M.K. Turner's Blog: M K Turner, page 15

And it’s done – Almost!

I am delighted to tell you that the latest Meredith & Hodge novel, One Secret Too Many, has finally gone off to the editor. There was a point where I didn’t think it would ever get there, but hopefully all the delays and distractions have proved useful as on the final read through I decided I didn’t like the ending. Although the story followed the path I thought it would, some of the characters were doing or saying things that simply didn’t feel right. It seemed obvious what should have happened, so I had to rewrite sections of the story to ensure the characters made different decisions, they got there in the end, and fingers crossed it’s now a better story, although I think that Meredith & Hodge fans will be shocked at some of the twists and turns. I’m hoping I picked up all the amendments to storyline as that will make editor Steph’s life a little easier! I’ll keep you posted on release dates etc., as soon as I hear back from Steph.

In other news ….My son’s partner Lori, arrived safely back from Everest, and he proposed, so I’m now party to many conversations about weddings, which is ok of course, but what I’m really looking forward to are the conversations about the impending arrival of grandchildren – I think that’s a few years off, but a girl can dream!

 

My daughter, Ellie, continues her journey around South Africa, and is thoroughly enjoying the experience. She has had the most wonderful adventures, and seen spectacular sights. Being an animal lover, she is in heaven getting up close and personal to animals she’s only seen in zoos. As an added bonus, each guest house they have stayed in along the way has not only been reasonably priced, but the rooms come complete with family dog. So amongst the more exotic photographs she shares with us, we also get the latest dog. I’ve chosen a few of my favourites to share with you. Penguins on the Beach, Phoenix the Cheetah, and Ellie crawling though Canto Caves.

I’m now off to start on the next Meredith & Hodge. An idea without a title at the moment, I hope that will come as the story develops. As always the end of One Secret Too Many left Meredith & Hodge with a decision to make, and I have to decide how they deal with it. I’m pleased to say Ben Jacobs, Meredith’s singer friend from The Wrong Shoes, will have a prominent role. I did like Ben, and will enjoy getting him in, and hopefully out of trouble. All I have to do is work out what Meredith decided and I’m off and running….

I’ll be back for help with a couple of characters soon.

Dreaming of a Calm Christmas – and New Year!

It’s seven- thirty on Christmas Eve morning, and rather than snow here in Bristol, we have drizzle. I’m not sure that Bing Crosby would have had many dreams about that, but once the fairy lights have been switched on everything will look almost as it should. Then, in the blink of an eye it will all be over, hopefully pleasant memories will have been created, and we will look forward to, and wonder what the New Year will bring.

2014 was a year of change for my family, mostly good changes, but others devastating, like the loss of my mother. We still have to get through our first Christmas without her, and that will be tough. But, we will continue to support each other, and as the saying goes, we will roll with the punches, and get through it, hopefully smiling as we remember Mum at Christmas in previous years.

The way we enter the New Year will be different too, no Mum having secret tipples in the corner, my daughter, Ellie, will be applying sunscreen in South Africa, and my son’s partner, Lori, will be making her way back down from Mount Everest base camp. It’s all strange and all change, and I have to say that I for one am hoping for a very settled and calm 2015. I will be content not to have any highs just so long as I avoid any lows.

Both Ellie and Lori have promised to keep a journal, and take lots of photographs. I will share some of that with you over the coming weeks. Some of the photographs we’ve received so far have been quite spectacular, so rather than the usual festive visuals I’ve used some of them here.

It’s now ten in the morning, and I’m pleased to say that after a break to feed and walk the dogs, and have a little breakfast, the skies have cleared and the sun is out. It’s very fresh out there, but so much nicer than drizzle. Hopefully it will stay that way, unless of course Bing’s dreams come true and we can have snow!

I am having a sale of all my novels from Christmas Day through to 28th December, all will be only 99c or 99p, so I’m off to do some promotion for that – if there are any you haven’t read you may wish to grab a bargain (or of course tell someone about it).

Before I go, I would like to thank you for all your support and best wishes throughout the year, all gratefully received and very much appreciated. I wish you a wonderfully Merry Christmas, and a peaceful and rewarding New Year.

