Ally Aldridge Author Tube, Book Tube, Contemporary, Editing, Fantasy, Fiction, Goal setting, My Books, NaNoWriMo, Publishing, Romance, Sky Heart, The Soul Heart Series, Writing, Writing Challenge, Young Adult, YouTube

Catch up with a cuppa Ko-Fi (July 2022)

Here is the low down on what I posted on Ko-Fi last month, so you don’t miss out!

Sky Heart – Briefed my cover designer

Taking those next steps towards publishing book two is very exciting. It’s still a way off, but I’ve reached out to my cover designer to discuss ideas and book in.

Content Creation

An update on what I was doing in July. Originally I’d toyed with the idea of doing a project for Camp NaNo.

Instead, I was busy planning my husband’s secret party, and attending all the end of school/nursery events for my kids.

In the end, I was working on remaining present on social media by developing content. This included opportunities to feature in Felixstowe Magazine and interviews with other bloggers.

Smashwords Summer Sale (July)

I posted at the start and end of July to make people aware that Ocean Heart was in the Smashwords sale at 50% off. This needed some prompting and content to spread the word.

Coming Soon – Author Diaries

I’ve also been busy working on this collaborative project, and developing content to start promoting.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel and stay tuned for more info coming soon.

Follow me on Ko-Fi

It’s free to follow me on Ko-Fi and be sure you don’t miss out on my latest news, or any freebies. You can buy me a virtual cuppa or merchandise from my shop, including a signed copy of my book.

Follow me on Ko-Fi

[Kofi]

Sky Heart
More About Sky Heart
Ally Aldridge Contemporary, Editing, Fantasy, Fiction, Goal setting, My Books, NaNoWriMo, Romance, Sky Heart, The Soul Heart Series, Writing, Writing Challenge, Young Adult

Catch up with a cuppa Ko-Fi (June 2022)

Here is the low down on what I posted on Ko-Fi last month, so you don’t miss out!

Sky Heart Chapter 3

Another draft chapter on Ko-Fi. I wonder how this will compare to final version once Sky Heart is edited, formatted, and published.

Sky Heart Coming Soon

Busy Week

I can’t wait for the holidays and to relax. My best friends wedding was a busy weekend but the lead up to finishing school has been crazy. I’m literally taking one day at a time.

Sky Heart – Sent off to the editor

This is a HUGE milestone. I can’t wait to see what my editor has to say. She is fabulous at slapping me with the truth in a way that doesn’t hurt and helps me make my story better. I know there will be a lot of work but I’m ready for it.

Summer Sale

https://youtube.com/shorts/bNQr3J8Y1Mo?feature=share

Just a quick reminder that Ocean Heart is half price in the Smashwords Summer Sale. Grab a copy on discount before the end of July.

Buy Ocean Heart on Smashwords

Follow me on Ko-Fi

It’s free to follow me on Ko-Fi and be sure you don’t miss out on my latest news, or any freebies. You can buy me a virtual cuppa or merchandise from my shop, including a signed copy of my book.

Follow me on Ko-Fi

[Kofi]

Sky Heart
More About Sky Heart
Ally Aldridge Contemporary, Editing, Fantasy, Fiction, Goal setting, My Books, NaNoWriMo, Romance, Sky Heart, The Soul Heart Series, Writing, Writing Challenge, Young Adult

Catch up with a cuppa Ko-Fi (May 2022)

Here is the low down on what I posted on Ko-Fi last month, so you don’t miss out!

Sky Heart by Ally Aldridge

Sky Heart Chapter 2

This month I posted another chapter of Sky Heart. Now you can read two chapters on Ko-Fi.

Update on my website

I realised I hadn’t shared how my website update went so finally did this.

Sky Heart Coming Soon

Sky Heart Update

I’m getting close to finishing my self edit and shared where I’m up to with the plot hole fixes.

