Beatrice Colin's Blog, page 2
July 23, 2009
Italy and last changes
Just back from Tuscany; beautiful but sooo hot. It was lovely to sit by the pool and do nothing but swim and read.
Yesterday I received the copy-edited version of The Songwriter. The editor has done an amazing job - I feel humbled by just how many spelling mistakes and misprints she has spotted. I must have read it a dozen times and didn't notice them.
This is practically my last chance to change anything in the manuscript. I feel half-elated and half-reluctant to let it go. Can't wait to see the new cover. Hopefully I'll fall in love with it.
After this I'm going to start the next book, which is set in Russia in 1920 and New York in 1950. In an interview for The List Magazine today the journalist asked me how I felt being a historical novelist. I realized that I don't actually consider myself as one - more a novelist who writes about the past.
Think I need a little trip back to New York, purely for research, of course.
Yesterday I received the copy-edited version of The Songwriter. The editor has done an amazing job - I feel humbled by just how many spelling mistakes and misprints she has spotted. I must have read it a dozen times and didn't notice them.
This is practically my last chance to change anything in the manuscript. I feel half-elated and half-reluctant to let it go. Can't wait to see the new cover. Hopefully I'll fall in love with it.
After this I'm going to start the next book, which is set in Russia in 1920 and New York in 1950. In an interview for The List Magazine today the journalist asked me how I felt being a historical novelist. I realized that I don't actually consider myself as one - more a novelist who writes about the past.
Think I need a little trip back to New York, purely for research, of course.
July 1, 2009
Lost in Fiction
Dundee is beautiful - a great wide river, the Tay, crossed by a rusting railway bridge. My reading went smoothly aided by Adam Mars-Jone's extremly lovable dog, Rothko, who barked madly when people clapped. As well as reading Luminous/Glimmer I read a section of my new novel and realised that it took an awfully long time to cut to the chase. Came home and re-jigged it. So readings can be extremely useful. Sometimes when I read I'm not sure if people are sitting with their eyes closed because they're snoozing or if they're soaking it all in. I don't really get nervous before but I do panic mid-way if I start to think people are bored/thinking about what they're going to have for lunch.
I've reached a bit of a lull workwise. I'm about to start researching the next book but am still fiddling with The Songwriter. The publishers sent a cover. We (my agent and I) didn't like it. Hopefully they'll come up with something much better. Luminous/Glimmer still riding high in the Amazon charts although some one gave it a one star review. I've learned not to worry too much about these. I took a look at his other reviews and he gave one or two stars to everything.
A friend told me that our new local bookshop, Lost in Fiction is in trouble. If you live in Glasgow, go and buy a book from them.
I've reached a bit of a lull workwise. I'm about to start researching the next book but am still fiddling with The Songwriter. The publishers sent a cover. We (my agent and I) didn't like it. Hopefully they'll come up with something much better. Luminous/Glimmer still riding high in the Amazon charts although some one gave it a one star review. I've learned not to worry too much about these. I took a look at his other reviews and he gave one or two stars to everything.
A friend told me that our new local bookshop, Lost in Fiction is in trouble. If you live in Glasgow, go and buy a book from them.
June 23, 2009
Listening to the sound of trains
This is my first attempt at a blog - It's a beautifully sunny day in Glasgow and the sky is blue above the train tracks outside my window. Tomorrow I head north to the Dundee Literary Festival http://www.literarydundee.co.uk/festi... where I'm reading. It's a lunchtime slot and if you buy a ticket to see me you automatically receive a sandwich and a mug of tea. I'm trying not to feel slightly upstaged by the photograph of the sandwich in the programme - it's about four times the size of my photograph. I'm having dinner with a few authors the night before. I don't know who yet but it could be Adam Mars-Jones and Gerald Scarfe.
The catalogue copy for my next book, The Songwriter came yesterday - it's coming out in March 2010 - all very exciting. The cover should arrive any day now and the text is about to be sent to the copy editor for a final going over. The children's book that Sara Pinto and I wrote together, My Invisible Sister, is penned to come out in May 2010, so it should be a busy year. More soon.
The catalogue copy for my next book, The Songwriter came yesterday - it's coming out in March 2010 - all very exciting. The cover should arrive any day now and the text is about to be sent to the copy editor for a final going over. The children's book that Sara Pinto and I wrote together, My Invisible Sister, is penned to come out in May 2010, so it should be a busy year. More soon.
