Sara Jayne Townsend's Blog, page 47

New York State of Mind

We had the opportunity for a few days in New York City, in June of this year. Hubby and I love NYC and often gravitate back there. This was our sixth trip to NYC in ten years.

Me by Belvedere Castle

No matter how often we go, we always seem to find something new. We love Central Park and always pay a visit – in fact we got engaged in Central Park, in 2003. But the park is so huge we are forever discovering hidden corners. On this trip we discovered the Alice in Wonderland statue. We knew it was there – we've just never been able to find it. We also discovered a rather interesting building – Belvedere Castle.

We visited the Metropolitan Museum, which we've been to once before, but it's such a massive museum it's impossible to see the whole thing in one trip. So there were plenty of exhibits we missed the first time around.

We were quite lucky with the weather, and took a walk down to the marina on what turned out to be a lovely sunny day. We decided to take the speedboat ride around the tip of Manhattan – a half hour trip. The speedboat was called "The Beast". We were warned we would get wet. We did. Still, it was great fun, and fortunately the weather was so warm it didn't take long to dry out afterwards.

Alice in Wonderland statue

Another place in New York we love is the charming Greenwich Village, which has such an old-style British feel. We found a nice British theme pub there called GMT. It even served British cider, something that's hard to get hold of in the States. We liked it so much we went back the following evening, to have another drink there before going for dinner.

The second time we were in New York, in March 2001, we had no idea that the pictures we took from the World Trade Center would be the last time we'd get to do it. The next time we went, in September 2002, Ground Zero had been cleared but it was heartbreaking to see this big hole in the middle of Manhatten where such an iconic landmark used to be.

In our subsequent visits, we've followed the progress of the building project that is taking place on the site of Ground Zero. The project is nearly complete now, with several buildings going up on the site. The tallest building is the last to be completed, and it's nearly done. We learned that the buildings are to be formally opened on 11 September this year – on the tenth anniversary of Twin Towers coming down.

Me and my publisher, Renee

The highlight of our New York trip for me, far and away, was the moment I got to meet my publisher at Lyrical Press, Renee. Knowing that she was based in New York, we had arranged to meet while I was there. I was very excited about this – after all, to an author, the publisher is a Very Important Person. What never occurred to me is that she was just as excited about meeting me – a publisher considers her authors to be Very Important People, too.

We met for lunch and had a marvellous time, and took a picture to commemorate the occasion.

All too soon our visit to New York came to an end and we had to go back home again. I hope it won't be too long before we are once again able to visit this most vibrant and exciting city.

Manhatten skyline, as of June 2011

Let's Talk About the Weather

The weather here in Britain has been somewhat depressing the last few weeks. We've had rain, wind and grey clouds. Occasionally the rain stops, the clouds move and the sun peeps out for a few minutes, at which point you start to feel a bit hot in your rain coat and winter sweater. But then the clouds roll over again and another torrential downpour starts up. We occasionally have a few days of hot sun, but this is invariably followed by more rain.

To be honest, this is not unusual weather for the British summer. However, as all this has been going on my family in Canada have been grumbling about relentless 40c heat and no rainfall for weeks, and it has made me think about the diversity of this small blue planet of ours.

We've been to places like Borneo and Vietnam, where it's incredibly hot and humid. When it rains, the rain literally comes down in sheets, but it's so hot that when it stops the streets dry out in a matter of minutes.

We've also been to the Nasca desert in Peru, where it rains once every ten years or so. We've seen the Nasca mummies, which are the skeletonised remains of people who died hundreds of years ago, their bones bleached white by the sun, their hair and clothing and sometimes even traces of skin still preserved because there's no moisture in the air to rot them away.

Right now there are places on the planet that are suffering terrible droughts, and other places where there are floods. More than half of our planet is covered in water, yet still there are places that don't get enough water to sustain life.

So we might complain about the weather – and in Britain it's a national pastime. But it does serve to remind us that nature is a far more powerful force than humanity is. No matter how technologically advanced we get, we can't control the weather.

