Resources – holiday

 

A loch within a forest near Glencoe.
A loch within a forest near Glencoe.

It’s not a book and it’s not a website, or even a single location. I’ve been on holiday for the past week and as I usually do, I tour the area extensively.

Being on holiday is a good source of resource for readers and writers as I aim to highlight in this post.

What specific resources are there?

1.  As a reader you might carry a notebook and pen. If you’re a writer you should carry a notebook and pen.

2.  Keep your camera handy. Seeing wonderful sights is all part of being on holiday, but to remember them clearly, and the ideas they provoked – take some pictures.

3.  Tourist Information. The classic holiday source for information whether at home or away. Maps, pamphlets, locations of places of interest, books and of course the staff. Talk to people who know the area.

4.  Museums of whatever size or type usually have a selection of books and leaflets. In those locations there are usually maps and guides to the local area.

5.  Accommodation can be a great source. I tend these days to hire self-catering accommodation and once again I’m living in an old stone cottage. A local village, a forest, mountains and a loch all within a few minutes walk make this an exceptional location, but you can find inspiration in any area if you look.

6.  Open eyes, open mind and active imagination are all at our disposal. It doesn’t matter if we are continuing with our regular life or if we are on holiday – we will find inspiration if we are open to it and look for it.

Time to go now, because I can sense a day of inspiration calling to me.

I’ll be on blog patrol as soon as I’m back in my usual writing location. Thank you for dropping by.

‘Coming Around and other erotic stories’

Due for publication in the coming week ...
Due for publication in the coming week …

Yes, you read it correctly. It’s the title I’ve chosen for my upcoming collection of short stories.

I did intend to write a post about another ‘resources’ book, but I thought it might spice up the reading if I said a little now about my latest project.

Why mention it now?

I’m in the final stages of preparing to publish my next thriller, ‘Amsterdam Calling’ and I wanted to give myself a break from the story as usual between edits. The erotic collection will probably be published by the end of next week, which is ahead of the thriller.

Why produce a collection of erotica?

Why not? I enjoy writing them in between all my other types of storytelling and I’m still incensed by the likes of ‘Fifty Shades …’ and how weak it was as a plot, no matter how much money the author made from it.

Why short stories and not a novel?

Instead of writing about something I know nothing about, which is what the author of the ‘Fifty Shades …’ trilogy did, I am writing about a genre which I have perhaps more experience than she did in hers. Enough said there I think.

How many stories are in there?

A total of 12 short stories although a couple of them are longer than normal to do justice to the plot.

What is included in the storylines?

Bi-curious female, bi-curious male, gay, ménage, voyeurism, cross-dressing, transgender, BDSM.

Who should avoid it?

I’ve written a disclaimer inside that suggests that the following categories of reader would be best advised not to indulge: the under 18’s, the prudish, narrow-minded, unimaginative, easily offended or homophobic.

Am I out to shock?

No, just as I’m not publishing to jump on the bandwagon. I don’t think it will make me a millionaire. For me it does two things, apart from the fun I had writing the stories over recent months.

1. I wanted to show that with a little knowledge and some imagination, a writer should be able to tackle any topic.

2. Now that I have other topics out there and selling, I want to see if my attempts at this specialised genre are entertaining.

Would I consider writing a novel in this genre?

Yes I would, but it would only happen if I had sufficient good reviews across the three platforms when it goes on sale.

The good news is that I intend to use it as a practise run to publish on Amazon (for Kindle), Smashwords and Kobo. I intend to publish my next thriller on all three platforms and this will let me see all the glitches early.

There is other good news. Nobody sees who buys an eBook, so you can sneakily upload it and read it and nobody will know unless you tell them.

Okay, you can take your hands away from your eyes now – it’s all over. 🙂