New Year - New Start - New Aspirations??

New year – New Aspirations? Yay!!?? Perhaps...

 At least that’s what it’s meant to be. But maybe the aspirations are not so new…  It’s been quite a while since I worked on my WIP and whilst I did have every intention of continuing with it, I now feel like starting a new project! I guess it’s the New Year thing – new broom and all that!

The thing is my WIP is 60000 words done so it seems a shame to abandon it. But I won’t shelve it forever. I think I’ll just get going on something else and keep it in the background. I will, in any case, have to sit and re-read it all anyway - just to remind myself of where I was at. So maybe when I’ve done that I’ll feel re-invigorated and excited by it again!!

Perhaps the solution is to try a few short stories and then see how I feel… (sighs and pulls face…)

 But then again – some brilliant ideas are calling out to me. They just don’t want to wait on the backburner and I worry that I will forget or lose the main idea if I prevaricate. I have made notes but that’s not the same as starting a new project fired up with the enthusiasm and excitement which will carry me through the first chapters.

I know many people say they start a work with great hope and then part way through go stale and abandon it, especially if the writing gets tough or the plot starts going nowhere. But I must say I am a finisher and rarely give up on a work even when it gets hard. There is satisfaction in just completing and often the work is better for struggling through some hard parts.

So, maybe I will get back to my original work, after all…

Happy New Year everyone!

Bah Humbug!

Bah Humbug? Or a good Christmas Carol?

Christmas is almost upon us and the frenzy is building day to day like a good, page turning, suspense novel!

At this time of year I always enjoy reading (or watching an adaptation) of Dickens Christmas Carol. As ghost stories go, it’s got to be THE classic. I often wonder if writers like Dickens ever had any idea just how time-honoured their writing would become. Every school child has heard of the story and most have watched a version of it on TV. If you ask people who Bob Cratchett was, I think most would

associate the name as synonymous with a poor working class family man who was bullied mercilessly by his penny-pinching employer. And the word ‘scrooge’ (from Ebenezer Scrooge) came into common parlance after Dickens wrote his story. The word has come to be used to describe someone who is mean and miserly.

The story is of course a morality tale and Dickens meant it as such. But the scenes with the ghosts must have been pretty scary to readers and listeners of the day and even today it ranks with many as an all time favourite and goes with Christmas tide nicely as we should all be more aware of those less fortunate than ourselves. I know it made a lasting impression on me when I first heard it as a child and alongside believing in Santa Claus, I also believed in the ghosts of Dickens tale.

Since Dickens’s time many have tried to write similar stories but none, in my opinion, come close to capturing the sense of fear about the hereafter that “A Christmas Carol” did.

Happy Christmas and happy writing everyone!

Do you have a favourite Christmas story?

The biggest lie ever told to children!

The origins of Santa and the stories surrounding Christmas are buried beneath layers of popular cultural belief. I am, of course, for the moment, putting aside the religious meanings of Christmas – it’s not that I am anti Christian or anything, simply that the notion of telling children the story of Santa and his reindeer has got to be one of the greatest and most enduring stories of all time ( next to the bible and religious teachings). It is also the biggest lie that parents happily enthral their children with.

I mean, when you think about it the image of a big fat man in a bright red suit sliding down your chimney (breaking into your house), eating your food and drinking your wine and then going into a child’s bedroom when they are asleep, ought to be pretty scary for most children. But, hey, it’s okay for this intruder because he’s bringing a sack full of presents! Right!

It just struck me that in other circumstances you could possible write a reasonable paranormal thriller story around the notion of this superman character who can get his reindeer to pull a sledge around the heavens and visit every child in the world in the space of just one night!

But hey, who am I to spoil the kiddies’ fun? I believed it myself for a fair few years… And enduring and endearing it still is – especially when you watch their little faces light up with the wonder and the thrill of it all because they’ve listened hard on Christmas Eve and heard the sleigh bells…

I first posted this article a year ago but thought it worth reminding everyone of the joy children bring and that Christmas is the time when families come together and celebrate as one and the main focus is often the children. In light of the recent tragic events my heart and prayers go out to those families who have lost their beloved children (and those who lost other family members) and it is to be hoped that this kind of tragedy never happens again.

A very Merry Christmas to one and all and here’s hoping we all have a peaceful 2012!

Immortality

“I shall not altogether die”, Horace 65-8 BC

In writing about death (yet again), I am aware that many may be a tad concerned at my fascination with the ultimate end game! (But there again, I am a thriller writer…) And as someone once said the two things you can depend on in this life are death and taxes!

