Julia Knight's Blog, page 3

How to…Keep your editor happy.

Writing is a lifelong learning process. But, much like driving, the more confident you become in your skills, the easier it is to unconsciously fall into bad habits. And sometimes you are completely unaware of these bad habits until you have an editor gnashing his or her teeth over your manuscript.

Here I present a few things I learned along the way that I try to heed, to prevent my editor feeling the urge to bash me over the head with my own manuscript.

Show, Don't Tell

Pretty simple, this. Writing "he slammed the book down on the table" says the same thing as "he was angry" but in a much more expressive way.

Avoiding The Word "Said"

I remember my English teacher telling me to always find another word to use than "said." "Said" was boring. The truth is, though, one can never over-use the word "said". If you have characters who gush, assert, snap, growl or worse, ejaculate, their words, it takes the reader out of the story pretty quickly. The same can be said for too many adverbs after the word "said". 'He said quickly', 'she said angrily,' 'he said brightly', and so on. This relates back to the first point – taking more care over what's actually being said will transmit very clearly the emotions behind the dialogue.

Dialogue Tags

Relating to the last point, something that really bugs my editor is a piece of dialogue that's full of "he said/she said". If you have two characters carrying on a conversation, it's not always necessary to point out who's speaking, and you can make it clear by clarifying an action. So for instance:

He put the mug down on the table. "Here's your tea."

She picked it up. "Thanks."'

You don't need dialogue tags at all here, because it's perfectly clear who's saying what.

Of course, you can take this too far the other way. Kathy Reichs is one of my favourite authors, but she has a habit of writing four pages of dialogue with no speech tags at all, to the point I have to go back to the beginning of the chapter and start counting to work out who's saying what.

Head Hopping

An easy trap to fall into when you're writing in third person is to go blithely hopping from one character's POV to another. You can't have, for instance: Mary walked into the room, aware of John's eyes on her. He didn't like the dress she was wearing; it made her look dowdy.

The first sentence is Mary's POV, the second is John's. But you could say: Mary walked into the room, aware of John's eyes on her. She knew he didn't like her wearing that dress. Which keeps us in Mary's POV.

I see this far more often than I should in published novels, but I was guilty of it myself in my first published novel. Fortunately for me, my editor picked it up. I try very hard not to do it again.

All of these sins I'd been made aware of before I got to editor stage, yet still I was guilty of them all when my editor came to work on my manuscript. I try very hard now to keep these lessons in mind when I re-write. Can I lose some of these dialogue tags? Am I straying from this character's POV? Do I really need an adverb here? Am I 'telling'? How can I 'show' instead?

It's best to be aware of these habits early on, and get them out of your system before you even have an editor. The more good habits you hone as a writer, the happier your editor will be. And a happy editor is a Very Good Thing.

Sara-Jayne Townsend is a UK-based writer of crime and horror. She was born in Cheshire in 1969, but spent most of the 1980s living in Canada after her family emigrated there. She now lives in Surrey with two cats and her husband Chris. She co-founded the T Party Writers' Group in 1994, and remains Chair Person.

She decided she was going to be a published novelist when she was 10 years old and finished her first novel a year later. It took 30 years of submitting, however, to fulfil that dream. Her first novel, SUFFER THE CHILDREN, was published as an e-book by Lyrical Press, Inc. in 2010 (available here).

Her next book, DEATH SCENE, is the first in a series about amateur sleuth and Canadian actress Shara Summers, and will be released as an e-book by Lyrical Press, Inc. later this year.

You can learn more about Sara and her writing at her website at or her blog

How to…getting started

So, you want to write. Huzzah! Many people want to write /think they have a novel in them. Many of those won't get past the first chapter, or if they do, will never finish. If you want to, if you realise that whatever your preconceptions, writing is not easy, then here are a few tips for starters.

Firstly, disabuse yourself of the notion here is the One True Way to write a novel, the Formula that means it will be the next Harry Potter and you'll be in the jacuzzi with a million pounds. There is not a formula. There is also no one way…which is good. There are as many ways of writing a novel as there are writers – possibly more, because it isn't the same for each novel.

