Wednesday 27 October 2010

Keeping mum

Hi once again and apologies for the delay in posting an update. In the words of John Lennon "life is what happens while you're busy making other plans" - and I've had a busy ten days playing both daddy and mummy to my daughters as my wife recovers from a minor-ish operation. How am I doing? Cooking - yes I can; cleaning - yes, I can; ironing - no I can't!

It's a tough call - but I'm still wearing Eleanor Rigby's smile!

Now back to The Valkyrie Sagas.....

Loads happening all around, but for me it's a brief period of thumb-twiddling . The third book in the series - Odin's Curse - is currently being proofed and the artwork is progressing. As soon as I get a rough sketch for the cover I'll be updating the website. Target deadlines for both are this side of Christmas so fingers crossed.

Book four - Heroes & Halos - draft manuscripts are with my guinea pigs and early murmurings are very favourable. "Best so far" comments reinforce my ambition to make the story stronger and more intriguing with each instalment.

Mimir's Well has been re-released with its new cover and Hel too is now in print. Both are currently being 'catalogued' to be listed on Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc. The process takes 6-8 weeks, with patience not being one of my virtues!

Both books are also being subjected to a 'Clarion Review'. This is an independent, international appraisal which will be posted alongside the books in many publications. There's no guarantee that the review will be favourable - but if it is, then that's very positive.

Am I feeling nervous....you bet I am!

Writing tips for first timers

Okay, my second tip sounds stupidly obvious but it is worth stating merely because I can add a very heartening caveat.

Before sitting down to write, you really do need to have an idea for the beginning, the middle, and the end to your story. This doesn't just mean the plot; it also means the character profiles and any social comments or moral issues you want to get across.

While this tip may sound obvious (and a little daunting) there is a really good caveat I can add. Although you need to have a fair idea of these signposts in your tale, you don't necessarily have to have sketched out every single plot detail along the way.

Take 'Mimir's Well' forexample. Before I started writing, I laid down a wonderfully detailed plot summary and title for each and every chapter I thought I was going to write in the book. Sounds brilliant - but it wasn't. By about chapter three, character interactions were driving my creative pen way, way off course; and by chapter seven I had torn the master plan up. Sounds disasterous - but it wasn't. By allowing my characters to behave freely the story ultimately (in my opinion) became that much stronger and punchier.

The message in a nutshell is to therefore have a sound idea as to the tale you want to tell, but don't be afraid to cut lose and go with the flow.

Don't try to force your characters and storyline into a preconceived straight-jacket otherwise they will rebel!!

Happy writing....

Greg

Sunday 10 October 2010

And the winner is....

Me! But it's nothing to do with books and writing. Last Sunday with my partner Jonathon Walker, I was lucky enough to win the men's doubles trophy at our tennis club. Okay, okay - so it's not Wimbledon, but who cares; it felt like a grand slam to me!! It's funny, but playing in front of a crowd (about 20 - if I'm being generous) and knowing it was the final felt like a drug. Now I know what a true champion must feel like. Being there just wasn't good enough; I wanted to win, I had to win - at any cost.

Kissing the trophy and holding it aloft made me feel like a god - or at least not some aging, cack-handed tennis hack with two left feet! If I can ever work out how to post a pic of the event I will do so.

Now - back to The Valkyrie Sagas.

It's been a busy week: frustrating - but busy. The second edition of 'Mimir's Well' is now published with the uber-cool new cover. At the moment, it is only available from http://www.lulu.com/ but in a few weeks time it will be listed on Amazon around the globe. Annoyingly, there was a small glitch with the bar code for 'Hel' so we've had to adjust the cover and order another proof. Hopefully that will arrive within the week and I can hit the publish button for this book, too.

In other news, the posters, bookmarks and other proofed merchandise was delivered and it looks amazing - seriously, seriously cool. Do check them out on the website; blown up full sized they look even better.

I'm now about half way through my final edit of the manuscript for 'Odin's Curse' and this remains on schedule for a spring 2011 publication. Chris has the specs for the cover and I can't wait to see the first draughts. It should look utterly amazing - I'll keep you posted.

There are loads of other things lined up - but I'll say more next week so you're just going to have to wait and be patient!

One last little thing, I thought I might do a spot where I give some down to earth tips about writing a book. Not artsy-fartsy stuff about writing styles and subordinate clauses and such, but just some good old fashioned basic starters for ten.

First and most important tip: LOVE what you're going to write about.

If you don't, then the project is doomed from the start. You have to feel really, really passionate about your book - fact or fiction - if you're going to complete an endeavour that will take at least six months and fill your every waking minute.

It's a simple and obvious tip, but it's worth repeating.

LOVE your story and characters - because if you don't, how can others???

All the best


Greg

Thursday 30 September 2010

Welcome to my world

Hi

It's been a very busy week both personally and on the book front.

Firstly, I would like to thank my wife for organising a fabulous birthday party for me. I'm not going to state my age, but suffice it to say that I am old enough now that the 'morning after the night before' feeling lasts a hell of a lot longer than just that! One other thought as regards my birthday: sons - when daddy sets up a bar tab it doesn't automatically mean you have to drink the bar dry; understood????

Anyway it was a great evening and I do hope the other guests enjoyed it as much as I did.

Back to the books.....

I've just received my proof copy of 'Hel' and Chris's artwork looks amazing. We need to nudge some of the text a little further from the edge of the book but other than that, Hel looks good to goooo - yippee!

Chris has also been kindly revisiting the first book and the new cover for that again looks incredible. It's very different from Hel but the two jackets compliment each other in a way that is drop dead gorgeous. As soon as the text revisions have been made, I will update the website.

Oh what the heck! If anybody is bothering to read this blog then you can have a sneak preview of the front of the jacket now - assuming the 'insert a picture' gizmo works.

Here we go.....

Wow!

The cool blue is going to look so awesome next to the hot reds and yellows of Hel.

Enjoy the pic and see you all next week - or sooner if something monumentous tips up!

Greg

Friday 24 September 2010

The journey begins

24th September 2010

Hi and welcome to my very first attempt at blogging.

This blog (if I can work out how to use it) will be all about 'The Valkyrie Sagas' - a series of four exciting books I have written that follow the progress of the beautiful Valkyries, Odin's powerful warrior elite and 'choosers of the slain'.

The series is fun, sassy, sexy, and full of mystery and intrigue - with one simple premise:-

IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU

I'll say more in my next blog, when hopefully I'll have a better understanding of what I'm supposed to be doing!
Best wishes


Greg