#IWSG – Backtrack 2017

December 6, 2017 by Roland Clarke

Today, I’m answering the December 6th IWSG question – As you look back on 2017, with all its successes/failures, if you could backtrack, what would you do differently?

My first thought for this monthly post for the Insecure Writer’s Group is to say – or sing:

Regrets, I’ve had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do, I saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course, each careful step along the highway
And more, much more than this, I did it my way.

I’m not sure if the ‘charted course’ was always planned and that might have been for lack of a GPS signal or the right map. I tried working with a few outlines as I am a plotter, but life is never as simple as planned. The answer for me is five-fold and some were successes, some failures, and most were near misses:

When I started 2017, I thought Gossamer Flames, my post-apocalyptic saga, was my next target book for release. But for various reasons, that intention ended and the ‘novel’ was shelved. Looking back, I might have invested less effort into that – but at least, I have a draft v4 to work with when I return.

However, the first major derailment of my writing has been my health issues – from being rushed to hospital with Aspiration pneumonia to being diagnosed with blood cancer on top of having multiple sclerosis. While my health has stalled the writing at moments, I can look back and think positive: the pneumonia was treated, my cancer is at stage zero, and the MS is not getting worse. Should I have changed my diet earlier?

I had planned to re-release Spiral of Hooves for some time, so the re-release in a newly revised edition on August 7^th, was timely and on many levels, I have no regrets. People that never read Kindle books got to hold paperback copies. However, looking back I might have spent less on the re-launch – yet, I now have a back-catalogue that only I can make unavailable.

After the 2017 A to Z Challenge and my re-launch, I ran an interesting poll, asking friends on Facebook what I should be focusing on – including Eagle Crossing, the novel linked to my A to Z theme. As a result – and with overwhelming support – I turned my attention onto Fates Maelstrom, Book 1 of my Snowdon Shadows However, looking back, I fear that too many restarts might have added too many side-plots. Whether the current draft becomes an unwieldy beast continues to haunt me.

Finally, there was NaNoWriMo. I achieved the ‘Winner’ certificate and I even finished draft 1 of yet another novel. That will be next post – my thoughts on my NaNoWriMo win. But looking back, I worry that I chose the wrong novel to write – Ruined Retreat, Book 3 of the Snowdon Shadows Book 3? What about Book 2? Well, Seeking a Knife was written – or rather started in 2015. The main plotline was my first encounter with Welsh detective Sparkle Anwyl, around whom I created the series. Yes, I should have used NaNoWriMo 2017 to finish Book 2. But…I have Book 3 finished and I know a lot more, so ‘regrets…too few to mention’.

But that’s another post.

Have you got any backtrack thoughts looking back through 2017?

The awesome co-hosts for the December 6 posting of the IWSG are Julie Flanders, Shannon Lawrence, Fundy Blue, and Heather Gardner!

Purpose of IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.

#IWSG – My NaNoWriMo Confession

November 1, 2017 by Roland Clarke

It’s the first Wednesday of the month and time for another chance to confess – well, to tell the truth in the monthly Insecure Writers Support Group post. Time to answer the optional question for this month:

November 1 question – Win or not, do you usually finish your NaNo project? Have any of them gone on to be published?

I’ve done NaNo five times – the first time in 2011 = lots of first drafts. I’ve managed 50k three times and one of those ‘wins’ is my current rewrite – draft 4 of Fates Maelstrom. I am taking part again to draft the third book in the same series; same detective and setting so this new story adds to my initial character. Not quite background, but knowing where she is going helps establish a few more aspects about detective Sparkle Anwyl.

She is a Detective Constable in Book 1 – Fates Maelstrom – but promoted to Detective Sergeant by Books 2 and 3. There may be a twist in that at the end of Book 3 due to her girlfriend – yes, she discovers that she is bi-sexual in Book 1.

Does a non-sexual relationship with a boyfriend prior to Book 1 make her bi? Book 2 was drafted, in part, in 2015 but will need some work, especially as the questions about her sexuality and identity hadn’t emerged yet.

