23/4/2014 Book number five ...I know, I know...
I am still working on the editing of Book number two, I have written only one chapter of Book number three and I haven't really done any work at all on Book number four... And then up pops the idea for Book number five! After an animated conversation in the car with Matt ArtPix - those pesky creative couples, always bouncing ideas off each other all the time! - whilst on our way back from Devon, here's what I have come up with: a Hound of The Baskervilles-inspired vintage mystery set on moody Exmoor, with a rural detective named Barton Stacey - it is the name of a parish in Hampshire. When my partner saw it on the map, he decided here and there that it was the perfect name for a detective! I have no idea whatsoever whether I can pull it off or not. I want it to be a bit outrageous, a bit humorous (can I do humour?) and we'll have a cover inspired by vintage classic detective novels... I have my work schedule sorted for the next ten years, I think! I have just uploaded a new extract of The Book of Thoth to the BOOK'S PAGE. It is not the same one as the previous extract; I have chosen the section in which Adam and Dimitri discover Vangelis Chronos's secret laboratory... Enjoy!
1/4/2014 The dreaded synopsisI have been spending the past week or so working on various documents, writing, editing, and formatting a presentation email, a one-page author biography and a two-page full synopsis. The synopsis has taken me two whole days.
Anyone who tells me that it is super easy to write a two-page synopsis for a Gothic Novel with a word count of 138,800 is a liar! I have spent the past three years writing the book, then the past four months editing it pretty much non-stop, and I am on draft 3. I thought I knew it by heart... I don't! 14/3/2014 UpdateA lot of things are happening behind the scenes... Some good, some not so good.
I am currently working on Draft 3 of The Book of Thoth - today, musical accompaniment courtesy of Laibach; their new album, Spectre, is addictive. I am hoping to post a longer blog on here by the end of the weekend, with theatre, cinema, music and vintage fun: The Accrington Pals, Oh What a Lovely War, Laibach, Under The Skin and Classic Car Boot sale at Southbank! 1/3/2014 The Book of Thoth, draft 2 finished!Yesterday evening, I finished Draft 2 of The Book of Thoth. I've been on a mission to cut the word count, and I have ended up with 139,790 words - down from over 151,000! Still, it looks a bit long... An editor probably would pitilessly tell me to cut whole scenes, but at the moment, I do think that everything that's left is important to the story in some way. I still have a lot of work to do on this - for example, PART VI is far too long and I need to find the right place where to stop it and insert a PART V title.
I am going to leave draft 3 in the drawer for a week and get back to it a bit refreshed. I need to read it first without stopping for corrections, to get a general sense of the flow of the narrative. Then it will be back to corrections. It's funny how your brain works: now that I am on draft 3 of The Book of Thoth, it seems to have turned its attention to Book 3, The Right Place, without any prompting on my part. This morning, I woke up with an idea for the story which I had to write down immediately, as it could end up being crucial to the structure of the book. I have to admit that I am getting slightly worried about Book 3; to write it, I will need to spend quite a bit of time in Dorset and at the moment, I do not have the funds to pay for accommodation there. My intention is to apply for an Arts Council Grant; therefore, this spring, I am going to start putting my statements and budget together and hopefully, I can send my application in the summer. If I get the grant - which will not be very big, as I do not need that much money really, it will be game-changing and The Right Place could get published within two years. If I am not successful, then I would have to look at alternative ways of financing it, which I haven't really considered yet... 14/2/2014 The Book of Thoth, draft 2 updateWhen I am not wandering around London - something I will need to do a lot for Book 4 which will be set in the capital - I edit The Book of Thoth.
I am being quite ruthless and some sections are being drastically cut - I am already down to 145,000 words from 151,000, and I am about half way through the book. Draft 2 is still on schedule for early March, I am happy to say. For this book, I hope to be able to find a reader - not an editor, but someone who can spot a few things for me. I expect the typesetting to take place over July/August, so we're still on schedule for a December publication date! In the meantime, I need to make a decision about attending The London Book Fair in April. It's £30 and I would only go there for one day, but it would have to be worth it! Decisions, decisions... 31/1/2014 The Book of Thoth: a sneak preview!Matt ArtPix has been hard at work on the style sheet for The Book of Thoth.
We still have a few things to sort out, but it is looking good... I love it! More to come soon... 30/1/2014 The Book of Thoth draft 2 updateI have now completed draft 2 of parts I and II of The Book of Thoth -yes, it rained constantly last week when I was abroad and editing was a most welcome activity!
I am quite pleased with it so far, although I know that these sections the easiest ones: things are getting slightly out of hand from Part III onwards, as the story gets weirder. I aim at cutting the 151,000 words manuscript (already about 1,000 down from draft 1!) to 130,000 which still seems enormous. I guess the printing costs will go up for this one! Matt ArtPix is still full of ideas for the typesetting and things are taking shape very nicely... If we can pull it off, The Book of Thoth will be really lovely to look at! 20/1/2014 Out and aboutI am going abroad for a week to do a bit of market research for Arcane Publishing and also to (maybe) stock up on some great ephemera and second-hand books for Arcane Publishing's forthcoming vintage and antiques markets.
I will be taking draft 2 of The Book of Thoth with me as there is a hell of a lot of work to do on it... In the meantime, my partner in crime Matt ArtPix will be trying out a few typesetting ideas for The Book of Thoth. When I come back, things will get incredibly busy: draft 2 of The Book of Thoth, freelance work, preparations for our first markets, a book review to write, some gigs, art exhibitions and theatre... I wouldn't have it any other way! 15/1/2014 The Book of Thoth: charactersIn The Book of Thoth, towards the beginning of the book, there will be a page with the "cast of characters".
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