About

My goal was to get published. and COVID HAS HELPED ME

I am absolutely  delighted to report that my 2nd novel The Twins Twins was accepted for publishing! How fantastic is that. Lockdown focused my mind.

You can now order a copy from Austin Macauley Publishers London or from Amazon or a plethora of places including : New York, Australia.  Isn’t it fantastic! My hard work had paid off.

I have always written in one form or another.  As my interest has developed around ancestry and my family tree my writing has honed in on fact into fiction with a sprinkling of  social historical research.  I write series of short stories  about my ancestors in a loose sensitive  memoir way embellished  with a good imagination and events and happenings that fits  the timeline . I’m enjoying it. Its a good way of gathering family history and repackage what I find  to  create  poems and stories. My readers love it  too. They  are giving me feedback  in ever increasing numbers. My readership is growing . People like what I write. Brilliant!

I  write across several genres from  series dark  short stories like  Silent  Footsteps and the Coroners Hand Maiden to short stories that suit women’s magazines. I’m  published in several poetry anthologies, on radio and in newspapers. My problem is I’m better at the writing that the marketing.

My head is always buzzing with ideas. An idea for a third book was running in the back of my head.  It had started as a play and I decided I’d use it as a starting point for a book . Without ever intending to, it has turned into an intergenerational  story of two families linked by extraordinary circumstances. See what those characters do when they get your back turned! I have the first ten chapters penned – tell you more about it later.

I write about subjects  that nag at me until I give in.. My first completed manuscript, as yet not published, called Orphans and Strangers  – family drama  set in Co Fermanagh is about the effect of war  and religion on a family.

Any publishers out there interested in checking it out? I’d be pleased to hear from you.

Taking photographs  has become  an addition to my  writing. I love matching my own images and those of  local photographers and with their permission and posting their names and crediting them on my blog.

I write every day; in the morning and  late night. It’s quiet and there are fewer distractions.  I also write  longhand  in  a hard backed book with well spaced lines – much easier for reading back  if you’re a terrible messy hand writer like I am. (How many raps on the knuckles did I get for that at school – too many – it didn’t work)  I write stream of consciousness onto the page – spellings and grammar sorted at the word-processing stage while I’m  listening to local radio. In the course of a day I tune in to chatty presenters interacting with their listeners, serious discussions on life and current affairs, music in the afternoon – brilliant for soothing frazzled nerves and evoking emotion for the storyline.

When it comes  to  the plot and word-processing I love how the characters  have changed what they were doing since I wrote it longhand. Their choice of words  and phases  often startle me

I let them have their say. After all, it’s their story.

I frequently question my understanding of what  make a good story.  I still ask myself what genre is this? Does it straddling across two genres like drama, thriller? When I read back what I’ve written the day before I sometimes think what the hell was I thinking . Other times I  think,  hope nobody  sees this   but me.  Writing is hard work.  Changing about chapters – keeping a pace and a flow  to the  character’s stories. – the better I got to know them the more opinionated they become so, often  the writing  needs edited again redrafted – leading to cursing and crying and walking demented around the place snapping the head of my poor cocker spaniel  who lies on her mat looking at me with an expectant look in her eyes that seems to say” Things are not good. I can feel a walk coming on to clear her head.”

I’m  in  it  for the long haul. But when a thunder and lightning storm wiped the  second draft of my first novel I almost balked at the challenge needed  to revamp it again.  I think the end product was the better for the revamping. – or maybe it was the effects of the bottle of wine –  lesson sorely learned – save it oftener.

I feel one of the advantages of writing – apart from seeing something you have created take shape and literally materialize before your eyes , is doing  the research.  It has taken me places – like up to the summit of Muckish Mountain in Co Donegal –  and places I wouldn’t never have  dreamt of going. I have researched things I wouldn’t even have thought about from sick babies being baptized in hospital  to  mental illness.

This  blog  is helping  to get me a following and learning me the discipline of having to meet deadlines. If I write a six or eight part story when I have to have it ready to post on the appointed day. I can’t expect readers to read my blog if I can’t be bothered to post regularly.. In the meantime I’m having fun learning how to Facebook, Twitter,  and follow other blogger’s posts.

So, for  all those  readers and bloggers who continue to give me  support  since my first days of blogging  and who  follow me and read my stuff,  my everlasting  thanks.

And to Anthony  my computer guru, who in the beginning helped me to set up my  blog. You’re the man!

To all those friends and visitors to the blog, thank you so  much. keep liking . Keep sharing. Get your friends to give it a  like. Yeah I know, begging now!. But having   pride doesn’t get you followers, does it?

Let me know if there is a subject ( within  boundaries of good taste and social media) you’d like me to write about. I’m up for a challenge.

Cheers for now

weiteyouwriteme.com