Working Through the Blogs

Just a quick update after last week’s post about my plans here. I was diving in over my head with a crazy plan to transfer over just shy of 600 posts from WordPress to Blogger. What was worse, I wasn’t planning on automating it. Instead I thought that I could have a little look through, perhaps correct some links, and generally tidy up.

Of course, I couldn’t stop there, not when I hadn’t fully used up this month’s idiot supply. I’d unposted all the non-spooky stuff that I’d previously had on WordPress, because my brand, such as it is, has an oversupply of the supernatural. I have Kane’s ghost stories, the frankly over-supernatural stuff at the White Hart and all the good stuff in stories like Invitation Accepted. The few bits of ‘normal’ world writing seemed adrift and out of place, so I took them off the blog. But then I read through the drafts of some of them as I was preparing to transfer them over, and I kind of liked them.

Rather than lose the stories, running to just shy of 22k words spaced over 39 stories, I created another Blogger account, Mari’s Fireside. I’ve hopefully got all of the stories over to that blog, and while some are distinctly average, and some I decided should never see the light of day again, there are a few that give me a sense of pride. I hope that you feel able to dip into them. If I ever expand any of them to a better length and tidy them up enough, they could end up on Amazon under the name Mari Medana. I’ll be clear that it’s the same person, but one is spooky and one is non-spooky and that way everyone knows what to expect.

I have given myself eye strain, but now all the little stories are over either on Always Another Chapter Blogger version or on Mari’s Fireside. I now need to go through and check that everything is either saved to the laptop, PC, or cloud, and that it’s either waiting to have things done to it, on Blogger Always Another Chapter, or on Mari’s Fireside. I’ve already secured all of Kane’s stuff, though of course I’ll be double checking, all of The Guest and today I got Invitation Accepted copied onto the PC.

And while I’ve been typing this, I can’t help but wonder whether the Research and the Author posts that I’ve copied over perhaps should have their own blog, as they seem to be multiplying nicely and I’ve got plans to write a non-fiction book containing them at some point. It will only happen if I think that it will be a useful contribution but if that book happens then it could do with a blog to support it. Dammit. Anyway, here is the page giving links to all the Research and the Author articles that have made it over to the Blogger Always Another Chapter, only fourteen at the moment but watch this space.

The next stage, apart from a possible fourth Blogger blog, is to go though each post on WordPress and check that it has a home elsewhere. I managed to automate that, fight my way through an Excel sheet (I loathe Excel with the fire of a thousand suns), onto a Word table, and I have now got 33 pages of entries to go through individually, double check, then allocate to somewhere, whether it’s the PC, the laptop, one of the Blogger blogs, or even the discard pile as some things really aren’t worth keeping. I’ll post on here when I’ve finally finished, whenever that is!

If you have any questions, would like to tactfully comment on my lack of sanity, or have any views, please let me know. I always love to hear from people.

And please wish me luck!

Plausible Plans, or What Might be Going On

*The provisional cover that I didn’t use*

I have no idea what I’m going to do next. Absolutely none. I haven’t got a Scooby – zero, nada, zilch. I wish that this was more of a surprise to me. And any time that I risk talking about plans, something dreadful usually happens, so I normally don’t bother. But the last month has been so chaotic, I thought I’d share what happened, what’s happening, and what’s likely to happen. But no promises and this isn’t a legally binding document.

It started off when someone made the very reasonable request that all of the White Hart stuff should be in one place. After all, I’ve been writing the stuff for well over a decade and bits have appeared on roughly three blogs, Amazon, Royal Road, and now Amazon again. Not to mention that when the request was made, not all stories were in the same place. I decided to put them all together in one wonderful collection.

I put them all together, and the word count came up as over 260,000 words. It was on the very edge of what places like Amazon would accept to publish on account of size. At that point I tried using the dratted grammar editor on Microsoft Word and it all went wrong and I was landed with what looked like 6,000 commas that needed to be carefully checked. At this point I said a lot of rude words and indulged in strong drink.

