Evening gang,
Been awhile - again. Looks like that's going to be the way of things from now, there just aren't the hours in the day.
On the plus side I've finished the new edition of The 24 Hour Jazz Café. Just the new cover to work on and then I'll launch it. Woo etc.
Struggling a bit with the editing of FEAR but only because it's quite a complex plot and I need to concentrate and I exist in a state of permanent weariness. I will, as ever, stick at it. But since I've got one eye on doing some submissions in the next month or two I might throw what time I do have at my new book, the third jazz café novel, and see how that pans out.
Side projects starting to take shape. Had a meeting with financial advisor and it turns out we have a few options regarding finance for Project Slumlord (which is the fun name we've chosen for our Buy To Let adventure). 1st step is to talk to bank on Monday and then hopefully we can crack on. One thing I have learned is that I won't be using Ratcliffe and Bibby to manage any future properties. Frig useless. It will be July on Tuesday and I am yet to receive last month's rent. I emailed them last week, no reply, rang them Thursday only to be promised someone would call me back. It's now Saturday night and nothing. So to recap - R&B estates. Crap. Feel free to show this to them, it might get them to pull their finger out. Bear in mind I am paying them for this awesome service, as well as covering the mortgagee myself since I'm not getting the rent. Good job I've got pots of cash!
Speaking of which, had tidy Birthday. Pressies from wife on way, spent the day shopping in Manchester where we did some damage. Wife got a Mulberry bag though so it's all smiles. Also got a couple of cards from work which I always find a bit odd, as well as a pressie.
Dog's driving me mental, wildly time consuming. But of course that could be fixed by working less hours - hence my drive to get Project Slumlord off the ground.
Finally, how awesome is the World Cup? One of best ones in my lifetime. Wimbledon also shaping up nicely with Federer playing great so far.
Tomorrow's plan - get a Rug Doctor to clean carpets. Dog related grime. Then wife related mooching.
It's her birthday on Monday so we're going to empty a flash bottle of champagne tomorrow night and try not to be grumpy.
Did I mention I was invited to go talk to a local writing group? I went a few weeks ago. They were all essentially concerned with how they could get their work published. I was very patient but the simple answer is to look on the internet and put in vast amounts of hours like I do. Can't see many of them putting in 18 hour days every day just to get a book out though. Bless.
Which leads me to the title of this blog. I have been pondering making these books my last ones, at least for the foreseeable future. I struggle to find time to write and when I do I'm rarely happy with the results and that's before I promote it, do this blog etc. Since plan A (quit work) isn't feasible, then the only way to have more free time is not to write. I can become another one of the millions of retired folk who then decide to be writers. Then again, I could shoot myself.
Still, Old Ma Sinclair didn't raise quitters. She raised over confident, mouthy alcoholics so we shall see. I've got two finished books to play with which will see me to the end of this year. After that....* shrugs and finishes brew*
Until next time...
Showing posts with label The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe. Show all posts
Saturday, 28 June 2014
Sunday, 1 December 2013
New book finished!
Afternoon gang,
Brief post today because it's half time on the footy.
The sequel to The 24 Hour Jazz Café is finished! Woo!
It's just over 92,000 words long and will be released in all digital formats and paperback in time for Christmas.
I'll be finishing the cover design over the next few days which I'll post here first and then the promo will begin. If I'm sneaky with my pricing and category choices I might even manage to sneak to number one in the Amazon chart for Christmas. That would be nice, even if I have to give it away to do it.
Anyway, brew time, more football etc.
Brief post today because it's half time on the footy.
The sequel to The 24 Hour Jazz Café is finished! Woo!
It's just over 92,000 words long and will be released in all digital formats and paperback in time for Christmas.
I'll be finishing the cover design over the next few days which I'll post here first and then the promo will begin. If I'm sneaky with my pricing and category choices I might even manage to sneak to number one in the Amazon chart for Christmas. That would be nice, even if I have to give it away to do it.
Anyway, brew time, more football etc.
Sunday, 20 October 2013
Ladies and gentleman...the Rolling Stones!
Evening gang,
For fifty years the world's greatest rock and roll band has been announced using the title of this post. I was watching a bit of their latest effort, the concerts they did in Hyde Park in the summer, following their triumph at Glastonbury, and after all the build up, the music, the lights, everything stops. And then...Ladies and gentleman...
Then Keith Richards appears, batters a riff and away they go.
In essence what I'm talking about here is legacy. Theirs is set. Millions of albums sold, some of the most famous songs ever written, still touring even though they should be well past being able. People will know their name a lifetime from now. People will still listen to their songs. As they will with The Beatles, Elvis etc. Just as people will still read Shakespeare, Bronte and, maybe, JK Rowling.
I'd quite like that to happen to me. That's one of the reasons I write books. I want to leave evidence that I existed. When I'm dead I like the idea that around the world people (the number yet to be determined) will have read my books and my name will be on their book shelf whether that be digital or wooden.
With that in mind I've become somewhat energised these last couple of days. I think rationalising my job issues has helped. I get paid a lot at the moment, it allows me freedom to do certain things. I even quite enjoy the job. But it's a false position, and it won't last. I've been thinking too much about what might happen afterwards and it's been getting in the way of the important stuff. Writing!
As such, with 11 short weeks to go on my contract I've decided it simply doesn't matter. My wife is in a similar position. A job has come up which, if she applies, she will likely get. The pay is pretty vast. I would only need to work part time at best and we'd still be well off. But she's not applying. Doesn't fancy the job, or the hassle and we don't need the money. So sod it! I'd rather be happy than fretting. If a job comes up in the next 11 weeks, great. If not, I'll go back to my old job, take a pay cut and spend my days writing books while keeping half an eye on the staff to make sure nothing's on fire.
So, editing on the final draft of the Jazz Café sequel is progressing well. But slowly. However, and here's the exciting bit, I have also started - last night in fact - reworking my third ever novel. I wrote it back in 2003. It's called Fear and was very, very nearly published by Transworld. Regular readers will know this because I've talked about my flirtations with big time publication before on this blog.
How did this happen? I started reading Doctor Sleep, the new Stephen King novel. On the first page he refers to FEAR in the following terms - Fuck Everything and Run. That made me think of my 2003 novel because every chapter was an acronym of the word fear, which was a challenge in itself.
So, I made a few notes last night (it may have been 3AM) and tonight I started to read the book. I've already added my notes from last night to the book and it's looking good. The plan is to edit a few pages then publish them right here on the blog, as well as to my Wattpad account which is sorely underused. Then, once complete, I'll publish the finished book in the usual way for purchase.
It's wildly exciting, to the point where I really could stay up all night doing this and happily not go to work tomorrow. Chances are I'll stay up anyway and drag myself through tomorrow. Ho hum.
In other news I've submitted my tax info to Amazon so they don't remove all my books from sale next week. I have also, finally, submitted my entry to the Telegraph Crime Competition. The website is crap so I've emailed it to them and asked them to confirm they've got it. Closing date is next month some time if you fancy it. I've submitted 5000 words of the Jazz Café. Each entry has to have an international element of some sort. Mine is the global Jazz music which forms the soundtrack to the book. Will I win? Unlikely. But one has to at least try.
The big, non work, non book news is that I transferred the money for my house fees tonight, in excess of 8 grand in the click of a button. The proposed date for completion is this Wednesday which means I will be an official property investor/speculator. Plans are already afoot for Easter when we are aiming to buy another. Surprising how motivated I become when there's the chance to make money without going to work every day.
And that's it. Dog's huge, Liverpool are doing well and I'm already planning the wife's Christmas presents. Right, I'm off, I've got books to write.
For fifty years the world's greatest rock and roll band has been announced using the title of this post. I was watching a bit of their latest effort, the concerts they did in Hyde Park in the summer, following their triumph at Glastonbury, and after all the build up, the music, the lights, everything stops. And then...Ladies and gentleman...
Then Keith Richards appears, batters a riff and away they go.
In essence what I'm talking about here is legacy. Theirs is set. Millions of albums sold, some of the most famous songs ever written, still touring even though they should be well past being able. People will know their name a lifetime from now. People will still listen to their songs. As they will with The Beatles, Elvis etc. Just as people will still read Shakespeare, Bronte and, maybe, JK Rowling.
I'd quite like that to happen to me. That's one of the reasons I write books. I want to leave evidence that I existed. When I'm dead I like the idea that around the world people (the number yet to be determined) will have read my books and my name will be on their book shelf whether that be digital or wooden.
