Pete Sutton's Blog, page 5

Guest Post: Alison Morton

A ‘Roman nut’ since age 11, Alison misspent decades clambering over Roman sites throughout Europe. Fascinated by the breathtaking mosaics at Ampurias in Spain and the engineering brilliance of the Pont du Gard in France, she was curious about the role of women in the complex, powerful and value-driven Roman civilisation. That started her wondering what a modern Roman society would be like if run by strong women…

Now, she lives in France with her husband and writes Roman-themed alternate history thrillers with tough heroines.

Tell us about your book

AURELIA is a thriller – a woman battling her lifelong nemesis and not sure she can win. But it’s also a ‘what if’ story set in 1960s in south central Europe where a tiny part of the Roman Empire has survived into the 20th century.

Ex-Praetorian officer Aurelia Mitela must discover who is manipulating the silver smuggling destroying the economy of her beloved Roma Nova. Who set a lethal trap for her in Berlin? One person fits the bill perfectly, but can she catch him before he kills her?

A former military commander, Aurelia is one of her country’s strong women, but she doubts in her heart and mind that she can overcome her clever and implacable enemy, Caius Tellus. And exactly who is the mysterious and attractive Miklós – a smuggler who knows too much?

AURELIA is the first in a strand of four within the Roma Nova series; the others are NEXUS, INSURRECTIO and RETALIO. The Historical Novel Society selected it as one of four finalists in its last annual Indie Award.

Aurelia is the book of my heart; I became so fascinated by her role as my first heroine’s grandmother that I wanted to find out about her as a younger woman, especially her political rivalry and strange personal relationship with her lifelong nemesis, Caius.

Meet Aurelia Mitela – warrior, diplomat, spy: https://alison-morton.com/2019/05/16/meet-aurelia-mitela-warrior-diplomat-spy/

If you could be a character in your book who would you be and why?

I’d like to think I’d be Aurelia herself as she has characteristics I admire – courage, a strong moral sense, persistence, passion and an ability to admit her failures – but I’m not sure I’d be up to it.

What did you learn about writing by writing this book?

That research is crucial, especially as you need a firm basis before leaping into the void of an alternative timeline.  Also, you can have enormous fun stretching your writing imagination at the same time as keeping up a (reasonably) coherent narrative.

Do you have a set writing process, if so what is it?

*Collapses on floor, laughing* I sort of have one: write in the morning after checking urgent emails such as the electricity provider threatening to cut off the electricity, a prince offering £250,00 if he can pay £3.50 into my bank account or the dentist nagging me about my massively overdue check-up. Sometimes I do some sentences in the evening.

What’s one question you think would be really fun to answer, but has never been asked of you?

What would I really love to do but haven’t dared?

What made you choose to write your book as an alternative history thriller?

An obsession with the Romans, a desire to feature a strong heroine with military connections, an opportunity to explore the ‘what if ‘of at least a part of the Roman Empire surviving, and an adventure in which gender roles were switched.

Oh, and I’d just read one of the most famous alternative history thrillers, Fatherland by Robert Harris. So, I thought, you could set history off on another path…

Lightbulb moment

How much research did you do before writing the book and how did you go about it?

Although I was writing in an imaginary place in an alternative timeline, research of Rome in 395 CE, near the dusk of Empire, was vital. It was the jumping off point, the place where the Roma Nova timeline split from our one and the point of origin for the imagined backstory to Aurelia’s 20th century adventure.

As my society kept its Roman structures, values and robust attitude, knowing them in depth was essential. Perhaps it helped that I hold an MA in history and am a Roman nut.

Do you remember the first story you told? What was it?

Aged eight, I was the princess and I fought dragons daily and punished unfairness. Obviously, this has no relation at all to the themes in my current writing…

What are you reading? Who do you think we should be reading (apart from you!)?

Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, first published first in 1915. I have no idea why I hadn’t read it before. It’s written in a dated style, but the prose is very clear and precise. Everybody interested in gender roles in society should read it. It’s very sobering when you think that in 2021 we haven’t progressed that much further on from 1915. Actually, everybody should read it.

I’ve just read Elizabeth de Waal’s The Exiles Return published by Persephone Books. It’s an accomplished account of three separate but interlinked characters who ‘return’ to Austria after the Second World War. Forget the stereotypes. De Waal effortlessly makes us believe the complexities, sadness, displacement and steadfast joys of their new lives. A beautiful book.

