Tag: Writing Inspiration

Shades of Inspiration

It’s been a busy start to the year. Approaching the end of January and I wonder where the month has gone. Manuscript edits are under way, and I’m enjoying time spent with my characters in a world that grows more colourful, and more daring with each scene. And my collection of shorts and poetry is also growing; it’s wonderful to get out and about sharing words.

As always, January is the time for making plans, signing up, and getting dates in the diary. The excitement of the year is WorldCon coming to the UK. Plans are underway for the trip to Glasgow, with the added bonus of the guest of honour who just happens to be one of my favourite authors… guess who…

‘People get inspired to write, paint, draw, sing, sculpt, dance in many different ways. And there are many types of art. But the one thing that they all have in common is that they are all a sort of magic. Sometimes the magic flows from one’s fingers, other times it is transferred to the person who experiences the result. Magic has always worked in mysterious ways.’ – Nnedi Okorafor.

And a recent book-haul is just waiting to be devoured.

Inspiration comes in many forms, and I’m lucky to have so much around to inspire. A recent trip to the Pulp Exhibit in Bovey Tracey was a glorious injection of colour on a cold afternoon, and an interesting look at the interface between art, the environment and how we question the world. The sculptures are made from recycled cardboard and it’s the second time for me viewing this artist’s work. James Lake, it won’t be the last.

My own art project is underway, inspired by local Devon and Cornwall surrounds – more at a later date. And I continue to venture out and about, soaking up scenery that one way or another finds its way into writing.

From big skies over the Teign valley, watched over by Castle Drogo…

To waterwheels, ancient bridges, giant oaks and winter snowdrops, lining the River Bovey.

Close encounters with the outdoors, spying the layers of nature and colour making up the scenic tapestry, is the best inspiration for building worlds. And that’s where I’ll leave you for today, while I travel through the pages of my latest instalment of Blood Gift Chronicles. There may not be snowdrops, but there is yellow gorse and purple heather, and natural extracts to ward off the curse of the evil eye…

Have a great week!

Wild Inspiration

With a rush of book events this spring, I was forced to take a break from the novel writing, though that will begin again soon in earnest. A recent event, Hartland Book Festival, gave food for thought and a big dose of inspiration. It was my first time venturing to Hartland Peninsular, and it was great to meet local authors, network, share ideas, and chat to new readers. It was also great to meet the hosts of the event, The Resurgence Trust, and share thoughts on the connection between social justice, community and environmental concerns, as well as the connection with the arts – core values of the organisation, and themes present in my series, Blood Gift Chronicles.

Thanks to my lovely wife for keeping me company, and after a few bookish hours, also involving coffee and cake, we headed out for some sight-seeing to the dramatic quay coast, with sharp edges and rugged bronze and black rocks, like stepping into the Iron Islands of Game of Thrones. Talking of themes in my books, spot the dragon part-submerged.

It was a perfect day to venture on to Speke’s Mill Mouth Waterfall, and finish up with a drink at the quay with a view of Lundy island. With various information snippets scattered among the old fishing cottages, it’s a comfort to feel the presence of stories.

And like I said, it was a day of inspiration, among jagged cliff edges, wild coastline, and moorland heath, I was reminded of the archipelago of islands in The Warder, and the island of Evren, a place we return to in Book 3. Soon…

 

Connections of a Bookish Kind

In my last post I talked about the importance of reading for writers. It is advice I follow, as seen in my ‘For the Love of Books’ blogs. On my reading journey, every so often I discover an author that stands out for all kinds of reasons, and upon discovering one of their titles, I look for more. Examples include Nnedi Okorafor, Eugen Bacon, Rivers Solomon and Patricia McKillip. To be clear, some of these authors have been around for some time, I just hadn’t been lucky enough to discover them sooner. The most recent example is Sarah Ash, after reading her fantasy novel, Songspinners. Look out for my review on a ‘For the Love of Books’ blog coming soon… I am grateful to have been able to forge a connection with this author, whose titles are many and I look forward to reading more. And I was thrilled to appear as her first guest of 2023 on her website. Click here.

