P.J. Roscoe's Blog, page 16

It's white outside!?

But hang on, isn't it March?? I had been looking forward to attempting a day of quiet contemplation before the Easter holidays and my daughter would need my attentions but, it seems, Mother nature has other idea's.
Instead of blooming daffodils and purple crocus, all I see is thick, white snow. So deep I can hardly see my car! My husband attempted to go to work at some unearthly hour this morning and got stuck, trudging home, freezing and crawled back into bed brrrrr! Well, that wasn't so bad!!
But here it is - I have very little chance of getting any writing done for two weeks and I have a bursting head of idea's. I am chomping at the bit to begin writing more of my third novel 'Where River's Meet' and I'm sure I'll find snatches of moments, but it's not the same is it?
When the juices flow and I can't type fast enough for the images in my head and then...MUM I NEED YOU...!
My husband, Martin, laughs as I type that i would have had a quiet day - he's right of course. I can't sit still knowing there are things to be done! But, that's not to say I wouldn't have 'tried'!
I wonder if other writers are the same as me? Do they yearn to find some quiet place and write, write, write and feel the excitement build as the story, sitting so long in the head is unleashed onto the screen (or paper) and is finally there for your eyes to see??
Freya's Child

I feel like jaws is circling me! But I have a big bat!!

O.k, so the fear and doubt haven't gone away, but my pride in my writing has increased.
Getting a FIVE STAR review from Reader's Favourite was a big thing for me,on top of Honourable mention - I mean, all that dithering - working on Echoes, leaving it nesting in a locked drawer - finding it, feeling that rush of energy for it, then being knocked back yet again by another agent and hiding my embarrassment away in the dark for yet another lengthy sentence.
And then, that day I said enough was enough - drawing my confidence like a sword from a heavy scabbard to finish my novel...and I did.
Believe me when I say, it wasn't easy. Thoughts of my son raced around my head joining in with fear, doubt and so many what ifs...but there was also hope, courage, resilience and determination and thankfully it was these that won. And now I've done it again - and I feel oddly quiet now, the dark before the dawn's glow to illuminate my writing path before me and Freya's Child and Echoes shall guide my way.
Freya's Child

Fear and doubt are coming!?

The book launch of 'Freya's Child' is quickly dawning and fear and doubt's creeping fingers are beginning to probe my head. Fear that I am wasting my time and doubt that I am good enough.
I know this to be true of anyone who creates - we all have doubts, even a moment, felt then quickly disappears. Mine hold on with a vice grip and I wonder how to dispel them?
I know it comes from lack of understanding. My fear and doubt of the internet, how it works, how others can get thousands of sales because people can find them, while I contemplate how many people read my blogs? My website? Who do I reach in my pathetic crawl as I attempt to learn how a computer can help my talent?
I read this back and I sound as if I'm giving up. Am I? No. I began this blog to follow my journey as I write - good and bad, highs and lows. Even if it is only for myself - it will be a good indication of my writing path. x

The moment has come!

Well, here I am sitting in my study, in tears, with my second novel in my hands - 'Freya's Child' is finished and looking wonderful and I did it. Against the odds, I finished it before time and now I can get ready for the launch in April.
I wonder what other writers feel when they finish a book? I seem to go through a period of sadness, almost like grief, for the characters I created and for the sheer hard work that goes into the book. I feel 'lost', unable to think or function properly and definately can't make decisions, even simple ones like - making tea or which film to watch!! I want to hybernate, be alone, walk in nature for hours and reconnect with the earth - but I can't. Not with a teenager needing me and all the other myriad of jobs a mother has to do!!
So now, I wait and ponder my next novel - where shall I go? Where Rivers Meet...or...A prequel to 'Echoes'? I find that thought appealing, yet I was looking forward to researching for Rivers - Beddgelert, miners, a love story, my first...of course, there'll be a twist!!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Freyas-Child-...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/P.J-Roscoe/e/...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Echoes-P-J-Ro...

The moment has come!

Well, here I am sitting in my study, in tears, with my second novel in my hands - 'Freya's Child' is finished and looking wonderful and I did it. Against the odds, I finished it before time and now I can get ready for the launch in April.