 

All out of sorts

Hello again,

I hope your Christmas preparations are well underway, that the tree is up, and that you have – or are about to – deck your halls! I’m all done on that front, with the kids away this year, last weekend we had our (fake) Christmas Eve friends and family get together, and our family Christmas Day, and although it was odd for me to go to work on what would be Boxing Day, it definitely feels like Christmas has been and gone – so all this frantic activity around me, with people buying gifts, making arrangements, and bracing themselves for the festivities to come is definitely throwing me out of kilter. I feel as though I’m in limbo waiting for something to happen and I’ve not been fully informed as to what, and yes, we still have parties to go to, and what I know will be a lovely Christmas Day with my sister, but it still feels like the rest of you have gone mad and there should be a limit to how long Christmas lasts!

My daughter is now on a farm in Durban, South Africa for three months visiting her boyfriend’s family. She arrived in darkness, and this is the view that greeted her the next morning. Lucky girl!  I’m hoping she’s going to send a few blog posts with photographs. My fingers are crossed.

The other thing that has caught me out when I least expected it, and has me wondering how to move forward, is my writing. Having readied myself to write the closing chapter(s) of the latest Meredith & Hodge novel, One Secret Too Many, I find myself stuck. Not because I don’t know what to write, but because I’m not sure I’ve chosen the correct ending.

Readers familiar with my work will know that I rarely know “who did it” myself until I’m well into the story. Of course I always know what and why things happened, even if it’s a little hazy, (I should confess that occasionally I surprise myself with a turn of events), but I always have at least three possible endings when I start writing. One reason for this is that it helps me ensure that enough clues and detail are included for the reader to believe they’ve worked out the ending, and another because the story sometimes takes a different course as it develops, and having lined up various possibilities it cuts down the need to rewrite whole sections.

This morning I sat at my desk, fingers poised on the keyboard, believing I knew what I was going to write, but with only three words typed I ground to a halt and questioned the route I had decided the characters would take. That’s never happened before, but I was about to wipe out a regular character in the Meredith & Hodge series. Was that a step to far? Was it believable? What effect would the removal of this character have on future storylines? The impact would be major – could Meredith & Hodge cope? These and many more questions have been spinning around in my mind for a few days, and this morning I thought I was brave enough to go with my decision, but I find I’m not. Does that mean I’ve made the wrong decision, or only that I’m a little scared? Add this to the fact that I hadn’t made the final decision as to which character will fall victim to the story, I have a choice of two, I had to stop writing, before things went too far. I’ve downloaded what I have so far to my kindle, and will not make the final decision until I have re-read what I have, and hopefully all will become clear… Yes, my fingers are crossed.

I’ll come back in a few days with an update, and hopefully celebrating the fact that I’ve gone with my original plan. I can’t tell you which of the characters may be despatched, but if you are a regular Meredith & Hodge reader who would you least like to see disappear from the usual cast of characters? Perhaps some outside influence will help me reach my decision.

Enjoy your (belated) Christmas preparations. I’ll leave you with my daughters favourite photo on our fake Christmas Day. She’s the one with a living pillow.

 

 

A Surprising Short Story

As the rush to get the house into shape for our fake Christmas gathered pace, (see previous blog for explanation), I managed to snatch a few moments to take a peep at Facebook and Twitter. I came across a post for a short story completion and thought I’d give a try. Those of you familiar with my writing will know that ‘short’ rarely features! Gary Walker at Look 4 Books on Facebook had posted a picture and the challenge was to write a short story inspired by the picture that was around two hundred words. My first attempt was over three hundred, but after a little thought I managed to strip it back to the bare minimum, and bang on two hundred words. Much to my surprise and delight, I won! Here’s the picture and the story – I hope you enjoy it.

 

Sally gave the tableau a nod, it was near perfect. Hopefully the curator would like it when he returned. It was her first display, and it had to be right. Satisfied, she flipped off the light. She’d only taken a few steps when the sound of a baby crying caused her to turn and hurry back. The highchair was empty, the baby doll now cradled by the maid. Sally swallowed and stepped forward. Hesitantly she reached out and touched the face of the manikin she herself had dressed. The hard surface was unyielding beneath her fingers. Feeling braver she inched closer stroking the baby’s cheek. It was cold. Shaking her head at her stupidity, she grasped the baby by the arm and attempted to lift it.

