The Scribbling SeaSerpent

The Lightning Bolt

2012-01-26T12:26:00.001Z

I knew in my heart that something wasn’t right. My inner editor was whispering to me. Only I had no idea what the problem was.

So I set off over the cliffs to mull things over.

There’s nothing like a blast of salt spray air on your face, the running tide and the blustering wind to make everything clear.

And as I watched the whitecaps rush in and crash against the rocks it hit me.

Motivation.

Not my main character’s motivation. His motives have always been quite clear, but that of one of my minor characters.

And as I worked out what was driving her, the whole thing fell into place – suddenly the plot had a structure that until now it lacked.

My inner editor can sit back (for now). But my work has just begun - this WIP needs some serious editing.

After We've Gone

2012-01-17T12:00:00.000Z

There's something about old discarded farm equipment that fascinates me. It's lying around all over the place - in thickets beside the fields, by old gateways, or in a clump of nettles by the side of the footpath, like this one.

I wonder how long it's been here? It hasn't been moved for a while and it's reddened with rust. The nettles grow around it in a feral, stinging clump that rises in a mound from the sheep nibbled turf.

Maybe, though, it hasn't been here as long as we might think. And I can't help wondering how long it would take, if our civilisation crumbled, for the only remains to be hulks of rusting metal, like this, the purpose of which has been long forgotten.

Your Inner Editor

2012-01-09T12:00:00.001Z

It is always a good idea to pay attention to what your inner editor is trying to tell you – he knows a lot more than we often give him credit for!

Whenever you’re not 100% sure about something – a scene perhaps, or the way a character reacts in a particular situation – then don’t just leave it. Your inner editor is telling you that there’s something wrong – so fix it now. Otherwise the instant it goes for critique – to an agent/editor – guess what the first thing covered in red ink will be!

The same applies to these moments when you’re reading through your work and you knock up against something that pulls you, just for an instant, out of the story. Again, it’s your inner editor. Listen to him. He’s right. Even if you can’t immediately see what’s wrong, mark that bit in red and come back to it.

We all know that moment when someone points out a flaw in your work and you think to yourself. “Drat – I knew that wasn’t working.”

That’s when you haven’t been listening to your inner editor.

Welcome to the Apocalypse!

2012-01-02T16:24:00.000Z

A new year - new beginnings and new opportunities. What will it bring I wonder?

Some people think that the world will end. But I prefer to take a more optimistic view. Perhaps it will be a year of change.

I'm not going to make any resolutions this year. I think I'll just blow with the wind and see where I end up.

The idea that took seed a few months ago is taking form. Perhaps that would be a good place to start the year.

Happy 2012 everyone!

Candles and Christmas Trees

2011-12-15T08:30:00.002Z

Christmas is almost here – racing up on me – every time I blink it’s a little bit closer. The school holidays are about to start. Let the festivities begin!

Looking back over my recent blog posts I see I haven’t been telling you very much about my writing. That’s probably because I don’t have anything big or exciting to report. I’ve spent the year rewriting, and rewriting. And between the rewriting I’ve been working on the WIP.

I have to have something on the boil in the background. Whenever I’m waiting to hear back about the first novel I can open the file and vanish into a different world, re-acquaint myself with a new set of characters, and stop worrying about what happens next.

And now here I am, as the year draws to a close, and I’ve just written those wonderful words – ‘The End’.

It’s a first draft – very rough I admit and I need to give it a thorough working over. But everything I’ve learned over the past year has gone into it – and you know what? I’m really quite excited about it.

Will it fly? Who knows? Will 2012 be the year? I hope so.

But for now I must mull wine and bake mince pies. I’d just like to wish all my blog readers a Merry Christmas and wish you all publishing success in 2012. Thank you for joining me on my journey.

The Rocks Beneath our Feet.

2011-12-08T08:58:00.000Z

Everything tells a story, if you just know how to look.

I remember my very first Geology field trip, standing in an old quarry staring at a wall of rock – but what a story that ancient rock face told.

I saw an ancient beach. I saw the ebb and flow of the tides and the ripples that the waters left in the sand, now frozen in stone.

I saw how the seas receded and the vegetation flourished, plants taking root alongside a river channel – I saw millions of years pass by – and then…

Somewhere, not very far off a volcano erupted. One short cataclysm. The lava flooded my lush valley. Only the roots of the plants remained in their scorched soil, everything above ground destroyed by the molten flood.

There are stories all around us, in everything we see and hear, in the rocks beneath our feet and the landscape all around. We only have to know how to look.

The Mars Mission....

2011-11-28T09:00:00.001Z

I couldn't resist posting this, having seen the launch pad in preparation less than a month ago. It would have been something to be there and watch the actual launch!

I've always been fascinated by Mars... by the intriguing possibility that there may once have been life there...

So what will they find I wonder?

A Tale of Two Cats

2011-11-25T08:23:00.000Z

I have a pink begonia on my kitchen windowsill. It’s starting to fade now but it has been beautiful all autumn. Lots of people have admired it, and when they do I tell them its story.

Back at the end of the summer, as I was waving my husband off to work, I spotted a badly injured cat dragging itself along on the opposite side of the road.

Well I couldn’t just leave it could I? But I did recognise it. This was a cat my children often saw, lying in the sunshine outside a row of houses in the lane opposite, who they would stop to pet.

So off I went knocking on doors.

Now it seems that everyone around here owns a black and white cat. (myself included). The people from the first door I knocked on went sprinting down the road in a panic – it wasn’t their beloved Skunky but they thought they knew which house it came from.

So I found his owner. He was called ‘Little’ (probably because he wasn’t) and we rushed back to where he lay being comforted by my kids. I fetched my cat basket and a blanket and we carefully lifted him in. And off she took him to the vets.

Later that afternoon her sons called round to return my basket. Inside she had put this lovely begonia to say thanks. Sadly Little had been put down. But every time I look at those lovely pink flowers I think of him.

And now Skunky has gone missing. His owners are putting up posters all round the village. I really hope he comes home soon.

Mimsy is curled up on my knee as I type. Today she will be getting extra big cuddles.

After the Call...

2011-11-17T20:13:00.001Z

A while ago I linked to this fabulous 'After the call' series that Caroline Tung Richmond has been running over on her blog.

Well this fascinating post has just gone up over at the Greenhouse blog which tells the same story only from a Agent's perspective. Check it out!

Hell Bottom

2011-11-10T12:50:00.001Z

In the hills behind my house is a network of footpaths and on one a sign saying ‘Hell Bottom’. So I decided to follow it and see where it led, and I came to this place.

It’s been a fine house in its day but I can’t help wondering – Who lived here? What happened? Why did they leave?

What a brilliant hideout it would make for one of my characters!

And why on Earth is it called ‘Hell Bottom’?

Rocket Science

2011-11-03T08:09:00.004Z

I’ve been rather quiet in the cyber world recently – you may not have noticed since I left a couple of posts programmed in to appear while I was away – but I’ve been in Florida, doing the Disney thing with the husband and kids.

For me the highlight was this place – the Kennedy Space Centre - just look at all those lovely rockets!

It’s incredible, isn’t it, to think that we sent men to the moon with 1960s technology in space craft with less computing power than I have on my mobile phone! It just goes to show what we can achieve if only we put our minds to it.

So here I am back to October rain and falling leaves. But there was a nice surprise waiting for me – my contributor’s copy of the September issue of Aoife’s Kiss which contains one of my short stories ‘Down to the Sea’. This story was accepted over a year ago and I’d quite forgotten about it.

Good out of Bad

2011-10-27T10:00:00.001+01:00

We were discussing the review comments you see on the front of books the other day. Someone had read something that they felt didn't fit with any off the comments on the cover and was wondering why it should be.

And so we started talking about how these comments could really be taken out of context. Maybe "I was blown away..." really came from a comment that said "I was blown away by how awful this book is."

So we thought we'd play a little game - find a really bad review of something and extract a few choice phrases that make it sound like a good review!

It turned out to be rather fun!

So if you ever get a bad review - why not try this - and turn it into a good one!

Sunsets

2011-10-17T09:00:00.001+01:00

Last month the skies were filled with darting swallows, the breeze carried their cries and the air hung sweet with the smells of summer.

But the day came when I looked up and the sky was empty. The swallows had gone.

The leaves curl brown. The days shorten and the sunset creeps ever westward along the ridge.

The seasons turn.

Booker Debate 2011

2011-10-07T11:10:00.000+01:00

Last night I took part in the Booker debate at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil. Interesting because I was the only person on the panel who loved their allocated book. So will the Booker judges feel the same? We'll have to wait until next week to find out!

But if you haven't yet read "The Sense of an Ending" by Julian Barnes then I can't recommend it strongly enough!

Beneath the Overgrowth

2011-09-29T09:53:00.002+01:00

From a distance this looked like just another clump of trees in the corner of a field, but when I got closer I saw it was something else.

Strip away the ivy and creeping overgrowth and there's a building underneath.

And it made me think of what you have to do when giving your work a really good edit - it's very similar - cut away the weeds and diversions and woolly descriptions to reveal the story within.

I asked the farmer what this place was and she told me it was called Jones's Hole. There's a barn, underneath all that ivy, and in the spring, if you go inside, you'll find barn owls nesting.

My Booker Book...

2011-09-22T09:30:00.002+01:00

My Booker Debate book has finally arrived - and I've been allocated this one to read!

Is anyone going to be coming along? 6th October at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil? Do let me know if you are.

Watching Me?

2011-09-15T10:08:00.001+01:00

I walk over the cliffs and drop down to my secret beach to eat my sandwiches.

But as I sit there I get the feeling that I'm being watched.

I look around.

The beach is deserted.

But then I spot him.

There are a number of sea stacks just off the headland. But one of them isn't a sea stack at all - it's a Tyrannosaurus Rex. And he's watching me!

It looks like he's eating a burger. I hope, once he's finished, he doesn't decide to eat me!

Booker Shortlist

2011-09-08T09:27:00.001+01:00

The 2011 Booker shortlist has been announced and already it’s the cause of much debate – should this one have been included? Why was that one missed out? In case you haven’t seen it here’s the list….

• Julian Barnes - The Sense of an Ending (Random House/Cape)
• Carol Birch - Jamrach's Menagerie (Canongate);
• Patrick deWitt - The Sisters Brothers (Granta);
• Esi Edugyan - Half Blood Blues (Serpent’s Tail);
• Stephen Kelman - Pigeon English (Bloomsbury).
• AD Miller – Snowdrops (Atlantic);

Next month the YCAA will be holding the annual Booker Debate at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil, and this year I have been invited onto the panel. So sometime in the next few days one of these books will be winging its way towards me so that I can read it and put together my review.

But which one will I get? And more importantly will I enjoy it?

I’ve taken a look around the net to see what I can find out about the books and the one that sounds most interesting is The Sister’s Brothers. I quite like the idea of a Western being on the shortlist. Jamrach’s Menagerie also sounds like my kind of book – I always like stories set at sea. (Well I am a SeaSerpent).

I’ll let you know as soon as it arrives. And in the meantime, has anyone read any of them?

What did you think?

Review: The Novel in the Viola by Natasha Solomons

2011-09-01T09:00:00.000+01:00

I normally try to keep the focus of this blog on YA and children's books, but today I am going to make a brief foray into the world of adult literature. And not only adult - this is a book without a single spaceship, gruesome murder or car chase - so it really isn't my usual fodder. But I'm still going to sing its praises.

Some books beg to be read in a particular setting and this is one of them, so I packed my sandwiches and headed over the cliffs to this beautiful spot, and sat on an empty beach looking out over the sea.

That's Worbarrow Bay ahead of me, and if you've read "The Novel in the Viola" you'll know why I went there.

I simply loved this book. Natasha's passion for the Dorset countryside shines through in her beautiful and evocative descriptions and since that is a love I share (second only to my love of the sea) I really engage with her writing.

I read her first book, "Mr Rosenblum's List" last year (sitting in the summer sunshine in my garden of course) but I felt with this one that her writing had really matured. The plotting tightened.

The story moves at an easy pace, but the shadow of war grows ever darker. My heart bled for Elise. It's a beautiful book that I strongly recommend.

My only disappointment is that it isn't available in hardback. I'd have so liked a copy to sit on my bookshelf next to my hardback Mr R. :-)

Followfest 200

2011-08-25T17:00:00.001+01:00

I turned away and when I looked back I noticed my followers had topped the 200 mark! Yay for followers!

So I'm going to run another followfest - a bit like the one I did when I reached the first 100, but this time I'd like you all to pass it on!

So here's the plan. I've created a little "One To Follow" award and I'm awarding it to ten other bloggers who I really think you ought to be following if you aren't already.

So head over to their blogs and if you like what you see then add yourself as a follower.

And to the bloggers themselves - please take the award and pass it on to ten more bloggers of your choice!

So here are my ten 'One To Follow' Fab Bloggers (tough call this one - there are so many great blogs out there, but I'll leave it to you to pass this on to the ones I've missed!)

Creepy Query Girl - I love this blog - it's seriously sassy and fun!
Adventures in Space - There's a really interesting series called "After the call" running over here - worth a look.
That Elusive Line - an author/illustrator with a book coming out in 2012
To Stalk a Publisher - A Romance author to watch - you'll be hearing more of Emma!
"Living with and Author" - by Brunella Labrador - I just love the whole dog thing that's going on here!
Ellie Garratt - a very lively blog with lots going on that I only stumbled on recently.
Scribble and Edit - another lively blog with lots going on!
The blogger formerly known as... - a real enigma, this one :-)
Spellmaking - a SF author with quite a few publications under his belt - and more to come I'll bet!
Desperately Writing Susan - This is a really new blogger - go on - give her a warm welcome to the bloggosphere!

