Val McDermid at The Collection - 12th September 2018

The three of us (Me, Michelle and Yvonne) all went to see Val McDermid talking about her new novel; Broken Ground.  It was Sold Out so we all arrived super early so that we would not make the same mistake as last time (Ann Cleeves) when we ended up sitting right at the back!  This strategy paid off, not only did we get a space in the car park but also front row seats!!

Broken Ground is the latest novel in her Karen Pirie series.  When a body is discovered in the remote depths of the highlands (it says here), DCI Karen Pirie finds herself in the right place at the right time.  Unearthed with someone's long-buried inheritance, the victim seems to belong to the distant past - until new evidence suggests otherwise, and Karen is called in to unravel a case where nothing is as it seems.  Val told us that the story had come from an anecdote - a "Wee Glimmer" - that a bookseller  had told her.

Val was an excellent speaker and told us how she ended up as a crime writer.  She was born in a small town in Fife and her family lived opposite a library.  This meant Val could pop across the road and borrow books whenever she wanted.  She developed a habit of reading crime stories early on and was reading 'Murder at the Vicarage' when she was 8/9 years old.

She said before she was a full time writer she would think about her novel all week and was very productive when she had her 'writing' time.  You need to pencil in that writing time and stick to it!  She was eventually able to leave her job, aged 35, after she had sold the first two Kate Brannigan novels.  She states she made a loss in her first two years but hasn't looked back and in 1995 was awarded the Gold Dagger for 'The Mermaids Singing'; the first Tony Hill and Carol Jordan novel.  This novel she said, dropped fully formed; although she knew nothing about psychological profiling initially.

Although Val does feel you need: Talent / Hard Work / Luck  to be successful, she still feels energised herself to write, as its the only thing she has ever wanted to do. The ideas / stories still keep coming.  Although currently she is reading the Booker Prize Short List as she is on the judging panel.  She has had recent appearances on the Radio - Any Questions, and on the TV; including Have I Got news For You? and Mastermind

As I have yet to read any other novels in the Karen Pirie series (Broken Ground is the 5th) I bought the first novel as well as the latest.  Here is Michelle getting her copy signed:

Some more of me Whitby pics....

Whitby

Had a lovely few days in Scarborough and Whitby.  An opportunity to take some photos and an excuse to finally read DRACULA!!

Linwood Barclay at Waterstones, Lincoln

What a brilliant night.  Linwood is a truly brilliant speaker.  He told us all about his background and how he became a writer after being a journalist in Peterborough, Ontario.  He would ring the police every morning to source anything interesting that had happened.   Of course, he always wanted to be a writer!   He discussed his novel 'No Time For Goodbye' which was a Richard and Judy Read in the UK, and is about someone waking up to find everyone has disappeared!!

Me and Linwood:

Of course he described his latest novel - of which I got a signed copy - A Noise Downstairs, and stated he thinks it is his best since No Time for Goodbye.

Octobers Writing Magazine (www.writers-online.co.uk) have an interview with Linwood in which they say of A Noise Downstairs that it is (arguably) his darkest novel to date.  I have to say I loved it.  A psychological thriller with a little bit of murder and supernatural thrown in!!

Questions from those attending at Waterstones included the obligatory 'How's' of being a writer.  Linwood discussed the need for a serious work ethic and the need to treat being an author as you would being a plumber.  You get on with it!   If you write 10,000 words a week, you will have a first draft in two and a half months.  Linwood writes a book a year and has never missed a deadline.  He added, 'It beats working in a bank. I can't think of any other job I would rather do'.

He discussed the difficulty of being an author when you are not just competing against other authors, but also with the Internet, TV, Netflix, Boxsets, Phones etc.  There is a need therefore to grab the readers attention very quickly.  They way he plots is to keep asking 'What If?'   He starts with the bare bones and has an idea of the end. He doesn't always know the 'big mushy' middle.  He just starts writing.

GET ON WITH IT (I have written here!)

See: www.linwoodbarclay.com

Matt Haig at Newark Book Festival: Notes on Nervous Planet

Myself and Michelle had a fantastic afternoon at Newark Book Festival.  We visited all of the bookshops and chatted to lots of like minded people.  It was very hot though!!

We discovered that we both have a desire to publish a book; me - writing one, and Michelle -  illustrating one.  We planned our future over scones and lemonade.

In the evening we went along to see Matt Haig at Newark Theatre.  This had been an idea of Michelle's as she has a book by him. While speaking to one of the writers in the market square, she was good enough to tell us that Matt would be signing copies before the event, so we got there early and were very lucky indeed.  Here I am with my signed copy (Matt wrote 'Calm Reading') of Notes On A Nervous Planet with Matt and Michelle:

When we got into the venue itself, we were lucky enough to have front row seats and to see Tim Rideout in the interviewers seat.  Tim recently interviewed Ann Cleeves when we went to see her at The Collection.

Matt was a great speaker - especially when you realised his latest book is about dealing with panic attacks and anxiety.  It's a discussion of the links between what he felt and the world around him.  I love him just for having been blocked by Piers Morgan on Twitter.  He discussed the anxiety inducing effects of social media, and how he dealt with it.  One of the later chapters (in Notes on A...) says; 'Be aware of how much time you are spending on your phone, of how much the news is messing with your mind, of how your attitudes to work are changing, of how many pressures you feel, and how many of them stem from problems of modern life, of being connected into the world's nervous system.'

Notes On A Nervous Planet is exactly that.  Very short chapters highlighting things we need to focus on / think about.  His two page chapter entitled; 'We need the time we already have', finishes; 'we often find ourselves wishing for more hours in the day, but that wouldn't help anything.  The problem, clearly, isn't that we have a shortage of time.  Its more that we have an overload of everything else'.

He also discussed his love of Emily Dickinson poems and the metaphors and similes' of Graham Greene, and he told us all about his recent partnership - working on an album - with ex-Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows (Matt writing the lyrics) https://andyburrows.co.uk/#html-page   The album is entitled 'Reasons To Stay Alive' - the title of another one of Matt's books.

See: http://www.matthaig.com/

Should I Bother?

I was sad to read 'The Last Hurrah' by the Gumpy old Bookman (Michael Allen) in May's edition of Writing Magazine but it was his parting words that really made me think:

For goodness sake try to have fun while you're writing.  Publishing a book will not impress nearly as many people as you think; and you are very unlikely to make any serious money.  So if your writing isn't a pleasure to do, why bother? 

Anyone Can Be A Critic...

Loved this quote in Writing Magazine May 2018 from Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles);

Writing is what makes a writer, nothing more and nothing less.  Ignore critics.  Critics are a dime a dozen.  Anybody can be a critic.  Writers are priceless.