Alex Laybourne's Blog, page 108

A Safe Place

I closed my eyes and held my breath. My heart thundered in my chest. I sank deeper into the closet, pulling the sliding door closed behind me. All the light left my world.

Coats and jackets grabbed at me, the darkness sucked me in.

I felt the wall behind me, the farthest corner of the closet. I sank to the floor, pulling what felt like a blanket up against me, as if I was cold.

"Please don't let the find me. Please" I repeated it over and over, as if saying it enough would make it fact. They always found me. I heard voices. Loud voices.

"Come out come out wherever you are." One called. It was close. I jumped but stifled the scream. I pulled the blanket up over my head covering myself completely. I held my breath. My legs felt like jelly and my lungs burned. Tears built in the corners of my closed eyes as I fought to keep calm.

I heard them on the stairs; they were coming for me.

"No…no… please." I pleaded with the shadows. I begged for them to take me away, to hide me completely. It didn't matter where just so long as I was hidden.

I heard the door to the room I was in creak open. It was a good room, it warned me if they were getting too close so I knew to be still.

My heart beat so fast I was sure it would give me away. There was no way they couldn't hear it. I willed my body to be quiet, but my legs shook, my breaths shuddered each time I drew it.

The footsteps padded along the floor. I heard the owner throw back the bed covers. "Got you" It screamed.

Another pair of feet joined the fun. "She's in here somewhere. Find her" The elder of the two voices spoke.

Then it happened. The sliding door of the cupboard opened. I felt the gentle rush of wind as the door slid back. I curled up tighter beneath the blanket – old fur coat – as a warm line tear finally rolled down my cheek.

Everything froze. I was trapped, I was caught. Nothing happened, I let out my breath, relaxed just a bit. Then it was over. One pair of hands grabbed at the blanket and pulled with swiftly away, while the second grabbed me by the leg. The hands finding the top of my thigh straight away.

I screamed.

"Got you now" The voice spoke as the fingers began to tickle. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Ok, Ok, I give… I give. You found me. Now It's your turn to hide grandpa, then Bonnie and I will be the seekers.

Would Still Smell As Sweet

Ok, the title above may seem misleading to those of you who haven't read the sister post this to – - Both posts talk about names. The first about naming characters and whether you match the name to the character or the character to name. This post is more about the name of the novel itself.

I never really know the name of the my work before I start writing. However, it doesn't normally take me long to settle on a name that I like and fits the tone of the piece I am working on.

My current novel was no different. I had the name picked out before I was halfway through the first draft, and I loved it. It rolled off the tongue and kind of stuck. It wasn't the exactly the theme of the novel summed into one title, but it was close enough to make sense.

Now that I am approaching the end of my edits, (with the exception of the basic line edit I am going to have done to pick up on any grammar mistakes I may had missed.) I decided to spend a little time yesterday looking around the internet at Stock Image archives looking for the perfect cover art picture. I found one, well I found three or four, but this one was the right dimension for a book cover and wouldn't require me to distort the image in order to make it fit. The only problem was that the image didn't really make sense given the name of the novel. It captured the plot, but the name just didn't fit.

I now find myself in another dilemma. Do I use this image which I really loved and feel not only sums up the novel, but also when viewed again after all three (planned) novels have been written will give people that Aaah moment. It will just fall into place and that is another thing I like. Making three individual titles and images all fit together to create a new overall picture.

Do I therefore change the title of my novel (and only the title? Do I used the original name and this new image and match be damned (this answer is a big NO but I will put it down nonetheless) or do I keep the name, forget the image and keep searching?

Incidentally, I have the 'reserve' name already decided and feel it fits in just the same manner as the other and combines with my above desire for the cover art.

What would you do?

RESULT!!

Ok, this isn't a post but rather a chance for me to congratulate myself for having edited 3666 words in one sitting.

Maybe I should take a break, get some reading done. I'm almost half way through Forsaken By Shadow by the very talented Kait Nolan and also midway through the second short story in The Books Of Blood (Volume 4-6). Also got a new blog post brewing in my mind, so maybe I'll just get a head start on the morning.

ROW80: Holidays and Flights of Fancy

My original goal was to finish the editing of my book, and with the exception of a temporary change to finish reading the Dark Tower series by Stephen King – can you say hero – I am still holding firm in my goals.

If I am honest with you, I have lost track of when this round of ROW80 ends, and am hoping for either some enlightenment or to read it in some of the blogs that I follow. However, I worked out yesterday that if I can continue at the 1500 words a day pace that I have set this week so far, then I will be done with editing in 3 weeks. Now I am delighted by that and actually have 4 weeks to go until I go away on vacation – back to the UK to visit family – and I would love to have my novel edited (by myself) completely at that point. As by then I hope to have found a copyeditor and I can send my work over to them and do not have to spend my vacation worry about the editing. Instead I can spend it fretting over the second installment of the trilogy.

