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On the road

14/9/2019

No way. It can’t be. My thoughts, when I looked at the date of my last blog post. How time flies whether you’re having or not having fun!

Main reasons for my absence: (get ready for a long one)

First, yes. I finished my manuscript, ‘Secrets Are Not For Telling’. (Though it’s really not finished til it’s on the bookshelf.)

Whilst doing that, I came across a competition run by a London publisher offering successful candidates a publishing deal. ‘Secrets Are Not For Telling’ wasn't quite ready, by the deadline for submission. For one, it hadn’t been through a professional edit, so there was likely to be some issues with it. Thought I'd had the feedback from my beta readers and a couple of proof reads by a friend. Success in this competition would, depend on the calibre of other manuscripts entered, so I was still hopeful.
I sent it in.

But continued with my original plan to polish up the manuscript, write my synopsis and covering letter for submission to agents.

I'd recently joined Jericho Writers. A club where members get access to loads of free, and paid for, courses and resources. A fantastic find, in my opinion. I sent my ‘Agent’s submission package’ (i.e. synopsis, first 5000 words of the manuscript and covering letter to agent) in to Jericho Writers for an assessment.

The editor helped me shape the covering letter and synopsis and after reading the first 5000 words of the manuscript, advised me to strengthen my main protagonist, Yvette’s, voice.

More confirmation that I wasn’t likely to be successful with the novel competition. But hey-ho. I’d already submitted. And, you’ve got to be in it, to win it. Isn’t that what they say?

I started to tackle the feedback.

Months later – time does fly, the publishing company contacted me. They thanked me for submitting. Said, the submission process was tough and unfortunately my novel wasn't selected. However, they said,
‘Nothing Stays In The Dark Forever’ showed great ambition, flair and potential. And is something they'd consider publishing in the future!

That was a wonderful runner-up prize for me.

There were two self-editing courses I’d been considering signing up to.  Jericho Writers club’s Self-editing your novel course (taught by Debi Alpher and Emma Darwin) was one of them. A newsletter popped up in my in-box. They were running a competition where under-represented voices could win a Jericho Bursary for under-represented voices. I had to enter. But I wanted to make the most of the course.

'Nothing Stays In The Dark Forever’ already had a potential publishing path panned out for it. Plus, I didn’t think it needed much more work doing on it.

If you take a look at my ‘Novels in Progress’ page, you’ll see I’ve been working on another novel: ‘Whispers From The Soursop Tree’. I’ve written numerous versions of this novel since its first draft in 2012! And it’s been waiting for years not just to see the light of day, but for me to shape it into a draft I was pleased with.

I wanted to give it a fighting chance to come to life. To work through what ever it was that kept stopping me from getting to a point where I could say:

"Yes, I'm happy with this."

So, I took a bold step. Submitted an extract from ‘Whispers From The Soursop Tree’, with all the other necessaries I needed to enter the competition. What did I have to lose?

My underlying fear, though was it would test my conviction. Force me to finish the novel or accept it was a no-goer. Either way, it would be growth and movement forward.

Weeks later, Hey presto! “What?” Staring at computer screen, in slight disbelief, reading:

…'I’m delighted to let you know …
   you have won a place on Debi Alper’s Self-Edit course...
   Congratulations!’

I’ve completed the course, busted a gut and six months later - with the help of Debi Alpher's editing skills and support, I have completed a draft of ‘Whispers From The Soursop Tree’.

... and wait for it - here’s the bonus: The bursary win didn’t only give me a free place on the Editing your novel course, but also a meeting with agents in the autumn. Yes, coming up soon!

I’m ready to present to agents.

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Yeahhhhh, but not quite there yet

24/10/2017

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I started writing my novel, 'Secrets are not for telling', in September 2014. It started life as 'Holding on', mushroomed into 'A woman like Doli', and within the last year, finally metamorphosed into 'Secrets are not for telling.'
Four days ago, I put the last full-stop on what I consider to be a good complete draft.

At first, I felt a sense of light satisfaction and achievement. Then I found myself fighting off urges to recall my manuscript from the two generous, and keen, beta readers I have enlisted to give me feedback.

Strangely enough, the emotions around parting with my manuscript, feel very much like when I left my children at nursery for the first time.

And after four days, since closing the file on my computer and the cover on the hard copy, I still have moments when my mind travels into the pages and I start thinking about possible tweets. Wonder what the beta readers are making of it? Then I have to force myself to put those thoughts to bed along with the manuscript. I’ll need to address it with fresh eyes in a few weeks.

