I’ve got Projects Coming out of my Ears

May 19, 2019Leave a comment

Printed Words cover

It’s been a while since I put a writing update on here, but I’ve been busy. As the title of this blog post suggests, I’m working on a lot of projects.

In January this year, I started Printed Words; originally intending it to be an e-zime, but it seemed to force its way into print and became a magazine too. It’s been an experience; reading submissions, replying with acceptances or rejections and feedback whenever possible. I was worried that people might not react well to some constructive criticism, choosing to take it personally or become defensive. Instead, I’ve received a positive response. Most of the writers whose work I haven’t accepted have appreciated the feedback at least. As many seasoned writers will know, rejections often contain nothing to tell the writer why their work wasn’t accepted.

For anyone wanting to find out more about the e-zine/magazine here are the links to the guidelines and the Facebook page.

Printed Words Facebook Page

GUIDELINES

Submissions will re-open in mid-June.

I’ve also re-edited and re-released After the Zombies, which was originally written as a present for my sister. If you’re reading this before 24^th May you can enter to win a paperback copy HERE

Otherwise, you can buy a copy HERE or from your local Amazon website if not in the UK.

If you’d like to read the book for free, you can. It’s available as an e-book on several platforms.

Click here to find your preferred choice (not Amazon, unfortunately).

The full-length sequel “Not Human” and the novella “Life After Zombies” which followed on the story will be re-edited and combined into one book, for release later this year. I’ll be sticking with the title “Not Human” and the amazing cover which was turned down from Amazon ads because the zombie was covered in blood.

I’m also working on numerous poetry projects. One I can’t talk about here, another is a collection of the poems I’ve written over the last three years. I’ve narrowed it down to 51 so far, but might cut a few more before it goes to print.

I’ve designed the cover already.

poetry book cover

Another collection I’m putting together will involve Father Christmas dying repeatedly in a series of unfortunate incidents. It’s funnier than it sounds (I hope.)

Here a teaser image from an of the image which will accompany one of the poems.

white llama

I’m also working a series of seven-word poems with my partner. This is in addition to a collection about an imaginary couple inspired by his collection. There will be a crossover poem where the two couples meet.

Before I forget to mention it, my long-awaited YA novel “First Charge” has been given a June release date. This was previously self-published briefly, before I un-published it and was given a contract by Gnome on Pig Productions. They also want to publish the other two books in the series. I’ve written book two and am halfway through the first draft of book three.

If that’s not enough, I’ve just started writing a sci-fi novel which I’m really excited about, but can’t discuss yet. The ideas are flying around and I’m in the process of world-building, which is something I’ve never done to this extent before.

I joined Medium this month and have written some articles on there too.

I believe you have to be a paid member to read them all in full, but it allowed you to read a few articles before asking you to pay.

So, check out some of my articles HERE

Finally, the monthly book review podcast I co-host with Andy N is still ongoing too. I find having to come up with two or three books a month encourages me read some of my books, even if I do keep buying them faster than I’m reading them. As Stephen King says, if you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time or the tool to write. Hopefully, the books I’m reading are providing me with the right tools.

Listen to the latest episode here

Q&A with Andy N (co-host of SpeakEasy)

April 28, 2019Leave a comment

How did you first hear about SpeakEasy and when did you get involved in co-hosting the event?

It came about by chance actually I think from my Father who heard about at Stretford Library somewhere around June or July of 2015 and I ended up going down to the 1^st

Although I was / am an experienced writer / reader, I was out of practice at that stage (long story which I won’t go into great detail) and I can remember feeling a little bit nervous by the excitement. The welcoming, low key nature of it (advertised as living room literature — the room where it is hosted reminded me of a living room) won me around and I became a regular for the next two years or so.

At the end of summer 2017, Dave who had been running Speakeasy had to step aside and Steve agreed to take over at the end of that year. Steve couldn’t host one of these events at the start of 2018. I came on board to do guest MCing (or hosting) and since then I’ve kind of just stayed on-board assisting Steve to run it ever since.

Manchester has a lot of spoken word nights. How is SpeakEasy different from those?

