Long Time, No See

It's been a long time coming, but my life has definitely gotten worse. I still have no job and very little savings and am nowhere on this damn book. I have my plot, timeline is in better shape than ever (shame I'm not, but never mind that...) and my book would sell big time but I just can't get motivated. I have no publisher as I'm not paying for that until I have spare money, so what do I do? I play on social network sites, bitching about the lack of impetus. Is anyone out there will ing to pay for a book about a killer who ends up killing women because his mistress finally stands up to him? Any good? No, didn't think so. I'm going to have to work on the blurb a bit more aren't I? (Any tips? If anyone knows a cheap publishing house, I'd be very grateful!)

Okay, how's this:

In the right situation, who wouldn't lose their temper and snap? Who wouldn't kill to save their skin? But who would dump the lifeless bodies in chapels, after begging them for forgiveness? That's what Detective Inspector Alan Turner and his crack team of detectives have to figure out.

Things take a turn for the worse when two of their own go missing? What would you do, if your lover was one of them?

Any takers? Let me know in the usual way (email or twitter message..)

Suzi

New website up and running (I hope!)

Hello, again. I have spent the day setting up the website and it is now available on the following address and has a seperate blog so you have two to catch up on now!
http://suzikingauthor.yolasite.com/guestbook.php

So far I've gotten a couple of extracts up and will try to do one a week and develop the stories I have. There are some details on there for contacting me and if a feedback form so that you can tell me exactly what you think so far!

See you there!
Suzi
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First Short Story

Here it is, as promised:
It was a piss-poor Monday in the newly established offices of the Anti-Gang Unit. DCI Alan Turner was showing the new recruits the ropes, and one of them just stuck out like a sore thumb. Castor was the new girl in a swarm of men, all rearing to go. She had caught Alan's eye (even though he was completely against sex in the workplace) but who could miss that lipstick? She had caught him staring at her across the canteen that morning, and had joined him in a bacon sarnie and coffee. Not your typical woman, Jo wasn't concerned with the way she looked, more the way she presented herself to others. She and Alan clicked straight away, plutonically speaking. James Thomas had caught her eye too, but more in the Alpha Male sense. He was a big guy, strong too; Alan would never go against nature and win, would he?
The Commisionner had come along for the ceremony and the blessing from the Station Chaplain. After this he had work to do, and the fact that the whole show was still waiting for one man to appear wasn't helping his temper. Jo looked at Alan and decided that she needed to calm him down. Approaching him carefully, she started by flattering his better side, the reason she was in the unit in the first place.
"So, John, how is everything?"
"Good, you? I hear you made it to DC. I'll have to keep my eye on you." He winked cheesily at her, worrying her deeply. "How do you think Turner will cope with a hot blooded girl like you around the office?"
"He'll be fine, sir. It's Jimmy you should keep an eye on. After Turner's job because he thinks he could do better."
"And you don't?" The question stumped her: did she think Jimmy could do better? Or was it John who thought Jimmy would do better? Would Alan ever be the man to back?

This is just the start, needs a little work, but how was that for you? If you have any problems, let me know at the email address on my profile. Thanks
x
PS: if anyone knows where I can find a better list of Brit Police Ranks I'd be v. greatful!!

Second Scene I've Been Working On

This is a second scene for the short stories/novel I'm working on. It gets a bit steamy, so if it offends, let me know.

It was Tuesday, two days before Operation Narcissus went full scale, and Alan was feeling it. He wasn't even in the office but still felt the tension that masses before such a big op. He'd been reinstated after he was cleared of murdering his partner Tom who had been helping him to track Kwan in the first place. Alan missed Tom so much it hurt to be out in the field with a new partner already. Tommy would haunt him for this.

He'd been in a bar, down in the city, when a fight broke out. He decided to do nothing as it was two women, wait for back-up to solve it. But no. No quiet night out for Alan. Suddenly, he heard his name and looked more carefully and realised he was staring at Jo. She was in a fight? No, not Jo.

Jo was screaming for Alan by the time he realised it was her. She had hold of Kwan's aide, Rebecca, from the times before the crimes. She had survived only because she promised Kwan she would not talk. So, Kwan cut off her left hand at the last knuckle where her engagement ring once sat, to remind her silence is golden. Jo was really going for it, punching, scratching and yelling at her opponent who looked like she'd been dragged into this against her will. Well, he figured she had but usually they put up more fight than this don't they? Women. He was never going to understand them. And now was not a time to try. He went over and grabbed Jo, pulling her away so that Rebecca could escape. Alan didn't need to ask why, he'd agreed this plan with Jo earlier but had never seen her perform so well.

