Category: Reading and Books

My writing, Reading and Books, The Battle of Watling Street, Writing

Successful Historical Fiction – Interview with M.K.Tod

Margaret McGoverne

“The themes and tropes that interest, inspire or worry us are timeless”

At her historical fiction blog, A Writer of History, author and blogger M.K.Tod (Mary) recently posed a series of questions to readers, and bloggers on the subject of what constitutes successful historical fiction.

The questions posed by Mary were:

  • What’s your definition of successful historical fiction?
  • What attributes are most important to you when designating a novel ‘successful historical fiction’.
  • Which authors do you think create the most successful historical fiction? (please restrict yourself to a small number of authors!)
  • What makes these particular authors stand out?
  • In your opinion, what aspects prevent a novel from being designated successful historical fiction?
  • Are famous people essential to successful historical fiction?
  • Does successful historical fiction have to say something relevant to today’s conditions?
  • What role does research play in successful historical fiction?
  • In your opinion, how are these elements critical to successful historical fiction? Characters. Setting. Plot. Conflict. Dialogue. World building. Themes.
  • Do you judge historical fiction differently from contemporary fiction?

I took up the challenge, and you can read my interview here.

If historical fiction is your thing, it’s fascinating to read the other responses to Mary’s questions, from a range of historical fiction authors. Such a seemingly simple question as “How do you define historical fiction?” is so difficult to pin down; my answer boils down to, “it depends!”

Mary has promised to pull together some insights from her series of interviews, which I look forward to reading and will post a link to here.

My writing, Reading and Books, The Bondage of The Soil, Writing

Photo Inspiration for “The Bondage of The Soil”

Margaret McGoverne

“Progress is not an illusion; it happens, but it is slow and invariably disappointing.” – George Orwell

(All photos © Margaret McGoverne 2017)

So, dear reader, I’ve published my very first work of fiction  and the truth of the Orwell quote above has hit me hard. Writing the story is only the first step; I’m busy with guest posts, building up reviews, and wooing local newspapers to bestow a couple of columns on my book.

thincovertbows5It’s a bit like having children; having brought my first book baby into the world, I now have to contend with gestating and giving birth to another one while the firstborn is still a very demanding toddler!

On the plus side, I have renewed vigour for my current work in progress; I suspect this is because, after endless rereads and edits and Kindle uploads and proofing, I’m thoroughly sick of The Battle of Watling Street!

The Bondage of The Soil is the modern-day Sci-Fi sequel to The Battle of Watling Street (which was set in 1st century AD Roman Britain) , although it was the first in terms of the idea coming to me. The inspiration was a lonely detour on my way home from  work, excavations for a new motorway junction, a steep hill, lots of local Roman and Celtic history and a very old, lonely church. So as a taster, here’s some pictures and the Google street view from the road (I couldn’t get a shot of the creepy pollarded trees that edge the church as there’s nowhere to park on the country lane.)

I hope to finish the first draft by the autumn; I’m excited by this one, it’s my first full length novel, and I feel I learned lots from The Battle of Watling Street, even though it’s a less than 20K words novella.

(If you’d like to read the first two chapters of The Battle of Watling Street for free, you can subscribe to email updates, or I’d be happy to arrange a free PDF copy for a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads)

My writing, Publishing and Self Publishing, Reading and Books, The Battle of Watling Street, Writing Tools

Lessons In Kindle – Twelve Things I Learned When Publishing My Book on Amazon

Margaret McGoverne
capture
My first published novella, on Kindle

I recently published my first work of fiction, an Alternate history/Sci-Fi novella, The Battle of Watling Street, using Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).

This may turn into a short series of posts, but for now I want to limit the discussion to the technical/formatting challenges and benefits I discovered with KDP. Hopefully this will help someone, somewhere with their own self-publishing journey!

The advice in this post could be summarised by the 5 Ps of preparation: proper planning prevents poor performance. Here are 12 specific ways in which you can prepare, and make the process as painless and productive as possible.

