It's a while since I wrote a blog update. 6 weeks or so. Lots of "bits of news" but the big "Bit" is that "A Heart of Stone" will be published by Crooked Cat Books in October / November. As I write this, I am waiting for the first batch of edits to come through.
This is a "Dummy Cover", but is certainly atmospheric enough.
While that happens, I am pressing on with Book 2. Also historical, and one generation in the future. The setting this time is London and the continent. This WiP brings its own problems. I've got good, strong characters, good locations, and a host of sub-plots. What I am missing is the main story arc! If people remember Lark Rise to Candleford, and/or A Year In Provence, you might recall that both of these excellent books had almost no plot. They were a series of episodes packed with atmosphere, but with nothing happening. However, I need the main story arc. I'm nothing like as good a writer as Peter Mayle or Flora Thompson to make it work without.
Anyway, Liz Fenwick suggested I get hold of Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc: by Dara Marks. This is currently proving very helpful.
https://johnjacksonauthor.com/ Just a placeholder for now, but it will be filled over the coming weeks. Recently, I've been up in Hartlepool for the first time in 45 years, and over to Belgium for a weekend with friends, and to top up the beer cupboard. The latter is, unfortunately, a lot more expensive than it was, thanks to the swallow-dive in the value of the Pound. Still worth it though, purely on quality grounds.
Hartlepool was fun (and I never thought I'd write THAT!) It's all been cleaned up from the old steel town it used to be. An amazing amount of dogs, though. All either Bedlington Terriers or Mastiffs. The weather held fine for us, as it did in Belgium.
The small town of Kortrijk set the scene for an excellent weekend carousing with 110 close friends (!) and a continuing supply of excellent Belgian beers, including several new to me. #knowledgeispower
Now it's back to work on Book 2 (Working title: Strange Bedfellows)
https://johnjacksonauthor.com/ Just a placeholder for now, but it will be filled over the coming weeks. Recently, I've been up in Hartlepool for the first time in 45 years, and over to Belgium for a weekend with friends, and to top up the beer cupboard. The latter is, unfortunately, a lot more expensive than it was, thanks to the swallow-dive in the value of the Pound. Still worth it though, purely on quality grounds.
Hartlepool was fun (and I never thought I'd write THAT!) It's all been cleaned up from the old steel town it used to be. An amazing amount of dogs, though. All either Bedlington Terriers or Mastiffs. The weather held fine for us, as it did in Belgium.
The small town of Kortrijk set the scene for an excellent weekend carousing with 110 close friends (!) and a continuing supply of excellent Belgian beers, including several new to me. #knowledgeispower
Now it's back to work on Book 2 (Working title: Strange Bedfellows)
Oh, and the Hedgehogs are back in force!!
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