So Many Books!

I was rather shocked to find that I had only read 12 books (and 2 of those had been short story collections) in 2014. I use Goodreads a lot, I love adding the books I have read, sharing with others and seeing their recommendations. I also find it invaluable to check out reviews before deciding on which book to purchase next. Goodreads keeps track of your books and gives you Your Year in Books (hence why I know how little I've read!) You can also set yourself a reading challenge each year and a nifty bar chart tells you how far towards your goal you are.

Anyway, to get to the point. I want to read more in 2015. Mostly this is because I have a shelf-load of unread books - not to mention a fair few stacked on my Kindle - which I really must read! My problem, like many other people's, is that I cannot help buying new books. So, all I am doing is adding to the ever-increasing stack of 'to-reads' and therefore making it even less likely that I'm ever going to get through them. Of course, you HAVE to buy new books - it's impossible not to. I find new authors daily and think "I must read their book" and heaven help me on Twitter, because I come across so many recommendations from those I follow that I can spend hours just making lists of must haves. And then, don't get me started on the amazing Liz Barnsley. Her Book Review website is FULL of the aforementioned 'must haves' and she reads SO much that it is always being updated. Honestly, I am in awe. If you ever get stuck for something to read you simply must check her site out.

I have decided to add a 'Book Review' page to my blog. If I have the added incentive of reviewing, I may manage to get through more books. Well, that's the theory anyway. I have started by adding a couple of books that I have already reviewed on Amazon and Goodreads and will continue to add my previously read books before I start adding new reviews. I am currently reading Sarah Hilary's No Other Darkness, due for release on 23rd April in the UK so I will ensure I review that one soon.

Have you got any reading goals this year? I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for dropping by - and Happy Reading! Oh, and as this is my first post this year HAPPY NEW YEAR too :)

The Nano Bug

Yes, the NanoWriMo  bug has hit me too. Looking at a lot of blogs since November the 1st, I can see a number of my fellow writers are partaking this year. Very exciting! (Go Jan!!)

I am also in good company as a few writers from my online writer group are involved. There's nothing like some healthy competition and great support to see you through the long days of staring at a screen! 

Plus, other must-haves are a good supply of coffee, some upbeat music and biscuits.                                              

Oh well. At least I should have 50,000 words down on the first draft of my second novel. Now, that's a great thought.

I wish everyone who is taking part a massive GOOD LUCK. There are numerous articles on the NanoWriMo site and on Twitter to inspire and motivate, as well as the likes of  Nano Sprints which gives prompts and encourages you to write for a set number of minutes then post how you did.

So, no excuses...

See you on the other side :)

Agatha Christie Festival

I had a lovely time last week visiting the International Agatha Christie Festival which was held at Torre Abbey, Torquay.

I am ashamed to say that despite having lived a mere 11 miles from Torre Abbey my entire life, I had never visited. So, what better excuse than the Agatha Christie Festival?

The festival ran from Sunday 14th - Sunday 21st and I managed to get there twice.

Danika looked lovely in this fetching red hat!

The first Sunday I took my daughter for the 'All Things Vintage and Lovely Fair'. We had a wonderful time wandering among the many stalls, trying on hats and checking out the jewellery,




Having scoured the stalls, we then walked around the Abbey itself. Part-gallery, part-museum and part-historic house, it was a really interesting visit. Danika particularly enjoyed the 'Harry Potter style' moving pictures!


For me though, the best was yet to come.

Saturday morning; nervous, excited, not sure what to expect - I went back to the Abbey for the Crime Writers Workshop. This was my first ever workshop run by an actual author (Actual! Published and everything!) Honestly, I was a bit of a wreck. 

Anyway, I was first in. And there to greet me was Sarah Hilary - author of Someone Else's Skin, which  has been chosen for Richard and Judy's Book Club.

What a wonderful experience. Sarah created such a relaxed atmosphere that my nerves soon went and I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop. Sarah gave really good advice about such things as writing a synopsis, character development and finding an agent. She was open and honest about her own journey and was a real inspiration. I also met with like-minded writers and hope that we will keep in touch to share our journeys to becoming published authors. 

Sarah stayed to sign copies of her book. I wish her every success with her debut novel and the ones that will follow, she really is a lovely 'normal' (now an in-joke) person! You can follow her on Twitter here

One Lovely Blog Award

I have been nominated for the "One Lovely Blog Award" by the inspirational Vanessa Wester: short story writer, novelist and Twitter friend! Thank you Vanessa :)
CLICK HERE for her post.

You can follow Vanessa on Twitter HERE she is great to follow, always up for a chat and often posts scrummy pictures of baked goods too!

Okay, so for this award you have to give 7 facts about yourself... Now, this is going to be the hard part. Not long ago I did the same thing for a different award, so I have been racking my brain trying to come up with another 7 facts about myself that aren't too dull. It's been a challenge - but I don't like to back down from a challenge therefore will give it a shot. Forgive me if they are boring!

