Introducing Sue Featherstone...

... journalist and fellow Yorkshire writer who knows a good few things about writing.  Hi Sue, thanks for being here and tell me, what are your 7 pieces of golden advice about writing?

 
One way or another writing has been my job for a long, long time.  How long exactly?  Sorry, that’s a secret between me and my teeth.  Suffice to say I don’t yet qualify for a bus pass, although that’s largely because politicians keep moving the goalposts. However, since those early days as a gawky news reporter, when newspapers were still printed on hot metal, I’ve learned a lot about what readers want.  And what they don’t.  So here are seven things I know about writing.
1. The late Terry Pratchett once described the first draft of a novel as the author telling him or herself the story. This is a polite way of saying first drafts are full of waffle and hopelessly over-written.  It is also true.
So, write, revise, edit, re-write.  Repeat, as often as necessary.  And, yes, the post you are reading now is a revised version of the original.
2. Multi-voiced narratives can be challenging.  Some readers enjoy piecing together the threads of a story through the viewpoints of different characters, others feel it’s too much like hard work.  So, lighten the load for those readers by following the rules.
3. The first rule of a multi-voiced narrative is to make each voice distinctly different and easily recognisable.

In my Friends series with co-author Susan Pape, one character is reasoned and restrained, the other is more volatile and impulsive.  In our current work in progress, one viewpoint is presented by a first-person narrator using the present tense, whilst the alternative point of view is that of a third-person narrator, told in the past tense.
Readers should always know, without having to think about it, which narrator is speaking.
4. Rule two: don’t switch narrators mid-chapter.  The aim of a multi-voiced narrative is to let the reader see inside the head and heart of two or more characters.  Since those voices should each have their own tone and style, it’s confusing for readers if paragraph one is the voice of narrator A while paragraph two swivels to narrator B.
5. Where possible, be sparing in the use of possessive pronouns (I, me, my etc.). This can be difficult in a first-person narrative, but too much I or me or my jumps off the page like a toddler having a tantrum in a sweet shop.
The bonus is that in re-writing to eliminate these words, your sentences will become stronger, more succinct and direct.

6. Individual narrators only know what they are thinking or feeling.  This means narrator A cannot tell readers character B is confused or sad or angry.  But they can show. For instance: B scratched his head and sucked his bottom lip between his teeth.  ‘I don’t know…’  His voice tailed off.  ‘What do you think?’
7. Paint word pictures.  This is an extension of the show don’t tell rule and done well allows readers to intuit something important about the story being told without the writer having to spell it out in words of one syllable.  It takes practice to get right and the best way to learn is to do as Shakespeare did and borrow, and adapt, from the work of other writers.
Start by keeping a running collection of word pictures.  I keep a list on my mobile phone.  Some of the best come from magazine and newspaper features and opinion pieces.  For instance an earthquake described as a ‘tidal wave of masonry’ and a politician who spoke through ‘teeth so tightly gritted a snow plough wouldn’t have got through.’  Other favourites include ‘as flexible as a pencil’ and ‘the personality of a finger nail’.
I’m reluctant to share an example of a word picture from my own work – what if I haven’t pulled it off?  But here goes: an example from my current work in progress.
 
‘When he’s gone I remain in my seat, my stomach slithered down to my toes, my mouth’s dryer than a Saharan door mat, and my brain’s awash with a tidal wave of emotions as I re-imagine probably the worst day of my life.  The day I did the stupidest thing in the world and which I’ve been regretting ever since.’
 
I’ll probably tweak it some more before the book is done but I hope the reader senses the character’s turmoil.

 
about the author… Sue is a former journalist-cum-public relations practitioner-cum-university lecturer, who now writes women’s fiction with Susan Pape.
The pair wrote two journalism textbooks together - Newspaper Journalism: A Practical Introduction (also published in Chinese) and Feature Writing: A Practical Introduction – before deciding to turn their hands to something a bit more creative.
They’ve now published three novels in their Yorkshire-based Friends trilogy – A Falling Friend
(published 2016), A Forsaken Friend (2018), and A Forgiven Friend, published just one year ago in November 2019.