“No!” The maid growled. Sally dropped to the floor, shocked, and still grasping the baby who yelled out his indignation. Sally looked up too late to defend herself from the sweeping arm of the manikin.

***

The curator surveyed the scene approvingly, and wondered where the extra manikin sitting before the fire had come from; it was almost a mirror image of Sally. How strange she’d not been to work since completing the display.

 

My prize for winning was having Tin Soldiers featured as book of the week on the Look 4 Books website, and the talented Gary Walker designed this poster – Absolutely fabulous.

If you are looking for something to read, pop over to Look 4 Books here: http://www.look4books.co.uk/index.html – or if you fancy a go at writing a very short story, there is another completion running this week. Great picture this week too – and you don’t need to have a book to promote, all entries are welcome. https://www.facebook.com/freebookpromotion?fref=ts

Better get back to the preparations, and of course a little writing.

Hope your Christmas preparations are going well.

And the results are in

Thanks to all those  who commented  here, on Facebook, and Twitter, in kind response to my plea to help choose a cover for the latest Meredith & Hodge novel, One Secret Too Many. Cover version two was the winner by a huge margin, but many comments were made with regards to the lack of a hammer and sickle on that version, given the partly Russian theme. I sent all your comments to the wonderful Antony, from Freshly Squeezed, and this is the final version of the new cover. I hope you like it.

Progress on completing the actual novel has been slow due to the work going on at home, but things are settling down and I’m back at it. Amazon has a pre-order facility which I might use this time. Do any of you pre-order books? I have on a few of my favourite authors latest releases, and now it’s available to indie authors I may see how it goes.

 

Finally….I’m pleased to confirm that I’ve received an acceptable proof for the printed paperback version of The Recruitment of Lucy James. I drew three numbers at random, and counted through the list of subscribers to end up with the names of the three winners – they are:

Angela Herron, Pat Scott and Carol Cahill – all have been contacted and books have been ordered and are on their way. I hope you enjoy reading them, and look forward to your comments.

That’s it for now, I’ve two novels to complete, and as my children are both away for Christmas this year, a fake Christmas, and Christmas Eve party to organise. Our family celebrations will be on the 6th & 7th December this year, and I’m delighted that we have received an invite to join my sister and her family on the 24th/25th, so it won’t be just hubby and me wondering how we’ll ever get through the turkey!

Have a great weekend.

Decisions, Decisions – Help needed please!

Well, you don’t hear from me for weeks on end, and here I am back in a couple of days!

As mentioned Antony at Freshly Squeezd has been working on the cover for the latest Meredith & Hodge novel, One Secret Too Many, and I now have two designs to choose from. They are similar, and I am struggling to make up my mind. What do you think? Which one would catch your eye? I look forward to receiving your thoughts, and will go with the majority vote, simply respond Cover one, or Cover two in the comment section below. You may of course add other comments should you so wish :o)

 

Cover One

Cover Two

 

On a separate note, I haven’t forgotten that I am drawing three random subscribers of Welcome to my world, to receive a printed copy of The Recruitment of Lucy James. Erring on the side of caution, I am waiting for the final printed proof to arrive before I order them! Hopefully it will arrive this week and I will announce those chosen here.

Must dash – dogs to walk, and novels to finish.

Best wishes

Delays, Disappointments, and Delights

It’s been a month since my last visit here, (that sounds like I’m about to make my confession – you’ll be pleased to hear I’m not), and life in the Turner household continues to be erratic. There is so much going on with the new house, visitors, writing taking me off at an unplanned tangent, and some delightful surprises, and it doesn’t look as though it’s going to settle any time soon. I suppose life would be boring if it were too settled, however it would be nice to have at least one day a week that went according to plan.

The first disappointment for us was being let down by our builders, and the conservatory not being completed as promised. I wasted many hours waiting for someone to turn up, or to call, only to be disappointed, and immensely irritated by the delay. They got here in the end, and whilst there are still some bits to finish, it’s a delight to sit and eat dinner overlooking the back garden and the trees beyond, albeit a little chilly as the final touches (sealing) are pending!