With that in mind I've become somewhat energised these last couple of days. I think rationalising my job issues has helped. I get paid a lot at the moment, it allows me freedom to do certain things. I even quite enjoy the job. But it's a false position, and it won't last. I've been thinking too much about what might happen afterwards and it's been getting in the way of the important stuff. Writing!
As such, with 11 short weeks to go on my contract I've decided it simply doesn't matter. My wife is in a similar position. A job has come up which, if she applies, she will likely get. The pay is pretty vast. I would only need to work part time at best and we'd still be well off. But she's not applying. Doesn't fancy the job, or the hassle and we don't need the money. So sod it! I'd rather be happy than fretting. If a job comes up in the next 11 weeks, great. If not, I'll go back to my old job, take a pay cut and spend my days writing books while keeping half an eye on the staff to make sure nothing's on fire.
So, editing on the final draft of the Jazz Café sequel is progressing well. But slowly. However, and here's the exciting bit, I have also started - last night in fact - reworking my third ever novel. I wrote it back in 2003. It's called Fear and was very, very nearly published by Transworld. Regular readers will know this because I've talked about my flirtations with big time publication before on this blog.
How did this happen? I started reading Doctor Sleep, the new Stephen King novel. On the first page he refers to FEAR in the following terms - Fuck Everything and Run. That made me think of my 2003 novel because every chapter was an acronym of the word fear, which was a challenge in itself.
So, I made a few notes last night (it may have been 3AM) and tonight I started to read the book. I've already added my notes from last night to the book and it's looking good. The plan is to edit a few pages then publish them right here on the blog, as well as to my Wattpad account which is sorely underused. Then, once complete, I'll publish the finished book in the usual way for purchase.
It's wildly exciting, to the point where I really could stay up all night doing this and happily not go to work tomorrow. Chances are I'll stay up anyway and drag myself through tomorrow. Ho hum.
In other news I've submitted my tax info to Amazon so they don't remove all my books from sale next week. I have also, finally, submitted my entry to the Telegraph Crime Competition. The website is crap so I've emailed it to them and asked them to confirm they've got it. Closing date is next month some time if you fancy it. I've submitted 5000 words of the Jazz Café. Each entry has to have an international element of some sort. Mine is the global Jazz music which forms the soundtrack to the book. Will I win? Unlikely. But one has to at least try.
The big, non work, non book news is that I transferred the money for my house fees tonight, in excess of 8 grand in the click of a button. The proposed date for completion is this Wednesday which means I will be an official property investor/speculator. Plans are already afoot for Easter when we are aiming to buy another. Surprising how motivated I become when there's the chance to make money without going to work every day.
And that's it. Dog's huge, Liverpool are doing well and I'm already planning the wife's Christmas presents. Right, I'm off, I've got books to write.
Tuesday, 18 June 2013
What are my choices?
Evening folks,
Been a superb day here at HB Towers. Sunny and warm, Ralph (the most awesome puppy in the world) has been hurtling round the garden and learning new stuff by the minute. But I have also edited 70 pages of the new book while listening to a selection of albums - currently Days of Speed by Paul Weller.
So all in all being off work very much agrees with me. No shock there right? Everyone likes being off work. But this is the reason for the title of this post, which the very keen amongst you may have spotted I have robbed from an episode of Two and a Half Men (back when Charlie Sheen was in it and it was good).
The question asked is "What do you want?" The reply being "What are my choices?"
The point being so many people don't know what they want, but if you give them a menu they'll pick something. I'm a bit like this at the moment. I have a lot of options, lots of choices, but I'm not entirely sure what it is I actually want. Obviously the core goal remains the same - book deal, book sales, achieve the dream. But lately I find myself earning a lot of money in the day job, which coupled with the wife's salary means we have more cash coming in each month that we manage to spend. Ace position to be in, I'm well aware.
But that opens more doors. Suddenly I can apply for jobs which offer more money still, jobs I could not have applied for previously. But these types of jobs will, I assume, require more time, certainly more effort, than I'm used to giving. Which will mean less time with the wife, with Ralph, less time to write books.
But I always have the option to return to my old job. Money was okay but it's a dead end job if I'm honest. But it requires little effort and the hours are good. So more time at home doing fun stuff. Trouble is the ambitious part of me, the bit that wants to write, to have money, to have nice things, to have three degrees and just generally be better than someone else, wants me to grab one of these jobs and earn even more dollars.
So there it is? What do I want? Not sure. What are my choices? Plenty. Sadly staying at home writing books full time is not one of those options. Yet.
Don't get me wrong, I realise it's a good position to be in and, it being me, it will all work out nicely.
In other news, related to my job in a round about sort of way, an organisation I work with sometimes is going to be national news tomorrow when the Telegraph and a few others papers run a story about a local NHS Trust here in Lancaster and the CQC covering up failings. You'll hear more about this, trust me. One thing I definitely won't be doing is applying for any jobs with them.
Right, I'm going to see if the little chap wants to have a sniff outside before bed and then I'm off to watch Breaking Bad on Netflix until the small hours. There will be beer and pizza if you're in the neighbourhood.
By the way, sales are slack in America this month, though someone has bought a copy of my Christmas short story (thanks). So by all means dive in and buy a book. I'd recommend The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe.
Night
Been a superb day here at HB Towers. Sunny and warm, Ralph (the most awesome puppy in the world) has been hurtling round the garden and learning new stuff by the minute. But I have also edited 70 pages of the new book while listening to a selection of albums - currently Days of Speed by Paul Weller.
So all in all being off work very much agrees with me. No shock there right? Everyone likes being off work. But this is the reason for the title of this post, which the very keen amongst you may have spotted I have robbed from an episode of Two and a Half Men (back when Charlie Sheen was in it and it was good).
The question asked is "What do you want?" The reply being "What are my choices?"
The point being so many people don't know what they want, but if you give them a menu they'll pick something. I'm a bit like this at the moment. I have a lot of options, lots of choices, but I'm not entirely sure what it is I actually want. Obviously the core goal remains the same - book deal, book sales, achieve the dream. But lately I find myself earning a lot of money in the day job, which coupled with the wife's salary means we have more cash coming in each month that we manage to spend. Ace position to be in, I'm well aware.
But that opens more doors. Suddenly I can apply for jobs which offer more money still, jobs I could not have applied for previously. But these types of jobs will, I assume, require more time, certainly more effort, than I'm used to giving. Which will mean less time with the wife, with Ralph, less time to write books.
But I always have the option to return to my old job. Money was okay but it's a dead end job if I'm honest. But it requires little effort and the hours are good. So more time at home doing fun stuff. Trouble is the ambitious part of me, the bit that wants to write, to have money, to have nice things, to have three degrees and just generally be better than someone else, wants me to grab one of these jobs and earn even more dollars.
So there it is? What do I want? Not sure. What are my choices? Plenty. Sadly staying at home writing books full time is not one of those options. Yet.
Don't get me wrong, I realise it's a good position to be in and, it being me, it will all work out nicely.
In other news, related to my job in a round about sort of way, an organisation I work with sometimes is going to be national news tomorrow when the Telegraph and a few others papers run a story about a local NHS Trust here in Lancaster and the CQC covering up failings. You'll hear more about this, trust me. One thing I definitely won't be doing is applying for any jobs with them.
Right, I'm going to see if the little chap wants to have a sniff outside before bed and then I'm off to watch Breaking Bad on Netflix until the small hours. There will be beer and pizza if you're in the neighbourhood.
By the way, sales are slack in America this month, though someone has bought a copy of my Christmas short story (thanks). So by all means dive in and buy a book. I'd recommend The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe.
Night
Monday, 17 June 2013
Editing the new book, US Open Golf and Ralph
Morning gang!
It’s been an age since I posted on here but I am delighted
that so many folk are still checking out my musings. Almost 7500 views now from
all over the world. Many thanks to each and every one of you, even the strange
Eastern European ones which I’m sure are hacker/virus/dodgy porn referral
sites.
Anyway, you find me in something of a state of flux. I’ve
done very little writing wise for some time now although sales are okay and I’m
still doing a bit of promo. Work has been taking up a bit of time, mainly the
wife’s work in fairness but there you go. Plus most weekends recently have
involved cruising up and down the country looking at puppy litters.
But I am now off work for 2 weeks. I don’t think I’ve had 2
weeks off in summer at all in the time I’ve worked in the NHS. In fairness a
lot of that was because I worked with some fairly needy people who just had to
have summer off every year without fail. Not missing them much I can tell you.
