Helen Jones

The Liebster Award

Well, this is fun! I’ve just been nominated for The Liebster Award by the lovely Paola Crespo – thank you so much! Paola is a writer and poet and you can visit her blog here: http://www.writingandrewriting.com According to the interwebs, the Liebster Award originated in Germany. The word Liebster means kind, loving, cherish, sweet, endearing,Continue reading “The Liebster Award”

Bang On Trend

I had an interesting response from an agent the other day. First, some back story: While I’ve been working on Ambeth and the edit for Oak and Mist, I’ve also written another book, called A Thousand Rooms. I haven’t quite finished it, it’s probably 85% done but I know how exactly how it’s going toContinue reading “Bang On Trend”

Short and Sweet

Hi everyone! Just a short post today – I’ve just written another guest blog for the Bloomsbury Writers & Artists website, all about working with an editor. The content is similar to my post on here, but if you’re interested in taking a look, here’s the link: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/2015/02/self-publishing-and-working-with-an-editor If you haven’t already visited their site,Continue reading “Short and Sweet”

The (Good) Old Days

I love watching old music videos. When I say old, I guess I mean the ones from my youth, the ones they now show on the channel called ‘Vintage TV.’ God, I suppose that makes me vintage as well. I sat down a few nights ago and caught a half hour or so, andContinue reading “The (Good) Old Days”

Working With An Editor

Further to yesterday’s blog post and also in response to a comment, I thought I’d write a little more about the editing process and how I came to choose my editor. As someone planning to self-publish for the first time, I’ve been doing a lot of research. And nearly every self-published author I’ve seen interviewedContinue reading “Working With An Editor”

But…

I’m currently working with an editor on the first book in my Ambeth series, Oak and Mist, getting it ready for publication. It’s the first book I’m going to publish so I want it to be as strong as possible, which is why I’ve chosen to invest in a professional edit. And I’m so pleasedContinue reading “But…”

Oh So Emotional

Often when I’m writing I find myself sitting at the computer with my face screwed up, squirming in my chair as I try to act out the emotion I’m struggling to put into words. ‘What would they do to show their emotions?’ I think, waving my arms and rubbing my face as my character waitsContinue reading “Oh So Emotional”

Playing Games

My daughter and I have a game we play on the way to school. It’s a game we came up with ourselves and we call it Counting Kitties. The way it works is this: every day we have to see a certain number of cats on our way to school, or else we have toContinue reading “Playing Games”

Spicing Things Up

Recently I’ve been pondering the use of description in my own work, especially as I run through edits to a couple of my books. I can tend to overuse it a bit and so I’m working on whittling it down, to painting a picture for the reader using as few brushstrokes as possible, letting themContinue reading “Spicing Things Up”

On A Sombre Note…

I was going to write about Charlie Hebdo, and then I wondered what I could add to the many eloquent words and images created by artists around the world. But I do have some thoughts, and so here they are. As humans I believe we should be free to worship whomever or whatever we chooseContinue reading “On A Sombre Note…”