How to Choose a Colour Scheme for Your Book

Hi all,

This week I'm going to give you some tips on how to pick a colour scheme for your book. A colour scheme for a cover is crucial, as it then matches your advertising and can be associated with your author brand.

Genres.

A lot of genres have popular colours and less popular colours. Have a look through books of your genre and note down any colours that pop up often. For example, romance books are often associated with red, pink or baby blue tones.

Series.

If your book is part of a series, try to find colours that will match across several books. You don't want the colours to be too different so they look like they're from a different series, but not too similar that it could be confused with a different book in the series.

Setting.

Is your book set in a certain season? Or a certain place? Try to match the colours with the setting. If you're writing a horror book, there's no point in using a colour scheme centred on bright pink. If your book is dystopian, try to think of the colour of the sky. Is it normal? Burning? Hidden by clouds?

Magic.

If your book contains magic of any kind, it's more than likely going to end up on your cover. This could become the main focus of the cover, so you want to make sure it stands out but doesn't look too out of place with other covers in your genre.

Discuss with your cover designer.

Your cover designer will be able to help if you’re struggling to come up with a colour scheme for the cover. Either ask them for options or let them choose. Either way, communicating with your cover designer is key to getting a beautiful cover.

That's it for this week! I hope this has helped someone with picking a colour scheme. See you next week. 

PS; don’t forget to check out this month’s book bundles:

Spring into a New Woo-niverse Giveaways: Supernatural, Fantasy, Paranormal, Magical Realsim, and Sci-Fi

Kindle Unlimited with the occult and supernatural

Witchy Ways: An All-Genre Giveaway for Stories with Witches or Magic

May Giveaway

My Favourite Non-Writing Podcasts

Hi all,

Today I'm going to talk about a few podcasts I listen to that aren't writing related. My boyfriend and I usually listen to them before we go to sleep which I found has gotten me settled a lot more quickly.

Hat Films.

Hat Films are three YouTubers who I've been watching for years. They are absolutely hilarious and I managed to get my fiancé into them as well. They usually talk about random news or scenarios that their Patrons can vote on. Their videos are great and their podcast is just as good. I love listening to them rant about various topics or try to come up with ways out of certain scenarios. Whenever a new video comes out, that's the first thing my fiancé and I watch. They are great entertainment and I would highly recommend checking them out.

SCP Archive.

This is a podcast that I've been listening to for a few months and I really enjoy it. I've known about the SCP Foundation for years and I've read into a lot of them. My favourites are the dangerous ones that could end the world in a few seconds if they were released. Hearing the stories being read out with various voice actors is great. The only thing that I wished they would do explain the SCPs a bit more. They just read out what's on the pages and some of them can be confusing.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

I've only just started listening to this one but I love it so far! The TV series is one of my favourite shows and I knew I'd love the podcast too. They talk about various episodes and so far I've listened to them talk about their parking a lot!

The Office Ladies.

This series is a favourite of mine that I love to rewatch. So to have a podcast is a great bonus! I love hearing all of the behind the scenes stuff and deleted scenes. Angela and Jenna are fantastic hosts and they are so entertaining to listen to.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading and will check out some of these podcasts! See you next week. 

PS; don’t forget to check out this month’s book bundles:

Spring into a New Woo-niverse Giveaways: Supernatural, Fantasy, Paranormal, Magical Realsim, and Sci-Fi

Kindle Unlimited with the occult and supernatural

Witchy Ways: An All-Genre Giveaway for Stories with Witches or Magic

May Giveaway

Newly Edited Free Enovellas!

Hi all,

I've recently had all of my enovellas re-edited and they are now available to download when you sign up to my mailing list.

You can now download the latest versions of the following:

Elemental Dragons Short Story Collection

Famished

Solar Child

Seashine

Curse of Anubis Short Story Collection

With all of these free enovellas, you will be signed up to my mailing list. This means that you'll get monthly newsletters from me.

In these monthly newsletters, you get:

Cover reveals.

Short stories.

Monthly news.

Writing updates.

Free/discounted book promos.

As I publish more books, I will be making more free enovellas available to my subscribers! Empty Skies, Street Rats and Game of Air and Lightning are all on the list to get prequels or possibly a collection of short stories.

If you want to hear more from me, you can sign up here!

That's it for this week, see you next week! 

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles:

FREE Adventures in Sci-fi & Fantasy - April

April: Free Fantasy & Sci-Fi

Swan Dive into a Stirring Spring Fantasy

My Dream Merchandise

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about my dream book merchandise! There are so many authors out there who offer a wide range of merchandise and a lot of is absolutely gorgeous. It got me thinking, if I could create any merchandise I want, what would it be?