Reviewers have described their writing as warm and funny, and describe the books as an intelligent and sassy take on the friendship between two women on the cusp of middle age.
Next on the agenda is another Yorkshire trilogy, provisionally titled The Friday Night Knitting Club.
When she’s not writing, Sue enjoys reading, daydreaming and Nordic walking – which is a bit like skiing without the snow.
 
You can follow Sue on her Blog on Twitter  and on her Facebook page

You can get Sue's books using these links :  A Falling Friend  A Forsaken Friend  and  A Forgiven Friend

 

And if you are an author, with a connection to Yorkshire and wish to know more about Promoting Yorkshire Authors or to join us then check out our Website

Come stroll with me…

… through the forest on Mont Mimat…
 

The Cévennes

Mont Mimat is situated to the south of the city of Mende.  It overlooks the city and rises to a spot height of 1067 metres.  If you prefer your measures in feet and inches, then that's just a smidgen more than 3,500 feet.  It also means that Mont Mimat is just a tad taller than Carnedd Llewelyn in Wales, the 25^th tallest peak in the UK.  Naturally when making such comparisons one has to remember that Mimat won't get the constant rain that we do, so you can more or less guarantee better weather at the top.
Mimat is covered with forest, mostly Austrian Black pines.  This was something that the municipality undertook quite some time ago.  Up on the plateau there is also a cross, dedicated to St Privat.  In third century Gaul, the area around the modern city of Mende was invaded by the Alamans led by Chrocus.  Chrocus took his troops into the heart of Gaul, looting and killing along the way.  He wanted access to the city and finding St Privat fasting in caves on Mont Mimat, Chrocus took him hostage, believing that the people would surrender in order to save their bishop.  They didn't and St Privat didn't surrender on their behalf either.  He was beaten and mutilated and eventually left for dead.  It was some days later before he finally died of his wounds.
He was buried close to where his martyrdom ended and a church was built.  The original would have been of wood and it was replaced by two later re-incarnations.  In the 14^th century the final edifice was commissioned by Pope Urban V (William Grimoard) and was dedicated to St Privat.  That cathedral, subject to repairs following the religious wars and later additions and enhancements, stands in the centre of Mende and is the basilica of Notre-Dame-et-St Privat.  It's a stunning edifice and the beautiful Aubusson tapestries inside are definitely worth a look.

Basilica, Mende from lower slope of Mont Mimat

But there's something else about Mont Mimat - and the mountain takes its name from the ancient name of the city, Mimate, not the other way around, as is most often the case - it's used on the Tour de France.  The steepness of the routes across the mountain mean that it has been used several times.  The route on the Lot valley side is referred to locally as Montée Jalabert in honour of the French cyclist Laurent Jalabert.  He won the Mimat stage of the Tour in 1995 and was ranked as number 1 that year and numerous subsequent years besides.
Mont Mimat has such an interesting history that I thought it would make an interesting location in one of my Jacques Forêt stories.  Indeed, considering its dominance over the town, it's kind of hard to ignore it.  For Mercœur, I have some scenes that take place on the mountain.  And there are a couple more surprises that the mount has to offer too.  But I'll save those for another post.

You can find out more about Mercœur Here and the book is available for pre-order from Amazon 

There will be more about Mont Mimat in my post on December 1st. 

Introducing Heike Phelan...

... Hello Heike and thanks very much for being here today.  Tell me, exactly how does a Yorkshire Author find herself writing about the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ)?

Manipulators, abusers, gangsters, thieves and murderers!

You could be forgiven for thinking I am talking about the inhabitants of a Texas state prison, but no. These descriptions apply to many of the employees of the behemoth that is the Texas prison system. 

With relative impunity and no independent oversight to keep TDCJ in check the officers and wider staff are free to dole out and inflict whatever justice, punishment or crime on the inmates they choose and frequently do. The inmates have little recourse to redress the skewed balance. 

Power for power’s sake is an endemic feature of prison life, the attitude comes from the top and eventually filters down to the inmates themselves, which is then practised most often as a survival strategy. 

The under-regulated and overly punitive system is designed to break the inmates, and only those with very strong minds survive. Many will argue that these people put themselves there and so they can’t cry about it. But does that make those incarcerated fair game for the atrocities that are inflicted on them? 

Drawing by Matthew Schiffert

The main character in my Convict series of books is someone close to me. An offender currently serving a sentence in a ‘super-max’ state prison. Based on the real life and experiences of William, the books expose the reality of life behind bars in a prison system that is corrupt, violent and secretive. 

