Word count widget

I've started using a new widget for updating the word count of my current novel. If you're interested in using it for your blog, click here.  I'm using the Writertopia meter, a cartoon that lets you show your current mood as well as the word count. As your word count increases, the stack of pages in the graphic rises. 

I'm using it on my UPCOMING PROJECTS page and it's very easy to use.  I've set a provisional target of 80,000 - but, who knows?  My stories tend to take on a life of their own and it may finish before or after that target.

It's turning into a murder mystery at the moment, but it did not begin that way.  It's set in  Birmingham, England, which is where I live.  Writing what you know is, of course, a lot easier - but I find that one of the most initially rewarding aspects to writing has been the research into areas upon which my writing needs to be more informed.  For example, my second novel, Barren Endeavour, was set in 1930's USA.  Researching the history and events of the time gave me an enormous sense of satisfaction and, for a time, I was obsessed with knowing more about The Great Depression as much as I was the writing of my novel set during that time.

My current novel started off as a relatively straight-forward story about four couples, their relationships, adultery, secrets and lies.  It has now changed direction and it means that the writing is going to becoming more challenging than it has been thus far.  The strands are sprawling in many directions and I'm going to have to retain control along the way.

Short Book Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



View all my reviews This is your classic 'middle' of a trilogy. Takes longer to get to the action than the first book, but when it does it effectively 'repeats' the most successful elements that have come before. Still being just as addictive as the Hunger Games was, and just as easy to read, means that you fly through it, ready to immediately pick up the final book after the cliffhanger. Once again, it's vividly thrilling and compulsive reading.

Short Book Review: The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It was even better than the first book. Now that the reader is familiar with the character, the story was able to delve into Salander's background and reveal why she is the way she is. It also tell's us more about Erica Berger's life as well as Blomqvist, with the human-trafficking murder plot serving as a driving backdrop. It revisits many of the characters from the first volume and throws in a few twists. It's another hefty volume, but compelling enough that the reader is left longing to read the concluding part.



I had seen the Swedish movie adaptation, but this felt completely different. It felt as if I didn't know what was going to happen further down the line and was still pleasantly surprised along the way.



View all my reviews

New Short Story - THE MEMORIES THAT DON'T FADE

I've posted a new story on the Flash Fiction Shorts page today.  It's called 'The Memories that don't fade' and it was inspired by Robert Shaw's speech as Quint in Jaws. It's still as captivating a piece of acting as it has ever been.  Aboard the Orca at night, Quint vividly recounts his experience as a survivor of the USS Indianapolis disaster in 1945.  It's a wonderful monologue, excellently performed.  I'm not comparing my story to the relay of events, but it is where I drew inspiration from in setting out my short story.  You must know which bit I mean, but in case you don't...

Seeking a Literary Agent

I self-published the kindle version of my first novel, The Ellroy Deflection, on Amazon in June 2011 along with a prequel short entitled The Ellroy Damnation to promote it.  Following that, I released my second novel, Barren Endeavour.  Since then I have achieved a total of 1017 downloads combined.  Last May, I had one novel completed and was halfway through writing my second.  I had no idea that I was going to stumble upon self-publishing the following month but, when I did, it was an exciting time.  I set up this blog, joined Twitter and signed up to The Independent Author Network.  I'm now writing my third novel, Natural Disposition, and have found that the creative juices are flowing more freely than they ever have before. 

I'm starting to think about how I can achieve the goal of becoming published.  I don't think I'm going to be able to make it big on my own.  Tournament-wise, I'm in the league stages and I think I'm going to need an agent to get to the final.  Someone in-the-know could ensure that my novels reach the desk of those that they need to.  These stories can sell - they just need to be seen.  The ideas had to make it past the nonsense filter in my brain to get onto the page, so I have the utmost confidence in them.  A lot of the publishing houses will only accept agented submissions, so I'm looking for representation.  It would make for a mutually beneficial relationship for many, many years to come.  I'm aiming for the sky and getting an agent is essential to reach it.

It's a longshot, but if anyone reading this currently has representation or knows of an agent that they could recommend or refer me to, please leave your comments below or email me at kevin001@sky.com

THE BEST OF 2011

As another year draws to a close, here are my top ten favourite films and tv shows from the past 12 month.  If you feel that there are any obvious omissions, such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for example, it means that I probably haven't got round to seeing it yet.

Happy New Year...

MY TOP TEN MOVIES 2011

MY TOP TEN TV SHOWS 2011

Imagine

I just watched this week's instalment of BBC's 'Imagine' hosted by Alan Yentob.  It was called 'Books - The Last Chapter?'  It was about the rise of eBooks and what it meant for the traditionally physical book.  He spoke with writers Alan Bennett, Douglas Coupland, Ewan Morrison and Gary Shteyngart.  It was reasonably balanced in presenting the debate about what the future holds, but what I took away from it is that it is the content that will endure whatever is the vessel for conveying it.  However, it did make me wonder whether just writing the book is going to be enough.  It seemed to suggest that all books are destined to require extras, like a DVD or BluRay.  I see how this would be very valuable for reference books or learning resources. But don't we just want to leave a good story as it is, leaving it up to the reader to make of it what they will rather than dictating what they should be taking away from it?  Does the writer really need to pull back the curtain and reveal the magic?  As I'm writing, thoughts are flooding into my head against my own argument.  All of the classics have reference books dedicated to them - where would literature students be without the notes?  Yes, I know, thinking for themselves, you might say.

I think it's inevitable.  Okay, so it will not be immediate, but the demise of the book in printed form will arrive. It's already started.  I don't need to tell you what you see when you look around you if you catch the train to work.  It doesn't even seem to have restricted itself to a particular age of person any more - the infection is spreading and there's nothing wrong with it.  It got me thinking - could our reading habits change?  Maybe some already read the way I'm about to propose, but I was thinking of trying to read several books at a time. It works for television, could it work for literature?  We don't watch a whole series of one thing without watching another - we get our weekly fix of each.  I was just thinking that, if you've got a kindle, or any other e-reader device, what's the point of having hundreds of books stored on it if you're only going to read one at a time.  Apart from the kindle app on my Android phone, I haven't yet been pulled away from the book in its physical form.  So, if you find my commentary a bit naive, I apologise for my inexperience.

Like I say - I don't think it's in the immediate future- they haven't finished building The New Birmingham Library yet.  But the time they are a changin'.