So what’s the plan while I’m off you might well be
wondering? If you’re not wondering perhaps you’re reading the wrong blog. Well,
I’m going to blog more, do more promo and this afternoon I shall be editing the
sequel to The 24 Hour Jazz Café. Hurrah cried fan of the book. Believe it or
not I have actually had messages from people asking about a sequel to this book
so they should be delighted.
The rest of my time will be taken up looking after the
latest addition to the gang here at HB Towers. Regular readers can’t fail to
have noticed I may have mentioned Ralph once or twice. Well he’s here and, huge
bias aside, he’s pretty awesome. Okay then, here's a photo.
Right, I’m going to crack because Wimbledon starts next week
so my time will be dictated by When Roger Federer is on court. It just remains
to say well done to Justin Rose for winning the US Open last night, well worth
staying up for.
Sunday, 2 June 2013
Puppy!
Morning gang,
After several years of pondering, months of research, weeks of emails and driving up and down the country, we have at long last picked a puppy. Ralph, the newest member of our gang, will be joining the band in two weeks and I anticipate him being the coolest dog in the world. Future blog posts may feature him and he might well appear in future novels. My family retriever, Dennis, features in a previous book, I think it's The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe.
In other news I haven't made much progress with editing the sequel to the Jazz Cafe partly because of work, partly because of dog related travel and partly because I'm idle. But I'm also pondering the next book as well which is proving to be quite the distraction. The good news is I've got half of June off work so things will progress.
Finally, on the 9th March, I emailed a submission to Juliet Pickering at Blake Friedmann and have so far received no response at all. I find this really disappointing. I know every agent will say they are busy etc but there should be an element of professionalism. I follow Carole Blake on Twitter and all her advice is about how the submission is a business contact, it should be professional. Surely some sort of acknowledgement would be professional? I'm going to email Juliet today to remind her I exist and highlight the timescale.
Right, that's me done. I'm going to spend the day adding usic to my swanky digital home network cloud thingy and browse the internet for dog related paraphenalia.
After several years of pondering, months of research, weeks of emails and driving up and down the country, we have at long last picked a puppy. Ralph, the newest member of our gang, will be joining the band in two weeks and I anticipate him being the coolest dog in the world. Future blog posts may feature him and he might well appear in future novels. My family retriever, Dennis, features in a previous book, I think it's The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe.
In other news I haven't made much progress with editing the sequel to the Jazz Cafe partly because of work, partly because of dog related travel and partly because I'm idle. But I'm also pondering the next book as well which is proving to be quite the distraction. The good news is I've got half of June off work so things will progress.
Finally, on the 9th March, I emailed a submission to Juliet Pickering at Blake Friedmann and have so far received no response at all. I find this really disappointing. I know every agent will say they are busy etc but there should be an element of professionalism. I follow Carole Blake on Twitter and all her advice is about how the submission is a business contact, it should be professional. Surely some sort of acknowledgement would be professional? I'm going to email Juliet today to remind her I exist and highlight the timescale.
Right, that's me done. I'm going to spend the day adding usic to my swanky digital home network cloud thingy and browse the internet for dog related paraphenalia.
Monday, 28 January 2013
Why is the Kobo website and software so rotten?
Evening all,
I'm battling the rage! Today I had a number of things I wanted to do. Namely edit more of the final draft of the new book, quick blog, post some stuff on Goodreads and add my books to Kobo.
What have I achieved as I sit here at 7PM? None of the above. Why? KOBO SOFTWARE!!!
Months ago I went to the trouble of uploading a version of The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe to the Kobo bookstore and then forgot all about it, presumably because it's miles easier to do it via Smashwords which does all the hard work for you. I recieved an email the other day from Kobo saying I'd sold a couple of copies of Jazz Cafe. So I thought, sod it, I'll upload the others. How hard can it be?
I kid you not, I have very nearly hurled my laptop through the front window. On two occasions I've had to leave the room to do something else to avoid smashing my fist through the screen, it's that bad.
The pages on the author bit of the Kobo site take an age to load but the actual adding of book info is pretty straightforward. Until you want to upload your book file. Because Kobo uses Epub I decided to upload the Word Doc file which the site then converts. Of course you want to check it's okay first. So you download a preview version. But nothing opens epub files! I tried Mobireader which I use for all my publishing and that wouldn't do it. I downloaded Adobe Digital Editions and the book looked awful, totally unreadable so I have no idea how it will look on a real Kobo.
I know I thought, let's use the Kobo desktop software! AAAAAARRRGGGHHH!! It won't open it's own epub file, downloaded from it's own website!! And it's the slowest thing I've ever used in my life. So I've given up. Life's too short. If you do have a Kobo, and I'm sure the actual ereader device is lovely (it has to be better than the website and desktop software) then you can buy any or all of my books thanks to Smashwords. Just search on the Kobo bookstore and there they are.
Incidentally, I noticed that one of the two people who has bought the Kobo version of the Jazz Cafe gave it a 2 out of 5 rating. Which is fine, though totally at odds with all the 5* Amazon reviews and 5* Goodreads reviews. I can't help wonder if it's because when they opened the book it looked horrid, poorly formatted and was hard to read. If this was the case, I apologise, but the book looks great on Kindle and in paperback. I know because I've seen it. Sadly, owing to the vile Kobo software, I cannot check how my own books look.
Ahh, I feel a bit better now. Right I'm going to have some tea and then spend the evening editing my book. It's a Word document so I'll view it using Microsoft Word. It just works! Bloody rotten Kobo.
Just to finish on a positive, the new book should be out (even on Kobo) by the end of the week.
I'm battling the rage! Today I had a number of things I wanted to do. Namely edit more of the final draft of the new book, quick blog, post some stuff on Goodreads and add my books to Kobo.
What have I achieved as I sit here at 7PM? None of the above. Why? KOBO SOFTWARE!!!
Months ago I went to the trouble of uploading a version of The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe to the Kobo bookstore and then forgot all about it, presumably because it's miles easier to do it via Smashwords which does all the hard work for you. I recieved an email the other day from Kobo saying I'd sold a couple of copies of Jazz Cafe. So I thought, sod it, I'll upload the others. How hard can it be?
I kid you not, I have very nearly hurled my laptop through the front window. On two occasions I've had to leave the room to do something else to avoid smashing my fist through the screen, it's that bad.
The pages on the author bit of the Kobo site take an age to load but the actual adding of book info is pretty straightforward. Until you want to upload your book file. Because Kobo uses Epub I decided to upload the Word Doc file which the site then converts. Of course you want to check it's okay first. So you download a preview version. But nothing opens epub files! I tried Mobireader which I use for all my publishing and that wouldn't do it. I downloaded Adobe Digital Editions and the book looked awful, totally unreadable so I have no idea how it will look on a real Kobo.
I know I thought, let's use the Kobo desktop software! AAAAAARRRGGGHHH!! It won't open it's own epub file, downloaded from it's own website!! And it's the slowest thing I've ever used in my life. So I've given up. Life's too short. If you do have a Kobo, and I'm sure the actual ereader device is lovely (it has to be better than the website and desktop software) then you can buy any or all of my books thanks to Smashwords. Just search on the Kobo bookstore and there they are.
Incidentally, I noticed that one of the two people who has bought the Kobo version of the Jazz Cafe gave it a 2 out of 5 rating. Which is fine, though totally at odds with all the 5* Amazon reviews and 5* Goodreads reviews. I can't help wonder if it's because when they opened the book it looked horrid, poorly formatted and was hard to read. If this was the case, I apologise, but the book looks great on Kindle and in paperback. I know because I've seen it. Sadly, owing to the vile Kobo software, I cannot check how my own books look.
Ahh, I feel a bit better now. Right I'm going to have some tea and then spend the evening editing my book. It's a Word document so I'll view it using Microsoft Word. It just works! Bloody rotten Kobo.
Just to finish on a positive, the new book should be out (even on Kobo) by the end of the week.
Wednesday, 2 January 2013
Why not become a Goodreads member?
Morning folks,
Happy New Year!
So as I sit here sipping an Irish coffee someone bought me as a gift and wondering how on earth Phil The Power Taylor won the darts, I can't help but be pretty satisfied with how things are going at the moment.
My short story promo went very well. To the extent that it was the most downloaded Christmas short story on the planet over the festive period (via Amazon). I was delighted with that.
