At last I can tell you.
Those lovely people who organise the Yeovil Prize e-mailed me a couple of weeks ago to let me know that, not only have I got a Highly commended in the short story category with “Weedkiller” but my children’s novel – the one I cryptically refer to on here as WRRW, was also highly commended in the novel category.
As a result of this I am to be awarded with the Western Gazette award for Best Local Author.
This is the second time I’ve pulled off the double like this and received this award – last time was in 2008.
So as you can imagine there are going to be corks popping tonight.
I’ll be going along to the Booker Debate at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil on the 7th October to receive my prize, so if anyone here is going to be there then let me know and I’ll look out for you.
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
Thursday, 9 September 2010
The Fate of 'Myth Making'
There comes a time when you finally realise that your much loved novel isn’t actually as good as you originally thought. So, with a tear and a fond farewell you consign it to “The-Box-Under-The-Bed”.
A few months ago this is what happened to my previous novel – the children’s adventure story originally titled Myth Making.
Two things led me to this decision.
Firstly the fact that, despite several requests for fulls, the agents concerned all came back with similar comments in the rejections.
And secondly I was nearing completion of WRRW, making the final pass of edits, getting it ready to send out into the big bad world and start the whole process over again.
I think this is why you should always follow the advice that while your novel is out on submission you should get on with writing a better one.
There were a number of fairly fundamental flaws in Myth Making and I’ll talk about these in blog posts to come.
But one thing to remember – although a novel may have been consigned to TBUTB the ideas a characters live on. One day they will return – in a very different story and a very different form – but they will be back!
A few months ago this is what happened to my previous novel – the children’s adventure story originally titled Myth Making.
Two things led me to this decision.
Firstly the fact that, despite several requests for fulls, the agents concerned all came back with similar comments in the rejections.
And secondly I was nearing completion of WRRW, making the final pass of edits, getting it ready to send out into the big bad world and start the whole process over again.
I think this is why you should always follow the advice that while your novel is out on submission you should get on with writing a better one.
There were a number of fairly fundamental flaws in Myth Making and I’ll talk about these in blog posts to come.
But one thing to remember – although a novel may have been consigned to TBUTB the ideas a characters live on. One day they will return – in a very different story and a very different form – but they will be back!
Monday, 6 September 2010
Follow-Fest 100!
I don’t believe it – my little blog has hit the milestone of 100 followers! (105 as I post this)
In order to celebrate this I thought I’d run a Follow-Fest - I’m going to point you in the direction of some blogs that I follow which I really enjoy but have yet to reach the magic three figures.
But first a huge cheer for my 100th follower I'm not entirely sure which one it was but it was either Roxy or Catdownunder. Thank you and welcome.
And now to the blogs. Do visit them and take a look, and if you like what you see why not follow them too. Maybe we can get one of them up to a century!
That Elusive Line: This is a really interesting blog that I regularly visit.
Sarwatchadda: I found this one recently and find it intriguing. These books are next on my wish list.
Moonlight And Roses: A fairly new blog but again, packed full of interesting stuff.
The Portland Sea Dragon: A new blog for a new author who has just had her first book published. Pop over and give her a warm welcome to the world of blogging.
The House of Burning Bras: I just love this blog – the anecdotes on here are simply hilarious! Go read and enjoy.
Ebony McKenna, a published writer from the Antipodes
Cate Gardner - fellow Sci Fi writer who has also been published by Hadley Rille Books
Tales from the Computer Bank: Another fellow Sci Fi writer
Friday, 3 September 2010
Discord Published
First of all a special hello to anyone popping across from Karen G's blog party.
Today's the day that my 13th short story is published. This little piece of horror is in Issue 2 of Dark Valentine, so pop across and download...and next time you sit down at a piano...
http://darkvalentine.net/
Oh and do check out the fabulous illustrations that go with my story!
There are other things I'd really love to blog about only I can't say anything yet, but if you pop back over the next couple of weeks I'll have some news for you.
Today's the day that my 13th short story is published. This little piece of horror is in Issue 2 of Dark Valentine, so pop across and download...and next time you sit down at a piano...
http://darkvalentine.net/
Oh and do check out the fabulous illustrations that go with my story!
