Sam Carrington's Blog, page 9
August 10, 2016
2 Days until Publication Day - am I prepared?
It's suddenly upon me - publication day for Saving Sophie is this Friday!
This fact fills me with equal amounts of excitement and nerves...
I have read with interest, awe and delight, MANY author's journeys to publication and about their publication day exploits! A lot seem to have launch parties. As my novel is being released first as an ebook - I probably should have organised a Facebook launch event.
But I haven't.
I've been ultra-busy with writing blog posts for wonderful bloggers who are going to be kind enough to host me on my blog tour.
So an actual book birthday 'event' has kind of passed me by!
So, what AM I doing?
Well, on Friday (that's THIS Friday 12th August - in case I hadn't made that clear...) I will be online throughout the day - mainly on Twitter I suspect - and will be available for an hour over lunchtime for Q&As and chatter (I do like to chat) on Avon's Twitter account (which is HERE)
I would love it if you could join in! It'll be running from 12.30 pm until 1.30 pm.
I have been overwhelmed by the support I've received (in fact I was a guest on Being Anne's blog where I talked about the importance of support - check it out HERE) and have been invited by lots of lovely bloggers to their websites to talk about Saving Sophie, or answer some fabulous questions.
So no doubt you'll see me popping up on a few on Friday.
And talking of popping - I'm fairly sure champagne will be involved in my celebrations on Friday...
My thanks to those who have already pre-ordered the book - and huge thanks to those who have read and reviewed ARCs. I hope that people will enjoy Saving Sophie!
You can grab the ebook for the special price of 99p HERE
This fact fills me with equal amounts of excitement and nerves...
I have read with interest, awe and delight, MANY author's journeys to publication and about their publication day exploits! A lot seem to have launch parties. As my novel is being released first as an ebook - I probably should have organised a Facebook launch event.
But I haven't.
I've been ultra-busy with writing blog posts for wonderful bloggers who are going to be kind enough to host me on my blog tour.
So an actual book birthday 'event' has kind of passed me by!
So, what AM I doing?
Well, on Friday (that's THIS Friday 12th August - in case I hadn't made that clear...) I will be online throughout the day - mainly on Twitter I suspect - and will be available for an hour over lunchtime for Q&As and chatter (I do like to chat) on Avon's Twitter account (which is HERE)
I would love it if you could join in! It'll be running from 12.30 pm until 1.30 pm.
I have been overwhelmed by the support I've received (in fact I was a guest on Being Anne's blog where I talked about the importance of support - check it out HERE) and have been invited by lots of lovely bloggers to their websites to talk about Saving Sophie, or answer some fabulous questions.
So no doubt you'll see me popping up on a few on Friday.
And talking of popping - I'm fairly sure champagne will be involved in my celebrations on Friday...
My thanks to those who have already pre-ordered the book - and huge thanks to those who have read and reviewed ARCs. I hope that people will enjoy Saving Sophie!
You can grab the ebook for the special price of 99p HERE
August 6, 2016
My BOOK DEAL moment !!!!!!
In case you missed it...
I'm thrilled to be able to shout to all who'll listen, that I have a book deal! YAY!
The wonderful team at Avon (HarperCollins) have signed my debut novel, SAVING SOPHIE, a psychological thriller, along with a second novel.
See the official Bookseller announcement here - am jumping up and down a bit about this!
Saving Sophie will be published as an ebook (Maze imprint) on the 12th August - yes, that's 6 DAYS away - and a paperback will follow (Avon imprint) on 15th December 2016.
How mad is that? Am so excited!
It's available for pre-order right now!
Yep - a paperback too. I can't begin to express how much that means :)
This past year has been a whirlwind of a journey.
As those who have followed will know, I signed with Anne Williams, with the Kate Hordern Literary Agency, in June last year. The novel she signed was 'Portrayal' - the one I'd entered in the Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger Award - and had been longlisted for.
