Another Questionnaire.

This one was completed by one of the first people to be given a copy of the novel. She is a friend of mine and her and her husband had been eagerly anticipating the book for some time. You’ll hear from her husband later on. Once again it has been edited for spoilers.

‘I actually read it in the space of a week. That only happens with a good book.,

1. Did you enjoy the book or not? Please give reasons for your answer.

Yes I enjoyed!! It was easy to read, entertaining story line – felt like being 13 again.

2. Were you engaged immediately, or did it take you a while to “get into it”? How did you feel reading it—amused, sad, disturbed, confused, bored…?

It took me a little while to get into, I think (spoiler) was where I got engaged fully. I found it entertaining, couple of descriptive bits that I skimmed over (but I do that in all books!). think I felt that anticipation of what’s going to happen next.

3. What did you remember most?

Probably tabitha & cameron’s relationship and the (spoilers).

4. What confused you most?

The (spoilers) kind of came from left field…totally wasn’t expecting it. Think it would have helped to understand the (spoilers) a bit more, might have then not been so ‘out there’.

5. What do you want to know more about?

THE CLIFFHANGERS!!!!! mostly the involvement of (spoilers). I found it frustrating that that didn’t come out at the end. I could cope with the (spoilers) but personally need to know why (spoilers) and what (spoilers) had to do with it!!!!! oh, and maybe the (spoilers).

6. What surprised you?

The whole (spoilers) aspect at the end. And I thought that (spoilers) was going to be a ‘baddie!’

7. What was your favourite part of the book?

I’m a girl… the kiss behind the bike sheds – great scene!! I think my favourite part was (spoilers)at the end 🙂

8. What was your least favourite part of the book?

Some of the bits I skimmed were the school scenes. for me there was a bit too much details on what lessons Tabitha had that day etc.

9. Who was your favourite character?

I think Emyr was good, and Tabitha. Also quite liked Cameron’s dad. Seemed like a down to earth, non-judgemental vicar 🙂

10. Did you think that Tabitha and Cameron’s friendship was realistic?

Yes very, made me think back to that age – even when you were only friends, there was still that ‘maybe’ line of thinking!!

11. Were the characters (especially Tabitha and Cameron) realistically portrayed?

Yes, Seren seemed a little overly mean perhaps, but for the most part it was very lifelike.

12. Were the characters developed enough?

Due to the role (spoilers) played at the end I would have liked to have known them a little better perhaps. And the main baddie, I only vaguely remembered her when they were revealed at the end; but that may have been because I read it so slowly. (!)

13. Did you find the book exciting?

Yes, very – I wanted to keep reading.

14. What did you think of the plot? Was it well constructed?

Good, flowed really well,

15. What did you think of the clues and the way that Tabitha and Cameron solved them?

Great, very Dan Brown (or Enid Blyton – your choice!!)

16. Are there any plot holes you can think of?

I think I’ve left it too long, nothing stands out, but I live in the moment enjoying the story and don’t think that deeply.

17. Were there any plot points that you thought should have been resolved (bearing in mind that a sequel is planned)?

See question 5!

18. Are you looking forward to a sequel?

Yes I need it. soon. get writing.

19. Do you think that the book compares well to other published books that you have read in the same genre?

Yes, with an editor’s touch I think it would be good teenage christian fiction. I think that the story does limit it to a christian publisher though.

20. Would you buy the book if it were in a bookshop (or on Amazon)?

Yes, its my kind of book 🙂

Word Count, how much is too much.

When I finished the first draft of this book it was over 136,000 words. I immediately googled (other search engines are available) ‘word count for first novel’ (or words to those effect) and was disappointed to discover that the average word count for a first novel is expected to be around 80,000. This is for adults, with children’s books expected to be much lower, with the 9-12 age group being 20,000 – 55,000, although this can extend up to 75,000. Young Adult books are between 30,000 but no more than 100,000.

When I was writing the book, I thought I was writing a Young Adult book, but apparently those are for protagonists aged 16, and deal with more mature themes. As my protagonist is 13, and this is an adventure/mystery novel, then it seems that the book should be for the 9-12 age group.

I managed to get it down to 115,400 fairly easily by cutting chunks (including whole chapters in some cases) that were not necessary.

I thought I was ready to submit my sample chapters to literary agents, but now I’m not so sure. Looking at the internet, it seems that submitting anything over 100,000 will adversely affect my chances of getting an agent to represent me. My worry is that agents will reject it on the word count alone, without actually reading the sample chapters.

