1. Finishing the Nightmares Trilogy with the publication of Afterlife of Alanna Miller on 15th January
2. Publishing books 4 and 5 of the Mel Goes to Hell series on 1st February and 26 March, respectively.
3. Writing book 6 of the Mel Goes to Hell series before the end of 2015.
4. Finishing and publishing the rest of the Turbulence and Triumph series in 2015.
5. Writing and publishing Ocean’s Depths, the third book in the Ocean’s Gift series, in 2015.
6. Writing Ocean’s Legend, the fourth book in the Ocean’s Gift series, in 2015.
7. Start and publish the first three books of a new, mystery project I’m working on. I’ll reveal more details on this as they come available.
8. Write another 400,000 words in 2015.
9. Attend RWDU15 in March and NOT hide under the table.
10. Double that 50,000 books to 100,000 by the end of 2015.

So…what did I do?

The Nightmares Trilogy is complete – Afterlife released in January.

The Mel Goes to Hell series did get those two new books published – but #6 isn't finished yet.

The Turbulence and Triumph series got FOUR new books…but it's not finished yet, so Ocean's Depths and Ocean's Legend will have to wait for another year.

My new mystery project…was the Romance Island Resort series. Book 3, The Rock Star's Virginity, released on 3rd December.

My word count for the year is just under 300,000 words. Not as high as I'd planned, but I'm happy with the count as it stands.

I met so many awesome authors and readers at RWDU 15 that I agreed to go back in 2016.

Oh…that 50k figure. It's funny – I actually hit the 100k target at the end of January 2015. Based on my December figures, I've now sold over 300,000 books – which means I've sold over a quarter of a million books in 2015. You could say it's been a good year 😀

In addition, I won an award – Maid for the Rock Star won a Watty Award from Wattpad.

Some of you may know that I spent time in hospital in 2015 – and my recovery's been slow. However, I'm lucky to be alive and I'm very grateful for that. I'm happy to be able to add that I survived 2015 as one of my achievements for the year.

Okay, actually, it's been an awesome year. And 2016 looks to be even better.

Want to know what I have planned for 2016?

1. Finish the Romance Island Resort series.
2. Finish the Mel Goes to Hell series.
3. Finish the Turbulence and Triumph series.
4. Release some of my titles as audiobooks.
5. Write another 300,000 words.
6. Sell another 300,000 books.

It's a shorter list than the one for 2015, but it's no less ambitious – my writing and publishing schedule has ten new books on it for 2016.

I couldn't have achieved half of what I have this year without your help – my fellow authors, readers, bloggers and reviewers – so a big THANK YOU to all of you for all your help with everything throughout the year.

I'd really like to ask for your help in 2016, too – because I won't reach all of my goals without it.

Please:

1. Spread the word. If you enjoyed my books, or a new one caught your eye and your interest, tell someone about it. Hell – post about it on Facebook or Twitter, and tell everyone.
2. Leave a review. If you liked a book, leave a quick review. It doesn't have to be an essay on the finer points of the book – just a star rating and a (non-spoiler) description of your favourite bit of the book.
3. Encourage me to continue. Every time I see a new review or email or post about how someone liked my book, it's encouragement to write the next book, because I know someone's eagerly awaiting it.

Thank you again…and I hope your 2016 shapes up to be even better than 2015.

Okay. Let me set the scene. Twenty years ago, I started writing my Nightmares Trilogy. One book, not three, which was about a girl who was abducted, survived (though just barely) and recovered. Part of her recovery process was returning to the scene of the crime…but through her horrible nightmares you get an insight into what happened to her.

In the first, much-revised-and-rewritten-since version of the story, Nathan and Caitlin return to the area where she was found and stay in a guesthouse. This house is rambling, constructed from several joined buildings, but small enough that the owner lives onsite. And an incident happens late one night that rouses all the residents, who promptly get the wrong idea about what's going on.

I don't give spoilers, so I won't say any more about the plot…but the guesthouse was a figment of my imagination, based on backpackers' places I've stayed at. I was thinking something like the Inne Town Backpackers in Margaret River, only closer to the ocean. Possible. Plausible… but imaginary.

