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One Book Interview #20 – Mark Cassell (Author)

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One of the great things about running this interview series is that I get to interview people whose books I’ve enjoyed. This is one such interview.

This week’s author is a best seller, a man constantly expanding the ‘mythos’ his stories live in. And, never mind the books, he has an inexhaustible supply of memes, GIFS, and cartoons that range from dark to downright hysterical. (Seriously, if you’re not friends with this guy on FB or Twitter, find him and befriend him now. He’s not overly fussy, I believe.)

Good people of the Internet – the Scribe of the Witchblade, the Stitcher-in-Chief, the Meme-Master himself – Mark Cassell.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

My shout here goes to any reader who likes the idea of Russian and British secret services using psychic investigators and spies. Written over 30 years ago, Brian Lumley’s Necroscope still tops my list of all-time favourites, and it’s still a book I’m happy to read again and again.

At just over 500 pages, the novel can be a heavy going at first but sets us up for a thrilling ride through Romanian history and ancient lore. The lovable protagonist, Harry Keogh, has some remarkable talents and is dragged through a story that combines time travel and secret agents with some truly vicious undead creatures.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

Clive Barker’s Imajica, without doubt. At over 1,100 pages long, I reckon it would keep me occupied long enough to survive until Schwarzenegger finds a way to pump oxygen onto the planet.

I believe this is Barker’s finest novel. The epic story follows three vastly different people in search of a universal mystery, travelling through worlds both close to us and far into fantasy-realms. It weaves an intricate story, superbly balancing love and death, horror and fantasies, and makes us question divinity as well as our own obsessions.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, and it equally surprises me to discover this book was released back in 2001. Yet to this day, it remains one of my favourites and it’s not even in my typical go-to genre. Expertly written, the story took me on a journey that lasted a day or two while poor Pi himself stayed on that lifeboat for 227 days…with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

Oh, and as clever as I thought the screen adaptation was, it was nowhere near as remarkable.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

May I suggest the one I’ve just released? It’s called Hell Cat of the Holt, a novella in the Shadow Fabric mythos. I can honestly say I’m having a whole stack of fun linking – indeed stitching – much of the already-written mythos with this new story.

The tale follows a shy accountant named Anne, who returns to the village of Mabley Holt to piece together her life after a family tragedy. When her cat vanishes, and a neighbour claims to speak with his dead wife, she soon learns there’s more to the village than any resident dares admit. In search of her beloved pet, she discovers not only family secrets but also revelations of a local legend. As she treads an unsteady path between folklore and fact, her confidence in where she grew up begins to crumble. Into hell.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

As far as books go, I can’t really answer that. However, how about a short story? And again, here I am mentioning Brian Lumley. His “The Thief Immortal” tells the life story of a man named Klaus August Scharme who has the unusual gift of stealing the years from any living thing and adding them to his own. I read it something like 20 years ago, and it remains with me to this day.

It made me realise how insignificant the human race is compared to all the other living creatures on this planet.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

I suspect this is going to be such a typical answer: Stephen King’s On Writing. Throughout my journey as a writer, I’ve read many how-to books yet this one is incredibly relatable. I found it almost conversational while informative, whereas many others are simply regurgitated bullet-points.

No matter how you feel about that guy’s writing, you can’t deny he’s up there with the literary Masters throughout history.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

My debut, The Shadow Fabric, a novel of demons, devices, and deceit.

We follow Leo, a man who remembers little of his past. Desperate for a new life, he snatches up the first job to come along. On his second day he witnesses a murder, and the Shadow Fabric – a malevolent force that controls the darkness – takes the body and vanishes with it. Uncovering secrets long hidden from humankind, Leo’s memory unravels. Not only haunted by the past, a sinister presence within the darkness threatens his existence and he soon doubts everything and everyone… including himself.

At the time, the story was going to be a standalone novel, but leftover scribbles became published stories in anthologies and ezines. And now, as I’ve already mentioned, I’ve just released a novella.

I’ve recently sold three more mythos stories to anthologies set for release in the coming months. Atop that, I’m in talks with a company about creating a Shadow Fabric card game, and also with a Nottingham-based metal band about possible lyrics. I can’t say much more on either of those, but we’ll see.

What I can say is how truly stunned I am at how it seems to be unravelling. I’m humbled, in fact. And there’s still a much larger story to tell in the Shadow Fabric mythos.

