This 'n' that

Today I’m four K lighter than the last time I blogged. It’s nice to discover that my pants no longer cut into the waist.

This week I’ve been handling entries for a contest. It amazes me how many aspiring writers are unable to properly read the rules of entry. There were entries without the entry fee, without the cover sheet, without the pen name. Only one entry was typewritten and blobbed with white-out, something that used to be fairly standard a few years ago. Nobody is perfect, and the odd mistake will always creep through, even in the best intentioned writer’s work. But doesn’t it stand to reason that a clean, well-presented manuscript that follows competition guidelines will signal that the writer cares. A slapdash and scruffily presented one states the opposite. But the more people who buy computers the more the visual standard of competition entries seem to improve. Love those spell-checkers, don’t you?

This week Severn House UK has accepted my sixth novel with them, and my twenty-first book over all. Oh, Joy! There’s nothing quite as affirming for a novelist as an acceptance. The publisher also contracted me for another book with a May deadline. Writing novels is such an uncertain occupation, and it’s good to know I remain employed as an author through to next year. All I need now is an idea and some inspiration!