In a rewrite more than ten years ago, that scene got edited out. It wasn't relevant, so it ended up on the cutting room floor – or the folder for superceded versions on my PC.

Fast forward a decade.

Caitlin was kidnapped and held in an old World War II bunker. This isn't a secret or a spoiler – in fact, you can find out more about my research into these HERE. I'd visited the ones at Point Peron as a child, so these must have been uppermost in my mind when I wrote the series. However, Caitlin was held in a site surrounded by bush, which makes it unlikely to have been Rockingham or Point Peron. That meant further south…and I know there were World War II structures all the way south in Albany, but I wondered…were there any in between?

The answer is yes. There were underground bunkers in Busselton, where there was a Royal Australian Air Force base and a quarantine station. The air field, the bunkers and the station have since been demolished and/or relocated, but I set off down there to find out what still remained. And my search uncovered a little bit of history about what happened to the old base structures – some of the buildings were dismantled and trucked to Busselton, where they became the basis of many houses, some of which still remain.

One of these is the Busselton Guesthouse…which is still open today.

So where did I choose to stay on my research trip?

Beds By the Bay

Beds by the Bay, also known as the Busselton Guesthouse, opened in 1948. Made of the officer's mess and two other buildings from the air base, it's been open to visitors for over sixty years. And it's no surprise why.

It's located a short walk from the Busselton Jetty, past a spooky-looking pioneer cemetery (which I don't recommend you walk past in the dark, like I did!) and several caravan parks.

And just up the road from the local history museum, which was an added bonus for someone researching a bit of Busselton history.

I wanted a site close to the beach, the jetty…and I'm partial to a cooked breakfast in the morning. Luckily for me, they do a damn good one. One I was too busy enjoying to bother taking photos of.

But as I settled in on the first night, I decided to write a little bit of Afterlife, inspired by my night-time walk on the jetty…and my fish and chip dinner. It was winter and the wind had picked up outside, blowing rain at my walls and whipping the unseen surf up until I could hear the breakers booming. And don't forget that old cemetery nearby…curse my vivid imagination. Not to mention the particularly inspiring bottle of cider that…ha, I must have shifted before I took the photo.

Right…so if I figured I had fodder for nightmares in my imagination alone, it was a given that I had to set a little of my Nightmares series in the Busselton Guesthouse.

So…Caitlin booked two rooms – 3 and 4, right across the corridor from one another. 3 had a sofabed and lots of windows while 4 was a touch less luxurious.

For the record, 4 was mine.

Now, Nathan and Caitlin never made much use of the veranda or the spa…but just in case they did, I made sure to do thorough research there all the same. Of course with a glass of local wine in hand, as recommended by my hosts…what do you take me for?

It wasn't until the next morning that I thought to take pictures of the dining room and common room, too. I mean, with Nathan and Caitlin staying there, I HAD to know where all the furniture was. What if they ended up in a combat situation with terrorists? It wouldn't be the first time…

Many, many thanks again to Beth and Mike from Busselton Guesthouse, aka Beds By the Bay, for their kind hospitality, amazing breakfasts and the inspiration to finish a book. I promise I left the guesthouse standing…and kept the casualties to a minimum.

If you're wondering what I'm on about, writing Nightmares…you can find out more about my Nightmares Trilogy HERE.

A Little Bit of History

When it was originally constructed in 1864, the Busselton Jetty was only 176m long. Originally, it was built to ensure that ships paid their import and export duties, a major source of taxation income to the young Swan River colony. When a ship landed its cargo in Geographe Bay and lightered it ashore in small boats, they didn't pay any duties or taxes on the cargo. The jetty opened to cargo in 1865.

At the time, the high tide mark of the jetty was 200m inshore of the present one – today, the spot is marked by the junction of Marine Terrace and Queen Street in Busselton.

Geographe Bay is one of those beaches where sand is deposited, not eroded away, so the Busselton shire council made it longer…and longer.