The two extremes are this:

Outline the heck out of it so you know what happens in each paragraph before you you write it

or

Have no freaking idea what the book is about until it's there on the paper.

Neither are bad. Neither are good, if they don't work for you. Most writers fall somewhere in between. I'm waaaay more of a pantser myself ( like to have a pithy line of dialogue in mind for near the end, and work towards that, seat of the pants style) Other than that, I have a character in mind, and just see what happens. Weirdness, quite often.

There is a reason for this – I'm the sort of writer where the act of writing makes the ideas and connections flow. So, I might write an outline and then all these little ideas pop up as I write and…5k words later, the outline bears no resemblance to what I'm writing. And the little 'ideas as I write' are almost always the best bit. But that's me. Your mileage may vary. Find/think/discover what works for you. There is no one right way. There IS the way that gets the book written for you.

Very many writers swear by working out what needs to happen before they write though (I hope to have a 'how to…outline' later in the series) so if that sounds like you, go for it. Just be aware that it's very easy to labour over the outline (plus worldbuilding if you're writing fantasy) and then never get round to writing the book. Worldbuilding/outlining can be great, but not if you do it at the expense of actually writing the thing. Sounds obvious, but a lot of would-be writers get caught in the trap.

Okay, so we're getting there. You've started writing. You look at it, you think either one of two things (get used to it, writers sway between these two as an occupational hazard) 'It's pants' and 'It's like the best novel that has EVER BEEN WRITTEN! I AM A GENIUS'

If you think it's crap…take heart. Your first draft is not supposed to be perfect. That is what editing/rewrites are for. First get it written, then get it right.

If you think it's 100% genius..actually when you're starting out, that's more of an issue. Really. No book is 100% genius. But you're so damn pleased you got the book out of you, onto the page, it's awesome, it's fab, it's the best thing since sliced bread. Yes. I have been there.

It almost certainly isn't. Now, you might be the genius that proves the rule. But let's face it, you probably aren't. But there is a solution. It's called 'learning to take constructive criticism'. It will be vital. Really. If someone says 'this is confusing' or 'the characters feel flat' or whatever, you don't have to listen to them. They might be the exception, or rubbish writers themselves or…. But if you end up ignoring them you should always consider what they said.

Now.

Rules. You will see, if you surf re writing, a lot of things posited as 'rules'. Don't start with the weather, or the MC (main character) waking up or dialogue..any number of things.

They are not rules. No, the rules in writing pertain to concrete things like grammar and punctuation and the one, singular rule that you should always adhere to: Always entertain the reader. Which is subjective anyway, and therefore, not really a rule. So, do it, As long as it worksAnd not just for you, for the people you ask to read it. Because you will ask people to read it.

So, you want to write.

Three things you need to do, if you want to be a writer who isn't just someone who talks about writing.

Read widely, and analyse what you read (how did they make me feel that? How did they go from one scene to the next? Why does this plotwork and that one not? Read with writing in mind)

Write often – it's way, waay too easy to only write when the muse is upon you. But if you write often (every day, even if a little) then the muse will come find you and ask you to party. With tequila. Writing begets writing. Really. Be aware it can also be addictive.

But the biggest, most important thing you can do (other than actually put words in) is this

HAVE FUN!

Resources for beginning writers

Grammar for Dummies (US or UK edition) i any good bookshop or online.

Self Editing for Fiction writers < how to clean up your prose and a general guide to Stuff What Works.

Absolute Write – the number one resource for writers on the web. Ask any damn daft question, and you'll have experienced writers help you out.

Cream cake words

Cream cake words. I expect you would like a definition, yes? Those words/phrases with lots of calories but no nutritional value. Or lots of words but no narrative value. Especially—but not only—with reference to description. Yes, I know I've talked about description before, but this is slightly different. Yes, in fantasy you must describe the new, other world, how it's different to this one. But…

Take a certain couple of books I have I mind. In many respects I enjoyed them, but…when it spends an inordinate amount of time explaining that they ate snowroot with wibblesplat sauce, and chopped up pigroot herb to flavour it and…and what image/taste do I get from this?

