More than Writers

My first Book launch  I joined ACW about a year before releasing my first book. In that time, I went from “I’ve written a book!” excitement, to realising I’d merely written a first draft, to receiving feedback from helpful beta readers, to revising, getting a professional edit, submitting for feedback again, revising, resubmitting… you get the idea. I couldn’t have done any of it without the support of many of you. Thank you. As I neared publication day, I then learnt (chiefly from watching other authors) that there were certain things one tended to do surrounding a book launch. I duly set up a launch team of ARC readers (ARC = advanced reader copy) and bloggers, which was possibly even harder than all the stages that had gone before, because it involved giving away my finished product, multiple times, when I'd hoped people would buy it!   I have to give books away?! It was a valuable lesson to learn, and you'll now find me frequently espousing the virtues of freebies. Wonderf...

  I’ve just been celebrating my grandson Levi’s second birthday. The party was a noisy, joyful, chaotic gathering of relatives and friends who travelled to join in the fun. Levi isn’t fully formed of course, but he has reached an important marker, and we are cheering him on and celebrating him. His year has been made up of small and big landmarks. Sounds that have turned into recognisable words, running everywhere, naming every truck and motorbike that passes – I could go on and I’m sure his parents could fill this page! We’ve seen him push boundaries and literally fall over many times. This hasn’t deterred him, it’s all part of his day. Part of growing up is trying new things until you can do them, and we encourage him as he changes and grows. At the beginning of a new year, we often look ahead, maybe we set some goals for our writing, dream of what may happen and how we can take steps to make those writing goals come true. It is easy to reach the end of a year and focus on th...

 I am currently writing stories based on the three-year lectionary of the Church of England. The lectionary provides readings for every day in the church calendar, but I decided to focus on Sundays only.  When I started, I envisioned completing it in just over three years – after all, it requires just one story a week and a few extras for special festivals. Seven years later, I’m still working on it – it’s difficult. One of the problems I’ve encountered is writing on John the Baptist, who appears at least three times every year. I’ve done my research, read umpteen sermons, but still inspiration proves lacking. How can I possibly write nine stories based on him? I’m still struggling with my dilemma. It did, however, make me question why he was so important to the gospel writers and those who compiled the lectionary; and why was he so important to all the scholars who wrote about him – and, indeed, all of us who hear about him so regularly? John never questioned his purpose in l...

  At the turn of the year I saw a social media post that declared that I need, ‘more magic in 2025’.   It urged me to embrace that ‘magic’ (but didn’t define it) wherever and whenever I might find it.   It was accompanied by a funny video of a simple visual trick through which a four year-old could have easily seen. In a world which our news feeds suggest is becoming increasingly dark, the idea of a little bit of light and escapism is attractive. ‘Who better,’ I thought to myself, ‘to bring more magic into the world, than we writers?   After all, is that not what we do?’   Those of us who regularly wrestle with words in a fiction setting focus our creative minds to conjure people and places beyond the reality around us.   Our words truly can make worlds.   If non-fiction is your genre, then we’re talking less about the magic of illusion and more the sprinkle of magic dust required to ‘pep’ your subject with the sparkle of a fresh angle which will woo...

 I was looking for something quite different among my vast library of books when I came across this little gem. It was published in 2014 with the tagline ‘How Not to get Published’ by Sammy Looker. I can’t remember whether it was a present or a charity shop find but it has proved a valuable resource. And a fun way to learn what not to do when seeking publication. In the days when many traditional publishers accepted unsolicited submissions, they would employ readers who would have a first look at the submissions and give them an R for reject, or a P for pass, before it was passed up the line for further consideration. The appropriately named Sammy Looker was a reader and his publishing house would have the manuscripts read by two readers and if one gave it an R and the other a P, then a third reader would look at it. Despite slush piles being less usual now, the experience Sammy Looker gained in this role may still be relevant to us because many Christian publishers do not insist o...

Since the summer – when John Lewis had a glorious sale and I nabbed myself a bargain – I’ve been wearing a smart watch, called Lily. She’s a sports model, so we’re fundamentally incompatible, but she’s been offering a useful gauge of how I use my body. Every night, I connect my phone via Bluetooth and download the day’s stats. The display shows a series of mostly-orange jagged charts, recording my stress levels, accompanied by a couple of doom-laden statements about potential ‘bottoming out’ (how very dare she!) or ‘burning out’ or being ‘in danger of…’ Every morning, I do similarly to find out how *well* I’ve slept. For the record, last night I did very well indeed: I didn’t move at all for about three hours straight, which might explain how stiff I was when I got up… Flippancy aside, this little gadget, with its passive-aggressive commentary on my hectic lifestyle, is making a fair point. It’s actually one that I could have learned some years ago, from preparing a pupil for her Grade...