A Life in a Day of a Writer: Author Kate Blackadder @k_blackadder shares a typical writing day #writing #books #reading

Kate Blackadder’s writing desk

Today it’s the turn of romantic fiction writer Kate Blackadder to give us a glimpse into the sort of days that make up her life as a writer.

Kate’s Novel Stella’s Christmas Wish is a lovely story at any time – but especially so at this time of year– more about that later – along with information about Kate’s many short stories, magazine serials (for UK magazines The People’s Friend and Woman’s Weekly) and boxset. But now over to Kate.

Kate Blackadder’s Writing Life in a Day

When you asked me back in June, Anne, to take part in this series I did hope that things would be more normal come November but alas our lives are still restricted by Covid-19.

So, furloughed from my part-time job and with an almost non-existent social life for seven months, have I done lots of writing? Yes and no.

When lockdown looked likely in the middle of March I started to keep a diary. Sadly, things that seemed so extraordinary back then don’t seem so now. Fights over toilet rolls. Bars closed in Dublin on St Patrick’s Day. Holidaying friends unable to fly home. One day I may mine the diary for story ideas but not now.

I found physical activity excellent distraction (no one more surprised than myself about that). Newly acquired exercise bike, Joe Wicks workouts, walking the permitted hour a day. Even, belatedly in my life, gardening. Those invasive grape hyacinths didn’t know what hit them. The glorious weather added to the unreality of the whole situation.

Indoors, I did various writingy things without actually writing. Mostly I write short stories and serials for women’s magazines – so I made a fourth collection of previously published stories and put it on Kindle. I published three magazine serials, all set in rural Scotland, as a Kindle boxset (see below).

I dusted down a couple of more literary stories and entered them for competitions. I typed up seven holiday diaries and had copies printed.

My thoughts did turn eventually to new writing but I don’t have a typical day. Sometimes the more time you have the less you do. To give myself a push I set the kitchen timer for twenty minutes and attempt to write without stopping. My inner editor has a hissy fit but I try to ignore her.

Picking up either of two embryonic novels would require concentration I didn’t have. So I wrote a short story from a young lad’s viewpoint – he was aggrieved at his mother roping him into gardening for an elderly neighbour. Inspired in part by my own newfound interest – all is grist to the writing mill. Done. Sent to The People’s Friend.

The People’s Friend has a special, larger edition every three weeks and in every second Special there’s a long cosy crime story (9500 words), new territory for me. I’d had an idea for ages but couldn’t see my way into it, eg who the viewpoint characters would be. However, once I got going I loved writing it. Gardening also featured … my green-fingered sister was enlisted to fact-check. Sent.

Another story – this time set on Hogmanay, 1963, one of the worst UK winters on record. (No gardening in this one… ) Sent to The People’s Friend.

I’ve always been fascinated by names and I thought it would be fun to write a story where the characters have the same names as those recently given to storms. Sent to The People’s Friend.

No acceptances or rejections received to date for these four – for completely understandable reasons. The People’s Friend fiction staff work from home too now. Plus, they get an increasingly enormous number of submissions. They’ve always had an open-door policy for new writers – and now are one of the few remaining markets for short stories as so many magazines have stopped publishing them or have folded altogether, including two since March who between them published 350 stories annually.

Shopping habits have changed recently, concentrating on food essentials. A subscription to your favourite magazine whatever it might be could help it survive.

Not all doom and gloom though! My fellow Capital Writers and I published a collection of Dark Stories https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08LTGH358

in time for Hallowe’en.

And I got an acceptance surprisingly quickly from Woman’s Weekly for a short story so that was a boost, and a proposal for a new PF serial, my fifth, got the go-ahead two weeks later. It’s great to have something to focus on. Each instalment is 5000 words, divided into five ‘chapters’. Because you have to wait for instalment approval you can’t really write ahead and you can’t go back and change previous instalments. I do have trajectories for each of my main characters though so I work towards those. It’s a different way of writing but I find it exhilarating.

