for ideas, write about anything that comes into your head - but here's where I see a problem.  If you're so bound by routine, where's the room for new ideas to enter your life or for creative thought?
I recently broke with routin...
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How to Get Noticed

August 29, 2011
The best way to promote your work could be to get it featured on BBC's Radio 4.  Recently a spokesperson for Dickens Journals Online (DJO) was on a programme telling the presenter about the organisation's project to get text copies of Households Words and All Year Round online in time for Charles Dickens's bicentenary next January.  Facsimiles of the originals had been scanned using Optical Character Recognition (OCR), but sometimes words were misread or paragraphs were jumbled, so every issu...
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Thanks

August 4, 2011
I'm back!  I hadn't planned on taking a two month break from my blog, but real life has a way of intervening.
One of our bichons, Sophie, had an operation on her luxating patella (trick knee) and refused to stay in a crate (who can blame her?).  This meant she needed constant watching.  Just as I thought I was catching up, my computer succumbed to senile dementia - the poor thing's over 10 years old and simply can't cope any more.
Cue Nick and Eric of Apple Online Store coming to the rescue w...
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Google-eyed

June 6, 2011
Have you ever tried googling yourself?  
The first time I tried it was after a bad day and I thought it might cheer me up.  It did.  I discovered that I'd been shortlisted in a competition and came across a couple of reviews of my stories.  The next time, I found two of my poems that I had sent to a magazine without getting a response had been published, and someone had used a mini story of mine on their blog without my permission.  The mini story, titled 'Stone, Scissors, Paper', was about t...
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Good News

June 1, 2011
Even in the most frustrating weeks there are things to savour.  Last week it was winning the Slingink Shorts 2011 competition.  The anthology will be titled after my entry, 'Communication' and it will also contain my two other entries, 'Still' and 'Combat'.  Of course, there'll be lots more to read in it too.  I'll post the details as soon as I get them, or you can read the top three entries online at www.slingink.com.
The competition's run annually for mini stories of 140 words plus a one wo...
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About Me


My writing career began as a freelance feature writer for the local press, businesses and organisations. Now a prize-winning playwright and short story writer, my work has appeared in numerous publications on both sides of the Atlantic. I write as K. S. Dearsley because it saves having to keep repeating my forename, and specialise in fantasy and other speculative genres.

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