The Last Georgia Pattison Mystery and harp seals...

Fledging a book is quite a process. Not just the enjoyable creating the story bit, but the sometimes less than enjoyable editing. Then more editing. And just another edit, until the author is sick and tired of seeing/reading/hearing about the wretched book.

I decided it was time to send my first serial detective, early-music soprano, Georgia Pattison, on her final adventure. Why? Because new writing avenues beckon. 2023 is already planned and there isn’t room for our intrepid heroine. There may come a time when I fancy bringing her out into the cold light of day again.

In Who Wants To Live Forever, Georgia gets what is possibly the biggest shock of her life. It leaves her conflicted enough to put everything good in her life on the line in order to find this particular killer. And she believes that all her past experience in helping DCI Hamilton find killers, has led up to this one case. It is the one she cannot walk away from.

If you would like to read more about why some authors are like harp seals, you can find my blog here:

https://authorapriltaylor.blogspot.com/2022/12/why-are-some-authors-like-harp-seals.html

If you would like to buy the book, you will find it here: https://mybook.to/RRGsWE

And if you would like to find out more about April Taylor:

You can find me on Facebook, Twitter Amazon UK

Hornsea Writers showcased at virtual event

At this time of year, several Hornsea Writers would usually be heading for Fantastic Books Publishing's FantastiCon convention. The pandemic has put paid to a physical gathering, but there will be a virtual event on 15th and 16th August where six new books will be launched.

Although no Hornsea Writer members have books launched at this event, their work will be showcased, so please call in and expect to hear from Linda Acaster, Stuart Aken, Penny Grubb, Shellie Horst and maybe more.

The virtual FantastiCon schedule is HERE.

The event will be streamed on Twtich TV HERE.

For mini reviews on each of FantastiCon 2020's launch books, click HERE.

Looking back over beginnings

It is exciting to launch a new book. There are a lot of different ways to do it ... and it doesn't always go to plan.

In this post on interviews, Linda Acaster riffs with some of the writing greats whilst launching book 2 of her Torc of Moonlight trilogy; and Stuart Aken is interviewed for an online launch for book 1 in his fantasy trilogy, A Seared Sky.

Launch parties might be physical events with champagne corks popping, but these days are more likely to be online. Stuart launched his trilogy with a Facebook event and Linda launched hers with a blog tour.

Science fiction and fantasy author, Shellie Horst, went to the World Science Fiction Convention in Dublin to launch Distaff: A ScienceFiction Anthology by Female Authors. In this article she talks about women science fiction authors.

But not all book launches go to plan…

A mix-up over delivery saw Joy Stonehouse launching Witch-Bottles and Windlestraws without any books. Writers are creative, it’s what they do. Read this post to see how she handled the bookless book launch.

There are several new launches in the pipeline. Sign up (top left, just under the Welcome message) for advance notice of Hornsea Writers’ 2020 books.

The Bookless Book Launch

All was planned. What could be better than to launch my first book in the village where the novel is set? A table was booked at the local pre-Christmas Craft Fair and flyers printed ready to hand out. The only problem – my books did not arrive in time from the printers.

Downhearted? Yes, but I attended the Fair anyway, only to arrive in torrential rain. Even the local dogs did not want a walk. I was shown to my table – a small one tucked in the far corner. Oh dear. I dripped my way across and there I waited for the Fair to open, my two proof copies on display looking as sad as I felt.

The event was a slow starter. A lot of folk came only for a morning coffee and a chat with friends. Many overlooked my table altogether, moving swiftly between the more colourful stalls. A few were enticed by the front cover and the title Witch-bottles and Windlestraws. I persevered. 

‘Do you like historical novels?’ I asked as they passed by. If they answered ‘yes’, then I would add, ‘Well – this one is set here, in Reighton, in the early 1700s.’ Then they were hooked. I took orders for ten books and, very trustingly, the purchasers paid in advance. All was not lost.

