the writer is a lonely hunter

writing by Gail Aldwin and other authors

Feb 12

Gorgeous covers

by gailaldwin

Here are all the current titles in the short fiction series published by Chapeltown Books. A group of good looking covers with enticing stories inside.

Paisley Shirt…and other stories
Badlands: A collection of flash fiction – short tales, long shadows
Brightly Coloured Horses: Twenty-seven very short human stories
Potpourri: an eclectic mix of stories and poems by Anusha VR
Slimline Tales: ideal for your body and brain by Roger Noons
From Light to Dark and Back Again: a collection of very short stories to suit every mood
January Stones 2013: one a day, written in January, welcoming returning light

My collection Paisley Shirt is available as a Kindle Edition through Amazon and paperback copies can now be purchased from all good bookshops. Recommended bookshops in Dorset include Serendip, Lyme Regis; The Book Shop, Bridport; Winstone’s, Sherborne; Gullivers, Wimborne Minster; Westbourne Book Shop, Bournemouth; and Waterstones, Dorchester.

4* and 5* reviews of Paisley Shirt can be found on goodreads. If you do decide to purchase a copy of Paisley Shirt, further reviews are very welcome.

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Feb 10

National Trust: Lacock Abbey

by gailaldwin

David has held life membership of the National Trust since a maiden aunt left him £100 when he was eleven. Here is his membership card complete with boyhood signature.

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The membership allows an accompanying guest to enter free of charge, so we tend to gravitate towards National Trust properties when out and about. Recently we visited Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire. Both the Abbey and properties in the town are administered by the National Trust and this makes for an interesting visit. The Abbey is situated within extensive grounds where you can see the approach of spring.

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The building benefits from a variety of architectural styles owing to its history. First as an Augustinian abbey, then the home to a Tudor rogue, and finally as a family home and the birthplace of photography. In more recent times it has acted as a film location to a variety of productions including Harry Potter.

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Cloister that appears in Harry Potter

I usually come away from these visit with ideas for creative writing. Word prompts include stone feathers and stone blindfolds. Watch this space for creative outputs!

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Feb 9

Paisley Shirt Kindle Edition OUT NOW

by gailaldwin

Very pleased to say that the Kindle Edition of Paisley Shirt is now available to download from Amazon. The paperback will follow shortly and I’ll be giving details of my book launch then.

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I’m delighted to be in good company at Chapeltown Books with other short fiction writers who have publications in the same series. Here is the cover for Badlands,a collection by Alyson Faye which includes short fiction inspired by ghost stories, old movies, derelict buildings and real life issues.

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And another by Allison Symes, From Light to Dark and Back Again a collection of very short stories to suit every mood.

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I’m very much looking forward to the publication of Amanda Huggin’s collection Brightly Coloured Horses. The cover image is also by Amanda, what creative talent!

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Jan 10

Never Give Up

by gailaldwin

 

Pasiley Shirt Image

Cover Image for ‘Paisley Shirt’ photo credit: menswear market

I’ve read lots of post about How I Got Published and although I know how deeply maddening it can be to hear about another’s success, I feel obliged after all the pitfalls to share my experience with you.

I have four novels sitting in a drawer, two of which are completely unpublishable while the others may see the light of day when I get around to re-writing. I have been on my writing journey for eight years: writing regularly, attending writing festivals, having one-to-ones, keeping the feelers out, updating my blog and becoming a whizz on social media. I must have entered hundreds of competitions, and enjoyed a couple of notable wins (my name was listed in Elle magazine once). I briefly enjoyed representation but that was until my agent took maternity leave and decided not to return to work.

One of the upsides of enduring so much failure is that I resorted to seeking professional help by joining a writing course that led to a qualification. After four years of part time study I am now on the verge of changing my title to Doctor and I am looking forward to graduating in the summer! This has also enabled me to seek employment with a university where I will work with students of creative writing.

The novel written as part of my studies is still seeking a home, but in the meantime, I have signed a contract with a small independent publisher to have a collection of my flash fiction published. Paisley Shirt contains 27 stories with characters and situations to offer a range of perspectives on what it is like to live in our world.

It is wonderful to have a publisher who believes in my work and a thrill to think I will have a published book at last. It won’t bring me riches, but it is acknowledgement of the progress I’ve made. The mantra remains: never give up.

