#IWSG – Writing Career in Five Years

December 7, 2016 by Roland Clarke

Although we are more settled in our Idaho home and celebrated Thanksgiving with most of the family, I’m still struggling with my health so normal posts are still postponed until…whenever.

I am writing, though, and in November was a NaNoWriMo Winner with my new novel Eagle Crossing. Basic premise: ‘What if the Vikings had settled in Vinland and colonized much of North America before Columbus arrived’. Perhaps, I will reveal more in a future post, as the premise got me excited.

Update: Posted this a few hours early as not Wednesday here – yet. MISTEAK !!!!

Anyway, it’s time for my monthly post for Insecure Writer’s Support Group Day:

December 7 Question: In terms of your writing career, where do you see yourself five years from now, and what’s your plan to get there?

My writing plans are directly related to my health, so I must presume that the current slump is only a large dip or valley in the road. On the other side are years of solid writing time, with very few days when the pain is so excruciating that I can’t even write hunched over the keyboard, as I’m doing now.

First the aim: to have at least two more books published, either by a small press or self-published. PLUS, to get my first novel, “Spiral of Hooves”, back in print, and available as a print version.

Beyond those books, everything depends on how they are received, as there are sequels in various draft stages that I would hope to release in that period. I must be realistic, and not presume too much as I have not had anything published since December 2013.

Hence my strategy for getting two more books published:

In 2017, I intend to tackle the final revision of “Storms Compass” and get it published, as I sense that I’m prevaricating about sharing it beyond my critique partners. That would be in the first few month, closely followed by the reprint of “Spiral of Hooves”, which my old publishers Spectacle Publishing Media Group handed back in an easy to reprint form – I hope.

Then, more demanding, there is the first of my mystery series, “Fates Maelstrom”. The latest draft was advanced before I left Wales, so I am aiming to publish that at the back-end of 2017, or early 2018. That has to be realistic, rather than impossible

The respective sequels are: “Blood Tapestry” [Storms Compass]; “Tortuous Terrain” [Spiral of Hooves]; and “Seeking a Knife” [Fates Maelstrom].

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Of course, my distraction could be the Viking world of ‘Manitou Mark’, starting with “Eagle Crossing”, but that might be a future post. The research is on my desk after that NaNoWriMo win.

Somewhere during the next five years, it would be great to have some short stories published. However, I have so far failed to pass the first hurdle and seem to cause bemused eyes among readers. I am aiming this month, or next, to discover where my stories fail. I have entered a writing competition, in which the stories are workshopped – starting today…yikes – and then the judges critique those that pay a small fee for their time. Watch this space again.

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group Day. We post our thoughts on our own blogs. We talk about our doubts and the fears we have conquered. We discuss our struggles and triumphs. We offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling.

Please visit others in the group and connect with my fellow writers.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG

And be sure to check out our Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/IWSG13/

Our revved up IWSG Day question 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.

The awesome co-hosts for this December 7 posting of the IWSG are Jennifer Hawes, Jen Chandler, Nick Wilford, Juneta Key, JH Moncrieff, Diane Burton, and MJ Fifield!

#IWSG – Favorite Aspect of Being a Writer

November 2, 2016 by Roland Clarke

I’m still struggling with my health so normal posts are postponed until…whenever.

For now, it’s time for my monthly post for Insecure Writer’s Support Group Day:

November 2 Question: What is your favorite aspect of being a writer?

If I had more than one novel published my answer might be different. I would have books to promote and readers to link with. However, I’m still at the early stages so I need to focus on those stages of writing.

For now, my favorite aspect must be able to take the germ of an idea and create an outline where that initial inspiration comes alive. Yes, the actual first draft is meant to bring that alive, but I find that my characters and their actions emerge on stage in the outlining stage.

Or is that because as I work on this post, I’m outlining an idea for NaNoWriMo? Maybe when I get into the draft, that will be my favorite aspect of being a writer. Or have I misunderstood the question? Am I meant to say being my able to work wherever?

Please visit others in the group and connect with my fellow writers.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG

And be sure to check out our Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/IWSG13/

The awesome co-hosts for this November 2 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Jen Chandler, Mary Aalgaard, Lisa Buie Collard, Tamara Narayan, Tyrean Martinson, and Christine Rains!

#IWSG – When do you know your story is ready?

October 5, 2016 by Roland Clarke

Apologies for the long silence, but the long journey from North Wales to Idaho was amazing and exhausting = another post when I recover. For now, I will say that my health is still low and I have been sleeping in my wheelchair – not recommended – as I can’t stretch out on a normal bed. Scary medical details next time and cool pictures arriving in New York by sea.

Anyway, I’ve finally got online to post for Insecure Writer’s Support Group Day:

October 5 Question: When do you know your story is ready?

My stories tend to be plotted in detail so I know most of the twists and endings. Revisions address holes and errors, especially when I remember to use critique partners, writing groups, or editors. I tend to be guided by their comments as to when the story is ready or finished.

However, in the last resort I know I’m finished when I start crossing my ‘I’s and dotting my ‘t’s.

Please visit others in the group and connect with my fellow writers.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG

And be sure to check out our Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/IWSG13/

The awesome co-hosts for the October 5 posting of the IWSG are Beverly Stowe McClure, Megan Morgan, Viola Fury, Madeline Mora-Summonte, Angela Wooldridge, and Susan Gourley!

