Had a whirlwind three weeks since the launch of Crow Moon and finally had a minute to add some highlights to my website. Thanks to everyone whoβs made it so magical.
Readers, bloggers, reviewers, writers, publishers and pals.
Read it here if you like!
Dear Suzy, We received an unprecedented number of subs & the standard of writing was exceptionally high. π₯Ί
Our editors enjoyed reading your work & thought your writing particularly strong. Weβd like to take a look at the full manuscript, if you could please send it to us?π
Told Merlin my Monday book news and how he laughed! But itβs true. I have an agent π«π«π«πππ
Now represented by the fabulous
@EuanThorneycrof
of
@AMHeathLtd
2022 off to a truly smashing start. ππ« π₯
#AmWriting
#CrimeFiction
Iβm a Heinz 57. A mutt, mongrel, a mix up of good and bad, this and that. Blonde hair and blue eyes and a love for things Scandi, from my Danish great grandad. My Yorkshire pudding yen comes from my nana and my accent is Tyneside Geordie. Why aye man, thatβs me
#roots
#vss365
@JanetEmson
Mine regularly argues with itself as though Iβm just a bystander who has no control. Swears a lot too. Is that still a monologue though? π€
@SJ_Watson
I am a writer in a movie. Iβm sitting in a premier inn drinking cheap wine, trying to get on the free WiFi. The car park has only road workers vans. Itβs snowing & the heating doesnβt work properly. I look out of the window at the isolation. I realise the movie is very low budget
Well done to
@BloodyScotland
tonight for a stunning opening. The pipes and the torchlit minute silence for Queen Elizabeth II in the shadow of Stirling Castle was truly memorable amongst the craziness of recent days. π«
Six crow moons have risen since I began writing this book. The seventh is now rising and Marthaβs story is published today! Heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported my writing journey. Sending crow blessings to you all. π¦ββ¬π«π€π₯π
#CrowMoon
#writerslife
So this happened!! Now itβs getting real. Off to
@icelandnoir
for my first ever author panels next week and e proofs arrived in my inbox today.
@orendabooks
and
@west_camel
have done an amazing job helping me make this story come to life and itβs encased in beautiful crows! π€π«
Had the most brilliant night
@CapitalCrime1
Met
@LouiseMangos
in person, shortlisted for a fab award, had a major agent tell me βyou can really writeβ and two requests for full manuscripts, plus wonderful publisher who wants to see my book. Thanks
@DHHlitagency
Great event!
A week ago I shared two teeny pitches for
#XpoNorth
tweet pitch. Iβve had approaches from agents, publishers & a TV production company since then. As well as pitches for books 2&3, book one has also been submitted. Who knows what will happen, but a great start to 2020. ππ
We're pleased to announce the shortlist for the DHH Literary Agency New Voices Award 2019.
It was an extremely competitive field, so if you weren't shortlisted, please don't lose heart.
Congratulations to our shortlisted authors.
#CapitalCrime19
Itβs been a hard, hard week. Had to say farewell to our little Frodo after 15 years of love and loyalty. The fellowship wonβt ever be the same without our wee hobbit. π
#JRT
#treasure
Feeling slightly Eeyore today after a (very nice to be fair) rejection letter & hardly any daylight. My 19-year-old boy reminded me.
βMum, tmrw is the shortest day, & honestly, youβve written a book! Thatβs pretty awesome no matter what happens.β Love that kid. ππ
#hesright
Golden Lion looking mighty fine in the sunshine today. Just 10 days til the (fictional) bodies pile up as a global crime wave sweeps in to take over Stirling for
@BloodyScotland
#CrimeFiction
β€οΈπβ€οΈ
Few things are more gratifying than seeing finished copies from two writers Iβve worked with over the years. Watched them grow, applauded their commitment. And now? Two bloody good reads to savour from Suzy Aspley and Claire Wilson.