Metal bookmarks.

I own quite a few of these and I love them. They don't bend in the books and they sit snugly between the pages. I think a few Elemental Dragons ones would look amazing, with a few of the popular dragons getting their own colourful bookmark.

Sprayed edges books.

I know not every reader is a fan of these but I think books with sprayed edges look great. If the spray matches the cover or compliments it, I think it looks really pretty. Some even have symbols or patterns as well.

Illustrated Editions.

I don't see too many of these but I think these would be amazing for my books! They always look amazing and I'd love to see scenes and characters come to life in this way.

Plushies.

I adore plushies and have so many Pokemon ones! A dream would be able to have some dragons turned into cute, cuddly plushies! I think Aqueous, Drea and Cerberus would look so cute as little plushies. This is the ultimate dream merchandise, something that I could cuddle.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week. 

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles:

FREE Adventures in Sci-fi & Fantasy - April

April: Free Fantasy & Sci-Fi

Swan Dive into a Stirring Spring Fantasy

March 2025 Project Wrap-Up

Hi all,

This is a few weeks late, but I wanted to do a wrap-up post about my March 2025 writing project. The final word count for Original Elementals #8: Turf is...

73,334 words!

It felt so good to write in the Elemental Dragons universe again, I didn't realise how much I missed it. At times I did struggle with writing parts, but for the most part this was an enjoyable experience.

This book centres on Tiegan and her companion, Turf. They take in an Eastern Dragon called Squeaky who they have to raise. Their mission is to get Squeaky to create a rainstorm big enough to help dragons. This is what Zmei tells them, but is it actually true?

Tiegan was a different character to write. She's quite selfish and willing to abandon others to save her own skin. She wants to keep her life the way it is, far away from Aria. Her and Turf live on the streets, though neither of them mind.

This book also introduces a new species of man-made dragons, the Vexwings. They're tiny dragons that get compared to rats or pigeons often. They terrorise the town that Tiegan lives in which causes trouble for the people living there. Because of them, their town is completely overrun and requires outside help to fix it.

The mix of the Eastern Dragon and the Vexwings makes life harder for Tiegan. Especially when Zmei gets involved and she finds herself unable to trust them completely. Draca has turned their back on her too, so it's just her and Turf on their own.

This book was fun to write and I love writing about dragons. The next book in the series will centre on Stella and this will be the penultimate book in the series. It will most likely be my November project as I'm planning a different book for July. 

That’s it for this week, hope you enjoyed reading! Next week I’ll be posting about my dream merchandise, so keep an eye out for that next Sunday.

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles:

FREE Adventures in Sci-fi & Fantasy - April

April: Free Fantasy & Sci-Fi

Swan Dive into a Stirring Spring Fantasy

The Blazing Serpent is now Available on Amazon

Hi all,

The second book in the Curse of Anubis series is now available in ebook, paperback and hardcover on Amazon! You can check it out below…

Ra’s Eye has been stolen… now everything will burn.

In the living world, a cure for the zombie virus is discovered. But when it’s accidentally spilled, it causes the zombies to mutate, making them immune to Tahira’s commands. With zombies unaffected by her, she can only watch as more die around her.

Bastet only has one chance to get Ra’s Eye back. To do that, she must get closer to her enemy. So close that if she is discovered, it will mean her permanent death. Without the assistance of her friends, she has to figure everything out on her own.

Separated in different worlds, the two of them need to make their next steps without the support of the other. With the never-ending heat and Anubis always watching, Tahira needs to figure everything out quickly before she succumbs to the humidity.

That’s it for this week! If you’ve read the Curse of Anubis so far, I hope you’re enjoying it! See you next week.

PS; don’t forget to check out these book bundles:

FREE Adventures in Sci-fi & Fantasy - April

April: Free Fantasy & Sci-Fi

Swan Dive into a Stirring Spring Fantasy

How to Deal With Spam When Advertising on Facebook

Hi all,

I've recently started advertising on Facebook again and my ads are actually gaining some traction! I last did it a few years ago so I was not prepared for the amount of spam I would get when advertising. For those who want to advertise their books through Facebook, I thought I would give some advice about how to deal with spam and rude comments.

Spam messages.

Since starting ads, I've had loads of message requests from various spam accounts. Several tell me that my account is about to be suspended. I know that these are all fake, so I mark them as spam and then delete them.

Message requests.

I get several requests every day for those who want me to consider their services for a book trailer or review. These requests I also mark as spam or delete them. It's not worth replying to them as they will keep trying to sell you something. I've even had a few suggesting that they can help me set up on Booktok! In the last week I've had at least twenty people reach out with book related things or just general spam about my Facebook page.

Rude comments.

