Tag: writer

T. J. Blake's morning writing session in his pjs

A successful morning writing session… in my pjs!

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My New Year’s Eve morning was spent working on my latest novel.

You can’t beat a morning writing session, especially when you’re slumming it in your pyjamas with a Groot mug.

Now that I’m 3900 words in across three chapters, it’s time to hand over the story to my harshest critic, the other half.

T. J. Blake's morning writing session in his pjs

The Verdict

Luckily, she liked what she read. A couple of good points for me to consider too, but on the whole, she really enjoyed it.

You may think she’s biased. Trust me, she isn’t, she’ll tell me if something is complete rubbish or not!

Are you a fellow writer who writes in their pjs?

Feel free to send a snap and let me know where you are at with your latest novel!

Interested in writing? Read my latest article, which is a comparative analysis utilising Mind Style to analyse Nick and Amy Dunne from the bestselling novel, Gone Girl.

This comparative analysis will closely examine the two key characters from Gone Girl, Nick and Amy Dunne. The narratological term ‘mind style’, will be employed as the main tool of analysis for this article.

T. J. BlakeLeave a comment

This comparative analysis will closely examine the two key characters from Gone Girl, Nick and Amy Dunne. The narratological term ‘mind style’, will be employed as the main tool of analysis for this article.

I decided to focus on mind style because I feel that it is an effective tool which, in my opinion, is overlooked. Mind style allows an author to demonstrate rather than state information to a reader – providing deeper traits of a character to be presented via linguistic choices and mental processes.

Mind style is a wonderful concept in my opinion. It’s a great tool to review characters in a story, and can support writers in forming a realistic character.

Learn about mind style today by reading my comparative analysis of Gone Girl.

Source: A Comparative Analysis of the Mind Styles created for the fictional characters Nick and Amy Dunne in the bestselling novel, Gone Girl.

Mind Style Gone Girl Analysis

5 star review for Deception on Amazon

2 more 5🌟 reviews for Deception

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It’s been a while since I last blogged, but I thought this was definitely worth a quick post – Deception: A Love of Lies has two more 5 star reviews! 

They have been posted on both Amazon US and UK. 

Check them out below!

Deception 5 Star Book Review Amazon
Deception Book Review Amazon
‘So what exactly is Deception about?’ I hear you asking. Take a look at the synopsis below and allow yourself to live the life of avid dog walker, Billy Allen. 

“Through the stark and leafless trees, I see her.

I remember the first day I saw her; an instant attraction. I think she’s beautiful. She has such pensive blue eyes; they remind me of a blue sky right before the sun descends. Every time I see her I want to talk to her, I want to get to know her, and I want to be her friend.

She usually completes the lower woodland walk in six minutes and forty-two seconds; she misses the deeper woodlands and goes home, I believe.

I walk down the road at the same speed as her. She reaches the crossroads at the bottom of the road, looks both ways, and then jogs across into the garden of a house. I stop walking and concentrate on which house is hers.

I can’t stare too long but I am intrigued already, I will come back.”

Deception: A Love of Lies Book Cover
FINALLY – there will be a spotlight feature on another blog Thursday, which will be hosting a giveaway of three eCopies of Deception, so keep an eye out for that in the 1st of December. 

My books Endurance and The Author will also be free to download from Amazon on the 1st of December also! 

The Author Mystery Thriller BookEndurance Dystopian Horror Book T. J. Blake

Deception book cover

Author Interview 

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I was interviewed by author, Heidi Angell, and I’m extremely happy with how it went. 

We spoke about everything from my new book (Deception), writing overall, my dislike for fruit, and my future project; the conclusion to ‘The Endurance Series’ – you can read our interview by continuing to Heidi’s personal blog page. 

Author Interview with T. J. Blake

How can you start a career in writing?

Finding a job and starting your career in any industry is extremely difficult, especially when it comes to the sphere of writing. Due to this seemingly impossible sector to break into, I feel that I should give you an overview of what self-publishing has done for me in terms of my employability.

T. J. Blake1 Comment

Finding a job and starting your career in any industry is extremely difficult, especially when it comes to the sphere of writing. Due to this seemingly impossible sector to break into, I feel that I should give you an overview of what self-publishing has done for me in terms of my employability.

Please see my new post How can I start a career in writing? and read about my view on recruitment, the writing sector and how avid writers can build up their writing experience with the assistance of self-publishing.

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Something that I have learned from writing and self-publishing is that indie authors stick together – we help each other and as a growing and global community, it’s great to be a part of it. So, I want to help my fellow writers out by spreading my story; which has only just begun. I haven’t achieved everything I want to achieve, I only have just over three years of experience, but I feel I’ve come a long way in those three years, on a personal and professional level.

Feel free to find out more about me by looking through my blog:

About T. J. Blake

Books by T. J. Blake

Why did I choose to self-publish?

UK Author T. J. Blake Releases New Psychological Thriller, Deception: A Love of Lies

New psychological thriller, Deception, receives first review on Amazon.co.uk

T. J. Blake1 Comment

Very happy to see my first review for my brand new psychological thriller novel, Deception – A Love of Lies. 

