Today I will mostly be working on my manuscript

I set myself a deadline for publishing my book on Kindle and guess what? It's approaching at an alarming rate now!

No point whinging about it, if there was never a deadline there would never be any books published and what a horrible world htat would be!

So today has been set aside to peruse the suggestions from a good friend who is giving the manuscript yet another review, he's come up with some great ideas already. Nothing major, like the introduction of a whole new character, just some clever observations on how to improve various scenes or on moving some of the paragraphs around to create better hooks to catch the reader with.

If you can get someone you trust to do this sort of thing for you then it is definitely worth the effort, although a little bit earlier in the day would be better - but that's entirely my fault!!

When the finish line is in sight!

 Taking a break for a family holiday seemed like a good idea at the time but now that it is over and I am back at my desk I have to admit that I feel somewhat under pressure! Perhaps that is not so surprising when I look at my notes and realise that I started this project in September 2009!

4 years ago!

Wow! That’s a lot of exclamation marks! (There’s another one!)

To be fair a large portion of that time was spent in learning all about my chosen subject, the Anglo-Saxon period of English history. Also, there was time taken to develop the story into a trilogy, several re-writes, and 2 major surgical procedures to recover from as well. Tempus fugit as they say.

I also spent a considerable amount of time trying to get a literary agent interested in my project, to no avail. That is all water under the bridge, another popular saying. Having given up on the traditional route to publication, at least for now, I decided to go through the experience of e-publishing.

I only have myself to blame!

Ha, no, not really. It is not a question of blame. The thing is, I like this story that I have written, I like the characters of Coenred, the Saxon warrior forged in battled and honed by a sense of honour that would put a modern-day ‘right honourable’ politician to shame, and Mildryth, a woman fighting to recover what’s due to her and then hang onto it and then avoid the rapacious thief Thrydwulf and then wonder at the sense of falling in love with a warrior like Coenred and then....well, you’ll have to read the book! I believe in this book. I think that the story has human interest and that it plays out against an interesting backdrop featuring a people who have been much maligned since 1066, probably because the victors get to write the history and sadly the winners were not the proud Anglo-Saxons.

The whole world of 1066 has become a part of my world and enriched it as a result. Will ‘The War Wolf’ become a massive international bestseller? I don’t know (although I can dream) but I have set the bar a little low, all I want is for 1 person I do not know to contact me and tell me that they enjoyed my book, not too much to ask for really is it?

I will, of course, be doing the rounds to sell my book, after 4 years work it would be plain stupid not to, especially considering that ‘The War Wold’ is the first instalment in ‘The Sorrow Song Trilogy’, I mean, it’s not likely that anyone will read volume 2 if no one knows about volume 1.

First, however, I have to get my book ready for publication. Actually, it is 98% ready, I am sure of that, but there is still that niggling 2% to sort out. A friend is currently speed-reading through the manuscript to try and offer yet another insight into how I might make the story better, very many thanks Mike. I have joined Kindle and from today I will start the countdown to launch day, which I hope will be on September 20^th, the anniversary of the Battle of Fulford Gate as this is both the main event around which ‘The War Wolf’ takes place and also the anniversary of the actual battle.

I have crossed my Rubicon!

As a prelude to publishing...

I have decided to make the first chapter of my book, The War Wolf, free to download in pdf format.
The fact is that it is about time that I got something out there and while the book is being finalised for that very event why not, I thought, put out a taster? Well, what's the worse that can go wrong?

Okay, never ask a loaded question! That said, every aspiring writer has to reach this point where you step beyond your comfort zone, reach out beyond the circle of your family and friends, and offer your work up to that most frightening of individuals - the total stranger!

Funnily enough I feel rather confident about this stage in the long and winding road. I know that someone can, if they so wish, hurl a whole bucket load of invective criticism at my head, especially as I put a comments box on my website, but what they hey! Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Besides, I've been using the internet long enough now that I reckon that I can spot genuine constructive criticism from bile!

So here you go, if you want to, have a look and tell me what you think!

 The Sorrow Song Trilogy

And he's back!

Just got back from a trip to Germany via Holland. We enjoyed a river cruise down the Rhine, going as far south as Rudesheim and stopping off at places like Koblenz, Boppard, and Andernach, with a trip down the Moselle to visit Cochem too.

Even managed vistis to Cologne and Dusseldorf as well.

Had a great time, lovely scenery, friendly locals, good wine, bier and food. We journeyed on the MV Virginia, one of the older and smaller vessells that ply their tourist trade on this famous river, but it seemed all the more enjoyable just for that. Only a hundred passengers but that made it easier to get to know people.
I must say that I liked what I saw of Germany very much. The people we met were friendly and shamed us with their ability to speak several languages, being typically Enlgish we could only speak one between us!

Now to get back to the real world!

