Novels

Blog, News, Novels, Short Stories

New Short – New Updates

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

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)

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!

Scroll to Top