The Good News (and the boring stuff no one shares)

I’ve three lovely bits of good news to share- actually four if I count the email that’s literally just pinged into my inbox. So this week has involved rather a lot of social media sharing, phoning my mum, shouting from the rooftops. It’s been a giddy whirl of loveliness that’s left me grinning idiotically!

Firstly, on Saturday The Snow Sister was named  in The Times as their Childrens Book of the Week. The write-up was so nice, I got a bit teary!

On Monday evening at 11.45pm, I finally finished my first round of edits for Strange Star. I’d been working pretty much flat out on these for the past six weeks- first edits for me often involve tons of re-writing, and this was no exception. The opening looks nothing like it does in this picture anymore!

Then, on Wednesday on my way to YAShot (a brilliant day had there, but that’s a future blog post), I got the heads up from Faber that the trade announcement for my American deal for In Darkling Wood had been made in Publishers Weekly. Suffice to say this was one MAJOR piece of news I’d had to sit on for a couple of weeks, so it was great to be able to go WOOHOO in public. I’m so so excited about this. In Darkling Wood will be published by Delacorte in Spring 2017, with another book the following year. You can read all about it here: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/68496-rights-report-week-of-october-26-2015.html

The final bit of good news is that In Darkling Wood has been shortlisted for a regional prize. I’ve probably got to sit on that one for a bit too, but it’s a very nice way to end the week.

Suffice to say writing life isn’t always like this. For every bit of good news there’ll be ten more disappointments or frustrations or tedious things to do like tax returns. Not that I’m asking for violins or a quick whip round with a hat. I know I’m incredibly lucky to be writing books. Especially right now!

CHAPTER ONE…A STORM IS COMING

This week I started writing the first draft of my FIFTH book. It feels like a long time since I wrote a first draft. I’d forgotten how slow it can be, then how lightning quick, and how when you read back over what you’ve written the next day it looks like word soup.

 

But it’s also a mega-exciting time when the ideas start to really take shape. It makes me think of a sculptor, chipping away at stone until something emerges. First drafts are like that for me.

For my husband, it’s also when I stare off into the middle distance rather a lot, and he looks at me and says ‘Writing stuff?’ and I nod. Often I get so immersed it’s hard to come back again. My dogs, at least, are happy: a dog walk is a brilliant time for working through plot conundrums. And sometimes you just need fresh air.

What can I tell you about book five?

Well, it has a title (not a working one but a proper agreed with Faber one). It’s set in and around 1816 – the Year With No Summer- and tells the story of Mary Shelley’s writing of ‘Frankenstein’ from the viewpoint of a maid servant who meets her.

So expect thunderstorms, creepy old houses, strange noises behind locked doors. And missing chickens.

Now all I have to do is write it!

‘IN DARKLING WOOD’ edits – My ‘Happy-Frazzled’ Daze!

With the second round of edits for ‘In Darkling Wood’ now in, I’m currently bumbling around in a  ‘happy-frazzled’ daze. Yes, there’ll be copy edits, proofs to read etc, yet it never ceases to amaze me how a story goes from…

THIS

TO THIS:

THEN THIS:

TO THIS:

AND FINALLY, THIS:

 But blimey is it worth it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROST HOLLOW HALL!

Some dates you never forget: important birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries of big things (good and bad!). For me, October 3rd, 2013 is one of those dates because it’s the day I became a published author.

Sitting at my desk this morning with a cup of tea and Jack Russell terrier for company, I’m in reflective mood. A year of being a published author… what have I achieved? Have there been low points ?  What would I like to achieve in the coming year? Achievements first: I am now the author of two published novels. Both seem to be selling- phew! ‘Frost Hollow Hall’ won the North East Book Award and was long listed for the Branford Boase. ‘The Girl Who Walked On Air’ was a Sunday Times Book of the Week- hooray! My publishers Faber offered me another deal. I’ve written two more books for them in draft form- one is a full length novel, the other a Christmas themed novella. I’m about to start another full length manuscript. This last year has clarified things for me . I really do LOVE being a writer. Not just the writing part, but the school visits and the festivals, the interacting with readers and other writers. It’s so fascinating! I know I’m a happier more fulfilled person because of it. My husband says so too! Having dropped my teaching hours, I’m also a lot poorer- (*cliche alert here*). This is a lifestyle choice I’m happy with. But… yes there’s alway a but…Writing is very hard work. It’s greedy with your time. It doesn’t cover the bills alone ( for most of us). It feeds your insecurities- am I good enough? Will people like it? How will I feel if they don’t? What if it doesn’t sell? And much as you hate yourself for doing it, you DO compare yourself to other writers which, frankly, is asking for trouble. There’s always someone who’s selling more books, getting more coverage, winning more prizes. And good luck to them because we all benefit if the industry is kept healthy. In July next year, my third book will be out there. Fingers crossed the world likes it. Fingers crossed too I’ll still be with my brilliant publishers. Whatever happens, I know I’ll be writing. Which leaves me only one thing left to say…

What Sarah Said: Sarah Waters Event, Bath,Wednesday 3rd September,

It’s going to be impossible to write this post without using the word ‘fangirl’. See what I mean?

For me, Sarah Waters is writing royalty. I’d go as far to say she’s my favourite living writer. I own all her books. And I’ve read each one more than twice, which is something I rarely do.

Open a Waters’ novel at any random page and you’ll find beauty. Her writing is fresh, exquisite. Characters feel whole. Settings are mood enhancing, memorable places- years after reading Lant Street and Hundreds Hall still lurk in my brain.

She’s also known for her meticulous historical detail. And it’s this that’s had impact on my own writing choices. Once I’d read Waters, I knew I’d found my genre. If she was hist-fict royalty, I’d happily scrub her floors, as it were!

So, to Bath.

Picture a warm September evening, in a street of tall, honey-coloured Regency buildings. One such building, a former chapel, was the venue for Sarah Waters’ event.

Hosted by indie bookshop Mr B’s Emporium and chaired by journalist Suzy Feay, the evening was to promote her latest novel The Paying Guests. Waters spoke at length about her own writing processes. It goes without saying I was utterly rapt.

Waters said she found writing ‘solitary’ but not lonely, and that her writing clothes were ‘squalid.’ When starting a new project, she writes the plot first, then in subsequent drafts adds what she calls ‘texture’.

When writing a scene, she asks herself which is its most important line. This one line should capture the essence of the action.

For research she uses newspapers, novels contemporary to the era, court records, and… yes… Google images! Sometimes she’ll lose an entire afternoon to googling pictures- this she says is not ‘time wasted’ but more ‘wasting time.’

For historical accuracy, she tries to establish the ‘clutter’ in people’s lives- what common phrases were used at a particular time, what possessions people carried, common routines, behaviours etc. She tweaks her work right up until it goes to print.

A few trusted readers see early drafts. When a book is finally ready to go out into the world she explained it as being ‘like sleeping beauty, waiting for the reader’s kiss to bring it to life’.

This is how Sarah Waters speaks about writing. No wonder then that the books themselves are so eloquent.