Blood's a Rover by James Ellroy: Perks of the Job

There are many, many perks to having Nat Sobel as your agent. Here's one of them:



My doorbell rang at 8:30 this morning, and it being a Saturday, I was a little discombobulated. I woke up pretty sharpish when I found this baby on my doorstep. Apart from the early hour, the timing is perfect. I'm just finishing up John Ajvide Lindqvist's LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (which, by the way, is the best vampire novel since Bram Stoker's DRACULA). So, I will be cracking open Ellroy's long awaited conclusion to the Underworld USA trilogy some time this weekend, and I can't wait. I have been told that BLOOD'S A ROVER is a masterpiece.

I shall blog about it when I'm done (fancy a review, Mr Brennan?), though that might be a week or two. I am a tortuously slow reader; Ellroy's isn't the easiest writing to chew and digest, and this is a pretty hefty chunk of book at more than 640 pages. I have leafed through, and from the odd sentence that I've read, it seems closer in style to AMERICAN TABLOID than THE COLD SIX THOUSAND, but that's only a first impression. Oh, and the first section of the book is titled "CLUSTER FUCK".

This is going to be good.

The Twelve Now On Sale - sort of

I was surprised to find a proof copy of The Twelve for sale on eBay today. These are so thin on the ground my agent wasn't even able to get a hold of copies to send to the translators for the foreign editions. I can't even get hold of one to send to a blogging friend for review. The one copy I have, I had to steal that back off my mum just so I could do a reading.

I think I'll bid on it myself. I'm not kidding.

It's been a while...

I'm just surfacing to say hello after an extremely hectic period. Copy-edits on THE TWELVE are done and dusted and the book is off to the setters. Proofs will shortly be forthcoming, and I'm more than a little excited.

There were a few big events while I was away that I should have linked to, but didn't because of a lack of time:

One was the relaunch of Book Roast, a blog that highlights authors and their work. Check it out.

A less cheery event was writer and blogger Travis Erwin losing his home to fire. He and his family escaped unharmed, but without a roof over their heads. An appeal was quickly set up to help him recover from this disaster, and you can still contribute at the special website.

Fellow Norn Noir proponent Gerard Brennan has been posting a series of short pieces that have recently been published in the Andersonstown News. They are anecdotes about a west Belfast shebeen (an unlicensed drinking club, for my American friends) called the Sweetie Bottle that was run by Gerard's grandfather. Check Gerard's blog for some old-style Belfast yarn-spinning.

Just today, my editor at Harvill Secker, Geoff Mulligan, sent a couple of very nice quotes from authors Ruth Dudley Edwards and Sean O'Callaghan. I put them up on my website along with some recent quotes from the Irish Times and Sunday Independent. Have a shufty.

So, it's on with writing Book Two. I'll blog in detail about this at a later time, but the Difficult Second Album is proving -- well -- difficult. It's getting there, though, and now that all the editing stuff is done I'm starting to gather some pace. One of my baddies is an especially nasty piece of work, and I'm enjoying finding out about him as I go. For one thing, he can't read - but it would be a terrible mistake to think that makes him stupid. A very terrible mistake.

A Quick Christmas Roundup (Incorporating God Bless Ken Bruen)

It's been a busy few days, so here's just a little list of things...

I did another radio interview, this one with George Jones on his u105 drive-time show. It was a lot easier than the BBC one, the questions being not quite so probing.

I'm picking up speed on the new book again after some time away for editing the last one. I'm hoping to get some serious work done over the Christmas break.

I also hope to write a short story for Gerard Brennan and Michael Stone's anthology, provisionally titled Myths and Mobsters. Mine shall be called QUEEN OF THE HILL.

The BBC NI news website is currently featuring an archive video of a news report from 1978, wherein a young Australian reporter shared her impressions of the city at that time. How things have changed.

A short story and an article by yours truly recently appeared in Ulla's Nib, the magazine published by Belfast's Creative Writers Network. The article was called Small World: Writing in the Internet Age, and it features input from Nathan Bransford, Betsy Dornbusch, Declan Burke and Moonrat. I've posted the article to my website for anyone who can't get their hands on the mag.