I then managed to get it down to just under 113,500 words, by cutting another couple of chunks out and combining some chapters.. I didn’t think I could cut any more chunks without adversely affecting the story. I have started to do a go through it line by line and I am now down to 112,600. I still have a long way to go through.

My aim is to get it down to 100,000, although this would still be too high for this age group. I may have to settle for 110,000. I have had advice from people suggesting that I make it into two books, but I don’t think I can cut it in two, as there would be no resolution to the first book, and it would not work as a stand-alone novel.

The novel is actually the first part of a series and I am writing book two right now. All this editing will take a lot of time. It’s annoying, because all I want to do is write book two.

It’s also frustrating because a friends eleven year old daughter read the book and enjoyed it and wasn’t put off by the length. Also as mentioned in my previous post, a 16 year old girl enjoyed it as well. None of my test readers said the book was too long.

Still, I guess that if writing and editing were easy, then everyone would do it.

Thanks for listening.

Dave.

Feedback Questionnaire

When I finished my novel and it had gone through several drafts I gave it to a few people to read and then sent them a questionnaire for them about the book. I have edited the answers a bit to remove spoilers and names have been changed to protect the innocent.

The first one is by a sixteen your old girl (who may have been fifteen when she read it), who’s parents are friends. Her dad read it first and then gave it to her. I also gave it to her sister, but she didn’t want to read it until she could read the sequel (I’m working on it).

Here are her answers below.

1) Did you enjoy the book or not? Please give reasons for your answer.
I did enjoy the book. It had good build up of events without being too slow moving.

2) Were you engaged immediately, or did it take you a while to “get into it”? How did you feel reading it—amused, sad, disturbed, confused, bored
I have to be honest I can’t really remember the beginning because I did take a break from leisure reading with exams half way through the book 😦 But I do know I read the first half in less than a fortnight so from that I assume I did in fact find it engaging from the start. I felt amused throughout the novel and just intrigued more than anything.

3) What did you remember most?
The part of the book I remember most is probably (spoilers) only because I remember not expecting it at all.

4) What confused you most?
I would say what confused me most was all about (spoilers). I liked it it just confused me a little as it appeared to come out of nowhere. However, I didn’t see it coming at all which made it really cool.

5) What do you want to know more about?
Leading on from that, I would like to know more about the (spoilers) not necessarily earlier in the novel. Possibly around the action involving them towards the end. Oh and I would like to know more about (a characters) story towards the end. And finally what actually happened to (spoilers) but I don’t know if that is one of the loose ends left to be tied up in a sequel.

6) What surprised you?
As I have already mentioned, the (spoilers) surprised me and that (spoilers). It also surprised me that (spoilers) as I was sort of waiting for them to not be…I don’t know why but I was.

7) What was your favourite part of the book
My favourite part of the book was the ‘Night of the something’ bit and then the (spoilers). I just thought it was extremely compelling and well written.

8) What was your least favourite part of the book?
(Loads of Spoilers, but I’ve addressed her concern, honest).

9) Who was your favourite character?
My favourite character was Lord Gralen. I thought we find enough out about him but he is still shrouded in secrets which is always good. I warmed to him really nicely throughout the book as I believe was the intention.

10) Did you think that Tabitha and Cameron’s friendship was realistic?
Tabitha and Cameron’s friendship was definitely realistic. I couldn’t think of a way that it could be made more so for a teenage boy and girl.

11) Were the characters (especially Tabitha and Cameron) realistically portrayed?
The characters were all very realistic. They all had their own quirks as everyone does and nothing too out there (except the whole (spoilers), maybe not considered “realistic” but key to the novel and it was really cool so good job)

12) Were the characters developed enough?
The only ones I can think of that maybe it would be nice to hear more about are: the (spoilers) and the people who we know who are the (spoilers) just so when their names are revealed we recognise them easily.

13) Did you find the book exciting?
I’m not sure “exciting” is the word to describe it the whole way through but certainly intriguing and at times exciting/thrilling, yes.

14) What did you think of the plot? Was it well constructed?
I thought the plot was very good. There were twists and turns mixed in with action and also day to day occurrences, which led to a storyline not so far fetched it just seemed ridiculous, and then loses the thrill, but not so normal that it leaves the reader bored.

15) What did you think of the clues and the way that Tabitha and Cameron solved them?
I thought the clues were cleverly disguised and I liked the way that for the majority of the clues, you didn’t know how to solve them yourself, because not too much detail is given and so you are desperate to read on and find out what they do actually mean.

16) Are there any plot holes you can think of?
Not that I can think. The book flows well and it’s a strong plot.

