This week I have been researching different background tunes for a scene in my current work in progress, the sequel to An Unfamiliar Murder. I need to find an album that is generally well known, atmospheric and melancholic in places, with resounding lyrics; but also upbeat in others. A tall order…

It led me to consider how important music is in our fiction, and whether indeed we should we use it all? Some might argue that music dates a novel, which it inevitably does, but I think there are few novels out there that don’t date already themselves in some way. If you’d written a book in the early 90’s, you’d be unlikely to mention the internet, people didn’t have mobile phones clung to their ears, folk could still smoke cigarettes in restaurants…

Others would say that music is subjective and using particular songs may alienate some readers. Hmmm. I agree that you shouldn’t pick something too obscure – only seasoned ‘Musos’ are likely to research an unknown song in a novel and it can detract from the story. But to use something that is reasonably well known, that matches the mood you are trying to create, that resonates – can be a very effective tool. True, some people might not like the tune, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will dislike your character. How many of your friends or partners have different musical tastes to you?

Music can also be a wonderful aid to atmosphere. The mention of a song, the tune in the background, even an individual lyric can either lift, lower, or freeze the mood of your scene.

My husband recently joked that I’ve lived with my characters for so long that they’ve become good friends. And he’s right (well, for most of them anyway). I want readers to relate to them in this way too, so that they jump out and grab you, and, when you finish the novel, you miss them dearly. I think music provides a great reference point, like a car or a place that everybody knows and relates to – that all important song that conjures up images and memories in your mind. Your mind, just like theirs.

I’ll go back to my research, but leave you with a list of music mentioned in An Unfamiliar Murder:

Snow Patrol – Eyes Open

Snow Patrol – Chasing Cars

Muse

The Intermezzo

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Jane Isaac’s first novel, An Unfamiliar Murder, is out on Amazon.com, Amazon.uk and Kindle worldwide now. Jane is still very much a Newbie and with a day job, a family and a very demanding black Labrador, she squeezes her writing into every spare moment she gets. You can catch up with her at www.janeisaac.co.uk

By now, many of you will know that my book was released early, just two weeks ago. When I got the email to say it was published, I was thrilled (after recovering from spluttering my tea into my lap in surprise) and did a little dance of excitement around the lounge. This is finally it, what I’ve been working towards, 18 months of my life’s work.

An hour or so later, I noticed a warm hue as a rash started to creep up my neck. I had let my baby go, cast her into the world. But what if nobody likes her? Eeek!

I read about other writers. It appears that even well known writers like Elly Griffiths, just released her fourth crime thriller, and Peter James bestseller author of over 25 books feels that bout of anxiety when their book first enters the world. A couple of reviews later and some feedback on Face book, and I relaxed into the journey.

Last weekend I got the most wonderful parcel through the post: my personal copies of An Unfamiliar Murder. Holding my book in my hand for the first time felt like one of those times when your life is put on hold to allow you to step back and savour the moment – a memory to keep close forever; like getting married, having a child, passing a special exam.

Most of us Newbies worry about what others will think and sometimes this forms a barrier to sharing our work. But what we don’t realise is that many artists feel this way, initially. And we live in a subjective world. How often have you been to a movie, read a book, watched a show that you considered great – only to have a friend or colleague say that they didn’t like it, it wasn’t their thing?

I firmly believe that if you write about what you know, something you are interested in, something you would like to read yourself, then there will always be someone out there who will engage and enjoy. And if you never share, you’ll never experience that adrenalin rush of clutching your book for the first time. I’m sure other authors out there will agree with me – it’s worth its weight in gold.

Twitter:                @JaneIsaacAuthor

Face Book:          Jane Isaac Author

Website:           www.janeisaac.co.uk 

Jane Isaac’s first novel, An Unfamiliar Murder, is out on Amazon.com, Amazon.uk and Kindle worldwide now. Jane is still very much a Newbie and with a day job, a family and a very demanding black Labrador, she squeezes her writing into every spare moment she gets.

