The adage “Never meet your heroes, for if you do, it will always disappoint” has been ingrained into us over many years. Yet, I find myself in strong disagreement with this time-worn wisdom. Let me share my experiences with two of my writing heroes, Joe Abercrombie and Mark Stay, who have not only inspired me but also proved that meeting your heroes can be an immensely rewarding experience.

In the realm of literature, heroes can take many forms. For me, my writing heroes have been a source of inspiration, guiding lights in my journey as an author. While some of my literary idols have already left us, such as David Eddings and David Gemmell, Joe Abercrombie and Mark Stay have emerged as contemporary writing heroes who continue to shape my path as a writer.

I had the privilege of meeting Joe Abercrombie on one unforgettable occasion. Prior to our meeting, I had followed his interviews and engaged with his insights through podcasts like The Bestseller Experiment. These interactions had given me a glimpse into his creative mind, making me feel like I got him.

When I first cracked open Joe’s debut novel, “The First Law,” I admit that the initial five pages left me somewhat unconvinced. However, by the time I reached page ten, I was undeniably hooked. Joe’s storytelling prowess, characterized by its ability to twist, dissect, and explore the intricacies of morality and ethics within his characters, was nothing short of masterful. I found myself returning to his works time and again, each reading revealing new layers of his narrative craftsmanship. In my opinion, there’s no one better than Joe Abercrombie in the realm of fantasy fiction.

My opportunity to meet him in person came when he visited Waterstones in Liverpool just before the onset of Covid. Not only did I get a book signed by him, but he also answered a question I posed. It’s remarkable how a few simple words can have such a profound impact on one’s life. During our brief exchange, I mentioned that I was in the process of writing a book, an activity – I suspect – shared by many in the queue that day. Joe’s response was succinct yet incredibly motivating: “Excellent. Keep going.” Those three words served as a constant source of inspiration, propelling me to persevere, resulting in nearly 600,000 words and the completion of five books. Joe Abercrombie undoubtedly stands as one of my writing heroes, I just wish he’d write more!

My second writing hero is the venerable author Mark Stay, whose writing talent and extensive experience in the book industry sets him apart. I discovered Mark as the co-presenter of the Bestseller Experiment alongside Mark Desvaux nearly six years ago, and I’ve been an avid listener ever since.

My admiration for Mark extended to supporting his Kickstarter project for the fantasy novel “The End of Magic.” Few things bring me more joy than contributing to an author’s journey to bring their vision to life. My good fortune culminated in a face-to-face encounter with Mark Stay at the Romantic Novelist Association conference last year. Although I generally carry myself confidently in social settings, I must confess to feeling a touch star-struck upon his arrival. For most of the day, I kept my distance for reasons I couldn’t quite fathom.

However, when Mark messaged me about joining him and his wife Claire for a drink after one of the author panels, I couldn’t resist the opportunity. This was a marked departure from my meeting with Joe Abercrombie; it was an invitation to a genuine conversation. The nerves were palpable, but I recalled a saying Joe himself had shared: “It is better to do it than live with the fear of it.” With that mantra in mind, I approached Mark Stay, and to my delight, he was not only gracious but genuinely kind and interested.

Our conversation flowed effortlessly, and I was struck by Mark’s warmth, candour, and enthusiasm for all things related to writers and their craft. I even had the honour of gifting him a signed copy of my book, “Imagine the Fire,” dedicated to him. This heartwarming encounter was repeated at FantasyCon, where I presented Mark with a copy of “Delusions and Dragons,” in which he possibly makes a cameo alongside Mark Desvaux, albeit in fictional form for legal reasons.

Mark Stay’s unwavering support and willingness to engage with aspiring authors demonstrate his status as one of the “good guys” of the literary world. His dedication to writers of all backgrounds has left an indelible mark on me, and I am immensely grateful for his influence on my writing journey.

In conclusion, my encounters with writing heroes Joe Abercrombie and Mark Stay have only solidified my belief that meeting one’s heroes is not a recipe for disappointment, but rather a chance for inspiration and personal growth. Without a doubt, these encounters have played a pivotal role in my journey as an author, reminding me that heroes, when met, can indeed exceed our expectations. So, in defiance of the old adage, I encourage you to seek out your heroes; you may just find that they inspire you to reach new heights of which you never thought yourself capable.

