Fall 1st Page Critique Blog Hop

(Or 'autumn', if we're going by UK English ;)) The wonderful Michelle Hauck has kindly organised a 1st page critique blog hop, where we get to critique the five blog entries below and ours in the linky on her page. It's open to all fiction writers, regardless of genre or age category. Here's mine, taken from Of …

Beautiful People: Agnetha

I’m editing her first adventure at the moment, so I think it’s appropriate that I tell you a little about my favourite – and first – protagonist via the Notebook Sisters and Further Up and Further In monthly meme. I turned my attention to the question of names – and my realisation was bitter. Inwardly, I cursed …

Ready. Set. Write! Update 18/8

Ready. Set. WRITE! is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we’re at in our writing—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing. This year, RSW hosts are Alison Miller, Jaime Morrow, Erin Funk, and Katy Upperman.   How I did on my goals last week: 1. Edit Of …

Five Years of Jackets and Phones (and murder and explosions and poisonings and Agnetha…)

It’s almost Easter 2014, and, aside from the obvious to celebrate, I realised that I technically have a writing milestone to celebrate: five years since I decided to write a novel and succeeded. Well, pretty much. So, how did I really become a writer? What was my story beyond being an only child who sat …

Comparing Detectives (and Clothing Them)

As you may know, A Tale of Jackets and Phones is my stand-by project, the one I wish I could work, had it not less priority than WTCB. I was recently thinking about the MC, teen investigator and general busybody, Agnetha, and her style, something which I feel is still lacking. I haven't yet crafted something so...distinct …

Poirot Quote

Yesterday started the final round of David Suchet's Poirot episodes (I know I'm going to cry by the end!), but, due to not actually having a TV, I won't be able to watch The Big Four until the weekend. Instead, I came across this quote from the books on Facebook and simply had to share …

WTCB September: Lake Placid Phillip

Nobody is entirely pacifist. Even the most trained of religious cannot help intruding anger; even those people who bear calm exteriors have emotions snapping at their heels. But still we hope for a way to avoid war-like tussles. I myself have seen too many people hurt verbally to let my mouth run riot. Unfortunately, I …

Cadaverish: Murdering My Characters

The internet had been down in my area for the last couple of days, so my entire blogging schedule has gone awry, sorry! Instead of a photo of the week post, I’ve supplemented today’s with Sunday’s and shall post Saturday’s tomorrow. I found out, recently, that ‘cadaverous’ is a word – meaning ‘death-like’, a gem …

Extract: III: Agnetha, Out

Rewriting A Tale of Jackets and Phones, I thought I'd include a bit of what I've been working. In this little snippet (semi-familiar to those who might have read A Rosary, A Fume-Cabinet and A Music Book), Agnetha considers how to get out of her house to investigate Mr. Craig's murder without her mother's permission. …

(TCWT) Character Therapy…But For Whom?

The Teens Can Write, Too! blog-chain prompt this month of July was *clears throat*: “Take any character from one of your books and put them in a therapy session.” For this, something I never know how to approach (I saw a similar prompt some time ago, but I passed on it at that point, not …