Tag: writing

Monday Blog: Drawing Inspiration from Nostalgia

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Happy Monday, everyone! I hope all of you had a good weekend. In keeping with this month’s theme, I wanted to talk about drawing inspiration from nostalgia. I’ve been having a lot of nostalgic dreams lately, and thinking about things from my childhood. One such memory, is related to my desire to want to learn to play the guitar.

I thought this desire began when I fell in love with punk rock, but I recently realized, it started waaayyyyyy before that.  When I was about seven years old, I had a large plastic boat, which was a replica of Noah’s Ark. It came with pairs of animals and everything. I used to dump the animals out of the ark, and stretch rubber bands across the top of the ark, to make a guitar.  Then I moved up to using shoeboxes and rubber bands.

Of course, years later, I did acquire a real guitar, and then I began learning to play. This, combined with my love of punk rock, led to the creation of Our Lady of Righteous Rage.

I watched a lot of anime throughout my childhood, and started reading manga (or graphic novels, if you prefer). Shows such as Sailor Moon and Revolutionary Girl Utena, and Neon Genesis Evangelion, inspired me to write Fortune’s Wing and Valentine. I’ve mentioned this before, but if either of those series ever become films or TV series, I want them to be animated.

Then of course, there’s The Witch of Fulton Lane. You’re probably wondering what inspired me to write that story. I’ve always been interested in the paranormal, and The Craft is one of my favorite movies. I’ve been reading tarot cards for the past few years, and when I came up with the concept behind Fulton Lane, I was able to take all of my interests and knowledge, and work them into the story.

If you look carefully at what you’re creating now, you may find little bits and pieces of your own childhood weaved into your creation(s). This can be intentional or unintentional.  Nostalgia can be very inspirational.

Until next week…

A little something from “Righteous”

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I’m still working on Our Lady of Righteous Rage #4: Righteous. Here’s a little sample from Chapter 62. Enjoy!

           “Think about it,” Nick said. “If it wasn’t for Our Lady, would any of us visit Kansas City or Chicago? Albuquerque or Scottsdale? Would any of us even venture out this far? We were just kids in New York, learning to play guitars and writing songs here and there. Now look at us! We’re playing gigs across the country. We’re just a little indie punk band, and people in Arizona and California and Illinois actually want to pay to hear us play! How’d that happen?”

            We were silent. It made me think about where I was, just a few years ago. Graduating from high school. Moving around with Mom. Homeless and living in a hotel room. Then, working in a bookstore. Working at Urban Collective. Making friends with rock stars. How did that happen?

            “It happened because it was meant to,” Mike said, standing up from his chair. “I don’t want to get too religious and freak anyone out, but I believe there’s a plan for everyone. Call it God, or the Divine, or the universe, or whatever, but there’s a higher power out there, that creates a purpose for all of us. I didn’t really know what my purpose was, until you asked me to be your manager. I didn’t think I could do it. But you had faith in me, so I just put my best foot forward, and did what I thought was the right thing. We’re here, because we’re supposed to be here. You feel me?”

 

Monday Blog: What Inspires You?

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Inspiration

 

It’s Monday! It’s April! It’s time for the Monday Blog! Why am I so excited? Because Spring is here (I mean, it’s been here since March 20th, but now it actually feels like Spring). As a New Yorker, and a woman of Caribbean descent, I’m tired of the cold weather.

This month’s theme will center around inspiration. I’m also going to include Small Businesses, since I have one, and Record Shop Day is coming up on April 21. But, mostly, I will focus on inspiration.

Inspiration comes in many forms. A book, a song, your favorite movie, perhaps. Whenever I find myself in a creative rut, I turn to the things that inspire me, to help me reclaim my creativity. For example, I got stuck while working on Righteous, and picked up a copy of AP Magazine, which happened to have a section filled with inspirational quotes from musicians. Reading that issue gave me the inspiration I needed to start writing again, and it also gave me an idea for this month’s theme (so it was a twofer!).

