Sarah Painter's Blog, page 14

I’m back!

Since my last post I’ve been to the circus (this one - highly recommended), been ‘down south’ to visit my in-laws and play catch-up with lots of friends (also highly recommended – thanks again, all!), but mainly I’ve been working very hard to finish the new book.

The deadline was yesterday and I just made it… It’s far more ‘first drafty’ than I would like (and I really hope my editor isn’t too horrified), but I’d definitely hit the wall…. You know that point when your brain is scooped out and if you keep writing you’ll end up with ‘all work and no play’ repeated over and over again a la The Shining?

Still, now I can let the book ‘rest’ before the real work (rewriting) begins…

I’m still brain-fried today, so in lieu of my usual words of wisdom (ha!), please rest your eyes on this picture from our family holiday on the west coast of Scotland. This was on a beautiful day during the UK’s much-discussed heatwave. Just look at the crowds…

Friday Five: The Summer Holiday Edition

I had planned to show you pretty pictures from my holiday last week. Yes, my writing cave was situated on the west coast of Scotland, surrounded by breathtaking scenery and beautiful (and beautifully quiet) beaches. *

However, technology is thwarting me today. Maybe next week?

Of course, as soon as I returned to the land of Wi-Fi, I immediately read the internet. All of it. Here are some carefully selected links so you don’t have to…

1. I love it when author Laini Taylor talks about the craft or practicalities of writing – she’s always eloquent and inspiring. This piece on Writers With Kids and what that means day-to-day is a little bit humbling (man, some people work really freaking hard), but it’s also comforting to know that many other folk are trying/struggling to fit creative work around family life.

2. Another of my must-reads is Chuck Wendig. His writing advice is profane, profound and very funny. This piece: So You Just Had Your Book Published really resonated with me. I wonder why?

3. YA author Karen Mahoney is running another of her supportive writing challenges on her blog during August. If you’ve got a writing goal in mind and want to join a group for cheer-leading and support, head over here to sign up.

4. I just discovered Thug Kitchen. It’s not safe for anyone who is offended by swearing, but those who like their vegetarian recipes yelled at them in an amusingly offensive way, click away. Plus, the food sounds really good. I’m planning to try these smokey bean and spinach burgers ASAP.

5. You guys know the insanely-talented  Hyperbole and a Half  (Allie Brosh), right?  Well, she has a book coming out. Hurrah! Pre-order it here.

* Don’t worry, I took my family to the cave (AKA holiday cottage), too. I’m not that mean.

Yours Is Mine Blog Tour: Guest Post from Amy Bird

I’m back! I’m out of the writing cave just in time to introduce you to playwright and fellow Carina author, Amy Bird.

Yours Is Mine is Amy’s debut. It’s a psychological thriller and is out now.

Take it away, Amy…

Who would you magically exchange identities with?

In her best-selling debut, my lovely host Sarah has brought some magic into our lives.

In my debut, just released, I’m exploring what it would mean to exchange identities with someone. No magic, just the stark reality of North London.

But what if you could use a little bit of magic to exchange identities with anyone you wanted? Actually become them? I guess for a start, you’d have to know you were them – otherwise it wouldn’t be worth doing.

If I suddenly looked like Scarlett Johansson, or had Gwyneth Paltrow’s physique, I would want to know about that and internally gloat – particularly as a magic swap would be a much more fun way than gruelling daily workouts to achieve Gwyneth’s frame.

And sure, it would be great to inhabit J.K. Rowling’s life, without having to be the one for whom Harry Potter strolled into existence. But again, I’d want to know it was me, in there.

Because that’s the thing: it can be easy to think ‘Oh, I’d change places with someone more beautiful, fit or successful than myself in an instant.’ But where would ‘you’ go? What would become of all those projects and plans, all the friendships and unique inner monologue you’d built up over the years? Your life, your self?

In Yours is Mine, my protagonist Kate gladly accepts the opportunity to exchange identities with another woman, Anna, on the basis that they will masquerade as each other for three months. Kate, recently bereaved by the death of her father and lonely following the departure of her military husband, thinks this will be a chance to get her spark back.

She relishes living in Anna’s North London flat, enjoys impersonating Anna on her on-line dating sites, and has fun taking an acting class in Anna’s name. But throughout it all, the aim is to go back to her own life at the end of it. Imagine the shock when Anna has other plans.

So for me, although I’ll happily keep eating carbs on the basis that I might suddenly find enough magic to become Gwyneth (any excuse), I think I’ll politely decline the idea of a magical life exchange for now. Or even a non-magical one. For all we really mean when we say ‘I’d give anything to be ‘so and so’’ is that we would like to be a prettier, thinner, or more successful version of ourselves. We don’t want to lose the identity that we hold dear, or the projects that make us who we are.