Anne: Yes, writing a serial for a magazine certainly sounds like an exciting way of working! Thank you so much Kate for sharing what your writing life is like – and how writing shorter fiction has helped you push on through during these difficult times.

About Kate Blackadder:

Katewas born in Inverness but now lives in Edinburgh. She has had over sixty short stories and four magazine serials published, and a novel, Stella’s Christmas Wish, published by Black and White Publishing.

In 2008 she won the Muriel Spark Short Story Prize judged by Maggie O’ Farrell. Four collections of her short stories and the four serials are now on Kindle, three of them – The Family at Farrshore, The Ferryboat, and A Time to Reap – are also available in large-print library editions.

She is a member of Edinburgh Writers’ Club, the Scottish Association of Writers, the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Authors and, with three others, is part of Capital Writers. When she’s not writing or reading she likes films, baking and crying over repeats of Long Lost Family.

Kate Online:

Find out more: http://katewritesandreads.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KateBlackadderAuthor

Twitter: @k_blackadder

https://capitalwriterscouk.wordpress.com/

Kate’s Books and Boxset:

Stella’s Christmas Wish available from: HERE

Six days before Christmas, Stella must rush home to Scotland when her grandmother is taken to hospital. As she reconnects with her past, old flames are rekindled, and as Christmas fast approaches, Stella begins to wonder if her most heartfelt wish can come true?

Uprooted from her life in London and back in her childhood home of the Scottish borders, Stella is soon faced with relationships which have lain dormant for years. New opportunities present themselves, but will Stella dare to take them…

Family stories boxset  (information below) available from: HERE

Three family stories first published as serials in The People’s Friend. Available as e-books singly, or in this three-for-the-price-of-two collection:

The Ferryboat: Judy and Tom Jeffrey move north after buying a hotel in the West Highlands of Scotland, with their daughter and her chef husband – but have they made a terrible mistake?

The Family at Farrshore: Spending the summer working on Scotland’s north coast, archaeologist Cathryn is drawn into the local community – and to Magnus who is visiting the area for reasons of his own.

A Time to Reap: It’s 1963 on a Scottish Highlands estate. Farm manager Elizabeth Duncan has the unpleasant factor to contend with, and is unsettled by the arrival of an American visitor.

A Life in a Day of a Writer: Author JJ Marsh @JJMarsh1 shares a typical writing day #writing #books #reading

Today it’s the turn of crime writer JJ Marsh to give us a glimpse into the sort of days that make up her life as a writer.

Jill’s latest book is The Woman in the Frame and it’s the 11th book in the utterly fabulous Beatrice Stubbs series – more about that below. But now over to Jill.

JJ Marsh’s Writing Life in a Day

Jill’s Writing Desk

Such a thing as a pure writing day always felt like a fantasy. Even though I only worked part time as an English teacher, I was also spending several days a week marketing, profile-raising, reviewing and writing articles for magazines on top of trying to write novels. Two years ago, my husband and I came to a decision. We both gave up our jobs to focus on making a success of my books. He took over the marketing, I backed out of all commitments other than my own work and threw all my energy into writing.

This gave me the gift of time. Few things are more precious and the onus was on me to use it wisely. As I type, I’m about to begin my sixteenth book, a figure I can scarcely believe myself. A quick check of my shelves verifies that assertion. By the end of 2020, I will have written and published four novels in one year. The first in the series took three years to write.

What changed? A few things.

Discipline: Without it, I could happily while away my days arguing with people on Twitter and drinking gin in the garden. That’s why I get up early, walk the pug, plan strategy with my husband over breakfast, do my daily exercise, spend an hour learning languages, then go upstairs to my study and start work. Seven days a week.

Experience: The characters in my series are so familiar; it feels like my job is stage manager. I prepare the set, arrange the props, let them out of their box and watch what happens. That means I spend mornings doing research or plotting or filling in an Excel sheet of character development. Mmm, those oh-so-sexy spreadsheets.