Sometimes, inspiration comes from an act instead of a physical object. When I need to clear my head and come up with fresh ideas, a walk can be very inspirational. When I need to channel my energy, lighting incense or a candle really helps me.

So, what inspires you? Feel free to share in the comments below!

Monday Blog: Things to Come: Righteous

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OLORRBlackrose

 

Welcome back, everyone. I hope you had a great weekend. For those of you who found yourselves snowed in, I hope you found plenty to keep yourself occupied. This is the final Monday Blog for the month of March, and I wanted to share some of the things I’m working on for Righteous.

 

The band hits the road…

The hardest part about writing this particular book, is writing about the individual shows. I’ve never played a live show, so I can’t draw from my own personal experience. What I can do, is think back to every live show I’ve been to, and use the performances I’ve seen as a basis for my writing. So far, it’s really helping.

 

More than just shows…

Righteous is about more than Our Lady hitting the road and playing gigs in new cities. I want the story to focus on some of the other characters the band meets along the way (for example, Carla Caliece. You’re going to love her!).  As I have done in the past, I will include a real event or two within the story, in keeping with the time frame (2013).

 

Things get a little more personal…

One of my favorite things about the Our Lady series, is the fact that each character has some degree of personal baggage. David’s issue is his divorce from Amy. Amy’s issue is, trying to live up to the expectations placed on her as a musician and a female role model. Nick’s issue is trying to write better music, and so on. Two bands who don’t get along are touring at the same time, playing the same cities. You know there’s going to be a fight or two…

I have to write new music…

Yep, this is a story about a band, so there have to be some song lyrics here and there, right? Right. Our Lady’s music, is my music. This book, and the idea of my fictional band going on tour, means it’s time for me to break out the old notepad and pen some new songs! But it’s cool, because I enjoy it.

 

Room for one more?

Will this be the grand finale of the series? No! I’ve already started making plans to write the next book! Yeas, I’m crazy like that. Not to give too much away, but the next book may revolve around some of the music Nick is going to write while he’s on the road…

I haven’t come up with a theme for April yet, but I’m always open to suggestions! Until next week…

 

Monday Blog: How Well Do You Know Our Lady?

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OurLadyRSCover

 

Happy Monday, folks! Welcome back to the Monday Blog. This week’s topic: how well do you know Our Lady of Righteous Rage, the series? I have created a 20-question quiz for readers to test their knowledge! The questions are pretty easy, and it’s just for fun. The higher your score, the more knowledgeable you are! The highest possible score is 20 points, so if you want to test your knowledge, I wish you the best of luck!

Here’s a link to the quiz: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfq3Vi4xYykzMMLBD3FLtq9W-qh1R7FLRLUVYxiplNASETQNw/viewform

 

 

Whether you’ve read the series or not, I believe you’ll still enjoy the quiz. If you’ve read the series, it’s a fun way to find out how much you may actually remember from it. If you haven’t read the series, this may pique your interest.

In other news, I have outlined the remaining chapters of Righteous (46-95, to be exact). Hopefully, I will have the first draft completed by mid-April or so.

Also, I’ve made a change to the Author’s Corner requirements, so please have a look!

 

Monday Blog: My Inspiration for Our Lady of Righteous Rage

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Happy Monday, everyone! This week, I’m thinking about all of the things that inspire me to write. I like to keep my mind active while I’m working on a book, and one way I do this is by reading material that relates to what I’m working on. I also engage in activities that relate to what I’m working on (if I can). I’m currently writing the first draft for Righteous, book four in the Our Lady of Righteous Rage series, so I’m doing a few things to keep me inspired.

 

greenday

Music: I’m a huge fan of Punk Rock, and that’s the basis of this series. I also listen to Indie Rock, a little Goth, and a few other genres.  I always listen to music while I’m on the bus or the train, but lately I’ve been making more of an effort to listen to it while I’m writing. The bands I’m listening to at the moment are:

Green Day (of course)

Blink 182

The Killers (“The Man” is my new work-out song)

Led Zeppelin

Jack White

Fall Out Boy

Portugal. The Man

IAMX (I heard “Look Outside” on How To Get Away With Murder, and now I’m in love with it!)

