Congratulations on the launch of your 14th book - I think? - I can’t imagine how that must feel. My first is due in March and I’m already nervous but so excited. Living in England we had some fairly long lockdowns and like you I was very fortunate to be able to enjoy the great outdoors without breaking any rules and my husband and I were great companions during that difficult time. My creativity flourished as otherwise I would have gone stir crazy. I was also fortunate to be able to work from home too. Anyhow, I wrote 2 children’s books during that time and almost forgot about them until my cosy crime novel was picked up by a publisher and when I pitched them to her, she snapped them up and I found myself signing a 3 book deal contract. The rest is a whirlwind of excitement and joy on becoming a publisher author in my sixties. Thanks for a thoroughly enjoyable post and it’s wonderful to read about people’s lives from far flung places. Tasmania sounds beautiful. 💕
And pleased for you with a publisher take-up too. Especially at our age! Bit of a giggle.
Best of luck with your launch and here's to more from you!
Yes, 14th book for me, not counting the anthology contributions and a children's book which is currently unavailable. I've still got a few left in me, I hope, and the joy is right back where it should be.
This time and for quite some time, I've been operating directly with Amazon for ebooks (Amazon is my biggest seller) and with Ingram Spark for print (global distribution).
Hi Terry. D2D didn't handle print when I started so many years ago and neither did Amazon, so we went to Ingram Spark. The plan from Darlington Press was to avoid vanity presses at all costs.
Darlington Press uploaded to print today (Friday) and I was told it was much more simplified than previously. If you would like to chat at any time about various experiences of being an indie since 2008, just whack a private email through my contact details or my website. Happy to share.
Thanks, Prue, that's very kind of you. I've self-published with Amazon (ebooks) and Lulu (print) but things have changed in the last few years. D2D do print now I believe. Anyway, I'll drop you an email in the next few days. Thanks again
I hope it's okay that I'm lurking here. 😌 The idea of publishing has always nibbled around my ankles like a pet duck, but I've not made time to really invest myself in learning what it might involve. Nor have I thought myself capable of or drawn to writing a novel. Children's books and collections of essays feel more up my alley. Anyhoo (as they say), I have a lot to learn about all of it and appreciate knowing folks who know.
If you ever decide that a collection of essays or a children's book is worth publishing, I have a friend who is an amazing children's illustrator (Dave Slaney) and a friend who is my most-excellent cover designer (Jane Dixon Smith) and I have the most intuitive editor I've ever met (John Hudspith). Never say never because the power of your written word is why I started following Chicken Scratch. Beautiful emotive writing!
Wow!! So excited for you Prue!!! I loved your description of how you got back your creativity, and delighted that you are still enjoying the burst of joy with your writing. I've ordered the Red Thread and the first book already. Can't wait to get started!!! ❤️
Thank you for these words, Prue. So inspiring to read how you followed your instinct. I'm currently working on a book... I've been wanting to for some time but kept stopping and starting with various ideas, and then I decided to start writing from the heart and hey presto, I can't put my pen down. We'll see what unfolds! Congratulations on your latest book!🧡🙏🏻🍂
Hallo Alice. Exactly, just play with the thread and the knots undo themselves. It's the philosophy behind Knots in the String, I suppose, if there is one.
And I've really enjoyed reading about your writing process during lockdown. Speaking for myself - as a writer now and a non-writer at the time - I wonder if I would have even written anything at all? Like so many I was a bit stuck in my own head at the time.
I did other things, though. I spattered most of the surfaces of the house with paint - not for redecoration purposes (although that would have been a great idea!), but because I threw myself into mixed media art; I worked on my French for several hours a day in a since-abandoned effort to enrol to train as a modern languages teacher; I finally got to grips with dealing with money (something I had never managed before) and worked out how to make a budget that worked for me, and became ridiculously athletic (see 'since-abandoned' above) thanks to (far too many) YouTube exercise videos.
Now that I'm typing out this question I think it's rather a silly one, but I'll go ahead anyway! Would you recommend that I start with 'The Stumpwork Robe' and read the books in order, or would you say that I'll manage 'The Red Thread' as a standalone read? Having read about its journey all the way through to publication day I feel invested in 'The Red Thread' and want to read it first! 🤣
Let me say, I went berserk with the whole exercise thing during Lockdown. I actually got to say I was dancing with the Australian Ballet! Just better not to admit that it was in the bathroom, holding onto the basin as a barre and with the teacher online. Nevertheless and despite that the polished boards hurt my feet like you wouldn't believe, it was fantastic fun and it meant I didn't go back to on site classes as stiff as a board.