One thing Dave started off when he created the night — which me and Steve carried on — is that all of the readers are the headline acts. Everybody who reads is treated the same and given the chance to read out their poetry across two halves, a total of six minutes’ worth of poetry, short stories, flash fiction or creative non-fiction. I am also proud of the supportive atmosphere, whether experienced or brand new to reading out work. SpeakEasy is a place free from Ego’s, filled with nothing but encouragement. It has a vibe I haven’t experienced in any other venue, which feels like you are reading out in the company of friends. That’s probably the reason why I agreed to help Steve out with the night originally. I’m a regular at quite a few other nights, but Speakeasy is something special. I read it described elsewhere as “The venue itself is quirky and uncanny, with an array of lampshades that remind me of a David Lynch film.”

Indeed, the atmosphere and low-key theatrical vibe of the space, helps to give Speakeasy its own distinctive identity. With a warm and convivial bar area and a quiet back room devoted to the performances, the overall feel is welcoming, informal and encouraging.

What would you say to anyone who wants to read their work out, but feels nervous?

Just do it. Personally, I think the main battle is to get up and just do it. I found when I first read, I was shaking beforehand, but was buzzing afterwards. Over ten years later, I haven’t stopped since in one form or the other. I took it slowly and found the nights that suited me as a person and a writer. I’ve have carried on since, writing a few books, performing in a lot of places, I’ve fronted a few bands and now run a few Podcast series — building myself up slowly.

Can you describe the first time you performed your work in public?

The first official time (although there was a few minor times before that) was at Manchester Central Library at the start of 2008. I joined a poetry discussion group the year before called Poetica. The guy who ran it announced at the end of 2007, he wanted to do a low-key reading showcasing the group. He told us all not to worry to as it would be a quiet little reading and just a bit of fun. It wasn’t as there were over 50 people there. I was shaking like a leaf right up until I got on stage. What perhaps helped me out with this was asking a friend of mine Tony to come onto stage and read out the third piece with me called Airport which was a spoof about Airport Security. That piece went down really well, but I always remember it more than anything for the way I delivered the punchline four lines early. It was pointless carrying on owing to the laughter I got off the audience there. It was great fun, but I was shattered afterwards.

What is your favourite thing about performing your work at SpeakEasy?

Seeing people’s faces who are new to reading or listening, when they realise what can be said with the spoken word.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell people about the night?

SpeakEasy is on the first Wednesday of each month’s at Stretford’s Sip Club 7.30pm doors open for a 7.45pm start. Our Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/speakeasymanchester/ or bookings can be taken by Steve on stevesmythe50@gmail.com

Performance Nerves or Imposter Syndrome? (guest post by Emma Lee)

September 24, 2018Leave a comment

imposter

Everyone gets stage fright, the heightened anxiety and rush of adrenaline, before a performance or reading. Experienced performers see this as a good sign: it makes them more alert and attuned to their surroundings and enhances performance. But if nerves are giving you nausea, making you feel dizzy or leaving you too anxious to read, something else is going on. If it’s not a previous bad experience, chances are it’s Imposter Syndrome.

Imposter Syndrome is where someone, no matter how qualified or experienced, feels like a fraud and senses that when standing on stage to read or perform poems, the audience will somehow catch them out and discover they’re not as good as they’d hope to be.

There are five types of Imposter Syndrome

Perfectionist – always sense they could do better even when others rate them brilliant.
Superhuman – workaholics who push themselves to stay longer and work harder, frightened that if they stop and take a breather, someone will overtake them.
Genius – need to get it perfect first time and feel shame if a first try (inevitably) fails.
Individual – those who refuse assistance and believe they should be able to perform without guidance.
Experts – fear being exposed as incompetent or lacking in knowledge.

Conquer it

You deserve stage space as much as anyone else and even seasoned performers had a first gig
Choose some published poems to read so you know that an editor has endorsed your work even if you’re reading for the first time
Rehearse so you know you can read/perform your poems smoothly in the time slot given
Think about and plan what you’re going to say to introduce your poems, but not so rigidly you freeze if you leave out a word or forget a bullet point
Sound equipment glitches, poor lighting, strange echoes in the venue or the fire alarm going off are not your problem
Focus on what you can control: your breathing, your pace, your choice of poems, engaging the audience
Silence is good; it’s the fidgeting, heckling, rustling, foot tapping that signal you’ve lost the audience
Remember audiences don’t respond immediately; often poems take a moment or two to sink in

Bio

Emma Lee’s most recent collection is “Ghosts in the Desert” (IDP, UK 2015), she co-edited “Over Land, Over Sea: poems for those seeking refuge,” (Five Leaves, UK, 2015), reviews for The High Window Journal, The Journal, London Grip and Sabotage Reviews and blogs at http://emmalee1.wordpress.com

Guest Post- Andy N

September 14, 2018Leave a comment

andy blog pic

Although (as discussed on Katy aka the Rebel Poetess blog*) having a breakdown at the age of 21 ultimately led me to becoming a writer, in a sense it taught me to fight for everything I have done in my career. However, going to university certainly was the trigger that pushed me up towards the skies.

