Plagued is available on Kobo!

Hey everyone, Plagued is now available on Kobo as well as Kindle. Here are the links for you: 

AMAZON UK 

AMAZON US 

KOBO 

My Facebook Author Page

My Website 

Hope you're all well, 

NX 

I now have an author website!!

http://nikandbear.wix.com/nicolabarnett

If you guys want to have a nosey :) 

Thank you! 

NX 

Plagued is out now :)

Hey guys,

Just a quick update to let you know I've FINALLY released Plagued on Amazon Kindle ebooks, and it'll be available on Kobo in the next 24/36 hours when it's been reviewed.

Here is the link if you're interested: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OU8ZDBO

Hope you're all doing well!

P.S. will post a review of Alien: Isolation when I finally have it XD *excite*

NX

Outcast is getting a remake! (Hopefully)

Really excited at the moment, looking at the images from the remake of Outcast - one of my favourite games. 

I played it over and over in my teens and I still hum the soundtrack to this day. It's a sci-fi where you can ride animals called Twon-Has and has star-gates, What's not to like? 

Apparently it's getting a remake, which is fantastic. Even though it was WAYYYY ahead of its time graphically, it's gonna be old now by our standards and I'd be overwhelming happy to play it with a new prettiness. (Downloading the original right now by the way, for nostalgia.) 

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=253011564 

Here is the link on Steam's Greenlight but if you don't have that, Google 'Outcast Remake HD' if you want a bit of further info. 

PLEASE GO AHEAD WITH THIS. 

NX 

Defending Ricky Gervais a little here.

Apparently Ricky got a little backlash for saying on Twitter, even though it was a joke: 

"Celebrities, make it harder for hackers to get nude pics of you from your computer by not putting nude pics of yourself on your computer. "

He went on to say it was a joke, after a lot of people moaned. 

But I think he has a point.

 It's not like you can just say, "Please hackers, don't hack my shit." Because they'll do it anyway, but if you take your own steps (like not uploading things to Clouds, not sending sex videos to boyfriends who are arseholes and getting a good firewall on your computer) they won't find anything worth uploading. 

It's not like he was blaming the victims, he was just pointing out that you have no control over what a hacker does, but you DO have control over what he finds. 

I do have sympathy for people who have been hacked though, if I took naked pics they'd be awful >.< :D 

 It's wrong what they've done and I don't think it's going to be a rare occurrence these days, unfortunately.  

NX 

Should I reply?

I received this today from a 'gentleman' called Lomax who is trying to send me money again.

So I've wrote a reply that I think will be suitable, pondering over whether it's worth the constant spam to send it xD 

Can't a girl have any fun? 

NX 

My Ice Bucket Challenge as Lara Croft! XD

Rik Mayall.

Not posted in a while but I thought this was worth sharing. I have been devastated to hear of Rik Mayall's death, as was most of Britain because he was the funniest bastard on this planet, so I've been thinking of him a lot lately.

I bought myself a Slaughtered Lamb T-Shirt, since he had a cameo in American Werewolf In London and it's once of my all time favourite movies. I used to watch Bottom, The Young Ones all the time as a child (thanks to mum and dad letting me watch it, but sorry that I picked up all the swear words and still use them consistently in every sentence I say) and Drop Dead Fred was a favourite childhood movie. When I was the first in the family to notice him in AAWIL I felt really proud. *puffs up chest* 

I found this on the internet while Googling for some of Rik's best lines and thought it showed just what a foul-mouthed, amazing man he truly was. This is a birthday card that a woman named Karen MacLeavy received after sending a blank card to Rik for her father's 60th birthday, who is a huge fan of his. I doubt they expected to get this in return...

Amazing, huh?

RIP Rik, we'll never forget you. 

NX 

Something to think about for you dog lovers.

I recently came across a few disturbing photos of something called a 'pinch collar' and what it does to a dog's neck.

Now I must have been living under a rock because I've never seen this before and I certainly wouldn't have thought they were legal in this country.

If you Google it or 'prong collar' you'll see what I mean. I won't post the picture because it made me sick enough looking at it once. But I've found a petition against it and so I thought I'd share it (after signing it myself) to get these horrible and pointlessly cruel items off the shelves. I can't understand why no action has been taken on this before now and I certainly wouldn't feel right if I didn't at least try to get some help for our pets.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/50910

If you do sign it, thank you very much and I really appreciate it.

