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?