Tag: fiction

Monday Blog: Valentine Month

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val

Welcome to the first Monday Blog of February! I have plenty of good news for you. This month is Valentine Month, and not just because of the holiday. I’m celebrating the five books in the Valentine series. There’s a give-away going on this week: Kindle versions of Valentine and Valentine 2: The Patron Saint, are FREE!!! Between February 5 and February 9, you can get both eBooks for free, if you have a Kindle or the Kindle App. I’m using this promotion to introduce Valentine to a new audience. If you decide to download either book, and you like what you read, please take a moment to post a review!

 

Dee Seybrook Cover Art

 

Dee Seybrook: Rock N’ Roll Diva

Yes, I finally finished my twentieth book! Dee Seybrook is currently available on Amazon in the form of a paperback. I will release the eBook in a month or so. The story follows Dee’s rediscovery of punk rock while Aidan and the band are out on their first national tour. Consider this book to be a teaser until Righteous is ready.

 

Mommy and Siblings

 

A Rose Left Behind

My mother and fellow author, June E. Parris, has just completed her second book! A Rose Left Behind is the story of a special paranormal secret one family discovers within the walls of their home. It should be available for sale by the end of February.

Until next week, folks…

Monday Blog: Learning From Failure

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Nicole_WEBooksMarch2017
Some of my books were published through Xlibris, others with Create Space

 

Happy Monday, everyone! This week, I wanted to discuss the importance of failure. Yes, failure is important. When things don’t go the way you want them to, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’ve had several failures in my life, and I’m grateful for each one, because I learned a valuable lesson from them.

I’ve worked at jobs I couldn’t stand. I’ve been to college, but didn’t graduate. I’ve worked with publishers who either ripped me off, or simply folded. Something wonderful has come out of each of these events. For example:

The Event                                Negatives                                           Positives

Working at Walgreen’s         long hours, crazy schedules            $ for publishing,

                                                   limited free time                              learned to manage business

                                                                                                                learned customer service

 

Working at B&N                    not much $                                         learned book releases                                                                                                                          discount on books

                                                                                                               internet access

 

Going to Art Institute             $$student loan                              intro’d to work of Patti Smith,

                                                                                                             Rimbaud, Diane Arbus

                                                                                                             learned Photo Shop

                                                                                                             learned how to use color

                                                                                                             learned to design website

 

Working with Xlibris              $$$ for marketing                          learned about publishing

                                                   $$$ for publishing                           learned about marketing

                                                                                                               my work in print

 

 

In every case, the positives far outweighed the negatives. Take all of the negative things in your life, whether it’s your job, or school, or even a relationship, and pull as many useful things as you can from them. I may not have finished at the Art Institute (they closed their TriBeCa location because the Government sued them, BTW), but I did learn to use Photo Shop, I learned how to use a variety of color schemes, and how to design a website. Working with Xlibris may have been costly, but I was able to get my work in print for the first time. So, I took a negative, and turned it into a positive. I hope you can do the same.

Until next week…

Monday Blog: Symbols and Witchcraft in “The Witch of Fulton Lane”

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It’s Monday, so it’s time for the Monday Blog. This week, in honor of Emo Month, I wanted to talk about the use of symbols and witchcraft in The Witch of Fulton Lane.

We’re surrounded by symbols. Some of them are obvious, while others are not easily recognizable. One of the most misunderstood symbols, is the pentacle, the star inside a circle. In Fulton Lane, Dylan wears a pentacle around her neck for protection. This is NOT an evil symbol. If the star was inverted, that would be associated with the devil, or Satanism. Here’s a fun fact: the symbol on Converse high-tops, is a pentacle. Give yourself a moment to absorb that.

Witchcraft is an important part of Fulton Lane. Dylan is a witch, and she does cast a few spells throughout the story. She also performs tarot card readings, and speaks with the dead. Don’t worry: I didn’t throw a bunch of random information into this story. I did my homework for this one. I wanted to incorporate witchcraft into this story, not just for entertainment purposes, but because I wanted to cast a positive light on the subject. People tend to fear the unknown and the things they don’t understand. I hope, after reading this book, people will become more interested in learning about the subject, rather than simply dismissing it as evil.

Next week: Erin’s Emo Playlist!

Valentine in Queens Public Library

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Valentine_QueensLib

 

This is pretty big for me: 2 of my ebooks are available on Queens Public Library’s website! So, if you have a QPL card, you can borrow 2 of my ebooks!! How cool is that! Here’s a link: http://www.queenslibrary.org/search/apachesolr_search/nicole%20woolaston?filters=tm_a:nicole%20AND%20tm_a:woolaston

I’m working on adding more titles to their collection, but to have 2 so far, ain’t half bad!

woolastonentertainment.com

Monday Blog: A Vigilante, A Witch, and An Update

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Greetings, everyone! Monday Blog time! This week, I wanted to discuss Valentine 5: The Queen’s Fold, The Witch of Fulton Lane, and provide an update about Righteous.