I did deliver the books a couple of weeks later and so met the buyers twice as they asked for their copies to be signed. Now I have good contacts in the village and they are helping with my research for the next novel in the series. 

The moral of this tale? No books, no problem!

Joy Stonehouse


Copies of Witch-bottles and Windlestraws are available as a paperback or ebook from Amazon.

Book Launch: 'Witch-bottles and Windlestraws' by Joy Stonehouse

When I started to delve into my family's history I never envisaged the ensuing research would lead to a book, or four. The first launches today.

Witch-bottles and Windlestraws brings to life the inhabitants of Reighton in Filey Bay, 1703-1709. Parish records revealed a close-knit community of large families - the vicar lived in a small vicarage with his wife, son and eight daughters. Researching further, I found an abundance of material for an imaginative reconstruction. How could I not commit it to paper?

The book - fictionalised fact - focuses on the Jordan family of yeoman farmers, and I chose the period because they were one of the dominant families at that time. They were also ancestors of mine on my mother's side, and I soon became totally absorbed in piecing together their lives.

The book opens in November 1703 when The Great Storm is set to hit. The people of Reighton have a wedding to celebrate, and are unaware of the impending devastation that will affect their lives. Courtships, betrayal, unrequited love and an inexplicable death are woven into a tapestry of early 18th Century life and customs, and the ever-challenging weather. 

Available as a paperback and Kindle ebook

Launching the Last Book in a Trilogy.

For the past three years, Hornsea Writers member, Stuart Aken, has written a novel each year for his Generation Mars series. The words ‘science fiction’ may put off some potential readers, but the series is much more about relationships and human potential; there’s even some romance in there. This year, he’s finished the trilogy with ‘Return to Dust’. 

The series follows the lives, trials and triumphs of a group of selected individuals, initially called the Chosen, sent to Mars to begin a human breeding programme in the hope of preventing the specie’s extinction on Earth due to catastrophic climate change. Scientific advances, and those in the technology that follows such progress, ensure they have success in their prime purpose. But it comes at significant cost and involves many battles.

There’s social struggle here, the consequences of greed and selfishness, the injustices of gender and wealth inequality, and the rewards of truth and compassion. The first two books, Blood Red Dust and War Over Dust, are based mostly on the red planet and deal with the setting up of a colony in difficult circumstances, the expansion such opportunities inevitably provide for the wealthy and commercially acquisitive, and the conflicts that inevitably occur when the profit motive envies the idealists. This final book looks at the threat of overreliance on technology and sees the settlers returning to an Earth much changed but at least habitable. Here they face new challenges and must deal with an enemy powerful enough to threaten the existence of all life in the solar system, and maybe the entire universe; an enemy they’ve unwittingly created.

‘Return to Dust’ is due to be launched in both digital and paperback versions at the science fiction, fantasy and gaming convention, Fantasticon 2018, in Cleethorpes, on 1^st and 2^nd of September. Stuart Aken will be there, helping on the bookstore and signing copies of the new book. He’ll also take part in a couple of on stage discussion groups relating to writing and the creation of fictive worlds. Why not pop along and join in the fun? You can get tickets here, or just come on the day and pay on the door. As Stuart would say, ‘Enjoy!’

For more information on the series, and the author’s other work, visit his website, here.

Launch: "Torc of Moonlight" Trilogy Boxed Set

There's nothing quite like a digital boxed set to wrap up a series, or in Linda Acaster's case, a trilogy. 

'It feels a bit like the icing on the cake,' she says. 'Long-awaited icing, I grant you, but all the sweeter for it.'

The original idea came while she was writing weekend walks for regional newspaper, The Yorkshire Post. A lot of her stomping ground was in and around the North York Moors - a place of sweeping vistas, Iron Age hillforts, Roman marching camps and stone fortresses. And an awful lot of springs named Lady Well according to the Ordnance Survey maps she used.