But this was an unfinished novel. So I set about finishing it and then sent the completed first draft to Anne. I then worked with Anne to shape the novel - which included scrapping a whole point of view (eek!) - before it was finally ready for submission to publishers. After a few disappointing, yet fairly positive rejections (I know that doesn't make sense - well, to people other than writers) someone fell in love with it ... Yes, fairy story right there ...
The lovely Natasha Harding, commissioning editor at Avon, wanted my novel! And there followed some pretty serious nail biting while I waited to find out if the rest of the team felt the same way.
Thankfully, they did.
It was the strangest feeling to know that a publisher wanted to publish my novel. And quickly!
Of course, that's the point - the reason you put yourself through all of this process: the writing of the novel, getting a submission package together, trying to gain an agent ... but when it happens, it seems unreal. For me, I was ridiculously excited, yet also ridiculously scared! It was really going to happen.
No longer chasing a dream - I'd caught it.
A meeting was arranged. I was going to London. To HarperCollins tower!
Right by The Shard!
It was an amazing experience.
Just walking past the books that had been published by them, seeing some of my favourite authors - it was surreal. And everyone I met was lovely and very welcoming.
I'm utterly thrilled to be a part of this amazing team and am looking forward to working with them to unleash Saving Sophie into the world.
Thanks to everyone who has been alongside me and supported me during each step of this journey.
Here's to the next step...
You can grab Saving Sophie at the pre-order price of just 99p from:
Amazon UK : HERE
Amazon US : HERE
August 5, 2016
Some interesting questions...
August 2, 2016
TERRIBLE TWOS
So, you've written a book - it's going to be (or has been) published - CONGRATULATIONS! It's a huge achievement.
But then you have to do it again.
With my debut novel, Saving Sophie , due for ebook publication in 10 days time, I now have the daunting task of finishing writing the second. It seems that the process of writing this book is a very different one from the first for a number of reasons, and I have loads of scary questions floating around in my head. Like:
Is my editor going to even LIKE the next book?
Will readers buy another one of my books?
What if I get writer's block?
What if I can't finish it by the deadline I've been given?
*Panic ensues*
There are many more similar questions. Having them niggle at the back of your mind can really play havoc with the creative process required to produce a good follow-up novel.
I know I'm by no means alone with my fears. So to make me feel better, I asked a fellow author to put into words her experience of second-book syndrome - which she aptly calls the Terrible Twos!
So, here goes - I'm delighted to welcome my FIRST ever guest to my blog!
Helen Cox, author of Milkshakes and Heartbreaks at the Starlight Diner has agreed to come and chat about the anguish that is 'second-book syndrome'!
I say 'anguish' but I'm sure it conjures different feelings for different authors, which is why I've asked her to pop along and talk about it.
Over to you, Helen!
Back in the days when I was a film journalist, I wrote a whole chapter of a book on terrible film sequels. It seemed like a pretty clever thing to do at the time, ridiculing Sandra Bullock’s fashion choices in Speed 2: Cruise Control and lamenting the cultural insensitivity of Sex and the City 2.
When I sat down to write my own sequel at the beginning of this year however, my sense of humour evaporated.
Alright, as I make a joke out of almost everything that’s a slight exaggeration, but it was clear from chapter one that writing the follow up to my first novel Milkshakes and Heartbreaks at the Starlight Diner was going to be even more difficult than the first had been. Considering I’d put everything I had into book one, this was far from a comforting thought.
At first, I was at a loss as to why every sentence was a struggle. I had so much more going for me than I did when I sat down to write my first novel. A guaranteed offer of publication, a previous book that had been very well-received by readers and more important than anything else, proof that I could do this. Proof that I could string together 80,000 words, give or take, in pretty much the right order and create a story that people enjoyed. And yet, the second time round it was harder.
Why? I can sum it up in one word.
Pressure.
When I was writing Milkshakes, I told myself it didn’t really matter if it was any good because nobody was going to see it. A few friends, maybe. Some family members who were interested enough or too polite to say no. But getting published is really hard. There was no reason why anyone should pick me out of the crowd. So, I told myself straight to just write a story and stop kicking up a fuss.