As I have mentioned in posts gone by, I am on vacation this week also, my first break since December, and that small week was the only time off I really had last year because I had to change jobs three times. THANK YOU RECESSION.

Having time off work is fantastic. I get to spent much more time with my kids, I get to help out with the housework even more and really tidy up the flat. With five of us living in a 55 square meter flat (all with small rooms, not open plan) tidying is rather a question of just moving the crap from one spot to another. Not this week!

I am also getting some good writing done. While my daughter is having a nap – the 20 minutes that she sleeps during the day now she is 10 months – or while they are playing nicely by themselves. Even writing in the evenings is easier because I don't have the pressures of work weighing me down. I never truly experienced the joys of holidays until now. Maybe it's because I am getting older and my writing has become more serious or it's because I am in a job I don't actually enjoy, it doesn't matter. I am just having a great week and feel fantastic. Even if I am sleeping even less than I normally would.

The very best thing is that flight of fancy I have allowed myself to take this week. I am not on vacation, far from it. I am hard at work. I am a writer. I don't work in an office sending endless streams of emails, acting as a middle man calling myself an account manager. I am a professional writer. Words are how I make my living. I don't think you are ever too old for a bit of make believe, to just let go and saturate yourself with 'happy thoughts'. It helps us remember what we are fighting for.

Artwork

While I have not yet finished the final edits on Through Hell and High Water, I have been busy looking around through stock images trying to find something that kind of captures it all without being too obvious about what is to come later in the trilogy.

I have found several images that I like, and have kind of ruled out combining them as they are all quite different to one another. The real dilemma that I face is who to  entrust what is ultimately one of the most important pars of any book.

We say 'don't judge a book by its cover', yet that is exactly what many people do. If the cover art looks sloppy or just plain stupid there is a great chance, (certainty) that you will lose sales as a result. It doesn't make sense by that is just the way we are as people. You don't just purchase a product but you purchase an image.

This is undoubtedly a good thing, because otherwise the indie publishing world would never have shaken off its mantle of 'Own-brand' books by 'House Blend' writers, while the traditional publishing route would have remained firmly at the top of the Branded shopping train.

It would be like Coca Cola versus Euro Shopper. (Forgive my Dutch reference, but I am sure you all get the jist of what I am saying.)

The banner at the top of my page was designed for me by a professional graphics artist, and I love it. It was low cost and the turn around time was a matter of hours. However, thanks to a mandatory trip to England to visit my family (500 Euros – $750) and several unexpected - yet ultimately fair – bills our savings pot has not only been reduced, but wiped out.

My Paypal (savings) account has a total to $52 in it, but that may need to be withdrawn before month's end. Even so that is not enough for a professional copy edit service and cover art design.

This then raises the question of expendability. which if any of these services could I plausibly skip? I mean the proof reading and or copy editing service would be the most logical option, as you would say that so long as I put in the hard work the number of errors should be at a minimum. Then again, pick up any famous author's book and you will find mistakes, and these books have been through more rounds of editing and proof reads than you and I have had hot dinners.

The other option is to cut out the artwork and try to create something myself. Is it possible? Certainly. Is it worthwhile… probably not. I am not a designer, nor do I pretend to be computer literate beyond the realms of Power Button… Password… Microsoft Word. Is it worth the risk of ruining all my hard hours of labor and missed social gatherings just to put my novel out on the market with sub-standard cover art. I don't think it is.

Hence my current predicament. Ok I think I have at least one month to go before I am even close to finishing the edits, and my own personal delivery date is written in … White Board marker for the end of the summer, and a lot could happen to my finances by then. I just like to be prepared and have everything at least arranged on time.

Do I just say, Fuck it, and try it alone, do I just go ahead and do (plan) it and worry about the money later or … (GULP)  push back my release date to a flexible date that is ultimately dependant on my finances?

Is anybody willing to share how much their cover art and or editing cost and who did it? or just name drop the people and share their websites with me so I can browse myself?

A Rose by Any Other Name

I have children, two boys and one girl and with each of them the same dilemma was faced. Names are tricky things, and whether you believe it or not, play a big role in a child's life. A name is permanent, etched in… well computer records at city hall but still, just trust me, they are permanent.

As writers, our characters are our children, our extended family. Sure we don't remember their first steps, first day at school or their first football game, but we could… if we wrote about it.

To be honest, I feel more pressure trying to conjure up character names than I did for all three of my children combined. With characters we create everything, we command their personalities, we govern their fate and so need to create a name that at least fits, while remaining in the genre and audience range.