You can find Mark at: www.beneath.co.uk

Mark Cassell lives in a rural part of the UK and often dreams of dystopian futures, peculiar creatures, and flitting shadows. Primarily a horror writer, his steampunk, dark fantasy, and SF stories have featured in numerous anthologies and ezines. His best-selling debut novel, The Shadow Fabric, is closely followed by the popular short story collection, Sinister Stitches, and are both only a fraction of an expanding mythos.

 

 

One Book Interview #19 – Jason Parent (Author)

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Hot on the heels of last week’s 18th birthday celebration, the One Book Interview is back to business as usual. Today, I’m very happy to be taking part in a book tour for an exciting author by the name of Jason Parent. His new book  A Life Removed is out now. I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy not so long ago. You can find out what I thought of it tomorrow, but for now, here is a taste of what Jason likes to read when he’s not writing. (Interestingly, three of his choices made the top twelve list in last week’s 18th birthday book summary.)

Good people of the Internet – Jason Parent.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

The Stand, by Stephen King – It is a genre-defining tale of good versus evil that should be required reading.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

The Martian, by Andy Weir – I’d need some chance of being able to grow potatoes. Of course, I’d probably also need potatoes.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

Robert McCammon’s Matthew Corbett series. Historical fiction, not quite horror or my usual cup of tea, but altogether perfect.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

My books vary so much in genre and tone that my answer to this question changes daily. But so as not to cop out, I think Wrathbone and Other Stories is one of my best works.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

Tucker Max’s I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. The book never answers the question whether beer is, in fact, served in Hell, so I have made it a life-long ambition to drink as much beer as possible before I get there. I’m guessing it’s all mimosas and umbrella drinks down under the earth.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

Not Tucker Max’s books. Stephen King’s On Writing has made me re-examine my craft.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

That depends on how dark they want to go. I have a couple of novellas priced at $0.99 to allow potential readers to give me a try. But my novels are all stand-alones, so my latest, A Life Removed is as good a start as any (and happens to be set earliest chronologically).

You can find Jason at: www.authorjasonparent.com

In his head, Jason Parent lives in many places, but in the real world, he calls New England his home. The region offers an abundance of settings for his writing and many wonderful places in which to write them. He currently resides in Southeastern Massachusetts with his cuddly corgi named Calypso.

In a prior life, Jason spent most of his time in front of a judge . . . as a civil litigator. When he finally tired of Latin phrases no one knew how to pronounce and explaining to people that real lawsuits are not started, tried and finalized within the 60-minute timeframe they see on TV (it’s harassing the witness; no one throws vicious woodland creatures at them), he traded in his cheap suits for flip flops and designer stubble. The flops got repossessed the next day, and he’s back in the legal field . . . sorta. But that’s another story.

When he’s not working, Jason likes to kayak, catch a movie, travel any place that will let him enter, and play just about any sport (except that ball tied to the pole thing where you basically just whack the ball until it twists in a knot or takes somebody’s head off – he misses the appeal). And read and write, of course. He does that too sometimes.

 

 

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One Book Interview #12 – Garry Rodgers (Author)

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For interview #10 we had a crime writer, for #11 we had a best-selling author, this week we have both in one person: a bestselling crime writer and blogger (they’re great posts!) who has worked as a sniper, forensic coroner, and homicide detective. His books are based on his own experiences of true crime, and have been ranked up alongside Stephen King and Dean Koontz in the bestseller charts.

Good people of the Internet – Garry Rodgers.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Of all the self-help and motivational books, T&GR is by far the best work ever done on the science of personal achievement. The history of T&GR starts with Andrew Carnegie of US Steel/Carnegie Hall fame commissioning a young reporter named Napoleon Hill to research and write a book on the principles of success, no matter what your occupation or intention. This was in the early 1900s and Carnegie was in his later stage of life. He’d turned into a true philanthropist and wanted to leave the world with a formula on how people can better themselves – not just for richness in money but rich in spirit and accomplishment. Through Carnegie’s influence, Hill had access to the greats of the day – Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Presidents, Kings and entertainment stars. It took Hill over 20 years to produce the work – unpaid – but he produced a masterpiece that’s stood the test of time. Once you’ve absorbed the 17 principles of achievement laid out in T&GR, you live your life by them. It’s just that powerful a book.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

