Are you a plotter or a pantser? This was the question that I, quite understandably, replied ‘WTF?’ to, back in 2006 when I participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for the first time. For the uninitiated, that basically means do you write a novel outline first, and then adapt it as you actually write […]
I’m always discovering new things about the process behind my writing, and as I’m as fascinated by the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the craft as I am the actual stories, I thought I’d write a little blog post. I can’t dance. As a little girl, I had notions of being a ballerina, but my general […]
It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about my weight loss progress, and that’s because things have been going generally well, with a couple of blips along the way. Including, if I’m honest, this week so far! I got my 1 stone award a few weeks back, which was a real milestone, but I’ve been […]
I find myself in a kind of curious stasis, as regards Far From the Tree and Sweeter than Cider. The former is in the midst of a process that started in January, and, at the moment, its destiny isn’t something I can influence – it all depends on how much it’s liked by others! As for the […]
One of the joys of having my own characters and universe to play with is that I keep thinking of ‘scenes between the scenes’ from the novels. Much like DVD extras and missing scenes from films, these are the moments that I haven’t actually committed to paper in the novel, but that I visualise now […]
In less than sixteen hours I’m going to have that most fabled of things, CFT (Child Free Time) to crack on with the second book in the Little Somerby Series, Sweeter than Cider. I’m beyond excited, even though Bertie the Weimaraner will need to be walked off his paws first, so he’s amenable to being left while […]
This week I’m in the interesting, yet nail-biting position of waiting for two agents to finish reading the full manuscript of Far From the Tree, having had two requests for a full within a week of one another. Needless to say, this is all enormously exciting, and, whatever the outcome of those calls, I feel very fortunate […]
I had an interesting conversation with a friend this week about men. More specifically, fictional men, and what we really want in a made up male character. Now, those of you who are regular readers of this blog will know that I have a bit of a fascination for romantic heroes, but this conversation got […]
One of the things that I’ve never been good at is waiting. I tend to be an all-or-nothing kind of girl, and patience has never been a virtue. As a result, what tends to happen is I hurl myself into new things with great gusto, break stuff, fix it, have another go and then get […]
Half term, before my own children, used to be a blissful time of lie ins, catching up with household things, time spent with The Husband, a bit of holiday homework and a lot of chilling out on the settee. How things change with the arrival of your own sprogs! Now, half terms tend to be […]
Fay Keenan 