It's Officially Launched

Web of Lies was launched last Sunday just in time for Christmas. Great gifts for grandmothers, mothers, daughters, nieces and sisters, or that special friend in your life.

Web of lies...hope for tomorrow

Here's the blurb:

High school sweethearts, Stephanie and Lachlan are torn apart by circumstance, bad decisions and a web of lies, leaving an unknown future for their son, Ryan.

Eight years later they reconnect, but the time apart has changed them. The family had made decisions based on lies and deceit and now must find a way to either reveal the truth or live with their mistakes. On the surface their arrangements seem flawless, but dig deeper, and the truth is not as it appears.

Lachlan and Stephanie are forced to confront the consequences of their actions and the entire family is compelled to reveal the truth, find forgiveness, and renew loving one another. but the hardest decision is still to come.

If you've been following my blog tour, thank you!

Here is where I'm blogging in the lead up to Christmas:

3rd December:  http://laussieswritingblog.blogspot.com.au/

4th December:  http://ishmarind.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/author-laura-oconnell-speaks-about-her.html?showComment=1354576020540

10th December:  http://nas-dean.blogspot.com.au/

10th December:  http://julietmadison.wordpress.com/

11th December:  http://internationalchristianfictionwriters.blogspot.com.au/

12th December: http://freshfiction.com/

19th December:   http://romancebookhaven.blogspot.com.au/

When you've read the book, I'd love to hear your comments, so don't be shy, leave a comment here or on my Facebook page. Thanks!

Jigsaw Puzzles and Writing

A Christian Riese Lassen Puzzle

Did you know there's a lot of similarities between doing a jigsaw puzzle and writing a book?

Several years ago, I completed a jigsaw puzzle of an orchestra. It was all musical instruments, bald heads and red noses. It was a challenge and it was fun. I worked the jigsaw to keep my mind quiet and focused during an extremely busy time in my life. Putting all the pieces together helped in reducing stress when I felt my life was out of control.

I also found the shapes, splashes of colour and the slotting together of all those shapes and colours aided my creativity as I planned my manuscript. Ideas for my work come to me at different times and places. I jot them down on loose pieces of paper or in my trusty notebook with its worn, grubby edges. When I'm ready to start a new writing project, I have my puzzle pieces to hand, ie., the research content, characters, plot ideas, and setting. I sort and swap, change and rearrange all these elements together to make the plot of my new novel. I approach my jigsaws in the same way. I paddle my fingers through all the pieces, searching for all the straight edges and when that outline is finished, I start filling in the middle.

While I'm writing and puzzling, I have my earphones on and listen to my favourite musician, James Andrew Black. These two activities keep me focused and in the world I've created until the work is done. An added bonus is being able to rest the eyes on colour and shape, which is a great relief after looking at black and white text for extended periods.

Recently, I understood why the travelling around Australia exercise sabotaged my writing. I had no jigsaw puzzle time while writing Web of Lies and this project took much longer than I'd planned. Now, I'm one hundred percent focused on my new novel, Broken Dreams, working title. My new jigsaw, of two swimming dolphins, a Christian Riese Lassen puzzle, is laid out on my dining room table, ready for me to place random pieces whenever I get up and walk around to release the tension in my shoulders from hunching over the keyboard. By the time I finish writing my first draft, the puzzle is done, too. It's also a great visual tool to monitor the progress on my novel, as the puzzle comes together so does my manuscript.

How about you, do you have an activity you do while you're writing or performing your work?

New Release - Web of Lies Cover

All the hard work of writing has been done. All the hard work of designing the cover has been done. Web of Lies will be released on 1st December, 2012. Throughout the next few months I'll share with you my inspiration for writing this novel.

Hope for tomorrow and begin the change you desire.