Sharon Maria Bidwell

I’m trying to catch up with everything, including blogging, but I seem to have left my get up and go somewhere at the beach. Plus the sun is still shining and enticing me to laziness. Still, I’m glad to report that I came home to a great review for The Comet Cometh at ParaNormal Romance :

This book is full of conflicts; conflicts between persons, their world, their power, and their own feelings. There is excitement in the action with the battles and the warring of persons against each other. There is also wonderful love scenes that will set the reader afire. While this is the third book of a trilogy, it can be read as a standalone. There are also lines which can easily be explored with their own story. Perhaps Ms. Bidwell has a treat for us yet again?

Just a little ad I ran up.

As of Friday I’m taking a break. A real break. A break from writing, from promoting, from the computer, from the house. We’re going to visit relatives and then we’re travelling on towards Cromer in Norfolk, which for those of you who may not know is at the top to the right of the pregnant part of the UK map. I’ve been warned the coast there is c-c-c-cold. I don’t mind that. The real question is if it will be wet. It’s currently raining here. Persisting down, but then that’s nothing new.

I’ll be honest, it’s no real secret that I’ve been feeling a little despondent with my writing of late and then the other night I realised I just need a break. About four years ago I started to wonder when I was going to have a larger writing credit so I decided to sit down and ‘make’ it happen. I tracked down a market I wanted to write for and attempted to write a novel. Not a first draft that would just sit waiting for me to finish it (yes, I have a few of those) but something I would finish and send off.

That particular book is sitting on my computer and I hope to finish it this year. Okay, even with the best of intentions we don’t always keep to our resolutions first time around. The second book I wrote and submitted. I was overcome with the feeling that if they didn’t accept this I was ready to pick up the PC and throw the sodding thing out of the window and to hell with writing. Saying that, even as it crossed my mind I knew I wouldn’t. I knew when the refusal came in (not if — despite feeling 99% sure they would take it, 1% of me remained convinced it would never happen), I’d sit down and try again. Writers have to be determined, or is that stubborn? I’m not sure there’s a difference any more.

That book was Uly’s Comet and within two days my wonderful editor on that book, Lorri-Lynne *waves*, asked to see the whole manuscript. A month later I received a contract. Yayyyy!

Since then…Yes, since then I’ve been busy, busy, busy. I just didn’t realise how busy. I keep a biography of work and I looked through what I’ve done since I first had the idea to Uly’s Comet. Look at this little list published over the last three years and most of the articles were written to order, plus the longer works were all written from scratch. To some it will seem like a lot, to others not, but personally I’m exhausted:

Article: The Cutting Edge of Today’s Packaging, April 2005
Brief: Circle of Life - introduction written for The Really Wild Nursery updated garden project, 2005
Short Story: Bone Picker (Bone Dance Series), July 2005
Article: The Grimm Truth, November 2005
Article: Tis the Season, December 2005
Short Story: Silver Apples of the Moon (reprint), December 2005
Essay: My Wild City (reprint), February 2006
Poem: Scourge, February 2006
Essay: A’La Mode, March 2006
Essay: Smell the Flowers, July 2006
Novel: The Swithin Chronicles 1: Uly’s Comet, Aug 2006
Novelette: Rose Light, Aspen Mountain Press, Sept 2006
Novel: Snow Angel, Dec 2006
Article: Back to Basics, Dec/Jan 2006/07
Article: m/m symbols, Jan 2007
Article: The Syndicate and Hard Candy Review, Jan 2007
Poem: The Roman Seasons, April 2007
Novelette: ‘Space, Man’, April 2007
Essay: Amatorius, May 2007
Article: Taking Civil Liberties, May 2007
Article: Two Countries Divided by a Common Language, 2007
Short Story: Degrees of Sickness, May/June 2007
Novella: Angel Heart, Aug 2007
Short Story: Effigy in Garnet, Sept 2007
Novelette: A Slow Fuzzy Screw, Sept 2007
Novel: The Comet’s Tail (Swithin Chronicles Book 2), Oct 2007
Short Story: The Teacher, Oct 2007
Flash Fiction: He Looks My Way, Aug/Sept 2007
Novel: The Comet Cometh (Swithin Chronicles 3), April 2008
Article: Learning by Experience: Probate, April/May 2008

I’ve also written a short story for a possible anthology and the first drafts of a 30,000 word novella, and a m/m/f romance/sci-fi novel. Plus during all this my father died.