Episode 17

Newbie Writers Podcast

January 21  (Catharine is eating locusts from street vendors)

Guest Jane Isaac and Lyle Perez.

The Ultimate Newbie Experience.

Jane is the living proof of a newbie becoming a published author.

What was the process involved? What sparked the story idea?

Dionne Lister asks: What has been the best part of the process for her? What was her reaction when she found out Rainstorm Press wanted to publish her works?

We pick Lyle’s brain on the initial reaction to reading Jane’s draft, what was it that made him want to publish it? What tips for new writers can be drawn from this?

We find out how Rainstorm Press is going and any new authors to look out for.

Jane’s been apart of Newbie Writers since 2007, certainly longer than I have. We ask what her thoughts on how Newbie Writers has changed, how it’s progressed.

Prompt:

“Nothing happens unless first a dream” – Carl Sandburg
spend twenty minutes on your dream. What do you really want to write? Not what sells, not what you think is “you” not what you think is trendy, just what you want to write, what you want to spend a year messing around with.
Really, twenty minutes – go!

Bring out your dead:

Contributed by Anne Naylor of www.becauseofbipolar.com.au
Too late she discovered she had married a psychopath.
It was the day after their wedding and they were in the presidential suite of a luxury hotel. They were finally on their honeymoon, about to start life as husband and wife.
He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her towards him. Magic was about to happen. They slid under the covers. He kissed her gently, then pulled the blankets over her head. She was confused. Why was he holding the blanket so tightly. He knew she was claustrophobic. She struggled against him, but he was too strong. He wouldn’t release her.
A foul stench filled the air. Surely not. He couldn’t have. He wouldn’t have. But undeniably, he had. The assault on her senses was silent, but deadly. Finally, after an eternity, he pulled back the blankets and she gasped as she gulped unpolluted air.
She was furious. Shocked and horrified. She berated herself for marrying a psychopath. Well, if not a psychopath, then a fifteen year old boy masquerading as a twenty-five year old man. He laughed, clearly very pleased with himself. ‘Welcome to marriage!’ he said. ‘What do you mean?’ she replied. She stared at him, bewildered. ‘It’s a Dutch oven’, he explained. A marriage ritual. It’s good luck.’
She thought it was surely a bad omen.
‘You’ll pay for this one day’, she said.
(And twenty years later, she did.)

Word of the week

www.worldwidewords.org

FUSTILUGS

In those moments when only insults will do, how good it is to turn to the inventive but unsung genius of everyday folk, whose local dialect is so often full of expressive abuse. This word, meaning a grossly fat or slovenly woman, is an excellent example.

It still has some small currency, mostly in Yorkshire I believe, though at one time it was widely known across a swathe of England ranging from Cumbria to Devon. That it will almost certainly be unknown to the object of your obloquy will add relish to your utterance, though it might not be too hard to work out it isn’t complimentary. It has rarely been written down outside dialect glossaries, but it did appear in 1621 in a long passage full of terms of opprobrium in The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton: “Every lover admires his mistress, though she be … a vast virago, or an ugly tit, a slug, a fat fustilugs”.

Shout Outs/ Sponsors:

Jane shouts out to the entire Twitter gang!

Damien says hi to Dianne Solberg and her Mum!

Rainstorm Press deal: newbie40 is the coupon. Gets you 40% off ANY purchase you make at www.rainstormpress.com

Where to find us:
Damien: www.newbiewriters.com
Jane Isaac: http://www.janeisaac.co.uk/
Lyle Perez: www.rainstormpress.com

Subscribe to us via email!

“…writing so good, I didn’t notice it.” When I first read this line in a book review, some years back, my initial thoughts were – the poor author.

As writers, we agonise over words to convey just the right message, layer our descriptions to build a certain atmosphere, craft phrases to achieve the correct imagery in readers’ minds.

