To be honest, when I wrote my previous post back in April, I thought I’d be back here a bit more often! But that hasn’t been the case for a variety of reasons – however, I’m returning now with some news…
I signed with a literary agent!
To those of you familiar with this blog, you’ll know this is something I’ve been chasing for quite a while. I’ve come close several times, had multiple full requests, but never quite been able to cross the finish line. However, my fourth book seemed to be the charm, and I’m delighted to announce that I’m now represented by the wonderful Laura Bennett at the Liverpool Literary Agency! Laura has been passionate about the book from the start, and I’m thrilled to take this next step on my writing journey with her.
I’ll mostly likely follow up with a post about what I’ve learned about querying, because it’s been a looooong process. But for now I’m just going to celebrate as the road unfurls before me. I’m excited to see what happens next!
It’s been almost a year since my last blog post. So long, in fact, I almost forgot how to access the dashboard! There have been a number of reasons for my absence, some sad, some glad, but here I am, back to throw some more words into the ether.
My absence here doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing, though. Quite the opposite, in fact. I have stories in two current anthologies, A Quaint and Curious Volume of Gothic Tales, via Brigid’s Gate Press, and The Rebel Diaries, via Sacha Black. I’ve also written one book which is about to go out on query, and reworked another which is almost ready for subs. However, the season for editing is done and now I’m returning to the mists and forests of Ambeth once more, to write the final instalment of The Ambeth Chronicles.
It’s a bittersweet feeling to finish the series. Oak and Mist was the first book I ever wrote for myself. I spent years writing words for other people, but the world of Ambeth was the first I inhabited as a writer, and I have so much love for it. Oak and Mist is not perfect, but every time I re-read it, as I do whenever I write the next instalment, I’m struck again by how much truth there is in the story, how much of me is on the page, and how much I love it. The series is not just the story of a girl, a quest and a gate between worlds, but also the story of me as a writer. The tale runs true between each book, the threads all tying together, but my style of prose changes, subtly. It’s a record of my work of which I’m proud.
Does it sound as though I’m blowing my own trumpet? Well, I am. And why not? I’ve spent a lot of years writing, honing my craft, submitting and absorbing the blows of rejection while pushing forward, not letting go of my creative vision. There has been joy, as well, with good reviews, fan art and readers contacting me, selling short stories and winning competitions. But mainly, the joy of the story, of plunging into another world for a little while, and bringing my characters’ experiences back to the page.
The Ambeth Chronicles may be close to ending, but I don’t think it’s the last time I’ll walk the pathway through the meadow, cross over through the gate between the worlds. There are other stories for me to explore, two more books I’m rather excited about taking shape on the page. But you never forget your first love, and so it is for me and Ambeth. May the journey continue…
A while back, inspired by a comment a fellow writer made, I wrote a post about how there are seasons in writing. A season for editing, a season for publishing, a season for drafting, etc. Much as fields are left fallow and crops rotated, concentrating on one aspect at a time of the writing journey is something I’ve found helpful when improving my craft.
All this is a long way of saying I’m about to start querying again. By that, I mean I have a shiny new book, beta-read and edited within an inch of its life, that I’m sending out to agents in the hope that one might take me on.
The querying season is one of varying weather, I’ve found. The spring-like hopefulness of the beginning, where days are brighter, the possibility of warmer weather lying ahead. This is how it feels when query letters are sent out, small birds leaving the nest, hoping to find their place. There are also stormy days and dark days when rejections roll in or, worse yet, your query is completely ignored, languishing unacknowledged in someone’s deleted file. And then there are brilliant days, when the sun shines bright and all seems well with the world, when you get personalised feedback, a request for more information, or even a request for the full manuscript.
I’ve weathered all those different days on my writing journey, and I’m still here. I think my latest book is one of the best I’ve written, and there are more stories from the same universe revealing themselves as I write. Not bad for something that started with a fragment of a dream.
This querying season, I’m hoping for more sunshine than clouds. I’ll keep you all posted 🙂
Update: I wrote this post last week, after sending out my first batch of queries. And, sunshine already, I’ve already had a full request! Watch this space…
Well, it’s been a while since I’ve written one of these posts!
But I’m thrilled to announce that today is the launch day for Light And Dark, the fifth instalment of The Ambeth Chronicles!!
‘So you are… the Child of Darkness?’ ‘It looks that way,’ he said, ‘and, as you are the Child of Light, it kind of makes sense that we do this together.’ Returning to Ambeth was always going to be difficult. Alma had brought them the Sword, and the Cup, but at what cost? There had been so much death, so much sorrow. But there was also love, her ties to Ambeth running deeper than she could have ever imagined. And now the skies were showing a dark star, his path coming to intercept hers as they moved towards the Crown. The board is set, the pieces in play, as the final game between Light and Dark begins.
