Yes, I’ve moved across to WordPress. It seems a little more ubiquitous than Blogger.

I also hope to update it a little more frequently. I hope any readers will forgive me for the occasional screw-ups as I get used to WordPress’s own vagaries.

First, and most important – the writing!

A Heart of Stone

A Heart of Stone has been accepted for publication by Crooked Cat Books and will be out in October / November. I am waiting to start the edits with a keen sense of trepidation.

For new readers of this blog, it’s a historical novel of 90k words, set mainly in Ireland in the 1740s, and concerns the terrible events surrounding my Great-great-great-great-great-grandparents (really!)

It’s the story of the Belle of the Dublin season, married at 16 to suit her parents, and who falls in love with her brother-in-law.

Her husband, a man of great power, does not take this well.

A Heart of Stone is the story of what SHOULD have happened to them.

Strange Bedfellows

Strange Bedfellows is the working title for Book 2. I am 30k words in but have been having some terrible plot problems, which can be summarised as a simple “Why am I writing this book?”

A Heart of Stone is now on hold, pending Crooked Cat’s appointing an editor, and them starting on a cover design. However, time, tide and publishers wait for no man, so Book 2 calls.

Another historical, this time concerning Jane, the daughter of A Heart of Stone’s protagonists, and a right rackety person by all accounts. Family History truly IS the “gift that keeps on giving”.

I have good protagonists, a good opening, some good subplots and minor characters, and it is pretty sound historically, but I was really getting lost in terms of direction.

Along comes Liz Fenwick to the rescue, who recommended Dara Marks “Inside Stories – the Power of the Transformational Arc”. Not an easy read, but well worth it. It told me what I needed to do, and showed me how to fit it into my story. Excellent.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inside-Story-Transformational-Extraordinary-Screenplays-ebook/dp/B06VSVCVKZ/

I also found John Yorke’s “Into the Woods: How Stories Work” helpful.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ADNP2P2

I’ve used some spare time on holiday to map out the story arc, and to shorten the time span, and I reckon that, at last, I know where I am going with this.

In the meantime, Books 3 and 4 are taking shape in my mind……..

Oh, there IS a moral to all this. When you get stuck, ASK FOR HELP. It will always be forthcoming.

The RNA Summer Party.

This year’s Summer Party was another, and all too rare, chance to meet up in person with my wonderful RNA friends. As always, I had a great time, talked incessantly, took a load of photos and STILL didn’t get a chance to talk to everyone.

A highlight was the presentation to Kate Field of the Joan Hessayon Award, for the best first novel published in the last year from a member of the RNA’s New Writers Scheme. This was The Magic of Ramblings (Accent Press). Many congratulations!

Both Kate and Clare Harvey, last year’s winner. spoke amusingly in their speeches.

A very few of my best pics.

Our holiday in Cornwall was wonderful; some great gardens, some new friends, a lovely cottage and we will be back to Cornwall again next year. I feel a Cornish story coming on, somewhere.

And….. when we got back, the hedgehogs were soon coming round for their food.

All or any comments are more than welcome.

John