Writing goals for 2012
I just wanted to let everyone know what I'm doing and when my next release is planned etc. etc.
I have three things on the boil at the moment:
1. I am editing the first novel I ever wrote, Coincidences. It was published way back in 2001 and was only ever available in hardback. I want to make the book available in paperback and also as an e-book. The second edition of Coincidences is almost finished. I have about another 40 pages to edit. The idea behind editing the book, is that I wanted to add some more background here and there, and generally tighten up the prose, as in my opinion it reads like a typical first novel at the moment and I want it to be the best it can be. I love the story and the characters, so I won't be changing any of that, I'm just fine-tuning it. I will be publishing it with a brand new cover, and hope to also have a book trailer available for it. All of this I aim to accomplish in the next 2-3 months, but we shall see...
2. My new novel is at the second draft stage at the moment. That means I've typed up my handwritten scrawl which was the first draft; I've read through it and corrected the glaring mistakes and the inevitable typos, and added a bit more 'meat' to the 'bones' (my first drafts are always just the bare bones of the story, and I add more when I edit). Now I will have to read it again, this time I will be concentrating on spotting any continuity issues and maybe adding a bit more drama. I've thought of a title... it might change again, as it has already changed once... but the tentative title is Haunted. I have designed the front cover, which is an acrylic painting inspired by the story, and I will be revealing that soon.
I'm not sure when the book will be published. The idea is that it will be published this year. It's a crime fiction/psychological thriller/paranormal-esque book :)
3. Finally,when looking through my old documents on my computer the other day, I came across about 11 short stories that I have not yet published. Some are quite old. I aim to edit those stories and publish a new anthology later in the year. I have also found an old floppy disk that goes back to about 1999. That is interestingly titled 'Short Stories'. I haven't been able to read the disk on my computer as it's not compatible, but as soon as I find a way I will hopefully recover some more long lost gems that I've forgotten about... I was really excited when I found the disk (sad, I know, I really should get out more, lol).
That's all for now. More news when I have it.
I have three things on the boil at the moment:
1. I am editing the first novel I ever wrote, Coincidences. It was published way back in 2001 and was only ever available in hardback. I want to make the book available in paperback and also as an e-book. The second edition of Coincidences is almost finished. I have about another 40 pages to edit. The idea behind editing the book, is that I wanted to add some more background here and there, and generally tighten up the prose, as in my opinion it reads like a typical first novel at the moment and I want it to be the best it can be. I love the story and the characters, so I won't be changing any of that, I'm just fine-tuning it. I will be publishing it with a brand new cover, and hope to also have a book trailer available for it. All of this I aim to accomplish in the next 2-3 months, but we shall see...
2. My new novel is at the second draft stage at the moment. That means I've typed up my handwritten scrawl which was the first draft; I've read through it and corrected the glaring mistakes and the inevitable typos, and added a bit more 'meat' to the 'bones' (my first drafts are always just the bare bones of the story, and I add more when I edit). Now I will have to read it again, this time I will be concentrating on spotting any continuity issues and maybe adding a bit more drama. I've thought of a title... it might change again, as it has already changed once... but the tentative title is Haunted. I have designed the front cover, which is an acrylic painting inspired by the story, and I will be revealing that soon.
I'm not sure when the book will be published. The idea is that it will be published this year. It's a crime fiction/psychological thriller/paranormal-esque book :)
3. Finally,when looking through my old documents on my computer the other day, I came across about 11 short stories that I have not yet published. Some are quite old. I aim to edit those stories and publish a new anthology later in the year. I have also found an old floppy disk that goes back to about 1999. That is interestingly titled 'Short Stories'. I haven't been able to read the disk on my computer as it's not compatible, but as soon as I find a way I will hopefully recover some more long lost gems that I've forgotten about... I was really excited when I found the disk (sad, I know, I really should get out more, lol).
That's all for now. More news when I have it.
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I can't wait to read the new book, Maria! Love the title!That's funny about the 'dust bunny' term. We don't think about how different our silly slang can be. Jaleta has a short story going into volume 4 of our BsB anthology that is a spin on the dusty bunny thing. (Hers are rhino bunnies!) So it's good that you found out what they are before you read her story. :)
Thanks Darcia :) You will of course be one of the first to read the new one as my trusted proof reader :)Yes, I saw something about rhino bunnies on the BsB thread and then I realised it must be quite common usage in the US! I like learning about the differences between US and UK language -- I find it very interesting...
I enjoy the language difference, as well. I'm reading Metallic Dreams now, and I'm fascinated by the Irish slang and way of speaking. It's interesting how many different ways the 'English' language is spoken.
The Metallic Dreams slang is Scottish. The Gaelic used in the book is similar to some Irish I've come across (my brother-in-law is Irish). But, yes, the use of slang in that book is again different to the way we would speak in England. So many different ways of speaking the same language! I'm always amazed at all the differences in slang in other parts of England, let alone Scotland, Ireland and Wales. I've heard that in the US there is also quite a lot of difference in the way people speak American English depending which State they live in...
Duh. Excuse my brain malfunctions. I meant Scottish and typed Irish. I need someone to monitor what my fingers are saying. Slang is such a strange phenomenon. I spent most of my life in New England and didn't think much about my "accent" or popular slang being much different than anywhere else in the U.S. Then I moved to northern FL in 1997 and it was culture shock! The area I lived in was very much southern, with strong accents and people who were born and raised in that area. (Unlike Tampa Bay, FL, where I am now, which is a hodgepodge of people from all over the country.) I had such a hard time understanding their accents, which sounds crazy, since we're speaking the very same language! And the slang was so odd to me. They'd say, "We're fixin' to go out," and I'd want to laugh. When I spoke, I got the funniest looks. It seems we New Englanders don't much like the letter 'r'. :)
LOL, I knew it must have been a typing error :)You've reminded me of when I first visited Boston, and someone said 'you're all set' or they might have asked me if I was ' all set', and I was totally confused... We don't say that in the UK, well at least not in the way it's used in the US :) There are so many little differences. Also, when I eat in restaurants in the US, I always find it funny that waiters refer to the diners as still 'working' when they are eating. And then of course, there are the 'restrooms'. People go for a 'rest' when they want to go to the toilet... It can get a bit confusing for someone from the UK lol.
That's so funny. We say that all the time. If we want to know if someone's ready to go, we ask, "All set?" If a waitress asks if we need anything more, we say, "We're all set." I never gave any thought to that being a phrase unique to a region. I've never heard a waiter/waitress refer to people as 'working' when they are eating. Perhaps that's an industry-specific word. Like when I was hairdressing, we'd say a client was 'processing' if we were waiting for her color or perm solution to be finished working. (Now, outside of the industry, it sounds like the person has a computer chip in his/her head!)
The toilet thing is silly. I don't personally say restroom, though it is deemed the more 'polite' word for bathroom here. Though even saying I have to go the the 'bathroom' is weird, when I think about it. I'm not going to bathe there! I don't know why we don't just say toilet here!
My older son lives in Canada and they also have some unique words/phrases. I think many of them are similar to British phrases. One that drives my son crazy is when people say they are going to 'phone' someone. He says 'phone' is not a verb. Saying you're going to phone someone makes it sound like you're about to beat him/her with a phone. :))
Ha, ha! We say that we are going to 'phone' someone, in the UK. I hadn't thought of it that way lol. Yes, I've also found it odd when people say they are going to the 'bathroom' when they are really going to the toilet, but I think it's just a polite way of saying it, like when we say 'I'm going to powder my nose' in place of 'going to the toilet'.
It did feel a bit like discovering treasure when I found that disk :)