Star Trek Blogfest

2011-08-22T08:00:00.000+01:00

I simply couldn’t resist this one – the temptation to indulge in pure Star Trek geekery (cheers Ellie) was too much – so here you go – my 5 favourite Star Trek Characters are:

Spock (okay, boring but I love his logical view of the world)

The Holographic Doctor in the Voyager series – for being the only character with any real depth amongst a crew of cardboard cutouts!

The borg queen – always good to include a strong female role model (plus the borg have to be the scariest aliens ever)

Jean Luc Pickard – for saying ‘Merde’ on the Bridge of the Enterprise! Shame on you Jean Luc - there’s children watching!

A tribble – no – several tribbles – Oh hang on a minute – lots of tribbles….

Anybody want a tribble?

Aha - a blog visitor - here you go - you are now the proud owner of a Tribble!

Making Hay

2011-08-10T09:00:00.000+01:00

They were making hay in the field behind my house and I paused to watch the tractor going back and forth, the bailer towing behind and the bales spitting out into piles.

I watch the bailers every year with the same fascination, and each time I do I remember, many years ago, when there was magic.

We were kids, sitting in the sunshine by the edge of a cornfield, watching a bailer just like this one. And on one of his circuits the farmer stopped.

“You kids,” he said. “You can play with this stack if you want. But don’t go touching any of the others.”

We waited until he had gone.

And then…

Those bales became a fort, and a castle, a dungeon and at one point just an ordinary shop. We fought battles, held sieges and made daring rescues, chasing our enemies across the stubble in the summer sun.

Later the farmer came back with a trailer, loaded them up, and the magic was gone.

Analysis: Maximum Ride. The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

2011-08-01T10:00:00.000+01:00

My daughter’s friend introduced her to these and the series turned out to be a huge hit. She’s read the whole lot and is hungry for more. So of course, I read the first one to see what this was all about.

Now as you have probably already gathered I am particularly fond of thrillers. I’ve enjoyed the James Patterson’s adult thrillers that I’ve read – including ‘When the Wind Blows’ which is the book in which the character of Max first appears – albeit in a somewhat different guise. So I was eager to see what his Young Adult fiction was like.

Well this is one rollercoaster of a ride. It hits the ground running and the pace picks up speed from there. There’s no let up – one thrill after another. Whereas in most books the pacing varies between fast and moderate this one varies between very fast and extremely fast. I was almost breathless reading it.

However the disadvantage of this is that there isn’t much room for character development and I never really empathised with Max. I didn’t feel that the other characters had much depth either.

But I don’t think that matters here. What kids relate to best with these characters is their alienation – after all – you can’t get much more alienated than being a mutant kid with wings. And for your average teenager this is going to be a big part of the appeal.

When the book ends it’s very obvious that the story isn’t over by a long stretch. The plot is left hanging. You feel like you’ve only read the first chapter, so it’s not surprising the daughter was champing at the bit to get onto the next one.

Analysis: High Octane Thrills

http://www.maximumride.co.uk/

Coastal Drama

2011-07-22T08:00:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago I walked my local section of the coast path. When I set out there was a thick sea fog, the lighthouse foghorn blaring through the mist. As I walked I watched the fog recede until all I could see was this eerie fog bank out at sea, ships skirting around its edge and the island peeking out from its shrouds.

I paused on the clifftop to admire the view. There was a lone tent pitched in a field and a boat moored up in the bay below.

Idyllic, I thought as I sipped my water.

And then I heard shouting.

I looked back down.

The people on the boat were all having a massive fight; voices raised and fists flying as they leaped at one another. Two bikini clad women jumped to their feet to try to break it up and I watched, fascinated, waiting for the splash.

It didn’t happen. One of them climbed onto the bow of the boat and sat in a sulk staring out to sea. The other started moving stuff around in the stern in grumpy silence.

A few other walkers had also stopped to watch and now we all headed on our way with knowing smiles to one another.

And I couldn’t help wondering what that had all been about. What was the story there?

I’ll probably never know but I’m sure I can make something up. Look out for those people in one of my stories.

Through Other Eyes

2011-07-13T10:15:00.000+01:00

When we write we place ourselves into our character’s heads. We look at the world through their eyes.

Yet everyone sees the world very differently. Some people see challenge and adventure all around, while others see frightening things – threats and monsters wherever they look.

Imagine if you were seeing the world for the first time; if you had never seen a tree for instance, and didn’t have the words – branch – leaf - trunk – how would you describe it?

The way your character sees the world can show the reader so much more about that character. Make your descriptions work on more than one level. Show your reader how your character sees their world.

Mimsy has just spotted something – you or I wouldn’t think twice, but Mimsy’s just a little kitten, taking her first steps into the big outdoors.

Can you guess what it is?

The Big Reveal

2011-07-05T10:00:00.000+01:00

The ‘Reveal’ is pivotal to a good story.

It’s a fine balancing act – what to reveal, when to reveal, and when to hold back. This is particularly important if you are writing crime or thrillers, but applies to all genres.

A well placed reveal drives the story along. And I’m not talking about the one reveal – the big one that comes at, or just before the climax. I’m talking about all the little reveals you need along the way.

It’s a bit like putting together pieces of a puzzle; one where the final picture cannot be seen until all the pieces are in place. As each fragment slots in you can see a bit more, hints of the final image; clues that there’s something bigger ahead. You change your perception, guess again at what the outcome might be. But you also know that it is only when the final piece falls into place that all will be clear.

You have to keep reading.

So, fellow writers, think about what you are revealing and when. Can you hold back and reveal a bit later? Or does the reader need a smaller reveal now?

Mimsy is wondering when to reveal to us where she’s hiding.

A Round up of Reviews

2011-06-27T09:00:00.000+01:00

I’ve been catching up on a bit of Children’s and Young Adult reading recently. It’s a good idea to keep up with the genre in which you write and since I’m writing thrillers for a younger audience this is what I’ve been reading:

I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
Teenager John moves from town to town, always on the run, always desperate to fit in. But he has a secret. Once there were nine, three are dead and he is next – he is number four.

Blood Ties by Sophie McKenzie
Theo and Rachel think they know who they are, but when Theo finds out that the father he thought was dead is in fact still alive they discover a truth about their identities that will change everything for ever.

Ice Shock by MG Harris
The second instalment in The Joshua Files - Josh’s search for the truth about his father’s death leads back to Mexico and to the discovery of a shocking secret.

So what did I think of them?

First of all I’d like to say that I enjoyed all three of these in different ways. They were all very readable, but not always that satisfying.

I am Number Four has had a huge amount of hype and yet I found it something of a disappointment. It was all just a bit too predictable, and too obviously setting up the rest of the series. Even so it hooked me in and kept me reading. Yes I enjoyed it but no, I won’t be rushing out to buy the next one.

Blood Ties and Ice shock on the other hand are a far more satisfying read. Both have sound central concepts, engaging characters and quality plotting.

Blood Ties reads very much as a stand alone, although I do see there is a sequel. I particularly like the way the author developed her characters, and how they overcame their respective vulnerabilities. It’s a cracking story that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Ice Shock is the second in a five book series and as a result the series arc is more developed. However this in no way detracts from the story at hand. I read the first book, Invisible City, a while ago, but I think this one is much better. The author left me satisfied and yet wanting more. Now there’s a skill I hope I manage to master one day. I’m pleased to see that books 3 and 4 are already out and the final one will come out next year. Off to the bookshop for me.

Does anyone have any other recommendations in this genre?

Time to Write

2011-06-20T09:00:00.000+01:00

It’s the weekend and it’s raining. “Today,” I think, “I’ll get some writing done.”

I head downstairs. There’s a child attached to the computer. “I’m doing my homework. It has to be handed in tomorrow.”

“Okay.” I leave her to it.

A couple of hours later I look in. She’s on Facebook. Cue argument. I disconnect the internet. She goes back to work.

At last she finishes. I take my seat. I read the last couple of pages to get back into the flow. I write a sentence. A gentle purr and the cat jumps onto the desk. She pads about on the keyboard.

I push her off and delete everything she has written. Somehow she has managed to engage some weird function thing that I don’t understand. It takes me the next half hour to sort it out.

I re-open my file. I re-read what I read earlier. I write a sentence. My husband comes in. Phone call for me.

When I get back he’s sat at the computer. “I’ll just be half an hour.” I go and get on with something else.

“Is the computer free now?” I ask as he emerges.

He shakes his head. He’s just bought some something. It’s downloading. It’ll be another four hours.

Looks like I’m not going to get much writing done today.

Maybe tomorrow…

Expect the Unexpected

2011-06-13T11:00:00.001+01:00

As writers we strive to avoid predictability.

There is nothing more satisfying for a reader than the unexpected turn of events – and yet, when you think back, the clues were all there.

Sometimes it's obvious right from the start where a story is going to go. You want to be surprised, but the writer fails to deliver.

Some writers have this down to a fine art. I'll talk a bit more about this in my next post when I will be reviewing some of the children's and YA books I've been reading recently. One of the writers does this extremely well.

In the meantime, if you haven’t already seen it check out the latest Dr Who episode for an excellent example. Wow! I can’t say any more than that --- Spoilers!

I really love it when something unexpected happens. Walking through the fields in the evening sunshine a few days ago we spotted something moving in the grass up ahead. I thought, perhaps a small dog.

But no.

When we got closer it heard us and turned around….

I never expected that!

Murphy's Law

2011-06-05T08:00:00.000+01:00

Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

I use this law all the time when I write. It doesn’t apply to me of course – it applies to my poor unfortunate main character.

Every time I put him into a new situation I think to myself: ‘What can possibly go wrong for him here?”

“Please, please,” he begs. “Can’t I have something go my way for once?”

But where would the fun be in that? Can you imagine what a boring story that would make?

“Sorry,” I reply as he clings to the rock face by his fingernails, the sea churning beneath him. “It would be far too easy to just let you climb out of here.”

His fingers slip. He falls…

Splash.

There. Get yourself out of that one!

Surrounded by History

2011-05-28T08:00:00.001+01:00

Something else that we can see if we only take the time to look is the history that surrounds us.

The past shapes the landscape, from the round barrows dotted across the hills to the marks of medieval strip farming.

Or more recently - from a time when the coast was fortified and guarded. A time when an invasion was feared. Hence the pill boxes we find along our coastlines.

Or even here, in this field. This was a radar station, manned day and night, watching for enemy aircraft crossing the channel. It was part of the Chain Home early warning radar network that proved so vital during World War 2.

Now forgotten and half buried beneath the meadow grasses.

Children and Pets

2011-05-20T09:25:00.001+01:00

Do your characters have pets?

One of the things we tried when I was doing the rewrite for WRRW was giving my MC a pet. I went for a dog. But in the end he didn’t really work so I took him out again.

Yet when you think about it, there is often a pet, particularly in children’s books. How about Timmy in the Famous Five and Hedwig in Harry Potter?

We were discussing this over on the Litopia forums and someone said something that stuck in my mind – she said that most kids these days don’t have a pet but would like one, and so they like to read about them.

Is that really true? Do most kids really not have pets? Do your kids have pets?

I guess because I live, and always have lived, in the country, animals are very much a way of life.

And we don’t have many ourselves. I’d like to get chickens but my husband draws the line there. So for the past five years my kids have made do with only the guinea-pigs.

But now that has changed.

Please meet the latest additions to our household:

Dinah

And Mimsy

A mother and daughter we have just adopted from the RSPCA.

Slush Reading - Reposted

2011-05-13T17:48:00.002+01:00

Looks like my original post vanished - so here it is again:

I've been helping out over at Litopia, reading submissions for the forthcoming Litopia Anthology to be produced by Nemesis Publishing, and it's proving to be a very interesting and insightful experience.

Needless to say, since all the stories have been submitted by Litopians who have passed the assessment process to achieve full membership the writing quality is high. So none of the stories I'm rejecting are as a result of poor writing.

In fact, before I started this process I was concerned that it would be very difficult to whittle the stories down. But this is in fact not the case.

The really good stories stand out. The suck you in from the first line and before you know you've reached a satisfying end. They go straight through to the next round.

But the ones I reject are let down by two very simple things - story and structure.

The commonest problem I'm finding is submissions that aren't really a story. They are just a vignette, a scene, a snapshot. There's no character arc, no real beginning and no end. They may be beautifully written vignettes. But a short story has to be a complete entity in its own right. These are just a scene that could easily be part of something larger.

The other flaw I'm seeing is stories that are summaries of stories, more like a synopsis. I don't want to read a synopsis - I want to read the story itself!

If you want to know a bit more about possible problems with short stories do check out this earlier post of mine on common short story mistakes.

If you look you will see

2011-05-04T08:00:00.000+01:00

There’s an old gnarled tree by the side of the footpath. I could have walked by but instead I stopped to look.

Other people came along the footpath, some walking their dogs, others lost in thought. They walked past the tree but they didn’t look. They didn’t see.

When we write we look that little bit deeper. We look for the small telling detail that creates a scene, be it the buzz of insects around the apple blossom on a spring evening, or the old man at the back of the bus picking food from between his teeth.

So pause and look again. A tree can be so much more. As I stood there I could see the hubbub of activity, back and forth, back and forth.

Look at little closer

Honey bees.

Shiny New Idea

2011-04-28T08:30:00.001+01:00

One word was all it took.

One word in a technical report I was reading at work. The sun was shining outside my office window and my thoughts kept drifting to my children who were spending the day out sailing in the bay. I had to keep dragging my attention back to what I was supposed to be reading.

And then….

One word.

A concept I hadn’t come across before. It leaped out from the page and struck me between the eyes, and I sat for long moments staring at it.

And as I stared a character began to form. She took shape and substance and started to whisper to me, her voice getting louder, more urgent. I think I’ll call her Lisa. And Lisa has a story to tell.

One word and a whole new world grew up around me.

One word.

One day I’ll tell you what that word was.

Of Science Fiction and Science

2011-04-21T08:30:00.001+01:00

Which came first, the Science or the Science Fiction?

