Saying Hello to Book 2

Hello!

Last month, I had my first flash published online in the flash flood for National Flash Fiction day. Here it is:

Colours

This was the one shortlisted by @TSS publishing in the Spring and I was so chuffed to see it amongst some great stories by amazing authors. I have another one due out in August and one accepted by an online mag I really really love so can’t wait.

Sadly though, I’m taking a break from Flash. I have started on Aghni Book 2 and I am try keep a handle on distractions as much as possible, especially with the sprogs off for summer. It is feels so good getting back to my beloved characters. It’s given me a chance to revisit the world and be reminded why I enjoy writing about this bunch of folks. This instalment throws a whole new challenge into the protagonist Reiya’s court and sees her evolve in surprising ways. There are antagonists, old and new and some threads from the previous book to untangle. I’m planning for it to have more of a political flavour and I suspect it will also have more action in it, not to mention some boy trouble. 

With book 1, I had no idea I was writing a novel. I just wrote with no idea where it was going but this time, I’m trying to be more organised (well, actually there bits of papers flying everywhere with plot points on them but you know what I mean 😊) It’s fascinating trying to plan ahead and set things up. I’m hoping it will mean less redrafting at the later stages but we’ll see. 

Ref planning: I tried the popular Snowflake method which is available online here on the 2nd draft of the first book. I’m too excitable with burgeoning ideas at the moment to try it again, especially as some of the work is duplicated when you have the same characters, but I did think it was a useful way to get myself organised. It may be worth a look if you’re wondering where to start with the planning. 

Reading: Gosh. Stop, Start, Stop, Start, just can’t seem to get properly stuck into a book with everything going on. However, my love affair with the Orient continues as I am drip-reading The Poppy War by RF Kuang. I am really enjoying it and would finish it off in one setting if I could get hold of a spare afternoon somewhere. There is something magical about the cultures and the settings oriental stories can lend to historical/fantasy novels. Some of fave authors write in this genre, Lian Hearn, Lisa See, Leslie Downer, Anchee Min and Weina del Randel. It’s great adding a new author to the that list whose work I can look out for. Highly recommend it if you haven’t already read it,

Happy Reading and Writing!