  • 1.There are KDP resources and guides to help with uploads, formatting requirements etc – do read these before you start. There are some important things to note about which format to upload your book, as each type has its own requirements and limitations. For example…
  • 2. If you are uploading to Kindle (eBook as opposed to print version), you will need to set up styles in your document for chapter/section headers, and also to create and format a table of contents that will work in your Kindle book. Be warned, if like me you had to juggle between two different word processors to get all the required formatting (I have Word Starter and Kingsoft WPS Writer at present), things can change between formats, especially font type and size. I encountered an issue where some paragraphs changed font and size, and I had to manually change them all back. Check your uploaded file carefully for any font discrepancies!
  •  3. Page Numbers – for Kindle eBook uploads, which are ideally uploaded in a Doc. or HTML (filtered) format, you need to remove page numbers from your book, and from the table of contents, as Kindle will format your pages differently. Don’t do what I did initially, which was to then save that file as a PDF for my printed book upload. The first few copies of my paperback were sold without page numbers, much to my embarrassment.
  • 4. Page breaks: If you are uploading a Filtered HTML document, you need to insert an extra page break at the end of each chapter or section, to prevent the pages running on together in the Kindle version.I did this while the file was still in DOC format as it’s easier to confirm it has created the breaks.
  • 5. Zipped Files: for your Kindle format, if you have any images in your document, you need to create a zipped file that contains both the document and any images. When you save a Word document as filtered HTML, it should create a folder; drop your images in here. If not you can manually zip your files together. If you don’t do this, images will be missing from your eBook.
  • 6. KDP offers a paperback print option for your book but you have to format your document (I used PDF) to fit one of the default paper sizes, usually 6 x 9 inches. My Word document was 8 x 11 but it’s quite easy to change; go to Page Layout/Size and select from there. (NB, sizes on Word are displayed in cm. There is also a custom size option at the bottom of the page, which is what I used.)
  • 7. Viewing and approving your document: as part of the upload process, you are prompted to review your uploaded document and cover image, and approve them for publication. The online reviewer is long and a bit cumbersome and requires a screen with minimum resolution of 600 x 1200 (I had to move from my laptop to my desktop to see the “Approve” button) but it’s essential to getting the formatting right. You are looking to check that there are no errors (red crosses) as these will prevent you approving the document. You can approve a document if the errors are only warnings (yellow triangles). Check that page breaks etc are in the right place, images have come through correctly, table of contents and tables/tabbed paragraphs display correctly.You may also be prompted to check that page numbers are within margins, and that your cover image is of high enough resolution.
  • 8. Your Blurb: you’ve been messing about with document formats, zip files and cover images, but have you prepared your book blurb? Your blurb is the (semi) short description of your book, and it’s your chance to shine: don’t write it on the fly, have it ready. I searched Amazon for the top 10 books in the categories I was planning to list my book in (Historical fiction/Sci-Fi/Mysteries) and I looked at what caught my eye and made me want to read a book. I came up  with a short paragraph that summarised the premise, but also a few short and choppy sentences, each headed by a teasing title. I also did a quick author bio, for readers who didn’t click through to my author page. Here’s what my blurb looks like:
    blurb
  • 9. The waiting game: when you’ve finally approved and uploaded your files, set your royalty rates and done everything else needful, be prepared for a wait. Your KDP Bookshelf will show you progress, from “Live – In review”, through to “Live”. This can take a while; the paperback version took about 4 hours for me, the eBook was the better part of 8 hours initially. Edits and updates are a little quicker once your files have been initially uploaded.
  • 10. Once your books are published, you should head on over to the Amazon Author Page (here’s my UK author page) and fill it full of interesting information about the newly published author. But be aware, this Amazon Author page isn’t universal; you will have to create a separate one for the UK, US, India, Australia etc. So far I’ve set the UK and US pages up as I think these will be my primary markets, although I will complete duplicate pages for commonwealth countries. The US page in particular has some additional nice features such as a unique author URL; do use these!
  • 11. Giveaways and promotions: if you want to feature your newly published book in a free or reduced price giveaway, you will have to enrol in Amazon’s KDP Select programme; this isn’t currently an option on KDP. I haven’t yet enrolled in KDP Select as I need to read up on the pros and cons; while your book is featured in KDP Select, it must be published exclusively with Amazon, although it can be marketed elsewhere in print format.
  • 12. Your book on other platforms: so you’ve uploaded your book, it’s live on Amazon, and you have a nifty new author page (or two). Now you’re keen to head on over to Goodreads, Bookbub etc and set your author page up, offer your book as a giveaway etc. Be warned, it takes a few days (a week for me) for your book to show up on their search pages after being uploaded to Amazon, so be patient.

I hope these pointers help you in your self-publishing journey; if you have any more or have had a different experience with Kindle DP, please let me know in the comments!

My writing, Publishing and Self Publishing, Reading and Books, The Battle of Watling Street, Writing

The Battle of Watling Street is Published!

Margaret McGoverne

I am a published author of a historical/science fiction novella!

Yesterday was D-Day. After feverish last minute formatting and some tiny revisions (how can I still find things to tweak after dozens of self-edits, software edits, beta readings and more edits?), I took the plunge and submitted my book to Kindle.

I’ve entered Amazon’s Storyteller 2017 competition, so I also had to make the book available in print, which added a whole additional learning curve and some drama – chez McGoverne was tense! In fact, the uploading process was pretty simple and well explained; preparation is key.

A couple of tweaks later (I forgot the keyword for the competition, I didn’t zip file the Kindle edition so an image was missing and I had to reupload both versions, which took ALL day), and both book formats were live on Amazon! A quick Author update later and I am an Amazon author – yay!!!