I decided that I would do the sensible thing and split it into books. There would be Tales from the White Hart, More Tales from the White Hart, and Further Tales from the White Hart, which had already been on Amazon, together with two more books, Back to the White Hart and Stories from the White Hart, which were the collected ongoing short stories and stray bits that have been kicking around my blog. The stories may not all be in the same place, but at least they’d be available and could all be accessed in sequence. So far, I was feeling sensible. This is always a bad sign.

I tried publishing Tales from the White Hart on Amazon. I’d checked all the commas, gone through and corrected errors, and I tidied up the writing. It took a fortnight for me to get the dratted manuscript into a dratted format that dratted Amazon would accept. There was a lot of harsh language and more strong drink than was good for me, but I eventually got the darned thing out there with a cute new cover from GetCovers who are awesome.

I then polished up More Tales from the White Hart and that went through the whole process with very little bother. I felt confident going into Further Tales from the White Hart, got the cover made, the content checked and out it went into the Amazonian ether. Then it all went wrong again. The ebook was fine, but Amazon rejected the cover for the paperback. Apparently there wasn’t enough room on the spine to show the title and author clearly. They needed me to fix it.

This shouldn’t have been a surprise. There were a lot fewer chapters in Further Tales from the White Hart which was around 70% as long as Tales from the White Hart and More Tales from the White Hart. I couldn’t change the dimensions of the book to make it easier, because it had already been published and Amazon wouldn’t let me change the height and width of the book. Despite the setback, I believed that I could still make it work. There are so many ways that I can do this. I could fiddle around with the ebook cover, remove any text on the spine, put it with the Stories collection – a whole load of options.

I checked with the content I’d allocated to Back at the White Hart and Stories from the White Hart and they were also looking on the thin side. What was worse, a lot of the stories from Back at the White Hart had been written with a 500 word limit in mind and, in terms of chapter length, were desperately skinny.

I just wanted the White Hart collection out of the way as I’ve got a fun series with lots of werewolves in mind and I want to get cracking on it. I can’t even think of touching it until I get this dratted stuff sorted out. So I made the obvious, sensible, logical decision.

I’m planning to splitting the chapters from Stories from the White Hart among a few other places, including Further Tales from the White Hart, Back at the White Hart and some potential new stories. I’m also writing around 30,000 words of new content for Further Tales from the White Hart so that I can get a decent paperback from it, and I’ve unpublished the ebook until I can sort it out properly. Back at the White Hart is likely to be rewritten and expanded, though still following the same story. And there are two potential novels on the sidelines that are suggested by what’s left of the Stories and a few ideas that I’ve had kicking around.

Meanwhile I also want to write further chapters of The Guest, add some articles, prepare for a crazy idea I’ve had for October that involves a lot of writing, and share a few reviews. I’ve got a load of other stuff to finish before I get to the fun werewolves and I really want to get to the fun werewolves!

*Photo by Reyk Odinson on Unsplash*
*This wolf looks completely done with my nonesense*

And, as I’ve said, every other time I’ve laid out plans online, it’s all gone horribly wrong. But here’s what I hope will happen, with luck and a following wind. If all goes well, Further Tales from the White Hart and Back at the White Hart should be finished by the end of June, the free floating stories allocated, and there should be an idea of any other potential books. But while in theory there’s going to be a lot of White Hart stuff coming out over the next few months, I’m not ruling out unexpected werewolves.

In the meantime, here’s a link to Do Werewolves Eat Dog Biscuits for a brief taste of werewolf fun, and please let me know if you have any opinions on the matter. I’ll be grateful for any voices of reason that I can get.

*I did some notes, chased down a few old pieces, checked back to lists in my binder and there is significantly more to do than just the two stories, but I’m not sure how it will shake out. Watch this space!

Shenanigans and Apologies

I’ve not got a new chapter of the Guest ready today. I queued up all the instalments of this story back in December, then it drifted away from my attention. I’ve been battling away with the White Hart stories and I didn’t realise that there would be a gap today.

