Fiction vs non-fiction

Well, I have some exciting news – my first non-fiction book, Communications for Volunteers: Low-Cost Strategies for Community Groups is out on Monday! It’s an introductory-level communications handbook for grassroots volunteer groups, which I was inspired to write through my own volunteering experience (I realised that many volunteer groups don’t have a good understanding ofContinue reading “Fiction vs non-fiction”

Anatomy of a Novel Part 9: Troubleshooting

It’s taken four months, but I’ve finally finished the first read-through of The Iron Line and I’m starting to overhaul it. I naively thought the second book would be easier than the first – because I know what I’m doing now, right? Wrong. The first draft of Greythorne took three months to write and I let itContinue reading “Anatomy of a Novel Part 9: Troubleshooting”

Anatomy of a Novel Part 8: The first edit

After letting The Iron Line ferment for six weeks or so, I’ve just started editing it. This first read-through is always a bit painful, although it has its upsides too. Sometimes I come across a particularly well-turned phrase and get a little ‘I can’t believe I wrote that’ thrill, but more often than not, allContinue reading “Anatomy of a Novel Part 8: The first edit”

Anatomy of a Novel Part 7: The first full draft

Well, it’s done. I’ve finished the first draft of The Iron Line. I should be ecstatic, but to be honest, I feel a bit, well…flat. I can’t remember how I felt when I completed Greythorne, but I think it was probably more elated than this – probably because it was the first time, so it felt likeContinue reading “Anatomy of a Novel Part 7: The first full draft”

A day at the circus

Last weekend I did something I haven’t done since I was six years old. I went to the circus. And it was fabulous. Circuses seem to pop up in our area relatively frequently (once or twice a year) and each time I see the spires of a brightly coloured tent I think about going, butContinue reading “A day at the circus”

Anatomy of a Novel Part 6: The paper anniversary

When my husband Tristan and I first started dating three years ago, we had a ‘food-for-stories’ deal – he’d make me dinner and in return I’d read him the next chapter of Dragonscale, the long-running young adult fantasy novel I’d been writing off and on since 2007. We each thought we got the better endContinue reading “Anatomy of a Novel Part 6: The paper anniversary”