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Best Endeavours Critical Endeavours: Jane Cable on what happens once you get that publishing deal continues

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Jane Cable, publishing, writing
BEST ENDEAVOURS

Jane Cable’s blog about what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues.

CRITICAL ENDEAVOUR

A few weeks ago I mentioned I’d visited a book club who’d been reading The Cheesemaker’s House. Now I love being invited to book clubs because they’re a great opportunity to meet readers and talk about books – mine and other people’s – for ten minutes before the wine starts flowing anyway. But this time we talked about books most of the night.

This club was the one my friend Becky belongs to and was held in the familiar surroundings of her kitchen. The amount of food (everybody brought a plate) and the number of women squeezed onto and around her table had to be seen to be believed. By the time the late arrivals fought past the chairs nearest the back door it was difficult to see any part of the floor at all.

The lovely woman sitting next to me told me the club had started in January 2000 when their children were small and she showed me a list of every book they’d read. The fact mine was on the list at all was entirely due to Becky’s enthusiasm and I felt very humble – and suddenly really worried I was going to let her down.

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In fact it was a wonderful discussion. Most people had enjoyed the book but it had clearly been read with a critical eye as well and there were a few points of contention. There is one scene where a rather drunken suitor goes a bit too far with Alice after a party: did it border on sexual assault, or was it just the sort of thing most women have had to contend with at some time or other? Some had noticed there was perhaps an element of possession (in the ghostly sense) involved, so did that make it all right?

Favourite characters is also a great topic for debate and is a question I’m always asked. Because the book is written entirely from Alice’s point of view I obviously became very close to her so it was really interesting for me that Becky wasn’t very keen. What I did love was the way that people related to my secondary characters; Adam, the gay (but in no way camp) best friend and Margaret, the sage but lively elderly neighbour. When I first started writing I was told that my minor characters were like cardboard cut outs so it always pleases me when the care and attention I give to them now shines through.

We also talked long and hard about charmers. The main love interest in the book, Owen, is known as the village charmer (although he denies it) and before the story starts I give the following explanation:

‘Charmers work largely with non-herbal cures for complaints. Secrecy surrounds their work, which must not be done for gain, and while men or women may be charmers, the gift must be passed contra-sexually, man to woman or woman to man; charmers often receive their powers and word charms from old persons anxious to pass their skills to a worthy successor.’

The concept is a fascinating one and we fell to talking about whether such people exist today. My researches seemed to indicate they died out in the West Country in the 1950s but one member of the group knew different: her husband (who is French) had been given a charm by an elderly lady from his home village just before she died. Her story sent shivers down my spine. There’s nothing better than finding an extra kernel of truth in your fiction.

Read Frost’s review of The Cheesemaker’s House here: https://www.frostmagazine.com/2013/12/the-cheesemakers-house-book-review/

Jane Cable is the author of two independently published romantic suspense novels, The Cheesemaker’s House and The Faerie Tree, and a sporadic contributor to Frost. Another You tells the tale of how two young American soldiers born sixty years apart help forty-something Marie Johnson to rebuild her shattered confidence and find new love. Discover more at www.janecable.com

Best Endeavours, Painstaking Endeavours: Jane Cable on what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues

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best-endeavours-painstaking-endeavours-jane-cables-blog-about-what-happens-once-that-digital-publishing-deal-is-in-the-bag-continuesBEST ENDEAVOURS

Jane Cable’s blog about what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues.

PAINSTAKING ENDEAVOURS

This week has been proof week. Proofs, edit notes, and blurb. But mainly proofs – and more proofing, until my eyes were out on stalks. Luckily I was able to escape to Cornwall where the phone doesn’t ring and normal domestic distractions don’t seem to apply. Plus it was raining.

I dealt with the edit notes first. As I said before, they were nothing major but required me to clarify a family tree a little, consider whether a character over-reacted to a certain situation, and make slightly better sense of some of the supernatural elements. The third one took the most time because I had to track through the manuscript until I found just the right place for an enhanced reveal.

The proofing took most of my time. Endeavour provided me with two pages of notes of the changes they’d made or wording they were unsure about and going through these was fairly straight forward. But I believe the responsibility for a perfect manuscript can’t be delegated and so I decided to do my own proof read as well. It’s a painstaking process of considering every sentence in and out of context – and even at this stage I discovered some missing words. It’s incredible what the brain will fill all on its own – but that’s my brain, and it knows this story inside out. For a reader even the smallest of errors is hugely off-putting.

Jane Cable, publishing, writing

Then there’s consistency: punctuation, capitalisation, presentation of texts and quotes. Holding these things in your head is like juggling – copious notes are needed and I found it’s so much better to do the proofing over a short period so that you can actually remember what’s gone before. My mind was fair boggling by the time I’d finished and stocks of paracetamol were running low.

