I don't normally solicit feedback on my works in progress. Yet I have used Beta Readers twice in recent years, and my first novel was professionally assessed several times. This paid assessor gave feedback over several drafts before I decided to have another draft looked at by a team at a publishing house, for the …
Thoughts on ‘Strangers On a Train’ by Patricia Highsmith
This is not a book review. It's about what I learnt from reading this classic novel and has some elements of critique in it. A month ago I posted a blog about how anything you read influences your work in progress. My current project is written in third-person. All but one of my published works …
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Anything you read helps your work in progress
Sometimes I choose what I read carefully. For example, I read H.G. Wells and Ray Bradbury when I worked on my first dystopian novel. My assessor got me to read Joe Keenan as she wanted me to hone in on the farcical elements of my first book. But when I'm reading for pleasure, whatever style …
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I’m replacing an entire character
In my last blog I wrote about writing a summary for a book submission. And although it's for a novel I'm still working on, it hasn't stopped me considering how to pitch it to potential publishers. I've created a 500 word and a 300 word synopsis, and a 200 word summary, in line with what …
Help! I’m writing a synopsis for a book submission.
I've learnt the value of working on a synopsis while you write your book. I've also learnt to work on a blurb long before I need to send it to my publisher, but that's not what this blog is about. I'm working on a novel that's not suited to my publisher, so for the first …
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10 things I’ve learnt after publishing 10 books
In August, my tenth book was released. I've been taking stock as it's the perfect time to reflect. I've got a reason to celebrate and a milestone which is making me consider where my writing journey is heading. 1. Too much is made of genre. I know genre helps market a book, but I'm in …
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How I changed my writing habits during lockdown
I need to be alone to write. Regular readers of my blog know this. But with my husband at home with me during the extended Sydney lockdown (yes, this blog was written during that time), I've had to find a new strategy to work on my projects. So, I've broken my process into what I …
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Recycling characters
Many authors do it. They place their characters in several unrelated books. I've been doing it for a while although I'm planning to stop after my current release, The Midnight Man. And while the major characters in this novel are brand new, a whole range of characters from my novellas Nate and the New Yorker …
Writing about a dream lover
I was listening to Kate Bush. The track was 'Man With the Child In His Eyes' - a song about a mystical lover that waits for the songwriter at bedtime. It has been one of my favourite songs since its release in 1978. Natalie Cole does a beautiful cover version. Its haunting melody was the …
I wrote a sex scene without realising it.
The Midnight Man started with a nightclub scene. At least it did in earlier drafts. In the scene we meet middle aged gay couple, Stanley and Francesco, as they pick up a guy to share their bed for the night. After that opener was an erotic sex scene in which we discover Stanley isn't happy …
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kevin klehr - author 