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Showing posts from July, 2018

The theory behind TV reboots and remakes

We've all seen the promos for reboots and remakes of some of our favourite TV shows and movies:

Charmed Miama Vice
Murphy Brown
Dynasty The Munsters Gilmore Girls Tremors Heathers The Jetsons Sabrina

Just to name a few of the 50+ shows in line for a reboot.
We've also seen the many, many objections to reboots and remakes when there are so many great stories yet to be told. As a writer, I understand this frustration. I spend years writing a series in the hope that an adventurous TV or film producer will like my work and want to share it with TV and movie audiences. Except the production companies are more concerned with rehashing previously successful shows to a new audience.
Or are they really doing us a service we didn't know we needed but maybe we do?


Hear me out on this. In January 2014, I wrote a post about the rise of the superhero in movies. http://dlrichardsonwrites.blogspot.com/2014/10/superheroes-to-rescue-outsourcing-or.html
I wrote about the increasing number of movies where …
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Coffee chat with Serene Conneelly, author of Into the Mists trilogy

Serene Conneeley is the Australian author of the Into the Mists Trilogy – Into the Mists, Into the Dark and Into the Light – and the Into the Storm Trilogy – Into the Storm, Into the Fire and 2019’s Into the Air – and has also written five non-fiction books. She loves working out, lifting weights, drinking tea, travelling, dancing in stone circles and celebrating the phases of the moon…

DL: Firstly, since this is a coffee chat, how do you take your coffee (or not as has been the case), and what is your favourite time of the day to partake?
Serene: I’m a #fuelledbytea kinda girl. Strong earl grey with soy milk and honey – just like the main character in my Into the Mists series. (I didn’t realise just how many pots of tea she brews a day until I was editing it for the hardcover trilogy omnibus.) I drink tea all day, possibly more than I should and later than is wise. But if I’m at a cafe, I’ll sometimes have a latte... DL: Purple features heavily on your branding. Is there a magical or s…
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Blog tour for Monsterland Reanimated by Michael Okon

I'm delighted to take part in this blog tour for "Monsterland Reanimated" by Michael Okon. Michael Okon is an award-winning and best-selling author of multiple genres including paranormal, thriller, horror, action/adventure and self-help. He graduated from Long Island University with a degree in English, and then later received his MBA in business and finance. Coming from a family of writers, he has storytelling in his DNA. Michael has been writing from as far back as he can remember, his inspiration being his love for films and their impact on his life. From the time he saw The Goonies, he was hooked on the idea of entertaining people through unforgettable characters.
He's promoting his latest release "Monsterland Reanimated", volume 2 of the Monsterland series. Check out the end of the post for details on the giveaway. THE AUTHOR WILL BE GIVING AWAY:

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

Blurb:

After Monsterland h…
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Coffee chat with Mark Gillespie, indie author of post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction

Welcome to my virtual coffee room, author of post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction, Mark Gillespie. Marks is a former musician from Glasgow, Scotland who now resides in Melbourne Australia. With 18 books on his Goodreads list, I thought it was about time I put the spotlight on this prolific indie author.
DL: Firstly, since this is a coffee chat, how do you take your coffee (or not as has been the case), and what is your favourite time of the day to partake?
MARK: I'm not a coffee drinker! Living in Melbourne, this makes me kind of a freak but that's okay - I celebrate being different 😊 Hot beverage of choice is green tea - not the trendy hipster kind that has all the added flavourings like lemon, coconut or whatever put in. No way. I drink my green tea straight, like a man! 😆 Best time of day to partake would be first thing in the morning. Helps to melt the brain cobwebs. If not green tea, a cold beer is always welcome. DL: How did you end up living in Australia? Do you ba…
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Catch up with Aussie steampunk and fantasy author Felicity Banks

It's always great to catch up with authors who have dropped by my virtual café for a coffee chat. Today I caught up with Felicity Banks, who writes steam punk, fantasy, and cozy murder mysteries. Here is a quick update on her writing and what's in store for the rest of 2018.

DL: What have you been up to since our last coffee chat? Read coffee chat here

Felicity: I have three releases this year. Right now is the perfect time for my kids' pirate fantasy series Book 1 "The Monster Apprentice".

DL: "The Monster Apprentice" was released in February and the momentum has been building. What else is coming?

Felicity: The third book in my steampunk trilogy will be released in late August, and I'll also be running an art exhibition/launch for "Murder in the Mail: A Bloody Birthday" which is a cozy murder mystery told through letters, objects and artworks physically mailed to the reader over 8 weeks in late August/early September.

All of Felicity's b…
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The importance of sticking to one genre

As a writer, my brain isn't limited by the notion of genre. Ideas pop into my head and I think "I can turn that into a novel." Yeah, but that idea is romance or murder mystery, my other brain says, and you write speculative fiction.


Speculative fiction, in itself, is a broad term. It encompasses horror, scif-fi, fantasy, paranormal and all its sub-genres. Urban fantasy, paranormal romance, dystopian etc.

I must be in control of my muse, not the other way round.
When my first novel was published, it was a young adult title about guardian angels and the afterlife. I went on to publish 2 more young adult titles in a similar theme; my second was about teens who take on the memories of their organ donor host; and my third YA novel was a love story featuring magic and ghosts. Still in the same realm of speculative fiction, but I told my editor this book was a crossover into paranormal romance. I recall her telling me to stick the same genre to avoid confusing readers.

I didn'…
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