25/8/2014 New writer's shackI dream of having a wonderful, small but perfectly formed writer's shack (with bathroom) by the sea in my favourite county, Dorset. Unfortunately, I'm a poor writer, and cannot afford it.
As much as I love London and the cultural opportunities it offers, I find myself more and more attracted by the quietness, the emptiness, the beauty and mystery of the countryside and repulsed by the shallowness of life in urban areas (and of what passes of "urban culture" nowadays). I am not a sociable person at all. Then I hear that my parents have gone mad and purchased a small holiday house in the mountains. Guess where I'll be writing next year? (shame it's in France and not Dorset, though). Cute, isn't it? 23/8/2014 Meet...Isaac Gulliver (1745-1822), King of Smugglers, the inspiration behind the Sinclair family in my third novel, The Right Place.
More information about him HERE and HERE. A very short update on here. I am not posting a lot these days, but this doesn't mean that nothing is happening!
Arcane Publishing is booking events where you will be able to buy copies of I Am a Muse (and hopefully from November, copies of my second novel, The Book of Thoth). I will also be selling some fab second-hand books; my stock is growing and is now really varied to cater for different tastes and ages! Please check the Arcane Publishing Blog and Events Page for regular updates! I have just finished the corrections on the first proofs of The Book of Thoth. These will be passed on to our typesetter Matt ArtPix over the next few days. TBOT should be going to print no later than mid-October and make a appearance at our November and December fairs! I am so very excited about it. In early September, I will be spending two weeks in Dorset to recharge my batteries and research my third novel, The Right Place. I hope to start work on it in earnest this autumn. I haven't posted any music/museum related blogs for a while, this is because I have been concentrating on getting The Book of Thoth edited. The culture vulture in me always does the opposite of animals and goes into hibernation during the summer to emerge from its lair, all wide-eyed and raring to go, in September. (You almost had a series of outrageous music posts, but as I have mentioned before, the Alt-Fest festival has been cancelled and therefore, our planned music binge is not happening...) But as usual in the autumn, my list of gigs and exhibitions to go to is growing by the minute, and I will be attending quite a few events between September and December, so expect regular blogs full of culture over the autumn/winter season! I also hope to add to my Book Talk series of author/publisher interviews... Watch this space! 14/5/2014 Getting ready for book 3!Today, I am sorting our my study and preparing to get started on Book 3, The Right Place. I will probably start on research and planning around mid-June, after I've finished sorting out a few admin issues... I am still thinking about the ways I could fund this release... I cannot wait to get started as it is set in one of my favourite places, Dorset... An excuse to spend more time in that wonderful county!
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get permission to print the lyrics of PJ Harvey's The Wind in the book (nobody answers... probably not interested in a small imprint!) *sigh*. Typesetting work on The Book of Thoth should start in June too... 13/5/2014 Book Talk series, number 1: Jordan ReyneI am absolutely thrilled to present to you the first in my interview series, "Book Talk".
And what a way to get started! an absolutely thrilling interview with the very talented Jordan Reyne, whose first novel, Remembering The Dead, is out now. What began as a "Book talk" became something else altogether. Really, really interesting. Subjectivity in the way we interpret history - very fitting with the current debate surrounding WW1 "celebrations" - as well as philosophy, music, the fluidity of language(s), writing, self-publishing, storytelling, surviving... It's all in there and more. Thank you Jordan for giving us such in-depth answers to my questions! READ JORDAN REYNE: REMEMBERING THE DEAD 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! 14/8/2013 Further into draft 1I have been back writing since Monday, and it feel great.
This is the first time in ages I have some "free" time to write - although for me, it's not free time. Writing is not a hobby, it is a necessity, it is work. Actually, it is the only work I really want to do and the one that is the most important. But time is incredibly precious: I only have one week. I am going away for a few days to Devon to visit some family, and then when I am back, it's back to the freelance work for a few days or a few weeks, I still don't know. But I am on a roll, writing between 800 and 1,000 words a day. I am hoping that I will not be too behind in my schedule, although I know now that the first draft will definitely not be finished for August 31st. My third novel is also taking more and more "brain space" at the moment. Everyday, I am thinking about my main character, Kat Moorhouse. She is incredibly alive and kicking; I can see her and hear her all the time, and I have a few scenes taking shape in my head. I have also spent half a day this week preparing for my reading at Shorelines, literature festival of the sea in November. I've been timing the extract, the song, and I have put together a little slide show of my best pictures of St Catherine's chapel and its surroundings, although I might take yet some more pictures when I go there in September. This visit will also (hopefully) allow me to make a few contacts and enquiries regarding the research and writing time I have scheduled for The Right Place. I need to find a place to stay, as the little cottage we always rent is near Dorchester and I still haven't started driving again (which is a real pain). Ideally, I'd like to be as close to Abbotsbury and the chapel as possible in order to soak up the atmosphere and landscape at different seasons and times of the day. I still haven't decided whether to apply for an Arts Council grant for this project... The form to fill in looks incredibly daunting... 23/7/2013 The Book of Thoth is back on track!Unexpectedly, I have had the past two days free of work and have been able to write a whole scene of over 1,200 words.
I still don't think I will be able to stick to my initial schedule - i.e. completing the first draft by August 31st - but tonight, I am allowing myself to be slightly more optimistic. In other news, I have posted a scan of the I Am a Muse review that appeared in the Village Green special edition of Level 4 Magazine in the Reviews and press section. 6/7/2013 New event! Maldon Motor showTomorrow, Sunday 7th July, I will be at the Maldon Motor Show. I will not be selling I Am a Muse - customers will get a flyer for the book! - but I will have a great range of second-hand books: cinema, entertainment, classic cars, glamourous Hollywood stars, football,... And of course, Matt ArtPix will be selling his range of vintage-inspired art (read his blog about the event HERE)!
Next week, we will be posting some news about I Am a Muse and we will start the count down to Shorelines: literature festival of the sea! After weeks of not being able to write, I have next week free to work on The Book of Thoth. Deadline for the first draft is approaching dangerously... I might have to change the publication date from summer 2014 to autumn 2014... In the next few weeks, I am hoping to start working again on the promo for I Am a Muse and Arcane Publishing... 1/7/2013 Decisions, decisions...I have just printed off the Arts Council England application form guidelines...
I now have to decide whether or not to apply for funding for The Right Place... It would be for the £15,000 or under grant; I need to spend some time in Dorset to research and write the book, and I currently cannot afford to stay there more than two weeks... It would potentially pay for the cover artwork: I would like local artist Sam Cannon to provide the illustration, as I think it would capture the feel of the area perfectly. It would also pay for the right to print the full lyrics of the PJ Harvey song The Wind at the beginning of the book - if permission is granted, of course! So in the next few days, I will be reading the guidelines very carefully and decide if I feel confident enough to apply for funding... It is a lot of work and therefore I would need to be 100% confident that I can do it as best as I can and give myself a chance... [Image at top of the blog is from HERE] |
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January 2025
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