In one sentence what’s your best piece of advice for writers?

Keep writing your story to the end – don’t stop to edit – then only when you’ve finished that first draft, go back and revise it by searching out plot holes, checking research and polishing each sentence.

Social media links

Connect with Alison on her thriller site: https://alison-morton.com

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AlisonMortonAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alison_morton    @alison_morton

Alison’s writing blog: https://alisonmortonauthor.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alisonmortonauthor/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5783095.Alison_Morton
Alison’s Amazon page: http://Author.to/AlisonMortonAmazon

Newsletter sign-up: http://eepurl.com/ckNeFL

Books2Read: https://books2read.com/AURELIARomaNova

Paperback: https://myBook.to/AURELIA   

Amazon/Kindle: https://myBook.to/AURELIA_Kindle

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/aurelia/id1378216297

Kobo:  https://store.kobobooks.com/ebook/aurelia-30

B&N Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/aurelia-alison-morton/1121827041?ean=2940151557450

AURELIA video trailer: https://youtu.be/SUMU901AodM

AURELIA is published by Pulcheria Press
Ebook: ISBN 9791097310073
Paperback: ISBN: 9791097310165
Audiobook published by Audible Studios  B01JPL2S18

News

I’ve been a bit remiss in updating the blog as things have been a little busy this year. But I have news.

The Museum for Forgetting – my new short story collection was published on the 1st September and is available to order from all good bookshops or, if you must, Amazon. If you buy and read a copy please do leave me a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads – word of mouth is where it’s at for small press published authors like me.

I’ve also been working on some TTRPG editing for EN Publishing on their Judge Dredd line and Judge Child is out now with Apocalypse War coming soon. I enjoyed working on these as I was a subscriber to 2000AD when these stories were published (which dates me I guess.) I hope to work on more titles in the range in the future – I think Judge Death is the next supplement.

I am writing a novel for Red Scar tentatively titled Devil’s Run: Casino Battle Royale (you heard it here first) in their Devil’s Run world which is a bit Mad Max, a bit Car Wars and a bit Z Nation but all its own crazy thing. Having a lot of fun with it but the deadline is now pressing…

I will be appearing at FantasyCon this year on a couple of panels, a reading and a launch for Museum for Forgetting. I’ll also be at BristolCon. A bit nervous to be going to conventions right now tbh…

In a couple of weeks I’ll be at Milford SF for my first week-long writing retreat. I’ll blog about my experience once I’m back.

Guest Post Tiffani Angus

Tiffani Angus is shortlisted for the Best Fantasy Novel AND Best Newcomer in the British Fantasy Awards so I was stoked that she agreed to answer a few questions about the book.

Tell us about your book (what’s the sales pitch?)

Threading the Labyrinth is about 400 years in a haunted English garden; basically, it’s Tom’s Midnight Garden or The Children of Green Knowe, but for adults. American Toni has inherited the remains of an English estate, and as she discovers the secrets of its past the garden comes alive, telling the stories of its workers over the centuries. It’s got stories set in the 1620s, 1770s, 1860s, 1940s and 2010, mainly from the point of view of the women who work in the garden rather than the landowners.

If you could be a character in the book who would you be and why?

There’s a question no one has ever asked—and one I have never considered! I think I’d be Mary Hill from the 1860s, because in the story she’s a female photographer in the early days of the art, she discovers something extraordinary about the garden, and I’d love to be able to do the processes she does. Then again, I am closest to Toni, the American, even though I didn’t realise it until I was pretty much finished with the book! I think our writer brains get so involved in the stories that they keep us from making embarrassing connections to real life.

What did you learn about writing by writing this book?

I think writers have to learn how to write every time they sit down with a new story or novel idea. This one, though, taught me about structure. When I first finished it—it was part of my PhD dissertation—it was structured differently, which worked fine for the viva. But for publishing in today’s market, it had to work for a wide audience, and so I took the 2010 section out of the end and made it the frame story and then inserted the other four sections, out of chronological order, in between 2010 scenes. It’s disordered, but it makes sense now narratively. And that’s something that I am dealing with on the current WIP, how to structure parallel narratives that are separated by space though not necessarily time while also inserting these small epistolary bits of an outside ‘guidebook’.

