The Body in the Courtyard

(above portrait is of a young Catherine of Aragon)

Now that I’m no longer in between novels, I finally feel like things are back to normal.  Except that they aren’t.  Instead of working on my next teen fiction, I’m researching the early 1500s for the setting of my next series; a Tudor Murder Mystery series for adult readers under a pen name (which will be disclosed upon release of book 1).  The main character will be/is fictitious, but the story revolves around historic events, so although it’s a fiction, I absolutely must get the setting and history right.  Which means a lot of research, which I love doing.

I’ve always wanted to write a whodunit and I’ve always wanted to explore the Tudor era in more depth (the Masters degree was in Early Medieval Archaeology, so anything past Conquest was too late for me).  Now that I’m more engaged with the latter medieval, I find myself getting sucked into the era. The more I learn, the more I want to know.

Which brings us to 1513, the year my novel is set.  I knew a bit about the first wife of Henry VIII; that she was treated pretty roughly towards the end when his wandering eye took his interest (and hopes for a son) to Catherin’s lady-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn. I also knew she bore many children although only one survived (to become Queen Mary).  I didn’t know that she’d been assigned Regent for six months while Henry was away in France, that heavily pregnant, she donned full armour, rode north to address her troops who were due to invade Scotland.  England had been at war with Scotland for some time and she and her army won the war. Her child, however was born in October and lived only 52 days.  Small wonder, reading about what she’d been through. Catherine of Aragon was much more than just wife number 1.  She was the strength that the King depended on, trusted to run the country for him while he was away.  And that trust was not misplaced (now if only she could have trusted him).

But Catherine of Aragon is not my protagonist – she’s just part of the background tapestry of my setting. My main character is a young woman of no real consequence.  Her father is a Lord, her fiancé is in France fighting along side King Henry, but her life is about to make some unexpected changes. Not only is her fiancé reported fallen in the battlefield, but her parents ship her off to the countryside to care for a bedridden great aunt that she’s never heard of.  And then there is that body in the courtyard…

Blood Tide's new launch!

It’s finally out in print and I can’t believe how wonderful it feels.  After years of rewrites, making small changes, edits and feedback from some very amazing readers, it’s pure concentrated love in triangle paperback form. Springbok Publications, my publisher for the book, has also sent me to my first e-launch.  I had no idea what to expect and I was sweating for the three hours before it started.  However, once live, it was good fun and I had the chance to engage with my readers and potential readers for a few hours.

Something someone asked me on the night was, ‘what made you want to write about slavery in 1733?’ Valid question.  It was a very convoluted answer.  The primary reason was that I felt Black History Month became a bit boring for teenagers at school.  It seemed to be the same list of names, dates and atrocities and I had the distinct feeling they’d become num to it all.  I wanted to engage these young adults with a new tale – a fictional tale using the elements of historic slavery with a character they could follow (and was new to them).

Of course, there was also that amazing charcoal sketch of a Caribbean woman at my grandmother’s house which inspired Amber’s mother, Precious.  This is her story too, although most of it is about Amber fighting her way to freedom alongside her fellow captors.  And, of course, who could resist the urge to write about pirates?

There was only one successful revolting slave ship in history, and that was the Amistat. Slaves on the ship managed to escape the hold, take the ship and live for a short time as pirates.  With several historic points as inspiration, I wove a tale that (hopefully) tempts newcomers to history, leaving them wanting to research their own histories and learn more.

Blood Tide is available now on Amazon, but should, in just a few weeks, be available to order from Waterstones and most bookstores.  For a signed copy, visit www.springbokpublications.com.

Blog Hop

It’s been a while again. Yes, I let time slip away (and, I must admit, research did take up a lot of my time). However, my good friend and fellow writer, Berni Stevens http://www.bernistevensdesign.com/, http://bernistevens.blogspot.co.uk/ has pushed me back on track by asking me to participate in this year’s blog hop.

So, I’ve got some questions to answer and a link to post, then some authors to nominate.  However, me being rather busy (and perhaps a bit lazy) I’ve only managed to coerce one author into participating instead of the expected three.  All I have to say is, ‘Thanks Tim! You were always my most punctual of author friends and once again you got back to me in record time.’

Right, the questions:

1) What am I working on?

I’m working on… ah, bells, do I really have to give a direct answer?  I’m in limbo, truth be told.  Three books coming out with three different publishers and I’m in the process of researching for a new series of books that will be under a pen name.  The books are set in Tudor England and will have a murder mystery slant to them. They are for adult readers (no, not naughty, but not aimed at my usual children’s and teen audience) and therefore under a different name. 

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Curses, I think I’ve already answered that question. How am I to… ah, nevermind.  It’s adult historical fiction, not children’s fantasy or teen urban fantasy or teen historical fiction.

