FUNKY FRIDAY - With Author Michelle Betham

Happy FUNKY FRIDAY once again!  This week I welcome my good friend and fellow Indie, Michelle Betham.

Michelle and I started on this journey at exactly the same time and we've supported one another through the highs and the lows.  We settled with a nice, chilled glass of bubbles and had a giggle. This is what I asked her:

Big Brother are doing an Indie Writers Special!  Would you go in the house?

Against my better judgement, yes, I probably would! But I really would try and be a very well-behaved housemate... I've seen the show, I know the pitfalls... Mind you, it all depends on who's in the house with me, doesn't it?

Wow!  You're braver than me - I'd say a definite NO!  OK, now you're going on a chat show - whose would it be and why? 

Alan Carr's 'Chatty Man', because he just makes me laugh, sometimes without even saying anything. I think it would make for a very interesting interview, don't you?

I think it would be hilarious.  He'd be my first choice too - in fact, I blogged about it here. Onto crushes now ... we all know you have a bit of a thing for Bradley Cooper!  He's found out and wants you to interview him!  Where would you go, what would you wear, what would you ask him and would you come home?! 

Oh, this is such a perfect question for me... Now, let me see, where would we go? I think we'd have to go to Las Vegas! Yeah, I'd love to interview Mr. Cooper in Vegas, because that's where The Hangover movies - and my crush on the man himself - all began. So that would be the perfect setting. What would I wear? I think I'd have to stick to my own style here and wear the skinny jeans, the biker boots and a Foo Fighters t-shirt. If I was interviewing someone as gorgeous as Bradley I'd have to feel comfortable, and that's what I feel comfortable in. You never know, he might go for the whole "rock chick" thing!

What would I ask him? I'd ask him if he liked the whole "rock chick" thing!!! No, seriously, I think I'd ask him questions about his own reading habits, what kind of books he likes reading, and whether he'd ever venture into writing himself, be that movies or books. And then I'd ask him if he was free for dinner...

Would I come home? Err, no!

You really let your imagination run away with that one, didn't you?  So now you've been given a day away from the desk and a blank cheque.  What would you do? 

I'd book myself a spa day. I've never had one but I've always wanted one. I'd make sure I got a wonderful massage, manicure, pedicure, the works, then I would just sit and chill poolside sipping fruit juices and listening to Pink Floyd. Perfect! I might do a bit of shopping on the way home, mind... You did say a blank cheque, didn't you...?

I'd definitely join you for that!  OK, back to the desk.  What's the best thing and the worst thing about writing for you? 

The best thing about writing for me is to be able to bring to life all those characters that have lived inside my head for a long, long time. To create them, and their stories, is dream-come-true for me. And when somebody tells you how much they've enjoyed one of your books, that makes it all worthwhile. That's the best feeling.

The worst thing? The loneliness. Writing can be a very solitary thing sometimes, and there are days when I feel really alone. But those days never last for long.

Mills & Boon offer you squillions of pounds to write for them!  Could you (and would you) tame your writing down? 

No, I don't think I could. Not even for all that money! I love writing what I write, and I'm not sure I could, or would, ever compromise that.

I'd have to agree with you on that one - I couldn't write about heaving bosoms and throbbing members! 

QUICK FIRE ROUND

Planner or Winger? 

Winger.

Night or Morning?

Morning.

Doer or procrastinator?

Oh, procrastinator, definitely!

Writing/first draft or editing?

Writing/first draft.

Tea or coffee?

Tea, always!

Thank you so much for joining me, Michelle.  It's been great fun, as always.

You can buy Michelle's books at Amazon for Kindle or at the Kobo site.

STRIKER - the first in the trilogy

EXTRA TIME - book two in the series

Available to download this weekend and official

launch day Tuesday 24th September.

Follow her on Twitter @michellebetham and join her on her Facebook page.

Next week I welcome Catriona Merryweather from the Fabulous Book Fiend blog and we'll be talking reading and reviewing.

NEWSFLASH

The joint edit on my Christmas novella is complete and has gone to my 'Fenella' for a read through. It should hit the shelves around mid October.

I am currently mid way through a solo edit of my December novel but progress is slow as my Mum is in hospital with a fractured pelvis. Thank you all for your kind messages.

FUNKY FRIDAY with Carol Wright from Dizzy C's Little Book Blog

Happy FUNKY FRIDAY to you all - today I'm delighted to welcome an avid reader, reviewer and huge supporter of writers, Carol Wright:

We settled with coffee and a huge cake and had a chat.

Carol, what made you decide to start a book review blog? 

I was looking for book suggestions to read and came across a book blog. I didn't even know what a blog was until that moment. I started following a few and decided I too wanted to share my love of books with others. So began the "little" book blog.  I thought it would just be reviews and a bit of family news.

What type of book keeps you turning the pages and up all night? 

Funny novels, like your novels Amanda, (ooh, I didn't even pay her to say that!) and well researched and written historical fiction/romance.  I like a book that homes in on my kind of humour and can make me laugh out loud.  I also like a book that can transport me back in time and teach me more about history.

As an avid reader and reviewer, would you ever put pen to paper yourself? 

I would love to write my own novel. Historical romance or chicklit.  I am a big history fan and would love to spend days, weeks, months researching for an historical novel.  I have ideas for stories.  My chicklit would be chicklit 40+, but if I draw on my own experiences it may be too much like those true life weepies LOL!