THE LONG JOURNEY

September 11, 2016 by Roland Clarke

THE DUSKWEALD

First of all let us take a moment to reflect on what took place on this day, September 11, 2001, and pay our respects to all of those who lost their lives and to give our thanks to the people who never gave up to find all the lost ones. It was truly a very sad day in America, something that I hope I will never see again in my lifetime.

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Today is also a day that puts my forever love, Roland Clarke, and myself one day closer to our long journey, which has been in the works for over a year, across the Atlantic Ocean on the Queen Mary 2. She is a mighty Ocean Liner not a Cruise Ship, that was built to take the storms that occur on her journeys of which she has had many. Her construction started on July 4, 2002 and she was launched…

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#IWSG – Finding Time to Write

September 7, 2016 by Roland Clarke

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group Day, and for the last few months the group have revved up IWSG Day to make it more fun and interactive!

Every month, they’ll announce a question that members can answer in the IWSG Day post. These questions may prompt us to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story.

So on to the September 7th QUESTION:

How do you find the time to write in your busy day?

A very appropriate question during this hectic period when we leave for the US in 12 days. In fact, at this point the answer has to be that “I don’t cope and struggle to find any time”. All the free time is going on sorting things out for the mammoth move from Harlech, North Wales to Boise, Idaho. Our desktops get packed away on September 15^th into a shipping container, along with most of our possessions. Expected transit time is 6-8 weeks including customs clearance, so we won’t see those goods until sometime in November.

We leave September 20^th on the Queen Mary 2, which sails into New York on September 27^th. From there it will be a 2,500-mile cross-country road trip to our new home in Boise. Plus side is that my wife’s kids are all in Boise, ten minutes from our house. And the change from wet Wales to the high desert of the Treasure Valley will be a real health boost.

At the moment, my aching body is suffering with the multiple sclerosis MonSter or MaelStrom, and I struggle to sleep each night or relax during the day. So writing has become a forgotten art.

Maybe when the normal busy days return, then I can attempt to squeeze a few hours in every evening as I used to do. No specific word target, just a few hours to let my creative brain loose on the keyboard. And if I sleep well, then I can wake inspired and scribble some thoughts in a notebook.

Or am I just fantasising that such days will ever return?

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Please visit others in the group and connect with my fellow writers.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG

And be sure to check out our Facebook group –https://www.facebook.com/groups/IWSG13/

The awesome co-hosts for this September 7th posting of the IWSG are C. Lee McKenzie,Rachel Pattison, Elizabeth Seckman, Stephanie Faris, Lori L MacLaughlin, and Elsie Amata!

Immurement – a review

September 1, 2016 by Roland Clarke

I must apologise for the lack of any reviews since the beginning of August, in fact a distinct lack of any posts. However, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been reading. I have and reviews of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Stephen Puleston’s Devil’s Kitchen are in the pipeline. But first I’m going to review the sci-fi dystopian first book in Norma Hinkens’s’ The Undergrounders Series.

Immurement (The Undergrounders #1)

by Norma Hinkens

The Sweepers are coming. They hunt the young. Earth’s end is her beginning.

Sixteen-year-old Derry and her brother live in perpetual fear of capture. They survive underground on a scorched earth overrun by gangs, clones, and mysterious hoverships. When her brother goes missing, Derry’s only hope of finding him is to strike a deal with a group of cutthroat subversives. Desperate to save her brother, she leads a daring raid to uncover the secrets behind the Sweepers’ hoverships, but she soon finds out the world she knows is a lie.

Keeping her brother alive may require trusting her enemy and opening her heart to something she never thought possible.

Immurement is the first book in The Undergrounders Series, a sci-fi dystopian thriller trilogy with a gritty complex heroine and twists you won’t see coming!

REVIEW:

The first requirement of a good book is the ability to keep me turning the pages, and in that Immurement succeeded. It also painted a scary Dystopian world that added to my desire to read Book Two and discover what happen to Derry and the other Undergrounders.

I liked Derry with her insecurities and frustrations, and her courage and spontaneity. She is not a ‘perfect’ heroine who makes reasoned and clever decisions. She makes mistakes like any sixteen-year-old, especially one struggling to save those she loves and herself in the face of terrible danger and untruths.

Who does one trust in that situation? Derry understandably is dependent on what she knows or has been told, so her journey is one of multiple discoveries. She doesn’t become the ‘perfect’ heroine by the end, but she has learnt to demonstrate the qualities that will be needed in the struggles ahead.

She finds support from a cast of secondary characters, all with their own distinctive characteristics and abilities. In some cases, she is forced to trust dubious personalities despite her gut feelings. There are stereotypes, like the subversives, but then the novel is told in 1^st person POV. These are the stereotypes ingrained by others’ prejudices and beliefs. So they evolve as her knowledge broadens, and secrets are revealed.

I enjoyed the outdoor setting, not least as I am about to discover more about the great outdoors in Idaho and the Sawtooth Mountains. The contrast works with the survivalist lifestyle underground and the high-tech nightmare world of the Sweepers – the latter a world that feels too possible.

Don’t expect a tidying up of loose ends. This is Book 1 and it very much sets up Book Two. However, I admit that I like books in a series to leave more settled by the end.