I have been intrigued to hear what my readers have thought of my new novel, and this first review has made me extremely happy and confident. I’m sure that my readers will appreciate this psychological book – it possesses a close proximity of setting, unique characters and an intricate story to make you desire more. 


Here’s my first review from a happy reader on Amazon.co.uk: 

“Amazing novel! Another great read from T. J. Blake. This is the fourth novel from this up and coming writer. ‘Deception: A Love of Lies’ has you gripped from the very first chapter and I really could not put this down. The character and scene depictions really paint the picture in your mind. A highly believable plot line, intriguing characters and twists & turns make this a real page turner. Well done on another great release. I look forward to the next release in the not too distant future.”

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deception-Love-T-J-Blake-ebook/dp/B01J0434K4

If you have a Kindle, you can start reading Deception: A Love of Lies within seconds. But if you love the form of a paperback, then Deception is also available on paperback too. 

Catching up with T. J. Blake – latest articles and creative pieces

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Sorry that I’ve been a neglectful blogger recently, but I’ve had a busy few weeks. After bagging myself a new job (which I start on Monday – woop!), I’ve been finishing up with my then current (now former) employer, editing my next thriller DECEPTION, and of course, been preparing for Monday.

Anyway, to the point of this speedy post, I thought I would just give you the titles and links to my latest articles and creative pieces; which I’ve added to my blog T. J. Blake #Author the past few months.

So, below are my latest blog posts, articles and general writing material.

About me

Why did I choose to self-publish?

Articles

How has technology affected the relation between speech and writing?

Overuse of the exclamation mark: You’re having a laugh!!!! A little strict?!!

Creative Writing

Flash Fiction

Poem Attempts

Short Story Nightmare

Illusory Waters

 

Please have a read of my latest material. Feel free to comment with your opinion, and please do share 🙂

Six hours of writing this Sunday! 

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Since 2pm this afternoon, I have been writing my new novel DECEPTION. I was writing for 6/7 hours!

In this time, I was able to finish Chapter 28 and get started on Ch. 29.

Ch. 28 was an exhausting chapter to write – filled with twists, dark revelations and most of all, deep and emotional conversations for the two main characters involved.


Now, after today’s progress, I’m so close to completing the first draft of DECEPTION; I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I’m extremely excited to get this book finished and published for you all to finally read. It’s been well over a year now, since I started working on DECEPTION (formerly The Dog Walk) for my Creative Writing dissertation. I’m extremely hopeful about my fourth book, and I’m really looking forward to everyone experiencing this thrilling, creepy and dark journey.

Keep an eye out over the coming months for updates on DECEPTION – I’m aiming for it to be released in the Summer of 2016. A good read for your holidays!

Why did I choose to self-publish?

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It’s been three years (on the 28th of March) since I self-published my first novel Endurance.  I remember working on it whilst at university, and I most of all remember having doubts about self-publishing Endurance – mostly because there was a niggling fear of what people would say or think about me for doing it.

I personally love the freedom of self-publishing, even though it does require some more work – who am I kidding, some? A LOT more work.

I believe new writers should try their luck with self-publishing; mainly to engage with readers, create a following and allow people to review your work and help adapt you as a writer. From my experience, encouraging people to read your stories is the key part to self-publishing; even if you give them the book for free

Covering: What are the benefits of self-publishing? & Self-Publishing on Createspace

Source: Why did I choose to self-publish?

Overuse of the exclamation mark: You’re having a laugh!!!! A little strict?!!

T. J. BlakeLeave a comment

I’m sure you’ve heard today in the news – about the implemented changes to the use of the exclamation mark for primary school children. The newly introduced educational exclamation law means that for pupils across England, only phrases starting with “what” or “how” merit an exclamation mark.

I think that it’s always good to educate children on punctuation – it moulds our language and creates meaning. Without punctuation, people write extremely comical yet disturbing sentences.

“Let’s eat Mum!” & “Let’s eat, Mum!”

“I live for cooking my family and my dog” & “I live for cooking, my family, and my dog”

Unless you want to sound like a disturbing family orientated carnivore, knowing how to use punctuation is key!!! (Sorry!)

exclamation-mark-1183409_960_720.jpg

I support punctuation education, but I don’t quite understand the specific focus on the exclamation mark. Of course, there needs to be limited use of exclamation marks and even question marks when it matters most – two examples being in education or professional  writing, such as copywriting. People alter their writing and even their speech in certain situations, and I believe that for children it is the same; they will accommodate their writing when at school compared to when writing on say, social media, text or messenger. But even if they don’t, then it is up to the teacher to educate them.

Anyway, I thought this was interesting and definitely has much more needed to be said on the matter.

My latest article ‘How has technology affected the relation between speech and writing?‘ I believe has a great cohesion with this subject, so have a read of that too!

Also, this news is all over the Internet, have a read about the new exclamation mark rules on the BBC and The Guardian.

BBC – http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03lrtwd

The Guardian – http://www.theguardian.com/education/shortcuts/2016/mar/07/new-exclamation-mark-rules-proof-the-government-wants-to-penalise-enthusiasm

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/07/children-use-exclamation-marks-department-education

Thanks for reading, feel free to comment and share this post!