Writing

Those of you who have never tried it may think being a writer is an easy way to make a living. Unfortunately you could not be more wrong.

Let’s start with the basics first, unless you are Stephen King, James Patterson, John Grisham, J.K. Rowling or one of perhaps a couple of dozen others you are not going to make your fortune by writing. In fact you probably won’t make enough to live on and most of the writers I know either have some additional form of income or, like me, do a full time job.

So, nine till five, five days a week you’re working to keep a roof over your family and food on your table but all the time you have this idea for the great American novel going around in your head. You can’t wait to get home, you eat so fast you give yourself heartburn and then you sit down at your laptop, typewriter of word processor ready to begin, but where do you start? You have your idea, you may have your hero, heroine or both pictured in your mind and you may even have an image of the bad guys, if there are any. You know what is going to happen to them but how are you going to get them from the first word to the moment you write “the end”?

Well, if you want to do it properly you close your laptop, pick up a pencil and notepad and start to make notes.

Your notes should be concise, they should cover all aspects of your characters and you should add to them constantly, after all, you may be eighty thousand words into your story and the next chapter could depend on whether Aunt Matilda’s eyes are blue or brown but you can’t remember. Where did you mention it? Chapter four? Maybe chapter sixteen, or did you forget to mention it at all? This is where your notes come in.

Okay, now you’ve written pencil sketches of your major characters and are ready to start – or are you?  Say your hero is a soldier, a historical figure, a spy or maybe an overworked detective. He or she is going to need some place to work from, some equipment, maybe a weapon for disposing of bad guys, some form of transport, even historical transport if your novel is set in the past, something to wear and many other things. If you are lucky and you are following the old adage about writing about what you know, then some of this information will already be available to you but not all of it.

So this is where you start your research and believe me you need to do it. Your potential readers out there are smart people, some of them are already going to know the things you need to look up and, if you get them wrong, they will tell you, perhaps in a review on Amazon and that can be deadly for book sales.

Not so many years ago researching this stuff  meant taking a trip to the local library and browsing through an infinity of books to try to find some obscure fact. You may need to know if Iroquois war axes were double or single headed or, like I did for one of my novels, the height of an F16’s cockpit above the ground. Luckily today we have the internet and details like this are readily available. Google, Bing and Wikipedia are the writer’s friend when it comes to garnering facts but be careful, they can be too friendly and may lure you into spending precious writing time following ever more tangled webs of knowledge.

Speaking of time, you now have your notes, you have as many facts as you think you may need and you are now ready to start writing. You will need many more facts before you are done but you’ve been at this for a while now and you still haven’t written a word so you start.

An average novel is more than 80,000 words and takes a while to complete. I like to aim to write an average of a thousand words a day. Sometimes I do three times that, sometimes only a small portion, but I try to write every day. I also have a system where I start each day’s writing by reading what I wrote the day before, I find it gets me back into the rhythm of the story and it helps with later editing because you can catch errors as you read.

You’re writing 1000 words a day, in a week you will have a first chapter but is it any good? I guess I am lucky, my wife is a talented writer and a dedicated proofreader who wields a mighty red pen. She helps me tremendously with the tedious job of editing. Usually though there is only so much “Is this any good?” that spouses can take and they also tend to be too kind, they want to encourage you so they aren’t as critical as a stranger might be.

What you need is a peer group who will support, encourage and help you while pointing out holes in the plot you may have missed and offering suggestions to aid you in your task.

I’m very lucky, we have two excellent writing support groups near where I live, one for novels and the other for short stories and poems. I have been to both groups and would encourage any one else who feels the urge to write to try similar groups. At the very least you’ll get the encouragement of knowing you are not alone.

News

So much for New Year’s resolutions; So far I’ve kept one and am failing another.

The one I’m failing is obviously writing this blog. I swore I would do it more often and yet I’m reminded it’s thirty-six days since I last wrote anything here. For that I apologize. I do have some good news though, I kept my other promise and my novel “DA” is now available on Amazon, both as a paperback and in electronic format.

