I'm Addicted

52,000 words in and my laptop has become a new limb. Why is it when you get into the flow of writing a story you can't leave it alone? Even when I stop, I'm thinking about where a scene will go next, listening to conversations play out in my head, working out the transition from one stage to another.

It's an addiction. So, what happens when the final words are drawn from you? Do you feel satisfaction at completing your story or do you miss the characters and long to be back with them? Maybe we should have a Writer's Anonymous to help us through it, especially to move from the writing to editing phase and worse still to help us distance from it when we open it up to crit sites or editors.

Something Spooky

I think I must have had some inspiration this week for a halloween short story. On Monday night we had one of those very clear, bright full moons, it even had a wisp of cloud across it. On the same night I was travelling along our narrow, winding country roads and rounded a corner to see two eyes picked up in the car headlights. A stag in the road. He ran off and leapt the hedge into a field. On the way home, along the same country roads, tonight the moon is looming, large and low in the sky and is the most vibrant orange. What's going on in Co. Down this week?

I've tried taking photos on the phone but just can't capture the quality of the night sky.

Seems I saw the harvest moon: Earthsky

Why Northern Ireland?

I'm a native of Norn Iron and being born in the 70's I've seen the horrors of The Troubles and the pain they caused so many people and families throughout our country. I left, when I was eighteen, as did so many of my generation, to go to university and it was over a decade before I moved back to Co. Down.   Like Charlotte, in Twisted Truth, I often returned to visit my family and once the peace progress started was amazed by the changes I saw. Things that I couldn't even begin to comprehend would ever be possible. Like my character, although my life was elsewhere, I also always felt a little twinge every time I left.

Despite all of its problems I love Northern Ireland. I've been back in Co. Down for eight years now and whilst it saddens me to see our politics still remain largely entrenched, elements of division and mistrust still evident, we live in a beautiful landscape with so much to offer. I mentioned in a previous post how encouraging I found the amount of tourists we met this summer, who finally felt safe to visit this little patch of the globe.

When I picked up the laptop and started to write Twisted Truth in 2010 I decided to include several chapters set in the 80's developing the teenage relationship between Charlotte and Mark. Whilst I couldn't write about that era without mentioning The Troubles I kept any mention of it to a minimum, wanting to show that it didn't control every element of daily life for all citizens of Northern Ireland and even though horrific things happened, on an almost daily basis, it became a part of every day life. For many it didn't stop them living ordinary lives and as teenagers we had the same issues as those in any other country. So much, fiction and non-fiction, had already been devoted to the topic I wanted to write about a Northern Ireland without every page referencing hatred, bombs and bullets.

When I uploaded the MS to Authonomy the feedback said that people were interested in The Troubles, what was happening, what it was like to grow up through that and they wanted to see more of it. When I edited, cutting out a lot of the teenage chapters and restructuring the story, I added in more glimpses of life in the 80's and how it affected the characters.

Most of my writing is set in Northern Ireland because there is so much inspiration to be found within the landscape, the people and the history. Whilst I'd like to see us move forward and have my children grow up in a more accepting, peaceful society I recognise that we still have a long way to go. Much has changed but more still needs to be done and none of it can happen with the signing of a document or one single compromise. It will take a very long time for decades of pain and suspicion to be healed. So, whilst my stories may mention our striking scenery and tourist attractions there will also be elements that reflect the past and the issues that we're still trying to resolve.

I hope some little part of what I do in this site will encourage more of you to visit NI and see what it, and its people, have to offer.

In the mood...

I love it when I get to that stage of a manuscript that the characters begin to take on a life of their own. You can plot the story, have an idea of your beginning and middle and end but sometimes those characters do things you weren't expecting them to. I'm over 30,000 words into The Glass House now and Chloe (Niamh's step-daughter) has become a much stronger and integral character than I'd initially intended. She's a teenager with troubles and they're about to get a lot worse.

An extract from the chapter I'm currently working on:

 When they eventually broke apart, their breathing was laboured. Sharing the bottle they both drank the water until it was drained. He reached for her again but she stopped him.

'I better check in with Sam. I'm staying at her flat tonight and don't want to get separated from her.'

He let out a breath, laughing as he did so and shaking his head. 'Okay, just give me a minute.'

Spotting the lit up Ladies sign, Chloe stood. 'I'll be back in a minute.' Taking the bottle from his hand, she swopped it with the one on the floor, taking a swig from the one she held. 'And don't drink my beer.'

What's your sentence?

Love this idea that I got from Shortbread Stories on Facebook.

For international book week, grab the closest book to you, turn to page 52, post the 5th sentence. Don't mention the title.

The sentence from my nearest book is, 'She'd have to wear the green dress again.' 

Nice coincidence  - that 5th sentence also came from chapter 5, which begins on page 52.

So, what's yours?

Shortbread Stories
Shortbread Stories Facebook

Just Keep Moving...

Conscious that autumn is arriving, the nights getting longer and days getting cooler, a bright and dry start today drove me to get the bicycle out again. We're lucky enough to have easy access to the tow path which runs by the canal from Newry (County Down) to Portadown (County Armagh) and villages along the route give ideal opportunities for start points and destinations. I went from Scarva to Poyntzpass, which took me via Acton Lake.

