First of all, welcome to all of you who’ve joined the Fictionfire Newsletter subscriber list recently – I met some of you at Winchester Writers’ Festival only a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been teaching there for sixteen years now (!) and for me it’s a great chance to meet up with friends I’ve made there, some of whom go back a very long time and some whom I’ve only recently met.
One friend is David Evans, a regular Festival attendee, who has recently done a deal with Bloodhound Books for his thrillers Trophies – which is out now - Torment, coming out 7th July and Talisman, due to be published in the autumn. I am so pleased for him – and for Mark Fowler, who also used to attend the Festival regularly and has also published with Bloodhound – his novel Silver is an intriguing blend of crime and supernatural thriller. Bloodhound is currently accepting submissions, so may be worth a look! They specialise in crime, thrillers and mystery. Find out more at www.bloodhoundbooks.com and see David’s and Mark’s books here: http://www.bloodhoundbooks.com/books/
Another Winchester friend, Julie Ann Corrigan (though she wasn’t there this year), will be publishing her novel Falling Suns with Accent Press next month. It has a brilliant tagline: ‘How far would you go to avenge the murder of your child?’
These examples show that it’s worth being aware of the smaller independent presses – they may not be able to spend as much in terms of advances and the like than the big boys, but they may be quicker to take you on and to get your book out there. One thing writers find very hard to deal with is the lengthy lead time between the offer to publish and their book actually coming out, so a prompter service does appeal. Just be absolutely clear about what level of input, return and support you're likely to get when you sign the contract.
While I was at Winchester, I gave a talk on self-editing and I ran a day course on creating character, as well as being involved in one-to-one advisory appointments with writers. The weekend passed quickly and intensely, as it always does, with lots of chat and gossip about the book trade – and the occasional drink … or two. This year's Keynote Speech was made by Meg Rosoff. Her topic was voice but as you’ll see, it was about a lot more than that! She opened with the rather challenging question - 'Why are so many books so dead?' The answer was that many writers are not writing in their true 'voice' because they haven't found it yet. Voice isn't voice, as such. It's who you are. It can't be faked. Meg compared the brain to a colander, filling with experience, some of which doesn't escape through the holes but remains to be composted down. She said 'If you don't know what's in your brain, you've got to find out', recommending you get in touch with your subconscious by breaking through the wall of fear there may be between your conscious and unconscious selves. If you manage it, you'll find 'resonance' and the chance of achieving the magical flow state. To read more about this - and about the meaning of the word 'durchlassigkeit', my full blogpost is here: http://literascribe.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/winchester-writers-festival-2016-meg.html
If you remember, I signed off my last newsletter by telling you I was off to meet a man who’d walked on the moon. Yes, last month I met Buzz Aldrin, who appeared at the Sheldonian Theatre here in Oxford. It was quite an event! Not only is he one of the diminishing band of men with the ‘right stuff’ to have ventured into space in the moon landing era – which seems so distant now – but he is a fascinating character who, it’s well known, has fought his demons over the years but is still peppy and feisty at the age of 86.
Here’s the link to my blogpost on that event, with photos including quite a spooky one at the end if you believe in extraterrestrial or supernatural apparitions, perhaps! http://literascribe.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/moonstruck-meeting-buzz-aldrin.html
I came across a brilliant quotation recently from Neil Armstrong, Buzz’s cabin-mate and first man on the moon. He said: ‘I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine.’ This calm assertion, along with Buzz’s chippy exuberance, says everything about the choice we make between trundling along and really living, really fulfilling what we feel destined to fulfil in our lives.
If you’re interested in reading more about the moon landings you’ll see some references in the blogpost – I particularly recommend Andrew Smith’s Moondust because he evokes so much more about the era than the bare facts of the moon journeys. He slots them into their cultural contexts, both as they seemed at the time and as they have been viewed in the decades since.
Going back to my mention of small presses, you might find this new resource useful: the Indie Presses Guide from Mslexia, the long-established quarterly writing magazine for women. It features more than 400 small presses and literary magazines for you to submit your work to. It’s a new publication but I’m sure will become a regular one as so often writers just don’t know where to turn when searching for outlets for their work. Here’s the link: https://mslexia.co.uk/products/indie-presses-201617/indie-presses-1617/
Staying with the small press topic, Cinnamon Press’s Annual Debut Novel (or Novella) Prize is open until 31 July. The prize is £500 plus a publishing contract. Find out more at http://www.cinnamonpress.com/index.php/competitions/annual-debut-novel-or-novella-prize
If you write poetry, there’s the Winchester Poetry Prize, also closing 31 July, judged by Mimi Khalvati, with prizes of £1000, £500 and £250. Winning and commended poems will be published in an anthology to be launched at the Winchester Poetry Festival. Details at www.winchesterpoetryfestival.org
Finally, I have a question for you.
Are you ready to write?
Think about your answer and I’ll tell you more next time …
Happy writing!
Warm wishes,
Lorna
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