A Christmas Story – Part 2
In many ways, it is more than a little bit cheeky to call this a Christmas story, when what I am really doing is extracting out two chapters of my unpublished novel, both of which happen to be set during Christmas. What is interesting for me as a writer, is that both of these chapters…
A Christmas Story (in two parts)
Part One – but first some background… In the days before Christmas, I thought I would have a bit of festive fun, and return to my unpublished first novel that still sits in the metaphorical drawer that every author knows all too well – the file full of writing which is destined to languish in…
Green lemons
I have just received a letter in the mail from Northumberland County Council that an application in relation to the construction and operation of a renewable energy scheme on land at Whittonstall is going to be heard. I plan on attending, as I did with the first meeting considering the application. I wanted to share…
Pathway to Publication? Let’s Talk About Agents
I have been talking about my writing journey on my way to publication, and today I want to focus on that thorny topic for many aspiring novelists – agents. I’ve been in the query trenches, and I have been wounded, again and again, by the rejection letter. I know what it is to feel that…
Pathway to Publication: Courses and Competitions
In my last post I spent time talking about the writing of my first novel, and my failure to achieve publication. My use of the word failure in this context was one that I carefully considered, for while I failed to find anyone willing to support it for publication, whether that be an agent or…
Reflections on my Journey to Publication: Failure and Festivals
Since the moment I began reading, books have entranced me. Throughout my life, they have provided me with solace, companionship, laughter, and hope. I have been surrounded by books my whole life, from saving my pocket money to buy books when I was child, to spending my Saturdays in the library when I was teenager,…
My Thoughts on The Fall of Roe by Elizabeth Dias and Lisa Lerer
The Fall of Roe by Elizabeth Dias My rating: 5 of 5 stars I remember the day when Roe fell. I had sensed that Roe was under threat for years, my fears for Roe even being reflected in my novel, yet on the day that the Supreme Court of the United States overturned their decision…
Reviewing My Sister’s Novel: Before You Say I Do.
Before You Say I Do by Sharon Ibbotson My rating: 5 of 5 stars There are two disclaimers I need to give before writing this review: 1. I am not usually a romance reader. While I do indulge in the odd romance novel, the genre is not one I usually reach for when searching for…
Writing Dickens – Week 6
As I am about to post chapters 11 and 12 of my version of Hard Times, shadowing Dickens’s instalments from 170 years ago, I wanted to shared where I got the idea for writing it, as well as talk about where the two songs that were sung in last week’s instalment by Kit and Ailise…
Writing Dickens – Week 3
I don’t know how Dickens did it. Right now, I am on week 3 of writing in instalments, exactly as Dickens did, 170 years ago. So far, I have written chapters 1 to 6, publishing them in the same increments as Dickens did: 1 April 1854 1–3 Book I 8 April 1854 4–5 15 April…
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Deborah Siddoway 