17) Were there any plot points that you thought should have been resolved (bearing in mind that a sequel is planned)?
Not at all. I think the novel ties up enough loose ends that it works as a stand alone book, but it does leave a few unanswered questions to support a sequel.

18) Are you looking forward to a sequel?
I am, yes.

19) Do you think that the book compares well to published books that you have read in the same genre?
I’ve read quite a lot of books in this genre and I do think it compares well, especially with books aimed at the same age range.

20) Would you buy the book if it were in a bookshop (or on Amazon)?
I would quite happily.

I will publish a couple more responses to my questionnaire in the next few weeks.

Thanks for reading,

Dave.

My thoughts on Scottish Independence

This is a bit off topic for this blog which is normally about books (including my own) but I thought I’d write about the independence referendum in Scotland. I’m not going to write about the economic arguments or the practical implications as this has been done ad nauseam by many people who are much more qualified to talk about these things (or at least, they think they are).

Instead I want to write about my personal feelings about independence and what it would mean for me if Scotland were to become an independent country.

Although I live in South Wales, I was born in Scotland and lived there until I was four years old. I have lived for forty years outside Scotland (a few years in England but mainly in Wales), so why does it matter to me when I only lived there for a short while when I was very young?

I don’t know the answer to that one. I have a Scottish father and an English mother, so I’m really half Scottish and half English, but for some reason the Scottish half has always won out. I’ve always considered myself Scottish, even though I only have a vague memory of living there.

I’m Scottish and proud of it (even though I don’t have a Scottish accent) and as a rugby fan, I support the Scottish rugby team through thick and (more often) thin. I even put a Scottish character in my novel, even though it’s set in Wales. I needed a newcomer to the village, but he and his family could have come from anywhere, but I always knew they would be Scottish.

I fear that if Scotland were to become independent, that I will lose touch with the country of my birth. Every time someone mentions Scotland, whether on the TV or not, my ears prick up and I try and hear what’s being said. If Scotland were to be independent, would there be as many mentions of Scotland on the news, or reports from Scotland on The One Show, or drama’s set in Scotland on BBC or ITV, as there are currently?

The people of Scotland have made many valuable contributions to Britain over the last three hundred years with many Scottish statesmen, inventors, authors, actors, musicians and sports men and women adding to the rich tapestry of British life. I think we will all miss Scotland if they go.

I know I will.

If you live in Scotland and you are undecided about which way you will vote on September 18th, then please have a look at in order to see how much the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, value the people of Scotland.
http://heartstrings.letsstaytogether.org.uk
If you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, then please sign up to www.letsstaytogether.org.uk/ to remind the people of Scotland that we’d like them to stay.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Dave

Another sneek peek from the book.

She looked up at a tall lanky boy who had a concerned look on his face.

‘Are you all right?’ he asked in a soft Scottish brogue.

‘Does it look like I’m all right?’ Tabitha snapped at him. She immediately regretted it, scared that she would offend the one person who had been kind to her that day.

‘Not really,’ he said, crouching down in front of her. ‘That’s why I asked.’

‘Sorry. I haven’t had the best start to the day.’

‘So I can see. Did someone hit you?’

‘Is it that obvious?’

‘You’ve got a massive bruise on your face.’

Wow, where does the time go.

It seems only yesterday that I wrote about what I was going to read for my summer holiday but it’s now September and I’ve been back for three and a half weeks. I read all the books I talked about (although I finished Inkspell when I got back) and enjoyed all of them.

Inkspell was even better than Inkheart and I bought the final book in the trliogy as soon as I finished it which says how much I liked it.

Itch was very good and a different kind of childrens/YA book. I like the way that Itch was an ordinary kid whose interesting hobby gets him out of (and into) trouble. It seems to me that there is no appetite for normal kids who don’t have powers or an unusal upbringing/ special skills at the moment (which is a bit worrying when my protagonist has no secret or speical powers and is as normal as you can get, well as far as she knows anyway). Itch is a very good first novel and I am looking forward to the sequels.

Be Careful What You Wish For was very good continuing the Clifton Chronicles although I do wish he wouldn’t end every book on a cliffhanger. Still it keeps people coming back for more.

Refusal was a great return to form and another outing for Sid Halley, Dick Francis most famous creation. His son didn’t drop the ball and this was a compelling thriller with a particulary nasty villain.

The Time Hunters was a really enjoyable book with lots of interesting and new ideas. It’s written in a really engaging way and has a good plot although I would have like to find out more why things in Ancient Greece were like they were. Why this hasn’t been picked up by a publisher, I’ve no idea.