On the third afternoon I’d finished and miraculously there was a let up in the storms. Pulling on our wellies we climbed up to the cliff path, the stiff breeze blowing away any remaining cobwebs. Our part of Cornwall is mining country (think Poldark!) and the ruined stacks split the landscape against a backdrop of scudding clouds and dark turquoise sea. Just the headspace I needed.

But the break didn’t last long… then it was back to deal with the blurb for Amazon. But to do so I felt I needed to know if I had a title yet. Had Amy (the publishing director) had time to consider my proposal? Should I give her a little nudge? Well, she could only say no, so I sent off the email. And she came back almost immediately: yes, they’re happy with (small but important drum roll) Another You.

Great news, so I turned back to the blurb – only to realise that I didn’t know the Amazon categories and keywords Endeavour are proposing. And I still don’t. The ever-patient Amy told me not to worry, they’ll add the metadata separately. This, I think, is what I am going to find most difficult; as an indie author I was in complete control of the marketing of my books (although I was helped immensely by the ebook team at Matador). Now, although I know I’ll need to get stuck in and market my socks off when the time comes, it isn’t me who’s making the decisions. Something of a steep learning curve ahead I think.

 

Jane Cable is the author of two independently published romantic suspense novels, The Cheesemaker’s House and The Faerie Tree, and a sporadic contributor to Frost. Another You (formerly known as The Seahorse Summer) tells the tale of how two American soldiers born sixty years apart help forty-something Marie Johnson to rebuild her shattered confidence and find new love. Discover more at www.janecable.com.

 

 

National Poetry Day: Tigress Tigress Poem From What Do You Think?

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poetry, poetry book, poems, women authors, Scottish writers, poetry book, female writers,Happy National Poetry Day! To celebrate here is a poem from our editor Catherine Balavage’s new poetry book What do you think? A collection of poems. Enjoy and send us your favourite poems.

 

Tigress, Tigress.

She lies on the ground.

Silent as night.

Pouncing on her prey.

She gives it a fright.

Tigress, Tigress.

Don’t become extinct.

Tigress, Tigress.

What do you think?

When a hunter comes along,

What do you think?

She looks at her cubs.

Clear as day,

Some day they will have to go away.

She feels proud, keeps her head up high.

Tigress, Tigress.

Don’t become extinct.

Tigress, Tigress.

What do you think?

When a hunter comes along,

What do you think?

She closes her eyes.

Feels someone watching.

Ready for attack.

She puts her cubs to safety.

Tigress, Tigress.

What do you think?

Tigress, Tigress.

When a hunter comes along,

What do you think?

(I think this was the first poem I ever wrote. It was written in November of 1996 and I got a lot of positive comments about it. Along with a lot of encouragement. It was the start of everything and for that I am thankful).

Tigress Tigress is taken from What do you think? A Collection of Poems by Catherine Balavage. Available in ebook and print format now.

 

BEST ENDEAVOURS: Best Of Days: Jane Cable’s Digital Publishing Journey

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Jane Cable, publishing, writingBEST ENDEAVOURS

Jane Cable’s blog about what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues.

BEST OF DAYS

That’s it – the manuscript has been emailed to Endeavour and acknowledged. In four to six weeks I’ll know how much more work I have to do.

So how do I feel? Exhausted – and suddenly very uncertain about my book. Of course the logical part of my mind tells me to get a grip; all I’ve done is a little tweaking and tidying up – they’ve read The Seahorse Summer, for goodness sake – and they’ve bought the rights. So of course it’s going to be fine. The tired, emotional part of my brain, however, is so mashed up I got motion sickness on the elevator in Sainsburys. No kidding.

But last night in my favourite pub, The Victory Inn at Towan Cross in Cornwall, an important aspect of my book was validated when conversation around the bar fell to a former soldier who was going badly off the rails. In so many ways they could have been talking about one of the two GIs in my book, Paxton.

Now when you tackle a subject like combat stress it’s important to get it right. I was lucky enough to be introduced to a former para turned fitness instructor who was prepared to tell me what he’d seen and heard from the soldiers under his care in Afghanistan after they came home from setting up Camp Bastion. The sense of isolation when separated from their unit on leave. The struggle returning to normal family life and relationships after all they’d experienced. How combat can scar a man in ways unseen. How fireworks are never the same again.

publishing, writing

Readers of Frost will be no strangers to Words for The Wounded, the charity set up by author and contributing editor Margaret Graham. The charity supports soldiers suffering from combat stress and I very much hope that I can do something with The Seahorse Summer that can help them in this work.

