Snap judgements

A few weeks ago I attended the Bournemouth Festival of Romance Writing. You can find the post about it in the October archive list. I mentioned then the Slay the Slush Pile panel, when three editors indicated how far they would read in an anonymous script before deciding whether to reject or read on. The speed of the responses was fascinating - and I have to say, somewhat depressing. 

But now I have to admit that I have found myself doing something similar. A realisation that came to me when I sent back a selection on my Kindle that hadn't grabbed me in the sample pages. 

I have always been a die hard library user, from the age of seven, when you were allowed to have your first library card. You had to be able to sign your name and that was when you were expected to have mastered the art of joined up writing. 

My habits have changed quite a bit since becoming a Kindle reader. For a start, I actually buy more books. I still use the library, and am an avid user of the reservations system, but now I buy electronically from my favourite authors so I can have them faster, and keep them! 

My tolerance level seems to have gone down though. Using the sample feature and subscribing to Kindle Unlimited, if it doesn't grab me in the first few pages, back it goes. This may be a factor of getting old - a lot have friends have commented that they now give themselves permission not to finish a book that isn't holding their attention, where in past times they would have soldiered on. Large scale library use might be a factor here. When you have struggled home on the bus with your weekly quota of heavy reading matter it is harder to give up on a book and the hope that if you keep reading it will get better. To be fair, sometimes it did. But not often, And now I don't have the patience. Always more fish/books in the sea.  

Impatience? Yes. But also more choice. If you don't have to commit to carrying it/reading it to the - often bitter - end there is room to experiment. I've taken a chance on an unknown author, a genre I don't usually read, a recommendation from a friend - or an algorithm - and found a new one for the favourites list.   

A little lowering to discover that I am just as quick to make up my mind as those professional panelists? Maybe. 

Moral of the story - that first page matters. 

Christmas reading.

 Regular readers know that I never intended to write a Christmas book. It just sort of crept up on me. What Happens at Christmas has been around a while now, but if you haven't discovered it yet, why not give it a go? I'm still very fond of Drew and Lori and enjoyed telling their story, And, of course, there is snow.

It's got a new cover, and you can get it now on Kindle Unlimited. It's romantic suspense, so it has some dark stuff along with the tinsel and mince pies - but if you are looking for a Christmas read that is a little bit different....

And, of course it has a happy ending. 

  Get it here

Not where but when

 Choosing a location to set a book is an essential part of the preparation process, but at the moment I am not thinking about where - it's going to be the South Wales coast - but when. And no, it's not an historical. 

It's contemporary, but I'm thinking about which season it could be set in. 

In the old days, when books took maybe a year or more to get into print, I don't think it was quite such an issue. Books happened when they happened - or so it seemed to me. 

Now books are season appropriate. With the production rate moving up to two books a year, a summer story and a Christmas offering is often expected as a norm. Indeed, Christmas books certainly seem to be much more of a thing these days.

But now autumn too seems to be moving into the frame. With the emphasis on pumpkin spice, autumn decor, like door wreaths, celebration of Halloween, autumn is also becoming a thing. 

As you know, I'm not a great fan of this time of year, mainly because it's always so dark, but the New Idea seems to be trying to set itself in the autumn. I'm not sure if that is simply because it is autumn, or if something else is going on. Certainly at the moment the Idea is coming up with a gothic tinge to it. You know I'm always threatening to write a gothic romantic suspense. Is this one it? 

There seem to be a lot of creepy houses and stormy moonlit goings-on going on. And did I mention the wolf? No - it's not a shifter romance. Logan is 100% human. He's the hero - he's been wandering around in my ideas bank for a while. She doesn't have a name yet. I'm working on that, but nothing has felt right so far. 

Maybe once that happens I'll have a better grip on what exactly is happening here. 

Research Threads

 Research takes many forms - and not all of them are procrastination, honest. Sometimes you need to look up something specific like character names, or breeds of dog, or train frequencies. Other times it is deeper stuff - building blocks to an idea, inspiration, background colour. And sometimes those odd strands coalesce and form - well, something quite unexpected. 