From research it soon became clear that the Lady - or Ladies - in question were linked strongly with Pagan beliefs, only becoming an amalgamated, unnamed female entity when locals conflated them during the early Christian period with another powerful female icon, the Virgin Mary. 'However, it's interesting,' says Linda, 'that hardly any took her name directly. Perhaps the local people wanted to keep their waters separate.'

Linda uses the constant flow of the water to link the past with the present in all three novels, choosing for each a university city on the outskirts of the North York Moors and a different historical focus period.

Book 1: Torc of Moonlight - Hull : Celtic

Book 2: The Bull At The Gate - York : Roman

Book 3: Pilgrims Of The Pool - Durham : Mediaeval

Why university cities? Ah, that becomes clear at the end of the trilogy.

For more about Britain's Pagan water goddesses, including an image of silver votive plaques mentioned in Book 2: The Bull At The Gate, check out the post on her blog: White Ladies and Green Teeth.

For more information about the books visit her Website page

Individual titles are available as ebook and paperback.

The Trilogy boxed set is only available as an ebook from:

Amazon ¦ Kobo ¦ Barnes & Noble ¦ Apple ¦ Smashwords

War Over Dust: #SciFi out as eBook

The second book in Stuart Aken’s Generation Mars series, War Over Dust, is now available for Kindle. The paperback version is due to launch at Fantasticon 2017 in Hull on 2^nd September, where the author will be on hand to sign copies.

What’s it about?

The community at Marion live in eternal peace, harmony and justice under an atheistic democratic system clandestinely controlled by Artificial Intelligence. Their opposite Martian community, Marzero, is a commercially driven patriarchal ghetto ruled by the Elite, whose only concerns are personal gratification and profit. When brilliant but innocent Daisa leaves Marion to study a new phenomenon in Marzero, she precipitates a series of events with dangerous potential. Her subject, Gabriel, the Prophet of the People, believes he is the voice of God. They meet under the shadow of the Machiavellian Stefan and embark on a love affair that will test them to their limits. When injustice lands Daisa in danger of execution, will her community be able to extract her without bringing vengeance and war down from the envious city? Which colony will succeed in the ensuing battle for a better future for humanity on Mars?

You can catch up on the way this book was written by visiting Stuart Aken’s website via this link.

Book Launch: ‘Pilgrims of the Pool’- Bk3

Linda Acaster has launched the final novel in her Torc of Moonlight trilogy of contemporary time-spanning thrillers. Set in university cities ringing the North York Moors it follows the resurrection of a Celtic water deity.

Too far-fetched to be taken seriously? Not a bit of it. Yorkshire has more named pre-Christian springs still in existence than anywhere in Britain. Most are cited on maps as 'Lady Well', and some carry tiny offerings tied into nearby foliage. After all, how many reading this have never tossed a coin into water for ‘good luck’? Who are you expecting to grant it?

Books 1 and 2 are set in Hull (Celtic) and York (Roman). Book 3 follows Nick Blaketon as he leaves Durham to free Alice from the Celtic deity holding her prisoner at the Pool. His route echoes that of pilgrims 900 years before who are seeking a fabled spring where an angel-woman cures all ills.

Alice is overjoyed to be reunited with Nick, but she is not the Alice he remembers. As is the land, she is transforming. His life has changed, too, and he feels caught between betrayals.

When Alice’s presence at the Pool is jeopardised by a hydraulic fracturing operation and the conservationists opposing it, Nick cannot walk away. But do the pilgrims pose a greater threat? What knowledge, handed down the generations, are the current landowners hiding?

As Time intersects, has Nick faith enough to change events in a mediaeval past of hallowed saints and conjured demons, or has Alice’s power to heal initiated her own demise?

Amazon ¦ iBooks ¦ Kobo ¦ Nook ¦ Smashwords

A print edition will follow
The ebook edition of Book 1: Torc of Moonlight, is currently on offer at 99p/99c.
For more information, check out the trilogy’s website page

Editing After Submission: a Taste of The Work

We all edit our own work, striving for that impossible dream: perfection. For the self-published, it’s a rather unfortunate fact that the author’s edit is the only one performed. This is a shame and causes the publication of many good books that are seriously flawed. Freelance editors can be expensive, but any writer worthy of the name will employ such an experienced examiner to ensure the work is as good as it can be: we owe that much to our readers.

