Category Archives: Writing Guide

Five Questions with Author Toni Pike

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Many thanks to Maria Hanako van Straaten, who has featured her interview with me on her blog.

Maria Hanako van Straaten

I have recently had the pleasure of interviewing the amazing Author, Toni Pike. She is a fellow traveller and novelist who enjoys travelling the corners of the world to gather inspiration for the scenes in her novels. I hope you enjoy reading this article, and her stories.

1. How did you initially find the inspiration for your Jotham Fletcher Mystery series?
I had dabbled in writing for years, but several years ago decided to try my hand at writing a fast-moving thriller. I thought it would be fun to take on the challenge of writing an exciting story that would entice my readers to keep turning the page.
First, I read as much as I could about the features of that genre and decided that I want to write a conspiracy thriller about a religious mystery. While doing some research, I read about Simon Magus, a magician and cult leader…

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13 Things To Do After Publishing Your Next Book – Guest Post by, Toni Pike…

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Many thanks to Chris Graham from The Story Reading Ape Blog for publishing my article: 13 Things to do after publishing your next book.

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

You have already published your first book. As part of that process, you set up your author pages on Amazon and other distribution sites such as Smashwords. You also established your own website, Facebook author page, Goodreads Author page, Twitter account and accounts on other social media platforms.

Now the time has come to publish your next book. You upload it and, hey presto, a short time later your precious creation goes live. Here is a list of thirteen housekeeping jobs to attend to before beginning the hard work of post-publication marketing.

1. Assemble your Buyer Links

Assemble a list of the new buyer links for adding to your website, signatures and posts.

2. Your Amazon Author Pages

Update your author pages on Amazon USA, UK, France, Germany and Japan: claim the new book and modify your biography.

3. The Author Page on other distribution sites, such as Smashwords

Modify…

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The Theme of a Novel

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The theme of a novel is the major issue that underlies the story, and is the lesson or message that it conveys. It is one of the most important factors to think about when planning and writing a work of fiction. When you studied literature at school, the theme of a novel was always an important point for discussion. Now that you’re a writer, don’t forget to give your own story’s theme the same careful consideration. Continue reading →

Fiction Genres

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Defining Genres

Fiction is normally divided into a range of categories that are referred to as genres. It will be the first way for readers and publishers to judge your novel, and every writer needs to select the genre of their own work. Despite that, many writers find it difficult to make that decision, even after completing the first draft. Many stories seem to fit into more than one category, making the choice even more difficult. This is a brief guideline to help you make that decision. Continue reading →