Very excited that weβll be launching my debut novel under the ACTUAL
#CrowMoon
@WaterstonesGla
on the evening of Monday 25th March when Iβll be in conversation with
@michaelJmalone1
about spooky, gothic thrillers. More info to follow but would love to see you there! π«π€π¦ββ¬π
@Joanna__Hardy
What? He didnβt throw the empty roll on to the floor, balance it on the windowsill or put it NEXT TO THE BIN? Heβs a keeper. ππ
Off to Copenhagen with my mam today. Her grandad Louis Kronholm Jorgensen left there on a ship as a teenager and never went back. Sheβs always wanted to go, so weβre very excited about this wee trip. There may also be some surreptitious book research going on too. πππ π§πΌββοΈβοΈππ
@carlyreagon
Live in squalor until itβs too much, then a quick hoover around. Life is too short and busy for cleaning. Also, if you keep the house dark and gothic, then you donβt see the dirt, until the cobwebs glisten from the fairy lights that isβ¦
A scene of verdant
#viridity
A squat thatched cottage, roses at the door, smoke curls from the chimney, the smell of gingerbread baking in the oven. The children see only the kindly smile of the old lady at the stove.
Not the human bones she stirs in the pot.
#vss365
#satsplat
Two submission responses this weekend. Both saying βgreat writingβ and βsub particularly strongβ. One kind rejection, one request for full MS (a year after the submission). Itβs such a rollercoaster, but this is why we keep going and hoping. πππ€π»π€π»
#amwriting
#amsubmitting
This was the double decker bus bringing my son home from school today after it burst into flames and collapsed after smoke began pouring from the engine. Thankfully all the kids got off safely and no-one was hurt. Chaos when I arrived to pick him up and kids all over the place.
Of course it isnβt the end, but am pleased that the first draft of book two is done. Itβs messy and loads of work to do now, but given how challenging my year has been, Iβm pretty chuffed to have got these words down.
#booktwo
#writerscommunity
#amwriting
#crimefiction
Heβs the smallest, but the bravest. He wonβt be denied. Heβs bold, digs holes to hide in, chews everything in sight, whether he should or not. Heβs a
#renegade
but we love him. Heβs king of the world. Heβs Loki. Jack Russell of Mischief.
#vss365
#LokiLife
The longer I was with him, the more of me
#disappeared
One day I looked in the mirror and there was nothing. No shadow and no reflection in window panes or puddles. My voice lost and presence gone.
They later found my bones in a shallow grave beneath wild bluebells.
#vss365
Home after a smashing few days with the book community
@harrogatefestivals
#theakstonscrime
Today was laughing, saying good bye, hearing good book news, too Swedish coffee and resisting buying the polar bear for
@iandawsonnord
ππ
Next year Iβll have a book out!
Thanks to lovely staff
@WSilverburn
this morning for letting this rookie author sign a few copies of
#CrowMoon
. Great to see it nestled amongst so many fab books for the first time.
π€π«π¦ββ¬π
Massive thanks to everyone for helping us launch
#CrowMoon
last night. Ran out of ink and books, which is a good sign! Crow blessings! π¦ββ¬π«π€
This gorgeous woman has kept us going with her crazy brand of hosting for 22 weeks! Weβve had T shirts, hair dramas, books, booze, hangovers ,
#plackaBags
and the very best of Geordie oohs and arrs from
@vpeanuts
She needs her own TV show.
#VNATB
has been brilliant!
Never knew that joy and terror could be so close. First time speaking in front of a few hundred folk today at NHSScotland event and I actually enjoyed it. This Adrenalin thing could get addictive though. Thanks to
@ProjectLiftScot
Brigid, Jo and Dave for giving me the chance. π¦
Itβs
#WorldBookDay
and a week today my debut
#CrowMoon
will be published. Canβt quite believe itβs almost here! Thanks for all the support. Book people are the best. π¦ββ¬π«π€π
Just finished this Historical belter from
@SGMacleanauthor
after hearing her read
@moniackmhor
Canβt wait to read next in series. Forensically researched and wonderfully written. If Damien Seeker looks anything like the cover, can someone make the TV series too please? π«ππ€
Special book post today. Super proud to have two tiny stories in the
#vss365
anthology. Slotted in amongst the
#bones
of many wonderful writers. Thanks
@Making_Fiction
and the whole team for making dreams come true. πππ«
@YorkshireBook48
Yes,
@HilaryCottam
& she kindly signed my copy of Radical Help. Also
@writer_suzy
& the anticipation of her debut novel due March next year (which iβm buying & damn sure getting signed too) π
OH MY!!!
