Acceptance! Stones

I’m chuffed to have had a short story accepted.  It’s a horror called ‘Stones’, and should be published in May.

‘Stones’ is about a newlywed couple who come across a stone circle while on honeymoon.  I think of it as atmospheric rather than gory, and I hope readers will agree.

As usual I’ll refrain from naming the publication until it’s released, but I will post a link as soon as ‘Stones’ is out.

Wales in Winter

A few weekends ago my wife and I went to North Wales for one of our semi-regular long weekends.  As usual, we had a great time.

Not as usual, we fell victim to the unseasonal cold weather and were semi-snowed in.  We were able to get out for walks from our hotel and had some really fun and stunning yomps across moor and through forest in several inches of snow.  Going anywhere by car, though, carried too great a risk for us to chance it until we went home (and had to detour an extra twenty miles, but that’s a different story).

So, what have our holiday woes got to do with writing?

Well, it made me think about the hardships some of my characters living in North Wales must have faced.  Even in the modern age we saw the difficulties of farming in unseasonal cold weather, with the lambing season underway in deep snow and sub-zero temperatures.  It’s difficult to keep animals alive in these conditions with barns and heaters and the like; it must have been horrendous in centuries gone by.

And travelling is near-impossible.  We needed walking boots just to get out of the hotel, and our thick coats were no insulation against the wind whistling down the Llanberis Pass.  Such luxuries weren’t available in years gone by; wet shoes and near-useless cloaks would have been the order of the day.

All that surely breeds a special type of person; hard working and resilient.  It’s made me realise that my ancient Welsh characters need to have these sort of characteristics as well as the frivolous, Devil-may-care attitude to life I tend to give them.  They can still be fun, though.

Acceptance! The Torridon Witches

I’m delighted to be able to say that I’ve had a horror novella, The Torridon Witches, accepted.  As usual, I’ll refrain from naming the publisher until contracts are signed, just in case anything goes wrong.  It’s a publisher I’ve enjoyed working with before though, so I’ve no reason to expect problems.

The Torridon Witches is a story set in the Torridon region of remote modern Scotland, against the backdrop of seventeenth century witch trials and burnings.  It tells the tale of four friends who go backpacking in the area and get caught up in witchcraft.

The idea came to me in holiday in western Scotland a couple of years ago.  The place is stunningly beautiful and rugged, and I decided I wanted to write a story set there. 

On the same holiday I bought a paperback about Scottish witch trials, and that book gave me the germ of an idea which eventually became The Torridon Witches.

Although the story is set in the present day, I had to do quite a bit of research into historical witches and witch trials.  It’s not something I’m an expert in, but as my background is in history I enjoyed the research as much as the writing.

I am grateful to Phil who, as always, read my first draft and provided invaluable comment and advice.

James Herbert R.I.P.

I was very sad to read that James Herbert passed away earlier this month. 

I always had a soft spot for Herbert, not least because his novel, ‘The Rats’, was the first horror book I ever read, and the sheer brilliance – particularly for a debut novel - opened my eyes to a whole new genre.

Herbert’s books were my required reading when I was in my teens, and he helped influence my love for the horror genre.  It was inevitable that his style would influence some of my work.

James Herbert will be sorely missed.

Research…

I’ve always thought myself fortunate to study the Celts at university.  I was lucky to study a subject that fascinated me in a wonderful city (Bangor) with enthusiastic tutors and Snowdonia’s beauty on my doorstep.

As a writer who often uses the Celts as a background I have an additional reason to thank my degree.  Although I wouldn’t claim to have been an outstanding student, immersing myself in the Celtic way of life for three years has given me a ‘feel’ for their period.  I’ve been able to incorporate this into my writing without having to resort to research, except to look up very specific facts and events. 

This background knowledge has made writing historical fiction so much more straightforward.

The work I’m planning at the moment is different as it’s based around the First World War.  I’ve read a little about the ‘Great War’, but planning the novel has made me realise how much research is needed to make sense of a period I’m not particularly knowledgeable about. 

In my Celtic work I’m familiar with beliefs, medicine, weapons, transport and the like.  I’ve always taken this aspect for granted.  Now, I find myself having to refer to reference books and the internet at almost every phase of my planning. 

I often hear about writers who say they find researching a period takes almost as long as writing the book.  I’ve never really believed that – until now.  The next work is likely to be a slow, laborious process as I immerse myself in the trenches of Flanders!

Is that a complaint?  No.  I’ve always enjoyed historical research, irrespective of the period or reason.  I’ve never appreciated how much it can slow down the writing process, though.

Review: New Chance by Z.J. McBeattie

This is a short, thought provoking read set in the near future.  Eric is the product of a world where fortunate children spend their first five years in an environmentally protected world.  As an adult, he wants to get return to its simpler life.

The story is well structured and well written.  The author’s knowledge of the subject comes through and gives the prose an obvious confidence. 

I thought the story’s strength, though, was in the way Eric’s character unfolded as I read.  My thoughts went from sympathy to unease and worse as we were shown the lengths he was willing to go to, to return to his childhood’s world.

I didn’t see the ending coming; it raised a skilful and thought-provoking story to ‘memorable’ status and 5/5 from me.

‘New Chance’ is available from Amazon.

Here’s the author’s Amazon page.

Blog Revamp

Since I started this blog back in 2009, I’ve been maintaining it as a sort of web site rather than a blog.

That means it’s probably got a bit cluttered. 

I don’t want to switch over to having a ‘specialist’ web site because this blog’s address is in all my literature, and is known to my publishers, fellow authors and the like.  So, I’ve decided to still use this blog as my main web presence but I’ll be restructuring some of the supporting pages to minimise the links, make the information easier to find, etc, etc.  Probably most importantly, I think it will make it easier for people to find out about me, my work, and my publishers.

It’s not going to happen overnight, but will be an ongoing task.

Thank you for bearing with this, probably highly uninteresting, post!