My first draft of my first novel wasn’t very good. But I edited, edited, edited until people said it was good. And then a publisher said it was good and asked me to write a second book. A book that I knew from the beginning other people were going to get the chance to read, and judge.
A sly, small voice in my head asked: can you really do this again?
Maybe you only had one good book in you.
I had a flashback to 1999 when Kula Shaker released Peasants, Pigs and Astronauts, the follow up album to their outlandish debut ‘K’. I recalled again the heartbreak I suffered when I realised it wasn’t a strong return for them. I didn’t want to create another Peasants, Pigs and Astronauts. I wanted to write the book equivalent of the next Live Through This or Late Registration… alright so I’m not hardcore enough to be either Courtney Love or Kanye West (which is probably a blessing) but, you know, I’m aiming for somewhere near that. Closer to Terminator 2: Judgement Day than Teen Wolf Too, that’s all I’m really asking here.
The only route through my unexpected quagmire of self-doubt was to remind myself that all I can ever do with any project is work my hardest and try and enjoy myself in the process.
When I was a teacher, I always said to my students that nobody could ever ask more from them than their best, and if they knew in their hearts they’d done that, there was nothing to be ashamed or afraid of. After much grappling with my inner demon (his name’s Gordon by the way and he’s a little imp) I decided to take a bit of my own advice.
Four weeks later after some invaluable feedback from my writing partner Dean Cummings and a fellow author Helen Fields, I sent my first draft to Joanna Swainson, my agent, who came back telling me it was a delightful and thoroughly charming read. I don’t think I’ve ever been so relieved about anything in my life. Not when my now-husband actually turned up to marry me on my wedding day. Not even when Woody and the gang made it out of the furnace in one piece in Toy Story 3 (spoiler alert).
There’s still a lot of editing to be done on my second book, sure. But despite my brain doing all it could to undermine me, I managed to write a first draft of my second book that is already impressing those who’ve read it. And nobody, not even Gordon, that judgmental little imp in my head who comes out to play when I’m writing, can take that away from me.
Thanks so much, Helen - you've captured the terrible twos brilliantly! I'm going to ignore your comment about Teen Wolf Too though - you've broken my heart - Jason Bateman is the love of my life (haha!)
You can keep up-to-date with Helen's book news on her website HERE
And follow her on Twitter HERE
Here's the blurb for Helen's debut novel, Milkshakes and Heartbreaks at the Starlight Diner:
Esther Knight is sharp, sarcastic – and hiding something. She waitresses at The Starlight Diner: a retro eatery where Fifties tunes stream out of the jukebox long into the night, and the tastiest milkshakes in New York are served.
Nobody at the diner knows why Esther left London for America – or why she repeatedly resists the charms of their newest regular, actor Jack Faber.
Esther is desperate to start a new life in the land of the free, but despite the warm welcome from the close-knit diner crowd, something from her past is holding her back. Can she ever learn to love and live again?
Milkshakes and Heartbreaks at the Starlight Diner is a witty, romantic, New York-inspired novel.
You can buy it HERE
Congratulations on the publication of Milkshakes, it's a really fabulous novel! Wishing you loads of luck with your follow-up novel - I will be following your journey with interest!
Now - off you go and finish your editing!!
I would love to hear from other authors about their own experiences with writing second books, so please feel free to drop me a line!
Thanks for reading!
But then you have to do it again.
With my debut novel, Saving Sophie , due for ebook publication in 10 days time, I now have the daunting task of finishing writing the second. It seems that the process of writing this book is a very different one from the first for a number of reasons, and I have loads of scary questions floating around in my head. Like:
Is my editor going to even LIKE the next book?
Will readers buy another one of my books?
What if I get writer's block?
What if I can't finish it by the deadline I've been given?
*Panic ensues*
There are many more similar questions. Having them niggle at the back of your mind can really play havoc with the creative process required to produce a good follow-up novel.
I know I'm by no means alone with my fears. So to make me feel better, I asked a fellow author to put into words her experience of second-book syndrome - which she aptly calls the Terrible Twos!