But the point of this post is to talk a bit about a site called Goodreads. It's essentially a forum for readers to chat about books and pretty much anything else they fancy. But it's also a great site for writers too.
I joined the group about a year ago and I now have lots of friends via this site. I'm a member of several forums based around books I like (The Shining, Catcher in the Rye etc) and I generally pop in and say Good Morning to everyone at least a couple of times a week just to make sure they know I'm alive.
I've had lots of books recommended to me via the site, and I've recommended a few myself. Everyone is friendly and, unlike so many other book related sites, nobody seems to have an agenda. Nobody gets away with spamming promo for their books or with being abusive either largely because the moderators are on top of everything, but in a chummy way!
But the real benefit to me personally is as an author. Just by taking part and being involved I get to talk about my books as much as I like. From there loads of people have checked me out, and bought my books, and left reviews. This is all gold for a strugging writer. The feedback is often superb too.
Which brings me to my latest review. One of the Goodreads top brass asked for writers to offer a book for free. I was lucky enough to have The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe selected. A website was built and any member of the goodreads site who emailed in would recieve a free book. Genius. Yesterday a member sent me a message to say she'd got a copy via this giveaway. She offered plenty of constructive comments and also posted a superb review of the book on the site and on her blog.
So, in short, if you're interested in books, there's no downside to being a member of Goodreads. I've got no affiliation to them of any kind, it just works for me and the more folk join in, the better it will be.
I've linked to the review above and also pasted it in below, I'd be daft not to.
This great story starts with a death by natural causes. It’s the sad death of Emily, a young, musically talented woman and we meet Mitch and Rupert, the two men who loved her. We also discover the sleaze and corruption of small town life, with the council, the police and local businessmen all partaking in, or turning a blind eye to, bribery, indecency and all manner of nastiness. Mitch and Rupert decide to try to get justice. Mitch, an outcast all his life due to his ability to glimpse future happenings, foresees a murder and Rupert, his only friend from schooldays, joins him in trying to avert it.
The characters in this story are very well drawn. We have oily toads of council members who think they are untouchable, a keen, thorough and likable female police inspector chasing justice and the two friends, both grieving for their lost love. The plot is well constructed and story lines interwoven together. I felt the initial part, although it came in with a bang with Emily’s death, built slowly but not tediously, until we realised the depth of corruption and the way justice seemed to be in favour of those with deep pockets – or nasty secrets they could spill if they didn’t get their own way. This is a story of love, friendship, people battling against the disadvantages of childhood influences; it flags up so many questions. It’s a thoroughly gripping read and I enjoyed it very much.
Happy New Year!
So as I sit here sipping an Irish coffee someone bought me as a gift and wondering how on earth Phil The Power Taylor won the darts, I can't help but be pretty satisfied with how things are going at the moment.
My short story promo went very well. To the extent that it was the most downloaded Christmas short story on the planet over the festive period (via Amazon). I was delighted with that.
But the point of this post is to talk a bit about a site called Goodreads. It's essentially a forum for readers to chat about books and pretty much anything else they fancy. But it's also a great site for writers too.
I joined the group about a year ago and I now have lots of friends via this site. I'm a member of several forums based around books I like (The Shining, Catcher in the Rye etc) and I generally pop in and say Good Morning to everyone at least a couple of times a week just to make sure they know I'm alive.
I've had lots of books recommended to me via the site, and I've recommended a few myself. Everyone is friendly and, unlike so many other book related sites, nobody seems to have an agenda. Nobody gets away with spamming promo for their books or with being abusive either largely because the moderators are on top of everything, but in a chummy way!
But the real benefit to me personally is as an author. Just by taking part and being involved I get to talk about my books as much as I like. From there loads of people have checked me out, and bought my books, and left reviews. This is all gold for a strugging writer. The feedback is often superb too.
Which brings me to my latest review. One of the Goodreads top brass asked for writers to offer a book for free. I was lucky enough to have The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe selected. A website was built and any member of the goodreads site who emailed in would recieve a free book. Genius. Yesterday a member sent me a message to say she'd got a copy via this giveaway. She offered plenty of constructive comments and also posted a superb review of the book on the site and on her blog.
So, in short, if you're interested in books, there's no downside to being a member of Goodreads. I've got no affiliation to them of any kind, it just works for me and the more folk join in, the better it will be.
I've linked to the review above and also pasted it in below, I'd be daft not to.
This great story starts with a death by natural causes. It’s the sad death of Emily, a young, musically talented woman and we meet Mitch and Rupert, the two men who loved her. We also discover the sleaze and corruption of small town life, with the council, the police and local businessmen all partaking in, or turning a blind eye to, bribery, indecency and all manner of nastiness. Mitch and Rupert decide to try to get justice. Mitch, an outcast all his life due to his ability to glimpse future happenings, foresees a murder and Rupert, his only friend from schooldays, joins him in trying to avert it.
The characters in this story are very well drawn. We have oily toads of council members who think they are untouchable, a keen, thorough and likable female police inspector chasing justice and the two friends, both grieving for their lost love. The plot is well constructed and story lines interwoven together. I felt the initial part, although it came in with a bang with Emily’s death, built slowly but not tediously, until we realised the depth of corruption and the way justice seemed to be in favour of those with deep pockets – or nasty secrets they could spill if they didn’t get their own way. This is a story of love, friendship, people battling against the disadvantages of childhood influences; it flags up so many questions. It’s a thoroughly gripping read and I enjoyed it very much.
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
How do the writers demonstrate the disturbed mind in their work?
Evening folks,
The rewrite is progressing quite well so I won't bore you with that. Sales are slow but I haven't done any promo for weeks. On the plus side a chap at work is about to start reading a paperback copy of The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe.
In other news I came home tonight to a request from the wife. Her oldest niece has to do some sort of essay based test on Thursday which answers the question I've used as the title of this post. The texts in question are Macbeth and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Now this might seem odd, or not, but it was actually thoroughly interesting. I have the necessary qualifications to help with this sort of thing in terms of related exam results and degrees but it's not every day someone asks for my help writing an essay.
I do have a decent working knowledge of both books but obviously I don't read them regularly. Anyway, I had a quick flick through my copies of both, then a quick look on Google, made some notes and rang the girl. Apparently the class had never studied Jekyll and Hyde which doesn't bode well for the essay but I have to admit her knowledge of Shakespeare's text was pretty good and she had a good grasp of the relevant themes.
Anyway, I talked her through my ideas, kept it simple, suggested she compare and contrast, use the obvious character elements, the environment and then back up her points with relevant quotes. It seems I must have done something right as she posted a Twitter message later saying it made sense now and asked if she could make notes and then email it tomorrow for feedback. Needless to say the wife is delighted with my efforts.
For my part it was great to delve into the books again and I actually wrote four pages of notes on the topic and could happily have written the essay. Pity I spend my days dealing in numbers and figures rather than words. Ho hum.
Anyway, time for bed. Until next time...
The rewrite is progressing quite well so I won't bore you with that. Sales are slow but I haven't done any promo for weeks. On the plus side a chap at work is about to start reading a paperback copy of The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe.
In other news I came home tonight to a request from the wife. Her oldest niece has to do some sort of essay based test on Thursday which answers the question I've used as the title of this post. The texts in question are Macbeth and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Now this might seem odd, or not, but it was actually thoroughly interesting. I have the necessary qualifications to help with this sort of thing in terms of related exam results and degrees but it's not every day someone asks for my help writing an essay.
I do have a decent working knowledge of both books but obviously I don't read them regularly. Anyway, I had a quick flick through my copies of both, then a quick look on Google, made some notes and rang the girl. Apparently the class had never studied Jekyll and Hyde which doesn't bode well for the essay but I have to admit her knowledge of Shakespeare's text was pretty good and she had a good grasp of the relevant themes.
Anyway, I talked her through my ideas, kept it simple, suggested she compare and contrast, use the obvious character elements, the environment and then back up her points with relevant quotes. It seems I must have done something right as she posted a Twitter message later saying it made sense now and asked if she could make notes and then email it tomorrow for feedback. Needless to say the wife is delighted with my efforts.
For my part it was great to delve into the books again and I actually wrote four pages of notes on the topic and could happily have written the essay. Pity I spend my days dealing in numbers and figures rather than words. Ho hum.
Anyway, time for bed. Until next time...
Monday, 5 November 2012
How do you manage distractions?
Evening gang,
I've been away, but now I'm back.