I need a break!

Note: Alan Moore is best known for his work in Graphic Novels. I never expected to read something like this from the man who wrote The Extraordinary Gentlemen and V for Vendetta. Also note that this review is just my opinion of the book. Poetry either speaks to you or it doesn’t. It’s a very individual thing. I also love the way this book is presented, including the historical references. I do, however, feel it’s a little pricey, but I’m still glad I tracked down a copy. It’s not always easy to locate.

The Mirror of Love is a poem.

It’s about same-sex love but ultimately about people just being in love.

They say you shouldn’t discuss sex, religion and politics, and for the most part, I always keep that in mind. However, I do tend to state simply that Love is Love, and that’s what The Mirror of Love does superbly. Many would suppose I need to be seen to support my writing, but I’ve come far from the naïve woman who thought she would just write a story for a gay friend, never imagining that many people would want to read it. Still, my feelings have nothing to do with my writing. I truly have to stand by something I believe in when I feel this strongly. I’m no gay crusader but everything I am tells me that love is love. I only have to imagine someone telling me I’m not “allowed” to love the person that I do in fact love, and everything in my being rebels. I would fight tooth and nail, wave every flag, march in every parade. This world needs all the love it can get, now more than ever. Place yourself in the position of someone telling you that your feelings are wrong and it’s heartbreaking.

The Mirror of Love is a poem.

The Mirror of Love is a reminder.

Same sex love seems so widely accepted now that it’s too easy to forget people still face intolerance and bigotry. It’s easy for me to forget that Margaret Thatcher came to power as I was heading out into the world. This book reminded me that she promoted “a return to Victorian values.” A direct quote from an appendix of the book reads: ‘under her government, in December 1986, the leader of the South Staffordshire Council, Councillor William Frank Brownhill, proposed on the record that ninety percent of gay men should be exterminated in gas chambers.’

Many young women I knew at the time wanted to vote Thatcher into power simply because they felt a female Prime Minister could “do no wrong.”

Some see same-sex relationships as a fad, a phase, a gay friend as a cool accessory. The Mirror of Love reminds us that same sex love is nothing new - it has always been with us and always will be. People have been ostracised, tortured, murdered simply for whom they love. The stand for gay rights isn’t to stand for the act of sex between two men or two women. It’s a stand for human rights, equal rights, liberation and freedom. It’s a stand for every one of us who could face persecution or terrorism because our views or feelings do not meet with someone’s approval.

The Mirror of Love is a poem.

It’s presented in a small hard-backed book, illustrated with photographs that compliment each turn of the page. You might pour slowly over the words; you might rush through the pages at a furious rate. It may be the work of a few moments to read, but if you believe in the right to love whom your heart tells you to love, whatever your sexuality this will stay with you forever.

It’s a depiction of history, a protest, a testament. There’s something inexplicable that happens to the reader as the words flourish and begin to sink into your psyche, your heart, your bones it seems. As beautiful, as it is harrowing don’t be surprised to shed a tear.

If this doesn’t speak to the heart that heart has never loved freely, joyously, without prejudice. Every home should have a copy of this book; one should be present in every hotel room. The Mirror of Love is a sweet gem of a book and a privilege to own.

I don’t usually blog twice in one day but I just got a great review from Alternative Read

“WOW Again. Sharon is a master storyteller.”

Cool.

I actually have some writer friends to thank for bringing this to my attention but it’s too priceless not to share.

(some language caution)

One topic that affects writers greatly but they rarely talk about in public is the blues. Let’s call it writers’ doldrums. I don’t seem to be the only one suffering this lately though I have to admit I hit an expected low yesterday. I don’t know why this is. It could just be that I’m struggling at present. I’ve got three things I’m trying to finish within a set time-frame and I have other projects at the back of my mind. I’ve a novel where the last part just isn’t coming together the way I’d like. For some reason I lost the sound of my ‘voice’ or I can’t seem to connect with my style if you prefer — if I actually have one.