The first extension in 1872 cost 88 pounds. This still wasn't long enough for ships that required a deeper draught, so in 1875 it was extended again by 143 m – at a cost of 626 pounds. At the deep end of the jetty, there was a draught of only 3.6 m.

In 1884, they added an extra 229 m.

The timber industry in Western Australia was booming and the timber ships demanded a deeper water port for their ships. So, the jetty was extended again – 353 m in 1887, and another 40 m in 1890.

No, still not long enough. Longer and deeper, said the timber industry…and they got their desire. 130 m more in 1894, 150 m in 1895 and a whopping 261 m in 1896. Were they satisfied? No. They wanted a train line, too.

But between the tourists using the shallow end of the jetty for diving, fishing and bathing, along with the changing sheds constructed on it, and the sheer age of the first section of the jetty, it was deemed not strong enough to support a rail line. Engineers persevered, though, and in 1911 a 635 m long skeleton jetty was constructed 166m east of the existing jetty, which met the original jetty part way along, and was strong enough to carry a steam train to the loading end of the jetty.

Of course, construction wouldn't be complete without another extension…603 m this time, allowing for ships with a draft of 7.6 m. Just in case, the construction activities included extensive dredging in Geographe Bay.

1960 saw the final extension to the jetty – just 16 m. At the time, Bunbury Port was expanding and the steam train was replaced by a diesel one.

In 1972, Busselton Jetty was closed in favour of Bunbury, after a century of shipping. In that century, the jetty unloaded and loaded over 5000 ships.

There was talk of demolishing the jetty, due to the huge cost of maintaining such an enormous, wooden structure, but public outcry led the Shire of Busselton to assume ownership from the State Government…and look for a way to preserve the jetty.

But demolition was inevitable. The public had no say in it at all.

On 4 April 1978, Cyclone Alby swept down the Western Australian coast…and took out the oldest 700m of the original jetty, closest to shore, strewing wreckage up and down Geographe Bay. This entire section was demolished and never rebuilt. But the skeleton jetty remained.

A massive community clean-up effort ensued, leading to the formation of the Busselton Jetty Preservation Committee, which later became the Busselton Jetty Environment and Conservation Association (BJECA). This organisation started collecting an entrance fee from those who used the jetty.

In 1990, the first renovations took place at the jetty – to the tune of $660,000. In 1995, a small tourist train service began running along the old rail lines.

In 1999, a fire broke out on the jetty, isolating about 150 m at the deep water end. There were plans for an underwater observatory there, but these plans went on hold as the damage was assessed. It was decided to continue with the planned underwater observatory, which opened in 2003. If you'd like to see a live feed from the webcams there, you can view those HERE.

But structural assessments of the jetty identified that the timber needed more restoration – in fact, it probably needed to be replaced. The train ceased running in 2005 as a result.

In 2011, following a huge multi-million-dollar refurbishment project, the jetty reopened as the structure you can see today.

Busselton Jetty Now

The far end looks a long way away as you pass the Interpretive Centre at the shore end of the jetty.

Yet inside, you can buy a ticket to the underwater observatory, to ride the train or just to walk the jetty in daylight. Of course, there's free entry after business hours, as the train stops running and the centre closes. But the jetty looks just as pretty at night as by day…

Of course, it's changed somewhat since I first fished off that wooden jetty in the 1980s. The original timber beams are gone from the surface, replaced by harder-wearing concrete, but the timber piles remain – even if some of the older ones are only considered safe for seabirds.

And fishing off the jetty is an old Australian tradition. Then…

…and now.

I have childhood memories of catching heaps of blowfish, which were always thrown back, seagulls stealing bait and the occasional fishing rod…oh, and the inevitable rust stains on my pants from sitting on that rusty rail line.

So when I included a scene in Busselton in my recent release, Afterlife of Alanna Miller, the third and final book in my Nightmares Trilogy…I couldn't resist. Even Nathan and Caitlin had to go for a sunset walk along the Busselton jetty, as I did on my research trip for their book.

