Writing can be a lonely, soul-destroying business, or it can be fun and uplifting, depending on what kind of writer you are. I know of some writers (not personally) who can knock out a prodigious number of books in a month, and I suspect they are always in a good place, overwhelmed with ideas and probably writing the next book in their heads as they write down the words of their current project. I am like the tortoise in the fable, except I always cross the finish line, but a proverbial country mile behind the hare. But that’s my lot; I am antediluvian, old school, and it usually takes me about a year to complete a book.
For my current
project, I am over halfway down the road, about 60.000 words into the third book
of the Shadow Over Paris series. There’s an old saying, Irish I think, that
says “May the road rise up to meet you”. I love that, and I see it in
the way I have struggled to come up with a plausible tale for the third book. I
reached, not just a roadblock, but a proverbial mountain as I struggled to
find a way to interlock all the pieces of the jigsaw I’d scattered along the
way and wasn’t sure I would get to bring them altogether to complete the
picture. Well, I think I’m on the other side of the roadblock, and I can see
daylight.
At my current rate
of progress, I expect to have the first draft complete, but unedited, by the
end of this month (June). But there’s a ‘but’. Isn’t there always? I’ve had two
medical appointments for two different things in the last seven days, and each
of those means a referral. Just when the sun is beginning to shine, the clouds
come over to darken the day. I will still be writing, but I’m not in control
now; that will be in the hands of others. However, I still expect to publish
the book, hopefully, in November. I’ve chosen that particular month because
Shadow Over Paris and the sequel were both published in November (2024 and
2025). It does kind of round it off nicely, and perfect for the build-up to
Christmas.
I have entered the
first book into a Goodreads Giveaway. These are supposed to be an excellent way
of attracting readers, and there is a prolific amount on Goodreads. The current
giveaway begins today (June 1st) and runs for 14 days. I will be
giving away 20 copies. This may not seem a lot, but I am going on the advice of a
professional book publicist. If the giveaway is successful, I could do another,
but it costs money. Doesn’t everything? That’s the rub; there’s no such thing
as a free lunch, so they say. If you want to try your luck, go on to my
website, facing page, and you will see the ‘Widget’ that will take you there.
I’m currently
running a campaign on Amazon for the book, but I’ve never had any success
running campaigns on Amazon. I suck at it, to be honest, but so do a great deal
of authors. We can write books, but we cannot as hell, advertise. To do that
successfully, you need the help of a professional with the usual costs. But
Amazon promoted my book in April (for nothing), and I enjoyed healthy sales
during that month. And the upshot is, readers are beginning to buy the sequel.
It has actually sold more than the first book this month, because readers want
to read it (natch). That’s another good reason for me to get the third book of
the trilogy out by the end of the year.
On the domestic
front, sadly, I had to have my lovely cockapoo, Tuppence, put to sleep. She was
terminally ill and had been under treatment for several weeks. It was so sad.
Tuppence was the centre of my universe. Now she’s gone and my house is empty.
Sometimes my soul feels like that because I no longer have the two girls of my
life: my lovely Pat and my lovely Tuppence.
But life goes on.
I’m having a stall at a car boot sale here on our site this coming Saturday.
I’ll have some of my books plus a lot of stuff that I’ve had in my Room 101,
wondering what I’m going to do with it all. About ten days after that, I’ll be
travelling up to Norfolk for a weekend with our eldest boy, Vincent and his
wife, Jackie. Our No.3 son, John, will be there for a day. Then it’s off to
Lincolnshire to spend a couple of nights with my long-standing friend, Pauline.
While I’m there, I plan to call on my granddaughter, Sarah and her family at
RAF Cranwell. Oh, and on my way to Lincolnshire, I will be popping in to see my
big brother, Jim, who, unfortunately, cannot do much, so it will be nice to have
a chat with him and put the world to rights.
So you see, there’s
life in the old dog yet, and all the time I’m healthy and fit enough, I will
try to maintain that journey as the road comes up to meet me. Wish me luck!
Michael Parker
