I Could See It In Her Eyes…

One of this things I detested, and still detest, about raising a child, is when other people state “I could see it in his eyes.”  The first time this was actually used about my child, was when he’d been jumping on a couch, age 3.  A family member had asked him not to jump on the couch.  He’d never been asked not to jump on the couch before.  He was 3.  He carried on jumping on the couch.  When I came in, I took him aside and explained clearly that the rule in the house we were in, was that you didn’t jump on the couch.  He looked at me and nodded, and didn’t jump on the couch.

At home, I let him jump on the couch.  So he had been really confused by the request not to.

The Last Taboo

The Last Taboo…

 

Freda Kahlo

…is not nursing somone else’s baby…

 

Go Mamas!

How I Write – Names & Meanings

Having discussed the importance on naming my characters, earlier in this blog, I thought I’d share some research I’ve been doing this week.


It’s been on Bedlam Maternity, which I’m now hoping to get finished in the next couple of months.  It’s a horror based in a maternity unit in the East End of London.  Present day, although there is a connection back a few centuries.


I have five present day mothers-to-be to name.  As well as a main character.  All are involved in the mystery of deaths in the maternity unit.  All have special characteristics, that are important to the narrative unfolding.  All have a history – a specific age, and a specific class and family background. I could have stuck a pin in a phone book, but I’m not like that.  I love names, their meaning, and their power.  So, after some serious research, I offer you the following characters: all of whom could be found in the East End of London, on any street.


Rose Templar is our main protagonist.  Rose is a midwife, in her mid-fifties.  A Catholic woman who has lived and worked in the East End for over 30 years.  

Drink For Me… First Vampire Feed…? Sample Sunday September 11th.

 An excerpt that reveals the creative and self-editing processes this week: under the blue pencil.  Two      earlier versions of a pivotal scene in the final book.  Neither made it through… the blue pencil scored through them.

The two excerpts below, are Very Old, and Quite Old.  Raw writing, no editing.  I did correct the spelling and grammar, but they have not seen the eyes of an editor.

Both concern the moment my erstwhile main protagonist, is offered human blood to finish her transformation to vampire.  Both contain a lot of ‘tell’ as opposed to ‘show’.  First draft.  But you may find the similarities, and the differences, between these earlier versions and the final version, interesting.  What happens, how it happens, is roughly the same.  Who she is offered, and how she reacts: different.  Most writers have scenes that disappear, or change substantially.  You might enjoy seeing the process…  

            It started as a dull ache in her jaw. Once, after she had had a wisdom tooth removed, she had developed a jaw infection. The pain was similar, like a throb that became so deep as to be painful. After a few hours, it spread round her whole mouth, the pain in her front teeth the worse, like the gums were being slashed with a razor. Another few hours and she was feverish, hot, sweaty and her spine ached. By the end of the second day, she was in a confusion of pain and fever. She had not slept. She could not eat. She could not drink. Water, when she sipped it, became like liquid glass in her throat, and she soon retched it up.  

Revelations: pain, blood and a vampire? Sample Sunday September 4

This excerpt will be deleted out by the end of the week.  The first four chapters area available online, free, just follow the links.

Chapter One          Chapter Two        Chapter Three   Chapter Four.

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