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Stuart Ayris - The Truth About Trees
message 1301:
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Stuart
(new)
May 29, 2016 08:36AM
yep! There's a price to pay for the raving and grooving and loving but I'll keep paying it whilst I'm able!
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Well a few moments ago I wrote the last word in my novel, Albion Calling. It feels like the first novel that truly encaptures all of me - and I love it for its honesty and for its beauty. It won't be for everyone. Mate, it might not be for anyone. But I love it all the same. Roll on you beautiful years!
When a writer pours their heart and soul into a book, there has to be someone, somewhere who will treasure it because it will touch their heart too. We all have commanalities.Hope it's a huge success!
Congratulations on completing your book Stuart, looking forward to reading it.
Number nine I believe, Stu?I love your love of writing. It shines through in your books.
Thank you kind people! It's a weird and wonderful life I've stumbled into and I bloody love it!
So I think I have finally finished writing Albion Calling. It has wound up at just over 92,000 words and my brother is currently trying to make some kind of sense of it. I love it in all its gorgeous madness and in all its deep, deep love. It won't be for everybody. But, mate, it makes me tingle. And that's just fine by me.
As Patti so aptly puts it - that love shines through in your books. Long may it continue that way.
Thank you Anna. Very kind of you to say. You just can't beat a bit of gorgeous, a bit of mad and a bit of love!
So I have finished writing my latest novel - Albion Calling. It is 92,000 words long and is currently being edited with a view to a mid-September release. I have also begun writing my next novel. It will be called Small Mercy and I am about 3,000 words in. It's looking good - if a little odd - so far!
Well Albion Calling is now with the publisher so is one step closer to release. It will certainly be a love it or hate it book. I love it so that's good! Almost up to 25,000 words now with Small Mercy and I love that too. I love a lot of things. It's not a bad way to be!
So here's another peek at Albion Calling..."“First thing you need to learn about baking bread is nothing to do with baking bread. What you need to know, to be sure of, is death. You got that? Death. Unless you know about death then you won’t ever make anything rise, truly rise I mean. Back to your Bible miracle again maybe but that’s the point. It’s all miracles when it comes down to it. You got your Vietnam right now, yeah? Not cool. Death is all over it. We got people dying in this country too. Hard working people just trying to get through life - to sustain like I said - but they wind up dying, some through no fault of their own, others because they don’t know about death, don’t know it at all, just see it as something as happens on the news or in the films. You know anything about death, Missy?”
1967?
West London?
Seventeen years old?
Ready for the groove?
Oh yeah, man.
Oh yeah.
That long gone
bakery girl.
“Salt kills yeast. You know that? You didn’t before? You do now. Never let the salt get near the yeast. Your yeast is your heart, it pumps the blood around, gets everything moving, livens up the dead and creates the miracle - not on its own but we’ll come to that. The salt, you need that for the crust - it’s not magical like yeast but it has a place in the whole scheme of it all. No yeast, no rise. No salt, no crust. Bread without crust is a body without skin. Underneath the skin is where all the magic happens but you need that skin and that crust to hold off the revealing. That crust is the silk cloth the magician holds in one hand whilst he’s dazzling you with the other. But never forget. The salt will kill the yeast soon as look at it. And it does look at it. I’ve seen it. When it’s not looking at me but looking at the yeast. Salt’s not easy to catch out but you can do it. It don’t like being caught but darling you have to keep everything fine in this whole breadmaking thing. Don’t malign the salt because of, you know, the crust. But you look after that yeast and keep ‘em separate then you got no death anywhere near? We don’t want no Vietnam round here. There ain’t no getting out of no Vietnam. You got it?”
“I think so.”
“Good. Then pull those drapes across, sugar, and let me teach you all about the motherfucking rising…”"
Well I have been back from Bolivia for a few months now, during which I have completed the first draft of the novel recounting my experiences. It comes in at just under 97,000 words making it my longest to date. I am currently getting through the first re-write and really enjoying it! I'll update this thread as I go along with various odds and ends as I progress to the finished article. As ever, any questions gratefully received!
Jim wrote: "congratulations Stuart :-)"Thank you Jim. It's certainly going well so far. Just need to get it right and let it fly where it might!
I think with a book like that, that's the best policy. Make it safe and sensible and nobody will notice it, let it be what it ought to be and perhaps only a handful of people will love it.But they'll love it so much they'll badger their friends until they love it as well :-)
Jim wrote: "I think with a book like that, that's the best policy. Make it safe and sensible and nobody will notice it, let it be what it ought to be and perhaps only a handful of people will love it.But they..."
I agree mate. Safe and sensible has never really been more forte either in life or in literature!
as the man said, let it all hang out :-)
Thank you Jim and Anna. Hoping for it to be released early in the new year as the writing of it was something of a chaotic experience and will require something of a steady hand (again not really my forte) to translate it into something coherent to the unintiated!
Has it really been three years? Goodness me!
Stone the crows - it is you!Welcome back. Always good to hear how fellow writers tackle things.
Hah! Thank you! One more attempt to get a little "organised!"
By way of an update...This Awful Small Mercy of Miss Miriam Mallone - aiming for an early 2021 release.
The Truth About Trees - 20,000 words in and grooving!
Rush over and tell the 'Today I mostly wrote... word count' thread - you'll look so very good.
I've always been more comfortable looking ragged than looking very good!
Hey stranger!
Hi Rosemary! Hope all is good with you?!
Peckin' awa Stuart!
Cake? Did somebody mention cake? Kath bakes cakes, where is she?
Well into my third vegan year and can confirm vegan chocolate is no better than Trumpian Contrition!
Gingerlilly! That's one of the best and probably vegan... ahem. And who had that first slice?
Of course its vegan *ahem*And I had the slice... I mean, I had to test it before posting...
That's the sort of dedication I could do with where my writing efforts are concerned! Fine effort Gingerlily lady!
Serious cake demands dedicated writing :-)
Just can't break my habit of 5,000 word splurges interspersed by days of dayreaming! And my dedication to promotion etc remains on a par with my commitment to sobriety.
Quick update about my yet to be published novels:This Awful Small Mercy Of Miss Miriam Malone - with editor and hopefully out within the next few months.
The Truth About Trees - almost a quarter of the way through the second draft.
Darling Chubby Chops - first five thousand words done and getting into the groove.
That's one way of putting it Jim! On a bit of a deadline as once we've exchanged contracts on the house (hopefully before end of March), I'll be playing the cricket season (if there is one) then off to Bolivia for 6 months.Plenty of caveats so who the hell really knows?!
Stuart wrote: "That's one way of putting it Jim! On a bit of a deadline as once we've exchanged contracts on the house (hopefully before end of March), I'll be playing the cricket season (if there is one) then of..."I'd have thought that we'd see Cricket this summer. I certainly hope so
Absolutely. Although being the club captain, secretary and finance fool and chief sandwich maker, it's both a blessing and a curse!
Well it's just gone midnight here in Tollesburyville and I'm writing about a nine year old flemish girl in 1815 who lives in a glass dome fashioned from the single tear of a monkey that was shot out of a cannon nine kilometres from the scene of the battle of Waterloo. Her name is Mademoiselle. She has no ears. I love her very much.Who needs mainstream fiction anyway? ;-)
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