Hmm… let me think. Besides T&GR that’d motivate me to try finding a way off, I’d say The Art Of Happiness by the Dalai Lama. In my opinion, the Dalai Lama is the most switched-on, in-tune spiritual leader alive today. Everything the guy says makes sense to me. I guess if I were marooned on Mars, I better decide to be happy about it and his guidance would sure help a situation that’d truly suck.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

Wired For Story by Lisa Cron comes to mind. I stumbled on it in a book store and it entirely changed my writing mind. Lisa takes a scientific approach on how human brains are designed to respond to stories and how to write in the way that engage your readers’ interest. It’s not a technical book – it’s so easy to read and understand. I think every writer MUST read this book.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

No Witnesses To Nothing was my first novel. I still think it’s my best work. It’s not a book for most people as it’s long, drawn out and gets quite heady towards the end. It’s based on three true stories and is a ghost story disguised as a murder mystery. Deep down, it’s a search for the science and spirituality of the human soul.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

Think And Grow Rich, by far. Otherwise, I’d say The Magic Of Thinking Big by David Schwartz, Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz and The Psychology Of Winning by Denis Waitley.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

The Elements Of Style by Strunk & White is mandatory reading for all writers. You need to know the rules of writing and this little book captures them all – composition and grammar that is. Once you know the rules, then it’s fair game to break every one of them in creative storytelling.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

I’d recommend reading In The Attic first if you want to get to know me and hear my voice. It’s a true story about a horrific double homicide I investigated. It’s told in first-person and takes the killer’s psychotic point of view as well. Warning, though, it’s extremely graphic.

You can find Garry at: http://www.dyingwords.net

Garry Rodgers is a retired homicide detective and forensic coroner who also served as a sniper on British SAS trained Emergency Response Teams. Now he’s an Amazon bestselling crime writer. Garry lives on Vancouver Island at Canada’s west coast and hosts the popular blogsite www.dyingwords.net.

 

 

 

One Book Interview #5 – Michael Bolan (Author)

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This week in the One Book Interview room (think a benign version of Room 101), we have a fellow Prague-based writer, the man behind the Devil’s Bible Trilogy.

The Devil’s Bible is a series of rollicking, rambunctious reads based on the Thirty Years War, which effortlessly blend fact, fiction & fantasy, (My ‘Always Add Alliteration’ App is on overdrive today 😉 ). The books have over 100 5-Star reviews on Amazon alone, and the latest addition to the series, The Proper Folk, is out this week.

Ladies & gentlemen, may I present the original ginipote himself – Mr Michael Bolan.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

Animal Farm is a story about how some pigs take over a farm, ousting the human owners. It’s also a history of the Soviet revolution and subsequent state. It’s a dire warning about how power corrupts and how everyone plays a role in the creation of a tyrant. When I watch a kids’ cartoon movie, I’m always amazed by the different levels of resonance embedded within it – there’s something for young kids, older kids, teenagers, adults. Animal Farm is the same – you can come back to it again and again, discovering more layers of insight and thought.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

At the ripe of old age of sixteen, I stumbled on a copy of the definitive work on Irish Mythology, Gods & Fighting Men by Lady Augusta Gregory. In our school library, of all places! Seeing as no-one had ever checked the book out to read, the librarian asked if I would like to keep it, which I very gratefully did. This age-beiged hardback tome was published in November 1926, and I have now read it countless times. Screw Tolkien, screw Steinbeck, screw Orwell – I’m taking my frail copy of the tales of Fair Folk.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

I was aware of Lorna Doone being read in school. But, even as a voracious reader, I shied away. I mean, it’s called Lorna. Lorna was a frumpy girl in my school – I think she was a frumpy girl in everyone’s school. So it didn’t excite. But when I moved to Prague in the mid-90s, my choice of books was limited. I could spend a fortune to buy an imported paperback: for the same money I could buy a few dozen beers. Yes, that’s right, a few dozen. But for the price of three beers, I could buy a Penguin Popular Classic. So I did. I bought all that I could find, and spent two years doing what I should have done in school, I read all the classics. And Lorna Doone wasn’t what I thought it was. Yes, it’s a “soppy romance”, but it’s a soppy romance full of sword fights, lost heirs, battles, betrayal, kidnapping and rebellion. Awesome.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