There is no point writing an adult book and calling your lead antagonist Creepy McStrange – a name that would be perfectly suitable for a much younger audience – yet at the same time a normal name like Martin Douglas doesn't quite convey the right sense of drama or villainy.

Personally I find naming the villains a much more difficult task than naming the hero's in my writing, and while I may be alone in this, I firmly believe that anybody can be a hero given the right circumstances, but not everyone can be a villain… a true villain I mean.

Every author knows the text that claims "All characters in this book are fictional, any resemblance they may bear to real people is purely coincidental." Now that has to be true, not for any reasons other than people get pissed off by seeing themselves described in words. However true that may be, so of course we create our characters from scratch. Whether you use a fake CV, a character questionnaire or good old-fashioned bubble charts and brainstorming it doesn't matter. However, where does that golden literary (unwritten)rule lie with regards names?

When naming our children my wife and I had a long list and of course the first round of eliminations always came to names we hated based on personal preference. Nobody is going to name their child or hero(ine) after the person(s) who bullied the or they disliked at some point in their lives. Likewise, when thinking of names for the female characters we are drawn to names that have a meaning to us. (Read attractive women from our past).

We can't help it, names have certain associations with them that stick, and the name is one of the most important characteristics of a character. Not to mention the literary rules such as avoiding characters whose name ends with s because of the issues surrounding pluralising the name and keeping reading smooth.  

How do you help figure out the names of your characters? I often write the character first and then pick the name that I feel fits, but I know people who pick a name that they like and write the character around the images and thoughts that particular name evokes.

What Makes Me Tick: Vampires

The following is not a review of Vampire movies or books, nor is it a definitive guide, but rather my own feelings and thoughts based upon my own knowledge (limited as it may be). It is what I like and why I like it.

Let's be honest for a moment. What is there not to love about Vampires?

As we grow, tastes change, both ours and those of the world around us. Flared trousers, platform shoes, big ruff collars, beards, goatee's shaved heads and shaggy heads, presidents and music styles. What is one thing that hasn't changed or ever stepped out of the limelight? You guessed it… Horror.

When you mention the word Horror, people will be naturally drawn to vampires. The are the perfect mix of romance and aggression, which much like pleasure and pain are neighbours rather than opposites. 

From Count Dracula through to the Salvatore Brothers vampires have always played a role not only Pop Culture, but in literature.

Vampires are probably one of the more versatile characters that can be written, thanks in no large part I am sure to Angel. This one character kind of re-wrote the (rule)book on being a vampire and (correct me if I am wrong) kind of introduced the "change the rules" behind vampirism trend. I am not talking about the tortured, lovesick soul who is lonely and filled with a tragic grief, as that was started by Bram Stoker many years before with the Count himself. This whole Yuppie vampiric trend can be traced back to him, all the modern world is doing is adapting it for a modern audience.

The thing is love about Vampires is their versatility. I think that their 'situation'makes them such great characters to write. They are vulnerable, lonely, and withdrawn, yet brutal, angry killing machines at the same time. If that isn't enough to make an author's head explode with possibilities then I don't know what will.

From Dracula and (who could ever forget) Nosferatu through to Buffy, Vampire Diaries and all ports in between, Vampires are not only a fierce creature that has stood the test of time, but on that is still, in my humble opinion, yet reach its full potential. The real question is who will be the next pioneer, and help vampires reach the pinnacle of their existence?

My current favourite Vampire would be hands down Damon Salvatore. He seems to capture the balance between love and rage perfectly. Ok, the new 'lore' that Vampires can voluntarily 'flick the switch' on their emotions gives the character much more freedom than has been seen in the past, but still, character is being well used and I find it refreshing to see the boundaries between right and wrong challenged by him – the writer's – and hope it continues.

ROW80: Paypal Escapades and Big Smiles

After my slight detour to find the Dark Tower in the first half of the week I am now back to working on Through Hell and High Water. I have made some good progress, maybe not as much as I would like, but I hit my target each day so I cannot complain.

I am starting to get itchy feet with it all now, I am just so eager to start writing the second installment, but I am making do with notes and mental bookmarks for future reference. I had approximately 66% of the novel edited now and that means I am firmly on the homeward stretch. Then I hope to acquire the services of a proof reader to pick up those silly mistakes that my over familiar eyes miss.

That however, is jumping the gun by some weeks.

All in all this week was smooth sailing, my eldest son provided us some rough water but we navigated them well enough. He has just started school and so has suddenly developed an attitude but we are firm with him and hopefully it will pay off… one day.

I am on vacation all of next week and with him at school I plan on helping my wife get the house completely tidied, as with three young kids around, cleaning during the day just doesn't work other than picking up bulkier items. While we split the housework 50/50, there is only so much that can be done in the evenings, or should I say only a certain level that can be attained.