Margaret McGoverne Amazon UK Author Page

I am really pleased with the covers, especially the paperback version, which was easier to create than I thought, thanks to the proofing and formatting tool on Kindle DP. I’ve linked the images below back to the books on Amazon if you’re interested!

paperbackcovers

thincovertbows5

It was such a rush to see the back cover of the paperback version, complete with barcode and ISBN (free from Amazon).

As you can see, the paperback version already has the free Amazon “Look inside” previewer; the Kindle version should be up and running within a week.

And look! Look how prettily it renders on a Kindle! Oh, the formatting that went into this, the sneaky Word/HTML reformatting that I had to manually adjust, the mucking about with paragraphs, styles, and headings!

capture

I am so thrilled to see all the hard work translated into a thing, a book, that looks professional, has a working Table of Contents, has an engaging cover (I think), and is all my own work!

I let my personal Facebook friends, family and colleagues know, and have tweeted a link to the book, and the response has been great; purchases have happened, in both formats! Now I need some reviews; my mind already turns to promoting this book, and I’m looking at services such as Bookbub and The Fussy Librarian, but both require at least 10 4 star Amazon reviews. I’m not sure if Bookbub accepts novellas, and they are notoriously choosy!

I’m also promoting with local news outlets, Twitter interest groups etc.

I haven’t registered for KDP Select yet so I’m not sure if I can do a free promotion; these are things I need to research ASAP!

It’s been a tiring, an emotional and ultimately a hugely rewarding journey, with lots of learning curves. The work isn’t over for The Battle of Watling Street; I want to make it visible to as many people as possible, but I also have to crack on with the sequel, and the other novel I’m working on; no laurel lounging allowed!

My last note on here is a request/plea: I’d like to guest blog on your blog! I’d be happy to blog about the book, the writing process, the subject matter or the process of publishing with Kindle DP. I’d also love to do interviews, and have already compiled some great questions I’d love to ask my fellow authors in return!

So if you would like to include a guest blog from me or interview me, please do get in touch, and thanks to everyone, to all my dear constant readers and commenters, for your support!

And The Buntings Flew, My writing, Reading and Books, The Bondage of The Soil, Writing

A Hiatus and HPL…

Margaret McGoverne
HP Lovecraft, 1934
Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1934

I’ve had a tumultuous couple of months, and my writing has suffered; in fact my output nose-dived to zero. I keenly feel the truth of the (probably apocryphal) Chinese curse of living through interesting times. You may note, dear reader, the lack of any posts on here since July, but my hiatus is hopefully over, and I’m able to concentrate once more on the only thing that really matters.

In the meantime I’ve kept my hand in by reading and catching up on some recommended podcast listening; I’m currently working my way through the excellent HP Podcraft.com podcast, a literary treasure trove of all things HPL, as well as some excellent readings of Lovecraft tales. And now we’re in October, what better time to read of witch-haunted Arkham and the evil cults that worshipped and called back to earth the Old Ones?

Talking of Halloween, John Xero’s 101fiction.com is open for submissions of 101 word micro fiction; the theme is “Hallowe’en or unlucky thirteen or just something dark and chilling”  – head over there if drabbles are your thing, and keep your fingers crossed for me, I’ve just submitted an HPL-inspired tale!

Although I haven’t completed any serious writing for several months, I have written down a couple of short story ideas, and the plots for Buntings and Bondage have been simmering at the back of my head, so I hope to make quite a bit of progress on both drafts before year-end.

Last but not least on this brief round-up, I haven’t neglected my editorial duties at strippedlit500 – if you haven’t already read them , please take a look at the excellent short fiction I’m proud to present in Issue 2.

Happy writing!

Vegetable Roll, courtesy of McCartneys of Moira
And The Buntings Flew, Food, Reading and Books, Writing

8 Foods of Ulster featured in “And The Buntings Flew”

Margaret McGoverne

I recently read a great article in the Guardian Food in Books series by blogger Kate at The Little Library Cafe; – you can read the latest article here.

Kate writes about the food that features in some of her favourite books, and she often recreates recipes for foods as described in such classics as To Kill A Mockingbird, The Fellowship of The Ring, and Vanity Fair.

I love this idea, and it got me thinking about the food that’s featured in the novel I am  writing, And The Buntings Flew, which is set in 1970s Belfast.The food of Northern Ireland was and still is very traditional, and may seem limited (not much pasta or rice was in evidence, and salads were sorry affairs), but Irish meat, dairy produce and vegetables are of world class quality, and food was often bought fresh from the butchers and grocers, when shopping was a little-and-often affair before the widescale introduction of supermarkets.

Below I’ve listed eight of the Northern Irish food and drinks you can read about in And The Buntings Flew, and if you find yourself in Ulster, please do try as many as you can!

Tea (Lots Of It!)

