Catching Up - Part Four

31October

Another week gone by and I’m obliged to look in my diary to see what I’ve been up to. Ostensibly not a lot, only one evening out and that was at a University of York lecture regarding the links between ancient Egypt and Yorkshire. A strange topic you might think, but as I count myself as part of that link (albeit in a very tenuous way) I thought it worth while attending. And having discovered the possibility of a cultural exchange between York and Luxor is on the cards, I guess you could say my trip was worthwhile irrespective of the lecture itself.
Meanwhile, it’s what’s been happening at home that’s of more immediate interest. Last week I said that Part One of MALAREN was back from typing along with some encouraging comments. I’ve now had the chance to read it and judge for myself. I have to confess I was reluctant to get going on it. I dread that moment when I’m confronted with the product of my own making – will it be good enough? Or am I going to be disappointed? It’s at these moments that I refer myself to my own seminar, ‘A Defence Against The Dark Arts’, and remind myself that what I think ultimately doesn’t matter and that it’s down to the market to be the final arbiter. My responsibility is to produce the best work I can and offer that for consideration. I’ve taken a sow’s ear before and with help I’ve turned it, if not into a silk purse then at least into something readable. Now I must do the same again. And so, armed with a good dose of my own philosophy, I made a start.
And much to my surprise and relief, it isn’t that bad. Chapter One is actually quite good I think, and Chapter Two isn’t far behind. Chapters Three and Four need a bit of revision (and in one instance, rewriting) but with time, effort and a following wind I think I could make something out of it. So with that in mind, I’ve devised a plan. We go to Chicago on 21 November to visit our daughter for Thanksgiving. By then, my objective is to have Chapters One and Two polished (I may even recast them as Chapters One, Two and Three) and sent out to agents. When I get back and while I’m waiting for the inevitable slew of rejections, I can crack on with the rest. Yesterday I wrote a synopsis (one side of A4) and today I revised half of the original Chapter One. Tomorrow I will be revising the second half which will be the new Chapter Two. By Monday (ish), I’ll be in a position to start compiling a list of potential agents. What all this tells me is that MALAREN is the next work in progress and the most natural successor to BIRDS OF THE NILE, an issue which has been bothering me for a while.
As for BIRDS OF THE NILE itself, I have news – but I’m going to delay passing that on for the moment. My priority there is to help with the campaign to promote the EBOOK PRICE REDUCTION (did you get that?) that starts today. So I’m getting ready to tweet and I’ve been tinkering up my Goodreads page in readiness. Some of you may have already noticed ...