Focus. My writing has to support two people. That scary prospect showed me what I’m capable of when not being a lazy mare faffing about on Facebook. Afternoons are for writing, nothing else. I aim for 2-3k words per day. First I re-read yesterday’s work, edit out the ‘all’s* and write the next chapter.

Well, I say write …

Dictation: Old age, as my Nan used to say, don’t come alone. Hours at the keyboard gave me RSI in my shoulder and bursitis in my elbow. Dragon Dictation has made a huge difference to my productivity. Plus I can paint my nails at the same time which makes me feel ever so Barbara Cartland. The only downside is that the pug sleeps under my desk, which is why my manuscript is peppered with at least one extraneous ‘all’ (*pug snore) per sentence.

Narrative: As an ex-actor, director and ravenous reader, the structure of storytelling is hard-wired into my system. That said, I’ve still got a lot to learn. In the evenings, after I’ve shouted at the TV news, I read or listen to an audiobook, study a masterclass or watch a film. I’m obsessed with how people tell stories.

Anne: Thank you to Jill for this fascinating insight into her writing life. I must say I admire her work ethic and commitment. And I also must say if you haven’t read any of Jill’s books, you really should – because they’re just brilliant. The Beatrice Stubbs detective series is original, entertaining and always gripping.

You can read more about Jill and about the latest book in the Beatrice Stubbs series below. And isn’t that cover gorgeous?

Note from Jill: My most recent publication is The Woman in the Frame, book 11 in The Beatrice Stubbs Series. Each novel is a stand-alone read and this particular one was a long time coming. The story has been fermenting for years but I was always nervous of fictionalising certain people’s secrets. Still, they’re all dead now.

The Woman in the Frame

Crystalline Mediterranean waters lap the rocky northern coast of Mallorca, blessing the town of Deià with blood-orange sunsets, balmy night skies and the legacy of a poet. This former artists’ colony now attracts the rich and famous, looking to party in privacy. It’s the perfect place for a honeymoon until your morning coffee is interrupted by a dead body.

Who would want to murder the muse of a world-famous artist? Why would anyone slash his artworks, but only those depicting her unearthly beauty? Suspects are in abundance and the police want a quick solution.  Enter Beatrice Stubbs, private investigator, who never rejects a job if it involves good food and fine wine.

Meanwhile, Beatrice’s old friends Adrian and Will are babysitting. Adrian doesn’t mind because he quite likes this kid. Plus the dull practicalities of parenting might act as a reality check on Will’s fatherhood fantasies. Unless, of course, it has the opposite effect.

Beatrice and her assistant Theo must sift through the secrets of a small town with a big reputation. Someone – an esoteric church leader, a wild-eyed ex-muse, the woman who forgets nothing, the artist’s agent or that covetous neighbour – knows what really happened and why. But when locals and incomers point the finger at one another, how can Beatrice distinguish between lies, truth and artistic licence?

A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

“Sun, sand, sea … and cold-blooded murder. Addictive and emotive, this book will shake all your senses.” – Gillian E. Hamer, author of The Gold Detective Series

About JJ Marsh

Jill grew up in Wales, Africa and the Middle East, where her curiosity for culture took root and triggered an urge to write. After graduating in English Literature and Theatre Studies, she worked as an actor, teacher, writer, director, editor, journalist and cultural trainer all over Europe.

Now in Switzerland, she writes crime and literary fiction to entertain readers with enthralling stories and endearing characters.

Her Beatrice Stubbs crime series topped the Amazon best sellers in “International Mystery & Crime” in Australia, Canada, the UK and the US.

You can connect with Jill online at the links below:

Website: www.jjmarshauthor.com

Twitter: @JJMarsh1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jjmarshauthor

BUY LINK:

You can buy Jill’s book HERE

A Life in a Day of a Writer: Author Jan Brigden @JanBrigden @TheRomaniacs shares a typical writing day #writing #books #reading

Today it’s the turn of contemporary romance author Jan Brigden to give us a glimpse into the sort of days that make up her life as a writer.

Her latest book is If I Ever Doubt You and you can find out more about it below.