Science permeates nearly all of my writing. Most of my published short stories to date have been Science Fiction. Even my less SciFi work usually includes scientific themes. You could put this down to the fact that I work in a scientific field (oceanography). But you’d be wrong.

Science Fiction came first.

When I was eleven I read my first Asimov story. It was Nightfall, and it changed my reading habits for ever.

The ideas in the Science Fiction I read inspired me, stretched my imagination, made me question the world around me. I moved on to Wyndham and Hoyle, to Bradbury and Vonnegut, to Gibson, MacLeod and Baxter.

Don’t get me wrong – I read across lots of genres. But it was Science Fiction that changed my life. You see, somewhere between Wyndham and Holye I decided that I was going to become a scientist.

And so I did.

I can’t help noticing that it isn’t unusual for SciFi writers to have a background in science. In fact both Asimov and Hoyle were very eminent in their respective fields.

I wonder which came first for them?

Watchers

2011-04-14T08:00:00.000+01:00

A small boy ventures alone into a deep dark cave...

Watch out for the eyes!

The Great Typo Hunt…

2011-04-07T08:00:00.000+01:00

I don’t know about you but I am hopeless as spotting typos. I dare say there are a fair few on this blog. Occasionally people are good enough to point them out and then I can correct them, but I’m sure there are plenty that go unspotted!

Sometimes typos can be quite amusing – not to mention completely changing the meaning of what you are trying to say.

A while back, while a group of my characters romped along in their adventure, someone kindly pointed out that the moment I'd turned my back my MC was peeing out of the helicopter. (He was meant to be peering.)

Honestly, if you don’t keep a close eye on them they get up to all sorts of mischief!

So here I am, trawling through my MS and trying to spot all the typos. Sometimes I can read a page ten times and still read what I meant to say instead of seeing what’s really there! Changing the font size and printing it out helps. But I bet I won’t get all of them – no matter how hard I try.

I can assure you though – nobody’s peeing anywhere they shouldn’t be!

How I Got My Agent: Guest Post by James Dawson

2011-04-01T12:00:00.000+01:00

Please welcome James Dawson who has stopped by with another agent success story.

It was only at a writer's convention last year that I realised how lucky I am to have an agent representing my book. Out of 250 delegates, I was only one attached to an agency and was treated as a rare and beautiful specimen, not unlike an endangered species at a conservation zoo. Some of the people I spoke to had been going through the 'write-submit-reject' cycle for YEARS. While I was there to hob-nob and learn a bit about the industry, literally everyone else was there for a chance to mingle with the two agents present, with a view to being 'discovered'. It was a blast of icy water – I wouldn't say finding my agent was easy, but I now see that I never, ever had it difficult.

A number of delegates asked how I landed my agent, so here it is – maybe there are lessons to be learned within my (quite boring) story. I'll start at the beginning. I started writing Hollow Pike in early 2009, with all sorts of motivations in mind. By the summer, very naïve to how these things work, I decided to submit it to an agency. I did a bit of research and found the name of an agent who represents one of my favourite children's/YA authors. Following their submission guidelines carefully, off the sample chapters went in a crisp, white envelope; full to the brim with hopes and dreams.

You can only imagine the joy when just two weeks later I had a request for the entire manuscript. It was a simple, polite, poker-face email: “We enjoyed the chapters you sent. We would be interested in reading the full manuscript.” While this was brilliant, there was one small snag. The book wasn't even nearly finished. Maybe just over half way done. I was suffering from what the wise publishing guru Lynn Price terms “premature submitulation”. I think the title speaks for itself. This is such a rookie error – I look back and could just die of shame. I did what I could. I polished up the chapters, had a couple of people do a line read and sent her what I had with a pitiful letter and an outline of the remaining chapters.

It's true what they say, you can't polish a turd, you can only roll it in glitter. Needless to say, I received a polite form rejection, explaining that while my manuscript had clear “quality”, they wouldn't be taking it any further. I can't say I was surprised, but it hurt like Hell. The first rejection is the worst.

But the request to see the full manuscript filled me with fire. It couldn't suck. They wouldn't have asked to see the whole thing if it stank. It gave me the drive to keep going. I gave myself a new target – finish the book. It stopped being about the dream of being published and became a personal quest to complete a project (something which I've struggled with my whole life). The novel was finished in October 2009 and I started rewriting and polishing at once, with help from the lovely people at Litopia.

The submissions that followed were much less successful. I think the lesson learned is choose your targets carefully. Looking at my list, I'm now unsure that the agencies I sent samples to would have been the best homes for my work. I sent partial manuscripts out in blocks of three, so I could keep track of where it was and who I was dealing with. The first six came back as rejections (well mostly, it took one six months to reject it, by which time I was with my current agent!). However I entered discussions with another agent who seemed keen, and although these talks came to nothing, it once again gave me enough sustenance to keep going.

The agency I'm now represented by was part of my third attempt in April 2010. Initially uncertain of whether to submit (because their client list is predominantly literary fiction, and while I am many things, literary is not one of them), I saw the magic words...building a new list of children's and teenage fiction. Lesson two, then – read the small print. My agent was actively building her list. The agent mentioned above rejected me because she had too many authors to manage already, simple as that.

As I had learned from the first brush, things can happen lightning fast. The day after I sent my agent the first three chapters, she asked to see the whole thing, and this time it was ready. But as with any story worth telling, there has to be some drama, and this was no different. Somehow, possibly because of an ancient curse, when attaching the files via email, the wrong version (complete with clichéd, Inception style “or is it..?” ending) was sent.

It took 24 hours to realise I'd sent the wrong version, by which time she was already reading it. I quickly sent the right version with a grovelling email and got drunk. Three days later, I got my reply... “I really loved HOLLOW PIKE and would be keen on discussing it further with a view to offering you representation.” I was at my day job and promptly cried on a co-worker.

A phone call later and that was that. Done and dusted. My letter of agreement arrived about a week later. That was just the beginning – some other time I'd like to blog about the work my agent has done for me over the last six months, because it's been immense and I'm very grateful. Writing this blog entry has left me a bit emotional (possibly because I had two glasses of wine earlier), and again, feeling lucky. Talent counts, but if Jo hadn't been accepting new submissions when she was, I might have been waiting years.

Final lesson – don't try to predict trends in the market. My manuscript was originally a lot more “supernatural” than the finished product will be, I was writing it in the midst of Twilight fever, and thought that was what agents and publishers wanted to read. Wrong. The publishing world is way ahead of writers, trying to set new trends. Hollow Pike is richer now for losing a cast of characters with superhuman powers – darker and edgier, much more in keeping with my personal taste. Go with what inspires you, be original, write as well as you can, steady yourself for inevitable months of rejection and never give up.

James Dawson is the author of HOLLOW PIKE, released 2nd Feb 2012 from Indigo/Orion. You can find out more about James over on his website.

How I Got My Agent: Guest Post by Charlotte Otter

2011-03-29T08:00:00.004+01:00

Please welcome Charlotte Otter who also has an agent success story to share with us.

I started writing a novel in January 2008. I had a germ of an idea and a burning feeling that if I didn't start Right This Minute, I would never do it and die old and bitter and full of self-reproach. I was 39. It was my midlife crisis.

After a month of writing, I entered the opening page of my novel in Nathan Bransford's Suprisingly Essential First Page Challenge (www.nathanbransford.com). There were more than 600 entries and my page was chosen as one of the six finalists. The prize was a query critique from Nathan, but since I had only written a chapter at that point, I had no query to offer. I filed the prize away in the Things We Dream About drawer.

Then I went away to write. I spent the next two and half years writing, rewriting, fixing, erasing, going back. Listening to beta readers, ignoring them, listening to them again. Two years. Three drafts. Then I decided it was time to claim my prize and the lovely Nathan wrote a mail that made my heart skip several beats: 'Is this ready to be considered? If so, I'd be happy to take a look at the first 30 pages.'

I quickly made his suggested changes and sent him my new query and the first 30 pages. Nathan passed. It was a horrible moment. I asked a dear friend, who is a literary talent scout and who has impeccable taste, to read my novel. Her response was a punch to the solar plexus: too many rookie errors, too much tell and not enough show and please change the point of view from first to third person immediately.

I had queried too soon. The biggest rookie error of all.

After breathing in and out deeply, I started addressing her suggestions. I changed the novel from first to third person and it came alive. I started fantasising about which agents I would approach, making lists from Agentquery and The Artist's and Writer's Yearbook. However, a voice in my head said Use Your Contacts First. I used up my one contact with Nathan. I only had one left: Michaela Röll at Eggers-Landwehr, a Berlin literary agency, who is the friend of a friend. That friend said, 'Give it a go. You never know.'

In July 2010, I got an email from Michaela, which I have kept and may have to frame. It was full of lovely words about the book and an offer of representation. In August, I signed. There is still a long road ahead for Balthasar's Gift and me. A publisher has made some comments as have two literary agents in London who work as Michaela's sub-agents in the British market. I am now addressing their concerns, still writing, still revising, still fixing.

Still hoping that my dream will come true.

Charlotte Otter is a South African writer living in Germany. Balthasar's Gift, is a crime novel set in her homeland. She blogs at Charlotte's Web about reading, writing and living in Germany (http://www.charlotteotter.wordpress.com/) and tweets @charlwrites.

How I Got My Agent: Guest Post by Caroline Tung Richmond

2011-03-23T08:00:00.000Z

Please welcome Caroline who has stopped by to tell us all about how she found her agent.

In the spring of 2009, I borrowed a copy of Carrie Ryan's THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH from my local library—and I proceeded to devour it within two days. (It was fast-paced and frightening!) When I was finished, I decided to skim through the author's acknowledgments at the end of the book. One of the first people that Carrie thanked? Her agent, Jim McCarthy.

"Hmm," I thought. "Maybe I should query this guy when I finish my manuscript?"

I figured it would be a long shot but I scribbled Jim's name onto my list of potential agents. He seemed to represent mostly YA/adult novels but maybe (just maybe) he'd be interested in my middle grade manuscript.

Fast forward to April 2010…

I had spent nearly a year querying, revising, querying, rewriting, and querying my MG space opera. I was EX-HAUS-TED—and I was ready to call it quits. Yet, I still had a few agents on my querying list so I figured I'd contact them before I pulled the plug.

And so, I shot a query to Jim and a half-dozen other agents, not expecting anything to happen. A couple days later though, Jim requested my full manuscript! *Cue dancing and singing and major squee-ing.* But I tried to tamp down my excitement because I didn't think Jim was very interested in MG novels.

As I awaited Jim's response, I was stunned to receive my first offer of representation…and a second offer as well! I was speechless. Just a month prior, I had wanted to shelve my manuscript but now I had two agents interested in repping me! I was beyond humbled.

I sent Jim an email to alert him of my offers and he replied within the hour, agreeing to read my manuscript over the weekend. I was super excited that he was considering my book, but I tried not to get too worked up. He might not even like my novel, I told myself, Don't start getting stars in your eyes, Caroline!

On Monday afternoon, however, I received a call from a New York number—it was Jim! And he wanted to represent me! I froze, completely tongue-tied. B-B-But Jim only reps YA, right? Turns out, Jim wanted to branch into the middle grade genre and he wanted to sign me on as a client. *Cue fainting.* When I jolted out of my daze, I just knew I wanted to work with him.

I signed the contract last May and I couldn't be happier!

Caroline Tung Richmond is a freelance writer based in the Washington, D.C. area. She loves cupcakes, Star Trek, Anthropologie, and YA and middle grade novels. If you would like to read more of her crazy ramblings, you’re more than welcome to visit her blog (http://carolineinspace.blogspot.com) or follow her on Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/ctrichmond).

Signs of Spring

2011-03-19T12:00:00.000Z

Spring has arrived and you can't get more spring like than the lambing. This little chap has just arrived. His brother was born a few minutes later.

How I Got My Agent: Guest Post by Ian Bontems

2011-03-16T14:00:00.000Z

Hi there.

Kate kindly asked me to visit her blog and explain just how on earth I got my agent, John Rudolph of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

THE HOUSE OF MIRRORS was the first novel I’d ever written and I’d been querying for a month or so (and receiving a steady trickle of various types of rejections), when I decided that my query letter wasn’t up to snuff and had to be re-written. Yep, I’m a classic example of the writer that jumped the gun (but hey, at least I’d finished and revised the book I was querying, that’s got to count for something). Around about this time, I heard about a new agent, one that seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.

I got the heads-up from here: http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog It’s a great resource to keep you informed about new agents (but take note, it’s based in the USA, and so are all the agents that Chuck mentions).

But before I sent off that spanking new query letter, I did my stalking *ahem* ‘research,’ and dug up some old interviews John did back when he was an editor for Simon & Schuster, Putnam and Penguin. John Rudolph was new, but had loads of experience in publishing as an editor of children’s books and to be honest, sounded pretty cool.

Stalking done, I shipped off my latest query on a wing and a prayer and waited.

I got a standard email back saying I may have to wait 6-8 weeks for a response. No problem, I thought and filed it away with all the others on my little query spreadsheet and carried on writing, half expecting the answer to be negative.

Colour me surprised when the request for the full came soon after.

I’d read blogs that told me to be prepared to wait months for a response to the full, but John got back to me a week later saying he was interested. We chatted via email where he proposed some very minor revisions. I agreed with his excellent suggestions and then John offered to represent my work.

So that’s my tale. I’m a British writer with an American agent who has an MG novel out on submissions and is currently writing a YA epic fantasy with assassins and female soldiers who can ignite their swords with magical fire.

Thanks for reading.

You can find out more about Ian and his writing over at Ian's blog - The Eye of a Little God

How I Found my Agent

2011-03-11T08:49:00.000Z

One question I would always want to ask an agented author is ‘how did you find your agent?’ The routes taken are not always conventional.

So although I’m sure you could find the answer by trawling through this blog, I thought I would tell you about how I found mine.

