Isabella Modra's Blog

In October 2015, I made the move for the second time to a gorgeous little valley called Kananaskis in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, Canada. There I spent another wonderful winter working at a ski hill, snowboarding and partying my socks off. People often ask me why I keep going back to Canada even after coming back to Australia and - in a sense - reality. It's because living in Canada is like living another life. And being an author, I love living different lives.

But winter doesn't last forever. And a month ago, my friend and I chose to drive across Canada and the USA to the beautiful Nova Scotia where we have begun work at a golf resort here. It's not exactly the High School Musical summer we imagined - it is even better. But more on that later.

So here are some images from our amazing 3-week road trip and the resort we'll be at for the entire summer. I encourage anyone who reads this to try seasonal work. Not only does it keep life interesting, you make amazing friends and memories and coming back to those friends warms your heart all over again.


Montana

Token State Sign Photos

Snow at Mt. Rushmore

Cloud Gate, aka. The Bean (Chicago)

Chicago Theatre

Niagara Falls

Montreal Notre Dame

Montreal Aquarium

My gorgeous friend and travel companion, Stef

My home for the summer, Fox Harb'r Resort & Spa!

Writing a synopsis is hard. Sometimes it's harder than writing a novel. Condensing your intricately written novel into 2 pages can be difficult, I certainly struggled with it to start with. But I found this article recently on Bookends Literary and it was so helpful I thought I'd share it with you :)

http://bookendsliterary.com/index.php/2016/05/26/tips-on-synopsis-writing/

I'm ashamed it's been so long since I've posted here, and I blame the fact that I'm constantly struggling to find wifi in the middle of the Rocky Mountains in Canada, or for long enough to sit down and take the time to blog. I've been writing a lot, working on several different projects and also trying to constantly query the Rouge series so that it can finally be published.

But I need to announce something extra wonderful: my un-published novel 'Free As A Jailbird' has won a Watty!! I've posted it on Wattpad for readers to enjoy while I work on other projects, and when I entered I had no idea I'd win an award for Hot Urban Fiction. It's really nice to finally be recognized for my writing, and I hope it's just the start of something wonderful.



Check out the story here: https://www.wattpad.com/story/27776029-free-as-a-jailbird
It's free to read!

Thanks for keeping up, stay tuned xo

A couple of months ago I started a competition on Wattpad for the best artwork inspired by my series. It didn't have to be graphically awesome (because let's face it, I still use Paint to make artwork), it just had to have special meaning. 
I am delighted to share with you these amazing designs that came through from the winners, who will receive signed copies of my books. I asked those who entered to describe what the artwork means to them, and so I've added the description in as well.Here they are:

In 3rd place: HussamAamir

                        

"I kind of look at ROUGE as Joshua and Hunter: Joshua always likes to keep her powers consumed but as you can see, the fire can't be consumed. The one for EMBERS & ICE was just something that came to me on a whim. I noticed while reading the book that there was a lot of mentions of being cold or feeling that the fire wasn't there, and Joshua really stood out to me so that kind of explains it. With CONSUMING FIRE, I had made it even before finishing the book because it felt right. It's supposed to represent the fire within Hunter, the restrains couldn't restrain it, it grew much stronger and that's where the inspiration came from."
In 2nd place: -Dreaming_Panda-


"So, for this drawing, I drew Hunter's eyes building up with tears. The background is fire, of course. My inspiration for the drawing was actually the scene towards the end of ROUGE, where Hunter finds Eli."
AND THE WINNER IS...
pollymurry




"So basically, my poster is of Hunter facing the ICE/Agents/FBI (more like the concept of them). Her stance says 'hit me with your best shot' as her hands turn into balls of fire, which light up the entire mountanious area. Her flame even outshines the lights of the ICE. She's all alone on the rock/pedestal because she always seems to be the center of the fight, no matter where she is. Overall, my poster portrays freedom, rebellion, heroism, and an overpowering sense of I-can-take-down-anything-and-everything."
So amazing. I'm very incredibly impressed. The winners receive signed copies of the books and my nod of approval. Well done to everyone who entered, and I'm honored to be able to share these artworks with everyone. 
Keep supporting the books, and I hope I can deliver exciting news within the coming months about the future publication of the series!!
xx Isabella xx

