Stuart Bone's Blog, page 2

Congratulations Mr Bone; It's a Book

I've just written the final part of LONG SHADOWS; novel number three.

I must stress that it's not yet publication ready; it still needs some editing and there'll probably be some rewritten scenes and the odd new one but the book is now fully-formed; the story is in place and I experienced my usual feeling upon finishing a story; happiness mixed in with a tinge of sadness and a sensation of being totally knackered.

I've been advertising the book as coming out summer 2018 and in my head I was hoping for June. I think that's possible now as it gives me three months for editing. Right now I'm going to put the whole book aside for at least a couple of weeks so that I can look upon it again with fresh eyes when I begin the editing process.

I must admit this one has been a tough one. I've often heard that writers find the second novel the hardest as they put so much into the first and there's the added pressure of having a publication deadline to meet. For me number three has definitely been the hardest.

I wrote the first draft this time last year but wasn't happy with it. It was at this time that an agent took an interest in NOTHING VENTURED, only to reject it as they weren't sure about the saleability of comedy. This led me down a path of trying to write something an agent wanted to see; which was completely the wrong thing to do. It took me to the end of 2017 to realise this and I came full circle, back to rewriting LONG SHADOWS.

Not that last year was a complete waste. I did try my hand at crime fiction and ended up creating another comedy. I am going to return to this for novel number four; CRIME & NOURISHMENT; same characters but a different storyline.
(That's another way I realise I'm coming to an end of a book; I start getting new ideas about the next one. That's been happening this past week).

I think LONG SHADOWS is coming at the right time. I've mentioned before that this is a follow on to DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION. Although it can be read as a stand alone novel, it does continue the stories of Derek, Angela, Margaret & Dora. I've had a recent surge in sales of my first novel so hopefully people will want to find out what happens next.

I didn't set out to write a follow on. There's nothing worse than reading a book or watching a film where the ending is left open incase there's a sequel. Obviously if a book is advertised as part of a series then that's fine; although there still needs to be an ending of each part of the story. DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION had a satisfactory ending. I just found myself wondering what would happen next to some of the characters and those thoughts developed into a whole new novel.

So, the countdown to publication begins. I'm excited. I hope my readers are too.

When Inspiration Strikes

I was out having a coffee yesterday with my parents when I plotted out an idea in my mind for novel number nine. I'm not sure why I thought about it just then. I got the setting, the title and a number of characters sorted. I just hope my parents didn't notice me drifting off for ten minutes.

I know that currently, I'm only writing novel number three and it's going to take a while to get to number nine but at least I've got the next few years planned out (literary-wise).

I've read about people hoping to find inspiration for their writing by moving to the countryside and living in a house with a view. I'm afraid it doesn't work that way (unless of course you want to write about someone moving to the countryside or write something about a view). Inspiration often arrives at the oddest moments.

For me it's usually while I'm not thinking about writing; like yesterday's coffee excursion. Often I'm in the bathroom at night, cleaning my teeth, and suddenly a scene I'm having trouble with works itself out. Even this morning, while shaving, a scene coming up in LONG SHADOWS played out in my mind and it was all I could do to finish shaving so that I could go and write it all down before I forgot it; sitting there in my bedroom with pen and paper and bits of wet toilet paper on my chin, stemming the blood flow. (Now I could use a derivation of that in a book somewhere. Switch shaving face to shaving balls and the scene is instantly funnier. Boom; inspiration.)

Of course one can't always rely on sudden inspiration. The majority of the time you just have to sit at your desk and keep working through ideas/problems until they're solved. For me, the act of putting pen to paper ignites my mind. For those of you that have read NOTHING VENTURED, I had real trouble with the scene in the butterfly house. I firstly created an annoying child character to follow Lou and Diana around the area but it just wasn't funny enough. I kept rewriting but eventually had to step back and think afresh. I wrote copious notes and eventually came round to bringing in Josie and Suze from DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION for a cameo appearance. Finally the scene worked. I'd found the right inspiration but only after a lot of effort.

And that is why I think relying, say, on a view for inspiration is a bad idea. It's a distraction rather than a help. My desk faces the wall in my office so that I can focus purely on my work. Of course the thought of coffee or that the fridge is just one staircase away can still cause loss of concentration, but if inspiration has struck; I'm not going anywhere.

A positive start to 2018

I was about to begin this post by writing, 'It's a been a while since my last blog entry' but realised I'd be repeating myself.

There's the school of thought that you ought to write a regular blog to get yourself and your books noticed. I've decided that if I did that my blog posts would start working better than Nytol.

I wasn't actually sure I had anything worth saying today but there is one thing; a little self praise; and it kind of links in with the above, and getting my novels noticed.

In a previous blog I wrote that I'd spent a lot of time and effort trying all the marketing techniques to sell the books and the result was that in April of last year I sold none! When I stopped the marketing and just concentrated on actually writing I began selling books each month; only about half a dozen but at least I was seeing monthly sales.

