Tag: When Fairytales Come True

WHEN FAIRYTALES COME TRUE…

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IMAGE CREDIT: 

All photos were taken by me, Allison Symes, on 8th July 2017, except the feature image.  That was taken by my lovely Chandler’s Ford Today editor, Janet Williams, at my first book signing event at our local railway station. And to all who bought From Light to Dark and Back Again and/or came over to discuss flash fiction with me, many thanks.  It was great to meet you.

FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

When Fairytales Come True looks at how characters handle when things go right for them, they get to achieve long cherished dreams etc.  This post came about because I fulfilled a long held dream today.  I had my first ever book signing for From Light to Dark and Back Again at Chandler’s Ford Railway Station and it went well.  I plan to write more about that for next week’s Chandler’s Ford Today post – Adventures of a Newbie Author Part 1, perhaps!  But the thought of having a long held dream actually happen made me wonder how characters handle success, especially if they have had to wait a long time for it.  So how would your characters handle this?  There could be some good stories here.

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

Overcoming the Nerves also ties in with my book signing!  Well they do say, authors should write about what they know!  For me, characters who overcome nervousness, fear etc and go on to do something great are real heroes.  They are also far more believable (and readable) than “fully fledged” heroes who never seem to feel or show emotion, who never question themselves so to what they are doing and why.  So what do your characters need to overcome in terms of their personality to be able to go on the adventure you’re planning for them?

FACEBOOK – GENERAL AND FROM LIGHT TO DARK AND BACK AGAIN

Naturally I focus on the book signing but also take the chance to thank those who supported me, especially the Three Rivers Rail Community Partnership.

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A very proud moment, one all writers of fiction dream of - holding the first copy of your own book. Image by Adrian Symes.

LAUNCHING YOUR DREAM!

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CYBERLAUNCH NEWS:  FROM LIGHT TO DARK AND BACK AGAIN/FACEBOOK PAGE

On 1st April 2017, a long held dream of mine came true.  Chapeltown Books and Cafelit (with me as co-host) launched From Light to Dark and Back Again online.  The event was huge fun and I must say a big thank you to my lovely publishers and to all who came and supported the event.  I shared writing tips, how I got into writing flash fiction at all, and I loved the virtual food and drink aspect to this.  (It’s just as well pixels don’t contain calories!).   I share here the link to the book’s page on Fairytales With Bite where I share interview links and other information, which I hope you enjoy.

What I do know is persistence, learning how to improve your work (by submitting it, getting feedback and reacting to that in the right way), as well as being open to publishing possibilities you might not have initially considered are all key.  I learned a lot from today’s event and hope to write a future Chandler’s Ford Today post about it.  But today was lovely and I am looking forward to sending out the prizes to the winners of my quiz and raffle.  That really is one of the loveliest things about the writing life:  getting to do things like this.  The launch was special for another reason too:  it marked my first ever full day spent as a professional writer!  I usually only get to do this when I go to conferences and so on.  Aside from becoming periodically annoyed when my internet connection slowed down for no obvious reason, the launch went perfectly.

Can I also add, on behalf of all writers, please write reviews, good, bad or indifferent ones but above all honest ones, for Amazon, Goodreads, writing blogs etc?  It really does help. Many thanks.

FAIRYTALES WITH BITE

In When Fairytales Come True, naturally I talk about my launch (my big news for ages!) but I also go on to discuss the importance of persistence, having beta readers have a look at your work and my thoughts on so often hearing the advice not to give up when all that was coming through the door were rejections.  Hope you find my thoughts here of use.  It is easy to think that publishing success won’t ever come to you but that can only happen if you stop writing or refuse to improve on your work where it needs it.

THIS WORLD AND OTHERS

In Cyberlaunch:  From Light to Dark and Back Again by Allison Symes, well no prizes for guessing the topic of conversation BUT I take the chance to publicly thank my publishers and to put the word out for the small independent presses in general.  They do increase the opportunities for writers to get their work out there and improve the variety of what is available in the book market.  But they need support and that is where we come in – as readers and buyers of books.

Cyberlaunch Image