The second disappointment for me was the cancellation of a visit from my friend, Jane. She is still in corporate life and had a meeting that couldn’t be cancelled. Maybe that was a good thing, as without the building works completed, having another body and another puppy, Bruno, in the house things would have been even more chaotic. Bruno is Molly’s brother and he is just as lively. Hopefully we will get together before Christmas. I certainly hope so. That same week I found that my editor Steph wouldn’t be available until mid-January, so the latest in the Meredith & Hodge series, One Secret Too Many, will be delayed and wont’ be released until the New Year – my fault for not booking a slot earlier, but a disappointment none the less.

Then there were the surprises. As One Secret Too Many, nears an end, on a whim I emailed my original cover designer, Antony, he’d taken a break due to ill health, and I was delighted to find that he was back at work, and has produced one option for the new cover already. Watch this space – I may need help in choosing the right cover. This discovery took the sting out of all the disappointments, and I smiled all day!

Those of you that have followed my writing progress for some time will remember I started writing a ‘Cozy’ mystery, The Cuban Conundrum, back last summer. It had been shelved due to the arrival of Molly, Tin Soldiers, and eventually Lucy. Well its back! Now I know how it ends, I found I was rushing the end of the One Secret Too Many, a break was needed, and I decided to read instead. As Archie, (I have no proof but I know it was him) had eaten my kindle, my lovely husband bought me a new one, a Paperwhite, and when I was transferring my collection across I stumbled on The Cuban Conundrum so far. I decided to read it, and I liked it! I had forgotten some of the scenes, and some of the passages made me smile, I was delighted to find it was a keeper – so I’m working on that too. That was a nice surprise, if only there were more hours in the day. I must remember to tell Steph she has two coming her way – poor woman!

Finally, we were invited to a dinner party as surprise guests. It was an Oscars themed party, (much like a murder mystery party), we have to get glammed up, bring a prop from our allotted film, and write an acceptance speech for an unknown award which could be for anything. A lovely surprise and a change from the norm, and despite it all being a bit of fun, I was unnecessarily nervous about the speech element – it’s surprising how a glass or two or red helps, I usually hate public speaking, even with people I know. So on Saturday I walked the dogs, wrote my acceptance speech, cursed the builders who didn’t turn up again,  did a few loads of washing, ignored the other housework, wrote this blog, updated the WIP page of my website, and finally got down to some serious writing. My only problem was which work in progress to work on, The Cuban Conundrum or One Secret Too Many…. in the end I did a bit of both!

In the fullness of time, probably a couple of weeks, I will be looking for volunteers to be beta readers for both novels, if you have the time, and would be interested please leave me a message and I’ll be in touch.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

 

 

 

Ray and the Dog

Following on from the writers workshop homework I wrote about in a previous blog, Moving On, I thought I’d share Ray and the Dog, with you. The only brief we were given was the opening sentence. I hope you enjoy it.

 Ray and the Dog

 Ray Goldman was at the top of the hill when the dog launched itself. A big, black, wolf-like animal attached to a chain, it came flying off a back porch towards him. He turned toward the snarling animal. It was huge. Ray froze, his brain seemingly unable to communicate with his limbs. Like some horrific nightmare the world around him moved in slow motion. Ray guessed that the dog was some five hundred yards away; he watched as its front paws hit the soft grass and propelled the muscular shoulders above them forward, leaving the paws tucked under its body for the rear legs to straddle effortlessly, providing yet more momentum towards him. The dog’s mouth was open, its tongue flapping out to one side. Ray could see the saliva drops spinning away from it, perfect little spheres carried backward beyond the dog, as though some unseen force was sucking them away.

Finally, Ray’s hands moved, but only to grab hold of the edges of the floral robe that covered his otherwise naked body. The silk was smooth to the touch, and it reminded him of the other predicament he faced. Keeping pace with the world around him, his legs slowly buckled, and he fell to his knees as he awaited the impact. His head bent forward, his eyes screwed shut, and his hands still clasping the robe to his chest, it looked as though he were praying. He was. His heart beat faster, and he gulped in air as the pounding of the paws drew closer. He could now hear the dogs throaty growl clearly. Screwing his eyes shut tighter still, Ray held his breath as he wondered if he would survive the attack and have to explain his attire, and indeed why he was in the field at the top of this hill. He sighed as he awaited his fate.