It's a pattern that continued through 2017. Aside from occasional blog entries and posting comments on Facebook and Twitter, I've done little other marketing. This week, I took down my Facebook Author page. I really don't feel it's worth having one anymore. When I post on it, the people that follow my page don't necessarily see that post. Facebook expects me to pay to boost each post to those people, which is totally wrong. Mind you, I suspect the majority of those followers that liked the page in the first place, following a paid-for advertising campaign, weren't genuine accounts anyway. In the campaign I only paid Facebook if someone liked the page and I think they have certain accounts set up to do just that. I never heard from most of them ever again.
So now I just have my personal Facebook account, my website, Twitter and Goodreads.

That seems to be enough because (getting back to the self praise bit) I sold 15 books in December and so far, 22 in January. Okay so I'm not about to appear on a best seller list anytime soon but to suddenly double, and then triple my book sales is pretty amazing to me; and I don't know why it's happened. I did Tweet a jokey advert for the books but only one in December and one at the start of January. All I can put it down to is that it's happening through word of mouth. Those people that have bought my books over the past, almost two years; have now read and recommended them to others.

There's obviously nothing wrong with advertising and marketing your books but sometimes the right thing is to just concentrate on writing your next one and leave the previous ones to find their own way. It's very easy to get caught up in marketing and using social media and therefore, neglecting to give enough time to your new project. (I believe a positive attitude and confidence in yourself and your abilities helps a lot too).

I'm very happy (and a lot calmer) concentrating on my new novel with occasional posts and tweets online. Reviews and ratings help. Only this morning I saw a new five star rating given to Driven to Distraction on Goodreads. A big thank you to all of you who take the trouble to rate/review my novels. It really is a great boost to know that something I've put a lot of effort into is being enjoyed.

Here's to next month's sales.

Inspiration by Design

A belated Happy New Year to everyone. It's been a while since my last post but then not much has happened over the Christmas period, especially book-wise.

I've had a bit of a slow start to my writing year and this week has mostly been spent being creative with cover designs.

Yes, I'm still on the first draft of LONG SHADOWS so really, cover designs should be the last thing on my mind.

I originally designed the front covers for my first two novels using an online software that I was allowed to use for free for a short period of time. Now I don't want to sound like a skinflint and I would happily pay to use the service again (I've paid for the images on the cover and the right to use them) but this particular software requires users to pay a monthly fee. Seeing as I pretty much only need it once a year at most I wasn't prepared to pay out for a subscription. I know there are other software systems out there and I use a different one to create the full cover for my paperbacks, but this first one had the fonts that I like to use and I want all my books to have the same look to them.

Anyway, I found a way around my problem. Obviously I couldn't create a new account with my old e mail address, but now that I have a new one for people to contact me through my website I was able to use that and set up a new free account.

It seemed a good idea to not just create a front cover for LONG SHADOWS but to do a few more for those future novel ideas that I've developed past the initial thought stage, while I've still got the free access. And that's what I've been working on this week.

What really surprised me was that, aside from novel three that I'm currently writing, I also had five other works in progress! That's six new books to add to the two I've already written! I had no idea I had that many books planned. I must admit it's a great feeling and seeing six sparkling new covers staring back at me on my computer screen just makes me want to get on and get them written.

So, a slow start to the year has actually given my writing a real boost. I would like to have LONG SHADOWS out around June time and then a Christmas novella in November, but don't hold me to that. I might end up with LONG SHADOWS out in November and the Christmas novella out in Xmas 2019! Still, if I start to lose incentive, all I need to do now is look at the six new front covers and I'll be tapping away at the keyboard, faster than a fallen Mormon after his first espresso.

Trying Not to Expose Myself

Now there's a heading that should get noticed!

Obviously I'm talking about plots.

I'm writing a follow-on novel which can also be read as a stand alone book. Of course that still means it starts after certain events in a previous story. Reading LONG SHADOWS first will mean certain information will already be known to the reader if they then decide to read DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION next. (They may decide to never sully their eyes with my written words again).

This was something that did concern me when I initially came up with the idea for book 3 but really, I don't think it's going to be too much of a problem. How many of us have reread favourite novels? The second time we know how it's going to end but we still get pleasure from reading the story. I've read murder mysteries after seeing a TV adaptation and so already know who the murderer is, but I've still enjoyed reading the novel. Hopefully that will work for those who read LONG SHADOWS first.

It's still difficult for me to talk about the novel in a blog as I really don't want to give away plot lines for any of my novels. If I mention how DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION ends it could spoil it for someone currently reading it. That's the worst part isn't it; when you're in the middle of the novel and someone says something like,

"It's a great story. Have you got to the part where Millie's been killed?"

