The Emptiness of His Absence

Last week, I faced a fear I've harboured for a long time.

It's ridiculous, as an experienced trainer and public speaker, this really shouldn't be an issue for me, but I hate reading my fiction aloud to an audience!

I sucked it up, and read an extra from Gabriel's Game, part 2: The Black Knight at Novel Nights in Bristol; a monthly live storytelling event that always draws a crowd.

I found a piece with minimal dialogue, which is much easier to read out because I don't have the characters voices in my head!

The theme in February was love, but the piece I chose, although with love at it's heart, if a sad piece, with a character grieving for another.

Listen to it here on SoundCloud....





Short fiction sharing

Where Does your Protagonist Hang Out?

Recently, I was bemoaning the struggle of finding the time and motivation to keep writing ‘Finding the Scream’ to my writer friend, Helen Blenkinsop (AKA AA Abbott).

She offered a piece of advice that really resonated:

"Imagine where Kat Orlov would hang out and write there."

Now, Kat spends a lot of time in Cyprus (she also has a base in London), and much as I’d like to jet off and tap away on my laptop beside the pool in a beautiful villa, that’s just not practical! 

However, I can imagine the sort of place Kat might hang out I can get to. 

But where could it be?

We first meet Kat in Gabriel’s Game, Part 1: The White Queen. 

As I was writing her, I knew she had to be my next heroine. I felt so drawn to her as a person, I wanted to write her books next.

Katarina Orlov (Kat) is a freelance seeker. A multilingual, bisexual, single parent - she has a wealth of contradictions that will be fun to explore. 

At the end of the Sheridan and Blake Series, I wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to Tom Sheridan and Sasha Blake, so Tom features in the next book, as do some bad guys that will be familiar to fans of the series.



However, it’s important to me that, despite the links to the last series of books, Kat’s books need to be distinctive in their own right.

In Gabriel’s Game, Part 2: The Black Knight, Dr Sasha Blake is on the verge of a breakdown. 



A suffocating grief has hold of Sasha and she’s drinking herself to oblivion. 

It’s an unlikely connection to Kat - a woman who has also been intimate with Tom Sheridan - that pulls Sasha from despair and helps her to move on positively. 

Sasha explores undiscovered parts of her own sexuality with Kat, and it’s Kat’s fondness for Sasha that drives her to continue to help with the hunt for the Democritus Manuscript, despite her own reluctance.

Sasha lives in my hometown of Bristol. 

She owns a modern boutique apartment overlooking the harbourside 

(One of the great things about writing is you get to live out your own fantasy life through your characters!)

Given the closeness between the two women, it’s conceivable that Kat may visit Sasha in Bristol. 

So, if Kat were to come from London or Cyprus to visit Sasha, where would Sahsa take her for dinner, or a coffee, or a glass of wine, in Bristol?

I think it would be one of two places:

Brigstow Bar and Kitchen 

Spoke and Stringer

Slick and modern, neither venue would be out of place in London. 

The Brigstow, with its continental feel and waterfront location, on a sunny day it could be somewhere in the Mediterranean.  

Both locations are also within a short stumbling distance of where Sasha’s apartment would be. 

I have no doubt, that it Kat were to come to visit Sasha, they would share Sasha's bed!

 

Once Sasha had taken her to either place, if Kat were to find herself working on her laptop in a coffee shop in Bristol, she would go somewhere familiar.

So, now I have two possible locations to work on the book from. 

#FindingTheScream

Now, I just have to make the time to do it!

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Rediscovering Sheridan and Blake - Falling in Love Again

The initial spark, that lit the tinder, that started a flame in my imagination, then caught and became the inferno that is The Sheridan And Blake Adventure Series was a 'what if?' moment...

That moment struck during a visit to the Varna Archaeological Museum where I saw a collection of finds unearthed accidentally in the 1970's by a construction crew. The artefacts were a cache of gold and grave offerings that, when carbon dated in 2004, turned out to be oldest worked gold in the world. Archaeological excavations of the site revealed a  Chalcolithic Age (commonly known as Copper Age) necropolis, a necropolis that changed our view of that transition from humans using stone tools to developing complex societies.

The 'what if' was:

"What if something ancient and powerful was unearthed by archaeologists? What would men do to get their hands on that ancient power? Who would they kill, and who would die to protect it?"

That became the premise for the series of books.

My protagonist is a female, Bristol based archaeologist, Dr Sasha Blake and the hero is an agent, Tom Sheridan, who works for a covert organisation that repatriates stolen antiquities from the black market, The Agency.

Together they embark on an international mission to find the Bronze Box, four rings that act as the keys to the box, and an ancient manuscript - its instruction manual.
  

It took four years to research, develop, plan and write the first book, The Bronze Box. I finally published it in 2013. The rest of the books were already in my head, I always knew it would be a series of books, the complex web of intrigue and conspiracy I weave into the books needs four books to unravel! It was just a case of making a plan, having a routine and sticking to it so I could write and publish the rest of the series over the course of the next three years.