Do you have a set writing process, if so what is it?

No. I don’t have a write-every-day ethic and my day job (I teach creative writing and publishing at university) means that I’m wiped out from talking about writing to get much of my own writing done for weeks or months at a time. When I sit to write something, I sometimes start from an image. I get these images out of nowhere, often right before I fall asleep, and writing helps me figure out what they mean. I tend to write in sprints, say over a 3-day weekend if I have nothing planned, no distractions or interruptions, and a full fridge!

What’s one question you think would be really fun to answer, but has never been asked of you?

Hmmm… you ask the best questions! I’ve answered a bunch of questions about the gardens I visited and about the research I did, but no one has ever really asked me much about the weirdest or most unexpected things I discovered during my research. A few things that come to mind: in the 16th and 17th centuries people thought that when trees got sick it was because their humours weren’t in balance, the same way that medicine at the time thought humans had humours; that hummingbirds don’t exist in the UK (there is one in the book, and, yes, I knew at the time they didn’t exist here, so it’s *on purpose*); that the term ‘plus’ wasn’t used in the 19th century the way we use it, which set me on the path of checking pretty much every word from each of the time periods in an etymology dictionary so that I could get the vocabulary right.

What made you choose to write your book as a historical fantasy?

The book is historical fantasy, with a mix of elements that I love. I’ve always loved spooky books that contain supernatural elements that aren’t explainable, time travel and time slips, and multi-generational novels, where we get to follow a family’s children and grandchildren as history proceeds around them. In Threading, the garden basically holds on to time, leading to some weird moments for the characters who see and hear people from the past and the future, and there are tentative family connections through the centuries, mostly unknown to all but the reader. I also like to take real history and tweak it a bit, so there are characters in the book based on real people.

How much research did you do before writing the book and how did you go about it?

Ridiculous amounts. Because it was my PhD, I spent 4 years doing ‘field studies’ in historical gardens all over England and going to museums and exhibits (Imperial War Museum, Garden Museum, the V&A, etc.) and sitting in the British Library rare book room looking at books from the 16th and 17th centuries. I looked into everything from William Morris designs to Land Girls uniforms to 18th-century animatronics. I basically just absorbed as much as humanly possible. There were some things, however, that I left alone and just ‘handwaved’ in the book; for example, there is a spot where I actually typed in [insert ship battle with here] but, when it came time to do edits, I found a way around things and kept my focus on the main character of the scene because I honestly didn’t want to go down the maritime war bunnyhole!

Do you remember the first story you told? What was it?

No, but my mom says that when I was 4 I had an invisible friend named Dixie Buttercup who lived under the fridge. That’s got to be my first story!

What are you reading? Who do you think we should be reading (apart from you!)?

I tend to read more than one book at a time. And I wonder why it takes me so long sometimes to finish anything! Right now I’m reading Cassie Alexander’s Year of the Nurse (all about what US nurses went through during the 2020 covid pandemic); Suyi Davies Okungbowa’s David Mogo, Godhunter (he was at Milford with me a few years back and was amazing, and this book is such fun); I just started Matthew Salesses’s Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping to see what it can teach me about improving how I run workshops in my writing classes; and I also just started Kylie Whitehead’s Absorbed, a very weird book about a woman who, well, absorbs her boyfriend and then starts experiencing changes. My TBR pile is ridiculous, but I can’t seem to stop buying new books, both physical and ebook.

In one sentence what’s your best piece of advice for writers?

Finish things, even if it’s garbage, because you can edit shit on a page but not shit in your head.

If that has whetted your appetite follow Tifani on Social Media and buy her book – links:

website: http://www.tiffani-angus.com/

Twitter: @tiffaniangus

Instagram: doc_tiff

Sales links:

Unsung: http://www.unsungstories.co.uk/threading-the-labyrinth-by-tiffani-angus

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Threading-Labyrinth-Tiffani-Angus/dp/1912658097/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=tiffani+angus&qid=1581095077&sr=8-1

Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/threading-the-labyrinth/tiffani-angus//9781912658091

Also available at Amazon US, Blackwell’s, and Book Depository (free worldwide shipping)

Cover Reveal -The Museum for Forgetting

Very happy to reveal the cover to my next published book – The Museum for Forgetting – a collection of my short stories from the last few years. The collection is loosely themed around the subject of memory and includes some previously published work as well as some written specifically for this book. There’s an introduction from Aliya Whitely and some authors have said nice things (the fully finished cover has quotes from Stark Holborn and Dan Coxon)

Here’s the blurb to whet your appetite:

“We are made from memories, they are stories we tell ourselves to build our personalities. So what does it mean to forget?
A collection of eleven tales about memory and its fallibility. About hauntology, the weird, and the eerie.