I wonder what other writers feel when they finish a book? I seem to go through a period of sadness, almost like grief, for the characters I created and for the sheer hard work that goes into the book. I feel 'lost', unable to think or function properly and definately can't make decisions, even simple ones like - making tea or which film to watch!! I want to hybernate, be alone, walk in nature for hours and reconnect with the earth - but I can't. Not with a teenager needing me and all the other myriad of jobs a mother has to do!!

So now, I wait and ponder my next novel - where shall I go? Where Rivers Meet...or...A prequel to 'Echoes'? I find that thought appealing, yet I was looking forward to researching for Rivers - Beddgelert, miners, a love story, my first...of course, there'll be a twist!!

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Freyas-Child-P-J-Roscoe/dp/1482579723/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361877598&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/P.J-Roscoe/e/B008N9GF7C/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Echoes-P-J-Roscoe/dp/1477560734/ref=la_B008N9GF7C_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1361877652&sr=1-2

Time is ticking...but I am learning...

I am nearly there. Waiting for the front cover and then I can upload my second novel, 'Freya's Child' and order for the launch on April 7th. It will be tight, but I have to believe that I can do this! I have come a long way since starting this. I have become more competent in using the computer. By no means a computer wizard, but not so panicky anymore!! I have managed to sort problems out by myself, which feels great. Sales for 'Echoes' are slow, but drip like a tap of lukewarm water - I await the gush as the tap explodes and the sales run freely. Reviews are favourable and I am smiling with each acknowledgement of my skill as a story teller. Since changing the cover, it looks so much better. I realise now that I was impatient (nothing new there) and I was thinking emotionally rather than businesslike. I now have twenty copies of my book with old covers - what to do...?

Any ideas?

The time is ticking...but I am learning...

I am nearly there. Waiting for the front cover and then I can upload my second novel, 'Freya's Child' and order for the launch on April 7th. It will be tight, but I have to believe that I can do this! I have come a long way since starting this. I have become more competent in using the computer. By no means a computer wizard, but not so panicky anymore!! I have managed to sort problems out by myself, which feels great. Sales for 'Echoes' are slow, but drip like a tap of lukewarm water - I await the gush as the tap explodes and the sales run freely. Reviews are favourable and I am smiling with each acknowledgement of my skill as a story teller. Since changing the cover, it looks so much better. I realise now that I was impatient (nothing new there) and I was thinking emotionally rather than businesslike. I now have twenty copies of my book with old covers - what to do...?

Any ideas?

The heat is on!

Well, I like to believe that I work better under pressure, so now is the time to test that theory! Freya's Child is to be launched on April 7th at Roydon Park, Wirral. So, now the proofreading begins in earnest and sorting cover, ISBN and getting the book to my satisfaction before ordering a load for the day and getting it onto Amazon - and I have six weeks to do it all in - can it be done - time will tell. Will I be a jibbering wreck by the end of it...No doubt, but hey, what an achievement!! Watch this space to see if it works out...

Angry at being ostricized

I got so excited at having the chance to enter Amazon's competition, but I was thwarted by my book having too many words - what is that? Are they being wordists? Maximists?? Whatever it is they have annoyed me greatly. 150,000 seems a small book to me. Most books I have read over the years have more than that. Diana Gabaldon's are enourmous and I have followed suit and written boooks which last longer than a chocolate bar pr two!

I feel so frustrated at this maximum, it hurts me and I should be able to shrug it off and so ho-hum, their loss, but I can't. I think it's because I have put so much hard work to produce a great story, in both my books and now working on my third and its not good enough for those with a small attention span that I have no intention of losing a **** good story just to fit in with an apparent lack of attention.

Shame on you Amazon/Create space. The great novels of this world were not short stories, they were there to be read, to be lost in for days rather than a mere glance. Shame.

Ooops! How can I be so stupid???

Has it ever happened to anyone else? You think everything is o.k, then wham, it's like a kick up the backside? When a reader of your book says, "Well, that was really good, read it quickly and enjoyed it, BUT, a character says something which he wouldn't say and that is, "O.k".
And they're right! A man in medieval times would never say that word as it didn't begin to get used until around early 19th Century in America.
How could I be so blind? How could I miss that? More to the point, how could five proof-readings miss that?????
So, I apologise to all the readers of Echoes so far who may or may not have noticed, it has been rectified.
But it shamed me. I am a professional, or at least, I thought I was...Does this happen to them?
I know in reading a book last year I was appalled at the amount of spelling and grammer mistakes in a published book, but not this historical mistake...I will try harder.