3) Why do I write what I do?

Why? Because I can’t live if I don’t.  I’d shrivel up and die in a corner. Why else would anyone sit at their computer day in and out, waiting upon some chance in Hades that a big agent will someday commission the work that took years and excluded all social activities? In one word, delusional.  Yup, that’s me.  And every author I know.

4) How does my writing process work?

I write, I sit, I write, I sleep, I write, I edit, I write, I sleep a bit, wake up with a new idea for a subplot, then write some more.  Then I edit a whole lot, then when it’s all done I open a bottle of champagne and pray someone will be interested, then I send it to agents, then I get the rejection letters, then I cry a bit, then I edit some more, then I beg friends to read it and give suggestions, then I edit again, then I have a new idea and start it all over. Any questions?

Okay, nomination time! Tim Reed, over to you! Thanks for being a good sport :-)

Tim Reed has been published several times in the short story and novella field, in the USA and UK, spreading his net on the fantasy, weird tale and horror genres. He works as a technical author and does freelance proofreading in his spare time.

He has a love of well-written fantasy and supernatural fiction - both old and modern - and cites Algernon Blackwood and H P Lovecraft as his primary literary inspirations. His current ongoing works-in-progress include a modern retelling of 'The Magic Faraway Tree'; he will always write...even though his constant daydreaming continues to infuriate his nearest and dearest.

Blog link: www.timreedauthor.com

 

 

To Talliston we go!

Just a few more weeks until the Murder Mystery party at Talliston.  With a Roman theme, I've been busy making Roman jewellery and costume (Ignore the stripy shirt under my tunica lol).

It has been very long since my last blog, but to be fair, I've had to hold back in regards to what's going on with my writing.  And I've been busy with Seadrake Creations, my jewellery business (https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=676296549101105&id=376134102450686&aymt_tip=1#!/SeadrakeCreations)
which has been keeping my hands from typing (forming, soldering, hammering silver is pretty amazing and fun).

On to writing.  So much has changed.  Faeries will be on hold for a little longer as the publisher is still setting things up and making sure all legalities are in order.  It's going to be a good company, I can feel it, and I'm very excited for the new director and owner... it brings back memories of when Wyvern Publications was new. It also gives me some breathing space to finish my other projects because as soon as she takes on Faeries, I'll need to crack on with book two.

Blood Tide is still with Springbok Publications and I've just finished reviewing the e-proof.  I can't believe how much it's improved since the manuscript was left with them... I truly am blessed to have great indy publishers!!!  It will be released as soon as it's ready - I know myself how long these things can take and I'll post links to the book as soon as it's up.

My third publisher (really, three??? I'm either doing something very right or very wrong) has taken my last children's stories for the anthology and is reviewing the changes now.  It's been a boon having a dedicated children's e-publisher, and now these stories are going into their own dedicated anthology with an emphasis on my Cornish storyteller collection.  It will be out when it's out and I'll post those links too.

As for random anthology contributions, I think I'm finished with those.  I've lost count of the number of collections I'm part of and although I loved doing it, it takes time from my larger projects.

Write, write, write, make jewellery, prep the house, create the Tudor style garden, work on the putting together the natural looking playground, blog, argh, it's all a spin. Some big changes are about to take place and when I'm at liberty, I'll write about them.  But for now, it's all work and very little play.  Oh, and some good publishing :-)

July Ink and Beyond...

We've booked our winter escape from the future cold!  Muahahahhaaaaa... palm trees here we come, time for grandma to spoil the little one (and us!).  But that's months away.  For now, it's glorious weather here and the only downside is that it's keeping the toddler up late at night which digs into my writing time. And I still have to see that jeweller about doing an internship while I'm out there (didn't want to contact him before we had the dates set firm).

I’ve got just the rest of the month to draft out the rest of Downtrodden and then send it to an agent… I wasn’t intending on sending it out, but a glorious writer I know has suggested I do it (although the deadline is my own and will probably extend into next month).  She is currently working as an intern for said agent.  I dare not get my hopes up – Downtrodden is not the standard novel and it’s not written in third person limited in a single voice; it’s third person limited from many voices in many sections (yes, yes, as I said earlier, it’s not normal – it’s like a miniseries on TV).  Which is why I can’t get my hopes up.  I’ve broken rules…

Yet seeing the end to the draft will mean my celebrating – I started Downtrodden years ago, first as a flash fiction competition submission when I very first started writing seriously in 2008 after finishing (I use ‘finishing’ in the loosest of terms as I didn’t bother going beyond the fiction section as at that time there was no individual course for just fiction, let alone children’s and teen fiction… yet I’ve made my money back and then some, which is the only way to get a ‘pass’, but I’ve never bothered to send in for my certificate, I’m THAT lazy) Writer’s Bureau course.

