Sorry for not replying to friend requests at present, my browser keep unexpectedly quitting when ever I try and do anything, so in prcess of trying to fix the probelms

Hi Helen. Congratulations on your first published novel. I am in the process of downloading the first chapter of Damaged Goods - may take a while, my Adobe Acrobat has decided it is out of date, and I am only on dial up so it is going to take 2hrs to download the updates, winge winge, but eventually I will get to read the first chapter. I have to say that your book blurb already has me hooked. Sounds a very intriguing subject matter.

My story is based in USA. it also concerns a teenager who has had a less than perfect start to his life, and things start to go from bad to worse, and, oh so much worse, but there is some humour, together with crime and I guess some would describe it as a coming of age story too. There is also a series of choices he has to make. should he choose the worst scenario or the better of the two evils. Catch 22, if you will. So I am in the process of editing and trying to write a synopsis and good intro letter. Trouble is I have never been much of a sales person, so it could take a while for to spark up any interest with Lit agencies or publishers, but irrelevant of what happens I have more ideas and have the characters whole life planned out and if I don't write it down I think my head may burst with information. Shame there are not such things as pensieves. I could certainly do with one. So the story is basically finished just polishing and refining. Luckily I wrote most of it, whilst I was looking for behind the scenes work in Film and Television, so I had a bit of time, but after being a runner and deciding that picking up other people's cigarette butts was not for me, I had a few freelance camera jobs, and then fractured my wrist playing ice hockey, so that put a stop to me being able to hold a camera for any length of time. Now I am temping(office work), it is funny hours, but good pay, and I have plenty of time to devote to writing, so I feel very lucky. If I never get published I would still continue to write as I find it a great release of emotions. I love imagining different people, different worlds all the different reactions and story possibilities are quite endless.

Hope the editing of your second novel is going well. For me editing has been my favourite bit so far, but I guess the probelm is knowing when to stop. Well hopefully in a few hours I can read the first chapter of Damaged Goods.

Take care

Liz

Hi JK. Don't worry how long it takes. I finished a degree two years ago as a mature student, so I understand what the workload is like. It gets crazy at times. A creative thesis sounds like it will be fun to do. I am sure if you work at it you will be able to give them that date circled in the diary or calendar. Keep writing.

Yeah quite agree 24 would be impossible to cram all that into 24 hours, but I tend to like actions type things, like to get away from the real world occasionally. I have not seen the last to series, but have enjoyed the first and second the best so far.

Yes those darn day jobs do get in the way. Your graphic novel sounds like you are going into new territory, sounds good to me.

I have not really read much for the last weeks or so, novel wise as I have a Karate grading coming up so all my normal reading time is being spent learning the syllabus of by heart and precticing the moves.

I am still editing my first novel, which I tend to do at night. I find it more relaxing, and for some reason- I can think more clearly, I guess a lot of people find that.