Last, but definitely not least, the Irish crime fiction star Ken Bruen very kindly read THE TWELVE recently, and he had this to say: "The Twelve is the book when the world finally sits up and goes WOW, The Irish really have taken over the world of crime writing. Stuart Neville is Ireland's answer to Henning Mankell."

And on that note, I'd like to wish all my friends a very Merry Christmas. I'll be back for a recap of 2008's events some time before the New Year.

Two-Book Deal with Rivages, France

I got yet another pleasant surprise today when Judith Weber, the foreign rights specialist at Sobel Weber Associates, got in touch to tell me she had just secured a two-book deal with the French publisher, Rivages. Rivages is France's leading publisher of noir fiction, including a few names you might have heard of, like James Ellroy and Ed McBain. Of course, I'm delighted.

NaNoWriMo: Who's With Me? (Word Count: 4106)

Inspired by my friend Cindy, I have signed up for NaNoWriMo 2009, a worldwide event (despite the National in the title) where participants attempt to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. I'll admit up front that I'm kind of cheating because I already have a few thousand words written, but I think it'll act as encouragement to get cracking on my new book. I'm hoping to have the guts of the first draft done before Christmas. In the past I've always maintained a word count on this blog as I've blundered my way through a project, and I'll do the same this time.

Anyway, I'm registered at www.nanowrimo.org as Stuart_Neville, so if anyone wants to add me as a buddy, please do.

Watch Out, America: The Big O by Declan Burke

Today, the 22nd of September, marks the US publication of THE BIG O by Declan Burke by Harcourt. As The Beatles did in 1964, and Led Zeppelin just a few years later, THE BIG O is sure to sweep across America, fuelled by its own tidal surge. Or something.

Some of you will know Declan as the Grand Viz over at the excellent Crime Always Pays blog. I've had the dubious pleasure of going on the beers with the man himself, and can attest to his upright character. Declan was kind enough to sign a copy of the book for me a couple of weeks ago, and it is now atop my teetering To-Be-Read pile. While I cannot provide a review, having not read it just yet (I'm currently immersed in John Connolly's THE UNQUIET, and Bruen and Starr's THE MAX and Adrian McKinty's THE DEAD YARD are ahead in the queue) but some notable dignitaries have. And if their word isn't good enough for you, then I don't know whose is. Namely:

"Declan Burke’s THE BIG O is one of the sharpest, wittiest and most unusual Irish crime novels of recent years … in a similar tradition to, say, Carl Hiaasen, in that there’s a satirical edge to his work that gives it a real bite." – John Connolly, author of THE UNQUIET

"Declan Burke’s crime writing is fast, furious and funny, but this is more than just genre fiction: Burke is a high satirist in the tradition of Waugh and Kingsley Amis . . . but he never forgets that his first duty is to give us a damn good read." —Adrian McKinty, author of THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD

"THE BIG O has everything you want in a crime novel: machinegun dialogue, unforgettable characters, and a wicked plot. Think George V. Higgins in Ireland on speed." – Jason Starr, author of THE FOLLOWER

"This is an extremely funny crime novel that takes Irish crime fiction in a whole new direction. Under the cracking comedy of the book lurks some very subtle and highly skilful plotting and prose." - Brian McGilloway, author of BORDERLANDS

Need I say more? I wish Declan every success with his American debut, and I'm sure it's just the beginning.

The Next Book - In Full!

That's right, here's the next book in all its glory!



For about the fifth time in a year, I have started a new novel. This will be a sort-of-sequel to THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST, with several returning characters, but a different protagonist.

Just a few thousand words in, I'm finding the experience of writing a book under contract, knowing it will published ,very different from writing one on spec, with only a faint hope that it will ever see the light of day. Whether it's easier or more difficult remains to be seen. It will certainly be a more thoroughly planned and researched novel, rather than the seat-of-my-pants approach that was used for the first book. Wish me luck.

PS: I am fully aware that my handwriting may be the worst in the world.

THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST to be published by Harvill Secker!