I know there are many of you out there who buy my books and for that I am grateful, I would be even more grateful, though, if I heard back  from you.

When you spend 99 cents on a Kindle version of one of my books you hopefully get several hours of entertainment and a story that holds your interest but have you ever thought about what goes into producing that book?

It takes months, or sometimes years, of work, plotting, researching, typing (I’m a well-known one-finger typist), editing, amending, re-editing, re-amending, preparing for publication, finding a cover picture and getting the finished piece onto Amazon.

It’s a lot of work but I love doing it and will continue to do so for as long as I am able. Hopefully, you, the readers, will continue to read what I write too but the only way I have of knowing if you like what I am producing is if you tell me.

When you buy a paperback or download an E-book Amazon gives you an opportunity to rate it and to make comments, can I ask you to please do so, that way I can work on what I’m getting right and stop doing anything you think I’m getting wrong.

Thanks for reading and enjoy.

Being resolute

It’s a new year and I want to start by wishing all who read this a very happy and prosperous new year.

In our house we don’t go in for partying much so, although we all stayed awake to welcome 2016, we were very quiet, reading, watching TV and playing computer games. That is more than can be said for next door’s dog who seemed to think midnight was a great time to run around the neighborhood for half an hour, barking his fool head off. Luckily no one was letting off fireworks to scare him.

Like many of you I guess, I have made several New Year’s resolutions and as usual I will no doubt be breaking some of them before January is out. I want to write this blog more frequently in 2016 but with my other commitments that may be one of the first resolutions to achieve failure. I also really want to lose about ten pounds. I’ve done it before but it always seems to sneak back on. My trouble is I have a great love of good cheese, chocolate and ice cream. Combine the last two and I’m in heaven but I think I’m going to have to try to curb the desire for them this time.

I’m also resolved to spend less time surfing the internet. Don’t get me wrong, I think search engines are the greatest tools and I spend long hours researching for my books. That is something I intend to continue but this year I am determined to try to avoid getting sidetracked into watching stuff that, while interesting, has no real relevance to the subject I’m looking for.

Speaking of my books, last year I promised much and only delivered part of it. This year I’m resolved to only give you one date. “Da”, a sequel to “The Lichfield Conspiracy”, will definitely be out by the end of January. I have the cover ready and am half finished on the final read through. “Cheating”, the latest Steph and Dean book, will also be out this year but I’m not promising when.

After that it’s on to the next project and there I can’t be so resolute. I have notes for another Steph and Dean book but I also have some research material for an historical saga that will be like “Weoley” but based in America. Which is it to be? I have no idea at this stage and would appreciate feed back on what the readers want if any of you care to give it.

That is about it for now. I’m resolved to read through at least another chapter of “Da” before lunch so, to avoid breaking that resolution, I need to get on with it. Have a great New Year and I’ll talk to you soon.

Coming soon:

'Tis the season..........

‘Tis the season to be jolly, or so the old Christmas carol says. I guess that’s right, personally I like Christmas, not for the commercialization, all the dashing around, frantic buying of things, writing of cards etc. but for the looks on the children’s faces on Christmas morning as they open gifts, the good food, the way almost everyone is happy and most of all for the fact that we get to relax and I can write once it’s all over.

The run up to Christmas is a busy time of year so the writing has been neglected a little lately, more so in my case as a glitch in my laptop meant it had to go into the shop for a week. It wasn’t a virus this time but was two versions of Microsoft Office vying with each other and throwing everything else out of joint. It’s fixed now and ‘Cheating’ is under way again although I am not making any rash promises concerning a publication date this time, it’ll be ready when it’s ready.

