Sara Jayne Townsend's Blog, page 62

Writing Processes – Part 2: Redrafting

I didn't see Star Wars when it first came out. The first time I saw it was on video, in the Autumn of 1982, shortly before my thirteenth birthday. I always thought the timing was significant. Up to that point, boys had been an alien species. But then, on the brink of puberty, I saw Star Wars and all of a sudden I was having strange and confusing feelings about the very cute farm boy and the very hunky space pirate.

Anyway, to cut a long story short I made up for lost time and became a...

Paris Under a Cloud

My husband works for a French company, and is frequently obliged to work in Paris for a few days. Every once in a while, he extends his stay to a weekend and I hop on the Eurostar after work on Friday to join him.

Those of you who have followed this blog for a while will also recall that last time I did this, I somehow managed to set off without my passport.

Thus, when I set off on my most recent excursion to Paris, the weekend of 16 April, I made sure the passport was the first thing to...

First Royalty Statement

This is another one of those 'let's bask in the moment' moments.

I have received my first royalty statement from Lyrical Press, which in my mind is another 'dance around the room' kind of occasion.

Since SUFFER THE CHILDREN was released, two and a half weeks ago, I have sold 24 copies. OK, this is hardly in the league of J K Rowling. And the prospect of giving up the day job and living off my earnings is so far away it's not even a blip on the horizon. But none of this really matters. What ...

Writing Processes – Part 1: The Beginning

Because I have been asked about my writing processes, I thought I would take some time to explain how it works for me.

All writers seem to have different routines. There's no right or wrong in this. You have to discover what works for you. But there's no doubt that over the years my routines have changed as I learn what works and what doesn't, and this is what I am going to share with you.

In order to do this, we have to go back to the beginning.

I wrote a lot of stories when I was a child. ...

Writing Processes – Part 1

Because I have been asked about my writing processes, I thought I would take some time to explain how it works for me.

All writers seem to have different routines. There's no right or wrong in this. You have to discover what works for you. But there's no doubt that over the years my routines have changed as I learn what works and what doesn't, and this is what I am going to share with you.

In order to do this, we have to go back to the beginning.

I wrote a lot of stories when I was a child. ...

Launch Party

Launch parties are not traditionally the way to promote e-books, but I had one anyway because I've been fantasising about one for years. It had been suggested to me that the way to sell a physical product of an e-book is to buy the book and download it onto a CD, which can then be signed and sold on, so that is what I decided to offer at the launch.

The day of the launch dawned, and I have to admit to feeling simultaneously excited and terrified as the day wore on. What if nobody turned up? ...

So Far, So Good

It's been just over a week since the release of SUFFER THE CHILDREN. So far, things have been going well. The first review was favourable, and the book seems to be selling. In fact, it's currently at the top of LPI's 'horror best sellers' list.

I do feel I should qualify this statement, though. Lyrical Press's website provides a list of 'top sellers' in each fiction category. There is also a list of overall best sellers, but this is always going to be populated by erotica titles, which...

First Review of SUFFER THE CHILDREN

SUFFER THE CHILDREN has been reviewed on the Bookwenches site. They've given it a rating of 4.5, which is somewhere between 'good' and 'excellent' and really not too shabby at all!

I am very chuffed!

Early Morning Routines

In an attempt to try and pin down a routine that allows me to fit writing the next book and promoting the current one into my day (as well as all the other essential stuff – not least the day job) I have resolved to get up 45 minutes earlier at least once a week to catch the 6:40 train into London. This gets me to Oxford Circus by 7:30am, and I can spend an hour sitting in Starbucks on Regent Street, with my Netbook, for an hour of writing time. I am using the anticipation of a stem ginger ...

The Winner

The winner of the free copy of SUFFER THE CHILDREN is Sonya Clark! The winner was chosen entirely at random and there was no rigging going on, in spite of Sonya interviewing me recently. Honest.

Congratulations to Sonya – her copy of SUFFER THE CHILDREN will be winging its way through cyberspace shortly.

Thanks to everyone else who entered.

I will be giving away one more copy of SUFFER THE CHILDREN – on CD this time – at the launch party, which takes place a week from today. So if you're in L...