And you're like,

"Millie? Not Millie, she's my favourite character."

"Oops sorry about that. I won't say anymore. Still, Millie's death doesn't give away the ending does it...not like Michael's murder."

"Michael dies!"

I think I can get away with saying that it's Derek, Angela, Margaret and Dora featuring in LONG SHADOWS and they're all now living in Tenhamshire. Mind you, their past lives do like to pay them a visit.

The Boy is Back in Town

It's been two months since my last blog when I told you all I'd decided to take a break to concentrate on returning to employed work.

Of course the day after I wrote that blog a new idea began forming in my brain for a gritty, psychological crime drama. I noted it down and then put the writing aside again.

A day later and the main character came into my head, a Detective Superintendent with a mixed up family life. Okay, note that down and get back to searching for a job.

That night I created her sister, ex husband, son and the murderer.

For God's sake creativity; give me a break!!

And that's what I've just realised I needed all along, a break from writing.

Taking time out to complete some online finance/accountancy courses and then spending the rest of the time doing job searches was actually the best thing I could have done. I began writing full time in May 2013 and pretty much haven't had a break from it since then. I wrote DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION and began NOTHING VENTURED while I was sending it out to agents. By the time I self-published the first novel the second was nearing its final draft stage.

I published NOTHING VENTURED in November 2016 and went straight into book 3, a follow on to the first novel, called LONG SHADOWS.

I really should have taken a break then. After writing the first draft of LONG SHADOWS I decided I was heading in the wrong direction and binned it. I've spent most of 2017 trying to write a humorous crime novel that started out with the protagonist as a psychic, then she became a café owner who was an ex policewoman and then she turned into a private detective.

Having now had the break that I should have taken a year ago and having started researching how the police handle a murder enquiry I've decided that I would like to write a series of serious crime dramas at some point in the future. For now I still want to continue with humour and I've returned to LONG SHADOWS. In the past year a lot more people have read DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION and I really want to tell the story of what happens next to Derek and Angela.

So basically I've come full circle in the last twelve months. Not that it's been a waste. I've still learned a lot from creating the plot of CRIME & NOURISHMENT, and I've certainly learned that just because you enjoy doing something, it doesn't mean you don't need to take a break once in a while.

The job search is still my main priority but I did say in my last blog that I would let you know once I started writing again.

I won't be returning to weekly blogs at present but will check in from time to time when I feel I actually have something that's worth mentioning. (So that will probably be about twice a year!!)

So, we'll see how things progress. Ideally, as the novel is set during the summer I'd like to get it published next June but after the last twelve months I won't be chiselling that promise into a stone tablet any time soon.

Not Goodbye, just Au Revoir

This is going to be my last blog posting. I've been considering it for a while and now I've taken the decision to set aside my writing 'career' to concentrate fully on returning to a new role within the Banking/Finance industry. Dreams are great to have but they don't necessarily pay the bills.

Originally I planned to take one year out to write a novel but here I am over four years later. Unfortunately the half a dozen books I sell each month is nowhere close to a salary and that is something I really need to have now.

I've mentioned before that I didn't set out to be an 'indie' author, someone who publishes and markets all their own work. That works for a lot of people and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, but I'm certainly no salesman.  I picked the worst genre to attract an agent. They tend to steer clear of comedy, unless it's something non-fictional from a known celebrity.

Although I've been looking for a job for a while I really need to commit more time and effort to it. It makes sense really. I gave up my career to write and now I'm giving up my writing to get back my career. (I'm a man, I don't multi-task!)

I'm currently completing some online courses to ensure my accountancy knowledge is up to date and hopefully the four years I've taken out of the industry won't count too much against me. (I worked in banking for over twenty years before I gave it up and I've certainly added a few knew skills in the last four years too).

This isn't the end of my writing; I'm just taking a break until I'm back on my feet again. Perhaps a break will move my writing in a different direction or perhaps I'll just want to complete CRIME & NOURISHMENT. I don't know the answer at the moment but I look forward to finding out.

My 2 published novels, DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION and NOTHING VENTURED will still be available to purchase via Amazon, so if you haven't yet bought a copy you still can and those of you that have then please continue to recommend to friends, family and random strangers you meet on the bus. As I've mentioned before, ratings/reviews are great so if you haven't added anything to Amazon, please do so. You only need to have an Amazon login, so you can still review even if someone else bought the novel for you.

Well I guess that's it for now. Thank you so much for all of the support and the kind words you've said about the novels; it's meant a great deal. Who knows what the future holds but when I start writing again, you'll be the first to know.

Why, Why, Why, Wi Fi?

I just thought I'd stop writing my novel for a few minutes to write up this weeks blog. It's just taken me ten minutes to get the bloody internet to open. That's before I try to copy the blog onto Facebook, Twitter and my Website. So much for technology. This damned wi fi makes everything take twice as long as it should.