There are other things I'd really love to blog about only I can't say anything yet, but if you pop back over the next couple of weeks I'll have some news for you.
Sunday, 29 August 2010
One Lovely Blog Award
Thank you Nancy for giving me this blog award.
In turn I will nominate the following blogs, all of which I really enjoy reading. I could have nominated many more but I thought I'd keep it down to seven as that's a nice and lucky number.
So here you go - I award One Lovely Blog Award to:
That Elusive Line
The Elephant in the Writing Room
Moonlight and Roses
Alex J Cavenagh
Spellmaking
B Miller Fiction
To Stalk a Publisher
In turn I will nominate the following blogs, all of which I really enjoy reading. I could have nominated many more but I thought I'd keep it down to seven as that's a nice and lucky number.
So here you go - I award One Lovely Blog Award to:
That Elusive Line
The Elephant in the Writing Room
Moonlight and Roses
Alex J Cavenagh
Spellmaking
B Miller Fiction
To Stalk a Publisher
Sunday, 15 August 2010
About the Agent 1-2-1
In my last post about the Frome Festival Writers and Publishers day, I mentioned that I had attended an Agent 1-2-1. Well I promised to come back and tell you about it, so here I am.
This year the Frome Festival attracted three major London Agents who were offering 1-2-1s, as well as 1-2-1s with a creative writing tutor. Needless to say the Agent slots sold out very fast. This was simply too good an opportunity to miss – the chance to meet an agent face to face and get feedback on the viability and marketability of your work. I’ve also noticed that other, larger, writing conferences offer similar 1-2-1s, with many more agents to choose from. But as far as I was concerned the line-up at Frome was as good as any of them.
Agent 1-2-1s, when you’ve never experienced one, are a scary prospect. I was determined to get the most from my slot and so I researched what had happened at other conferences, reading blogs and feedback, and what I saw filled me with dread – Agents who hadn’t bothered to read the work the authors had sent in, or were rude and negative, and other such horror stories.
But I needn’t have worried. The Agents at Frome were nothing but professional. The one I saw put me at ease the moment I met her. And where else can you sit and chat about your book to someone who actually wants to listen!
Comparing notes with other writers who also had 1-2-1s at Frome all I can say is that all the Agents there were excellent. They gave astute and constructive feedback and all the authors came away invigorated and enthused – keen to go back and work on their manuscripts, some of us even with invitations to submit further down the line or send a full. A few years ago author Rachel Ward had her novel, the now bestselling ‘Numbers’ picked up at one of these Frome Festival 1-2-1s. Maybe one of the authors I spoke to will follow in her footsteps this year.
I read on the Frome Festival website that the agents were impressed by the quality of the work they had seen. All I can say is that the writers were impressed by the quality of the agents.
This year the Frome Festival attracted three major London Agents who were offering 1-2-1s, as well as 1-2-1s with a creative writing tutor. Needless to say the Agent slots sold out very fast. This was simply too good an opportunity to miss – the chance to meet an agent face to face and get feedback on the viability and marketability of your work. I’ve also noticed that other, larger, writing conferences offer similar 1-2-1s, with many more agents to choose from. But as far as I was concerned the line-up at Frome was as good as any of them.
Agent 1-2-1s, when you’ve never experienced one, are a scary prospect. I was determined to get the most from my slot and so I researched what had happened at other conferences, reading blogs and feedback, and what I saw filled me with dread – Agents who hadn’t bothered to read the work the authors had sent in, or were rude and negative, and other such horror stories.
But I needn’t have worried. The Agents at Frome were nothing but professional. The one I saw put me at ease the moment I met her. And where else can you sit and chat about your book to someone who actually wants to listen!
Comparing notes with other writers who also had 1-2-1s at Frome all I can say is that all the Agents there were excellent. They gave astute and constructive feedback and all the authors came away invigorated and enthused – keen to go back and work on their manuscripts, some of us even with invitations to submit further down the line or send a full. A few years ago author Rachel Ward had her novel, the now bestselling ‘Numbers’ picked up at one of these Frome Festival 1-2-1s. Maybe one of the authors I spoke to will follow in her footsteps this year.