Hidden Elements was the answer to a problem that had been bothering me for some months. You see, I just started writing the Devil’s Bible Series – I had no plan, no concrete objectives, no idea what a book should be. When I had reached 140K words, I thought I would check how long a book should be, and immediately my book became three. The problem was, 1645 and 1648 had lots of battles – there’s Books I and III sorted. But what about 1646 and 1647? Lots of diplomacy, a few skirmishes, but nothing too exciting. So I had to fill in the blanks, which became the Sons of Brabant besieging city after city, and the Fianna sent to the ends of the Earth on a series of quests. Somehow, from nothing, it became my favourite.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

I have a gazillion favourite books, for different reasons, but the most important book for me isn’t viewed as a classic, except to a very small niche. I was a precocious reader, devouring Lord of the Rings, etc. as a young child. And then I went through the most middle-class teenage rebellion in history – I stopped reading – I think just to annoy my parents. From a handful of books a week to nothing, I simply didn’t read anymore. After a year, my mother made me a deal – any book I wanted to read, she would buy. I was in the local bookstore and saw Raymond Feist’s Magician. After admiring the cover art, and reading the blurb on the back, I asked if she would buy it. She did, I read it, and the rest is history. I recently read the final book of the series that Feist set in that world, thirty years after setting out on that journey.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

This is a hard one to answer, so I’ll go for the Bible. If you consider the Bible to be a collection of books, then the Revelation of John, although Daniel, Matthew and a few others also dabble in eschatology – the End Times, which is what fascinates me. The apocryphal Book of Enoch covers a lot of ideas that aren’t mentioned in detail elsewhere – the Watchers, the Nephilim, etc. I spent many a Sunday morning reading these ideas rather than paying attention to whatever the minister was saying in Church. Sorry, Reverend Birney!

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

My new book, The Proper Folk, is a collection of seven short stories, so it’s not perhaps as challenging as a three-book series. I also love the basic concept of the stories – they’re snapshots (had cameras existed) of how ordinary people were affected by the brutality of the time period in which the Devil’s Bible is set. Kings and queens have cameo roles at best in these tales, where bakers, farmers and book-keepers hold sway.

You can find Michael at: www.michaelbolan.org

It took Michael Bolan over two decades of running in the corporate ratrace to realise that all he actually did was tell stories.

There was no Damascene revelation for Bolan which caused him to pen his first work of fiction, The Sons of Brabant. An avid reader, he simply felt that he could do as good a job as many of the authors he read and decided to put his money where his mouth was.

 

Living and working in many countries left him with smatterings of a dozen languages and their stories, and his love for history focused his ideas on the Thirty Years War, the most destructive conflict that the continent has ever seen.

Now living in Prague (for the second time), Michael brings alive the twisted alleys of the 17th century and recreates the brooding darkness of a fractured Europe, where no-one was entirely sure who was fighting whom.

Michael writes while liberally soused in gin, a testament to Franz de le Boë, who was mixing oil of juniper with neat spirit while the thirty Years War raged around him.

 



One Book Interview #3 – Autumn Birt (Author)

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This week, I’m very happy to present a bestselling author of epic fantasy, blogger, conservationist, writer of post-apocalyptic dystopia, and ‘slow traveller’ (last seen on a beach somewhere in South Carolina) – Autumn M. Birt.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

Lies my Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen. I know, probably an odd suggestion from a fantasy writer. You thought I’d say Tolkien or something. But I love this book and have suggested it to many people. It opened my eyes to the misperceptions that are pervasive in our society and schools that are completely false. It taught me to question everything and that is a skill I wish we were teaching in school. But it is never too late. So go read this book. It will change your perception of our world and what you think you know, especially if you learned it in school.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

Now this is a tough choice between something practical like a book on growing plants in harsh conditions or Solar power for Dummies or just a book to feed my brain. Well, since you said “marooned” and not “in a dire fight for survival,” I’m going to stick to a book that will help keep myself from going insane. I think it would be a toss up between George RR Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire or Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. I started the Song of Ice and Fire and quit in book 2, disgusted by the deaths and that I’d just read 100 pages that covered ONE DAY in 8 character’s POVs. I need more movement than that in a book! BUT, I’ve watched Game of Thrones now and have survived character deaths enough to appreciate the story. So I’d love to try reading it again.