I’ve just completed the fourth Witches of Woodville book – The Holly King – by Mark Stay and it is absolutely fantastic. The series has grown over the past couple of years to be one of my favourite fantasy series. If you’re unfamiliar with it , think Dad’s Army written by Terry Pratchett. It tells the tale of a young girl – Faye Bright – set against the backdrop of World War Two, a young girl who lives in a small English village who discovers that her mother was a witch. The previous books have grown this world introducing new characters and their backstories, in particular two other witches who live within the same village: Miss Charlotte and Mrs Teach, and Faye’s love interest, the plucky and adorable Bertie.

I have enjoyed every single one of them, but book four, for me, suggests a change of gear. A step change in relation to Mark Stay’s writing. The Holly King is far darker, far deeper, far more interesting and more captivating than the previous three books. This is not to say that the first three books are bad – they are not, they are very good. But the Holly King is the best of the series by quite some distance.

Mark Stay delves deeper in this book, much deeper, far further into darker corners of the mind, and the corners of morality which some authors may have avoided going to for fear of displeasing their audience. But I would suggest that this is exactly where future books need to go. The backdrop of World War Two is epic, terrible and curious, all at the same time, and Mark Stay seems to be taking great delight in putting all of his characters through very difficult times, both morally, ethically and from the point of view of loyalty.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. Who doesn’t love a book filled with evil fairies, witches with Japanese swords and drunk one man bands? His books can be easily consumed, the writing excellent, making the reading effortless, but with a confidence of an author who you feel you can trust, go with, and who knows exactly what they are doing.

He leaves the book on a huge cliffhanger. And it’s a huge cliffhanger which, in many ways, is the right direction to take future books in and also offers a huge number of opportunities to expand the universe of the Witches of Woodville. I really hope that Mark Stay continues to be brave and remain on this path. Because if The Holly King is anything to judge by, the Witches of Woodville stands out as one of the finest British fantasy series of recent years, and stands on the edge of moving even higher.

If you haven’t read it, where have you been? The good thing is that you’ve got plenty of time to catch up. Start with book one – The Crow Folk – and you won’t be sorry, I promise.

New Year, New Year’s resolutions – it’s also very exciting. My chief aim this year is to write far more books than I have done. The last six months of 2022 proved to be a disaster, I hardly wrote a thing, messed about with various projects but didn’t actually finish anything.

2023 provides an opportunity for a fresh start. My plans for this year are straight forward – write two and a half books. The only thing is I’m cheating on one project. The cheating being that I’m writing it with another author. It’s a project that’s been floating around in both of our heads for several years now, a combination of their influences and mine, a meeting of two great writing minds.

What would you get if you combined Romancing The Stone with Indiana Jones, and sprinkle in a touch of Jumanji, all in a fantasy world? That’s exactly what we intend to find out. We’ve plotted out 90% of the book and have even decided on an ending, now we just got to write the blooming thing. The interesting thing is I’m writing the main female character – Natasha – while my co writer creates the male voice for our reluctant hero Gary.

We are aiming to have the first draught of the book completed by the end of February, which will then give us three months to edit the book before submitting it into two different competitions. Already the ideas within the book have changed and  twisted, the feeling I get is that it has improved it. I’ve compromised on some ideas and my co-author with theirs.

I think the hardest thing we will have to agree on is the style of the front cover. We will use GetCovers again, but the look in my head is far more serious than it is in theirs, but we will have to see what happens and, of course, I will share with you the end product.

Whatever you’re doing, I hope you doing well and if you’re writing, getting words on the page. Until next time happy writing.

P.S We may already have a contender for the winner of best book title of the year. Mark Hood is due to release his next book in February entitled ‘The Fairies Want Me Dead’. How awesome does that sound?

A new writing adventure began this morning at 7amWritingClub . A standalone project to be shared quietly with the publishing world. 1333 words of book five.

Next day typically for me. I start writing and the next day I conceive a huge change in creative direction. It’s going to be longer, darker and much more fun. I’ve also decided to cast Ian McShane as a main character, and how can that be a bad thing?

Awoke early next day and I put the time to good use walking the dog and finished plotting the script for my current WIP. Also mocked up a cover as part of the process to help get creative juices to flow. I can’t show you what is going to happen but here they are.