In the last few weeks I have several things that I am chalking up as research. My visit to the Russel Cotes Museum and Gallery in Bournemouth was one, as I have a number of ideas in the melting pot that will involve a Victorian house. 

Then, on a trip to London and a visit to one of my favourite occult bookshops - Watkins in Cecil Court,  I located a book that was on my wish list - Of Dove and Ravens by Benjamin Stimpson which is Welsh folklore and will again feed ideas into ongoing projects. I've just written what I hope is a creepy scene involving the Mari Lwyd  - which is a horse skull on a pole - for the WIP, and as that book has a character reputed to be a local witch who has just made her first appearance I'm looking forward to other traditional folklore I can use. The last thing I did in London was a trip to the play Born with Teeth which explored the relationship between Elizabethan playwrights Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. I've long had a manuscript idea that hinges on such a relationship so it was a must see. And a memorable one with  Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel in bravura performances. 

All of these were to feed the inspiration bank, adding layers to ideas I am already working on or will be working on in the future. And then as sometimes happens an idea that I'd had a considerable time ago and not developed suddenly surfaced, gathered some of these elements up and became ... well, something. Separate bits smooshed themselves together and started to demand attention. I'm not sure where we are going, but I like what I'm seeing so far.  Whether it will be a story or simply idea soup remains to be seen, but I'm hoping ...

A Day at the Museum

 I'd made an executive decision not to travel back from Bournemouth after the fabulous Romance Writing Festival on a Sunday. Having had the train journey from hell on the way down, I did not regret the decision. (The journey back on Monday went like clockwork!) 

But what do you do on a wet Sunday in Bournemouth when you forgot to pack your umbrella?  I didn't relish tramping around getting soaked - and it was raining cats and dogs, all day. Luckily I had done my homework and discovered the Russel Cotes Museum and Gallery which I was keen to explore. Also luckily it was very close to my hotel. Even so I had to dry my showerproof coat out with a hair dryer when I squelched back after a fun day spent at the house. It is one of those gloriously bonkers Victorian piles - all turrets and verandas outside and stuffed full of treasures inside. It was a 66th birthday present from Sir Merton Russel Cotes to his wife Annie. The couple owned and managed the Royal Bath Hotel next door - where the Festival was held - and staff from the hotel looked after the devoted couple who lived there until they died.  I loved it. The decor - basically if it was a wall or ceiling, paint it, tile it or stencil it. If it was a window, put stained glass in it. If it was vertical, hang art on it, if it was horizontal put an ornament on it. The house was perched high above what was a very rough sea on that day. Many of the rooms and the lovely little conservatory had spectacular views mostly of lashing waves. 

The art was also spectacular - the house was intended to be a gallery to be left for the benefit of the people of Bournemouth and the Russel Cotes' were avid collectors. Victorian art - including a couple of lovely Pre-Raphaelites - sculpture, small pieces in china and metal - cabinets full of ornaments. Even a small museum to the famous actor Henry Irving who was a friend of the couple and stayed often at the hotel. I spent a happy day going from room to room studying the comprehensive catalogue in each one that explained the details of what I was looking at. A scone and tea in the very nice cafe, and a trip to the gift shop rounded off the day.   

As I have two idea simmering which involve Victorian houses it was a worthwhile research exercise. Plenty of thoughts to stoke the simmer. 

If you want to take a look the website with lots of pictures of house and art is HERE 

A fun weekend

 I've been out and about again - this time to the Romance Writing Festival in Bournemouth. I had a very good time and caught up with many old friends who I have not see for a long time. 