Some of you have known about this for a while, but I've kept a lid on it - until now. My ever excellent agent Nat Sobel tells me it's okay to let the cat out of the bag, so here goes:

THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST will be published in the UK and Commonwealth by Harvill Secker, an imprint of Random House, late 2009, as part of a two-book deal. The nitty gritty contract stuff is still being sorted, but that's the gist of it. :)

Needless to say, I'm thrilled and excited. Harvill Secker is a prestigious imprint with a reputation for literary fiction, and international thrillers. Some of the stable's best known European crime writers are Jo Nesbo (The Redbreast has been a huge success in Europe) and Henning Mankell, and many others. My editor is Geoff Mulligan, who as it happens originally hails from Belfast.

More to follow.

Opportunity Knocks: How Nat Sobel Became my Agent

As promised, here's the story of how I managed to get one of the most respected literary agents in the business without sending a query. I didn't realise how long this would be when I started writing it an hour ago, but I've wanted to post about the experience for so long, you're getting a great big burp of it in one go.

Exactly a year ago I was writing the third act of THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST's first draft, then titled FOLLOWERS. If you use the menu on the left, you can even read my journal of the process, along with some other nonsense. At around the same time, I sold my first short story, and my beloved Northern Ireland formed a proper government. In the blog, I wondered if it would stick - it did.

I finished that draft the following June, and did a couple of quick revisions before sending it off to my kind beta readers (waves at Bets and McK).

While they were hacking it to pieces, the novel's protagonist Gerry Fegan kept nagging me, wanting to come out and play again. Just for a little while. As with the novel, I woke from a dream one night with the story in my head. I grabbed the PDA by my bed, started tapping away with my stylus, and knocked out a short story over the next couple of days. I called it THE LAST DANCE, and posted it over at Elektra's Crapometer (which seems sadly neglected these days). It got a mixed reception, from the negative, to "meh", to glowing praise.

I got the notes back from the critiques. A couple more revisions took until the end of August, then the dreaded synopsis needed doing. I never queried very widely on this novel - I'd say half a dozen at most. I'm not sure why. Largely, I think it was because I knew this book needed not just an agent, but exactly the right agent. You see, it's a dark, dark novel with about as troubled a protagonist as you're likely to come across. It's violent, visceral and foul-mouthed. Clearly, this wasn't going to be every agent's cup of tea, and I needed someone who knew how to sell a dark thriller.

We're often told to look up the agents who rep our influences, so because James Ellroy is one of my favourite writers, and one I know I've been shaped by, I found my way to the Sobel Weber Associates website. But I looked at that client list, and thought, woah, way out of my league.

So, still wondering who to turn to, I started other projects (I've got a hard drive full of first chapters here), including submitting a couple of the short stories I had knocking around my computer. One of those was THE LAST DANCE, which I submitted to Thuglit. Lo and behold, on my birthday (was that a portent?) I got an email from Lady Detroit telling me I'd be in the next issue. Cool. So, the story appeared at the end of February. I updated my website, got a few shout outs from other writers, felt pleased with myself, and got back to a particularly busy time at work.

On March 10th, as was normal at the time, I was working late at my office. I casually checked my personal email, and there was a message from a Nat Sobel. The name was familiar, but it didn't click just yet. I read the message, and I remember certain words popping out: "I read your story … literary agent … Followers … interested in reading the work … James Ellroy … Joseph Wambaugh."

*Nat, if you're reading this, I'd ask you to skip the next few paragraphs as I fear it might diminish the cool and professional demeanour I've presented you with so far*

I've quipped to various friends that I fell off my chair, but it's not far from the truth. I had to read the email several times to get it to sink in. I spent about an hour pacing, re-reading it, hyper-ventilating, and Googling Nat Sobel. Turns out his favourite way of finding new writers is through short story publications. He found Richard Russo and FX Toole that way. Hmm, thinks I. So much for query letters and slush piles.

So, I sent off a partial, fully expecting Nat to reject it. To my shock and delight, he expressed some reservations, but requested the full (and in record time). I duly sent it off, again fully expecting Nat to realise it was all a terrible mistake, and reply with a thanks, but no thanks. Instead, and again to my amazement, he came back in less than 48 hours and said, given some substantial revision, he would like to represent me.