“So, remind me, why aren't you an actress?”
“Not my scene.” she said, laughing and fixing her hair, hoping that it wasn't ruined. “Thanks for that. Saved my arse. You should do it again sometime.” She smiled at him and he realised where this was going.

“What about Jimmy? Aren't you and he... exclusive?” He hoped he hadn't offended her but he was never going to be sure.

“Yes.” She said finally, where to start? “We were. But…the drinking is really ruining it for me. He,” she paused, considering where this was going. “He.. well he's been seeing his ex-wife and we- no, I- decided we needed a break. A long one. He called me earlier and ended it. He told me not to go through with tonight's op. But I did anyway.” Silence followed as they got into a taxi, headed for her place. Alan was unsure if he should go through with this but the ball was in her court, he only agreed to coffee. God, he hoped she was naïve!

Jo's place was somewhere he'd never been. It felt wrong knowing that James, their boss, had been here. And been in that bed. Weird but manageable. If that was her plan, he'd unleash the moves and do it right. He'd practiced enough. He was remembering his last encounter when she came in in her... what was the word for it? Negligée. That was the word. What a glorious word. She came over to him and noticed that the eyes were glazed and the cogs were no longer turning. “You like it then? It's new.” That was all she had to say. He leaned in and took her by surprise. Long and hard kisses were a perfected art for Alan, one he'd always gotten right. She was taken in and couldn't bear to end it. He [picked] her up and carried her off to the bedroom where not long later, fireworks would erupt and love would be made.

As he laid Jo onto the bed, she looked into his eyes, seeing nothing but want and need. Sure he saw the same in hers, she flipped him onto his back and began taking off his tie. Eyeing it with some thought, she asked him why he was here, with her.

“Because we want the same thing.”

“Hmm, we'll save this for later then...” With that, she threw the tie to one side before delving in for another long, kiss.

It was around eight am when Alan woke up. He had no idea where he was for a while but he remembered and another thought struck him: where did Jo go? Just as he thought it, she appeared with coffee, toast and asked if he wanted more. He was so stunned that she hadn't flung him out, he couldn't speak. She set down the breakfast stuff, glad she'd finished in the kitchen because wondering whether the gas was still on would bug her so much... But anyway, Alan was awake but sleepy and needed a jolt to bring him round. She leaned in and kissed him lightly, judging his reactions carefully, step-by-step. He responded on kind, before grabbing her and pulling her into another tangle. She shed the dressing gown, revealing nothing but skin, hot, wanting skin. She let him enter her, surprised he was as gentle as he had been last night, she was impressed. He flipped her over so she was beneath him, and he kissed her again, in that light, teasing, haunting way he had. It was heaven, to be treated as the fairer sex, the one who deserved sex to be good and fun for both. Jimmy was selfish in and out of bed, but those thoughts were wrong right now. Alan was busy using her body to tease them both. He was good, so good she couldn't stop the cry from erupting out of her as he plunged deeper, scratching that itch that had been building all night as they'd stared at each other across that bar, wondering if they should, or would. Oh, yes. They should have. And they had. And they were! Alan was whispering to her, snapping her out of her trance. “Jo? This okay for you?” He hoped he'd phrased it right. He didn't want to sound patronising, after all the connection was so good right now. She started to whisper something to him and he nearly peaked there and then, her suggestion was so unlike her. The 'her' he knew form work, anyway. He did as she suggested and there, together, they became one, revelling in the memories that last hour had made.

*Sorry for any spelling errors, or any grammar errors, please let me know and I'll correct them later. Thanks!*

Suzi

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A New Twist But Will It Work?

I have been working hard these last few days, trying to figure out why I'm not progressing and I think it's because I'm trying to hard to write in order, as opposed to just winging it and editing later. This, however, is my new tact: I will be writing scenes and putting them in order at a later date. This may take a while to get used to just writing, but I think it will benefit me as I have an imagination and the curse of perfectionism so the editing will be checked at least twice!

I feel like writing short stories centred around the characters I have now, and then using that to launch the book. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to maximise my works out there and my potential. I hope so. You know, that's what I'll do over summer. On here, I'll publish a few short stories and then compile them into a book when I have the money together. If you could please read them and give me feedback, I'd be very greatful!