Museum Doyens try to hold out against ever-increasing painful cuts in funding. Detectives go through the motions and hope to suppress the bitter past. Cultists keep an angel captive and raid its memories. A grieving mother is forced to confront her past. A lonely man tries to forget and in forgetting cannot remember why. An elderly man tries everything in his power to keep the past alive. Stories of loss and regret recur in worlds painted in sepia.
A collection from the author of A Tiding of Magpies, Sick City Syndrome and Seven Deadly Swords bringing together thematically linked previously published stories with some written especially for this collection. Once read it cannot be forgotten!”

The book will very soon be open for pre-orders, and I’ll definitely be shouting about that and I’ll have a number of review copies to give away (contact me if you want one)

Guest Blog: Dolly Garland – The Artist’s Way

The Artist’s Way for Writers

Photo by Dolly Garland

The Artist’s Way is a well-known creativity book by Julia Cameron. If you are interested in any form of creative practice you’ve probably heard of it. Or, you might have heard of one of its most famous concepts: the morning pages.

I had been familiar with morning pages for years and did them on and off. But a few months ago, I finally started doing morning pages properly, and that eventually led me to do the whole 12 weeks of the Artist’s Way.

I highly recommend this course – I say course because it’s not the sort of book you just read. It’s the sort of book you work through. It is very much based on the format of the 12-step programme of Alcoholic Anonymous which Julia Cameron went through. Don’t let that put you off. There is also a fair amount of “God”. Don’t let that put you off either. If you can get past the minor niggles, this book truly has the potential to if not change your life, then at least remove the blockers you may be suffering from. There is a reason it’s been selling for decades.

However, I’ve some caveats, which I will explain below in my 4 main takeaways from this book:

Timing matters

This course is for everyone, but it’s not for everyone at all times. If you are in a pretty good place mentally, feel in control, or have a full creative mojo running, this won’t help you, and may feel like an annoying waste of time. That’s okay. There is nothing wrong with this book. It’s meant to help people who feel a little lost in their creative practice, so use it when you need it.

I was going through a tough time with my writing, with many doubts and many possible paths ahead of me. I kept going in circles, talking myself into things and out of things, and basically, things were just spiralling into a bit of a depressing mess. So even though as a keen journal keeper, I’ve known about this book for years, I didn’t even think about doing it until now. Because for me, the time was finally right.

Do the work, even when it feels stupid

This book was published in the 90s. The world has changed considerably since then, so some things are dated. I particularly found many exercises that ask you to make a collage annoying, because not all of us have stacks of magazines lying around these days. But stick with it. Seriously. You don’t have to make the damn collage, but do the exercises to the best of your abilities. Even if they feel silly. All the work adds up. If you’re pretty self-aware, you might not get momentous insights, but you will still get tiny insights or small mental shifts that will help you regain the positivity around your creative practice.

Stick with the morning pages

Most people who’ve done the artist’s way will tell you that morning pages is the one thing that makes the biggest difference, and it’s the one thing that most people continue to do long after the course is finished. I’m still doing them too.

But it’s also the one thing that most people find hard to start, and hard to stick with. Morning pages require a daily commitment but they also require discipline to continue writing even when you think that what you’re writing is pointless and boring.

For many of us, overthinking is a real problem. I have constant to-do lists running in my head, followed by commentary of what I didn’t do and how I am going to fit it all in, and whether I’m prioritising the right things, alongside just the normal life stuff. My brain is usually buzzing, and information overload is real. I’m not alone in this. This is especially true for those of us who spend a lot of time looking at screens, and are constantly bombarded with new information.

Morning pages allow you to dump all the crap out of your brain first thing in the morning so that you start your day with a clearer mind. Don’t worry about what you say in your morning pages. Just do them. Sometimes, I make to-do lists, sometimes I talk about whatever pops into my head including pointless worries and random crap. But in-between all that, sometimes, there are useful insights and memories that pop up. When that happens, that’s great. But if it doesn’t happen, that’s also okay. I start my day feeling much better mentally and lighter than when I didn’t do morning pages.

