My Blog
Are authors real people?
The lady in the local bookshop was impressed. 'You wrote this?' she said, as I showed her a poster about my new book. 'So, you're an author,' she continued. 'I know lots of sheep farmers, but I've never met an author. Except you.' She turned to another customer who...
Looking for recognition
I have two places to work. If the weather's really good, or if I want to immerse myself with no distractions at all, I pack up the laptop and whatever materials I need and walk the 50 metres down the garden to the writing shed, the one I blogged about earlier. If it's...
Promotion – a problematic puzzle
'What's your budget for promotion of your new book?' There's a question I didn't know how to answer. I was enquiring about getting help with a video, but quickly realised I would have to plan, film and edit it myself or do without. And if I do without, what achievable...
A sense of achievement – almost!
Everything's coming to a head: final proofs, back matter, acknowledgements, they all have to be thought about, generated, discussed, revised and checked while the printer's deadline looms closer. And still the iterations of the front cover continue, back and forth, as...
The book cover: telling and compelling
You may have gathered that since the ms. of my third novel in the trilogy went to the editor last month I've been thinking about the details of publication. This past week, driving around the flat wintry landscape Manitoba, Canada, I've been watching the colours of...
What’s in a name?
Here's the thing.....for several months I've been referring to my new novel by a title. It wasn't a brilliant title - intriguing, clever, achingly memorable - but it was pertinent, had a useful double meaning and I was getting used to it. The novel is about a...