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Where to go next... part two

In the recent weeks I have worked my arse off doing this book and hope it will pay off as my next section is, if I say so myself, awesome. I can't say much, obviously, but I have a book on Human Osteology (by William M Bass) that I treasure above all my textbooks, that has come in very handy recently. The doctor in this section is based on what I wanted to be before I realised I want to write full-time. I wanted to deal with bones and find out who people were but I found that I can't do that until i find a course that actually offers me help, rather than just ignoring my problems. Anyway, she is an expert in Neurology rather than Osteology but has a mind like an Aladdin's cave. Most of my characters are improving into people: Alan and Jo are moving forward as a right pair of Jonathan Creeks; Tim is harassing everyone and no-one's caught the criminals. Yet.
Just a quick update to say I'm still working on it and will be for sometime. I hope to be done by Xmas, because if I don't set a deadline, I'll never do it... Wish me luck!!
xxx

Planning for the book and afterwards

My book is set over three weeks in Liverpool involving gangs, Police Investigations and explosions! I nearly have the three weeks planned, I just need to assign times for each event so that it flows properly. Then I can type it up and get it proofed and published!! I really can't wait to hold and read a copy of my own book. My book, that I wrote with so much support from friends and family. I just hope people will like it and read it and maybe even buy it. I'm trying to make it readable and re-readable. Of all the books I have, I'll reread half again, most more than five times. I love to read and now I'm developing a love of writing because it's what I want. Matt is happy for me to do it because he knows I can do it. Family have never really known but I'm unsure as to whether I should use my real name or make one up... I like my name but I don't want old friends who didn't know about it to judge, and other general readers to judge me by the name. What to do?
I'm enjoying it, I'm really getting into writing about people I've made up and getting them to function properly. As people. My scenes need polishing up, so I type them up on the laptop and edit them that way. Saving the rainforests, single-handedly! I put in a few 'Easter Egg' references to show what I like to read and watch, like CSI references and Star trek, I think, makes it in somewhere.
When I have more done, I'll put up my first draft of the blurb! Hope it draws people in! I'd read it but then again, I'm biased...

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Progress At Last!

I am finally getting to where I wanted to be a few years ago. I have finally got my characters to be people! VK is now the good girl who turns bad, rather than the b***h of the book. She has a past tragedy and she moved on but it comes back to haunt her. That's the plan anyway, but I'm concentrating on writing it in order as I did that wrong a while ago. I tried backwards writing a few weeks ago, also not good. I now have a better plan layout and notebook specifically for this, so I'm not getting my pages in a muddle anymore!
I got up to Chapter three in my second draft this afternoon, and if I do say so myself it's goood! It's set over three weeks of the investigation into a robbery and the resulting gang warfare as the two main gangs fight it out. She gets caught up in it as her family is victimised. It all gets a little hairy but it'll be awesome when it's done.
I'll be getting it published at some point so that'll be a big triumph for me, up there with marrying matt and having our children. It'll mean I'm not just some waste of space that can't achieve anything. I can do anything I want and this is what I want. There will be more from me, in this series and others. That's how I roll.

Breakthrough!

Hi. I feel so much better today! I made my first breakthrough in months yesterday when I changed the dynamic of my main character! That was all I had to do, now I can do it, it works at last! She is now a good girl with all the willpower (or lack of) to stay that way. Depending on what I write, she could change dramatically. I don't want her to but if she has to, then that's fine. But I won't do it for fun! She isn't the heroine, more the damsel-in-distress kinda gal. But she can hold her own. Alan is the main guy/hero, Jo is heroine.
It's going well at last, but who knows! When it's published (I'm only doin about 10) if anyone wants one, please email me and I'll see what happens! It's all so great!!!

Scenes

Apologies to anyone that cares, but can't get the site to accept my scenes! I'll keep trying but don't fret, if I can't get them on here you can email me and I'll send you some work!
I do assert my Intellectual Property Rights so no stealing!!

Suzi
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Rough Drafts of Scenes

Hi, the next few blogs will be rough drafts (very rough) as promised months ago. They're not necessarily going into the main book but maybe into a collection of short stories. So here's my first scene idea:

At the Docklands, there was an explosion that would have rocked even James Bond's cool but, somehow, they all hung on. Hoping on hope that Alan would survive. He was tough, but Alan was too busy waiting for Kwan to mess up. He knew it was coming, he just didn't know when. He hoped it was soon. That explosion could easily be tracked to a few feet from him. What was next? Where was next?

