I saw a draft copy of the ‘Malice’ jacket and it looks great!  Readers, you’re going to love it — and the story too, I hope.

Another busy week shaping up next week too, so I’d better get organised for that.  With two books coming out within a month or two of each other, Malice and Death by Beauty (Adult fiction)  I think this year is shaping up to be quite an interesting time for this writer.

I’ll be soon attaching a detailed report on the writing of C365 on this website so that all the good folks who email me or ask me ‘where did the ideas come from?’ can discover all this — and more.

Till next time — keep reading

I saw the cover for my new adult thriller, “Death By Beauty” and I just loved it!   Dark, edgy, grimy and crimey.  It comes out in September.  I’m looking forward to that.

Made a very nice house for Pushkin the cat by placing a large cardboard carton over her heated cat bed, with a graceful Norman arch doorway and a battered old pillow which Pushkin loves ‘making bread’ on, as extra flooring.  The large box keeps in  the warmth from the heated base and also provides a dark, private space that Pushkin loves.    Before putting it over her bed, we left it lying around for a day or two for her to get used to — cats are very suspicious of anything new in their environment until they’ve checked out that it’s not dangerous — very like humans, actually — and then placed it in position.  She took one look at it,then another, then walked in.  She only  leaves it for her toilette, her constitutional in the garden, and the occasional moth hunt.

I hear from the producer of the TV series that the last Ep, “December’ is going to be astonishing.  Can’t wait.  Now, back to story-lining…

Firstly, having a great idea is about one per cent of the writing work, okay?  The other 99 per cent is the planning of the outline and getting to know your story and what it’s all about.  The great idea is something like ‘Hey!  I’m going to build a house!’  Excellent idea (especially in today’s real estate market) But that’s not going to get you a house.  You need to go to a library like a man I know, and pull out some books about ‘How to build your house.’    You should start learning how it’s done.  I found screenwriting books very helpful about how to set up your story. And there are heaps of books about creative writing and lots of classes and workshops available.  So over a period of many months, you start to organise what your house or book is going to look like.  It’s not until you have the full picture that you can start building or writing.  This can take months or even years for some writers.

I do this by writing down ideas and then seeing if I’ve got the Big Idea that will take the story from A to Z with a climactic payoff.  Once I’ve worked out this Big Idea (this is like the support structures of the house, the foundations, footings etc) I then have to work out how on earth I’m going to get there.  Then I have to work out who’s going to live in it — the house/book.  Is it a large family or is it just one or two or three people?  These are the characters of your book.  Who are they?  What do they want?  How do they fit into the story?  This takes a while.  But finally, I’m ready to start writing/building because I’ve got my architectural plans and I know how the house or the story is going to look when it’s done.

Dramatic writing is about overcoming obstacles — the characters need to get somewhere or need to get something, but there are lots of obstacles in their way.  What are the obstacles?  How do they get over/around them?

Writing a book is not for the faint-hearted — it is a journey in itself and it can only use what you — the writer — know about.  So get cracking and start researching, guys.  Good luck!  And have a marvellous week.

Tidying up in the garden as well as putting the finishing touches to ‘Malice’ and now going through the printed up pages of Death By Beauty have kept me busy and contented. When I first drafted this novel out, the plot was somewhat outrageous, but over the last couple of years, the world has caught up with me and it doesn’t seem that way anymore.  With two books coming out within a month of each other in September October, I think I”m going to be fairly busy towards the end of the year.

I’m looking forward to spending some time with my daughter and grandgirls towards the end of the week — I hope the weather is kind to us but the forecast looks a bit rainy.  Off to a precinct meeting tonight to see what can be done about a very insensitive development across the road.  Happy reading.

A few readers from the UK have wanted to know when they can get “Revenge’ — I’m not quite sure — but you could check with publishers Hodder in London — the ones who published the series – their address will be inside the front cover of the books somewhere. Or email them.

Just about to send my corrected, edited version of “Malice’ back to Scholastic’s brilliant editors and then they’ll be getting to work with their designers to make a really enticing, teasing cover so that people feel when they look at it ‘I just have to buy that book and read it!’

Well, that’s the plan, guys.

Apart from that, I’ve done a couple of journalistic jobs and I”m continuing to make notes for the exciting new secret project.  The moment I get clearance, I”ll tell you all about it — I can’t wait to break the news!

I had a goldfish fatality — not sure why — just found one little chap floating dead on top of the pond.  The other seven are whooshing around very happily.  I buried him in the garden and he will break down into nitrogen and do good after his death.

Until next week, keep reading and those who are writing, good luck with the competitions they’re going in!

Then about an hour ago, the proof pages of Death by Beauty (latest Gemma Lincoln novel) arrived by courier for me to take a final look at It’s been a long time coming this one, but I think it will prove to be worth the wait.  Gemma is drawn into an investigation involving a vampire — who attacks beautiful women and then comes back for a final, deadly attack– we know there’s no such thing as vampires, although the surviving girl swears blind that that’s what happened — so what’s really going on?  The vampire attacks lead into something far far worse….

Readers often ask how do I spend my writing day?  I rise early, have a meditative hour or so with cups of tea watching the sun rise out of the sea, do a page of Hebrew — learning Hebrew is a wonderful mind-strengthener — when I first started, my brain turned upside down for a while and I felt like a four year old again, trying to learn to read. Hebrew starts at the other side of the page and there is not one familiar letter form.  It is very satisfying to begin to read a little faster — like a five year old now!   Then I breakfast with my partner, feed the cat, have a shower and settle down to work (after dawdling in the garden, enjoying the beauty)   I rarely work at the desk these days.

I answered half a dozen fan letters from the USA and it’s good to know that the American readers are also enjoying the series.

I did a short video for the Shearers’ Bookshop blog, answering questions sent in by readers and that was fun.  This week, I”ll be Malicing and also writing down ideas and playing with the story arc for the exciting new project which I just know readers are going to LOVE!!

I now have eight fish in my pond and they’re growing rapidly.  I hope Pushkin the Non-Wonder cat doesn’t get a taste for sushi.  Chat soon and don’t forget to leave your thoughts and comments here.

I believe it’s a great and thrilling story and the editors will see to it that it is even better by the time it reaches you, the readers.  I’ll be rewriting parts of it, cutting others, so that it races along at a heart-thumping pace!  Winter, Boges, Ryan, Cal, Repro and a new character confront deep malice, old and new.

Now I’ll be tidying the desk and doing some gardening. checking on my new eight goldfish in the pond, waiting for my roses to explode in their Autumn flush and being kind to my partner and the cat.  Then, after a break from writing, I”ll be turning my attention to a very exciting new project — I’ll keep you all posted about this.  Something new and different for a character you’ve all come to love….

Till next week, happy reading and writing.