Nothing happened.

Slowly Ray opened one eye and squinted at the grass that was still wet with early morning dew. Raising his head he looked in front of him. No dog. All at once life returned to his previously paralysed limbs, and he jumped to his feet and looked around.

‘Where’s the dog? Please God let this be a dream.’

Ray realised that on top of everything else, he was now talking to himself.

A movement in the small copse behind him caught his eye. There was the dog, and there was a squirrel, which having reached the safety of the copse flew up a tree with quite amazing speed. The dog lunged at the trunk of the tree and began pawing it, barking up at the squirrel, now safe in the upper branches. The dog had no interest in Ray, no interest at all. Ray let out a loud, relieved laugh, and looked at his hands which were still shaking as the adrenalin slowed its race around Ray’s body. He might pull this off yet. Ray turned back toward his destination; he would make it in a few minutes if he got a move on.

 ‘Is that you Ray?’ asked the familiar voice of his neighbour. ‘Are you alright old chap? Quite nippy this morning isn’t it.’

Ray heard the amusement in his voice. Sighing, Ray looked down and adjusted the floral silk gown.

‘Just dandy thank you George,’ he croaked, avoiding eye contact, ‘can’t stop, must dash. I’ll catch you later.’

 *****

I’ve never got to the bottom of what Ray had been up to, or whether he ever provided George with an explanation. I may go back and work on that at some stage. Do you think I should?

 

 

Take care, have fun, I’ll be back soon.

Closing chapters – Leaving the family home

A few days ago, I shared with you the closure of one of the most important chapters in one’s life – the loss of your Mother. Thanks to everyone for their kind words, Facebook informs me over one thousand people saw the post, I’m not sure what Mum would have thought about that!

Today on a happier note I thought I should tell you that I’m back at my desk, I’m writing, and I’m doing it in a new home. Now that there’s only me, my husband Geoff, and of course the three dogs, we’ve moved from our large family home into a smaller version, and I love it. The postcode might not be so upmarket, but we have 650 acres of woodland to the front, and I’m told (by an estate agent), one of the oldest woods in England next to a riding stable at the rear. Perfect. This house has never been the family home, and although the kids will always have a home here, that chapter is closed.

 

A new chapter is beginning for us, surrounded by trees. My children have never lived here, although one or other of them seem to be here daily. They have never left for school from here, bought their first boyfriend/girlfriends here, nor have they had parties here while Geoff and I were away. I won’t experience that pang of regret and worry as they leave to start their own lives, tempered of course with a little sigh of relief that the bathroom will always be clean and tidy, the doors locked, and the food that I put in the fridge is still there when I need it.

So, here I sit, writing. I haven’t done that for over a month. Much like having babies, it’s much easier when the trio of puppies are asleep – the photo to the right is the view I have from my cubby hole at the moment. I suppose I should say study or office to make it sound more industrious and important, but it’s not, it’s simply a six foot square of space off the hall of our new home.

I’ve not quite finished unpacking yet, but I already love it in here, In the afternoon the sun streams through the window and the dogs can spill over into the hall whilst I write. We are having the little lean to conservatory at the back of the house replaced with a more substantial version, this with the intention of it being my writing room, but at the moment I think I’ll stay put, and we’ll use the conservatory as a dining room.

I have opened the latest Meredith & Hodge and reminded myself of what was happening; I know where it’s going, and how it will end. My task for next week is to sit down and start writing those closing chapters.

The Recruitment of Lucy James has been formatted for print, and I’ve only had time to glance at that due to the general upset and chaos of the past few weeks, but I did spot an error in the layout, so that’s been sent back out for amendment. This has delayed the draw for three print copies to the subscribers to my newsletter, and I apologise for the delay, we will get there. Finally I’ve started on a new story, the idea came from nowhere, and although I usually know the ending before I start writing, I have no idea where that will end up. It’s something different to keep me occupied when Meredith & Hodge are playing up!