Fleetwood Mac (“The Chain”; thank you Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)

Bauhaus (“Bella Lugosi’s Dead”)

That’s just the short version of the list. I can’t even begin to tell you how much music is on my phone, or how many CD’s I own (yes, I still listen to CD’s).

 

 

Guitars: I still have two of my electrics, Billie Joe and Jack. I recently donated Dillinger, my Maestro by Gibson. I’ve been spending more time with them. My goal is to get better at playing power chords. In the meantime, playing is relaxing. I used to be lazy and sit down every time I played. One day I stood up without realizing it, so that’s an improvement. I recently taught myself to play “Smile Like You Mean It”, by The Killers.

 

Reading: I’ve said it before, and I’m going to say it again: READ THE GENRE YOU’RE WRITING FOR!!!! When I’m working on anything Our Lady related, I read a ton of material about Punk Rock, music, and thumb through issues of Alternative Press and Guitar Player. I recently finished New York Rock by Steven Blush. Being a New Yorker who loves rock, I really enjoyed reading this book. It contains a lot of history about New York bands, like Velvet Underground and New York Dolls. I’ve read books like Please Kill Me and Everybody Loves Our Town, but this book was focused on New York, which made it extra special.

I believe finding things to inspire your writing is essential. Listening to music, playing my guitars and reading books and magazines that are music-related, helps me keep my brain focused on my writing, and I manage to get more writing done. If you ever find yourself facing a case of Writer’s Block, you may want to give this a try.  

Monday Blog: The Author’s Corner; Our Lady Gets Righteous

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Greetings, salutations, and all that jazz! Welcome to the first Monday Blog for the month of March! Before I begin, I want to give a shout-out to my mother and fellow author, June Parris. Her birthday was on Friday. Plus, her second book, A Rose Left Behind, is currently available on Amazon!

This week, I have two topics for you, so let’s get started…

 

The Author’s Corner

I came up with a wonderful idea last week. I created a new page on the Woolaston Entertainment website, called “The Author’s Corner”. I’m going to post info about other authors here, for a small donation (seriously, you can donate as little as $1). I will post a picture of the author, the cover of their book, a bio, info about the book itself, along with links to the author’s website and social media pages. All donations will go towards keeping the website up, and covering the costs of shipping donations to libraries and other organizations. The info posted on this page will remain posted, until the author asks me to remove it. I hope this goes well. I have already received a donation from an author who didn’t want me to post anything, but wanted to donate anyway (thank you!). This isn’t just for authors: bloggers, writers, etc, can participate. 

 

OLORREpi
OLORR album cover

 

Our Lady Gets Righteous

I began working on the fourth installment of the Our Lady of Righteous Rage series last year. Then, I put it aside, to work on other projects. I resumed working on it last month, and I am determined to finish the first draft by the end of April. So, most of March will be devoted to Our Lady. Since my eBook giveaways were successful in February, I may have another giveaway this month. We’ll see how it goes.

 

 

Monday Blog: Fun With SEO; Valentine Giveaway Results

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Welcome back to the Monday Blog, everyone. This week, I wanted to talk about SEO, and the Valentine 3 giveaway. Plus, other  #FreeBookFebruary goodies.

Fun With SEO

In case you don’t know what SEO is, it stands for Search Engine Optimization. This is the practice of using certain key words and phrases on your website, which will guide people to your website.

The best place to start, is with your content. Creating engaging content for your site can be difficult and a bit time consuming, but it’s definitely worth it, once you begin to see results. I didn’t take this very seriously, until about a year ago. When I changed my site’s content, I noticed more and more people were looking at it. The first words that appear on your site, are the most important. On Woolaston Entertainment’s home page, beneath the WE logo, are the words “Author and Artist”. This tells you who I am, and what “m about. Next, is “Creator of Unique Amazon Books”, which is one of the things I do.  Try to look at your site from your viewer’s point of view. If you wanted someone to search for your site, what would you expect them to type? If you sell men’s shoes, a key phrase to include on your homepage would be “men’s shoes”. However, if you sell a specific brand of shoes, such as Steve Madden, you would include “Steve Madden” on your homepage. The more specific you are, the more results you’ll receive, and more people will find your site.