So, here goes - I'm delighted to welcome my FIRST ever guest to my blog!
Helen Cox, author of Milkshakes and Heartbreaks at the Starlight Diner has agreed to come and chat about the anguish that is 'second-book syndrome'!
I say 'anguish' but I'm sure it conjures different feelings for different authors, which is why I've asked her to pop along and talk about it.
Over to you, Helen!
Back in the days when I was a film journalist, I wrote a whole chapter of a book on terrible film sequels. It seemed like a pretty clever thing to do at the time, ridiculing Sandra Bullock’s fashion choices in Speed 2: Cruise Control and lamenting the cultural insensitivity of Sex and the City 2.
When I sat down to write my own sequel at the beginning of this year however, my sense of humour evaporated.
Alright, as I make a joke out of almost everything that’s a slight exaggeration, but it was clear from chapter one that writing the follow up to my first novel Milkshakes and Heartbreaks at the Starlight Diner was going to be even more difficult than the first had been. Considering I’d put everything I had into book one, this was far from a comforting thought.
At first, I was at a loss as to why every sentence was a struggle. I had so much more going for me than I did when I sat down to write my first novel. A guaranteed offer of publication, a previous book that had been very well-received by readers and more important than anything else, proof that I could do this. Proof that I could string together 80,000 words, give or take, in pretty much the right order and create a story that people enjoyed. And yet, the second time round it was harder.
Why? I can sum it up in one word.
Pressure.
When I was writing Milkshakes, I told myself it didn’t really matter if it was any good because nobody was going to see it. A few friends, maybe. Some family members who were interested enough or too polite to say no. But getting published is really hard. There was no reason why anyone should pick me out of the crowd. So, I told myself straight to just write a story and stop kicking up a fuss.
My first draft of my first novel wasn’t very good. But I edited, edited, edited until people said it was good. And then a publisher said it was good and asked me to write a second book. A book that I knew from the beginning other people were going to get the chance to read, and judge.
A sly, small voice in my head asked: can you really do this again?
Maybe you only had one good book in you.
I had a flashback to 1999 when Kula Shaker released Peasants, Pigs and Astronauts, the follow up album to their outlandish debut ‘K’. I recalled again the heartbreak I suffered when I realised it wasn’t a strong return for them. I didn’t want to create another Peasants, Pigs and Astronauts. I wanted to write the book equivalent of the next Live Through This or Late Registration… alright so I’m not hardcore enough to be either Courtney Love or Kanye West (which is probably a blessing) but, you know, I’m aiming for somewhere near that. Closer to Terminator 2: Judgement Day than Teen Wolf Too, that’s all I’m really asking here.
The only route through my unexpected quagmire of self-doubt was to remind myself that all I can ever do with any project is work my hardest and try and enjoy myself in the process.
When I was a teacher, I always said to my students that nobody could ever ask more from them than their best, and if they knew in their hearts they’d done that, there was nothing to be ashamed or afraid of. After much grappling with my inner demon (his name’s Gordon by the way and he’s a little imp) I decided to take a bit of my own advice.
Four weeks later after some invaluable feedback from my writing partner Dean Cummings and a fellow author Helen Fields, I sent my first draft to Joanna Swainson, my agent, who came back telling me it was a delightful and thoroughly charming read. I don’t think I’ve ever been so relieved about anything in my life. Not when my now-husband actually turned up to marry me on my wedding day. Not even when Woody and the gang made it out of the furnace in one piece in Toy Story 3 (spoiler alert).
There’s still a lot of editing to be done on my second book, sure. But despite my brain doing all it could to undermine me, I managed to write a first draft of my second book that is already impressing those who’ve read it. And nobody, not even Gordon, that judgmental little imp in my head who comes out to play when I’m writing, can take that away from me.
Thanks so much, Helen - you've captured the terrible twos brilliantly! I'm going to ignore your comment about Teen Wolf Too though - you've broken my heart - Jason Bateman is the love of my life (haha!)
