This post is not the post I was planning to write today. It’s come about as a result of another post by Nick Rossis, about book piracy. Nick’s post, which is well worth a read, is about a new sort of book piracy whereby someone steals your entire book, then publishes it under their ownContinue reading “The Black Spot”
Category Archives: Writing
Empty Cup
I’ve been feeling a bit empty, words-wise, these last couple of days. It’s always how I feel when I finish a book, even if I have other ideas on the go. I welcome the feeling though, for it’s how I can tell that I’ve completed the story. I finished book three, Hills and Valleys, andContinue reading “Empty Cup”
Time To Edit
I haven’t been as ‘present’ as usual in blogland this past week or so. That’s because I’m deep in the pre-edit on my third Ambeth book, Hills and Valleys. My pre-edit basically consists of a full read through, tidying up the prose and making sure the structure works before sending it to Lucy, my editor.Continue reading “Time To Edit”
Fragments
Words fly away. At least, that’s how it feels once I get them on the page. Until then they bounce around in my head, solid fully-formed sentences waiting to be let out. I walk home with them, go out with them, wake up with them – I have no control over when they arrive. AllContinue reading “Fragments”
City Of Dreams
Last night I visited the city again. A city without a name, yet one which I visit often and know well. Where a river runs through to the ocean and killer whales beach themselves on the shore, where a walk can leave you hanging at the edge of a perilous drop, and the only wayContinue reading “City Of Dreams”
Cast Of Characters
I’ve been watching Miss Fisher’s mysteries for a little while now. I used to live in Melbourne, so it’s nice to see the familiar streets and buildings such as Rippon Lea, The Manchester Building, Como House and Melbourne Town Hall. And the fashion! If I could have anyone’s television wardrobe it would be Miss Fisher’sContinue reading “Cast Of Characters”
Drawn To Life
My posts might be a little bit Ambeth-centric this week. I’m immersing myself deep in the landscape, taking the path through the woods to the Gate and stepping between the trees… Hills and Valleys is the third book in my Ambeth series. I’ve already written it and am now at the structural edit stage –Continue reading “Drawn To Life”
Return To The World
It’s been nearly a week since I returned from holiday, and it seems to be taking a while for me to return to regular life. I still wake most nights wondering where I am, the familiar lines of my wardrobe and dresser taking several moments to register, as though I’ve been travelling far in myContinue reading “Return To The World”
Character Building
It’s a strange thing, to dream a person to life. Yet that is what a writer does, creating characters to walk the pages of their book, talking and breathing and thinking and doing. I’ve had to come up with quite a few people for Ambeth, and the interesting and slightly eerie thing is that theyContinue reading “Character Building”
Unearthing Ideas
Where do ideas come from? Ambeth was inspired, as I’ve said before, by something that happened to me when I was a child. But it has grown and evolved, the characters telling me things and taking me down paths I didn’t realise were there, and I’ve learnt to sit back and let them tell theContinue reading “Unearthing Ideas”
Helen Glynn Jones 