15 Tips for Choosing a Good Line Editor
Finding a good line editor (or any editor) is one of the trickiest things about being an indie author. Bad editing has caused readers to close a book, never to return, and it's caused authors to scream in frustration and cry when they realize, after forking out...
The Very Real Abuse of an Abused Fictional Character
When my content editor had finished her passes through my last novel, Tempering the Rose, she said, “You're quite brave choosing a central protagonist who's experienced such terrible abuse.” I didn’t know why she would say that. Now I do. I want to preface this blog...
NEW RELEASE Ciara Ballintyne’s Epic Fantasy ‘In the Company of the Dead’
Only a fool crosses a god, but Ellaeva and Lyram will do anything to get what they want. Title: In the Company of the Dead Author: Ciara Ballintyne Series: The Sundered Oath #1 Genre: Epic Fantasy/Fantasy Romance Chosen as a five-year-old orphan to be the Left Hand of...
My New Dark Epic Fantasy is Almost Here!
Yes, I'm slack. My new dark epic fantasy is coming out soon, and I haven't even done a cover reveal on my blog. Well, here it is, cover reveal, blurb, links, sample, all the juicy stuff. Drumroll ... may I introduce, Tempering the Rose. I will first thank the...
Come See Me at RWDU16
In just under two weeks is an event I've been looking forward to — Readers & Writers Down Under 2016, in one of the nicest spots in Oz. On Saturday 5th of March, I'll be selling and signing books at the QT Hotel Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. And I won't be...
Writers’ Unleashed is Here! – Shire Writers’ Festival
Hey! Long time no post; I know. I've had things cooking in the background - namely the new comedy web series (not fantasy related) that I've written and am producing. But that's not the reason for this post — that's just my excuse for not posting for AGES. So, onto...
Looking Through Sad
Poetry isn't my best 'thing' but it's a wonderful way of exorcising intense feelings. I wrote this because someone I love is dying of cancer, a scenario all too common these days. I'm also sending hugs to everyone out there who has lost someone they love to...
Rejected in a Flash
We writers are a sensitive bunch; okay, what I'm really saying is I'm sensitive. I work hard at writing the best prose I can. It's an obsession and a passion, and there's nothing I love more, outside the actual the process of writing, than when a reader tells me...
Hope — A Suspenseful Short Story
I haven't posted in way too long. Sorry about that. This is a short story I wrote a couple of years ago, and it was supposed to find its way into a friend's magazine, but the magazine is on hold, so I decided to post it here. It's not my best work, but it will make...
Review Cheats—Shameful Author Behaviour
Hey, peeps. I haven't done a ranty post in a while, but ranty Dionne is back! I find getting this stuff out of my system by writing it down helps, and why not educate readers and other authors while I'm at it. Today's post is all about the wonderful world of authors...