With Necessary Evil of Nathan Miller now available in paperback, I thought I'd give you one of Caitlin's clearer nightmares to whet your appetite:

Chapter 4

Mercedes – Red – Chris – Her – Mike – Sorry – Pervert

Saucer Eyes looked like he was going to cry. I was going to make him cry if he so much as touched me. “How c-”

“Shut up!” said the one in the passenger seat.

Saucer Eyes wasn't much older than me. His breathing slowed, but it felt forced, the muscles in his legs tense beneath my back. Thighs as taut as a fully laden clothes line. One hand clutched the door handle, but the door didn't open, no matter how hard he pulled on that handle. His other hand mashed down the window button, which wasn't opening, either. Held prisoner by the car's child lock. No one trusts a pervert, not even his peers.

He wouldn't look at me as he mumbled something, half under his breath, that sounded like, “Sorry,” before he turned away to stare out the window.

I dragged air in through my nose, inflating my burning lungs like brand-new balloons. I wanted to kill the bitch and her two blokes, too. But first…

“Let me go, you bastard!” I blared, feeling satisfaction as Saucer Eyes' hands shot up in scared surrender.

You can wait, pervert. The big bastard gets his balls ripped off first. Besides, the only way out is through his door, if the back doors are child-locked shut.

The big, chunky bastard in the passenger seat just laughed.

I tensed, testing each muscle for readiness as I prayed I could do enough damage to make him let me go.

I launched my body at him, clawed fingers first, reaching for his face. I wanted to scratch his eyes out, but his fist to my jaw jerked my head up so hard I saw stars as I landed in Saucer Eyes' lap, stunned. I sucked in a sobbing breath, not game to give in to the blokes who could kill me. Fight them 'til I fucking killed them, for I'd never let them win as long as I drew breath. One more breath and I'd be up, ready to rip out an eye.

Chunky twisted in his seat, telling Saucer Eyes, “Chris, hold her still,” but he wouldn't touch me. Still surrendering, Chris was saucer-eyed and shaking, set against a background of the dark car ceiling. Chunky caressed the forming bruise on my face with a satisfied smile, saying, “Beautiful,” before he clamped a cloth over my face, crushing me down onto Saucer Eyes. Chris.

I remember gasping for breath, fighting what I knew was sweet, cloying chloroform, but I couldn't. All I could see was Saucer Eyes' face, his anguished look as his lips formed the words I couldn't hear, “Oh God, I'm so sorry,” before it all vanished in a dark haze.

It's all dark after that.

Yes, I've read this chapter aloud on YouTube, too – with the footage taken along the freeway the red Mercedes would have taken:

Luckily, this is about Nightmares of Caitlin Lockyer – she's taking Nathan around the world, with Dark Scream Book Tours handling all the security. This tour runs until January and their itinerary looks a little like this:

I'll pop the schedule up on my Out and About page, too, so you can find it more easily when new posts go up. There's even a giveaway for those who stalk the blog tour to the stops – rumour has it that it's an Amazon gift voucher.

Sanity may not be my strong point. I do have good reason for it, though – at least, the researching-my-nightmares part.

Since I was 12, I've been writing down my recurring nightmares until they became the inspiration behind Nightmares of Caitlin Lockyer and Necessary Evil of Nathan Miller, the first two books in my Nightmares Trilogy. I don't think I'm giving too big a spoiler when I say that Caitlin was kidnapped and held captive in a forgotten World War II bunker on the West Australian coast, as you find out about her kidnapping in the first chapter of Nightmares.

In an effort to refresh my memory and photograph some of these underground relics, I've been doing some digging – both online and in the field.

I've heard of some authors who write books about places they've never been. Now, when it's a fantasy world or another planet, that's fair enough – but for a contemporary story, set in a very real place? I'd say an author needs to know their characters' world as well as Tolkien did his. Perhaps not to the extent of creating entirely new languages and styles of writing, along with a verbal history stretching back thousands of years; nor does all of that information have to be included in the book, but it must be in the author's head or, failing that, in the author's copious research notes.

I am a researcher. I scope out the terrain thoroughly before sending my characters in. They're valuable people. If there's a snake in the woodpile, I know it's there, even if my Irish/New Zealander hero doesn't. That means my writing process is punctuated by bouts of research, including field trips with a camera (or three, like yesterday) in hand.