All this can affect your state of mind. Every writer I’ve ever spoken to about this has admitted to having those days when they wonder why in hell they are doing this. Sometimes you lose direction or focus. You don’t know what to do next, or you struggle to choose which direction to take your writing.

All the writing courses I’ve studied or how to write books I’ve read, all advise the author to write every day. Christmas, your birthday: they all say, write write write. What I think they should actually advise is that you write on a regular basis, but I’m guessing the fear is that if you stop you won’t be able to start up again. Really, though, when should writers take a break? Everyone else has a holiday.

Bare in mind that most writers work part-time if not full-time or have other commitments that take up a large part of their day. They often struggle to fit their writing in with their day-to-day life. Then aside from the writing, the writer has to become involved with many other aspects of publishing. These days they usually have to maintain a website, they have to promote, the more successful they are they may need to make appearances. Yeah, we should all be so lucky but the fact remains that writing is WORK. Sometimes it is so much work for such little reward that writers have moments when they wonder what it’s all for, is it all worth it, and why do they do it. A few days later, they are usually inspired again. Most writers write because they ‘have’ to. They’d likely go insane if they didn’t feel that need. Still, people in other occupations take time off. When does the writer take a break?

Like most writers, I was a reader ever before I put pen to page. I have a hill of to-be-read books currently aspiring to become a mountain. Sometimes I can’t help thinking how nice just to take a week where I read rather than write. Of course, sometimes while reading, ideas will pop into your head but even if you noted these down, I can’t help thinking that it would be sheer bliss just to refuse to write for a few days. If you take everyday life, reading, and writing into account, many writers have words constantly revolving around in their minds. Some days I wish for silence but then the writer lives in fear of the day when there’ll be nothing BUT silence, when the plots and character ideas stop coming. Is it any wonder we love and hate writing so much?

I have days when I sincerely wish I’d never felt the urge to write in my life and was still a happy, blissful, ignorant reader. It passes. Like the words in my head, these phases revolve. Just bare in mind that there are many good reasons why many authors have a love/hate relationship with their work.

Okay, I did promise to explain at least part of the various reasons why my writing is scarce on the ground this year. By that I mean I am writing, I’m just not submitting much for publication. Some of those reasons are personal and concern things I’m trying to sort out or arrange in my life so that with a lot of hard work and a bit of luck, I can feel more settled as 2008 rolls into 2009. Bare in mind it’s April already so that’s not as far off as it once sounded. April? Already? Gagggh.

Some of my reasons are things in progress that just rear their ugly heads on occasion but then turn my emotions upside-down and inside-out over several days at a time. One of those irritations include the fact that my father’s ’simple’ estate still isn’t finalised. This creates much intermittent gnashing of teeth, as you can imagine, but I signed some more forms the other day and am beginning to wonder if if there’s a bright light at the end of a very long tunnel. My father would have got the joke there and laughed. He wouldn’t have been amused to know it’s taken so long to sort out his personal finances etc. This is just one of many irritations I’m having to deal with this year and typically they come all at once.

There is another reason that my releases will be scarce. As you can imagine there are ‘behind the scenes’ occurrences, some of which one anticipates, such as edits, line edits, proofreading, production delays etc. What I didn’t anticipate was the necessity to sort out a US tax number this year, and while it isn’t always possible to explain what happens between publisher, writer, and other outside sources due to privacy issues, I feel I have to inform you of these circumstances out of politeness so that my readers understand the difficulty I’ve had to overcome.

The US and UK have a tax treaty. What this means is that a UK citizen does not have to pay tax on earnings in the US. While this may seem unfair to some, consider that the UK writer loses half their income on the exchange rate. To lose another 30% would be crippling, indeed. I actually worked out that if the UK writer had to pay 30% US tax, then lost half their earnings as they do on the current exchange rate, pay bank charges and then pay tax in the UK, for every $100 in royalties they would actually receive $30 or less (approximately £15). Can we all shout OUCH!