Nothing.

Because I do not know what snowroot tastes like, or wibblesplat sauce or how the herb pigroot would change it. It's totally meaningless (empty of nutritional value), only giving the illusion of setting without actually adding anything but filler to the story. Cream cake words. Now, the writer could have cut those words, and used them on something that would have had meaning to me, Earthling, so I would know it was like this, something I do know, only different. Or they could have just described the texture, how it slithered down the throat, how it made the characters feel… A skilful writer can draw parallels and show differences in a way that actually means something to the reader. And then those words would have value, rather than be empty calories.

A relation to this is of course, things being described in loving detail for a page or so that bear little or no relation to anything, even atmosphere, never to appear again. Or a surprise expostionary treatise on the mating habits of seals whole breed a thousand miles away, right in the middle of a vital conversation. Or a fifty page 'Tom Bombadil' that looks nice, but adds absolutely zero or near as dammit to the plot/atmosphere. It's so very unsubtle. Just like that chocolate eclair…

By contrast I adore really well done description/narration. The sort where you don't realise you've seen any description until you stop and can see the whole thing in your head. A few telling words in this sentence, a new and interesting simile or metaphor in that one. Picking out a unique detail there, twisting it through the narrative just so…and BOOM! I am there, in that world, with those characters. No page long description of Our Noble Hero or the forging history of his potato peeler. No mind-numbing info dump of background stuff. Just subtle, well-done narrative that carries the story along and at one and the same time shows you this world in loving detail.

Words that have value, and leave you feeling full, rather than craving whatever's in the fridge/next on the bookshelf.

I'll leave you to guess which one I aim for. Getting it right though is a lifetime's work.

Truly, Madly, Deeply

The mission, should I choose to accept it, was simple. 26 writers in the romance genre would each write a short romance story on a theme. These stories would not self-destruct in ten seconds, but would in fact be posted weekly as free reads.

Truly, Madly, Deeply Romance was conceived, and is due to be born today! Contests! Prizes!

So come on over for a chance of free stuff! First free read coming soon on the 12th

Men are People Too

The other day I took my life in my hands, and asked Scarlett Parrish if she'd like to write a blog for me. So, for those of you with delicate sensibilities, you may wish to hide under the sofa, as she is the smuttiest moobag I know. And that's saying something, because I know me.

MEN ARE PEOPLE TOO

For some reason Julia saw fit to hand her blog over to me to talk about whatever I chose, which is an act of extreme daring even Van Gasp would shy away from. But I promise I won't be too naughty.

Maybe.

My third novel, By the Book, was released by Loose Id, LLC on the 4th of January this year and it's the result of my first attempt at M/M. Mind, there are other romantic pairings and triplings (yes, really) in this book, but the hot man-on-man action was uncharted territory for me.

The overwhelming majority of my writing is in first person (my only third-person manuscript is currently on submission; wish me luck) and as By the Book focuses on M/M, I was kinda obligated to write from a male point of view for the first time ever.

The strange thing is, I started the novel writing from the main female character's viewpoint. But something didn't feel right. I wanted to explore the dynamic between three people who were involved in a sexual relationship, but that sense of morality in the pit of my stomach – yes, I do have one! – bothered me. If Georgia, who had a boyfriend, got involved with another man with her boyfriend's permission, fair enough. But what if she developed an emotional attachment to her lover, too? Would that not be borderline cheating? What if Reece, her boyfriend, said that too was okay? No conflict, then. And no conflict means no story.

Then it came to me: my main character wasn't a woman at all. This book needed to be written from Reece's point of view. It wasn't about a woman torn between two men. It was about a man, in love with his girlfriend, who develops an attraction to another man (their third) for the first time in his life. Much more opportunity for things to get complicated, there. And boy did they ever.

