Issue 10 – August 2021

Editor’s Letter

August has been a month of juggling family commitments with work – proving that it’s not possible to have it all, but you can juggle life to have a little of everything!

I’ve continued to work with children’s Young Adult (YA) fiction author, Sheena Law, on her hugely entertaining and highly recommended Finders Keepers? The plot is excellent and centres around two boys from very different backgrounds, who stumble across each other at the lowest points in their thirteen and fourteen years. At the end of their first day, they’ve uncovered a trunk containing the first clues in the treasure hunt which cements their friendship and challenges them physically, emotionally and mentally.

I said at the beginning of this letter that Sheena’s plot writing is excellent, and plot writing is the focus of this month’s blog. During my time away, I had the opportunity to read a lot of fiction and contrasting different genre – a vital part of an author’s and editor’s learning – has shown me how important it is to either begin your plotting with strong characters or to create strong characters through plotting. I’d love to hear your thoughts: info@authorspen.co.uk

I hope you’ve had a great month with your reading and writing.

Happy writing,

Lesley

Contents: writing prompts, book reviews

Writing Prompts

I feel her emotions are too raw, it’s hard just to sit there and take it …

Amy bit down hard, stomach curdling as she felt the flesh on his hand separate …

Fingers trailed in the icy water, inviting attention from below …

Book Reviews  

Blood Orange, by Harriet Tyce

I absolutely loved this book and zipped through it in a couple of days.

Blood Orange follows the story of barrister, Alison, whose marriage seems initially faultless. Despite this Alison is having an affair with a man who appears to have no emotional respect for her, even while seeming to respect her intellectually. Comments made by her husband suggest that he too chips away at her self-esteem. Yet in others Alison is able to recognise signs of abuse and particularly as she begins to delve into the background of her first murder case. As we gradually learn more about each of the characters in the story very different and complex stories begin to emerge and if there were a moral to this story then I believe it would be that we never know what goes on behind closed doors.

Harriet has used her considerable legal knowledge in this debut novel to tremendous effect. I wasn’t able to second guess the outcome, although the clues were there and nagged uncomfortably throughout. These clues, together with great plot and sub-plots ensured I was pinned to my seat and unable to put the book down. If I could have awarded Blood Orange six out of five stars then I would. It’s not perfect but it is incredibly well written, gripping throughout and meticulously plotted. Just phenomenal and I loved it.

Close to Home, by Cara Hunter

This is a phenomenal book, which I raced through in two intensive days of beach reading.

The writing styles are really clever and the story is told through a mixture of Tweets, police interviews with suspects and narrative. The research into police procedure and every other element of story and character are brilliant and absolutely gripping.

You’re drawn into Daisy’s story and personality as told through the mediums above and desperately hope she will be found alive as her family are laid bare and their secrets revealed. This story is so clever and veers from one horrific and believable subplot to the next, ensuring the reader is pinned to the page. This is a good example of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s writing example where storylines finish with ‘but’, rather than ‘and’.

I would have liked to have seen Daisy’s half-brother’s story developed a little more – it sort of peters out, and too for the ending to have followed the same believable story lines as the rest of the book. There is an element of red herring, although there are a number of clues scattered through the book which point towards this denouement, but it is still sadly a little hard to believe. Nonetheless, I would really recommend this book, it’s pacy and incredibly well written and plotted.

The End of Summer, by Rosamunde Pilcher

I was immediately captured by the rhythm and flow of Rosamunde Pilcher’s writing, it is always a pleasure to read a book that has been crafted with such care to sentence structure and word choice. The story is captivating too and I was swept up in Jane’s story as she makes her way from California, back to her mother’s childhood home, Elvie, in Scotland. Jane and her father left the UK abruptly following Jane’s mother’s early death. At the time her grandmother pleads with her father to allow Jane to stay in Elvie and promises that she will raise her granddaughter. She’s already raising Sinclair, the son of her son, a seemingly dashing and slightly older cousin to Jane. Jane has always been half in love with Sinclair and he is one of her reasons for leaving her father. Previously she’s been aware that her grandmother has repeated her invitation for Jane to live at Elvie, but has resisted the temptation to leave. When her father brings home a friend and says she’s moving in with them the timing coincides with the opportunity to leave, which is offered during a visit from her grandmother’s solicitor. Jane throws her belongings into a case and hurries back to Elvie. She arrives and finds that things have changed in the intervening years and she is forced to pick apart the truth from the public image Sinclair portrays. Absolutely gripping from the outset, full of intriguing sub-plots and the writing is utterly beautiful too.