Monday's Friend: Aheila (2)

I am pleased to welcome Aheila back to my blog, for her second appearance here.

Are Serialized Novels for You?

By Aheila

Since the beginning of my blog, I've been posting a weekly chapter of a novel – a fiction format dubbed blog novel, blovel or serialized novel, depending who you're talking to. I've written two of them so far (Unforeseen Dives and Killing Time OST) and will be launching the sequel to Unforeseen Dives on September 6th.

Several aspiring writers told me they contemplated the idea of starting a similar project and asked if I had any advice. Well, today is the day I write the reference post for all these people.

The first thing I always ask them is: Why do you want to write a serialized novel?

To Build a Following

There's a reason why I put this one first: we're so often told the current publishing industry requires online presence from authors that we all want to put ourselves out there. That's okay but a serialized novel is not automatically going to create hordes of fans anxiously await your first book.

Building a following involves a certain number of things, whether you're writing a personal blog or a serialized novel.

As a rule of thumb, you can expect to spend as much time networking as you do writing. Of course that depends on the following you expect as well as your content; talking about celebrities will make you pop up a lot more often in Google.

Don't get me wrong; there is a public for online fiction. It's not going to magically appear on your blog, though. You'll need to leverage specialized sites such as EpiGuide and Web Fiction Guide along with Twitter, Facebook and standard blog directories. You'll also want to read and comment on other blogs telling stories in the same genre.

These platforms will draw readers to your serialized novel if you use them properly. The readers will stay if you regularly produce quality content. As a general rule, a steady publication schedule of chapters between 500 and 1,000 words encourages retention. I'd say posting once a week, always on the same day, is pretty much the minimum.

To Be Published

This objective is tricky as it depends on what "to be published" means for you. If you hope a serialized novel will sway the agents you're querying for another project, then your objective is more to build a following. If you hope to self-publish your serialized novel or have it published by an indie press, you're all good.

If you want your serialized novel to be published by a major editor, prepare to have your bubble burst.

Publishing a story online means you are using the first publication right. In other words, your serialized novel falls under the same category as a self-published book, aka the category of books major editors will not sign. It doesn't matter if you take it down after a while or not; your story is considered "published". You might be able to have major editor republish it once you're an established author but it won't be your debut.

To Receive Feedbacks

Serialized novels are great to improve your writing as they force a steady output of quality material. If you're good at auto-analysing your writing, you can lean what works and what doesn't pretty quickly; the immediate feedbacks from the readers will show you where they got excited, where you lost them and where you turned them into addicts.

If you expect thorough reviews, you're out of luck.

What you are posting is perceived as entertainment by your readers. Very few of them will leave a comment (between 10% and 15%, if my experience is any indication). It's unlikely you'll get an in-depth analysis of the quality of your writing. Not impossible, just unlikely.

Closing Words

For every situation described above, there are exceptions, writers that have attracted readers without trying, writers that published their serialized novel, and writers that received awesome constructive criticism.

But we cannot assume we will be the exception! Yeah, I know, bummer.

That reality check aside, there's a lot you can get out of a serialized novel. Meeting new people, developing your writing (and the discipline to get your butt in the chair), experimenting like you wouldn't necessarily do in the novel you want to query, finishing a long story; these are all things you will achieve with a serialized novel if you stick with it. Don't underestimate the motivation you'll draw from the knowledge that people are waiting for your next instalment!

Plus, it's fun!

Somewhere in Quebec City, Aheïla works as a game designer by day and writes by night. Known for her blue hair, undying energy and tasty cooking (quails, anyone?), she's convinced "prose is the new crack", a belief she embodies daily on The Writeaholic's Blog.

Latest Publicity Roundup

I've featured on three more blogs in the last week.  Firstly, I contributed to Lindsay Below's series on "The Inspiration Behind the Book", talking about what inspired me to write DEATH SCENE.  You can see the post on her blog here.

