Hi folks! A. L. Lester here, on the fourth stop of my five-station blogtour! Thank you so much for coming and reading. My first novel, ‘Lost In Time’ is out this month and I am on a five-stop Blog tour to introduce myself. Today I’m going to talk about The Hardest Part Of Writing.
The hardest part of writing a book for me, is the idea of other people looking at it. I have crippling self-confidence issues in all areas of my life and my writing output is no different. I am literally sat on the sofa rocking some days at the idea of anyone reading my words, let alone having any sort of opinion about it. That’s why I’ve chosen to write under a pseudonym. Lots of People In My Real Life know who I am, but in my head, the pseudonym is a thin veneer of paper protection between the me who is trying go to PTA meetings more often and not visit the shop in her slippers; and the me that likes to don my house-trousers at two in the afternoon and settle on the sofa to read or write almost-pornographic novels featuring werewolves.
When we lived on Merseyside, we lived on a side-street just off the river Mersey itself, on the opposite side of the water to Liverpool. I am not a City Person and it was a Sacrifice For Love that I made when I was young and foolish. OH has more than made up for my sacrifice by now - he found moving to the country a lot more traumatic than I found city life. In a village, if you put your washing out on the line, every single person in the vicinity will know that you have bright red BEST DAD IN THE WORLD underpants. In the city, you can’t hang your laundry out because it will absorb city-shmutz and be dirtier afterward than before you washed it. In cliche, in a village, everyone knows your business, but in the town, everyone ignores you.
So there are alleged pros and cons. I’m not sure the city/village cliche is true, though. Our city house was three stories high, with an attic window that looked across the river to the Liver Buildings, those iconic symbols of the city. They watch the big ships and the little ships go out on their adventures and welcome the sailors safely home again. That was one of the pros. As was the collection of dear friends and close family that we had within a half hour walk. The downside for me was feeling like a rat shut in a trap. For me, being on a suburban terraced street, I felt watched all the time. When you go out of the house on a suburban street of terraces, someone sees you. When you come home, someone else sees you. In your postage-stamp back yard, your neighbours overlook your Sunday afternoons. Traditionally, living in a village is supposed to be like that; but here in our village, it is more spaced out and I feel I have room to breathe. In the city, I felt squashed.
Writing is a bit like that, in my opinion. At the moment, with Lost In Time out there like it is, I feel as if I am living with my skin peeled off and every single thing is open for scrutiny, like pressing on a bruise. If I want to produce anything else, ever again, I have to forget that other people are going to look at it. I have to just get my head down and get the words out on the page. And then go back and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite. And then get someone else to look at it and comment. And then do it all again. It’s an enormous trust exercise for me to ask people to alpha or beta-read, let alone try and get something published; and I am sure that other writers feel the same.
Final stop on the blog tour is MM Good Book Reviews on January 18. Musings on What I Want To Be When I Grow Up.
Cover Design: JM Snyder
Publisher: JMS Books
Length: 54,000 words approx.
The Gate (a FREE short story introducing the characters from Lost In Time)
Amazon US | Amazon US | JMS Books
Blurb
Lew’s life is pleasantly boring until his friend Mira messes with magic she doesn't understand. While searching for her, he is pulled back in time to 1919 by a catastrophic magical accident. As he tries to navigate a strange time and find his friend in the smoky music clubs of Soho, the last thing he needs is D etective Alec Carter suspecting him of murder.
London in 1919 is cold, wet, and tired from four years of war. Alec is back in the Metropolitan Police after slogging out his army service on the Western Front. Falling for a suspect in a gruesome murder case is not on his agenda, however attractive he finds the other man.
They are both floundering and out of their depth, struggling to come to terms with feelings they didn’t ask for and didn’t expect. Both have secrets that could get them arrested or killed. In the middle of a murder investigation that involves wild magic, mysterious creatures, and illegal sexual desire, who is safe to trust?
January 7 - Book Review By Virginia Lee
January 8 - The Novel Approach - Blog Post
January 9 - Valerie Ullmer
January 10 - Alpha Book Club - Blog Post
January 11 - Mirrgold: Mutterings & Musings
January 12 - Love Bytes -Blog Post
January 13 - Padme's Library
January 15 - Drops Of Ink, Bayou Book Junkie, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, MM Good Book Reviews
January 16 - Diverse Reader - Blog Post
January 18 - MM Good Book Reviews - Blog Post
Author Bio
A. L. Lester likes to read. Her favorite books are post-apocalyptic dystopian romances full of suspense, but a cornflake packet will do there's nothing else available. The gender of the characters she likes to read (and write) is pretty irrelevant so long as they are strong, interesting people on a journey of some kind.
She has a chaotic family life and small children, and she has become the person in the village who looks after the random animals people find in the road. She is interested in permaculture gardening and anything to do with books, reading, technology and history. She lives in a small village in rural Somerset and is seriously allergic to both rabbits and Minecraft
Website: http://www.allester.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CogentHippo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ALLesterAuthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cogenthippo/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/A.-L.-Lester/e/B01MZ6R1QR/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/allester
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