Early in 2010 I noticed a discussion on the Strictly Writing blog about networking. Someone was complaining about not having any networking opportunities because they lived out in the sticks, and a number of people had chipped in that there are other ways of networking – you don’t have to live in London!

Now since I live out in the sticks I found this discussion very interesting. Especially when someone mentioned that agents often offer 1-2-1 sessions at Literary Festivals and one such festival was the Frome Festival – a mere 1 ½ hours from where I live! In fact Rachel Ward, author of the very successful Numbers series, was picked up by Chicken House at one of these 1-2-1 sessions at the Frome Festival a couple of years ago.

I checked out their website and when I saw that one of the agents was Julia Churchill from Greenhouse Literary I made sure I booked myself a slot and duly sent off my first chapter and synopsis.

Then I had to sit down and make sure I had the thing finished in time! A good job I did because when I turned up for my slot she asked for the full. I sent it off the moment I got home and the rest, as they say, is history.

A Sense of Place

2011-03-04T12:35:00.000Z

When I write I always like to set my stories in places I've actually visited. For instance, I've never set a story in modern day America and the reason is simple - I've never been there.

Of course I haven't been to the Moon either but since so few people have I think that, with the right amount of research, I can get away with it.

The reason for this is simple. I like to feel a place when I write about it. It's not something tangible, but if I can feel a place as I write, then hopefully the reader can too.

So as you've seen from my previous post I've been in Germany. I've been there before of course, but the fact remains that Germany 'feels' very different from say France or Italy - and that's just in Europe - go further afield and the feeling is different again.

I was lucky to be there for the Bremen Carnival. No pictures can capture the atmosphere - the pounding drums of the parade, the crush of people, the vendors selling bratwurst and giant pretzels, and of course, much drinking of beer. But here are some anyway.

Where am I?

2011-02-28T20:36:00.001Z

So, who recognises this? And who knows the story?

Interesting Agent Stuff...

2011-02-22T19:12:00.000Z

Caroline over at Adevntures in Space is running a really interesting series of blog posts called 'After The Call' in which she talks about what happens after you get an offer of representation. So if you are a writer currently on an Agent hunt - you might be wise to check it out. There's some really interesting information on there.

And while I'm linking to useful stuff about agents - this one's a few months old but worth a look - it's an Agent's Christmas Wish List.

Happy hunting.

Faces in Stone

2011-02-14T20:18:00.000Z

We walked around the edge of the standing stones, and as I looked I saw a face.

"I know that face," I told my kids "I've seen him before, when he was a man," and they listened, wide eyed.

One midwinter’s day, as the sun was just struggling up over the horizon, I passed this way and saw something strange.

People had gathered amongst the standing stones. They raised their hands to the sky in rhythm with the pounding of their drums and the chanting of their voices, while the police, in their Day-Glo green, stood by.

As I watched another figure approached them across the heath. Tweed jacket and flat cap, his face blotched purple and red. This was a farmer who didn’t look pleased.

The police moved to block his path, but he pushed on through. At the time I thought it strange – they way he vanished into their midst, and the police shifted their gaze away from him, as if in an instant they had forgotten.

The chanting of the crowd and the beat of the drums never faltered. And after I’d watched for a while the sun rose higher and I headed on my way.

But the farmer? Well he learned the hard way – don’t mess with druids!

Networking

2011-02-08T19:58:00.000Z

Networking is so important in all walks of life. And networking for writers is no different – maybe more so because writing can be such an isolated pursuit.

I’ve heard people bemoaning the perception that you have to know someone in the industry to get an agent/publisher, or you have to live near a big city such as London where most of the agents/publishers are based.

This simply isn’t true.

I’m a good three hour train journey from London and the nearest city is in the next county. Yet I have managed to network. And if I can do it anyone can.

So here are my top suggestions for finding networking opportunities – wherever you may live!

1. Writers groups: Most people will live within striking distance of a writers group, maybe more than one. They offer an excellent opportunity to meet people who share your interest and if you find a good one will be able to offer helpful critique.

2. Book Groups: Often affiliated with book shops or libraries – an opportunity to attend talks by visiting authors and to meet other people with an interest in literature.

3. Writing workshops/courses: Again – a change to meet other aspiring writers and maybe even lean a little along the way.

4. Writing/literary festivals: There are big ones and small ones. Worth going along to. You never know what could happen.

5. Online writers groups/forums: There are loads of these – perhaps a subject for a separate blog post. Find the one that suits you, but don’t get so absorbed you start losing writing time!

6. Blogging. You’d be surprised the number of interesting blogs by fellow writers I’ve come across since I started this blog.

So how do you network? Anything I haven’t listed that might be worth a try?

A Big Cheer for Emma!!

2011-02-04T09:01:00.000Z

Today is Emma Shortt's big day - the launch of her e-book 'The Valentine's Fae'.

So join me in giving her a huge cheer and say Congratulations! I hope it sells many many copies.

Head over to Evernight Publishing and take a look, and while you're at it why not visit Emma's website and blog and let her know what you think.

Well done Emma!

A Nice Surprise

2011-02-02T19:00:00.000Z

I arrived home from work today to a nice surprise - my contributor's copy of Jupiter SF 31: Aitne waiting for me in the pile of post, among the bills and junk mail.

Now I've got some quality SF to read over the next few days.

Looking at it made me realise how much things have changed since I submitted this story - and in fact since I wrote my bio for inclusion in this issue.

I have one more SF short story scheduled for publication this autumn. But for now I've stopped sending them out. I doubt I'll stop writing them - they're far too much fun to do for that. Instead I'm going to concentrate on the kids novels and see where that leads.

Back to those revisions...

Review: Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

2011-01-27T10:21:00.000Z

Michelle Paver is probably best known for her Chronicles of Ancient Darkness books, but I came across this little gem in my local bookshop and I just had to tell you all about it.

Because, quite simply, this book is amazing!

It was the cover that caught my eye – bleached whalebones on an empty beach, and when I picked it up and looked at the blurb and saw that it was a ghost story, set on Svlabard in the 1930s – well, that was me hooked. Honestly, she could have written it especially for me! I headed straight for the till.

You see, I’ve been to the Arctic, and I know how special it is.

So I guess for me this book had a unique resonance. But I would have loved it anyway. I was hooked from the start and it didn’t let me go. I was there on that Svalbard shore, watching as the days grew shorter, and then I was cowering in fear as the night drew in and I was still reading.

I won’t say anything about the plot. You must read it for yourselves. But quite simply this is the best book I’ve read in a very long time and I wanted to tell you all about it.

But something else occurs to me. With all the talk of bookshops and libraries closing, I can’t help feeling that if I couldn’t browse the shelves then I might have missed this little gem. My local bookshop is a treasure trove. I’m saddened to think, should it ever close, of all the wonderful books I’ll simply never find.

Stylish Blogger

2011-01-23T19:21:00.000Z

Thankyou to both Jaxbee over at Agenthood and Submissionsville and to the enigmatic masked blogger for awarding me the lovely stylish blogger award.

So it seems that the rules for this one are as follows:

1. Link back to the lovely person who gave you the award.
2. Tell us 7 things about yourself
3. Pass the award on to 15 recently discovered bloggers.

Oaky, here goes on the 7 facts.
1. I was born in Scotland
2. On my desk there is a tardis.
3. When I was young I wanted to be an astronaut
4. In my living room there is a giant inflatable dalek.
5. I love wild and open places
6. I own a sonic screwdriver
7. My favourite colour is green

And here are some fabulous blogs I’ve recently discovered:

Adventures in space
Creepy Query Girl
Wendy Godding
Drawing a Line in Time
At the rim of the far flung sky
The eye of a little God
Inwardly digesting
The Scribblers Cove
Inside the Mind of Lucy Jones
Got YA
The Apocalysies
Terry Lynn Johnson
Almost True
Charlotte’s Web
Jill Scribbles
Laura Jane Cassidy

More About Giants

2011-01-17T19:31:00.000Z

There was a time when Giants roamed this earth. For the people of those ancient times they were a common sight, striding across the landscape. And then they disappeared, lingering only in legend and myth.

So what became of them?

Let me tell you.

The Giants angered the great wizards of the north. It is one thing when they grind the bones of ordinary men for their tea, but when one went a bit too far and fed the noble wizard of Ardsheal to his family, the rest of the wizards rose against them. They held a great council on the plateau mountain and cursed the giants for all time.

Across the world, in an instant all the giants were turned to stone – wherever they were walking, whatever they were doing, in a moment they were gone.

But if you look closely you can sometimes see them, for they form part of the landscape beneath our feet, entombed in the rocks of our hills and cliffs.

And here, as proof, is one of them. If you stand at the right angle you can see his profile in the cliff.

Some say this is the face of Merlin, or Arthur himself. But you and I know different.

Dear Brucie...

2011-01-13T09:50:00.000Z

I’ve enjoyed your company. We had fun along the way. From the first moment you barged your way into the text you made me smile, with your odd quirks as you followed the others through the story. You only played a minor part but I had such high hopes for you.

I hate to have to break the bad news but changes have to be made. Your role is too small and one of my other characters can easily serve the same purpose. You and me – it just hasn’t worked.

There isn’t a place for you in the novel any more.

I won’t forget you. But you’re going to have to be…

…DELETED

I’m so sorry Brucie. It’s never nice to delete a dog!

A Visit to London

2011-01-08T18:41:00.000Z

Yesterday I took the train up to London to meet my Agent. It was a long journey, but a good one.

It's strange, isn't it - the people we meet on trains. For a few hours that carriage is our world and we swap stories and set the world to rights. Then, when one of us reaches our station we shake hands and say 'Goodbye' like old friends - yet often we still don't know each other's names.

Then on I went into the city to meet Julia. I've met her before of course - I met her that day at the Frome Festival - but this was different. This time I was her client and we were meeting to discuss my book. It was really productive and the next round of revisions are about to begin.

I have to admit though, visiting the city makes me realise how much I love living by the sea. I walked along the beach this afternoon, salt spray on my lips, and watched the surfers playing in the swell.

Of Rocks and Writing

2011-01-02T19:01:00.000Z

I remember one Christmas holiday, more years ago that I care to say. I came home after my first term away at university studying geology and climbed up the old iron age hill fort behind our house to stare out across the landscape.

It was a view I had looked at many times before. But this time it was different. This time I saw it through the eyes of a geologist. I saw the structures that underlay the hills, the dip and strike of the strata, the folds, the fault lines. I saw where the limestone ended and the clay began.

I've seen the world differently ever since. To me the landscape tells a story.

Writers see the world in a different way to other people as well. As the geologist in me sees the story behind the rocks in these cliffs - a tale of an ancient ocean and the mighty creatures that swam its depths - so the writer in me sees the stories behind the smallest things.

What have those people found on the beach - washed up by the tide?

Melting Snow

2010-12-27T15:34:00.000Z

The snow is melting as the year draws to a close. 2010 has been an exciting year for me as far as my writing is concerned - signing with an agent being the highlight, but I also attended my first literary festival and had my success in the Yeovil Prize, as well as doing well on the short story front.

Who knows what 2011 will bring. I'm starting on a journey into uncharted waters (uncharted for me at any rate). It's a new adventure - like my new WIP. My heart beats a little faster and I can't wait to find out what happens next.

Me and My Caganer

2010-12-16T09:36:00.001Z

Last Christmas my Catalan friend brought me back a caganer when she went home to Barcelona for Christmas.

So this year my Nativity scene has an interesting addition. And here she is in all her glory, squatting in the bushes round the back of the stable. Isn’t she great?

The Catalan people are very keen on their Nativity scenes, making them much more elaborate that the simple stable gatherings we Brits have, and there is always a caganer, somewhere in the background. Traditionally it is a little peasant boy having a dump, but if you take a look at the caganer website you can see that they now come as a wide range of celebritites, footballers, and I’m guessing that some of those I don’t recognise are Spanish politicians.

The kids think my caganer is fabulous. I think it’s a tradition that should be introduced over here.

So Happy Christmas dear blog readers. And if you have any interesting or unusual festive traditions where you come from that you think I should adopt do let me know about them.

Cooking up a Sequel

2010-12-12T19:28:00.000Z

I’ve made very little progress on DF over the past couple of weeks. And this is why.

You see, my Agent (can you see the big smile as I say that) has asked me to think about a possible sequel for WRRW (which now has a new title but I’ll stick with the original acronym for now).

And that’s what I’ve been doing.

There are so many possibilities – different options – different ways the story could go. The trick is to pick the right mix of ingredients – a bit like inventing a recipe – does that ingredient work – if not take it out! I may think up a couple of characters – only to morph them into one. I may completely change a section of the plot because I’ve thought of something better.

I’m one of those people who like to outline anyway, so it’s not too hard.

But of course, this is a story that may never be written. WRRW still needs work. And then it will need to find a home. So we’ll just have to wait and see.

Book Launch – Enchantment of the Black Dog.

2010-12-09T09:19:00.001Z

Sunday afternoon – clear skies and frost – a lovely day to visit Portland for the launch of Carol Hunt’s latest book in The Portland Chronicles series – The Enchantment of the Black Dog, published by Roving Press.

The second in the series of children's books, The Portland Chronicles, by author Carol Hunt. In Enchantment of the Black Dog, Isabel Maydew sets out to unravel the mystery of the phantom Black Dog of Portland. The story features time travel to the English Civil War years and to the Ice Ages, when snow wolves roamed the Isle of Portland. Joined by a Southwell fairy and a cool surf-dude, Isabel finds clues to the true identity of the mysterious Black Dog.

It all took place at White Stones Café in Easton where Carol and the illustrator Domini Deane were signing copies and the kids (and Carol) were dressed up as characters from the book. People queued to buy their copies and to get them signed and there were activities to keep the kids busy while the adults supped coffee and scoffed cake. There was a really good turnout, which was great to see.

So congratulations Carol and I hope you have as much success with this one as you did with The Portland Sea Dragon.

