Dear Reader
My sojourn went on until 30 Sept upon which I started the final copy edit of my second novel The Brent Street Haunting.
As written before on this blog, the above story was started toward the end of October last year, drafted mid January, and put through its big edit by end February. So the latter date was the last time I set eyes on it before the final copy edit (I subscribe to the Jane Austin practice of putting the story away for a long time before viewing again).
I have to say I am more than pleased with this paranormal thriller, and am looking forward to publishing it. The publication date should now be the weekend of 19/20 October.
It's good to get back to writing after 3 months of inactivity in which the mundane things of life have taken centre stage. The winter is coming and the short days are my favourite time to write. I am now looking for an idea on which to base a new novel, and am determined to write it over the next few months. This allows my third novel 'Duisburg Star' to lie fermenting for another few months before I revisit it.
So the busy days have arrived again. I've done several hours since finishing my day job at 4pm today. I spent some 7 hours with Brent Street yesterday - some weekend! So as you can imagine nothing else is getting done at home - Boredom is banished.
I'll give out more details of Brent Street ahead of publication. However in my humble opinion I can only recommend it. If nothing else it is a totally original story and there are few of them around these days.
Best wishes
Saul
Monday, 7 October 2013
Tuesday, 13 August 2013
Duisburg, Brent Street and all
Hello,
I must confess a huge amount of inertia needed to be overcome before I could restart this blog. This is a consequence of my innate dislike of social media and blogs - the very things I should be using to publicise my work. So having bitten the bullet I resume on the back of a four week break from all writing activities.
This break which had long descended into stultifying boredom followed on the heels of my completing the draft of my third novel - Duisburg. Duisburg is a provisional title, taken from a fictitious city in the American deep south. The action is centred upon the local paper - The Duisburg Star - and I may settle on this as the title or even simplify it to Duisburg Star, which could also allude to the heroine - young reporter Amy Simms. Either way, the mayhem visited upon Duisburg is orchestrated by my demon - deceased African witchdoctor Mr Coates.
Mr Coates is also central to my second novel - The Brent Street Haunting - a mix of poltergeist mayhem whirling around a tale of revenge and murder. Set in the north of England I expect to publish Brent Street in September. The heroine is Evangeline Weekes and the mystery twists and turns about her until her identity and motives are revealed.
Duisburg is 93k and Brent Street 75k. Both have been written within the past nine months. The former was drafted between early April and early July 2013, the latter between end October 2012 and early Jan 2013.
As I work full time and also have a home to run you will see this is quite a workload. I think this must be the reason I shun social media etc. I simply do not have the interest in downtime to put any energy into it.
On the other hand writing for me is a chemical addiction. Probably as potent as any Class A drug. I now feel certain that the whole activity of creation and fashioning these stories has altered the chemical balance of my brain.
After I have finished a story I feel I have accomplished something that relatively few do. Therefore I feel I have earned a break. Time to put my feet up. Time to pursue those leisure activities I've been promising myself for months. However, I never do. And after a couple of weeks I sink into a terrible boredom. Then comes the depression hard on its heels. A dark state in which inertia clamps me into complete inaction. Any sort of activity is resented. It is from the shackles of this state that I now burst free.
Already I feel the warm glow of the endogenous drugs thus inspired soothing my brain. So this is the plan. Brent Street will be published this September. It needs one last review, a cover (which I now have in my mind), the blurb finalised and then the button hit. I will then review and revise the first draft of Duisburg and put it away for six months. That should bring me to mid November, by which time I will have thought of something else to write - my fourth novel.
I will put Brent Street up on the usual platforms. I will tweet about it and publicise it on Facebook. It will be available on Smashwords free for a short promotional period before reverting to the cover price - so look out for it.
I'll keep this blog up to date now, until I start writing the fourth - when I no doubt will immerse myself in that world - whatever it may be.
So bye for now
Best wishes
Saul
I must confess a huge amount of inertia needed to be overcome before I could restart this blog. This is a consequence of my innate dislike of social media and blogs - the very things I should be using to publicise my work. So having bitten the bullet I resume on the back of a four week break from all writing activities.
This break which had long descended into stultifying boredom followed on the heels of my completing the draft of my third novel - Duisburg. Duisburg is a provisional title, taken from a fictitious city in the American deep south. The action is centred upon the local paper - The Duisburg Star - and I may settle on this as the title or even simplify it to Duisburg Star, which could also allude to the heroine - young reporter Amy Simms. Either way, the mayhem visited upon Duisburg is orchestrated by my demon - deceased African witchdoctor Mr Coates.
Mr Coates is also central to my second novel - The Brent Street Haunting - a mix of poltergeist mayhem whirling around a tale of revenge and murder. Set in the north of England I expect to publish Brent Street in September. The heroine is Evangeline Weekes and the mystery twists and turns about her until her identity and motives are revealed.
Duisburg is 93k and Brent Street 75k. Both have been written within the past nine months. The former was drafted between early April and early July 2013, the latter between end October 2012 and early Jan 2013.
As I work full time and also have a home to run you will see this is quite a workload. I think this must be the reason I shun social media etc. I simply do not have the interest in downtime to put any energy into it.