If my gun jams while I'm pistol shooting, a character who uses that weapon will have the same problem. The coral shingle under a fisherman's feet will tinkle like broken glass, the same as it did for me. And that first sip of barrel-strength, single malt whisky will burn my heroine's throat beyond belief, as she's less prepared for it than I was. Like me, she did develop a taste for whisky, though.

Enough of my “why” – time for a little of the “what” I found in this bout of research.

Caitlin's underground bunker.

There are a surprisingly large number of underground bunkers and tunnels in Australia, which date back to World War II. I'm very lucky, as Peter Dunn has already done a lot of research into this, some of which is documented at his Australia at War website.

When it comes to photographs, though, in most cases I'm on my own.

So far, I've visited the tunnels at Rottnest Island and Leighton Battery in Western Australia – both fairly dark and bleak, though well-restored. Both of these are open to the public for tours and I'll give you a little more detail on these over the coming weeks as my research progresses. I will give you a taste, though – here are some photos of Leighton Battery today:

Next up, I believe I'll be lacing up my steel-capped boots and braving the snakes at Cape Peron, before chasing the more elusive bunkers at Busselton and Albany.

Always check the price before you click – some of the books are on sale earlier or longer than others, while some will go back to their normal price. Time zones can be tricky things…

Water and Fire by Demelza Carlton

My Savior Forever by Vicki Green

Together Forever by Vicki Green

Cutting Deep by T.A.Anderson

Strictly Business by Lisa Eugene

Leaving Eva by Jennifer Sivec

Break in Two by MJ Summers

Some Kind of River by Andi Marquette

Blown by Braxton Cole

Birthday Wishes by Braxton Cole

All Wrapped Up by Braxton Cole

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Undying Love

Seduced by the Park Avenue Billionaire Box Set

Gloria's Secret

Tattoos by Denise Mathew

Positive/Negativity by D.D. Lorenzo

Mid Life Love by Whitney G.

What Happened to Alex Manning? by Kim Scott

Nightmares of Caitlin Lockyer by Demelza Carlton

Diesel

Hugged by an Angel by Roberta Capizzi

US Amazon | Canada Amazon | UK Amazon

Living Again by L.L. Collins

Mid Life Love: At Last by Whitney G.

Losing Eva by Jennifer Sivec

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Siblings

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New Love

Sad Love

True Love

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Maid for the Billionaire by Ruth Cardello

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

When managing a project as big as a book, there are so many steps and so many players involved, it's like a very complex dance. One step wrong can go unnoticed – or it can trip everyone up so they fall in a heap.

The proof of Nightmares of Caitlin Lockyer arrived a few weeks ago in paperback and I was horrified at the dark print on the cover. I modified both it and the cover of Necessary Evil of Nathan Miller to match, but I knew I'd have to see what both looked like together before I could approve Necessary Evil of Nathan Miller for sale. In addition, Createspace has just started offering a matte cover, which would be my preferred format, but I haven't seen the quality of it, either. I ordered the proof a fortnight ago, paying a lot of money to ensure it would be tracked from the printer in the United States to my house in Western Australia, just as I had with Nightmares. Usually, that takes between four and six days.

Amazon marked it as “shipped” ten days ago. Not only has it not arrived, but the courier tracking data shows they haven't received it. Somewhere between Amazon and the courier depot, Necessary Evil of Nathan Miller has gone missing.

Now, mistakes happen. I know this. So I contacted Amazon last week, when there was still time for them to print and send a new copy for me to approve before tomorrow's release date. I was told I'd get a response within 24 hours. Hey, I'm an optimist. As long as the book arrived before launch, I wouldn't have a problem.

Thirty-six hours later, I received a response that told me my parcel would not be tracked once it left the US and I should check with my local customs and post offices about the delay.