And of course there was all that bush bashing and coast walking!
But to the novels. Well, the money side of me says "oh go on, buy all five." But the reality is that you could manage The Red Thread as a standalone, although it will sing a little better with The Shifu Cloth.
As an aside, A Thousand Glass Flowers won a silver medallion in its time for fantasy.
When I look back on them, they were such a dream to write - literally. A fantastical world so like our own but with a dark fey world in the reflections. Each story takes the reader through the different provinces that make up Eirie - Trevallyn, Veniche, The Raj and the Han. So recognisable of course to everyone.
And yet perhaps not...
One step through the veil, through a fall of blossoms in the Ymp Tree Orchard, through the seventh wave and so many other accidental gates and everyone knows you risk entering the fey world at your peril.
Dancing with the Australian Ballet - that's awesome whichever way you look at it! I painted at the Royal Academy on the same basis! 😁
Shockingly (to me now, but I didn't dare at the time), although we were allowed to go out for exercise once a day I didn't actually leave home at all until July!
Thank you so much for your recommendations about order of reading. I'm making plans accordingly! 😘
Wish they had a laughing emoji here. I'm answering on my computer and being a luddite have no clue how to include a chuckling face. Take it as a given. Snort!
I have to admit something that's a little embarrassing. I actually forget that here on Substack I am among REAL authors, people whose words have been emblazoned on paper pages, with illustrated covers. Editors, Agents, and Publishers - oh, my! To you, Prue, and to everyone on this thread who lands in that category, my hat is off!
The Red Thread sounds like a wonderful tale, and while my forays into fantasy have numbered fewer than historical fiction or non-fiction, I look forward to reading it! I noted below that the experience might be best supported with The Shifu Cloth ahead of it, so I'll consider that as well.
Prue, you are an inspiration, and it seems that at this point in your lived experience you have your priorities perfectly sorted. Before all else, go outside! I'm afraid my trajectory has taken me in the other direction, from long days spent farming, and, frankly, longing for the time to be still more often, to days spent mostly in front of a screen, to do the work I'm now paid to do. Need to figure out how to reconfigure that somehow!
Thanks for bringing us along on this path, and, oddly, thanks, Covid, for helping you find it! Congratulations!
I never thought to bring my writing to the world until the indie movement swept me up in the early 2000's. There is a real and difficult story for many excellent writers who were held off at the gates by those who are called The Gatekeepers in mainstream publishing.
There are number of my writing friends, much younger than I, and we all started together as indies.
I chose to remain an indie instead of chasing Big House publication because it enabled me to hop genres, to be in control of my covers, to keep 75% of any commission. As long as I could pay for cover design, editorial control and formatting (and in those days - marketing), all was tickety boo. These days, the market is flooded by mega millions of indies and our books do tend to sink. I no lomnger wish to spend my money on marketing campaigns either, I'd just rather write and then launch the books on the world. If they entertain anyone, good-oh. For the rest, I have that whole life Outside - my family, farming, gardening, walking, ballet, the ocean and embroidery.
It's not the stuff a devoted successful Bernard Cornwell-type person is made of but it is me. C'est la vie! Back to normal programming next week.
Neither the Indie nor the traditional avenues seem particularly open at this point, though I know there are still some whose work rises above the masses. I do like the idea of balancing our various interests and passions. I, for one, need to draw from every source of energy I can! I'm glad you found your path when you did. And, I'm glad I found you when I did. 😊
Hi CK. Apart from the writing, Lockdown was stunning. Superb! And all through, we had THE best weather. Being somewhat of a loner and introvert, the lack of bods clogging up the pathways, roads and beaches was a true blessing and allowed me to once again experience a life of childhood memories. My family have been on this coast for 100 years and I've been here for 72 so I've seen change - and not change for the better.
