Hi all.

I was hoping to get my latest novel editing and to my beta readers before Christmas, but that's not going to happen. There's too much to tweak and fix, and to be honest, I'm suffering from end-of-year tiredness. I'll be doing the edits in the new year. It means a delay of about a month, so that's not too bad, and it will be a better book for the wait!

I’ve finished another one!
 
Earlier this week I finished writing my ninth novel – for the second time, I might add. This time I’m happy with the story and the characters, and the rewrite was well worth the effort. Most of the story has changed, and only the main characters and a couple of the support cast made the second version. It’s been an up-and-down journey, but one of the most satisfying.
 
This story was also different in that I wrote it ‘into the dark’. That means I didn’t plot it out, I just sat and wrote what came to me at the time. And it worked! I’ll admit I tried to plot the ending, but that was a huge failure, so I abandoned the idea and wrote the whole thing without a plan.
 
No announcement on Facebook?
 
As some of you will know, normally when I finish writing I announce it on Facebook. Not this time. I’ve previously stated that updates will be posted on my web page rather than Facebook, and I’m going to stick with that. I’m sorry that people will miss out, but I have my reasons. Facebook is supporting someone, a group of people actually, that go against almost everything I believe in. My page will stay published, but as for updates…well, I just can’t reconcile what I’ve been reading about Facebook with my values, and that’s where I’m at.
 
So, updates and other writerly things will be posted on my website. If you would like the News items emailed to you, then you can use the link in the sidebar to sign up for those.
 
 
Thank you for your time and your support – you inspire me to keep writing.
 
Alison
 
 

I have wanted to update the covers on my White Rose series of books for a while now. It's always seemed to hard, but I finally set to and redesigned them. I also tweaked the New London books at the same time. It was a long job, but I'm pleased with the results.

I hope you like them!
​

A couple of things have been going on in my writing life over the past week or so. I contributed to a Kickstarter for WMG publishing, a company run by two of the few writers whose advice I respect. They were gathering funds to produce a short story magazine, and along with the reward of a subscription I gained access to seven different workshops and lectures (GREAT value!). One of the lectures was about designing covers for mystery and thriller books. The woman giving the lecture is a publisher and her marketing knowledge, when it comes to books in particular, is extensive. I listened to the lecture, and what happened next was many hours of image seeking and cover tweaking. I'm concentrating on the White Rose series of books and I'm pleased with the mock-up designs at this point. When the new covers are ready, I'll put them up here for you to have first look at them.

My current writing project is coming along nicely. The words come a little easier some days than they do on others, but forward progress is being made. I'm still on track to complete the first draft by the end of November.

Now I'm getting closer to finishing the current story, I'm starting to think about the next one. I'm toying with the idea of doing a straight romance, probably a little shorter than my current books. I also have another White Rose book (or two) waiting, plus story ideas I've had kicking around for years. Plenty of choice!

Thanks again for your support - Alison

​A public library in Queens, New York, has bought a book from this little Tassie author for their collection. So cool! I may be a little excited....

I was supposed to get ahead on the weekend just past, but I found another plot issue - too many clues! I'd been struggling to remember what they had found when, and I suddenly realised it was all too much. So instead of pushing ahead with writing I had to stop and assess the clues. And then fix them.

The upside to this is the story is clearer and my characters have a focus instead of being pulled in several directions at once. It probably helps that I can remember it all now and the writing is easier!

As a result of all that, I am slightly behind where I want to be. The plan this week is to up my daily word count, from 600 to 710 to compensate, and be back on track by this weekend.

Always assuming life doesn't throw a spanner in the works...

I've always used Facebook to share where I'm at with writing stuff, but my ability to reach those who follow my author page is decreasing every day. Frustrating! I then came across an author who said they put their newsletter on their website rather than emailing it out, so I thought if a newsletter can go on a website, then so too can the posts I would normally put on Facebook. So here it is - my non-Facebook update page.

So, the current status.

I'm well into writing my next novel. This one I kind-of wrote last year, but I wasn't happy with how it went. I couldn't leave it - or at least the characters - so after a long time thinking it over I started writing it again. I've kept the two main characters, changed the female lead's job, and also kept the same crime. The rest is new. And I tell you what, this time it's flowing and I'm enjoying the story! I'm really glad I decided to rewrite it. This story is not part of either series I've written so far, and yes, I'm planning this book to be the start of a new series. There is a slight cross over - a minor character from one of my other series is in this book, and other characters make a tiny appearance (I can't wait to see if anyone picks it up!).

The plan at the moment is to finish the draft mid-November at the latest and have it edited and to my beta readers for Christmas. All being well I should have it launched in March or early April.

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Take care, Alison.