I had a deadline on Monday for the radio show I'm sending scripts in to. That was the day the Hotmail/Outlook went down and all sent e mails just sat in the draft folder. Typical. I handled the situation as best I could...I panicked. Luckily I was reminded that I did have another e mail address that I could use to send the scripts in so that was okay, but I'd have been quicker to have printed the scripts out and got a train up to London to deliver them in person.

Actually that's not quite true...the printer is also on wi fi and that's had its up and downs too. With the internet wi fi, the receiver (or whatever it's called) is downstairs while my laptop is upstairs. Even though that shouldn't matter there is a partial excuse that I'm too far away to get a full signal. The printer has no excuse; it's two feet from my computer. How can it miss the signal? It's pretty much my laptop shouting over, 'Hey, print this' and the printer pretending it hasn't heard and turning away; its nose in the air.

I ended up buying a cable to plug in which is surely a backward step in technology. I might as well go back to a typewriter; that's instant printing as soon as a key is pressed. What the hell, give me a stone tablet and I'll chisel a script out quicker than the bastard printer can print one!

I've never been one to embrace new technology, it always takes me a while to catch up. You won't see me queuing to get one of these new phones that uses your face as security. What is the point of that? Is it too much to remember a four digit code to unlock your phone with? Will it work properly or will it be like trying to get a signal and you'll have people holding the phone at different angles, trying to get it unlocked.

"I'm just going to make a phone call; hang on a second will you."
"What are you doing?"
"I have to hang upside down and go cross-eyed for my screen to unlock."

What happens if you set it up when you have a spot on your face? Will it still recognise you once it's burst?

It could be disastrous for some of the old has-been celebrities who desperately try to claw their way back onto TV. Not only does the public no longer recognise them but their own phones don't either. That could send them over the edge.

I still remember the time I got a phone that had voice recognition on it. It was a new concept at the time and although the handset wasn't expensive, the hearing aid I had to buy for it was. It still never heard me correctly.

You have a new message.
"See, this, message."
Calling, Swedish Massage.
Nooo.

Oh well, back to getting this novel completed. I fancy spending the afternoon with pen and paper.

A Trip up the Root Canal

I had my first appointment for a root canal this morning. It went very well seeing as my dentist had to drill through a seventeen year old crown. It's an expensive business but fortunately the crown is still intact and the procedure went well so, fingers crossed; I won't have to have the tooth taken out and a false one put in any time soon. Okay, at the moment I look like I had a stroke while putting half a watermelon into my mouth but luckily I work from home and no one else has to see that.

I do like my dentists. I've been going there for ten years and even though I've now moved away from the area, I'd rather drive the thirty minutes there than find a more local surgery. There's a TV screen on the ceiling and when you have a longer appointment you get to lie back in the chair and choose what you want to watch from off Netflix. Of course this can raise a bit of an issue. I mean, what sort of impression do you want to make to someone you see once every six months?

"No honestly, I would rather watch Kenneth Branagh's production of 'Much Ado About Nothing' rather than 'Celebrity Monster Trucks on Ice.'

I have a second appointment in two weeks time and hopefully that will be that particular tooth sorted for a long while.

Writing wise I haven't heard back yet about the comedy sketch I wrote last week for the radio show but I've already written another one to send off this week. CRIME & NOURISHMENT is progressing well. I'm back at the stage I was previously, before I decided to make a few changes and pretty much started again. This time everything feels right and I know exactly where the story is heading. I've also thought of an idea to help promote both me and this book but that's remaining confidential for now (well, it might not work out!)

So I'm currently in a happy place, although that could just be the effects of the Novocaine. Either way, I'm going to enjoy it.

Getting in a Mood

Apologies for not writing a blog last week. Excuse? I wasn't in the mood.

You know when you have a day where everything seems to go wrong. Often it's just little things; you trip on the stairs as you come down for breakfast; you crack your elbow on the doorframe as you walk into the kitchen; you bite the inside of your mouth as you eat a piece of toast. By the time the bus turns up late you're trying to grab the driver through the Perspex partition while questioning his parentage.

Last Wednesday was one of those sorts of days for me and, seeing as I like to keep my blog posts light, frothy and (hopefully) humorous; I didn't think one saying, 'My life is a black pit of despair; where am I going, what am I doing; why did my Caramel Magnum have to fall off the stick' would have fitted in that well with the other entries.

But the mood soon passes and this week has been much better. CRIME & NOURISHMENT is coming along nicely. I've just introduced a new death into the mix and am currently writing about the fallout from it. (I really shouldn't sound so cheerful about that).

I've also just completed my first ever comedy sketch, which I'm hoping will be taken on by a topical radio show. I find it amazing that I've spent so many hours working on something that will barely last three minutes.

Anyway, I should know next week if it's sold or not. I'll let you know; either by blog or by silence.