It got me wondering - what inspires you to get out and about, take some exercise, enjoy the sights? Is there something about your local area you particularly enjoy or wish you had better access to?

More information can be found on the cycleni website:
http://www.cycleni.com/110/newry-canal-towpath/

To Spurtle

I got to use my new utensil at the weekend and enjoyed a spot of spurtling. A little of the inspiration for the character of Caitlin, in The Glass House, came from my love of gardening. My veg patch has been a sorry affair this year but the rhubarb was the one thing in it that didn't mind the wet, humid weather. In a bid to use up some of the abundance of stalks I spent Saturday afternoon making a rhubarb crumble and a rhubarb and ginger baked cheesecake, together with some rhubarb and strawberry stewed to mix with ice-cream and topped with fresh picked blackberries. So, out came the spurtle to stir the bubbling fruit and, from the belly rubbing and contented sighs that issued from the family that evening, it seems the spurtle was a success.

A tourist at home

For the last week my family and I have enjoyed being tourists at home, making the most of our National Trust membership by viewing some of the beauty spots and estates by foot or on our bikes. Despite the unpredictable summer weather, including being caught in a thunder storm by the Giant's Gate at the Causeway, we've had a wonderful week and been reminded how lucky we are to live in Northern Ireland. I've taken an awful lot of photos on our travels, so be prepared, pictures to follow.

New Word

On my travels today I learnt a new word, a rather lovely one: Spurtle.

So what is it? Well at Castle Ward there was wood turner demonstrating his skills. He made us a spurtle - apparently, it's a Scottish kitchen utensil, used for stirring porridge and doesn't bruise food as much as a spoon does.

A writer's viewpoint

I recently met a female writer of romantic erotica and considering the buzz around the genre I asked her what drew her to it and inspired her to write her first novel, The Firm Hand Of Love. You can read her answer below in the comments to 'More on the big trend...'

Thanks Paula.

More on the big trend...

Following on from my last post, about Bared To You, saw this article tweeted by Huff Post today. Seems erotica really has got everyone talking.

Huff Post

Like so many women around the world, I've read the Shades trilogy and like so many I have mixed feelings about it. No-one can deny the popularity the series has been greeted with but some have reservations about the writing and there are some things in the book that I personally became irritated with, the constant references to her inner goddess and his happy trail, among two of them.

I have also read book one in The Crossfire Trilogy by Sylvia Day, Bared To You. Book Two, Reflected In You, is out in October. I found Sylvia Day's writing so much more fluent and skilled. Someone else commented to me that they thought all the characters were much too good looking, too perfect on the outside. I think that's part of the theme in the story. The two main characters are drawn to each other but both have painful experiences in their past that disrupt the relationship. Scratch the surface of some of these beautiful people, with affluent lifestyles and all the trappings they could wish for, and you'll find plenty of ugliness.

Novelicious published their review of Bared To You today and for anyone who liked Shades but found it a bit lacking, I'd recommend they check it out.

Novelicious Review: Bared To You

Signed copy

I'll be eagerly watching the post for a new book to arrive. I won a signed copy of Colette Caddle's new book, Every Time We Say Goodbye, yesterday.

Every Time We Say Goodbye

I'll let you know what I think when I've read it.

I fear a new addiction may have begun. I am with laptop again as a MacBook pro arrived today. New apps to get used to and a whole lot more ports than my poor deceased MacBook Air. No excuse now not to keep the external drive plugged in and backing up.

Having lots of fun figuring out the world of blogger and amazed I've finally worked out how to label posts, add in twitter updates and feed blog posts to twitter.

Short Stories are now listed under the Short Story label and having this blog is a great challenge to keep me coming up with new ones.

Next goal is to work out how to add photos so that I can share some of the beautiful Northern Ireland countryside, including spots that have worked their way into completed and ongoing novels.

Nightmare

Well, I've suffered it, the moment every writer dreads. Pushing the big shiny on button to find nothing happens. I watched as the screen on my window to the world lit up and within seconds died. Maybe I did something wrong? So, I tried again, with the same result. After the tenth attempt I had to admit I was in trouble, my laptop was not cooperating. Then the panic set in. When was the last time I did a back-up and what did I back-up? Frantic searching revealed a memory stick with one complete (out-of-date) version of a completed novel and nothing else.

I'm able to sit in front of my iMac and continue to smile thanks to the help of Disk Warrior and an external hard drive that now contains all the files I thought I'd lost.

Lesson learnt: back-up every day.

What's it all about?

As far as this blog goes, the answer to that question is, me, my writing and anything else that pops into my head or grabs my attention.

I've moderated and administered forums, have my own business website, I've facebooked, tweeted and finally decided it's time to venture into the blog world.

Since secondary school I've wanted to write but never found the nerve to take that first step and put pen to paper. Now I have (or at least fingers to keyboard). I've completed one novel, Twisted Truth and have plots and beginnings for two more, plus a few ideas for a sequel to Twisted Truth. My current project has the working title, The Glass House. My daydream is to be published.

So, that's a quick introduction. Now I'm off to figure out this blogging business. Next instalment to follow (when I've worked out what I'm doing).