Gettin' Newsy With It

Part of my Lifting the Veil series

Hello friends and readers.

This is my monthly news and behind-the-scenes update.

I got my novel back from my editor just before Christmas. I didn’t read her feedback until the second week of January. I let her words sink in for a week or so, coming back to them often like a tide not quite wanting to reach the shore.

Getting your writing edited is always hard on the heart. A good editor will see everything you’ve (unconsciously) tried to hide. The bits that need more research, the bits that need more clarity, the bits that don’t even need to be there. Ouch.

Kill your darlings. Or cut and paste them into a new doc for another story.

So I’m digging in deeply but gently. I want to release it by autumn so best get a move on.

This brings me to what I’ve been reading. I know some authors who don’t read while writing a book, but because I’m a slow writer and editor, I wouldn’t get much read if I did this. Also, I always find the uncanny occurs and something I’m reading will help me with what I’m working on.

This happened with Earthly Bodies. I was stuck on how to structure it and reading The Prestige by Christopher Priest (RIP- he died very recently) and its structure is so clever… Read it! And yes, Christopher Nolan did make it into a film. The book is a different experience- worth your time.

This is what I’m reading right now;

• Refuse To Be Done¹- How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts by Matt Bell. This is BRILLIANT, someone recommended it and I can’t recall who but it’s so good. It has given me a proper plan for further edits, and I’m now excited to dig in rather than reluctant.

• Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I’m reading this as part of

  Simon Haisell
  ‘s year-long slow read-along of the Wolf Hall trilogy. I’m not sure I’ll join in for the whole year because I’m neglecting other books, but I might, it depends on how Hilary leaves me hanging.

• Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard. I’m reading this on audiobook from the library via Borrow Box (join your local library and you can get audiobooks for free!) It’s narrated by the author, which I always think gives a book a personal touch. It is about her groundbreaking research into forests and fungi. A journey of both ecological and self-discovery: a nature memoir.

Things I’ve seen on screen

• The new series of True Detective. This has had mixed reviews, but I’m enjoying it. It nails one of my favourite horror genres; Icy remote places, scientists digging stuff up, indigenous mythology, Jodie Foster. It’s incredible to me to see a local actor (Christopher Eccleston is from Manchester, UK) play opposite Foster who is an absolute icon of film. Despite all of this, it’s Kali Reis who steals every scene she’s in. She’s a former championship boxer and her physicality translates as a great presence on camera.

• The House (2022) on Netflix. This is a stop-motion animation feature-length film that holds within it three stories that all use the same house to anchor each together. The first story had echoes of The Shining, and the second two are more lighthearted but still sinister. The animation is incredible.

Other news

The table of contents for the Love Letters to Poe Anthology- Tales Torn From The Heart is here. My story is called Two Moons Tavern and is set in a remote seaside village.

If you want to preorder you can do so here.

1. Some of my book links are Bookshop affiliate links so if you buy, I make a small %