Michael's Blog (195)

Somehow I have lost my entries between November 11^th and December 23^rd. Had to have been when I had PC problems and needed Windows 8 to be re-loaded. I lost a few things then.

December 23^rd.

As Christmas approaches we are getting close to that ‘looking back’ over the year time. For many it would have been average, but for me, and in some respects, Pat, it has been nothing like that. My book sales have improved, although not into…

I’ve just finished reading a thriller by a top author and found myself disappointed with the way in which he elevated his two main characters to an almost Superman and Wonder-woman level. Why so? As a writer myself, I do try (hopefully) to give my characters a vulnerability that is natural in a human being, which I believe is only fair to the readers. If I fail to do that I can then make them do anything without any apparent difficulty. How often have you read of a character who manages to…

What a week it’s been: promising all the way. I started getting to grips with my new laptop and Windows 8 (still don’t like it) and learning how to get on without my old PC and monitor. But that’s what happens when you sell your house and want to go back to UK. During the early part of the week I received my free copies of THE EAGLE’S COVENANT from Harlequin Books. The paperback was released in North America in November, and I can now say I have two books with a traditional publisher across…

The week went well, but not much to talk about really. I completed the re-edit of my manuscript and signed the agreement with my publisher. Now it’s a waiting game. Sometime in the New Year I will receive a PDF galley proof for PAST IMPERFECT, and hopefully there will be nothing for me to add other than a dedication etc. I get a good feeling out of this; knowing another hardback of mine is on its way. I know it won’t rock the literary world, but there are a lot of library readers out there…

How time flies: November already and Christmas round the corner. We bought our first Christmas present today: something for our great-grandson, Harrison. He lives in Cyprus with his mum and dad, but will be in England this month for a couple of weeks. More photos for Facebook!

I’ve finished cutting the word-count on manuscript for my publisher: managed to get it down to the required notional count of 110,000 words. Now I have to read it through just to make sure I haven’t left any…

It’s been a crazy week for me and Pat one way or another. A lot of people have asked what the bad news from the hospital was all about. The specialist I am under wanted more tests before he could decide what was causing my problem, so rather than pre-empt him and attempt to diagnose my condition; I will wait until he tells me later this week. It isn’t the best of scenarios, but my faith in God has given me an enormous strength and belief, and I have no worries or fears plaguing the life out…

At last my latest novel is on its way. I finished my read-through after Pat had gone through the manuscript with her red pen; then sent the final doc. to my publisher. I offered to send it in hard copy (double spaced), but she was quite happy to receive it as an e-mail attachment. Now it’s sweaty palms time: I’m wondering if she will like it enough to make me an offer, or if she will reject it out of hand. It’s a completely different genre to my usual stuff, and now I keep thinking of…

It’s been quite a week, one way or another. Having finished and read through my manuscript, I printed it out (double spaced) for my wife, Pat, to do a read-through. By page two she was happily wielding the red pen and completed the MS by the end of the week. I value her contribution because she sees many things that I don’t, which is an enormous help. I began my read-through yesterday, Saturday, and hope to have it completed by the end of this week. Then it will be sent to my publisher. If…

Made it! I finished the first draft last week: 98,000 words. I did promise myself I would have a break before beginning the read through and edit, but I started reading it a couple of days ago. Pat asked me this morning if I was pleased with what I had written and I found myself hesitating before I could answer. Does that mean I’m not happy with it? Who knows? I have to go with my instincts and my self-belief. In a TV interview (it can be seen on my website) I claimed that a writer should be…

I’ve reached 92,000 words of my next book and am getting close to my target of 100,000. With luck I should have my first draft finished by the end of the week. After that comes more hard work. And for any of you who read my blog and are thinking of writing a novel, simply because thousands of writers are at it now and publishing on Amazon, think carefully of what you’re letting yourself in for. Preparing any book means research, which can mean a great deal of writing and time spent before…

During the week I came across a post on one of the author websites that I visit every day in which the lady author stated that she had published five novels during 2012. I can’t remember if she claimed to have written five novels in that time, but the fact that five of her books went live during that time got me thinking: what has Amazon led us into? Once upon a time it would have been a work of supreme effort to achieve that, but now it seems a common occurrence among some of the writing…

Another month begins and I hope to make more progress with my sales and with the word count for my current mss. Although my book sales are not meteoric, I have seen the increased figures for August published on Novel Rank (not entirely accurate), which is always good to see, and I have increased my word count to 76000 words. If both those figures remain on an upward trend, I should get past the one hundred for sales and reach 100,000 word count by the end of the month. But when things are…

Almost at the end of the month and my word count had reached 67000. By the end of the month I should have managed 70,000. But thereby hangs a dilemma: I’m making such good progress that there’s a danger I might go over my projected target of 100,000. It might seem silly to say that, but my publisher usually wants between 60 – 100 thousand words. That would mean either a rejection or a suggestion that the novel be cut. Like most writers, having penned all those words over a long period and…

I’ve seen various articles recently about the rise and fall of the e-book, and the return to the top of the pyramid of traditionally published books. Each article presents a reasonable and credible discussion on the merits of each process, and for indie authors of a nervous disposition it means the end is nigh! Apart from the famous and the infamous, to be a successful writer you need a massive slice of luck, and there’s nothing truer than that old saying: luck is when opportunity and…

I’m making good progress with my current mss. Last week I had reached 34000 words. By the weekend I had managed to notch that up to 47000. This puts me about halfway through my planned number of words. If I can keep that kind of progress up, I can expect to complete my first draft by the end of September. However, I think my last week’s output was exceptional, and would only expect to complete about 3 to 4 thousand words a week. We’ll see.

And on the subject of big numbers, or small,…

I made good progress last week with my book, reaching 34000 words. I also interviewed a friend of mine who worked his entire, professional life in the prison service. He began life as a trainee officer and finished as a Governor (grade 5). I met Dave (Pritchard) and his wife, Rosie at church last year. We got to know them quite well: they attended our church house group and brought a lot to the table, as they say. I had asked Dave earlier if he would let me pick his brains because I needed a…

Another chapter in our lives came to an end last Friday: two friends of ours have sold their house here in Spain and are returning to the UK this week. We’ve known them for about sixteen years and consider them among our closest friends. But tempus fugit as they say; and as we grow older, our priorities change. We travelled down to their home in Andalucia to have a meal with them and say goodbye, although it isn’t really a farewell because we also intend to return to UK once we’ve…

J.K.Rowling was ‘outed’ last week as crime writer Robert Gailbraith. She stood little chance of keeping her secret. Robert Gailbraith aka JK, but at least she tried. In some ways I feel sorry for her. She could have rested on her Harry Potter laurels and not put pen to paper again. But in the end, she is a writer, and that’s what writers do: they write. Some years ago I gave up writing, but the urge was still there, albeit suppressed. Then my wife asked me to write a best-seller for her. She…

A great, unsolicited 5 star review (Daniel Wetta) for my novel, HELL'S GATE. I try very hard not to read my reviews, but occasionally one slips through the barrier. I only had one review for the title, so when a second one appeared, I just had to look. Glad I did. The book will also be part of kboards book discovery promotion today, July 16. The review couldn't have come at a better time. You can see the review at…

There’s an old saying that I’m sure most people have come across: “Big oak trees from little acorns grow”. It’s a fact of life for most of us in more ways than one, and it has a particular resonance with me because of my hobby as a writer. The seeds of my craft were sown many years ago, and had I been a successful writer from the beginning, it may not have been a hobby but a career. For the last two years I have been producing and posting my blog as well as putting my books on Amazon. My…