Category: Writing

Greetings from the South West!

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Long time no hear but there’s a good reason for that. We’ve moved… again! It’s been a disruptive few years, but we’re staying put for a long while this time. It’s said moving is one of the most stressful experiences. This time I was so stressed mainly owing to non-information and not knowing whether we were going to have to deal with the uncertainty of being homeless for a few weeks (therefore relying on the kindness of family and friends), I developed a rash ‘often caused by stress’. A joyless diagnosis when all one wants to do is scratch off at least several layers of skin. Yes, this move was hard, but the so was the last one. The actual cause was not the stress of a single move, but all the stress we’ve had for the last four years. I’d love to tell everyone that life has settled down and we’re now completely stress-free. Not the case, but things ‘are’ better. Much better. And during our journey in the evening we travelled to stay with friends for a single night we watched a marvellous sunset.

We’re slowly settling in and decorating as we furnish the rooms. I’ll be happy finally to have wardrobes, but having had one delivery already, I know that will include a significant amount of cardboard. This was just a fraction of our cardboard mountain to date. Not we’ll waste much of it. We’ve recycled most and some will go on the garden as it’s currently resembling more of a bog. On our first ‘expedition’ to a corner, I lost a shoe. We’ll need the cardboard just to walk on the soil and we can also use it as weed matting. It’s the smallest garden we’ve ever owned and I have plans to make it beautiful… eventually. Moving takes time even when you’re finally where you want to be.

On a better note, the first room we completed is my study. We unpacked all the books and shelved them. From today I’m trying to return to something of a routine. I have two books urgently to finish and more edits likely landing in my inbox come May, so now I’ve warmed up my fingers on the keyboard rather than a paintbrush I’d better get to work.

Good News

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First, this will be the last blog for at least two or three weeks. I’m afraid I missed last week owing to ill health and the days ahead are busier than usual… for an excellent reason. When I return, it will be from a new address.

Yes, I’m moving… again! Seems to be all I do in recent years, but after several stressful weeks/months/years even, I’m able to say we’re making a significant move, a life-changing relocation. Providing all goes well, I can even look forward to finally having a study. There’s much to arrange and so I’ll be taking a hoped-for ‘only short’ break, though I’m still trying to finish the Work in Progress, and edits for another release in the ‘Snow Angel’ planned trilogy.

In the meantime, I’m happy to announce that I have a novel accepted for the Lethbridge-Stewart series. No specifics as yet regarding title or release, though it will be later this year. And meanwhile I’ve a short story out in a few weeks–the ‘sleepless nights’ the write-up for Night to Dawn Issue 31 refers to. More news when I have it… and when I’m able to post.

Snow Angel’s first new review!

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“Both Jay and Dean are very well-written and they lived off of the printed page.”

This week I’m focusing on the type of review writers like. Not just because it praises one of my works, but because it’s well wrought. Good or bad, writers search for those reviews that have something constructive to say. I loved it (or hated it) is fine, especially if it’s a show of approval, but reviewers who can look at the depths of a story provide a writer with the insight from which we learn. I’ll address how I think writers should handle reviews another time, but there are opportunities to learn from both good and bad. Gabbi gives Snow Angel ‘5 kisses’ and a multi-layered review from which I share a few lines:

“He has a way of brushing off and not dealing with important topics like feelings and sexuality, but as I continued to read the story, I began to see the many layers of Dean begin to peel away.

It’s true that Dean struggles with verbalizing his feelings for Jay, but he shows Jay in so many way how much he truly cares for him, their friendship and the love that simmers between them.

Snow Angel is a complex and wonderfully written romance that has earned a spot on my keeper shelf.”

That so many wanted this book out in print, and wanted to read it twice, tells me much. Gabbi and others ‘get Dean’. They see the multi-layering I wanted to construct in my characters and in their relationship. Gabbi is right. Dean has always been my most controversial character. Adored by many, abhorred by others. The original publisher loved this story for the same reasons as the readers who love him. The message I received from that publisher was ‘well done, subtly nuanced’. And that’s the whole point.

Dean arrogant? Yes, in some ways he is, but he’s the creation I wanted him to be. I wanted to show an imperfect hero, for I believe they are the best kind. I wanted a flawed human being who is a good person to have on your side. I wanted a ‘London lad’, someone rough around the edges, who would stand up and fight for what he believes in, who has a steadfast set of principles. In Dean’s own words, “I may be a dick, but I don’t dick around.”

You can read the whole of Gabbi’s review at Top 2 Bottom Reviews.

Why ARe’s Closure Matters to All

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Some stopping by may have heard the shocking news of the closure of All Romance Ebooks, otherwise known as ARe. Others may not and that’s why I’m rehashing some details before moving on to explaining why situations like this and the outcome are important to all. The shock comes because of the way the owner, Lori James, dealt with the closure and treated the people who have supported this book distributor and publisher for so long.

