The process of self-editing

Love thy red pen

Red pen love…
Photo credit: http://flic.kr/p/4p6FT4

When I talk with other writerly people, editing seems to be one of the most common pain points amongst them. Some people tell me they aren’t very good at it, some have decided that they can’t do it while others try to do the best they can but will often rely on BETA readers and editors to edit their manuscripts more completely.

I like editing.

Scary thought isn’t it?

I find it gives my creative brain a bit of a break despite the fact that I find aspects of it quite challenging. I know I’m not qualified at it or the best at it, I feel I have a fair grasp on a lot of the basics, but one can always learn more.

With this in mind, I went into this weeks writing class looking forward to the instruction on editing. I was not disappointed.

A review of Advent by Natasha Duncan-Drake

Advent (Vampires: The New Age #1)

Synopsis: Every hunter knows a vampire bite means damnation.

Every hunter knows killing a victim is an act of mercy.

Every hunter knows there is no cure. Every hunter is wrong.

Nate Lavern became a hunter at eighteen and was well aware of the golden rule until he met Lexie. Lexie is a white witch infected with vampirism and when Nate was infected as well she showed him her secret for staying partially human. Together they hunt vampires, protecting the unsuspecting general public, but their magical solution is beginning to fail.

Their only hope is the Avebury ritual, little more than a legend even in hunter circles, and requiring four ancient relics. They are running out of time and must find out what is truth and what is myth; what is real and where it has been hidden.

Monsieur ~ erotic literature, or is it?!

This book (and by extension this review) is not suitable for anyone under the age of 18yrs.

Synopsis: From their initial online encounter, through a shared appreciation of erotic literature, to the highly explicit and shocking story of their brief relationship, Emma Becker charts the labyrinths of lust of Ellie and ‘Monsieur’, set against the murky landscape of Facebook, text messages and the Pigalle hotel room in which they meet every Tuesday morning.

Why do we do things we know are wrong? Why do May-to-December romances invariably go wrong? Why does the allure of forbidden sex cloud our judgments? Emma Becker doesn’t come up with all the answers, but provides a fascinating and poignant tale, which will turn Monsieur into the new Lolita.

The Ninth Orphan

Synopsis: How do you catch a man who is never the same man twice?

That is the question posed in The Ninth Orphan, a top-rated international thriller novel and the first book in The Orphan Trilogy.

An orphan grows up to become an assassin for a highly secretive organization. When he tries to break free and live a normal life, he is hunted by his mentor and father figure, and by a female orphan he spent his childhood with. On the run, the mysterious man’s life becomes entwined with his beautiful French-African hostage and a shocking past riddled with the darkest of conspiracies is revealed.

But can the ninth-born orphan ever get off the grid? To find out you’ll need to go on a tumultuous journey around the globe to such far-flung locations as China, France, the Philippines, Andorra, America, England, Germany and French Polynesia. The frenetic cat-and-mouse chase moves from airports to train stations and hidden torture prisons, taking the reader on a shocking, nail-biting ride into the world’s closet of skeletons that goes beyond conspiracy theories to painful reality.

Fast-paced, totally fresh and original, filled with deep and complex characters, The Ninth Orphan is a controversial, high-octane thriller with an edge. Merging fact with fiction, it illuminates shadow organizations rumored to actually exist in our world. The novel explores a plethora of conspiracies involving real organizations like the CIA, MI6, and the UN, and public figures such as President Obama as well as the Clinton, Marcos and Bush families.

Tackling genetic selection, mind control and secret societies, The Ninth Orphan exposes a global agenda designed to keep the power in the hands of a select few. The novel’s antagonists are members of a shadow government acting above and beyond the likes of the White House, the FBI, the Pentagon and the NSA. Could something like this ever take place? Or, is it already taking place right now?

This unique and unpredictable thriller also has a poignant, romantic sub-plot. The story contains the kind of intimate character portraits usually associated with psychological novels.

Buckle up for a wild trip full of death-defying action, cloak and dagger intrigue, unexpected role reversals and surprise endings.