At this point, I felt a mixture of excitement and terror I've never experienced before. On the one hand, here was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to snag one of the industry's best agents, and on the other, a chance to blow that opportunity. I don't mind admitting, I was scared. Thankfully, I had some great friends to turn to for support and encouragement (including talking me down from a fit of madness that almost saw me stripping out the novel's central premise), and I can't thank them enough.

So, this is the reason I dropped off the radar around mid March. The revision took the guts of two months, and throughout the process Nat was available for advice, and the occasional stern warning that the results better be good. Working under Nat's guidance has been one of the greatest learning experiences of my life, and as the local saying goes, he is a gentleman and a scholar. What's more, even as I worked on it, I could see how much better, bigger, and deeper Nat's input was making the book.

Three critiques from my blogging friends and another bit of polishing later, the manuscript was turned over to Nat. Cue exactly one sleepless night. Less than 48 hours later, I have one of the most respected publishing professionals in the world representing my book. How does that feel? Strange, and scary, but terrific.

Now things are moving fast. I already have a holding page up at www.theghostsofbelfast.com, and more revisions and general business to do, so it'll be a hectic few weeks. Once again, I want to thank all my blogging friends for your encouragement and support, not just in recent weeks, but throughout my brief writing career. I would never have gotten this far without you. And thanks to everyone who has stopped by to congratulate me, I'll be visiting you all in the coming days.

There'll be a few more blog posts in the near future, if I have time, where I will pontificate on the importance of short stories, my view on finding an agent that "fits", and how absolutely essential getting good critique is. Thanks for reading. :)

Introducing my agent, Nat Sobel

I am thrilled to announce that I'm now represented by literary agent Nat Sobel of Sobel Weber Associates, New York. Nat Sobel is one of the longest established and most respected agents in the business, and his clients include: James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential, The Black Dahlia, American Tabloid), Joseph Wambaugh (The Choirboys, The Onion Field, Hollywood Station), Pulitzer winner Richard Russo (Nobody's Fool, Empire Falls, Bridge of Sighs), F.X. Toole (Rope Burns - adapted for the screen as the multi Oscar winning Million Dollar Baby - and Pound for Pound), Robert Jordan (the Wheel of Time series), Tim Dorsey (the Serge Storms series), and many more.

If you'd like to know more about Nat, check out the Sobel Weber Associates website. You can also read an excellent in depth interview that recently appeared at the Poets & Writers website.

There a few blogging friends I must thank for their support over recent weeks:

Sex Scenes at Starbucks - Betsy, without your encouragement and belief, THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST (like the new title?) would never have been written, and your recent support has been above and beyond the call of duty.

McKoala - From the first draft, through to the latest, your insights have been invaluable.

Josephine Damian - Where would I be without your tough-love critique and booty shakes?

And also, a shout out to Moonrat, whose advice came at just the right time.

How Nat came to be my agent is a story in itself, and I'll post about it in the next day or two (clue: it wasn't through the slush pile). Stay tuned...

The Last Dance at ThugLit.com

My short story, The Last Dance, has just appeared in Issue 24 of ThugLit.

I'm sure some (mostly Ello) will be glad to move on from the babboon's arse. Things are still insanely busy in Conduit Land, but I'll be trying to blog a little more regularly in the coming weeks. No promises, though, as not only am I flat out in my real-world business, I've also just started a new novel...

The results of the survey are in, and they're...

...inconclusive.

Thanks to all of you who took part in my "What do I write next?" survey. Out of six votes, the numbers for the four ideas are as follows:

Idea 2: 2 votes.
Idea 3: 2 votes.
Idea 4: 1 vote.
Idea 1: 1 vote.

Now, some of you folks actually ranked the four ideas, and in light of that, Idea 4 got a couple of second preferences, as did Ideas 3 and 2. So, whether I use the first-past-the-post system, or proportional representation, my little experiment in democracy has failed to produce a clear winner.