I may have mentioned this before on here: the Irish are some of the most prolific tea drinkers in the world! Wikipedia lists the Republic of Ireland at number 3, and the UK at number 5 of the highest consumers of tea per capita

Both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland have their own popular tea brands, one of which is Thompson’s “Punjana”. In the 1970s, the period in Which And The Buntings Flew is set, loose leaf tea was the norm; I still think it’s more flavourful, although spitting out errant tea leaves is one of its drawbacks. One of my memories of my late father is of his never being more than a few feet from either a mug, cup, teapot, flask or bottle of strong white tea.

Punjana teapot, courtesy of punjana.com
Punjana loose leaf teapot, courtesy of Punjana.com

Ulster Fry

The BBC asked if the Ulster Fry was the best-cooked breakfast in the UK, and the answer to that is surely a resounding yes! What’s so special about a wee fry you ask? For me it’s the addition of the Potato and Soda breads, adding a range of glorious flavours and textures that toast simply can’t match. Vegetable roll is also a winning addition to the cooked breakfast, as are the wonderful Irish sausages, which usually have a higher meat content than their mainland counterparts; put them all together and you have a taste extravaganza and a meal that sets you up for the rest of the day!

Ulster Fry by The Hairy Bikers, courtesy of the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zgk7mp3
Ulster Fry by The Hairy Bikers, courtesy of the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zgk7mp3

Champ

A cheap, simple but wonderful dish celebrating the potato and made even better with flavourful Irish butter; potatoes mashed with butter and milk, with the addition of chopped spring onions, or scallions as they’re known in Northern Ireland. The scallions give the mash a real tangy kick.

Scallion and brown onion champ, courtesy of Voodoo and Sauce.com
Scallion & brown onion champ, courtesy of Voodoo and Sauce.com

 

Dulse

Dulse (Palmaria Palmata) is a strongly flavoured, salty seaweed that grows on the northern coasts of the Atlantic, including Northern Ireland. Dulse is harvested at low tide by hand during the summertime and then dried.Dulse can be found for sale in little plastic bags at markets, fairs and bars; we always bought a few bags on day trips to Ballycastle, where it is also sold at the Ould Lammas Fair in August. It is something of an acquired taste!

By Cwmhiraeth - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16824956
Dulse, by Cwmhiraeth Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16824956

Potato Bread/Farl

Another potato dish, this reminds me of Sunday evening teatimes and was often in evidence if there wasn’t much in for dinner. The main ingredient is leftover mashed potatoes mixed with plain flour, a pinch of salt and a knob of butter or a drop of buttermilk if available. Potato bread is dry fried in a pan or griddle, is quick and easy to make and is absolutely delicious. A true Ulster Fry must include both Potato bread and soda bread, at least in my family!

Soda Bread

Soda bread was created in the 19th century when locals used baking soda and buttermilk for raising agents as a substitute for yeast. Soda bread is divinely soft and fluffy, and is served either fried or sliced with butter (my preference) on its own or as part of an Ulster Fry.

Irish Soda bread, courtesy of blissfuldomesticity.com
Irish Soda bread, courtesy of blissfuldomesticity.com

Yellowman

I have happy memories of munching bagfuls of crunchy bright Yellowman on days out to the seaside, but I haven’t seen it outside Northern Ireland; it is similar in texture to the bags of honeycomb you can still buy at fairs and markets, but chewier, with a hard, rock-like “rind”.

By Wild quinine - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yellowman_honeycomb_comparison.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36019713
Yellowman, by Wild quinine – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yellowman_honeycomb_comparison.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36019713

 

Vegetable Roll

The name “vegetable roll” is a total misnomer for this sausage-like roll of fatty meat (often beef brisket and rib trimmings) seasoned with onion, carrot and celery. Vegetable roll can be served in an Ulster Fry or on its own with potatoes or champ, or with mashed carrot and swede. My wonderful late aunt always brought home a batch whenever she returned to East Belfast.

Vegetable Roll, courtesy of McCartneys of Moira
Vegetable Roll, courtesy of McCartneys of Moira

I’d love to hear from you if you’ve tried any or all of the above Northern Irish food favourites, or if you feature any of them in your writing?

Margaret

(With grateful thanks to the following websites and blogs)

Discover Northern Ireland
The Little Library Cafe
McCartney’s of Moira
Voodoo and Sauce
Punjana Tea, Thompson’s Family Teas
Blissful Domesticity

Cesare Maccari [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Reading and Books

Robert Harris Goodreads Q&A January ’16

Margaret McGoverne

One of my favorite authors, Robert Harris is doing a Goodreads “Ask the Author” Q&A mid January and I’ve just posted a question about his latest novel “Dictator”; fingers crossed that he answers!

My question is about the historical character, Roman lawyer, politician, orator and consul Marcus Tullius Cicero, who is the central character in Harris’s latest trilogy, although he is surrounded (and intrigued) by historical heavyweights such as Julius Caesar, Augustus, Mark Antony and Pompey the Great.