But who will prevail?
If you’d like to read a sneak preview excerpt of the book, head here. Or you could simply pop over to Amazon and grab yourself a copy 🙂
And, to celebrate the launch, Oak and Mist, the first book in the series, is on sale for a limited time only.* Today could be the perfect day to start your journey to Ambeth…
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!
*sale price refers to e-book only, sale on from April 10, 2021 to April 12, 2021
That’s right, it’s cover reveal time! Light and Dark, the fifth book in my Ambeth Chronicles series, is thisclose to being launched, and here is the gorgeous cover. Of course, if you’ve subscribed to my newsletter, you’ll already have seen it 😉
Light and Dark – Volume Five of The Ambeth Chronicles
‘So you are… the Child of Darkness?’ ‘It looks that way,’ he said, ‘and, as you are the Child of Light, it kind of makes sense that we do this together.’
Returning to Ambeth was always going to be difficult. Alma had brought them the Sword, and the Cup, but at what cost? There had been so much death, so much sorrow. But there was also love, her ties to Ambeth running deeper than she could have ever imagined. And now the skies were showing a dark star, his path coming to intercept hers as they moved towards the Crown.
The board is set, the pieces in play, as the final game between Light and Dark begins.
But who will prevail?
Light and Dark will be released on April 10, 2021. And in the meantime, if you’ve yet to start your Journey to Ambeth, check out Oak and Mist, the first book in the series:
Oak And Mist – Volume One of The Ambeth Chronicles
Take a journey to Ambeth, where time twists and a palace gleams in green gardens. Where Light and Dark hold the Balance of the worlds, and beauty is a birthright, not a gift.
However, appearances can be deceiving.
When Alma stumbles between two trees into Ambeth, she finds she has a choice to make. Three items are lost: A Cup, a Sword and a Crown. Light and Dark are embroiled in a struggle for control. And both sides have been waiting for Alma to arrive…
A hidden world. A family secret. And a choice. But how do you choose between your head and your heart?
My covers were designed by my talented brother, Rich Jones – he’s done all my covers and I think they look fab! Oh, and if you’re wondering about Book Six, the final instalment in the series? It’s half-way written, and I do know how the whole thing ends. My hope is to have it published by this time next year but, as always, I’ll keep you posted…
As you may or may not know, Light and Dark, the fifth instalment in my Ambeth series, will be coming out soon.
If you subscribe to my newsletter (and if you don’t, maybe check it out – it’s mostly dog photos, kindness, exclusive first-look book news and the occasional giveaway), you’ll have already read the following excerpt (as that’s what my subscribers get – sneak peeks before anyone else 🙂 )
And if you haven’t read it yet, well, please enjoy…
‘Nice necklace, pretty boy.’ Deryck turned, frowning. He was near to the pillars that ran down the side of the Great Hall, the alcoves filled with people laughing and drinking. Something landed with a thud at his feet. He looked down to see a gauntlet of dark chain mail, jewelled with deep red stones. His frown deepened. He bent and picked it up, taking it to a nearby table and dropping it among the glasses and half-empty plates. ‘I think you dropped this?’ He kept his face deliberately tight; no smile, no fear, nothing to betray him. He had no desire to become prey. ‘Maybe I did, maybe it just fell.’ Simeon. Leader of the Dark Hunt. He sat, one arm along the back of the padded seat, his long dark hair around his face, half sneering, half smiling. His armour was jewelled and silvery black, like the gauntlet. ‘And I asked you about your necklace.’ ‘What about it?’ All at once Deryck didn’t care what they did to him. Besides, they knew who he was. He might be younger than they were, but his father would destroy them all if they harmed him. His sister had ridden with them, once, although the circumstances had been different. He tried not to think about that day, about Alma, a bright figure against dark green, running across the fields. Yes. Kill him, hunt him, whatever. He didn’t care anymore. Simeon laughed. ‘You just don’t see many of them, that’s all.’ When he smiled his face lit up, became friendly. ‘So tell me, son of Denoris, do you ride? Do you hunt? Will you follow the moon with us?’ Deryck’s breath caught, his heart pounding, even against the stupor of his stone. These were the ritual words. They were asking him to join the Hunt. Once he was in there would be no turning back. The Hunt rode for the Dark if required, doling out punishment, as they’d tried to do that terrible day at the tournament. The rest of the time they rode for their own pleasure, dangerous and wild, flashing across the hills in pursuit of those unfortunate enough to be marked as prey. He still for the life of him had no idea how Alma had escaped them. He was glad she had. But to join them? Membership was for life, however long that might be. He raised an eyebrow. ‘Why me?’ Simeon laughed, as did the others at the table, all of them, men and women, similarly garbed in dark silver and red jewels, like smoke and blood. One of the young women, her dark hair in two long braids, leaned forward, her cleavage pressing against the deep V-neck of her top. ‘Maybe we like pretty golden boys,’ she said, her voice husky. Deryck swallowed. ‘Or maybe that’s just you, Floria.’ Simeon shot her a glance and she sat back, pouting. He returned his focus to Deryck. ‘I hear you’re a good rider, and we know you’re a vicious fighter. So, if you’re interested, come ride with us. No commitment necessary. Yet.’ He drew out the last word. ‘What do you say? Shall we take you and your magic stone on a journey?’
