Mystery Novels, NaNoWriMo and the Review Winner
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Events, Writing on November 3, 2013
Weetwood Hall Hotel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Last weekend I went on a Relax and Write course at Weetwood Hall in Leeds.
I went to learn ‘How to Write the Mystery Novel’ with Eileen Robertson. We did character sketches of our heroes and villains, we thought about their motivations and what had brought these characters to where they were at the start of the novel. We gave brief descriptions of how our plots might develop and everyone chipped in with their own suggestions for each other’s storylines – something I found useful.
The accommodation and food for the weekend were excellent (although the bar prices were rather high!).
But it was the other course participants who made the weekend particularly enjoyable. We all got along and, as most writers seem to be, everyone was very generous sharing their experiences and advice.
Several of us are intent on doing NaNoWriMo during November (National Novel Writing Month). So you might notice this blog go rather quiet as I try to churn out 50,000 words. I did it about four years ago, so I know how tough it is. I’m hoping the challenge will kill off procrastination and give me the skeleton of a novel that might be worth spending more time on.
Finally, I am pleased to announce that Chris Sullivan is the winner of the Book Review Competition that I ran a couple of weeks ago. Chris has a book review blog at The Voyage Out – do go over and have a look at it if you enjoy reading.
Many thanks to everybody who took the time to download, read and review Karen’s Story and any of my other books. It was much appreciated and I’ve taken all your comments on board.
Morley Literature Festival Prize Giving and Public Speaking
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Authors, Books, Competitions, Events, Short Story, Successes on October 20, 2013
I mentioned a few weeks back that I won first prize in the Friends’ of Morley Literature Festival Short Story Competition 2013.
Last Sunday was the prize giving and I travelled up to Morley in West Yorkshire to receive my certificate and a cheque for £50. The certificate came nicely framed and it’s gone straight on my mantelpiece.
Gervase Phinn is the patron of the festival and he rounded off this year’s festival with an entertaining talk before making the presentation. As well as telling us about his experiences as a country school inspector (think James Herriot in a school inspector’s clothing) he was full of funny examples of mistakes we make with the English language, from his new book Mangled English – A Humorous Anthology of the Misuses of the English Language. I wish I’d written them all down now but if the book is half as enjoyable as the talk it will be a good read – and might make a good Christmas present for someone interested in words.
If you’d like to enter the Morley 2014 short story competition contact the organiser, Stuart Pereira, by emailing fmlitfest@yahoo.com for full details and an entry form. Entry is free and it’s an open theme – so what have you got to lose?
Gervase Phinn is an accomplished public speaker who knows how to hold an audience and keep them interested. I think it’s a skill that today’s writers need to master – whether it’s for promoting their work or teaching and running workshops. It’s also something that I’m useless at – so I’ve joined my local Speakers’ Club, whose strapline is ‘Speaking with Greater Confidence’.
If you’d like to find out how my first meeting went have a look at my guest post on the Sutton Coldfield Speakers’ Club Blog.
Many thanks to those of you who’ve taken the time to review Karen’s Story – The Museum of Fractured Lives. I do appreciate your honesty and I’ve learned a lot from the comments. There’s still time to enter the draw to win a Book Journal by leaving an Amazon review. Full details are here.
Finally, if you’d like some tips on plotting your novel, Nick Daw’s Three Great Techniques for Plotting Your Novel or Screenplay is going to be free on Amazon over the next few days. If you want some ‘straight to the point’ advice it’s worth a read (and, as with any free book, please consider leaving a review if you enjoy it).
Write a Review and Win a Book Journal
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Books, Competitions, Promotion, Self-publishing on October 12, 2013
Karen’s Story, the second in the Museum of Fractured Lives series is available free from all Amazon sites until Wednesday 16th October.
Karen’s Story is contemporary women’s fiction (although some men may enjoy it too). It is the tale of a single woman’s quest to find a man to father her baby. She tempts a work colleague to commit adultery. But he has a secret and their affair has devastating consequences. At approximately 8,500 words the book can be described as a long short story or a ‘flash’ novella.
To celebrate I am running a competition to win a Book Journal (pictured). It is full of pages on which to keep a record of all the books you’ve read – great if, like me, you tend to forget what you’ve read or which author you particularly enjoyed. There’s also a section to keep a list of ‘Books to Read’ – useful if an interesting book is mentioned on the radio or TV or a friend recommends a novel they like.
All you have to do to enter is:
- Download a free copy of Karen’s Story – The Museum of Fractured Lives to your Kindle, tablet or PC. If you use Amazon.com the link is here or search for ASIN: B00F3FMHSK.