I’m re-reading the story now, and I’ll have the next instalment fresh and ready for next Monday. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed the characters, and I’m looking forward to sinking into the story and sharing the latest adventures. I refuse to leave these fun characters hanging around.

So I apologise for the delay, the next instalment will be ready next Monday, and I hope that you’re ready for some twists and turns. If you have any ideas or would like more about a particular character, drop a comment. I can’t guarantee that I’ll adopt suggestions, but I’ll think hard and carefully about every single one.

Not a November Novel

I’m not writing a novel this month.

NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month had been going for years before it collapsed after a series of allegations. I’m now too scared to Google what they were, but it was enough to take down an annual event that had been going for years and that had meant a great deal to so many writers. It was a wonderfully simple challenge, write 50,000 words during the month of November and be part of a supportive writing community who share the same struggles. I never managed it.

My attempts at NaNoWriMo failed every time. Sometimes I didn’t start because I was already halfway through something and didn’t want to break off. Sometimes I forgot because of family stuff. If I even started, there was usually a crisis and I was diverted. The worst was when I had allowed for the family holiday but failed to take into account the dislocated shoulder that I managed to get falling downstairs. I decided a while back that while it meant a great deal to many writers, it wasn’t for me.

Now that the main organisers have gone, there are plenty of other people and organisations stepping up to provide the same structure and community. It’s a wonderful idea and I’m wishing all taking part all the luck in the world. I’m staying well clear, though, for this year. I don’t want to risk any more bad luck.

Instead, this year I plan to spend November sorting through half finished series, editing the vast swathe of text that I have been meaning to edit for years and spending some time planning out some more stories. I may even try and get ahead with the Monday Flash Fiction so that I know that there’s plenty to enjoy in the run up to Christmas.

Lisa suggested that I perhaps put all the White Hart stories in one book to consolidate everything and reassure people that they hadn’t missed a chapter. When I dumped all the stories I can find into one Word document, there were over 200,000 words. That is a lot of editing, but I hope to at least manage an eBook by the end of November. Goodness only knows what a physical collection would look like, not with that many stories. After all, I’ve been writing about the White Hart, on and off, for over a decade.

I hope that you enjoyed all the stories with Kane over October. I always love looking back at those. Kane is one of my favourite characters. However, it’s back to normal and I’m aiming for the usual idea of Monday flash fiction, occasional Wednesday chat and maybe a review or two on Fridays. And once I’ve tidied up my ‘to write’ list I’ll be back to writing properly after November. I’m not sure where I’ll be starting, but I worked out that if I wrote a book a month (which is ridiculously unfeasible), I have over two years’ worth of ideas for novels, and those are ideas that are more than just a random thought or a sentence or two but ideas with something of a plot behind them. In real terms, I’ve got plenty to be getting on with.

So wish me luck, and if you have any requests, like more from the Forgotten Village (see, I do listen to you, Lisa), please drop a comment. Thank you for stopping by.

October Apologies

October is a spooky month, as Halloween at the end has spilled forward and filled up the rest of the days. I blame the supermarkets. Halloween goodies have been in the stores for over a month here, and I admire their enthusiasm. As someone who writes spooky stuff, I feel like I need to mark October, but my inspiration has been a little lacking for a while. I have not lived up to my own standards. Last year I did a post with one of Kane’s old stories every day. It was cheating, but I hope that anyone kind enough to stop by could enjoy revisiting them. I’m going to cheat again this year and do the same, except that I promise that there will be a few new stories scattered among the old favourites. After all, if I can’t spam you with ghost stories in October, when can I?

While I hope that you enjoy them, I am uneasily aware that for those who have subscribed, this is going to make a mess of your inbox. I apologise in advance. Anyone who has any sort of subscription to things supernatural is going to find their emails overflowing. But at least you know what to expect with my stuff.

