Rae of Light

Originally a guest post which featured on Murder Underground Broke the Camel's Back First of all I have to state categorically that I did not plan on writing Palindrome . I was adamant there would be no sequel to my debut novel Six Dead Men as I was already working on several other ideas. Denial is futile. This prequel insisted on being written. Its conception is due to a vivid dream I had in which a woman was remembering the day her baby was born. I woke with the realisation that it was Robert’s mother I was hearing. I grabbed a notebook and hastily jotted down the gist of what she had to say. At the time I was concentrating on other projects but several of the characters kept demanding I tell the world more about them. So Six Degrees a la Kevin Bacon style was conceived. It’s a series of 6 vignettes which focus on the back story of Six Dead Men . This little collection hints at links between characters and situations.   I thought this would mollify my nagging cha...

A Palindrome Character Interview  Originally featured as a guest post on Ian Richard's website Ideally we’d like to be interviewing Robert right now, but if you've read Six Dead Men you'll be well aware, he’s solitary, preferring the worlds tucked between the covers of a good book. So we’ll leave him be and turn instead to someone who knew him well while he was living in Haddington: Gabriel Haskey, school librarian at Knox Academy, now retired and living in Crete. Interview Mr Haskey – it wasn’t so long ago that you knew Robert fairly well. What was he like when he was at Knox Academy? Robert hasn’t changed all that much. I haven’t seen him since his 15th birthday. But he writes me long thought provoking letters. Always been a deep thinker. Likes his own company. Reads voraciously. What’s the first thing you notice about Robert? His nose is always stuck in a book. What was his relationship like with his classmates? Never quite one ...

A Fortnight in the life of a Writer/Tutor My weekly schedule before the end of exams Since Easter it’s been all go at my Writing HQ, aka the desk in my living room. I’ve been diligently working on the final edits of my upcoming release. Meanwhile I’ve still had to maintain tutoring commitments as well as my obligations to Inkhead. In the midst of all this I attempted to continue my Italian studies via Duolingo. Around the beginning of May the charity I teach at asked for 6 weeks of detailed lesson planning so they can comply with their application for DFE status. While not difficult to do, as any teacher knows, this is incredibly labour intensive. So glad to say I’ve finally finished that lot. However, as I’m the one and only English tutor it also falls to me to plan next year’s curriculum. My work is not yet done. Onward. To add to my May and June tutoring load, my less confident GCSE students requested extra tuition sessions as their exams were looming. Thankfu...

Novella prequel to SIX DEAD MEN Scheduled for release end of July As I plug my way through my Palindrome  [WIP] edit before its release at the end of July, I’m working hard at channelling my central character. This is not that simple considering he’s a 13 year old boy, highly intelligent and fairly reserved too. He reads books some older people would find challenging, has an antiquated vocabulary and spends far too much time on his own or with adults. Oh, and let’s not forget his parents are Scottish (dad) and Romany (mum) so he’s bound to have a Janus complex. If this isn't already a psychological condition then I think it certainly should be. I’ve been struggling to establish his voice for some time now and repeatedly write him in too formal a manner. It’s all about striking the right balance to ensure he’s believable and intriguing enough so readers get invested in what happens to him and those he is closest to. I’m having a hard time of it. The delete button is get...