While the experiment didn't provide a conclusive result, it did illustrate just how slippery the matter of personal taste can be. You all gave reasoned arguments for your preferences, and while there were some consistencies that I've taken on board, there was also wide variation in opinion. Idea 1 was clearly the weakest, though possibly more because of my half-arsed pitch than anything else, and Idea 4 did much better than I thought it would. Idea 2 was the most divisive, which I suppose is hardly surprising given the emotive and dark subject matter.

All this goes to show that when pitching a novel to an agent or editor, one person's meat is another's poison. A rejection or offer could very well hinge on the nebulous vagaries of that individual's own personal likes and dislikes. This is something we all know in our conscious minds, but deep down, we don't believe it. A form rejection will likely read "Not right for us", but the writer sees the words "Not good enough" in their place. No matter how often blogging agents or editors tell us it's about getting the right fit with their own tastes, I don't think we'll ever truly believe that. We take a rejection as "Not good enough" regardless of the true reasons for passing. But this experiment shows that half a dozen writers, all with good experience and judgement, saw entirely different strengths and weaknesses in the ideas pitched.

So, there is one conclusion: "Not right for us" means exactly what it says.

Anyway, so which idea am I going to go with? It was always between ideas 2 and 3, and the results have confirmed that. Idea 2 has more personal resonance for me, while Idea 3 is a more deliberate attempt at something commercial. And I still don't know which one to go with. Grrr. In the meantime, I'll be seeing if I can push some of these short stories I've got hanging about my hard drive...

Help! What do I write next?!

I've been a very lazy boy and haven't put any effort into pitching the last novel apart from a couple of tentative queries a few weeks ago. I got a nibble or two, but no cigar. Now, having given the novel one more going over, I'm ready to start querying seriously.

In the meantime, I've recharged my batteries after not writing much of anything for a while, and I'm ready to have another go. Problem is, I can't decide what to write next. I've got four pretty solid ideas (actually, I've got more, but these are the one I want to tackle) that I'm torn between. Two are deliberate attempts at something more commercial, while one is very dark, and the fourth plays into my own personal interests (it's got guitars in it!).

So, I'd like some help. I'm looking for some volunteers to read the short 'pitch' I've written for each and see which one, if you were in a book shop, you would take to the counter. If you'd like to take part and earn my eternal gratitude, just email me at info@stuartneville.com (or leave an email address in the comments) and I'll send you back a link to where you can read all four.

I'll see how it goes, but if people think that's too much kerfuffle sendng emails about, I'll post the link temporarily in the comments trail.

First Lines

I'm following SS@S's lead here, and posting the first lines of various projects. This is to do with something that might be happening at Nathan Bransford's blog this week. What that is, I don't know. But it involves first lines. So here you go...

NOVELS

Conduit:
She moved so quickly, so suddenly, no one could have stopped her.

Followers:
Maybe if he had one more drink they'd leave him alone.

Spam (the almost, but not quite, complete novel from a few years ago):
Good Morning, Option-E Marketing, how may I help you?

Suicide Club (provisional title for a just started WIP):
His hands just looked dirty to casual eyes, a slight darkening on the knuckles, a shadow on his palm.

The Wolf Strap (aborted project that kicked off this current writing phase a year ago - 10,000 words in I realised it sucked):
He awoke with the taste of copper in his mouth.
(Disclaimer: Yes, I know, I know, it starts with someone waking up - come on, I was learning! I still like the premise of this one and may come back to it some time. Not with that opener, though...)

SHORTS

Me and the Devil Blues (short that appeared in Electric Spec):
The soupy Mississippi heat had given way to the slightest of chills as Robert Johnson took the Hohner Marine Band harp from his pocket.

ISOL (unfinished - still!):
I was right, thought Reilly.

Opening Time (flash fiction, about to submit it):
Not open yet, mate.

The Last Dance (featuring a guest appearance by the protagonist from Followers - I just wanted to see him again):
Treanor's Bar never tried too hard to be an Irish pub.