You can keep up-to-date with Helen's book news on her website HERE
And follow her on Twitter HERE
Here's the blurb for Helen's debut novel, Milkshakes and Heartbreaks at the Starlight Diner:
Esther Knight is sharp, sarcastic – and hiding something. She waitresses at The Starlight Diner: a retro eatery where Fifties tunes stream out of the jukebox long into the night, and the tastiest milkshakes in New York are served.
Nobody at the diner knows why Esther left London for America – or why she repeatedly resists the charms of their newest regular, actor Jack Faber.
Esther is desperate to start a new life in the land of the free, but despite the warm welcome from the close-knit diner crowd, something from her past is holding her back. Can she ever learn to love and live again?
Milkshakes and Heartbreaks at the Starlight Diner is a witty, romantic, New York-inspired novel.
You can buy it HERE
Congratulations on the publication of Milkshakes, it's a really fabulous novel! Wishing you loads of luck with your follow-up novel - I will be following your journey with interest!
Now - off you go and finish your editing!!
I would love to hear from other authors about their own experiences with writing second books, so please feel free to drop me a line!
Thanks for reading!
July 30, 2016
An emotional day!
So, today I held a physical proof copy of my debut novel SAVING SOPHIE in my hands for the first time. Thanks AvonBooks!
Wow.
This is what it was all for. The moment when the dream becomes reality. I'm clearly going to be a mess when it actually publishes!
The excitement and the feeling of accomplishment is huge.
However, this wonderful moment is tinged with some sadness.
My lovely parents are no longer here to share this achievement with me. And that's pretty gutting.
But, I hope they'd have been proud.
I've had incredible support over the last few days from friends and followers on social media, and my family and friends around me. I am so thankful for them, and to them.
I think this is cause for another celebration, don't you?
Can never have too much of that!
And every day counts.
Thanks all!
I'm off to stroke the cover...
Wow.
This is what it was all for. The moment when the dream becomes reality. I'm clearly going to be a mess when it actually publishes!
The excitement and the feeling of accomplishment is huge.
However, this wonderful moment is tinged with some sadness.
My lovely parents are no longer here to share this achievement with me. And that's pretty gutting.
But, I hope they'd have been proud.
I've had incredible support over the last few days from friends and followers on social media, and my family and friends around me. I am so thankful for them, and to them.
I think this is cause for another celebration, don't you?
Can never have too much of that!
And every day counts.
Thanks all!
I'm off to stroke the cover...
July 29, 2016
SAVING SOPHIE Cover Reveal!
Nothing like being late to your own reveal!
I am super, SUPER excited to share my beautiful cover with you. It's beyond amazing, AvonBooksUK have done a brilliant job and I can't thank them enough.
Here it is (although, as previously mentioned, I'm late with this, therefore it's been around a bit already - haha!)
What do you think?
I'm in love with it - I think it stands out so well and symbolises the key themes in the novel really well.
I am thrilled that the very talented BEST SELLING author of THE SISTER, Louise Jensen has already devoured it and has written the most amazing review! For her full review, check out her blog Fabricating Fiction on 3rd August! But for now, this is a snippet:
Saving Sophie is being published firstly as an ebook on the 12th August - 2 WEEKS from now! And in paperback on the 15th December.
You can pre-order it from Amazon UK - HERE
Watch out for my next blog post - I'll be sharing a bit about my BOOK DEAL!
Thanks for popping in - please do leave a comment and let me know what you think of Saving Sophie's cover!
I am super, SUPER excited to share my beautiful cover with you. It's beyond amazing, AvonBooksUK have done a brilliant job and I can't thank them enough.
Here it is (although, as previously mentioned, I'm late with this, therefore it's been around a bit already - haha!)
What do you think?
I'm in love with it - I think it stands out so well and symbolises the key themes in the novel really well.
I am thrilled that the very talented BEST SELLING author of THE SISTER, Louise Jensen has already devoured it and has written the most amazing review! For her full review, check out her blog Fabricating Fiction on 3rd August! But for now, this is a snippet:
Saving Sophie is being published firstly as an ebook on the 12th August - 2 WEEKS from now! And in paperback on the 15th December.