Now, Amazon has provided me with the tracking code for my parcel, as I've paid for this service, which tells me that the parcel has not been collected by the courier and consequently hasn't left the United States. Even parcels that aren't completely tracked, like this one is, DO get tracked when they pass customs in Australia. I'm waiting for some Christmas presents I ordered from Amazon with this postage option and I can see that the gifts have been collected by the courier, processed by the export hub, and sent to the destination country. I can also see that it's been approved by customs here in Perth. All this for a non-tracked parcel.

A tracked parcel…is rather cool. I can see when the courier picks it up, the various sorting facilities it visits in the US, watch as it flies to Hong Kong and gets processed through customs, before it's sent through to Australia for customs clearance and delivery here. It's quite a thrill to see, “On board with driver for delivery,” pop up in the tracking.

I contacted Amazon again, repeating what I told them originally with the tracking information from several previous parcels, as well as this present one, attached to the email. Thirty eight hours later, I've received a response – they now believe my book has been lost in transit and they're printing and sending a new copy.

As with all of my books, I will not approve Necessary Evil of Nathan Miller for sale unless I feel it's a five-star quality book. I don't sell substandard products. Would you pay good money for a book that the author tells you might not be good enough quality to release? I wouldn't and I won't ask you to.

I want to say I'm sorry, for I hate breaking promises, yet I have no control over this one. A company on the other side of the world has delayed my book release and, until they produce the product and service I've paid for, I can't even set a new date. I'm not sorry – I'm furious. On my behalf…but mostly on yours.

With Christmas fast approaching and Australian mail services overloaded with gifts and cards, I can't depend on anything arriving in December. Most likely, any proof scheduled to arrive in December will appear in the week after Christmas.

Much though it pains me to have to announce it, I must. Necessary Evil of Nathan Miller will be officially released in paperback on the 2nd January, thanks to Amazon. By some miracle, it might be available earlier. If it is, I'll drop everything to check the proof and release it before Christmas. I'll announce it here on my blog, on my Facebook author page, and to my email list subscribers. If you want to know first, I suggest you pick one of those ways to follow me. I'll be giving away a paperback copy on release day. The winner will be chosen randomly from those who comment on my release day post on here and Facebook. I will post it to anywhere in the world.

What I will do in the lead-up to Christmas is give away some free ebook copies of Necessary Evil of Nathan Miller – yes, internationally. All you'll have to do to win is answer a daily question on my FB author page. I will give away a copy every day until that proof arrives, starting today.

Good luck!

Of course, I'll give you an excerpt of this drifting chapter, too, in case you're on a crowded train without headphones, reading this on your phone, and you don't want my Aussie accent heard by a hundred other commuters…

Chapter 3

The sibilance of sound as his voice spoke in endless waves. Sentences ebbed and flowed in the dark – always the same ones with slight variations.

Sssssorry…

“Caitlin, I'm sorry I didn't help you sooner.”

“Stole a shirt from a corpse. Stuck it on you. Sorry…”

“So sorry…”

“Sorry I didn't…”

Sssssafe…

“It's okay, angel, you're safe.”

“Safe in hospital, where you belong.”

“You're safe now. They can't hurt you.”

“I'll keep you safe, Caitlin. I swear…”

“Shh, it's okay, you're safe now.”

Sssssshe…

“She's the same age as you. I couldn't let them…”

“She said she knew who'd killed her.”

“She's all I have left. Please…”

“After a few drinks, she wanted to leave, so we made it to the back seat of my car before she…”

“She was my twin…”

“She must've spiked my drink…”

Sssssssister…

“My twin sister…”

“The only sister I have left…”

“Said, ‘Are you sure you didn't get the sister instead? We'll call him Chris, just in case… ‘”

“Please, wake up and help me save my sister.”

“Said it'd remind me of the sister I didn't want them to take. You or her, he said…”

“Do you know what it's like to lose a sister?”

Sssssshhhhhould've…

“I should've tried to help you sooner…”

“Should've known she seemed strange…”

“Should've grabbed you before she did and run…”

“Should've known…”

Ssssorry…

“Sorry. Caitlin, I'm so sorry.”

Surfacing to sound, before submerging in darkness once more. Sorry. Slipping… sinking… from safety to screaming nightmares.

Shit.