Louise Phillips's Blog, page 26

Dalkey Creates....Some Amazing Writing Workshops!!!

So looking forward to the Dalkey Creates Festival! Dates 13th -16th October....Sharing the days with some great writing friends....



For more details on the festival click HERE .

Crime Writing at the Irish Writers Centre!

Well folks, it all starts again on the 29th September 2016 - 10 Weeks Crime Fiction Course 6.30 - 8.30 every Thursday at the Irish Writers Centre.

For further information click HERE.....

MAKING A MURDERER CRIME FICTION with LOUISE PHILLIPS.....http://irishwriterscentre.ie/collecti...




And here are some of the motley crew from last week's Crime Writing Course at the Irish Writers Centre!!

How terrifying is it to watch the people you love fall prey......

And thanks to the super talented Arlene Hunt for her recent Amazon review of The Game Changer....



"How terrifying is it to watch the people you love fall prey to something beyond your control. How painful to watch their minds shatter, knowing that nothing you can do or say will prevent their fall? In The Game Change, Louise Phillips deftly asks us, the reader, to ponder these exact question as a powerful manipulator creates a dangerous world for the most vulnerable among our society. Dr Kate Pearson will need to have all her wits about her as she battles her own memories and her own past in order to save her future in this gripping psychological thriller."

I'm off to Phoenix Arizona!

It looks like I'll be off to Phoenix Arizona in late October for the Phoenix Sister Cities Ennis Book Festival!!

Looking forward to it with Adrienne Leavy of Reading Ireland and Joyce and Yeats scholars Brian Caraher and Gregory Castle.....

Will share more information nearer the date!

Phillips has a talent for crawling right up inside your head!!

Thank you Jim Crocker for this lovely 5 Star Goodreads Review!!


Last Kiss   

"This psychological thriller opened a door into a dark territory I haven’t visited for a long time. The characters I met there felt oddly familiar, almost like old friends. Louise Phillips has a talent for crawling right up inside your head and knocking down walls. I can’t wait to read more!"

Intensive 5 Day Crime Fiction Course at the Irish Writers Centre!

Starting 15th August 2016 - 5 days of Intensive Crime Fiction Writing at the Irish Writers Centre in Dublin......

"Since completing this course a number of Louise's students have achieved publishing deals and/or are signed with agents...."

Full Details HERE

TROUBLE IS OUR BUSINESS!!!

The diversity and quality of Irish Crime Fiction writing is in no doubt, and this new anthology TROUBLE IS OUR BUSINESS from NEW ISLAND, edited by award-winning crime writer DECLAN BURKE, will be a MUST READ!
I am really delighted to have a story within the collection. It is dark, it is dangerous and it is poignant, and I can't wait to read these new stories by Irish crime writers! Roll on September publication!!! Loving the cover too!
See details below:
Selected and edited by award-winning crime writer Declan Burke, TROUBLE IS OUR BUSINESS showcases the absolute best in Irish crime writing today. From originators like Patrick McGinley and Ruth Dudley Edwards to global crime megastars like John Connolly and Eoin Colfer, there can be no doubt as to the serious quality of Irish crime writing in the twenty-first century. An absolute must-have for crime lovers! Featuring stories by: Patrick McGinley, Ruth Dudley Edwards, Colin Bateman, Eoin McNamee, Ken Bruen, Paul Charles, Julie Parsons, John Connolly, Alan Glynn, Adrian McKinty, Arlene Hunt, Alex Barclay, Gene Kerrigan, Eoin Colfer, Declan Hughes, Cora Harrison, Brian McGilloway, Stuart Neville, Jane Casey, Niamh O'Connor,William Ryan, Louise Phillips, Sinead Crowley and Liz Nugent.
TROUBLE IS OUR BUSINESS will be published on September 30th.

CWA Dagger 2016 Shortlists Announced!!!

Walking is good for the Writing Soul....

Walking is so good for the writing soul and during two hours of it yesterday evening, I was well rewarded with beauty by the reservoir....and the dogs had a happy time too!!!

The Murky Middle!!!

I've talked a lot in the past about the murky middle of a novel. It's where you've managed to get the essentials of the story down by introducing the fictional novel world to the reader, one with an array of characters, insights and a sense (albeit full of questions) of where the story is going - AKA Act 1. 
Act 3, is the final segment of the story when I have a reasonably good idea of how it all will end, but I can change my mind at a moment's notice.
The one sandwiched in the middle, is Act 2, which I refer to as the murky middle.
It gets even murkier when you're like me and you don't plot your story. Nor, do I know what my character are going to do next. Right now, I also have a whole load of things planted in the script that may or may not have an influence on the outcome. And yes, I know, people like the wonderful Jeffrey Deaver know the whole story before they even write a single word. But alas, the process is different for everyone. 
Despite hating the murky middle, because it is at times, DIRECTIONLESS, and I have to write and rewrite myself out of many a cul-de-sac, I secretly like that some weird and often wacky surprises happen in these troubled murky waters, even if like this morning, I have conversations like this with my partner.
ME:    'I have a word count of 1,500 words to do today.'HIM:   'That's good.'ME:    'No, it isn't.'HIM:   'Why not?ME:    'Because I've no idea what I'm going to write.'HIM:   'Don't worry about that, you've been there before.'ME:    'That doesn't help. What if I can't think of anything?'HIM:   'You will.'ME:    'That doesn't help either.'
Thankfully I squeezed the 1,500 words out....so I guess he was right, but there's still tomorrow!