Let’s be clear, this isn’t simply another case of a publisher letting down its writers — a situation that is always a blow resonating through and carrying consequences for the industry. This closure affected publishers, writers AND readers. The publishers and writers were incensed and disgusted to be ‘offered’ a fraction of all monies owed, but they were as much if not more concerned for the readers who had extensive libraries stored on ARe, libraries that short notice would never give them the chance to download.

Let’s deal with the closure first. Lawsuit documents reveal Lori James (and I quote from sources) ‘screwed’ her business partner, Barbara Perfetti, who sued James in early 2015, stating claims to which James never responded. In addition, there are only vague references to a decline in business and ‘poor financial forecasts’ to explain the closure, unsupported ‘mutterings’ from a company who reported sales running into the millions in recent years, worked with both publishers and writers, published its own titles, and who claimed more than a million books listed.

But what raises the level of suspicion is the abruptness, the indifference and the blackmailing tactic of the company’s closing ‘offer’, and that, mere days before the closure, James distributed ARe’s advertising rates for 2017. Publishers and writers took out and paid for advertising for 2017, and James ‘accepted’ those payments, knowing full well the announcement to close was to follow. I know because I received the same offer and was one of the fortunate few who did not take out advertising… but my publishers did. To my knowledge, there has been no offer to repay any of those advertising spots. That screams of nothing less than fraud.

ARe wanted to pay 10 cents on the dollar to publishers, an actual blow to those owed thousands (yes, thousands) of dollars. Those publishers needed to pay their own salaries, pay their writers, pay their editors, pay their cover artists and more. It’s been documented and I can confirm, some publishers have contemplated trying to withstand the loss themselves to pay those they owe, but such decisions could put their own companies at risk. James proposed a payment in order to avoid filing for bankruptcy. Sorry to sound flippant, but boohoo. Even if the company is in as large a financial mess as it claims (though it really hasn’t stated specifics) the situation did not arise overnight. And as part of accepting the 10 cent payoff, James stipulated that those who accepted must waver their legal rights to take further action. In short, James stated that the payment may be the only one anyone would see, take it or risk receiving nothing, and in so doing, no one could chase her, no matter what happens to the rest of the takings.

Lori James also hurt the readers. Even after the announcement, books were still up for sale spurring publishers to remove their books from the sites as swiftly as possible. Some succeeded; some did not. James then blocked access so readers could download their libraries and then finally stopped selling more books (as far as I know only after complaints). Readers lost books removed by publishers, but it mattered not as they had insufficient time to download their libraries in just ‘four days’, and may not have even received their notice to do so in time, being that this took place over the Christmas period with the site shutting down on 31st December.

Four days. Everyone got ‘four days’ to download libraries, or to make informed and difficult decisions regarding payment, and this does not even address worthless gift vouchers unlikely ever to receive a refund. Readers should be angry, too.

To those who have contacted some authors saying it’s not a blow to the industry (yes, unbelievably, some have written to authors directly, which is my reason for writing this post as I feel incensed on behalf of others), how many times do writers have to say that what they do is work and it comes with a cost? What part of cover artists want paying does not compute? What part of editors want paying does not sink in? Why are writers not entitled to receive payment for every word they put on the page? The writer only gets a fraction of the cover cost and a fraction of a fraction is nothing. Why is a writer’s time worth nothing to so many?

Publishing at any level is an ‘industry’. It is BUSINESS. The same way the public purchases a cinema ticket, those who wish to read a story need to put down money at the door. And where do those blockbusters we love to sit in darkened cinemas spring from? It’s born from the imagination and talent of a writer and many people helping that spark along the way. There are many behind the scenes whose name and craft the viewer or reader will never know of. They all want and NEED their cut. So do not come out in defence of people like Lori James who treat those they owe with such disregard. Do not claim it doesn’t matter. It very much does. It’s why writers go it alone. It’s why the good works get entangled with the bad and why Indie publishing is a growing threat to traditional publishing. Writers often ‘go it alone’ simply because they feel safer doing so, believe they have more control. In a case like ARe even Indie writers got stung.

Lori James writes under a pen name and no doubt in the future will write under more. I’ll have to be on the lookout in the hope I never put another cent/penny into this woman’s hands. I can’t tell anyone who to read, but I hope their conscience will.

A little freebie for Christmas

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A new series set after the 1968 Doctor Who serial The Web of Fear follows the adventures of Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart spanning the four years from when he was a colonel in the Scots Guards to his promotion to brigadier and head of the UK branch of UNIT. Candy Jar Books brings additional life to Lethbridge-Stewart, fully licensed by the executor of the Haisman Literary Estate, Hannah Haisman, and endorsed by Henry Lincoln. Whilst the series is not Young Adult fiction, its intention is to maintain that family-friendly feel balancing the classic with a sense of modernity.

To get a feel for the series, visit Candy Jar Books offers and drop down to the bottom of the page for this year’s Christmas free download. Enjoy!