Hi everyone!
#SJsTwitterBookClub
This week’s #SJsTwitterBookClub featured author Mark Edwards (@mredwards), who popped in to talk about his writing, and in particular his fantastic debut psychological thriller “The Magpies”.
I asked Mark if he’d give us a spoiler-free, tweet-length introduction to the book. He told us: “The Magpies is about a nice young couple, Jamie & Kirsty, who move into their first home together, only to find that the couple downstairs are a pair of psychopaths who are determined to destroy J&K's lives. It's a psych thriller with horror undertones. And spiders.”
We talked about the ‘spiders’ scene (you’ll know if you’ve read the book!) and Mark told us it actually happened to him “…in the flat where the book is based. A lot of The Magpies was ripped from real life.” A scary thought indeed!
I always ask the authors to tell us about their process, since it differs so widely. Mark told us:
1(Click on the above tweet to be taken to the discussion thread)
Another fascinating discussion about a fantastic book. If you haven’t read it yet, do so now!
The next #SJsTwitterBookClub will be on Thursday March 10 at 7pm (UK time). We'll be talking to Sarah Bonner (@sarahbonner101) about her gripping, twisty debut psychological thriller, “Her Perfect Twin”.
Happy reading!
Are you a writer? Do you want to write?
The Writers’ Lodge is a nurturing and supportive newsletter for anyone who is writing, or who is considering embarking on a writing project and wondering whether they have what it takes, or may even just be considering their first tentative steps into writing fiction.
Each month we’ll consider different aspects of the process of writing and editing a long piece of fiction, with articles and exercises designed to help the writer establish whether they’re on track or in need of course correction. The newsletters will include:
How to determine if your idea is good enough
How to navigate that tricky first draft
Dealing with difficult feedback from first readers
How to go about finding the perfect agent
Interviews with top authors and publishing professionals
Share your work in interactive Q&As with the group
My hope is that together we will create a supportive environment, with opportunity for subscribers to share their doubts, fears and (if they wish) their work, for the group to discuss.
The goal is to make the process of writing just that little bit less daunting, and the process of publishing a little bit less opaque...
How to sign up
I’ll be sending The Writer’s Lodge updates to all those with a paid subscription to this newsletter. I’ve kept the price affordable, so for less than the cost of a weekly coffee you’ll receive the updates and full access to the archive, plus you’ll be able to leave comments and be part of the growing community.
As an added incentive to early adopters, for those signing up before March 10, 2022, I’m offering:
20% off the cost of a monthly subscription, OR
40% off the cost of an annual subscription (both valid for the first year of membership).
For a limited time I’m also offering the opportunity to become a ‘Founding Member’ of the community. Sign up at this level and I will read and give feedback on up to 5000 words of your work (either written or via Zoom, spaces limited).
I do hope you’ll join us to help build The Writers’ Lodge into an interactive resource for all those who want to write fiction, or improve their work.
Happy writing!
A ‘pantser’ is someone who ‘flies by the seat of their pants’ when they write (i.e makes it up as they go along), while a ‘plotter’ is someone who plots the whole book out before they begin putting the words on the page.