I have turned my attention to the stage I’ll need to be at after polishing up the manuscript. So I've been researching potential literary agents. That piece of research has led me to recognising just how many writers and interesting books there are out there that I’ve never heard of and, most probably couldn’t get to read in a life time, even if I wanted to. It’s like lifting a lid on an amazing parallel world. Exciting, but scary.

As well as working on the list of potential agents, I have to knuckle down to polishing up my synopsis and to write that all important query letter, which, I understand, will make or break an agent’s decision to represent me. The only thing that will save me from rejection, I am led to understand, if my query letter fails me, is the agent deciding that my novel packs that punch - has the potential to be a best seller. No pressure, eh?

Way back in January 2014, after attending a literary event called the State of Black Publishing in the UK, I wrote a blog post: The Publishing Maze which mentioned concerns raised at the event around opportunities for black writers to get published, who the gate keepers in publishing are and whether the small number of black publishers in the UK hampered opportunities for black writers.

It's interesting that in my search to find literary agents in the UK, who may be interested in representing me, out of a list of 134, I only came across two who were black.

Mmm... possible future blog post...?

For now, I must move towards gaining a better understanding of how the publishing world works and try to see my ‘baby’, 'Secrets are not for telling', as a 'product' and not just a story that will provoke thought, bring pleasure and stir emotions.

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Phew... come on and dive in

4/8/2017

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I first came across, Nicole Y. Dennis-Benn’s debut novel, ‘Here comes the sun’, through writer, blogger and book reviewer, Anne Goodwin.

Neither the book cover nor the title appealed to me at first. They both seemed too light hearted and brought to mind too many negative images around the ongoing political debate on Caribean tourism. Hence, I only skimmed through Anne’s review and, at the end, decided (to support the writer (something I regularly do) by (one day soon) picking up a second hand copy of the novel.

Weeks later, during a discussion with Anne Goodwin on the novel, she asked for my opinion on it. I was engrossed in another novel at the time, but considered it and later, ventured a read.

I didn't get into it until after the first couple of pages, but after that, I was hooked.

I found Nicole Dennis-Ben’s writing style to be beautiful and refreshing; her characters true to life and the issues raised by the novel explosively ‘political’.

My only disappointment was with the ending. But I’ll let you decide yourself what you think on that.

Take my word for it, Nicole Benn’s ‘Here comes the sun’, is truly worth a read.

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The Grainy Truth

25/7/2017

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I bought my costly Kindle because I had to travel. It made sense - was more logical. I could purchase downloads where ever I was; carry loads of books in one light weight electronic device.

A year later, after some wonderful reading experiences via my reliable Kindle; growing to value the instant access to the dictionary, the inbuilt light facility which allows me to read in the dark and the ability to score my reading experience,

I am still struggling to fully adjust.

See, I love to share my reading experiences with fellow readers and although I value my books, I also enjoy lending recommended reads to trusted reading friends. On top of that, I like slotting my books in their rightful places on my physical book shelf, where I can see, at a glance (even in passing) the worlds and ideas my collection of books, though their authors (and publishers etc.) have opened up to me.

Sadly, Kindle just does not allow me to do this.

The Kindle experience has affected me so much I felt inspired to write this short piece:

Between the sheets

I long for the feel of your grainy texture.
Turning, flicking, I browse in anticipation of your promise

Sucking in your woody scent better transends me
Sharing you with other lovers increases my satisfaction.

You're bound to be replaced, some say,
by something more advanced – more appropriate for our times.

But what would become of the balance,
recycling, sharing of pleasures and planting of trees?

How do you feel? Does your kindle do it for you?

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Saturday's Soup

20/2/2017

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Great news. I submitted one of my short stories, Saturday's Soup to The Mechanics' Institute Review (MIR) Online and I am happy to say that they've agreed to published it. I consider it to be one of my best short stories so far. Hope you get some kind of a stir out of reading it.

As always, I would welcome your feedback.

You can check it out here:mironline.org/saturdays-soup-s-a-edward/

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Get over the genre... just read

11/11/2016

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Writers are advised to read widely. Diversify. Don’t just read the writers you love or have grown used to reading. Go outside of the box. This will help to improve your writing, as well as your awareness of what other works are out there.

As some of you will know, I am working on the second draft of my novel, ‘A woman like Doli’. As it happens (yes, it does) islolation and self doubt started creeping in. I sought the support of a mentor and chose Emma Darwi n, who came recommended by a fellow writer.

Reading Emma's profile I took a mental step back when I discovered her writing genre is historical fiction. I checked out her first novel, ‘The mathematics of love’.

From the Suffolk countryside to the old Basque towns of Spain, Emma Darwin's unforgettable debut tells the astoundingly moving story of Stephen, a veteran of Waterloo…’

This write up just didn't appeal to me because it seemed to be set in a place and time that had nothing to do with my world nor one I'd be interested in. And Historical fiction? It's just not something I'd choose to read. On top of that, due to my politics on war, I did not want to get into the head of a soldier.