In the meantime, with the editing finished, what now? Feet up for a while? Not a chance… there’s a huge ‘to do’ list of tasks which have been swept to one side and too long ignored; a vast amount of marketing to be done – both in advance of The Seahorse Summer and for The Cheesemaker’s House and The Faerie Tree which have been sliding down the Kindle charts while I’ve been busy editing; and, of course, picking up the threads of my current manuscript again.

But as for today? I’m on the north Cornish coast and the sun is shining. Quite honestly, I think I deserve a little break.

 

Jane Cable is the author of two independently published romantic suspense novels, The Cheesemaker’s House and The Faerie Tree, and a sporadic contributor to Frost. The Seahorse Summer tells the tale of how two American soldiers born sixty years apart help forty-something Marie Johnson to rebuild her shattered confidence and find new love. Discover more at www.janecable.com.

 

 

 

From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads

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Waterloo East Theatre, 3 Wootton Street, London SE1 8TG
Tuesday 18th October – Sunday 6th November 2016

 

It is a few months since David Bowie’s passing, and Adrian Berry’s new production From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads is a homage and celebration of one of the greatest musical figures of all time.

A young man with an illness no-one can understand receives an unexpected gift on his 18th birthday, propelling him on a surreal and thrilling journey to London. He performs on the stage where Ziggy Stardust was born, finds himself in Bowie’s bedroom and is led on a treasure trail to discover the truth about himself and his family. What follows will change his life forever…

From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads is a theatrical road movie, evoking Bowie’s London. With a blistering soundtrack, and nods to Bowie’s heroes and influences, From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads is a fitting companion piece to Bowie’s own Lazarus at King’s Cross Theatre, which runs alongside it in October.

The production features Alex Walton (the lead actor in Suede’s Bowie homage ‘Night Thoughts’ film) and the voice of comedian Rob Newman as Bowie.

Director and writer Adrian Berry comments, I wanted to celebrate Bowie’s art and to take the audience on a journey to where it all began. In bringing Bowie’s history into the 21st century, we can see how his fans today relate to him and why he remains such an  important figure in popular culture. This show will also be a celebration of the London that formed Bowie.

Following the London run, From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads will embark on a national tour.

Tickets are priced £15 (£13) from www.waterlooeast.co.uk. (Age 16 upwards)

Tuesday 18th October – Sunday 6th November 2016

Tuesday-Saturday, 7.30pm
Sunday, 4pm

@ibizabowie, @WaterlooEast

Waterloo East Theatre, 3 Wootton Street, London SE1 8TG

 

 

An interview with Liza Lutz – Bestselling author of The Passenger and The Spellman Files

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An interview with Liza Lutz – bestselling author of The Passenger and The Spellman Files – amongst others.              by Margaret Graham

An interview with Liza Lutz - bestselling author of The Passenger and The Spellman Files - amongst others. by Margaret Graham

What made you interested in writing?

I can’t pinpoint a particular realization or event. I guess it comes down to just being interested in people. And then once I discovered that writing could make my world funnier and more interesting, I was pretty much doomed.

Did you find it easy to become published?

In a way, yes. But in another, much more accurate way, not at all. I wrote screenplays for a decade until a friend suggested that I try rewriting one of them, The Spellman Files, as a novel. I did that and sent it to a bunch of agents. One of them saw its potential. Plenty of work ensued, but once I’d revised the draft, the road to publication was relatively short.

If you hadn’t become a writer, what else would you have liked to do?

Brain surgeon.

What is your writing process?

It’s mostly just sitting down and doing the work. I think I have some structural instincts that allow me to come up with an outline pretty quickly once I have a basic idea. I always end up veering away from it, but having that guide helps me avoid the staring-into-the-void thing that plagues a lot of writers. I save staring into the void for my free time.

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As well as The Passenger, which Frost recently reviewed, you have written the bestselling series The Spellman Files. Does another series appeal?

Not at the moment. I’m embracing the freedom of being able to tell whatever story I want to tell. Each of my last few books has been a big departure from the previous one, and that seems to suit me well.

What are the problems, and virtues of writing a series? 

One problem with a series is that the more successful it becomes, the more tempting it is to write what you think your audience wants to read. If I’m not writing something I would want to read, things are going to get stale for everyone pretty quickly. The chief virtue is that you can get to know characters to a degree that’s impossible in a standalone book. It’s like having multiple seasons of a TV show instead of an hour-and-a-half-long movie.

What do you like to do when not writing?

Read, watch movies, teach seniors Krav Maga.

You have won the Alex award and been nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel, so what’s next?

I’m writing a novel that’s totally different from anything I’ve done before. But I’m not ready to talk about it yet.
The Passenger by Lisa Lutz: Titan books. Paperback and ebook.