Pardon the dodgy quote from The Shining but I went to a special Halloween screening last Wednesday and it was awesome. It was the extended US version and it remains one of my favourite films and both the film and particularly the book have been a constant source of inspiration.
Examples? Okay. In my book All the fun of the fair the bar in the Narracott hotel is called the Overlook after the hotel in King's book. The scene in the ballroom is based on the party scenes in The Shining. Ben Torrance, in my book Playground Cool, takes his name from Jack in the Stephen King original. There's more but I'd have to refer to the books themselves to remind myself. The point is, it's one of the best stories King has written and, even though the film differs from the book, it's powerful largely because of the central performance by Jack Nicholson and the awesome camera work.
As regular readers will know I've got two books on the verge of publication yet the editing process has stalled. Why? Too much else going on coupled with a little bit of writing fatigue. I wrote the sequel to the Jazz Cafe in a matter of months while working full time. I then started to edit a book from the back catalogue days later.
End result? I stare at the pages and nothing happens. It's occurred before and I know I just need time to recharge. I never know how long but all of a sudden it will hit me and I won't be able to keep up. But for now we appear to be done. Does this mean the books won't be out before Christmas? Maybe it does. But that's okay. You can't force it. Or you can, but the result will never be quite right.
So that's it in a nutshell. I'm now distracted. Trips to the cinema, the local pub, work is frantic and driving me mad and I lack the motivation in the evening to write. But only for now.
My question is this? How do you manage your distractions? Work, kids, tele, life. Stuff gets in the way. This stuff is fine for everyone else, that's their life. But to us writers all that is research, background noise, a distraction from the real purpose. But when the words won't flow it can be very hard to turn off X Factor or not sink another beer. Yet when I'm in the middle of a story the tele could be on full blast and I wouldn't even notice.
So for tonight I'm just going to write this blog piece and that will be enough. Tomorrow I'll chalk off another day at work and pray for a lottery win to end that particular misery. I'll keep doing that until one day the words turn up and drag me off on the next leg of our adventure.
On the plus side there's plenty of football on the box this week and we're planning a trip to see Skyfall later in the week so it's all good.
Carry on...
PS While I was just on Amazon UK grabbing the links for this blog I noticed I've now got 9 reviews for the Jazz Cafe, 8 of which are 5*. The other is a 3* and it's tone is totally different to the other reviews which makes me wonder if it's from someone I've upset. Or I'm just unable to accept someone was not totally in love with my book. Either way, it's great to know folk like what I'm doing.
I've been away, but now I'm back.
Pardon the dodgy quote from The Shining but I went to a special Halloween screening last Wednesday and it was awesome. It was the extended US version and it remains one of my favourite films and both the film and particularly the book have been a constant source of inspiration.
Examples? Okay. In my book All the fun of the fair the bar in the Narracott hotel is called the Overlook after the hotel in King's book. The scene in the ballroom is based on the party scenes in The Shining. Ben Torrance, in my book Playground Cool, takes his name from Jack in the Stephen King original. There's more but I'd have to refer to the books themselves to remind myself. The point is, it's one of the best stories King has written and, even though the film differs from the book, it's powerful largely because of the central performance by Jack Nicholson and the awesome camera work.
As regular readers will know I've got two books on the verge of publication yet the editing process has stalled. Why? Too much else going on coupled with a little bit of writing fatigue. I wrote the sequel to the Jazz Cafe in a matter of months while working full time. I then started to edit a book from the back catalogue days later.
End result? I stare at the pages and nothing happens. It's occurred before and I know I just need time to recharge. I never know how long but all of a sudden it will hit me and I won't be able to keep up. But for now we appear to be done. Does this mean the books won't be out before Christmas? Maybe it does. But that's okay. You can't force it. Or you can, but the result will never be quite right.
So that's it in a nutshell. I'm now distracted. Trips to the cinema, the local pub, work is frantic and driving me mad and I lack the motivation in the evening to write. But only for now.
My question is this? How do you manage your distractions? Work, kids, tele, life. Stuff gets in the way. This stuff is fine for everyone else, that's their life. But to us writers all that is research, background noise, a distraction from the real purpose. But when the words won't flow it can be very hard to turn off X Factor or not sink another beer. Yet when I'm in the middle of a story the tele could be on full blast and I wouldn't even notice.
So for tonight I'm just going to write this blog piece and that will be enough. Tomorrow I'll chalk off another day at work and pray for a lottery win to end that particular misery. I'll keep doing that until one day the words turn up and drag me off on the next leg of our adventure.
On the plus side there's plenty of football on the box this week and we're planning a trip to see Skyfall later in the week so it's all good.
Carry on...
PS While I was just on Amazon UK grabbing the links for this blog I noticed I've now got 9 reviews for the Jazz Cafe, 8 of which are 5*. The other is a 3* and it's tone is totally different to the other reviews which makes me wonder if it's from someone I've upset. Or I'm just unable to accept someone was not totally in love with my book. Either way, it's great to know folk like what I'm doing.
Saturday, 27 October 2012
What do you do when the wife's away?
Evening folks,
I'll start on a positive. I've just this minute finished the first draft of a book from my back catalogue. Originally written in 2006 it has been sitting quietly waiting for me to pick it up again. So far all I've done is a read through and then a sweep of obvious typo errors, changed a few names and tweaked some layout stuff, as well as confirming there's enough there to work on with a view to publishing it.
As things stand I now have two books at this stage, the other being the sequel to The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe. I haven't decided which to work on first but it's a great position to find myself in. Also great was the unexpected entry of my short story The Storyteller into the top 10 in it's category on Amazon UK this week. I rarely promote this story and yet it continues to sell. Thanks to those who bought it.
As you might have guessed the above partly answers the post title. The wife has been away since Thursday so I've had plenty of time to write. I've also been staying up late, drinking beer, watching films, football and playing on the Xbox. So essentially, the answer to the question in my case seems to be: I revert to behaving like a teenager.
Incidentally the film I watched last night is called Will. It's about a kid who loses both parents so he hitchhikes to Istanbul to watch Liverpool in the Champions League final because he's a huge fan. It was pretty awful to be honest and I was expecting a lot since Damian Lewis is in it and I'm a big Liverpool fan. Lewis dies early on, it's really a bit part. The story is lightweight and unbelievable and I only sat through it in case they showed any of the final itself. They didn't.
By the way, I may or may not have mentioned that I've got tickets to see The Rolling Stones next month as the O2. We're all very excited but I was a little concerned at the footage released of the Stones warm up gig in Paris. Admittedly the clip was very short but the sound was poor and the tempo slow. Fingers crossed they pull it out of the bag on the night.
And that's the news. Two books nearing publication, Barcelona on the tele and winning 4-0 and the merseyside derby on tomorrow lunchtime before the return of the wife later on.
As ever, thanks for buying, reading and hopefully enjoying my books. When the new stuff is ready to go I'll announce it here first.
Beer time I think.
I'll start on a positive. I've just this minute finished the first draft of a book from my back catalogue. Originally written in 2006 it has been sitting quietly waiting for me to pick it up again. So far all I've done is a read through and then a sweep of obvious typo errors, changed a few names and tweaked some layout stuff, as well as confirming there's enough there to work on with a view to publishing it.
As things stand I now have two books at this stage, the other being the sequel to The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe. I haven't decided which to work on first but it's a great position to find myself in. Also great was the unexpected entry of my short story The Storyteller into the top 10 in it's category on Amazon UK this week. I rarely promote this story and yet it continues to sell. Thanks to those who bought it.
As you might have guessed the above partly answers the post title. The wife has been away since Thursday so I've had plenty of time to write. I've also been staying up late, drinking beer, watching films, football and playing on the Xbox. So essentially, the answer to the question in my case seems to be: I revert to behaving like a teenager.
Incidentally the film I watched last night is called Will. It's about a kid who loses both parents so he hitchhikes to Istanbul to watch Liverpool in the Champions League final because he's a huge fan. It was pretty awful to be honest and I was expecting a lot since Damian Lewis is in it and I'm a big Liverpool fan. Lewis dies early on, it's really a bit part. The story is lightweight and unbelievable and I only sat through it in case they showed any of the final itself. They didn't.
By the way, I may or may not have mentioned that I've got tickets to see The Rolling Stones next month as the O2. We're all very excited but I was a little concerned at the footage released of the Stones warm up gig in Paris. Admittedly the clip was very short but the sound was poor and the tempo slow. Fingers crossed they pull it out of the bag on the night.
