#dreena collins

Getting Self-publishing Savvy! Things I wish I’d known before publishing Just Say It!

It’s been two months since Just Say It hit the electronic bookshelves.  Since then, I may think I’m getting a bit more self-publishing savvy, but I’ve been learning from my mistakes – there are so many things I wished I had known before I hit the publish button. It’s time to move on and stop worrying about how many people may or may not read Just Say It and focus on writing my next novel, but…

Six of the Best by Dreena Collins – Available on Amazon now!

She Had Met Liars Before by Dreena Collins, talk about six of the best! Now available Amazon, I bought my copy planning to savour each story, one at a time, at my leisure. Soaking up every word of what I knew would be beautifully crafted stories… Instead I ended up binge reading all of them, which left me thirsty for more. I’m pleased to say that Dreena is a fellow member of The Jersey Writers…

SELF-PUBLISHED AUTHORS & THE IMPORTANCE OF WRITING A REVIEW

I stumbled across this image today posted on FB by the author Laurie Buchanan. It made me realise how dilatory I have been recently, when it comes to reading and reviewing the work of self-published authors, many of whom are friends. Reading and reviewing books by self-published authors is key to their success. Reviews, good or bad, are important to authors, especially the first timers – whose…

Lockdown Heart-Throb, Joe Wicks. Photo Credit. Conor McDonnell

It’s been an interesting one.  Joe Wicks, the high-intensity interval training workout guru and Lockdown Heart-throb, called time on his 18-week workout.

Back off, Boris, leave poor Eeyore alone.

Members of the Tory party were spouting the words of A. A. Milne during Priminister’s Question Time. 🥱 With Boris Johnson thinking it would be wonderful for the opposition party to stop channelling ‘the spirit of Eeyore‘.  Back off Boris, leave poor Eeyore out of your Prime Ministerial shenanigans.

Meanwhile, the restricted flights and ferry sailings in and out of Jersey are under review.  Especially the sailings to St. Malo, as there has been a Covid-19 spike in Brittany.   And it’s not just the St. Malo-Jersey car ferry that is operating half-cock, the company which handles freight and foot passenger baggage in St. Malo has gone into liquidation.  So the bateau that brings in the Pinot Grigio I drink into the island has not been sailing, and the supply has run dry locally. Au Secours!  Crates of it (not all for me), are sitting on the quayside at St. Malo.

But, such is the draw of our sceptred isle the lack ferries doesn’t seem to be putting some very naughty people off sailing over here in their foreign-registered vessels, including those registered in France.

Determined sea-dogs have been anchoring here, or on a certain rocky outcrop six miles north-east of Jersey,  without following correct Covid-19 procedures. 😱 Listen up you wayward Jack Tars, you have to play the game in these strange times.

While on the subject of rule-breakers, a word of warning.  One Jersey resident has been fine £6,000 for flouting the Guernsey Covid-19 self-isolation rules. When in somebody else’s space, you follow the rules.

Plus ça change.

And me? I’ve been bumbling along, trying to get over last week’s disappointments and, unsuccessfully, trying to draw in new readers, with previously unseen bits of Just Say It! As well as bits that have been.

On Tuesday, I had an uplifting lunch in the sunshine with writer Dreena Collins, and a friend of hers who had just finished reading Just Say It!  She was much more upbeat about it than I have been lately, so I needed that boost.

Later that day, I had an email to say that a 75-word snippet from Just Say It! would be featured on Paragraph Planet on Wednesday.  Two boosts in one day to perk up my flagging morale.

I spent Wednesday trying to reel in family and friends in to gawp at (and like) my 75-words at Paragraph Planet.  Dreena, led the charge, closely followed by T, G, B and P. Thank you, all, plus I made a few new writer friends as well, which perked me up no end.  I do have other family members and friends, but I get it, not everybody spends as much time on social media as I do. 😏

I was also trying to lure my Facebook and Twitter followers into reading my short-story Broken, my only attempt at writing suspense. Broken is about a young woman who takes a sabbatical in the USA and is falsely accused of murder. I read it through again this morning and balled my eyes out.  Think I should stick to writing tongue-in-cheek pieces.

By Thursday, I was focussing on the work-in-progress, you know, the spoofy murder-mystery?  So, I fobbed my social media followers off – sorry – with a 2017 throwback.  A riveting account of being stranded at Exeter Airport and developing a love for Lemon Sherbet popcorn.

Today, I’m freewheeling.  I woke up with that Friday feeling, enjoying the resurgence of my joie de vivre.

One step forward, two steps back; writing is like that, but it only takes a few positive vibes, for me to start taking tiny baby steps toward putting the F word back in my writing.  Fun. And writing that spoofy murder-mystery, The Secret Lives of the Doyenne of Didsbrook does just that.

Anyway, it’s nearly time to say bye, bye week 30, 2020, and to Joe Wicks for making many Lockdown Ladies very happy.

Happy Friday, everybody!  I hope you freewheel your way to to the weekend.  Wishing you blue skies and fun under the sun.  Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend.

Exhilarating​ – The Jersey Festival of Words 2019

Yesterday I went to four sessions at the Jersey Festival of Words, it was the day for me to soak up the words of wisdom, as well as support, local writing talent and hopes of coming away with a better understanding of what literary agents are looking for.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks for would-be writers is the day job.  Or is holding down a full-time job merely an excuse for not getting…

Jersey Writers Social Group: Dreena Collins

Dreena Collins’ hobbies include eating Thai food, unintentionally waking at 3.30 a.m., and falling over.  

Her writing has been shortlisted and long-listed in numerous writing competitions, including the Mslexia Annual Short Story Competition and a top 100 place in The Bridport Prize. 

Her first short story collection was The Blue Hour: character-based tales exploring challenges, such as…