This Year's Love...

2010 is almost over and what a year it's been.

This year I've moved countries and started fresh in a new part of the UK. I've had a baby who is growing into a gorgeous little girl. I've had another novel published and written a couple more. I've made plenty of new friends--both my online writing buddies, and friends in my 'real' world. I've learnt a hell of a lot about the publishing industry, had a few short stories accepted for anthologies, and started more blogs than I can realistically keep track of!

Of course the year hasn't all been smooth sailing. We had a big loss this year when my husband sadly lost his father, and we had some seriously worrying times financially. Life has been stressful, but we are ending the year in a much stronger place than we were a year ago and that has only got to be a good thing.

But for me the highlight of my year has to be in the shape of my beautiful new girl. Without doubt, she's this year's love...

A Dicken's of a tale...

The first installment of my next novel, scheduled for a mid 2011 release, is now up on Free Fantastical Fiction. I'll be posting every Monday, with the first half of the novel released as a series before publication. There are also six other authors will be doing the same thing, each posting the next part of their novel, with a different post every day! Charles Dickens did the same thing with Great Expectations (not that I'm expecting my stuff to be anywhere on his level).

The novel is called The Followers and here is the blurb:

     The night Gabe Mitchell finds his friend dead, life changes beyond all recognition. Exiled from where he grew up and his family threatened by the local prophet, Eli, the seventeen-year old turns to the police chief of a neighbouring town.
     But all is not right in Gabe's fiercely religious hometown of Prosperity. While the community prepares for its centennial, the relative peace of the township shatters. Men report nightmares and visions of an old woman—right before dying in their beds.
     Gabe and the chief, Jake Tucker, discover a history far darker than ever thought possible. Soon, the young man starts to have visions of his own and can't help but wonder if he'll survive to save his family in time.
    The Followers is a story of family, ancestry, and knowing blood really is thicker than water.

I hope that's got the juices following and you'll head off to the new blog to see how it starts! And remember, this novel is pre-publication, so any thoughts or insights you have will be welcome, and you never know, they just may end up affecting the final novel. See you there!

Just because they made me smile...

Alone is now free—for three months only—and a new ebook!

After much market research, my publisher and I have decided to offer my vampire novel, Alone, as a free download over at Smashwords. The idea is to expose as a many people as possible to my work, and hopefully (she says, *fingers crossed*) gear people up for the sequel, Buried Alone, which will be released early 2011.

 

So, if you would like your free copy, just follow the links on the left to Smashwords, select which format you would like to read it in (I always find using the Kindle for PC app is the best) and get reading!

 

And, if anyone has already read, or plans to read Alone, please remember that reviews are always appreciated!

 

On other news, I have released a small (three) collection of short stories over on Amazon and Smashwords. They are three very different stories ranging from horror to fantasy, so I hope you will give them a look. The book is entitled, Where the Dead Live, and it’s available from Amazon by clicking here! It only costs a matter of pence, so why not give it a go!

Twelve Days Till Christmas!

I am still shocked at where this year has gone and how much has happened.

This time last year was a weird time. I was six months pregnant, still living in Spain, and had a husband who was flying back and forth from England to Spain, trying to find work.

It was a hard time. We were broke, pregnant, and didn't even know which country we were going to be living in to have the baby. Last year Christmas was kind of just a formality we had to go through for the rest of our family.

This year, I'm happy to say, is looking like a lot more fun. We're settled (ish), have a new addition to the family, and have careers that are coming on leaps and bounds for both of us. We actually have something to celebrate this year! The whole family is coming for Christmas day and I'm looking forward to having the sort of big, family Christmas I dreamt of as a child.

We've got our tree up now and I've done the vast majority of the present shopping. I'm quickly running out of places to hide things, especially as my three-year old has the eyes of a hawk and seems to have some sort of sixth sense about when ever I stash something in a cupboard or under the bed...'mummy, what's in that bag!'

We've also opted out of having the traditional turkey this year and are going for goose instead. I've never actually cooked a goose, so there is a good chance my images of the perfect family Christmas could go down the pan if I make a hash of it!

So how are your Christmas preparations going? Are you all sorted and feeling smug? Or are you running around in a mad flap, wondering, like me, where the hell the time has gone?

Guest Blogging over at Preternatura!

Hi everyone!
I'm a guest blogger of the lovely Suzanne Johnson over on her site Preternatura today.
http://suzanne-johnson.blogspot.com/2010/12/dark-genres-with-author-marissa-farrar.html
I'm discussing my choice of dark genres (or if they actually chose me!). There is a chance of winning one of my novels if you leave me a comment, so I really hope you'll stop by...

That old chestnut, Rejection!

It's a know fact you need to have thick skin to be a writer.

Let's face it, we all want to write our new manuscript, send it out to our dream publisher/agent, and have them call saying you have produced a masterpiece, you are a genius writer, and they would love to give you a huge amount of money for said masterpiece. Unfortunately it very, very, very rarely happens that way. Most of us have to plod through numerous rejection letters before we find someone willing to take a chance on us.

I went through eight years of nothing but rejection letters. I remember the first time an editor actually wrote a personal note back to me--it was the editor of the magazine Interzone--telling me he liked my stuff, but it wasn't quite right just yet, but to keep submitting. I was overjoyed. Okay, it was a rejection, but it was a great rejection! Someone had actually bothered writing something other than a standard note. In my mind it was almost as good as an acceptance.

Yesterday I had a short story rejected. It was the first in three acceptances, so I think I had got a little cocky. I had to actually read it twice, and my first thought was 'a no'? How can it be a 'no'? It's easy to forget how rejection sucks! So how did I deal with it? Well I sulked for about half an hour and then I turned around and submitted it somewhere else. Maybe it will get another rejection, but at least I won't be quite so shocked this time! As the saying goes, pride before a fall!

I found some rejection letters on the Internet and had to share them. Find some solace that however bad your rejection letters are, at least they're not as bad as these ones!

By the way, the Harlequin one was a fake!

The Dark Road giveaway!

Hi all,
Hope you had a good weekend. To start what looks to be a bit of a grey and miserable week (here in the UK, anyway) I am doing a giveaway of three copies of my new ebook (though hopefully paperback soon) The Dark Road.
Just hop on over to http://www.facebook.com/marissa.farrar.author and tell me where The Dark Road was set. Leave your answer as a comment on my page.
Good luck!