I have a new respect for copy editors. I really, truly do. I now understand just how annoying it is when you have to undo over 4000 versions of the ‘yob’s comma’ as termed by Lynne Truss, author of Eats, shoots & leaves, because it serves no purpose whatsoever and thus makes you, a yob. I’ve…
I’ve been dreaming about Paternoster, the coastal village with its wealth of whitewashed fisherman’s cottages and blue shutters on the barren West Coast of South Africa for years. The idea of a remote Cycladic influenced town in the middle of (almost) nowhere sounded idyllic. And this year, I decided come what may, we were going…
This may come as rather a surprise to the lovely readers who have so very kindly followed my blog (much love to you all) but until now, most of the unfinished manuscripts filling my desk draw were all fantasy novels. Sort of in the vein of, but obviously not half as brilliant, as Neil Gaimon or Terry Pratchett. Don’t…
Right. So … editing, okay … been at this for a solid week and I’m only at chapter 7. Sigh. Well, nobody said it would be easy, right? What I am enjoying, beyond fixing the grammar gremlins and all the red and green underlined bits and shouting at MS Word because dammit, sometimes a fragment…
So … yesterday something rather magical happened, fuelled by Nespresso, the remnants of a hangover from the night before, as well as lack of food: I finished The Book! Working title/s: A Greek Vintage / Under a Cretan Sky / My Invincible Summer / An Invincible Summer … I will be having a vote on…
When I first started writing fiction some 10 years ago, what came out was fantasy; a magical world, with witches, spells, and battles between good and evil. It was a love affair that began in childhood, and is unlikely to ever disappear. I still have these stories, which lie close to my heart, and one…
Isn’t that a beautiful title? Taken from a Dylan Thomas poem, the theme of which inspired the first novel of the incredible writing talent of Nicola Ann Roberts, who is being featured here today. What I love about blogging is the amazing community of like-minded people that you find. There’s something so incredible about speaking to someone who is…
I get quite a kick when I find out about famous authors who have made a living out of writing under secret pen names, for years, with the public being none the wiser. To me, it adds to their charm, and lends an air of mystery. After intense research (a coffee break, avoiding actual work, and…
Just a short update on the novel progress. Yesterday I reached the 50,000 word mark, a new milestone. Whoop whoop. Quite a feat I think (ahem) as it is the length of a short novel, Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook was 52,000 words and a Nanowrimo novel is 50,000 words. It’s taken longer than expected to…
I’ve heard it said before: writing is not for the faint of heart. Like acting, you’re only as good as your last gig. Where you can go from being praised to vilified from one piece of work to the next, and it’s almost impossible to know which one it will be, half of the time. I…
Lily Graham 