A J Thornton

Depression Had Hold

Hello Followers/Fans and just general viewers.

First I’d like to apologise for the lack of content and otherwise posts. I’ve had a very difficult year like many others with the pandemic, stress and a lack of motivation for most things. Truth is I’ve constantly struggled with depression and had many suicidal thoughts especially in the recent years as I’ve got older.

I finally published my first book and most reviews have been well received but even as i received them my mind was elsewhere as my creative spark dwindled all i really wanted to do was curl up and close my eyes hoping to never wake up and sometimes i still do. I never thought i would be at this stage in my life but life likes to throw curveballs and beat people when they are down.

I really enjoyed my writing and it took me to place where even the characters i had created were there to comfort me in its own way it was a release from the harsh reality, and that’s probably why the depression hit me worse then ever. the grief of losing my uncle all those years ago still haunts me and even when your with friends and family you cant shake free from your personal shackles.

i accomplished something last year, I made some fantastic friends and its always nice to see people reading and reviewing my work as well as others, self published authors do have it hard but for a hobby its perfect if i could write all day instead of working i would but alas the real world gets in the way.

I’ve written about 25000 words in my first draft of my second book of the series but fans will have to wait a bit longer for this one as i intend to write up to 100000 words but i will drop drips and drabs as i continue.

My long hiatus is over and i feel i need you in my life to keep me from going under. I will plan to write at least three posts a week on various self publishing anecdotes and i always plan to read yours

Many Thanks

Aaron J Thornton

Writing While Promoting

This is by far one of the hardest things I’ve ever done and still doing!!!!

When authors whether they are traditional or self-published all say writing the book is the easy part, when I first saw this statement, I did laugh. They clearly knew what they were talking about and even though I am a novice to the writing world as such, every day I’m learning something new whether it’s becoming friends with fellow bloggers and reviewers or bringing up what I’ve been up to random people who are interested with mixed success.

I have to say building a mailing list is hard but each day mine seems to be growing each day thanks to a simple platform called Voracious Readers. It’s a simple platform where new authors simply submit they’re book whether its released or not and whoever opts in to read your book can join your mailing list and review it as well. My book hasn’t released yet but I’ve still managed to get reviews on Goodreads and Amazon which have been positive although I’m a realist and know my work isn’t for everyone.

I’ve also enjoyed using Instagram as a tool despite starting from scratch, I’ve manged to send a few ARC’s to several reviewers. A few have been paperback and I do have some others to send out before the weeks out before I look for more potential readers.

I do intend to try and use Fiverr for promotion but I’m not holding my breathe even though it is a good network to use, I don’t think I’ll find many readers but who knows sometimes you have to gamble in this business and be prepared to make a loss, to earn a few fans and possibly a few friends.

That’s all i have to say tonight but I’ll keep you all updated this week on any new reviews I’ll receive as always thank you for reading and have a pleasant day/night

My First Reviews

Hello Everyone

The last two weeks have been eventful for me and my book and it has been a pleasure working with some of the delightful people on thus platform aswell as others.

When I first put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. I didn’t think I would make it this far. Writers suffer from procrastination most of the time and I was no exception but with having a job in the freight industry, it got very hectic over the last couple of months.

But I persisted and managed to get my book edited, proofread and now it’s been sent to reviewers and I’ve only just started to get the feedback from a few of the untold amount.

So far it’s been good, I’ve received five out of 5 from two and four from one. I didn’t think many would find my story enjoyable but even with three or four people liking it enough to want more from me, has given me the extra ingredients to persist more with the second book.

While my first book isn’t to be released until March I don’t mind handing my book out to various reviewers as long as people read, rate and spread the word whether its good or bad I don’t mind.

While I’m currently working on the second book I do intend to make an audio version of the book within the coming months and I’m honestly so excited to keep going and talking to you about my journey.

If you want to check one of the reviews check out the Goodreads page for: A Druids Tale: The Rise of Balor and I’ll also post a review from a fellow WordPress user below

https://fantasybookcollectionblog.wordpress.com/2020/12/31/a-druids-tale/

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A New Year, A New Start, A New Book

Hi everyone its been awhile since my last post, being busy through the Festive season does take its toll. I’ve struggled to find time to even do the simplest of things. including finding time to write my second book.

