As a lover of real paper books I still find it hard to believe that people are eager to download my novel The Peace Garden. But they are! Sales this month in the US are already double what they were last month (UK and rest of world about the same). May the trend continue! Thanks to everyone who has downloaded it – hope you enjoy it. And if you have read it (and enjoyed it), please consider leaving a review. Thanks 🙂
David and the Kingmaker
It’s here! David and the Kingmaker has arrived from the printers and is ready to ship to bookshops. It looks absolutely gorgeous. As usual, my illustrator Amy Barnes has done an incredible job. I did a reading of the book on Sunday to a lively group of under 7s and their parents. They loved the antics of the sheep and were wide-eyed when Young David was chosen to be king.
I know everyone says it, but this book and its prequel, David and the Hairy Beast, will make great Christmas presents. You can place an order through any bookshop in the world (that’s right, anywhere on planet earth).
Writing is a Marathon
Many students on my writing courses think that only three rewrites of a piece of work are necessary: the first draft which gets the story down, the second draft which then tidies and tightens the story then the third draft which is essentially an edit. However, most professional writers know that if you can get away with three drafts, you’re lucky!
I’m currently working on the seventh draft of my play Marathon. This is not because I don’t know when to stop – I thought I had ‘cracked’ it with draft six – but after feedback from a theatre group at a staged reading I realised the story of my heroine Stamata Revithi needed to start earlier and take a slightly different direction.
I know this seventh rewrite will not be the last as now that the story is being reshaped it will need further work. However, I’m encouraged to keep going with it as there is talk that it might actually get presented on the day the Olympic Torch passes through the North East of England.
Writing is a marathon, not a sprint.
Myro the Microlight on the silver screen
Well, TV anyway … hopefully …
Readers of my ‘old’ website www.thecraftywriter.com will know all about my work as a writer on the Myro the Microlight picture book series. I’m very happy to be working again with the genius creator of the series, Nick Rose, as a screenwriter for a potential TV series. If you’re not familiar with the books they’re about the adventures of a little microlight and his friends Down Under, complete with a singalong CD by talented children’s composer Mike Roberts, why not buy some as Christmas presents?
David and the Kingmaker is going to press
I’ve just finished proofreading the second picture book in my Young David Books series – David and the Kingmaker. My erstwhile illustrator Amy Barnes has done an amazing job with the illustrations and I can’t wait for it to get into the shops for Christmas.
To read more about David and the Kingmaker and the first book in the series, David and the Hairy Beast, head over to the Young Bible Heroes website. If you are a writer who wants to learn how to write picture books then I give a quick tutorial of this on my writing advice blog The Crafty Writer.
Right seed, wrong soil … or vice versa!
I’ve been thinking lately about seed. As a writer covering many different media I always have a lot on the go. My story ideas are seeds and the soil they are planted in the medium of choice: a book, a film, an article, a play. I have a story idea at the moment about a boy from a council estate who dreams of going to space. But what is the right soil for this seed? Should it be a play (which I’m leaning towards) or a book or a film? Or perhaps, even a radio drama. I’m not sure.
I have another play on the go that I believe is right for the stage. But I’m struggling to find a producer to take it on. When my proposal is turned down does that mean it’s not good ‘seed’ or just that the soil I was trying to sow it in isn’t the right environment? Perhaps another theatre or another producer might give the play a better chance to grow.
The same principle can be applied to our lives in general. Do you have seed but don’t know where to sow it? Or have already sown it but are not seeing it grow? It could be a seed of relationship or career or finance. Are you investing time and energy into something that just isn’t bearing fruit? You need to ask yourself if it’s the right seed in the wrong soil … or vice versa! Or perhaps it is simply the wrong season.
Jesus, who is a great hero of mine, talks about seed and soil too. His story is found in the Parable of the Sower. There’s a lot to ponder there if you have some time to sow.