Anyway, publication. As yet, none of my ‘wins’ has reached even the editor stage, although Fates Maelstrom is heading that way. By next year, the answer might be yes.

What about you? Do you do NaNoWriMo and get published? Are you taking part this year?

Photo of Dolbadarn Castle, Snowdonia by Etrusia UK on flickr

The awesome co-hosts for the November 1 posting of the IWSG are Tonja Drecker, Diane Burton, MJ Fifield, and Rebecca Douglass!

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG

Channelling Roland

October 4, 2017 by Roland Clarke

I’m not talking about communication with my spirit guide today, although I do try to keep a good relationship going with her and Archangel Rafael on the healing front. No, today is the monthly Insecure Writers Support Group post, and IWSG Day, when we are meant to post a photo of ourselves with the IWSG logo or IWSG swag.

Sadly, my T-shirt fund has been spent on promo swag and medication, so I’m wearing an A to Z Challenge 2015 T-shirt today. But, I can attempt to answer this month’s question.

October 4th question – Have you ever slipped any of your personal information into your characters, either by accident or on purpose?

At first, my answer was, “I never did such an overt thing”. Except I have done and I still do, although it’s more a case of slipping in the odd trait that might be mine, or a comment or thought. So, not quite channelling. I have a habit of giving at least one of my characters in each novel an illness or health condition, such as diabetes – but not multiple sclerosis; although, I wrote two short stories with MS sufferers as the protagonists.

My current WIP, Fates Maelstrom does have a photo-journalist that is a POV character, and he has a momentary crisis over sexual identity; traits that I share with him as well as his ancestral links to the anti-slavery movement. However, he is a mixed-race American with his sights set on a Pulitzer.

Idea – I write him in First Person. But how do I handle his hidden secrets? Make him ‘unreliable’ with a memory problem, like The Joker?

RC-AtoZ

The awesome co-hosts for this October 4 posting of the IWSG are Olga Godim, Chemist Ken, Jennifer Hawes, and Tamara Narayan!

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG

WHERE NOW WITH SPIRAL OF HOOVES?

February 24, 2017 by Roland Clarke

My writing year has got off to a good start as I completed Stage 1 of my writing plans. Over the last month, I have managed to finish a re-edit of my debut novel “Spiral of Hooves” with the aim of getting it republished. For those that missed the original release, it was in December 2013.

So, I removed a subplot that didn’t work and garnered some negative comments. I also tidied up some strange sentence constructions, and corrected all the Americanisms, as it’s set in England, and I had a UK publisher in mind.

Then, everything went awry – I read more about the publishers including an interview with their main man and I concluded that my mystery was wrong for them – not gritty or dark enough. They also tend to go for writers with a few books to release at the same time.

The problem now is what next? Do I submit this novel to a UK agent, a UK publisher, a US agent, a US publisher, OR do I translate it into German or Martian? Joking…

Oh, in case you were wondering, it’s a mystery set against the horse world, but not a cosy mystery. It has action, darker moment, and a couple of erotic scenes, but it isn’t really bloody or violent except for a few brief moments.

A shorter version of this post first appeared on Facebook, and several friends made helpful suggestions, some of which I will mention here.

In the FB comments, and back on my January blog, several people talked about self-publishing. However, I know now that will require extra skills that I need to acquire or pay for – not just the editing services that I already use. I have been reassured that I am capable of learning to format but I’m a writer. I am aware that there are excellent companies out there that will help in that process.

My major concern is the money, as we face major health bills that look like a bottomless pit. When my wife spent two days in the hospital after her recent heart attack, the bills came to $30,000.

The logical alternative is to try to find an agent or a publisher in either the UK and/or the US. How many submissions should I do at once? Do I start with agents first? Does it matter where the agent/publisher is?

The big quandary: As I’m disabled, I’m very restricted in where I can go. Flying is out, so that leaves driving – well, someone else driving me. What happens if an agent in New York wants me to go there = 2+ days driving? Book tours would be a challenge.

