Game of Meows

Yes I should be writing. 

Still At It

Draft 3 million of the new novel. Is it rubbish? Is it good? I don't know. But whenever I flag, I watch this, it inspires me.

I Am a Rubbish Blogger

I know. But my writing energy is going into the WIP at the moment, so am blogging off for now.

Hope you all have a fab Christmas and New Year-I do read your blogs and keep up with what you're all up to...

Evil Publishers?

The story of Kiana Davenport and her cancelled contract is raging around the interwebs.

Many bloggers are gleefully feasting on the story as yet more evidence that Traditional Publishing is Evil.

Personally, I think it's dangerous to make any assumptions until we know the whole story (which I doubt we ever will).

There does seem to be a lot of in fighting amongst writers these days, with a split along the lines of "e-publishing is our saviour/traditional publishers are evil" and "indie authors are deluded/produce crap".

Me? I'm staying out of it!

Submitting to submission

It's a very weird time, being out on submission to editors. I googled around for other authors' experiences of this strange, in between time, but not many people talk about it. I suppose it makes sense; discretion is needed.

So, I'm not going to blog about any ADJUSTED submission ins and outs. But I will point you in the direction of this excellent blog post about the submission process. And also an article by Lorraine Mace in this month's Words With Jam about getting the agent, but NOT getting the deal, a possibility we all have to face (I think agents only manage to sell 50% of debuts, or something like that?).

June's WWJ also features an exclusive interview with a slightly famous children's writer, but I forget her name now. There's also a book review of The Hunger Games by... me!

I also have a tip for you. Kittens are an excellent distraction from obsessing about submission. Here's my lovely girl, who's growing fast.

The Other Side of the Agent Fence

I always wondered what it would be like, having an agent.

I have to tell you, bloggie friends, it is fantastic. I always knew I wanted a hands on type of agent, someone with editing skills. I found that in Kate. Editorially, we just click. She'll suggest something and almost always I think of course.

THE SCARLET HEART, now renamed ADJUSTED, has gone through two rounds of edits with Kate. Plot lines have been re-plotted. Romance has been romance-ified. Twists have been twisted. Now I have a far stronger book that's about ready to leave home and look for a place of its own. A penthouse would be nice, but I'll settle for a modest one-bed flat.

Phoebe Takes Over

C and I have been thinking about getting a cat for a while. Our lovely cat died about four years ago, and it's taken us a while to feel we want to have another.

On Wednesday, we went to our local animal rescue shelter, just to "have a look". This is what we came back with:


This is Phoebe, she's only seven weeks old. She's absolutely lovely and settling in very well. But she's so small and vulnerable that I feel very nervous for her (mostly I'm worried about treading on her. Or accidentally wheeling over her with the computer chair).

I think she'll be fine, though. She already has us running around after her.

Our lives are no longer our own!