You can pre-order it from Amazon UK - HERE
Watch out for my next blog post - I'll be sharing a bit about my BOOK DEAL!
Thanks for popping in - please do leave a comment and let me know what you think of Saving Sophie's cover!
June 5, 2016
My first experience of Crimefest!
I've taken a while to write this post. Mainly because it took me a while to recover from Crimefest!
Crimefest is an annual International Crime Fiction Convention held in Bristol, where readers, bloggers, writers, agents and publishers all gather (mostly in the bar I found out) to enjoy four days of brilliant panels, interviews and award presentations.
Being a newbie I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but was excited to be going (and surprisingly nervous). I knew a fair few virtual friends from my Facebook and Twitter would be there, and I spent a lot of time with my eyes down, checking out people's names and madly shouting 'ooh, it's you!'
I had met up with my lovely friend and fellow writer, Libby for this experience, and together we navigated the hotel floors (badly sometimes) to reach the panels we wanted to see.
A surprise lift companion caused an 'oh my God' moment and I'm not sure I recovered from that for a while. But, Ian Rankin was delightful, and helpful as it turned out - and was also happy to have a picture with Libby. I wasn't brave enough to ask for another picture - it was my first few hours of being there - I hadn't had a drink yet! His interview the following day was a real treat too - as he read the first pages of his brand new, yet-to-be-published book!
The panels we attended were extremely well organised, spot-on with their timings and well moderated to give each author a chance to participate in the discussions. It was difficult to choose which panels to go to as there were two or three happening at any one time. There was a lot of scooting between rooms and floors and even though it was simply laid out, I still managed to become disorientated and wasn't sure where I was half the time.
We managed to meet some of the authors following their panels and get some books signed - I wanted to get far more books than I did, however, I did come away with some corkers and had some fab ones in my goody bag! I also have a great list of new-to-me authors, and actual-new authors to try, which is really exciting.
I also need to thank a lovely lady who gave me one of her books so that I could swap it for what appeared to be the last available proof copy of Anna Mazzola's 'The Unseeing' - she obviously sensed my desperation... I didn't get her name in my excitement - but THANK YOU! I had enjoyed the Deadly Dames panel with Anna Mazzola, Chris Curran, Caroline Kepnes and Janet Laurence with Quentin Bates moderating, so much, and the way Anna talked about her research for her debut historical crime novel, The Unseeing, was so fascinating I just had to have it!
Other highlights of my Crimefest experience include: meeting the wonderful Susi Holliday (SJI Holliday) and getting a quick pic :)
Meeting author Caroline Mitchell and having a chat during the CWA Dagger announcement ceremony. I have to thank her for her patience during the many attempts at getting the 'right' photo! I went for the somber look in the end - thank goodness there was wine.
Also the brilliant Making A Murderer - a case for and against. This was entertaining and fascinating, the excellent defence - Steve Cavanagh, and prosecution - Neil White, were clever and witty, as was the amazing Judge - Sophie Hannah. And I sat next to the author David Jackson - lovely to meet him in the flesh!
I really enjoyed the audible panel - very interesting how authors and narrators approach their roles. Fascinating to hear that Mark Billingham, who now narrates his own novels, alters some of the story to fit the audio version - a great discussion ensued about the pitfalls of certain narratives being extremely challenging in this format.
Oh, and I finally found some courage to ask for a picture with Mark - woop-woop!
Dark hearts, troubled souls - this was a fascinating panel with an amazing line-up of authors: Ann Cleeves, Ann Holt, Paul Hardisty and Kati Hiekkapelto - moderated expertly by Tim Adler. A real delight to be in such talented company, and the insights to what an author's responsibility may, or may not be, was a lively discussion and resulted in some great questions from the audience. And I managed a sneaky group photo at the end of this panel:
Haha! How great is this? :)
Another great panel - and one that made me laugh the most, was Sending Shivers Down the Spine - absolutely brilliant and I felt the audience found out a lot about each of the author's personal fears - clowns being one, well - except for Alexandra (A K Benedict) who delighted in freaking everyone out with the things she loves - hysterical. The other panellists were the lovely, and very funny Jenny Blackhurst, clown-hating Mason Cross and the delightful Kate Ellis.