- Write an HONEST review on Amazon.
- Email me at sallysjenkins@btinternet.com and let me know which review is yours.
All the emails will go into a ‘hat’ and I will draw one at random after the closing date, which is midnight Saturday 26th October 2013.
If you would like more than one entry into the draw, simply leave another review for any of my other books (you may have them sitting unread on your Kindle after previous free promotions, or you can buy them) and send me another email.
I have thought about the ethics of this competition i.e. people gaining entry to a prize draw in return for writing a review. I have decided it is acceptable (and hope you do too) because:
- there is no guaranteed prize
- winning is not dependent on the content of the review or the star rating
- the practice is well-established, for example Story Cartel offer prizes of Amazon vouchers, Kindles and books to readers leaving reviews (scroll down the page on this Story Cartel link to see the details).
I hope you enjoy Karen’s Story!
Giving-up on a Book
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Books on October 6, 2013
I feel guilty this week because I gave up on a book half-way through.
It’s something I never used to do but as I get older I am gradually doing it more often. And every time I do it I feel bad. I don’t know why I feel bad – it’s not as if the author is breathing down my neck checking that I read every word or that I’m going to be tested on it at a later date.
Maybe it’s because I’m acknowledging that my choice of book was not up to scratch or because I’ve wasted my time getting as far as I did with the book – when I could’ve been reading something better.
I won’t name this book but the jacket is covered with glowing review excerpts from all the major newspapers. So I feel that I should have enjoyed it. Does that mean there’s something wrong with me?
I’ve just had a look at the book’s Amazon reviews, they are all 4 or 5 star except one. That single 2 star review makes me feel better – so at least I’m not alone in being unable to appreciate this book which the Guardian tells me is ‘a real page-turner’ and the Literary Review says is an ‘impressive piece of storytelling’.
How do you deal with books that don’t live up to expectations?
Finally, here are a couple of quotes that I’ve come across. Take them as a confidence booster. Forget all those ‘I’m not good enough’ voices in your head and just sit down and write!
To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong. Joseph Chilton Pearce.
I am the MASTER of my FATE. I am the CAPTAIN of my SOUL. William Ernest Henley.
The Library of Birmingham
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Resources, Travel on September 29, 2013
Prince Charles once said that the Central Library in Birmingham looked like ‘a place where books are incinerated, not kept’.
The Library of Birmingham at Centenary Square with Birmingham Rep in foreground (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
That 40-year-old concrete building will now be demolished. It has been replaced by The Library of Birmingham, which opened its doors for the first time a few weeks ago, at the beginning of September.
I’ve been to see it and was very impressed by the modern, light, hi-tech interior. There are also outdoor spaces for reading, chatting or relaxing – the Discovery Terrace is an elevated garden and includes herbs, fruit and vegetables and the Secret Garden Terrace on the seventh floor gives a quiet place to sit and admire the view over the city.
The ninth floor houses the famous Shakespeare Memorial Room. This was first designed and built in 1882 for the city’s Victorian Library. In the early 1970s it was moved to the, then new, Central Library and it has now been re-located again to sit atop The Library of Birmingham. It must have been quite a feat to carefully remove and then rebuild all the wood panelling along with glass printed shelves and metalwork. The ceiling has some very ornate plasterwork and stained glass windows.
Also on the ninth floor is the glass-enclosed Skyline Viewpoint giving stunning views across the city from 51 metres above street level.
There are two cafes – selling wine, champagne and expensive paper cups of tea.
The Library of Birmingham was a £189 million project. There has been a lot of controversy in the city about whether that money should have been spent, when smaller, community libraries across the region have had their opening hours drastically cut.
This new library has a lot to offer as a tourist attraction but I’m not sure whether it will get more people reading. However, it is open seven days a week and was very busy on the Sunday afternoon that I went – but most people were just there to have a look around it rather than to read or borrow books.
Personally, I’ll go again when the novelty has worn off and the place is quieter. Then, maybe, I’ll find a quiet corner and do some writing – if I’m not distracted by the thought of roof terraces and a glass of champagne!
Related articles
- Library of Birmingham Opened! (lucybirdbooks.wordpress.com)
- Bold and beautiful: the new Library of Birmingham (newstatesman.com)
First World War Centenary 1914 to 2014
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Markets, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Story on September 22, 2013
A ration party of the Royal Irish Rifles in a communication trench during the Battle of the Somme. The date is believed to be 1 July 1916, the first day on the Somme, and the unit is possibly the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles (25th Brigade, 8th Division). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As you’re probably all aware, next year is the centenary of the start of the First World War.