Second, I was interviewed by G L Drummond as part of her "e-book author" month for July. We talked about Stephen King, blasting zombies and getting crumbs in the keyboard.  Take a look at the interview on her Feral Intensity blog here.

Finally, today I am the featured author on Sandra Sookoo's "Author Folk Friday" spot. Take a look at her blog Believing is Seeing for the interview.

It's been a busy old week, and it's all to do with promoting DEATH SCENE.  The feedback I've had on the novel so far has been positive, but it takes a long time for a book to establish itself (and to be honest I don't think I can count the rave reviews from my mum and dad as valid endorsements…).  After all, it's only been out a couple of weeks, and I haven't even had the first royalty statement for it yet.

I find waiting for that first statement agonising. The suspense is killing me…

Harrogate Crime Festival Roundup

(Cross-posted on the WriteClub blog)

This year was the first time I attended the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Conference at Harrogate (so called because it's named after the beer brewed by the sponsoring brewery), and a last-minute decision to attend meant I got a day pass for the Saturday, even though the conference ran from Thursday to Sunday.

The Old Swan Hotel

The conference is probably the biggest crime festival in the UK, and is held at the Old Swan Hotel – famous for being the hotel where Agatha Christie holed up when she disappeared for 10 days in 1926. Its connections to the Grande Dame of crime writing, therefore make it a highly appropriate venue for the festival.

I probably did not go to quite as many of the panels as I should have done. It was a fine sunny day, and hanging out in the front terrace seemed to be the place to be to meet interesting people. I chatted with Mark Billingham about e-books. He came to speak to the writing group a few years ago and I've met him on a couple of other occasions – I was pleased he remembered me. He's chairing next year's festival and said he wants to have more of an emphasis on e-books. I shamelessly took the opportunity to tell him about mine.

Mark Billingham

I talked to a lady who was about to buy a Kindle, and wanted to know about some titles she could put on it. Hopefully she'll now go out and buy DEATH SCENE!

But I could not sit in the sun indefinitely, and I did go to some panels. The one I enjoyed the most was called The Outer Limits, and dealt with the rising popularity of paranormal elements in crime – a subject close to my heart.

I'd also bought a ticket for the Criminal Consequences dinner, so I got to go to that too. For the uninitiated (and this might be a uniquely British thing), 'consequences' is a game you generally play at parties when you're about 16. You write a boy's name, then a girl's name, where they met, what he said, what she said, and what happened at the end. After each 'turn' you fold the paper over and pass it on to the next person so they don't know what you wrote when they write their answer. At the end you read out what you've got. The 'criminal consequences' game followed the same lines, except we were writing a crime story. We worked on our 'story' over dinner, and were told the best entry would win a prize.

Elena Forbes

The dinner was laid out so that each table was hosted by a 'guest author'. Ours was Elena Forbes. I reviewed her book EVIL IN RETURN for Shotsmag not long ago. I did actually really enjoy the book (you can see my review here). Lo and behold copies of said book were piled up on our table, a free gift to everyone sitting at Elena's table. It was the paperback version. I was thrilled to see that my review was included. I asked Elena to sign my copy – she wrote "thanks for the great review". That alone would have made my evening, but as it happened our table won the 'criminal consequences' game, and each person on the table got a bag full of booty. Along with the goody bag that I was given on registration, I came away from the festival with quite an impressive haul of free stuff – bookmarks, a Theakston's festival t-shirt, a mug, a beer coaster, a bottle of Theakston's Old Peculier, and a huge stack of books. One of the best things about attending Cons is the Free Stuff.

Hubby had accompanied me to Yorkshire for the weekend, but was entertaining himself while I was at the festival (he's not a big crime fan). He met me in the bar after dinner, and we sat outside on the terrace for rather a long time afterwards, talking to lots of interesting people. Rather longer than we were intending to, actually. Every time we were about to leave, we got talking to someone else.

