From Town Criers to Short Stories - I am The Judge! #ScribeFest

One thing I’ll say about being a writer, is that you truly never know where your work will take you. This weekend is a case in point. I have just had the honour of acting as a judge for the Loyal Company of Town Criers British Championships 2015. I never even knew there was such an event, but it was held right here in Middlewich on a beautiful September Saturday. We even got a mention on ITV Granada in the news bulletin!

After the excitement, and the responsibility, of judging my specialist category for the town crier competition, I am now preparing for something I am far more familiar with. Later this week I will join the panel of judges as we assess our short story competition entries for SCRIBE (Middlewich Literary Festival). This is something I take great pleasure in doing, and this year we expect to receive a wide range of stories from new writers. We will have some of these stories displayed at the Short Story Awards Evening, held during the literary festival on Thursday 15th October. Whether you entered the competition or not, we look forward to welcoming you to our festival.

See you soon!

To Kindle, or not to Kindle, that is the question #publishing

OK, folks, I need some advice. I have written three novels during the past two years that so far remain unpublished. Admittedly, I have only allowed myself to release one into the hands of potential publishers and agents, but I think the other two are just about ready to be birthed. My challenge now, is finding the right way to publish and actually make a bit of money to live on. Up to now I am reliant on my husband for a financial income, because my novels are not being seen (and bought) by enough people in the right places.

Now, I have been doing some research. I still hold a dream of finding an agent, even though I know that is not a shortcut to fame and fortune. Even having an agent would not bring me the big publishing contract that I wait for. However, I feel that having an agent would take some of the strain away from me, because they would find the right publishers for my work, and I could be free to get on and do the writing that is screaming for my attention. At present I am distracted by promoting, networking and researching just where to send my books, and who to direct my attention towards. What I need is an agent with the right contacts in the right places, but then so do we all.

Anyway, it has occurred to me that perhaps now might be a good time to self publish. I am something of a hybrid author, because my novels to date have been made possible by a partnership publisher (Mirador), and a small traditional publisher (Chances Press). Their remit is limited due to their size, however, and some of my books are simply not suitable for their requirements. I understand that. It is the nature of business. So now I wonder, should I release a novel on Kindle, and do the work myself? I seem inundated with advertising from independent specialists who keep trying to sign me up to their own self-publishing programmes, where they claim I will learn how to earn a “genuine 6-figure income” from publishing my books on Kindle.

I know that these claims do actually ring true. If you know how to manipulate the market, you clue yourself up on keywords and auto bots, and all the necessary internet jargon, it is possible to sell your books to a wide international audience. But I also know that it is a huge leap of faith, because the responsibility is solely mine. I have to edit my book, provide a good front cover for it, and ensure that it is properly formatted and presented so that it looks professional and provides a good experience for the reader. I know I can do this. The question is, do I want to? Or should I play the waiting game and continue sending out my manuscripts to publishers and agents, until somebody says yes? Come on friends, I need your advice…

Welcome to SCRIBE Middlewich Literary Festival 2015 #ScribeFest

SCRIBE Festival takes place this October in Middlewich, Cheshire. We have brought together a range of local authors, some that you may have heard of, some that you may not. Our authors will be providing workshops throughout the day on Saturday 17th October where you can polish your skills in writing non-fiction, writing for radio, and writing poetry. You can also meet the authors, ask questions about their work and their adventures in the publishing world, and see their books for sale. Our authors are wide ranging, including stories for children, adult horror stories, paranormal romance,  historical accounts, local myths and legends, and much more.

Alongside the author events, we are offering a few slightly different experiences. Throughout the week you can attend talks, presentations, a Read Dating event, and our Short Story Awards Evening. Details of the full program, and online booking is available via the SCRIBE website. For your children we offer an invitation to the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, and later that day we have our local artist and illustrator Ian Hill-Smith collaborating with children’s writer Philip Latham for a lively interactive workshop called “Children’s Literature and Illustration.” This was a huge hit at our festival in 2014, with both adults and children joining the fun and rising to the challenge.

And now, back to the writing. Do you have ideas for stories buzzing in your mind or languishing in a notebook somewhere? Then write them down, and send them to us! We have the fabulous SCRIBE Short Story Competition open to all, but we do love to see submissions from our local friends. For details on how to enter, please see our Short Story Competition page on the website. You can win cash prizes, and you will be invited to our Short Story Awards Evening presentation, taking place during the SCRIBE festival, 12th - 17th October. The deadline for story submissions is 25th September, so get those pencils scribbling!