And once all the tinsel bats have been safely packed away, the writing schedule should be back to normal. I have a few ideas that I feel like chasing down, and it’s a great time of year for writing.

So, in advance, I’m sorry. I still hope that you’ll enjoy re-visiting some of the best of Kane with a couple of new stories. I’d love to hear your opinion on this, and let me know if you’d like some non-Kane spooky stories scattered through the month.

Wishing you a wonderful October!

I Have a New Laptop!

Finally I can type on a keyboard without it feeling like a gym workout. Everything should go back to whatever normal is around here, but here’s a clue about what I’m working on.

I absolutely promise that any cover used in the actual work will look halfway decent!

It’s good to be back.

That Time of Year

The amazing AF Stewart organises the Octoberr Frights Blog Hop every year. Normally I can’t wait to be part of the fun, but this year I’ve had to take a break. This doesn’t mean that I won’t be sinking into the wonderful stories that are part of this year’s triumph.

And because I like to share the good stuff, here are the blogs taking part in this year’s chilling offerings.

Be Afraid of the Dark
Frighten Me
An Angell’s Life of Bookish Goodness
Reading Fiction Blog – Paula Cappa
GirlZombieAuthors
Corpse Child’s Sanctuary
M’Habla’s!
Carmilla Voiez British Horror Author
Minnesota (Horror) Nice
Hawk’s Happenings
Rob Read – Author

I intend to immerse myself in every one!

Research and the Author: eBay is my Friend

I’ve been known to say eBay is my friend. I usually say this just before a delivery of inexpensive yarn, an absolute steal of school uniform or an extremely elderly cookbook. My poor husband hears these words and knows that I’ve happened again. You know, like the time I wanted one handbag but somehow ended up with a bundle of twenty delivered and the box was too heavy for me to lift. I think I paid around £20 including postage, used four of them for years, donated some and father adopted a significant number to pass on to his lady friends at church. Or the fifty men’s ties. Or the multicoloured trash bags. I have form with eBay.

*What happened to some of those ties*. The became a rather useful bag.

When I sat down to write Cookies and Carburettors, I knew that I had no knowledge of cars. However I decided that I’d stick to vaguely plausible and get on with the plot. So as the lads bicker over car parts I thought should I look up car repairs? Or should I try something else? When it comes to parts of a car, I can identify things like wheels and doors. However, if I look on eBay, I knew that I’d find a stack of car parts for sale and I could just use a name from the list. To be fair, I started looking under ‘Cars’ but had to rummage for ‘Vehicle Parts and Accessories’ to be reminded that brakes existed. I didn’t need to click on individual listings but could just make a note and move on. Given how easily I fall down research rabbit holes, this is a good thing. Mind you, I did browse the knitting yarn while I was on there. I managed to resist buying more, but it was a close call.

It works the same for books. If I need an idea for an esoteric book dating from the 1800s, I could go down all sorts of crazy paths, or just have a quick look on the listings for Antiquarian books. You need more detailed research if you want to have some sort of reference to the contents, but in the past I’ve found a book on eBay, looked it up on Wikipedia and skimmed through on Project Gutenberg. If I want to immerse myself, I can find references all over, but just as part of a plot as dark forces try and claim an ancient tome, well, I may as well just pick an authentic title.

By the way, did you know that you can buy books by the yard? I find that a fascinating idea. Obviously the plot potential is enormous. You’re unlikely to find a valuable first edition in those lots as the dealers are making a living and aren’t likely to leave, for example, an early copy of JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings stashed in there. But the books may have one with a letter hidden inside it, or a dated microdot slipped inside the spine, or some notes in the margins that are a vital clue to a mystery, and these may have strange forces searching for them.

