I'm back!!!

Hello everyone!

Long time, no see!

I've been out of action with a pretty ghastly combination of the flu and tonsillitis, I'm only just starting to feel human again! That means I haven't been concentrating on The Vow as much as I would have liked. One the plus side I did get to watch a lot of Wimbledon! ;-P

So you may have noticed that I've added a new page to my blog!

Gentian is the name of mine and my sisters band, and you can find links to our music and download tracks for free from reverbnation. Please, please check the link below out and, if you like what you hear, fan us. Record labels are looking for artists with their own following, so every fan pushes us one step closer to our dream. Also it's only through word of mouth that our music is heard, so if you like our songs please share them with your friends. Thanks so much for listening. ;-D

Gentian's Reverbnation Page

Exciting News!!!

Okay, so you may or may not know that, as well as writing, I am one half of a band called Gentian.
Didn't know???
Well surprise!!! ;-P
My sister, Jingle, is the driving power behind the band, she's taken on all of the self promotion and publicity herself to give me time to concentrate on getting my books out there.

I have an awesome sister, don't I???

Well all her hard work is beginning to pay off! Our songs have been featured on a few radio stations and have received some great feedback. Today comes our biggest triumph (hopefully!!!) yet! We are doing a live session and interview on The Voice FM!!!

We're both really excited and terribly nervous at the same time. If you want to tune in and listen online, we go live at 7.30 PM UK time. The link to listen in is right here: The Voice FM.

Here's a link to Gentian's website: Gentian where you can find our songs, videos and check out what we're up to on the band's blog.

DD  ;-D

Dahl's Doll Guest Post and Review!

Hi Everyone!

I can hardly believe it but summer has come to Devon today!!! How long it will stay is another matter...

Also brightening up my weekend is the fact that I've just had a review and guest post go live! I'd like to thank Zooey (fellow goodreader and all around nice person!) for havng me on her blog! I had lots of fun.

I would love you all forever if you could go and check out her blog at this link here.

Have a lovely weekend!

DeeDee. xxx

Sneaky Peeks!!!

Hello everyone!

So as I'm sure you must all know by now, I'm doing a 3 book challenge this year! ;-P  I have already completed 'Broken Truce' the 2nd book in the Broken City series (though it still needs editing!), and I'm 27.000 words in to 'The Vow' the 2nd book in The Lady Quill Chronicles series!

And so I have a bit of a sneek peek for you all! The synopsis for both books are completed and I've posted them below. I'd love to hear what you think!

Broken Truce:

Life isn't turning out the way that Deeta thought it would. With the Lewises defeated and peace between the tribes, she had believed that the dark times were a thing of the past.

But troubles between the tribes continue, and the Andak council have selected Tom as their ambassador and spokesman to the other tribes.

Deeta knows that there is still much resentment against the Andak, and that Tom is in danger every time he leaves the safety of Andak City.

Struggling with her own complicated feelings against the tribe that she is now a part of, Deeta tries to ignore the changing attitudes growing within her.

But when Tom is betrayed and they are thrown into great danger, Deeta finds that reality can't be ignored forever...




The Vow:

Dear Reader,

My next story begins with Velrek, where Lord Rafe and Lady Adele's arrival was cause for much celebration and rejoicing.

However Finan of Gourney, Rafe's foster brother and the captain of Valreks army, could not help a lingering feeling of worry.

Were Rafe and Adele truly safe from Lord Kyule's hate?

Adding to Finan's problems was the unsettling presence of Rafe's sister, Lady Esme. Used to keeping his distance from the woman of Valrek, Finan found that he could no longer escape as before.

As danger and treachery enveloped Valrek, Finan and Esme found themselves drawn together to fight the shadowy assailant that threatened the lives of those they loved.

What secrets would they unearth in their search for the enemy that taunted them?

Would they find that their stories were more closely linked than either of them ever knew?

Allow me please to answer these questions...

Lady Quill



If you're interested in reading either (or both!) of these books, go to this link to recieve an update when they are published!

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my post, have a lovely day! ;-D

DeeDee.

Update Time!

So I think it's time for a quick update!

First of all just to let everyone know that Momma Says Read is having a HUGE book giveaway to celebrate launching it's new site. Free copies of 'Broken City, The Promise and Fracture are up for grabs so don't miss out!!! ;-P   The link is below.

Momma Says Read

Next 'The Promise' is currently 25th in historical romance on wattpad and 49th in the watty awards!!! I'm super excited about that!

I'm 10.000 words in to 'The Vow' and things are hotting up!!! I've already made a few changes to how I *thought* the story was going to go and I'm having fun introducing Rafe's mother and sisters into the story. Finan is turning out to be a hard man to thrust into the spotlight, but I'm going to manage it despite his reluctance to take centre stage!

Broken City received another 5* review from Cyristal at Books Are Sanity. This has given me a huge boost as she says that she's dying to review Broken Truce the second it's finished! 

Fracture received a 4* review from Emily at Musings From An Addict Reader. Launching a new book is always a slow process but I think it's starting to get easier, I have a few reviews yet to come.