I can't begin to cover all that happened, each panel, each wonderful person I met - but I will say - the crime writing community is bloody amazing and I hope I'll meet more of the talented authors and the inspiring bloggers who work tremendously hard, in the future. Great to finally meet Liz Barnsley, Liz Loves Books too, as well as other fab bloggers - I aim to join you all in the bar next time because you rock it! (According to all the stories and photographic evidence).
I had a thoroughly fantastic time, very tiring - but brilliant. I only did two days this time (I know - what a lightweight!), but will most definitely be doing the full four next year.
Here are some more pictures of the panels to leave you with:
Will look forward to next year!
Crimefest is an annual International Crime Fiction Convention held in Bristol, where readers, bloggers, writers, agents and publishers all gather (mostly in the bar I found out) to enjoy four days of brilliant panels, interviews and award presentations.
Being a newbie I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but was excited to be going (and surprisingly nervous). I knew a fair few virtual friends from my Facebook and Twitter would be there, and I spent a lot of time with my eyes down, checking out people's names and madly shouting 'ooh, it's you!'
I had met up with my lovely friend and fellow writer, Libby for this experience, and together we navigated the hotel floors (badly sometimes) to reach the panels we wanted to see.
A surprise lift companion caused an 'oh my God' moment and I'm not sure I recovered from that for a while. But, Ian Rankin was delightful, and helpful as it turned out - and was also happy to have a picture with Libby. I wasn't brave enough to ask for another picture - it was my first few hours of being there - I hadn't had a drink yet! His interview the following day was a real treat too - as he read the first pages of his brand new, yet-to-be-published book!
The panels we attended were extremely well organised, spot-on with their timings and well moderated to give each author a chance to participate in the discussions. It was difficult to choose which panels to go to as there were two or three happening at any one time. There was a lot of scooting between rooms and floors and even though it was simply laid out, I still managed to become disorientated and wasn't sure where I was half the time.
We managed to meet some of the authors following their panels and get some books signed - I wanted to get far more books than I did, however, I did come away with some corkers and had some fab ones in my goody bag! I also have a great list of new-to-me authors, and actual-new authors to try, which is really exciting.
I also need to thank a lovely lady who gave me one of her books so that I could swap it for what appeared to be the last available proof copy of Anna Mazzola's 'The Unseeing' - she obviously sensed my desperation... I didn't get her name in my excitement - but THANK YOU! I had enjoyed the Deadly Dames panel with Anna Mazzola, Chris Curran, Caroline Kepnes and Janet Laurence with Quentin Bates moderating, so much, and the way Anna talked about her research for her debut historical crime novel, The Unseeing, was so fascinating I just had to have it!
Other highlights of my Crimefest experience include: meeting the wonderful Susi Holliday (SJI Holliday) and getting a quick pic :)
Meeting author Caroline Mitchell and having a chat during the CWA Dagger announcement ceremony. I have to thank her for her patience during the many attempts at getting the 'right' photo! I went for the somber look in the end - thank goodness there was wine.
Also the brilliant Making A Murderer - a case for and against. This was entertaining and fascinating, the excellent defence - Steve Cavanagh, and prosecution - Neil White, were clever and witty, as was the amazing Judge - Sophie Hannah. And I sat next to the author David Jackson - lovely to meet him in the flesh!
I really enjoyed the audible panel - very interesting how authors and narrators approach their roles. Fascinating to hear that Mark Billingham, who now narrates his own novels, alters some of the story to fit the audio version - a great discussion ensued about the pitfalls of certain narratives being extremely challenging in this format.
Oh, and I finally found some courage to ask for a picture with Mark - woop-woop!
