Ruby Allure's Books

Ruby Allure's Books
Ruby Allure's Books
Showing posts with label fun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fun. Show all posts

Monday, 26 September 2016

It seems that Hairy legs can capture people's imaginations!

I don't mean to go on about this today; however, I am sooo excited. Another amazing review and suddenly people are beginning to write to me about this book. Last night saw a surge in sales because I released an Amazon advertising campaign. In truth I never thought that hairy legs would capture people's imaginations.

Here is the latest review for the audio version:

Format: Audible Audio Edition
"The Hairy Legged Mystery" is a fun story that keeps the reader guessing to figure out to What or Whom the hairy legs belong! After the suspense builds and builds keeping young readers hooked and highly entertained, at last all is revealed in a satisfying and oddly edifying manner. This book has a creative plot premise and is easy for a child to comprehend and enjoy. The characters are all well defined and I thought Lisa Hicks did a great job of bringing them to life using her considerable talent as an audio book reader. My daughter and I both loved listening to the book more than once on Audible and would like to commend both Author and Reader for their successful efforts putting together "The Hairy Legged Mystery." We are looking forward to more from this talented twosome!
Felix Winters

I will be honest after going through the redundancy process for  the last three months, to have such positive feedback on your writing is really appreciated. You know what I am hoping.... yes you have guessed it - that my sales increase to the state where I can work as a full time author... I never thought I would say that... Today I hope this is the turning point...  We will see what happens... Life has its plan, let's hope that mine is the same:)

Time for a little dance!

The Cucumber Catastrophe in The Hairy-Legged Mystery....

Today has been fun because I have had numerous questions about The Hairy-Legged Mystery and where such an idea came from. In all honesty these amusing little things just pop into my head and I find myself smirking. I then think hmmmm how can I turn this into something that will make me laugh while I write. It is that simple... Anyway Lisa Hicks is the voice behind The Hairy-Legged Mystery and I feel that I would love to share her voice interpretation. She has me in hysterics! So here is the moment in the book where the cucumber patch is in a bit of a disaster!
I hope you all find it amusing...

Enjoy my audio books at the following link:

Sneak Audio Preview of Elora, The One-Winged Fairy and The Last Baby Giggle

Okay I admit it, I might be a little bit excited... Why? Well today I have spent the day working through the audio version of Elora, The One-Winged Fairy... And The Last Baby Giggle. I have to admit it really had me giggling and I wrote it. Is that as bad as laughing at your own jokes? I guess so... Anyway I have put a sample up and will be putting another sample of The Hairy-Legged Mystery on the next blog because something happened over night and people have been asking me all manner of questions about these books. I guess it ties in with the sales increasing.


So I hope you enjoy this. Just so you know... the inspiration for the laughter being sucked from the world came from an environment where I worked where the atmosphere could be likened to a stagnant fart. It was such a shame... The people became so miserable and fed up. I was fine because I do have an inner landscape full of fairy adventures, hairy-legged mysteries and my own jokes. Admittedly I glad to be free to get on with my writing for a while.

Enjoy my audio books at the following link:

Friday, 23 September 2016

Committing Career Suicide

Life is funny how it can throw you some fantastic dilemmas. In comparison to many people my dilemma isn't that bad, in fact it is lovely. The question is: do I or don't I commit career suicide? For those who follow my blogs, you will be aware that I usually work as a business analyst and innovator and then in my spare time enjoy writing books and blogs. The books are my creative release, so they will continue being written because writing is a compulsion. I can't not do it.



So here is the dilemma:
I have taken the opportunity for redundancy - great. Now the world is now full of possibility. I finished work last week and this week I have been invited to return to cruise ships to work on board in a writing capacity. It sounds fantastic; however, it will involve working ten hour days, seven days a week for four months in a row. What's more the money isn't very good. I can cover my mortgage and live relatively frugally and circumnavigate the world. The thing with writing all the time is that you don't have a lot left for your own creative writing. Of course everything on board is taken care of. I have worked on ships for years previously and enjoyed it. The reason I returned to 'real life' was because one of the ships I was working on almost sunk in Antarctica. That potential catastrophe made me re-evaluate existence and return to land to live a 'safe-ish' life. Of course the week I returned I managed to cycle in a swarm of twenty thousand bees. Yep! That is apparently the safe life! Over the last twelve years I have to admit writing became my escape from the mundane and boredom of corporate culture.