First though - THE RULES!

• Link back to the blog of the person who nominated you
• Share 7 facts about yourself
• Nominate 15 blogs that you particularly like, or fewer if you can’t think of 15
• If I’ve nominated your blog, please don’t feel obliged to take part if you don’t want to, just revel in the fact you’ve been nominated – but if you can that would be fab!

Here goes then -

1- When I feel sad, lost or just in need of inspiration, I am drawn to the sea, (this is cheating really as I mentioned this before - but I'm adding in my all time favourite place to be in this post, so it's a bit different!)  My favourite place is Porthleven in Cornwall - it's the most amazing place where in rough weather the sea can reach the church. Spectacular scenes!

2 - The very first short story that I wrote and sent off got published. I was completely gob smacked as well as being hyper for at least a week. This, however, lulled me into a false sense of security - it took a number of further attempts before my next success! But - it gave me such a buzz and increased my confidence so much that I will never forget that acceptance email! It's nice to think back to it whenever I get a rejection, that's for sure (of which there have been numerous lately!)

3 - My best friend Tracey has been my friend since we were two years old. We have been through so many ups and downs in those 39 years - but have continued to be there for each other and support one another through life's journeys - we have a bond that will never be broken.  I have just got back from coffee with her and it's the first child-free coffee we've had for years, her last child has just started school. 

4 - It took me 67 driving lessons before I felt confident to attempt my test. My instructor used to say to me "You may take longer than most, but you will be safer than most". Bless him. I think he was really fed up with seeing me come the end. He finally got rid of me after I passed on the second attempt.

5 - I became an Auntie for the first time at the grand old age of 7. My sister is 17 years older than me, and was much like a mother to me when I was growing up. I remember being such a proud auntie and when I was taken to the hospital for my first visit with my niece, I sat by her cot and refused to let anyone else see her!  

6 - I stole my first pet from my neighbour.

Before you think badly of me, it wasn't 'proper' stealing... as such... Thomas the kitten used to play in my garden, I was about 6 at the time and I loved him so much that I 'prevented' him from going back in his own garden - in a nice way - I played with him for hours and used to dress him up and put him in my pram and wheel him around (he did enjoy this I promise - I have photos somewhere to prove it!) Anyway, in the end the neighbours gave in and just told my Mum to let me keep him! He was the best cat - he died when I was 15 and it felt like my world had ended. Now I have Chester - and he's amazing, he has given me a fright recently but is still with us. 

7 - Charlotte's Web was the first book I remember being 

completely enthralled by and the first that I read in just one sitting. My love of reading came from my Dad. He used to take me to the library every week and I looked forward to it greatly. I loved all the adventure books by Enid Blyton too, particularly "The Sea of Adventure" Great stuff!

Well, that's it!

I haven't nominated the full 15 (I know cheating again) as I am a bit worried the ones I would have nominated would have emitted a loud groan as it wasn't long ago that I tagged them for the last one!

Here are my somewhat fewer nominations:

Jan Baynham

Fran Clark

Wendy Clarke

Mary Papas

Patsy Collins

James Smith

Andrew Webber

Amanda Green

Click on each name to get to their blog!

Thanks for reading :)

On finding an Agent

Well, it has been a while, and whilst it may appear that I have been AWOL I can assure you I have been a very busy person! Who knew that the easy part was writing a novel, and that the hard part was the 'trying to get it out there' and all the things that come as part of that process? Yeah, okay, so I was aware of this, but was I prepared?

I think it's fair to say I'm pretty exhausted. It has also hit me that gaining an agent may be akin to winning the lottery.

There is so much information out there: on the world wide web and in writers magazines and various other articles, that quite frankly, it can be off-putting to say the least. For example, what I thought was a simple covering letter (see HERE for some examples) that would convey the necessary information to my prospective agent, was actually quite a complicated matter.

 The more research you do,

 it seems the more of a pickle you can get yourself in. 
                                               Plus, each literary agency, and each individual agent may expect something different in the covering letters/emails they receive. Get it wrong at your peril! One resource stated categorically do NOT compare your novel to an existing author, yet another asks you to. One states do not use humour, be very professional, yet I found evidence of 'real life' covering letters of successful authors that did just that (see examples HERE).

Oh - and don't get me started on the synopsis. I thought I was doing well, I had completed a 1 page and 3 page synopsis which I hoped would entice the agent and 'sell' my story. Again, I had researched the 'how to' and found some good advice (see HERE) but, I found varying recommendations as to 'spacing'. So my one pager (single spaced lines) turned out to be one and a half when spaced at 1.5, so just a bit more stress to add to the pot. 