Guest: Romance Writer Emma Shortt

2010-12-03T07:49:00.001Z

Please welcome romance writer Emma Shortt.

Emma works as an editor for Evernight Publishing. As well as having a short story 'The Christmas Fae' in their Christmas anthology 'Twas a Dark and Delicious Christmas, she has a series of romantic novels coming out throughout 2010. This series is called FairyTales (the erotic kind) and takes up where The Christmas Fae finishes.

Tis Christmas and everyone is stirring…

From the keeper of Santa’s naughty list, delightful little Elves eager to please, and the sensual love of a toy soldier—the holidays are filled with orgasmic cheer. Where wishes come true, Frosty is itching for a melt-down, fairies and angels are randy to grant your every wish, and ‘tis the season to be oh, so jolly-filled.

Unwrap your darkest desires…for this is Christmas, and it will never be the same

Emma has kindly agreed to answer a few questions

1. When did you first start to write and why?

I actually wrote my first book when I was fifteen. It was called Crimson Wars (I was in my Anne Rice inspired goth phase) and was this human-vampire war type epic. It was done by hand (we were poor so a computer was about as attainable as the moon) and I reckon it must have been about thirty thousand words - a huge number to a fifteen year old. I’ve still got the scribes bump that the book produced, it’s never gone away. I wish I still had a copy, I bet it was dire.

Anyway I turned into a bit of a science geek from then on and the writing took a back seat but it was always on my mind. Then about five years ago I started to really think about doing it, as a job, not just a hobby. I was working a really stressful corporate job at the time, travelling all over the country and felt myself coming close to burn out – I’d gone straight from uni into a high pressure job, was only twenty five and knew already that it wasn't the life for me. So I quit my job, got a far less fraught one and started writing. When I didn't get published right away I took a better job, and then another and now I'm back in the 'stress zone' only writing as well!

I just love books, I love reading, I love writing. If I don't write something just feels 'off', it's a compulsion for me and I can't deny it. My perfect life involves me sat in front of my computer writing all day... oh, the bliss.

2. When did you realise that romance was your genre?

Other's realised it before I did. I started out writing YA, I think, because everyone else was at the time. HP was making millions and Twilight had just come on the scene - to me it seemed the obvious genre to write in. Then too I had a teenage daughter and it was like having a perfect beta reader in situ. I wrote several YA books and the first I really finished and loved was Immune. I subbed it to various agents and publishers and though the feedback was good it wasn't published. At the time I was devastated but I know now that I wasn’t ready. The writing wasn’t good enough and I wasn’t savvy enough about the business. I spent two years chasing agents, I’d never do that again.

So I carried on writing YAs but something was clicking. It got to the point where I’d start something and get bored or I’d write thousands of words then delete them the next night because I wasn’t feeling them. I couldn’t work out what was wrong and it was my fiancée who cleared things up for me. All my YA books were romance, that was the central theme, I knew that but I’d never classified them as romance. To me they were sci-fi or horror or something else and the romance was simply part of the plot, my chap disagreed! He insisted I was a romance writer and urged me to try and write a ‘grown up’ romance. I was intrigued by the idea. I’d thought about it certainly, but never had the nerve to follow it through. I think part of me was worried I wouldn’t be taken seriously as a romance writer but that was a stupid thought. I love reading romance books, some of my favourite authors write romance… so what was holding me back?

Nothing, so I plunged in and started writing… I’ve yet to stop.

3. Tell us a bit about the Fae?

I’d been thinking about a paranormal romance involving fairies for a while. I wanted to create a world ‘The Faedom’ where fairies live separate to humans. But I wanted those fairies to want to be part of the human world and to do whatever it took to achieve that. So, I created a world where Fae society is very much like ours - structured and hierarchal - and the only way for a Fae to interact with humans is to get one of the approved jobs – either as a holiday fairy or a guardian fairy. The thinking behind it is that once a fairy has one of these jobs they can interact with the human world by granting wishes. Just one wish for each fairy, once a year.

In The Christmas Fae Isadora has just been promoted and it’s now her job to grant one wish to make one human’s Christmas perfect. The wish will not be what she expects. The book is rated heat level ‘3’ so I need say no more than that!

I’ve really enjoyed writing this and I’m now editing the next book The Valentine’s Fae.

4. What does your job as an editor involve?

I’m both a content and copy editor which means I work on everything once the contract has been signed. At the moment I don’t play any part in the acquisitions process. I mean sure, if someone sent me something I could pass it on to my publisher and say, this is one for us, but I’m not a reader. My job is back office only. I get the manuscripts after the contract has gone out so there’s no turning back. Once I have that book I HAVE to make it saleable. Whatever it takes, removing chapters, adding them, deleting characters – it’s all wide open.

Generally speaking how it works is that my publisher (Evernight) sends me a manuscript through. I do a first read and give initial thoughts, concerns etc. This might be something as simple as a few tweaks to a major re-write. The MS goes back to the author who then addresses these issues. The turnaround for this is about a fortnight. The MS comes back and I'll check it to make sure the author has addressed the issues, if so I'll do a complete proof read of the whole MS, I'll re-write parts if need be, correct grammar and punctuation and make sure the flow is right. I both copy and content edit – so it’s the whole nine yards. If the issues haven't been addressed then it goes back to the author again. This is rare, usually we only do two edit rounds. Total turnaround is about 6 weeks, this is all done by email.

One thing I won’t do is compromise the author’s voice. This is her book, not mine, my job is to polish it up not re-mould it. Preserving the author’s voice is crucial, all ego has to be swept away. I’m lucky because I come at it from a writer’s perspective and so I know how much has gone into it. I know the author will have spent hours reading each bit and tweaking each line. I respect that totally and only make changes where they’re necessary. The impulse to re-write it the way I would has to be crushed, it’s not my book.

5. What do you see as the future for e-publishing?

E-publishing is the future, it’s as simple as that. I see us reaching a point where only the very high selling books come out in print. Ebooks first, then if sales targets are met, a print run. This makes perfect sense to me, both from a financial and environmental perspective, and in my genre we’re well ahead of the game.

It’s funny because a year ago I always said I would never get an e-reader. I love the smell and feel of books and the idea of having them in e-format was abhorrent to me. Now however, if there’s not a Kindle wrapped under the tree for me come this Christmas my chap’s going to be in trouble.

6. What piece of advice would you offer the aspiring writer?

Ooo someone else just asked me this and I’ll tell you exactly what I told them, I’m not the right person to ask this question! These days when someone tells me they’re thinking about writing my usual response is, please don’t. The trouble is I don’t think most people have any idea the amount of work that’s involved, I know I didn’t. When I got involved in writing (about five years ago now) I assumed I’d write an amazing book, get published, make a load of dosh and duh dah! It sooo doesn’t work like that.

Try instead long hours hunched over the computer, after a manic day at work, trying to cudgel the old brain into producing 2000 words. Or having to delete yesterdays 2000 because they’re crap. Try coming home to rejection envelopes piled high on the mat and feeling your heart drop. Countless hours spent trying to build yourself a platform. I wouldn’t even want to calculate the hours it takes to increase the blog by one follower or the Facebook group etc. It’s very, very difficult, like a full time job only with no pay.

Any newbie writer needs to realize that it is HARD work with very little reward for a long while. I’m only just seeing the fruits of my labors – five years after I begun. And the cash I’ve made so far? Oh, I don’t even want to think about it.

Still, I don’t want to be all gloom and doom, there are some positives. Like when something gets accepted and you see it out there in the real world. That is an amazing feeling. Or when the words work properly and you read it back and your heart beats a little faster. Being a writer, in my opinion, is just about the best darn job there is, but make no mistake, if you’re going to do it properly you have to treat it like a job.

Once you’ve made the decision that writing is for you then my best advice is to follow your own instincts, and if that means breaking the rules, break them. I don’t think I ever did what I was told, don’t phone agents, don’t email publishers direct, no multiple POVs, no telling. Bugger that, I write what feels right and if someone wants to read it after the fact then that’s brill but if they don’t then that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I shudder at the idea of this formula type writing that we get rammed down our throats or the strict way we’re told we must approach agents and publishers. They’re human beings for crikes sake, yes they’re busy, but you know what, so am I. I’ve never once had an agent or a publisher complain about the way I interact with them. Besides publishing is changing drastically, it will be the canny, break-the-rules type writers that will flourish.

Thank you Emma for answering my questions.

You can find out more about Emma at her website and her blog.

The Call

2010-11-30T19:23:00.000Z

It’s happened…

I can hardly believe it……

I was at work when the call came and I’ve been grinning from ear to ear ever since.

I want to shout it from the rooftops – but perhaps I’ll just whisper it really quietly…

I have an Agent………

Anticipation

2010-11-26T14:10:00.000Z

One of the things I love most about living where I do is watching the changes - the seasons - the tides - the weather.

It's freezing cold, the first really cold weather this year. Until a few hours ago we had brilliant sunshine and crisp blue skies. But that's changing. The first altocumulus crept down from the north a few hours ago and now, over the hills, the clouds are thickening to grey.

There's a weather warning on the met office website - heavy snow and icy roads. And these days I don't just need to rely on the sky - I can see it tracking down across Wales on the rainfall radar.

I'm like a small child once again, my nose pressed against the frosted glass peering out at the sky -

Is it going to snow?

Did Father Christmas get my letter?

Will I hear back from that Agent soon?

In the Footsteps of Vikings

2010-11-18T12:07:00.000Z

Sometimes a throwaway comment is all it takes. A chance word and from nowhere a new idea springs into life.
This time it happened as we sat round the fire in this Viking Longhouse chatting, while the kids were outside ploughing the fields (I'm not making this up - they were - but as there weren't any oxen they had to pull the iron age plough themselves)

A casual comment from one of the archaeologists and a whole new dimension to my WIP sprang into my head.

I've been trying to work out how to fit it into the story, except I can't. It wouldn't work. The plot doesn't need anything so major.

But then I realised that it would make a fantastic sequel, notching up the tension and the stakes tenfold.

I've never done this before - I normally put everything into the story I'm working on. But this case is different. I'm barely 10K words into DF and already I'm planning a sequel!

And for anyone who is wondering this Viking Longhouse is at the Cranbourne Ancient Technology Centre.

And So It Begins...

2010-11-10T20:01:00.000Z

When I wrote my first novel I started with a character and a setting, nothing else. I sat down and wrote and let the story take me where it wished.

The novel rambled. It wandered off at a tangent and when at last I drew it to a close the ending felt contrived. That novel now gathers dust in the Box-Under-The-Bed.

These days I start somewhat differently. I let the idea marinade in the juices of my imagination – the characters grow and mature, the setting takes shape, the plot forms structure. I jot down notes. Soon these become an outline.

Then I start to write.

But wait. Something else is happening. When I take a closer look I realise that the first couple of chapters aren’t really needed. The third one makes a better opening. By then the voice of the piece has settled, the characters have developed. The action really starts.

What I’ve been doing is writing my way into the story.

So Chapter Three becomes Chapter One (For now).

And this is where I’m at – a new project flowing from my fingertips, the characters arguing with me in my head whenever I give them the chance. (Plus it stops me fretting about WRRW as I wait to hear if I hit the mark with my revisions).

Enough blogging - back to the writing!

Here be Dragons

2010-11-04T09:47:00.000Z

Some people come here with their binoculars to look at the sea birds, but I come here looking for dragons.

There are caves like these all along this stretch of coast. Not many people know it but there are dragons living in most of them. They’re very shy and hard to spot. But if you are patient and sit quietly as the sun drops below the horizon and the shadows deepen into dusk, you might just see one slip out if its cave and take flight over the sea.

Back down on the shore I wandered into one such cave with my children. It’s okay though. I checked for tracks in the sand by the entrance before we went in. It was definitely uninhabited.

Even so, we didn’t go too far – just in case.

Conned!

2010-10-29T10:23:00.000+01:00

Quite often when I wander into my local bookstore there will be a writer sitting signing books on a Saturday morning.

One time there was a man with a pile of thrillers and since I like thrillers I picked one up to take a look. Soon we were chatting.

“This novel, my first one,” he said, “Has just gone out in its fourth edition and I now earn my living entirely from my writing.”

I was impressed. It must be selling well. So I asked him about his route to publication. He didn’t have an Agent but said that he’d submitted directly to publishers and had two offers which he’d had to chose between.

I glanced at the publisher. I'd never heard of them, but from what he was saying I assumed they were one of the respectable indies.

He started talking about book deals, and how his publisher wanted to see how well his first book sold before offering him his second book deal. He also told me about how he went to major literary festivals such as Hay on Wye with his writing. He was very convincing.

He then asked me if I was a writer too.

“Yes, I said. I’m writing children’s books.”

“Oh. It’s virtually impossible to get published in the children’s book market,” he told me. “Most of them are ghost written or written to order. You’ll never break into it.”

I was a bit taken aback. It seemed an awfully negative thing to say to a fellow writer.

Maybe I should have put his book back down at this point. But it was a thriller. So I bought it.

When I got home I started to read it. It was awful - about six typos or grammatical errors in the first pages, the writing was laboured and packed with clichés, the dialogue clunky.

Disappointed I googled the publisher – it’s a vanity outfit.

I feel cheated!

Analysis: Invisible City by MG Harris

2010-10-21T09:55:00.000+01:00

Apart from the fantastic neon orange cover sleeve, I was drawn to this book because the author is a member of a writing forum I belong to and I had been reading about her success with interest.

So I bought a copy and gave it to the daughter to read.

However this is one that she put down part way though and when I asked her why she told me that one of the characters had died and she didn’t want to read it any more.

Interesting. So I read it myself.

Now I love these sorts of adventure books and I thought it was really very good. MG Harris writes superbly well and Josh has a strong and engaging voice. The plotting is excellently woven with enough intrigue to keep the pages turning and enough excitement to keep you on the edge of your seat. Josh is very much on his own and there’s a lot at stake – two elements that are key to this type of story. I was really rooting for him, and I felt his highs and lows along the way.

