It's oh-so quiet...

A thousand apologies for being quiet for such a long time.  But I've got a really good reason.

In the last week I have re-written, edited and completed a further five or six chapters of Soul Reunion and in the last two weeks made a total of six new submissions for my shorts (one rejection received back so far).  I am completely motivated again and it feels fantastic. 

I can see the finishing line for Soul Reunion, which is such a great feeling.  This time I am going down the agent route, having identified a glut of agents who handle paranormal romance writers, and accept queries.  I think that will be my best option to get this story out there, rather than soliciting publishers directly. And at least this time I have more selling points, both for me and the book.  I am now a published author with fifteen short stories published or accepted for publishing, and the book is numero uno of a planned series of Soul Taker novels.  So,once again, sorry for being quiet for a while but I have been busy. 

I've talked to my co-writer for project Ripper and I am over the moon that we are hoping to get back in the saddle this week so we can bring it forward and start drumming up some interest for it.

The co-written erotic-adventure novella, working title 'Found' has been completed and is waiting a final edit before we start submissions.

Oh, a heads up.  The Red Asylum, issue two is about to make an appearance.  We had a nasty shock when our host website cut the number of pages available to us and we had to reformat our design.  Its been longer than we intended between editions, but hats off to my Editor-in-Chief who's created a stunning e-zine.

Title Goes Here, issue 8: available to buy from today!

Cool news. 

Title Goes Here, issue 8, featuring 'Eating Out' by a certain Lorraine Sears is available to buy from today!

Title Goes Here

This magazine can be bought and downloaded as a PDF, or ordered in print format.  I'm ordering a few print copies for myself.

What a feeling!

I'm feeling very pleased with myself right about now.  For the first time in months I've just made use of my Duotrope account and made two new submissions. 

I've been holding out on myself for a while, letting other crap get in my way and the other day, after a lot of deep consideration I thought 'sod it!' I am going to start enjoying my writing again, properly.

As you know I've started a new novel that I've been planning for ages - Soul Reflections.  But I had a little mishap with the first two chapters when hubby unplugged my USB and corrupted the saved file.  Luckily chapter one had been posted on Writer's Beat, so I only has to re-write chapter two. 
Phew... hubby was in the doghouse for a while though, I can tell you. 

Lost treasure
While poking about in the files on the USB I noticed I have somewhere around twenty complete stories which have yet to find homes.  Some of these are obviously not going to be up to par.  But others are completed plots that simply require a re-write to improve the presentation.  To sit on a honey pot like that is pretty stupid, don't you think?  So, to keep my name circulating out there, it's time to get busy. 

Now there's no excuse not to write.  I have a novel to edit, I have a novel to write, I have shorts to edit, I have shorts to write; all there for me whenever I want.

Secrets
I can tell you I have received another acceptance lately, for a specific subs call.  But I can't say where or when just yet.  Watch this space though...

Co-projects
The co-written erotic novella is now finished, although I have yet to see the ending.  My partner is doing the first edit before it comes my way.  But when we're done we'll be submitting on both sides of the Atlantic.

Sadly the Ripper story is on hold, and I do mean sadly as writing that story is such a joy.  We've got to co-ordinate our free time and make sure we're both switched on to work.  But with work and real-life commitments and a five hour time difference it's gotten really difficult lately.  However, we've talked about it and we're not giving up on it.  We're just hanging on for calmer waters.

Mrs Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf

When a friend recommended I read Virginia Woolf I went to Amazon and looked up all her stories.  Mrs Dalloway stood out for two reasons:
1) The beautiful cover art (Wordsworth Classics)
2) The story was about a party. 

Perhaps it was a little naive to choose my reading project on such shallow foundations.  But knowing nothing of her work prior to selection I had to start somewhere.

I can, without doubt, say that for its 130+ pages, Mrs Dalloway has taken me over four weeks to read!  Granted I only read it on my journeys to and from work, but even so this book was tough going.

The story itself tells of the interweaving experiences of a glut of London socialites on the day that Clarissa Dalloway will be throwing one of her infamous parties.  The story is told as we move from character to character and each of them shares their thoughts on what’s going on around them and what they think of the others.

So why did this book take me so long to read?  Well, for one, the language is traditionally English and of the era the book is written (post WWII).  Although I myself am English I neither talk, nor, as an author, write in such a formal manner.

Also, the character’s inner monologues move so quickly from thought to action and back again that I would often get lost on the page and have to retrace my steps.  And paragraphs are crammed together and I often missed the subtly when the plot jumped from one character to another.

One thing that did amaze me (and made me chuckle) was that if Ms Woolf was a modern day writer, submitting her work to a forum—oh, let’s say Writer’s Beat—for critique, she would get it torn apart for her never ending sentences and her overly generous use of punctuation.  In particular, the semi-colon, which she litters in generous multiples throughout single sentences.  I could even go so far as to say that reading this book has only served to confuse me over what is the correct use of semi-colons, especially since Ms Woolf is considered a ‘classic author’.

For all the thoughts I’ve shared so far you may well think I didn’t enjoy the read… Well, yes it was a slog to get through, but there are moments of genius in the way she tells the story.  And her subtle observations of the human condition and the juxtaposition of cultures and beliefs within society can still be applied today.  Social status, after all, is still what matters to those who sit in their ivory towers.

My book also contained a considerable study of the story, exploring who and what inspired the tale.  And I was intrigued to read that James Joyce’s Ulysses played a large part in that.  Regular readers of my blog will know that I had a similar experience to Mrs Dalloway, when I recently read The Dubliners, by Joyce.  Perhaps there is more similarity between these two authors than one would expect…

So, in conclusion, will I read more of Virginia Woolf’s work…?  Maybe in the future, if the urge takes me.  But right now my ‘to read’ shelf is under pressure of collapse and I need to concentrate and whittling it down a bit and experiencing some different authors.

A new Soul Taker novel is finally underway...

I promised myself I wouldn't start the next novel in my Soul Taker series until I had completely re-edited Soul Reunion... I've just broken that promise.

I mean, who says I can't start a new story before I've properly finished the previous one.  Do you know that JK Rowling completed the final scene in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (book 7) before she had finished writing Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix (book 5)?  Well, if she can do it...

These are my stories so I can make the rules... unless of course a publisher happens to decide they want Soul Reunion... then it'll be a case of "anything you want".

I am loving getting back into the world of my sexy angelic Soul Takers, loving exploring new characters and loving just being so damned enthusiastic about my writing again.  I've been trying to get back to this feeling for a long time and now I realise all the while it's been me that's been stood in my way!

If you're a Writer's Beat member and want to check out the first chapter of Soul Reflections, I'd really appreciate some feedback.  You can find it in the 'Members Only Forum'.