In fiction writing, life extension or immortality has been a popular topic. It would seem that it is the ultimate goal of many a villain, one way or another. But immortality is one more step into the realms of fantasy. I guess it’s because none of us actually knows what lies waiting for us at the end and for lots of people it is still a fairly scary (if not taboo) subject. The origins of striving for immortality go right back in the annals of story epics – in fact in the Epic of Gilgamesh which dates back to 22 BC,  there was a quest to become immortal.

Many religions have, as their foundation, a belief in the existence of an ‘Afterlife’ and it is a popular subject in supernatural fiction. Wraiths, Spirits, Ghosts, Vampires and Zombies all use the plot device of actually dying at a particular point and then returning to some kind of life.

The other interesting point with all these supernatural characters is that they all have a (according to their genre’s) a weakness. Otherwise they would have taken over the entire universe by now! So to make decent adversaries for our stories they must have an Achilles heel.

In the case of vampires, for example, they may be killed by sunlight, burning or decapitation. Their bodies have an absence of heart rate, breathing etc but somehow they continue living (although needing to imbibe blood to do this). This requires the reader to suspend belief to step into this vampiric world.

Wraiths and Spirits can pass between this world and the next but there weakness is that they grow weary and long for everlasting peace.

The Undead (Zombies) are similar to Vampires, in that they appear to be alive but are not. They have no soul so cannot experience emotions of any kind. Stakes through the heart seem to be the way to do for many of these – or basic dropping off of body parts!

All of these creations make for fascinating fiction and whilst the whole genre is make-believe there are certain rules that all genre writers tend not to break. It is almost as if these beings were real ‘people’ in the first place!!

So , are you a fan of this kind of fiction? Do you expect the characters to conform to rules about immortality?

Ghostly encounters

Ghostly Encounters of the Terrifying Kind!

 

Coming from a medical/science background as I do, I do not really believe in Ghosts but, like many people do accept that there are some things (the hereafter for instance) that we know little about. Ghosts and the belief in all things spiritual is one area that fascinates most people even though the common sense part of their brains tell them it’s so much bunkum. The existence (or not) of ghosts has been the subject of many research projects dating back as far as anyone can remember and yet the phenomenon continues to confound experts as the reality cannot be proved beyond doubt one way or the other.

For me, as a writer, humanity’s belief in ghosts is great fictional material and I unashamedly use it in my stories – when appropriate.

Some things you may not have known about ghosts:

Ghosts are universal and (with different names) exist in every culture in the world. Belief in their existence goes back centuries to pre-literate culture. Indeed the great poet Homer talks of the ‘spirits of death’ standing about in their thousands, in the Iliad.

Ghosts are considered unnatural and undesirable as they are seen to come from a place we know nothing about so we are therefore naturally fearful. However not all ghostly encounters are threatening as ghosts can sometimes be viewed as benign guides with messages for the living and/or unfinished business in this life.

 Ghosts can sometimes be known as revenants. A revenant comes from folklore and is a visible ghost or animated corpse (un-dead) returned from the grave to seek revenge or terrorise the living.

The airy, ethereal apparition which is usually associated with visible sightings of ghosts may have emanated from the belief that the soul or spirit of a person resides within them and at death leaves the body from the mouth as a breath-type mist. In the Bible, God animates Adam with a breath.

The appearance of ghost or spirits is often seen as a bad omen or portent of death.

In a recent survey it was found that approximately one third of Americans believe in spirits or ghosts.

Finally, many classical writers and poets since time immemorial have used spirits or ghostly apparitions in their works - from Homer to Shakespeare, Dickens, Wilde, Milton and Coleridge. Never mind Poe and other actual horror writers. So, to my mind those of us who occasionally use ghosts and spirits in our stories are in good company – even if we can only aspire to the lofty heights our predecessors rose to.

Do you enjoy a good ghost story?

Suspense is everything...

        Dictionary definition - suspense is "a state of uncertainty".

I think I enjoy plotting and writing thrillers because  they are the kind of stories I love to read myself. A good story that grips me from beginning to end with the ‘will he /won’t he' succeed motif is the best kind of tale. And the feeling that disaster is around every corner doesn't hurt either. This to me is the art of suspense. Keeping readers on the proverbial edges of their comfy sofa is what I always aim for. I know this type of book is not to everyone’s  taste but for me it is the bedrock of good story telling.

One of the all time greatest proponent of the art of suspense was Alfred Hitchcock and I seem to recall reading somewhere that he said one of the greatest ways to create really good suspense was to put a bomb under a table (metaphorically speaking) where people, unbeknowingly, are playing a dull game of cards. The audience, of course, would know the bomb was there and ticking but the cast of players would not. What unbearable suspense for the audience!