Would an enormously clever and talented, but relatively humble orator like Cicero rise to the top echelons of government today?

Cicero was a very talented, largely self-made man in a key period of history  that was dominated for the most part by men with an aristocratic or very wealthy background. My question to Robert Harris was, does he think that there is, or could be a public figure like Cicero today, and if so, is there someone he would identify as being that person?

One of the main themes for me in reading Robert Harris’s historical first century BC novels is that politics is timeless, as are the scheming, betrayals, uneasy alliances and real-politik that dominates it today. Would an enormously clever and talented, but relatively humble orator like Cicero rise to the top echelons of government today, or as in the time of the Roman republic, would that require huge financial backing? Has much changed? The 20th century featured one or two very ambitious orators who had humble beginnings, and that didn’t work out so well for humanity.

If I do receive an answer I’ll post it here, and if this type of historical/political fiction is your thing, please do check out Robert Harris’s novels if you haven’t already.

Margaret

Detail from the author's bookcase
And The Buntings Flew, Reading and Books

What I Read in 2015 and My 2016 Reading Challenge

Margaret McGoverne

Firstly, I’d like to belatedly wish my readers and fellow bloggers a very happy, healthy, successful and productive New Year!

I read a great post today by Donna at a little bird tweets about reading lists for this year and last; I decided that I need a similar challenge for 2016, so here’s my list of what I did and didn’t read in 2015, and what I want to read in 2016. For me it seems very much to be filling in the gaps in books I know I should read; my list lacks newer works, so please feel free to suggest any you think I might enjoy!

As my last post details, 2015 was the year I started to write-up the draft for my first novel, and was also the year I set up this blog; perhaps for these reasons I didn’t read as much as I would have liked. Tellingly, I also had a series of events occur in 2015 that robbed me of all but one week’s holiday, and holiday binge reading is a big catch up time for my reading, so all in all, not a vintage reading year.
What I read in 2015 (that I hadn’t already read; a lot of my reading is re-reads; is this a good thing?) can be broken down into two sub categories:

  • Books I read (semi) annually
  • First time reads

Books I Read Annually

As I noted above, 2015 hasn’t been a stellar reading year for me so I have skipped one or two; on the whole however this is my go-to list for books I have to rediscover and consume on an annual-ish basis:

  • Lord of The Rings/The Hobbit: J.R.R. Tolkien
  • A selection of historical “whodunnits” from Agatha Christie/Ellis Peters the Cadfael series)
  • One or two Dickens novels from the following list:
    Great Expectations/Little Dorrit/The Old Curiosity Shop/Bleak House/Barnaby Rudge/The Pickwick Papers
  • One of the Brontë sisters’ novels; I usually alternate between Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre
  • The Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake; I tend to miss the last book of the trilogy, but unusually this year I just read Titus Alone and enjoyed rediscovering the story after a hiatus of several years
  • The “Emperor” series of novels by Allan Massie: Caligula, Tiberius, Augustus and Caesar
  • The collected works of H.P. Lovecraft – all of it!
  • Something by Stephen King, usually while I’m on holiday – this year I’ve been preoccupied by ideas for a novel set in prison, so it was The Green Mile and Different Seasons (four novellas, one of which is Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption).

These are all fantastic reads, and I have tried to wean myself off them, but they are a habit now! But I’m resolved to read a lot more books that are new to me in 2016 so I’ll have to temper my craving for repeats. Is this something fellow readers can identify with or am I unusual in having so many books on repeat-read?

