Saturday 27 June 2015

Thursday 25 June 2015

Amphitrite Goddess of the Sea


She had been known to swallow ships into the darkness of the watery depths, never to be seen again, for merely painting her image in a less than perfect impression.

Introducing Prince Arthur Floros

Arthur is one of the darker characters from Alluring Song. He crosses many lines and discovers the truth as to why he can not escape the dark thoughts that plague him.

Wednesday 24 June 2015

When Your Child Is No Longer A Child!

My beautiful girl is enjoying her prom today! What a treasure it was to be with her today as she excitedly prepared for one of the biggest moments of a young girls life. The prom has a way of taking center stage at the end of that final year of high school and rightfully so.

It is hard to believe she is no longer a child. My little girl has grown up on me. She is now a young woman ready to take on the world. I do not have any fears for her future. I only fear for those who will get in her way for she is a very determined young woman who has every intention of following her own path.

There is a wonderful light that shines within her. I am so very proud of her and am so grateful that I have the honor of being her mother. What  a joy she is. I love her beyond measure!


Tuesday 23 June 2015

Busy Mom!

Unfortunately my baby boy is ringing in his 7th birthday with a bad case of the flu. The last couple of days have been difficult for him. We have to postpone the celebrations until he can enjoy it. Today is for cuddles and sleeping. We need to get him back on his feet and ready to party!

My daughter is also in full swing for pre-prom prep today! Tomorrow my first baby has her high school prom and she is over the moon!

Needless to say this week my writing for my next book and marketing attempts for Alluring Song will be set on the back burner. I have some serious mom duties with my daughters prom, graduation ceremony, and much needed celebrations for graduating with an average of 96! As well as big party plans for a wonderful little man once he is feeling better!

Sunday 21 June 2015

Happy Father's Day!

To all the men who worry about the future
To all the men who carry more weight than possible for one man
To all the men whose strong arms give the gentlest hugs
To all the men that push their limits everyday
To all the men who never give up because they know someone is following in their footsteps
To all the men who find the greatest joys in the smiles of their children
To all the men who give the very best of themselves everyday because they love their children more than words can say.


Thank you and Happy Father's Day!

Friday 19 June 2015

Still time to enter the paperback giveaway!!

If you buy an ebook of Alluring Song don't forget to enter the paperback giveaway on my facebook page! You could win a signed paperback :)

You will find the details at facebook.com/aimeemcneilswriting

The deadline is June 30th!!

Thursday 18 June 2015

Are You Curious about Alluring Song?

Alluring Song is an epic fantasy/romance with lots of action and adventure that will keep you captivated until the end!

The story depicts a feel of the medieval era, offering multiple points of view with intertwining narratives, giving you a better understanding of all the characters that play a part in the story; good, evil, and those that fall between.

Loosely stated Alluring Song can be described as "Game of Thrones" meets "The Princess Bride."

Do I have your attention now?

Are you curious about what adventure awaits inside my book but unsure of whether it is for you or not? Amazon offers a preview that allows you to read up until chapter 6. Take a look! It might be what you are looking for :)

Tuesday 16 June 2015

First Interview!

Today was my first interview in regards to my writing! It was with a local reporter, Pat Healey, for the Laker in Fall River  http://www.thelaker.ca/  which will be found in the July edition!

Though my blog focuses on my journey as an author, what takes center stage in my life is my family. I am a wife and a mother before all else. And as a mother my attention and conversations usually revolve around my children, so it was strange today to have the focus on me.

This may seem like a strange thing to say but I am definitely getting to know myself better on this journey.


Monday 15 June 2015

Reviews!

I really enjoy getting feedback from readers.  

I wrote Alluring Song in hopes that it might appeal to others. Discovering how others perceive it is amazing.  Everyone is different in how they comprehend a story because their own imaginations and emotions come into play. Though I only have a handful of reviews so far I love all of them even when they are critical. Of course if is always nice when someone truly enjoys your book because it validates all the work you put into it. The reviews that have been done are by people that I do not know personally so their points of view are not bias and based strictly on what that come away with from the story. Though, I probably should get people I know to review it for me, more review especially great ones, convinces more people to take a chance and read it J haha


I could write about anything at all and it could be perceived differently by everyone.
For example if I wrote about a purple flower, describing the beautiful detail of the petals, and the aroma.

Some may love the description and rave about being able to visualize the flower in perfect clarity
Some may say that all the detail wasn’t necessary
Some may question why the flower was purple and not another color
Some may have negative emotions tied with the color purple or flowers and automatically dislike it
Some may just think it is beautiful ...


But regardless I love the fact that they took a chance in reading my story. I love to push boundaries in my writing. I may push things further than necessary but I like to evoke emotion in the readers, whether it is good or bad depends on the person J

You can find reviews posted for Alluring Song at:

Friday 12 June 2015

Being A New Self-published Author Is ...

Difficult, discouraging, and expensive! Wow!

Being a new self-published author with no prior marketing experience leaves me with a huge disadvantage. I would love to be able to hire someone with the know-how to market for me but at this point I have invested so much into my book already I have to draw the line somewhere.