Much love guys, NX

Ten Of My Favourite Walking Dead characters. *SPOILERS...and, as ever, slight bad language*

So you've probably noticed I'm a bit of a Walking Dead fan, it's been a long time since I've enjoyed a series as much as this, I loved Survivors but that got cancelled to be replaced by a thousand reality TV shows that still plague me to this day >.< 

So I thought I'd do a list of my favourite Walking Dead characters so far (and this is an ever changing list, apart from number 1. who will remain that way until my dying day xD). 

10. T-Dog - Theodore Douglas. 

I loved T-Dog since I first watched the show and saw his fight with Merle Dixon (well I say fight, it was more of a 'Merle kicking him repeatedly in the head and body'. I always love the kind characters since they're in short supply when the world ends because of the undead inappropriately deciding to rise again and I always have an appreciation for the funny characters. Humour is important before imminent death, it breaks the tension a little. *Spoiler* T-Dog's last scene made my hormones cry a little and showed just how awesome he actually was. Was devastated when he died. 

9. Glen 'The Runner' Rhee

Glen was the first character of the group to encounter Rick and because of the fact he saved his life, he'll always be in my top ten. Even though at first he looks like a nervous wreck, he's always the one running into battle and sneakily avoiding Walkers to get things done, and for that, I appreciate him. He's a lot tougher than you think. The scenes after the kidnapping by the Governer showed just how tough Glen really is and I really did hope that he got to rip off Gov's head with his bare hands. Not to mention the fact that he's dating one of the hottest women in TWD. Nice going, Glen! 

8. Shane Walsh 

Ah, Shane. Despite his descent into madness and trying to murder his best friend. I really liked Shane, he protected the group long before Rick came back and fell in love with Lori only to be shafted (pun not intended) upon Rick's entrance and thrown to the side. I always felt sorry for him in that respect. Being female and having eyeballs, I know I'm probably basing a small amount of this love by the fact he's hot as hell but I still miss Shane. If he'd managed to get over the fact that he used to get naked with his best friend's wife, he could have become a vital member of the prison team. He was the only one willing to make the tough decisions in the group for a while and even though I agreed with Dale a LOT, I could understand why he did a lot of the things he did. Miss your face, man!

7. Dale 'The Original Moral Compass' Horvath

I still miss Dale to this day, he won my heart as soon as he started talking. He was the kind, moral member of the group and quickly took on the role as Caring Father. Everyone loved Dale (maybe not Shane so much) and I particularly touched by his relationship with Andrea when trying to stop her from topping herself. Even though I knew why a lot of the hard things had to be done, I still found myself shouted the exact same things as Dale at the TV screen when they were being discussed. Especially the guy they captured in the barn. I still feel that Dale didn't get listened to half as much as he should have (much like myself :P) and could have probably avoided a LOT of the crap that happened, if they'd just listened to him a little more. His death shocked me to the core, I didn't see that coming and, even when it was clear there was no hope for him, I still vainly hoped somehow he would make it. It would have certainly helped Hershel to have some back up later in the series! 

6. Merle 'Sweet Talker' Dixon

Even though the first scene with Merle didn't cast him in a favourable light (he kicked the shit out of T-Dog) I still had a soft spot for him, mostly because everything that comes out of his mouth is inappropriate (a condition which I, myself suffer) and hilarious. My favourite Merle conversation is this one with Andrea in Series 3, Ep 4 (I think)

Merle Dixon: How come we never hooked up? 

Andrea: You called me a whore and a rugmuncher. 

Merle Dixon: Got a way with words, don't I? 

Laughed my ass off when I heard that and he quickly moved up the list to my favourite characters. I also found his relationship with his brother heart-warming, after Daryl's hallucinations of him when he got the arrow through his torso, I expected them to be a lot harsher than it was. His love for his little became more apparent as the series drew on. The scene where Daryl's scarred back is seen by Merle is a sad one and explains a lot of why Merle is the way he is. I really hoped he would become a longer standing character and his death saddened me, especially after the conversation with Michonne about his brother. He bravely tried to take on the Gov and bloody well nearly won! Daryl's scene of finding him made me cry like a baby. Two good characters died that episode. 