Valentine 5: The Queen’s Fold

If you’ve been keeping up with the previous blog entries, you may have been wondering, “Is that all she’s going to say about Valentine 5?” Fear not! I’m going to talk more about it, right here. When I first introduced Val Entienne, she was on a road trip to save her father. She wanted to find him alive, but if he was dead, she was going to avenge his death. Val ended up helping Melinda St James, a fourteen-year-old girl whose parents had died, and was on her way to live with her grandparents. Instead, she joins Val on her trip to L.A., and ends up living with her afterwards. This is where Val’s real adventure begins: she gets into a fight with a mob boss, shoots a few people, and puts her life on the line to keep her friends and family safe. She even travels to Italy, and learns about the history of the Entienne family. So, after all of the fighting and shooting and killing, between meeting and befriending hitmen and accepting her place in the Syndicate, how does the story of Valentine end?  It ends the only way it can end: with a bang. There’s a difference between reputation and action; a legend and the truth. The final book, brings everything full circle.

The Witch of Fulton Lane

I had been wanting to write this book for a very long time, but other books stood in the way, and I wasn’t even sure of where or how to start. Finally, I figured, time’s a-wasting, so I needed to get started. I’ve been into astrology, the paranormal, and psychic powers for years. I’ve had many readings done, and I also read tarot cards. So, there’s a little bit of me in the main character, Dylan Maycriss.  Dylan is a witch, and I’m not just name-calling here. She is a Wiccan, is a believer in the occult, and, as you will read when the book comes out, she does have supernatural powers. But what Dylan can do, won’t be the heart of the story. Of course, you’ll have to wait until the book is available to see what I mean.

Update on Righteous

I don’t want any of you to think I’m shelving this book forever. Between Righteous, The Witch of Fulton Lane, and Valentine 5, I was stretching myself way too thin. Plus, I have a few side projects I’ve been working on for other people. In order to give Righteous the attention it deserves, I thought it would be best to postpone working on it until January 2018. This way, I’ll be able to give you the best version of the book I can possibly give, instead of rushing through it.

Until next week folks…

Monday Blog, Posted Wednesday: Updates

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Hello, everyone! Welcome back to the Monday Blog. September 11 was Patriot Day, so I decided to postpone the Blog for today (hence, why I am posting now). This week, I just wanted to share a few updates.

Valentine 5: The Queen’s Fold

I’m finished with all of my editing, the cover art is ready, so all that’s left to do, is publish the book! This is it, folks: the end of the Valentine series. The final chapter. Val vs Rafferty. I sent the manuscript to Create Space, so once it meets their approval and I read through the author’s proof, I will release the book for sale.

 

Comic for Bethel’s Bear Facts

As I mentioned last week, I’m working on a special project for my High School, Bethel High, in Hampton, VA. I’m drawing a series of comics for the newspaper, “The Bear Facts”. Each will be centered around a theme for Bethel. Right now, I’m thinking of using Jon and Olivia from Our Lady of Righteous Rage, as high school students. I’m working on other ideas as well.

Changes to the website

If you’ve visited woolastonentertainment.com lately, you may have noticed a few changes. Copies of first editions of my books are for sale via Paypal, and the prices of paperback and ebooks are now posted on the site (not sure why I didn’t think of that before). I will make other changes as they become necessary.

 

The Witch of Fulton Lane

I’m working on a new book, which will be a supernatural story, with a touch of drama. It should be available by the end of the year. As Halloween approaches, I release more info about the story and the characters. This is going to be very different from anything I’ve ever written, and I hope you enjoy it when it’s available.

 

Previews

I have previews for you!

The Witch of Fulton Lane:

https://woolent.wordpress.com/2017/09/13/preview-the-witch-of-fulton-lane/

 

Valentine 5: The Queen’s Fold:

https://woolent.wordpress.com/2017/09/13/preview-valentine-5-the-queens-fold/

 

Donations

Donations are in the mail! Yeah!

 

Until next week…

 

Monday Blog: Fortune’s Wing Graphic Novel

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20170814_105903-1

 

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the final Monday Blog for the month of August. This week’s topic: the Fortune’s Wing Graphic Novel. I began drawing it several years ago, and never finished it. Sad, right? Anyway, it was going to follow the same story as the three books, with Fortune Oyama learning about his destiny, growing a Left Wing, and setting out on a journey to a) find the Right Wing, and then b) save or destroy the world. Being a fan of Japanese manga, the completed Fortune’s Wing GN would have been in black and white.