Of course we can snigger and laugh about the ins and outs (snerk) of a M/M sex scene, but my deepest concerns were getting into the male mindset. Then I realised, I didn't have to make Reece Hutton sound like Everyman. I just had to make him sound like himself. Distinct. Believable. True.

The best piece of advice I ever received about writing cross-gender was "Don't write about a man. Just write about a human being who happens to be male."

Reece has feelings, but I didn't want him to come across as one of those chicks-with-dicks, over-emotional weeping manginas, one crying jag away from menstruating. Hell, I hate women like that, never mind male characters! So as I wrote, I made a conscious effort to limit his angsting and introspection. Yes, men think and feel too, but they're perhaps more solutions-oriented than women, the majority of whom (not all, but most) like to discuss things and analyse and examine. I wanted Reece to feel and express his curiosity, lust, guilt, frustration, but subtly, and without taking it too far. I wanted his actions to show the kind of person he was, rather than any deep and meaningful internal monologue.

I pulled right back and made him aware of his surroundings, the people he spent time with and his confusion, and left him to it. My prime directive was not to interfere!

On Reece's part, navel-gazing was forbidden. Gazing at Daniel F***ing Cross's appendage was more than all right, though. I think I pulled it off. And so did Reece.

Whadaya know? Men are people too.

###

AUTHOR BIO

Scarlett Parrish lives in the U.K. in the small corner of her flat not currently overrun by books. She can often be found drooling over James Purefoy or searching for the perfect chocolate bar. She believes most fleshpeoples (except James) are evil and much prefers the characters in her head. On the occasions she ventures out, Scarlett is always accompanied by her BONER—Black Omnipresent Notebook of Erotic Romance. One never knows when inspiration will strike. Sometimes she'll visit the cinema, alone but for the aforementioned characters. Another favourite pastime is listening to 30 Seconds to Mars and thinking about Shannon Leto's tattoos. A chronic insomniac, she writes most of her dirty books in the middle of the night and loves to keep her e-reader stocked with erotic romance to occupy her down time.

###

BOOK BLURB

Two's company; three's allowed.

Reece Hutton conducts his life between the covers — of books and beds. A librarian by day, in the evenings he's a man whose tastes are anything but vanilla. So when local writer Daniel Cross appears in the library one afternoon with the aim of doing some research, Reece has a hard time not noticing how attractive he is, or what feels like chemistry between them. They exchange a few words and Daniel's business card, an interlude which Reece puts down to networking rather than flirtation.

After all, he has his girlfriend Georgia to go home to and her best friend: a threesome to help his birthday go literally with a bang. Reece, being a gentleman (most of the time), has no objection to returning the favor, especially as his new friend Daniel seems all too willing to be their third for an evening. Georgia sees their triangle as nothing more than a temporary bit of fun but Reece…? He'll eventually have to own up to breaking the unwritten rules of their relationship or close the book on a growing attraction to Daniel.

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Male/male sexual practices, menage (m/f/m, f/m/f with female interaction).

###

Purchase link: http://www.loose-id.com/By-the-Book.aspx

Author website: http://scarlettparrish.blogspot.com/

Contact Scarlett at: scarlettparrish@gmail.com

Follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/scarlettparrish

###

Blimey that was quite clean. Possibly she's sickening for something.

AW Musical chairs blog

So, it was a challenge. Some writers get together, decide to write something not in their genre, and post the result.

Other entries can be found :

Week One (January 7th)

Regan Leigh's blog

Gary

Claire- blog

Hillary – blog

GradyHendrix – blog

Week Two (January 14th)

Amanda- blog

Dolores- blog

Ben- blog

Agnyl78- blog

Jamie- blog

Cole – blog

Scarlett- blog

Week Three (January 21st)

Me!