I had a fab time, and my only regret is I didn't go for longer. I intend to correct that next year. I have already marked the dates of next year's conference in the diary.

I've already got a rather long list of conferences to attend in 2012. The hard part is going to be deciding which ones to attend. Finances won't allow me to attend all of them.

New Adventures at the Gym (Part 1)

I have blogged many times about my dislike of exercise, and that fact that in spite of that I see it as a necessary evil – rather like eating vegetables. I do it because it's good for me. This is even more true now, as I lurch towards the grand old age of 42. By anyone's estimation this is middle age, and if I really want to live another 42 years I have to look after the body I occupy.

But up until recently I hadn't set foot in a gym for months. The gym we had a membership with was council run, and it has to be said a bit shabby. Then a few months ago a new gym opened up, literally right across the road from our house (we can see the building from our living room window). It is a private gym, on the grounds of the local college. The college offers BTec qualifications in sports training, so I assume that there is some kind of sponsorship deal going on to benefit the students.

Even so, the concept of a new private gym so close to home was appealing, and we thought about joining. For a long time we only thought about it. Then two things happened that pushed us further in that direction.

Our old council-run gym has recently changed ownership, and is now run by a different organisation. I got a letter recently informing me that the new organisation have decided to give the place an £8m overhaul. This will require closing the premises. For 12 months.

A few days after that I got a phone call from the accounts department. Somehow, in the change of management, my bank details got mislaid and they were no longer attached to my membership record. So they had not been taking out my standing order for three months. Technically this meant I was was no longer a member. To address this, I had to go down to the sports centre with my bank details and fill in more forms in person.

Decision made, then. Since I was no longer a member and hubby hadn't been for months, we cancelled his membership and joined the new gym. It all looked very nice when we looked around. Everything was new and shiny and worked the way it should. The gym was air conditioned. There were flat screen TVs everywhere.

All good in theory. Having paid up, we went for our gym induction. It became evident the gym hires a lot of the College students. My gym instructor was young enough to be my daughter. She asked me what I wanted from the gym. "Erm, tone up, lose a bit of weight. Work on the abs perhaps." My stomach muscles have always been wimpy.

"How much weight do you want to lose?" she said brightly. "A stone, maybe?"

That took me aback a bit. Yes, I could stand to lose a few pounds, but do I really look 14lbs overweight?? She showed me the machines, and I insisted I didn't want to use the treadmill. I really don't like the treadmill. I prefer the exercise machines where you get to sit down. I don't mind the exercise bike. I don't mind the rowing machine. I don't even mind the lat pull-down machine.

The perky child-like gym instructor also showed me some abdominal exercises. "These are really good for toning your abs," she said. I struggled and puffed and wheezed before she eventually agreed with me that my abs were so flabby these exercises were currently beyond me. So she gave me some easier ones. Lying down and raising my legs in the air. Yes, I can cope with that one. Just about. The one where you lie on your back and cycle your legs up and down. That's OK too.

So I've been going to the gym but my asthmatic lungs object to the extra work, and doing any form of exercise makes my nose run (always knew I was allergic to it…). I sound like Darth Vader as I attempt the Free Runner, and I'm blowing my nose constantly. And then I ache for three days and have to crawl up the stairs at home because my arms and legs and stomach ache too much to move properly.

In spite of all this, though, I am endeavouring to do a workout at least once a week (plus classes and swim sessions). So I was somewhat annoyed to find out recently that the membership smart card I was given that is supposed to log all of one's gym time had not been properly calibrated, and none of my gym sessions up till now have been logged. So I've been struggling to be good all this time and the gym computer thinks I've been slacking.

So, now I have to start all over again with my gym sessions. I need to keep attending. It's good for me. At least, that's what I have to keep reminding myself…

British Vs. American

(Cross-posted on the WriteClub blog)

DEATH SCENE has been out only a couple of weeks, and I will have no idea, until July's royalty statement arrives, how many copies it sold in its first month of release. I know I've had a few sales, because the colleagues and family members who have bought it have started to report back.

