JGJ Books

A timeline of tales to tell our story

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Lazy days + annual leave = ...v little!

Lazy days + annual leave = …v little!

Another quiet week from me. Sorry, I really must get into a regular blogging habit – it’s just hard when there’s so many other things to think about on this writing journey. I intend to do better…we will see how long this lasts. I quite like the idea of using Sundays as an update day, if I have failed to contribute anything during the week…what do you think?

It’s been my husband’s first week of…

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TIBC Review Policy

Yesterday evening fellow author and book blogger, TJ Fox approached me about a list he is creating of book bloggers currently accepting books by indie authors.

In order to make it clear which books I will accept, I present my Review Policy:

Absolutely will accept: Middle-Grade books (9-12), Chapter books (7-9)

Probably will accept: Picture books

Might accept: Young Adult books (12+)

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The dilemma of the indie book writer v reviewer...

The dilemma of the indie book writer v reviewer…

I realise that I have been a little quiet for the last week or so and for that I apologise. It had been my intention to publish at least one blog post a week and I haven’t been entirely successful in this. For that, I apologise.

So why have I felt unable to post?

The answer lies in my blog addition of book reviews. I am thrilled with the positive response that TIBC has had. Lots of people have…

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TIBC #1: Trouble with Parsnips, Laurel Decher

TIBC #1: Trouble with Parsnips, Laurel Decher

It is always a good sign when I finish a book in one night. I did it with Harry Potters 4/5/6 & 7 ; Garth Nix’s Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen; Philip Pullman’s novels were regularly devoured into the small hours; Terry Pratchett had me laughing while my eyes were held open with matchsticks* and now I can add this hilarious and hugely entertaining novel, Trouble with Parsnips to the list.

Purchase…

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Introducing The Indie Book Collective - AKA Book Reviews

Introducing The Indie Book Collective – AKA Book Reviews

As a writer, it is important to read. Through reading, we can experience new styles, explore different genres, learn new things and generally revel in the world of books which we are a part of.

I am a true believer in supporting fellow writers and as my own books will be self-published, I want to support my fellow indie writers…

…hence The Indie Book Collective

I have reached out, in…

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What I have learned this year...

What I have learned this year…

Last night, I went to my writing group which is made up of teachers from across the region. It is run by a former lecturer/tutor on the course, who is undeniably passionate about writing and in particular, writing for pleasure.

One of the exercises that we did was to reflect on this past academic year (with being a group of teachers, this was our last session). She asked us to consider what we…

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Announcement: From the Cave Wall available for purchase now!

Announcement: From the Cave Wall available for purchase now!

Buy now!

And so the journey has arrived at its conclusion. Or maybe it’s better said that this section of the journey has. The book is now available at Amazon!

It has been a long labour of love and devotion, and I have loved every minute (mostly!)

I hope you enjoy it. Please leave a review and remember, if you want more then please join my readers’ club: The Source Detectives(aimed at…

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Facing Fears

I’ve used it before…but it’s a cat on a diving board…

When I first conceived of the idea of writing a curriculum-supporting children’s novel, I has recently left the education world behind me. Making that decision to walk away from my single greatest focus and passion was gut-wrenching at the time, but I do not regret it for one second. Many people still ask me whether I will ever go back to…

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Become a Source Detective...?

Become a Source Detective…?

…There seems to be a new button on my website…oooooh!

If like me you like buttons and are always tempted to push/click/whack them (whether or not you’re meant to) then the latest addition to my site is just for you…lots of things to click on!

I wanted to create a club for all my readers to encourage them to write their own historical stories as well as provide information about the books…

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The countdown begins...

The countdown begins…

These last few months have been a whirlwind of personal events/issues/things which have significantly taken away from writing time! Well no more!

This morning I have set my goal…

A sneak peek at my very busy month!

In one month,

From the Cave Wall: A Stone Age Story

will be available to buy from all good book-selling websites beginning with A, which offer a ‘prime’ service and…

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Timeline...a fun addition!

Timeline…a fun addition!

I have just added a timeline here on my website – wow it’s interesting. It’s so large that it is almost impossible to read on the screen. Luckily, the page describes what is in the image and there is a downloadable version for a more detailed view.

This has been my project as a part of Behind the Cave Wall: Osha’s World– the accompanying guide that I have been working on for the last few days.…

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The deep end

The deep end...

Having made this decision to self-publish, I am now having to confront my near-crippling fears that I’m not good enough. We all have anxiety (particularly when facing the unknown) but somehow I have managed to convince myself it’s a good idea to throw myself into the deep end and…I have just never been ANY good at diving!

Consequently, I am standing at the edge with the dark abyss in front…

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A new website...and an apology...

A new website…and an apology…

As is obvious if you are reading this, I have dramatically changed and updated the website to reflect my work and the plunge that I am going to be taking in a few weeks…

I have decided that I am going to self-publish From the Cave Wall. This means that I am going to be marketing it strongly over the next few weeks and months – after all, I would like it to gain a decent amount of interest!

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And so it begins...

After

7 months

Many hours of writing

81 pages

12 chapters

26000 words

4 drafts

It is done...

I have written, edited and cried over (several times) my first book. The challenge now, of course, is to find that elusive person who loves Osha, Pira, Inko and Grandfather as much as I and my husband....

.... I hope their not far away!

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Evolutions...

Chapter 3 is done and I am actually beginning to feel accomplished.

It does help that I have an idea where I’m taking the story. I think that is the biggest difference between this and other things I’ve written. My plot is a lot meatier than other dabblings.

I also very much love writing about Osha. She’s increasingly coming alive off the page. I think it will be interesting to go back, once I’ve finished, to see how she changes through the story. She’s already different from the 1st chapter. I definitely prefer her now!

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Down the Rabbit Hole: Stone Age Research

Over the last week, I have been down the rabbit hole! I started properly writing last week. I am now at 2 complete chapters. This may not seem much, but my feelings of accomplishment are enhanced by the amount of research and “setting” I have been able to do. When approaching a story about the Stone Age or any prehistory, you must first work out which epoch you are going to look at? The simplest…

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Library musings

Today I get to sit in the local university library and access the treasure trove of research within. It has already yielded some interesting results.

Researching the Upper Paleolithic period for children’s books is certainly a fascinating topic. It is also tricky to pinpoint what might actually be useful to my writing. So far I have decided on looking at the type of things children will need to know about the Stone Age (such a broad and mind-boggling term). I’ve also found it is useful to think about the questions that might be asked with regards to children’s interests:

How do they hunt?

What did they hunt?

How were weapons made?

What did the cave paintings mean?

As a starting point, these 4 questions have certainly given me a way into the research.

I love libraries!