Janine- blog

Aheila- blog

Mike- blog

CScottMorris- blog

Week Four (January 28th)

Sianshan- blog

Ralph Pines- blog

rmgil04- blog

Proach- blog

Regypsy- blog

LadyCat- blog

I was given humour or mystery. I cheated a bit…it's fantasy with humorous and mysterious bits It also features a few characters from my latest release.

 

 

The Mysterious Case of the Unicorn.

'So, it turns out she was in the loony bin the whole time.' Guld chuckled at his own story.

Van Gast, racketeer extraordinaire and captain of this vessel, leant back in his chair, swayed with the swell of the sea and glared at his ship's mage. 'What has that got to do with the matter in hand?'

Guld tried a strained smile and twisted his fingers in his lap. 'Um, well, not much I suppose. But I—.' He caught sight of Van Gast's face. 'Nothing really. Sorry Van.'

'Good. So now we have that out of the way, have you any sensible suggestions as to what the buggery we're going to do about it? I'd sell it, if I could think of anyone to buy it, but there isn't anyone that stupid.' Van considered. 'Well, not that's got any money anyway.'

A thud reverberated under the deck, followed by a stomping sound, an irate neighing and another thud.

'It's magic—that's your thing. If you could think of something before the bloody thing puts another hole in the ship, it'd be handy. I don't fancy sinking much.'

'Well, er, well I don't know Van. I'd send it back, only I don't where it came from.'

Van Gast sprang up from his chair and paced across the violently green rug that brightened his captain's quarters. The movement made Forn's bells at his ankle chime, an angry, discordant sound in keeping with his agitation. Not much of a prayer for Forn, merciless god of the sea, but there were plenty of other bells, a set on every man and woman who sailed, an entreaty against what they all feared—death by drowning. Someone else could make a nice prayer with a happy jig today, because Van Gast wasn't in the mood.

Another thud made the timbers shake his boots. 'Well, that's the point isn't it? You don't know where it came from because they're supposed to be mythical. Come on, let's have another look, maybe we can figure it out. Maybe we can tame it, then we could sell it.'

Only taming it seemed unlikely. Van Gast ran down the steps to the hold, bells jingling, Guld tripping over his too-long robe as he tried to follow. The thuds were louder here and the bulkhead was showing the strain. Splinters sprayed the deck and fist-sized holes let them look into the darkness at the monster beyond.

It didn't look monstrous at first glance. In fact, it was rather beautiful, with glossy white hair that shone like silver even in the darkness, a handsome, delicate face, eyes dark as the depths of a summer night. The mane and tail were fine enough that they seemed to float, to imply graceful movement even when it was still.

It was only when you saw the horn, twisting and tipped with blood, saw the madness in its gaze and the way the damn thing was kicking and gouging the crap out of the ship—with the impression that it would do the same to whatever stood in its way, alive or dead—that you knew it for a monster.

It saw them watching and lowered its head for a charge at the bulkhead. The ship shuddered under the impact and the horn drove through a hole, a finger's breadth from Van Gast's hastily ducked head.

'Can't you do anything?'

'Well, um, probably not much. It's magic, so I'd need to know the spell to counteract it, see?' Guld had wisely retreated to the bottom of the steps, out of reach of the horn.

'What do I pay you for?'

Guld ticked off on his fingers. 'Weather control, scrying, contact with other racketeers, occasional explosions.'

'Can we add "disposal of unwelcome guests" to that?' Another thud almost knocked Van Gast from his feet and showered him in chunks of battered wood. 'Gods damn it, stop wrecking my bloody ship! Guld, start jingling your prayer bells. We might be going swimming, and I'd like Forn on our side.'

The worst of it was, they had no idea how it'd got there. Van Gast had been asleep when the first thuds had woken him. Any change in his ship always brought him instantly awake, but this—this had him leaping from his bed, heart thudding in his throat, trouble-bone itching behind his ribs, thinking they'd grounded on a reef or maybe another rack had sighted them and opened fire. He'd scrambled for both pistol and sword and was on the deck dressed in nothing but breeches before he'd realised the sound came from inside the guts of the ship. That was several hours, three injured crew and half a bottle of medicinal brandy ago. Maybe not medicinal exactly, but it'd made him feel better. Which is what medicinal meant.

