Catching Up - Part Three

24 October

Well, Monday’s been and gone and rather than contribute something here I chose to resurrect GETTING TO KNOW and feature my fellow York Author, Helen Cadbury, with whom I spent a pleasant day on Saturday at The Ryedale Book Festival. See my Blog for the details. This after spending the whole day in Louth on Friday at Wolds Words, including a morning signing books in Wrights of Louth, the bookshop with the (famous) upside-down shop sign. I’m told that when they took the sign down a few years ago to paint it, there were articles in the local paper and a visit from the local council along the lines of You are going to put that back as it was, aren’t you (note the lack of question mark). A local landmark, indeed. Anyway, two days out and about with a total of eleven books sold can’t be bad.
Meanwhile, my daily read continues and I can now report that I’ve finished The Universe versus Alex Woods and I’m well into Stoner. When I’ve completed it, I’ll give a summary of all three novels I’ve read during my enforced break from writing and we’ll have an exercise in ‘contrast and compare’. But it will be just the three books as the initial section of MALAREN is back from typing and I must now press on with revising the first three chapters in preparation for sending out to agents (still no reply from Zoe King of The Blair Partnership, by the way).
And with it comes the first piece of feedback regarding my new work in progress. DLW (my Dear Lady Wife) doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to literary critique and I was rather hoping that she might keep her comments to herself until such time as I’d had the chance to polish everything up. But no, and with delivery of the USB containing Part One came a wry smile and words to the effect that I seem to have ‘captured the despair of a man whose life is spiralling out of control following the death of his beloved wife’. Although I’m sure it will want tidying up, this is very pleasing as it will help to draw the reader in, create empathy with the character of ALAN and make some of the things he does later in the book much more understandable. I am greatly encouraged and look forward to starting work on it next week. You will be kept informed as to progress of course.
The promotional campaign for BIRDS OF THE NILE continues although at a reduced pace. The Lit Fest season seems to have come to an end (I’ve not been invited to Humbermouth and the Newcastle Book Fair isn’t running this year) so I’ve resorted to planning for the spring. Huddersfield, Hexham,York and Scarborough are all within my sights and I have made pitches for each of them. York is looking good but the jury is out on the others.
I have a couple of writing groups coming up and through a personal contact DLW has landed me a talk at a local WI meeting. Last night I was at The Sandbar in Horsforth at Leeds Trinity Open Mic and tonight I go to Give Back Works at The National Railway Museum. I was originally booked to speak but this has been postponed in favour of the full-time membership. I shall attend nonetheless.
Next week looks quiet though. Time to review Part One of MALAREN and get the red pen out ...