But Emma is my mentor. I could see she knows stuff. I mean really knows stuff. Stuff that I was already taking on board to help improve my writing; structuring and loads of other things related to the writing process. Reading her novel would actually enable me to see how she applies what she’s trying to show me. It could speed up my learning process.

Then…what do they call it? ‘Divine intervention’? Coincidence? Well, I got an episode of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and had to rest my wrist. What on earth was I going to do with myself? I couldn’t be asked to activate my speech recognition software so that I could dictate my work onto the page. So, I did more reading. Finished the novel I was currently reading; started to read another, then it came to me: What about Emma’s book?

I bought it. Started it. Felt uncomfortable reading the first few pages full of oldie worldie language, from the point of view of my ‘dreaded character’ ⎼ the soldier, then as I read on, discovered I'd found a good read, a page turner that surpassed my expectations. It was a great and satisfying read.

I thought about this reading experience, my prejudices and claimed ‘dislike’ of historical fiction. I recalled that during my late teens, I chumped through loads of stories set during the transatlantic slave trade. A few years ago, I enjoyed Andrea Levy’s, 'The long song', which, although listed as contemporary fiction, could be seen as historical, since the story, at least most of it, is about a slave girl living on a sugar plantation in Jamaica.

Another novel I enjoyed reading, a few years back, (I discovered is categorised as historical fiction) is Beverly East’s, ‘Reaper of Souls’, which is based on Jamaica’s Holocaust, the 1957 Kendal train crash.

Thank you Emma Darwin, for, among other things, taking me out of my comfort zone.

Turns out, I do like historical fiction after all.

What about you? Do you tend to stay in the 'safe/tried and tested' zone with your reading, or do you think you could do with some diversifying?

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Good enough read?

6/9/2016

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Three months ago, I decided to read a book by a well known award winning author. This book had been sitting on my shelf to many years and I chose to read it ‘for a change’ from the last two prize winners and chit lit books I’d been emmersed in reading.

I really enjoyed reading my new selection and (as I often do) decided to search for other books by the same author. Yeepie! I was in reading heaven and ended up munching through three in a row by the same author. I loved his writing style. His plots were varied and interesting and as a writer I found myself learning a thing or two from his work. I was eager to reading his next novel and got stuck right in.

Unfortunately, after reading the first few pages of the fourth in my selection, I started to lose interest. The story kept sagging. “Where’s this going?” I asked myself. “Give him the benefit of the doubt.” I plodded on. Everytime the story presented a slight upturn, I got excited, telling myself, this is it. Now we’re getting somewhere. But no. More than half way through and even when I was almost at the end, I still found myself counting how many pages I had left before I could put it down.

As a serious writer, I have learnt to assess and reassess everything I read. So why didn’t I enjoy this read?

The story plot was not interesting enough
Each surprise in the plot, ended up leading to nowhere in particular
The pace of the story was too slow
I didn’t develop enough of an interest in the characters to care about them
Even the end was flat and dissatisfying

I’m sure the author had his reasons for writing this novel and I could see some of the issues he was trying to raise, but the reading experience left me wondering why this book was published, when surely the publisher or agent knows this author could do better. He has a track record to prove it. Clearly I have more to learn about the publishing industry.

What do you do when you find yoursef reading a book that isn't doing it for you? Do you continue reading inspite of it all? Or are you one of those people who simply put the book down and not recommend it to fellow readers? Do you give up on the author altogether and never pick up another one of their books? I'd love to know.

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Calabash Literary Festival, Jamaica - what a treat!

21/6/2016

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Earlier this month, I attended my first literary festival - Calabash, in Jamaica. It took place over three days in the wonderful picturesque setting of Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth.

The audience mainly came from Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean, but participants came around the world.

The numerous stalls at the entrance to the venue, displayed colourful crafts and and clothes and there was an opportunity to sample some Jamaican coffee. Food and drinks were also continuously available, of course.

On day one, we enjoyed listening to Jamacian writers such as Nicole Dennis-Benn, whose debut novel, ‘Here comes the sun’, will be published this year. Award winning, Kaylie Jones, author of ‘Lies my mother never told me’ read some of her work, together with, Chigozie Obioma, whose first novel,‘The Fishermen’, was named as book of the year for 2015 by the UK Observer, The Economist, The Financial Times and others.

Poets such as Ilya Kaminsky, Valdimir Lucien and Jessica Care Moore, performed some of their work. There might be some bias here, but I particularly liked Vladimir's poem 'Description of Articles', where he lists items we conceal in our suitcases when we are leaving the Caribbean for England. This poem had most of us in fits of laughter.