There is no guarantee that I will even make back what I have spent, this does not even begin to consider the amount of time I have put into it. So this leaves me to my own sad abilities to let the world know I am here.

The wonderful feedback from the few people that have read my book and my love of writing keeps me motivated to push forward despite all the hurdles in my path. I might have to write a survival guide if I figure this all out.

I  need to find the answers to the following questions if I am going to have a chance at success "How do I make my book stand out?" and "How do I get people to buy it?" I really really wish I knew!! My fingers are crossed that I figure it out!

My daughter (who is 18) jokingly told me that I need to post naked pictures of myself holding my book if I want to get noticed!! ... I really hope it doesn't come to that. Joking!! :)




Tuesday 9 June 2015

My Happy Place!

I retitled my blog "My trials and tribulations of being a newly published indie author." since I have officially crossed into the world of publishing.

Today I have dove back into my happy place and did some serious brainstorming for my next book! I am surrounded by notes in my kitchen and trying to translate all my thoughts into the developing plot. Love it!

I have been so distracted lately with trying to figure out how to promote Alluring Song and feeling like I was making no progress. It is exhausting and draining. Hopefully with all my clueless wandering I will stumble upon some good luck.

Today I needed a break! So I'm recharging with some word therapy. Feels nice just to write again :)

Monday 8 June 2015

I'm Officially A Published Author!

Now that my book, Alluring Song, is published, I face the challenge of being a new and unknown author. This part of the process takes persistence and patience because I am just one of many authors trying to get noticed.

This stage takes me far out of my comfort zone. I must now focus on marketing my book. I need people to know it is out there! I by no means have an aggressive personality which would be really helpful when it comes to marketing. I am passive and have tended to avoid attention most of my life so I definitely have a steep climb to make to find success.

My son found a four leaf clover on my release day last week. He put it in my proof copy of my book for good luck!! I have so much wonderful support. It helps me get through even when it feels like I am fumbling in the dark!

Thursday 4 June 2015

Alluring Song Is Now Available!

Click on the following links to find the format you are looking for!


Amazon.com (US) (For Kindle and Paperback)

Amazon.ca (Canada) (For Kindle)

Amazon.co.uk (UK) (For Kindle and Paperback)

Smashwords.com (All Ebook Formats)
(Smashwords also distributes to Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, OverDrive, Flipkart, Oyster, Scribd,  Baker & Taylor's Blio and Axis360 and more)

UPDATE: in regards to the paperback on amazon.ca. I have discovered the mystery of why amazon.ca does not give the option of purchasing paperback and that is because Createspace.com who distributes the paperback does not currently distribute to amazon.ca. I was not aware of this beforehand. Though it might be available on amazon.ca in a few months time through a different distribution channel. If you would like a paperback copy and reside in Canada the only option at this time is to order through Amazon.com. Sorry for the inconvenience!


Wednesday 3 June 2015

So close!

On the Eve of the release of my first book I can honestly say I am overwhelmed with a lot of different emotions. This has been a "someday" dream for so long that now it is almost here it is surreal! I carry around my proof copy everywhere to remind myself this is really happening. Wow!

I have no idea what will follow with the launch of my book tomorrow, my dream was always to publish a book without much thought to what follows. I hope to find success, I hope that people will love it as much as I do, and I am excited to find out.

Though I am really nervous! I had a dream last night that I received bad reviews! Doubt is a nasty thing and always tries to get in the way. I do not expect all the reviews to be positive. Everyone will have their own opinion and I respect that. I know I will not be able to please everyone. So am prepared for good and bad. I cannot help but feel vulnerable because I am putting a big piece of myself out into the world!

I keep telling myself there has to be a reason why I have wanted this so much and why now all the pieces are finally coming together. I know I have surprised a lot of people when I started this blog because I have always been private and did not even have a presence on social media until this year when I started this process. I came to a place when I realized I need this, I wanted to make it happen, and so here I am!

Tuesday 2 June 2015

1 More Day To Go!

Wow! Today was definitely challenging!
Once I had received my paperback proof of my book I had read through it again to make sure it was in perfect condition and ready to sell. Even though I had done this process on my computer before I had a printed copy I found a few lingering things that I wanted to tidy up. So today was about trying to make those changes to all the different formats and re-upload to the different sites. When it comes to computers things never seem to work the way they should for me. I think they secretly hate me ... Needless to say I didn't have a smile on my face for the majority of the day and right about now I would really like to open a bottle of wine ... but I managed to get it done!
I also should mention that my editor, Allister Thompson, was a huge help today. He was amazingly helpful with my endless questions :)
The process of self-publishing is definitely not an easy one but it has been such a rewarding experience!
I am so close to publishing! 1 more day to go!

Monday 1 June 2015

Find Alluring Song on Goodreads!



For those of you who are familiar with goodreads.com, I am very excited that I have started getting some early reviews posted for my book, Alluring Song!!

Those unknown to Goodreads, it is basically social media for books. It is a wonderful tool for readers and authors. If you love to read it is definitely a site to check out!

Book reviews posted on Goodreads and Amazon are incredibly important for authors!
People want to see reviews to help them find their next great read :)