I’ve interacted with a lot of writers since leaving, but university was where I learnt to look at my writing in a different way from the almost childish scribblings I was writing before – I’m being honest here. It came at the cost of watching lots of people give up, who in several cases I felt were better writers than me (at least then) including one friend of over twenty years – who I stopped speaking to recently for reasons I won’t go into here.

This gentleman in question is a case in point as he was an exceptional writer at university, but as soon as he left he simply fell out of the habit of writing and couldn’t get back into it when he started again years later. I’ve had moments like that over the years, but not as long. It proved challenging then, which leaves me thinking it would be almost impossible to start again after a such lengthy break as the one mentioned above.

I also recall other people like this gentleman simply gave up when they started receiving strong (sometimes cruel) criticism from tutors. My marks, it has to be said, were average before I reached my third year at university. Sometimes they were not so good, but I kept going.

Now in my case, I certainly can’t admit that I wrote masterpieces at university from 1998 to 200. In my opinion, I wrote some complete rubbish back then, but I kept going. I ended up joining a writing workshop in 2005 in Bolton. After that folded in 2008, I co-formed my own which still runs to this very day in some form or another.

At University however, although I clashed with some of the tutors there over my work, by the time I joined my first writing discussion group in 2005 I understood how to look at my work and others in a logistical way, even though I didn’t think I had learnt that at university.

Looking back at things many years later, perhaps I could have gone on to become the writer and artist I did without going to university. It’s unlikely that would have led to some of the adventures I’ve had though. At university, despite mixed relationships with some of the tutors, I made friends with certain writers, which have stayed with me until this time and taught me more than some of the tutors did. These writers, some of whom I don’t read anymore, set the foundations that what I did after university. I brought out my first book ‘Return to Kemptown’, then my second, ‘The End of Summer’. I literally had dozens of other adventures, all of which wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t had a breakdown, then went to university.

*The blog mentioned is: here

Link

Andy N is the Author of three full poetry collections (the most recent is ‘The Birth of Autumn’ which was published in 2018) and numerous split poetry books. He is also the creator of the Barbarians of the Wall and Role Reversal series, and the editor and creator of the Spoken Label podcast series. With his partner, he co-hosts the Reading in Bed podcast, which reviews a selection of books each month.

His official website is: http://onewriterandhispc.blogspot.com

Reading In Bed 3

March 16, 2018March 16, 2018Leave a comment

The third podcast is now online.

I really enjoyed recording this one, and between me and Andy we had five books to review, so this is a much longer podcast than the first two.

We discussed whether sequels of successful books were just milking their success, if being solely in the protagonist’s head for an entire book can work and Andy talked about the read a book he read, which was published pre Benjamin Button, but contained a lot of similarities.

To hear all of the above and more, please have a listen and let us know what you think. Also, if you think either one of us might enjoy your book, please get in touch and we might be able to review it on a future podcast.

The books we reviewed this month are:

Still me by Jojo Moyes

If I Die Before I wake by Emily Koch

The Book of Illusions by Paul Auster

La Belle Sauvage (Book of Dust 1) by Philip Pullman

I Haven’t Dreamed of Flying For a While by Taichi Yamada

A new podcast and free or discounted books

January 23, 2018Leave a comment

First of all I’ve started a new podcast with my partner. We review and discuss books which we’ve read. This month we read Nightmare Realities by Amanda J Evans, Queen and Country by Greg Rucka and Things We Never Said by Nick Alexander.

To find out what we thought of them, check out the podcast.

https://readinginbed.bandcamp.com/album/podcast-1-january-2018

My other piece of news is that I’m planning to unpublish my novels and novellas (or at least start the process) at the end of this month (January 2018).

That means these books may never see the light of day again, or they may get taken on by a publisher.

I’m running various offers before then. The Kindle versions of some of my books will be free or reduced.

I’ll be posting these offers on my Facebook and Twitter, so like/follow me to find out more.

https://www.facebook.com/AmandaSteelWriter/

https://twitter.com/Amanda_S_Writer