Category: Uncategorized
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Darkwater Farm
(Photo of Biggar Village courtesy of The Sankey Archive) I’ve had a read through my attempt at writing a historical novel set in Barrow. I based it on the farm at the bottom of Ormsgill Lane, reinventing it as Darkwater Farm. It was about twin brothers, William and Gabriel Ward, who buy the farm during…
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Black Ghyll Falls
I’ve been in the Lake District a lot lately, especially the Ambleside area, where I did my teacher training. Walking up Stock Ghyll got me thinking about setting a novel right there, and I penned a first chapter. I’ve put aside my epic romance now it’s finished, before I think about where to send it.…
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Moonlight, chapter two…
More rubbish news about my writing last week, and I had a few wobbly days. When I left teaching, I felt like every door I’d ever worked hard to open had been slammed in my face… this is how I felt last week, too. Then I remembered how those slammed doors forced me to search…
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Look for me by moonlight.
After four years of querying my children’s novel, Look for me by Moonlight, I’m giving up. I’ve had one full request (followed by a rejection), and hundreds of form rejections, or simple ‘ghosting’ from agents and publishers. Publishing is a brutal industry, but I knew that from the start, and I’ve accepted that trying to…
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Halfmoon Lane…that moment!
Here’s a sneaky peek at the moment when Gabriel Da Silva, the busker of Halfmoon Lane, turns up at Nina’s house unannounced… I stare at Gabriel, my mouth half open, brain trying to catch hold of the right words. ‘You haven’t told me your name,’ he says, voice low. ‘Nina.’ My throat tightens. ‘I’m Nina.’…
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Kapok
Here’s another extract from the memoir I’m working on. Preparing a float for Barrow carnival is one of my earliest teaching memories. I’ve never looked at Kapok in the same way since then! Names have been changed, obviously! Kapok Summer 1988 Kapok floats through the slants of afternoon sunshine and settles on the playground floor.…
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Coming home!
Once I’ve finished novel number seven (and I’m not far off) I have resolved to finish a first draft of my teaching memoir. I posted a sample chapter on the website quite a while ago. Since then, writing for Bloodhound has been full-on. I have done little bits of twiddling around with an opening memoir…
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Devil’s Crag indeed !
About six months ago, I planned and started what I thought would become novel number seven. I wrote two chapters, but it wasn’t working. I couldn’t say why. Instead, I planned and started on a different idea. That one has morphed into novel number seven, and is two-thirds written. The unwritten novel was titled Devil’s…
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Reviews… the ups and downs!
I am grateful to anyone who reads and reviews my novels. If they love the stories and give me a great review, or if my style of writing and my plots don’t resonate, I’m happy to accept their views. The worst thing would be if no one noticed, one way or another. There are already…
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Halfmoon Lane…ARC copies are released!
The business model of Bloodhound Books is an interesting one. They are a ‘digital first’ company and concentrated on ebook sales, though they work hard behind the scenes to match up authors with overseas translations, audiobook producers and other publishing rights. Their marketing is key, and laser-focussed. Hence the push to get copies of an…
Paula Hillman, author 