Taking to the seas again provides wonderful potential for adventure while working in a creative writing capacity. It seems like a wonderful dream; although the reality of being on board is entirely different.  At the same day I have been approached to work in Germany for 5 months as a business analyst earning huge money using my skills as a business analyst, innovator and project manager. Following that I was then called up and asked by a company to work in London on a huge innovation financial project - big money and lots of stress. Finally another local project role approached - easy to get to and could be a little dull. Isn't it nice to be in demand... Of course I am still waiting for the right one to land and nothing is definite yet. Of course these sequence of events got me thinking and asking questions. The thing is this is life and what do you want to say when you are on your death-bed: yes I earned loads of money or I experienced every day fully and saw the world? I am lucky because I am free to follow any route because I have no commitments. That is why I am so tempted to commit the career suicide and just go and travel again. The inspiration, the potential blogs and the idea of the experience thrills me. The thing is when you work four months on and two months off you can focus completely on writing during your leave time... So you may not think this is a dilemma, the thing is by stepping away from business analysis is like committing career suicide. By not living fully one is committing another type of spiritual death.


In addition to all of this, Elora, The One-Winged Fairy - The Last Baby Giggle has completed audio production by Lisa Hicks and is in its evaluation and approval phase. So that is exciting and I have been having a strong desire to write the follow up to Money Farm (the brave new world of finance). You know what? It is as if the universe has taken a laxative... So the question is what would you do? Commit career suicide or follow the path of financial increase combined with the mundane?

Enjoy my audio books at the following link:




 
AUDIO LINK: http://www.audible.com/pd/Kids/The-Hairy-Legged-Mystery-Audiobook/B01H2HF0XU/ref=a_search_c4_1_2_srTtl?qid=1471619538&sr=1-2


ELORA, THE ONE WINGED FAIRY AND THE LAST BABY GIGGLE LINK:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elora-One-Winged-Fairy-Last-Giggle-ebook/dp/B01KYHM1G4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472123774&sr=8-1&keywords=Elora+the+one+winged+fairy

A fantasy fairy fiction novel for girls aged 8 and older...








Friday, 26 August 2016

Elora, The One-Winged Fairy has arrived in paperback today! Yipee!

Well I feel it is time for a little dance, I was not expecting the paperback to arrive at such speed, but here she is. Elora, The One-Winged Fairy has fluttered onto Amazon. Excited... Yep! So time for a shimmy! Yipee!


LINK TO AMAZON.COM:

https://www.amazon.com/Elora-One-Winged-Fairy-Last-Giggle/dp/153729251X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1472230034&sr=8-5&keywords=Ruby+Allure

Dinosaur distraction and the art of focus!



There are not many people who can use a dinosaur as an excuse to be distracted from writing or an excuse for procrastination; however, I have evidence. After releasing Elora, The One-Winged- Fairy, I thought I would move straight into editing the next book in the line. I have to admit it is such a pleasure being on garden leave because I have the time to complete and release my backlog of books before moving into my new career.  As much as I enjoy being able to edit at home, sitting in a café watching the world for inspiration is a nice way in which to progress the next works.


So there I am in deep thought, and somewhat amused by the fact I wrote a book about a blooming fairy, I look up and there we have it: a dinosaur in the shopping arcade. Of course people would assume it is an over-active imagination. I guess people have been sectioned for less. Imagine all those children who would say to their parents - look there is a dinosaur shopping and their parents would dismiss it as 'the imaginary friend syndrome gone prehistoric!' Admittedly it is random to witness such a phenomenon. Is it a sign? Maybe I will write a book about dinosaurs next... I certainly had not planned on writing a fairy book. I hope I don't get creatively 'haunted' by a Tyrannosaurus Rex! Imagine waking up in the night to a phantom dinosaur saying 'you must write about me!' In that half-awake state herds of dinosaurs buying hats to protect them from the sun pop up all over the bedroom... I won't go off on a creative rant; however, ideas come from everywhere and this just shows that sometimes you just have to look up from the laptop to have inspiration arrive.


ELORA, THE ONE WINGED FAIRY AND THE LAST BABY GIGGLE LINK:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elora-One-Winged-Fairy-Last-Giggle-ebook/dp/B01KYHM1G4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472123774&sr=8-1&keywords=Elora+the+one+winged+fairy

A fantasy fairy fiction novel for girls aged 8 and older...




Wednesday, 17 August 2016

Away with the fairies or A way with the faeries?

I can quite honestly say that I never thought I would write about fairies. As lovely as they are, for me it was just not something that I would even consider. Now, I think I have mentioned about how ideas almost float around a person like a asteroids. Those idea asteroids float around a person's head until it is time to land. There are times when there are so many asteroids floating around a person that they find it difficult to concentrate because those pesky little blighters fight for attention because they want to be landed. I am sure you have all had those creative moment before sleep where you turn the light off, have an idea, write the idea down, turn the light off and so on.. I have even taken to writing in the dark. Bizarre? Erm yes!


