Back off our hols
We had a fantastic three weeks off work. We went camping for only two of them, but we were determined to have a break from everything else as well, and…
Diary of a Novel: the killer
I had a lot of fun working on my killer this week. Wednesday was the day I did this work, and I didn’t even reach the end of the chapter…
Book review: The Quartet Murders
This feature is in association with NetGalley. The Quartet Murders, JR Ellis Thanks to NetGalley and to Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of The Quartet Murders by JR…
Diary of a Novel: the victim
Details of the victim have been percolating in the back of my mind this week, while I did other stuff. When I finally came to sit down and write the…
To defect or not?
I have been a Windows gal for as long as we’ve been using Windows. I remember when the first Microsoft products started to come out. I started off on WordStar…
Diary of a Novel: the sleuth
I didn’t get very much work done on the novel at the weekend as we did shopping and gardening on Saturday, the poet had a gig Saturday night, and we…
My legs are screaming
We finally caught up on “I is for …” yesterday, for the alphabet adventurers. It’s been a long time coming – 6 months since our last outing – and, boy,…
Diary of a Novel: Great beginnings
I didn’t do any more work on the novel on Tuesday, so I wrote the grand total of 197 words, bringing my running total to 464. Instead, I carried on…
Diary of a Novel: 2 April 2019
Having abandoned – temporarily – Catch the Rainbow, yesterday I started work on The Beast Within: a Marcie Craig mystery. Marcie Craig is the main protagonist and amateur sleuth in…
“Orbiting” projects
Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply to last week’s post – here, on Facebook and elsewhere. The general consensus is that I finish the book and, on…
What took them so long?
*** AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION REQUESTED *** For the past four weeks there has been an inquest into the Birmingham pub bombings of 1974. Much of my book, Catch the Rainbow, was…
Cutting your losses
After much hand-wringing and some discussion with friends and colleagues, I made a tough decision and sent a particularly heavy edit back to the author yesterday. It was taking me…
Chicken rustling
I had a relatively productive day yesterday. I stuck to my schedule and kept on top of the household chores. I did some writing work, a blog post, and some…
Starting a new editing job
I didn’t have chance to do any writing on Thursday evening, as the poet had band practice and I had to do the shopping. So we had a quick tea,…
Book review: The Mistress of Pennington’s
This feature is in association with NetGalley. The Mistress of Pennington’s, Rachel Brimble Thanks to NetGalley and to Aria for an advance copy of The Mistress of Pennington’s by Rachel…
Still windy, still working offline
We had a relatively still night. When the wind drops, it’s actually fairly mild – currently around 11 degrees Centigrade, but with plenty of sunshine during the day. However, at…
Writing without power or internet
We’re in the midst of another massive storm here in the UK and my internet connection keeps blowing out – on the phone and on the broadband. Fortunately, I can…
Fitting my own work in somewhere …
We had another long weekend, this time for my birthday. And this time, it was more of a chilled, relaxing time. We saw the poet’s mum on Friday evening, and…
Book review: The Body in the Dales
This feature is in association with NetGalley. The Body in the Dales, J R Ellis Thanks to NetGalley and to Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of The Body…
More lovely publicity
The Cadbury book has certainly stirred up some interest. Not only did I get a photo-splash in the Daily Mail, but after I posted last time, the Daily Telegraph also…
Timing
I was feeling overwhelmed last week, and started to steadily work through my outstanding piles of work. One of the jobs I did was send out a book proposal on…
Getting out of the doldrums
I was feeling a tad overwhelmed this time last week when I posted about the various piles of work I had. But sorting them out and discussing it with the…
Getting organised – so many piles of work!
Today I thought it might be a good idea to get myself organised. I have so many different projects on the go, it was time to weed some out. But…
My (new) fat year: weeks 2 & 3
The more reading and research I do, the more I realise that losing weight shouldn’t be the main objective. Plus, my doctor assures me that I’m not worryingly overweight. However,…
Hard copy versus electronic copy proofreading
I don’t normally edit or proofread on screen. I find I miss things and, anyway, reading hard copy exercises different eye muscles (apparently). So I usually print my editing and…
A distraction-free week
I’ve had a very busy week, but it’s been a good one. I’ve been working at a desk in the corner of the living room away from distractions on the…
52 books in 52 weeks: Save the Cat! Writes a Novel
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 44. Save the Cat! has been the last book on screenwriting that…
Week 1 didn’t go well
I started the year with great plans to catch up with the backlog and crack on with new stuff. (Wow, I got a dropped capital.) (Hmm, not sure if I…
New Year, New Start
Welcome to a shiny new year. What are your plans for the coming months? We had a decent, relaxing holiday, with a very busy first half and a very lazy…
Have a very merry Christmas and a wonderful new year!
It’s been a fair week where I’ve finally organised myself and my work again. I’ve managed to write at least one blog post a day, and on Thursday I spent…