And that's the news. Two books nearing publication, Barcelona on the tele and winning 4-0 and the merseyside derby on tomorrow lunchtime before the return of the wife later on.
As ever, thanks for buying, reading and hopefully enjoying my books. When the new stuff is ready to go I'll announce it here first.
Beer time I think.
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
How do you deal with rejection?
Evening folks,
You might remember that I submitted an extract of The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe to Blake Friedmann a while ago. Of course you'd be forgiven for not remembering since this happened on the 8th July. Anyway, last night I finally decided to send a tweet to Carole Blake asking for an update.
Good news! I recieved a response today. Sadly it was, rather predictably, a standard rejection. Now I'm not new to this and I was pretty much expecting it but whenever I recieve another rejection it makes me think about failure etc. So how do you deal with rejection? Particularly with something so personal as a book. I spend months and years writing these stories and they are generally rejected with a few lines in an email.
It used to really get to me. This latest one has not really registered, aside from prompting me to write this blog post. It's not affecting me writing more material and I'm not sulking. In fact I'm about to go to the pub for tea and a few ales. Hurrah!
Anyway, that's all for now. Progress on the editing is going well and the initial revisions should be complete by the weekend.
Carry on.
You might remember that I submitted an extract of The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe to Blake Friedmann a while ago. Of course you'd be forgiven for not remembering since this happened on the 8th July. Anyway, last night I finally decided to send a tweet to Carole Blake asking for an update.
Good news! I recieved a response today. Sadly it was, rather predictably, a standard rejection. Now I'm not new to this and I was pretty much expecting it but whenever I recieve another rejection it makes me think about failure etc. So how do you deal with rejection? Particularly with something so personal as a book. I spend months and years writing these stories and they are generally rejected with a few lines in an email.
It used to really get to me. This latest one has not really registered, aside from prompting me to write this blog post. It's not affecting me writing more material and I'm not sulking. In fact I'm about to go to the pub for tea and a few ales. Hurrah!
Anyway, that's all for now. Progress on the editing is going well and the initial revisions should be complete by the weekend.
Carry on.
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
A timely reminder of my goals...
Evening gang,
On the back of completing the first draft of the new Jazz Cafe book I have begun revisions/editing of a book from my back catalogue which, at the time of writing, I called The Trust. I have so far read and made revisions to over 160 pages and I can honestly say that parts of the first 100 pages are as good as anything I've written. I remember thinking at the time that the intro was particularly good and now, years later (the book was written in 2006) I still think that.
The story holds together well and the characters, particularly the two central players, are solid and well formed. One surprise has been the emergence of one of the peripheral characters. I now see him in a more pivotal role and even appearing in future books along with his colleague from The Trust.
That said there are plenty of areas for revision. I've been a bit quick with my pacing and a bit too keen with my murder scenes and I think now I'm going to introduce some first person elements to the book in the style of Jo Nesbo. We shall see. All being well, it will be finished and published in time for Christmas.
In other news I met a fan today! Regular readers may recall I mentioned that a lady who works with my wife had bought a paperback copy of The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe. She has read it and loved it and today asked my wife if she could meet me. So when I pulled up to collect her the lady trotted out and said hello. It was a bizarre but wonderful moment which I could very much get used to. In addition, a work colleague of my own enjoyed Playground Cool enough to buy The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe and today he said he has yet to read it because his own wife cannot put it down. Big smile on my face!
These two events more than made up for being back at work. It's been two days now and it's as miserable as ever and, as the post title suggests, has served as a timely reminder that there is so much more in this world than clocking in for the benefit of someone else. I've said it before and I stand by it. My last day cannot come soon enough.
But until then, the plan remains unchanged. Keep writing, keep doing promo when I can and make sure I appreciate every sale and all the great feedback I receive.
I'd best go. There's a gin on the bedside cabinet that requires my attention.
On the back of completing the first draft of the new Jazz Cafe book I have begun revisions/editing of a book from my back catalogue which, at the time of writing, I called The Trust. I have so far read and made revisions to over 160 pages and I can honestly say that parts of the first 100 pages are as good as anything I've written. I remember thinking at the time that the intro was particularly good and now, years later (the book was written in 2006) I still think that.
The story holds together well and the characters, particularly the two central players, are solid and well formed. One surprise has been the emergence of one of the peripheral characters. I now see him in a more pivotal role and even appearing in future books along with his colleague from The Trust.
That said there are plenty of areas for revision. I've been a bit quick with my pacing and a bit too keen with my murder scenes and I think now I'm going to introduce some first person elements to the book in the style of Jo Nesbo. We shall see. All being well, it will be finished and published in time for Christmas.
In other news I met a fan today! Regular readers may recall I mentioned that a lady who works with my wife had bought a paperback copy of The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe. She has read it and loved it and today asked my wife if she could meet me. So when I pulled up to collect her the lady trotted out and said hello. It was a bizarre but wonderful moment which I could very much get used to. In addition, a work colleague of my own enjoyed Playground Cool enough to buy The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe and today he said he has yet to read it because his own wife cannot put it down. Big smile on my face!
These two events more than made up for being back at work. It's been two days now and it's as miserable as ever and, as the post title suggests, has served as a timely reminder that there is so much more in this world than clocking in for the benefit of someone else. I've said it before and I stand by it. My last day cannot come soon enough.
But until then, the plan remains unchanged. Keep writing, keep doing promo when I can and make sure I appreciate every sale and all the great feedback I receive.
I'd best go. There's a gin on the bedside cabinet that requires my attention.
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
How long does it take to write a book?
Evening folks,
Italy was awesome thanks for asking. I'd recommend seeing more than one city in a trip as you get a great opportunity to compare and contrast different places. Venice is lovely but so different to Rome. Also, despite what everyone had told us, the wife and I both preferred Rome, although we would definitely return to both places. By the way, the pic below is the view of the grand canal from one of our windows. Needless to say one of the better rooms I've stayed in.
I'd also recommend the cross Europe sleeper as an option if you can afford it and don't like flying. It's a fun experience although not exactly the height of luxury. I've attached a couple of links so you can see for yourself. Bottom line is, you get a bed, decent tea, there's a bar and you see all sorts out of the window. It was slightly surreal being in Dijon station at half ten at night, but pretty cool. Either way, we didn't sleep great but enough to arrive in Venice at breakfast time (we had breakfast on the train too), check in to our hotel (with the above view) and spend the day sight seeing.
But the point of this post is the writing. I wrote thousands of words while I was away including a 2000 word session on the train from Venice to Italy which was super. There's a lot to be said for typing away with a glass of wine while the grand canal is only a few feet away. Again, strange but very cool. I also sold plenty of books last month which was very encouraging.
So where am I up to? As of today I've written over 82,000 words of the new book and should have a completed draft tomorrow. Needless to say I'll announce something when it's done. Which brings me to the title of this post. How long does it take to write a book? Well, assuming I finish it tomorrow this book will have taken just over six months which doesn't feel like long at all.
In other news I've had some lovely reviews lately as well. Here's a few words from someone who finished reading All the fun of the Fair this week:
"Just finished All the Fun of the Fair. Gutted it ended!! Absolutely loved Alfie from the moment I met him, tania was fantastic, reminded me a lot of myself in my youth lol, and as for lee I hope he gets an incurable STD."
This person has since purchased a copy of The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe so fingers crossed they enjoy that too.
Anyway, I'm having an easy night tonight since I'm still off work and I've been writing all day. Tele and ale is the plan. Hopefully I'll have a finished novel to tell you about tomorrow along with a couple of other developments.
Italy was awesome thanks for asking. I'd recommend seeing more than one city in a trip as you get a great opportunity to compare and contrast different places. Venice is lovely but so different to Rome. Also, despite what everyone had told us, the wife and I both preferred Rome, although we would definitely return to both places. By the way, the pic below is the view of the grand canal from one of our windows. Needless to say one of the better rooms I've stayed in.
But the point of this post is the writing. I wrote thousands of words while I was away including a 2000 word session on the train from Venice to Italy which was super. There's a lot to be said for typing away with a glass of wine while the grand canal is only a few feet away. Again, strange but very cool. I also sold plenty of books last month which was very encouraging.
So where am I up to? As of today I've written over 82,000 words of the new book and should have a completed draft tomorrow. Needless to say I'll announce something when it's done. Which brings me to the title of this post. How long does it take to write a book? Well, assuming I finish it tomorrow this book will have taken just over six months which doesn't feel like long at all.
