Here we are and the first quarter of the year has already gone. This is where I have a moment of panic, I think about what I’ve achieved, or more truthfully what I haven’t. I have a bad habit of making plans that are difficult to fit into the allotted time frame. I’ll have an afternoon off and somehow expect that I’ll be able to achieve approximately 4 days worth of stuff into it.
I went into this year with lofty goals - and I wasn’t entirely naive - I knew that they would be hard to achieve but I wanted to push myself. So this is where I’m at:
My new day job is great, I like the work and I like the people. The only thing I don’t like is my own personal inability to create a routine. My new hip is great, I’m finished with physio now and have almost completely normal flexibility in that leg.
But let’s be honest you’re here for the writing chat so let’s get to it. Book 4 took me longer to edit than I’d intended because some real life stuff happened that ate up all my spare time. However, I completed the edits when I was away on holiday a couple of weeks ago and now all that’s left to do is a final double checking round of edits and then I’ll be setting up a pre-order.
I’m in the second draft of book 5 - which is still untitled, I think I have now officially got to the over thinking stage of choosing a title. My intention is to have this with my editor by the end of April.
My intention was that after publishing books 4-6 of the Rowan McFarlane series I would take a small break from that series (there will be more books to come though) and start a second series. In fact I thought I was ready to go having written what I thought was the first book. I sent this to my editor because I wasn’t quite ready for book 5 to go to them and thought why not get ahead of the curve for one.
Feedback was good, they loved the story, but thought it was much better as a standalone and not a series. I considered whether or not I wanted to change my plans and instead keep 1 series and then write standalone, but honestly I like writing a series and developing characters. Then randomly - or maybe because my brain wasn’t full of so much other stuff whilst I was on holiday I came up with a new character, a new series and a storyline for book 1.
I’m hoping to welcome DI Cara Ravenscroft later this year, I never had any intention of writing a police procedural, but here we are and I’m properly looking forward to it. And what about the other book, well that will also be released this year as a standalone and I think from time to time I’ll write a standalone.
Campervan Travels
First holiday of this year took us to Durham, York and Berwick. It was great to get away. We visited Beamish, nr Durham and these are the moments I toy with the ides of writing historic crime fiction, then I come to my senses. York was as always lovely, we enjoyed a long walk along the river and through the city. Berwick was lovely, we’ve never been there before and I loved being close to the coast, and yes I live near the coast but I’ll never tire of the sound of the waves. It was actually here that DI Cara Ravenscroft and her first case came to life in my mind.
What have I been reading?
I’ve had a few DNFs this month - I never go into detail with those because I don’t think it’s right and besides I might come back to them at another time. I did read Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson though and that was fab - I’m very hopeful we’ll have another Stevie Bell mystery soon.
Coming up this month?
We’ll be having a long weekend away to Anstruther later in the month in the van. I have to get all dressed up for an awards ceremony for work and most importantly I hope to publish Lies She Didn’t Tell. You lot will be the first to know when I have a date settled.