Domestic Goddess? Nooo…
What does a writer do when she’s finished the book she’s writing and is waiting for the edits to begin?
Firstly she celebrates by walking on the beach.
And thinks about the man who inspired the saga.
What does a writer do when she’s finished the book she’s writing and is waiting for the edits to begin?
Firstly she celebrates by walking on the beach.
And thinks about the man who inspired the saga.
The cover for the second book in The Gisborne Saga was launched this week.
I was always a fan of the BBC’s Robin Hood and after they had brought Gisborne to his ugly demise, I wondered what would have happened to him had his cards fallen another way. The idea took shape and I decided to write about a different Guy of Gisborne entirely, far from the original canon of the Robin Hood legend. Despite the fact that the saga is still situated within the twelfth century, there is no Robin Hood in the story, no Maid Marian and no Sheriff of Nottingham. It was a risk, but with the support of readers, it is gaining traction. The interest of members of the Armitage Army – a phenomenal group of Richard Armitage fans – has been a huge motivation because they firmly hold the view that Gisborne is ‘So Not Dead’!
I garden for the love of it. It’s a form of organic meditation. Worries become smaller within the scope of the outdoors and there is the tremendous reassurance that life is solid and strong and that good things come again and again. And in between 84,000 words here and 90,000 words there, it’s a regular part of life…
Last week, was at the 90,000 word mark for Book of Knights. Was thrilled to have reached that point, only two chapters to go. It’s the moment when you can see the finish line and you get ready to run, you are part of the story, you ARE your characters and you feel breathless at what will eventuate.
The shears were clicking today. If you listened to the song, it will require a whole other post from me to translate the different Aussie terms used, so we might leave that for another time. Suffice to say it’s an iconic tune that sums up the agricultural history of Australia beautifully.
Today, I received this email:
“Dear Prue Batten,
Because your book, A Thousand Glass Flowers, received the high review rating of a 4 star or better, it has continued to the second, public voting phase for the 2012, RONE Awards. In this phase the readers will be narrowing down the contestants to 4 – 6 finalists in each genre by choosing the books they love best.
Bearing in mind that Richard Armitage
is far too busy filming the last of Oakenshield’s role in The Hobbit to make himself available for a cover shoot for Gisborne: Book of Knights, I have had to find others who might conceivably take his place.
Driving along the highway to House today, I was listening to a song by Nick Hornby and Ben Folds.
The first two verses are so pertinent.
Charles Dickens created 13,000 characters in his life. So I decided to count up the characters in my books.
My debut historical fiction novel, Gisborne: Book of Pawns (Darlington Press 2012), has been nominated for the RONE Book Award for excellence in pre medieval historical fiction.
RONE Award?
Rone stands for Romantic Novel of Excellence – a nice sounding title! And how wonderful it would be to be able to have the tag applied to one’s book!
It’s nearly the beginning of winter. Another month-ish.
Today it was 26 degrees at the farm, 78 degrees Fahrenheit. And I am back in shorts and a polo shirt. The wind is howling and we have a bushfire close by. Another one – nearly in winter!