My lovely partner in life, Kate, gave me this card many years ago, when I completed an early draft of Return of the Mantra. Writing a book and the struggles it entails has been described in many ways, but I love this idea of attributing it to a tortoise catching a frisbee.
Blood Gift Chronicles is now a hashtag and edits for The Warder are well underway. I’m excited to see the story taking shape, and the characters come alive on the page. I learnt to love the rewrites a long time ago, to keep going with that extra effort to make the story as good as it can be. And so this is where my head is at most of the time, with my beloved book 2.
It’s been a challenging few months, all the more reason to appreciate the ordinary, like walking independently thanks to the support of my physiotherapist. On the many sunny days we’ve enjoyed over summer, it’s been great to get out and about around Devon, breathe fresh air and just appreciate the surrounds.
A question came up a while ago, at a local book club: how important is place in a story? For me, as a writer, it’s essential. It’s the first heartbeat that begins the planning process. It’s the atmosphere you will be ensconced in as a reader, and the writer. It’s the place that will define the rules, the culture, the day to day life. It’s the thing that sparks my imagination the most.
Whilst in recovery from a recent illness, I’ve had more time to read. Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorofor, and Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adenyemi, are now on my list of firm favourites. Both works of fantasy, both Nigerian-American authors, the sights and sounds of Nigeria ooze colour from the pages.
I’ve talked before about how various African landscapes influenced place and culture in Return of the Mantra. It’s a subject I also incorporated into a recent guest blog I did. Click here. Books 2 and 3 venture further into the unknown world of creativity. Awaiting the edits of Book 2, revisiting the first draft of Book 3, I’m reminded of the importance of place, the importance of digging deep for those details that will bring to life a land of my imagination. I’m excited for these new lands that I can see so clearly.
Place also features in my painting life, in the form of abstract landscapes, mostly African inspired.
At Market:
Home:
Long Walk:
These three pieces are from a collection I call Perspectives, capturing snapshots of rural township life in South Africa. When I started this collection I decided on three pieces. Now it is finished, there may be more. As is so often the case, one thought generally sparks another…
Today I am pleased to welcome the incredibly talented Susie Williamson. Author of Return of The Mantra, one of favourite books of 2018 to my blog for another female author spotlight interview. DS: Welcome Susie. Thanks so much for agreeing to the interview SW: No problem Dan. Thank you for having me. DS: Lets begin […]
I’ve never had a problem with self-motivation, which, as a writer, is handy. Writing a story, finding a publisher, editing to the final draft, can feel like an uphill struggle. My first book is published, the second is in the editing stage, the third is on the first draft, and I still live by the Mantra, don’t focus on how far you’ve got to go, focus on how far you’ve come. In writing as in life, I find this a useful Mantra, none more so than in recovery.