The Witcheye Gene

Suspense in thrillers, in my humble opinion, is the key to success. Rising tension with lots of problems and, most importantly, loads of conflict for the main character is what keeps readers involved and in a state of uncertainty.

I like to think my own thriller books - especially The Witcheye Gene is full of suspense. I did craft it as a page turning, thriller read that is fast paced and full of twists and turns.

I believe suspense (and some say suspense of some kind is essential in any good novel - be it romance, action, scifi or whatever) is what keeps the reader reading!

A bomb under the table doesn’t hurt either!

 

 

Do you try to put suspense in your stories?

From Backyard to Graveyard.

From backyard to graveyard

The subject of graveyards or cemeteries is something that fascinates me. As a writer of supernatural thriller novels the sombre oppressive atmosphere of a graveyard, imbued with such reverence and awe as befits the dead, is a great place to start. Its melancholy sense of past misery seems to hang in the air like some unholy miasma as legions of the living have cried rivers of tears in their intense grief and loneliness. What a sad place for the living…

Death is inevitable for all of us and in a graveyard we are reminded of the frailty of human existence like nowhere else. The fascination for me, when I visit graveyards, is to look at the oldest graves and inscriptions and wonder what happened to the person… Sometimes great ideas for stories spring forward from this as I try to imagine what life might have been like for the said dead person.

But apart from that there is the great unknowing… What does happen when we finally confront our very existence? Scary stuff, indeed, for most of us… Unless you have great faith in your own brand of religion/belief… Most of us do not want to be reminded that we are going to pass into the great unknown someday. Perhaps that is really the scary part about graveyards and cemeteries.

But spirits, ghosts and things that go thump in the night are also great things to think about in graveyards…

So let your imagination fly!! If you dare…

Do graveyards/cemetaries scare you or are they just places of great sadness?

Still Free, free , free...

"The Witcheye Gene" is still FREE for a couple more days only. Get your free copy now.

Available on  Amazon:

Amazon.co.uk The Witcheye Gene

Also Amazon.com The Witcheye Gene



Any comments or reviews would be greatly appreciated.

Have you offered your books for free? Do you think it a good idea or not?

FREE BOOKS!

FREE! Free free...

For a few days only my thriller novel "The Witcheye Gene" is totally free on amazon. Get your free copy now!"The Witcheye Gene"
Stuffed cats, auras, second sight, different coloured eyes and evil personified all feature in this tense thriller.

We all have auras.

Kendal MacIntyre has fought long and hard to overcome the emotional scars of an unhappy childhood to create the successful boutique business she now has. Having lost her husband to cancer she is driven by one thing only – to see her daughter April have all the advantages in life that she herself was denied. So when someone appears to be snooping, she is terrified that her shameful secret will wreck April’s chances in life and she stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the hereditary trait of ‘special’ sight. But when an evil killer threatens the very existence of her family, she knows she must face her demons if she is to save the one thing she cares about.



The eyes have it!

How to plot a thriller - ways to make it easier.

So here you are with this brand new spark of a brilliant idea that you just feel sure will make a wonderful thriller… But what next, you may ask? 

Fascinating characters always help.

Well of course, you must have some fabulous characters in mind and they should be larger than life in lots of ways. The main characters should also be direct opposites in order to generate the maximum conflict. 

The setting should also reflect the type of story you want to write and the actual plot needs to be thought out in advance (well, at least a little). If you are a ‘seat of your pants’ writer that’s okay but you will find it seriously difficult if you don’t at least have some kind of idea of what your story is trying to say. For myself, I start with the main story question. Is my hero/heroine going to succeed/overcome whatever the story problem/quest is? I then plan the story as a synopsis type of thing. Using a paragraph to write a short description of the scene I see in my mind’s eye.

My own thrillers are all about plot and character. "The Witcheye Gene" &  "The Afterlife of Darkmares" (Both available on Amazon) But I digress...

Next I consider what conflict there will be and what story point is moving the tale forward.  I try to see the whole plot as a rising line on a graph where the incidents, the events, the suspense elements are all increasing and the hero’s problems are multiplying exponentially. Everything he/she tries to do to solve the problem is met by yet more problems, increasing all the time until the final climax after which the scenes become abut resolution of the original story problem.
 