The Iron Castle was another great read from Angus Donald who never disappoints. It’s great to see how he fits his vision in of Robin Hood with established legend and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing one of the new characters again who will have a pivotal role to play when the series comes to an end (which is hopefully a long way away).

The Wretched of Muirwood was an interesting read. I liked it but I can’t say I loved it.

I have a confesstion to make in that I didn’t buy any of the books I was think about. Instead I bought Tripwire (the third Jack Reacher) and The Shadow Throne (the sequel to The Runaway King). I haven’t read that one but Tripwire was good, although I preferred the previous book. I will have to read more than one Jack Reacher a year though or I’ll never catch up.

Anyway that’s what I read during the summer. I’ve just started The Wolf and the Raven, the sequel to Wolf’s Head (what can I say I’m a sucker for Robin Hood, it’s even on Doctor Who this week).

Anyway that’s all for me at the mo. I’ll post more about my novel soon.

Dave.

What do I read on summer holidays?

I’v bought a few books to read on my summer holiday. I can read around eight books over two weeks (which is why kindles/ereaders are so great for holidays as I no longer have to pack so many books into my suitcase). I’ve bought the following books to read:-

Inkspell by by Cornelia Funke (I enoyed Inkheart and I want to know ehat happens to Meggie).

The Wierdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner (I was a massive fan of Elinor when I was a kid and I can’t beleive that I haven’t actully read this).

Itch by Simon Mayo (I’ve heard good things about it and I like his radio shows).

Be Careful What You Wish For byJeffrey Archer (maybe I shouldn’t have admitted to that one).

Refusal by Felix Francis (Dick Francis books are required summer reading).

The Time Hunters: Books One to Three (I downloaded the sample and enjoyed that immensly).

The Iron Castle by Angus Donald (these have been essential summer reading over the last few years, they’re always a cracking good read).

The Wretched of Muirwood (it was 99p and so I thought I’d give it a shot).

So what else should I buy. Here are the options:-

The Blooding by James McGee (I’ve read all the other Hawkwood books and I’ve been waiting a long time for this to come out).

(I enjoyed the first two and besides its about Robert the Bruce and I was born in Scotland)

The Blackhouse: Lewis Trilogy by Peter May (I’ve heard good things but don’t know if it would be too dark for me).

Any thoughts people?

 

 

 

Random thoughts about books I’ve read (I don’t do reviews).

The Runaway King

I read the first book in the series, The False Prince last year and enjoyed it a lot and I was looking forward to reading the sequel to discover what Sage ot up to next and it didn’t disapoint. In the first book I did guess who Sage really was (Spoliers) but this book took things off in a different direction to what I was expecting. Sage remains a compelling character and we get to find out a bit about the wider world around Carthya. I read the book quite quickly considering I was reading for half an hour before bed, and although I wouldn’t say I couldn’t put it down I did keep on reading one more chapter than I intended to. The third book is already out and I will definately read it soon.

Rooftoppers

This was a novel I discovered through Twitter. I downloaded a sample and bought the book staright afterwards and I thought this was great. The characters were alll very well drawn and likeable, especially Sophie and Charles and I was really drawn in the seach to find her mother. The book really takes off when they get to Paris and when Sopehie meets the rooftoppers. It is exciting and the ending is very well done, leaving the reader wanting more and not outstaying its welcome.

Alice Parker’s Metamorphosis

A very good read, it is very well written with the prose being very humerous and a very realistic description of teenagers in school in the UK. Alice and her friend Sarah were great characters and I was happy to spend time getting to know them. I did manage to guess what Alice’s transformation would be and that her brother knew more than he was letting on but not the rest of the soceity that she then found herself part off. It was an exciting but short story. Longer next time please.

 

Introducing …

Tabitha Jones and the Riddle of the Black Prince.

My name is David Watt (as you can probably tell from above) and this is my first novel which has not been published yet. .

Iwant to blog about the (long) writing process (it took eight years) and will also talk about what books I’ve been reading (I don’t do reviews) but in the meantime, I’ll leave you with a snippet from the book to whet your appetite.

Tabitha reeled back from the slap to her face. She staggered and fell backwards to the floor.

‘I told you.’ Seren said spitefully, her normally pretty face twisted with hatred. ‘We don’t want you hanging around with us any longer. Don’t you listen?’

Tabitha looked up at her with shock and disbelief. What was going on, why was Seren behaving like this? They weren’t the best of friends, but they normally got on fine. She looked at the girl standing next to Seren; the girl who was her best friend.

I hope you like it.

Dave.