If you have ever felt offended by anything I've written, I wholeheartedly apologise and hope that, with any suggestions, I could tailor my writing so that it doesn't offend. If you just let me know, I can try harder for the future.
Thanks,
Suzi
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Playlists

Hello, writing more scenes at the moment. United winning helped a little, but not that much. Anyway, finding that music helps me more. For instance, if I'm writing the naughty scenes, Meatloaf helps. Especially "(I Would Do) Anything for Love", that's a killer when followed by "Lady In Red" by Chris De Burgh. For fight scenes, Slipknot "Before I Forget" helped. Angsty songs get me steamed and I guess that's the point but it works. "Cold As Ice" by Foreigner is doing nothing for me now though.
Considering how down about this I was before, I'm making progress. Got my ideas better spaced and a timeline has formed naturally instead of me trying to force it. Thank God! REO Speedwagon is on now, time for more lovin!!

Dictaphone

Hi. I'm using the dictaphone now to help with flow and getting ideas in order. Absolute. Dream. Should have gotten one earlier, thanks mum! Anyway, I'm finding it easier to organise the characters and their development as I can go over it and change it without needing to find it on paper. I'm single handedly saving the rainforests here!!
I'm starting with VK as she is my pivotal character and may be in the three planned books, I'm not sure yet how to get her to move forward or be a more rounded person. Once that's sloved, it'll be much easier to get the others to follow the same pattern. There are quite a few...
Does anyone have the Intellectual Property Rights on Reverse-Story-Writing? Am so having that if no-one else does! It's easier to write my timelines if I'm only going backwards and easier to add people if they are going away from the action. I'm trying to figure out if I should start again and use a different layout? By that I mean change the starting point and use the ending as the catalyst for what happens. I'm gonna try it and put a bit on here tomorrow so please leave feedback. You know if anyone even read this...

Where to go next...

Hi. I'm having problems again. I'm not meant to be a writer am I? Anyway, I'm stuck agian. Trying to get my characters to develop into people but people seem to turn into characters easier. Have I got that right? Yeah. Easier. Less fair. Whichever. Also, watching Jeremy Kyle while trying to write is possibly the worst idea ever but I still do it, what else am I to do? The chavs give me ideas, not enough to credit them but they do put me off using certain personality traits so I guess that's good. But it's not enough, wrong even. It couldn't be any wronger, could it? Chavs are nature's comedy, this is not a comedy. Maybe a comedy of errors, nothing else.
I always had ideas of having this awesome book done and sold and I'd be onto, like, number three by now. Make it a trilogy, you know. But no. No, no, no. Not a chance. I wanted VK to be really evil and ruthless but so far she's just a tad psychotic. And more rubber than rubber itself. She needs to be elasticated, flexible. She's like me in my first yoga class. Bloody useless.
Might have to try a different approach. Write backwards and no I don't mean the funny "Look, I can write backwards" writing. I mean timewise. Write her demise, first then give her a life. Maybe I could figure it out better, who knows? Who cares?? Besides me, obviously.

(On May 6th, I'll publish some of what I've done on here for people to read. Please leave feedback, it will help me to improve the book. I promise!!)

Why Story Lines and Time Lines Are Never Meant To Be

Hello. As you can tell from the title, I'm having a little trouble. My timelines are out and I can't seem to fix it. Why is time not malleable? Would that be so hard?? Well, yes. Obviously. But still, help me out!
Why is it that when I read other books, they're perfect? I've only ever found one. Nora Roberts' The Hollow. Caleb's gran is 93 in this book, whereas in the first book Blood Brothers, she's 97. That's the only one I've ever found. Why can't mine work??

The Empire Of The Dragon Novel: 1

Hi, I'm Suzanne and I've been trying to write this novel for nearly ten years now. It's not going so well. Recently, it became my focus again and so here I am, hoping to find people who would read my novel. If you are one of these lovely people, please leave feedback (positive or negative, I don't mind) or questions so that I can get past this block and fulfill my dream of completing this novel.
(I assert my Intellectual Property Rights, so please don't use any of the information in this blog for yourselves. That would hurt both of us. )
Thank you,
Suzi
xxx