I thought it was great and I’ll certainly be reading more of this series. But the question is - why didn’t my daughter?

Well this book is very much aimed at boys. Of course plenty of girls love this sort of thing – I’m one of them – but from what my daughter told me I think she was looking for a female protagonist to engage with. In fact I’ve noticed that all the books she loves either have a female in the leading role or one of the MCs sidekicks is female.

So what I think happened here is that she started to engage with a particular female character who was introduced to the plot, but when that character was killed off she didn’t want to read on any further and that is why she put it down. Interestingly there is another female character in Invisible City, but it was the death of Josh’s sister that stopped her reading. Maybe because Josh was so emotionally involved then she, as the reader, was too.

Shame really because she’s missed out on a good story.

Analysis: Adventure for Boys

http://www.joshuafiles.co.uk/

Sale to Jupiter SF

2010-10-15T19:07:00.000+01:00

They're coming thick and fast at the moment - my short story 'High Tide' has just been accepted for publication by Ian Redman at Jupiter SF.

This is the second story of mine to find a home at Jupiter.

Happy dance.

Booker Debate 2010

2010-10-08T09:37:00.000+01:00

Last night I went along to the annual Booker Debate held at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil, where a panel of readers gave their reviews of the six shortlisted books. Members of the audience who had also read the books were able to chip in and the result was really rather fascinating.

Just to remind you the six shortlisted books are:

Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey
Room by Emma Donohhue
In a strange Room by Damon Galgut
The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson
The Long Song by Andrea Levy
C by Tom McCarthy

What I found most interesting was just how polarised the opinions of the books were. The two in particular that provoked this sort of reaction were In a Strange Room, which one panellist hated but another loved with a passion, and The Finkler Questions which again, the panellist wasn't at all impressed with but a member of the audience who had read it couldn't sing its praises enough.

The Room provoked rather a hot debate, but more because of the subject matter, and C received a rather tepid response, although the panel were all rather impressed with the cover.

The two that went down best were Parrot and Olivier, which everyone who had read seemed to enjoy, and The Long Song, which really does sound like one to read - certainly if the review from the panel was anything to go by.

So all that remains now is to see which one actually wins. This will be revealed on the 12th October.

Of course the Booker Debate was memorable for a couple of other reasons - I was presented with the Western Gazette Award for my success in the Yeovil Prize, and it was also lovely to meet up with science writer Brian Clegg who was one of the panellists and is also a fellow Litopian.

I have posted a few photographs over on the events page of my website if anyone fancies popping over and taking a look.

Sale to Aoife's Kiss

2010-10-02T18:54:00.000+01:00

I've just heard from the editor of Aoife's Kiss, that they will be publishing my short story 'Down to the Sea' in their September 2011 issue.

I've been on a bit of a roll recently and I now have only a handful of stories out in circulation. I guess I'd better get on with writing some more - as soon as I finish these novel revisions!

The Truth about Stonehenge

2010-09-24T14:30:00.000+01:00

There are many theories about Stonehenge. Was it a Neolithic temple? Or perhaps an astrological calendar? Did druids gather here to watch the sunrise on midsummer’s day? (Actually they still do.)

I, however, know the truth.

And I told it to my kids as we strolled around the perimeter.

The rocks are in fact giant’s dominoes. They belonged to two young giants who were playing at lining them up on end and then sending them toppling. Sometimes they all toppled over but this time several remained standing in one of the swirls they had made.

But before they could pick them up they were called in to dinner – and it was their favourite – the ground bones of murderers in pesto sauce with spaghetti. So off they ran, forgetting to collect their dominoes.

Nobody knows why they never returned, but the stones have been here ever since.

Guest: Carol Hunt - author of The Portland Sea Dragon

2010-09-20T13:43:00.000+01:00

Please welcome Carol Hunt, author of the children's adventure story The Portland Sea Dragon, Published by Roving Press.

There's a sea dragon flying over Portland Dorset - a bad omen.When the dragon is accused of murder after the unexplained disappearence of Sally Lucke in 1616, only Isabel in 2011 can solve the mystery. So she sets out on a time travelling adventure. Along the way her cool friend Ben, annoying little sister Suzy, and Gregor, a scruffy collie dog with attitude, both help and hinder Isabel's search.

1. What inspired you to write The Portland Sea Dragon?

I moved to Portland in 2005. We lived on the West Cliffs of Portland, close to the sheer cliffs and in the path of howling gales. I was trying in some ways to make sense of our new life and find a feeling of belonging, but was also intrigued by Portland and its myths, legends and history. As well as this, the children encouraged me to write something about a dragon, based on stories I told them at bedtime. The dragon became very symbolic to me, both of our isolation at the time and of Portland itself.

2. How does a Sea Dragon differ from an ordinary Dragon?

My sea dragon is a peaceful creature, not as fiery as an ordinary dragon, and much misunderstood; a creature so ancient that it's difficult to grasp what he really is or how he thinks and feels. He also represents a quest for 12 year old Isabel, my main character, to find out more about herself and her family, as the sea dragon is accused of a murder that impacted on her 17th century family history.

3. Or a Sea Serpent?

In an interesting piece of synchronicity, the launch of The Portland Sea Dragon coincided with the discovery of the remains of a pliosaur, an ancient sea monster/serpent. Dragons and serpents are heavy with symbolism, which makes them fascinating to read and write about. I especially like the connection between the dragon and the rainbow, both of which are said to connect the earth to the heavens.

4. Roving Press normally publish local interest non fiction. How did you persuade them to add children's fiction to their list?

There's a lot of local history (smugglers, witches) as well as contemporary Portland places in The Portland Sea Dragon. Roving Press are also publishing further local interest/children's fiction titles soon.

5. Could you tell us about your journey to publication?

I finished writing The Portland Sea Dragon by summer 2009, and had written most of 3 further Portland Chronicles. I always felt that Portland itself was one of the most important 'characters' in my story and that a local publisher was exactly what I was looking for. I dreamed of seeing the book in the hands of local children, who had inspired my story. I bought a copy of The Spirit of Portland by Gary Biltcliffe and realised that Roving Press, the publisher, was taking a new approach to local interest books. I emailed the first 3 chapters to them with a synopsis and luckily Tim and Julie Musk liked it!

6. So there is another book on its way. Can you tell us a bit about it?

My next book is called Enchantment of the Black Dog and will be launched for Christmas. Domini Deane, the local artist, is currently working on the artwork for the cover and map. It follows the adventures of Isabel as she travels back to the Civil War era (1642) and introduces new characters such as Ryder the surf dude and Rainbow the Southwell fairy.

7. What piece of advice would you give to the aspiring writer?

I think it's important to write something you're passionate about. Then let your potential audience read it and tell you what you need to do to improve your work. Children are great critics! Improving your work takes commitment and time; it took 3 years to write and re-write The Portland Sea Dragon.

8. Where can we find out more about you and your dragon?

I am on the Roving Press website at rovingpress.co.uk/PortlandSeaDragon and I also write a blog at carolhunt.blogspot.com, as well as two Facebook pages (one for Carol Hunt and one for The Portland Sea Dragon).

Thank you Carol, for stopping by and answering my questions.

Exciting News

2010-09-15T18:43:00.000+01:00

At last I can tell you.

Those lovely people who organise the Yeovil Prize e-mailed me a couple of weeks ago to let me know that, not only have I got a Highly commended in the short story category with “Weedkiller” but my children’s novel – the one I cryptically refer to on here as WRRW, was also highly commended in the novel category.

As a result of this I am to be awarded with the Western Gazette award for Best Local Author.

This is the second time I’ve pulled off the double like this and received this award – last time was in 2008.

So as you can imagine there are going to be corks popping tonight.

I’ll be going along to the Booker Debate at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil on the 7th October to receive my prize, so if anyone here is going to be there then let me know and I’ll look out for you.

The Fate of 'Myth Making'

2010-09-09T13:32:00.000+01:00

There comes a time when you finally realise that your much loved novel isn’t actually as good as you originally thought. So, with a tear and a fond farewell you consign it to “The-Box-Under-The-Bed”.

A few months ago this is what happened to my previous novel – the children’s adventure story originally titled Myth Making.

Two things led me to this decision.

Firstly the fact that, despite several requests for fulls, the agents concerned all came back with similar comments in the rejections.

And secondly I was nearing completion of WRRW, making the final pass of edits, getting it ready to send out into the big bad world and start the whole process over again.

I think this is why you should always follow the advice that while your novel is out on submission you should get on with writing a better one.

There were a number of fairly fundamental flaws in Myth Making and I’ll talk about these in blog posts to come.

But one thing to remember – although a novel may have been consigned to TBUTB the ideas a characters live on. One day they will return – in a very different story and a very different form – but they will be back!

Follow-Fest 100!

2010-09-06T19:13:00.000+01:00

I don’t believe it – my little blog has hit the milestone of 100 followers! (105 as I post this)

In order to celebrate this I thought I’d run a Follow-Fest - I’m going to point you in the direction of some blogs that I follow which I really enjoy but have yet to reach the magic three figures.

But first a huge cheer for my 100th follower I'm not entirely sure which one it was but it was either Roxy or Catdownunder. Thank you and welcome.

And now to the blogs. Do visit them and take a look, and if you like what you see why not follow them too. Maybe we can get one of them up to a century!

That Elusive Line: This is a really interesting blog that I regularly visit.

Sarwatchadda: I found this one recently and find it intriguing. These books are next on my wish list.

Moonlight And Roses: A fairly new blog but again, packed full of interesting stuff.

The Portland Sea Dragon: A new blog for a new author who has just had her first book published. Pop over and give her a warm welcome to the world of blogging.

The House of Burning Bras: I just love this blog – the anecdotes on here are simply hilarious! Go read and enjoy.

Ebony McKenna, a published writer from the Antipodes

Cate Gardner - fellow Sci Fi writer who has also been published by Hadley Rille Books

Tales from the Computer Bank: Another fellow Sci Fi writer

Discord Published

2010-09-03T15:27:00.000+01:00

First of all a special hello to anyone popping across from Karen G's blog party.

Today's the day that my 13th short story is published. This little piece of horror is in Issue 2 of Dark Valentine, so pop across and download...and next time you sit down at a piano...

http://darkvalentine.net/

Oh and do check out the fabulous illustrations that go with my story!

There are other things I'd really love to blog about only I can't say anything yet, but if you pop back over the next couple of weeks I'll have some news for you.

One Lovely Blog Award

2010-08-29T20:29:00.000+01:00

Thank you Nancy for giving me this blog award.

In turn I will nominate the following blogs, all of which I really enjoy reading. I could have nominated many more but I thought I'd keep it down to seven as that's a nice and lucky number.

So here you go - I award One Lovely Blog Award to:

That Elusive Line
The Elephant in the Writing Room
Moonlight and Roses
Alex J Cavenagh
Spellmaking
B Miller Fiction
To Stalk a Publisher

About the Agent 1-2-1

2010-08-15T21:05:00.000+01:00

In my last post about the Frome Festival Writers and Publishers day, I mentioned that I had attended an Agent 1-2-1. Well I promised to come back and tell you about it, so here I am.

This year the Frome Festival attracted three major London Agents who were offering 1-2-1s, as well as 1-2-1s with a creative writing tutor. Needless to say the Agent slots sold out very fast. This was simply too good an opportunity to miss – the chance to meet an agent face to face and get feedback on the viability and marketability of your work. I’ve also noticed that other, larger, writing conferences offer similar 1-2-1s, with many more agents to choose from. But as far as I was concerned the line-up at Frome was as good as any of them.

Agent 1-2-1s, when you’ve never experienced one, are a scary prospect. I was determined to get the most from my slot and so I researched what had happened at other conferences, reading blogs and feedback, and what I saw filled me with dread – Agents who hadn’t bothered to read the work the authors had sent in, or were rude and negative, and other such horror stories.

But I needn’t have worried. The Agents at Frome were nothing but professional. The one I saw put me at ease the moment I met her. And where else can you sit and chat about your book to someone who actually wants to listen!

Comparing notes with other writers who also had 1-2-1s at Frome all I can say is that all the Agents there were excellent. They gave astute and constructive feedback and all the authors came away invigorated and enthused – keen to go back and work on their manuscripts, some of us even with invitations to submit further down the line or send a full. A few years ago author Rachel Ward had her novel, the now bestselling ‘Numbers’ picked up at one of these Frome Festival 1-2-1s. Maybe one of the authors I spoke to will follow in her footsteps this year.

I read on the Frome Festival website that the agents were impressed by the quality of the work they had seen. All I can say is that the writers were impressed by the quality of the agents.

Guest: Yeovil Prize Organiser - Liz Pike

2010-08-08T20:43:00.000+01:00

Please Welcome Liz Pike, one of the people behind the Yeovil Prize.

Hello Kate. I am Liz Pike, the administrator of both the Yeovil Community Arts Association (YCAA) and the Yeovil Literary Prize. I’m an active member of a small group of dedicated people who give their time freely to organize these two linked endeavours.

Thank you for inviting me to do a guest blog on your website. As a past winner of the Western Gazette award for the best local writer, I know you are familiar with the international writing competition The Yeovil Literary Prize.

I’ll answer your questions with the greatest of pleasure.

1. Please could you tell us a bit about the Yeovil prize.

This truly international writing competition is now in its seventh year. It attracts entries from many countries and covers all genres. It is fairly unusual in that it has a category for novels, as well as short stories and poetry.

There are significant prizes as well as the cachet for the short-listed winners being able to add a placing onto a writer’s CV. Our judges are renowned in the literary world and give valuable advice to the winners.

Next year we have Daisy Goodwin judging the poetry category; Mark Lucas, literary agent of LAW, judging the short stories, and Katharine McMahon, who wrote Rose of Sebastopol and The Crimson Rooms will be our novel judge. 2011 looks like it will be even more successful.