'There must be something. What about that travel spell thing you do?'

'It's too big, wouldn't get further than half a mile or so.'

'Half a mile? Excellent. Do it.'

'But Van, that'd leave it in the sea. It'd drown. That's not nice.'

'I don't recall nice being on that list you just gave me. Besides, we'll all end up in the sea at this rate and it's a long old swim to Estovan.' He rubbed at his breastbone absently. Trouble all right, he didn't need his little-magics to tell him that, but his trouble bone was scratching like a rat trying to escape his chest.

As if to belabour Van Gast's point, the unicorn took the opportunity to scrape its horn menacingly on the other side of the bulkhead. Fine shavings of wood clogged Van Gast's hair and he ran a hand through it distractedly.

'Fine, fine. Nice. All right. Look, there must be a way of, I don't know, making it less bloody angry?'

Guld tried a nervous smile. 'Well, um, yes. There is, the usual way with unicorns. That calms them down.'

Van Gast gave him a flat glare that he hoped would make Guld choke on his own magic. 'Oh yes, right. Here we are in the middle of the deeps, three days from anywhere, on a racketeer ship. The chances of finding a virgin are so slim, they're sodding invisible. Half the crews' wages go on bad women. Or men. Or both.'

'What about Lanya?'

'Don't you have ears?' Van Gast rolled his eyes at Guld's blank look. 'Her and Dillet. At it for ages.'

'Well what about young Talin? He's hardly even old enough to shave.'

'Guld, I have every reason to suspect he was born not a virgin. This is a racketeer ship, not the vestal virgins' rest home. Racketeers and virginity go together like turnips and custard. Think of something else.'

So, will Van Gast find out who is behind the nefarious Unicorn Plot? Will they find a virgin among a bunch of pirates/racketeers (not likely, if I'm honest). Will Van Gast use this to his advantage?

Tune in next time, which will be ooh when someone gives me a kick in the pants, or I need to procrastinate.

Release day blog! Professional lying- fantasy edition

So today is the day! Ten Ruby Trick is out and available! Go catch a look for fun, pirates, magic, fun, mayhem and fun.

That's quite enough of that.

Writers of fiction are, by definition, tellers of lies that seem like truth. Fantasy writers are even worse, because we write about things that can never be real. Or as a fellow fantasy writer puts it 'This is where we just make stuff up'. Well, that's not exactly how she puts it, but this is a family friendly blog

So where does all this fantasy-stuff-that-can-never-be-real-but-must-feel-real come from? Yes, I love hyphens.

All over the place! For me there are generally two types. The I-put-it-there-on-purpose type. These are the things that I start off with, basic premises etc. In my latest release, it's mages whose magic accretes on their skin as crystals which dissolve when they spend magic, or in water. Makes bathing, not to mention moving much, a bit of a pig, so they need servants who will always obey them because they are fairly helpless apart from the their magic and so….and there is one of my cultures. I thought about all the implications till my brain hurt.

But my favourite ones are the Uh-oh-I-need-something-here-NOW types. The ones that just pop into my head and then become such an integral part of the story I wonder how I thought I'd manage without it. So, when my pirate is trying to fence a diamond that is big enough he can only just get his fist round it and is also highly suspicious, the fence probably won't have enough money on him. So he'll trade something valuable but less suspicious like…uh…like…um…wedding knives! What the heck are wedding knives? Glass. Glass daggers? Are you sure woman? Only now I can see them, and the whole story of why and how people use them and why they're glass turns up in my head. And then those daggers took on an importance, a significance of their own, one I could never have foreseen, but something essential to my pirate and those around him. Without them, the ending of the book would have been less somehow. And hopefully, you wouldn't be able to tell they were part of an 'Oh heck, now what?' moment on my part. Unless you've read this blog obviously…

So, for our commenters, what are your favourite fantasy details, the things that could never be but pop up like shiny gold pennies in the books you read?