In other news I've had some lovely reviews lately as well. Here's a few words from someone who finished reading All the fun of the Fair this week:
"Just finished All the Fun of the Fair. Gutted it ended!! Absolutely loved Alfie from the moment I met him, tania was fantastic, reminded me a lot of myself in my youth lol, and as for lee I hope he gets an incurable STD."
This person has since purchased a copy of The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe so fingers crossed they enjoy that too.
Anyway, I'm having an easy night tonight since I'm still off work and I've been writing all day. Tele and ale is the plan. Hopefully I'll have a finished novel to tell you about tomorrow along with a couple of other developments.
Thursday, 20 September 2012
Am I brave enough to write full time?
Evening folks,
Let me open by saying I am shattered. I've dragged myself through the last few days and the writing output has suffered a little. I didn't write anything yesterday. That was the first time in weeks, maybe even months that this has been the case and I was thoroughly frustrated by it. Today I'm more tired than yesterday but I have made myself write about 700 words and may do a little more. I am also writing this post.
There is light at the end of the tunnel however. For a start tomorrow is my last day at work before I have 2 weeks off on holiday and it cannot come soon enough. Hopefully I will finish the book while I am off.
This leads me to the question, am I brave enough to jack it all in and back myself to write books full time? If it were just me then the answer is probably yes. But I find myself in the position of having a superb wife, house and rather comfy lifestyle which I am not mad keen to lose. So what to do?
Well, I have just got another job which will, in theory, allow me more time to write. Also, it's only a 12 month contract so there is a possibilty I can work for another year, save as much as possible from the new job and then get a healthy redundancy package on top. This would allow me the freedom to do pretty much nothing but write for a year without worrying about the bills.
In other news Carole Blake of Blake Friedmann has accepted my friend request on Facebook. Good news. She still hasn't got round to rejecting my submission either so fingers crossed.
Also, The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe is selling really well this month in the UK and sales overall are great so far this month here. If my US chums could be persuaded to buy a few copies that would be marvellous.
Finally, a lady at the local hospice asked for a signed copy of the jazz cafe paperback this week which was nice. Also, the fund raising manager there has proposed a joint promotion where I donate some of my books, signed, and the hospice either raffle them off or something similar. Good for them, great for me. I'll let you know how it pans out.
Until next time...
Let me open by saying I am shattered. I've dragged myself through the last few days and the writing output has suffered a little. I didn't write anything yesterday. That was the first time in weeks, maybe even months that this has been the case and I was thoroughly frustrated by it. Today I'm more tired than yesterday but I have made myself write about 700 words and may do a little more. I am also writing this post.
There is light at the end of the tunnel however. For a start tomorrow is my last day at work before I have 2 weeks off on holiday and it cannot come soon enough. Hopefully I will finish the book while I am off.
This leads me to the question, am I brave enough to jack it all in and back myself to write books full time? If it were just me then the answer is probably yes. But I find myself in the position of having a superb wife, house and rather comfy lifestyle which I am not mad keen to lose. So what to do?
Well, I have just got another job which will, in theory, allow me more time to write. Also, it's only a 12 month contract so there is a possibilty I can work for another year, save as much as possible from the new job and then get a healthy redundancy package on top. This would allow me the freedom to do pretty much nothing but write for a year without worrying about the bills.
In other news Carole Blake of Blake Friedmann has accepted my friend request on Facebook. Good news. She still hasn't got round to rejecting my submission either so fingers crossed.
Also, The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe is selling really well this month in the UK and sales overall are great so far this month here. If my US chums could be persuaded to buy a few copies that would be marvellous.
Finally, a lady at the local hospice asked for a signed copy of the jazz cafe paperback this week which was nice. Also, the fund raising manager there has proposed a joint promotion where I donate some of my books, signed, and the hospice either raffle them off or something similar. Good for them, great for me. I'll let you know how it pans out.
Until next time...
Sunday, 9 September 2012
Do you fancy coming to Lancaster Litfest?
Morning folks,
The programme for the upcoming Lancaster Litfest was in the post this morning. It all kicks off on the 17th October and if you've any interest in poetry, fiction, writing or reading in general then come along and have a look.
Just to give you an idea of what might happen. At last years event I met Ian Rankin, he signed my book and saw him again later in the pub over the road. Basically I met one of my favourite authors and it cost next to nothing. How cool? Very!
Anyway, I've littered the above with links so check it out and hopefully we'll see you there. I'll be the one not performing or appearing in any events despite being a local author. Litfest organisers - an invite to do something next year would be much appreciated!!
Right, it's late and I've just bought the new Blu Ray version of Jaws which I'm keen to watch. So in short:
A thick fog has rolled across the bay in the last couple of hours following an impressive sunset so I've spent all night quoting things from the film The Fog. The wife has not seen the film and is not impressed.
We watched Black Swan and weren't thrilled with that either, despite the very lovely Natalie Portman being in it. I spent a lot of the film saying I thought the mother daughter relationship was similar to the one in Carrie. Something to ponder.
Finally, huuuuge thanks to everyone in the UK who has been buying The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe. I'm not sure what has prompted the sudden spike but it's very exciting to see it bouncing up the Amazon charts. Still very little love for it in America though. Come on America, you're missing out! You don't want little old Britain to be ahead of you on this. Quick, start buying my book and show us who's best.
Okay, enough. Movie time.....
The programme for the upcoming Lancaster Litfest was in the post this morning. It all kicks off on the 17th October and if you've any interest in poetry, fiction, writing or reading in general then come along and have a look.
Just to give you an idea of what might happen. At last years event I met Ian Rankin, he signed my book and saw him again later in the pub over the road. Basically I met one of my favourite authors and it cost next to nothing. How cool? Very!
Anyway, I've littered the above with links so check it out and hopefully we'll see you there. I'll be the one not performing or appearing in any events despite being a local author. Litfest organisers - an invite to do something next year would be much appreciated!!
Right, it's late and I've just bought the new Blu Ray version of Jaws which I'm keen to watch. So in short:
A thick fog has rolled across the bay in the last couple of hours following an impressive sunset so I've spent all night quoting things from the film The Fog. The wife has not seen the film and is not impressed.
We watched Black Swan and weren't thrilled with that either, despite the very lovely Natalie Portman being in it. I spent a lot of the film saying I thought the mother daughter relationship was similar to the one in Carrie. Something to ponder.
Finally, huuuuge thanks to everyone in the UK who has been buying The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe. I'm not sure what has prompted the sudden spike but it's very exciting to see it bouncing up the Amazon charts. Still very little love for it in America though. Come on America, you're missing out! You don't want little old Britain to be ahead of you on this. Quick, start buying my book and show us who's best.
Okay, enough. Movie time.....
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Do my books Sparkle?
Morning gang,
Really quick one tonight because I'm exhausted. First day back at work today, late to bed last night. Hard day.
Anyway, I've still managed a quick 500 words on the latest blockbuster but the big news is that I've submitted the first chapter of The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe to my new chums at Sparkling Books. I freely admit I'd never heard of them but they followed me on Twitter. I had a look at their website and thought it wouldn't hurt.
They seem keen on self promo by the author which as an Indie I do anyway but any help they can offer will be appreciated, assuming they don't want 95% rights to my books in return for a £300 advance.
Anyway, it can't hurt so I'll let you know the outcome.
Right, quick look at the tennis scores and then bed to plough on with Perfect People by Peter James.
Really quick one tonight because I'm exhausted. First day back at work today, late to bed last night. Hard day.
Anyway, I've still managed a quick 500 words on the latest blockbuster but the big news is that I've submitted the first chapter of The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe to my new chums at Sparkling Books. I freely admit I'd never heard of them but they followed me on Twitter. I had a look at their website and thought it wouldn't hurt.
They seem keen on self promo by the author which as an Indie I do anyway but any help they can offer will be appreciated, assuming they don't want 95% rights to my books in return for a £300 advance.
Anyway, it can't hurt so I'll let you know the outcome.
Right, quick look at the tennis scores and then bed to plough on with Perfect People by Peter James.
Monday, 13 August 2012
Is there a link between my Olympic photos and book sales?
Evening gang,
Is it just me or did today feel like the first day back at work after a holiday? It's like everyone woke up and realised they had a life outside of the magic world of the olympics.