Our numbers of entries are building and this year were record breaking. All profits from the Yeovil Literary Prize are ploughed back into the arts by sponsoring local talent and cultural events, via the charity Yeovil Community Arts Association.

2. How do you select the judges?

The YCAA discuss who we would like to have as our judges and I then send off an invitation to a potential judge for that particular year. I am now filling the 2012 list of judges. I currently have Louis de Bearniere judging the poetry, and Sophie Hannah judging the novels. I’m on the lookout for a good short story judge. Many writers decline as it impedes their own writing. I do keep pestering away though until someone offers to do the job!

3. As one of the judging team for the short story category please could you tell us a bit about the judging process?

There are two ways of entering the Yeovil Literary Prize, the original postal entry method, and the now very successful on-line way to enter. On-line is relatively easy to complete the entry form and paste the novel, short story or poem(s), with payment by PayPal or as a separate postal payment. Postal means that the entrant completes an entry form and sends their work and payment together.

On receiving a postal entry, all details are put onto our database. At this stage a number is allocated; the entry form is taken off and the entry is given to the judging team of each category. Therefore our decisions are always based purely on the writing of an anonymous entry.

The local judging teams read all the entries and finally bring their long lists to the table. Each entry then has a fresh pair of eyes looking at it. This year the debates as to which entries would be in the final short list were fierce. From our list we then nominate eight to go to the main competition judge. That judge will choose the first, second and third winners, making the other five Highly Commended. The other eight become our Commended. To be truthful, at this stage, I consider the entries in each category as potential winners; the standard of writing is superb.

4. You must read a lot of stories, do you notice any recurring themes?

Yes, simply because some writers use the short story, as well as the novel, to cleanse their past. Sadly, abuse of some form or another is often the theme. Writing can be very therapeutic but does the reader enjoy this type of story? If abuse is the theme of a powerfully written good story then that is good, but quite often it is not.

5. What do you look for in a story?

I think we all have personal preferences for a particular genre, but I enjoy anything as long as it is well written. By that I mean it has to involve me almost immediately, then build, therefore keeping me interested. If I find I’m reading faster, that’s good, I’m hooked. A short story still needs a plot and a theme. It may be more subtle than is found in a novel, but each story needs a good foundation to enable the characters to enthral the reader. My personal tip is to make the last line good. No reader wants to be deflated after reading what felt like a good read right up to the end. A twist in the tale or a satisfying unusual dénouement is what I usually enjoy. I always read every short story entry right to the end, not only out of respect for the writer, but to have the full benefit of that last moment.

6. How much does subject matter and genre matter?

I love reading a good short story and will happily read any genre or subject matter. As I’ve already mentioned, it has to be a complete tale with a satisfying ending to make me call something ‘a really good read’. My first encounter with the short story was H.E.Bates. I found a fat, battered old book in the library and wondered about how an author could fill a book with essays, or what exactly was it, as I flicked the pages? It was full of gems. Two of those stories were made into brilliant television productions; The Darling Buds of May and Fair Stood The Wind For France. From that first encounter I have enjoyed the short story. I bought a super book of Australian short stories whilst on holiday there, so as long as it is interesting and well written, I’ll read it.

7. Has the quality of entries increased over the years?

I would have to say a definite yes. I think there are trends or fashions in writing. Last year there were many that were obviously meant to shock the reader; heavy on foul language but light on plot and character. Having said that, it made choosing the winners a pleasure because good writing will always float to the top. This year bad language and so many obscure themes appeared less often, thank goodness. We had some cracking good reads. All the local judges commented on the extremely high standard of the entries in each of the categories. The Yeovil Literary Prize is now becoming known right across the world and quite often the ‘voice’ of the country is evident, with short stories and novels being set in new environs for the reader to enjoy.

8. Have there been many Yeovil Prize success stories?

Our 2005 winner, Sophie Duffy found her agent as a result of winning the Yeovil Prize.

Locally, as a member of the Yeovil Cre8ive Writers, I’m proud to see that the writers who have entered in the past have achieved such a lot of success. Our current star of the literary world (as far as the Yeovil Cre8ive Writers are concerned) is Jackie Gingell. Two years ago Jackie gained a Highly Commended for her first novel Ee Aye Addeo (the farmer wants a wife) in the Yeovil Literary Prize. This encouraged Jackie to send it off to an Agent. The end of the story is that she was published last March and is currently the No 1 bestseller in our local Waterstone’s.

But there must be many more out there, with writers owing something to the Yeovil Literary Prize writing competition. I would love to have more feedback from our prize winners.

I hope you will continue to enter for many years to come Kate. Thank you for asking me to do this ‘blog’; it was a pleasure.

Thank you Liz. You can find out all about the Yeovil Prize HERE, and about the Yeovil Community Arts Association HERE.

The Smugglers Cave

2010-07-29T08:22:00.000+01:00

I took the kids rockhopping over to the Smugglers Cave. It looks like no more than a crack in the cliff face from a distance, but when we slipped inside we found this tunnel, hewn into the solid rock.

t was very dark and we scrambled and bumped our way over the boulders with only our torches to light our way.

After a while the tunnel took a 90 Deg turn and suddenly ended at this shaft.

I told the kids that this was where the smugglers brought their booty ashore and stored it. The people in the house at the top of the shaft were in on it and used to use the shaft to bring the contraband to the surface on dark stormy nights when there was nobody about to watch their illegal activities. There they would load it onto carts to take to the mainland. And they never got caught ... until one day a young girl.....

I think that's much more exciting than being a service tunnel for the old pump that was used to supply water to the naval base, don't you?

Guest Author: David Bridger.

2010-07-20T20:09:00.000+01:00

Please welcome today’s guest, David Bridger. David’s debut novella ‘Beauty and the Bastard’ has just been released as an e-book from Liquid Silver Books

Hello David, Welcome to the Scribbling SeaSerpent.

Thank you for inviting me to the Scribbling Serpent, Kate. It's a pleasure to be here.

Please could you tell us a bit about ‘Beauty and the Bastard’?

Beauty and the Bastard is a paranormal romance novella about a dangerous love in dangerous times, involving a tortured fallen angel who works as a bounty hunter for powerful urban demon families, and the modern-day demon princess he is hired to protect when those who mean her harm get too close for comfort.

What draws you to Paranormal Romance?

I love paranormal romance, and her brother genre urban fantasy, for their dark and delicious danger. I love the battered and bruised characters who strive to find light in the darkness against all odds and most people's better judgement. And I love the coolness of it all. These are very cool genres.

The e-book market is fairly new. How do you see it evolving?

The ease of self-publishing via ebooks and POD has exploded the potential for every man and his dog to put their stuff out there. But I honestly don't believe this huge wave of self-published (and largely unedited, and therefore quite often rubbish) books will pose any threat to anyone. I don't think it will do much of anything, really, except just sit there.

The only authors who will thrive in that medium are the ones who would thrive anyway - or who are already thriving. Good writers, in other words, many of whom are already published and who are extending their reach via self-publishing.

Professionally published ebooks come from two different segments of the industry.

There are the ebook-first ones, such as those from a small group of well-established and very succesful epublishers of the various romance sub-genres. My publisher is one of them. In my opinion, these guys have it sussed. Their authors and readers are respected, well-treated and happy, and who can ask for more than that?

Then there are the traditional publishers who are trying to muscle in on the ebook market, mostly through fear. Their sweaty desperation is clear to see, and they're throwing their weight around the same way they always have. If they had any common sense and really wanted to learn how to succeed in the electronic market, they would study how dedicated epublishers go about their business. But I won't hold my breath on that one.

Do you need to buy and e-book reader in order to enjoy an e-book?

No. I don't have one, but that doesn't stop me from buying about 50% of the books I read from epublishers. I'm quite comfortable reading on my PC screen, actually, and I use my netbook as an ereader when I want to take a proper break from the computer.

So how does it feel to be published?

Absolutely bloody brilliant!

Honestly, I'm over the moon. I was about to trot out the "words fail me" phrase just then, but that's even less true right now than it usually is. So I'll dam the enthusiastic river and just say: it's wonderful.

Can you tell us about your journey to publication?

I always wanted to writing novels when I came home from sea eventually, but I didn't expect that homecoming to happen traumatically and in my early thirties. I was badly injured and it took me several years to regain movement and mobility. Learning how to write novels helped me stay sane during that long process.

And once I thought I'd cracked the creative learning bit, when my first novel was complete and I thought I was ready to start learning the business side of writing, that's when I really started to learn.

Joining a good writing community was an invaluable step in the right direction at that point, as was finding and joining other communities along the way and, later again, teaming up with my wonderful crit partners. Without those most excellent people, I'd still be stumbling around in the wilderness.

So what else do you have in the pipeline?

I'm writing another paranormal romance at the moment. It's set in the same world as Beauty and the Bastard, but features a new cast of characters. I love it!

Thankyou David for stopping by. And you can buy Beauty and the Bastard here.

http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com/books/beautyandthebastard.htm

What Happened at Frome

2010-07-12T18:40:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I attended the Words at Frome Writers and Publishers Day at the Frome Library. It was the first time I had attended on of these events and it was a fascinating experience – I talked to some interesting people and learned quite a bit along the way.

Anyway, I thought I would share some of my experiences with you.

Well Frome is quite a trek for me to get to – there’s no easy route, so it was a good thing I hadn’t already bought a ticket for the first talk because I would have missed most of it. Still, chilling out after the long drive in the sunshine with a coffee was rather pleasant and everyone there seemed to be very friendly.

A group of self published authors were setting up a stall nearby and it wasn’t long before I was chatting to them. Now I don’t buy self published books as a matter of principle. I’m sure there are some good ones out there but when I’ve bought one in the past (usually more to be polite because I know the person) I’ve always been disappointed and I don’t think I’ve ever finished one.

So these guys kept telling me about their books and handing them to me and I kept putting them back down, After a while one of them frowned at me and said:

“You’re not going to buy anything are you?”

To which I’m afraid my answer was “No.” But all credit to them they took it in good heart and were an interesting bunch of people to talk to.

Then I managed to hook up with a couple of people I do know. Well, one person I know in real life from my real life writers group and the other a friend from Cyberspace – Journeygirl from Litopia. It can be strange meeting up with other Litopians – staring at someone wondering if they fit the description they’ve given you, but for some reason we recognised each other the moment our eyes met. And she’s a scientist too!! Yay – let’s hear it for women in science!

But I digress. Back to the festival:

I attended two talks.

The first was the short story prize giving, which I went along to with my writing group buddy. The overview of the stories was very interesting, but two things stood out immediately. First the fact that a number of the shortlisted stories had been sent off to women’s magazines and the second was when the lady giving the summary went through her pet hates in a short story – you know the sort of stuff – telling not showing, inconsistent POV, bad grammar and spelling and Science Fiction.

Yup, you heard me. SF was on the pet hates list.

When she said that my friend and I rolled our eyes and looked at each other. Oh dear. Well at least we now know why our entries didn’t get anywhere.

In fact all the shortlisted stories were very much in the women’s fiction genre, and I also noticed that there wasn’t a single man amongst the finalists!

I think that’s really quite telling!

Since I don’t write women’s fiction I don’t think I’ll enter this one again.

The second talk was on how to get an Agent for your Children’s Book given by – yes – you guessed – an Agent. It was an excellent talk packed with useful advice. I sat there, frantically scribbling notes (and noticed the woman beside me was doing the same.) I just hope I can read my own handwriting.

And of course, I had a 1:2:1 with said Literary Agent. But I’ll tell you all about that next time.

So all in all, my first foray to one of these events was an excellent experience –. I was quite nervous but everyone was so welcoming. Bring on the next one! I’ll be there.

And if you’ve never ventured to one of these yourself then do it! You won’t regret it!

Analysis: The Thieves of Ostia by Caroline Lawrence

2010-07-05T20:06:00.000+01:00

This is the first novel in the Roman Mysteries series. I picked it up in an offer in Waterstones and gave it to my daughter to read since they were doing the Romans in school at that time.

She devoured it, worked her way through all the subsequent stories that were published, and then waited eagerly for each new volume to appear dragging me into town so that I could buy it for her. So I thought I’d better read one of them to find out what it was that gave them their appeal. Actually I’ve read a few of them because they’re really rather good, but I’m just going to concentrate on the first one here.

This is a wonderful book that really brings Ancient Rome to life – you can almost taste the figs and smell the dusty streets. And it’s a good story – an adventure mystery set in the ancient world.

But what I think gives this book its appeal is the characters. We have Flavia, a well bred Roman girl, her slave Nubia, Jonathan the Jewish boy next door (who is really a Christian) and Lupus the deaf mute beggar boy. These are a group of characters that are really well drawn and authentic, that the reader really empathises with and cares about. They have great depth and each of them reflects an aspect of Roman society. They drive the story forwards and when the novel ends you don’t want to leave them.

My analysis: Engaging Characters

http://www.romanmysteries.com/pages/50-Home_Page

Sale to Dark Valentine

2010-06-28T18:55:00.000+01:00

I've just heard that my short story 'Discord' has been accepted for publication in the Autumn issue of Dark Valentine. This is a fairly new zine - a free pdf download. I've just been taking a look at Issue 1 - some great stories and some fabulous illustrations to go with them.

So if you like your fiction good and scary then head over there - right away!

http://darkvalentine.net/

I think this is a great home for 'Discord' and it will bring my tally of short stories published in 2010 to 5.

Off now to celebrate!

Flash Fiction on the Wasted Blog

2010-06-20T20:28:00.000+01:00

Nicola Morgan has just posted the results of her flash fiction competition over on the wasted blog.

Check them out here...

I'm really pleased to tell you that mine made the shortlist - and considering the standard of the pieces I've just read over there that's quite an achievement - they're all really good and the winners deservidly so. I'm really impressed with the standard of the juvenile entries too - there are some really talented budding writers out there!

Anyway I suggest you pop over and take a look.

