The Last Blog

Hey all!

Last time I posted a blog on here was about a month ago and at the end of it I promised to be updating more regularly. The more astute of you reading that sentence will realise that was a promise I didn't manage to keep. There are many reasons for this - mostly the near-sadistic workload I force upon myself. This has been a month of writing short stories and entering them into competitions, drafts of the play, recording music for the play, searching for inspiration, writing articles, editing other people's articles, coming up with new ideas and a whole host of other things that have made this a very busy, but very fun, month of writing.

But also I've been away because I think this blog's served its purpose for now. I want a new format with new things to blog about in a new style. I don't feel like I can do that here - so this will be my last blog post.

But fear not! I've got a brand new site for everyone to come over to. A much better site that's had much more work put into it than this one. I hope you'll all join me on my new wordpress! For those of you who want to save the address it's https://samleevesauthor.wordpress.com/

This isn't the end of the adventure - far from it, this is a rejuvenation of it. I hope you'll all come and join me.

See you on the other side.

The Reasons for My Disappearance

I'll be honest, a lot has happened. 

Last time I made a blog post my new novel had just been sent my proofreader and beta-readers. The feedback has been astoundingly positive and it's the most gratifying feeling I can imagine. I've had a lot to update on here but just haven't had time to do it. Here's why. 

As many of you know, I moved across the country recently to live with my long term partner. It's been a really amazing experience and definitely the best decision I've ever made. However, there's been a lot to sort out - a lot more than I anticipated. There were the usual things; council tax, change of address froms, registering for a GP and dentist, finding a new job, etc, etc. I got all of this done fairly quickly and with a great deal of success. I was ready to get on with my new life and really enjoy myself. Then I realised something: I had found a really terrible job for myself.

Admittedly, this wasn't the worst thing in the world - at least we had some money coming into the flat. But that's all we had really. Free time was pretty much non-existent and the horrible atmosphere of the workplace was getting me down and making me pretty grouchy. Not only that, but it left no time for writing - something that any other job I take has to take into account. I make money from writing, any job that doesn't respect that is losing me money. 

Luckily, I found a lovely independent cafe who needed a barista and I'm now in a much better place. I work with some really lovely people and my bosses are very supportive of my writing. Since I've started there I've managed to begin my catalogue of short stories and get ahead on some articles. I'm on People Per Hour now, so hopefully there'll be more freelance work coming my way soon. In short, I think I'm finally all moved in and life can continue as normal. 

I'll be posting more regularly now :)

Sam. 

Success!

Hey everyone!

The big news is finally here; I've finished draft six of Lay Me Restless. It's been a long process, but I think it's been a worthwhile one. Reading it back has made me realise the quality of this book and how much I've progressed as an author (or so we can hope). The final edit didn't get the word count quite as low as I wanted, but I still cut almost 20,000 words.Hopefully it'll be well recieved.

So, what's next? Currently it's with a very talented proofreader, Abi Truelove, with whom I'm very honoured to be working with. At the same time, the beta-readers are leafing their way through and reporting back as necessary. You can never have a large enough test audience, so if anybody fancies being one (and effectively getting an advanced reading copy of the book) let me know! I want this book to reach its full potential, so every opinion matters.

I have a few projects lined up now; first off editing a play by a very talented friend. Then back to Gretel and Hansel while the dust settles around the new novel.

It's an exciting time and hopefully a big one in my career. But, for now, I can only wait and see.

The Return

As the title suggests, I'm back!

Apologies for the radio silence. What with moving house, finding a new 'day job', working with the theatre company, editing and finding room to breathe in the meantime, things have been a little hectic. But, everything's settled down now (for a while at least) so I can give you all an update!

The theatre company I'm working with, Ships in the Night, had a very successful Research and Development week. Our performances were very well received and the concept of our show was lauded by the audience. We're working on a multi-sensory production of Hansel and Grethel, so that all children can engage with it and the immersive experience. Such a successful week was a blessing and I'm really excited to see what's going to happen with it next. There's a lot of work ahead, no doubt, but it's more than worth it. 

Lay Me Restless is progressing well too. I'm almost at the end of the sixth draft; then it's away to my editor and the beta-readers, while I take a well deserved break! It's been a coffee fuelled process, but there's an end in sight. This book might actually be read by someone soon!

So, that's the short version of everything that's been going on. I still have a few articles to catch up on for Alt:Mag and I'm hoping my first article for another website might surface soon. As soon as it does, I'll let everybody know. 

Thanks for reading!

Sam

Stepping Up

Anyone who's ever tried to edit a book will know it's not the easiest task in the world. It presents challenges that are different to the actual writing stage. While writing you might be hit by writer's block, whereas editing will strike you with indecision. Even over small things (are there too many commas on this page?) you can waste hours. 

Owing to this I'm spending the next few weeks doing something I promised myself I wouldn't. Editing in the evening. I did it with my first two books and it was pretty exhausting. Luckily, it's something that I love, so I'm sure it'll be an enjoyable (if tiring) experience.

The good news is that I'll finish sooner this way! I can't wait to get this book out. It's my best work, definitely, and I'm looking forward to getting feedback from the beta readers and fans of the rest of the series (as well as reaching a few new ones). 

Thanks for reading,

Sam

Charge!

Once again, apologies for not updating in a few weeks. The good news is it's all because I've been working on new and exciting things to be read/seen later on in the year. 

The editing of 'Lay Me Restless' is picking up speed! I'm averaging about twenty-five thousand words a week on it now, so it should only be another four or five weeks of editing before it's ready! My editing process is one of the longest of all of the authors I've spoken to. Some send their work to their Beta-Readers after the first draft, others thinking if they didn't feel the need to change something in the first three drafts, they probably won't want to in the fourth. All are valid, it's all about finding what works for you.

I'm having a rest week this week, spending some time in Manchester with my girlfriend. I got an extra day off from the cafe this week and figured it was the best use of the time. I might write an article or try my hand at a short story or two while I'm here. Then next week it's back to editing; onto the final push on this draft before another read through!

I've been reading 'The Stormlight Archive' by Brandon Sanderson recently and I'm absolutely loving it. If you're looking for an alternative to 'A Song of Ice and Fire' this is definitely worth a look. 

I'll try and update more regularly from now on (probably)!

Sam

New Year, New Books

Happy New Year, fantasy fans!

So after a few weeks rest I've come back to writing energised and refreshed, ready to complete various projects. The book should be done within the next couple of months, behind schedule, but it WILL get done!

I'm not really one to make New Year's Resolutions, but I do have a few goals to achieve this year.

1) Finish 'Lay Me Restless'

2) Publish 'Lay Me Restless'

3) Start book 4

4) Build up a bank of short stories to enter into competitions

5) Collect a bank of poetry to publish

6) Further things with the theatre company

Hopefully it should be a successful year and I've certainly got a lot planned for it! I've also made a pledge to take more time for myself, which means no more overtime in the evenings. I got a little run down at the end of last year, so this could be for the best. The quality of my writing's going to suffer if I'm too tired to do any. That seems obvious and yet it took me a surprisingly long time to realise...

I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who's been a part of this writing journey with me so far. You all do so much, even if it's just reading tweets and blog posts like these. It's greatly appreciated :)

Here's hoping for greater things to come in 2015!

Sam