What am I doing, Wednesdays

This is the second series of blogs I am introducing. The plan is to have one of these each month. These entries will be about my latest book, whatever that is. Work in Progress or WIP is the term that people seem to use. Because I work on several projects at a time, I will choose just one project to give you a progress report on.
 So inspiration is the theme for today.

I will tell you about a few of the places that gave me the inspiration to write 'Death of a Pilgrim’.

I make-up most of the places and all of the people in ‘Death of a Pilgrim’. They are figments of my imagination, that's the best part of writing, the chance to invent things. They are, however, often inspired by some of the things I love about Galicia or places we visit.

A favourite resting place  for pilgrims

The terrace of a bar in the hills above Sarria

The book starts at Raoul's bar, an isolated bar and restaurant in the hills between Triacastela and Sarria. Unfortunately, neither Raoul nor his bar exists in reality. But there are many bars on the Camino to find some inspiration or while away an afternoon.




The Camino itself is both varied and beautiful, and it’s here that Richard finds most of the inspiration he needs to paint. This section is enclosed and shaded, which is a nice contrast to the far-reaching views of the more exposed sections.

A section of Camino

.

Clamshell waymarker

There is little danger of getting lost with these delightful way-markers. The clamshell is the symbol of the Camino. Many pilgrims attach one to their rucksack






Next time I'll tell you a little more about the some of the places that feature in the book-

New series: Freeby Fridays

I have been thinking about introducing regular features to this blog for a while now; I just haven’t got round to it yet. This is the first of three new ideas I am trying out.
Called Freeby Fridays each post, which will occur approximately once a month, will include something free, or at the very least a link to something free.  As this is my writing blog, it will often be something that I have written, but I also intend to beg, steal, or borrow pieces from other people. Whatever appears it should be fun to post and interesting to read.

So today to start the new series, I am offering another poem. Sorry if the subject is gloomy, but poetry is as much about challenge as anything.

 The Judgement

There are days when I just sit and think

What will I be doing next?

When I wonder if the story of my life

has any kind of text.

Days when everything is grey

not black or white or shining

and when the clouds are in my heart

without a silver lining

Those days occur more often now

I’ve nothing left to offer

not health, nor work, nor coin to give

just burdens for another

I fill the forms and sign my name.

Try hard to fit the bill.

I’ve done my best to play the game.

But I’m old and tired and ill.

The days are long, cold, and dark.

and sometimes time is slower.

And loneliness a formless Snark,

gives worthlessness its power

I think  I’ll finish while I can.

Leaving others to defend

The fearful, abiding, living sham

with a universally credited end.

The Silver Chalice or how not to write a novel.

How chalice started

I started writing in July of last year. As I mentioned in a previous post, I wrote only two short stories and a poem for a competition. I was in love!  After a lifetime of daydreaming, there are hundreds of stories in my head; I was relieved to get some of them on paper.

My friend Jackie, who had also entered the same competition, suggested we do NaNoWriMo. After some explanation and a bit of internet research, I agreed to join her so we could support each other. How hard can it be? I thought to myself.

NaNo started in November and as it was then the end of July, I had three months before it started. What I should have done next is plan my novel,  what I actually did was research ways to get my unwritten novel published. I discovered the possibilities of self-publishing via Amazon. What a good idea I thought. What I should have done next is plan my novel. What I actually did was write a practice piece to find out how the publishing process worked. And that’s how chalice was born; it was my practice piece. The first version was terrible. It was a murder mystery, but I couldn’t bring myself to kill anyone even on paper, so a murder mystery with no murder. I realised then, that If I was going to write the real thing in November; I had better learn something about writing. Every time I found out something new, I changed Chalice.

Of course, when November came around, I had nothing more than a title for the novel I was about to write because I should have spent my time planning. I only managed 35,000 words, a fail in NaNo land but an achievement for me. I discovered that I was on a learning curve so steep that I needed ropes and climbing shoes. I finished the first draft of Pilgrim, my Nano book, in March. Of course, by then I had lots of new knowledge, so I rewrote Chalice yet again. I still considered it to be a practice piece, although, I had published it on Amazon by then. To cut a long story short, Chalice was being changed either every few weeks or whenever I learnt a new skill. There came a point a couple of months ago when I realised I had put so much work into it that I didn’t really want to scrap it as soon as Pilgrim was ready. I also had, had an idea for a sequel featuring one of the minor characters. I have now written the first draft of that sequel.

Where did the story come from?

The advice that everyone gives you is ‘write about what you know’. Well, my life isn’t interesting enough to give me much help. However, I decided I would set the story in a church in Derby so that at least I would be in familiar surroundings. I lived and went to church there for so many years. I read somewhere that I was the right age and gender for cosy mysteries so I decided that that’s what I would write. I have read quite a few, so I thought that should help.

What I did not understand is, most of the people who successfully self- publish already have some of the necessary skills. Sometimes they have been writing for years and have been traditionally published, sometimes they have been writing for years and have not been published, but have gotten better with every book. Sometimes they have been in a related profession, journalism, editing or publishing, and sometimes they have enough money to buy help at every stage.

In a way, I’m glad that I didn’t know that or I might have given up by now because the answer to the question, How hard can it be? Is very hard. After spending two days trying to work out how to make a Facebook post that looks attractive, I am frustrated but no further forward. Creating a cover for the paperback actually made me cry with frustration.

The Silver Chalice is finished, though. It does have a real murder; it does have clues, and it has been edited by a real person other than me. I won’t make any more changes unless you or another reader finds a mistake and emails me to tell me. The paperback is finished and is available to buy. The kindle version may be available or not because I appear to have broken Amazon. I have published it and unpublished it so many times that I have caused a glitch in the system. They assure me it will be all right and I believe them.

It is available here;
 Amazon.com.
 Amazon.co.uk
 Amazon.es

It is fairly short, a novella rather than a full novel so it won’t take you too long to read, but it’s long enough to be worthwhile. I hope that you will buy it and enjoy it. If you enjoy it, please review it on Amazon.

What's next?

Death of a Pilgrim is with the editor and should be available in a few weeks. The Book of Medicinal Herbs should be ready a few weeks after that. Then I start again, but this time I will be better prepared!

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