Speaking of which I mentioned around Thanksgiving that ‘The Sins of the Father’, a follow up to ‘The Lichfield Conspiracy’, was undergoing it’s last edit and that I hoped to have it out for Christmas providing I could find a suitable cover. Well, the edit is taking longer than usual and the name has now changed to ‘DA’ but the good news is the cover is ready as soon as my editor has finished with the final draft. This one really should be out in January some time.

My plans for next year are firstly to finish ‘Cheating’ and get it published. After that I have a couple of stories churning around in the back of my mind. One is another of the Dean and Steph mysteries and the other is a saga a little like ‘Weoley’ but covering the fortunes of a family over three hundred years. I’m not sure which of them will come to the fore yet but I’ll let you know as soon as I decide. In the meantime I’ll also still be writing my weekly column for the Putnam Herald and maybe trying my hand at some new short stories.

It’s going to be a busy time but that’s what I like, a writer has to write. For now though I’m told that we need to go to the store for some last minute stocking stuffers so I’ll leave you to your own preparations and I’ll wish you all a very merry Christmas, may Santa be generous to you all.

Thanksgiving

It’s the third Thursday in November. Over here in the United States of course that means it’s Thanksgiving, the day we remember the first harvest celebration in Massachusetts back in the year 1621.

I guess there are relatively few in this country who actually do celebrate for that reason these days but that’s okay, today Thanksgiving is an opportunity for people to get together to eat, drink and be merry. Like so many others across this country we will be going out to a family meal soon but, while we wait for kids to get ready, I thought it appropriate to give thanks for some of the important things in my life.

I’m thankful for my wife and all my family, both here in America and over in England of course, and for my home, my co-workers and my friends. I’m thankful for the food we are going to eat, the wine I will drink and the good company we’ll enjoy this afternoon.

I’m thankful for having the day off work and doubly so because I have tomorrow off too. I’m thankful I will not be getting out of bed at some unearthly hour tomorrow in order to take part in the craziness that is Black Friday and for the coming weekend with nothing planned but to relax.

Relaxing for me means an opportunity to do what I love best, to write. I’m thankful for the ideas that whirl round in my head and demand to be put down on paper, for the ability to put them down coherently, for those who taught me the art of writing and those who have helped, supported and encouraged me as I developed my writing.

Last, but by no means least, I am truly thankful for you, the people who read this blog, follow my work and buy my books, without you my efforts would be in vain and my stories would just sit and gather dust.

Thank you and happy Thanksgiving to you all

BROKEN PROMISES

I started this year with such good intentions. I believe in an early blog I promised up to four new books by Christmas, one in the spring, two in the summer and one in the fall. Those of you who follow this blog and read my stories will no doubt realize that hasn’t happened.

Up until last weekend the only new book out there was ‘Liberty’, a Revolutionary War romance-adventure. That has now been joined by ‘The Prince’s Puzzle’, a seventeenth century detective story set against the background of the English Civil War, currently available from Amazon and on Kindle for a very reasonable price.

The other two books I so foolishly promised were ‘The Sins of the Father’ and ‘Cheating’.

The first of these is a sequel to ‘The Lichfield Conspiracy’ and, with luck and a fair wind, it may actually make it for Christmas. It has already had a major rewrite, been edited twice, undergone a second rewrite and is now with my editor for a final read through. I guess the only thing that might stop its publication is the hunt for a suitable cover picture but I am working on that between writing articles, visiting England, doing a full-time day job and suffering from what my wife laughingly calls “man-flu”.

With all of that going on of course ‘Cheating’, the fifth in the popular Dean and Steph detective series, has had to take a back burner. The initial draft is more than half done but writing, editing and producing a novel is a long process. I’d like to think it will be ready for spring of 2016 but who knows what else might come up and, after this year of broken promises I am not prepared to give a definite date.

For this I apologize, I know there are many of you out there who like Dean and Steph and who have been asking for the next book. I guarantee it will come, and there may even be a sixth one too but for now I’m not making any more promises.