Taking a break

Today I am going to travel to Germany for a cruise down the Rhine! The journey starts with a ferry crossing of the North Sea to Rotterdam and then a coach trip to Cologne where we pickboard the MV Virginia. I expect to see pleny of castles and majestic mountains as we head south sipping drinks on the promenade deck. I have not done this kind of thing before so the fact that it is something new makes it all the more exciting. Got my camera ready but intend not to spend every moment behind the view finder. There will be wine tasting trips as well as the obligatory visit to medieval towns, and of course trying out the German food and beer!

Hopefully I might get some inspiration for a story or two to write about as well; I can see it now...'Death on the Rhine'! Probably been done anyway!!

Aufwiedersehn! Back in about 10 days!

Taking the Plunge

When I started writing my novel my dream was to see it in print, a dream that is shared by probably every writer. The idea of e-publishing did not occur to me then, I only saw the traditional route of getting an agent interested in my work and then them getting a publisher interested and, finally, my book going to print.

 It has been a couple of years since then and I have to say that my pursuit of this dream has been fraught with much more frustration than I had expected. I appear to have failed in interesting a literary agent. Forget JK Rowling’s famous ’12 rejections’, I’ve reached 20! And yet I still have faith in my work.

 Of course there have been moments of doubt, times when I have questioned whether or not I have turned out something that is both credible and enjoyable; maybe it really is not that good after all? In answer to this self-doubt I load up a copy of my manuscript on my laptop and sit and read it through, not a proof-reading session, just a sit down and read for enjoyment episode. And I keep finding that I do enjoy reading it!

 If I enjoy reading it why wouldn’t anyone else?

 A story about 1066 might not prove as big a literary hit as one about a boy wizard but that really is not the point; the reason for writing is the hope that someone you do not know might pick up your book and enjoy it! Of course making lots of money would be nice but writing just to make lots of money is not my point of inspiration; I want to tell a story and I want others to enjoy it.

 As following the traditional path to getting a book published has proven so fruitless I have changed tack and looked at e-publishing and I like what I see. I have looked at it closely and I find the level of control that an author can exercise in the e-publishing market is much greater than that enjoyed by all but the most successful of traditionally published writers. There are pitfalls of course, those exist in almost every human undertaking, and there are no guarantees of success, but there is a clearer route to the day when your work enters the literary world.

 It is very inviting but I have not been seduced, that is, I have not rushed head long into e-publishing. I did indeed take a long hard look at e-publishing and then went away and planned my new approach. I reviewed my manuscript to make sure that the format would suit e-publishing for one. Researching the various platforms and what they offer was another area that occupied me. This basically falls into two camps, Kindle and all other e-readers. Which one you choose, if you are interested in e-publishing that is, is of course a very subjective choice, but it is worth reading all the FAQ’s that you can find on the subject; boring sometimes but very necessary.

 So, in September I will cross my literary Rubicon and submit my manuscript for e-publishing. As the date approaches I find myself feeling both excitement and apprehension; that magic buzz! I have put a lot of work into this project, not just the writing and editing and submissions to uninterested literary agents but also the building of a social media network to help spread an awareness of my book. There may be more control in e-publishing but there is also more work required to make a go of it but then if you love what you have created and really believe in it then the long hours should not be a bind, they should be part of the creative process!

 How will I judge if I have been successful? Easy, if one person I do not know buys my book and has the kindness to drop me a line saying that they enjoyed reading it that will be enough, anything else will be a huge bonus!

The Staffordshire Hoard of Anglo-Saxon Treasure

The Staffordshire Hoard was discovered in July of 2009 by Terry Herbert who had asked for permission to search a farmer’s field with his metal detector. The field had only recently been ploughed and also other people had searched it only a little while ago but Mr Herbert was keen to give it a try.

The results were amazing!

Over a period of 5 days Mr Herbert recovered an enormous amount of gold and silver articles. He realised that there was too much for one person so he contacted the authorities and handed over his finds, and the responsibility that went with them, to the professionals.

A thorough exaction was carried out by Birmingham Archaeology with the approval of the land owner, Mr Fred Johnson. Over 3000 pieces were eventually recovered. The scale of the find and the variety of the pieces has captivated the imaginations of the public and the academics ever since.

It is not just the amount of precious metal and gemstones that is included in the treasure-trove, it is the high standard of the craftsmanship evident in many of the individual pieces. The period of Anglo-Saxon Britain was for so long presented to the public as the ‘Dark Ages’ where very little was known until England was once again civilised by the Norman Conquest. However, there has always been those who have fought against this representation, pointing to works like Beowulf that hint at a culture much richer than post Norman England tended to acknowledge. The Staffordshire Hoard repays their conviction.

Words cannot do the items justice, the old adage ‘a picture worth a thousand words’ is true so instead of me trying to describe this beauty you can visit the official website here http://www.staffordshirehoard.org.uk/ and see this wonder for yourself.