What you see with this post, is a page from the draft I started working on. Fortune is telling his sister Haverdy about his dreams about the world coming to an end. I’d like to complete this GN, and start a few new ones as well. When I’ve published a few more books, I’ll have more time to work on them.

Next month is September, and its Back-To-School time! I will donate W.E. books to libraries here in the states and abroad. There’s a town called Woolaston, in the UK, near Bream, and they have a library! How cool is that? Plus, Valentine 5 should be ready for all to enjoy. Until next week…

 

 

 

Monday Blog: Enos and Degenerate R

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Scene from Enos.        Degenerate R

 

Hello, everyone! Welcome to blog entry number two for the month of August. This month’s theme is Comics and Graphic Novels, so, naturally, this post will be related to that. I wanted to share some more info about two W.E. comics, “Enos” and “Degenerate R”. Both started out as comics, but later became books (because as I have mentioned in the past, I can write a book faster than I can draw a comic).

The Enos Series

After appearing in several of my fiction books, I corralled Amy, Dee, Vanessa, Yvonne, Nyda, Carmen and Erin from Our Lady, into a Sailor Moon inspired sci-fi series I named “Enos”. In this story, on Natca, a planet far away, five young alien girls train to become Natcan Cadets. Four are named after precious stones (Diamond, Emerald, Topaz, and Sapphire). The fifth and most headstrong of the group, is named Enos (because I thought it sounded cool). Donya, their teacher, is preparing them to go up against the mighty Herron Empire: the alien race who invaded and took over their planet. However, Donya is summoned to the palace for an impromptu trip to Earth, before her Cadets complete their training. Her Cadets sneak on board the Herron shuttle bound for Earth, and lose their lives in a battle. Their powers are imprisoned inside the Natcan Cadet Crystal, which Donya steals upon arriving on Earth. She passes the Cadet’s powers on to five new girls (Amy, Vanessa, Dee, Carmen and Yvonne). They use separate pieces of the crystal to transform, and become the new Natcan Cadets. As the story continues, new Cadets join the team (Nyda and Erin) and new enemies arrive to challenge Earth. One note about this series: it is FEMALE dominated. The heroes are female. Most of the villains are female. It’s chick lit, so to speak. Which brings us to…

 

The Degenerate R Series

If you’re into anime or manga, you probably know about all of those wonderful shojo magical girl series. Female characters transform and use special powers to fight evil. If “Enos” is a magical girl series, then “Degenerate R” is a “magical boy” series. I’ve always thought of Degenerate R as the male answer to “Enos”. Rob from my Our Lady series, is the main character. He’s a college student, in the town of St. Moral, just trying to go to school and live his life. All of that normalcy is interrupted by the arrival of Mischievous A, a female “Militant Warrior”, clad in a pleated denim skirt and a camouflage jacket. She fights the monster that attacks Rob’s campus on the day he’s trying to register for classes. Rob becomes so impressed by her, he ends up becoming a Militant Warrior himself. Like Mischievous A, he transforms via a ring, and becomes Degenerate R. As the series develops, other Militant Warriors join the team, and fight an enemy known as the Blue Shadow Clan.

 

I haven’t published the books from either series, because I didn’t want to create a conflict for the Our Lady series. I figured, it would confuse the reader. But, someday, I may publish some of the work, and it will be similar to Punk and Whiskers.  These books would be unrelated to the Our Lady series, and meant to be light-hearted reading.

 

Until next week…

Finding Inspiration Through Nostalgia

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cover of the hand written edition of Valentine 2
cover of Chaos Theory
cover of Vengeance Angel Yuka

The covers of some of my hand-written books, anime inspired…

 

 

I’m currently reading Jen Sincero’s “You Are A Badass”, and I read a passage that suggested going back to your childhood, and thinking about the things you were passionate about. It sounded like pretty solid advice, so I took a moment to think.

I’m a writer, and its something I’ve always been passionate about. I’ve been writing books for myself since second grade, and I’d like to think, my skills as a story teller have improved over the years. Every now and then, I develop a case of Writer’s Block, and I find myself feeling a bit uninspired. But, I have found a way to pull myself together, and start writing again. I went back to my childhood, to when I started writing more detailed books, with chapters and developed characters. This happened when I was about eleven or twelve. I would wake up early on Saturday morning, around 4:30 or 5:00, and start writing.  Back then, I worked on two or three books at a time. I was always excited to finish a book, and draw the cover, make a spine label and place my Woolaston Entertainment logo on the back cover. I even kept a hand-written spread sheet of stats for my books: how may chapters, pages, dates for starting and completing each book, etc. I was my own publisher, and I LOVED it.

Whenever I find myself at a loss for anything, I think about those days. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was building something very special and very important back then: I was building me.