Lazy Blogger

I guess you could call me a lazy blogger and if I’m honest I couldn’t argue with that. I don’t write this blog anywhere near often enough, despite knowing I should. I apologize for that, time just seems to get away from me and I do have excuses for my laziness, although you may think they’re pretty lame.

At the moment I’m busy writing “Cheating”, the fifth in the Dean and Steph detective series. It’s going well so far but as usual the characters have taken on a life of their own and have gone off in unexpected directions. The perpetrator has changed and that caused quite a long pause in the writing but I’m back on course now. The thing is I did promise to have it out in the fall and am a little behind schedule so I’m playing catch up.

On top of that I have my weekly column in the Putnam Herald to write and, with a two week vacation in England coming over the horizon; I am trying to get ahead with that. Between times I’ve been editing “The Prince’s Puzzle”, an English Civil War detective novel and looking for an appropriate picture for the cover, a task that is not as easy as you may think. Finally, I do a full time day job to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table for a growing family.

It’s a busy life but I still feel a little guilty that I don’t write this blog more often, I will try to improve my performance but don’t hold your breath; the story telling has to come first.

And speaking of story telling I think it’s about time I introduced you to some more of mine. Below are the first few pages of “The Lichfield Conspiracy” a political thriller about terrorists, politicians, a soldier and a girl. See what you think and, if it sparks your interest, you’ll find it on Kindle for 99cents at:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=a9_sc_1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aderek+coleman&keywords=derek+coleman&ie=UTF8&qid=1440630462

CHAPTER ONE - LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND

The gusting wind rattled pellets of rain against the car and Ben Shaughnessy used the back of his gloved hand to wipe the condensation from the inside of the passenger window.

  He looked across the Catholic cemetery to where the mourners stood, huddled with a rain-coated priest around the open grave. ‘It’s a fine day for a funeral,’ he thought to himself. Politeness dictated he should be out there with them, but he’d not known old Richard Sullivan well. In fact, he’d not seen the man for many years and, since coming out of the Maze prison, he found it difficult to keep warm outside, so he stayed in the car.

  It didn’t matter though. He’d made the gesture; they saw him in the church. They now knew he was back. That, and the fact he remained in the car, would make the superstitious peasants remember how things once were and then they would begin to fear again. He wanted them to fear, they should fear. They should fear because they were going to pay for his lost youth.

  Fourteen years was a long time to have been away, a fifth of a lifetime. Times had changed, people had come and gone and there was a new order of things. They didn’t need him and his kind now but that didn’t matter; after losing fourteen years he no longer cared about the Cause, now it was personal.

  The car shook and Shaughnessy shivered as Mickey Collins opened the driver's door and got in, bringing an icy blast of air with him.

  'I took the flowers Ben,' he said. 'Sean remembers you and said to say hello. He'd come over himself but with it being his da's funeral and all it wouldn't look right.'

  Shaughnessy looked over at the mourners again. Sean Sullivan was easy to pick out; he was always a big lad and now he was running to fat. How old was he? Thirty-four, thirty-five? He looked as if he were in his fifties standing there with his brother Patrick beside the grieving widow.

  The flowers were a nice touch, a gesture no one could challenge. His name on the attached tag would have the desired effect however. ‘I bet he said to say hello,’ Shaughnessy thought with a cynical smile. Sean had always been scared of him and the bastard was probably shitting himself at the thought that he was out again.

  Patrick was different. He’d not been wild but he’d run with the lads occasionally. There were tales about him Ben could tell that would make his old dad spin in the grave they were now putting him into.

  Without taking his eyes from the shivering crowd at the graveside, he spoke,

  'Don't bullshit me, Mickey.' His voice was quiet and pleasant but Mickey Collins lost his eager grin instantly and his face paled a little. He’d known Ben in the old days. He walked in his shadow and knew enough to be scared.

  'Don't bullshit me,' Ben repeated. 'Sean Sullivan never said that at all. Patrick might have said it but not Sean.'

