Hot & Cold

One thing I love about winter is that you get to enjoy some snow every now and again. For the past few days we've had snow in London and the white has transformed the nearby park into a beautiful snowy landscape. So I put on my wellies and gloves and went for a walk. It's the sound of snow crunching under my boots, the way it reflects the sun, making the days look much brighter, the laughter of people throwing snow balls at each other or fall over while building a snowman that makes me smile. I'm more of a summer girl, but the magical white makes me happy somehow. It also changes the familiar park, like a scene change in a film and I have new things to detect. A 45 minute walk in the winter sun is like a quick charger for the mind. I can think, listening to music, while moving my feet to the beat.

Snow reminds me of my childhood since I had to go on ski holidays until I was sixteen. I remember the first time I stood on skiers; they just put me on them and pushed me down the hill. Well, okay, it was more a slope than a hill, but it was pretty scary. I never really learned skiing, I was far too scared to break my arms and legs and rather mucked out the cowsheds and looked after the animals. I was already weird back then. Quite interesting considering the fact that I'm ADHD and therefore should have been all up for the risk of bone-breaking, but it seems I was a reasonable little girl. Anyway, back to the walk in the park. As I marched on, I looked at the scenery with interest, dogs were enjoying the cold white, many people too pictures of each other or the park. And as I wanted to have one with myself in the white, I asked a couple if they could take one of me. They asked me if I can take one of them and while we were telling each other a to move a little bit to the left, and a bit back, then to the right and a little more and ... smile, another woman joined our merry photo session as she was also looking for someone to take a few pictures of her. We handed each other our mobiles and cameras and grinned like idiots. It was quite the funny--pardon the pun--picture, I believe, because people giggled when they passed us. And this is the result:

Well, yes, that's me.

Finally back at home, I went straight to the kitchen and cooked a winter favourite of mine: swede stew, which is basically a hearty and sweet bowl of goodness:

1 smoked Gammon Joint

2 swedes (not someone from Sweden)

2 carrots

2 leeks

A few new potatoes

1/4 of a celeriac

Boil the meat for about 30 min in about 3 liters of water before adding the vegetables. Then cook for further 30 minutes until everything is soft. You don't need to add any seasoning as the smoked Gammon Joint has enough salt in it and the vegetables add to the taste. Dice the meat and put it back in. You can add some parsley or chervil to give it a bit more colour. I love it just the way it is. I normally add a special smoked sausage which I cut into rings. This time I bought some from the Polish shop, which did the job. A hearty dish that warms you through after a long walk.

Ten questions I wanted to ask myself

It's a white Sunday in London and somehow I feel mischievous, so I decided to interview myself, asking questions that I felt needed to be asked. Let's see if I can get myself to answer those tricky beasts.

Tea or coffee?
Tea (lots of it) in the morning. It doesn't have an effect on me, but I love the taste. With semi-skimmed milk and brown sugar. I'm a big fan of flavoured coffee, so in the evenings I'll have a big mug of my choice. Either rich hazelnut, vanilla, double chocolate, or whatever else I have in my cupboard. And in between I'll have herb or hibiscus tea.

Writing: mornings or evenings?
That depends on my mood. But I'm not a person who gets up at 5am to write 3k. So I guess it's more evenings. Whenever I feel the muse calling.

Why did you choose to write in English?
I live in England, and even though German is my mother tongue, I consider English being my first language. It's a beautiful language and inspiration to write my first novel was after reading an English series. Since I came here over six years ago, I've read only English books, I only speak English, so it was a given to write in English, too. First it was a challenge, then it was just normal. Besides, the English market is far bigger, plus it's easier to get feedback/beta readers.

Writing or editing?
Honestly? Editing. I love helping people 'to see' and watch them as they grow as writers, or see their manuscript improving. It's very rewarding. I hate writing, but I love the accomplishment of having written a book and hearing from readers who enjoyed it. That said, I love writing for one reason: the challenge. Writing keeps my brain active and I always try to explore new ways. I wouldn't be able to stop doing it, because ideas have begun to flood my head regardless of my love/hate relationship with writing.

Editing: first time writers or experienced ones?
I've learned that it's much easier to work with experienced writers. Of course it depends on the writer. I've worked with great first time writers who took my suggestions and advice on board and I knew they have learned for life, but then you have those who are more in need of a tutor than an editor. It can be rewarding, too, but I always give more than I'm paid for. Working with more experienced writers, who know the basics, enables me to sink my teeth into the plot- and character development; basically enables me to do my job.

What is your preferred genre to write in?
Send me a postcard if you find the answer. No, seriously, I have no idea. I think it must be humour as almost everything I write has some humour in it. I wrote the opening (around 1000 words) for a sci-fiction novel, a proper one with space ships and all that, but I've created a robot with a sense of humour due to a faulty module. Excuse me, where is the exit? is plain humour, and the Branded series is paranormal romance, but with plenty of funny scenes, too; and 5-Minute Tea Break Stories has a few funny tales in it as well. I can write serious things, though. The thriller is not funny and another finished novel leans more towards literary fiction. The next few planned books (apart from the sci-fi) are all more on the serious side.

