Just to prove that Book 2 is not a myth. I have reached page 176, and am still going strong.
Here is a brief glimpse of part of Chapter One......................

Sam was a tall, gangly young man, with neither the build nor the face of a girl; neither had he the demeanour nor voice to pass in company. Following the males in his family, he’d started losing his hair at twenty-one, so was by twenty-six suffering from a very sparse forehead and crown. He’d bought a wig, but lacked the confidence or courage to even think about going out. That notwithstanding, there just wasn’t anyone to see him at this time of year, save a few moist sheep. At least they didn’t gossip.

He’d converted one room of his croft into a workshop where he could repair and build computers for local people, so managed to make a few extra pounds for that. Up here (NW Scotland), many outlying homes and crofts had embraced the computer generation as a means of maintaining contact with the outside world. However, it was never going to be enough for him to earn a huge living, so the Telecom company were only too happy to take him on, as he was well able to repair faults in a really inaccessible part of the world.

With his own Land Rover, tools and list of parts, he was independent and a free spirit. Occasionally, he’d drop down to the nearest depot and collect fresh parts, but for the most part, he was on his own.

He spent most of his time in a fantasy-land of his own mind. A land where he was the person he so wanted to be, and on those few occasions when he actually dressed, he was left feeling that there was an awful lot missing, plus a little extra that he often considered removing with a very sharp knife.

Sam was a very unhappy man as he pulled up next to a remote telephone pole, with junction box up high on the pole.

There has a fault isolated to this particular box, which under normal circumstances could have waited until the morning. However, this particular box wasn’t an ordinary exchange line, but actually housed MoD lines that ran from the Northern Early Warning Centre.

A leftover from the cold war, this centre still existed just to monitor shipping and aircraft. No longer so concerned with the Russians, the authorities now concentrated on those who sought to bring drugs, pirate DVDs, cigarettes and other illegal items, including immigrants and potential terrorists, into the UK. This junction box wasn’t vital, but important for their computer communications systems. Sam may have been unhappy, but he wasn’t stupid. A call-out after midnight meant a call-out fee and extra money.

He wasn’t a Scot for nothing!

Sam got out of the vehicle, grateful that the rain had slackened slightly. Unfortunately, such was the altitude that he was actually walking about inside a rain cloud, so no matter what he did, he got wet. He pulled on his bright orange coat and his hard hat, and strapped his toolkit around his waist. After propping the ladder up against the pole, he buckled his spiked soles onto his boots.

He was almost at the top when he heard the noise. It was a low-pitched whistle, with a strange throbbing feel to it. Then came the wind, causing the mist to curl and swirl in the lights of the Land Rover. The air buffeted Sam, so he grabbed the pole to prevent himself from being blown off his perch.

Then it stopped abruptly.

He hung in his harness, looking around him, trying to work out from where the weird wind originated. He stayed there for a few minutes, as the mist returned to its usual bland, damp nothingness. Shrugging, he continued up to the box, opened it and started work, illuminated by the small lamp on his hard hat.
He found the fault quickly; it was a loose connection caused by some slight corrosion. With all the damp in this atmosphere, it was impossible to make these boxes completely waterproof.

It took him a few seconds to repair, so then he attached his mobile testing phone and put through a test call. It worked, so he closed the box and started back to planet earth.

He never got there.

Just as he reached the top of the ladder, the ground started to shake, toppling the ladder from the pole. A swathe of brilliant blue light struck him from above, blinding him.

It was the last thing he remembered.
*********************************************************************************

Is there going to be a new girl in town?

Watch this space.

Tanya

Yet again, I'd just like to say a huge thanks to all those who have bought my new book A Chance Would be a Fine Thing. It has already received a 5 star review on Amazon.... REVIEW

I have now got it up on my website and with a rather longer spiel than on the Amazon page Tanya's Site

To all those who aren't into Kindle, you may be pleased to know that I have uploaded it for publication as a paperback, so this process takes around 2 - 3 weeks from today. Look for it on my FEED-A-READ page here - Feedaread.com

Once again, thank you from the bottom of my heart, I am almost at 12,000 books sold on Kindle alone since I started 20 months ago. If I can do it, so many other truly gifted writers here can do it too.