Books I First Read in 2015

  • Dictator, the third book in the Cicero trilogy of novels by Robert Harris – I was eagerly awaiting this book for nearly five years, after reading Lustrum and Imperium in 2010. I love historical novels, I have a lifelong fascination with the Roman empire at the time of the Caesars (I read I, Claudius as a teenager and was enraptured), so I’m possibly biased, but this trilogy is a fantastic read;not only does it wonderfully evoke the sights, sounds and smells (especially smells!) of 1st century BC Rome, the real life character of Cicero is drawn with a touchingly believable, all-too-human vividness.If you haven’t read any books by Robert Harris yet, I urge you to try him; his 20th century dystopian offerings Fatherland and Archangel are both bleakly compelling.
  • The Trial by Franz Kafka –  I love the original German title  – Der Process – it seems to sum up the subtle horror of the long-winded, nightmarish bureaucratic trap awaiting the protagonist, Josef K. I found reading this book almost ridiculous at points, dreamlike and horrifying at others; unsurprising as The Trial is a Dystopian/Absurdist classic. Kafka offers several books in these genres to unsettle you; if you haven’t read them already, you’re in for an unsettling treat.
  • I picked up a leaflet at London Bridge underground station last summer; as part of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the birth of W.B. Yeats, Transport for London featured poems by Irish artists; I discovered a translation of Antoine Ó Raifteirí’s I Am Raferty the Poet,  by one of Yeats’s closest friends and allies, Lady Augusta Gregory, along with some Louis MacNeice poems I hadn’t come across. This inspired me to buy and read Poems on the Underground; for years the poems on the underground have given me pleasure, and something beautiful to look at while assiduously avoiding my fellow commuter’s gazes; I had often tried to memorise a particular poem, and usually failed. This is a beautiful collection to dip into, and has led me to many new favourite poets.
  • The Elements of Style by Strunk & White is a book I’d meant to read for years, which I finally got round to buying last year.I felt that reading this book was a necessary prerequisite to starting my first draft. It’s a short book, just over 100 pages, but it manges to cram in a wealth of writing rules and guidelines that crisply and lucidly insist upon themselves. I now use the guidance from this book in all my writing and it’s corrected me on some errors of style I was persistently, if unknowingly guilty of! I will never again sign off an email with “Thank you in advance” -I was suitably chided! It’s a little bit stuffy, prissy almost, but it very clearly lays out some golden rules that every writer needs to be aware of, even if they break them.
  • The Great God Pan & The Three Imposters – These two novellas have long been on my “to read” list, as their author, Arthur Machen, comes recommended not only by Stephen King but also by the “dark baroque prince of 20th century horror” himself, H.P. Lovecraft. So I bought a couple of Machen’s books on Kindle for a week’s holiday reading in August: although some of the prose is a little dated, there is something truly uncanny about Machen’s tales, that left me with a creeping feeling of mounting weirdness and horror. And this is praise! I will definitely be reading more of Machen’s works this year.

My 2016 Reading List

Again I have two categories of books I want to read this year:

  • The following are some of the books I own that have sat, unread, on my shelves (or Kindle) for years that I am determined to read this year:
  • The Once and Future King by T.H. White; someone bought this for me as a Christmas present about five years ago, and I’m ashamed to say it’s still unread. The synopsis sounds great; a magical literary retelling of the Arthurian legends by an author with a genius for recreating the details of the past in his work.
  • Moby Dick by Herman Melville is another book that has languished on my bookshelf for far too long; a classic tale of one man’s obsession, countered by the community spirit of the crew of the Pequod. Sadly this is a tale that is still relevant today.
  • Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson; my son bought me this book last Christmas and I have to read it soon as he keeps asking me what I think of it! Set in a not-too-distant future, this sci-fi cyberpunk novel takes the reader to a post-modern world that isn’t that different from the way our own present is heading.

Other books that I want to read this year (in no particular order) include:

  • Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman has been recommended to me several times; I have yet to read any of Neil Gaiman’s books which is definitely an oversight; this tale of a city under London will make the ideal commuter read for my trips on the Northern Line from Euston. Gaiman’s The Ocean At the End of The Lane also sounds intriguing.
  • Go Set a Watchman  – Harper Lee’s sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird; the mixed reviews leave me unsure whether I want to sully the beautiful memory of TKAM.
  • Our Endless Numbered Days is the début novel by author Claire Fuller, and I’m intrigued by its premise: my love of gardening and interest in self-sufficiency is documented in my blog, but my reading has sometimes strayed into areas that cross over into the “Doomsday Prepping” communities; to me they are fascinating and worrying in equal measure.So the blurb for this book caught my interest; a young girl taken away from home by her father to live in a remote self-sufficient community.
  • I haven’t read any books by Donna Tartt yet, but the one I’m drawn to is her latest, The Goldfinch. This novel was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2014 so I am expecting good things. Possibly I am interested in the young protagonist, thirteen year old Theo, and how his life is affected by a terrible accident, and how this echoes some aspects of the story I am writing in And The Buntings Flew.
  • Taking of which; one book I definitely want to read from start to finish in 2016 is my own! My target is to complete at least a first draft of And The Buntings Flew, and be on the way to a decent second draft by the end of this year.

This isn’t a comprehensive list, and I hope I read a lot more new books this year; as well as write, write, write, a writer’s mantra should also include read, read, read. I believe that I can learn something from every book I read, even if it’s How Not To… but I also believe that every book will reward me for taking the time to read it, and that a connection WILL be made between me, the reader, and the author. And isn’t that one of the reasons we all write?

What books are on your “To Read” list this year?

Margaret

2015 Writing Review: margaretmcgoverne.com
And The Buntings Flew, Publishing and Self Publishing, Reading and Books, Writing

My 2015 Writing Review (and plans for 2016!)

Margaret McGoverne

When I was younger, I heartily disliked New Year’s Eve; for my mother, it was a time of looking back and rehashing old tragedies, old regrets. She cried without fail, and to younger me this was painful and put a real pall over the end of the year. But I’ve learned that like Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and transitions, the end of a year is a time to both reflect back on what’s gone and also to look forward! Further, in reflecting on what we haven’t managed to do, we can take stock of the positives, and use our achievements to spur us to greater things in the New Year.