5. Michonne 

Michonne's entrance to TWD was legendary and for some reason reminded me of something from Silent HIll, you don't see a caped woman with a katana and two chained Walkers every day! She started off as a rather quiet and grumpy character but since she saved Andrea (who is constantly getting herself into shenanigans) you knew she must have a been a good girl. Her suspiciousness of the Governor soon got my hackles raised and you could tell that she was spot on, even though he tried to charm the pants off everyone. Her toughness was refreshing and I soon found myself cheering her on with every fight she got into. Her battle with the Governor got much more serious after she killed his Walker child and stabbed him in the eye with a sword. Bad stuff was bound to go down after that. But she did it with pure awesomeness and that's why she's number 5 in my list. It's nice to see her smiling a lot more in the fourth series though and her closeness with Rick, Carl and Daryl is lovely to watch. I'm SO glad she got to have the final strike with the Governor, especially after Andrea's last scene; it was heartbreaking. I hope Michonne stays in the series for a long, long time. 

4. Carol Peletier 

How can you not like Carol? She's been through a hell of a lot. Her husband beat the crap out of her and turned her into a nervous wreck, her daughter went missing and was found to be a Walker and still she battled her way through to then became one of the toughest, yet most caring members of the TWD group. Carol has a strong relationship with each member of the group but I find her scenes with both Daryl (slightly jealous) and Rick to be the sweetest. I would pay good money for Carol hug, I won't lie. Her relationship with Daryl is really sweet to see  and their scenes together are the ones I look forward to the most. I love her flirtatious taunting of him and how shy he becomes from it, especially when she calls him 'Pookie'. Heartwarming scenes in a rough-as-hell time!  Her strength as a character is seen a lot more in the last two series and she shows her new found hard-ass-ness many a time. But in the final episodes of the 4th series, you really do see how hard she's become, especially when she takes it upon herself to teach the children how to use weapons (and saves Ty's life by doing so!). The biggest shock of the series for me was her burning of the two sick members of the group. Of all the characters I thought could have done it, she wasn't one of them. Although I saw why she did it, she was trying to look after her group, I think it was a bit harsh and maybe her toughness and new 'life-or-death' attitude had gone a little far. I was devastated to see her banished and I really hope they bring her back soon. The series wouldn't be the same without her! 

3. Hershel 'The Heart Of The Group' Greene

Now this is going to be hard for me since I'm not yet recovered from his heart-wrenching death at the finale, but Hershel was one of the best characters in the entire program. He was, like Dale, the moral compass of the group but had a slightly tougher approach than Dale. Everything that he said about anything was right on the money and he added a much needed gentleness to the series, especially in the prison, when life really did go down the toilet. His love for his children was apparent every episode and their scenes together were touching. He started out as just a man protecting his family, naively hoping that a cure would be found and his Walker friends and family could be saved, and you can forgive him for that since I'm sure most people would hope the same thing. Hershel is a softie, but he's not to messed with! As Daryl said in the last series, "You're a tough sumbitch." and he really is! How many other men could be bitten AND have their leg cut off and still be a bad-ass father? Only Hershel. As everyone who saw it knows, his death scene was probably the single most heartbreaking scene that TWD has ever had and if you didn't at least shed a tear, you're heart is made of stone. The smile he gave RIck when Rick was trying to talk the Governor into a peaceful solution made me cry, knowing what was coming next. It's hard to imagine how his children and the whole group will survive without his knowledge and bravery. Love you, Hershel. 

2. Rick 'Sheriff' Grimes

Of course Rick is going to be on the high end of the list! And not just because he's the main character and extremely attractive! (Not to mention the gravelly voice!) Rick is a natural leader and quickly took control of the group, which bloody needed it! He battled all odds to find his family and it became a day-to-day struggle to keep them alive. He's faced a lot of sadness in this show and most of his friends and family have met a bad end. So it's no wonder that he loses his mind a little in the later episodes. Rick has spent the series battling his own conscience and was forced to every time a tough decision had to be made. Being the caring person he is, he found the sacrifices of the New World difficult and always tried to take the kindest, moral way out. Which caused a lot of arguments in the group and at times, a lack of faith in his ability to lead them. But, despite his struggles, Rick always did what was best for the group and I think they finally realised that and stopped battling his decisions. (Apart from Shane, who took it so hard, he tried to stab him.) His scenes with his son are always some of the best and I always think he's an amazing father, especially in a world like theirs. Rick's hardcore abilities are pushed to the limits when Lori dies and for a while, he loses his way and retreats from the group completely. After a few heart-to-hearts with the ever-lovely Hershel, he soon fights through his grief and comes back stronger than ever, strong enough to have a pretty awesome fist fight with everyone's favourite bastard, The Governor. The show wouldn't be what it is without Rick and that's why he's my second favourite character. 