The only thing of note was that my Paypal account was hacked and cleaned out by some gimp, but Paypal responded within moments and alerted me to the transactions and I could block them before anything got approved. Handy because they also emptied out my bank account. (Thank GOD I only had 50 Euros left in it )

I have seen a dramatic increase in my blog traffic over the last week or so, and I am delighted. I am not setting any records but I have averaged double figures every day and for me that is a big result. Whether it is because I am making use of Tags in my posts now, or because what I am saying is actually interesting I would not like to say. I just intend to keep going and see where it goes.

Thank you for reading, and I wish you all a great weekend!

 

Traffic

I looked at my watch. 08.23. I was late, later than even I could talk my way out of. Ahead of me, iluminating the dawn was a seemingly endless line of red lights. Patiently waiting in line, with the exception of a few morons whose lights I could zigzagging through the lanes. Even I wasn't that late.

As I slowed, eventually rolling to a stop on the crest of a small hill, I could just make out the flashing blue lights of the emergency services. My anger subsided. I hoped nobody was hurt.

Although only early morning, it was unbearably hot in the car. I flicked on the air conditioning. It didn't work.

As sweat greased my body and stained my clothes I tried to remember why I was running so late. Sure time keeping wasn't one of my strong points by still. I unwound the driverside window just was we rolled forward a few meters. The traffic behind me stetched farther than what was before me.

I smiled. Could be worse, it could be Monday

Then it hit me, I was late because of her. Catherine Eckles. For the past 6 months we had been competing with each other at work for the promotion to Junior Partner at the ad agency McCormack and Flintoff. Today was decision day.

Last night we had finally buried that hatchet. We had gone out for a few drinks. Well more than a few. We ended up getting hammered. Before I knew what was happening we were outside my apartment, inside my apartment, in the bedro… bed.

I smiled as an ambulance rushed passed, travelling along the hard shoulder.

The traffic had been moving steadily, the blue lights and the vehicles they were attached to were clearly visible, as too was the outline of the accident.

We woke with our limbs entwined, our bodies still clammy from making love. Marilyn was beautiful. Just looking at her my heart skipped a beat and made my stomach flutter with nerves. We had hidden our attraction from everyone, even ourselves. The job was the focus of our attention, and with that pressure gone, we were free.

She was the reason I was running late. She insisted on showering first, she insisted on making love one last time.

Ahead I saw the police directing traffic around the scene. A car had skidded off the road. It looked like it had flipped over at least once. The fire brigade were there too.

I was late because she had hidden my clothes while I was downstairs making coffee. Which she accidentally spilt over my tie.

The traffic began to move quicker, the police ensured that nobody stopped to rubberneck… for too long. The road was black, slick with oil. It dripped from the car, seeping through the jammed driver's side door.

She had laughed

playfully?

as she ran out of the front door, grabbing the keys to my weekend car.

Wait… that isn't oil….. it's

It had all been a game, her attempt to distract me, to get to the office first, leaving me dragging behind looking disheveled and hung over.

blood…

I smiled to myself. She thought she had won, but the last laugh was mine, for while she was in the shower, washing away all traces of my touch, I was in the garage, cutting through the brake lines to my weekend soft-top.

The police waved me through, the road up ahead was clear, as all five lanes jumped back into use. I gave her but the slightest of glances as I drove past, my heart heavy at the loss of what was a relatively new car. Then again, with the pay rise that came with the promotion I could buy a brand new one within a few months, and Summer was still some way off.

The Language of Fiction

There are a great many languages in the world, (and I am sure someone can tell me exactly how many) but the one that concerns me of course is the language of fiction.

I am English by birth and so grew up and leant how to write English correctly the British way. I put u's in my words and favour s's over z's in many instances. However, I find myself in somewhat of a quandary.

Age and Origins aside, there can be no denying that the American teachings of English spelling are the most recognized, thanks to television, subtitles and the internet. Now before I get accused of insulting Americans and their language, I have no issue with this, I am just pondering which 'version' of the English language I am best to use for my novel(s).

As I am looking to publish myself, most probably via Smashwords and Createspace my books will automatically be available to the entire world. This would lead to me abandon my teachings and change my spellings to the American style. Then again, I am English, and do I need to hide my nationality for the sake of an extra u in the odd word. I mean, it's not like the words are unrecognizable.

Undoubtedly I will end up with a combination of the two as I will always refuse to write grey with an a, and no matter what Aluminium will always be aluminium. That's just who I am.

Undoubtedly, the risk is ending up with a mixture of the two, and while I don't really see a problem with it, the key is to be consistently inconsistent. It isn't good to write color one sentence and colour the other. However, I won't be loosing any sleep because I have written the odd word with the English / American spelling