Author: Nat

Jul 27, 2010 by

The Ugly, Lovely Town

I’ve made it back from Swansea in one piece, despite engineering works on the line (and an adorable but bored toddler who thought I was a pirate with my trilby on!).My sister made it to graduation. Even my parents made it, though it was a close thing!

I have some gorgeous photos of Swansea bay, taken from my eyrie window (four flights of stairs, a dramatically sloped ceiling, and no curtains) and from the beach itself. I only managed to paddle in the sea once, since when the tide was out it was a mile and a half walk across the sands. Drank too much, ate too much, read 2/3 of Green Mars.

Very little internet access, so I manged to get another draft of Julia Can’t written and 2k more on Space Romance. Came back to find I have edits to do on Ruin, Pluvial and Tease (it’s out so soon!). It’s my last week in full time work, which timing-wise is a bit sideways, but it’s the summer holidays so I should have time to get plenty of days in. Mmm, staycations.

In Holidays and Courses, Writing
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Jul 26, 2010 by

Monday Motivation

Publishing: Oh good, they’re at it again. Borders and B&N have chosen not to stock a book on the basis the girl on the cover isn’t white, and therefore it won’t sell. Well, no, not if bookshops won’t stock it. The My Friend Amy blog pens an open letter to them.

It’s just sad, really. How many times will Young Adult fiction do this? It’s the book buyers turning down covers like Silver Pheonix’s original that leads to publishers putting white girls on the covers of books like Magic Under Glass and Liar, in order to sell them. To be honest, I’m kinda glad Borders UK went bust (even if they were a different company).

Interest-Piquing: Disheartening in a different way, though personally I like a good heist story (and a bad pun): ‘Tome Raider’ jailed over rare book thefts. The BBC dedicates a magazine article to it too. I’m sure I ought to be alarmed and upset at the ruinning of old books, but to be honest thefts like this intigue me. I’d love to see a movie about a book or map thief, though I’m not sure quite how well the endless hours staking out libraries and the tension of getting permits to rare book sections would translate to the big screen.

InsPiring: It’s been a bit of a week for really weird news stories. How about Elephant Chilli balls? Or maybe the latest thing in celebrity bios: bloody books? Or the fact Manchester City Council were hoisting cars to paint yellow lines underneath them, and then ticketing the cars after putting them back down? Or we could consider the tale of the Argentine jail guarded by dummies in hats?

Procrastination: Large Hadron Collider sounds, to download and enjoy. It’s the sound of science! How awesome is that?

In Monday Motivation
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Jul 22, 2010 by

Myne Whitman on Self-Publishing through Authorhouse

cover for A Heart to MenWelcome to the second interview in this series. My guest today is Myne Whitman, who published her novel A Heart to Mend through Authorhouse.

Sheltered Gladys Eborah has spent most of her life in a suburb of Enugu brought up in a deprived single parent household after losing her father as a young girl. After finishing her education, she moves to Lagos to seek a job and moves in with an estranged aunt who now wants to be forgiven for all perceived wrongs. Gladys suspects Aunt Isioma abandoned them out of disdain for their poverty, and has the uneasy role of the bridge between both families. Her new friendships and career achievements gradually transition Gladys into an independent young woman. Soon, she begins to fall for wealthy Edward Bestman who, though physically attracted to her, is emotionally unavailable. Edward is very wealthy, but he is haunted by the past of his illegitimate birth and other secrets he will not share.  The themes of premarital sex, social class mobility, and romantic ups and downs that mark a budding love are fully explored. Some unnamed people are about to take over Edward’s business empire and Gladys is implicated. Who are these people who want to betray him and destroy their happiness?

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In Interview
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Jul 19, 2010 by

Monday Motivation

Publishing: 50% of US students are expected to purchase an e-reader before the Autumn term. That’s a massive proportion, and it’s no wonder both B&N and Amazon are actively pursuing them.

Michael Morpurgo is all in favour of ebooks, which is cool.

Interest-Piquing: Novelrank. Keeps track of your Amazon rating! Such an awesome tool.

InsPiring: Russia gets in on the spaceport game.

Procrastination: Hammer Horror resurrected itself a couple of years ago, and their first few films are due out soon! They’re exhibiting at the Bram Stoker Horror Film Festival (remember, I went last year?). Well, that’s my plans for October sorted.

In Uncategorized
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