This Writer's Life...
Here comes October...
We've had a heatwave in the UK this week. Temperatures have been in the high 20s, the sky has been blue ... it's odd. They've forecast snow for October and given the strange way our weather is behaving, I wouldn't be at all surprised. April was lovely, the summer was a washout (in Lancashire at least), and the last week of September has been glorious. Odd.
I'm not really here today. …
An admin day
I sent the proposal for book #4 in the Dylan Scott series to my editor yesterday so today, instead of chewing my fingernails as I start the long wait for news, I'm having an admin day.
As my house is being taken over by spiders - big spiders - I should really give the place a thorough clean. First though, I'm sorting out my office. I have books and papers spread all over my desk so that I'm struggling to find space for my keyboard (or my coffee mug). …
Happy Publication Day...
...to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Yes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's first book is available to buy today. The Narrative of John Smith (catchy title, yes?) was written between 1883 and 1884. He sent it to a publisher and - oh, the horror - it was lost in the post. Yes, even back in the 1880s it seems that the good old British postal service was a bit lax.
If that happened to one of us, we'd simply print out another copy. …
A few of my favourite things
As many of you know, I also blog with a group of Carina Press mystery and romantic suspense authors. Yesterday, we each posted a photo to celebrate autumn and we have a gorgeous selection. We're an international bunch and it's interesting to see what autumn means in different parts of the world. You can see the pictures here.
As I'm in the mood for photos, I thought I'd post a few of my favourites...
…The Good, The Bad and the Downright Ugly
On Friday afternoon, I remarked to a friend that the day could only get better. Cue the worst night/weekend for ages. Yes, I included toothache in that.
I said in Wednesday's post: I don't usually criticise anything, especially in public, because I know how much it hurts when one of my books gets a bad review. Cue bad review. Correction. Cue the worst review I've ever had. Ever.
I've heard established authors say they don't worry about reviews, that they ignore the good and laugh off the bad. …
Math or Maths?
Do you say "math" or "maths"? I always believed that us Brits said "Maths" and almost everyone else said "Math". If I hear someone say "she has math homework..." or "he's a math teacher" it grates on my ear. I'm wrong though. I've looked it up everywhere and it's definitely "math".
It sounds ridiculous to me ... but as it's correct, and as I'm supposed to have some small grasp of the English language, I'll use "math".
…
The Body Farm
Hands up if you watched BBC's The Body Farm. Anyone? Hands up if you thought it was good. Anyone? No? Thought not.
I don't usually criticise anything, especially in public, because I was brought up to believe that if you can't think of anything good to say, you should keep quiet. I also know how much it hurts when one of my books gets a bad review. However...
I'll admit that, if it's not …
If I Could Be Anyone, I'd Be...
...Lauren Bacall.
My reason for choosing Ms Bacall has nothing to do with the fact that she's always looked amazing, even as she's aged. Or that she married Bogart, probably the sexiest screen idol of his era...
No, it's all to do with herbiography: By Myself. I picked up that book many years ago in a secondhand bookshop, read the first couple of pages and was hooked. It's the story of her life, fascinating in itself, told with modesty, frankness, humour and honesty. …
Playing around...
There's still a bit of a problem with the commenting system on this blog it appears and I can only deal with technical support for so long - especially when they start talking CSS. Not a clue. So instead of wasting more time on that, I'm trying a new system out. It will probably vanish tomorrow. We'll see.
So basically, I'm merely testing this blog. I have nothing of interest to say at all. …
Drastic measures...
When my internet is down, I get - twitchy. I use it for work, for keeping in touch with friends, for keeping up with news and a dozen other things. BUT it is a bit of a time suck.
Today, I really need to work - i.e. get some words written - and I know that, if I'm attached to the internet, that's not going to happen. This is how my day goes: I nip onto Twitter to see what everyone's up to, I see an interesting link that someone's shared so I check that out, once there I see a review for a book that looks like one I'd enjoy so I nip across to Amazon to order said book, Amazon sells me a couple more books, I email a friend to see if she's read any of my purchases, I decide it's time for coffee and spend a "few minutes" catching up on blogs...
…
Happy Friday!
Reasons I love Fridays:
1/. Any work I do between now and and Monday morning will give me a wonderfully warm, smug glow. Yup, if I write 50 words, I'll feel great (and forget the pathetically unproductive week I've had).
2/. I can lie in bed for the next two mornings without a care in the world and not feel guilty. (Naturally, I'll be awake and eager to get up at the crack of dawn.)
…
Cassettes at all, anyone?
I opened a parcel yesterday that contained my author copies of the audio editions of The Broken Circle produced by the lovely people at Magna Story Sound. I say editions because one case contained nine CDs and the other held nine cassettes.
Nick looked on in some surprise, gave me one of his looks and said "Does anyone actually use cassettes these days?"
"Um, well...," I said. "They might. …
Welcome to Autumn
I was feeling quite smug by the end of Saturday because my accounts were all done and dusted. It wasn't quite the horror show I'd been expecting because I'd been better than I thought at entering things regularly. There were't too many receipts or statements lurking. Everything is now ready for me to hand over to the accountant. Yay!
To celebrate, I left the desk yesterday. We went into Skipton - "gateway to the Yorkshire Dales". …
The weekend starts here...
I had a lovely day out yesterday when I met up with fellow members of the RNA for our (almost) monthly lunches. We were lucky enough to enjoy a fascinating talk by Lincolnshire-based saga writer, Margaret Dickinson. Needless to say, we also enjoyed our usual lively discussions about the publishing world. A special shout must go out to fellow mystery author, Frances Brody, who was celebrating publication day of …
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