2015 was the year I launched this blog, and started to write up my first novel, And The Buntings Flew. I also published my very first piece of fiction this year! I’ve learned so much about writing, blogging and publishing and although it sounds corny, about what I can strive for, and achieve.

So in the spirit of reviewing, learning and setting what we call at work “stretch” targets for 2016, here’s my review of the year; hopefully it resonates with some of my readers? I’d also love to hear your thoughts on what worked, what emerged and what gave up the ghost in 2015.

And The Buntings Flew – my debut novel

My target was to complete a first draft of And The Buntings Flew, which I envisage will be around 85,000 words long. 2015 was when I actually started the draft; up to that point I was merely flitting between a couple of MS Word documents with a very rough plot, some research on the period and some ideas for characters. Although I haven’t met my target to have a complete first draft, I am now more than 40,000 words in, that’s half way, and have just finished chapter 8. The plot has shaped up and my characters are, I modestly feel, well-developed and rounded in my head, if not yet in the draft! I have a chapter by chapter plan, a couple of spreadsheets with timelines, main events etc. and each main character has a fully drawn word sketch. More; I feel like the ideas have evolved into a creative work, which I will soon finish, edit and one day say; “this is my first book.” I passed my driving test on my second attempt; as we rounded the final corner and set of lights back to the test centre I knew it was in the bag; the feeling is the same for the book, as a creative venture. The next step is to nurture it into a successful one!

To have a read of-the synopsis and some excerpts from chapter one of And the Buntings Flew, please click the links below

My Writing Blog

If you’re reading this, you’ve found my  blog! And I’m very glad you have. This time last year I was pestering friends and relatives to like and subscribe to a landing page and some “About me” info; I’m now proud to have more than 100 followers of the blog, and in turn I’ve discovered some great blogs that inspire, entertain and inform me.

I’ve added some pages, and picked up some great blogging know-how and widgets along the way; my plan for 2016 is to transfer the blog from the free WordPress.com platform to a paid, WordPress.org site. A move to the hosted platform will allow me to customize my theme, remove ads from the blog, add a raft of useful widgets and plugins not currently available to me, and generally remove any restrictions from my blog.

If you’re interested in a comparison between WordPress.com and WordPress.org, this article helpfully broke it down for me:

WordPress.org vs WordPress.com: a definitive guide for 2015

My Other Writings

Writing earlier in the year about short fiction, I became intrigued by the popularity of micro fiction, as well as the resurgence of the novella; (you can read my blog post on short fiction here) I’ve had plenty of ideas for short stories over the years, and did complete one or two supernatural tales in the late 1990s; interestingly, I’ve outlined a short story over the Christmas break that has a distinctly Lovecraftian/M.R. James feel, blended with a couple of very modern horrors; rampant development, especially on greenbelt land, and the daily commute.Watch this space in 2016 for the finished tale!

My first foray into micro fiction went really well, with my short short “New Beginnings” being published by Tim Sevenhuysen at fiftywordstories.com ; it blends my love of gardening and all things weird; please have a read, it won’t take long!

New Beginnings, by Margaret McGoverne


Writing Habits

Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.” (Mark Twain)

Mark Twain had his tongue very firmly in his cheek with the above quote; writing is a craft like any other. In Danse Macabre, Stephen King talks about the knife we are all born with; the knife is called talent. Some people are born with huge knives, and these people are called geniuses, but even the largest of knives have to be honed if they are to work, and to be “wielded with great force.”

I have tried to hone my knife this year in as many ways as possible, home life and a  full-time job permitting. A couple of things have worked really well for me, requiring as they do varying levels of commitment; if you are interested in ways to improve and share your work, some of these methods may help.

  • Scribophile

Scribophile is a free to join online writing and critique group; it also has a wealth of learning resources, articles and tips. There are as many communities as sub genres, and I’ve become much more comfortable with sharing my work for critique, as a result of engaging on Scribophile. Basically, you earn “karma” points by critiquing the writings of others, the longer the critique the more points you earn. These points allow you to post your own works. It can be a commitment in your time to critique enough works to post your own, and there is a recommended word limit for each piece of writing to be critiqued (generally 3,000 words) but once you are in the swing of critiquing and have found some like-minded writing/authors it is a very rewarding and useful resource.

  • Open University (OU) and Other Writing Courses

I took a creative writing course online with the OU in 2014 and enjoyed many aspects of the course; it was a very helpful starting point for me. I am actively looking to build on this foundation by taking additional courses in 2016, either with the OU or with a more specific , writer led class with experience in the genre I  wish to work in (contemporary literary/historical fiction) as well as in general writing craft. Suggestions welcome if you have taken a course you can recommend!