Follow me on Ko-Fi

It’s free to follow me on Ko-Fi and be sure you don’t miss out on my latest news, or any freebies. You can buy me a virtual cuppa or merchandise from my shop, including a signed copy of my book.

Follow me on Ko-Fi

[Kofi]

Sky Heart
More About Sky Heart
Ally Aldridge Book Genre, Books, Contemporary, Fantasy, Festival, My Books, Ocean Heart, Romance, The Soul Heart Series, Writing, Young Adult

What I did for World Book Day!

I delivered my first ever face-to-face author event for World Book Day. It was extra special because I got to attend the high school where my book Ocean Heart is set.

The Setting

Ocean Heart is set in Felixstowe. When I started writing the novel there were two high schools in the town. Deben High School and Orwell High School, both named after local rivers. The two schools had some rivalry and I didn’t want my book about that so I merged the schools together and made Felixstowe High School.

Little did I know that the council were going to do this. The old schools were knocked down and a new modern building erected.

I’ve never had the opportunity to visit the high school so it was really fun to see if it was anything like I imagined. The school was lovely, and very modern, and a lot bigger. I was very impressed.

The students

I met up with groups of five to six students from Key Stage 3. The plan was to introduce myself, and my book, and discuss what had inspired my writing.

I’m not great at public speaking, so I took a notebook with some conversation bullet points to boost my confidence and feel more prepared. I’m not sure what I’m scared will happen, other than making a fool of myself.

The students were very sweet and polite. Once I flipped the attention off myself and onto them, I was able to relax and the conversation flowed better.

We discussed my writing, debut novel, and reading. The students came up with some great questions for me, some that madrWhen we discussed their interests they even had some book recommendations for me.

The book recommendations

My notebook came in handy to write down the books the students recommended I read.

Reflection

I’m so thankful to Felixstowe High School for having me. I appreciated that Deputy Head, Darren M arranged for me to chat with a small groups rather than in-front of a large audience.

Darren also got me thinking about delivering some leisure learning courses for Creative Writing. I’ve been going over old books, notes from courses I’ve done, to explore the idea. Ifurther

I think the more I do, the easier it will get. As a natural introvert, I have to push myself outside my comfort zone but this is good for my professional development. Plus, afterwards I was buzzing that I did it.

Discover Ocean Heart

You can pick up Ocean Heart from all good book shops and online retailers, and borrow through your library or Overdrive.

Ally Aldridge My Books, Writing

Catch up with a cuppa Ko-Fi (Feb 2022)

Here is the low down on what I posted on Ko-Fi this month, so you don’t miss out!

This month I have been featured in Felixstowe Magazine, and twice in Michelle Raab’s Marketing blog. My posts on Ko-Fi have been to share links to the content:

Felixstowe Magazine Article: https://ko-fi.com/post/Me-Features-in-Felixstowe-Magazine-L4L8AB3N2

Michelle Raab Marketing Post (Part 1): https://ko-fi.com/post/Me-featured-by-Michelle-Raab-Marketing-S6S6ACCL9

Michelle Raab Marketing Post (Part 2): https://ko-fi.com/post/Me-Featured-by-Michelle-Raab-Marketing-G2G0AMU8M

Behind the scenes Valentine’s Video

For Valentine’s Day I did a reading on Instagram of the first kiss scene from Ocean Heart. I then turned it into a YouTube video using Canva.

I posted Behind The Scenes of making this video on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/post/Behind-the-Scenes-Valentines-Video-G2G5AKXVE

Follow me on Ko-Fi

It’s free to follow me on Ko-Fi and be sure you don’t miss out on my latest news, or any freebies. You can buy me a virtual cuppa or merchandise from my shop, including a signed copy of my book.

Follow me on Ko-Fi

[Kofi]

Ally Aldridge Author Tube, Blogging, Book Tube, Goal setting, Goals, My Books, Reading Challenge, Writing, Writing Challenge, YouTube

Catch up with a cuppa Ko-Fi (Jan 2022)

As I post more on Ko-Fi, I don’t want you to miss out so here’s a brief summary of what I posted over on Ko-Fi in January.