There are those inspired sentences: ones that come to you into the night, those that spring into your mind in the supermarket queue. Lines that need to be scribbled down on the back of old receipts, scraps of paper, backs of hands; caught quickly before they slip away into the deep, dark abyss within our heads.

When my writing tutor cast her red pen across these precious lines, I wanted to wrap my arms around them, my babies to protect. As she whipped them out, I wanted to run to the waste paper basket, uncurl the crumpled pieces, and insert them back into my work.

Instead, I thought about books I have read. It’s no secret that I have a penchant for crime thrillers. I’m a sucker for a good page turner. It got me thinking – how many times do you see ‘spare’ words and phrases in a thriller? The simple answer is never. Why? Because they distract the reader and detract from the story. In point, they can be the difference between a reader loving or hating your book.

As those inspired lines were prised from me, I realised that in the early days I was being self indulgent. I used some prose because I really liked it, not because it either added to, or drove, the story forward. And that is what it is all about – the story. We are here to spin a good yarn.

So, I aspire towards “writing so good, I didn’t notice it.” If I achieve this, I’ll know I’ve done my job.

Add Note: You can read an excerpt from An Unfamiliar Murder on my new website at www.janeisaac.co.uk  It would be great to see some of you there!

Jane Isaac’s first novel, An Unfamiliar Murder, will be released by Rainstorm Press in February 2012. Jane is still very much a Newbie and with a day job, a family and a very demanding black Labrador, she squeezes her writing into every spare moment she gets. Join her on the rocky road from pen to publication!

Newbie Writers Podcast

Episode 14 31/12/2011

Character Assassination:

What do we love about books? What do we remember? Not what happens,
but rather, who the characters were, what they said. Why they said that.

We remember the characters we care most about. Why do we love Jane
Austen? Because of the intricate plots? Not really.
The story? Please, we know the story. What we love are the characters, the strong women who get into trouble because they blurt out what they are thinking, the handsome hero who is just misunderstood, the spunky friend from whom we wish as much happiness as we do wish for the heroine. We love a good character.

Listen to what you say when you play a movie for the fifth time, it’s not
about the plot or the story — you just want to see the hero or heroine again.
“I love him.” You murmur under your breath.

Character is why there is star power in Hollywood. Do we watch Brad Pitt
because he has a reputation for starring in great plot-driven films? No, we do
not. Some people, who will remain nameless, would be happy watching Mr.
Pitt sell laundry soap. It’s about character, charm, personality — if that sounds
like a beauty pageant, you are not too far off.

Create a great character, Sherlock Holmes, Ulysses, Beowulf, Emma,
Chewbacca, Bridget Jones and half the novel, the very important part of the novel, is done. Now, give this great character something to do.

“First, find out what your hero wants. Then just follow him.”
~Ray Bradbury

There are books and books and web sites and web sites and classes and
classes on how to create great characters. There is information on how to
describe them, make an astrological chart for them, and write up their back-
ground. You can create notes on why or how your character will behave in
a certain way given a certain situation. You can control the time line of the
character’s childhood. You can know everything about your character: favorite
color, childhood trauma; when the parent’s immigrated; the name of their
favorite pet now long dead …

All of this work can be excellent exercises, and valuable as you flex your
writing muscles; however, most writers will confess that their characters, the
good characters, are not so easily controlled. What many of us have discovered
is as soon as you think you know everything about your character and as
soon as you sit down and think, well today my character will drive to the store,
fight a dragon, and fall in love with the prince — they will not cooperate.

Like children, fictional characters are strangely resistant to The Plan. You
create the calendar of success, you’ve noted the benchmarks of development,
and you organize and strategize. You deliver the children to their piano,
trumpet, bongo lessons, you drive them to band, ballet, tumbling practices, and
you sit on the sidelines during game after game and what happens? Your child
becomes a chicken farmer, which was not on that list you created for them on
their second birthday — Careers Mom Thinks You Should Pursue.

Fictional characters will do much the same thing. Characters in your story
or novel will just blurt out comments, create their own action and in general
race away from you leaving you with very little choice except to hold on.
This is good.

