A Tale of Three Shorts Tour gets readers up close and personal with three late fall releases by Taylin Clavelli. The three short stories, Invisible, Sleepwalking, and DIY Delights, will take you from loss and sorrow, to tender love, to laughter, and a deep sigh when you finally reach the end of each tale. Come meet the men of A Tale of Three Shorts and their stories!
Invisible
Synopsis
What do you do when you become invisible to the love of your life?
Buy the short story:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OJ2EDWG
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OJ2EDWG
Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00OJ2EDWG
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/invisible-taylin-clavelli/1120558934?ean=9781925222111
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-invisible-1658976-145.html
WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/invisible-by-taylin-clavelli/
Check out Dawn’s review of Invisible here.
Sleepwalking
Synopsis
Devastated by loss, Matthew sleepwalks through life, existing but not living.
Can someone rescue him from his waking nightmare and help him to live again?
Buy the short story:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OJ31UYO/
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OJ31UYO/
Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00OJ31UYO/
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sleepwalking-taylin-clavelli/1120558939?ean=9781925222159
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-sleepwalking-1682065-149.html
WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/sleepwalking-by-taylin-clavelli/
Check Dawn’s review of Sleepwalking here.
DIY Delights
While renovating his first house with his partner, Mike, Duncan discovers a plethora of reasons to use his favourite word… Bollocks!
Buy the short story:
AMAZON US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OJZ2GUE/
AMAZON UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OJZ2GUE/
AMAZON AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00OJZ2GUE/
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/diy-delights-taylin-clavelli/1120558942?ean=9781925222197
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-diydelights-1682069-145.html
WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/diy-delights-by-taylin-clavelli/
DIY Delights Excerpt
Needless to say, once the day came when my life partner, Mike, and I bought our house, no one was surprised when it turned out to be in need of a little TLC. In fact, if it was a trauma patient, it would have been taken immediately to intensive care.
That was when the “Holy fuck, what have you taken on?” version of the word bollocks was used.
The wiring was old. The electric heater was there to cover the hole from an open fire, and the bathroom was a disaster waiting to happen. Walls were covered in fading flock paper, and the banister looked as though it had been leaned on a few too many times. As far as carpets went… ughhh. That was when I found another way to use the word—in disgust. Things were living in the crumbled rubber backing.
The poor dwelling was in a shocking state, considering it was only built in the sixties.
It had its good points, though. The damp course and walls weren’t in bad condition. Only a few parts needed rendering. No roof tiles were missing, and neither squirrel nor bat had taken up residence in the loft.
Structurally, the place was sound. All it needed was the home improvement equivalent of some Botox and a serious facelift.
Our house was a little two-story, two-bedroomed cottage on the outskirts of Evesham—a town around a third of the way to Bristol from Birmingham. The town itself wasn’t small, and continued to expand into the surrounding farmland. It’s an area well known for its fruits and vegetables.
Due to the cottage’s dilapidated condition, and lack of sleeping accommodation, we purchased the property for an exceptional price.
Beautifully, both of us could see its potential. The electricity source at ground level was up to standard, and so was the basic plumbing. The convenient thing was we had a caravan to stay in while we completed repairs.
We loved the cottage. The first thing we did was give it a name—Gayden.
The hard part of the writing process
Guest Post by Taylin Clavelli
Having written and had published a novel and several short stories, I am becoming more and more familiar with the publishing process.
When asking a person in the street, name a part of the publishing process, most will come up with editing, proofreading and cover design, but what many don’t mention is the pre-reading part. Sometimes this is done by the editors, but it can also be done by an independent person or persons.
While the editing process can be painful – at the end of the day editors are there to ensure your work is not only grammatically correct but your timeline is right, the language is that of the era and a whole host of other things. Editors make your work much better.
Pre-readers too make a story better, but they are the first people to read a story other than the author. They come in two forms. Many authors have a person who reads their story before submission, then another person attached to the publisher reads the story before editing.
The pre-reading stage for me is the hardest and most painful of the publishing process. I also find it is one of the most invaluable. Scenes that an author holds dear can be earmarked for alteration or removal and whole sections of the story can be recommended for dispersal through other chapters.
The first time this happened to me – I cried. But once I put on my big girl pants I did as suggested, and I have to admit, the story read much better. This part of the process picks out the holes, notices an author’s bad habits and educates on some of the do’s and don’ts of writing.
It is hard to be told, “I understand what you are saying, but I found that part boring and it strays from the storyline. Suggest removing it, or cutting it down a lot.”
But, if you have a pre-reader who you trust, they are their weight in gold. They can make the difference between having a story accepted for publication or not. An author is biased about their characters, but a pre-reader is looking at your story cold, knows what the reader wants and is open to something different, providing it is interesting and keeps them engaged.
I have heard some say, “Can you read this as a friend?” That is all very well, but what use is it? If there are holes in the story or questions to be answered then, friend or not they will remain and may make a difference at the publishers. One wouldn’t be much of a friend if they left holes in your work to picked up by others.
The power to accept the suggestion or not always remains with the author and I don’t accept every suggestion made to me, but I have learned the hard way, to listen. My early stories were covered in red, and some of my later ones have been too. However, at the end of the day the unsung hero – the pre-reader – is the first in the process of editing that will make the story much much better… no matter how painful it may seem at the time.
About the author:
Taylin Clavelli lives in the United Kingdom, about 15 miles south of Birmingham, and a short journey from the world famous Cadbury’s Chocolate factory. She’s married with children and loves her family with all her heart.
Her love of books has been a long standing affair, with Taylin liking nothing better than to lose herself in an imaginary world.
Until she met Lily Velden, she never considered trying her hand at writing. However, after talking ideas, Lily encouraged her to put pen to paper—or rather, fingers to keyboard. Since, with a few virtual kicks in the right place, she hasn’t stopped. Her confidence eventually led to her writing an original work for submission.
Her first published work was Boys, Toys, and Carpet Fitters, developed for the Dreamspinner Press Anthology – Don’t Try This At Home.
Now she absolutely adores immersing herself into the characters she creates, and transferring the pictures in her brain to paper, finding it liberating, therapeutic, and wonderful.
Outside of writing, her interests include; martial arts (she’s a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Taekwon-do), horse-riding, all of which facilitates her love of a wide variety of movies. Her action heroes include Jet Li and Tony Jaa—finding the dedication these men have for their art combined with their skill both amazing and a privilege to watch. If pressed, she’ll admit to thinking that the screen entrance of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean – Curse of the Black Pearl, and Shadowfax in LOTR, to be the greatest screen entrances ever. Her all-time favorite movies are Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.
The simple things in life that make her day, putting a smile on her face are:
Laughter – especially that of her children.
The smell of lasagna cooking – it makes her mouth salivate.
The dawn chorus – no symphony ever written can beat the waking greetings of the birds.
Social links:
Website: http://www.taylinclavelli.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005234535413
Twitter: https://twitter.com/taylinclavelli
Rainbow Gold Reviews 
Great reviews. Thanks! 🙂
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