I read on the Frome Festival website that the agents were impressed by the quality of the work they had seen. All I can say is that the writers were impressed by the quality of the agents.
Sunday, 8 August 2010
Guest: Yeovil Prize Organiser - Liz Pike
Please Welcome Liz Pike, one of the people behind the Yeovil Prize.
Hello Kate. I am Liz Pike, the administrator of both the Yeovil Community Arts Association (YCAA) and the Yeovil Literary Prize. I’m an active member of a small group of dedicated people who give their time freely to organize these two linked endeavours.
Thank you for inviting me to do a guest blog on your website. As a past winner of the Western Gazette award for the best local writer, I know you are familiar with the international writing competition The Yeovil Literary Prize.
I’ll answer your questions with the greatest of pleasure.
1. Please could you tell us a bit about the Yeovil prize.
This truly international writing competition is now in its seventh year. It attracts entries from many countries and covers all genres. It is fairly unusual in that it has a category for novels, as well as short stories and poetry.
There are significant prizes as well as the cachet for the short-listed winners being able to add a placing onto a writer’s CV. Our judges are renowned in the literary world and give valuable advice to the winners.
Next year we have Daisy Goodwin judging the poetry category; Mark Lucas, literary agent of LAW, judging the short stories, and Katharine McMahon, who wrote Rose of Sebastopol and The Crimson Rooms will be our novel judge. 2011 looks like it will be even more successful.
Our numbers of entries are building and this year were record breaking. All profits from the Yeovil Literary Prize are ploughed back into the arts by sponsoring local talent and cultural events, via the charity Yeovil Community Arts Association.
2. How do you select the judges?
The YCAA discuss who we would like to have as our judges and I then send off an invitation to a potential judge for that particular year. I am now filling the 2012 list of judges. I currently have Louis de Bearniere judging the poetry, and Sophie Hannah judging the novels. I’m on the lookout for a good short story judge. Many writers decline as it impedes their own writing. I do keep pestering away though until someone offers to do the job!
3. As one of the judging team for the short story category please could you tell us a bit about the judging process?
There are two ways of entering the Yeovil Literary Prize, the original postal entry method, and the now very successful on-line way to enter. On-line is relatively easy to complete the entry form and paste the novel, short story or poem(s), with payment by PayPal or as a separate postal payment. Postal means that the entrant completes an entry form and sends their work and payment together.
On receiving a postal entry, all details are put onto our database. At this stage a number is allocated; the entry form is taken off and the entry is given to the judging team of each category. Therefore our decisions are always based purely on the writing of an anonymous entry.
The local judging teams read all the entries and finally bring their long lists to the table. Each entry then has a fresh pair of eyes looking at it. This year the debates as to which entries would be in the final short list were fierce. From our list we then nominate eight to go to the main competition judge. That judge will choose the first, second and third winners, making the other five Highly Commended. The other eight become our Commended. To be truthful, at this stage, I consider the entries in each category as potential winners; the standard of writing is superb.
4. You must read a lot of stories, do you notice any recurring themes?
Yes, simply because some writers use the short story, as well as the novel, to cleanse their past. Sadly, abuse of some form or another is often the theme. Writing can be very therapeutic but does the reader enjoy this type of story? If abuse is the theme of a powerfully written good story then that is good, but quite often it is not.
5. What do you look for in a story?
I think we all have personal preferences for a particular genre, but I enjoy anything as long as it is well written. By that I mean it has to involve me almost immediately, then build, therefore keeping me interested. If I find I’m reading faster, that’s good, I’m hooked. A short story still needs a plot and a theme. It may be more subtle than is found in a novel, but each story needs a good foundation to enable the characters to enthral the reader. My personal tip is to make the last line good. No reader wants to be deflated after reading what felt like a good read right up to the end. A twist in the tale or a satisfying unusual dénouement is what I usually enjoy. I always read every short story entry right to the end, not only out of respect for the writer, but to have the full benefit of that last moment.
