Post Publication Blues

Well, it’s over a week since my second book “Cursed” came out and I’m feeling strangely deflated on several levels and I have no idea why. On the up side I’ve had the comments on the third book “Bound” back from Jo and have been working on some notes for her to peruse as to any changes she suggested. It’s a bit like brainstorming by e-mail. When she sent them back and said she’d be away for a week I was “Oh No!” I can’t wait that long to discuss it before I can get started. Actually it’s as well I did have all that extra time as at about 3.30 each morning I’ve been waking up with yet another idea. Let’s hope she likes some of them! Of course once we’ve talked them through I’ll be all excited again, I suppose because I’ll be writing.

The other project I’m slogging away on (working title – Ghost Story – not very imaginative, but it’ll do for now) I’ve left for a bit while I’m concentrating on Bound. I’m eighty thousand words in with the end in sight and I was in the middle of a re-read to make sure the timeline was right and to also keep track of a few things to make sure I’ve got it all straight in my head. It’s completely different from anything else I’ve ever written before and is actually my seventeenth novel (including the three Soulseer books). Marked was my ninth, so this might give you a general idea of how compulsive a writer I can be (fifteen of my novels have been written since 2007).

I also have another novel I’ve started writing but decided to leave a bit, which is also different to the Soulseer Chronicles but is at least in the same genre. I’m dying to get started on it but the other project kept getting in the way so in the end I said “damn it” and thought I’d just write Ghost Story and get it out of my system. Like many of my other novels it will probably never see the light of day, mainly (and I have mentioned this before) because I am so shit at sending stuff out. On the whole I think it’s the idea of writing the synopsis that does it. I can do it, but I really have to be in the right mindset. There is a definite knack and I know if I try when I’m really not in the mood it will come out as rubbish and no matter how much I try to work on it it’s still rubbish so then I have to dump it and start again. And that’s all wasted writing time – except it isn’t! It’s practise and what does practise make? – Well, in my case certainly not perfection, but my synopsis are getting better and I suspect you get my point.

Anyway, there’s no point whinging about it – if you’re an author you have to be able to produce a synopsis for your publisher or agent. Of course condensing 100k to 120K into a page or two isn’t easy, but I’m beginning to think shorter is better because you really can’t say much at all and therefore be tempted to delve too deeply into the storyline.

Oh – and the other big bit of news is a replacement has been found to take over from me at work and will be starting next week. I’ve been with Quaife Woodlands over fourteen years after spending 28 years with a major bank so it’s about time I put my feet up. I am retiring very early, despite the government telling me I can’t until I’m 67 – shucks yahoo to you lot is all I can say! I started work at 16 and in all that time was only unemployed for about six weeks, so I could do with a rest.

There are some things I will miss – This is a picture I took just outside my office

As I mentioned on a previous blog my significant other retired at the end of August last year and we’ve decided, rather strangely, that we would like to spend more time together. This also means we will be moving – but more on that another time.

This is the view from my kitchen window – hours can be lost people watching!

Needless to say I will be spending more time writing, so hopefully my blog will be updated on a more regular basis. Anyway ta ta for now and you never know next time I post it may be I have an end date in sight.

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