This blog is a reflection on books I've read and events I've attended. And while I know I've made similar mistakes on my writing journey, when I see new writers go down the same path, I hold my tongue as critique can go one of two ways. It can be welcomed by someone keen to …
Book Review – Dark Mode by Ashley Kalagian Blunt
There are important themes in this book. And everyone who recommended it to me focussed on the main message rather than the serial killer aspect of the plot. Reagan lives offline, even using an old phone with no smart features to avoid having an online presence. In her teen years she had a dangerous stalker, …
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Does this scene belong in my novel?
I recently bought a Blu-ray of a film I love. After I watched the movie, I explored the deleted scenes. All were good, but as the director said, all would have slowed the pace of the film because what they had to reveal to the audience was already evident in other scenes. There's a lovely …
Book Review – Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
Wow! I just finished this last night and wow! Glasgow. Late twentieth century. Toxic masculinity. Homophobia. And in the middle of this is Mungo, a gay teen believing his mother actually cares for him. Author, Douglas Stuart, begins this story closer to the dramatic end, then takes us back to show daily life in the …
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Book Tours and the Indie author
My first novel, Drama Queens with Love Scenes, was published by a small indie press over a decade ago. Little did I know back then it would be up to me to promote it and I stumbled in the dark to find information on just how to go about it. One thing we all value …
Adultery and the Romance genre
As an author of gay fiction, I’m often pigeonholed by friends and family as writing Romance or Erotica. Yes, I did dabble in both of these genres briefly, but a majority of my work is Magic Realism. The other genre I’ve written is Dystopian. In the US, there is a huge demand for gay romance, …
Developing a novel with my Writing Group
I have a date every Thursday evening. My writing group meets do read, dissect, critique and applaud our works in progress. Each member has their own unique strengths which I'm finding really helpful with my work in progress. In the past I have used beta readers and professional assessors. Some have been good, others not …
My author marketing tips
In my last blog I shared my writing tips. This week the focus is on marketing. Let me start by saying that what works for some doesn't work for others. It's subjective, but you will sense if the following advice is relevant to you. But one tip I highly recommend is check your stats! It …
My rules for writing
There's lots of advice out there. And yes, in the field of writing there are always new things to learn. Recently I've seen social posts where questions have been asked by writers (and writers-to-be), so I thought I'd share some of my tips based on the questions asked. In my next blog, I will share …
My writing group
I'm part of a novelist writing group. Every Thursday evening we meet with copies of the next scene from our manuscript. We read it out loud while our fellow writers follow along, making corrections and notes. Then we workshop, and sometimes debate, certain aspects of that chapter. While I'm no spring chicken, three of the …
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