For those who are published, whether by mainstream or independent publishing houses, our own edit is only the start of the finishing process. We submit what we hope is the best piece we can produce, knowing as we send it off there will be faults, suggested improvements, and some culling of our darlings. A writer is usually too close to the creation to view it in a truly objective light.

Last week, I completed the final work on my latest novel. War Over Dust, book 2 of the Generation Mars series, is due to be launched on 2^nd September at Fantasticon, a fantasy/scifi/gaming convention held in the UK City of Culture 2017, Hull.

I’d spent much of the winter actually creating the book. Then began my own edit. This, in itself, is a fairly thorough process, involving a line by line check for errors, a read through aloud from a printed version (the eye misses too much when reading from the screen), comments from a beta reader, and feeding each chapter through an online editing suite. I use https://prowritingaid.com/; others are available. That whole procedure takes a few weeks. Only then do I send the piece off to the publisher.

Dan Grubb, owner of FantasticBooks Publishing, employs a team of dedicated editors (rumour suggests he has them chained to desks in the dank basement of his rural headquarters; so isolated is the place that their moans and groans of distress go unheard by anyone who might feel inclined to rescue them!).

By return email, I received the first suggestions in the form of a couple of dozen minor alterations, which I passed back the next day. There followed an emailed document, 8 pages long, detailing suggested content changes (this sounds a lot, but many of the comprehensive comments required only a sentence or two to fix). Also, in the same email, was the full MS marked with Word Tracking comments, deletions, additions, queries and suggestions; the line edit.

I spent around four days, working between ten and twelve hours each day, addressing these. Again, it sounds as though a lot of errors were discovered, but, in practice, most were stylistic or typos, with a few easily addressed queries, some minor alterations, and a few inconsistencies that required the odd change in a number of chapters (often no more than a word or two). This is work that requires intense concentration coupled to an ability to expunge the previous version of the book from your memory in order to approach the task with an open mind.

So, there you have it. The writing of a book is more than simply allowing that inner artist to express your thoughts. It requires a degree of discipline and the help of eagle-eyed analysts to transform that basic word count into something that can be enjoyed by booklovers whilst giving those readers the respect they deserve.

The cover is now also complete and the book was with the typesetters when I last enquired as to progress.

I’ll do a full reveal of that excellent cover in the not too distant future. For now, the picture at the head of this post is a taster.

You can follow the editing process in more detail by visiting my website here and searching for ‘Progress on the WIP: SciFi in the Making.

...promises to keep...

Boris Johnson said - It is easy to make promises - it is hard work to keep them. 

My Sherlock Holmes pastiche Sherlock Holmes & The Oakwood Grange Affair has just been published in e-book format on Amazon.

Why did I write it? To keep a promise made 40 years ago this year to one of my tutors. Why did she ask me to make this promise? Because I chose the difference in language and metaphor between the Holmes stories before his supposed demise in the Reichenbach falls and those after his ‘resurrection’. Comparison in language and metaphor etc. is not new in literary/academic circles. What startled all the course tutors was the fact that I chose the Holmes canon as a vehicle for the study.

Did I choose these stories as a backlash against academic snobbery and the regard of popular fiction, my definition of which is that many people read it, as something beneath contempt? No, not a bit. I had two dissertations to write, one on librarianship and the other on English Literature. I wanted to make one of them a thoroughly enjoyable exercise. And it was.

To read more, go to my blog and get the full story…

You can buy Sherlock Holmes & The Oakwood Grange Affair here:

Amazon.co.uk - http://amzn.to/2kAeFRc

Amazon.com - http://amzn.to/2kAIHbN

You can read more about April Taylor here:

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