They are a cleansing ritual. If you make it a ritual, you are more likely to enjoy them. For example, I make coffee as soon as I wake up, and then I write my morning pages with a fountain pen. I enjoy the experience and it’s a calm, quiet ritual to start my day.

Be prepared to pivot

Life rarely goes according to plans, and 12 weeks is plenty of time for things to go haywire. So be prepared to pivot, but don’t get off course. While I did my morning pages first thing on most days, there were days when I did not have the time because there was something else going on early in the morning. So on those days, I did them later. I did most exercises, but there were weeks when I skipped the artist’s date because we were in a lockdown and there are only so many things you could do at home.

If a particular exercise is irrelevant to you, don’t do it. For example, some questions related to alcohol addition or sex addiction were completely irrelevant to me. Some career-focused questions were completely irrelevant to my retired friend who was doing it with me. So skip things if they are not relevant to you, but don’t skip them just because they are hard.

Final thoughts

If you are a creative practitioner of any kind, keep this book handy for that bad patch when you are feeling lost. It happens to most of us, and it likely happens multiple times throughout our lifetime. This book will help you find your centre, and steady you. While the course is 12 weeks long, the work isn’t that much. Morning pages can take anything between 30-60 minutes depending on your handwriting and your diligence. It takes me about 45-60 minutes. But the rest of the exercises are 2 hours a week or less. Most of the time, I did all the exercises on the weekend. And that’s not a lot of time to spend on some self-care.

Dolly Garland writes stories that are a bit like her – amalgamated in multiple cultures. Having lived in four countries and several cities, she found her home in London though the roots of her stories have returned to India where she was born. Dolly was short-listed for Gollancz’ inaugural SFF award for BAME writers. She is also an editor as well as a non-fiction writer. Find her at www.dollygarland.com or on Twitter @DollyGarland.

Some news

Just a quick post to say that the first supplement I worked on for EN Publishing is due to launch soon. See more here: Judge Child This is one of the reasons I’ve been pretty busy (apart from writing the novel – details on that soon).

I will be posting a guest post from Dolly Garland soon.

And I hope to be able to reveal the cover for The Museum for Forgetting very soon.

Stay tuned for further news!

The Constellation of Alarion and other stories – A review and an interview with the author

The Constellation of Alarion and Other Stories by John Houlihan

I was lucky enough to be sent an advanced copy of the book in return for a review. This is a collection of ten SF tales two of which have appeared in anthologies I’ve edited and published. I liked both those stories enough to buy and publish them so hopefully that’s a good seal of approval! Those stories being Charioteer – an exciting mix of ancient Rome chariot races set upon a far distant and alien world. I published that one in Forgotten Sidekicks from Grimbold Books. The first story I acquired from John was Dead Reckoning set in David Rodger’s Yellow Dawn universe and published in The Hotwells Horror and Other Stories published in memory of David. A dead city, orcs, zombies and a desperate mission to find a long lost AI – a real action packed story that I’m glad is seeing another lease of life in this collection since it was donated for charity in the anthology I edited.

So what of the eight stories I didn’t acquire? Eight very different yet equally compelling tales. In Carers Houlihan examines what it would be like to be replaced by an artificial being. A touching and emotional tale. Then there’s Most Exalted with a wickedly entertainingly evil protagonist which I won’t spoil by saying what it’s about, except it’s military SF set in a nursing home. Trial by Combat is another military SF that sees two armies pitched in deadly battle, but with a twist in the tale.

Post Lies is set in a near future when fake news is out of control and someone does something about it – creating a way of showing up each lie. Of course when a politician lies there are unforeseen consequences. Tolerance is another tale in space and a bigoted (against AI) technician named Kerrigan has a simple but demanding job to maintain the planet’s defences however his animosity towards the machines causes problems.

In Trigger the lone spaceman has the reverse job to Kerrigan in Tolerance in that he holds the planet’s destruction in her hands. And yet no order arrives and she is forced to wait and repair the ever more decaying superweapon. Another great character study and my favourite story in the collection.

