Blog

Normally, I like silence…

Normally. When I’m writing, for instance (hence the reason Hubster International wears headphones to watch TV; I can’t write with noise.) But when the silence comes from agents, the silence is unbearable. I thought it was bad when it was just my initial submission I was waiting on, or rather the much anticipated, gut-punching rejections… Continue reading Normally, I like silence…

Blog

Those gosh-darn deceiving looks…

I had the joy of visiting Germany this week for a very brief, but very wonderful, trip to attend a friends’ wedding. It was awesome; great weather, great company, great food (German food is my FAVOURITE of all) and so much dancing I developed blisters on the soles of my feet. I love that country… Continue reading Those gosh-darn deceiving looks…

Blog, Uncategorized

When your head isn’t quite your own

  My fingers are itching to get stuck into something new. Well, not new, per say, but different. I‘m in the somewhat enviable position of already knowing what my second novel will be about. I know the characters, their back-stories and, er, future-stories (Is that a thing? I have either coined a new term or… Continue reading When your head isn’t quite your own

Blog

Too many hours in this day…

Ah, children. They seem to have the opposite problem entirely to that of writers: they often think there is too much time in one day. I had to disappoint my son with this very thing, earlier this afternoon. Sitting patiently in front of the turned-off television he looked up and asked if he could watch… Continue reading Too many hours in this day…

Blog, Uncategorized

Being objective when it comes to subjectivity…

There’s been one factor surprising my friends and family more than any other recently and that is the reality of editing a book for agents. I have four editions of my manuscript; the one I use for my initial submission and three others edited in accordance with the advice from the agents I’m currently speaking… Continue reading Being objective when it comes to subjectivity…

Blog, Uncategorized

Celebration, pride and a whole lot of tears

The post-Winchester blues have truly set in...but with a slight difference this year. Last June, after my first attendance at the festival, I felt really sad for a few days that it was over, that I was no longer surrounded by all those wonderful writers, teachers, agents, friends. Mainly, it had to be said, because… Continue reading Celebration, pride and a whole lot of tears

Blog

Where’s the focus at?

I am worrying about my hair-band. Strange thing to worry about, you may say. It’s a very cheerful hair-band, borrowed from my daughter; pillar-box red with a bobbly, smiling Santa Clause dangling from a holly leaf. Bright, unseasonably festive, tangled with strands of Aoife’s titian hair. Not the most appropriate hair-band, however, for meeting agents… Continue reading Where’s the focus at?

Blog

The joy of having a mentor

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m lucky enough to have crime writer, teacher and BBC correspondent Simon Hall as my mentor. But what I haven’t done is express the difference having a mentor has done to both my work and my confidence. Last year I attended Winchester Writers’ Festival as another unpublished author. As a stay-at-home… Continue reading The joy of having a mentor

Blog

Preparing for my audience

I have accepted a challenge, courtesy of the evil genius Simon Hall. I have to read a section of my novel. Out loud. In public. And I am shitting myself. Any of you who’ve read this post know how difficult I find it letting my husband read my work, let alone reading it myself to… Continue reading Preparing for my audience

Blog

Community Spirit

Roll up, Roll up, who needs a pick-me-up? Who’s feeling lost in this world of writing? Who’s been worrying that it won’t happen, it will never happen, that no one is ever going to publish this book? I have just the remedy for you and it comes in the medicinal form of #WritersWise, courtesy of… Continue reading Community Spirit