When you advertise, unfortunately there are times when people will comment nasty things on your ad. The best thing to do is hide them as soon as possible so others don't see them when looking at your ad.

That's it for this week, I hope this helps anyone who is thinking of advertising through Facebook. See you next week. 

PS; there are plenty of free and discounted books in these bundles:

Dangerous Women: Fantasy and Science Fiction with Women Who Kick Butt! (March)

March Fantasy/Sci-Fi Freebies

Dark Flights of Fantasy

Playing Pokemon Go

Hi all,

Ever since I went to Tenerife, I've really gotten into Pokemon Go.

I didn't download it when it first came out because I knew I would be instantly addicted. I also didn't have the best data plan on my phone, so it wasn't possible to play on my old device.

When I went on holiday, my fiancé downloaded it on his phone for me to try and I absolutely love it! It meant that I didn't get any writing done, but I loved going around and catching various pokemon.

Now I've been playing it for a few months and it's made me move around a lot more. If I ever get the chance to write full time, I think Pokemon Go would be a great way to get me out and about!

If you also play, you can add me below:

My writing won't be effected by playing, I promise. When I was younger I used to write Pokemon FanFiction and a few short stories about my favourite mons. If anything, Pokemon Go is making me more excited to use my phone and makes me feel a lot fresher when it comes to writing.

That's it got this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! If you play, you can add me via my trainer code in this post. See you next week. 

PS; there are plenty of free and discounted books in these bundles:

Dangerous Women: Fantasy and Science Fiction with Women Who Kick Butt! (March)

March Fantasy/Sci-Fi Freebies

Dark Flights of Fantasy

Characters or Plot First?

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about an important part of your book. Do you come up with the characters or the plot first?

Personally, I always have the plot in mind first. Most of the time I know what the characters look like before I name them!

I like to plot the book out and the journey the characters have to take rather than focusing on the characters fist. I like to know where the story is going to before I start worrying about adding characters in the mix.

I know some authors come up with characters first and then plot around them. They come up with their backstories and personalities before knowing what those characters will do.

I don't think there's a wrong option. Some authors feel like characters want their stories told, while others tell the story before the characters get involved.

I've tried to come up with characters first but I can't do it. I need a general idea of the story before I can even dream up what the character will be doing.

For example; with Celestial Plague, I knew the story would be set in a word ravaged by a virus. Where everyone has a magical power of some sort that can help or hinder them in this new world. The four main characters came after this.

If you have a world that you want to write about, start from there. But if there's a character that's been bugging you to write a story about them, you can start there too. There aren't any rules about how you can write your own book. Do what feels best for you and your book.

That's it for this week! I hope you enjoyed reading, see you next Sunday. 

PS; there are plenty of free and discounted books in these bundles:

Dangerous Women: Fantasy and Science Fiction with Women Who Kick Butt! (March)

March Fantasy/Sci-Fi Freebies

Dark Flights of Fantasy

How Do You Name Characters?

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about a crucial part of writing, how to name your characters! Each character needs to have a name that feels right to you. When people read your work, you want them to remember your character and what they went through. So I thought I would discuss a few ways I give my characters first names!

There are several ways to name characters.

Name generators.

I've used name generators for a few of my characters before. I use this method mostly for side characters or antagonists.

Googling names.

With Tahira (Curse of Anubis), I wanted a name that had 'Ra' in it. I googled names that contain those letters and looked down the list until one felt right. This is especially good if you want a character's name to begin with a certain letter, but can't find a name that fits.

Use a celebrity name.

If a name calls out to you that belongs to your favourite celebrities, then go for it! Jenna (Celestial Plague), for example, is named after the actress Jenna Coleman because I absolutely loved her on Doctor Who!

After a place.

So far the only character I've deliberately done this for is Cheyenne (Years). I try not to use this method too much unless the name really suits a character.

A random name you like.

Hazel (Elemental Dragons) and Audra (Mute) are names that I absolutely loved and knew would fit a character one day! This doesn't happen too often but I love when it does.

After a pet!

So far, two of my cats, Rocky and Normie, have been featured in Elemental Dragons. Rocky is a human character while Normie is still a cat. I don't see a problem with naming characters after pets and I think it's adorable!

Surnames.

For surnames, I tend to go with surname generators. I have several ways of coming up with first names but I suck with surnames. I usually go through a list until I find one that I think fits the character. This is usually done after all the main characters have first names.

That's it for this week. I hope this post helps if you're struggling to name characters. See you next week! 

PS; there are plenty of free and discounted books in these bundles:

Dangerous Women: Fantasy and Science Fiction with Women Who Kick Butt! (March)

March Fantasy/Sci-Fi Freebies

Dark Flights of Fantasy