Analysis: Frozen in Time by Ali Sparkes

2010-06-18T09:18:00.000+01:00

My daughter thrust this book into my hands one morning.

“Mum, you’ve got to read this – it’s really gripping – it won the Blue Peter award for book you can’t put down,” she said, as she dashed off to catch the school bus.

In fact she’d been up half the night reading it. So there has to be something about this book that makes it so special.

I read it, and she was right. It is really gripping. The question is, why?

I think there are a number of reasons that this book works so well.

The obvious ones are pacing, Ali manages to get this just right, and tension - the slow build up of the unanswered questions and suspicious characters – both of which draw the reader towards the story’s thrilling climax. It has all the elements of a good thriller – a brilliant scientist – cryogenics – government conspiracy – Russian spies and the underlying mysterious disappearance to cap it all!

But in my opinion what makes this book special is the underlying killer concept.

Kids these days love Enid Blyton just as much as they did 60 years ago. I loved them and my kids love them. Go into any bookshop and you’ll see at least one entire shelf dedicated to the likes of the Famous Five and the Secret Seven.

So to take two kids from the fifties, who might have walked straight out of these books, and transplant them into the 21st Century is going to be good. We’re familiar enough with the era (thanks to Enid) to enjoy their reaction to our modern world, and this brings in some lovely touches of humour which balance the tension so very well. And conversely we have the reaction of the modern kids to the old 50s equipment and attitudes.

And it is this combination of the old meets the new that, in my opinion, really gives this book its edge.

So in a nutshell, my analysis of this one is: Killer Concept.

http://www.alisparkes.com/

The Books my Children Love

2010-06-08T20:38:00.000+01:00

I’ve been reading a lot of children’s literature these past few years. I started off, like most parents, reading to my kids, rediscovering the old favourites and discovering new ones along the way. Then as the kids began to read for themselves I started to read what they were reading – just to monitor – oh who am I kidding – it’s because there are some really good stories out there and I simply couldn’t help myself!!

And of course, since I find myself increasingly drawn towards writing for a younger audience, I’m reading them as a writer - curious to see what I can learn from these other writer’s success.

So it seems appropriate for me to start to review some of the books I’ve been pinching off my kids – the ones they can’t put down – asking the question ‘what makes them work so well?’ and trying to answer it from a writer’s perspective.

I’ll be posting these analyses on this blog, so keep an eye out for them. But I’m also going to look at some of the books that they didn’t get on with, and try to work out why they stopped reading where they did, and what we, as writers, can learn from that!

MUSE is Here!

2010-05-24T21:13:00.000+01:00

The moment has come – the much anticipated new quarterly e-zine MUSE, from the Litopia Writers Colony, has arrived.

Download it here for free.

You won’t be disappointed.

The first issue is themed ‘Beginnings’ and has a genre focus on Crime. Inside you will find all sorts of exciting things – interviews with big name authors such as Bernard Cornwell and MG Harris, articles about writing, including the Seven Deadly sins of crime Writing, by Michael O’Byrne, and even a writing agony column with the straight talking Granny Bates. Not to mention original fiction and reviews as well.

And in fact one of these fiction spots is my first foray into crime – a short story called ‘Starting Over’.

So download you free copy now and enjoy!

SF Short Story now Online

2010-05-16T17:50:00.000+01:00

My latest published Science Fiction short story is now online over at The Absent Willow Review. It is called 'The Sea and The Sky' and you can read it here.

Enjoy.

Guest: Nicola Morgan

2010-05-14T08:42:00.000+01:00

Today Nicola Morgan, author of the fabulous novel Wasted, has agreed to stop by and answer some questions as part of the 'Talk About Wasted' Blog Tour.

Wasted is all about luck and chance and how one small event can have vast ramifications. What was it that first drew you to this theme?

A small event, actually! One day, I'd travelled from Edinburgh to London to do my very first speaking event. After the event, I was feeling weird, very hyper, my thoughts darting everywhere, but also in a world of my own. I made a sudden, unexplainable decision to go on a different tube journey from the obvious one. On that journey, in Charing Cross station, I bumped into a friend from Edinburgh - hundreds of miles from home. It was a coincidence but not significant at all - our lives didn't change. Except that, actually, mine did, because it made me think: how many times do people nearly but not quite have chance encounters? What if you were God and you could map all the particles and people and watch them all buzzing about and sometimes meeting but usually missing each other? Then I began to read about quantum physics and Wasted began to grow. I started to write it all those years ago, but "stuff happened" and other books got in the way. But Wasted is the book I've been wanting to write for about 15 years. I didn't know if it would work so I decided I would begin to write it without a contract, until I was sure. When I was sure, I sent what I'd done to my agent and editor and vowed that if they didn't like it, I had to write it anyway, for me. They loved it, in a very exciting way.

What does Schrodinger’s cat mean to you?

In some ways it's where fiction and science merge, because in fiction we ask people to believe made-up things. We ask them to bury themselves in a "what if?" scenario. And the Schrodinger's Cat paradox asks scientists to do the same. It poses an "impossible" state - that two opposites are simultaneously true, that the cat is both dead and alive and neither dead nor alive and that nothing is real until it is observed. At least fiction makes sense! Also, it makes me very glad that I'm not a scientist....

I was fascinated by the way Jess was moved by the colours of the music. Could you say a bit more about this blending of the senses.

My first published novel, Mondays are Red, was about a boy with synaesthesia - where the senses overlap, so Luke experiences colour when he hears sound, for example. This is a fairly rare experience, but not as rare as people think. I don't have it but I have discovered that nearly everyone can access these experiences, using our collective imagination. For example, if I ask a group of people (as I often do in school-talks!) whether they think that a cello sound would be pale yellow/lime, or bright orange/red, or dark purple / brown, over 95% will say the last option. When writers know this, they can use it to enrich their writing. However, I don't do it deliberately - these are just the ways I naturally describe things. We all do it to an extent: we talk about someone having a smooth or warm voice, for example - but smooth is about texture and warm is about temperature: what's that got to do with sounds??? But we think like this naturally. My editor used to try to stop me doing this - she said I should keep that for Mondays are Red, but I said, "No, this is me, it's my way of describing things, and people understand." And they do! People tell me all the time that they relate to it even if they don't have synaesthesia. My editor didn't even bother to stop me when I used it for Jess and how she experiences music! (By the way, I'm not a musician or a singer so this was entirely imaginary, but I could easily imagine feeling like this if I was a singer.)

As an aspiring writer myself I would be interested to know how much you feel luck plays a part in achieving our aims or whether we can make our own luck.

As Jack says in Wasted, "Luck is just what we call it." I think we very largely make our own luck. Terrible things happen to people through no fault of their own, and sometimes good things happen to those who don't deserve it, but I believe that there are lots of ways of maximising our chances in all aspects of life. With trying to be published, there are right things to do and wrong things. The more right things you do, the more likely you are to be "lucky". For example, a lucky meeting is not likely to happen if you don't take steps to meet people! But the biggest luck is actually something you can't control: whether you have talent. Everything else is in our power: the hard work, listening to the right people, learning from mistakes, not giving up, not being bitter - all these things we can do for ourselves. Then luck will follow.

How much did luck have to do with your own journey to publication?

It didn't feel very lucky! 21 years feels very unlucky indeed, to be frank. I was doing all the wrong things, so I'm not sure how luck could have helped me. After all, you get published in the end because you write the right book and send it to the right person at the right time. Apparently, I was writing beautiful words but not in the right book! But, I think the luckiest thing was "choosing" my agent. I'd almost signed up with another one, but then she became ill and decided not to take anyone else. So I went through the list in the Writers' and Artists' yearbook and picked the name Elizabeth Roy because I like the name Elizabeth and she said she specialised in children's books. She didn't have an email address listed so I wrote a letter. I also found another one (not called Elizabeth!) and approached her too, by email. That one should have replied first, but actually Elizabeth did - she phoned me immediately. Just after I'd finished speaking to her, the other one emailed and said she was interested too. Of course, I've no idea what the second one would have been like but I couldn't be more pleased than I am with Elizabeth. That was luck.

Do you ever play Jack’s game yourself?

No! I couldn't give up control to a coin - I am actually a control freak. Seriously. Ask anyone who knows me!

Thank you Nicola for answering my questions. I wish you every success with Wasted.

You can find out more about Wasted at : http://www.talkaboutwasted.blogspot.com/ And visit Nicola's wonderful blog Help I need a Publisher which offers superb advice for the aspiring writer. http://helpineedapublisher.blogspot.com/

Face to Face with an Agent

2010-05-11T19:03:00.000+01:00

Every so often I spot Literary Agents offering 1-2-1 sessions at literary festivals. I’ve often wondered what these entail. Are they slots in which you get to pitch your work, or are they more like writing surgeries where the Agent will critique your submission?

I’ve no idea – but I’m going to find out.

I’ve just booked myself a 20 minute slot with a major London Agent at the forthcoming Frome Festival. I’ve popped my sample chapter in the post, and now I’m wondering what I’ve let myself in for.

I’ll certainly be back here to blog all about it after the event, but in the meantime has anyone else done one of these?

If you have do please comment below and let me know what happened. I’m ever so curious.

'Return to Athelnay' Published!

2010-05-02T15:48:00.000+01:00

My fantasy short story, 'Return to Athelnay', has just gone online over at Sorcerous Signals. You can find the current issue with it in here.

Do pop over and have a read, and if you like it enough give it a vote in the readers poll.

I hope you enjoy it... and to some of you the location might be a familiar one...

Jumping Ahead

2010-04-29T11:46:00.000+01:00

Now here’s something not everyone knows –

A novel does not need to be written in sequence.

Some of you blog readers will now be thinking – “But that’s so obvious – I write my novels piecemeal and then slot it all together at the end.” And that’s fine.

But not everyone writes that way. Others begin at the beginning and keep on going until they get to the end. This is the method I prefer. But occasionally, with this method, you can run into problems.

You get bogged down in a scene. You can see where you want to go – Point B, from where the next part of the story stretches out before you like a vast plain, waiting, begging to be written. But there’s a problem, there’s a range of mountains in the way and you're lost among their peaks - Point A. There is a pass through from A to B but for now you can’t see it.

I’ve also heard of this stage referred to as ‘plodding’, plodding up that mountain, bogged down in mud, when all you want is to be racing towards that wide open plain and the rest of your story.

So what do you do when you reach such an impasse?

It’s really very simple. You are at Point A, you want to get to point B.

What’s stopping you?

Nothing.

Just jump ahead. Jump ahead to where you want to be – Point B, looking down on those wide exciting rivers and forests and carry on from there. Forget about the mire and mountains for now. You can come back to them later.

And from the other side you’ll probably find that elusive mountain pass much easier to spot.

Review: Wasted by Nicola Morgan

2010-04-20T19:46:00.000+01:00

Nicola Morgan’s new book, Wasted, is due to be published on the 3rd May, but, since I have agreed to participate in her promotional blog tour, I was fortunate enough to be sent an advance copy.

This book is excellent, innovative and gripping. It’s a story of love and chance. How small changes and choices can have massive ramifications.

The main characters are well drawn and engaging and I felt a strong empathy with them, even the ones I wasn’t meant to like. I’d almost forgotten what it was like to be seventeen.

I was intrigued by Nicola’s skilful use of POV, both Jack’s and Jess’s as well as a third, omniscient POV, one which I’ve always been told to avoid. Yet Nicola uses it to great effect, the omniscient POV sections serving to ramp up the tension. It’s a perfect example of how, in the right hands, the rules can be bent to dramatic effect.

The tension never lets up either. This is a real page turner. I read it over the Easter holidays when the kids were at home and finding a suitably long chunk of time to sit down and read it from cover to cover simply wasn’t going to happen. But I found the book eating away at me, creeping into my thoughts, and I ended up sneaking away whenever I could for another chapter, another fix.

And at the end, the final toss of a coin – the final choice. I almost couldn’t bear to do it! Stunning.

I threw tails.

I can't recommend this book strongly enough. It's one of the best reads I've had in ages. And look out for Nicola’s guest appearance here in May.

Oooh - some lovely blog awards!

2010-04-14T20:02:00.000+01:00

Oh look, I've been given a couple of blog awards. Thank you Christine and Sandra.

This first one is from Christine and I in turn nominate the following blogs:

The House of Burning bras
Reading Writing Learning
The Elephant in the Writing Room
Musings on a small life
Agenhood and Submissionville

This one, from Christine is such a lovely girly pink that I'm just going to have to give it to some blokes. So I hereby nominate:

The Witching Hour
That Elusive Line
Spellmaking
Lee Moans Steam Powered Typewriter
Huw Langridge

Coming Soon!

2010-04-07T20:26:00.000+01:00

Muse!

The brand new Litopia e-zine Muse will be making its debut soon, and guess what - it's going to have one of my short stories in it!

So watch this space.....

And that's not all - there are more exciting things going on over at Litopia with the imminent launch of Litopia Radio.

And since we are talking of things that are coming up soon let me draw your attention to 'Wasted' the new book by Nicola Morgan - and mine is one of the blogs that she will be visiting during her blog tour in May.

So stick around - interesting things are happening.

Oh, and I finished the first draft of WWRW too.

Natasha Solomon's Book Launch

2010-03-29T18:39:00.000+01:00

On Saturday we headed inland for the launch of Natasha Solomon's novel 'Mr Rosemblum's List'. I have been following Natasha's blog for some time now and it was lovely to finally meet her in person.

The village hall was all decked out with bunting, and cream teas were being scoffed. Natasha read from her book - a piece describing the very hall we were all sitting in.

And we even spotted a wooly pig (but for some reason blogger has decided not to let me upload the picture I took of it!!)

As for the book I bought - I'm really enjoying it!

Short Story Sale

2010-03-18T08:07:00.000Z

Another short story sale to The Absent Willow Review!

This one, a Sci Fi tale called The Sea and The Sky will be going live in May and is my second story to find a home with this market.