Louise Phillips's Blog, page 83

Writing Retreat in the Mountains!!!

Intensive Crime Writing Workshop with Louise Phillips @Carousel Creates
Saturday 20th April 2013 10.am – 5 pm – Coffee and Lunch included

                                        Essential Elements of Crime Writing Plot, character, tension and pace

Crime Scene Evaluation
Fingerprints/Fibres/DNA

Research, Research, Research!
The 'Why' and the 'How'

Getting to grips with Dialogue
Pitfalls, top tips, purpose, rhythm and shape

Social Media is here to stay
Quick introduction on getting it working for you

Pitch Perfect
Creating the perfect pitch letter
Contracts

Individual Editorial Critique
Based on 1,000 word submission
(Book HERE before March 31st to avail of Special Rate!!!) 

Launch of Emu Ink - Ireland's Newest Self Publishing Company

Emu Ink is Ireland's newest self publishing company aimed at helping authors to realise their dreams in seeing their work published in print and online, available worldwide - but there are many more elements to it and something brand new to the industry is coming your way!
All will be revealed when the Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan  officially launches Emu Ink at the Irish Writers Centre later this month.
Also speaking on the night will be Founder, Emer Cleary, Eamonn Maloney TD, myself, and 9-year-old Joe Prendergast, who will be reading an extract from his book. 
It's set to be a night to remember and one where publishing takes a new and very exciting turn.
So if you're in Dublin, then don't miss this event commencing 
@6.30 - 27th March 2012 at the Irish Writers Centre!!!

Very Atmospheric!!!

Huge thanks to, Luke Ryan -Camera, Clark Wickstone -Audio and SFX, Elizabeth Wilson -Editing, Dave Barnaville - Production Manager, and Colm O Searcoid -Graphics and Director, for producing such a brilliantly atmospheric trailer for RED RIBBONS, paperback, due to be released in May.
I love it - I hope you do too! 
Click on Image to View

And let me know what you think :-)

Alex Barclay Interview

Curse of Kings: Talking Fantasy with Alex Barclay Some might think that crime fiction writing and writing epic fantasy adventure may not be a natural fit, but when I heard that the latest Alex Barclay novel, Curse of Kings, her debut YA novel, would be launched at the National Library of Ireland last week, I couldn’t wait to catch up with this bestselling author, and also to read the first novel in ‘The Trials of Oland Born –Curse of Kings’.
READ FULL INTERVIEW HERE

The Trap - Kimberley Chambers

The Trap by Kimberley Chambers, is the first book in a hard-hitting series about murder, treachery and the kings of East London underworld, the Butlers. The Butlers play dirty and are a family highly feared within their own community. No one it seems can bring them down, until things start to unravel when one bloody night leads to a path of desperate vengeance.Vinnie and Roy Butler are the apple of their mum’s eye. Queenie knows they can play dirty but when it comes to family, the lads look after business and make her proud. Nothing gets in the way of family ties, but Vinnie, the eldest son, is the ultimate creation of damaged goods, and one way or another, everyone who crosses his path will ultimately pay some kind of price.The Trap is Kimberley Chambers eight novel. An author who has been described  as easily as good as Martina Cole by the News of the World, and this is undoubtedly a gritty, entertaining and fast paced tale, one that will have you turn page after page well into the early hours of the morning.  Kimberly Chambers has done many jobs in her life, not least of which was, a disc jockey, a cabbie, and a street trader. Having read The Trap, none of these jobs surprise me. Even though prior to her writing journey, Chambers may well have wondered how these career paths would lead her to ultimately writing gritty and authentic fiction, her narrative fills the page with such life and energy, that very little about the calibre of her tone and characters jars the reader. Those years of listening and observing have not gone to waste, they sing through her story, making the endeavor of eavesdropping, if you don’t happen to be a cabbie, a disc jockey or a street trader, one for all writers to take on board.In many ways The Trap reminded me of a brilliant soap opera, and with 500+ pages, you get a lot of story for your buck, and one could easily see this as a televised drama series.Having grown up in less than lucrative beginnings myself, and despite Dublin being very different to the East End of London, I found many parallels to people I remembered from childhood. The characters simply lift off the page in this novel. The strong family ties, often delivered with a hard hand, the warped sense of justice, the black humour, the blatant contradictions, love interwoven with hate, fear side by side with innocence and ignorance, naivety, greed, all unraveling deliciously with Queenie Butler, as the matriarch, her sister Vivien the icing on the cake, and evil son Vinnie, your worth nightmare.The novel opens in the mid-sixties, working its way to the summer of 1976, laced with music, fashion and cultural references, which give a good background for the story unfolding.There were some elements of the novel that I would have issue with, parts of the dialogue were excessively lengthy, and far too many, ‘he said, she said, he lied’ etc. I was particularly perturbed by the killing off a character I was quite fond of in less than four lines, and other elements I would have questioned, but overall, it’s a mighty entertaining read, the negatives almost brushed aside by the sum of the parts, Chambers delivering in turn page style, and  that folks is good enough for me.
For more reviews and articles visit Crime Scene at www.writing.ie   HERE

At long last some sunshine!!!

There are many reasons why we love Spring - new beginnings, that wonderful fresh start, the budding of spring flowers, longer days, the hope of a wonderful summer to come! Add to that, the joy of walking! I went on my first mountain walk this Spring, one of hopefully many more to come. We've had enough rain already to last a whole year, time for some clear skies, or even dry ones!!!!

Piperstown 2013