On Monday 24th September 2018, I had my author event at Barking Learning Centre, as part of ReadFest 2018.
I was asked to give an hour-long presentation - so what on earth did I talk about?
Before Pen to Print
I talked about my working life before I started writing full time. I worked a series of office jobs, various roles, all involving copious amounts of administration for which I have several official qualifications. Then I did a bit of teaching, assessing, training, event management and marketing. But when I lost my job and became pregnant - not only did I have to come to terms with being unemployed but also trying to figure out how to be a mum. It's really easy to lose your identity as a parent which is exactly what I did.
Reading the advert in the library window for their creative writing workshops and subsequently getting involved with the Pen to Print writing competition were never things I'd thought I do. But I am so glad I did. Because without them, I would not be the author of The Gaia Effect. And I would never have continued writing.
My Books
So what have I written so far? It's quite a range:
The Gaia Effect - hopeful dystopia set 200 years in the future
The Gaia Effect - hopeful dystopia set 200 years in the future
The Gaia Project - the sequel COMING SOON!
Tales from Suburbia - a collection of humorous blog posts, plays and short stories looking at life in the suburbs and being a mum
The Rose Thief - humorous fantasy inspired by Terry Pratchett's Discworld
Tales from the Seaside - a collection of humorous short stories, plays and flash fiction inspired by moving to the seaside
The Blue Serpent - an eclectic collection of flash fiction
Underground Scratchings - a short story included in Tales from the Underground anthology
Patient Data - a short story included in The Quantum Soul anthology
Building an Author Platform
I touched on the importance of having an online presence including how to use various social media platforms, having a website and above all being a person with real interests and personalities not just clamouring buy my book - buy my book - buy my book.
What's next?
I spoke about the upcoming projects for the rest of this year.
The Gaia Project - sequel to The Gaia Effect. The book will be available for pre-order Friday 5th October with a release date of 10th of October which is very exciting but also fairly frightening because I need to finish polishing the manuscript!
Spooky Little Book of Verse - the next poetry book in my collection. 31 spooky poems released just in time for Halloween.
The Interspecies Poker Game - a novella from the world of The Rose Thief. This story begins a new collection of novellas called The Roshaven File, each one will be a case Ned & Jenni have worked on.
I am planning to get Tales from Suburbia and Tales from the Seaside ready for audio-book by Christmas.
Festive Book of Verse - a series of poems celebrating Christmas.
Festive Book of Verse - a series of poems celebrating Christmas.
Q&A Session
I had some great questions from the audience which I turned into a short vlog:
It was a great event - I'm so thankful to the Pen to Print team at Barking Library for the opportunity to speak as part of the ReadFest festival. It was great to reflect on what I've done so far and also re-focus on what I want to do in the future. Hope to see you at the next event!
Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find all her books on Amazon. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop.
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