I composed this blog post whilst sitting on the balcony in a hotel in Turkey, two days prior to returning to Britain, where I knew I’d be bombarded by life and social media once more. For some bizarre reason, my phone would not connect with Wi-Fi in the hotel.

Time in Turkey gave me the time and space to reflect on what has been and what may be to come in the writing world. It had been a meditative time, soaking up the sun, enjoying an array of new and exotic flavours, reading, swimming, and occasionally drinking a tad more than I should – all in the spirit of enjoying a vacation to the full, you understand.

I enjoyed conversing with the Turks, Germans, and French people – all in French strangely, which I’m fortunately fluent in. There was only a smattering of British guests there, and those we met, we had a fantastic time with.

Perhaps…

If I’d never joined Twitter, then my publisher would never have found me.

If I had more head space, I’d be more productive, rather than flit from task to task.

If I had more faith in myself, I wouldn’t worry so much prior to each novel being published.

If I made more of an effort, I could investigate whether an agent would be a good move for where I’m at now.

If I spent 20mins a day on the static bike, I’d be happier with my figure.

If I wasn’t so soft-hearted I wouldn’t worry about all the stray dogs roaming the streets in Turkey. At least I’ve found a charity there, on FB, to donate some money to.

Next year will see new avenues as yet unchartered in the writing world for me.

Until I’ve tackled the above issues, I will continue writing and developing my own niche in the book world, and see where that takes me.

Happy Word Flow One & All

I now find myself in a home devoid of children, as both have left for university, but still with hubs who is semi-retired but still working as a nurse. Therefore, I’m in a lucky position to dedicate more time to my writing. Time is my friend.

Ah no, time is a creeping, devious enemy at times, and I’ll explain why. Yesterday, hubs went fishing all day, so I knew I had the whole day ahead of me to work on the new novel I’m writing. I settled down with a large mug of coffee, some mango chunks, and some jelly beans. I spread my working notes and mind map over the coffee table and sofa, and settled down to write.

I began reading where I was up to, ready to continue the story, but ugh, I was stumped. My mind rattled through irrelevant issues in my life, I couldn’t get comfortable, and I ate my snacks without registering or appreciating the flavours.  I sifted through the cue cards of the characters, willing them to talk to me, to guide me through their story, but they had masking tape over their mouths, and obstinately refused to move.

I made another coffee, fed the birds, and checked my TBR pile, picking out the next two books I want to read. I returned to my laptop and stuttered through two thousand words, many of which will need editing and possibly deleting.

Hubs returned home and I made dinner. Then BAM, inspiration pierced my mind. I opened my laptop and spewed out a storyline I hadn’t seen coming; a dark twist that would shake-up the story. Joy enveloped me just like the gloomy duvet of writer’s block had cocooned me all day.

What I’ve learnt is that perhaps the late afternoon, evening, is my more productive time, although it does cut into ‘family’ and cooking time. Maybe I’ll have to become unsociable at home, and just eat snacks. Hmmm. I also believe that having all that time free, swamped me with the pressure to perform – performance anxiety, you might say.

Have you considered what time of day suits you to write, or are you dictated to by the constraints of life, and all that entails.

The observant of you will have noticed the #PYB badge I’ve displayed above. I’m part of a group of authors who have all written a short story based on the same picture we were given. These have been compiled into a book called ‘Framed’, and this charity book will be on sale on the 9th October for one month in aid of breast cancer awareness. PYB stands for Protect Your Breasts, which informs and reminds both women and men, to check their breast regularly. The link to the book will be posted nearer the time. None of the authors are being paid for their work. This may be a redundant sentence, but I thought I’d point it out. I’m honoured to be part of this venture.

Happy Word Flow One & All

The most fun I have when writing is creating dark characters. I prefer the term ‘dark’ to ‘bad’ as I believe everyone has an element of darkness within, whereas ‘bad’ seem to imply a caricature of the antagonist from a black and white movie. Dark characters are not always that obvious to the reader, and an element of deciding how a character is perceived is left up to the reader.