And I’ve simply always wanted to read Wheel of Time, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve become more and more adverse to starting a really big series. I used to LIVE for mega-series like all the books in Dungeons and Dragons Forgotten Realms. Now … I have a business, a family, I write whenever I can … allotting a lot of time to reading isn’t high on my list. So I’d need to be marooned on Mars to start something with that many books. Of course, all that said. If I could have a device with unlimited battery life and allowed typing… I could write my own epically huge series in peace and quiet. I think I’d actually prefer that! 😉

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

I would say there are probably a lot of books that would fall into this category, but the first one that came to mind is Song at Dawn by Jean Gill. I picked up this book, the first in her Historical Romance Troubadour Quartet in an organized swap on Goodreads. I like history, but not so much romance so was a little worried (but the pickings were slim). OMG, I loved it. Loved it so much that I’ve become a beta reader for Jean as each book came out and get ARCs and !?!!! I’m desperately waiting for the last book to be written and released, which might not be until 2018. Accchhhh!

So yeah, pleasantly surprised to say the least. The time period is just different from anything I’d read covering the crusades but based in France, even though it does range as far as Jerusalem. The characters are fantastic. Jean’s treatment of historically ignored minorities is awesome. And the love that is central to the books is just beautifully riveting.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

Ok, so Friends of my Enemy is a series, but it is the favorite thing I’ve written. If I go to find a quote or excerpt for something, I find myself actually reading the book half an hour later. It is so embarrassing.

What is funny is the books, which are near future apocalyptic, are sort of my bastard children. Compared to my epic fantasy, they barely sell. They have a handful of devoted fans and good reviews, but no one really picks them up. And I’ve tried and tried and basically just given up and love them myself. I wrote them for myself because the characters were just awesome and took me to places I didn’t think I could write and they wouldn’t leave me alone. Seriously, I wrote all four books in less than a year. It just happened with passion and love and is the best writing I’ve done and really stretched what I thought I was capable of, the best characters I’ve come up with. As soon as I finish the trilogy I’m writing now, I’m going to read it again (and maybe take it with me to Mars).

5 – that has influenced you most as a person:

The book that changed my life was a short story by Anne McCaffery on dragon impression on Pern. I don’t even remember the name, but it was tucked in a book of short stories in my Junior High School library. It was the first fantasy short story I’d ever read. Or at least one that felt real. Everything else had been childish All the Pretty Little Horses or Puff the Magic Dragon type stories. Dragon impression and dragons in general on Pern is serious, adult, and well thought out.

I was hooked on fantasy from that moment on, reading all the Pern books and then falling in love with Mercedes Lackey’s Herald Mages of Valdemar. And I know those books hugely influenced my life too. Women were heroes, powerful, and driven. And that was okay (I came from a very nice but very conservative, sort-of anti-women’s lib family, though my brother had me convinced I was adopted. Considering my adult personality, I do wonder some days!). The treatment of people who were different such as foreigners, gays, different race as … well, equally intelligent and beautiful people shaped my perspective of how life should be before I even realized it wasn’t how it is.

And, funny enough, they are both women fantasy authors. Huh. Funny how that all worked out!

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional:

I would say hand’s down the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey. I read it as part of an advanced leadership course I took during my previous full time job. It changed how I managed my time and how I balanced what I thought was important and needed to get done NOW with things I wanted to do. Which helped me find time for writing and other things! I’ve found ideas from it sticking in my head years later, helping me create characters as well as manage my time and reduce stress. If anything, I should probably reread it as I’m sure I’ll find new tips to take away as an entrepreneur managing my own business now.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

Born of Water is the first book of my first epic fantasy trilogy, the Rise of the Fifth Order and is definitely the book to pick up to check out my writing. It is free and rather popular, having hit #1 in epic fantasy and adventure fantasy a couple of times now. I might love Friends of my Enemy the best, but my epic fantasy series is far more popular with fans!

 

Autumn is a best selling author in fantasy, epic fantasy, and war – not all on the same series though! She is the author of the epic fantasy, adventure trilogy on elemental magic, the Rise of the Fifth Order. Her newest series is Friends of my Enemy, a military dystopian/ dark fantasy tale laced with romance. Friends of my Enemy was released in full in 2015 and is quite the story full of strong characters, tight plots, and lots of action. Meanwhile, she is working on a new epic fantasy trilogy, Games of Fire, set in the same world as the Rise of the Fifth Order. The first book was released in March of 2016. If she stops goofing off and enjoying hobbies such as hiking, motorcycling, and kayaking, she may even be able to release the second book soon too.

 

You can find Autumn at: www.autumnbooks.co

 

 

 

The big red button of doom.

