Hi! How are you? I’d like to thank Delilah for giving me the chance to blog over here today.

While most people are still taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo, I’m already thinking about NaNoWriMo. See, Camp NaNoWriMo takes place in April and July, which are awful months for me to get started on a first draft. Both of these months contain two weeks of school holidays, and/or public holidays, maybe even some annual leave. So, they’re not an option for me.

But NaNoWriMo takes place in November, which is a great month for me.

Have you ever taken part? I started taking part in 2006 and have tried to do it every year since then. I think 2011 was the only year that I didn’t because I was too busy editing a book. I love allocating a WIP to the month of November at the same time as a bunch of other writers are doing the same. I mean, I write fast drafts anyway, and get caught up in a first-draft frenzy that can last 4-6 weeks—whatever it takes to get the story out.

So NaNoWriMo isn’t a big stretch for my usual way of writing.

Besides, I think that completing a first draft just before the end of the year is a great accomplishment. And an awesome way to end the year. 🙂

My latest book release was actually a book I wrote during NaNoWriMo 2013. It was just like every other story I write: I had copious amounts of notes (I’m more a note-taker than an outliner), and when November 1^st hit I got stuck into writing the story and didn’t stop until I reached The End. By November 30^th, I had a new novel ready for revision the next year.

I know there are differing opinions about whether NaNoWriMo is good for writers or not, but I personally think it’s great. First drafts are meant to be messy, a way to get the story out of your head and onto the screen or paper because you can’t ignore it any longer. So, IMO, this is the perfect event to do so.

Have you ever done NaNoWriMo? What was your experience like?

Thanks for reading,

Yolanda

AUTHOR BIO:

Wife. Mother. Writer. Bibliophile. Dreamer. Animal lover. Intrigued by the supernatural. Horror freak. Zombie enthusiast. Movie & music fan. Slave to her muse.

Yolanda lives in Sydney, Australia with her awesome husband, lovely daughter, and cheeky cat.

MY LINKS:
Website: http://www.yolandasfetsos.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/yolandasfetsos
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/yolandasfetsos

She escaped the arena of death, but trusting him might be the death of her.

RECAST, Book 4

Taylor may be the Clash Arena’s most dominant—and only—female gladiator, but today she just can’t catch a break. After winning yet another brutal fight, with the arena inexplicably falling down around her ears, she jumps at the chance to escape the prison of her subterranean pit.

Instead, she finds herself knocked unconscious more times than she can count, and pursued over the edge of a sea cliff by an AI enforcer she can’t shake off her heels.

Walsh has been living a double life, masquerading as a tyrant’s enforcer while hiding his true agenda. When the despicable arena falls, there’s only one thing on his mind—saving the savage blonde who doesn’t trust him as far as she can throw him. Which is a considerable distance.

Once he convinces her he’s not out to kill her but help her survive, they form an uneasy alliance. But Taylor senses he’s keeping a secret, not just from her, but about her. And the truth will show them exactly what it is to be human.

Warning: This book contains some girl-on-girl action, a kick-ass gladiator who takes no crap, an AI who puts it all on the line, a band of misfits who aren’t as merry as they seem, cute tadpoles with sharp teeth, and grip-you-by-the-hair kisses. Strap in, interstellar turbulence is a bitch.

DASH is now available from Samhain Publishing.