End of the year – my favourite five books of 2010

So, that time of year, that kind of post. Without further ado, my five most favouritest books I have read this year. And I haven't included books by either Samhain or Carina as that seems…incestuous lol. Or at least a bit of nepotism. But you should really check out their books, because there are some great ones there!

Hmm maybe this should be 'Top five books I've read this year I found in Waterstone's'. Note this does not mean they came out this year.

Anyway.

Number 5

Zoo City, Lauren Beukes

I thoroughly enjoyed this – a different setting (South Africa) a new take on fantasy (Getting lumbered with an animal if you are a bad boy/girl) and an MC I could really get behind. Nice and pacy, just enough description and a really great relationship between the MC and her man. I loved the way they talked to each other, sliding round what they really wanted to say and being snarky to avoid the issue. Kind of broke my heart a bit…I love books that do that. If you're after something a bit different from your usual Urban Fantasy, this is a very good bet.

4 – The Whale Road, Robert Low

Not a fantasy, but an historical, this was recommended to me when I started writing a book about Vikings, as it is superbly researched yet the research never gets in the way of a damn good story. It had me right from the opening paragraph, with its lyrical use of language evoking a time and place and a way of thinking that's so far from our own…and I was totally sold on the young hero who, having discovered the joys of women had to be 'saved from humping myself to death'. Orm is by turns full of bravado and close to peeing himself with fear, yet a deep thinker, trying to feel his way through the pitfalls of his society. I loved this book so much I went straight out and bought the sequel, the Wolf Sea, which was just as good.

3 – The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon

I don't know what genre this is, and I don't care. It's gothic, it's a mystery, an historical, hints of the fantastical – but all round bloody brilliant. Again, it invokes a time and place, almost effortlessly it seems, plunging me deep into Spain decades ago. The story unfolds a piece at a time, leading to a final deep sigh of contentment from me. Beautiful.

Now, for places 1 and 2, we have a tie. Two very different books, both superb examples of their type, both fantasy.

The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold. Yes, I know it's a couple of years old, but do you know how hard it is to get her stuff in Waterstone's? I can't even order in the sequel! Honestly, the guy behind he counter had never even heard of her. To be fair, he didn't know what a Hugo award was either. Anyway, this book is the sort where I read it and it's just so bloody good it briefly makes me want to give up writing. Threads are woven together with subtle expertise, the world-building is fantastic, the description flowing and not overblown, the MC is intelligent, not your typical hero, but so believable and likeable…

I love this book. Very hard indeed.

So what other book made a tie with it?

Triumff: Her Majesty's Hero, Dan Abnett

Now, I've been a fan of Abnett for a while. He's written a fair bit for Warhammer 40k (I'm a geek, sue me) and while it wasn't 100% my genre, I've admired the way he tells a story, and in particular, the skill he shows in writing a fight scene, something that is a bit of a rarity. But I didn't buy his book for me, I bought it for the Old man, who is a MASSIVE Abnett fan. Only Old Man kept giggling as he read it. So I snuck it off him and began to read it myself. And giggled too. This is Abnett channelling Pratchett, down to the little footnotes and sly references to the world we live in. Triumff himself is part rogue, part drunken idiot, slicing off a man's ear with a cabbage spoon when he can't get his Swiss Army Rapier to work properly. And above all, he's so very fun to read, chock full of action, cheesy jokes and sheer story.

Description – necessary goodness or The Evil That Shall Not Be Named?

So, description. Like it or loathe it?

Because it seems that among both readers and writers there is a distinct divide, with a little group huddled in the middle. Some readers loathe it, don't want characters described at all, so they can picture who they want and skip description of places etc. Some writers refuse to describe any character at all (except as necessary to plot). I personally prefer something to for my imagination work with. Or all male leads get 'Johnny Depped' as a default.