Up until recently, the IRS accepted the UK National Insurance code as proof of UK citizenship, but no longer. The UK writer has to apply to the IRS for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number or ITIN. I’m not talking about someone who has written a short story and maybe earned $5 or $10 from a magazine. I’m talking about a writer earning any sort of regular income. Without the ITIN code, the publisher should withhold 30% of royalties to pay US tax. Some writers actually cannot be bothered to apply for this number and accept paying the tax because their royalties to date don’t warrant the cost or hassle.

To apply one needs certified or notarised copies of certain documents, such as your passport. Depending on what form of identification you choose, and what route you decide to take to obtain the copies, it can be a costly business. The writer then sends this with a form to the IRS. Once they issue an ITIN number, the writer sends this with another form to his or her publisher and then doesn’t have to pay US tax.

However, this all takes time. The IRS alone say to allow up to eight weeks to process the application. Consider it can also take up to two weeks to send a letter to the states and to receive one. In addition, there’s been several weeks of running around to obtain the necessary documents even before a writer can send them. This has cut into my writing time and until I receive my ITIN number I feel unable to submit any new (or not ‘already in progress’ for submission) works to the US market, which in turn means that I may not sub more work until the end of the summer and then, even if accepted, it may be another three months before the work finds a slot. There’s nothing I can do about this delay. It’s outside of my control and I can only ask my readers to bear with me. Thank you.

As to the fun of actually finding the right information and dealing with departments over here just to get the paperwork you need even before you can send it, that’s what kept me busy for a large part of the start of the year, but that’s another story and another blog.

Recuperating from the traumatic events of a bomb blast and therefore, his physical and emotional injuries, Nat Brooke is sent to stay at Partington Towers, which in the character’s own words looks more like a Victorian lunatic asylum than a place to rest and heal. This is supposed to be a quiet place in the country but here he stumbles across the mysterious figure of “Richie” in the garden. Soon, his ideas of love are about to slip the realms of belief and the question arises as to whether Nat can accept that reality may not be all that it seems. Will he be able to accept the magic of the garden and the fact that the course of love does not always run smooth?

If you’re looking for a highly erotic m/m romance then Roses in December most certainly isn’t it. I wouldn’t call it non-explicit but the love scenes are sensual rather than graphic. In some ways I’m aware that this read may not appeal to everyone so you may wonder why I’m mentioning it. The reason is simply that months after reading it, I remember the story. As always, reading is very much personal preference, but for me, where Fiona Glass excels here is in atmosphere: from the looming and sometimes ominous presence of Partington Towers, to the contrasting and ever changing mood of the garden.

Not as salacious as many romances on the market, this is not erotic romance but simply a love story with a somewhat harrowing twist, and yet the promise of love and unexpected happiness remains. I truly find it difficult to explain what it is about this tale that captures your interest and stays in your memory. What I do know is that something about the style of the writing makes you remember these characters as well as the garden long after you’ve reached the end.

Roses in December is available from Torquere Press until July 2008.

A few people have asked about my writing, upcoming books, and future plans, so I thought I’d give you an idea. I don’t usually talk about works in progress but as I intend to keep this as vague as some of my current ideas, I’ll make an exception. Don’t worry, many of my story ideas start out exceedingly vague, and I still manage to write whole novels out of them.

The Swithin Chronicles 3: The Comet Cometh came out on April 1st. I was biting my nails. I kept imagining that it would be put back without my knowing and I would have an April Fools played on me but it came out as scheduled. Right now, I have nothing else lined up for publication, except a reprint of a short story sometime this year.

Swithin Spins: I’ve mentioned these and I am intermittently working on them but I don’t know if the publisher will even be interested, or if I will wish to submit them. The chances are I will, and Loose-Id have first refusal on these, but they’re not ready anyway, so I don’t want to predict. If they go ahead, it’s quite possible the first one wouldn’t see publication until the end of the year. The first book is at present only a rough draft. I would need to finish it, submit it, then if they take it, it would go through the normal process and have to find a slot in the publication schedule. If the spins go according to plan, they will go in this order of pairings: f/f, m/f, m/m, m/m/m (the last being a story containing Uly, Markis, and Ryanac from the trilogy, which is why it’s m/m/m. The other spins will also feature some characters from the trilogy but I don’t want to say who at present or I’ll give too much away. I’m writing these very much as inspiration strikes so there’s no set time schedule, although if I take too long the chances are I’d end up seeking another publisher or self-publishing them. I’m only saying that because the chances are I will submit to LI and they will end up accepting, but I don’t want to say that’s certain because it isn’t. Most publishers only commit to three books in a series, though are open to spin-offs depending on time-frame. I may not be able to turn them in to my satisfaction within a good time due to personal plans this year, so if the spins end up being future projects then I’m open to options.