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Hitting the big-red ‘publish’ button is hard.

usb-doomsday-hub-3Picture source

I’m a perfectionist, a planner. I’m not interested in typing up any old tripe and hoping for the best. I don’t want stray, commas, cluttering up my text; repetitive pronouns; superfluous descriptions; or long, winding info-dumps that are being choked to death by adverbs. I want to write good stories that read well, just like the books I enjoy reading.

In other news, experts have concluded that squares have more corners than circles.

This is hardly a revelation, and I know I’m not alone in this mindset. However, this tweaking nature of mine (not twerking, the world’s not ready for that) was once more made apparent this morning. I was re-reading a story I wrote a few months ago. It’s called Switch, a short story from the Lords of Misrule world. The story forms part of a compilation of stories by various authors: Glimpse.

 

Glimpse Final

 

This is the opening of Switch.

A grid of shadows lay across the bed, rigid lines of moonlight that sliced the crumpled sheets into squares. Benn screwed his eyes shut and lay still, listening to his breathing.

Had it worked?

Reaching across with his left hand, he probed at the flesh around his hip. It was tender, but it didn’t hurt.

Maybe it had worked?

He opened his eyes.

Benn twitched the thin sheet to one side and pulled his knee up to his chest. He was gritting his teeth, biting back the pain that was always there. Only today, with his bare legs bathed in the bright moonlight, his hip didn’t hurt. There was a red dot on his hip where they’d injected him with this miracle compound of theirs, but otherwise he was unmarked. He took a deep breath, and, before he could change his mind, pushed himself to his feet. A momentary stumble, and he was standing: cane free, no pain. He stood still, reveling in the feeling. Blah blah woof woof.

Now. . .

There are several things that I’d change. They’re not wrong as such (though my BrE eyes struggle with the spelling of ‘reveling’ that seems to have slipped in there), the story’s just not as I would have written it now.

After that realisation, my thought process ran along these lines:

  • As an author contributing to a compilation, my asking for changes at such a late stage is not going to go down well.
  • If I changed it, would I be tempted to go back to it again at a later date and request more changes?
  • At what point would I be happy?
  • Do I have time? (Says the man writing a blog and trying to make it pitch-perfect, the hypocrisy of life 😉 )
  • This story could be important.
  • Should I just leave Switch as it is and put it down to experience?

Is this normal?

I think yes.

I’m going to say this indecision is normal behaviour and a sign that I’m progressing as a writer. The more I write, and more importantly, the more I read, the better I understand how this process of writing a story works. I still have a long way to go, but the quicksand I’ve been wading through is a little more like a quagmire now, at least in places.

The ‘process of progress’, as with any profession/ job/ sport or skill, primarily depends on two things:

  • putting the hours in,
  • putting the product of those hours on the line.

In medicine/ therapy it may mean treating someone instead of just talking about what the studies say (this is a theme that crops up in the Lords of Misrule). In sport it may mean competing. In writing it means publishing. It opens you up to potential criticism, but helps you to hone your skills. Again, this is not exactly groundbreaking news, but for me there was a big difference between writing a book, admitting I’m writing a book, and actually publishing it.

Joanna Penn, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Neil Gaiman have also written on and around this topic.

But, but, but . . .

You’re only as good as your last gig/ story/ deal/ game, right?

Right.

A poor story, with dodgy editing (and I’ve read a few recently that have made me want to drown my kindle), may put a reader off your work for life. However, the beauty (and curse) of self-publishing means you have many more chances to keep getting that last event ‘right’. There are also a lot of readers on the planet (some still learning to read or yet to be born), and for every ‘hater’ there will be a ‘liker’ somewhere.

Publishing is important for progress.

Courses can help. ‘How to’ manuals and articles are great. Professional editing is invaluable, but reading, writing, and self-reflection on that process is the best way to improve. At least that’s the best way I’ll improve, and part of that process includes me hitting that big-red button.

The decision?

The story remains the same.

Switch stands.

So . . .

Drop me a line and let me know what you would change in the opening paragraphs. I’d be interested to see if we agree. (I promise I don’t bite.)

And on that note a huge thanks to all the authors who have contributed to Glimpse, and especially to those who worked behind the scenes to put it together: Hayley Lawson, Michelle Lowery, Debbie Cassidy, Sarah Dalton, Christine Royce Niles & apologies to anyone I’ve forgotten!

As always, thank you for reading.



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