 

 

 

Day in the Life of Wendy Walker

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Day in the Life of Wendy Walker

Sometimes I think my friends envision me sitting at a well-organized antique desk, nicely dressed, showered, hair blown dry, nails manicured and sipping a gourmet coffee while I effortlessly type page after page. It’s a very nice dream! The reality is that after seventeen years of juggling kids, a house, writing and my day job as a lawyer the last five of them, I find myself in a constant state of disheveled chaos, scavenging for time and still in my pajamas when my boys get home from school!

 

Here is how it unfolded.

 

After I had my first son eighteen years ago, I decided to stay home to raise my children until they were all in school. I felt lucky to be able to do that and so I took the job very seriously. But after about a year, I felt unfulfilled so I started to write whenever I had free time (which was not very often!). I had two more children in five years and all the while I kept writing. I even wrote in the back of my minivan while waiting for them at pre-school! I picked up the pace after I found an agent who thought she could sell my work. Of course, life is never that straight forward. It was a long road getting to the writing and publication of All Is Not Forgotten. During that time, I published other novels, edited, and eventually went back to work as a lawyer (after fourteen years away from the field).

Day in the Life of Wendy Walker2

But I never gave up the dream of making a career as a writer. I used to tell my boys that it was important to always have a dream, but to also be responsible. I did not stop working as a lawyer. Somehow, I also managed to keep writing. I signed with a new agent and she loved my concept of a psychological thriller based on memory science. I was a bit nervous about switching genres, but I had always enjoyed suspense and thrillers and I was very interested in this story concept. So I dusted it off and wrote All Is Not Forgotten.  It was great advice and I am so glad that my children may get to see my dream come true.

 

Of course, “living the dream” for me, and so many other writers, is far from glamorous! I spend my days juggling promotional work with family obligations and staring down blank pages of the next novel that is dying to make its way out of my overcrowded head. I sometimes fantasize about the world coming to a halt for a day (maybe two) so I can catch up. But that is one dream that will never come true! Still, as I sit here in my pajamas writing this, a long list of things-to-do sitting beside me, I know I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

All is not Forgotten by Wendy Walker. HQ £12.99

 

 

Short Story Author embarks on “World’s Most Insane” Writing Marathon

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In March author Tim Austin began a “Brilliantly Insane” project: to write a brand new 100 word short story every single day for 365 days.  It has since been viewed thousands of times by readers from across the globe – from Sri Lanka to Canada, India and Australia.

With just under 300 more days to go, we talk to Tim about the project, celebrity contributors and what writing fiction means to him.

What is One Word, One Story?

It’s a project where members of the public suggest single words and I use those words as titles for flash fiction short stories.  I read each word, an image forms in my mind and I take that image as inspiration for what I write.  I never, ever know what’s going to come next!  And I’m writing a new story every day for a year over at onewordonestory.org.

It sounds crazy.  What made you do it?

A friend of mine suggested the notion of word association as a way of exploring my imagination and practicing my writing.  I started doing that as a hobby.  At first it was single paragraphs but I enjoyed it so much that I turned it into entire short stories.  Taking it public and doing it every day for a year seemed like a fun next step.

You have a strange idea of fun,….

Haha!  I enjoy taking things too far and I like a challenge.  I think this counts for both.

Why just a hundred words?

I wanted to create something that people could read on the go.  People have little time if they’re on a lunch break or travelling to work and I wanted to write something bite-sized that they could enjoy.  Maybe read two or three in a go.  The other reason was the challenge of condensing a whole narrative into so few words – it really makes every word count.  It’s very pure and I like that very much.

Where did the idea of approaching other authors and celebrities come in?

Yeech, I hate the word “celebrities”!  It sounds so contrived and pat.  I want everyone to be able to suggest words and titles but I thought it’d be fun to approach a few writers and actors I admire.  I’ve been honoured that many of them have been kind enough to donate words.

Such as?

Danny John-Jules (“Cat” in the Sci-Fi classic “Red Dwarf”) suggested “SmegForBrains”.  I’ve also had suggestions from screen writers and authors including Mike Wells, Jonathan Maberry, Eddie Robson (Doctor Who) and Robert Shearman (also Doctor Who – writer of the acclaimed Season One story “Dalek”).  I’m keeping quiet about future contributors.  But I’m always asking.  And I’m always looking for new words – anyone can suggest their own.  Hint.

Did you expect it to become this popular?

To be honest, I thought it’d get a couple of hits a day.  I started the site as a hobby, after all.  But within two weeks I was getting hundreds of visitors a day and thousands of hits a month.  It’s been wonderful to connect with people and hear that they’ve enjoyed each story.  That’s been the greatest pleasure.

You can read, contribute to and support Tim’s One Word, One Story project over at onewordonestory.org now.