I don’t have a huge knowledge of fashion either, so when I was working on a background project that needed a reference to expensive clothes, I turned to my friend eBay. I didn’t need to give too many details, but I wanted to imply fashion. Now, even I have heard of lady’s evening gowns from Gucci and Chanel, but I had no idea what sort of designer brands were worn by men. My husband and son get sent to Marks & Spencer which is quality but absolutely not high fashion. I went to my friend eBay, searched for men’s fashion and sorted most expensive to least expensive. I found out that I was likely to talk about Tom Ford and Prada, and that there are a lot of very strange clothes out there.

*This book is wonderfully mighty and for some reason it makes me feel all grown up when I’m using it.*

Finally, sometimes you can find books you can use for the purposes of research. I picked up a massive Times Gazetteer of the World, 1899 edition, and I’ve dipped into it a few times when thinking about the steampunk world I’ve written (which will definitely be republished soon!). I’ve found it fascinating reading, and while I could probably find the information online, there’s something incredibly satisfying about leafing through those pages and imagining where I could send a certain Lord John Farnley next.

The above examples are small things that could easily be ignored but if the details are wrong, it can distract a reader. I’d rather get it right. And while eBay has drawn me into a lot of bad purchasing decisions, when it comes to research, eBay is my friend.

Not Doing Research

*Image from Unslpash, taken by Sixteen Miles Out*

My articles on Research and the Author are intended to help writers to avoid the mistakes I’ve already made and give ideas about finding out information for their stories. Research is catnip for me. It lures me in to strange places and bewitches and befuddles me until I’m blissed out in interesting and largely useless facts.

Back when I first started writing about the eclectic and eccentric characters at the White Hart in Tales from the White Hart, Kadogan was already fascinated by candles. He watched them, counted them, arranged them and complained about them endlessly. In the latest instalments in Back at the White Hart, Kadogan has decided to invest in candle making equipment, which makes sense to him but no-one else. What could go wrong? Anyone who knows Kadogan thinks that plenty could go wrong and the potential for unexpected fires, runaway fragrances and cursed wicks are endless.

*Image from Unsplash, taken by Tina Witherspoon*

Writing classes always advise new authors to write what they know. I know nothing about candles but can’t resist the fun that I can have mixing Kadogan with candle making. I considered doing real life research and making a few candles so I looked around for an easy and inexpensive candle making kit to get an idea of how it could go. Sometimes it’s all about the details. I’d love to be able to add a touch like the smell of melting wax or the feel of the wicks. I had a look on eBay, which is my normal starting point.

On the surface, this seemed like a good idea. I love candles. There’s one burning as I type this. It’s nicely fragrant, slightly crackly and bought from the supermarket. I ask for candles for birthdays, Christmas and Mother’s Day. My son knows to candle me up on all gift giving occasions. Making candles seems like a logical next step. However all the adult kits that are the most like the experience of proper candle are extremely comprehensive. There are bundles that are quite reasonably priced that include melters and hot plates and thermometers along with ample supplies. For less than £50 at the time of typing I could find a kit that includes 200 wicks, although perhaps enough wax for ten candles or so.

*Image from Unsplash, taken by Hanna Balan*

But I can see the slippery slope. If I’ve got all this kit along with the spare wicks, it couldn’t hurt to pick up a little wax and fragrance and dye to make a few more. Surely it would be more cost effective, even if I priced it against supermarket candles. I could spend perhaps an evening or two and churn out a dozen candles. There are two good reasons why I shouldn’t consider it.

The first very good reason is that I am accident prone. I drop things. I spill things. I scald myself in improbable situations. My family never trusted me with jam making as I couldn’t be trusted with boiling fruit and sugar. I once set fire to a chip pan full of fat and far too many of my family are surprised that I only did that once. There is no way I can be trusted with melted wax – it’s a fire hazard and scald hazard combined.

*Image from Unsplash, taken by Rajat Verma*

The second excellent reason is that I have a shopping habit that gets out of control when it comes to hobbies. Knitting is a good example. I enjoy knitting but I love shopping for knitting. My yarn stash can be measured in heaps and I have random bags with needles, tape measures, patterns, bodkins and stitch markers all around the house. The amount of yarn I’ve accumulated due to seeing a really good deal when my impulse control was looking the other way is ridiculously large. I’ve a surprising amount of sewing kit as well, considering that I’m scared of my sewing machine. If candle making joined all my other hobbies, it wouldn’t stay in a small corner. I’d see a deal on wax or wicks and, before I knew it, candle making gear would be spilling out of the cupboards along with all the rest of my hobbies.