For more information, and to keep updated with news on events and workshops, follow @ScribeFestival on Twitter, and search #ScribeFest, or you can like our page on Facebook. We may add more events in the run-up to the big week, if we can fit them in, so keep checking back, and make sure you book your places and get your tickets now, as this will be one busy week in Middlewich! See you soon!

SCRIBE Short Story Competition 2015 #ScribeFest

In June 2015, Middlewich residents and visitors from across the UK joined in a weekend long celebration of the town’s renowned FAB (Folk and Boat) festival.

Up to 15 venues played host to music and dance throughout the weekend on the Middlewich canalside and in the town centre. Artists from around the world entertained thousands of visitors each day.

Together with hundreds of canal boats and the town centre setting, the Middlewich FAB festival has continued to provide a fabulous showcase of live entertainment every June since 1990, and has attracted renowned performers including Bob Geldof, Lindisfarne, Ade Edmonson, Neville Staples and many more.

In recognition of this amazing and unique event, the SCRIBE festival has based the 2015 under 16s and over 16s short story competitions on FAB.

For details on how to enter, please see our Short Story Competition page on the website http://www.scribefest.org/ You can win cash prizes, and you will be invited to our Short Story Awards Evening presentation, taking place during the SCRIBE festival, 12th - 17th October. The deadline for story submissions is 25th September, so get those pencils scribbling!

For more information, and to keep updated with news on events and workshops, follow @ScribeFestival on Twitter, and search #ScribeFest, or you can like our page on Facebook.

Halloween Horror Event at Stoke-on-Trent Library

I am very pleased to announce that I will be a guest author at the Dose of Dark Fiction event with "Father Darkness" Dan Weatherer on Saturday 31st October. Come and join us, if you dare! 

#ScribeFest - A Write Good Experience! Middlewich Literary Festival

I am back from a very busy, and very enjoyable, weekend at the Middlewich Boat Pull event, and now I am very happy to announce the official launch of our brand new local festival, Scribe (Middlewich Literary Festival). Scribe takes place from 12th - 17th October 2015, and it is set to be a very lively festival, with visiting speakers and authors from all over the UK, lots of local venues opening their doors, and a chance to meet our local artists, writers and performers.

Some of our guests include Elizabeth Williams from the Gaskell Society, talking about Jane Austen, Money and Marriage; Miles Hunt with the Wonder Stuff diaries; poet John Lindley and film maker Alex Bell; journalist Joanna Collie, and various authors including yours truly (of course!), historian Gill Hoffs (who you may have seen recently on the television show Coast), author Paula Manley, and author and playwright Dan Weatherer (responsible for the award winning Legend of the Chained Oak short film).

#ScribeFest is a brand new festival concept that aims to bring together local artists with those visiting from further afield, to offer a creative and invigorating atmosphere in our canal town. We even have something for the children, in the form of a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party hosted by professional storyteller John Kirk, and a Children’s Literature and Illustration event run by local artists Ian Hill-Smith and Philip Latham. More events will be announced as we continue our preparations, but I am very excited about this one, as you can probably tell! Oh, and you might be interested to enter our short story competitions, one for adults and one for children, all with cash prizes and an invitation to our very special short story award ceremony during the festival.

So, here is my call-out to book lovers old and young. And to all of my artist and creative friends, we offer an open invitation to come and visit Middlewich in Cheshire during the October festival. Our pubs are welcoming and very cosy, we have events planned in various venues including my favourite café Drinks and Bites, and in Boatyard Artspace at Middlewich Narrowboats, which is a fabulous place, and very pretty with views over the canal and lots of colourful boats bobbing around. In fact, if you own a narrowboat, why not travel in style when you come to our events? Now, there’s an idea…

Made in Middlewich: Boats, Beer, Books and Crafts

Hey folks, what are you doing this weekend? Do you fancy meeting your favourite paranormal author in Middlewich? Then come on up!

I will be exhibiting the Redcliffe novels, and The Darkness of Love, as part of The Middlewich Creative weekend of crafts, beer, boats and books. You can visit us at Middlewich Narrowboats, Canal Terrace, Middlewich, CW10 9BD from 10am on Saturday 22nd August, until 4pm on Sunday, 23rd August. See you there!