Thinking about it, I feel I have to take this a step further. I think these asteroids (metaphor for ideas) may actually be intelligent. Yes, this is actually making me sound particularly away with the fairies. The reason I say this is because Elora, (sorry but I can't give away the rest of the title a it is top secret while it is being edited, proof read and the cover is being illustrated) literally would not leave me alone until she was written. Her name kept appearing in places and the name of the baddy literally played around my head until I wrote it down. I did my absolute best to ignore her; however, people started appearing with fairy tattoos and I kept hearing the word fairy... Oh - gosh - I sound so odd. The thing is these characters take form in the unconscious and they do what they can to get your attention.
Image result for fairy rackham


There I am at work with a fairy asteroid vying for attention and wanting to be creatively landed. At the same time the baddy name is tormenting me as I am attempting to work on business analysis. In the end I sat back and thought - 'right I hear your name... now show me what you want me to create for a baddy!' No sooner as I had said that - the baddy arrived in reality. Honestly it was astounding how she literally turned up. My next meeting became a full analysis in note form of the lady who carried the baddy traits. She was phenomenal. Soooo phenomenal that I almost sat in a business meeting with my mouth open. Are you curious? Okay. Have you ever felt as though the life is being sucked out of you because someone is so miserable? In that business meeting people were sitting around a table and it was as if they were turning grey in her presence. The image of a hoover attached to their foreheads kept flashing up in my mind. I wrote and I wrote and I seriously wrote. She must have thought I was so dedicated to business analysis. Later on I had a chat with her and discovered a whole new level of pessimism. In the end I asked her if she had a comedian she liked. She didn't she didn't find anything funny; in fact laughter irritated her... Do you get where I am going with this? In the end she made it clear that life could not be fun, work was not fun and that misery was what she expected. Oh my goodness - the perfect piece of inspiration for my story. As much as she has since made me redundant (oh and don't be concerned about this because all is good) she has given me three months garden leave because of my access to the systems. What makes it all the more exciting is that I have managed to complete 3 more books in this time because I am writing full time at the moment and not allowed to start work until October! Life is beautiful and the fairy hauntings have resulted in me writing a book that I feel is so my fun, filled with laughter and considers what would happen if one cruel baddy turned the world to sorrow. So...  Away with the faires? Answer is yes. A way with the faeries? I think the faeries had a way with me and wanted a book written about them. Who knows about unseen forces and their plans?
Image result for fairy rackham

Enjoy audio books at the following link:

Thursday, 28 July 2016

What is your next 'WOW'?

What is your next Wow?
Image result for wow


When was the last time you had that feeling of 'wow'? An eruption of wowness from within? You may think really wows and wowing is for those people who just can't control themselves... Well a decent WOW and a woop can lift a person to heady heights of joy.

Image result for people all looking at mobile phones

So why do I write this? I had a bit of a moment the other day while I was quietly watching the world on their mobile phones. Where I live there is a beautiful pier and on the pier there has been numerous people strolling along glued to their mobile phones. People were walking along silently staring at screens as though searching for something. They would all gather in groups and not talk to each other and stare at the screen, as if waiting for something to happen. Then when that something did happen they smiled for a small moment and then strolled back down the pier with eyes fixed on their mobile screens. They then appeared to be searching for something else. It was quite a bemusing spectacle really. I wondered whether it was a one off incident so went down a number of days in a row. The same thing happened: clusters of people staring at their mobile screen. They arrived at a certain point, smiled and went on 'hunting'.
Image result for people all looking at mobile phones

So how does this relate to the WOW? Well there was a quiet moment and a group of young chaps came along, all hunting - they were probably around 12 or 13. They all arrived at the same area and stared at their screen. Something happened and one shouted 'Wow!' He got so excited that he started to jump up and down. He literally couldn't contain himself. He had found something and it made him leap in the air. The other three chaps looked at him as if he was uncool. However, this rebellious little 'wower!' Just kept being excited. 'That was the coolest one yet!' he cried with a little dance. The cool kids began to chuckle and shake their heads. Guess what happened? They all started to 'wow' and laugh.
Image result for wow excited

The group noticed me watching and smiling and calmed their wowing.
'It is fantastic to see a public display of wow! So what are you wowing about? There have been loads of people strolling along staring at phones and then stopping, smiling and turning around.'
The group glanced at each other as if to consider 'stranger danger'. Finally the lead wower came over and showed me his phone. It turned out they were on a 'treasure hunt' for some creature from a game on their phone. When they found the creature it exploded. There were different kinds of creature explosions and this particular one had created an almighty WOW opportunity.


