Dan Smith's Blog, page 24
July 2, 2010
Covers and Waterstones
I've had a first look at some possible covers for the next book. It's hard to be completely objective, though. Stephen King probably looks at his covers with a hint of boredom and then points out what he does or doesn't like about them – that is, if he even looks at them at all. He must have so many to look at. Jealous much? Anyway, we're talking about my second book cover here, so the excitment is still there.
My first reaction, on opening the file and looking at the initial rough ideas for c...
July 1, 2010
The Joy of Edits
I received line edits from my editor yesterday. Hopefully thse will be the final changes to my next book. Opening the edited manuscript is always a bit … *sharp intake of breath* Corrections? CORRECTIONS? You mean my work's not perfect? How could you … but … oh. Yeah. OK.
Once I start reading through them, I swallow my pride and remember that I'm not perfect – how could I ever forget it? It's something my wife and children remind me of on a daily basis. Anyway, those red marks and notes in t...
June 29, 2010
Citizen Smith
I managed to find my way into Lifestyle Magazine this month. 
There's an interview I did for Karl Hansell and hey, my name's even on the cover of the magazine. I've had some fantastic exposure (I know, fnarr, fnarr) and support from local organisations. Thanks all!
If you want to view to full article, click on the link below and go to page 98!
View July's Lifestyle Magazine
June 28, 2010
Oh dear, England. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
Well England's performance during the world cup has been a sorry affair. It was embarrassing to watch all those overpaid footballers incapable of playing for their country.
The Woodland striker penetrates England's defences.
I'm no expert … heck, I don't even usually watch football, but I reckon we should have sent my four-year old's class out to South Africa. You shoulda seen them on sportsday in the school yard! Those boys can run with beanbags on their heads. They can carry hoops, eggs on ...
June 25, 2010
Dry Season Shortlisted for Brit Writers' Award
Wow! I received some exciting news yesterday – Dry Season has been shorlisted for the Brit Writers' 'Published Writer of the Year' award. From hundreds of submissions, ten books have been shortlisted and guess what? One of them is mine. Fantastic. My novel is rubbing shoulders with some very popular and well established writers like Terry Pratchett and Liz Jensen, so it's a great shortlist to be on. The winner will be decided by public vote, so if you'd like to vote for Dry Season, you can t...
June 23, 2010
One Thousand and Sixty Seven
Long time no blog … I know, I know. Mind you, who's reading this, anyway? Not you.
Right now I'm working hard on the first draft of a new novel so it's preoccupying much of my thoughts. It's something of a departure and a little more ambitious because I'm having to do a bit of research on this one. I know that some writers relish the research – I've heard that some even prefer it to the actual writing part – but I just want to get down to the story and kill a few people! It's gonna be a...
June 10, 2010
Football, Big Brother and … pies
God bless the BBC. They're becoming increasingly worried for the health of 'middle-aged men'. As reported on the news last night, there is concern that said demographic will be unable to resist the Death Star tractor beam-like pull of the television when the football is on. And when the match is in full flow, the middle aged man will be slouched in his armchair with a beer in one hand and, within easy reach, a snack of either crisps, chips, or .. yup … a pie. Ah, that tasty, popular TV...
June 9, 2010
You love it, you do …
I've just spotted Dry Season (trade paperback) on amazon.co.uk for just over a fiver! Yup, just £5.50 for a copy of Dry Season. I probably shouldn't tell you – I should be directing you to the most expensive place to buy it – but hey, at that price, you can afford to treat yourself. Go on, you know you want to ….
Buy Dry Season for just £5.50!!
On a side note, you'll see that I've changed the look of my blog. If you want to leave a comment, just click on the speech bubble up there … no, not...
June 8, 2010
Most Requested
Well, I put a copy of Dry Season on the Goodreads site as a giveaway and it's made it onto the 'most requested' list – though, admittedly, it's not that close to the top. 
Still, it's a start; a few more people have now heard of it and might consider picking it up and reading it. With so many other books and authors out there, jostling for elbow room at the table, it can be hard to get noticed at all. One of the questions I'm asked most is 'so how's the book going?' and it's difficult to give ...
May 27, 2010
Lost finale – every question answered!
Well, actually .. not really. Blimey, if you were expecting any questions to be answered, then fuggeddaboudit. The numbers? Nope. Walt? Nope. Time travel? Nah. Shifting island? Nuh. Seeing dead people? Noooo. The others? Nope. I could go on, but we'd all get bored.
The last episode/s were pretty entertaining – anything would be an improvement on the painfully dull episode about Jacob's origins – but they told us next to nothing. Not so bad, really (I'm not a person who needs a full...
