Sarah Painter's Blog, page 6

Starting A New Book: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Hello, my lovelies!

I had such grand plans for October.

I was going to finish the second draft of my supernatural/fantasy book and send it to my agent. I was going to start the first draft of a new book. I was going to update this blog regularly, take a week off with my family, sort out some DIY tasks, and, in all likelihood, solve the global warming crisis at the same time. In other words, I succumbed to the ‘do all the things’ trap. My perfectionist side likes to do this every so often – it piles on the pressure and watches the inevitable meltdown with a giant carton of popcorn. Sigh.

This was probably a result of finishing the old book completely and finally (copy edits done!) and not having started the new one. After a few weeks of panic (I’ll never have another idea! I’ll never finish another book! The others were flukes!) I settled back to work. And nothing happened. Even if I managed to write, it came out stilted and weird.

First I bullied myself (‘you must write 2000 words today or else’) and my brain froze and refused to work at all. Then I took a week off to read and watch films and walk and think and, by the end, my creative mind was beginning to wake up and send me little snippets.

Today, I finally seem to be in the zone. I have a couple of characters I adore and a ‘feeling’ which, for me, is the most important part. The relief is enormous!

In other news, it appears to be the end of October. If you’re doing NaNoWriMo this year, I wish you lots of luck (and words – lots and lots of words!). I won’t be taking part officially, but I will be trying to write as much as possible on my first draft. I’ll aim for 30,000 and will check in here throughout the month. Do feel free to set any goals in the comments, so that we support each other during November!

Finally, if you haven’t tried my free podcast, yet; do consider checking out the latest interview with Joanna Penn (from The Creative Penn). If you need inspiration to get more productive or to follow your writing dreams, Joanna’s energy and enthusiasm may be just what you need.

Episode #08: The Worried Writer: Joanna Penn ‘I Measure My Life by What I Create’ 

Alternatively, if you’re struggling with getting words down at all and are in a writing slump, this post may help: The Only Way To Defeat A Bad Writing Day

I Have A Book Title! Meep!

Zelda is successfully hiding her excitement at my new title…

Hello my lovelies! Hope you are all well, and I apologise in advance for the number of exclamation marks in the following post.

I’m very excited to announce that my new novel has a title* (courtesy of my wonderful editor at Lake Union) and a release date. Yes, it’s up for pre-order Right Now. No cover art, yet, but I have been told it’s being designed AS I TYPE THIS. (Sorry, forgot to warn you about the all-capitals-shouting, too. SORRY – TOO EXCITED.)

So, without further ado, my next book is called:

In The Light of What We See

And it will be published on 8th March 2016. Meep!

In other news, I’ve put together a little behind-the-scenes freebie for those of you who enjoyed reading about the Harper family in The Language of Spells, The Secrets of Ghosts and The Garden of Magic (or for people who just like free recipes).

Head here to grab your copy.

It features a lovely photograph of Iris’s journal, created by my amazing in-house production team (AKA My Mum and Dad – thank you!).

Also, if you’re interested in writing, but need some help in getting started, check out my latest article on The Worried Writer: How To Build a Writing Habit The Easy Way

 

*Listeners of my podcast, The Worried Writer, may be confused. You might be thinking ‘but Sarah told us the title in the last episode’. Apologies! It changed. I hope you like the new one!

 

 

Quick Update and Creative Thinking for Beginners

Hello, my lovelies. How are you all?

Thought I would swing by and say ‘hello’ and let you know that I’m still alive and typing…

Work and life has run away with me slightly recently but I hope to get into a more regular blogging routine soon. Please let me know if there is anything you’d like to see more (or less!) of on this site and feel free to send me questions. I love questions!

I did put up an article on The Worried Writer today, though. If you’re at all interested in developing your creative process, do check it out.

Also, I’ll leave you with the beautiful fairytale-inspired artwork of Jackie Morris in this Guardian article. Enjoy!

[The image is from a set of Jackie Morris notecards. Art for the cash-strapped!]

Behind the scenes in The Garden of Magic and an interview

First off, a huge thank you to everyone who has bought, reviewed, or spread the word about The Garden of Magic. I am so grateful. The truth is, without reader support I don’t get to do this, so THANK YOU!

I snapped this house (while on holiday in Wiltshire) as it’s just the way I pictured Jon’s house in Pendleford.

If you wish to peek behind the scenes for some of my inspiration for The Garden of Magic, you might like this book board on Pinterest.

