Nepo Baby

Blog, News, Novels, Short Stories

New Short – New Updates

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A new short has been written and submitted for a competition! And while I’m not going into details at this point, it’s one I’m quite happy with.

To start with, I’ve had some problems with the website over the last week or so. When I’ve tried to reach it to post updates, it hasn’t loaded. I’m not sure if this is a me problem or an everybody problem, so it’s something I’ll keep an eye on.

Onto the short. It’s for a competition and I’ve decided not to talk too much about competition shorts from here on. They like anonymous judgment – no name or contact details on the manuscript. And while it’s unlikely the judge will jump onto Google to try and find details, it’s also not really in the spirit of things to post too much. So for now I’ll keep it secret.

All I’ll say is it deals with themes of masculinity, dementia and being trapped in a life that isn’t your own. It follows a father and son who had a bad relationship, but who now rely entirely on one another.

Over the next few days I’ll be posting some other updates. Some thoughts on submitting Nepo Baby, and an exploration of storytelling in film through three versions of The Secret Garden. I’d like to write more often about storytelling, but time is short and sometimes the website doesn’t work. We’ll see what happens.

News, Novels

Nepo Baby – Complete

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A short but very sweet update: my novel Nepo Baby is complete.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve returned to it after a six-week break and stress tested every part of it. I’ve gone through chapter-by-chapter, and I’ve read the whole thing in a single sitting. It’s a really good book.

After reading all the way through in a single setting, I had some twenty things to fix – mostly in terms of style and wording choice. Now it’s the best shape it can possibly be in.

Nepo Baby is ready. I won’t change a single thing about it until it’s sitting with editors.

That does mean that it’s ready to start submitting to agents. This is always the part of the process that I like the least. The pitching process is very different to the writing process, and it’s something some people are naturally good at. That leads to things like, for instance, submitting novels to film festivals (something I’ve seen during my work with Lift-Off a number of times).

Those are concerns for a different day. Right now I’m basking in the glow of having a finished, polished, very enjoyable novel. Nepo Baby is ready.

News, Novels, Short Stories

A Clip of the Wrist – A New Short Story (And A Nepo Baby Update)

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I’ve finished a new short story, currently titled A Clip of the Wrist. It’s about an older woman, a busybody who clashes with the modern world when she places a letter on a poorly parked car. It’s a funny, touching short about the conflict between modern technology and the old fashioned way of seeing things.

I have a couple of venues in mind, both of which are currently closed, and so I’ll be submitting in the next couple of weeks. A Clip of the Wrist will be readable, hopefully, by the end of the year.

While we’re on the subject of submissions. I’ve completed the last couple of edits I had for Nepo Baby. A few days ago I posted about the process so far, and I’m happy to say it was short and sweet. The last challenge is to read it all through in a single setting. If it survived that, it’ll be ready to go out to agents.

It’s a book I’m extremely proud of. I’ve been very happy with how it’s stood up to the six-week break I gave it. Most of the bigger edits have been things I knew I wanted to do months ago.

The hard part, now, is figuring out how to place it with the right people. Like with submitting shorts, this is my least favourite part of the process, so wish me luck!

News, Novels

Nepo Baby – Update

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If I’ve been quiet, there’s a good reason. The time has finally come for me to revisit Nepo Baby with fresh eyes and prepare it for final submission.

Nepo Baby is my new novel, following reformed murderer Mikey Cornwall as he joins the investigation following the murder of a young girl in a celebrity’s bedroom. It’s the dark, psychological story of a man trying to come to terms with his past while being unable to let it go. It explores our fascination with murder, our innate desire to severely punish instead of help, and the inheritance of trauma.

I’ve been happy with how well it’s stood up to the six week break. We’re well into editing for effect, not for content. I’ll read it one more time – all the way through, in one sitting – and if it stands up to that, I’ll begin the process of getting it published next week.

That does mean that I’ve slowed down on shorts and on my follow-up novel. They’ve been briefly paused – just for a few weeks – while I return my focus back to Nepo Baby.

It’s an exciting time. I’m very confident in Nepo Baby. That’s in a big part thanks to the characters.

I can’t wait to share them. But for now, back to editing. Wish me luck!

News, Short Stories

Me and Mam at the End of the World

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A new short story this week, and accidentally the longest short story I’ve written so far. Me and Mam at the End of the World is a dark comedy about family, love and the space between the important moments of life.

When the world ends, what happens if you’ve only got your mother for company? The story is wry, voice driven, funny and heart breaking. It’s a genre blending, surreal voice driven adventure through an apocalypse like no other.

It comes in at just under 4,000 words, and it’s already been submitted for publication elsewhere. Me and Mam at the End of the World will hopefully be available to read in the coming months.

Boudoir, the short from my last update, has been submitted for the Bournemouth Writing Prize. It’s a long process, with the final result being announced in January, but it’ll be a lot of fun to see how it does.

Positive feedback continues to come in for Nepo Baby, my novel. From the middle of August, I’ll be focussing on prepping that for submission. And after that, on actually handling submissions.

And finally, the next novel continues to come along slowly but surely. It’s not going at quite the speed Nepo Baby did – it’s a harder write, emotionally and technically. But the work is good and the pace is worth it. There’s a sense of location to it that’s very different to my previous work. I think people are going to enjoy it.

Writing stories like Me and Mam at the End of the World has been great. Getting in and out of a character or a set of characters is such a tight space is an enjoyable challenge.

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