I'm still alive!

I haven't posted here for a long time, because frankly there hasn't been anything much to say. I was quite unwell over the winter and was unable to make any progress on my new novel for a whole six months, which naturally I found intensely frustrating. Now that I'm back working on it again, I'm up against an intractable deadline since it's due to be published on 1 November. Fortunately so far I am managing to meet my targets, and will have reached the two-thirds mark within the next week or so, but the schedule is now rather tighter than I'm used to. The good news, however, is that the next book is likely to be very much shorter and not to take anything like as long to complete; books that require a whole year to write have a nasty tendency to take over one's life, and probably end up longer than the general taste prefers, but unfortunately there's very little that can be done about that!

STAGE WHISPERS gets an 'Honourable Mention'

To my astonishment STAGE WHISPERS has been awarded an Honourable Mention in the 'One Perfect Rate' category of the Rainbow Awards, which as far as I can see means that one person thought it was pretty darned special! I kind of thought it had dropped off the world's radar a bit, although apparently it's still selling steadily enough. Since the next book, MAKE DO AND MEND, will have a lot of similarities to STAGE WHISPERS, it's really encouraging to think that there is someone out there who is prepared to invest a bit of time into reading something with a slow and leisurely plot development - and probably not a lot of sex!

GHOST STATION - comments at GoodReads

Not really a review as such, but a reader called Tracey has left the following comments:

This book was well written with engaging characters set in British Intelligence in the 70s. The Ghost Station refers to an abandoned underground station and the agents all have alias names taken from Jane Austen novels which amused me no end. She's not the first person I'd associate with spies! The agents in Ghost Station have to be flexible in their sexual orientation but becoming too attached to fellow agents is frowned upon. As you would expect, there's a lot of cloak and dagger stuff going on but it was all rather too mild for my taste. I really didn't form any kind of attachment to the characters, although they were pleasant enough. There are quite a few cultural references that may go over the heads of international readers depending on how familiar they are with Britain.

Not one I'm likely to read again.

I'm sorry about the last sentence, but can quite understand that it didn't exactly hit the spot where this reader was concerned. It's certainly not James Bond, it's far more about the personal cost of being an agent; in fact, 'the conflicting demands of love and duty' like it says in my bio. It all depends on what you're looking for in a book, I suppose; balancing the relationship-plot with the plot-plot is always a very tricky business!

Interviewed by Chris Quinton

This was fun, since Chris and I have been friends for a very large number of years. In fact, if it hadn't been for Chris I would never have got involved in writing for MANIFOLD PRESS in the first place. I'm not great at being interviewed - it doesn't come naturally - but mercifully Chris made the whole process completely painless. Also, any interview that features tea and shortbread biscuits is one to be enjoyed; Chris certainly worked out a long time ago that bribery and (preferably) corruption are usually successful in my case!

Another review of 'Stage Whispers'

I must confess that after a couple of lukewarm reviews I really thought this one had sunk without trace and that it would be better to just get on and concentrate on future projects, but it seems that good things, after all, come to those who wait!

Elisa Rolle has posted a delightful review in which, among other things, she picks up on 'the small town feeling of the theatre world, where everyone knows everyone else'. This comment has pleased me more than a little, since that was exactly what I was going for - the notion that British theatre is really just one great big extended family in which triumphs and disasters are shared by the entire community.

Thank you, Elisa, you have made a rather grey day very much brighter and given me back my faith in a book I was afraid had completely failed to find its market!

Taking my name in vain

Readers of this will be in for a surprise if they Google the name of the hero. It's something the author should probably have done, in my opinion, at an earlier stage - always a very necessary first step when preparing a narrative. But then I suppose Callum Henley - a junior competitive swimmer from Derbyshire - would probably agree with me!

First review of STAGE WHISPERS

Well, I have just been told about the review of STAGE WHISPERS at Jessewave and naturally hurried over there to look - and emerged somewhat puzzled.

... them suddenly quoting famous writers and poets in the middle of conversation I did mind, and eventually I minded that a lot. While I am sure there is a reason for it — I am sure the writer wanted to add layers to their personalities by doing so and I guess to show that being actors is not just their profession — but I think it is possible to draw the characters as rich and distinct personalities without asking for help from the classics.

The phrase 'asking for help from the classics' is an odd one and I really don't quite understand the problem, but then possibly the reviewer has never encountered the kind of theatrical personality that is never without a quote. Actors live their lives wearing a series of masks; even when they are being themselves they are still always being someone else. They are very often at a loss for words themselves - but, having a rich dramatic heritage to call upon, they can usually turn to someone else to say things more appropriately for them.

However not all books suit all readers, and there's no denying that STAGE WHISPERS is a very personal story about two people I feel I know particularly well. Perhaps too personal, and perhaps too well, for readers who prefer something more obviously action-driven.

Better luck next time, I suppose.