The very beautiful Bradford-On-Avon was my model for Pendleford, and you can read more about how I chose the setting here.

In other news, there’s an interview with me in the latest episode of the Joined Up Writing Podcast. It’s my first time as a guest and I was, predictably enough, super-nervous. Wayne and Leah (the hosts) were great, though, and we had a lovely chat.

Finally, a quick squeak of excitement:

The Language of Spells was in the Kindle Daily Deal on Friday and it got to number two in the romantic comedy chart and number 22 overall on Amazon UK! Meep!

Right. That’s enough trumpet-blowing. As you were…

 

 

 

 

 

The Garden of Magic Publication Day. Huzzah!

Meep! The Garden of Magic, a novella-length prequel to The Language of Spells, is out today! You can order it from Amazon and Kobo for just 99p.

(iBooks and Nook links are coming soon.) Here’s the blurb:

Iris Harper has lived in Pendleford for decades. The local witch is mistrusted by the townsfolk, but that doesn’t stop them from coming to her for potions, spells, and quick fixes. However, time has marched on, and Iris is aware that her days are beginning to fade. Her sumptuous garden is turning against her, the sweet scent of rot potent, and now a young girl has come begging for a solution at her door. The problem she brings causes Iris to remember a man from long ago – a man she loved, the man she could never trust…

 

I had lots of fun writing it and I really hope you like it. If you do decide to check it out (thank you!), I’d really appreciate a quick review – they are so important.

And here’s a handy link so that you can add it to your shelf on GoodReads. You know, if you want…

For my part, I shall celebrate publication day by working on my book edits in my pyjamas. Maybe with occasional regular breaks to check my Amazon ranking.

Happy Friday, all!

New book deal, new hat…

See explanation below…

As you all probably know, the path to getting a book from imagination to publication is not an easy (or short) one. I’ve had the idea for this particular book knocking around in my head for years, but I didn’t feel I was ‘good enough’ to write it. Then I realised that I was never going to feel good enough, so I may as well try…

I worked on it during my MLitt a few years ago and then put it to one side. I came back to it in 2013 and finished a draft in 2014. Then I worked on revisions and rewrites with Agent Fabulous and went on submission earlier this year.

Which is when the fun really started…

There’s a lot of waiting in this game, but there is something especially torturous about the publisher-submission stage. I think it’s because you know you’re at the end of the road. The book has been accepted by your agent (or has landed you one), it’s been edited and rewritten until it feels, truly, like the best you could possibly make it, and then you’re going to get a final ‘yes’ or ‘no’ from publishers you have spent years dreaming about…

During the couple of months of nail-biting and compulsively refreshing my email inbox, I saw a lovely grey felt top hat in Edinburgh. Now, I’ve always had a soft spot for top hats. When I was a kid I used to dress up (a lot) and one of my favourite ‘creations’ was a chalk white face, dark circles drawn under my eyes and a black silk topper. True, if worrying, story.

Anyway, there was no earthly reason for me to buy a top hat. I am a 38-year-old mother of two. I no longer dress up. I live in my pyjama bottoms and occasionally scare the postie with my unkempt feral-writer look.

But my heart wanted the hat. At home, back in front of my inbox hitting ‘refresh’ like a deranged participant in a psychology experiment, I said to Lovely Husband: ‘If I get a deal for this book, can I buy a top hat?’

This is, by far, one of the less odd things I’ve said to him over the years and he didn’t bat an eyelid: ‘Of course, darling.’

Which is a very long way of explaining the picture above. I have a new book contract! My next novel is being published by Lake Union early next year in paperback, ebook and audio editions. Meeeeeeeeeep!

It’s a dual-narrative story set in a hospital in Brighton, with one strand in the present day and one in 1938. It’s part historical, part psychological thriller and the acquisitions editor at Lake Union described it as ‘The Amber Keeper meets Before I Go To Sleep‘.

This book is very close to my heart and I’m beyond thrilled that it’s found a publishing home. Thank you for reading and I look forward to tell you more about it soon!

[Image credit: My Amazing Daughter]

Holiday fun and novella news

Well, I’m FINALLY allowed to tell you all that I have a new book coming out. Yay!

It’s just a short one (a novella, in fact) and is a prequel to The Language of Spells. It’s called The Garden of Magic and I believe it’s out next month (I will let you know exact date when I am given it).