I’m sure that as the date gets closer there will be a lot of publicity about the multitude of events arranged to mark the occasion.
There’s going to be plenty of opportunity for us, as writers, to get involved with this anniversary – as long as we don’t leave it too late to get started!
I’ve just done a quick trawl of the internet and found the four writing competitions listed below with a ‘war’ theme.
- Mardibooks First World War Centenary Short Story Competition – winners will be published in an anthology and up to 12 entrants will receive feedback on their stories. Word count 1,200 to 5,000. Closing date 29th November, 2013. Entry is FREE.
- Bard and Muse War Poetry Competition – prize money is currently under review and the closing date is March 24, 2014. Line count: 40
- Tower Theatre First World War Play Writing Competition – closing date is September 27th, 2013 – so you need to get your skates on! The winning play will be performed in London in November 2014.
- Curry Mallet First World War Short Story Competition – this competition is not yet open for entries but watch the website or use the contact form on there, to get more details. But this gives you plenty of time to do some research!
Also, don’t forget all the opportunities for magazine articles with a nostalgia or unusual factual slant.
Why not pick up your pen and have a go?
Remember all those men who gave their lives in muddy, wet, stinking trenches so that we might live in peace.
Related articles
- Harrogate’s Lessons from the First World War (weayorkshireandhumbertutorblog.wordpress.com)
- News story: One year to go to First World War centenary (gov.uk)
- The poppy: still a potent symbol after all these years (telegraph.co.uk)
Karen’s Story – The Museum of Fractured Lives (plus 2 free e-books)
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Self-publishing on September 15, 2013
I’m pleased to tell you that the second instalment in The Museum of Fractured Lives series has been published this week.
As you may remember from Maxine’s Story, The Museum of Fractured Lives displays objects donated by people who have suffered a trauma in their lives. The objects are a symbol of that trauma.
When accepting a donation, the museum employees try to obtain the full story behind the object.
Each book in The Museum of Fractured Lives series tells the story of one donated object and the person who has given it. These books are ‘flash’ novellas of around 8,500 words.
Karen’s Story tells the tale of a single woman’s quest to find a man to father her baby. Her choice of mate has devastating consequences. Karen’s story is pure selfishness and destroys several lives.
Karen’s Story is only 77p in the UK . It is also available across all other Amazon sites by searching by the title or for ASIN: B00F3FMHSK.
To celebrate this launch, the first Museum of Fractured Lives book, Maxine’s Story, is free for today only (15th September).
Also free (until 18th September) is my collection of writing articles, A Writer on Writing – Advice to Make You a Success.
Amazon Tax Form, a Good Review, Win a Toothbrush plus a Success
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Self-publishing, Successes on September 8, 2013
I’ve a few ‘writerly’ things to impart this week:
Amazon shipment (Photo credit: enno)
Amazon Tax Form
Those of you with e-books for sale on Amazon will have received a request to complete an on-line tax ‘interview’ or risk having your books removed from the website. I was a bit concerned when I saw this, in case I had to go through the palaver of getting a US tax exemption certificate. But the ‘interview’ was very easy and quick to complete and no certificates were needed. The benefit of the tax exemption certificate is that it stops Amazon withholding 30% of the royalties on US sales but the downside is it necessitates a trip to London to get ID validated – not worth it financially for me because the vast majority of my sales are in the UK.
If you want more information on this, have a look at Nick Daws’ blog.
By the way, I wonder if the UK government withholds money from US citizens? I doubt it somehow.
A Good Review
Talking of e-books. Brian David, from the CheerReader website, has sung the praises of ‘A Writer on Writing – Advice to Make You a Success!’ on his site’s homepage (scroll down this page to see the review). He describes it as:
‘a superb little tome that gives you all the hints and advice you need to make your writing as good as you want it to be’.
Win a Toothbrush
Last Monday I picked up the Metro newspaper (free on some public transport) on a train to Milton Keynes and spotted the Rush-hour Crush competition. Just write a few words about that dishy man/woman you’ve spotted on the bus/train/tube and you could win a Sonicare HealthyWhite electric toothbrush. There’s a prize each day but you’ll have to be quick, the competition ends on 13th September 2013. Entry is by an electronic form here.
A Success!
Finally, I had a phone call this week to tell me that I’ve won the Friends of Morley Literature Festival Short Story competition, judged by Gervase Phinn. The story was originally written for last year’s Jeremy Mogford Prize for Food and Drink Writing competition and it came nowhere. But now it’s won me £50 so I’m chuffed to bits! (By the way, I also won this competition in 2011 so maybe I shouldn’t enter next year …)
Sally Jenkins 