Oh that first draft shift in tenses! I'm trying to be patient - I know the right one will be obvious soon (eventually?) and also know the whole thing will be rewritten many times before I show my publisher, so I'm using what seems right for each scene and letting the story decide

Just had a magical, otherworldly ride reading #mglit OUT OF THE VALLEY OF HORSES by Wendy Orr! Beauty of #family, human-animal bond, + what's possible. Lyrical writing stretches the imagination!

"Taking part in this competition has been such a fantastic experience ... I would encourage anyone who loves history and has a story in them to enter this competition. Thank you so much, World History Encyclopedia!" Sallyann Halstead. Winning stories here fictionprize.worldhistory.org/2024-results

Started to write my newsletter and got sidetracked into an essay on the responsibilities of the trust children give us as authors, eg the stories they share in letters or as they leave after a talk or workshop. I'll give the newsletter another try tomorrow.

When a glass of red wine gets tipped over the book you’re halfway through…

Why do we immediately want to make a cup of tea when the power goes out?

Spent all afternoon playing with first paragraph of the new book. Don’t know how many drafts that brings it up to, but may finally be on the right track. As Pamela Freeman and Christine Balint both commented recently, it made me realise how happy I am when I’m actually writing

Love hearing about my books being in libraries in towns that I've never visited - a bit of vicarious world travelling! Today's google alert tells me that Out of the Valley of Horses is a new addition to the Jacksonville Public Library in Florida. Hello, Jacksonville!

When you go to a community meeting and realise it's playing out exactly like the bad guy scene you're about to write.

Thinking of my mother today. Part of me is still the 4 year old watching mesmerised as she mastered the HulaHoop.

🎙️ New podcast episode with Wendy Orr now live on Experts on History on her Minoan Historical Fiction novel: pod.co/experts-in-his… #history #podcast

There is a lesson in this for all people. 🪶

I used to love Twitter, but I find now that I can't sign in to X without an overriding sense of doom, so I'm saying goodbye. I'm still on Facebook, Instagram and of course website and email, and I'd love to stay in touch with my friends here - just not on this platform. Goodbye!

I just sent a letter telling AI companies they do not not have the right to use my work. Use the @authorsguild's letter template to send your own: actionnetwork.org/letters/author…