Talking, writing and recovering.

I am fully recovered after my bout of pneumonia. I was a bit tired for a couple of weeks after my hospital stay, but I'm feeling fine now.

My novel Just Des(s)erts has been out for a couple of months and my publishers Tree District Books are trying to arrange book signings and other events for me. The result is that I will be giving a talk about writing at Canford Heath Library later this year.

I have done a few of these events and have enjoyed them all. The latest one, this month, was at the meeting of a wine circle. Talking about books and publishing whilst having a glass of wine was close to perfect. My audience were lovely people and they asked lots of questions, which I love. A few of them bought copies of my books and I look forward to hearing their comments at a later date.

A question appeared, from a member of the #writingcommunity on Twitter asking about the best tips for writers. My reply was how valuable being properly edited is. A good editor looks at grammar and spelling, but also the structure and content of what has been written. They pick out inconsistencies and make suggestions about what to add in and what to take out. Yes, you have to pay them, but it is money well spent.

Even though I have become better acquainted with the comma, I still don't put enough in. My apologies to those that have edited me and had to highlight all my missing punctuation.

My current project, Blank Slates, has reached 55,000 words, so still some work to do. I'll get on with it soon. No really I will. Its always a slog when you get to the revisions, but I will finish it eventually.