1. Daryl 'Pookie' Dixon

This will certainly not come as a surprise to anyone that knows me or has ever met me (or saw my Twitter @nikleto :P) but Daryl has always been my favourite character. Okay, so that's helped by the fact he's the sexiest guy on the planet and I smile every time he opens his mouth but that's not the only reason why I love him. Daryl is the red-neck of the group but what makes me like him so much is that he's not the stereo-typical type that is often over-used on TV shows and films, he has a heart. The first time you hear about Daryl is when Merle gets tied to a pipe (deservedly, of course) and is abandoned, one of the characters wonders what he's going to do when he finds out and the first thing you think is "Oh uh." His first appearance was (despite being filled with Barry White music playing in my head) a rocky one with Rick and after a brief struggle, they go out looking for his sweet-talking brother to no avail. In the early days he came across as a loner and mostly kept out of the group discussions or decisions. His mysteriousness always intrigued me (because I'm female). After Shane losing his marbles, Daryl started to become Rick's right hand man and soon started showing a lot more heart than originally thought, he became closer with Carol and after the Cherokee Rose scene (which got him a lot of girl-love, lemme tell you!) you realise there's a lot more to the character than first meets the eye. His ability to track and hunt becomes vital to the group and on more than one occasion has saved them from starvation with his constant supply of squirrels. Even though he's Rick's 'side-kick' they don't always agree on the best choice and Daryl has always been fine with making tough decisions and actions, even if it involves killing someone. He's hard as nails and even manages to destroy a TANK single-handedly, which has lead to many a meme being created in his honour. 

His scenes with his brother are awesome to watch, even though it's sometimes tempestuous and their dialogue always brought a smile to my face. Daryl's mostly a quiet character and says very little, which is probably why I hang on to his every word, and it's not very often his temper gets the best of him. (The scene between the alcoholic Bob Stokey and him is the best thing I've ever seen in my life and my Twitter girls agree with me.) He's cool and calm most of the time, which is how you know when someone's really bad-ass. Despite his tough exterior, Daryl becomes extremely close with Carol, as I mentioned earlier and their scenes are always heart-warming and amusing. His bashful expressions at her playful flirting are lovely and always bring a smile to my face and have now given him the nickname 'Pookie'. His reaction to her disappearing when they got separated was heart-breaking, especially his turmoil at opening the door she was hiding behind, thinking he'd have to kill her. And again, when Carol is banished, the first thing I wondered was how he would react and he was really pissed off in the short time he had to come to terms with it. It's hard to gauge what his relationship with Carol is and the mystery adds to it's charm I think, especially since Michonne seems to have a good relationship with both him and Daryl. 

Anyway, I'm rambling again, you can probably tell now why Daryl is my favourite character and since he's got the highest score of all the team members in Walking Dead Magazine, a lot of people agree with me. Daryl is an invaluable member of TWD team and if he gets killed off, I will go Shane on everyone's ass! Let that be a warning! Thanks for reading guys and roll on February! 

NX 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! Sorry for the lack of posts the past few weeks but Christmas time is crazy xD

Decided not to make a New Year's Resolution this year since I forgot what I've made a week. Instead I've just said that I'm going to keep trying to do the things that I love doing and practice a LOT. I'm hoping the e-book will be ready for publishing soon and I'm hoping to upload it to Kindle and Smashwords since the e-book business is becoming a good way for indie writers to get their books into circulation. (Considering I have a e-reader and it's attached to me all the time, I could see the benefits to it! haha)

Since it's getting closer to publishing time, my confidence has taken a dive and telling me the book is going to be crap (thanks brain) but hey, I've read some crap books in my time and they were still a good read so either way, it's still gonna be a step forward from just thinking about writing. Practice makes perfect they say (although if you'd seen my cooking then you'd think twice about whether that's true, it gets worse the harder I try XD).

For a Christmas present, my boyfriend and I bought ourselves a Galaxy Note 8" with a little stylus pen (the only reason I wanted it xD) and it's got a handy note program so I won't have to keep four boxes of sticky notes and random pieces of paper full of scribbled notes on them, that I have to consult every time I forget where my story was headed! I might actually have organized chaos instead of just chaos XD

So now I'm writing the second one, which is a lot easier to write since my last one was years old. This one is new so it's fresh in the mind and ideas are flowing a little more evenly than before. Though it is more of a fantasy horror, I'm not sure what the 'rules' are -if any- on crossing genres but I'm enjoying writing this. Good thing about creating your own world altogether -the rules are yours XD

Hope you have a good year guys! Speak soon,
NX