Light and Dark – Volume Five of The Ambeth Chronicles ‘So you are… the Child of Darkness?’ ‘It looks that way,’ he said, ‘and, as you are the Child of Light, it kind of makes sense that we do this together.’
Returning to Ambeth was always going to be difficult. Alma had brought them the Sword, and the Cup, but at what cost? There had been so much death, so much sorrow. But there was also love, her ties to Ambeth running deeper than she could have ever imagined. And now the skies were showing a dark star, his path coming to intercept hers as they moved towards the Crown.
The board is set, the pieces in play, as the final game between Light and Dark begins.
But who will prevail?
COVER REVEAL AND LAUNCH DETAILS COMING SOON – WATCH THIS SPACE (OR SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER )
I have a collection of letters in a drawer. Letters written to me by my husband in the early days of our romance, when he was travelling overseas and I was in Canada, before we decided to combine our lives. Others are small notes from my daughter, cards and scraps of paper, where she’s written lists of things she loves, or little messages to me. And, wonderfully, there is a letter from my grandmother, received many years after she died, when my uncle found it among her things and sent it to me.
All of them filled with stories. Stories of love and caring and growth and loss. Written in ink on paper in strong hands, curling hands, hesitant hands still learning their letters. Each one unutterably precious to me, releasing memories each time I read them.
One of my favourite books, A Venetian Affair, is a true story built from letters found in the attic of a crumbling palazzo, sent by the owner’s ancestor centuries before to the woman he loved but was unable to marry. History is built on accounts of events from those who were there, but also on the smaller stories found in letters and diaries, details of everyday life that give us a more complete picture of how our forebears lived. Consider how many civilisations are lost to us, simply because their words are lost. The Great Library of Alexandria was partially burned by Julius Caesar, then lost to decline and the rise of Christianity. Spanish missionaries burned priceless Mayan texts, considering them to be un-Christian. The oral traditions of the bards of this island were almost lost, until someone wrote them down. Even so, what remains is only a partial picture of what was. Words are important.
But now we live in a digital age. We have mostly lost the joy of receiving a note from afar, of coloured stamps and spice-scented notepaper, of bright ink on a pale translucent page. Letters have become emails, notes and invitations text messages. Experiences, memories and emotions all swirl through a digital forest of words, deleted, edited, lost forever. Will our descendants be able to comb through these words to find out who we are? Or will we just be known as the Plastic Age, our lives pieced together from packaging slogans and shopping bags from landfill? We are better than that, surely.
Of course, people do still write letters and send cards and keep diaries. But so much of what we write is online these days, including this blog. And we cannot keep chopping down forests to use as shopping lists or toilet tissue or yesterday’s news. But we can choose recycled paper and vintage note sets, or recycle old Christmas and birthday cards into notepads so they can be born again. So make your mark on the page, share your words, write a note to someone you love, or hate. Splash ink and pencil shavings and sealing wax, tie it with a ribbon, stick on a stamp.
I’m beyond thrilled that the lovely Sue Vincent has revived her #writephoto prompt.
Sue has a knack for taking photographs that contain stories, so it’s lovely that she feels able to share them once again. This week, her prompt is this atmospheric shot of a boulder guarding a pathway. I’ve been on a few journeys through the landscape with Sue, and I can already feel the voices whispering from this particular shot. Here’s what they told me…
‘You shall not pass!’
He boomed the words, his staff banging down onto the muddy path. Then his freckled face split with a grin, childish laughter ringing across the bracken, carried by the wind to wreath around and through the crevices of the ancient boulder that guarded the way.
‘Give over,’ I said, giving him a little shove as I went past, his stick clattering to the ground. He grinned again, picking it up and running ahead as boys do, swiping at leaves and imaginary foes, his blonde hair catching the pale light.