The purpose of incarceration is that the loss of freedom is the punishment for a crime committed. However the punitive and destructive punishment system of TDCJ shows what an institution can legitimately get away with when there is no independent oversight and no one actually cares because ‘they are only criminals’!

Over several years, I became more shocked, more appalled and more sickened by the treatment of inmates. Once behind bars, they cease to be humans, and are merely property to be used and abused for the purpose of making vast profits using free prison labour. In return, the inmates are fed sub-standard food; often discarded as unfit for human consumption. Subjected to abuse, violence and neglect; much of which is instigated and encouraged by the officers, and medical care that can at best be described as negligent. 

I never set out to be an activist, and I certainly don’t see myself as one. I do see it as a necessity that what goes on behind bars needs exposing. The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed many of the failings of the prison system. A system that was already bankrupt and overloaded has been further hit by their inability to deal with a virus that is running unchecked through the inmate population. It is to be hoped that the deadly effects of Corona virus will instigate widespread reforms to tackle the very problems the system has created. 

As my editor tells me, it’s a story that needs telling, and I hope in some small way I am helping to do that. 

about the author… As a coach driver and tour operator, I have spent my working life driving and managing tours all over Europe for incoming tourists of many different nationalities. It took several years of self doubt before embarking on the task of writing the first book. With no idea of what was involved, my first two books, Child Convict and Career Convict were both written during stops at tourist sites all over Europe. Certainly not the easiest or ideal way to take up a writing career. 

The Covid lockdowns have been a mixed blessing for me. On the one hand I am temporarily out of work for the foreseeable future, but on the other hand it has allowed me to use the time to focus entirely on writing book three in my Convict series, Convict Code. With two short stories and another two planned books to add to the series, I am beginning to feel like a genuine author, with multitudes of ideas and inspiration flowing. Having time to focus on my writing and my books I feel a growing level of confidence in my writing that is being reinforced by being a member of the amazing PYA group. 

Being a Yorkshire girl with the advantage of multiple nationalities, I am making use of them and now live in Co. Limerick in Ireland.   A place I see as magical and wonderful as Yorkshire and the place I plan to retire.  An idea for a series of fairy books is swirling around my head as I write this. 

You can the books Here  Convict Code will be released in January 2021

You can follow Heike on her Website and on Facebook 

You can contact Heike through Black Horse Publishing

Look out for more Yorkshire authors in the coming weeks...

And if you are an author, with a connection to Yorkshire and wish to know more about us or to join us then check out our Website

I'm reviewing A Box of Memories...

... by Canadian author Allan Hudson...

Despite being confined to the house because of the pandemic I have found reading novels a little dificult as my usually easily sustained concentration span seems to have deserted me.  I guess it's a measure of the anxiety that we are living with here in 2020.  However, I have been able to take comfort in the numerous anthologies that I have on my bookshelves and some new ones that I've downloaded on my kindle.  One of them being this little collection.  Read over three weeks, a story a day, I can  honestly say that this little treasure trove has kept me sane.

The stories fall into different genres but are mostly contemporary.  As a writer myself I enjoy creating short stories.  They are an opportunity to run with a great but small idea that can not be sustained for the length of a novel - Reaching the Pinnacle is a perfect example of that and a great story with which to open the anthology.

Sometimes, when you start what is intended to be a short story, you realise there's more you want to say either for or about the characters.  Often in anthologies the reader can pick up on this.  So I was very pleased to see that Mr Hudson didn't let me down.  Two Boys, one Wagon and a Secret introduces two great little characters in the form of Beans and Chops.  A pair of ten-year-old boys with adventure on their minds.   I loved the swift pace of this particular story, the wit with which it was told and the neat little plot.  The characters were so well drawn, that I wanted to know more and read more.  Luckily for me, Mr Hudson did not disappoint as there is a second story which is just as enjoyable as the first.

I felt the same about the character of Lloyd in Lloyd and the baby, the characters featured in Two Grumpy Old Men Cafe and on each occassion I got a follow up story just as heart warming and entertaining as the first.

There's something for everyone in this collection, even Sci Fi fans in the shape of the Far Out Mall.  I can thoroughly recommend it.

You can read more about Allan and his books Here