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. Many thanks to Jennifer C Wilson for taking the image of me about to run a workshop at Swanwick in 2022. Looking forward to catching up with you, Jen, at Swanwick 2023! Many thanks to Richard Hardie for taking the image of me at the Book Fair.

Hope you have had a good weekend. I’m off to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick this coming weekend for a few days. I am planning to post but times will be different. Am looking forward to catching up with friends (the rest of the year I meet them online only) and attending the excellent workshops.

Facebook – General

Someone hasn’t told the weather it’s August, have they? Oh well. On the plus side, the grass in my local park does now look and feel like grass as opposed to the straw it had resembled during that period of hot weather we did have.

My latest author newsletter went out earlier today – many thanks to all who have signed up. Hope you enjoy the latest one.

I came to author newsletters fairly late though I enjoy reading several and it is something I should’ve done sooner than I did. It is a useful way of keeping in touch. I aim to put in mine what I know I’d like to receive myself. I think that helps (and shows). It is a great joy putting these together – marketing can be fun, honest!

Had to have a chuckle. Had an email in from Amazon today suggesting I might be interested in The Best of CafeLit 12. Credit where it’s due and all that – they’re not wrong.

Someone might have noticed though I asked Amazon to add it to my Author Central page, which they’ve done – speedily too – within minutes of my asking, and that’s because I’m one of the authors in here! Mind you, I have had this kind of email for From Light to Dark and Back Again and Tripping the Flash Fantastic as well. Joined up thinking? Possibly not here.

In other news, have started packing for The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. Told you I was looking forward to it.

Bit of a strange day today. I’m standing down form a voluntary role I’ve carried out for some years. Absolutely right time to go. Things are developing for me in my church life and my writing one too, which means I no longer have the time for the voluntary role as well. Am still a member of the organisation concerned. I am looking forward to “just” being an ordinary member again though but when you have carried out a role for a long time, it does seem odd to be moving on.

Am so looking forward to sharing my review of Lilies on the Land, the latest production from The Chameleon Theatre Group, for Chandler’s Ford Today on Friday. Such a moving play and it brought back memories of stories I was told by my parents/grandparents. More in the post. I suspect the play has and will continue to bring back memories for others too.

Don’t forget my next author newsletter goes out on Tuesday. Still time to sign up at my landling page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com

It’s my turn once again on More Than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers. This time I talk about What Makes a Character Work. Hope you find the post useful and you can find out why the Sheriff of Nottingham as played by the late great Alan Rickman puts in an appearance here too.

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Facebook – From Light to Dark and Back Again

Hope you have had a good day. Busy one as ever. Am currently working on a flash piece I hope to bet submitted probably just after I get back from Swanwick.

I want to get it to the “resting” stage before I go away. When I come back – well, that will be enough of a break to give me the chance to judge the tale objectively before sending it anywhere. It’s amazing how many things I can pick up when I’ve given a story proper rest period like that and it can make all the difference to whether a tale is accepted or not.

This is why I build in time for this to happen so I still submit well ahead of any deadline. It is a tip which works and has worked repeatedly for me which is why I am happy to recommend it. I like tried and tested tips a lot!

It’s Monday. It’s the Monday before I go to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick! Still time for a story though. My latest on YouTube is called Welcome to Earth. Hope you enjoy it.

Damp and drizzly here today. And the month we’re in is what exactly?! Having said that, I do not envy the poor souls with the heatwaves. I know I couldn’t cope with it, I can cope with the rain.

Heads up for those who send in stories to Friday Flash Fiction. For the next couple of weeks, they are only accepting the classic 75 to 100 word flash tales. See link for more information. Their contest ties in with the Edinburgh International Book Festival though, of course, the FFF one is purely online. Usual rule of one story a week applies. Good luck if you’re having a go at this.

Hope you have had a good day. Changeable weather again here. This time next week I’ll be at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick and am so looking forward to it. Naturally I shall be spreading the word about flash fiction. Will report back for Chandler’s Ford Today in due course.

Talking of which, there is an offer on for the paperback version of From Light to Dark and Back Again on Amazon at the moment. You can check it out at the direct link below.

Goodreads Author Blog – Biographies

I’m currently reading London by Peter Ackroyd, a biography of the city which is an interesting way to approach writing history. Enjoying it immensely so far. But it led me to wonder about biographies, I have read some (mainly autobiographies) of figures I’m interested in. Agatha Christie’s autobiography is a fascinating read but unless the subject interests me, I don’t read much in this genre. No celebrity biographies for me!

Are there biographies you would recommend and what appeals about them? I do think the subject has to have led some kind of interesting life. With Agatha Christie, I am a huge fan of her books so am naturally interested in what she had to say about herself. I love history so the idea of London appealed to me too. (It helps I’m a Londoner by birth I suspect – another reason to be interested in the subject).

I suppose one reason I do like some of these is I am at that stage of life myself where I am interested in what others at this stage of life or beyond it have got to with theirs! This is another reason why I’m not interested in the younger celebrity books here.

I do wonder well what experience of life have you got other than that which made you famous? For me that isn’t enough, I like to read of how people struggled, made the breakthrough, made mistakes, picked themselves up again etc. Those are stories worth telling.

WRITERS NARRATIVE SUBSCRIBER LINK

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL – ALLISON SYMES

Today @AllisonSymes1 has some hints and tips about characterisation https://t.co/7dTIdxRIIg

— ACW (@ACW1971) July 29, 2023

Excellent points about character self-unawareness often being the key to great characterisation.

— Fran Hill (@franhill123) July 29, 2023

More than Writers: What Makes a Character Work by Allison Symes https://t.co/zXPQjzI5Np It’s my turn again on MTW, the Association of Christian Writers blog. You can find out why the Sheriff of Nottingham as played by the late great Alan Rickman puts in an appearance here too.

— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) July 29, 2023

liked Allison Symes’s blog post: Biographies https://t.co/XtzKvEtT7S via @goodreads I chat about biographies this week for Goodreads. I read some but I have specific criteria to meet before I read anything in this category. See why here. Do share comments on the Goodreads page. pic.twitter.com/F6egup6bDD

— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) July 29, 2023

It’s Monday. It’s the Monday before I go to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick! Still time for a story though. My latest on YouTube is called Welcome to Earth. Hope you enjoy it.https://t.co/8PubhmMvnp

— Allison Symes (@AllisonSymes1) July 31, 2023