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Showing posts from July, 2012

Voyages of Discovery

The process of editing , having a second or, if you’re really lucky, a third pair of eyes scrutinising your work is a valuable experience. It picks up any extra hands; she’s already holding his hand. Do you mean his other hand? Those repetitions; could you look at the number of ‘gazes’ ? And any pesky time anomalies; Two weeks? I thought this was supposed to be the next morning? It’s also a useful reminder that you can never know enough about your characters; what they do, where they live, and, most importantly, what they want (or think they want!) – you don’t have to regurgitate all of that information, but you need those details very firmly fixed in your mind. As Move Over Darling comes closer to publication, I’ve put the splurge that’s currently Book Three to one side to do some research. I know that two strangers are about to find themselves offshore in a small boat and I know that Little Spitmarsh, my sleepy seaside town from Turning the Tide will reappear somewhere alo...

Keeping It Real

Pesky pigeons! ‘Why is everybody else in blogland having such a fantastic life…?'   This question from wise blogger, Friko  - someone who’s not afraid to tell it like it is - set me thinking. I suppose, I’m guilty as charged for writing about and wanting to share the happy times; the photo shoots and parties, the preparations for my daughter’s wedding. And, hurray, the release of the first book my daughter, Rose, has overseen at work from start to finish in her role as Research and Development Controller. I try to make the most of every day, because, as I’ve mentioned here before, I’m keenly aware that time runs out. On my way to publication, I was grateful for the support of the internet group, the Novel Racers . If you take a look at the blog, you’ll see quite a number of us achieved our aim of publication. But our lovely Lisa, Hesitant Scribe , didn’t live to celebrate those successes. Yet even at the very end, Lisa’s blog was funny, uplifting and an inspiration to...