I think to revert was so good for the area - it allowed the wildlife (marine and terrestrial) and plant growth on the coastlines to regenerate. And perhaps the loss of writing time allwed me to slough off an old skin and regenerate in an even better one. XXX
Well done. So many writers found lockdown detrimental to their creativity. I found it wonderful for my ARTISTIC creativity because it started me doing daily art (thanks to a prompt list for kids published by the National Gallery of Australia on the 1st May 2020). My sister and I thought that if kids could do daily art based on these prompts, then surely we could. And we’ve continued doing daily art virtually every day since, photographing the results and sharing them with each other by text each evening.
We too have seen the need to change styles. We regularly come back to ‘Zentangle’ - simple but very effective patterns in ink with graphite shading. These little asides keep the creative juices flowing but allow the brain to have a bit of simple fun between more complex works. And it still meets the brief of daily arting even if it only takes fifteen minutes.
The pandemic also increased my need for physical activity, roaming the beautiful countryside in which I live. My neighbour’s little dog was the fittest dog in town for ages as my neighbour would walk the dog for her hour of exercise in the morning and I’d walk her in the afternoon for my precious 60 minutes. I’m so thrilled that you could ‘break the rules’ so joyously and that this habit has remained as ingrained as mine. We’re much happier people when we get out and enjoy our wonderful clean Australian air. Happy sigh.
Thanks so much for another terrific read. Wishing you all the best with the book. Hugs and best wishes. 🤗🤗😘
Congratulations on the launch of your 14th book - I think? - I can’t imagine how that must feel. My first is due in March and I’m already nervous but so excited. Living in England we had some fairly long lockdowns and like you I was very fortunate to be able to enjoy the great outdoors without breaking any rules and my husband and I were great companions during that difficult time. My creativity flourished as otherwise I would have gone stir crazy. I was also fortunate to be able to work from home too. Anyhow, I wrote 2 children’s books during that time and almost forgot about them until my cosy crime novel was picked up by a publisher and when I pitched them to her, she snapped them up and I found myself signing a 3 book deal contract. The rest is a whirlwind of excitement and joy on becoming a publisher author in my sixties. Thanks for a thoroughly enjoyable post and it’s wonderful to read about people’s lives from far flung places. Tasmania sounds beautiful. 💕
Hi Rosy. Well done you with writing in Lockdown!
And pleased for you with a publisher take-up too. Especially at our age! Bit of a giggle.
Best of luck with your launch and here's to more from you!
Yes, 14th book for me, not counting the anthology contributions and a children's book which is currently unavailable. I've still got a few left in me, I hope, and the joy is right back where it should be.
Cheers.
Congratulations! Just out of interest, did you use a service like Draft2Digital?
No, Terry, although I've used them in the past.
This time and for quite some time, I've been operating directly with Amazon for ebooks (Amazon is my biggest seller) and with Ingram Spark for print (global distribution).
Thanks Prue. I considered Ingram a few years ago but it seemed a bit labour -intensive. I've been considering Draft2Digital.
Hi Terry. D2D didn't handle print when I started so many years ago and neither did Amazon, so we went to Ingram Spark. The plan from Darlington Press was to avoid vanity presses at all costs.
Darlington Press uploaded to print today (Friday) and I was told it was much more simplified than previously. If you would like to chat at any time about various experiences of being an indie since 2008, just whack a private email through my contact details or my website. Happy to share.
Thanks, Prue, that's very kind of you. I've self-published with Amazon (ebooks) and Lulu (print) but things have changed in the last few years. D2D do print now I believe. Anyway, I'll drop you an email in the next few days. Thanks again
I hope it's okay that I'm lurking here. 😌 The idea of publishing has always nibbled around my ankles like a pet duck, but I've not made time to really invest myself in learning what it might involve. Nor have I thought myself capable of or drawn to writing a novel. Children's books and collections of essays feel more up my alley. Anyhoo (as they say), I have a lot to learn about all of it and appreciate knowing folks who know.
If you ever decide that a collection of essays or a children's book is worth publishing, I have a friend who is an amazing children's illustrator (Dave Slaney) and a friend who is my most-excellent cover designer (Jane Dixon Smith) and I have the most intuitive editor I've ever met (John Hudspith). Never say never because the power of your written word is why I started following Chicken Scratch. Beautiful emotive writing!
Congratulations Prue, a wonderful achievement writing so many books. I hope you sell squillions!
Squillions would be rather fab, Julia!