And there are a few more, but I got fed up digging for them. All but one of those is from the last twelve months. I was recently surprised to be described as prolific, but I suppose I am. Pity the quality isn't so consistent! Some of these are crap, and the abondoned ideas may remain just that - abandoned. This is an interesting way to take stock of where you are as a writer. Given the awfulness of the opening for Wolf Strap, I think I've made a bit of progress. If I had time, I should rearrange them chronologically.

Anyway, no real conclusions to be drawn here, other than it's onwards and upwards. :)

Mac's Armagh Cider!

I've been having a great weekend, the best I've had for a while. Nina Armstrong and I played two gigs this weekend, one kind of strange, the other fabulous.

On Friday night we played at an upmarket restaurant. This gig was organised by a local promoter and I really don't know what they were thinking. I know if I was having a meal with friends, the last thing I'd want is someone crooning in the corner while we try to talk, no matter how good they were. An unfortunate quartet of geriatrics were seated right under our noses, and Nina and I did our best not to annoy them while they shovelled potatoes between their dentures. Nevertheless, they asked to be moved to another table. I don't blame them.

The gig wasn't a total loss, though, 'cause afterwards I got to hang out with an ex-girlfriend I haven't seen in a while. She's still good company and she still looks hot enough to fry eggs on.

Ahem.

Anyway, yesterday was a much better gig. One of the most fun we've ever done, in fact. It was at a green living festival in Castlewellan Forest Park on a bright and sunny day, and it was great to be in the outdoors, getting sunburned for the first time this year. There were lots of organic food stalls, with all sorts of delicious things. The highlight was Mac's Armagh Cider. I've never come across this brew before, and to be honest, I think Mac (whoever he is) cooks it up in a big bucket, or a bathtub, or a paddling pool, or something like that. It's naturally made from Armagh grown Bramley apples, and by God, it's lethal stuff. Nina's partner James and I had a half litre bottle each, and we were both pissed as farts before we finished them. Later in the day we went back to the stall and bought the little that was left of the stock.

And today has been equally good because I just finished the third draft (and I think final before submissions) of the WIP. Betsy, if you're reading, this is probably winging its way through the ether to you right now. So, it's back to the horrific trials of synopsis writing. Sigh.

Aaaargh! Synopsis!

I took a day off today to catch up with some stuff, including reading SS@S's rather excellent novel, Hinterland. I'm enjoying it a great deal.

I also took an hour or two out to do one of the things all writers, would-be or otherwise, dread. I started working on the synopsis. I did one of these bloody things for the last novel, and I can tell you, it was no fun. I hate writing synopses almost as much as I hate gardening. And that's a lot of hate.

To get the ball rolling, I sat down and summarised every plot point in sequential order from beginning to end. In essence, that's what a synopsis is, except you need to jazz it up a bit so it has some style about it. So, my sequence of events, when formatted with Courier 12pt double spaced, comes out at eight pages and 1559 words. Which is way, way, way too long. I need to get that condensed down to two or three pages,and still make it sound exciting.

I hate synopses.

On a brighter note, there have been some success stories among some of my blogging friends and acquaintances. Chris F Holm (there's a link just over to the left) has been signed with the Donald Maass Agency by Jennifer Jackson. That's pretty major. Also, one time Crapometer regular Sha'el Princess of Pixies (I think she might actually be a pixie...) has secured a publishing deal. Congratulations to them both. Stephen Parrish, who I was recently introduced to by SS@S, tells me he has also bagged agency representation. Just goes to show, for all the scary odds, it can happen. :)

A year to the day (almost)

A couple of days ago I checked the creation date on the first piece of writing I did when I started this current phase. Its date was July 31st 2006. So, it's almost exactly a year since I started writing seriously. And what have I achieved in that time? Quite a lot, I think.

In the last twelve months I have written two complete novels and several short stories, as well as the early pages of four more books which I may pick up again in the future (two of them I definitely will). I've sold a story, so I have a legitimate pub cred to my name, and I've made a few new online friends whose encouragement and guidance have been key to getting this far (you know who you are).