Sometimes the hardest part about writing a novel is finding the identity of a story. It’s like those times in life when you pause and step away from everything that’s happening around you and you wonder what you’re doing, where you’re going, why the people in your life are even there in the first place. You can create characters and you can invent clever words, but in the end, that backbone of your story is your identity, and without the identity … you have no soul.
The story I’ve been writing feels like it has no identity. I realized I need to finish the first draft and then seriously consider not only what I want to portray in this book but why in the first place I started writing it. Yes, it was an idea and it was an obsession of mine for a while, but what has kept me motivated toward that particular theme?
Every story is written by someone struggling with their own identity. Their work reflects their thoughts and their heart’s words. I wonder often whether or not I am so transparent in my writing that others can see my identity through my stories clearer than even I can. While I am searching for who I am in a world that doesn’t exist, I’m opening a window to my soul and I don’t even realize it.
It’s a curious thing when you think about it, but I just know that when I find the identity of my characters and their world and their conflict and their resolution, my story will come to life. And I can’t wait to uncover it.

- Isabella

Wattpad is hosting an incredible competition - enter your book to win a publishing contract with Harlequin!

I know I've been waiting a while for Wattpad to really help their readers get their books out there through global distribution, and this is the perfect opportunity! Share this post, and keep an eye out for more details!

https://www.wattpad.com/user/HarlequinSYTYCW/about

It's not everyday you release your third self-published novel.

Well, a week ago I had the pleasure of organizing a book launch for my third novel 'CONSUMING FIRE' at my local writer's centre. Leading up to it, I wasn't particularly confident in how I should run the event. I don't have an agent to tell me how these things run, nor a publisher to market the event. I didn't even have someone to introduce me on the night (bless my Dad, he made a lovely little speech about me).

Expectations low, I was pleasantly surprised with the small group of about 30 fans who showed up to support me on my 'big' night.



I won't go into too much detail, but after drinks and carefully prepared canapes, I was able to share with everyone what my next step is as a writer, and for my series. A lot of people know that I have self published as a way to get attention for myself as an author and for my series. I am starting a new path now toward getting traditionally published - first by finding an agent - and hopefully reaching more readers across the globe. In the meantime, I'll be working on other projects that haven't has as much attention as the ROUGE series, but that are still very close to my heart.

It may seem like this kind of thing is small and insignificant compared to what authors like George R.R Martin or JK Rowling have accomplished, but every great artist had to start from the bottom. And what I like about where I am right now is that I can give advice to other young authors who are just starting out and want to know how they can grow as a writer. And for the people who doubt themselves and what they can do, this is what I tell them:

"There will be people in your life who will tell you that you can't. What you've got to do is turn around and say 'watch me'." 

Hey lovely readers,

Just a clue-in, if you haven't already heard, Consuming Fire is now available on Amazon!!

Head to the link below to get your copy for only 99c. If you don't have Rouge or Embers & Ice (the first 2 books), they're 99c too!! So cheap, wow.

Also, if you're an avid reader / reviewer, I would appreciate a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads - the more reviews I get, the more credibility I have!!

Thanks to everyone who has thus far supported me. It's because of you guys that I have over 700K reads on Wattpad and a successfully funded crowdfunding campaign. I couldn't have done it without y'all.

Enjoy the final book in the Rouge series. XX

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Rouge+isabella

I am delighted to announce the release date for Consuming Fire is ... May 12! That's right, only 5 days away :) Thanks to my successful crowdfunding campaign through Publishizer, I've been able to release quicker and more efficiently than I anticipated.

I'll post when it is official (because Amazon is a pain and I can't predict the exact hour, grr) and everyone can order.

Can't wait! X