Stuart Ayris - The Truth About Trees Showing 1,351-1,373 of 1,373

[Alicia]

Stuart wrote: "Who needs mainstream fiction anyway? ;-)
"

Me. There are readers for everything - I just want mine.

[Stuart]

Alicia, I discovered long ago that I'm writing purely for posterity. Certainly takes the stress out of things!

[Alicia]

Stuart wrote: "Alicia, I discovered long ago that I'm writing purely for posterity. Certainly takes the stress out of things!"

I want posterity to find me - which means they need to be jostled into it now, while I'm still here to do it. After I'm gone, I'm sure no one will care.

I've now put over twenty years into the Pride's Children trilogy, and I'm not letting that go to waste (as it has already gone to waist).

[Stuart]

I wish I had your commitment, Alicia! Fair play to you!

[Alicia]

It's a long story, complicated by illness losing me my original profession, and stealing the ability to do most of the things I'd like to do, but I'll be damned if I let it take the writing I was going to do in retirement anyway.

Most days I chip away at it, some days are good, and a great many more only a little gets done. But it's progress that would otherwise not happen at all, and I have my reasons for wanting this story told. And told well enough that the readers won't see certain things, and learn them organically.

[Stuart]

Seeing as I'm almost through the penultimate draft of The Truth About Trees, I thought I'd post the chapter titles for your perusal. The book consists of four tales across four different centuries all linked by a central theme. It all makes sense. Honest.

Part One
1. Her Mother's Child
2. As a Butterfly
3. A Chunk of Cheese
4. Imagine That
5. A Grand Indifference
6. That Particular Unravelling
7. Then as Now
8. This Equals That
9. This Life of Mine

Part 2
1. Pupa Child
2. To Get Away
3. Sweet and Inelegant Melancholy
4. The Old Drum and Monkey
5. Urchin of the World
6. Captain Reid's Stroke of Genius
7. Solemnly, the Monkey
8. Of Simian Design
9. Last Orders
10. This Life of Mine

Part 3
1. Upon a Stave
2. Almost Heroic
3. We All Sup Sorrow
4. The Nature of Her Rolling
5. Those Dread Remembered Days
6. Simply as Grindle
7. Well Just What is a Chap to Do?
8. Tangle to the Jive
9. This Life of Mine

Part 4
1. A Chill Unaccountable
2. Even for September
3. What the Funk?
4. The Lost Type
5. Available Rejigging
6. They Wanted to Make Him Be
7. Something About Big Bill Broonzy's Second Cousin
8. Not Even Toots
9. When Numbers Get Serious
10. This Life of Mine

[Jim]

I think I can see a pattern :-)

[Stuart]

Well I've completed the final draft of the prologue and the first of the four tales.

The tales that comprise the book are:

The Tale and True Testament of Elspeth Crowley (1696-1714)

The Tale and True Testament of Joe Lathem (1803? - 1815)

The Tale and True Testament of Maggie Cross (1878-1916)

The Tale and True Testament of Apology Roy (1965-1999)

The epilogue consists of a 24 line poem.

In total, the book is about 68000 words and I bloody love it.

[Jim]

A sensible length :-)

[Stuart]

Unlike some of my bowling!

Getting excited about the impending publication (late summer hopefully) of my 10th novel: This Awful Small Mercy Of Miss Miriam Malone.

It was the first fiction I'd written in a couple of years and very much evolved of its own accord. I'm not giving anything away by saying it has a bit of a mad old twist to it which I foresee being perhaps just a little too mad for most but I think those few who like it may really like it!

So, yes, I continue stubbornly onwards in my mission to write myself into absolute obscurity!

[Alicia]

Join the club. The writing and the marketing are separate worlds for most of us.

[Stuart]

Absolutely. The joy of creating something has always been more than enough for me.

[Anna]

Of course, we shall all be discovered once we're dead and buried, meanwhile, we'll enjoy letting our minds run riot while we behave impeccably sane.

[Stuart]

You were so spot on, right up until the very last word!

[Anna]

It's a disguise!

[Stuart]

Well it's one I don't wear particularly well!

[Stuart]

Just returned from gorgeous wild Scotland. Have three weeks to complete the final draft of The Truth About Trees before heading off to who knows where for six months. Pressure is on for this procrastinator!

[Stuart]

Just finished the final draft of The Truth About Trees. Hugely pleased with it. Turned out exactly as intended although, of course, it is rather an odd kind of book. Will be getting a couple of people to read it before sending it to the publishers. Hoping my other yet to be published novel - This Awful Small Mercy of Miss Miriam Malone - will be out soon. Fun times ahead!

[Jim]

Good going :-)

[Stuart]

Well, it's been a while coming, but my eleventh novel - - is out today!

[Stuart]

I am currently working on the final draft of my next novel, The Truth About Trees. I intend to double the length during the rewrite to about 120,000 words. I intend for it to be my best work yet, possibly by a fair stretch.

Here is the poem of which the Epilogue is comprised:

The truth about trees
is that
there are silver butterflies
atop
the Tollesbury waters.

The truth about trees
is that
your hand, it feels
so very fine
in mine.

The truth about trees
is that
for every desolate life lived
there stands upon this earth
a tree

The truth about trees
Is that
Love, l
Love
Must prevail

The truth about trees
Is that
You astound me.

The truth about trees
Is that
I am astounded
By your love

So
Gorgeous stranger

May you gaze deep into the wow of your soul.
And
May you see the sun in there, the rivers, the mountains, the clouds and the dawn in there.
And
May you see the stars in there, the rain, the wind and the universe in there.

And
when that time comes
for you to recount
the hip-shake
of your life,
may the tale you tell
be nothing less than
extraordinary.

[Stuart]

After almost four years, The Truth About Trees is now with the publisher. It is by far my longest novel (about 135,000 words) and I love it very much.

I'm currently a few thousand words into my next - Catalonia Tryptico Blues - which will be, I think, my twelfth.

Just can't seem to stop writing, it seems!

[Anna]

Stuart says: Just can't seem to stop writing, it seems!

I know what you mean! Great isn't it?