Yet, especially in fantasy (and some other genres, notably historical and romance) there is often huge chunks of it and people complain if there isn't enough description. (Note: which drives me bonkers to be honest, because I personally do not feel I need a half page description of a minor implement, including its forging history, the life story of the forger etc if its not actually important and never crops up again. My husband finds me shouting at books occasionally. Normally it's 'Will you just get on with the story!' I have been known to throw the worst culprits.)

Yes, I'm right there, huddled in the middle.

So what to do, as a writer?

First, realise you will never, ever, and I mean it, ever please everyone. EVER. So don't try.

Then consider two things. One, the genre you're writing in, and two your own personal preference.

So, genre. Thrillers can be much lighter on the description side and probably no one will mind. In fact, as your reader is expecting a fast-paced adrenalin ride, any chunks of description might be best left on the wayside in favour of subtlety. Fantasy on the other hand, seems to demand it. Mainly because, well, you aren't in Kansas any more Dorothy, so everything is new and the reader needs to be able to ground themselves. And just what is a Wibblesplat and what does it look like? In romance, readers like to know what the guy looks like, so they can see if he's hot Many historical readers read for the detail of What Life Was Like Then.

So while you can't please everyone, what you can do is try to give the readers of the genre you're writing in enough to satisfy.

This does not mean you have to describe everything, or have big chunks of 'And so he had blue eyes and black hair and…' or slow down the pace to a crawl.

And this is where we come to personal preference. As noted above, I personally abhor large chunks of description, but I need some description, something for my little brain to work with. My husband doesn't care. Neither of us is wrong.

So I'm not going to be whacking in a huge chunk of description, even if it guaranteed me a number one bestseller. Neither am I going to leave it out completely. I prefer a more subtle 'slide in a line or two here and there and leave at least some of it to the reader's imagination'. Because that's what I like to read.

If you, however, find that lots of description is your cup of tea, then obviously you're going to add it in. If you loathe all description you're going to leave it out.

Neither of these is bad in and of themselves. It really is personal preference.

So, what can you do?

1- read widely in your genre, AND out of it. Find the books you love, and study how the author used description (or not). Not just for plot, but for atmosphere and tone and characterisation.

2 – Practice doing it the other way. If you loathe description, practise it anyway for those times you need it, see how it changes things up. If you love lots of description, see how little you can get away with and still get the effect you want. Experiment and stretch yourself. See what works for you, and also how else it could be used.

3 – Be creative. Laundry lists of description are boring for everyone. Pick out the most telling details – his limp, the way her nose twitches when she's thinking about something she doesn't like, the funny little green knob on the top of the cupola – and work round them. Work with your POV too – does your first person narrator/third limited character not notice clothes? Don't describe them then, but describe what he does notice. It will be all part of his voice, because each of us notices different things depending what is important to us. Seeing what he does and doesn't notice gives us subtle information about him.

4 – Have fun, practice lots and don't believe there is any one right way of doing it. There isn't, same as there is no 'One right level of description'. There is only 'The level that works for me'.

New release, award news – and new cover!

So, November is being a good month.

First, Love is My Sin made the finals in the EPIC awards!

Second Love is My Sin released in Print!

Third – I have cover art for my next release (from Carina Press. Check them out )

And the art is the business. I am totally in love with it, from the yummy pirate Van Gast (more on him in a bit) to the colours and the attention to detail, right down to the ten rubies in the font.

And here's the blurb:

Privateer Van Gast thrills in capturing treasure; delights in pulling off elaborate scams; and has an outrageous reputation with the ladies. But there is only one woman for him: fellow privateer Josie—seductive, brave and unpredictable. He's hoping to make their relationship permanent, until he raids the wrong ship. Now slavers are stalking him, his crew is verging on mutiny and Josie has disappeared.

When she reappears with a new mark wanting Van Gast's help running the ten ruby trick con, he senses trouble. It seems like Josie has joined up with mage-bound slavers to turn him over to their Master. Van Gast is about to take the biggest risk of all—and find out the true meaning of trust and betrayal.