I’ve had quite a few messages from readers (thank you!) asking for more from Iris Harper (who we get to know through her journals in The Language of Spells) so when Carina asked me to write a novella, I thought it would be fun to get to know her better. I really hope you like it!

In other news, I took a week off. Yes, a whole week with no editing, no writing and precious little internet time (how did I cope?!).

Truth be told, I was feeling a little frayed around the edges before the holiday, and I feel so much better for the break. We did lots of lovely family stuff, including a hill walk in the beautiful Glen Clova, a visit to these fine silver beasts, and a roller disco. Yes, you read that right; I donned wrist guards (the caution of age) and some bad-ass black rollerboots and whizzed around a darkened hall for a happy couple of hours. It was brilliant!

The Kelpies against a grey sky – it’s summer here, honest.

I hope you are having a good summer and, as always, thank you for reading!

Wait… What happened to June?

Goodness, where did that month go?!

In Scotland the schools break up at the beginning of July so it has been a whirlwind of end-of-term activities (including a school awards evening for my daughter and an emotional last-day-of-primary for my son) and a race-to-finish as much work as possible before the summer holiday.

I will, of course, still be working throughout the six weeks, but I’m planning to move at a slightly slower pace and to allow time for impromptu days out and fun activities. I’m also taking a complete break next week as my lovely husband is on holiday and I can’t wait!

I’m also looking forward to catching up on my reading. I brought this haul home from the library (and my parents’s bookshelves) the other day. Yay!

In other news, Episode 5 of The Worried Writer podcast is up. It features an interview with fellow Carina author, Annie Lyons, and we talk about writing routines, dealing with criticism, pre-publication nerves and comfort blankets. Hope you like it!

Wrestling with the WIP, the passage of time, and leaving the house

A sneak preview of my fall fashion collection

Hello, my lovelies – how are you all?

I promised myself that I would update the blog today, but I’m feeling pretty scattered and dragging my thoughts into a cohesive post feels impossible. Have some brain vomit, instead! (Apologies.)

As the title explains, I am struggling with draft two of the WIP. It’s the stage at which I wish – fervently – that I planned my books, and that my first drafts weren’t craptastic brain-dumps.

However, I do know (from past experience) that the only way to feel better (about this book or anything at all in my life) is to write, write, write. Just keep going. On and through.

I’m also feeling distracted and emotional, as my youngest is coming to the end of his primary school years. He’s visiting the local high school today and, after the summer, will be there All The Time. No more lovely primary with its polo shirts and school fetes and playing tig at lunchtime. No more school runs (well, walks) during which he sets me maths problems I can’t answer, and we discuss our mutual love for The Avengers and Groot.

This, naturally enough, leads to depressing thoughts about the passage of time. My children are growing up so quickly and, no matter how intently I insist that they desist, the moments keep slipping past.

More practically speaking, there’s the danger that I will go entirely feral without the civilising need to leave the house twice a day. My children will come home at four o’clock to find me in my ratty old dressing gown muttering and twitching over a typewriter like Grady Tripp in The Wonder Boys.

So, there’s that to look forward to, at least…

Friday Five: The Feeble Edition

Argh! It’s the end of the week, already!

I’ve been feeling very overwhelmed and feeble this week, so this Friday Five is all about trying to combat that.

1. New knitting project. Knitting is definitely good for stress-relief and the repetitive action helps me to think through story ideas, too.

This owl pattern and yarn combination is super-cute, but the yarn itself is making me cross-eyed. I’m getting used to it, though, and the pattern is nice and simple, which is what I need at the moment!

 

 

2. I’ve been giving myself plenty of reading time (as I know that will help me to ‘refill the creative well’, as well as being an enjoyable escape from my own head) and I really enjoyed The Lie by C.L. Taylor and Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig.

3. Easing out the post-deadline kinks with some yoga. I’ve been saying ‘I must do some yoga, it’ll do me good’ for so long, that I (finally) got sick of myself and actually did some. Hurrah. I’ve been following the 30 Days of Yoga on the  ‘Yoga With Adriene’ channel on YouTube and I really like her down-to-earth, approach.

4. I don’t think I have a number four, unless you count walking lots and listening to podcasts.  Oh, I know! I’ve been listening to Amanda Palmer’s The Art of Asking: How I learned to stop worrying and let people help
audio book and it’s really good.

5. There is no number five, either. Feeble, see?

 

 

Quick reminder! If you want to be in with a chance of winning one of two signed copies of The Language of Spells, sign up for my mailing list here and I’ll put your name in the hat!