The Constellation of Alarion is a fabulous heist where aliens and their AI companion arrive on a planet, abduct a farmer and force him to guide them to The Labyrinth within which lies the fabled Constellation. They don’t know what it is or what it’s worth but they’re determined to get it. Houlihan puts his skills in creating characters to great use here with a whole team of them, his dark sense of humour definitely at the fore in this one too.

The final story in the collection, Bomber Command told as in script format making it very fast-paced sees the crew of a damaged bomber try to nurse it back home.

The collection flows well and the stories are varied in both tone and sub-genre, showing that Houlihan has a great range. A lot of them have unexpected developments that are, although surprising, totally fitting. Hard to pull off. This is a very accomplished and entertaining read and I have no hesitation in recommending it to all SF fans.

I got John to answer some questions:

Tell us about your book?

The Constellation of Alarion and Other Stories is a collection of ten of the best of my recent short sci-fi writing. There’s no real theme or guiding principle, but just a mix of short and longer fiction, in a variety of sci-fi genres from space opera to near-future, to post-apocalyptic.

My previous published work has been a blend of historical fantasy and Cthulhu mythos, so I wanted to stretch my wings at bit in one of my favourite genres and show a little of what I can do. There’s some stories I think are not half bad here (British for I’m pretty proud of) plus a first audio play, Bomber Command, so I’ll be interested to see what readers make of it. The splendid Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviewer was kind enough to recently post the very first review which you can read here.

Tell us a bit more about some of the stories?
Well, it’s quite an eclectic mix, but here’s a short sample to give you a flavour. Most Exalted is a mystery set in a far flung former empire. The hero of the seven systems now resides in retirement, but when a series of suspicious deaths rock his veterans’ home, will his dubious past catch finally up with him?

Charioteer first appeared in Forgotten Sidekicks and it sees a future where countries settle disputes the old fashioned way, trial by combat. As the eve of a great contest draws close, can downtrodden charioteer Soola finally step out of her brother’s shadow and embrace her destiny?

Bomber Command is my first audio play and sees the crew of the heavy bomber Phoebe limping back home from a mission. When they crash land on a deserted moon, tensions rise, not only from their seemingly hopeless predicament, but about the very ethics of the war they’re fighting.

If you could be a character in the book who would you be and why?
Heh, that’s a tough one, as most of them aren’t in the most comfortable of situations. I think I’d probably choose Grom, one of the misfits from The Constellation of Alarion, she has a fairly straightforward, hedonistic approach to life.

They are three rather inept, bumbling galactic rogues, freshly sprung from prison and unleashed on the wider galaxy in the Scintilla, an advanced ship they’ve somehow found, and are out to seek fame, fortune, and glory. It’s a bit of homage to some classic Harry Harrison Stainless Steel Rat adventures and sees the trio undergo all sorts of scrapes and mishaps, but usually finding a way to stumble through —although sometimes picking up more than they bargained for in the process.

What did you learn about writing by writing this book?
That it’s always good to stretch yourself that little bit further, and to keep honing your craft by writing in genres and formats you haven’t worked in before (even if you’ve read and love them). I’m passionate about mythos and historical writing, and always will be, but writing in a new genre forces you to move outside of your usual routine and makes you confront new challenges and perspectives.

Do you have a set writing process, if so what is it?
Nothing set in stone, but I try to make it a habit to write every single day if real-life doesn’t intervene and to just keep plugging away. I always work best in the morning too, a day spent in front of a screen seems to suck all the creativity out of me by evening.

Even your worst writing day is better than not writing at all. On those days maybe half of what you write isn’t ideal, but there’s always a phrase that sticks, or an idea that’s usable. Writing is all about rewriting too. Come back to it 24 hours later and nine times out of then you can shape what you thought was questionable into something useful.

What’s one question you think would be really fun to answer, but has never been asked of you?
Hm, I guess “What are the things outside of writing your most proud of?” The answers: I’m a qualified snowboard instructor, and I once commentated on a world cup final (the 1999 Cricket World Cup, Pakistan vs Australia at Lord’s for Cricinfo).

Do you remember the first story you told? What was it?
I think I scribbled all sorts of things when I was a kid, though strangely, I was much more into drawing then. The first adult thing I wrote was for the short story course on my degree. It was based on an encounter I had with a child beggar in Istanbul when I went Inter-railing. I must dig it out sometime, I’d be curious to see what I was like as a writer 25 odd years ago.