Jan Brigden’s Writing Life in a Day

When I first started writing full time from home, I set myself various daily targets in the hope of mirroring the last office job I’d held.

Hope being the operative word.

So … At my desk by 8.30 in the morning. Write until 10.30. Half hour break to stretch my legs and catch up with emails/phone messages, etc. Resume writing until lunchtime, say 1pm. Lunch. Write from 2 until 4 with suitably-spaced leg-stretch breaks. 4-5pm catch up with social media. Finish at 5, ready to prepare dinner and enjoy the rest of the evening with husband Dave who usually comes in from work between 5 and 6pm or spend a few hours with friends/family depending on what I had planned.

It started well enough but I soon realised that I couldn’t write to order and was putting far too much pressure on myself to reach these daily self-imposed targets. I’d get frustrated if the muse didn’t strike and end up staring at a blank screen for ages trying to force the words to come. I’d then feel guilty if I hadn’t produced much and it would feel like a day wasted.

With time and experience and lots of advice and support from my fellow writers, some of whom to varying degrees had faced exactly the same thing, I totally changed my outlook and routine. Instead of sitting down regimentally each day, I’d go for a nice walk which I immediately found provided me with inspiration and clarity for whichever scene or chapter I was planning to write next. Instead of feeling sheepish that I was out walking or dancing in front of the TV in the lounge to one of my exercise DVDs, I realised this valuable time fired up my creativity and passion for my book. I also found that some days I’d fit more writing into a shorter space of time which would free me up for other pleasures such as reading other author’s books or indulging in anything mindfulness-related, be it books, audio or videos.

I no longer feel guilty if I’m not writing all day every day as taking time out benefits me. It was about trusting myself to let go and be more flexible. I’ve never been the quickest writer nor the most disciplined. It seems to come in fits and starts for me. I can become quite obsessive about it at times and leave it alone for days at other times.  I do have other personal family commitments, more so now, which I love and which aren’t an excuse, I’ve just accepted that as much as I love writing, it isn’t the most important thing in my life.  It’s one of them.

Anne: Thank you to Jan for this fascinating insight into her writing life. I must say I like the idea of trusting herself and being flexible in her approach to writing – seems like excellent advice to me.  You can read more about her and her latest book below.

Jan’s latest book 

 

 

From the back cover:

She might have scored a celebrity footballer, but the game isn’t over yet …

Rebecca Dunning should be blissfully happy – after a whirlwind weekend, she and top footballer Alex Heath are still going strong. But as the murkier side of the celebrity lifestyle reveals itself, so does the creeping doubt.

Rebecca finds herself isolated in the fake, flashy world of toxic WAG cliques and ruthless reporters, and when a mysterious online admirer follows Alex’s every move, she struggles to cope. Can she keep playing the media game for the man she loves, or will she have to admit defeat?

If I Ever Doubt You  is the stand-alone sequel to As Weekends Go

Buy link for e-book

Amazon

Buy link for audiobook

Amazon Audio

About Jan:

Jan lives in South East London with her husband and motley crew of cuddly toys. Jan’s written for pleasure from a young age; short stories for classmates, odes for workmates, fun quizzes for family and friends, progressing to the contemporary uplifting dramas she writes today.

The idea for her debut novel, As Weekends Go, sprang from a script she composed as part of a creative writing course assignment via The Writers Bureau. The novel went on to be published by award winning UK independent publishers Choc Lit after winning their Search for a Star competition.

Jan’s latest novel, If I Ever Doubt You, also published by Choc Lit, is the sequel to her debut.

An avid reader, reviewer and all round book devotee, Jan is also one eighth of online writing group The Romaniacs (www.theromaniacs.co.uk) who successfully self-published an anthology of short stories and flash fiction entitled ‘Romaniac Shorts: Fashionably Brief’.

Connect with Jan:

Twitter: @JanBrigden or @TheRomaniacs
Facebook: Jan Brigden – Writer
Blog:  https://janbrigden.wordpress.com/