In recent months, I’ve joined such things as Voracious Readers and scoured WordPress and Instagram looking for potential reviewers with varying success. I have been particularly pleased with the response from the readers and I will continue to search for reviewers so if any of you are interested just leave a comment below

I did manage to get myself a new laptop and I do plan on focusing more on writing and trying to find the perfect balance between writing, promoting and marketing. it won’t be easy but nothing worth having is.

thank you for reading and I do hope to hear from you all and I hope this year brings you much more than joy.

Paperback and Proofcopies

It’s finally here. The day my book arrives as a book and not a simple PDF.

It feels amazing to be able to share this with all of you. Its been a trying year for most of us and ending the calendar year with a proofcopy to show to you all is a way I would love to end it.

The book is now also available on Amazon and I’ve signed up on Ingramspark which means retailers will be available to sell it if the demand is met by the release date.

Thank you all so much with your help from a nothing to an author. Who says dreams don’t happen.

As always thank you for reading and I hope you all have a good day.

Please follow me on Instagram. I always follow back.

Instagram: A JThornton

Paperback Version

Hello everyone

Sorry its taken so long to write, I’ve been busy with my unfortunate day job. I’ve enen struggled reaching my goal for NaNoWriMo and it hurt me emotionally.

It’s been a horrible month for writing for me, I managed to write less in a month than I have all year, mostly down to procrastination but with work and trouble at home it’s become hard to concentrate and let my creative ways loose.

On another note my paperback is almost ready and once I receive my proof copy I do intend to do a giveaway.

Keep your eyes posted as always thank you for reading and I hope you all have a good day.

Hopeless but Hopeful

Sorry I’ve taken time writing to you all. I know you might not look forward to my barrage of random notes and jiberish but I do appreciate all of you.

Work has been extremely busy going into the festive period. Which not only means to I not have time to think I also don’t have much time to write. I don’t love my job but unfortunately it’s fueling my habit of writing, without it I wouldn’t be on my way to releasing my first book.

Nanowrimo isn’t going great it started brilliantly and tampered off as work began to explode with orders. I’m hoping once this sudden rush is over I can continue to work on my second book.

As always thank you for reading and I hope you all have a good day and as a thank you for following I will post the second chapter for you all tomorrow.

Feeling for your own Characters

Hello again, first of all how is NaNoWriMo treating my fellow writers are you behind on your target or crushing your goals. I’m falling behind but plan to get straight back to writing as soon as I’ve finished this post.

I’m sure many of you have experienced the rollercoaster of emotions that befall a reader/author when reading a book you become entranced with. I only really took notice of this again recently when I found myself heavily invested in a chapter surrounding some emotional trauma one of my MC’s is going through.

I began to tear up and reluctantly found myself having to stop writing for awhile just to get my bearings, it’s a nice feeling to have (once you get over the initial shock) if I can’t find feel for my characters then what chance does my potential audience have.

So while I was busy procrastinating I did my own little research on the matter and I was surprised to find that being heavily invested in a character has an impact on the reader in the real world and can even change a person’s behaviour.

I’m quite happy to feel while I’m writing it gives me a sense of direction even if its quite punishing when dealing in the fantasy genre but as I continue building my world and create new characters I want to continue feeling for them.

As always thank you for reading and I hope you all have a good day.

Pantser Or Plotter

I’m fairly new to the writing game so I’m coming across new terms everyday but I had no idea there were two ways writers are categorised under.

For those who don’t know a pantser is someone who writes the story with no planning they start with an idea an write no plotting of the plot or world building. Authors such as Stephen King is what people refer to as a Pantser and I myself fit into this category and one of the main reasons is because I find planning very taxing I want to be able to enjoy my story like the reader.

Plotters are a different breed and I have family and friends who do write stories that way. It’s amazing to see them plan all the finer details down before they write the whole story. In many ways the whole plotting side is more or less a first draft just waiting to be put in order.

I love that they’re are different ways to write our stories and during NaNoWriMo I’ve noticed even more instances where the writing community pushes each other to do better. I’m on 5000 words and behind but I’m hoping to push into the 25k mark this week

As always thank you for reading and I hope you all have a good day