I’ll sign off now, I still have boxes to unpack, and of course stories to write. I’ll leave you with what will be the view from the dinner table in our new home.

See you soon,

 

 

Closing Chapters – Sandra Glenys Hawkes

This is my first blog in over a month, and during that time much has changed in my life, different chapters have been closed, it’s been difficult to think straight let alone write. In a period of two weeks my mother was taken into hospital, where she passed away, and we exchanged and completed on the sale of our house, and now have a new home. To say it has been an emotional time would be an understatement, so, if I may, I’d like to share the closure of one of those chapters.

This is my mum, Sandra Glenys Hawkes, photographed at the same age as I am now, and looking stunning. She died on the 6th September, a month and a day short of her seventy second birthday, and barely a week after her fifty-fourth wedding anniversary. She’d been ill for several years, and on three separate occasions over the last four years we’d been taken into a quiet room by the doctors, and told to prepare ourselves for the worst. The worst didn’t happen on those occasions, she managed to find the strength to stay with us, and confound the doctors. This time even her fear of being in hospital wasn’t enough, and she passed away in the early hours of the morning with my brother by her side. Whilst we knew it was coming, it didn’t soften the blow.

Mum’s funeral took place less than a week later on the 12th September, and as it says on the front of this order of service, it was a celebration of her life, with memories shared, and more than a few laughs amongst the many tears shed. Everyone says it was a lovely service, and to our family it was. Warts and all, in what seemed like a few short moments, we shared and celebrated all that she’d been to us, and said goodbye.

Mum, was truly a unique person in all senses of the word. She was a petite lady, standing five feet two, she weighed no more than ninety eight pounds her whole life, except when pregnant - producing four children in five years, and all by the age of twenty three! I cannot imagine what it must have been like coping with the four of us, but she did, and she did it well. We were taught proper manners, to be respectful, not to cause a fuss unnecessarily (particularly in public), and as I’ve mentioned in a previous post, not to say anything if we had nothing nice to say. She even found time to teach me to read before I started school.  The photograph shows a new bride, a proud husband, and newly born me, Mum was nineteen and Dad twenty-three.

Like all of us, she wasn’t perfect. She had more superstitions than I can remember, and she liked to hear the local gossip, despite being a fiercely private person who didn’t like her business to be discussed outside of the house. She was frightened by many things: spiders, a gypsy’s curse, thunder, hospitals, the list was endless. She liked to hear of good things being celebrated, but would ignore bad things, refusing to acknowledge them sometimes, as though that would lessen the impact. During that last week in hospital, she was told how poorly she was, yet still she talked about coming home, and she didn’t want her sisters told she was in hospital as they would make a fuss and cry. In fact she instructed us not to tell anyone she was in hospital, or the local gossip would get hold of it, and then everyone would know. Why was this so important to her? What difference would that make? I have no idea, but it was mum being mum, and we respected her wishes.

Like many teenagers I didn’t always see eye to eye with my mother. There were more than a few arguments over nothing particularly important, (I was too worried about her reaction to break any important rules), but I argued against many of her odd convictions, with a teenager’s logic and not much patience. I redeemed myself in later years though, by producing her first grandchild; she had six grandchildren in the end, and adored every one of them, so proud of even the most minor achievement. When they teased her about her superstitions and views on the world, she would laugh with them, unless of course they tried to put an umbrella up indoors, or place new shoes on her table!

As you can imagine there have been many conversations about mum over the last few weeks, and with only a few exceptions they have ended in laughter, she always made us laugh, even though sometimes that wasn’t her intention, and when she realised we were laughing at her she would join in. My brother, Chris’s words in the family announcement were perfect: “You gave me good looks, a fear of spiders, and a sense of humour. But most of all you gave me love. I will miss you so much.”

Sandra Glenys Hawkes, never did anything earth shattering or out of the ordinary, she was simply always there, sitting at the table doing her crosswords, and leading a quiet life. But, she was loved, she is missed, and as her chapter is closed, she is remembered with smiles.

I don’t think you can do much better than that.