On the other hand writing for me is a chemical addiction. Probably as potent as any Class A drug. I now feel certain that the whole activity of creation and fashioning these stories has altered the chemical balance of my brain.
After I have finished a story I feel I have accomplished something that relatively few do. Therefore I feel I have earned a break. Time to put my feet up. Time to pursue those leisure activities I've been promising myself for months. However, I never do. And after a couple of weeks I sink into a terrible boredom. Then comes the depression hard on its heels. A dark state in which inertia clamps me into complete inaction. Any sort of activity is resented. It is from the shackles of this state that I now burst free.
Already I feel the warm glow of the endogenous drugs thus inspired soothing my brain. So this is the plan. Brent Street will be published this September. It needs one last review, a cover (which I now have in my mind), the blurb finalised and then the button hit. I will then review and revise the first draft of Duisburg and put it away for six months. That should bring me to mid November, by which time I will have thought of something else to write - my fourth novel.
I will put Brent Street up on the usual platforms. I will tweet about it and publicise it on Facebook. It will be available on Smashwords free for a short promotional period before reverting to the cover price - so look out for it.
I'll keep this blog up to date now, until I start writing the fourth - when I no doubt will immerse myself in that world - whatever it may be.
So bye for now
Best wishes
Saul
Sunday, 17 March 2013
Brent Street, new novel
Hi folks,
I have decided to stick with my original plan and publish The Brent Haunting in the Summer of 2013. No doubt buoyed by the success of my short stories Double and Northern Star, I had an idea to bring forward the publication of Brent Street. But one thing that I've learned in writing and publishing is that patience is the most important virtue. And this for someone who is naturally impatient!
I wrote Brent Street from end October last year until mid-January this. I edited it straightway, with the view of putting it away for several months before doing the final edit (recommended). As the action takes place towards the end of Summer in late August until early October, I thought a good time to publish would be in the Summer months. After reflection I think this view was correct and so expect to see the novel out on the usual platforms July/August time.
In writing the most important thing is to creat great stories and that is what I am attempting to do. A new novel has been suggesting itself to me over the past few weeks and I have been working on the plot. It is a sequel to Brent Street, but only in that it features the demonic Mr Coates who once more is pulling the strings. I am spending some careful time on working out the plot and sub-plots of this story right now. I will then flesh out the situation and places and characters before beginning to write. I anticipated this to be a about 75k long, but I will proceed at a more leisurely pace to Brent Street and aim to get it done by Christmas, for publication sometime in 2014.
The other thing I intend to do is to keep this blog up to date. I hope to publish some insights into the themes which illuminate my work over the coming months. I hope these will be entertaining as well as informative.
Best wishes
Saul
I have decided to stick with my original plan and publish The Brent Haunting in the Summer of 2013. No doubt buoyed by the success of my short stories Double and Northern Star, I had an idea to bring forward the publication of Brent Street. But one thing that I've learned in writing and publishing is that patience is the most important virtue. And this for someone who is naturally impatient!
I wrote Brent Street from end October last year until mid-January this. I edited it straightway, with the view of putting it away for several months before doing the final edit (recommended). As the action takes place towards the end of Summer in late August until early October, I thought a good time to publish would be in the Summer months. After reflection I think this view was correct and so expect to see the novel out on the usual platforms July/August time.
In writing the most important thing is to creat great stories and that is what I am attempting to do. A new novel has been suggesting itself to me over the past few weeks and I have been working on the plot. It is a sequel to Brent Street, but only in that it features the demonic Mr Coates who once more is pulling the strings. I am spending some careful time on working out the plot and sub-plots of this story right now. I will then flesh out the situation and places and characters before beginning to write. I anticipated this to be a about 75k long, but I will proceed at a more leisurely pace to Brent Street and aim to get it done by Christmas, for publication sometime in 2014.
The other thing I intend to do is to keep this blog up to date. I hope to publish some insights into the themes which illuminate my work over the coming months. I hope these will be entertaining as well as informative.
Best wishes
Saul
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Double
Dear Readers,
I will publish Double on Friday 22 February, Free on Smashwords (for a limited time) and on Amazon.
Here's a description of the little tale:
I will publish Double on Friday 22 February, Free on Smashwords (for a limited time) and on Amazon.
Here's a description of the little tale:
Alpha male David Black has the lot - a successful business,
beautiful wife Miriam and two wonderful kids. That’s not to mention young Rachel
Owen his sexy PA and mistress. Whilst on a family holiday David spots his double
walking towards him on a pier. When he returns home from holiday David has to
have a troublesome wisdom tooth removed. In order to meet the appointment with the
dentist he cancels a business engagement with John Collis in Birmingham that
promises much new work for his factory. On arriving back at his desk the day
following the operation, David phones Collis to confirm the rearranged
appointment. However he is shocked and bemused by the strange and outraged
behaviour of the prospective client towards him. David certainly will not be
getting this new business. Gamely he writes off Collis as a crank, but it is
the dawning of his worst nightmare as Double goes on to take each and every opportunity
to impersonate David with disastrous consequences for his business, marriage
and relationship with Rachel. The mystery finally unravels as David is
confronted face to face by Double whilst beginning a prison sentence for a
crime he did not commit. David taunts his nemesis that he has overplayed his
hand - taken the lot. But evil Double has one more thing he’d like from
David...
