Progress

I have been feeling ebulliently cheerful today.  I have momentarily been convinced that The Malice of Fairies is going to really appeal to some of these publishers and agents.  I have sent it off to a UK publisher, a UK agent and two US agents today.  The UK agent would appreciate time to consider the book without feeling other agents are also in the race.  That is a charming idea, and if it means they will take it, then great.  However I suspect it will just mean their reader has a more leisurely period for dismissing it in.

Since it's nearly full moon, here's one I took in September

Agents are so different - there are clearly some who go through their own inboxes and answer rapidly, and others who farm everything out to readers, who may or may not reflect the agent's wishlist.  And then again, those wishlists, they are so full of things that ring a bell, that make one feel a common bond with the agent, which the agent doesn't really recognise when looking at your submission.  For some reason I don't have much hope of Head of Zeus, mostly because they seem to publish more thrillers than anything else.  They say they publish literary/commercial etc. so there's no reason why they shouldn't.  Especially a literary/commercial novel with magical elements that will appeal to everyone, and is set in Ireland - a place revered around the world for general magic and mystery.  There is another publisher called "& Other Stories" which sounds feasible - but might actually be too literary for me...  There's nothing very experimental about TMOF except the subject.

Damn it, someone out there must publish it sooner or later.  I really believe in it, but there's always the nagging voice that says "well no one's liked it so far".  Apparently one failure of human intellect is to assume the future will be like the past.  I have to assume, quite strongly, that it will not be. But I have always believed in the possibility of change and this is how I persist. 

The Cast List!

Today I am still slightly in Limbo... first I can't do submissions until I get the full text back, secondly I suddenly started doing a bit of a new novel - working title "An Instant Dislike".  My mojo went awol for a few days, for health reasons, but has mercifully returned  A sunny day works wonders.   So, having done 4,000 words of An Instant Dislike over two days, I went out this morning, to Spanish, then we went into town because it was a lovely sunny day and we had a couple of cheques to pay in.  And then it was nearly lunchtime - so we had a small lunch at  the Arches bar, and a small glass of rose (first of the season!).

Then we came home and walked up the dreaded Jacob's Ladder - it killed me, but I did it.  Then I felt inspired and gardened for about half an hour in the sunshine.  Feel much, much better.  Where is the writing coming in?   No, there was no writing today.  I got into a completely frivolous correspondence with my editor about who would play various parts in the film of TMoF - we have already cast Connor - Sylvain Dieuaide (left) and Tadgh - Theo Cholbi (below).

We have basically agreed that Olivia Coleman would be nice for Deirdre, although perhaps too nice?  And Jeremy Irons would be OK for Philopoemen.   Suddenly I realise that there are quite a lot of good meaty parts, and why the hell am I not (a) working on the script and (b) working on The Ash Grove or (c) writing another 2,000 words of An Instant Dislike (which doesn't get italicised because it is a whim rather than a book at present).  But today has just been one of those slightly larky, chatty self indulgent days that have to happen occasionally in one's life.  So I should just enjoy it, and I have, and try and do some serious work tomorrow.

Also, it is of course St. Patrick's day today, so I'm allowed to do something frivolously Irish.  It has just occurred to me, why did the Church chose 17th March to be St. Patrick's?  In the old calendar would it have fallen around the vernal equinox (which may have had pagan significance?).

katehamlyn.com

I have a website.  I took advice from Ruth Rollason of Marmalade Design who came and held my hand through the process, and I realised, yet again, how incredibly fortunate I am in my friends.

The website is chiefly to act as a calling card to agents and publishers, to show that I am serious!  

Thanks to Tara I had decent versions of 3 book covers (she smartened up the Blarney cover picture for me) and so on the whole, the whole thing looks pretty professional.  It is slightly marred by the photo of me, but photos of me are pretty grim on the whole (unless they show me under 25).

So, I need to Google myself and see if it comes up now.