#CrowMoon
has been spotted in the wild! Already on sale. And my friend Peter bought the first one!
@WSilverburn
I may have to nip in and sign a few this weekend. π€π«π¦ββ¬π€
When my nana died, we brought home a pot from her barren concrete Tyneside terrace back yard and planted its contents in our own garden. The
#beatific
deep pink peony now flowers in her memory every summer, itβs glorious scent filling the air.
#vss365
@RobGMacfarlane
Debut dream come true.
Crow Moon launch tickets are on sale!
25th March 7pm
@WaterstonesGla
Would love to see you there. π«π€π¦ββ¬π₯π
#writersoftwitter
Donβt usually post my kids here but my brilliant son Finnβs 21st today is something to celebrate. Arrived in a hail of blue lights and thereβs been several dramas along the way. Couldnβt love him more. Happy birthday lovely boy. π«π«π«π«π«π«
Itβs snowing here and dark. But want to share some happiness. Itβs my wonderful mam Mollieβs birthday today and she brings light and love every day. πππππ
My son just made me
#hoot
with laughter.
If you could do anything mum, what would it be?
Iβd love to get my book published, but donβt know if itβs any good.
Well yeah. The writing has to be good mum, but a lot depends on the font you use. It has to be the right font.
#vss365
Woke up after hardly any sleep Iβm so bloody excited. In such a tizzy Iβm trying not to like my own tweets by accident. Whatever happens (or doesnβt) this week I get to pitch at the best crime writing fest in
@BloodyScotland
and am on a shortlist for a brill new voices comp. ππ
The abandoned roller coaster rusted and ruined, paint peels from the now silent dodgems. The proudest of the horses on the merry go round has lost an eye; weeds flourish around the deserted candy floss stall. No
#petrichor
after the rain, just decay.
#satsplat
#vss365
Another January win! Chuffed to bits to be part of a brilliant programme with
@LuminateScot
this year who have kindly awarded me a bursary to work on my second novel
@moniackmhor
this spring. Itβs great being an βolder artistβ ππ πβοΈπ«
#AmWriting
older-artists-bursaries-2022/
Just passed a significant milestone in book two. Itβs as rough as hell just now and loads of work to do, but feels great to get the words down.
#AmWriting
#CrimeFiction
#writerscommunity
ππ
Feeling bereft after losing a lovely friend this week. Life is so short. Too short for some. Live it to the full. Donβt let it pass you by. βΉοΈπ
@MarianKeyes
Brilliant. I went to Lidl today to buy veg, chicken and salmon, but the draw of the middle brought home Bluetooth headphones (11 year old delighted), chopping boards AND a digital spoon that weighs stuff I had no idea I needed! πππ
I try not to be political on here, but watching a 12 year old child talk about how he uses his pocket money to help his mum out on
@BBCNews
this morning breaks my heart. Itβs 21st century Britain and the daily news is foodbanks, strikes and poverty. WTAF. We need a change.π
Anyone else pay their editor in Japanese gin? Sheβs been merciless with the red pen, but finally feels like the nut will be cracked. Six months of changes, two more rainy days sorting 90,000 words into shape and then sending her out into the world.
#WishMeLuck
#AmEditing
When youβre struggling on a morning run and meet the incredible
#janedotchin
on the path. This 82-year-old rides 600 miles across Scotland every autumn with her horse Diamond and disabled Jack Russell Dinky in her saddle bag. What an absolute inspiration on a beautiful morning.
Thanks for all the publication day wishes. π¦ββ¬π«π€ Celebrated by a walk with the gang, absorbing lovely well wishes from amazing writers & friends for
#CrowMoon
then lunch with me mam
@oxandfinch
We didnβt try the minger but were assured itβs very good. π
Red wine, then bed.