Hi friends! I’ve just come home from a 3-night stay in a cosy, secluded cottage with two of my closest author friends, and it was so good for the soul.
We arrived on Friday evening to the beautiful little converted barn, The Cider House, to scented candles filling the house with a gorgeous scent, and a basket of welcome goodies from the lovely hostess.
After we’d settled in, we had dinner and caught up on each other’s lives. Then we wrote, talked about our works-in-progress and our plans for our author careers. It was a perfect evening with two of my favourite humans!
On Saturday, Rhianne and I got up at 6am to write and let Alice have a lie in (we’re all mums to young kids, so sleep is a precious commodity!). We’ve all got word count goals and deadlines to hit, so we sprinted throughout the day, between lots of bouncing ideas around and helping each other fill in plot holes, and find that one perfect word that’s right on the tip of your tongue but keeps eluding you.
We took a long walk through the surrounding countryside after lunch (a lot of snacks were consumed over the course of the weekend!), and Saturday evening was spent in ballgowns and crowns filming TikTok videos!
On Sunday, we had a slightly more chilled day. I slept in until 8.30am and wrote for a while, but by the afternoon we were all ready for a break, so we decided to do a photo shoot and get some new author headshots and content for our socials.
Then we played a few games of Cluedo (there were loads of board games and books provided in the cottage) and had dinner, and then Alice went for a bath, using the lovely aromatherapy oils the hostess had provided, while me and Rhianne chatted and watched a movie.
I wrote for a while after the others had gone to bed to try and hit my word goal for the day. Then on Monday morning we packed up, tidied the cottage and said our goodbyes, before heading home!
It was the perfect mini writing retreat, we all wrote so many words and got over some bumps in our WIPs with each others help. And I think we all left feeling refreshed and reinvigorated for our writing and publishing careers. Or, I did, at least!
If you’re a writer and you’ve got author friends within a few hours drive, I can’t recommend a DIY writing retreat highly enough. Sometimes, being surrounded by other creatives with the same struggles and dreams as you can be exactly what you need to remind yourself you’re not alone on this path. We’re all in it together.
My second book baby, The Solitary King, has been out in the world for over a week now, and I’m so proud of how much this little book has achieved so far!
Over sixty preorders for the Kindle ebook, plus over thirty copies sold of all three formats since 31 Jan, and hundreds of pages read in KU. And already a handful of lovely reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. I can’t thank everyone who has bought or borrowed this book enough, I know it’s only my second published book but this launch has surpassed anything I could ever have imagined. I’m so glad everyone is enjoying Aria and Xander’s story!
If you haven’t read book one, The Fair Queen, yet you can get it here.
If you do read The Fair Chronicles, I’d really appreciate if you could leave a quick review on Amazon. It doesn’t have to be long, but reviews are so important for authors, especially us indie authors, and help us to reach new readers.
Thank you so much for supporting me on this crazy self publishing journey! I couldn’t do it without you.
It’s been a minute! I took a couple of weeks off after Enchanted Waters was published in July, and then it was my birthday last week, so I’ve had a lovely break, but I’m back and ready to settle into my writing cave for the rest of the year.
I’m getting The Solitary King, The Fair Chronicles #2 ready for my editor towards the end of the year, and outlining my story for our next anthology, Enchanted Forests. My story, One Fair Eve, will be a reimagining of Goblin Market by Christina Rosetti, and I’m really excited to start sharing snippets and teasers with you!
Before we jump into today’s interview with the fabulous Meadoe Hora, I’d absolutely love if you could spare a second to vote for Enchanted Waters in the All Author cover contest! It’s currently in second place and winning would mean so much to us, plus it would help us to raise lots of money for Ocean. Click here to vote!
Thank you so much for your support. Now, on with the show!
Hi Meadoe, thanks for chatting with me today! Tell us a little about yourself.
I live in the US midwest with my family, a bossy basset hound and a spoiled black lab. Aside from writing, I love yoga, hiking and doing taekwondo with my family.
That sounds wonderful, we’ve got two dogs too, I find they force me to get out of the house and exercise when I’d probably sit at my desk all day if we didn’t have them. When did you start writing and what inspired you?
I’ve written as long as I can remember. I took a long break when my kids were little and being a working mom sucked up all of my time. I’m so happy I started writing again. For me, writing is the best self care around. It grounds me and makes me feel more like myself.
I feel exactly the same! Being a working mum to a toddler is so all-consuming, it’s hard to find the time for something that’s purely for me. But I feel so much better after making that time for myself. What are your favourite books and genres to read?
I will read any book that has good characters. I love those stories that are passed down through the generations. Lately, I’ve been loving fairy tale retellings and stories rooted in mythology. I love all the strong female and diverse characters that are popping up in YA fiction today.
I’ve become addicted to fairy tale retellings recently, I think it’s the fact that I have a vague idea of where the story will take me (underrated in a world that’s been flipped upside down lately!), but I love seeing how each author twists and spins it to their own design. Do you have a favourite book of your own that you’ve published?
I wrote 2 children’s books with my son when he was about 9. We published them to raise money for a local inner city martial arts program. Those will always be my favorite because it was so fun writing with my son and I’m always happy to support that martial arts program. It’s a 2 book series called Superhero Kick Team.
After that, I published Ariadne’s Crown, which is a retelling of the Greek myth about Theseus slaying the Minotaur, but from the POV of the girl who helps him. I thought she needed a story of her own and I loved researching it and writing it.
My new book Curse of the Furies is a modern take on mythology about a daughter of one of the Furies trying to save her cursed father. It comes out Aug 31st.
I love the sound of publishing a book with your son, what a special experience and something he can keep and always remember. Gosh, I’m tearing up just thinking about it – crazy motherhood hormones! So, where do you find inspiration for your characters or settings?
Everywhere! In my latest book, I had the Greek gods causing trouble in a town similar to the one I live in. So, there are a lot of familiar places.
I love using settings I know, it feels so much richer when I’m writing (and reading) them. Even if it’s just as inspiration for a fantasy setting. Do you consider yourself a plotter, pantser or plantser?
Plantser. I’m not good at outlining. I like to have a general idea of where I’m going and just start writing.
I’m a plotter-leaning-plantser. I need a good, strong outline, but I also like to have room to be surprised every now and then. What are you working on right now?
I’m working on editing book 2 of the Furious Legacy series. I’m hoping to release that one later this year.
That’s so exciting! Good luck with your upcoming release! It’s be so lovely to chat with you and find out more about your books. Before you go, what one piece of advice would you give aspiring authors?
Read a lot in a variety of genres. Write. There is no training or book or webinar that will take the place of just writing. Figure it out as you go and don’t demand perfection of yourself. Perfection is the death of creativity. Just write.
Fantastic advice. Writing is the most important thing a writer can do. My mantra as I edited my debut novel was “Done is better than perfect”. How can we find out more about you and your books?
I haven’t read many Greek mythology retellings (aside from Percy Jackson, of course), but I think that’s about to change! How good do Ariadne’s Crown and Curse of the Furies sound? They’re going straight on my TBR.
Lyndsey Hall | Author 