Jennifer Thomson's Blog, page 21

HarperCollins Australia submissions - but only on a Wednesday

HarperCollins Australia are accepting submissions from all over the world and not just Australia - but only on a Wednesday.

Check out their site for details. 

There's no email address.

You need to upload your work to an online that appears - yeah, you guessed it, on a Wednesday.

They want to see - 

a synopsis of your work
the first 50 pages or first three chapters of your manuscript
a short note about yourself


Happy writing and good luck. 



And, remember, follow the guidelines, folks. Don't make it easy for them to say "NO."

So, you've written a novel. What next?

You're novel's all written. What do you do next?

First, off step away from the manuscript. Have some fun. Zap zombies on a computer game. Catch up with your favourite TV show. Hey, the whole new season of Orange is the New Black is on Netflix.



Had a break? Feel rested? Now it's time to look at your manuscript again with fresh eyes.

You're looking for -

Spelling mistakes - do not trust spell checkers. They can lull you into a false sense of security and change words. Mine change violet jumpsuit to violent. Don't know what it had against violent.

Plot holes - did you bring a dead character back to life? Not resolve a part of the storyline that needed to be resolved? Don't leave someone standing on the ledge of a building without having them persuaded not to jump, or rappelling down to break into that office.

Look for continuity errors - Did you rename a character halfway through the book or change the spelling of their name? Were they shot or kidnapped, and you carried on writing like they hadn't been?

Get rid of all the fluffy words like just and only as much as you can. They don't read well and are unnecessary.

Did you commit the sin of writing he/she started to (ADD AN ACTION like run) - Have someone run not start to run.

Check for errors you and only you would make - For instance, I had stench the flow of blood instead of staunch the flow in one of my books and I did I even notice. My publisher's copy editor didn't, but the proof reader did. But, she only spotted one, another two instances were left in the book.

Don't have characters doing the same thing all the time -
I found too many taking a deep breath in my latest book. Shake it up. Have characters doing different things.

Please don't send your novel off without the best chance of publishing success. Publishers and agents want you to make it easy for them to say no. Don't hand them that reason.

Happy writing folks. Would love to hear what you are working on.

Why I wrote Throwaways - a novella about murdered sex workers in Glasgow

To read more click on the cover
I've written stories, ever since I was little and always used to keep a diary. One of my first ever sales was a short story to Jackie magazine when I was 15. A friend of the family cashed the cheque and posted the money through the letterbox. It was such an exciting moment finding £60 in three twenty pound notes waiting for me when I came downstairs in the morning.
I got fed up with the lack of strong female women in fiction, so I decided that I wanted to write entertaining books with tough women (and male characters) and that's how I came up with the Die Hard for Girls books featuring Nancy Kerr and Tommy McIntyre. The first book was HellTo Pay and focused on Nancy Kerr who geets revenge on the men who killed her parents and left her bleeding to death on the kitchen floor.


Throwaways , is out now and is the second book in the series. The inspiration for the book came from the unsolved murders of a spate of sex workers in Glasgowin the 1990s. They were treated like throwaways and even when one lady was murdered in her own home that had paper thin walls, her neighbours claimed they hadn't heard a thing.
I wanted to write a book about people who did care about the disappearance and murder of women like them and who decided to carry out their own investigation. Although Throwaways is set in Glasgow, it's completely fictional.
My best time to write is in the wee small hours. That's when inspiration hits. I do have a tendency to spend too much time on Twitter. I tweet as @jenthom72 and @DieHardForGirls and also have two blogs - about my writing and also one about zombies (my not so secret passion).

I'm a huge fan of the George Romero movies and The Walking Dead and I had a zombie novel set in Scotland published called Dead Bastards .
My main writing influence has been Stephen King. For me, he's the best living writer and his books are always entertaining. I also love Sue Townsend, Shaun Hutson, Mark Billingham, Craig Russell, Stuart MacBride, Margaret Atwood and Marian Keyes.


If I'd to offer any advice to budding writers it would be to never give up. It's so hard to get published, but the more you write and hone your craft, the more chance you have of being successful. You also have to be able to take criticism on the chin, from publishers and reviewers, which for me is the toughest thing.

I’m currently working on the third book in the Die Hard for Girls series. It’s called Don’t Come For Me,and unlike the first two books that are novellas, this one is a novel. At the start, Nancyfinds herself in a nightmare situation – he boyfriend Tommy has gone and in his place is a puddle of blood and a knife. Then the police arrive and think she’s killed him…
Note - this piece first appeared on my publisher's website. 

What do I write about? - Story Cues

In the first of a regular series, I'll help to answer the question - What do I write about?

