Monthly Archives: January 2015
Australia Day Blog Hop Giveaway!
Happy Australia Day weekend! I’m participating in the Book’d Out Australia Day Blog Hop. There are lots of giveaways at all the participating blogs, you can check out the list here. But first, read on for a chance to win two prizes from me! One is open internationally, and one is just for the Aussies. Contest closes midnight 27th Jan.
Fictional vs Real settings in books…
If you’ve read my books you’ll know that I’m a fan of using fictional settings. Out of the 7 books I have published, only 1 (Starstruck in Seattle) is set in a real place (Seattle, obviously!). However, my fictional settings are often based on real places, but I adjust them to suit the story I’m creating.
What I love about fictional settings is the ability to create something new and to put things where you want them! There is no risk of making a mistake, because you made up the town, so what you say goes! 😉 But you do have to keep track of what you’ve created, street names, where various landmarks are, etc, because if you write another book set in the same place you need to be able to recreate the setting for the new story. Take my Tarrin’s Bay series for example (based on the NSW south coast, Kiama mostly)… by the end of it there will be 12 books set in this small Australian coastal town, and I find as I write each one (currently working on book 4) that I’m creating new aspects of the town as I go.
Even though I love creating fictional settings, I am looking forward to writing other stories set in real places too. The research takes longer, but it’s a good way to learn more about a place, and books set in real places can be fun for the reader who then visits the place and can recognise locations featured in the book. I have never been to Seattle, but enjoyed learning about it via both Google and a Seattle local who helped me get the details right. Soon I’ll be working on a story set in Melbourne, Hollywood, and Paris. Maybe I’ll have to take a few research trips, you know, just to get the details accurate! 😉
What are your favourite Australian settings that have been featured in books, or what is your favourite or ideal destination in Australia to visit? Let me know in the comments… 🙂
And now for the giveaways!
> GIVEAWAY #1 (Open worldwide)
Prize:
1 print copy of TIME FOR THE BEACH 3-in-1 Bestsellers, autographed by me and including my story THE JANUARY WISH, as well as NOBODY BUT HIM by Victoria Purman and HIDE & SEEK by Eliza Redgold.
Enter via this Rafflecopter link: a Rafflecopter giveaway
> GIVEAWAY #2 (Australian entrants only)
Prize:
1 limited edition vintage tote bag from Harlequin Australia (I had two so I’m giving one away! Front & back pictured), containing the following 4 books from Australian authors: LUNA TANGO by Alli Sinclair, THE OUTBACK HEART by Fiona Palmer, HOUSE FOR ALL SEASONS by Jenn J McLeod, and ASK ME TO STAY by Elise K Ackers.
Enter via this Rafflecopter link: a Rafflecopter giveaway
Once you’ve entered, remember to visit the list of other participating blogs to enter more giveaways, HERE.
>>To check out my available books, visit this page. Like my Facebook page to keep up to date with my new releases and news.
>>You can also preorder my next Tarrin’s Bay book*, MIRACLE IN MARCH for the limited time price of only 99c at iTunes. *Although part of a linked series, this is a stand-alone story and can be read before or after the other two books available in the series; THE JANUARY WISH and FEBRUARY OR FOREVER.
Good luck! Winner notified via email and in the comments on this post within 7 days from 27th January.
Bookish Updates!
Only a couple of weeks into the new year and already things are getting busy!
Here are 4 pieces of news from my world:
1. I recently found out I’m a finalist in the ARRA (Australian Romance Readers Association) Awards, so that is pretty exciting! Thanks to those who nominated me. Here are the books and categories I’m in:
- 12 DAVES OF CHRISTMAS – Best Paranormal
- HAUNTED EVER AFTER – Best Paranormal
- TARRIN’S BAY SERIES (The January Wish, February or Forever) – Best Continuing Series
If you’re an ARRA member, you can vote now. If you’re not, membership is only $20 per year and you can join HERE.
I look forward to attending the awards dinner in Canberra in March! If you’re going, let me know so we can be sure to say hello to each other. 🙂
2. My upcoming Young Adult series, THE DELTA GIRLS, has new release dates…
SIGHT (book #1): July 14th 2015
SOUND (book #2): Oct 13th 2015
With the remaining 3 books releasing soon after, dates TBC. You can follow updates for this book series on twitter at @DeltaGirlsBook
3. It’s only 7 weeks to go until my next book is released! MIRACLE IN MARCH will be available on March 8th. iTunes has a preorder available now for only 99c here.
