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Friday 30 April 2010

Erin's Book Shelf: Where Forever Begins... By Lanetta J Sprott

I take great pleasure in introducing you to Jane Dodson and Thomas Flynn from Lanetta J. Sprott's historical romance Where Forever Begins.

Jane is a twenty three years old school teacher from Magnolia. Her father, along with her mother, runs the local store and her sister is married to Samuel Cox, a local bespoke carpenter. Jane's life is a simple one, and she doesn't complain about the lack of excitement brought on by the absence of the big city. In fact, Jane finds contentment in her small town life and the children she teaches mean the world to her.

Fortunate to find himself in a place of financial freedom, former Union Army Sergent Thomas Flynn finds comfort in his solitude. His accomplished much in his short life, including becoming a lawyer, traveling across America on a journey of self discovery and coming home to Boston to life of excitement chasing the most evil of evil men, as part of the Secret Service.

When Jane travels to Boston, a mission on behalf of her father's business, she mistakenly lands in the doorway of special agent Thomas Flynn's office. It seems they are struck by love at first sight but their brief encounter leaves both yearning to meet again and yet neither in the position of being able to contact the other.

Where Forever Begins is a magical story of finding love and Lanetta J. Sprott creates a wonderful web of interconnecting storylines similar to those found in blockbuster movies such as Love Actually and Crash. I found Lanetta's first novel a fascinating love story hindered by family, friends, long distance and work commitments. Once passed the first few pages I found that I couldn't put the book down and when I had to, I was eager to pick it back up. I felt sorrow when tragedy struck and rejoiced in both Jane's and Thomas's happiness. As a true romantic at heart I was longing for Jane and Thomas's to find Where Forever Begins.


Oh and did I mention ... Where Forever Begins is set in the late 1800's.

Other Great Reads By Lanetta J Sprott include Finding Closure.

 Erin

Thursday 29 April 2010

One Day I'll Write A Novel ...

Imagine you're standing in front of a mirror. C'mon indulge me for a second ... you'll see where I'm going with this soon enough... I would tell you to close your eyes but theres an obvious problem here... you can't read this with your eyes closed, hahaha!

So where was I? ...Oh yes! You're standing in front of a floor length mirror. Imagine you're wearing your favourite outfit, your hair is perfect, you're skin is radiating with the natural glow of summer, imagine how you're feeling in that moment.

Now imagine you've left the room and you literally run into someone who can only be described as a divine specimen of the human race. In that moment as your shoulders clash and the force of the blow, mixed with your parents insistance that you will grow up with manners, you twist around to apologise... in that one second when your eyes meet and you whisper a few courteous words... you realise that Mr/Mrs "Sex on Legs" has completely, totally, and utterly just undressed you with their eyes. I want you to imagine how incredible that feels.

Hold on to that feeling while l bring you to my point ...

"They", whoever they are, says that everyone has a book in them. There are many people who say they would love to write a novel. When I tell people that I am writing a novel the admiration, respect and support from people whom I least expected it from is sometimes overwhelming. It amazes me that so few of us actually do it. Why?

When taking on this challenge, no matter what is promised to you by others, there are no cheats in this industry. There are no quick fixes or magic formulas. There are, however, people who can tweak the recipe and there are people who can teach, and there are also people who may not teach but you can learn from anyway. There is a vast encyclopedia out there ready to help you turn your problem potion into to a magic spell just ready to be cast. You can touch the rest of the world with written word. But ultimately its you, sitting in a lonely room, typing away and creating a fictional world that you hope people will enjoy.

The deeper you travel in your imaginary world, the more you will want to be there. The more your characters come to life the more intricate everything has to become. Even the most outrageous fantasies need to be realistic and believeable. Suddenly, what was once an  enjoyable hobby is a massive time consuming, thought provoking, tears and tantrums creating war against the dream of becoming a published writer. Sounds like hard work, doesn't it?


Maybe this is why people don't write novels. Maybe this is why people make their excuses and never get around to writing. Well, I have something to say to all those who say they'd love to write a book, but never do.

1) Forget about the planning, forget about the characteristics, and forget about what everyone else tells you about how you should write.

2) Sit yourself down, somewhere you're alone and without distractions - maybe a little chill out tracks playing at a low volume, if that works for you - and dont forget that all important something to write with.

3) Just let go. I mean it, forget everything you've ever been told about everything. JUST LET IT ALL FLOAT AWAY AND FREE YOUR MIND.

Now put pen to paper, or fingers to the keyboard and let your inspiration go for a walk into fictionworld.

This is your imagination, you can go wherever, whenever, however, with whoever and do whatever you want to... If you want to jump off the Eiffel Tower without a parachute and survive you can... (please do not try that in the real world ... its not recommended!) But if you can come up with a plausable explanation, lets say your character has the power to burst into rain and reform unharmed from the puddle the water droplets he or she makes. Then surely, anything is possible?

I'm not going to profess that I have all the answers in the world of writing, I'm no JK, William, or even a published writer, but I don't need to be to tell you that despite all of the nightclubs, theme parks and extreme sports in this world, and no matter how many times the god-like divine specimen undresses you with their eyes... do you still remember how that feels after all this time? No...? Well it feels like your floating on air and can accomplish anything.

I don't think you'll find another adrenaline pumping, thrill seeking confidence buidling emotional rollercoaster better than the one you can create with your mind.

As for the rest of it...? Well, you can worry about later.


 Erin

Go on ... I challenge you to release the writer within ... if you dare!


Thursday 15 April 2010

Competition Updates - Brit Writers Awards 2010

Hi All,

Back in February I entered a collection of five poems into the Brit Writers' Awards Unpublished 2010. The collection is called "We Live, We Love, We Lose" and begins with the inspirational poem Only You, then the life poem Insomnia, and the two love poems The Crush, You Won't See Me Cry, and finanlly the poem about the loss of a loved one Gorgeous As Always.

Its been about 6 weeks since the closing date and I've just recieved an email from the Brit Writers' Awards which informs me the the first round of judging has been completed and that

my entry has been selected to go through to the next round.
I am over the moon!

Erin

You can read these five poems by downloading my free poetry e-book Inside My Writing Space from my website.
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The Legal Bit

All characters have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation to anyone baring the same name. They are not inspired by an individual known or unknown by the author and all incidents are pure invention.

The articles, excerpts, and other written work published under the pseudonym Erin Cawood are copyright protected by the author. Guest articles are published by arrangement and also copyright protected by the guest author.

Images of Erin Cawood are provided by Paul Miguel Photography.


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