It’s always interesting to uncover the story behind the story, the seed that develops into a whole new portal bound in pages. Small beginnings evolve, and it was wonderful to remember the encounters that developed into the genesis of my fantasy series Blood Gift Chronicles. What earthly sway inspires dragons? What layers do we seek to create to establish culture embodied within our characters. For me, art is one thing: representations and significance of art in the worlds; and narrative that seeks to bring visual scenes to the reader. It’s a train of thought I plan to revisit in the future. I’m in the business of culture, societies, landscapes, seascapes, worlds. My current work in progress is Book 3, an origin story giving closure to the big mysteries, while introducing new characters, a new landscape and a timeslip plot. We are interconnected, the past informs the present, the future is ours for the taking. I think fondly of my characters that I have lived with for so long, as I think of them tackling these life lessons.

Until next time…

Have a great week!

 

Winter Hues

Winter has arrived, crisp, cold, and muted blue/grey skies with a strange white sheen that makes you wonder, is there snow on the horizon?

Either way, it’s time to hunker down, and hibernate with a good read, and a manuscript in progress. And I have to say, I’m loving the magic of Blood Gift Chronicles Book 3, a book that slips into different time periods, with overlapping lives as we move towards answers to the big question… I love a good origin story, and I love magic, so here goes. And with new societies and landscapes there’s much to get my teeth into. Finally, I get up close and personal with the elusive Evren, a woman who doesn’t fit, but who lives dangerously unapologetically.

Read more →

A Touch of Nature

Mia is the in-house monitor for season changes. From sun worshipper during the heatwave, to couch potato, taking to her red blanket when Autumn arrives.

After a summer of family grief and the upheaval that comes with it, summer passed in the blink of an eye or a hazy wave, dependent on the moment. So before all the leaves have disappeared from the trees, I thought I’d revisit a recent outing to a local reserve, lovely Dunsford.

We’re so grateful to Devon Wildlife Trust for maintaining these pockets of nature, an outing so magical it inspired a poem:

Dunsford; by Susie Williamson 

Walk with me,

You who feels troubles plenty,

Weighed with thoughts of disconnection,

Bring your heavy steps,

Across the swathes of Clifford Bridge,

Spy the magic from afar,

Allow your mind, your thoughts and all that you are,

To embrace,

Open your heart to the wonders abound,

Dunsford Reverse, nature’s ground,

Where coppices grow, regrow, recycle, renew refresh,

Tune your senses to the cool, crisp clarity of nature’s drug,

Eyes wide to the magic like a heady rush,

In this place of vivid tones,

And transient joy through valley slopes,

Cast your eye,

Over crystal clear waters of the River Teign,

With a rushing flow felt deep within,

Your cells alive with the sounds of a watery dance,

Spy the slender pickings of a native dipper,

The distant tap of a kingfisher,

And in a moment your heart skips a beat,

To hear an otter’s indomitable squeak,

You pause,

Beneath the arched boughs of a sycamore tree,

A place of nature’s unity,

Leaves touch glassy water with the lightest kiss,

While tumbled-down steeples of jagged rocks,

Cloudy crystal granite shards defend the shores,

Watched by passing deer from slopes up high,

Through dappling fronds their furtive spy,

Grants a wish,

For those who look beyond the pale,

To where sun and moon cast dreamlike rays,

Too soon for springtime daffodils,

But climb woodland heights for magicked sights,

And long-tailed tits like dragonflies,

Acorns beneath giant ferns like trees,

Half-eaten in this woodland sanctity

Passersby,

Feel the brush of air from a tawnies wing,

The distant sound of a goosander’s song,

Climb through hazel, oak and hawthorn,

Barbs to give a friendly scratch,

While reaching heady woodland heights,

Breathe the view of this vast valley,

Home to bracken slopes and fallow deer,

And know, our connective tissue.

Always Thinking

I once saw a picture of an imagined futuristic image of how people would evolve; how they’d look in years to come judging by human behaviour. Essentially it involved alarmingly long fingers, a deeply curved spine, and a seriously overweight body – a future born from sitting hunched over a screen, typing. When I thought of my daily life, much of it sitting at a computer, it got me thinking – I have to get out more!

Read more →