This book is the 3rd in my bestselling, award-finalling Tarrin’s Bay series. Although part of a linked series, it is also a stand-alone story, so if you haven’t read the others it doesn’t matter, you can start with the March book if you like or you might wish to read THE JANUARY WISH and FEBRUARY OR FOREVER first before March is released.
4. I now have a Facebook group for those who’d like to keep up to date with my news as it happens and also interact and chat about important things like books, characters, chocolate…etc. Sometimes fans of Facebook pages don’t see all the updates, so a group is a way to get notified of updates and also to post in the group yourself and chat with other members. You can join here. I’ve also posted the first two chapters of MIRACLE IN MARCH in the group, so join up and have a sneak peek! 🙂
Happy Reading…
~ Juliet xx
A Recap of 2014 and What’s Ahead for 2015!
2014 – what a year! Both professionally and personally, my life went through some major changes. On New Years Eve I wrote a list of 100 things (yes, 100!) that I was grateful for and appreciated about my life in 2014. I thought I’d just do about 20, but then I kept going and thought, ‘okay, maybe I’ll do 50’, but then I wrote 51, and 52 and kept going and thought, ‘what the heck – 100 here I come!’ 🙂 Appreciation brings more appreciation, it’s like a domino effect. Why not try it and see what makes it onto your list? It’s a great way to lift your spirits and feel good. 🙂
Here’s a brief summary of what happened in 2014, both on the blog, and with my writing…
Blog:
- Most viewed blog post with over 2000 views: How I Write Fast (AKA: How I Wrote 70ks in 20 Days).
- Most people found my blog via Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
- Most blog visitors came from the USA. Followed by Australia and the UK.
- My top 5 commenters were: Nancy Goldberg Levine, Kerrie Paterson, Linda Lee Williams, Jenn J McLeod, and Margareta. Thanks guys! 🙂
- Search terms people used which led them to my blog (some normal, some weird and funny!): johnny castle making out, how to come up with a pen name, magical books, spit free birthday cake, rude characters, women looking for romanic (did they mean a romaniac?!), big bang theory, marketing tips, is sarah belle wealthy, romantic excerpts… and a few other things that I won’t mention!
Writing Life:
- Wrote 4 complete books and 2 partials (a few chapters and synopsis): Complete: Haunted Ever After, 12 Daves of Christmas, Miracle in March, Sound (The Delta Girls book 2). Partials: Vintage Secret, You Know you Want To.
- 4 Books published: The January Wish, February or Forever, Haunted Ever After, 12 Daves of Christmas.
- First book in print: The January Wish was included in the 3-in-1 coastal compilation called Time For The Beach, available in Australian stores now.
- Signed a 5 book deal (ebook & print) with Diversion Books for my Young Adult supernatural mystery series The Delta Girls!
- My first novel, Fast Forward became an Amazon.com Top 100 bestseller
- Attended the ARRA Awards Dinner as a finalist in the favourite New Author category
- Attended my first ARRA book signing as an author (I signed postcards!), while at the RWA annual conference in Sydney.
And now for 2015! What’s next, and what my plans and goals are…
>>Book Releases (this will be updated as things progress):
- March 8th, 2015: MIRACLE IN MARCH (Tarrin’s Bay series book 3)
- May 12th, 2015: SIGHT (The Delta Girls series* book 1)
- *There should be a couple more books in The Delta Girls series released later in the year but I don’t have a schedule yet)
As you can see, the majority of the year will be taken up with the launch of my Young Adult 5 book series!
>>Writing Goals:
- Write the remaining 3 books in The Delta Girls series by end of August 2015 (I have deadlines!).
- Write April’s Glow, the 4th book in my Tarrin’s Bay series by around end of October 2015.
- Do further work on my women’s fiction project, Vintage Secret.
- And if I get superhero powers and have more time available I will work further on my fun and flirty romcom You Know You Want To, or a short novella, and speaking of superpowers… at some stage down the track I will be writing a superhero romantic comedy and it’s going to be so much FUN 😉
I’d like to thank my readers for supporting my books, and I’m looking forward to having a wonderful year of writing!
To keep updated, I’ve created a new Facebook Readers group… If you’d like to join, HERE is the link.
Wishing you a happy, healthy and joyful 2015!! 🙂
JULIET MADISON 