The evening ended with a wonderful Roots Rock Reggae session, with reggae singer and songwriter, Protoje, as the main artist.

In the ‘Movable Feast’ section, on day two, we were treated to poetry readings from Tishani Doshi, Nikola Madzirov, Ladan Osman and Kei Miller. Novelists included the Man Bookere prize winner, Eleanor Catton. Poet, novelist and political activist, Chris Abani (Nigeria/USA) sat in facinating reasoning (conversation) with Paul Holdenraber. I was particularly touched by his poems about his father.

On the last day, we listened to extracts from the stories of the five finalists of the Commonwealth Short story competition for 2016. Then the final winner was announced. This year Parashar Kulkarni, from India, won the grand prize (£5,000). Well done Parashar. His story, ‘Cow and company’, also had the audience in giggles.

The two popular open mike sessions allowed some people in the audience (mainly poets, due to the three minute limit) to perform some of their work. This really demonstrated just how many talented people are out there (most 'undiscovered'). I got the opportunity to read one of my pieces of flash fiction: 'An Okay Day'.

The final day ended with music from the Calabash Acoustic Ensemble. The theme was a celebration of food, so many were taken down memory lane with Jamaican folk songs such as:

"...carry mi ackee, go a Linstead Market
Not a quattie worth sell
...carry me ackee, go a Linstead Market
Not a quattie worth sell...

Lawd what a night, not a bite
What a Saturday night
Lawd what a night not a bite
What a Saturday night.'

Here are some pics (and a U-Tube link) I think you'll also enjoy.

Parshar Kulkarni: Winner of Commonwealth short story competition 2016.

Me with my country man: poet, screenwriter and actor, Vladimir Lucien.

Me and one of my favourite dub poets: The master, Linton Kwesi Johnson who is the only black poet, to be published in the Penguin Modern Classics series.

Check out this U-Tube link with Protoje and one of my favourite young reggae artists, Chronixx.

Finally, if you're looking for a good read, you might want to take a look at the work of some of the authors who attended the festival.

The Calabash Literary Festival takes place biennially. Admission is free!
I know one person who's not going to miss it in 2018.

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So far, so good

20/11/2015

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Ok it’s been over three weeks since my 'early to bed and early to rise' challenge. For twelve out of the 24 days since setting this task, whilst I have not always managed to get to bed early enough to get my required 7-8 hours of sleep, I have sprang out of bed on time (mostly without an alarm) and spent at least two hours editing my novel. On two occasions, I even woke up at 3.30!

Day one was exciting for me. I sat at my computer and listened to the sounds of whistling frogs, interrupted by the chorus of cocks crowing and not a sound in the house (ahh, bliss). An hour later, the odd car was passing by. And I thought I was an early bird?

One day in my second week, the rain started pelting down on the galvanized roof (this always gives me that 'cosy' feeling). I was sorely tempted to rush back to my bed and snuggle down under the sheet, but I managed to drum up enough self-talk: “It’s 5.30 Steff,” I told myself, “and who's gonna do your writing while you’re sleeping?”

In week three there was so much rain, my house was totally flooded out and I couldn’t even sleep there that night. The recovery process lasted for days. Taking all of this into consideration, I would give myself 7 out of 10 for effort and perseverance.

One thing I would say though is, I’d forgotten just how long the editing process can take and the concentration that’s needed. In particular, I got bogged down with a scene, where I am introducing one of the main characters’ boyfriend to the reader for the first time. That kept not feeling right for me and I wasn’t even sure if it was coming at the right time in the story. Even whilst writing this blog I’m still a little unsure, but part of the fun of editing is the freedom to play around with changes.

Here is a picture of one of the sunrises I had the pleasure of experiencing on one of my writing mornings.

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Early to rise

27/10/2015

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I know it’s been almost a year since my last blog post, but trust me, I have been busy. Life’s trappings wrapped me up and I am just about beginning to disentangle myself.

Anyone who knows me knows that although I am a night bird, I also love my sleep. However, my fingers are hot to tap and my determination and creative juices oozing. I have to complete the second draft of my novel, ‘A Woman like Doli’. To help me achieve this I have set myself a challenge: to wake up at 4.00 every morning (Monday to Friday) and write for two hours before having to face my domestic tasks. Of course, I plan to top this up by squeezing in more writing time during the day.

I promise to keep you posted.

WISH ME LUCK!

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On the road

Yeahhhhh, but not quite there yet

Phew... come on and dive in

The Grainy Truth

Saturday's Soup

Get over the genre... just read

Good enough read?

Calabash Literary Festival, Jamaica - what a treat!

So far, so good

Early to rise

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