I love writing dark characters whom the reader may not necessarily see in that light straight away. For example, Ella, the young murderer in ‘The Divine Pumpkin’, is bright, well-educated, a blue-eyed blonde girl, who has committed a heinous crime, that doesn’t sit well with some readers. I don’t want my dark characters to necessarily look brooding, with a scar on their face, living in a squat. Okay, I’m exaggerating, but you get my drift.

I sometimes like to throw in elements that might make the reader feel some sympathy or understanding towards the dark character; perhaps shedding some light on where their darkness stems from, as seen with Walker in ‘Attic of the Mind’. However, their past experiences are not an excuse for their current behaviour, and it’s up to the reader how far they’ll extend their understanding towards that character.

Writing dark characters allows me as a writer to say and act out the way I would never do in real life – thank goodness, I hear my friends cry. Readers hopefully understand that what I write is fiction, dredged-up from the dark recesses of my imagination, not based on actions I have carried out.

Embrace the darkness in your writing.

Happy Word Flow One & All

The observant amongst you will have noticed the new badge on this site, Member of The Crime Writers’ Association, of which I am very proud.

I hesitated to apply to this society due to it having prestigious members such as Ian Rankin, Catherine Aird, and Peter James, whom I heard give a talk once, and when he was signing his book for me said I had a great name to go on a front cover. It only took me another three years, Mr James! To now see my profile picture in the member’s section gives me goose bumps.

The CWA was founded by John Creasey in 1953. It enables crime writers to contact one another, promotes the crime genre, and supports professional writers. It holds social events and annual awards; the prestigious Dagger Awards.

If you love reading in the crime and thriller genres, why not join The Crime Readers’ Association at the link below, and discover new authors or old favourites to adorn your bookshelf or Kindle.

http://www.thecra.co.uk/

My latest DI Eva Wednesday novel, Shadows in the Mind, is out now. The fourth in the series, What Happens After, is due out early 2016.

Happy Word Flow One & All.

On Saturday 18^th July 2015, I attended the Second City Signing Event at St Andrews Birmingham City Football Stadium, and what a day it was, although marred for some who were stuck on the M6 after a lorry caught fire and melted the road. The poor souls were stuck for eight hours, missing the whole signing. However, 187 did manage to attend.

Peter managed to put my roller banner up correctly this time, having forgotten about the feet at the last event, so we had to lean it against the window. Peter blamed the carpet that time!

Once the table was covered in small piles of my five books, free bookmarks and postcards of my book covers and logo, two bowls of sweets (absolutely essential),  book bags, fridge magnets, and tea towels to give away with a purchase of a book, I was ready for action.

As the first reader approached, I smiled and pulled nervously at the skin around my finger nail. By the time we had finished talking, I had picked so much I had made my finger bleed. I sucked on it surreptitiously before signing the book, which thankfully remained blood smear free. I had learnt my lesson and picked no more.

A couple of incidents warmed my heart. One reader brought her own copy of Attic of the Mind to the table for me to sign, saying the story resonated with her. Another reader brought her In the Light of Madness book bag from the last signing, and was getting all the authors to sign it. It was lovely to see the bag in use.

It is always a pleasure to meet established and new readers of my work, to discuss what they like, dislike, and even hope for in future novels, especially where Wednesday and Lennox are concerned. My lips are sealed as I’m waiting to hear what the characters want…

I believe book signing events are worth doing for so many reasons. You may believe I would say to primarily sell books, but actually it’s much more than that. At these events, I get the opportunity to connect with readers and with other authors; both are very supportive family-like groups, and I’m proud to belong to both.

Hope you enjoy some of the photos of the day, including Miles the bear who travels with me wherever I go. I gave him a hug at one point to save my poor fingers!

Here is a review for my latest DI Eva Wednesday novel, ‘Shadows in the Mind’. It has been entered into the Bookviral 2015 Book Award, and I would truly appreciate your vote, should you feel the book is interesting. Many thanks in advance.

Shadow in the Mind