There have been ups and downs. The ups were those bitter-sweet moments when you type the last few words of a novel (just proving to myself I could do it is pretty major), and the aforementioned short story sale, plus those wonderful ego boosts when a piece of writing has gone down well with readers. The downs? There was the awful realisation that my first completed novel (the eponymous Conduit) just didn't cut it even after all the work that went into it. There's the personal sacrifice it takes to write at the same time as running a business (a diminished social life and a less than spotless house!). Those downs, however, are far outweighed by the ups.

Now, the rewrite of the WIP. It's nearly done. I'm down to the final sequence, which doesn't need that much tweaking, so I hope to be finished today. That means I can spend a couple of days with SS@S's book before giving it another once over, and then we'll see where we are with it.

After that comes the daunting part. Sending it out there...

Hooks, Book Trailers and Chapter Thirty-Six

I've finished the first revision of the new novel. It's not so much a second draft, as draft 1.1. I tweaked a few early points to tie in with what happens later in the novel, but I'm probably still too close to it to make a substantial rewrite. It therefore needs a dispassionate eye to find the weaknesses I'm blind to at the moment. Two kindly beta readers will shortly be receiving their copies to scrutinise.

There is one thing I know I have to rewrite, though. Specifically, chapter thirty-six. This should be a frightening, exciting chapter, but somehow it falls flat. If it stood alone, it would be fine, and it works as part of the overall plot, but in the context of events before and after on the time line, what should be heart-thumping stuff is just kind of ... meh.

I need to find a new angle on it, but nothing is coming to mind, so I may let the beta readers have at it to see how they feel about it.

While nursing a mystery foot injury (I don't know how I did it, but it hurt like hell) I took some time to rustle up a query hook for the novel. As I suspected, it was much easier this time around than it was for the last novel, simply because the premise is so much stronger, and the story has a real spine. At some point over the next day or two I'll post it over at the Crapometer, where it'll probably get trashed! :)

Also, just for the sake of experimentation, I've been messing about with making a book trailer for it. So far, it looks pretty cool. I'm not sure what purpose it serves, seeing as the book isn't published, but I thought it would make an interesting exercise.

It's Beer O'Clock and I'm Buying! First draft complete! Word Count 75,348 (wp) 95,500 (pr)

About ten minutes ago I typed the last three words of the first draft of my new novel. I know a couple of you at least will be familiar with that strange mixture of sadness and elation that comes with this act. It feels wonderful, but there's that sweet tang of loss once you've hit that last full stop.

I've experienced this once before, about six months ago, when I finished the first draft of my previous novel. It feels different this time, and not just because it's my second time around. With this book, ever since I made the decision to turn the short story it began as into a novel, I've known what the last sentence was going to be. It's three words long, and I've had those three words in my head since the end of February this year. So, when I was typing them, it felt like coming home after a three-and-a-half month journey.

Of course, now the work begins. I'm going to start the first rewrite pretty much straight away, because I know specifically what needs doing. I imagine it happens with every novel - things take different turns as the book progresses, new ideas and themes arise, so you have to go back and adjust accordingly. In my case, there are three or four themes, subplots and character arcs I want to reinforce, plus a whole new aspect to the early part that needs writing in. So, I reckon the word count will grow slightly over the first revision. This will also be because when I write (and I write fast) I tend not to dwell much on setting, often at the expense of the overall feel of the story, so I'll need to address that as I go.

And then I'll turn it over to a couple of very kind souls who have agreed to beta read for me. That will be very scary, but I know their feedback will be invaluable in coming up with a more polished draft.

Finally, I want to take a second and, with your indulgence, pat myself on the back. And any of you who have taken this extraordinary step in life, and not just sat down to begin a novel, or sketched out ideas, or daydreamed about it - but actually sat for weeks and months and typed and typed and typed until you had a real, honest-to-God book written - you pat yourself on the back, too. It takes immeasurable personal sacrifice, guts and sheer force of will to write a novel from beginning to end. Okay, it might not be the same as running headlong into enemy fire, or raising a child, or any number of amazing things that human beings do every day, but still ... it's a hell of a thing.

Incidentally, I just realised I've written about 8,000 words in three days, including almost 5,000 in one sitting. Like I said, when it's rolling, I write fast!