To culminate this seven-year project, I'm about to publish a 4 in 1 bumper eBook Boxset. All four Sheridan and Blake books in one eBook. Instead of buying 4 separate books, you'll be able to buy the whole lot in one book and binge-read it. 

This is what it will look like:

The book includes:

• The Bronze Box
• Solomon's Secrets
• Gabriels Game - Part 1, The White Queen
• Gabriels Game - Part 2, The Black Knight

• As well as more about me, my journey and inspiration for the books in an author summary.

Adding all the books together into one book this week, I'm going through the stories again, making small changes to ensure consistency in formatting etc. and naturally, I can't help but tweak bits of it too!

I've been immersing myself in the world of Sheridan and Blake and enjoying the experience all over again. Falling in love once more with my characters and their story!

I've also come across more spine-tingling quotes. Here's a few:

The Bumper eBook Box Set is coming soon...


I hosted a webinar recently 'Meet the Author' - here's the recording. In it I share more about my journey into writing, my process and inspiration. Packed with insights for curious readers and tips for budding writers:






 

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A Peek at Insta-wonderland

In my years of working as a trainer, I know that everyone learns in different ways. Without boring you with all that 'leaning styles' academia, I can tell you that I have a preference for visual learning.

It means that I learn by watching things, I then like to record it in writing and act on it. That's my methodical process. If I can't watch something I'll settle for reading about it, but I like pictures, flowcharts and diagrams to help my brain put the words into context.

Here's a neat little online test to find out what your preferred learning style is:
http://vark-learn.com/the-vark-questionnaire/

In my fiction writing this manifests itself as a 'cinematic' experience when reading my books in the Sheridan and Blake Series.

It also means that my ultimate dream would be to have my books made into a film, which is part of my motivation for wanting to at least do my own book trailer.

I wrote about my experience of creating a book trailer a few weeks back, read about it HERE.

The concept of the trailer is the 'investigation wall' in Tom Sheridan's office at The Agency (as featured in The Bronze Box).

I've spent weeks collecting newspaper cuttings, pictures, maps etc. to put the web together.

With such a rich vein of visual content opening up, this seemed like a good time to delve into the world of Instagram.

It does irritate me that I can only use it on mobile or my tablet. Call me old fashioned, but I rather like my PC with its two big screens and that old fashioned bit of kit with actual buttons on it called a 'keyboard'. However, I am persevering. Here's my bookish little wobderland on instgram for Amy C Fitzjohn:

Amy on Instagram

What images would you like to see on my Instagram for an isight into my world as a writer?

 

Caught in a Moment - A Short Story

After publishing four books in just under 3 years, I took a short break from writing since releasing Gabriel's Game, Part 2: The Black Knight in May. 

Yet despite my fingers staying away from a creative keyboard, once you unscrew that writing tap (or faucet for my American friends) it's unstoppable. 

I've had ideas ruminating for some time...

 

 

I shared a snippet from the next book project 'Finding the Scream' in my last Tom Cat's Mewsings update and knowing that August will be a quiet month at work for me, I plan to do another 'Mini-NaNo'*.  

*Mini-NaNo = National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWri M), write 30,000 words of a novel in a month that isn't November.

I'll be writing the lion’s share of a first draft of 'Finding the Scream' in a month. 

In the 30 Days to First Draft update I shared my top tips to maintain the momentum when you power through writing a book in a short burst of time (i.e. a month): 

http://authorpreneur.amymorse.co.uk/30-days-to-first-draft/

To get back into the swing of regularly writing, I joined a group with a fellow writer friend, Anita MacCallum. 

We meet up every 2 weeks, share writing prompts and just write.

Last week, one of our prompts was to sit somewhere else in the room and write about how we felt in that space.

I had a clear image in my head when I chose an uncomfortable old seat against a velvet drape. 

It's a short piece, about being caught in that moment and I thought I'd share it with you:

I wriggle my toes, unhook my shoulders, pitch my ankles up and down. 

In front of me is darkness, a dusty hush in my forgotten little corner. 

Here, behind the heavy, moth-eaten, velvet, curtain it smells of sandalwood and boot polish. 

I roll my shoulders, flex those feet once more. Taking slow, steady breaths, I close my eyes and visualise all of their eyes, a constellation as I orbit the stage. They're just behind me, and the glow of the spotlight is growing. 

Eyes wide, I glance down at myself, picturing the way the lace will flow and move like cream. One more ritualistic flex of my ankles and the muscles of my calves tighten, pushing against my lycra-painted flesh like bulky fists. 

This is the moment; the calm, then contemplation as the cacophony commences. A triumphant flourish from the assembled orchestra. 

I tighten the ribbons, pack my petite breasts securely into my costume, smoothing out the creases.

I stand, shake out the tension. I'm water, I'm light, I'm liquid and sunshine. 

A hushed whisper calls out from stage left, "1 minute to curtain up."

It'll be the last time I hear those words.