Tanya

Thank you to all of you who have PM'd or commented on my work so far. In a way I've cheated, because I have simply revised and reposted all my stories that exist elsewhere on the web.

A BIG thanks to Sephy for all her hard work in assisting in the posting. If there's one person who keeps things rolling, she's the one.

I have decided to continue Monique, so you may consider what is already posted (up to chapter 26) as Book One. There is a natural break, so I am taking the comments to heart and am going to continue her tale. There may be a little delay in posting the next lot, as I want to get a good bit written before posting, so please be patient with me.

i shall also be completing the sequels to many of the stories that already exist, so if you do not see my name appearing for a while, then now you know!

I have had many offers of proofreaders/editors, so what I may do is send one story to each, but I need to know who is serious about wanting to help. My reservations about using editors is that often they want to change the work completely, or take so long I become frustrated, so only serious applicants with experience, please. As I said, I have had many offers, for which I thank you, but please if you want to help me, give me an example of your work so that I can take a wee peek. I will be honest, there were more offers than I have stories, so please, please do not get upset if I select others. Perhaps I can use you the next time.

Tanya

...Just to put my work into context, I am retired, in that I have ceased one job, but am too young to stop working altogether. I need to work, but the financial climate is such that my line of work is suffering from corporate budget cuts and streamlining. I therefore have more time to write and am working on seventeen full length novels, several of which I shall post free here and on other sites. Some of them are sequels to works I have already posted.

However, I also need to earn a crust, so am looking to publish in eBook format several of my new novels. In addition, I am working on some novels destined for mainstream publication, with no or minimal TG elements therein.

I, as Sephrena has said, do visit regularly and read all comments. I have to admit that looking at some of my early works..like Shit Happens.. even though I thought I'd edited and revised them, I am embarrassed as to the basic faults I am finding. I'd love to go and redo them all again, but haven't the time, so be patient with me.

I'm not going to bust a gut in the editing of old work. Perhaps later, when I'm a million copies best selling author, I may employ someone to do it for me, but at the moment, I spend all spare time creating new material.

I do have very dear friends who cast a critical eye over my work, I think as an excuse to get an early peek at my humble offerings, and I am eternally grateful for their efforts. I am not perfect and my typing is, to be brutally honest - crap! But I do what I can.

I adore creating characters and then weaving plots for them to live through, but if there was abetter way of getting the words onto paper (even virtual paper) I'd do it. Please, if anyone knows of a mental-transference of words, let me know.

Hugs
Tanya

The first in what may be a very long
series is up

Higher than Eagles.

Hopefully, Erin and team will have it through this site soon,
but for the impatient, link to Amazon.com here - Higher than Eagles.

Amazon.co.uk here' Higher than Eagles

Is also available as a paperback through CreateSpace on Amazon

Tanya

Hi

This is a heads up... I have published a new book on Amazon Kindle... A CHANCE WOULD BE A FINE THING.

This is Book One of a triology following the exploits of a First World War soldier who carried that extra burden, which is put to good use during the war.

Book 2 takes him through WW2, and Book three takes us beyond the grave.... is reincarnation a real possibility? Follow the story and find out if it was in this case?

Book 1 is here for US readers A Chance Would be a Fine Thing .

and for UK Readers A Chance Would be a Fine Thing.

It is also available for Germany, France, Italy,Spain, Canada, Japan and Brazil.

Tanya

Just published on Amazon

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE

Tanya

So, you want to be a published author?

Yes please.

Fine. Let’s play twenty questions.

Okay.

Simple one first. Who are you?

Huh?

Got you! Are you going to use a nom de plume or are you going to write in your real name?

Does it matter?