If said agent isn’t interested, or is just shocked that I’ve send in something so abominable to the written word, I’ll publish it on kindle as a short series of four ‘books’, every other to be a free download – if people like it, then they can buy the next instalment, etc.  At any rate, it will be a fun experiment J

As for the rest of writing, knowonder no longer pays staff writers which is a shame but understandable.  They are, however, still paying general writers, so if anyone other than staff was considering submitting, don’t be put off. I’ll be spending more time of Highlights submissions in the future; it’s such an established magazine, I don’t expect it will have too many cuts (gulp… famous last words?)

The Isabella edit is taking longer than expected (did I say that last time too?) but the finished product will be very nice.  As for Three Women… it will be done on time (really, it will!) but Isabella is taking most of my hours and I’ve not even done anything for Seadrake this month – except pull my work from both high street shops.  I’m putting it all on etsy with sale prices to flush it out before I start on a new line. Onwards and upwards, yada yada…

 

 

New Books and Doomy Weather

I'm in a new anthology!  Look, here is the cover as it looks on amazon:

It’s the second day of official summer and it’s been pelting it down with rain (it takes me a bit of time to get round to posting these blogs).  I don’t mind – it just adds to more writing time.  And there has been a dramatic increase in writing time which I hope does not wane.  The new regime is this: an hour in the loft huddled on a pillow under the roof window while I write fiction until my battery runs out.  There are no internet, TV, child or food distractions.  No cat jumping on my keyboard, no little nips to my phone.  Just pure writing with the occasional play on mahjong while I think about plot and structure between chapters.

            I still have editing and my nonfiction to write during the day but once the evenings draw in, I smuggle my laptop upstairs while hubby watches an action film (I catch the end or beginning with him).  1000 words a weekday, means in 60 working days, I’ll have a 60,000 word novel.

            Well, it’s not everyday, I admit.  And there are some days when I just stare at the screen and try not to succumb to the pull of the internet, which is like a black hole for my time.

            Over the past few weeks I’d been stuck in a lull – my motivation was a bit down and I was thinking of properly giving up Seadrake, even without waiting until the end of the financial year.  I’d had a rejection too.  Funny thing is, I don’t even remember what it was for.  But then I got payment for one of my knowonder stories and I realised that I just needed a little spark of hope to keep me going. Now my writing is back in full force, Seadrake is back into play (and with a whole new business plan and the new, shiny, revamped website will go live before the end of the year which will focus more on cast sterling rings and necklaces) and all is right in the world.

            I think it’s that way for most writers (not to mention jewellers).  It’s hard times for fiction writers and even the most established of writers are wondering if they’ll have to look for new work and put down their pens (or just use their laptops for solitaire and candy crush).  Nobody seems to know the way forward anymore, and it’s certainly not the main publishers – anyone who’s attended the London Book Fair in the past five years would have noticed a worrying trend of empty stalls.  Nobody seems to be buying books much anymore (unless it’s celebrity slush).

            I’d love (like all authors) to get a fab contract.  A three-book contract with six digit royalties… and it might even happen to someone.  I’m fairly certain it won’t be me; I’m not mainstream enough.  But I can produce some beautiful reads.  They might be with indie publishers, they might be popped up on kindle or nook, but they’ll be out there.  Which I suppose, for now, is enough. And on that note, I’m pleased to announce that Downtrodden is very near the end and near completion.  My aim is to have it out on kindle before the end of the year and the cover is being worked on too.

            I am wondering about having the book separated into quarters and having the first as a free download, the second ‘instalment’ as a basic £1.50 download, etc.  If it does well, it can continue as a series.  More things to think about.

Inky Victorians

This is the photo that started my stories within the Isabella anthology.  At the end of this blog, I’ll add a bit of my work as a taster – the novel is due to be released within the year if all goes well, with Springbok Publications.

 

It’s been a funny old week.  Firstly, I must say that I’ve stepped back in time – no longer in my little spiral tower of inky doom where I normally do my time travelling by way of writing.  I mean really, truly, I walked into a place and was jetted back to the Victorian era.  I’m talking of course, of one of the magical rooms at the Talliston House and Gardens.  It’s the most magical place I’ve been to in a long time and I do believe I left half my soul in The Watchtower.  It’s my aim to go to the writer’s circle (now that I have my driver’s licence).

 

But a long and strange week has melded into another and the edits are at a slow pace.  My Three Women in Asylum is on halt and my Gothic Horror is my guilty pleasure, indulged in when the toddler is prepping for bed and husband allows me to sneak away up those stairs.

Now I’ve got to decide which works to bring to Talliston’s Writer’s Circle.  My fairytales book, Gothic horror novel, Three Women, or my children’s book… hmmm.