Off we go…

Writing Lessons I’ve learnt by SC Gowland – Writing Tips

https://www.readersmagnet.club/how-do-you-write-a-fantasy-series-sc-gowland/

I met Sarah Pinborough back in August 2016 – before her massive success with “Behind Her Eyes” – at the Dublin Ghost Story festival, and I owe her thanks for three different things.

The event was one of my first literary events and was something of a learning experience. She was both interviewer and interviewee on a few panels, and was hugely engaging and entertaining in both roles. This combined with the cosy atmosphere of the Freemason Hall – the venue for the weekend – and easy access to other authors such as John Connelly, Adam Nevill, AK Benedict and many others, made the whole weekend hugely enjoyable. She answered my questions with grace and good humour and even agreed to have her photo taken with me. That is the first thing I thank Sarah for.

Following the event, I began following her on Twitter – @sarahpinborough – and have done so ever since. She tweeted that she had been interviewed by the Bestseller Experiment and I duly checked out the interview. It was as I’d expected; funny, insightful and helped me with my writing. Partly because Sarah announced that the need to write everyday was “bollocks” – phew – and also because I found the podcast that would ultimately change my writing life. Without it I would have written nothing, or at least taken another 25 years to get anything down on paper. That is the second thing I thank her for.

The final thing I thank Sarah for is her book “Behind Her Eyes”. Which was my favourite book of 2017. It was launched to much fanfare, and a marketing campaign based of WTF That Ending. I demolished it in a single weekend. I was certain that I had worked out the ending, even two pages before the end I thought I had it – alas, Miss Pinborough blindsided me and produced an ending completely worthy of the WTF That Ending tag.

I shall reveal nothing about the book – no spoilers here – other than it is brilliant. The new Netflix show is released today and even though I know what is coming, I will be watching every minute gripped and smiling at wonderful storytelling.  

Bravo and thank you, Sarah Pinborough.

Good things take time. Glorious things take even longer.

Thus, I find myself having to delay the release of Coven of Shadows until the 15th December. I’m annoyed, both with myself and with circumstances. But it cannot be helped. I know won’t be happy with the book if I put it out now, and in truth it needs more work.

I am close and it is written – all 115k words so far – but it is not good enough. I have also had a fleet of other ideas enter my head, that I want to weave into it, and in the longer term it will make the Souls’ Abyss a stronger and more interesting series of books.  I am very pleased with the front cover, see below, it’ll be the look and feel of all my covers from here on in.

Added to this, my writing process has really tied me in knots and increased the time it’s taking to get everything done. I normally dictate and get the contents transcribed. Otter is a brilliant piece of software, but like all dictation packages, it doesn’t get everything right. It’s partly because I just talk and expect it to sort everything out, but it doesn’t.

So, I am having to go through everything line by line (350+ pages) and check it properly. Whilst doing so I’m adding more content and trying to link everything together. It is rather messy and, in the future, I think my system is going to have to change, it’ll save me both my time and my sanity.

I’ve also had a real bout of Imposter Syndrome – doubt in your own abilities, thinking everything you write is rubbish and any success is based on luck, not talent. It has been made worse, especially when I‘ve read and come across other work that is so fantastic. It is a proper psychological thing, and I’ve struggled to shift it this time around.

Normally I’d breeze through it, but not this time. My confidence has been hit, and it’s slowed everything down. I’ve been reading or listening to a lot of books on Audible, and there is some superb stuff out there.

I’ve also finished a book recently that I really didn’t enjoy. I won’t say who or what it is, but I found it vast and epic, and utterly bewildering. To the point that I could not remember people, places, or activities. It completely ruined, what was a decent story, with unnecessary depth. And not depth in a good way, world building depth, not character depth. I couldn’t care less about the history of elves, etc. I want to know about the character, not the entire bloody history of the world.

It has sold massive numbers and is part of an acclaimed series. I wondered if I needed to do such things to my books going forwards, but I really don’t want to. Partly because it’s not who I am and also because it’s such a killer of the story for me. Yes, have detail, but not so it overshadows character and is detrimental to the story.

I’m going to write about imposter syndrome properly after book 2 is released on the 15^th December. I’ll have more to write about then and I need no more delays at the moment…

Until next time stay safe.