Lolly
The first hot day of the year, my first ice lolly of the season. What a delicious slurp I had.
Read more...Historical novel research
When I began writing I followed the mantra spouted by so many wise owls who guided the tyro author, “write what you know”. It was a rule that urged aspiring authors to write about their own experiences and world. Such authenticity would inevitable result in better and more distinctive writing. I believed it. I began writing modern day stories of kitchen sinks, crime and humour but never seemed to find that extra fizz that elevated the writing or the story, or indeed this author. Somehow the available palette seemed limited and the settings too parochial. I felt such a fool when it suddenly...
Read more...Writer’s peer review sites – worth the toss?
Most wannabe writers will have dipped their quills into a writer’s peer review site at some stage. It is a baptism of fire, a test of mettle, that we know we have to endure on the path to publishing glory. But why do we do it? What is it we believe such sites will do for us, or help us achieve? And when it all comes down to it are these sites worth the many midnight candles spent pouring your hopes and longings into them? The answer, of course, is yes and no. I have direct experience of participating in four peer review sites, YouWriteOn, Authonomy, ReviewFuse and the Bookshed. There are many...
Read more...Rich
I've just been notified that I have sold my first Smashwords download of The Open Arms of the Sea. $5.67 made. It is the first money I have ever earned from my writing. I feel rich.
Read more...Book
I have just received the print proof of my first published book, The Open Arms of the Sea. A real, physical book in covers and written by me. I can't quite believe it. I hold it in shaking hands. To me it is a thing of wonder.
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