A great way to come up with a story idea is to -


Take a familiar item and give it a twist. 
1. Your character gets a text message on their mobile - "We've got your son."

2. The washing machine is making a rattling sound. There's nothing in the drum, but when the back panel is taken off there's a bloody knife hidden inside.

3. You come out of the supermarket to find a strange woman in your car. She's holding a gun and insists she knows you.

Don't Come For Me out soon

You're in the bathroomYou hear a noiseYou come out and your boyfriend is goneThere's a pool of blood on the floor and a knifeThe police think you've killed himYou need to prove your innocenceBut how?When you're not sure you didn't kill him? 
Don't Come for Me, the 3rd Die Hard for Girls book is coming soon...

Free Zombie story - Pick Your Brain

What would happen once the zombie apocalypse was over and people (and zombies) were forced to justify their actions?

This is a picture from UK zombie drama In The Flesh.

That's the scenario I took and then ran with it for my short story Pick Your Brain.

It's free for your enjoyment over at the wonderful Pulp Metal Magazine.



Feel free to have a read and comment. I'd love to know what you think.

What kind of writer are you? I'm a scattergun.

I'm half way through writing a novel and when I tell people how I'm writing it they think I'm crazy.

For starters, I don't sit and plan every chapter. Instead, I start with an idea. This can be the premise of the book i.e. woman is accused of murdering her boyfriend who she knows isn't even dead.

Then I just run with it, using the scattergun method of writing.

In other words, I write whatever I'm driven to write. This can be a scene from any part of the book.

Sometimes I have the ending before I have the second chapter.

The upside of this method, is two fold -
1. that I never get bored, so I don't think the reader will either
2. my writing is crispier and fresher because I'm not forcing my writing

Of course, there's a major downside -
eventually I will get to the point where I have to write a certain part; to connect up the dots. Writing those bits can be hard, but then writing is hard. You've got to bleed onto the paper.

The scattergun method might not be to everybody's taste, but it works for me. And you've got to stick with whatever works for you, because there are so many methods that don't work.

If I had a penny for every time someone said "I'm going to write a novel" who didn't, I'd be a millionaire.

So, what kind of writer are you? 

Now for something completely different...meet the love angel

Over the years, I've dabbled in so many different genres. My latest is in paranormal romance. I've written it under the of name Jennifer Sweetdance.

The Love Bureau is out in time for Valentine's Day. Here's the blurb -

What if your love life was a mess and the angel who was dispatched to find you true love was more messed up than you? This love angel's in for some love lessons of her own.
Meet Abigail, the Love Bureau angel who cannot fly.
She’s on a mission to save MandySue’s love life from cheaters and womanizers.
Problem is, back home in heaven, Abigail’s angelic husband is no saint either.
Dreams of flight and true love forge a bond between these two women that will move heaven and earth.

You can get The Love Bureau today from Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA1Y64C
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00IA1Y64C
http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00IA1Y64C 

It's celebration time and a special price for Hell To Pay

Special Kindle offer price £1.98

In celebration of the imminent release of the second Nancy Kerr and Tommy McIntyre book, Throwaways, my publisher have reduced the Kindle price of the first book Hell To Pay to £1.98 on Amazon.co.uk and $3.25 at Amazon.com



Why should you read Hell To Pay?

1. In real life women don't usually get revenge on their attackers, Nancy Kerr does.
2. If you like strong women, you'll like Nancy Kerr.
3. There's a handsome strapping sidekick called Tommy McIntyre.

You can read an extract from Hell To Pay on the excellent Wattpad site by clicking here.

Who should I dedicate my book to?

  Writing a book is tough work, so why shouldn't you get the finishing touches right? Finishing touches like the dedication?
I'm sure I'm not the only one whose mind goes blank when it comes to dedications, so I'm writing this post as much for myself as to help anyone else.  So, who do you dedicate your book to?
Ask yourself these questions -
Who inspired you to write?A teacher at school? A friend? Your parents?A relative? Did someone go beyond the call of duty to help you write the book? Do you have children and they babysat for you?  Did someone encourage you to write when you were about to give up?
For instance, Stephen King threw his manuscript for Carrie in the trash. His wife rescued it.  Dean R Koontz dedicated one of his books to his dog who had passed away.     I dedicated Hell To Pay to my mum Rosemary and Aunt Isobel, as well as two of my best friends who sadly died young. They are the two strongest women I know and Nancy Kerr is a strong female protagonist and the star of the the Die Hard for Girls series of books.  Tip: I dedicated the book to them, but could just have easily have named my main character after them. Instead I named Nancy Kerr after two of my best friends at school. Remember, dedicating your book to someone makes a wonderful gift. Don't waste the opportunity your hard work's brought about by not using it.