Anyway the group shuffled and I asked the lead wower, 'do you wow often?' He looked at me curiously. 'I come down here a lot and you did a blooming good wow! You showed your excitement and got others involved in your wow!' It was fantastic to watch.'
Image result for wow excited animals

He shrugged and glanced at the others.
'He always gets excited and wows,' said one of the other guys.
'Some people think he is weird.'
'Why?'
'Because he is always so happy and excited.'
'Isn't that a good thing?'
The group shuffled, 's'pose so.'

Image result for wow excited animals

I studied the group and decided to say something rather deep to teenagers. 'If the world did not have anyone who wowed then what would happen?'
'There would be no wowing.'
'Did you notice that a decent wow created joy and you all laughed?'
The group nodded.
'If you can find something to 'wow' about every day then you really can live a good life. The bigger the wow the better I say.'
I turned to the lead wower, 'Thank you so much for that WOW! I needed to be reminded to find my wow in each day!'

With that in mind, what is you next WOW? Will you allow yourself to WOW wholeheartedly? What is the limit to your wow? When is the best time to super wow!



Enjoy my books at the following link:

Sunday, 10 July 2016

Three Five Star Reviews for The Hairy-Legged Mystery...

Three Five Star Reviews for The Hairy-Legged Mystery...



Since this is my final day of promoting both The Hairy-Legged Mystery and Tingle Dingle and The Little Mischiefs... I decided to post the most wonderful reviews I have received yet. It generally makes me happy to think that the books have provided so much pleasure. You realise it is not about you - it is about the fact that people are uplifted, entertained and provided with opportunity for enjoyment. I am sooooo grateful that people take the time to read my creations and then spend a little extra time posting the review. So I just want to say thank you to all those who have already read The Hairy-Legged Mystery and those who have taken the time to feed back. I am now working on the next amusing children's book creation so will let The Hairy-Legged Mystery and Tingle Dingle make their own way in the world. My favourite reviews are below... Thank you....
  • Teresa 07-09-16
    Teresa 07-09-16   
    "A Delightfully Cute Story, Loved it"
    This cute children's story has everything going for it. It was such a delight. It brought the inner child out in me and I found myself giggling. I can't wait till my youngest two grandchildren get to listen to it. This isn't scary at all and in fact I think the ending is adorable.

    Ruby Allure is a wonderful storyteller. I'd recommend this audiobook all day to not only the kiddos but young at heart adults too.

    Lisa Hicks did an awesome job reading this book. She has a great voice for children's stories with perfect voice inflections. Her voice is attention holding and she too is a natural storyteller. I love the way she says Oop Oop and her voice for the Bouffant Banshee. Completely entertaining.

    “This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.”
  •  
    Tiasdolls 07-06-16
    Tiasdolls 07-06-16 Member Since 2015
    I love books...I love storytelling. Audiobooks allow me to enjoy a great story while still being able to do my daily routine. Thanks Audible

    "Beautifully Performed Tale"
    Where does The Hairy Legged Mystery rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
    Top 10. Ms. Hicks was marvelous! I was mesmerized from the opening sentence to the last sentence.

    Who was your favorite character and why?
    The children were wonderful. Ms. Allure weaves a wonderful tale that captures the imagination of both young and old. Paired with Ms. Hicks performance made this audiobook a perfect 10.

    Which scene was your favorite?
    I loved storytime/bedtime with the children and their parents.

    Any additional comments?
    I received a copy via audiobook boom in exchange for an unbiased review.
  • "Intriguing with a WONDERFULLY twist at the end"
    This is the 2nd story by this author I have read and I love it. Will eagerly seek more by her. The story was captivating, mystical magical and entertaining. The parental
    Bed time stories and deceptions of the various monsters and creatures of fantasy keep you guessing as to what it
    Is. The reveal is more magical for the build up and Even more amazing than described. Loved it and highly recommend it for kids and adults alike. Good luck figuring it out. I received this audiobook from the author narrator or publisher for free via audiobookboom in exchange for an unbiased review


Do You Know When To Stop?


Do You Know When To Stop?