One can but dream.
Cheers.
Wow!! So excited for you Prue!!! I loved your description of how you got back your creativity, and delighted that you are still enjoying the burst of joy with your writing. I've ordered the Red Thread and the first book already. Can't wait to get started!!! ❤️
Oh Sabrina, thank you! That's so lovely. Not sure if you're a fantasy fan but I hope you enjoy.
Thank you for these words, Prue. So inspiring to read how you followed your instinct. I'm currently working on a book... I've been wanting to for some time but kept stopping and starting with various ideas, and then I decided to start writing from the heart and hey presto, I can't put my pen down. We'll see what unfolds! Congratulations on your latest book!🧡🙏🏻🍂
Hallo Alice. Exactly, just play with the thread and the knots undo themselves. It's the philosophy behind Knots in the String, I suppose, if there is one.
Go to, Alice. Can't wait to see what you write.
Prue, I'm so excited for you!
And I've really enjoyed reading about your writing process during lockdown. Speaking for myself - as a writer now and a non-writer at the time - I wonder if I would have even written anything at all? Like so many I was a bit stuck in my own head at the time.
I did other things, though. I spattered most of the surfaces of the house with paint - not for redecoration purposes (although that would have been a great idea!), but because I threw myself into mixed media art; I worked on my French for several hours a day in a since-abandoned effort to enrol to train as a modern languages teacher; I finally got to grips with dealing with money (something I had never managed before) and worked out how to make a budget that worked for me, and became ridiculously athletic (see 'since-abandoned' above) thanks to (far too many) YouTube exercise videos.
Now that I'm typing out this question I think it's rather a silly one, but I'll go ahead anyway! Would you recommend that I start with 'The Stumpwork Robe' and read the books in order, or would you say that I'll manage 'The Red Thread' as a standalone read? Having read about its journey all the way through to publication day I feel invested in 'The Red Thread' and want to read it first! 🤣
What a fabulous comment, Rebecca.
Let me say, I went berserk with the whole exercise thing during Lockdown. I actually got to say I was dancing with the Australian Ballet! Just better not to admit that it was in the bathroom, holding onto the basin as a barre and with the teacher online. Nevertheless and despite that the polished boards hurt my feet like you wouldn't believe, it was fantastic fun and it meant I didn't go back to on site classes as stiff as a board.
And of course there was all that bush bashing and coast walking!
But to the novels. Well, the money side of me says "oh go on, buy all five." But the reality is that you could manage The Red Thread as a standalone, although it will sing a little better with The Shifu Cloth.
As an aside, A Thousand Glass Flowers won a silver medallion in its time for fantasy.
When I look back on them, they were such a dream to write - literally. A fantastical world so like our own but with a dark fey world in the reflections. Each story takes the reader through the different provinces that make up Eirie - Trevallyn, Veniche, The Raj and the Han. So recognisable of course to everyone.
And yet perhaps not...
One step through the veil, through a fall of blossoms in the Ymp Tree Orchard, through the seventh wave and so many other accidental gates and everyone knows you risk entering the fey world at your peril.
Have fun, enjoy and don't hate me afterward.
XXXX
Dancing with the Australian Ballet - that's awesome whichever way you look at it! I painted at the Royal Academy on the same basis! 😁
Shockingly (to me now, but I didn't dare at the time), although we were allowed to go out for exercise once a day I didn't actually leave home at all until July!
Thank you so much for your recommendations about order of reading. I'm making plans accordingly! 😘
My gosh, aren't we a couple of lucky people? Dancing and painting with the best. Looks good on the resume!
Oh Rebecca - you are lovely, but seriously, you don't have to buy anything! It may not be your 'cup of tea'. (see what I did there?)
If it arrives in a bag it will definitely be Rebecca's cup of tea
Wish they had a laughing emoji here. I'm answering on my computer and being a luddite have no clue how to include a chuckling face. Take it as a given. Snort!
PC, Windows
Press the Windows key and the full stop (period) at the same time, to get an emoji selection pop-up.
Mac
Press Control-Command-Space. There are other methods too: see https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchlp1560/13.0/mac/13.0 (You can change the Mac model there.).
🤣
I enjoyed reading how this book came to life and about the silver linings of the lockdown. All my best for great success with The Red Thread.
