I can't believe we're almost at the end of January already, in the year that 'Back to the Future' promised us hover boards and flying cars. It seems they were a bit wrong about that.
But in the meantime, here is a round-up of my writing-related activities in the first month of the year.
OUT NOW
Sadly, nothing new lined up to come out this year as of yet. I have to finish writing things first (see 'Work In Progress' for more information there). Of course I am still promoting DEATH SCENE and DEAD COOL. Just in case you haven't got around to reading them yet...
PROMOTIONAL STUFF
The year has got off to a good start, with three guest appearances thus far:
8 January - I appeared on JQ Rose's blog in her series of writers passing on their writing tips. There was also a giveaway running, and Susan Bernhardt won a free copy of DEATH SCENE.
13 January - I made a guest appearance on Marsha West's blog, talking about how the submission process has changed in the 25 years since I first started sending stuff out.
23 January - I was interviewed by Lisa Lickel, chatting about DEAD COOL.
WORK IN PROGRESS
Since the beginning of the year I've been struggling to get into the flow with SPOTLIGHT ON DEATH, the third Shara Summers book. Even though I plot before I start, it still takes a little while to find the voice, and the pace, of a new book. This one has the added complication of being half-started already, and I decided to completely scrap what I had of the first draft and start all over again.
Happily, I am now 5,000 words in and I think I've found the muse. I still have a suspicion I'm starting in the wrong place, but the words are starting to flow and there's plenty of time to fix things in the rewrite. I have chosen to focus on the 5,000 words that I have already written, instead of the 65,000 words still to go...
As for the horror novel, this has become rather like a jigsaw, with my looking at two previous drafts (both of which I thought at the time were finished) and deciding which chapters belong in the actual final draft and which ones don't. And I suspect I may still have to insert a couple of new chapters before it's finally done. I was rather hoping to have this one finished by now. Sadly, that's not the case. Maybe by this time next month, though.
And that brings us to the end of this month's news. See you at the end of February!
But in the meantime, here is a round-up of my writing-related activities in the first month of the year.
OUT NOW
Sadly, nothing new lined up to come out this year as of yet. I have to finish writing things first (see 'Work In Progress' for more information there). Of course I am still promoting DEATH SCENE and DEAD COOL. Just in case you haven't got around to reading them yet...
PROMOTIONAL STUFF
The year has got off to a good start, with three guest appearances thus far:
8 January - I appeared on JQ Rose's blog in her series of writers passing on their writing tips. There was also a giveaway running, and Susan Bernhardt won a free copy of DEATH SCENE.
13 January - I made a guest appearance on Marsha West's blog, talking about how the submission process has changed in the 25 years since I first started sending stuff out.
23 January - I was interviewed by Lisa Lickel, chatting about DEAD COOL.
WORK IN PROGRESS
Since the beginning of the year I've been struggling to get into the flow with SPOTLIGHT ON DEATH, the third Shara Summers book. Even though I plot before I start, it still takes a little while to find the voice, and the pace, of a new book. This one has the added complication of being half-started already, and I decided to completely scrap what I had of the first draft and start all over again.
Happily, I am now 5,000 words in and I think I've found the muse. I still have a suspicion I'm starting in the wrong place, but the words are starting to flow and there's plenty of time to fix things in the rewrite. I have chosen to focus on the 5,000 words that I have already written, instead of the 65,000 words still to go...
As for the horror novel, this has become rather like a jigsaw, with my looking at two previous drafts (both of which I thought at the time were finished) and deciding which chapters belong in the actual final draft and which ones don't. And I suspect I may still have to insert a couple of new chapters before it's finally done. I was rather hoping to have this one finished by now. Sadly, that's not the case. Maybe by this time next month, though.
And that brings us to the end of this month's news. See you at the end of February!