The way to get a handle on the run-away character is to take notes as the
traits and details about your characters emerge on their own.
If your character tumbles out on the pages, just keep a notebook handy
and mark down the color of her eyes, size of his biceps, or kind of coffee he
drinks. That helps with the consistency as well as keeping you and your character on track. The picture will emerge. Write it down as it comes into focus.

Prompt:

”Find out who you are then do it on purpose.” – Dolly Parton

The idea of being only yourself is essential to YA novels, It’s the trope of the misfit child or the girl who doesn’t fit in – the classic ugly ducking story. What does this idea engender for you and for fictional opportunities? Do you have a character who does what they do on purpose? Do they have regrets? Are they huge, big personalities who don’t realize their potential until adulthood? Are you?

Bring out your dead:

Fashion Magazine Editors Apologize
We are sorry we encouraged women to blindly follow the dictates of male fashion designers whom we still aren’t completely sure like women at all.

We are sorry about the mini skirt every time we resurrect it.

We are sorry about Kate Moss.

We would be sorry about Manolo Blahnik shoes but the chiropractic association, the Loose Affiliation of Lumbar Surgeons and the Association of American Podiatrists have all taken to creating small shrines in their offices complete with bright pink Lobatron pumps. We are loath to disappoint such a strong lobby by even hinting that women would be better off hiking around in Birkenstocks, an invention of dubious fashion value. We hoped we atoned for that by running that article on the New York specialist who will, for a large fee, inject the soles of your feet with extra silicon to make that cushion of flesh at the ball of your foot thicker and more shock absorbent so your high heels can continue to be worn.

We are truly sorry about that quote from Donna Karan, “The new black is lighter,”
(Conversely, no one was sorry about The New Red).

We all know that Fashion is cyclical, even we are sorry the cycle came back to those dreary shirtwaist dresses from the seventies, recreated at a cost of $1000 a pop.

We’re sorry about that sales person from Barney’s who said, with great enthusiasm and wonder “You can get a whole outfit here for just under $1,000!” If what you usually hear, when leaving a store is “I got out of Sam’s Club for under $1,000” then you probably shouldn’t be reading our magazines in the first place.

Word of the Week:

BOONDOGGLE

An unnecessary or wasteful project.

This typically North American term is often applied in two specific ways, either to describe work of little or no value done merely to appear busy, or in reference to a government-funded project with no purpose other than political patronage. It can also be used for an unnecessary journey by a government official at public expense.

Part of its oddity lies in its sudden emergence into public view in an article in the New York Times on 4 April 1935. This had the headline “$3,187,000 Relief is Spent to Teach Jobless to Play … Boon Doggles Made”. The “boon doggles” of the headline turn out to be small items of leather, rope and canvas, which were being crafted by the jobless during the Great Depression as a form of make-work. The article quoted a person who taught the unemployed to create them that the word was “simply a term applied back in the pioneer days to what we call gadgets today”. He suggested that boondoggles had been small items of leatherwork which were made by cowboys on idle days as decorations for their saddles.

The word instantly became famous. It seems that Americans had been feeling the lack of a good word to describe unnecessary, wasteful, or fraudulent projects and leapt upon it with delight.

Shout Outs:

Dee Solberg, Dae McD, Franklin Ross on Google+ follow them!

Anne Naylor and her site www.becauseofbipolar.com.au.

Stats summary of Newbie Writers for 2011:

Unique visitors: 40,875

Number of visits: 104,920

Pages: 1,315,440

Hits: 1,690,678

Bandwidth: 504.04 GB

Most downloaded podcasts:
Full Partial

/podcast/episodeoneNWP.mp3 221 1,840
/podcast/episodeelevenNWP.mp3 98 1,202

How to contact us!

Catharine: www.yourbookstartshere.com
twitter: @cbramkamp
Damien: www.newbiewriters.com
twitter: @newbiewriters
google+: Newbie Writers

Outro.