Bournemouth is quite a long way from Wales - and I have to say that I had the train journey from hell to get there. Delayed trains, cancelled trains, trains that terminated before the intended end of their journey. It seem like the rail networks and their passengers were having a bit of a collective melt down. The result was that I arrived two hours late, in the dark. Not a good idea for a place I have not visited for maybe fifty odd years? My Premier Inn was only across the road from the festival venue though - the large and impressive Royal Bath Hotel - so even without the chance to explore, I could not get lost. 

On Saturday the day began early and moved fast - panels on crossing genres, a sense of place, and finding your audience tumbled over each other, I attended the panel on writing about sadness - what I would call a tear jerker - out of curiosity. I know they are very popular - readers apparently love a good cry - but I could never write one. I am happy to murder any number of people in the course of a book, but that is not my genre. It was fascinating to hear from Lola Jaye, Emma Claire Wilson and Sarra Manning on how they approached it, and the effect it had as part of a romance - or romantic writing. 

The event I was most looking forward to - and it did not disappoint - was the Slay the Slush Pile panel when  Emily Ruston, Ellah Mwale and Sara-Jade Virtue as agents and editors, reacted to unpublished manuscripts, under the watchful eye of Janet Gover. Thirty five brave souls submitted 500 words of a manuscript to be read aloud anonymously to the panel, who then indicated how far into the reading they would go, before making a decision to reject or read on. They got through seventeen and none got as far as the whole 500 words. Some were rejected almost straight away - because the topic was considered too hard a sell or because there was some flaw in the presentation. Alternatively some were accepted for a further read almost straight away. Opinions differed - although there was one script set in WWII that everyone liked - it appears that WWII is 'hot' right now.  It was an illuminating event. The take-aways were that opinions did differ, so your manuscript has to cross the right desk at the right time, and that the first few lines of your MS are hyper important. So - polish, polish, polish and do research to find out who might be the best fit for what you write. 

In the evening there was a reception where the Mayor of Bournemouth presented achievement awards to Katie Forde who could not be there, and Milly Johnson who could and was visibly thrilled and touched by the acknowledgement. I spent some happy time catching up with friends. It was a fabulous day.

Next day - Sunday - it rained torrentially. As I had forgotten my umbrella exploring the town and the sea front was out, but I spent a happy day immersed in the delights of the Russel Cotes Museum and Gallery. But that is a story for another post.  

Visiting Royalty

 That's me visiting them, not them visiting me. King John of Magna Carta fame  to be precise - and Henry VIII's older brother, Prince Arthur. 

Those in the know will have deduced that I spent a day last week in Worcester. My first time in the city. As well a coffee, lunch and lots of gossip with long standing friend Mary, I visited Worcester Cathedral - last resting place of John and Arthur - or bits of them, as there was a habit of burying body parts, usually the heart, in different places. King John's reign was not one I have ever studied - most of my knowledge of him comes from Shakespeare - and Arthur was overshadowed by the exploits of his little brother, who married his widow, Katherine of Aragon. And we all know how that ended,

I was very impressed with the cathedral, even without its royal inhabitants. It was a magnificent building, with an amazing ceiling, lots of lovely stained glass, including a window memorializing Sir Edward Elgar, who was local to the area,  and a number of other memorials and painted tombs. I was particularly drawn to an intriguing one where the lady of the partnership was resting her head on a black swan. Apparently she is thought to be Joan Beauchamp, buried next to Sir John, her husband, although this is not 100% certain.  Her tomb was certainly interesting enough to attract my attention. The ashes of former Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, along with those of his wife, are also interred in the cathedral but in a part that was roped off - so I did not get close enough to inspect the plaque. 

I was so fascinated by wandering and reading that I did not remember to take any pictures, which is very remiss of me. There were cloisters, a cafe, which we did not patronize, although I have to say the smell of what they were serving for lunch was very enticing. The visit was completed by a mooch in a small but very well stocked gift shop, and I started my festive preparations by buying Xmas cards! 

I don't think any of the people or things I saw will be making it into a book any time soon, but it was a lovely day out, and I recommend the cathedral as a fascinating site for a lengthy prowl. If you like history, it is one for you.