My 2021 Reads

https://ko-fi.com/post/My-2021-Reads-M4M77UIM1

This post had a link to my YouTube video that show cased the books I read last year and included a link to the template I created in Canva for you to use.

My 2022 Goals

I really struggled to set my annual goals. We had a lot of germs in January which demotivated me. I kind of surprised that I’ve already completed 66% of my goals for the first quarter.

Want to see my goals? Visit here: https://ko-fi.com/post/2022-Goals-X8X47WTD9

Editing Sky Heart

I had to give an update on how book two is progressing. Publishing Sky Heart is my big goal for this year. If you want to find out how it’s going, visit here: https://ko-fi.com/post/Editing-Sky-Heart-G2G27Z8K9

All The Twos

https://ko-fi.com/post/All-The-Twos-H2H17WTJI

I invite you to join in on my all the twos challenge. Read the second book in a series, or a second book by an author you’ve only read once. I thought this would be a fun way to celebrate Sky Heart (hopefully) releasing this year!

However, currently all my reads are first books.

Website Evaluation

I know my website needs updating. I evaluated how it currently looks, compared it to other popular authors sites, and made a plan to improve it. Check it out here: https://ko-fi.com/post/Author-Website-Evaluation-C0C085ZXN

Follow me on Ko-Fi

It’s free to follow me on Ko-Fi and be sure you don’t miss out on my latest news, or any freebies. You can buy me a virtual cuppa or merchandise from my shop, including a signed copy of my book.

Follow me on Ko-Fi

[Ko-Fi]

Ally Aldridge Book Genre, Non-Fiction, Novel, Resource, Romance, Tips, Writing

Book Review: Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes

This post contains affiliate links. Please check out my affiliate disclosure page for more information.

About the book

Blurb for Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes

My thoughts

This book breaks down a romance novel into beats. The beats are plot points that are expected in popular romance stories. It helps you identify if your romance novel has all the right ingredients.

It’s good but brief. I’m glad I read Save the Cat first as it’s similar but that book goes into more depth. This book was like a romance appendix to STC. I don’t think this will be a resource book I turn to very often now I’ve read it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Buy Romancing the Beat on Amazon

[kofi]

Ally Aldridge Book Genre, Contemporary, Diary, Fantasy, Fiction, Goal setting, Goals, Historical, My Books, NaNoWriMo, New Moon, Romance, The Soul Heart Series, Writing, Young Adult

NaNoWriMo Project

My NaNoWriMo Project

New Moon (working title)

This project is set in the same low fantasy world of The Soul Heart Series. In fact, for readers of Ocean Heart they may recognise the main character, Denny.

This story is a prequel. It’s set in the 90s, back when Denny was a teen herself. It will cover how she became friends with Gwyn, started her Sparkle Cake business, and the highs and lows as a new mum.

Preparation

I feel more prepared now I have created a title, cover, and blurb. Of course these are all just a work in progress, so could change but it helps me feel more focused.

I’ve started writing an outline. I intended for this to be a novella but I already have a sneaky suspicion this could become a full length novel.

I’ve also made a spreadsheet to help me track my word count. If this works successfully, I will look at making a version available to my followers on Ko-Fi.

The Goal

I’m going to aim for the big Five-O (50,000 words). If I don’t make it, I will still have made progress, but if I do, it’d make me so happy.

I’ve been struggling with motivation because Sky Heart is on hold until I can afford the professional services I need to move it forward. I’ve also been bummed out with all the germs (sick kids) ruining September, and fracturing my ankle ruining October.

I really want to get back into the habit of writing again. My ultimate goal for November is this: To write!

Are you doing NaNoWriMo? What’s your project, goal, and how do you prepare?