I experienced a dose of déjà vu this week. Standing beneath the shower, lathering conditioner into my hair, I felt the warmth slowly disappear out of the water. It folded back the years to my childhood, when my brother would sneak into the bathroom and run the taps, forcing the same effect for kicks.

I squealed, jumped away, and furiously searched around the curtain for the culprit. But there was no one there. (Not surprising since my husband and daughter were out and I haven’t lived with my brother in years.) I fiddled with the buttons, turned the shower off, and back on. The water still ran cold. The element appeared to have broken. So, with no time to run a bath, I resorted to using a jug of water to rinse my hair in the sink.

It was with relief that I answered the door, the following morning, to a short man with a wide smile, my new shower tucked underneath his arm. I smiled back and, as he introduced himself, I couldn’t help but notice the twitch: his upper body jolted, causing his shoulders and head to flick sideways. Not wishing to stare, I averted my eyes, led him into the house. As we chatted briefly in the kitchen, he appeared calm and was very interesting, relaying anecdotes from a recent trip to New Zealand, before retreating to the bathroom to start work.

Later, I walked into the bathroom to deliver a coffee. Clumsily, I stumbled as I reached the door. It swung open and hit the bath noisily. As he shot round to face me, his forehead creased into a surprised frown, and his body jerked again. The combination of the strange expression and twitch made me physically start. His expression softened into a smile. Embarrassed, I apologised, planted his coffee on the window ledge and retreated. But as I walked into the kitchen a thought struck me – what an interesting layer those actions would add to a character.

I once read that fictional characters are partly made up of elements of people that we meet in everyday life. I guess there is some truth in this. As writers we are constantly observing the world around us – the man in the cafe with the six o’clock shadow, the perfectly manicured mum at the school gates, the child with the tuft of hair that sticks up around his crown. Whilst I hope my plumber isn’t reading this piece, I wanted to share this experience with you. We spend ages researching and building our characters, adding layers to their architecture. But sometimes they creep up on you when you least expect them.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year. And, Auntie Olive, when you come over for Christmas tea, just remember – I’ll be watching you!

Jane Isaac’s first novel, An Unfamiliar Murder, will be released by Rainstorm Press in February 2012. Jane is still very much a Newbie and with a day job, a family and a very demanding black Labrador, she squeezes her writing into every spare moment she gets. Join her on the rocky road from pen to publication!

Newbie writers podcast

Episode 13
Under the Hood
What’s in a Novel?

Show case stories on site, have writers on podcast. Submit two to Lyle.
My Education on Other Beings – Renelaine B. Pfister
Their House – Jennifer J Carr

What exactly is in the Average Novel?
Plot: What happens in your book? There are three basic plots:
Man versus Man
Man versus Machine
Man versus Nature

As you may have already suspected, Shakespeare did take all the good plots,
but don’t despair, you can take them right back again — there is no statute of
limitations on borrowing in literature. Unless you borrow directly from a rather
recent publication (see plagiarism).

Plot explains how the protagonist moves from one set of challenges to the next.
Plot also includes why the protagonist feels it is necessary to defeat the villain
and endure countless adventures or trials in order to do so.
In more modern tales the villain too will have motivation and a reason for
not wanting the hero to succeed.

What is the story?
Story is the drama; story informs what path the hero (or heroine) will take
on his or her quest. Story is how and why the heroine and her sidekick man-
age to get through their trials and trails. Story is about whom the heroine
meets on the way. The story is what happens next.

The plot holds the story together, gives background, and provides motives. The plot holds the reasons why,
story tells the reader what happens next.

Writing Prompt:

I love holiday letters that chronicle perfect families,  wonderful lives, but gloss over some of the rough parts: the latest arrest, another  job loss, the school record for detentions served.

What would happen if we sent our friends and family holiday cards that spoke the absolute truth? Would our year look different from what   what we post on Facebook?  Would our holiday missives sound  different if they weren’t mailed to elderly aunts and cousins we still want to impress?