After jumping out on a colleague from behind an office column and shouting stop, it occurred to me not everyone knows when to stop. That particular colleague just had to be approached about his cucumbers. Cucumbers? Yes! He has been sneaking around the office wielding organic cucumbers and depositing them on unsuspecting colleagues’ desks. I caught him the other morning in the very act of cucumber delivery. Something about it rang alarm bells. Since I run a social media team for a large corporation, I considered how best I could utilise the covert cucumber mission to best effect. So in the Social Media meeting today, we came up with all manner of cucumber anecdotes and titles for the blog including the Cucumber Surprise, Covert Cucumbers, Corporate Cucumbers and how to make your cucumber grow by speaking to it (the last one was a considered a little too rude to corporately publish - booo!!!). To accompany the article we decided to get the official photographer to photograph cucumbers with ‘googly’ doll eyes so we could maintain surprise cucumber expressions around the office. Of course we do very corporate articles too; however, I am having two weeks off work from Friday to focus on finishing my current book and felt the need for a little mischief prior to having a holiday. That way any repercussions would have been complete by the time I leave.


Image result for cucumber
The cucumber interview questions included

‘How did you discover your cucumber love?’

‘Do you talk to your cucumber to make it grow?’

‘What attracted you to cucumbers?’

‘If you were a cucumber what advice would you give?’

‘Of all the cucumbers you have grown, has one particular cucumber jumped out at you?’

The thing is the blog has to be approved, so we will see what happens. 

So back to my original question – do you know when to stop? This covers many topics? Exercise, food, health and book promotion.


In terms of exercise where do you have to reach to stop? Today I crossed a paddleboard threshold: a line of yellow buoys mark my limits. I usually stay within them but today I was blown beyond them. Once I had experienced ‘unchartered’ paddle territory, I turned the board and paddled in. I realised I had gone beyond my limit and had to stop and turn around. That made me question when is the point when we know when to stop. So how ill do you have to become before you actually stop and rest? I watch so many people at work descend into complete flu and infect the whole office before they take the day off. Their martyrdom should have stopped and saved others from the infection.
Image result for can't stop eating

What about food? If you were in front of a buffet when do you decide when to stop? Do you have to feel ill? I worked on cruise ships for years and watched gluttonous buffet bonanzas. People kept eating and eating and certainly did not know when to stop! The attitude was: I have paid for it and I want to get my money’s worth.
Image result for buffet

Finally, I have noticed that when it comes to product promotion and book promotion, there is a finite time that things can be rammed down an audience’s throat before the audience become blasé, bored or ignore a repetitious. So the question for me is when do you stop? Tonight is my final night of promoting The Hairy-Legged Mystery and Tingle Dingle and The Little Mischiefs. The way I see it is you can do as much as you can to let the world know and then those little literary lovelies have to fend for themselves. It is a case of freeing the pigeon and letting it navigate its way home. In this case I released two fun children’s stories into the world, let the world know and now it is time to stop, move on and allow them to find their readers. Nice eh? It is great to know when it is time to stop and start new.

Enjoy my books at the following link:

NEW RELEASE: TINGLE DINGLE AND THE LITTLE MISCHIEFS

NEW RELEASE: THE HAIRY-LEGGED MYSTERY

Tuesday, 28 June 2016

Tingle Dingle Audio Sample

Tingle Dingle and The Little Mischiefs is for those lovely people who like fun little fairy tales about mischief, magic and 'the moral of the story.' Please share with parents and children alike who enjoy such stories... Thank you so much. The link for the audio is at the bottom of the page...


http://www.audible.com/pd/Kids/Tingle-Dingle-and-the-Little-Mischiefs-Audiobook/B01GW55E48/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1467135555&sr=1-1

"Nice book for my grandchildren"
Where does Tingle Dingle and the Little Mischiefs rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I haven't listened to very many but I loved the way the narrator added sound effects. Even though this is a childrens' book I thorough enjoyed listening to it.

What did you like best about this story?
The sound effects

What about Triera Holley’s performance did you like?
Her voice is soothing and clear.

Sunday, 26 June 2016

NEW 5 STAR REVIEW ON TINGLE DINGLE AND THE LITTLE MISCHIEFS

The First 5 Star Review on Tingle Dingle and The Little Mischiefs




      06-17-16
Susan L. Daniels 06-17-16
SD

"Nice book for my grandchildren"
Where does Tingle Dingle and the Little Mischiefs rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I haven't listened to very many but I loved the way the narrator added sound effects. Even though this is a childrens' book I thorough enjoyed listening to it.

What did you like best about this story?
The sound effects

What about Triera Holley’s performance did you like?
Her voice is soothing and clear.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Not particularly.



NEW RELEASE: TINGLE DINGLE AND THE LITTLE MISCHIEFS

NEW RELEASE: THE HAIRY-LEGGED MYSTERY