Then there is the language – British-English and American-English. I changed the manuscript into British-English with a US address, but I’ve found a US agent that is interested in submissions on horses. Guess I need an American-English manuscript for US agents and publishers. Yikes. Back to Grammarly then.

That would then allow me to submit to publishers like Imajin Books when they open for submissions in April? Although they like to see reviews, Amazon deleted mine but my Goodreads reviews are still up. One of their star authors said, “I wouldn’t worry about it. You can do this.”

So, do I submit to agents first and then, come April, I submit to publishers?

Different World ~ Image courtesy of manostphoto at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Do I mention that I don’t stick to genre? “Spiral of Hooves” is a mystery with a sequel; then I’ve almost finished “Storms Compass”, Book I of my post-apocalyptic saga; then comes “Fates Maelstrom”, first of the Snowdon Shadows mysteries; and my alternative history, “Eagle Crossing”, is flying along.

Where am I going in 2017?

January 3, 2017 by Roland Clarke

Any realistic writing plans for 2017 are dependent on my health.

My multiple sclerosis has entered a vicious, downward spiral with side issues like pulled tendons and swollen legs aggravating the MS. The consequences are that first, I have to cope with constant pain, sometimes bearable but other times excruciating to the point that all I can do is scream. Second, a combination of medication and lack of sleep at night, from the pain, means that I doze for much of the day, or I struggle to stay awake when I need to do anything crucial.

Excuses over, here are my writing targets for 2017 in achievable order:

I fell asleep here at 17.45, I think [Day 1]

[Day 2] Finally, I’ve got a bit more energy to write.

TARGET 1 – RE-PUBLISH SPIRAL OF HOOVES

My debut novel, Spiral of Hooves was published on December 9^th, 2013 and was available for eighteen months. My publisher, Spectacle Publishing Media Group was changing hands, so I chose to terminate our agreement, receiving all my rights back.

As I don’t feel that the novel was promoted effectively, which is clear by the friends who ask if I ever finished writing the book, then a second release is needed. Furthermore, there has never been a paperback version, so that will be part of the publishing plan.

The first step, though, is to check the reviews, that I copied off Amazon and Goodreads, for anything that needs revising and reading the novel again myself. The resulting revision will also allow me to check the foreshadowing for the sequel Tortuous Terrain.

Next, I need to identify the publishing route. I had presumed that it would be impossible to find a publisher that handled previously published books. However, I discovered Fahrenheit Press that publishes ‘Crime Fiction’ and are “not too bothered if the books have been published before”. I need to check them out more, so if anyone knows about them, please let me know.

The other option is the self-publishing route, and the choice seems to be between Create Space and Book Baby, although there may be better options that I’m overlooking. All recommendations are gratefully accepted. This route means formatting the novel for both eBook and paperback, a major task and daunting – but worth getting right. There are also financial implications at a time when health care has to be the priority.

And then I need to promote Spiral of Hooves effectively and widely – having prepared a strategy in advance.

16:00 – can I rest now, please?

20:28 – rested and showered so sort of energized.

Photo of a cloud illuminated by sunlight. ~ by Ibrahim Iujaz from Rep. Of Maldives

TARGET 2 – PUBLISH STORMS COMPASS

Storms Compass is the first book in the post-apocalyptic series Gossamer Flames. Books 2 and 3 are partly written already, as I constructed all three around short stories.

One of my critique partners has done an extensive page by page assessment that will be the basis for my final draft. Even though one of my two line-editor friends edited an earlier draft of Storms Compass, I will have made enough substantial changes to run it past the other editor. There are cost implications at this stage as well.

When I have the polished novel, I will attempt to find a publisher – having ensured that I have an excellent synopsis and blurb, that my author profile reflects the ones on social media, and ensured all recommendations for submissions are checked off.

That process could take me into 2018, so I need to be making other plans.

A lot is dependent on (a) the response that I get to the re-release of Spiral of Hooves; (b) my financial situation. If sales are minimal and health care eats away at our savings, I can attempt to finish the re-draft of Fates Maelstrom and doing research for Eagle Crossing.