 

 

 

 

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Dec 31

Triumphs and Challenges of 2017

by gailaldwin

Click on the pictures to find out what I’ve been up to!

co-written play performed in Brighton
with my very tall family in Vienna
Salisbury half completed
writing published
group meeting with Amal Al-Agroobi
Edinburgh book fest
digital stories course at Bournemouth
residency at Brisons Veor
PhD submission and viva pass
acquiring (and losing) literary representation for The String Games
flash fiction collection accepted for publication

 

 

 

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Dec 14

Brisons Veor, a writing residency

by gailaldwin

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I am enjoying the last couple of days of a two-week writing residency at the wonderful Brisons Veor, in St Just in Cornwall. This is made possible by the trust which accepts applications from anyone working in the arts to enjoy a period of respite from the distractions of daily life to focus on creative projects. The house is part of the brick building beyond the white houses. Constructed as a boiler house for the Cape Cornwall Tin Mine, it was converted by an architect in 1978 and purchased by Tracy O’Kates, the benefactor of Brisons Veor. It is believed to be the westernmost dwelling on the English mainland. You can also see the 138 year-old chimney stack of the mine which forms the highest point of the Cape.

Brisons Veor is situated at a point where Atlantic currents divide, moving south to the English Channel and north to the Irish Sea. In 1987 the Cape was purchased for the nation by Heinz, and given into the care of the National Trust. This unique location provides a rich environment for ideas and creativity to flourish.

 

It has been a wonderful fortnight of solitude, isolation and the elements. The wind is fabulous: it turns the sea into a rucked white apron that spreads over the blue. When the sun is out, warmth floods through an open doorway into the first floor workshop. The sound of the Ocean sucking, clawing and whooshing is a constant accompaniment. Inside at night when the wind blasts the walls, Brisons Veor embraces the occupant, safe and warm.

What a privilege to spend time at Brisons Veor, such a remarkable location. During the fortnight I have written poetry and started my next novel, this time using a six-year-old boy as the narrator of ‘That’s What I Know’.

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Nov 1

Writers’ Day at Salisbury Literary Festival, 29 October 2017

by gailaldwin

I had a splendid time at the Writers’ Day in Salisbury. The programme was packed and started with a warm-up session using improvisation as a tool for writing by Alison Jean Lester. The ‘yes, and…’ task was a great way to generate and overcome problems in story telling by working in partnership to produce alternating lines of a story.

Further workshops followed including an excellent session delivered by Rupert Wallis which provided a rule of thumb for generating a 25-word summary. Rupert suggested starting the summary with the  word ‘when’ and introducing the problem to be overcome with the word ‘must’. For my novel The String Games, a summary might be: when Nim’s brother is abducted and murdered as a child, she must overcome unresolved grief as an adult to integrate the loss.

Susanna Dunn offered a workshop on ‘finding your voice’ which suggested that close attention to detail brings authenticity to writing. She advises writers to ‘listen with the ear of your heart’. Helen Corner-Bryant followed with suggestions for ‘unleashing your inner editor’ where she described ways to approach ‘instinctive’ and ‘structural’ editing.

After lunch there were two panels: one with a focus on publishing and the next with advice from agents. The last session was offered by Mark Dawson which gave remarkable insights into the world of a hybrid author (one that has been traditionally published and self-published). Interestingly, he felt it was vanity to seek a traditional route to publishing when the options for self-publishing can be more lucrative and offer better engagement with readers.

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Mark Dawson (right) in conversation about the secrets of self-publishing

Food for thought.

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Sep 27

Writers’ Open House

by gailaldwin

Do come along to this event if you’re a published writer or just beginning your writing journey.

Flyer for 7 October

About the Dorset Writers Network

Run by a voluntary steering group, the Dorset Writers Network offers support to writers across the county including isolated writers in rural areas. Their last funded project resulted in the publication of an anthology by Dorset writers titled This Little World.

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Sep 6

Edinburgh International Book Festival 2017, best bits

by gailaldwin
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Photograph by Jim Barton

I was fortunate to attend many different events at the book festival this year but these are my highlights:

Ian Stephen and Philip Hoare shared their passion for sailing and the sea. Ian read from his brilliant new book Waypoints (I bought a copy and am looking forward to diving in) and Philip talked about his wonderful obsession with whales.

A ten minute reading at 10am by Yrsa Sigurdardottir had me enthralled by her new novel The Legacy.

The Bosco Theatre on George Street was venue for a remarkable poetry performance by Scottish poets Jenny Lindsay and Michael Pedersen who were joined by poets from Australia Luka Lesson and Omar Musa.

I also attended a workshop offered by Elizabeth Reeder which discussed the novel Skating to Antarctica by Jenny Diski. Another one for my reading list.

 

 

 

 

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Jun 29

Digital Story Project

by gailaldwin

 

Reading on Screen Group, Bournemouth

You may remember a recent post about a three-day workshop offered at Bournemouth University. Attendance enabled me to create a digital story about my reading journey. It was a fun experience where I learnt a great deal about editing audio and video. To read more about the workshop, click here. The end product, a two-minute digital story titled Journey is now available. Although there are plenty of things I would like to change if I got to work on this digital story again, you can have a look at the story by clicking here.

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