Thank you, Alice.
I have to admit something that's a little embarrassing. I actually forget that here on Substack I am among REAL authors, people whose words have been emblazoned on paper pages, with illustrated covers. Editors, Agents, and Publishers - oh, my! To you, Prue, and to everyone on this thread who lands in that category, my hat is off!
The Red Thread sounds like a wonderful tale, and while my forays into fantasy have numbered fewer than historical fiction or non-fiction, I look forward to reading it! I noted below that the experience might be best supported with The Shifu Cloth ahead of it, so I'll consider that as well.
Prue, you are an inspiration, and it seems that at this point in your lived experience you have your priorities perfectly sorted. Before all else, go outside! I'm afraid my trajectory has taken me in the other direction, from long days spent farming, and, frankly, longing for the time to be still more often, to days spent mostly in front of a screen, to do the work I'm now paid to do. Need to figure out how to reconfigure that somehow!
Thanks for bringing us along on this path, and, oddly, thanks, Covid, for helping you find it! Congratulations!
Thank you, Elizabeth.
I never thought to bring my writing to the world until the indie movement swept me up in the early 2000's. There is a real and difficult story for many excellent writers who were held off at the gates by those who are called The Gatekeepers in mainstream publishing.
There are number of my writing friends, much younger than I, and we all started together as indies.
I chose to remain an indie instead of chasing Big House publication because it enabled me to hop genres, to be in control of my covers, to keep 75% of any commission. As long as I could pay for cover design, editorial control and formatting (and in those days - marketing), all was tickety boo. These days, the market is flooded by mega millions of indies and our books do tend to sink. I no lomnger wish to spend my money on marketing campaigns either, I'd just rather write and then launch the books on the world. If they entertain anyone, good-oh. For the rest, I have that whole life Outside - my family, farming, gardening, walking, ballet, the ocean and embroidery.
It's not the stuff a devoted successful Bernard Cornwell-type person is made of but it is me. C'est la vie! Back to normal programming next week.
XXXX
Neither the Indie nor the traditional avenues seem particularly open at this point, though I know there are still some whose work rises above the masses. I do like the idea of balancing our various interests and passions. I, for one, need to draw from every source of energy I can! I'm glad you found your path when you did. And, I'm glad I found you when I did. 😊
So lovely. Thank you. I feel the same.
Congrats!
Your lockdown sounds rather ideal except for the writers block. A beach and ocean to oneself sounds meditative.
Hi CK. Apart from the writing, Lockdown was stunning. Superb! And all through, we had THE best weather. Being somewhat of a loner and introvert, the lack of bods clogging up the pathways, roads and beaches was a true blessing and allowed me to once again experience a life of childhood memories. My family have been on this coast for 100 years and I've been here for 72 so I've seen change - and not change for the better.
I think to revert was so good for the area - it allowed the wildlife (marine and terrestrial) and plant growth on the coastlines to regenerate. And perhaps the loss of writing time allwed me to slough off an old skin and regenerate in an even better one. XXX
The lockdown- a blessing in disguise.
Well done. So many writers found lockdown detrimental to their creativity. I found it wonderful for my ARTISTIC creativity because it started me doing daily art (thanks to a prompt list for kids published by the National Gallery of Australia on the 1st May 2020). My sister and I thought that if kids could do daily art based on these prompts, then surely we could. And we’ve continued doing daily art virtually every day since, photographing the results and sharing them with each other by text each evening.
We too have seen the need to change styles. We regularly come back to ‘Zentangle’ - simple but very effective patterns in ink with graphite shading. These little asides keep the creative juices flowing but allow the brain to have a bit of simple fun between more complex works. And it still meets the brief of daily arting even if it only takes fifteen minutes.
The pandemic also increased my need for physical activity, roaming the beautiful countryside in which I live. My neighbour’s little dog was the fittest dog in town for ages as my neighbour would walk the dog for her hour of exercise in the morning and I’d walk her in the afternoon for my precious 60 minutes. I’m so thrilled that you could ‘break the rules’ so joyously and that this habit has remained as ingrained as mine. We’re much happier people when we get out and enjoy our wonderful clean Australian air. Happy sigh.
Thanks so much for another terrific read. Wishing you all the best with the book. Hugs and best wishes. 🤗🤗😘