Yes and no. You may want to write material that you may not want to associate with your real life, or you may want to keep your alter ego secret. The other consideration is payment and tax. If you write under one name, there is nothing stopping you registering your real details for payment and tax purposes with the publisher, and using a string of aliases for different genres and types of books with that publisher.

Okay, I have a question about tax.

Wait, all in good time, I will get to tax. Have you got a book finished?

Yes.

I mean, is it really finished, or is it just written up to the words THE END?

How do you mean?

Anyone can write from 50,000 to 100,000 words, but has it been proof-read, edited and checked for continuity?

Yes, I did it myself.

Okay, here’s mistake number one. It is a mistake I have made, and continue to make. In my eagerness, this is where I have cut corners in the past, to my cost! So, don’t do as I do (or have done) but do as I say - Although you know your work better than anyone else, it is for precisely that reason you need to let someone else look at your baby and make sure it’s ready. Have you got an editor/proof-reader?

No.

Get one. Seriously, this is the single most important thing after actually writing the book. Find someone whom you trust and is experienced/proficient in professional editing. You may have to pay… it is worth it.

…………….next question………..

Have you secured a fan-base/readership group?

A what?

Have you posted work onto the Internet in any form on sites where anyone or at last those who may be interested may read and leave feedback?

(if ) No

Then start posting. Get an editor and post your work. It’s like sticking your head above the parapet, but you need to be seen and get your name known as a writer of stuff that people want.

IF Yes.

What has the response been like?

How do you mean?

Have many people read it and left feedback?

Yes.

Okay, have those who have read your work been encouraging and supportive, or have they simply told you not to quit your day job?

Basically encouraging, with a few critical and some with suggestions.

Always listen to those who are critical. If they’ve taken the trouble to respond and have found something that isn’t quite right, then look seriously at what they say. You may not agree, and you may not like being criticised, but the ability to heed criticism is an author’s finest quality. If you don’t, you won’t improve. Period!

Have you posted to more than one site?

No

You must give your work the best chance to be seen my the maximum amount of people.

Do you have a Blog and/or website on which you can post or advertise where your work may be read?

No.

Get both. Either build a website yourself, or get someone who can. There are specific sites that offer free site-builder tools and free hosting which you may change to a pay site later. I use www.yola.com.
I stress, it is free and gets your name and your material out there. Once you do start selling, then you can use it to broadcast your work. Also, if you want, start your own fan-base readers’ group on Yahoo or similar.

Okay, now we’ve reached that part when you have a product that is ready. Have you ensured copyright?

No.

Then log your work, ensuring the copyright is retained by you and place the standard copyright blurb at the beginning. There is a lot of theft out there, particularly on the Internet, so secure your work.

How about a cover, have you got one ready?

No, I thought the publisher did that.

If you self-publish, then it’s down to you, unless you want to pay for the service. Some sites let you design it on their own program (www.feedaread.com), while others expect you to provide it completed (www.kdp.amazon.com ) .
I use programs such as Adobe photoshop and MS Publisher. I can get the images right in photoshop and then put the cover together in publisher, saving it as a JPEG.

There are professionals out there who would always be willing to do it … at a cost. It is worth getting a cover that people will notice and will want to open to see what’s behind it.

This brings me to the next question, do you want to self-publish or go down the agent — publisher route?

What’s the difference?

Okay, the first route is more work, but can be better for those who write for a restricted readership. Self-publishing is rewarding as you do ALL the work and take home the lion’s share of the royalties. The hosting service take a portion, but nothing like the cut that you have to give agents and publishers.

Agents and publishers are struggling now that self-publishing is taking off. They tend to stick to authors or material that will sell in their tens of thousands. Therefore if your name is not known, it is less likely (not impossible) that you will be taken on by an established publisher. New writers are taken on if the material is deemed sellable in high quantities. They will talk about quality, but what they mean is saleability. They are profit orientated, so it’s not really to do with the quality or cultural importance of a book, but the likelihood of selling in big numbers.