There’s a great article online, which can walk you through SEO, step by step, called “How to Optimize Your Website for Search Engine Use”. The link is here: https://www.wikihow.com/Optimize-Your-Website-for-Search-Engine-Use

You may also want to look into the company you use to maintain your website. For example, I use Go Daddy, which has a pretty decent SEO feature.

 

The Witch of Fulton Lane
Allan and Mac

 

 

Valentine Giveaway Results

I ran a promotion for Valentine 3 on Feb 12, and it ended on Feb 14 (Valentine’s Day!). Seven copies were downloaded, which is nice. So, I’m making progress!

 

The Witch of Fulton Lane

The Witch of Fulton Lane is now available as an eBook! The price is only 99 cents, so if you have a Kindle or the Kindle App, you can purchase a copy! It’s available here: https://www.amazon.com/Witch-Fulton-Lane-Nicole-Woolaston-ebook/dp/B079T848JG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518881586&sr=8-1&keywords=the+witch+of+fulton+lane

 

Allan and Mac Giveaway

From Feb 19 through Feb 21, you can download a copy of Allan and Mac: A Valentine Apart Story, for FREE!! This is the first book in the Valentine Apart series, and it introduces siblings Allan and Mac Avery, the hitmen from Valentine 3: Queen of Hearts. If you have a Kindle or the Kindle App, please take advantage of this opportunity.
Until next week…

 

 

Monday Blog: Is Valentine a Feminist Series?

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Val3CoverFinal
Valentine 3

 

Hello! Welcome back! I missed you over the weekend (really, I did!) It’s Monday, so it’s time for the Monday Blog. It’s Valentine month, so I have good news, and great news! Plus, I’m going to answer one of my reader’s questions: Is Valentine a feminist series?

Valentine 1 and 2 Promotion Results

The first two books in the Valentine series were free for Kindle and the Kindle App, from Feb 5th through the 9th. The results: seven of you downloaded books! Two of you emailed me to say how much you enjoyed the books! Thank you! I’m going to run promotions like this throughout the rest of the year, so you may want to check the website often. And now for the better news…

Valentine 3 Promotion

You’ve read books 1 and 2, so you may as well read 3, right? Valentine 3: Queen of Hearts, will be FREE, for Kindle and the Kindle App, from Feb 12th through 14th (starting TODAY!) So, if you have the Kindle or the Kindle App, you can download a free copy! How cool is that?

Valentine 3 is available here: https://www.amazon.com/Valentine-Hearts-Nicole-E-Woolaston-ebook/dp/B01MXXYCEC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1518289553&sr=8-1

Is Valentine a Feminist Series?

I never really thought of myself as a feminist, or a feminist writer, for that matter. I simply write what I like. My writing began with my love of books, and my difficulty finding books with subjects I wanted to read about, over time. But I suppose I can call myself a feminist writer: most of my characters are female, and most of those females are not “damsels in distress”.

Now, for the question: Is Valentine a feminist series? The answer: yes. Sure it is. Was that my intention? No. But that’s the way it worked out. Let’s consider the definition of the word feminist: person who supports feminism. Well, that didn’t help, did it? Let’s consider the definition of feminism instead: the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. That’s much better. Think about the “heroes” we see in movies and on television. There have always been plenty of “tough guys” around. The renegade cop with a chip on his shoulder. The butt-kicking karate expert. There are plenty of strong male characters, but now, more strong female characters are emerging. Val Entienne is a female, but she has some masculine traits: she carries a pair of guns, she drives a classic Mustang, she’s not afraid to get into a fight, etc. She’s like this, because she can be like this. I wanted to take a male personality, and place it inside a female character. Then I wanted to surround her with other females like herself (Lola Vencent, Jo Fuentes, Mac Avery, etc.). In the end, I wanted to show, a girl and be both a badass, and a girl.

 

Until next week…