Ahead, the hillside was crowned with ridges and rocks, like the bones of an ancient dragon curled around its mound of treasure. There were stories here, but then there always were, in the old places. Perhaps the ridges were ancient walls, or perhaps the glaciers had left them there, when they retreated in a creak of ice and snow from the land.
A breath blew, cold on my neck, as I passed the stone. All was still, and I realised I could no longer hear the boy, or anything, other than a single heart beat, like a drum in the distance. A spear point dug into my chest, the metal gleaming dull bronze. The ridges on the hilltop rearranged themselves with a noise like teeth grinding, first into castle walls, then a dragon’s tail, flicking back and forth so that boulders tumbled.
‘You shall not pass.’ The words were whispered, this time. Another heartbeat, butterfly wings in my chest.
And, from down the trail, I heard laughter once more.
Another little piece of publishing news to share with you all! I’m thrilled to have had a story chosen for inclusion in Blood Sport, an upcoming vampire anthology, with all proceeds going to the International Red Cross.
Hungry for some blood-curdling action and adventure? Maybe even a little romance? This clan of talented authors is dying to bring you eleven vampy stories you can really sink your teeth into!
One-click today for more vampy tales than you can shake a stake at!
All proceeds from this anthology will benefit The International Red Cross.
Regular readers of this blog will know that I’ve been immersed in a vampiric world for the past couple of years, writing a YA novel that is now out on submission. Somewhat unexpectedly, I might add, as it all stemmed from a Halloween writing prompt on Ali Isaac’s blog, some years past.
The short story in Blood Sport was originally something I wrote for a competition that didn’t go anywhere. However, I loved the story and so, when I heard about the submission window for this anthology, I dusted it off, expanded and rewrote sections, and sent it in. It just goes to show that stories may not always end up where we expect them to, but they will, eventually, find a home.
‘Heads or tails?’
A lucky coin. A question. And a meeting in the red-black depths of a St Petersburg nightclub that will change Nikolai’s life forever. But immortality, it turns out, isn’t that much fun. Especially when you have to spend it alone…
The anthology is up for pre-order now – you can get your copy here – and is scheduled to be published on November 30, 2020. Watch this space (and my social media) for giveaway details, ARC copies and publishing updates!
I was going to share a few updates today, about writing and the different things I’ve been working on. But, when I posted the below image to Instagram, with a note about how I’ve been writing a story since June and have just finished the first draft, the comments I received gave me pause.
They were all lovely, positive comments, and they also shared a single theme: ‘Can’t wait to read it!’ And it made me realise something. While I’ve been doing a great deal of writing over the past two years, I haven’t shared any of it with you.
In fact, it’s been *gasp* almost three years since I published the fourth instalment of the Ambeth Chronicles, Under Stone. To those of you who’ve messaged me, asking when the next instalment is coming out, I can only apologise. It is almost written, and my plan is to finish it by the end of this year, get it to my editor, and publish as soon as possible.
So, what have I been doing? I’ve been off exploring other worlds, I suppose. A vampire-filled castle on the south coast of England. A mythical town on the California Coast. And a version of London, set far in the future. It’s been two years of working on my craft, pushing things further, and sending submissions to agents and publications. I’ve written almost 400,000 words, exploring the edges of my creativity, digging deeper and further to see where the ideas will take me. I’ve also dabbled in middle-grade and short stories, sketched out an idea for a non-fiction book, and played around with poetry.
And it’s been worth it, definitely, from a creative point of view. I have some stories with which I’m extremely happy, and know I’m a better writer now than when I started this journey. However, from a writing-more-books-for-people point of view, it’s probably seemed as though I’ve given up writing!
I can assure you I have not. And my hard work is starting to bear fruit. My vampire novel is currently with an agent who requested the full MS (one of several requests I’ve had). Another agent is very keen to read whatever I write next. One of my short stories, A Point of Light, will be in the upcoming issue of Lucent Dreaming (Nov 2020). And the co-author project I’ve been talking about? Well, I can reveal it was with the singer/songwriter (and all around lovely person), Tom Grennan, and that the completed book is now with his label pending the next steps.
So, fingers and toes crossed, I hope that next year will let me share a bumper crop of stories with you all. And I will definitely be publishing the next Ambeth instalment!
Oooh, and while you’re here, I also have a fancy new website, courtesy of Rivia Digital. You can pop by and visit it at helenglynnjones.co.uk. I’ll be blogging both here and there, so hope to see you 🙂
Helen Glynn Jones 