What are you working on at the moment?
Due to readers' demand, I'm writing the third book in the Branded series. I initially didn't plan a third book and after the sales of No Wings Attached and Candlelight Sinner were more than disappointing, I'd written the books off as 'must try harder' and concentrated on other ideas I had. Somehow, I must have unconsciously wanted a third book as the ending of book two suggests there's room for more, then readers kept sending me messages, asking if there's another one, so I gave in. I'm just at the beginning, but it should be an exciting read when I've finished. There'll be romance, cooking, friendship, hate, fights and tears.

Do you prefer stand alone novels or series?
I haven't read that many series lately. I read them a lot as a kid/teen, but stand alone books as an adult. If I like a series or get hooked, I'm happy to read the lot of them.
In terms of writing, I definitely prefer stand alone novels. Series require a lot of imagination, something I sadly lack. It's hard work to write them, that, I know from own experience. You need to be careful to not bore 'old' readers, but introduce the cast to 'new' ones if they accidentally grab the second or third book. It's requires a lot of brain wracking.

You say you have or only little imagination. How do you go about writing?
When an idea hits me, I let it brew for a while, then run through some options in my head, walking some ways to see where it may lead. I normally won't start before I know the major turning points, the very rough draft, if you will and if the idea becomes like a film before my inner eye, I know it's worth writing the opening scenes. I also often know the ending, but anything in between are blind spots. I guess you can say I fly by the seat of my pants. That's why I find it so incredibly difficult, because I never know what's around the corner, but if creativity hits me, I have to walk the way to the next major turning point in my head and see if it fits. It's not easy to explain. Somehow it seems to work. I'm a careful and slow writer, trying to avoid everything I hate when reading.

Erotica seems to be the new black, anything planned in that genre?
To make it simple: yes. I have an idea and wrote the opening. But no, it's not another Fifty Shades of Grey, it will play far more with the attraction and longing for each other.

Well, now that was interesting. I thank myself for my time. 

Have a lovely Sunday, everyone.

The book is here, the book is here!

Actually, it arrived on Tuesday and since then I've eyed it, stroked it, longed to read it. But I was beta reading someone else's book and therefore couldn't start with it. Tonight's the night and I can't wait to be honest. It's the first time I re-read a book I've read in my teens and I wonder if I'll feel the same as I felt back then.
It'll also be strange because I read it in German, but will now read the original title. Should be quite interesting. I'll report when I'm done.

On the subject of reading: as I mention above I was beta reading for someone and had to give up, because it became a chore almost halfway through. Although the writer had told me I should stop whenever I feel it's getting too much, etc., and I tell my beta readers the same, I still feel awful. Beta reading is about helping, not about judging, right? You know it's not a finished or polished manuscript. It only had very few errors, that was not the reason. It was the story that didn't appeal to me. Even when you read a draft of a story, you should be able to at least enjoy it, I think. No point slogging through something you can't immerse in. At least I wouldn't want anyone to read my books if they don't enjoy it and, thankfully, I never had anyone return a book. Well, okay, my friend who fell asleep at chapter four of one of the manuscripts I'm still tinkering with, and therefore refused to read more, which is fair enough. Since she has some difficulties getting to sleep at the moment, I 'prescribed' her said manuscript, maybe it'll do the job again. haha.

Funnily enough, after I did a big rewrite (another one) of the beginning, she suddenly loved it. Scary, that is. She read all my books and loved them all; even fell in love with the gory thriller, and she doesn't do gory (who can blame her? Not my thing either, but writing it, let me tell you that, is a lot of fun.). At the moment, she's reading the third book in the Branded series, which I'm currently writing. It's a lot of pressure after two fabulous first books and I already know that I have to rework the beginning, but I'm now back with Tom, Celia, Sam, Jimmy and Adam, back in the kitchen, back to deal with the dark force. It'll have the usual romance, humour, cooking and fights with the Dark Side, as well as twists and turns. The last book in the series will hopefully be as entertaining and enjoyable as the other books. I'll try my very best, I promise.

And the WAR of the Indies continues ...

Yes, that's right. Do you remember the tagging WAR I had last year in May, when I was falsely accused of having an author's book tagged with inappropriate tags in German (because it could only have been me, for I'm German. Yeah, right.) I reported about this here.
Well, recently I was told that he's still onto it and I looked at the forum where said author, as expected, was tangled up in a hostile argument, again throwing abusive comments at people.
I quickly popped by to set the record straight, without talking to my 'stalker', but mentioning that he's got a reputation for being rude and abusive in his comments. He was pulled up for spamming the fora, although he knew about the MOA and that plugging is not permitted anywhere else, then said it was an honest mistake, which I don't believe. I mentioned that I have a strong suspicion that he's partaking in download and review exchanges. Looking at his reviews and then the authors who wrote them, one will find that this was a mutual agreement. Something I'm strictly against. This was a few weeks ago.

This person has now gone and left a review for my Rage against the Indie book, but only on the .com site, although he lives in the UK. It reads as if it was just posted in spite and not as if he's read it. In fact, both 1-star reviews do.