On the other hand, if both Spiral of Hooves and Storms Compass are well received, I will need to work on their sequels. Is that hopeful thinking?

Have you any advice on this crazy plan, please? Does my strategy make sense?

Talking to the Dead – a review

April 11, 2016 by Roland Clarke

Time for another review of a novel linked to my own writing.

Some months ago, my character of D.S. Sparkle Anwyl began to emerge, becoming the detective embroiled in “Seeking A Knife”. However, I had some problems making her believably Welsh. It was no good just living in Snowdonia, I needed more to work with. So I embarked on extensive research. There was fiction reading as well, since I wanted to avoid plagiarising Welsh detectives, like Constable Evan Evans.

Then I discovered DC Fiona Griffiths and the bar was raised.

Talking to the Dead (Fiona Griffiths #1)

by Harry Bingham

The first novel in a powerfully original new crime series featuring a young policewoman haunted by her own dark past.

It’s DC Fiona Griffiths’ first murder case – and she’s in at the deep end. A woman and her six-year-old daughter killed with chilling brutality in a dingy flat. The only clue: the platinum bank card of a long-dead tycoon, found amidst the squalor.

DC Griffiths has already proved herself dedicated to the job, but there’s another side to her she is less keen to reveal. Something to do with a mysterious two-year gap in her CV, her strange inability to cry – and a disconcerting familiarity with corpses.

Fiona is desperate to put the past behind her but as more gruesome killings follow, the case leads her inexorably back into those dark places in her own mind where another dead girl is waiting to be found…

My review:

Fiona ‘Fi’ Griffiths might be a junior officer assigned to a fraud investigation, but she’s willing to manoeuvre herself onto the team investigating the murders in a dingy flat. Her intelligence, among other clever moves and clandestine activities, is a key factor in her unravelling the links between the two cases. I knew that she would struggle until the justice that she demanded was implemented; but I was never quite sure whether she would prevail.

Those brains have earned her a degree, and set her apart from many colleagues. [Note: The College of Policing has proposed that, “Every new constable from 2019 could be required to have a degree – or agree to work towards an equivalent qualification.]

This active mind is a facet of a complex character that is well described through her POV. That voice is distinctive, revealing and never feels like the author. The voice of Fi kept me reading, wanting her to battle through everything thrown at her, some from outside and some from in herself, or in her past.

But it becomes clear from Fi’s words that she struggles to be part of ‘Planet Normal’ and the author makes that part of her engrossing personality. Her weirdness worked for me, leading the reader down murky paths on Cardiff’s darker side, and in her mind.

Fi is not your conventional detective, nor are her methods. She is a complex character and she shoves the investigation in unexpected directions. The author weaves words and phrases with style, bringing this world of Cardiff alive, for me at least. This was a different Wales from the area I know – Snowdonia – and yet there were glimpses of the rural roots at the country’s heart, and those roots are an intrinsic part of Fi.

Some readers have criticised the writer for creating a policewoman that would fail her first psych test. But I’m with those that realise that her intelligence gives Fi the edge in working the system in her favour. There were moments when I felt she might be bending the rules precariously, but she has the ability – and luck – to evade crashing over the precipice, this time. And if she can confuse her colleagues, what chance have the criminals.

The novel is not just about an investigation – that would make this just another crime read. This is about Fi and her personal attitudes, demons, and questions, so I’m full of praise for the way that Harry Bingham pulls this off, especially in the final chapter. A superb read that compels me to read the rest of the series.

As for my own detective and similarities, Fi and Sparkle are… a whole country apart, and more. Fi is from South Wales, Sparkle from the North and Snowdonia. Both quirky yes but not in the same way. No University education for Sparkle, she’s got her experience on the beat…and with the bullies at school. Sparkle’s deductive techniques are not Fi’s, although they might work together. And their means of dealing with criminals is very different.

No real comparison, but a definite benchmark.