The advantage of Agents/publishers is that they do the work. You write the book and they can arrange everything else, including the editing, the cover, the advertising, publicity etc. If you self-publish, guess who has to do all that? Yup, the writer… that’s you!

If you are luck enough to get a publisher to take you on… GO FOR IT, otherwise, let’s look at the self publishing route.

Do you want to publish eBooks or Paperbacks?

I’m not sure, both possibly.

Which platform/provider do you want to go with?

What options are open to me?

Loads! There is www.lulu.com , www.kdp.amazon.com , www.smashwords.com , www.createspace.com , www.feedaread.com , and many more.

Some like KDP(Kindle) and Smashwords only do ebooks, while Createspace and feedaread only do paperbacks.

KDP and Createspace are Amazon companies and are linked. I have used both.

I have also used Smashwords and Feedaread.

Of them all, I found Feedaread very easy to make paperbacks. They pay directly into your Paypal account.

Smashwords are versatile in that they can push your book out in all the current eBook formats, whereas KDP only do Kindle versions.

CreateSpace and KDP pay to your real name accounts. Either direct to your bank account (for me all GB Pounds and Euros go straight into my bank account) while US$ cheques are sent to me, so I have opened a US Dollar account for them in a UK bank.
Smashwords pay direct.

NOTE, they pay to your real name, regardless of how many aliases you have created to write under.

Now, about tax….

Oh goody!

Are you a taxpayer?

Yes. (if not, submit your status to the relevant company)

Fine, then you need to establish where you pay taxes and for those areas that you do not pay, you may need exemption certificates otherwise the US companies will withhold tax.

Huh?

The companies (US) like Amazon, withhold tax for the IRS unless you tell them that you are not a US taxpayer and belong to a nation (Like the UK) who have a tax treaty with them. It seems complicated, but it is the US Tax law. So, they will automatically withhold an extra 35% over and above their cut to pay Uncle Sam. You may only get 30% of the royalties unless you get your finger out.

IT IS SIMPLE.

You complete a downloadable form stating you are a UK (or whatever) tax payer. (Amazon has the forms on the KDP website). You send the handwritten form with your passport and other identity and tax payer confirming documents to the US IRS at the US Embassy in London (or where ever). You are requesting an ITIN number. They will (eventually) send you a form with an ITIN number on it. All you need do is complete another form requesting the release of withheld tax (available on the Amazon site) and send the details to Amazon and Bob’s your aunty.

If you use another US company, like Smashwords, all you need do is notify them of your ITIN number. You don’t have to keep applying for each company. You only need one ITIN number.

Enough for now?

If you have any questions, please drop me a line.

I will move onto any questions you may have and the actual mechanics of uploading material next time.

Tanya

Hi everyone.
This is just a note to update you on The Other side of Dreams.

I originally wrote it as a short novella and thought it complete. However, having taken a second look at it, and hopefully improving it slightly, I've been quite pleased with the result. Many readers have contacted me with helpful comments and some suggestions. The one suggestion I am taking seriously is to insert a couple of chapters in the TEEN YEARS, a segment I had decided against in the original, as I felt TEENS had been done to death by so many writers. So, with some inspiration and a couple of ideas, I am doing exactly that.

You could have the original final chapter, if you want, but if you're willing to wait a little while, then you can have the additional material and then the final chapter. Unless you tell me you want it over and done with, I propose to get scribbling and see what pans out. There may even be another cliffhanger, or similar, we'll just have to see.

Oh, a little while could be anything from a few days to a couple of weeks. It depends on Real Life and my Muse. Hopefully, it will only be a couple of days.

Tanya

Hi

For those who are interested, and I accept that not everyone is, SHIT HAPPENS, SO DO MIRACLES & WHISPERS IN THE SOUL are now available as paperbacks.
Find them on my website here: Tanya's Tales or direct from feedaread.com

Tanya