What type of books make you want to chuck them at the wall? 

Celebrity books of any kind, autobiographies, biographies, ghost written novels.

I couldn't agree more - I'm sick to the teeth of every Tom, Dick and Harry 'writing' a book and nailing a publishing deal just because of who they are.  Where do they end up?  In the bargain bucket, where they belong!  Bitter?  Me?  Yep!

So how do you tactfully say you hated a book?  Or do you say it as it is? 

If I don't like a book, I won't review it online anywhere. I don't believe in picking holes in an author's work. It may appeal to other folks. If it was a book sent to me for review I will let the author or publisher know why I didn't personally like it.

That's the sort of reviewer us writers love!  Our books are our babies, try to treat us and them kindly - and as you say, it may not be the book for you but plenty of others may love it.

It's been great to have a reader/reviewer on the blog today - check Carol out on Twitter @DizzyCLBB and on her FaceBook page.  Why not also check out her blog and take a look at the books she's read and what she thinks of them?

Next week I welcome my good friend and fellow Indie MICHELLE BETHAM and we have quite a giggle together as we nip off to fantasy land! 

***** NEWSFLASH ***** 

I'm about to start on the joint edit of my Christmas novella which is due for release at the end of October.  I'm also completing re-writes for my next full length novel which will hit the virtual shelves mid-December. 

MICHELLE BETHAM is on her final read-through of 'Extra Time', the sequel to 'Striker', and it should be available to download any time soon.

GILLI ALLAN has released her latest novel 'FLY OR FALL': “Will the allure of the unknown ever overcome the fear of stepping away from solid ground?”  Now on Kindle at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.  Check out her author page to find out more about her other books.  Gilli will be chatting with me here at FUNKY FRIDAY 28th March.

Cover Story - featuring Michelle Betham

Today I'm handing over to my friend and fellow Indie, Michelle Betham, as she'd like to tell us all about an exciting new development on her writing journey.

Michelle writes "books for the beach - pure escapism, total fantasy; mainly (very!) sexy, but sometimes humorous, contemporary romance." 

If you haven't tried her books yet, why not?  Some are girlie, fluffy, funny chicklit and some are pretty hot and steamy - all of them have given me many hours of entertainment and they come highly recommended.

So ... over to Michelle.

"Striker re-launches with a brand new cover!

To mark the imminent release of Extra Time, book two in my sexy soccer trilogy, I’ve decided to re-launch Striker – book one in the series – but this time, with a brand new cover! Why? Well, I have my reasons… Let me explain…

Book covers – an important part of the whole writing process? You bet it is! And when I first started out on this writing journey of mine I don’t think I realised just how important they really are. They’re the first thing a person sees when they’re looking for something new to read, and if that cover doesn’t catch their eye then it’s probably highly unlikely that they’ll stop to check out the blurb. How many potential readers could you lose if the cover of your book doesn’t make them sit up and take notice?

Is this the reason why I decided to change the cover for Striker, my steamy soccer romance? In a way. But it wasn’t actually my idea. I was quite happy with the original cover, you see. I liked it. It reminded me of those Jilly Cooper books I’ve read and loved – you know the ones, Riders, Rivals, Polo… But then my ever-sensitive husband kindly (I use that word loosely, in this case) pointed out that I’m no Jilly Cooper (I kind of knew that already) and that it didn’t really matter what she put on the covers of her books, they’d sell anyway. I don’t have that luxury. My name alone doesn’t sell books, so I need to be able to grab readers’ attention in other ways. And an eye catching cover is one of them. I thought I had one in the original cover for Striker, but, after listening to my husband’s reasons as to why he thought I should change it, I realised he had a point.

The first thing that hit you in the face with the original cover was the image of a football/soccer ball. And if you’re someone who really dislikes football – and, let’s face it, there are many women out there who really dislike the sport, and my books are, predominantly, aimed at women – then that image of a football could, potentially, make people discard the book without even giving the blurb a second look. It could be giving people the complete wrong impression of what the book is actually about. I just didn’t realise that at first.

The original cover

 

Okay – the book is set against the backdrop of professional football, and the main characters are a footballer, a sports reporter, and a football manager. But – and this is a BIG but – the story is not about the sport itself. If you’re looking for a book about football, then you’re going to be disappointed because Striker is most definitely more about the sex than the soccer. I may be a football fan, but I still couldn’t tell you what the offside rule is, so this story really has very little to do with the sport. It’s a romance – a very sexy, sometimes very steamy romance, but a romance nonetheless. It’s more Footballers’ Wives than Match of the Day, and that’s what I needed to get across on the cover. Was the old one doing that for me? In hindsight, no, I don't think it was. Not really. Am I happy with the new cover? Definitely! I think it gets the feel of the story across a whole lot more, and I think, just from looking at the new cover, you know just what kind of book you’re getting. I’ve playfully dubbed this trilogy “Fifty Shades of Football”,  so that tells you something about the content right there.

Never judge a book by its cover? I’m one who agrees with that old adage, yes. But, in the literal sense, that’s exactly what people do. They judge books by their covers, whether we like that idea or not. And I’m learning, with each new book that I write, just how important a good, eye catching cover can be. Only time will tell whether I’ve made the right choice second time around with Striker."

The brand new, sexy cover.

You can find all of Michelle's books on Amazon or Kobo.
You can follow her on Twitter @michellebetham and read her blog here.