I won’t make any comment on the size of the gap between this post and the last. But rather than archive this old blog I decided to resurrect it as I embark on writing the fifth and final book in the Stonewylde series. This blog will hopefully be something to focus me each day before I start writing. I do apologise to the people who signed up to follow my blog and were then left dangling for almost eighteen months. I shall try to amaze you with the regularity of my entries over the next few months.
It’s January 3rd. My deadline with Gollancz for the first draft of the book is the end of March. I haven’t actually counted the days (anybody care to do it please?) but it’s not a huge amount of time for writing a whole book. I need to get cracking. There again – I wrote the first draft for what turned out to be the first three books in the series in little more than four months – and that was whilst working full time as a teacher.
Now I have the luxury of uncontested time and energy each day instead of a few measly hours after work when I’m tired. And I also now have a room of my own! The first four books were written in my little terraced house in Dorset. My eldest son was at University in Bristol, but my other two teenage boys were living at home, the youngest still at school. We had seven cats and one open-plan living room. I wrote the books sitting on the sofa using my school laptop, whilst the boys played noisy games on the PC behind me and had Kerrang!! blasting out of the TV in front of me. Next door neighbours on either side thundered up and down their stairs. There was no privacy and no personal space. Cats regularly jumped on me and boys regularly wanted food and mothering, whilst the dust and washing piled up all around us. I ignored everything and just wrote and wrote …
I can’t post the picture I’d planned to accompany this first blog entry because of “technical hitches”. I won’t moan but grrrrrr – life was simpler when it was just me, my basic digital camera and my basic laptop. I’m now married to a man who works with computers and really, that only makes this technology stuff worse. Nothing works for me, I can’t mess around with things in case I really mess it all up and I feel completely useless. So this is a bald and picture-less entry I’m afraid. Tomorrow when Mr B has waved his magic wand there’ll be a photo of my inspiring purple things in my own room. And I also may be able then to update the pictures of my old, self-published versions of Stonewylde into the glitzy new Gollancz versions and add the fourth book. Perhaps though I’ll leave the photo of me looking younger and more glamorous than I do today!
Yesterday I read “A Room of One’s Own” by Virginia Woolf. I’ll explain the synchronicity of this tomorrow as I must keep these blog entries reasonably short and sweet and not ramble into displacement activity that keeps me from what I really must do. Jan 3rd to Mar 31st – HELP!!!
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Stonewylde (Book the Fifth) is GO!
Go, Kit! You know we’re all on tenterhooks waiting to know what will happen – and have no doubt it will be fantastic! So get writing, good lady!
XXXXXXX
LOL! As a husband who deals with computers, IT and all that jazz, I don’t *dare* try to help my wife because I’ll “get it all wrong” and that I “don’t know what I’m doing”, I’m “overcomplicating things”, etc.
I have learnt to stay away trying to provide any form of computer support to loved ones as a consequence – it’s safer! Google is everybody’s friend 🙂
Good luck with the next book, can`t wait for it. Have got into the habit of reading a chapter to my husband every morning before getting out of bed. Got nothing good to read now to get me through the day. Hope Leveret has got a good part to play in it. I like her a lot.
Yaay Kit lovely to see your blog alive again 🙂 2012 will be a fantastic year!!!! xxx
Virginia has inspired me for years.. may she light your way with your new writing )O( x
You’re an inspiration Kit…. quill a quivering ….pen poised xxxx
I think it’s 95 days!!!! You can do that: easy peasy! Enjoy yourself at Stonewylde xx
I just want to say good luck with the fifth book and thank you for inspiring me to write! Stonewylde has made me a much happier person and I don’t know what I would do without it!
I can’t wait to see what happens in number 5 Kit! Best of luck with the writing, am sure you will do it no problem xxx
You can do it Kit!! We have faith in you xxx
My fella is a computer boffin too so I definitely sympathise Kit.
Loads of luck writing the final SW, though I doubt you need it. What an achievement you’ve already got, you’re so inspiring xx
I have read all your books Kit and am a little ashamed to say that I am in love with Magus! I am sorry that Stonewylde (in the book) has become so commercialised and realise that this is its downfall. For your last book can you banish all the outsiders and return Stonewylde to its former glory?!!!
Great to be able to follow your blog Kit. Mary gave me a Kobo eBook reader for Christmas. Pleased to see that all your books are available in eBook form but I shall treasure my original first editions signed by you!(Custos)
I absolutely LOVED the first three books of the series. It took less than a week to read all three! And I wanted more. I can’t wait to get a copy of the fourth book, and really look forward to the fifth.
You can do it, you can meet your deadline. Goddess knows it will be AWESOME!
Agh….I’m torn between wanting to read Book 5…and not wanting the series to be over…but mostly looking forward to the next instalment…mostly.
Oh kit so glad you are blogging again !
It’s SD by the way!
oh Kit…. so glad you are back blogging and writing. I’m hoping that Stonewylde has a happy ending (that is the romantic in me)…. if you are stuck you know you have an amazing fanbase who will give you inspiration :-))
we love you lots xXx
I can hear those little fingers tinkering the keyboard up here in Norfolk! Go girl, go!! March seems a very short deadline but I’m sure you’ll do it – especially with all that stonewylde magic oozing through your veins! 🙂 xx
Woohoo………..Go Kit!! You can do it, with a bit of KERRANG!! And I know some noisy Norhterners can help if you should need to re-create the ambience ; ) Sat in anticipation and have faith in your work. xxx
Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever had so many comments on my blog before! Thanks so much everyone and please stay with me. Thanks too for the lovely encouraging things you’ve said (no, Kas – no more Kerrang ever thank you!). The magic wand has been waved so I’m now about to post a pic – hopefully! xxx
Hurrah! The blog is back and book 5 is on the way…. time will drag until publication date but we are all waiting here with baited breath, including my daughter who is now well and truly hooked as well!
Much love and kisses
Sujee & Bilbo xx