I have only queried a handful of agents, (and that has taken a very long time), ones I like because of their reputation or the authors on their lists, or ones that have great profiles that got me all excited thinking about working with them. And, it IS exciting - this long process of trying to be found in the slush pile - don't get me wrong, but ultimately I would rather it be easier! Wouldn't we all. 

The Writers' Workshop is one resource that tells you 'How to Get An Agent Without Dying of Old Age'. It outlines some KEY STEPS that may help. Or there may be another site that tells you something different...

Basically I think you have to do your homework, pick and choose which advice you feel suits your work and the agent you are approaching, definitely follow their individual submission guidelines, and keep your fingers crossed. I also advise keeping alert - I made a fatal error in one covering email because I was tired, and once you've hit the send button it's too late, so check, double check and then check again!

In the meantime, if you are waiting for the offer of representation, or the rejection - which apparently are merely 'responses' NOT rejections (yeah, whatever) -do what I am doing - write another novel. It'll take your mind off it all and propel it back into the exhilarating world of new characters and story lines and remind you what you are doing this all for in the first place :)

I would love to hear your experiences, and any hints or tips you've picked up along the way - so feel please free to leave a comment. Thanks for stopping by.

I have been nominated for another blogger award! 

The Versatile Blogger Award - VBA is a way to honour a blogger within this wonderful online community. It also helps to bring new readers to the blogs nominated and to those who will be nominated by me! It is a great way to find new blogs to follow and I look forward to making some new blogger friends along the way :)

So, firstly, thank you Jan Baynham for nominating me.

Right, the rules of the Versatile Blogger Award are:


- Thank the person who nominated you, (as I have above). 

- Include a link to their blog - click on Jan's name to follow the link to her fantastic blog 'Jan's Journey Into Writing'

- Nominate 15 bloggers. - I'll do this at the end.

- Tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself. Well, that's the easy bit, so here goes; some random pointless information about myself -

• I once made headline news in The News of the World. Okay, when I say 'headline' it wasn't front page or anything, or 'news' as such - but it was top of the page! I won't embarrass myself by going into too much detail - the headline stated "Put Your Pic Where Your Mouth is Sam"-  read into that what you will...

• I sleep walk, talk, shout/scream. My son has inherited this too (unfortunately his is far more dramatic) - it's a bundle of laughs in this house at night!

• I love 80s films. I haven't seen them all - but those I have I admit to having seen again and again. Can't beat the 'Brat Pack' :)

• I am completely freaked out by low flying aircraft. I mean - totally. I will hit the deck if needs be. And to be fair, it doesn't even have to be THAT low. Can be a tad embarrassing at times... However, I love flying and have even had a flying lesson. Go figure.

• I love being by the sea. It is my all time favourite place to be when I need some time out. Being by the crashing waves is so therapeutic, the rougher the better! I do have to be careful though, as if I stare too long it has this 'drawing' effect and I just want to jump in. 

• My last child weighed in at 12 lb 10 oz -a week early. At the time he was the biggest baby born in the hospital ever. I may still hold the title, not sure. Bearing in mind he was that big, my placenta weighted 4 lbs and I had polyhydramnios (too much amniotic fluid) - I had lost 2 stone when I weighed the next day. Wish I could lose 2 stone in a day now!

• I struggle to finish things I start. I have a dozen beginnings to stories that I fear will never reach 'the end' and I have begun a number of courses in my time that just never got completed. Not sure what that's about - possibly it's because I get bored easily!

It's my turn to nominate other bloggers now. I keep up with quite a few and love it when a new one comes along. I know that many I follow have already been nominated, but those I have chosen range from ones I have followed for ages, to 'newly acquired' ones. Each brings something different and I always take something from each post. Please drop by and check these great people out!

And to those on this list, please feel free to accept or decline -

Shirley Wells

Mary Papas

Vanessa Wester

Mel Chesley

Peter Lewis

Karen Einsel

Mackenzie Brown

Gary Alan Henson

Terry Tyler

Rachel Stirling

Jenny Burnley

Deina Furth

Amanda Green

Dona Watson

Susie Kearley

I will look forward to finding out more about my nominees!

Thanks again Jan for the award.

I would love to add to my list of blogs to follow, so if you have any recommendations, please do leave your suggestions in the comments - as well as anything else you might want to tell me :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Publication of new collection

It's been a busy time and I'm pleased to say I hit my own deadline of publishing my new short story collection by the end of June! Phew. 
Here it is :

What do you think of the cover? I've tried to give it a similar look to my first collection - Love Potion.

It is now available on Amazon, just follow this LINK

I would love to have your feedback/review if anyone would be so inclined ;)


Other News

I have also had a flash fiction piece included in an anthology compiled by Mary Papas 

Mary ran a competition a while back and has brought together some of the entries in a short collection 
Murder: Horror Flash Fiction 

Back to novel writing this week (in between the court sessions - Oscar Pistorius trial starts again today - in fact NOW - must dash!)

Have a good week everyone! :)