If you haven’t had a chance to Read, Vote and Comment on this weeks entries there is still time!

A new group of entries will be going up Monday night. So come on over and help us by giving the writers your votes and your comments:http://www.contestjunkies.com/artman/publish/cat_index_20.php

 Author Kate Walker is giving away two copies of her book

12-Point Guide to Writing Romance, Third Edition by Kate Walker

Two random finalists will be picked to win a copy of Kate’s book. About the book: If you want to write romance and be a professional writer then this book is a must for you. Kate Walker sells hundreds of thousands of romance novels every year and is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of successful professional writing experience and over 40 novels, from which you can gain a great deal.

Kate also has an article up in our Articles on Writing:http://www.contestjunkies.com/artman/publish/cat_index_34.php

The Prizes for the Readers!

The voting process allows readers to provide feedback to the writers through our online form. Each week an email address will be selected at random from these posts and will receive a digital Carina title of the winner’s choice.

The Grand Prize will be 25 digital Carina titles of the winner’s choice and will be selected at random from all of those who voted.

We have been picking winners each week. Want a chance to win? Vote and send in your comments on this weeks entries!

I recently admitted to another author that it has taken me a while to find my “writing voice”. I spent a long time trying to wrestle with what I thought I should write and what I wanted to write. In truth, I was afraid of being judged. We all want to fit in, to be accepted. No one wants to be rejected because their stories are too ordinary.  However, in writing, as in life, we shouldn’t always try to please other people. More often than not, we end up regretting it. This can be a huge mistake when it comes to writing, because a good publisher will always spot a fake and more importantly, so will your readers. Faking it, as I’m sure you will agree, is never a good idea. 

 Yes, readers use books to escape, but they also expect a grain of truth in what they are reading. That truth could come from an experience, an emotion or a place. My initial struggles with Winter’s Spirit stemmed from the fact that I felt too distanced from it. It was set in a country I had never been too, it contained images I had only seen on the internet. For me, there was a huge connection missing and I didn’t know where to begin looking for it.   Feeling distant from the setting left me withdrawn from my characters and unable to connect with my heroine, Winter McAndrew. My solution was simple. Write the book my way, with my voice.

Once the story had been written and sent away, I did worry about rejection. But I knew that even if I failed this hurdle, I had been true to myself and true to my characters. With a setting I felt comfortable with (the north of England), both Winter and Jack, my hero, came into their own. Happily for me, Solstice Publishing liked my voice and accepted Winter’s Spirit within a matter of weeks. Now Winter and Jack have a home and I have finally found my voice.     

Deborah Melanie

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              Winter’s Spirit blurb :

 Winter McAndrew is on the brink of divorcing her philandering husband, Philip, when he dies in a car crash. One year later and with unfinished business; Philip is still earth bound and interfering in his wife’s love life. Trying to make amends isn’t always easy when you’re dead. Not only has Winter fallen for her old crush, Jack Tobin, but he also happens to be Philip’s cousin. With more complications than a woman needs at Christmas, Winter tries to find peace at her holiday home in The Lake District. However, when she finds herself snowed in with Jack; ghosts, old and new cause quite a stir. Will Winter get her man, or will ghostly Philip put an end to all her festive fantasies?

Winter’s Spirit is available from Solstice Publishing

Follow the link to purchase the book       http://www.solsticepublishing.com/products/Winter%27s-Spirit.html