What are you reading? Who do you think we should be reading (apart from you!)?
I recently finished The Mirror and the Light by Hillary Mantel, an awesome writer whose technical talents are staggering. I followed that up with Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales which somehow I’d never read, and I’m now onto Gridlinked by Neil Asher which is great transhuman sci-fi. Quite a mix. I’ve recently read got back into reading a lot more Ursula K Le Guinn too, which I’d thoroughly recommend.

In one sentence what’s your best piece of advice for writers?
Keep going, never quit, be patient, keep learning and become a ruthless rewriter and editor.

If you want to know more, check out my web site at John-Houlihan.net or Facebook Page or follow me on Twitter @Johnh259… I’m always happy to hear from readers and writers, so don’t be shy.

Many thanks to John for trusting me to write a review and for answering my questions!

Writing About Writing About Writing – a pause

As per the last blog post I started a new job – and am currently on the learning curve. I remember the days when I used to read other things than technical docs and manuals.

This is another slight tangent from the intermittent series where I read or re-read the writing books on my shelf to see if they’re worth keeping. See previous part here

WAWAW is not going away, it’s just on pause. I have a couple more categories of books on the physical shelves and I was going to brave the digital tsunami at some point too (I’ve accumulated a lot of e-books through offers and bundles.)

I’ve stalled out on books about screenwriting, for now. I’ll get back to it – but it might be a while.

I did finish The Art of Plotting by Linda Cowgill

Which I liked a lot – the chapters on the principles of action, the role of conflict and the sequence of story were quite useful. I also have her Secrets of Screenplay Structure on the shelf in this category. I started reading the thick book by Straczynski (yes the writer of Babylon 5), called simply Scriptwriting but it’ll be a while until I finish it. Those two books will close out this category.

After scriptwriting I have some books on how to teach writing and a number of writing exercise and writing prompt books, which, when I get to them, will complete the shelf appraisal (which has taken over a year.) But then there’s those e-books…

I am currently doing a ten week short story workshop which I signed up to before knowing about swapping jobs. I’m also still writing that novel for hire (with a rapidly approaching deadline), editing 2 TTRPG games and preparing for Milford. I’ll soon be pushing Fire – the last anthology I edited – and The Museum for Forgetting – my latest short story collection. So despite the silence I am busy…

Normal Service…

There has been a longer than usual silence here and I thought I’d just drop a quick update to say why.

I’m currently changing day jobs, which has rather taken up my time. I’m also trying to hit a demanding wordcount goal for the novel (I’ll do a ‘reveal’ post on that soon.) And have editing commitments – all of which mean I’m a little busier than usual, but in a good way. I hope in the next couple of weeks normal service will be resumed.

Just a reminder that in among this I’ll be chairing an event at Cymera at the weekend called: Spies, Spies, Everywhere

I’ll be back with an updated WAWAW post ‘soon’

Events and sundry

In the forthcoming days I will be appearing at a couple of events wearing (metaphorically) my author hat:

StokerCon 2021 – I’ll be doing an author reading (available on demand throughout the Con) and two panels:

May 21 4:00PM–4:50PM · Breakout Sessions

Tone and Setting: How to Create Suspense in Your Writing

Panelists discuss how to use tone and setting to create suspense in their writing. I’m moderating this one.

and

May 21 7:00PM–7:50PM · Breakout Sessions

Dialogue: How it Can Make or Break a Story

Panelists discuss the importance of dialogue to craft an effective and meaningful story. Moderated by Meghan Arcuri.

Then a couple of weekends after I’ll be generally hanging about at Cymera where I’ll be moderating a panel on Spy fiction:

Spies, Spies Everywhere with Terry Miles, Cavan Scott and Charlie StrossSunday, June 6, 20215:30 PM  6:30 PM

Buckle your seat belts as spycraft is up against extermination of humanity: a man’s desperate mission to fix a glitch in a secret and dangerous underground game in Terry Miles’ Rabbits, a private investigator working in London’s magic criminal underworld in Cavan Scott’s Shadow Service and a disgraced world walker and her mother fighting coming up against robotic alien invaders after an inter-timeline coup d’etat gone awry in Charlie Stross’ Invisible Sun. 

About the event:

Chaired by Peter Sutton

Running time: 60 minutes

Tickets: £3 / £5 (plus 50p booking fee)

The event will be live on Zoom.

Book Tickets