Social Media

  • My Facebook page for my writing (Margaret McGoverne, Writer) has attracted some great feedback; via this page I’ve also made contact with people on my personal FB page with some great family and contextual information relating to the background story of And The Buntings Flew. I also love how interconnected the different social media sites are, and how each one leads readers to more information about your work!
  • A great idea I borrowed from Joanna Penn over at The Creative Penn was to set up Pinterest boards with pictures related to works either completed or in progress; I had literally never thought of complementing my writing with visual social media, so this was a wonderful idea to come across. I created a Pinterest account for my writing  and created a Pinterest board with pictures from locations and themes which will feature in And The Buntings Flew. I’ve picked up some Facebook page and blog readers from the Pinterest boards and I have also  found it a very useful exercise to think of images that will feature in or outline the story; in this way I’ve come up with some additional features and angles to the novel which will enrich it , I feel, historically and geographically.
  • Reddit Writing Hub

If you’re not already a Redditor, Reddit is a site where users post content (pictures, links, news items etc) divided by subject matter into “sub-reddits.”

The Reddit writing hub (r/WritingHub) is an index of writing sub-reddits designed to help writers find communities and content relevant to their interests. The largest sub-reddits in the writing hub are r/writing, r/screenwriting, r/writersGroup and r/selfpublish. There are also writing contests and writing prompt sub-reddits, all of which have proved useful to me over the last year.  If you subscribe to the writing hub, your Reddit front page will include updates from the writing sub-reddits, and in this way targeted writing related content is delivered to your effortlessly!  While not a primary resource, I have found the writing hub at times encouraging, informative and a place to discuss issues with like-minded redditors.

A couple of the social media platforms I didn’t get to grips with this year although they were on my list were Periscope and Twitter. The former is a live video streaming app; my idea was to have a regular (OK, semi regular!) live stream broadcast of my novel-writing in progress, complete with feedback from any viewers; the ultimate in hot off the press promoting! I still think this is a great idea but for me right now it’s one I will return to; as I still have a full-time job, finding and keeping a regular time commitment is difficult, I commute to and from London, so getting home is an exercise in variable times. The other thing that made me shelve the idea for now was feedback from my son, an avid gamer and watcher of Twitch, a video streaming app for gamers. My son’s opinion was that the live streaming approach would be more appropriate when I have a completed work that I can promote and direct people to: as an unknown my audience would likely be non-existent, and the time and effort/reward formula just doesn’t seem worth it now. However it’s definitely something I will return to. However I’d love to hear from you if your experience differs!

Twitter is something I don’t use in my personal life; I don’t think I have the commitment to keep readers constantly informed and entertained, and so this is a personal choice, but again I will review and revisit this decision if its seems that the time and effort of updating a Twitter stream would seem to offer rewards.

Lastly I have gained an interest in podcasts during 2015, thanks once more to my son, who avidly consumes them, in a plethora of subject areas. I am definitely interested in recording podcasts that discuss the writing process, and the historical and social background to my novel; I think this would be a great way to get a feel for eventually recording an audiobook version of my novel, either with the help of a professional narrator or narrating my own novel. An interesting question occurs to me as I write this post; for a novel set in Northern Ireland, would the narrator ideally have a “Norn Iron” accent? Something else for me to delve into in 2016!

If you’re still with me, constant reader, I want to thank you for your time and support in 2015; never before has there been so much to tempt and divert us, and I’m profoundly grateful when anyone takes time to read my words.

My resolution, or rather my strategy for 2016 is to write, write write; to reach and reinforce my daily/weekly word count targets , and to explore new ways to improve my craft as a writer, and to reach out to potential readers and fellow writers.

I wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year!.

Margaret x

Publishing and Self Publishing, Reading and Books, Writing, Writing Tools

How to Read Kindle Books without a Kindle

Margaret McGoverne
Books on my Kindle
The author’s Kindle Fire

This post sort-of follows on from my last one (Are ebooks changing the way we read and write novels?) With apologies to those tech-

With apologies to those tech-savy types for whom this is all old hat, I had a surprising conversation recently with a colleague who was asking how my book will be (eventually) published; when I included Kindle in the list, they expressed regret that they didn’t have a Kindle device.

So on the off chance this info may help a few readers, here’s my short guide to…

Reading  Kindle Books without a Kindle!

Follow the links below to download Kindle on your Apple or Android phone, tablet, laptop or PC, for free. (All official Amazon links.)

Amazon Kindle App for iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch
Kindle Cloud Reader App

Free Amazon Kindle reader app for tablet, smartphone or computer
Free Amazon Kindle Reader App for tablet, smartphone, or computer.

Want to read Kindle books without any apps?

Kindle Cloud Reader allows you to buy and read Kindle books in your browser (Amazon account required)

Log into Amazon Kindle Cloud Reader (Account required)

Happy (Kindle) reading!

Margaret x