To be fair to Kate in Yours is Mine, she knows that – she is just hoping that agreeing to impersonate Anna for a bit will mean that when she, Kate, steps back into her own life she will return a refreshed, happier version of herself. But in making the pact with Anna, she puts all that at risk.

If Kate had a wand, or the skill of ‘Finding’ that Sarah’s characters have, maybe she’d be alright. But she doesn’t. So all she can do is fight to get back what’s hers – and hope that’s enough.

Yours is Mine is available now from Carina UK, Amazon, Kobo and iBooks.

You can follow Amy’s progress at www.amybirdwrites.com, on twitter and facebook.

On her last blog tour stop, here on 7 August, Amy will be doing a giveaway of a MIRA goodiebag, filled with some great titles from that Harlequin imprint. So be sure to catch her there!

Thanks so much, Amy!

In which I leave…

… But just for a little while!

I’m heading into the writing cave for a week and I won’t be online very much.

I need to get some serious work done on the follow up to The Language of Spells. Serious work.

It’s very important that I finish the book so that I have some free time to visit the Scottish Owl Centre and see this gorgeous Ural owl.

And hit my deadline, obviously. Ah-hem.

Hope you all have a fabulous week!

[Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos]

My book is a Kindle Daily Deal!

You guys! The Language of Spells is the (romance) Kindle Daily Deal! Meep!

I’m so delighted and really hope the bargain price tempts a few people to take a chance on an unknown debut author.

Perhaps you – yes you – have been hovering over the ‘buy now’ button? Maybe this one-day-only low price is the push you need… Go on! It’s only 99p!

Ah-hem.

Thank you to my lovely publisher and, of course, Amazon.

Hooray!

[Photo credit: Keris Stainton. Look how well my book goes with a glass of wine... Did I mention it's only 99p today?]

In which I am grateful: What a month!

On Sunday, my book will have been out in the world for one month.

I’ve gone from being incredibly nervous, to being elated, stressed, joyful, tired, back to nervous, and then elated again.

Bearing in mind that I’m an anxious sort of person, I’m pleased with how I’ve coped and how much I’ve enjoyed it. It helps, of course, that my reviews have been positive beyond my wildest dreams! I know that the inevitable bad review will happen, but at least I now have a cushion of praise to hold in front of my face and soften the blow.

I’d been warned that a book release – whether digital or print – is always a kind of anticlimax for the writer (nothing, after all, can compare to the years of working, wondering, hoping and dreaming of publication), so I was prepared for that.

I was also prepared to feel terrified, exposed or ignored.

I wasn’t, I’ll be honest, prepared for the overwhelming amount of support and kindness; the nice comments, the amazing reviews, the pats on the back.

Thank you. Seriously, everybody who has bought the book, reviewed it, commented, sent me nice emails, messages, cards and tweets – thank you.

Writing, writing, writing… And drinking tea

This is me and tea in my writing shed… I really must get a kettle in here. Or a butler.

It’s fingers to keyboard, here, and will be for the next six weeks as the deadline for the follow up to The Language of Spells looms.

In other news, my writing column this week is about Chasing Silence.

Scrivener Love

Well, I’ve been using Scrivener in earnest for about a week now and I love it.

All the things that I like to do when writing (write scraps of scenes out of order, set word count targets, move scenes around, keep multiple versions of the same WIP) are super-easy to do. There are loads of other things that I’m not really using at the moment (the ability to tag chunks of text with ‘meta data’ such as POV character, for example) but I’m sure I will eventually…

To be honest, I’d probably pay for this software just for the brilliant ‘full-screen mode’. I love seeing just my page of typing, with the rest of the screen faded out – it really helps me to focus.

Plus, Literature and Latte (the developers) are offering 20% off Scrivener until the 14th June. So if you’ve been hesitating over buying it, today would be a good day to make the decision!

In which I am hasty

Just a quick post today, as I’m determined to up the word count on my WIP and if I have any spare time I’m going to re-read The Crow Road in honour of the great Iain Banks.

It’s the last stop on my blog tour and I’m with fellow Carina author, Katlyn Duncan, giving a mini-tour of my writing room.

My writing column at Novelicious this week gives a brief overview of the classic three act structure for novels and screenplays.

The always-brilliant Keris Stainton has written about her writing process here.

Neil Gaiman is as thoughtful, kind and truthful as always in his post on the loss of Iain Banks.

We have a winner!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered my giveaway – I wish I had a Nook Touch for every single one of you!

However, Random Number Generator has spoken, and the winner is

Tamalyn Roberts.

Congratulations!

I’m planning many more giveaways over the next couple of months, so do consider following the blog or my Facebook page/Twitter account.

Cheers!