After I have these rough ideas down I write scene cards but when it comes to writing the actual story I am free to discard and add as necessary but if and when I get a bit lost I can always refer to my original plot.  Then there is the issue of subplots and multiple viewpoints… But that’s for another post, methinks…

So how do you do it? Do you plan or just write?

presents for book lovers

What better time of year to buy books... the best presents ever!! Well almost... maybe I could think of one or two better pressies! If I try really hard...
Still hours of pleasure in a good book - don't you think?

Is the click mightier than the pen?

 

“We must beat the iron while it is hot, but we may polish it at leisure,”  John Dryden

I once put pen to paper (literally) and wrote.

Now I click, tap and navigate. What a huge change to the way we all communicate. I can’t even remember when I last received a hand written letter.   I am not a bright, young thing (although I’d like to think I’m still reasonably bright!) but I know many others of a similar age group who are also very au fait with computers and indeed to some degree, social networking.

For me the keypad is quicker than the pen when it comes to getting tumbling thoughts and ideas down on paper. Free writing engages the creative right side of the brain and not the analytical, logical left brain. I believe getting something, anything, down on a blank sheet is the best way to avoid writers block and so I often use free writing to help me think and get going on a project.

Using the keypad rather than the pen gives me a quicker easier way to re-write this stream of consciousness writing and make some sense of it. Whereas editing with pen and paper just leaves me with a confused mess of crossings out and no sense of what I am really trying to say.  Having said that, I have many friends who continue to write in longhand – at least initially. They still cherish the feel of pen on paper and love to fill the blank white pages of a notebook.

Long live writers of all kinds!

So are you a pen pusher or a keyboard clicker?

 

Free Promotion Success?

I'm not sure whether giving my book away for free -for a few days - through amazon was a good thing or not but I can say my promotion was a total success - just not monetary...

Although I wold like to make money, having people read my work is more important and still gives me a sense of satisfaction. I guess time will tell if the promotion gives me more than this...

The promotion has also increased my engagement with facebook, twitter etc. and has gained me new followers/likes on all my platforms. I hope to gain lots more new friends and maybe more sales of "The Witcheye Gene" which is also available on amazon.

So to all the hundreds of people who downloaded my free book - "The Afterlife of Darkmares", Thanks!

I hope you enjoy the read and perhaps feel able to comment or review the book?

What do you think? Are free books ever a good idea?

Plague, Thrills, Death and Evil Entities in this Novel...

the Plague cottages at Eyam

Last couple of hours for free download of "The Afterlife of Darkmares" Available for FREE from amazon.





The Chruch at Eyam

 A tense thriller set in the historic village of Eyam in Derbyshire UK.

Do you use real settings for your stories?

FREE, Free, Freeeeee...

The ancient celtic cross in Eyam Village

Last few hours for downloading my FREE book!!
 THE AFTERLIFE OF DARKMARES available on Amazon now.

Don't miss this great opportunity for a free gift.

'The Afterlife of Darkmares' is a part historical and part contemporary
supernatural thriller. The ancient part of the tale is set in 1665, in the rural villages
of the Derbyshire Peak district, at the time of the great Plague. The events of that time link forward to contemporary times and a woman and her family
- who have already suffered great tragedy – but who are yet to face a threat more evil than they can imagine.

 

Do you enjoy reading supernatural thrillers? Then try this one for free!

 

 

Back to the future?

I am so pleased to announce that my thriller “The Afterlife of Darkmares” by P J Newcombe is FREE on Amazon for a short time. So please get your free copy now.
Amazon.co.uk        Amazon USA
 

Eyam Church

This story is set partly in modern day England but also in 1665 in a rural village in Derbyshire which eventually became known as the PLAGUE village. My tale is fictional but the events and the settings are real and well documented. The story of Eyam – plague village - is threaded through my supernatural-type tale but the bravery of the real villagers in quarantining themselves voluntarily over a number of months, has long been recognised as perhaps, the greatest heroic story of its time.  Over a period of months the village was decimated by the disease with whole families wiped out but as a result of their sacrifice the surrounding hamlets and the Duke of Devonshire’s Estate (Chatsworth) was saved from infection.  

Set against this background “The Afterlife of Darkmares” is the story of one woman’s battle against an evil entity which threatens not only her child but ultimately all mankind.

Cucklett Delf

                    

The celtic Cross

Plague cottages




 

Available for kindle FREE as - well as the paperback book

Amazon

 

For more information or to read an excerpt from the book visit please my website:  P J Newcombe

Or my facebook page   http://facebook.com/ThrillerWriterPJNewcombe

Please feel free to follow me on twitter    http://Twitter.com/patnewcombe

Do you like to read thrillers?