Where to start. It has not so much been a busy writing month but certainly a productive one. I'm currently gearing up for the launch of my book of short stories titled: Snapshots, a title courtesy of fellow WordWatcher Debbie Smith.
Snapshots will feature four short stories written by me. The first three were written in 2006 and have been fully edited this last month. The final short I wrote this month too. I love them all of course and consider them to be a bit good. Each story is about 7000 words long, so technically the purists may consider them not to be shorts at all. They are perfect little reads for commuting and while sipping your Horlicks before bed. The content covers different writing styles I've experimented with in the last six years, namely: Contemporary Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism and something I'm going to call right now Crime Realism. This last story additionally features DI Boer from Chasing Innocence.The cover art for Snapshots will consist of five drawings in a style inspired by the Corpse Bride, which I'm very pleased to announce are being created by Monika Filipina, who also happens to be the cover model for my fiction thriller novel Chasing Innocence.Snapshots will be available as a Kindle download for under £1 from November. It will also be available for very little money as a paperback from Amazon. If you're in Newbury leading upto Christmas and are approached by a hopeful looking bloke waving a book at you, it'll either be me or the Salvation Army. I'll be giving away free copies of Snapshots so keep an eye out.There is very exciting news as Chasing Innocence has won ANOTHER International award. There is a chance by October it will have gained at least one more award (maybe), so I'm keeping it all under my hat at the moment. I have spent a very interesting week working with some fellow authors and book promotors in the States: mostly I've been blown away by the whirlwind that is Melissa Foster. If you are trying to find an audience in the digital realm then I highly recommend you check out one or all of her sites. The World Literary Cafe, Fostering Success and her own personal site.I have reached a very important threshold in the writing of TMWWRWs, a monumental threshold. A whole bunch of things came together this month. Anyone that reads this monthly post (yeah you two, I'm looking at you!) will know I've struggled mightily. A friend said to me the other day, if you're winning all these awards for writing like you did in Chasing Innocence, why the hell are you now trying to write in a completely different way?Very good point! See you next month, should be a big one.J.P.