Image Credits:-
All images from Pixabay/Pexels unless otherwise stated with many created in Book Brush. Book cover images from Chapeltown Books and Bridge House Publishing. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.
Hope you have had a good few days. So looking forward to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Will be writing one big blog post on Friday 14th August and will do daily Facebook posts but there won’t be much time to write more while away.
Will be too busy (a) learning from the courses, (b) catching up with friends I only see online the rest of the year, (c) socialising with said friends, (d) enjoying my book launch for Seeing The Other Side and (e) knowing my fellas will be fine, wondering how the dog is doing!
Facebook – General and Chandler’s Ford Today
Am delighted to share a fabulous interview with Val Penny on Chandler’s Ford Today this week called Author Interview – Val Penny – Murder at Gilmerton.
I’m a great believer in having titles which “do as they say on the tin”. It’s a reference to the old Ronseal advert which always claimed “it does what it says on the tin”. Keep it clear and to the point!
Anyway, in this in depth conversation, Val brings us up to date with what has been going on in her writing life since she was last on CFT, not least of which is her move to Joffe Books. We also discuss back story (for series characters and one-off characters, who in Val’s books are often the victims), whether Val can read crime while she is writing her own or not, the advantages of using an area you know well as your setting and much, much more.
Plenty to enjoy here and, as ever, there are useful tips too.
Hope you enjoy the post and good luck with Murder in Gilmerton, Val.
Hope you’ve had a good day. Lovely swim, my last one this side of Swanwick.
Writing wise, I’ll be sharing Author Interview – Val Penny – Murder at Gilmerton on Chandler’s Ford Today tomorrow. See above.
Val shares the changes in her writing and publishing life since she was last on CFT and there are plenty of useful thoughts and tips too. Be sure not to miss it, especially if you love crime fiction. Val’s books are a tremendous read but don’t just take my word for it. Check them out after seeing what she has to say about her new release on CFT. Link up tomorrow.
Now I hope to post daily from Swanwick but I will be having a big round up blog via my website after I get back. It will be easier as I mentioned yesterday. I’ll also resume my Substack and YouTube stories after Swanwick but hope to get some drafts down while there.
I do hope to come back buzzing with inspiration, mind you!
Hope today has gone well. Lady was overjoyed to run around with Coco, the lovely Labradoodle, this morning. Must be a good month since we last met up.
Writing wise, I’ll be sharing a smashing interview with Val Penny about Murder in Gilmerton for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Do look out for that. Again, see above.
Have packed for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. As I go up by train, I can’t leave this until the last minute but it is good to have it done. Will be posting as and when next week and certain things I will probably leave until I get home again such as my Sunday stories and WordPress round up. Will resume those on my return. To be honest by the time you’ve been to the courses and workshops, caught up with pals, made new pals, enjoyed the evening entertainment, there’s not a lot of energy left for writing!
Naturally am so looking forward to my launch for Seeing The Other Side on Sunday too. Will be a busy and fun few days in the run up to Swanwick, while I am there, and catching up with everything on my return. It is a joy though! (I also anticipate being mugged by the dog on my return too – it’s what she usually does).
Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again
It’s a busy Friday on the article front as my latest post on Writers’ Narrative, Is It Time For Your Characters To Get Away From It All, is also out today.
I look at the advantages of sending your characters away from their usual setting and share some favourite books of mine which have done just that.
Yes, for individual short stories and flash fiction, it is still possible to send a character away on vacation. You simply make it clear somewhere in the narrative they’re not in their usual location.
I look at using holidays as backdrops (which is why they can work so well in any length of tale), I share tips on how to best make use of holiday settings, and I set you a couple of questions which I hope will prove to be a good starting point for your own stories.
Hope you enjoy the post and you and your characters enjoy your holidays!
I’ve mentioned before I like to mix up the moods of the stories I write. Now this isn’t just down to how I’m feeling. I will often write a cheery piece when I feel anything but cheery. It can help and it does take my mind off things for a bit. Writing can be therapeutic like that at times. But I also think this is a reflection of life in general. It is a mix of moods. So how about this for some story ideas?
Theme Tip: Pick a well known proverb or saying and write two stories on it – one to be cheery, one to be anything but cheery (though that still leaves you a good range to choose from). This also makes for a great writing exercise. And if you’re stuck for the proverbs, use the random generators – the phrase one would be good for this.
Hope to draft some flash fiction pieces while I’m at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick shortly but will probably not get to share any on Substack or YouTube until after what is one of the major highlights of my writing year. Mind you, Swanwick is also a great opportunity to wave the flag for flash fiction, which I’m always glad to do.
Am also looking forward to the blog tour for Seeing The Other Side which will be from 7th to 13th September. More news later on that but it is the first time I’m having an “official” blog tour. It also makes a lovely change for me to be on the other side of the fence here as I do often support such tours for other authors so it’s nice to be able to join in myself!
Fairytales with Bite – Magical Get Togethers
I’m shortly going to head off to what I consider to be a magical get together – The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. It is one of the major highlights of my writing year and there is something magical about being able to spend time with writing friends, learning more about the industry, and just being immersed totally in the writing life for a few days.
For your magical characters/setting, what would count as a magical get together when magic, for them, is such an everyday thing? What would it take to make something stand out as special to them? Could it be an event where magic is specifically not allowed and everything is done “manually”?
What could happen against the backdrop of a magical get together which could not happen in ordinary life and who would want to take advantage of such a thing to cause that happening? What are they hoping to achieve? I could see some magical crime stories going on there!
Also, what one character would consider magical, another may think was humdrum. Why the difference in opinion? Who is right? Again there could be story ideas to explore from fleshing this out more – I could see there being clashes between the characters here.
This World and Others – Leaving The World Behind For a While
When I go to my big annual writing event in Derbyshire, which I will be heading to shortly, I get to leave the world behind for a while. For a few days I am immersed in the wonderful world of writing and I love it.
Am I glad to get back to reality again? Yes. Aside from being back with the family again, I am also keen to get to my desk again to write up those ideas I had while I was away. There are various ways to get away from it all for a bit and we are in holiday season as I write this.
So what would your magical/sci-fi characters do when they want to leave their worlds behind for a while (as we all do from time to time)? How easy or otherwise do they find shrugging off their responsibilities for a while? Does the break refresh them or do they come back, wanting to get away from it all on a more permanent basis? Plenty of story ideas there.
Even if the break is a normal holiday one, where would your characters go? How would it differ from their normal environment and is is the differences which draw them here? Do they try to introduce those differences to their home worlds? What kind of outcome/fall out would there be from this as there would be reactions!
Again, story ideas there.