One of the most consistent comments I've had so far from my British readers is that all the American spellings are annoying. It is true that Brits get annoyed by 'Americanisms' (as this article on the BBC site today demonstrates!). But my publishers are American, so house style dictates American spellings. It does, however, demonstrate that although the UK and the US both officially speak English, anyone who's experienced both knows that American English and British English are, in fact, two entirely separate languages.

DEATH SCENE racked up 31 rejections before being accepted by Lyrical Press. I sent it to agents in America and the UK, and to small press publishers that accepted unsolicted manuscripts on both sides of the Atlantic. Many of the rejections were generic, but some of them had personalised notes. The most common reason from UK agents for turning it down was that contemporary amateur sleuths do not sell in the UK.

Many UK publishers seem to feel that the British reading public want gritty crime thrillers or historical 'whodunnits' featuring amateur sleuths. Whether or not this is true is irrelevant – publishers will buy what they think will sell.

It has dawned on me, however, that Shara might fare better in America than in Britain. Amateur sleuths remain fairly popular there. Whereas the only amateur sleuths in books written by British writers I can think of are all set somewhere in the past.

And there is the added bonus that Shara, as a Canadian living in Britain, offers her perspective on the differences between North America and the UK. Hopefully people who don't live in Britain will connect with that.

At this early stage, I still have no idea how DEATH SCENE will do. But if Shara does prove to be more popular with Americans than Brits, I will see that as a blessing in disguise. It might give hubby and I an excuse to plan that road trip across the States we've always talked about doing.

How To Survive a Zombie Apocalypse

I was quite amused by this article that appeared on the BBC News website recently, where Leicester City Council admitted to being "unprepared for a zombie attack", following a letter from "a concerned citizen".

I thnk perhaps the person that wrote the letter was being facetious, but you never know. The think is about being a geek who watches zombie films is that intellectually you know zombies don't exist, but there's some small part of you that keeps insisting, "but what if they do?".

However, if zombies do attack then a geek is best person to know, because we've watched all the films and played all the games and we're subsequently the best prepared for zombie attack.

Here are a few things I've learned about how to survive a zombie attack.

1. Zombies traditionally move slowly. Learn how to run fast, or better yet, use transport and you can out-run them. Unfortunately zombies in contemporary zombie films seem to move much quicker. So this might not necessarily be a hard and fast rule.

2. The only way to kill a zombie is to get it in the head. Preferably with a big gun. A hit to any other part of the zombie's body will be ineffective.

3. Anyone who gets bitten by a zombie will turn into one. Don't listen to the infected person's desperate relatives who plead to spare them. The infected person will inevitably turn into a zombie and go rampaging through your hideout. Chuck them out into the zombie horde the minute you find out they've been bitten. There's no room for sentiment when it's a matter of survival.

4. Zombies aren't very bright and it takes them a while to figure out how to get through locks. Make sure your hideout is well secured. Preferably several storeys up. Zombies often seem to have trouble with stairs.

5. If you've found yourself a nice secure hideout on the fifteenth floor, and you've got plenty of food and water supplies to last you, then stay there. Don't be persuaded by the fellow survivors who turn up at your hideout and try to convince you that the best thing to do is to leave and head south/north/east/west, because they know that there are other survivors there. Whenever that happens it films, it never ends well.

6. Get yourself a weapon. Preferably a big gun (see point 2). This is more difficult in the UK than in the US, because we have stricter gun laws. But since all the shops will be abandoned, you could plan a raid on the nearest gun shop. According to Resident Evil games, shotguns are most effective. Or rocket launchers.

Of course, being able to play zombie games doesn't necessarily mean you'd be any good in a real zombie apocalypse. When I die playing Resident Evil 4, I can restart the game and try again. I am, even playing games, a terrible shot, and it's only through repeated practice that I can kill any zombies at all. And there's a difference between sitting in one's living room shooting with a games console and shooting a real gun. I have tried this, and I'm an even worse shot with the real thing.