Must love you and leave you because The Vow awaits and I left Finan in a decidedly sticky situation, now I've got to get him back out of it!!! ;-P

Have a good weekend, people!!! ;-D

Big News!!!

DeeDee has finished the first draft of Broken City 2!

I can't believe it, and I'm terribly excited about the whole thing! I still have to edit but just for now I'm wallowing in that just finished feeling of smugness!

I was rather surprised by how the story has turned out, only 1/3 is told from Deeta's POV and the rest is in the third person. We get to know Tom's brothers much better, particularly Jayden and Cayden, the twins. Deeta's has also changed a lot since the first book, she's no longer so trusting, she's grown up and developed a side to her character that she is a little scared of.

But no more spoilers!

Here is the synopsis for the book, I hope it grabs your interest!



Life isn't turning out the way that Deeta thought it would. With the Lewises defeated and peace between the tribes, she had believed that the dark times were a thing of the past.
But troubles between the tribes continue, and the Andak council have selected Tom as their ambassador and spokesman to the other tribes.
Deeta knows that there is still much resentment against the Andak, and that Tom is in danger every time he leaves the safety of Andak City.
Struggling with her own complicated feelings against the tribe that she is now a part of, Deeta tries to ignore the changing attitudes growing within her.
But when Tom is betrayed and they are thrust into great danger, Deeta finds that reality can't be ignored forever.


Now I just have to settle on a title!

I can't decide whether to stick to something plain:     Broken City 2.

Or whether to enlarge on the 'Broken' theme:     Broken Truce.

Or maybe just combine the two:      Broken City: Truce.

Decisions, decisions!!!

Thanks for reading!

What's In A Name?

What's in a name? That which we call a rose,
by any other name would smell as sweet.

At least that’s what Will Shakespeare tells us, but is it really true??? L.M. Montgomery protests in Anne of Green Gables that if a Rose were called a skunk cabbage it couldn’t possibly smell so sweet.

I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

I know what you’re wondering: where is she going with this? I know she has ‘Random’ in the title of the blog but there are limits!!!

I promise I have a point, so stick with me!

Yesterday I watch ‘John Carter’. If you haven’t seen this film I’d like you to stop here and think about the genre that title inspires in your mind…

…

…

…

…

Got it? Good!

Now when I heard the title I was immediately resistant to watching the film: to me it sounded like a 70's thriller full of ugly people in grungy, seedy settings discovering all manner of filthy scandals in an underworld setting. 

What did it bring to your mind? I’d love to know so please leave a comment in the comment box bellow!

Anyway, back to ‘John Carter’. It turned out that this film was set during the American civil war and had the titular hero transported to Mars where, due to the difference in gravity, he is able to jump like the hulk! Imagine my surprise!!! Add a heroine that strides about in very little and wields a sword and I think you’ve pretty much got every angle covered.

That sounds like something I could be entertained by!!!

The story is told in flashback as John Carter’s (who is now deceased)  nephew Edger Rice Burroughs reads the diary his uncle left him, the diary details an incredible story that has his uncle the savior of an alien planet, Mars to be exact. We learn that poor old John, filled with fervor for a just cause, signed up for the army and left his family (wife/daughter) only for them to be killed. Now John has no hope left and no meaning to his life, and this is when he gets transported to Mars.

And that is as far as I’m going to ‘spoil’ it for you!

Now back to my original point: ‘John Carter’ tanked at the box office and I can’t help thinking that the title was part of the problem.

Is this the best film ever made?

No of course not! That would be ‘Thor’! ;-P

Was it a clever commentary on corruption and the blame culture in our society that left the audience deep in thought?

Did you read the synopsis???

The heroine wears a form fitting armor bustier! Of course it wasn’t!

Was it fun?

Yes! It was huge fun! Just because it wasn’t ‘serious’ or ‘deep’ it doesn’t mean it wasn’t enjoyable. 

Was Batman Begins/Knight/Rises ‘serious’? Was the Avengers ‘deep’? 

Of course they weren’t, characters can’t (no matter how hard they try) make pertinent points when wearing Lycra and pleather!

But I think that the target audience heard the name and thought ‘sounds like a boring film’ and all those people that like deep and serious went and watched it and got... well... fluff!

I could be wrong, but somehow I don’t think so.

Think about the names of hero/heroines in stories. How many times have you heard someone say:

1.      Oh yeah! I loved that book, but the hero’s name just made me cringe! Who would call their hero that???

2.      Oh yeah! But the heroine had a weird name; does anyone even know how to pronounce it???

I think names make a HUGE difference: they give you an idea of genre, time period, characteristics and so on. And, a the beginning of a book, when you know nothing about the characters you can find yourself drawn to a character purely because their name sounds like a 'good' name and disliking a character because they have a 'baddie's' name.

Or is this just me???

As for John Carter, I liked it a lot. I would watch it again, if there was a sequel I'd watch that too (they left room for one). I do think James Purefoy kinda stole the film though...