Dark hearts, troubled souls - this was a fascinating panel with an amazing line-up of authors: Ann Cleeves, Ann Holt, Paul Hardisty and Kati Hiekkapelto - moderated expertly by Tim Adler. A real delight to be in such talented company, and the insights to what an author's responsibility may, or may not be, was a lively discussion and resulted in some great questions from the audience. And I managed a sneaky group photo at the end of this panel:
Haha! How great is this? :) Another great panel - and one that made me laugh the most, was Sending Shivers Down the Spine - absolutely brilliant and I felt the audience found out a lot about each of the author's personal fears - clowns being one, well - except for Alexandra (A K Benedict) who delighted in freaking everyone out with the things she loves - hysterical. The other panellists were the lovely, and very funny Jenny Blackhurst, clown-hating Mason Cross and the delightful Kate Ellis.
I can't begin to cover all that happened, each panel, each wonderful person I met - but I will say - the crime writing community is bloody amazing and I hope I'll meet more of the talented authors and the inspiring bloggers who work tremendously hard, in the future. Great to finally meet Liz Barnsley, Liz Loves Books too, as well as other fab bloggers - I aim to join you all in the bar next time because you rock it! (According to all the stories and photographic evidence).
I had a thoroughly fantastic time, very tiring - but brilliant. I only did two days this time (I know - what a lightweight!), but will most definitely be doing the full four next year.
Here are some more pictures of the panels to leave you with:
Will look forward to next year!
April 11, 2016
A spot of reinvention...
“What's in a name? that which we call a roseBy any other name would smell as sweet.”
― William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
Over the weekend I spent some time changing my name on all my social media platforms.
Some people asked, 'why?'
There are numerous reasons writers choose to use pen names, or pseudonyms - some reasons can be found My aim as a writer now, is to write psychological thriller/crime novels. In the past I have written short stories under Samantha Bacchus - and these have been a different style and genre, aiming for the Women's magazines. I've also self-published my own collection of short stories for the same market. This is a reason some authors decide a pen name is best, because they write in differing genres.
I love my name, don't get me wrong. What's not to love about having the God of wine as my surname? But is it a name that can be spelt and pronounced wrongly?
Yes.
Every day I get phone calls for Mrs Batch-us as well as weird and wonderful variations of spelling on letters: Bachus, Backus, Bachous. Etc, etc.
Now, I'm not saying that by using my maiden name: Carrington, that there will be no spelling errors! I'm sure there will be. But, less so I hope. And going back to my old name will be a fitting tribute to my late parents.
When future readers search my name, I'm hoping Carrington will be easier to find!
And yes, for those of you of a certain age - I did get a lot of Dynasty-related jokes when I was at school, and the sound of the theme tune seemed to follow me around.
It still resides in my head...
Anyway, my reinvention has begun. Or rather, I've gone back to who I was. This time travelling lark can be quite fun - I feel younger already!
February 7, 2016
A Spot of Editing Over on Jan's Blog
Today I am guest blogger on the lovely Jan Baynham's Blog, talking about my editing process.
Jan has been doing a weekly series inviting writers to share how they approach the editing stage of their work. I've really enjoyed reading how others deal with this stage of writing!
Make a cuppa and pop on over to Jan's :)
Happy Sunday!
Jan has been doing a weekly series inviting writers to share how they approach the editing stage of their work. I've really enjoyed reading how others deal with this stage of writing!
Make a cuppa and pop on over to Jan's :)
Happy Sunday!
January 20, 2016
Good things are happening!
Family-wise 2015 wasn't a good year - mainly because it was the year my Mum died. And the start of 2016 threatened to go the same way as it began with bad news: a death and a serious accident, plus a number of mishaps that caused distress. I'm hoping it's the last of the bad news, and certainly things have begun to look up!
Hopefully, very soon I will be able to share exactly what has caused the upturn!
But for now - I'm doing a happy dance and looking forward to the rest of 2016.
Watch this space...
Hopefully, very soon I will be able to share exactly what has caused the upturn!
But for now - I'm doing a happy dance and looking forward to the rest of 2016.
Watch this space...