6. How much does subject matter and genre matter?
I love reading a good short story and will happily read any genre or subject matter. As I’ve already mentioned, it has to be a complete tale with a satisfying ending to make me call something ‘a really good read’. My first encounter with the short story was H.E.Bates. I found a fat, battered old book in the library and wondered about how an author could fill a book with essays, or what exactly was it, as I flicked the pages? It was full of gems. Two of those stories were made into brilliant television productions; The Darling Buds of May and Fair Stood The Wind For France. From that first encounter I have enjoyed the short story. I bought a super book of Australian short stories whilst on holiday there, so as long as it is interesting and well written, I’ll read it.
7. Has the quality of entries increased over the years?
I would have to say a definite yes. I think there are trends or fashions in writing. Last year there were many that were obviously meant to shock the reader; heavy on foul language but light on plot and character. Having said that, it made choosing the winners a pleasure because good writing will always float to the top. This year bad language and so many obscure themes appeared less often, thank goodness. We had some cracking good reads. All the local judges commented on the extremely high standard of the entries in each of the categories. The Yeovil Literary Prize is now becoming known right across the world and quite often the ‘voice’ of the country is evident, with short stories and novels being set in new environs for the reader to enjoy.
8. Have there been many Yeovil Prize success stories?
Our 2005 winner, Sophie Duffy found her agent as a result of winning the Yeovil Prize.
Locally, as a member of the Yeovil Cre8ive Writers, I’m proud to see that the writers who have entered in the past have achieved such a lot of success. Our current star of the literary world (as far as the Yeovil Cre8ive Writers are concerned) is Jackie Gingell. Two years ago Jackie gained a Highly Commended for her first novel Ee Aye Addeo (the farmer wants a wife) in the Yeovil Literary Prize. This encouraged Jackie to send it off to an Agent. The end of the story is that she was published last March and is currently the No 1 bestseller in our local Waterstone’s.
But there must be many more out there, with writers owing something to the Yeovil Literary Prize writing competition. I would love to have more feedback from our prize winners.
I hope you will continue to enter for many years to come Kate. Thank you for asking me to do this ‘blog’; it was a pleasure.
Thank you Liz. You can find out all about the Yeovil Prize HERE, and about the Yeovil Community Arts Association HERE.
Hello Kate. I am Liz Pike, the administrator of both the Yeovil Community Arts Association (YCAA) and the Yeovil Literary Prize. I’m an active member of a small group of dedicated people who give their time freely to organize these two linked endeavours.
Thank you for inviting me to do a guest blog on your website. As a past winner of the Western Gazette award for the best local writer, I know you are familiar with the international writing competition The Yeovil Literary Prize.
I’ll answer your questions with the greatest of pleasure.
1. Please could you tell us a bit about the Yeovil prize.
This truly international writing competition is now in its seventh year. It attracts entries from many countries and covers all genres. It is fairly unusual in that it has a category for novels, as well as short stories and poetry.
There are significant prizes as well as the cachet for the short-listed winners being able to add a placing onto a writer’s CV. Our judges are renowned in the literary world and give valuable advice to the winners.
Next year we have Daisy Goodwin judging the poetry category; Mark Lucas, literary agent of LAW, judging the short stories, and Katharine McMahon, who wrote Rose of Sebastopol and The Crimson Rooms will be our novel judge. 2011 looks like it will be even more successful.
Our numbers of entries are building and this year were record breaking. All profits from the Yeovil Literary Prize are ploughed back into the arts by sponsoring local talent and cultural events, via the charity Yeovil Community Arts Association.
2. How do you select the judges?
The YCAA discuss who we would like to have as our judges and I then send off an invitation to a potential judge for that particular year. I am now filling the 2012 list of judges. I currently have Louis de Bearniere judging the poetry, and Sophie Hannah judging the novels. I’m on the lookout for a good short story judge. Many writers decline as it impedes their own writing. I do keep pestering away though until someone offers to do the job!
