And so begins another year of writing and reading!
This is my first monthly writing update for 2017 and my five writing resolutions are going well.
I reviewed a self-published book, Blue Moon by Pat Spence, and received some lovely bookmarks as a thank you.
I read another book, His Bloody Project, which I found in my Christmas stocking last month. The Booker Prize nominated novel by Graeme Macrae Burnet is 19th century true crime about a triple murder in Scotland. Very gripping, surprisingly funny and thought-provokingly inconclusive!
It was not a very productive month for writing. Excuses include catching a stomach bug from my baby, catching a cold from my baby, writing two ILM essays and spending five nights in Amsterdam on a work trip.
That said, I did present two chapters of Nephos 3 to the Birmingham Writers’ Group and received mostly positive comments. I wrote a lot in my notebook but, alas, scribbles don’t count until they have been typed up. Rules is rules.
I also applied for Room 204 nice and early. There was no video requirement this year, although you can still watch my video application from last year. This writing resolution is now fully ticked off my list. I only had to apply for Room 204 to fulfil the resolution – not necessarily get accepted – although of course I would love to be chosen. This prestigious writing programme could be a game-changer.
Offline, I attended the inaugural Blogger Brekkie at Foyles bookshop in Grand Central. I spoke to lots of lovely book bloggers over pain au chocolate and ladles of tea. There were familiar faces such as Nordie and Heide Goody but I was also introduced to Mel’s Bookland Adventures, A Brummie Home and Abroad and award-winning food blog Full To The Brum.
Foyles even asked us to write book recommendations for their shelves, which was great fun.
I also re-edited the paperbacks for Breadcrumbs and The Curse of Besti Bori, so they are now 100% free of errors. I think. There has never been a better time to grab a copy.
And I wrote a book review policy for my website. All in all, a good start to 2017!
Sign up to Simon's newsletter to hear more about his reading and writing projects.
This is my first monthly writing update for 2017 and my five writing resolutions are going well.
I reviewed a self-published book, Blue Moon by Pat Spence, and received some lovely bookmarks as a thank you.
I read another book, His Bloody Project, which I found in my Christmas stocking last month. The Booker Prize nominated novel by Graeme Macrae Burnet is 19th century true crime about a triple murder in Scotland. Very gripping, surprisingly funny and thought-provokingly inconclusive!
It was not a very productive month for writing. Excuses include catching a stomach bug from my baby, catching a cold from my baby, writing two ILM essays and spending five nights in Amsterdam on a work trip.
That said, I did present two chapters of Nephos 3 to the Birmingham Writers’ Group and received mostly positive comments. I wrote a lot in my notebook but, alas, scribbles don’t count until they have been typed up. Rules is rules.
I also applied for Room 204 nice and early. There was no video requirement this year, although you can still watch my video application from last year. This writing resolution is now fully ticked off my list. I only had to apply for Room 204 to fulfil the resolution – not necessarily get accepted – although of course I would love to be chosen. This prestigious writing programme could be a game-changer.
Offline, I attended the inaugural Blogger Brekkie at Foyles bookshop in Grand Central. I spoke to lots of lovely book bloggers over pain au chocolate and ladles of tea. There were familiar faces such as Nordie and Heide Goody but I was also introduced to Mel’s Bookland Adventures, A Brummie Home and Abroad and award-winning food blog Full To The Brum.
Foyles even asked us to write book recommendations for their shelves, which was great fun.
I also re-edited the paperbacks for Breadcrumbs and The Curse of Besti Bori, so they are now 100% free of errors. I think. There has never been a better time to grab a copy.
And I wrote a book review policy for my website. All in all, a good start to 2017!
Sign up to Simon's newsletter to hear more about his reading and writing projects.