Writing in the Cold!
It is rare indeed that I can wake up, stare out towards the moors, and see snow smothering the top of Cosdon Beacon.
This is all wrong. The snows should not continue into April. I am happy enough to wake to the sight of snow in February and March, but those months have gone. I fully expect to be able to put away the thicker woollies and resort to thin pullovers by now.
Not that it feels that the winter has gone from inside the house. There is something grimly chilly about a granite house. The granite soaks up moisture, and as it releases it, keeps the whole building cold. So as I write, I spend lots of time imagining summer weather, with warm, balmy afternoons and a need for ice-cold drinks.
But … While editing my latest Bloody Mary series story involving Jack Blackjack, I realise I made a serious mistake. All the scenes feel damp – I appear to have pushed Jack into filthy rainstorms in every section. My plans to edit in a feeling of warmth and comfort have been replaced with sogginess and mud.
The only good thing is, I really have enjoyed rereading this one. It’s due to be published on 31st July – preorders are available, I understand – and while I usually find my books to be hard work by the time I’ve read them 20-30 times, this one remains fresh and cheerful. I particularly like the new coroner, and the two fraudulent felons, as well as the villagers. The people and the story seem to hang together very nicely. It even made me chuckle a couple of times while working on it again.
Which is more than I can say about a book I have just, thankfully, set aside.
I have been thinking a lot about whether I should just be honest about me feelings for some books. I tend to avoid negative comments, but sometimes …
This book has a tortuous plot. Nothing wrong with that. But it is oddly dissatisfying, and it’s taken me a while to work out why. I think it is because the characters are generally two-dimensional – or less. They appear, and as the author springs some evil, well-formulated plan on them, they react. But they don’t react from their own well-defined motivations or character – they don’t have any – instead, they react purely in a fashion that will suit the plot. And when there is a clever twist, where two characters are playing against each other – well, it reads like one man having an internal monologue, not two men explaining themselves. They use the same language, the same sentence structures.
No, I’m not going to say who wrote the book, but it is depressing when I compare it to, say, a novel by Frederick Forsyth. And if you haven’t seen it yet, my review of his work is here: https://youtu.be/e0H7gNzo8JY – I am reviewing books and authors every Sunday evening and every Tuesday evening at 5 pm UK time, so go to my YouTube channel, subscribe, and hit the bell symbol if you want to be notified when there’s a new video coming up. Tonight there’s an extra one, too: a review of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. If you like crime thrillers, this one is different!
STOP PRESS! If you’re a Kobo user, and prefer your books there, I’ve good news for you! Kobo have selected the first Knights Templar Collection to be featured in their eBook Bundles sale which runs in both the US & CA from 3rd-10th April! US: http://ow.ly/HLwl50p0drcCA: http://ow.ly/szWu50p0drd
writerlywitterings 
Similar dreams here. I miss the radiant warmth of the sun, and about this time of year I always dream of working while sitting on a warm, sun-drenched patio. Maybe in another month.
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Last week I was outdoors for three days, I think, sitting in the sun with my Freewrite on my lap. It was wonderful. This week it’s back to thick woollies indoors, and raincoats outside!
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No snow but not that warm in Suffolk either, 5c during what should have been the warmest part of the day. But my bungalow is brick, not granite, so nice and cosy indoors :)
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Ugh. I’m jealous. Granite looks lovely, but it does have this flaming cold issue!
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