And I feel I should point out that this is all hypothetical anyway. I don't really believe that there's going to be a zombie apocalypse. At least I don't most of the time…

The Dilemma of Extracts

(Cross-posted on the WriteClub blog)

It's Launch Party Day! And since there's one more chance to plug it, I will once more declare that the launch party for DEATH SCENE is happening at 6:30pm tonight, at The George pub, The Strand, London. All welcome.

In order to prepare for the launch party I spent much of last night preparing the extract I will be reading out. In fact, I have two extracts to read this week, because I will also be reading one for the Edin Road Blog Radio show on Thursday.

I find choosing extracts immensely difficult, especially when they are to be read aloud. It can't be too long or you will bore the audience. It can't be too short, or they will wonder why they bothered. You want a part of the novel that's exciting, and will grip people, but you don't want to give too much away.

And then there is the question of how to read it. Even the most exciting extract will sound boring if it's read in a flat monotone. I have a tendency to 'gabble' my words sometimes – I don't want to do that whilst reading the extract, or the audience won't be able to follow it.

Yes, there is a knack to choosing extracts. I hope what I have chosen to read aloud will fit the bill, and will intrigue my audience sufficiently to make them want to go and read the rest of the book!

Actually, my biggest fear about tonight is not actually standing up and reading aloud before an audience. My time doing amateur dramatics helped me ovecome that particular fear. No, my biggest fear is that no one will turn up. I'm not nearly famous enough to have a huge crowd of people lining up for my autograph. I'm still working on building my brand as a writer, and I know notoriety is still a very long way up the ladder.

I talked to the pub manager earlier today to confirm everything was set for tonight. He actually had me down as 'Sue Townsend' and was expecting the author of the Adrian Mole books to turn up. Perhaps I should have adopted that mistake to plug my launch – I'd at least be guaranteed a large crowd….

Monday's Friend: Carole Tyrrell

Today I am pleased to welcome Carole Tyrrell to my blog.

I am ………..Count…. Researcula

By Carole Tyrrell

Research is like a vampire. If you're not careful, it sucks the life out of you and your work as it's very seductive and beguiling. See its beckoning finger…just one more piece and your story will sing!

So here's a cautionary tale…

I wrote a short story set in a derelict asylum which became an upmarket housing estate. It didn't really work and was put aside. Much later I was visiting the Wellcome Collection library and discovered a section of histories, recollections, and photos of long closed hospitals. I realised why my story hadn't worked and my research began. I trawled online and discovered the sub-culture of urban explorers, their strange experiences in these buildings and why they did it.

The story sat patiently fermenting.

Research begat more research as I went further into it. I watched documentaries, did my own exploring, swapped stories and heard Ken Kesey's true image of Nurse Ratched.

The story sat patiently waiting.

By the time it saw light again I had amassed a lot of research and I rewrote it. Everything went in and I ended up sitting on it like an overstuffed suitcase. I had forgotten to sort the wheat from the chaff and assumed the reader would be as fascinated as I was. The story and I knew we'd lost each other. That's the problem with too much research. It often becomes a huge info dump which stops a story in its tracks. Good research doesn't show but too much says 'I've done it, I really have, look at this.' No-one wants to read a lecture.

It went back in the filing cabinet.

The recent TV series, 'Bedlam', was set in a former asylum which becomes upmarket apartments. The muse had gone elsewhere.

However, research is never wasted as it can be used for other projects. But use sparingly and only if necessary.

Carole Tyrrell is a writer of dark fantasy who has been published in several magazines and anthologies. She also reviews crime and mystery novels for SHOTS e-zine and is currently working on two major writing projects. Carole is also a photographer, urban explorer and taphophile and plans to have own website in 2012. Some of her photos can be seen on Facebook. Among her other hobbies are sparring with her PC, amusing the cat and posting on Goodreads.