Here it is:
This offering was a load of outdated nonsense. i couldn't decide whether the author needed a pram, a nurse or a shrink. A rant maybe for the sake of hearing her own voice over and over again. It spoke of nothing new, it was at least insulting to anyone with an iota of intelligence. Where to place a comma, you will put your full stop here and not there was laughable. i was robbed, or should i say conned. 

How can you be conned if you didn't buy the book? I suspect he didn't put the review up on the UK site, because it would show that it's not a verified purchase. As you know I'm quite cool and laid back about negative reviews so, again, I'm asking you to not do anything about it. I find every person with common sense can see that it was just pay back and nothing else. The review is from a person who once said to me I should go back to Germany, because that's where I belong!
This is Indies for you, Ladies and Gentlemen. I'm not upset, but I'm annoyed and if this doesn't stop, I'll take further action. This is beyond having a normal disagreement, this is sabotage. And that's one reason why authors get their reviews deleted, because people use the system for childish revenge and authors, understandably, are not having any of it.
I don't have a problem with people hating my books, that happens, but if someone tries to deliberately harm me, that's where I draw the line.

Update on the Blogger front

As some of you may know, I gave up my old blog address http://wordsbystelladeleuze.blogspot.com by changing the URL to stella deleuze rants, and then, realising that my account must have been hacked, deleted the old account entirely and transferred the blog to a new one. The people who hacked into my account were cheeky enough to grab the old address, plus content and named it Stella Deleuze rants, which is quite infuriating. That's the reason why I named this blog Stella Deleuze rants and other topics.

I have reported this copyright infringement to Blogger and they are investigating. They got back to me saying they're onto it and asked me to provide more details. I have given the information they needed and am hoping that the twin blog, which is not mine (anymore), will be deleted.

Interestingly, I thought nobody would be able to do anything with a funny address like Words by Stella Deleuze, but someone grabbed it as soon as it was free (I discovered it the next day), imported the content of  my whole blog, and posted some incoherent stuff about online insurances. That is not my post, and anyone who knows my style, should have noticed. My friend was rather confused, so were probably a lot of followers.

What I've learned from this? Post about an address change to notify followers, keep/reserve the old address, or, if you change to a new account, delete the old one entirely. Saves you a lot of grief.

Are you a review whore?

Something I forgot to mention in Rage against the Indie is the constant moaning of authors to not get any reviews. They will say, I've given my books away for free (just out of interest, what do your normally charge when you give your books away?), and I still don't get any reviews. Whine, whine, whine!
First of all, if you call it promo, then treat it like a promotion; that means you give the books away as a marketing tool.
The aim of a promotion should be to spread the word about your books, to generate interest for your other work, in short: it's an introduction of your name. That's all there is to it.
Authors keep expecting readers to fulfil a contract they didn't sign. I've seen many comments--angry comments--saying that a review is the least authors could expect in return for a free book. Nonsense. It's a present from you to the reader and nothing else.
There's only one occasion when you can expect something in return: that's when you give books to reviewers in exchange for a review. There's an agreement on both sides..
If I'm entirely honest, I'd rather have ten readers tell their friends about my books, so that they go and buy them, too, than ten reviews and no further sale.
And I wish authors would stop saying they want the feedback from readers; it's curling my toes. It's not that I don't like hearing from readers, particularly if they loved my books, for it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling. It's nice to know when people like what I've sweated over, but if they hate it and leave negatives reviews, does it make me stop writing? No, it doesn't. When I hit the publish button I'm 100% behind the book and confident that it's a good book, not some kind of drivel.
I'm an author, it's my job to create a story readers can enjoy. I put my heart and soul, and all my knowledge into my books, and if someone comes along who happens to dislike my them, I'm not going to fall apart. Those reviews are not for me anyway; they're for potential buyers who still have to make a decision. Reviews are like buses: you wait for a long time, and then they come in bulk. I'm always grateful to see them arrive, but I don't expect them. If they come, I use them for marketing purposes, but I won't take any notice regarding my writing. Everyone's a critic; and I'm the most critical one when it comes to my own books.

Go on, make your books better

And you can even do that with my little book Rage against the Indie. It's free today and tomorrow and it's aimed at helping people to edit their manuscripts before they rush to publish. Something I've done in the past, and it's not something I'd recommend.

It also contains a rant about authors' behaviour on social media sites. Go on, have a giggle with ol' Stella Deleuze.

Amazon UK
Amazon.com
And on all other Amazon sites.

And when I checked the ranking on Amazon.com today (yes I do that), I even found this little gem of a new 1-star review:

Why would anybody think the world needs a book by an indie author ranting and slavering about how indie authors suck?
You can read this stuff all over the web, often done much better.
It's tapering off now that people are starting to get the message that things in publishing have changed and they aren't in charge of putting the toothpaste back in the tube... and now somebody thinks we need a book about it.

Guess what? We don't.

By the way, I have never written a negative review of a book before. There was never a need to until now. I just ignore books that suck. But this one sucks aggressively and harmfully.