I’ve a m/f, light paranormal, first draft finished. This book does need enhancing before I sub it to anyone, so plans right now are to heighten the tension and then decide where to publish.

I’ve also a m/m/f sci-fi with first draft complete. Again, this needs work. It’s a long manuscript and I want to tighten the emotional aspect of the story. If you have read any of my work, I’m sure you know that I like to give ‘good story’ *g*. Seriously, if I’m writing an erotic romance, I still believe in the story. Both elements of story and romance need to fit. I’m 95% happy with this. Until I’m 100%, it’s not going out. It needs a serious self-edit before I decide what to do with it.

I want to write at least one more story for Aspen’s Del Fantasma range and have drafted it out. It’s m/m/f (not by choice *waves to a certain reader*) because these stories have drinks for inspiration and one just sparked a certain idea in my mind. If I write more than this one then I will look into other pairings but you can’t dictate where ideas will spring from, and the plot doesn’t work with any other pairing.

I’ve a m/m (some mild m/f) vampire novelette length story that is driving me crazy. It’s not long and won’t be suitable for Loose-Id simply because it’s not the type of thing they would publish. I’m considering self-publishing it for a bit of fun. I’ve even run up a great cover design for it. The trouble is the end is absolutely avoiding me. I may finish this and get an independent editor to look at it to tell me what in the world is wrong with this one. It’s lacking something. Once I can spot what that something is, no doubt it will stop defying me.

I’ve another m/m vampire novelette I’ve yet to finish. Again, it won’t fit with Loose-Id so I need to consider other options seriously, but it should be ready soon.

I have two short story collections in mind. One is for a m/m book of short stories, which would feature all kinds of genres as well as explicit and non-explicit tales, and I could either look for a publisher or, again, self-publishing is an option. The other collection is more in tune with my non-explicit work and finding an interested publisher may well be difficult. In either case, I need to finish writing the stories for inclusion. I would have liked to do something with these this summer but I think sometime next year is more realistic.

I have a m/m fantasy to finish. First six chapters are complete, and for those of you not into fantasy, this is very much a character driven story, which I feel even lovers of more contemporary works might well enjoy. It does have a title but I’ll call it ‘C’ for now as I’m keeping it under wraps. The ‘C’ absolutely does NOT stand for comet and the storyline bares no resemblance whatsoever. It’s a completely new and separate fantasy. Oddly enough, my sci-fi title also starts with a ‘C’. Don’t ask me why; it just worked out that way.

I’ve two ideas for m/m contemporary stories. I can hear fans of Snow Angel shouting yayyyyy! The ideas are quite strong in my mind and I know the characters very well so I don’t foresee a huge problem in the actual writing of them.

Of non-romance work, I have two fantasy trilogies that I really need to rewrite. One was an idea I had years ago. I learned a lot writing it, but with the experience I have now, I want to work on it seriously. I have another, very odd, fantasy that I wrote a couple of years ago, and then I got sidetracked (into writing m/m she says with a smile and a laugh). The plot is such that I could turn it into an erotic romance if I chose but while it has certain ‘elements’ shall we say, I don’t truly envision this as a page by page explicit work. Still, it has great potential and I don’t intend to entirely forget these works. I do write in other styles and have readers who like my non-romance work.

Well, that’s about it, and it’s quite enough to be going on with. I have two to three years (or more) of constant work there in various genres, especially baring in mind that personal plans are going to make writing something of a task for me this year. I will muddle through as and when I can. This is quite a list and it doesn’t include numerous ’small’ and as yet unfledged ideas that constantly bombard me. Eg: I intend to write my flash offering ‘Roped’ to the Loose Ends blog into a full story. ‘Roped’ sparked an idea and I will write it out in full even if it’s only a short story. Who knows what else, including other flash pieces, will kick the muse this year.