I thought very carefully about all of this. There are a multitude of videos on YouTube about candle making and I can watch them without risking burning myself or overdoing the shopping. Not only that, I can knit while watching those videos and decrease the yarn stash at the same time.

I’m skipping the real life research. I hope my reasoning helps other writers make informed conditions about when research on YouTube is good enough.

New Year, Same Old Me

*Image from Unsplash, taken by Renata-Adrienn and absolutely nothing like anything in my life*

This is my first chatty post of 2024, and it’s traditional to give tips on ‘how to make things work’ and ‘how I schedule’ or ‘planning for the New Year’. Anyone who has followed any of my stuff will snigger at the thought of me not only actually planning something, but also sticking to it as well!

I swear that if I decide to turn right, plan to turn right and let everyone know that I’m going to turn right, that I’ll absolutely without question end up turning left. I have issues. I may even have a syndrome, like the Hulk in Avengers Assemble. Whatever it is, I refuse to make promises, no matter what the calendar says.

*Image from Unsplash, taken by Marissa Grootes and absolutely nothing like me.*

In theory, hopefully, with a following wind and a little luck, this year my posting schedule on here should like something like this. Monday is when I put up a little flash fiction. I’m currently playing around with the characters from the White Hart, but who knows what else could come up. Tuesday should see a writing prompt. It’s quite selfish and I’m using it like a gym, a way of strengthening my writing muscles, but all are welcome. Wednesday should be some sort of chat or news or my thoughts on the world. Thursday should be the ongoing story that’s also being posted on Royal Road, although I may also do some catch up on other stories. Friday should be a book review to keep me reading.

That is the theory. All bets are off now that I’ve committed it to paper. I’m currently sitting here with a hacking cough and a wide selection of aches and pains. January and February are also traditionally when I’m lowest, so I’m trying not to plan too much for the next month or so.

*Image from Unsplash, taken by Debby Hudson and absolutely nothing like my workspace.*

I absolutely have no right to share anything to do with planning. However I hope to get a lot more writing done. Avid readers have a TBR pile – a ‘To Be Read’ pile. I have a TBW, a ‘To Be Written’ list. Kane deserves to have his story told and I should finish off the story at the hotel. I’ve been muttering about re-writing Across a Misty Bridge for years. I’ve got some ideas for what could be happening to Darren (poor lad) and some of the side characters from the White Hart. I wouldn’t mind revisiting the characters from ‘Grumpy Old Gods’ who I’m sure are getting up to plenty of trouble. I also need to look back at the books that were previously published by the awesome Three Furies Press and perhaps get them back in print. And then there’s all the other stories… My ‘To Be Written’ list, if written on a length of paper, in two columns, in small writing, would be at least as tall as me. I’m not that short.

I refuse to put what I’m planning next as that has, in the past, been the utter kiss of death to any project. However I hope that you would consider keeping me company on this journey. I listen to requests, I want to hear you, and I am utterly dependent on encouragement. And there is a surprisingly wide selection of paths I could pursue. Did you know that I was considering writing a Mrs Tuesday’s Book of Household Hints? Or a ‘How not to Housekeep‘ type book. I currently live in a domestic disaster, so I should have a lot of experience to offer that.

*Image from Unsplash, taken by Debby Hudson, again, and also utterly unlike any workspace of mine*

This is the time of year to make promises. Bitter experience tells me that I fail at promises. However I am very comfortable letting any reader know that I am grateful for their attention and that I will do my best and saints can’t do more.

If you have any requests, ideas or comments, I would love to hear from you. I make no promises, but I will absolutely listen.