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

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:






 

Stay in touch! 

Join the conversation and be on my VIP mailing list!

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.

Launching into a new era...

When I published Gabriel's Game, Part 2: the Black Knight in April I marked the occasion with a Vlog:

http://authorpreneur.amymorse.co.uk/business-is-a-journey-not-a-destination/




Talking about Tom Sheridan and Sasha Blake's story with someone new makes me realise just how fond I am of my fictional hero and heroine, and how they feel like part me. I cry, when they cry, laugh when they laugh, and bite my lip and cross my legs when they're being intimate with each other; in Gabriel's Game, Part 2: The Black Knight there is a particularly sensual and explicit scene between them when they are taking a shower together.


It's fascinating looking back at the journey I've been on to get to the end of this writing era. In January last year, when I was writing Gabriel's Game, Part 1: The White Queen, I shared this version of the first chapter.

http://ideaism.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/a-little-literary-diversion-chapter-1.html

After beta reading, proof reading, editing, structural edits and re-writes it's a little different and punchier - take a look at the preview chapter on Amazon for the updated version.

I had a launch party for Gabriel's Game, Part 2: The Black Knight this month:

Graham Morse, my husband, business partner and book cover desi

gner taking care of the fizz!

That's it, the Sheridan and Blake Series is now finished, and next will be a new series of books, starring Kat Orlov 

(who you'll meet in Gabriel's Game)

2 hands, 2 drinks!

I've not written much of the next book, but I have a concept, the beginning of a plan and a title:

Finding The Scream

In August last year I did a mini 'NaNoWriMo' (National Novel Writing Month) and wrote a big chunk of Gabriel's Game, Part 2: The Black Knight in 30 days.

At the time, I published this blog post with top tips to write a novel in 30 days :

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


I plan to do the same with Finding The Scream. 

Watch this space for updates.

 I'm still figuring out the detail, but the concept for Finding The Scream is:

Two children are playing in a disused mine in Austria when they stumble across a cache of forgotten Nazi loot. The children tell their father who goes to his reporter friend. The reporter, Harvey Doyle, is an American working as a foreign correspondent for a large German newspaper. He calls Kat Orlov for help to solve the mystery of the cache, and she calls her former agency partner - a man with knowledge of stolen Nazi art from his years in the British Army - Tom Sheridan (yes, Tom has a cameo in this book). He helps her to recover the finds and repatriate them with their original owners. Kat is on a journey of her own too, to seek revenge on her cousin Jon Solomon, but will Tom get in her way?

Here's a sneak peek at some of the raw writing for this book so far:

“What's with the waistcoat?”

“What's wrong with the waistcoat?”

A mischievous smile tickles Kat's lips.

“Nothing, it's just, in all the years I've known you, you've always dressed in shades of grey. About the most colourful thing I've ever seen you in is a pale coloured shirt or blue Jeans. Whatever happened to hiding in plain sight?”

“That was in another life. I’m an art dealer now.”

A snort escapes. “Art dealer. What, colourful waistcoats are your form of artistic expression are they? Trying to fit in with the London set are we?”

He narrows his eyes, nostrils flexing.

“Oh, here comes the disgruntled huff.”

His face pinks, as if he's been caught out in a lie. The amusement warms Kat's belly, it's so too easy to wind him up. She turns on a heel and strides the platform. The sound of his footsteps clunk behind her. She's enjoying this too much to continue on in silence.

“Married life has made you soft," Kat glances back over her shoulder, letting her long ponytail flick out close to his face like a whip, “And a little pudgy too.”

She hears his muffled growl and smiles to herself; there it was, right on cue.