Thursday 28 November 2019

The 2019 Bad Sex in Fiction Shortlist is Out...

It's that time of year when the Literary Review's annual Bad Sex in Fiction Award shortlist is revealed.

Of course the extracts in the news reports are only a part of the novels they appear in, so put in context they may work okay, but in isolation they don't.

This year's contenders- with some unexpected names appearing:
  • City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert (Bloomsbury)
  • The Office of Gardens and Ponds by Didier Decoin (MacLehose Press)
  • The River Capture by Mary Costello (Canongate)
  • The Electric Hotel by Dominic Smith (Allen & Unwin)
  • Pax by John Harvey (Holland House)

You can read about a few of the well-known authors who escaped the list this year in this Guardian article.

The shortlisted extracts from each novel are revealed on another Guardian page.

Having read the extracts, they are not as bad as in previous years.

But I'm sorry Didier Decoin, your extract would get my vote any day, just for the ponds and omelette rolls...

The winner will be announced on the 2nd December.

It's that time again.../









Monday 25 November 2019

Reading, Writing, Learning and Improving...


Only a month to Christmas Day and I've just started thinking about all that I need to do.

Usually that's because November is busy with family birthdays so I don't think about the festive season until they're over.

I'm determined to get the Christmas cards into the post sooner rather than the last few posting days- which usually happens.

Since I received my readers report back from the RNA's New Writers' Scheme I've read it again and analysed what I need to concentrate on this time- I've identified my weak spots...

There are other aspects in the historical that need further thought, so while I resolve those, I'm going ahead with my original plan to do my contemporary romance idea for the 2020 NWS.

So, I've been learning more about character arcs which has helped me understand the issues with my historical romance protagonists- and for my contemporary where I'd gone astray in the first draft.

I've got a better understanding of beats in the three act structure, but need to work on the middle 50% of the story.

Our Uninvited Guests: The Secret Life of Britain's Country Houses 1939-45 by [Summers, Julie]
Image from
Amazon.co.uk
As I've been able to set the new story up on Scrivener from the start (rather than half way through) it's given me time to identify changes I hadn't considered before, but need.

The good news is the first 25% of this one is doing what it should do, so I've begun the rewrite on those chapters, while I continue the outstanding research items.

My current reading is Our Uninvited Guests by Julie Summers.

It was pure chance that a Google search led to a mention of it in an article; then I searched for it on Amazon to find the kindle e-book on offer for 99 pence- a definite sign I should buy it! (It's now £3.99.)

An interesting read too.

It does have relevance; indirectly...


Have you ever gone looking for a book and found it's on offer just when you need it for research?












Friday 1 November 2019

The Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title 2019...

I was beginning to think that this may not be happening this year as the shortlist announcement is later than in 2018.

The mystery is solved and you can read the wry introduction to the 41st year of the prize over on the Bookseller website and the mention of last year's winner- kettles and water were involved...

This year's shortlist:

  • How to Drink Without Drinking by Fiona Beckett.
 (As it's not due out until January 2020 I'm ruling it out of my possibles.)
  • The Dirt Hole and its Variations by Charles L Dobbins.
 (Hunting related.)
  • Viking Encounters: Proceedings of the 18th Viking Congress by Anne Pedersen and Søren M Sindbæk.
  • Ending the War on Artisan Cheese by Catherine W Donnelly.
(Sadly not released until 28th November.)
  • Noah Gets Naked: Bible Stories They Didn't Teach You at Sunday School by Xanna Eve Chown.
  • Hitler's Monsters: A Supernatural History of the Third Reich by Eric Kurlander.
 (Published May 2018.)
You can vote via the link at the bottom of the page on the Bookseller website (link above) and there's time to consider the options before the 22nd November deadline.

This is going to be a tough choice. But I think many of them aren't so odd when you read the other text on the cover- you can find most of them on Amazon.

I suspect the Noah one will get lots of votes, it's definitely odd... so odd I voted for it.

It's a fun annual prize and the winner gets a bottle of Claret...

It's red wine from
Bordeaux...




Image by gerttaeymans from https://pixabay.com