What does that look like?

Write a holiday letter than only tells the truth.
Don’t mail it.

Word of the Week:

CASCABEL

You might judge the age and geographical origin of a dictionary by looking up the definition of this word. Modern ones, especially those with an American focus, are likely to tell you it’s the name of a medium-hot chilli (though, being American, they will spell it chili, or sometimes chile). Older ones, especially British, will more commonly say it’s the knob on the back end of a muzzle-loading cannon.

words found from: http://www.worldwidewords.org

Bring out your dead:

Signs you are a book addict.
Early signs of bibliolic problems start young, Harry Potter hasn’t helped at all. Kids sequester themselves into comfortable e hiding places and get lost in books. Children on the way to addiction spend many afternoons figuring out how to walk home and read a book without walking into street lamp poles. An early intervention program begins with picture flyers posted in the library where at-risk kids hide out from healthy activities at recess and read through the Little House series. These same children concoct various excuses to get out of PE so again, they can escape to the library and read biographies. Teachers sometimes miss the early warning signs of book addiction (Biblioaddiction) because it’s so silent and insidious, it’s difficult to pick out the kids who are studying required assignments and those who are reading for pure enjoyment the only clues are expressions of delight and a disregard for the warning bell, needing to read just one more paragraph.

Hi, I’m a bibliolic and I managed to watch three hours of TV last night.

In grown ups the addiction becomes much worse, as they have access to credit and are likely to stop by the book store right after being paid and blowing a sizable chunk of money on a hardback copy of the history of the world, part II and the full chronicles of Medieval life. They have to sneak the books in after dark, slip them onto the crowded book shelves and claim that those books were always there.

Shout Outs:

Like to send a shout out to the following people:

Anne Naylor and her site www.becauseofbipolar.com.au.

Dionne Lister from twitter and her site: http://redroom.com/member/dionne-lister

Susan May and her site: http://susanmaywordadventures.blogspot.com

Dianne Solberg and her site: http://ramble-inn.blogspot.com

Trish Nicholson and her site: http://trishnicholsonswordsinthetreehouse.com

AND finally an itunes review!

Where to find us:

Catharine: www.yourbookstartshere.com @cbramkamp

Damien: www.newbiewriters.com @newbiewriters (tweet me! and you’ll get a shout out on the show)

As work on my second novel progresses, I realise that word counts intimidate me. When I hear other writers aiming for 2 or 3,000 words a day on their book, every day, I want to climb back into bed and eat copious bars of chocolate. I admire their tenacity, their discipline, their focus.

Like of many of you, my lifestyle allows precious little spare time. As you all know, I have a day job, a family and a very naughty Labrador – all barriers (albeit welcome barriers – most of the time!) that keep me from my keyboard.

These days, I approach my novel in scenes, writing one at a time. I like to get into the heads of my characters. They don’t share my personality, so I need to feel theirs. I guess you might call me a ponderer. I walk across the fields with Bollo, my dog, and let the fresh air swim around me whilst mulling it over in my head.  I try to imagine the scene, picture it in my mind – how does it look, smell; what noises can I hear in the background? Then survey my characters, what is happening to them, how will they react?

Often I come back and write something. Sometimes, there isn’t time. If I’ve got work or family stuff to attend to, I just jot down a few notes. But I genuinely think that if I can’t feel my story, then my readers won’t either. And for me, this all takes time: sometimes hours, days, weeks even for a complex scene.

If you’re writing for something special, or doing a competition like Nano, then great – it’s a challenge. If it’s your job and you have a deadline, you have no choice. But, for me, it’s a hobby and a regular writing routine isn’t measured by a daily word limit. I count all the research, thinking and ruminating time too.

We all know that what works for one, doesn’t for another. As Newbies, we have to find the right habit to suit our own lifestyles. Writing should be an exciting, thrilling and fun experience. Like a great movie, or a good book. So, go find what suits you – write and enjoy.

