Booze cruise…
Lest you think I’m a wine soak, I really must say I’m not. I can barely manage two glasses of wine in a day before I get sleepy and of no use to anyone.
Lest you think I’m a wine soak, I really must say I’m not. I can barely manage two glasses of wine in a day before I get sleepy and of no use to anyone.
What a week it has been in writing!
Not only have I reached the 10,000 word mark with Tobias, but Gisborne: Book of Pawns was awarded a gold medallion from the Book Readers’ Appreciation Group (B.R.A.G) in the USA.
And today, that same book received an Honourable Mention medallion from the prestigious Readers’ Favorite Book Awards 2014, for Historical Fiction.
Some days are a test. Today was one such. Nothing bad – just nuisance value and one of those days when I curse the Fates for not playing the game my way. But my way is a selfish way, I suppose. And nothing good ever comes of being selfish, does it?
So there I was, bemoaning life, eating far too much dark chocolate and having my second glass of wine, and my email ‘bing-ed’…
I’m sure I’ve written before about a creative partnership between myself and Bopress Miniature Books – where I’m contracted to write a short story which is then printed, illustrated and bespoke-bound, to be offered as a limited edition to miniature book-collectors.
It’s a unique partnership and one of which I’m immensely proud. Bopress’s work sings to me in so many ways – not least of which is the sheer grit, determination and artistry of the press.
As the day rapidly approaches for the launch of Gisborne: Book of Kings,
(to e-book in the first instance, and then print) this is how the days progress.
My chapters return from my editor in the UK in blocks of three. I make the necessary changes and save them to my master file. I have been so very lucky to date with this book – so far there have only been line-edits, no major structurals where I need to re-write pages. I don’t know if this is due to the fact that I wrote the book very slowly and really gave it a hard edit between each chapter as I transcribed from paper to computer. Plus another hard edit before I sent it to the editor. I do remember scrapping whole paras and pages as I wrote, until it flowed the way I wanted. So here’s hoping for the rest – yes, I am holding my breath.
In between editing Kings, I’m writing a little 6000 word story on a troubadour called Flori de Mazanet…
I met my current guest a number of years ago – not many months after we had both decided to move into independent writing and publishing. We connected because at that time, there weren’t a lot of Australians treading the independent path and the friendship has seen much laughter and happiness as we share in each other’s successes.
I was asked by historical fiction writer Ann Swinfen to be part of a Writing Process Blog Tour this week. Ann is a superbly elegant writer of literary and historical fiction. Formally a mainstream writer, she has now taken her backlist to the writing public independently and added to it with Flood, a stunning book on the politics of humanity in the 17th century Fens and with The Testament of Mariam which is a sensitively handled novel, poignant and crafted, about Jesus’s sister. You can read about Ann’s writing process here. http://www.annswinfen.com/column
Currently beside my bed, I have this little pile of books.
I am about to read Ann Swinfen’s new book, Flood, an exciting revelatory novel set in the seventeenth century Fens. She is releasing it next week and kindly send me an early e-copy. Ann has had a laudatory career as a women’s literary fiction writer with an excellent backlist to her credit. Recently she has taken her backlist and re-published through Shakenoak Press and I can tell you, if Flood is anything like her previous books it will be the most perfect read.
Earlier this month, Joanna Penn wrote a blog post on the need for a writer to have a solid mission statement. I gave this some hard thought and have answered the questions she posed.
Question 1: What do you do?
Driving to a beach down the road from House the other day, we met a mob of sheep being shifted to fresh pasture.
This grazing property is my all time favourite. If I won a lottery and the owners would sell, I would buy it yesterday (that’s not to say I don’t love our own farm with it’s wonderful old stone barn and ruins of stables, bakehouse, smithy’s and more).