  Mickey blanched further and swallowed the lump that seemed to have appeared in his throat. It was as if the past fourteen years had never happened, as if Shaughnessy had never been away. He’d heard that amused tone before, had seen the tiny smile which never reached as far as the hazel eyes too many times in the past. Fear flooded his mind; he remembered that smile only too well. The screaming of a Protestant soul in torment always followed it.

  Not that religion mattered to Shaughnessy; he’d inflicted pain on Catholics as well. He enjoyed it too much to care and that was why the Cause abandoned him. They’d had enough of him before he went to prison and had not accepted him again since his release. Ben Shaughnessy was too dangerous. He enjoyed the killing too much, he wanted too much of it and that was not the name of the game any more. Mickey swallowed again.

  'I'm sorry Ben,' he whimpered in terror. 'I thought Sean would want to say hello for old times sa.. .'

  'Sean Sullivan and I have no old times,' Shaughnessy interrupted as he rubbed away the condensation again and stared with interest across at the group of mourners.

  He’d not noticed the girl before. She was standing half-concealed behind Sean and only moved to the front as the fat bastard started to lead his mother away.

  She stopped by the graveside, staring down as the wind gusted and whipped her rain darkened, auburn hair across her face. She lifted a hand to pull the tresses back over her shoulder and his breath stuck in his throat as he caught a first look at her features in profile.

  After fourteen years inside the first thing he told Mickey to get him was a woman. She was a tart from the rough end of Derry but it didn’t matter. He used her and felt nothing, just the easing of an ache. This girl was different; she was young, tall and slim. A stranger would have called her attractive, but he was not a stranger. He knew her face. Even after fourteen years, he knew it, despite the fact she’d only been a small child when he went away. It was the face of a dead man and he felt a burning throb of excitement start in his loins as he looked at her.

  'Her. There, the one with the long red hair.' His voice was a hoarse whisper but Mickey was glad of the diversion from his own misguided attempt to please Shaughnessy. Quickly he followed the direction of the other man's gaze.

  There were several women at the graveside, two or three of them with red hair but he knew the one Shaughnessy meant. She was turning away now, but she still stood out from the crowd and he already knew who she was, even though she’d only arrived yesterday. He misunderstood Shaughnessy's interest however.

  'Fancy that one, do you?' he smiled. 'Well you'll have to be bloody quick, she's only here for the funeral and then she's off home again tomorrow.' He paused as memory flooded back. Christ. Surely Ben knew her? She was a feminine image of her brother at the same age and if anyone had known Vince Gregson, Shaughnessy had. He must have seen her a thousand times before Vinny was killed but prison does strange things to a man. She’d only been a child when Ben went away and maybe he’d forgotten.

  ‘You already know her, or you did. She's Rose Gregson's little girl, Margaret. You know, Vinny's little sister.' He could not resist the temptation to look at Shaughnessy's face as he told him. He was hoping to see surprise, shock or some similar emotion there but apart from a slight narrowing of those cold hazel eyes there was nothing.

  Shaughnessy didn’t even reply as he continued to stare without blinking at the girl. He’d known who she was. She looked like Vinny, softer, more feminine but there was a definite likeness. The last time he’d seen her, she was about eight years old. She’d stood in the corner of her mother's kitchen, screaming herself into hysterics as he’d dumped Vinny's body on the table to lie wide-eyed and sightless, dripping blood and brains onto the floor.

  The memory stirred him and he felt a sexual urge that was almost too strong to deny.

  'What's she doing here?' he grated.

  'Her ma's the widow's sister. It's her uncle Richard they're burying.'

  Shaughnessy nodded slowly, memory returning and his eyes narrowing in thought as a pulse beat visibly in his pale temple.

  'Okay, Mickey,' he said as the girl walked away from the grave and followed the rest of the family. 'Start her up. We're going to help console the grieving widow.'