[kofi]

If you enjoyed this, you will like:

About Ocean Heart

About Sky Heart

About Work In Progress

About Ko-Fi

Ally Aldridge Blogging, Editing, Novel, Publishing, Tips, Writing

Collaborating on a New Exciting Project

Elzevera of Willowtree Editing needed some extra help in managing her Mighty Network: Under the Willow

I joined the Mighty Network back in 2019 and Elzevera helped me with self editing, Ocean Heart.

It inspired me to want to create my own Mighty Network and I set this as a goal at the start of 2020.

I have been exploring creating a Mighty Network. It is a social site for creatives. I’m currently a member of a Mighty Network by Willow Editing. I have been Beta Testing a self-editing course by Elzevera of Willow Editing.

I am considering the network as a potential way to share extra bits with my readers. I am also exploring it as a space to share writing resources as many of my followers are fellow writers.

http://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/writing-progress-january 2020/

But, I’d also decided to self publish Ocean Heart, and this was my priority and keeping me very busy. I didn’t have time to build my own Mighty Network. I ended up abandoning the goal to focus on my debut novel.

Early this year, I stepped back from my volunteer role with World Indie Warriors. I created their indie books brochure and eZine. Collecting all the info and publishing four times a year was taking over too much of my free time. When I started a new job, I didn’t have the energy to continue with both. It was hard to let go but I’m still very close with the members and support them however I can.

Now I’ve settled into my new role, I have more energy again. When I saw Elzevera call for help on Instagram, it sounded like a perfect new fresh challenge for me.

I applied to help, and we had a little chat about what she’d need me to do. From October, I shall be Elzevera’s new co-host. I’m excited to take on this new role.

Under the Willow is inline with my original Mighty Network goal. Elzevera’s created her network to empower writers to have the tools they need to self edit their work, and improve their writing craft in a supportive community.

If you want to join a supportive group of writers and improve your craft, please do come join us on Mighty Networks in Under the Willow

[kofi]

If you enjoyed this you will like:.

12 Tips for Self Editing

My Process – How to Publish a Book

Different self publishing platforms

Writing Progress – January 2020

Ally Aldridge Author Tube, Book Tube, Books, Festival, My Books, Ocean Heart, Publishing, Writing, YouTube

Happy Indie Bookshop Week!

From Saturday, 19 June to Saturday, 26 June, it’s Indie Bookshop Week.

This event has been running since 2006 by Books Are My Bag. They also run other bookish events to support Indie Bookshops like the BAMB Awards and Indie Bookshop Day in October.

Shoutout to my local Indie Bookshop

Stillwater Books is my local bookshop in Felixstowe.

It’s been a tough year for high street shops due to the pandemic. Many spent months closed as they weren’t deemed essential. I know, who said books aren’t essential?

Ocean Heart released on 1 Dec and the country was in lockdown. The book signing event I’d always dreamed of was looking bleak. Boris said no!

I reached out to Stillwater Books with my proposed idea, a work around solution for a book signing during lockdown. I literally happy danced when they said yes.

I promptly got to work on promoting the event. The manager was patient with me as I figured out details, how to order books, write an invoice, and all the other brand new tasks I was doing for the first time.

I signed the ordered books and brought them into the shop. I made a little video for YouTube. Customers who had preordered, then either collected from the store or arranged for local delivery.

I certainly hadn’t imagined a non-contact book signing before, but Stillwater Books worked with me to make it happen. I will always be thankful to them for helping make my dream come true.

Shop Local

It’s really important to shop at your local independent bookshop. In doing so, you are supporting your high street, local jobs, a small business, and treating yourself to a new read.

That’s why I love being an affiliate with Bookshop.org. Redfae Bookshop.org is my affiliate store giving recommendations on books you should buy. It connects you with a local independent bookshop for your purchase. In return you support them with your custom and I get a small commission.

Redfae Bookshop

If you enjoyed this, you will like:

My Affiliate Disclosure page

What’s a UBL & why your book needs one

Ocean Heart releases tomorrow

Now you can preorder Ocean Heart

[kofi]