Jane Isaac’s first novel, An Unfamiliar Murder, will be released by Rainstorm Press in February 2012. Jane is still very much a Newbie and with a day job, a family and a very demanding black Labrador, she squeezes her writing into every spare moment she gets. Join her on the rocky road from pen to publication!

I’ve always been fascinated by rainbows. As a child I was obsessed with chasing them, inconsolable when they disappeared into an empty sky. In adulthood they still make me smile, presenting a colourful element of mystery, magic and opportunity.

This week my time has been consumed with my website: meeting my web designer, discussing layout, writing content. A very exciting and engaging time (occasionally I pinch myself to make sure it’s real), but then he asked me that question – what about you?

Hmm. I love every aspect of writing. I’m in my element, filling my brain with new characters for a novel or researching, plotting and planning a new story. But ask about me, my own life, my inspirations, and I want to crawl into a little hole and hibernate.

After my recent interview with Peter Hobbs, many of you may be surprised to hear this. But it is so much easier to answer direct questions, especially if they’re asked in a humorous and quirky way. Being asked to sit down and write something about myself, makes my stomach fold.

It led me to think about my stories. When writing fiction we share our lives with imaginary characters, characters that are formed on the basis of what we have learnt, experienced, read, observed. Pieces of those characters inhabit our world, in some small way. We may not share their traits, but we researched them, formed them, know them inside out. (Depending on your genre, this can be quite a scary prospect.)

I considered this. If I can share my fictitious characters, a part of the world that only occupied my head previously, then why not myself? I am much more grounded (and a lot less interesting) than my major characters, that’s for sure.  So, I grasped my pen and wrote a few lines.

 As my website is finished, my book comes out and I bare a part my soul to the world, I think back to my little fascination and it gives me great comfort. I’m still chasing rainbows. Part of me hopes that I’ll never reach the end.

Jane Isaac’s first novel, An Unfamiliar Murder, will be released by Rainstorm Press in February 2012. Jane is still very much a Newbie and with a day job, a family and a very demanding black Labrador, she squeezes her writing into every spare moment she gets. Join her on the rocky road from pen to publication!

These past couple of months I have found myself in unchartered territory.  Honestly, I never expected to get a book deal and, perhaps naively, didn’t research what comes next.

I’ve talked about marketing and developing a platform already. I’m still navigating the learning curve there. I’ve done some more edits and I now understand how that all works.

My latest challenge was the book cover. How important is cover art? I’ve been a voracious reader of crime fiction for many years and it got me thinking – how much does the cover of a book really matter? Does anyone buy a book based on the cover?

My publisher house, Rainstorm Press, have been very supportive. They asked me for my ideas, wanted it to be something I was comfortable with and proud of. Hmmm. An Unfamiliar Murder is a crime thriller. I trawled my bookcases for ideas. But they are all so different, the only overriding theme was that they were all photographic covers and this seemed like a good idea, in keeping with the whole ‘keep it real’ theme.

Rainstorm put me in touch with their photographer. After much pondering, I chose a scene from the book, gave my ideas on colour schemes and sent the artist excerpts so that they could try to emulate the scene. I waited with bated breath.

Luckily, the photographer found an incredibly similar location and a very good likeness for one of my leading characters. We had to wait a few weeks before the leaves dropped off the trees for authenticity (the novel is sent in November in England), but the photos were taken.

The photographer sent me some stills and asked me to pick four photos that I liked best. Then she worked her magic and turned those stills into mock ups with different layouts of header and by-line. And I was able to choose my favourite.

It has been a great experience to be so involved with the cover art of my book and I’m delighted with the results. I can’t wait to share it with you all.

Jane Isaac’s first novel, An Unfamiliar Murder, will be released by Rainstorm Press in February 2012. Jane is still very much a Newbie, she doesn’t even have a website yet (one day…) and with a day job, a family and a very demanding black Labrador, she squeezes her writing into every spare moment she gets. Join her on the rocky road from pen to publication!