It was interesting to witness the cynicism return to Twitter. We've had two weeks of really positive trends, huge support for Danny Boyle, Team GB and the individual athletes and then last night it began with a systematic dismantling of the closing ceremony online. Pity, I for one was hoping to stay Olympic for as long as possible. Thankfully the worldwide reception seems to have been positive and not everyone seems keen to return to their usual bitterness quite yet. Long may it continue.
In that spirit I've decided to add a couple of photographs a family member took inside the stadium on the night Usain Bolt won the 200m. Apparently words are not sufficient to describe how impressive an event it was. The first just highlights where they were sitting and how big it was, the second is the man himself.
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Is it just me or did today feel like the first day back at work after a holiday? It's like everyone woke up and realised they had a life outside of the magic world of the olympics.
It was interesting to witness the cynicism return to Twitter. We've had two weeks of really positive trends, huge support for Danny Boyle, Team GB and the individual athletes and then last night it began with a systematic dismantling of the closing ceremony online. Pity, I for one was hoping to stay Olympic for as long as possible. Thankfully the worldwide reception seems to have been positive and not everyone seems keen to return to their usual bitterness quite yet. Long may it continue.
In that spirit I've decided to add a couple of photographs a family member took inside the stadium on the night Usain Bolt won the 200m. Apparently words are not sufficient to describe how impressive an event it was. The first just highlights where they were sitting and how big it was, the second is the man himself.
.jpg)
.jpg)
In case you were wondering the answer to the title question is no, there isn't a link between these photos and book sales, unless reading this post leads you to buying a copy. But since I've cleverly managed to get onto the topic of books I received a nice comment on Facebook today.
A chap was looking for pictures of Art Deco buildings on the internet. His son, I think, sent him a picture of the Midland Hotel in Morecambe. He liked it and looked for more, stumbling across what he described as a spooky looking picture of the hotel which was, it turned out, the cover of my book The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe. This led him to this very blog and from there to my Facebook promo page. After that, he downloaded a copy of the book. Now that is the best example I've ever had of all my marketing, promo and links coming together and I was delighted.
Anyway, the second book in the series is progressing. It's about 45000 words in so far. Next week is going to be a review week which will hopefully lead into the final push to the end. It's going to be tight to get it done and published by the end of the year but it's good to have a goal.
Right, that's all for now. To recap. Olympics awesome. I hope we can all retain the spirit as long as possible. Keep buying my books, it makes me feel warm and safe.
Thursday, 9 August 2012
Is it important to have my books available in the public library?
Evening folks,
Another monumental effort by Team GB at the Olympics today. We've won another gold medal in the last hour in the Taekwondo courtesy of Jade Jones. We also won gold in the Women's boxing and more awesome medals in the horses! Top work all round.
Tonight saw a world record in the 800 metres too as well as Usain Bolt making history by being the first man to do the double double in retaining his sprint titles. This was significant to me particularly because I had family in the stadium tonight who apparently had an amazing time.
I and others have noticed the ongoing feelgood factor up and down the country which I think has continued on from the spectacular Jubilee earlier in the year. At the moment Britain feels like a fantastic place to live.
And now onto the books. Regular readers may recall this post where I mentioned that someone I know had requested one of my books from the local library and met with some resistance. Since then, another person who works with my wife has been into their local library to request another of my books. Again they met with a little resistance although in both cases the book, I believe, has been ordered. But nobody, least of all me, is going to get rich from royalties from lending. But it's important to me as a writer to have my books as widely available as possible. I honestly feel that libraries should be actively supporting writers, especially ones local to them.
Still, it's done now and when I hear that the books are on the shelf I plan to wander in and have a look just for my own satisfaction, my own feelgood moment.
In other news, the follow up to The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe is progressing well. I have written over 42,000 words so far although I am struggling to hold onto the plot in places and some careful editing will be required when it's completed. The plan remains the same. Finish the book then put it away and publish a book from the back catalogue. Then I'm either going to publish the new book or.....
I'm not going to tell you what the other option is just yet. But it's something I've had on the back burner for about three years and the idea has never gone away. If I pursue it, I'll announce it here first.
Right, beer and pizza time until the small hours before one more day of work until the weekend.
Another monumental effort by Team GB at the Olympics today. We've won another gold medal in the last hour in the Taekwondo courtesy of Jade Jones. We also won gold in the Women's boxing and more awesome medals in the horses! Top work all round.
Tonight saw a world record in the 800 metres too as well as Usain Bolt making history by being the first man to do the double double in retaining his sprint titles. This was significant to me particularly because I had family in the stadium tonight who apparently had an amazing time.
I and others have noticed the ongoing feelgood factor up and down the country which I think has continued on from the spectacular Jubilee earlier in the year. At the moment Britain feels like a fantastic place to live.
And now onto the books. Regular readers may recall this post where I mentioned that someone I know had requested one of my books from the local library and met with some resistance. Since then, another person who works with my wife has been into their local library to request another of my books. Again they met with a little resistance although in both cases the book, I believe, has been ordered. But nobody, least of all me, is going to get rich from royalties from lending. But it's important to me as a writer to have my books as widely available as possible. I honestly feel that libraries should be actively supporting writers, especially ones local to them.
Still, it's done now and when I hear that the books are on the shelf I plan to wander in and have a look just for my own satisfaction, my own feelgood moment.
In other news, the follow up to The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe is progressing well. I have written over 42,000 words so far although I am struggling to hold onto the plot in places and some careful editing will be required when it's completed. The plan remains the same. Finish the book then put it away and publish a book from the back catalogue. Then I'm either going to publish the new book or.....
I'm not going to tell you what the other option is just yet. But it's something I've had on the back burner for about three years and the idea has never gone away. If I pursue it, I'll announce it here first.
Right, beer and pizza time until the small hours before one more day of work until the weekend.
Wednesday, 1 August 2012
Tired of the Olympics? Try a free book!
Afternoon all.
Obviously you're not tired of the Olympics, they're awesome. Plus Team GB started winning golds today thanks to the women rowers and Bradley 'Wiggo' Wiggins.
But if you fancy losing yourself in a 5* rated crime thriller for a few hours you can download my book The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe for free from Smashwords. That's right, any format you like for nothing.
You'll need to register with the site and then use code SW52C at the checkout.
Here's the blurb: The book begins with Mitch Johnson returning to his home town where he tells his lifelong friend, Rupert Watts, that a young woman is going to be murdered. Mitch thinks that the killing will mirror that of a schoolgirl fifteen years earlier, a crime Mitch himself was suspected of committing.
With no idea when the murder will take place, or who the victim is, the friends endeavour to find the girl before she comes to harm. But they must also contend with Don Hague, a senior councillor and central figure in the dark underbelly of the town who holds Mitch responsible for the ruin of his career and his reputation in the town. The police are watching Mitch, and they are also watching Don Hague.
Who is the girl Mitch is convinced will die? How is her death linked to the schoolgirl murder? Is Don Hague, or his associates, involved? Can Mitch and Rupert convince the police to take them seriously before it’s too late to save a girl’s life?
So to recap. Go to Smashwords, search for Jamie Sinclair, click on The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe, and use code SW52C at the checkout and it's yours on your Kindle, Sony ereader, Ipad, anything you like.
Enjoy.
Obviously you're not tired of the Olympics, they're awesome. Plus Team GB started winning golds today thanks to the women rowers and Bradley 'Wiggo' Wiggins.
But if you fancy losing yourself in a 5* rated crime thriller for a few hours you can download my book The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe for free from Smashwords. That's right, any format you like for nothing.
You'll need to register with the site and then use code SW52C at the checkout.
Here's the blurb: The book begins with Mitch Johnson returning to his home town where he tells his lifelong friend, Rupert Watts, that a young woman is going to be murdered. Mitch thinks that the killing will mirror that of a schoolgirl fifteen years earlier, a crime Mitch himself was suspected of committing.
With no idea when the murder will take place, or who the victim is, the friends endeavour to find the girl before she comes to harm. But they must also contend with Don Hague, a senior councillor and central figure in the dark underbelly of the town who holds Mitch responsible for the ruin of his career and his reputation in the town. The police are watching Mitch, and they are also watching Don Hague.
Who is the girl Mitch is convinced will die? How is her death linked to the schoolgirl murder? Is Don Hague, or his associates, involved? Can Mitch and Rupert convince the police to take them seriously before it’s too late to save a girl’s life?
So to recap. Go to Smashwords, search for Jamie Sinclair, click on The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe, and use code SW52C at the checkout and it's yours on your Kindle, Sony ereader, Ipad, anything you like.
Enjoy.
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