“Spooking” Out Today

Well, today’s the day. Friday 13 April. Always good things happen to me on Friday 13 – for instance, Martin and I married on Friday 13 September.

Today’s big event is that Spooking is out! (YA paranormal romance.) Actually, it’s very romantic and the paranormal bit isn’t scary or irreverent.    

It’s possibly the fluffiest, most light-hearted story I’ve ever written. I really look forward to all of your comments. I’m especially interested in hearing from my students in my Writing Novels for Young Adults class. Is this a proper YA book? Does it obey the rules or does it bend them? And if you can’t afford it, guys, there will be one given away later. I’ll also be reading excerpts from it at the Prestwich Book Fest on 23 May, Prestwich Library 7.00 p.m. she says, unashamedly plugging another event. I’ll be there with Sherry Ashworth form MMU – another YA writer who is also an academic and she will also read from her latest e-book.   

It’s always a strange feeling when a book comes out.  A mixture of excitement and nerves. The type of useful feeling that makes you give a better performance when you’re on stage. Mind you, as a prolific writer and as a creative writing teacher I suffer from Constant Editor Syndrome and I have to stop myself editing as I read out loud.

But back to Spooking. It’s a nice little tale and I am rather fond of it. I think it sits well with Alex Smith’s Calling for Angels, published by TheRed Telephone. It’s a similar sort of story. We’ll gloss over the difference in age between the writers!

I hope you’ll read it … and give it a nice review, if you feel that’s appropriate. And come and join me later on this site, 4.00 to 6.00. British Summer Time for the real-time launch if you can. Bring teenagers!            

To Do Right Now

There is quite a lot to do when you are a writer. Here is my list of ongoing writing projects:
• Accept – or not – copy editor’s remarks on Babel (2nd part of Peace Child trilogy).
• Finish first draft of Peace Child (third part of Peace Child trilogy).
• Complete And They Thought I didn’t Know ( verse ya novel)
• Final edit in response to peer reviewer of an academic paper.
• Complete first draft of an academic paper I’m writing.
• Continue enrolling writers for a book I’m editing
• Resubmit thrice rejected ya novel Spooking.
• Write for various competition and small press calls to submission.
• Write some sort of article about the workshop I delivered at the recent NAWE conference.
• Write various blog posts.
• Write for Triond.
And over the next week these are my writing related activities:
• Drive to Hertford for the book launch of Calling for Angels, the debut novel of Alex Smith, just 17, and winner of The Red Telephone’s competition.
• Mark the first assignment from my students on the Intro to Children’s Literature Module.
• Complete many routine administration jobs at the university.
• Teach on two modules: Final Portfolio and Intro to Children’s Literature
• Look at a lot of student’s work, including one dissertation.
• Talk to students about writing.
• Prepare two lectures on Narrative Fiction and the Novel.
• Edit and think of ideas for Bridge House.
• Edit and think of ideas for CafeLit and the Creative Café Project.
• Go to my choir practice and the MACC competition.
• Go to my Opening the Quays rehearsal.
• Keep an eye on my various email accounts, Facebook and Twitter.
All in all, a very satisfying way of spending my time.