Nancy Morris's Blog, page 3
September 28, 2013
Monsters from Childhood: Exterminate!
Since ‘Whispers in the Attic’ has been available to purchase on Kindle – I have taken some time to read a few chapters (sounds very sefl-indulgent) to see how it feels on my Kindle – to try to capture the reader experience. I allow myself this small luxury when I get a rare and spare 5 minutes in my day (so usually in the Bath, or just before I go to sleep). Am I alone in this? Please say I’m not 
In these precious and relaxing moments – which don’t come along very often when you’re teaching full time; trying desperately to learn about publicising your new book and writing the first draft of your second – I started to think about the original motivation behind ‘Whispers in the Attic’: monsters!
Monsters plague the nights of small children. I remember being too scared to sleep on many a terrifying occasion. However, it didn’t stop me begging to watch ‘Doctor Who” and ‘Blake’s Seven’ which were chock full of monsters who lived, ate and breathed on my television screen. Who could look upon their first Dalek without shuddering at their soulless, cold and impenetrable voices? However, they all pale into insignificance when it comes to your own imagination at the age of 4: no creature quite matches the one that symbolises individual fears and anxieties.
The monster in ‘Whispers in the Attic’ is my very own childhood conjuring. I won’t tell you too much about Henry because it would spoil your reading experience but let’s just say that writing this novel was a cathartic experience. I took a scary monster, called him Henry and well… you’ll have to read it if you want to know how it turned out for him and myself. What I can tell you though is that my Henry (originally known as Jonny) lived in the toy cupboards of my early years; he appeared from behind the curtains and liked to play a deathly version of hide and seek (toned down in the novel so it’s suitable for a younger age group). He did have dirty feet and matted hair and he did shout ‘boo’ whenever he appeared. I woke up screaming from that nightmare for a year of my life and cannot tell you the exact moment he disappeared but I think it was when my family moved house: from up north to down South. So, who knows? Was he just a nightmare, or was it something about that old Victorian house with its attic and strange blocked adjoining rooms; its old fashioned peeling wallpaper and its creepy cellar… (The setting for the novel).
The reason I suggest this stems from one crazy night when I was visiting my older sister – we got to reminiscing about our time lived in the house where I set my book (in Oxton, Birkenhead). We moved onto the subject of my night terrors (I actually shared a room with her to try to alleviate them through company) and she declared that she thought the old house had been haunted and she had seen this scary figure. My face went pale as she described his ‘…dirty feet; his matted hair; his bouncy gait…’ Now, the skeptic in me suggests that I most probably had described Henry to her in the past but the other half dares to think maybe, just maybe he was real!
The idea behind all of my ghost stories for children is to try to re-capture the sinister element behind the old fairy tales – the ones where ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ didn’t always make it home in time for tea. Delivering just the right amount of scary to make it interesting whilst allowing my heroes to over come, offer hope and always, always: a beam of light that acts as the torch when the dark gets too frightening.
Meet my monster in ‘Whispers in the Attic’ – a book that can be enjoyed by 11 + and adults alike – by Nancy Morris.
What was your monster?
September 22, 2013
When the book is finally out there…
‘Whispers in the Attic’ has finally hit the virtual shelves of Amazon.
So why do I suddenly feel a bit flat? Maybe it’s because I was working like a blue-arsed fly to complete it (along side my highly demanding full time teaching job) in order to finally let go and now it’s finished. I mean let’s face it, it’s like giving birth. You create an idea: feed, nurture and encourage. Then finally, the book has to learn to walk and it will inevitably fall over a few times, hurting itself and all you can do is watch.
Yes, I have a bad case of helplessness now: my book has flown the coop. I’m at the mercy of reviews and other’s judgements and that is scary.
Of course another new door has opened too (don’t they always?); I must now find out more about publicity, sales etc. I’ll be the first person to raise their hands and say I’m new to all of this and am therefore open to any suggestions from you seasoned writers out there. However, being a novice is not all negative, I’ve taken a certain pride in teaching myself everything along the way but won’t it be wonderful when my second book is compete and I finally know what I’m doing!
I’m feeling better already (so maybe blogging is for me after all). Next weekend I can focus on finishing my first draft of ‘Demon Match’ instead of lining up page breaks; changing headings and indenting paragraphs to a specified measurement *small scream* for ‘Whispers in the Attic’.
Now I’m positively happier – see, blogging is cathartic! I have been so caught up with publishing that I have forgotten the simple pleasure of putting words on a blank page. My new protagonist Joel is waiting patiently for me to push him through the nightmare and possibly leave him on a cliff-hanger or let him get caught up in a twist; either way there is work to be done and my typing hand is getting itchy.
So, what have I ascertained whilst writing this blogette? Over the next few weeks I’ll be finishing my second novel and engaging in much research on how to publicise your work: so tune in next time if you are interested in following my journey -your presence, comments and any support you can offer will be much appreciated.
Ps I like your hair, have you done something new with it? Love the outfit, makes your bum look small! *generally attempts to shower all blog readers with feel-good compliments* 
May 12, 2013
Finding my writing shoes…
Hello again – sorry for the long delay – the tea I poured you is long since cold but I could always re-fill the pot!
I have found myself unable to write much on the lead up to my back surgery – a brain too full of anxiety!
However, I feel that having a month off from it all has helped me to have a mental clear out and I am definitely ready to tread the writing path again. I am pulling at my halter chains in anticipation of completing ‘Ghost-Match’, my second children’s novel by the end of the summer but once free of this sweet shackle, I will be picking up my young adult novel again: ‘Grey Ghost Investigations’ (working title)
I fell out of love with ‘Grey Ghost’ (young adult fiction) for a good year as I could not grasp its correct target audience and this was depleting my enthusiasm for it – I kept thinking: but who’s it for? Having read it back to myself, it is clearly young adult and actually a lot of fun. I remembered the enthusiasm with which I had begun to write this journey and it all boils down to the protagonist, Grey. I love Grey (unfortunately I may have to change his name thanks to ‘Fifty Shades…’) and I feel that he has more than one adventure in him which means that this project has possible longevity. It is also set in my favourite city of Bath – which I have visited many times – allowing me to use familiar haunts which will be easy to describe. The thing about Grey is that he can be loved and hated in the space of one chapter – one minute he will leave you thinking that he is a warm hearted, silly extravert and the next you’ll want to hurl sharp objects at his head.
What I didn’t like about this draft was that sometimes Grey oversteps the line between reader and novel – so I need to smooth these lines out so that they are not too obvious and therefore tripping into the land of cheese. I need to erase some use of second person and just have him thinking these crazy thoughts to himself instead – so that the reader is being a voyeur instead of a guest.
Meanwhile, I have ideas for the third children’s fiction project: ‘The Little Book of Demons’ (working title) – I have no idea when this one will be born but I always have to have another book ready to go. At the moment, having two novels on my keyboard is enough for me.
Keep an eye out for my first children’s novel: ‘Whispers in the Attic’ – hoping for its release by the end of summer (it’s in the hands of a capable editor at the moment, who is giving it a thorough final polish)…
Pleased to have my writing mojo back!