Double is a disturbing paranormal mystery, the tale of a
successful forty-something businessman haunted to breaking point by his double.
Best Wishes
Saul
Saturday, 9 February 2013
Northern Star published
Folks,
I published Northern Star free on Smashwords.
Here's the link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/283537
The story is also available on Amazon
Regards
Saul
I published Northern Star free on Smashwords.
Here's the link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/283537
The story is also available on Amazon
Regards
Saul
Wednesday, 6 February 2013
Northern Star
Hi folks,
as promised in my previous post here is a synopsis and cover image for the fourth story in the Lucy Harlow detective series of short stories. It will be out free of charge on Smashwords this Saturday (9 Feb) and also will be available of Amazon. It is 9600 words long.
Synopsis
as promised in my previous post here is a synopsis and cover image for the fourth story in the Lucy Harlow detective series of short stories. It will be out free of charge on Smashwords this Saturday (9 Feb) and also will be available of Amazon. It is 9600 words long.
Synopsis
Rich wild child Carrie Marchant has made a phone movie of
herself in the throes of ecstasy with a former lover Craig Stapleton, a rough
diamond who she calls her Northern Star. But the clip has got into the wrong
hands and a blackmailer is trying to extort a price from Carrie’s mother
Rebecca. Carrie isn’t too bothered about who sees her in action, but Rebecca
believing the blackmailer to be Stapleton calls in Lucy to investigate. However
the enigmatic Sara Bradbury, Carrie’s elder sister, would much sooner brush
things under the carpet and pay off the blackmailer. Lucy begins to understand
why as she opens the can of worms that is Carrie’s life.
Northern Star is a tale of blackmail and murder and is the
fourth in the Lucy Harlow detective series.
Writing etc
Hi folks,
I finished my latest novel, The Brent Street Haunting 10 January, and by 21 January I had been through it and made the necessary adustments to the first draft. I then put it away and set about revisiting a story that I wanted to publish just before Christmas, Summer Soldier. SS is a Lucy Harlow detective story and I was unhappy with it just before it was due for publication. I was too busy to give it the attention it needed as I was embroiled in Brent Street. Therefore, with Brent Street out the way for the time being, I revisited SS and made the adjustments that I thought necessary for it to be published.
However, I remain unhappy with the story. This is not a new emotion for me. I will not publish anything I am not happy with for whatever reason. A couple of my short stories from 10 years ago - Climb To The Stars and Season's End - remain unpublished for the same reasons. Never say never, and sometime if the mood takes me, I may well publish these and SS, but for the time being they will remain on the shelf.
So, that brings me round to what to do next. I am acutely aware that I have not been publishing enought lately. Opera Flowers - the third in the Lucy Harlow detective series of short stories came out in October last year. Since publishing stuff is just about the best publicity an aspiring author can get, it is about time I put something else up. Therefore, I will publish what is now the fourth Lucy Harlow story - Northern Star - this weekend. It will be free of charge on Smashwords and will also be available on Amazon. I will post seperately a synopsis and a cover image today.
Next up for publication will be Double, a mystery born out of the characters in Oxygen Restriction (the first Lucy Harlow). This is a paranormal story that I like very much and is an important landmark in my writing career. It will be out in a few weeks on Smashwords and Amazon. The Brent Street Haunting will follow a few weeks later (probably April).
Best Wishes
Saul.
I finished my latest novel, The Brent Street Haunting 10 January, and by 21 January I had been through it and made the necessary adustments to the first draft. I then put it away and set about revisiting a story that I wanted to publish just before Christmas, Summer Soldier. SS is a Lucy Harlow detective story and I was unhappy with it just before it was due for publication. I was too busy to give it the attention it needed as I was embroiled in Brent Street. Therefore, with Brent Street out the way for the time being, I revisited SS and made the adjustments that I thought necessary for it to be published.
However, I remain unhappy with the story. This is not a new emotion for me. I will not publish anything I am not happy with for whatever reason. A couple of my short stories from 10 years ago - Climb To The Stars and Season's End - remain unpublished for the same reasons. Never say never, and sometime if the mood takes me, I may well publish these and SS, but for the time being they will remain on the shelf.
So, that brings me round to what to do next. I am acutely aware that I have not been publishing enought lately. Opera Flowers - the third in the Lucy Harlow detective series of short stories came out in October last year. Since publishing stuff is just about the best publicity an aspiring author can get, it is about time I put something else up. Therefore, I will publish what is now the fourth Lucy Harlow story - Northern Star - this weekend. It will be free of charge on Smashwords and will also be available on Amazon. I will post seperately a synopsis and a cover image today.
Next up for publication will be Double, a mystery born out of the characters in Oxygen Restriction (the first Lucy Harlow). This is a paranormal story that I like very much and is an important landmark in my writing career. It will be out in a few weeks on Smashwords and Amazon. The Brent Street Haunting will follow a few weeks later (probably April).
Best Wishes
Saul.
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