…and all that sort of rot.
Not much progress to report since my inaugural entry three weeks ago.
Real life has a way of stamping all over your plans at times. I remain stuck on re-writing my first chapter so that it makes sense, works better, doesn’t make me want to kill myself with a dessert fork. This has engendered an internal struggle where I want to make a fresh start and yet also want to preserve the work I’ve done. As writers we are told to ‘murder our darlings’, and quite frankly I thought my naturally homicidal (especially after a coffee or two) nature would’ve made that a bloody cakewalk. But it’s so difficult! However, I shall struggle on. Worse things happen at sea etc.
I have also been depressing myself with a look at the Kindle best sellers in my genre. Jesus wept! Some of them were un-readable at blurb stage, let alone the novel itself.
There was one to which I took particular exception. It had an Irish theme, ‘Irish’ even featured in the title.
I’m Irish, you see. Have been all my life. Also, I’m writing a mad alternate history as to why Ireland was never properly invaded by the Romans. Ireland pervades everything I write, I can’t seem to get it out of my work. So being curious, I wanted to have a look at what’s selling in the ‘Irish’ romance/fantasy market.
I checked this baby out.
To quote the fabulous Bernard Black of Black Books, ‘Don’t make me get sick into my own scorn!’
It is (to date) the most nonsensical thing I have ever downloaded to my Kindle. Mental plot. Boring internal monologues. Talking bleedin’ cat. Sentences that run on (and on!) and do not hang together in a way that imparts meaning and…I’ll stop there. I didn’t like it, is what I’m saying.
Luckily I had also downloaded Catherine Ryan Howard’s awesome book, Self Printed: The Sane Person’s Guide to Self Publishing (2nd edition), to counteract the sheer dreadfulness of this ‘Irish’ nonsense. Catherine’s writing is a pleasure and the book is full of excellent, tried and tested advice for the ignorant newbie (which is me). I am most definitely in the target audience here. Bravo Catherine for putting together such a relevant and easy to read guide to what can be a very daunting area for beginners.
That’s it for me for the moment. But if you have read this far, could you do me a favour? Tell me the worst book you’ve read. E-book, paperback, whatever. Tell me. I’m interested.