3. As one of the judging team for the short story category please could you tell us a bit about the judging process?
There are two ways of entering the Yeovil Literary Prize, the original postal entry method, and the now very successful on-line way to enter. On-line is relatively easy to complete the entry form and paste the novel, short story or poem(s), with payment by PayPal or as a separate postal payment. Postal means that the entrant completes an entry form and sends their work and payment together.
On receiving a postal entry, all details are put onto our database. At this stage a number is allocated; the entry form is taken off and the entry is given to the judging team of each category. Therefore our decisions are always based purely on the writing of an anonymous entry.
The local judging teams read all the entries and finally bring their long lists to the table. Each entry then has a fresh pair of eyes looking at it. This year the debates as to which entries would be in the final short list were fierce. From our list we then nominate eight to go to the main competition judge. That judge will choose the first, second and third winners, making the other five Highly Commended. The other eight become our Commended. To be truthful, at this stage, I consider the entries in each category as potential winners; the standard of writing is superb.
4. You must read a lot of stories, do you notice any recurring themes?
Yes, simply because some writers use the short story, as well as the novel, to cleanse their past. Sadly, abuse of some form or another is often the theme. Writing can be very therapeutic but does the reader enjoy this type of story? If abuse is the theme of a powerfully written good story then that is good, but quite often it is not.
5. What do you look for in a story?
I think we all have personal preferences for a particular genre, but I enjoy anything as long as it is well written. By that I mean it has to involve me almost immediately, then build, therefore keeping me interested. If I find I’m reading faster, that’s good, I’m hooked. A short story still needs a plot and a theme. It may be more subtle than is found in a novel, but each story needs a good foundation to enable the characters to enthral the reader. My personal tip is to make the last line good. No reader wants to be deflated after reading what felt like a good read right up to the end. A twist in the tale or a satisfying unusual dénouement is what I usually enjoy. I always read every short story entry right to the end, not only out of respect for the writer, but to have the full benefit of that last moment.
6. How much does subject matter and genre matter?
I love reading a good short story and will happily read any genre or subject matter. As I’ve already mentioned, it has to be a complete tale with a satisfying ending to make me call something ‘a really good read’. My first encounter with the short story was H.E.Bates. I found a fat, battered old book in the library and wondered about how an author could fill a book with essays, or what exactly was it, as I flicked the pages? It was full of gems. Two of those stories were made into brilliant television productions; The Darling Buds of May and Fair Stood The Wind For France. From that first encounter I have enjoyed the short story. I bought a super book of Australian short stories whilst on holiday there, so as long as it is interesting and well written, I’ll read it.
7. Has the quality of entries increased over the years?
I would have to say a definite yes. I think there are trends or fashions in writing. Last year there were many that were obviously meant to shock the reader; heavy on foul language but light on plot and character. Having said that, it made choosing the winners a pleasure because good writing will always float to the top. This year bad language and so many obscure themes appeared less often, thank goodness. We had some cracking good reads. All the local judges commented on the extremely high standard of the entries in each of the categories. The Yeovil Literary Prize is now becoming known right across the world and quite often the ‘voice’ of the country is evident, with short stories and novels being set in new environs for the reader to enjoy.
8. Have there been many Yeovil Prize success stories?
Our 2005 winner, Sophie Duffy found her agent as a result of winning the Yeovil Prize.
Locally, as a member of the Yeovil Cre8ive Writers, I’m proud to see that the writers who have entered in the past have achieved such a lot of success. Our current star of the literary world (as far as the Yeovil Cre8ive Writers are concerned) is Jackie Gingell. Two years ago Jackie gained a Highly Commended for her first novel Ee Aye Addeo (the farmer wants a wife) in the Yeovil Literary Prize. This encouraged Jackie to send it off to an Agent. The end of the story is that she was published last March and is currently the No 1 bestseller in our local Waterstone’s.
But there must be many more out there, with writers owing something to the Yeovil Literary Prize writing competition. I would love to have more feedback from our prize winners.
I hope you will continue to enter for many years to come Kate. Thank you for asking me to do this ‘blog’; it was a pleasure.
Thank you Liz. You can find out all about the Yeovil Prize HERE, and about the Yeovil Community Arts Association HERE.
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