Compelling Writing

I swear this has never happened to me before.

I woke up, walked and fed the dog, started writing. This is the third draft for a first novel. After about an hour I realized I had not yet made any coffee! 

I stepped away, made a mug of my favourite coffee: JJ Bean Railtown. Most mornings are the other way around: I need to make something first, a caffeine key to unlock story mind vault, and re-read what I've done the day before to get everything rolling up to speed before I am caught up in the flow of my story. 

When it happens like it did today, when I am writing and engaged and up from the first moment, I know I have something good here. Cannot wait to share it.

Normally I make my coffee and give it five minutes or so to cool to the perfect temperature. 

The thing that has never happened before is: I made a mug, went back to the kitchen table, wrote for fifty minutes, and then remembered about the coffee on the counter! 

Thankfully my set up of ambient room temperature, thick mug, and great coffee means that even at the temperature the coffee was when I remembered it, it was still good. 

Almost as good as my writing. 

A Precious and Rewarding Morning Spent Writing

I am lucky enough to have a dog at home, and for the past nine years the dog has been very clear that she wants to go out early in the morning.

The birthday of my only child is this week, so I have taken the week off work. My child is asleep as I type this, still. I woke before six, walked the dog, then made a mug of Railtown coffee and took one biscotti from the tin, a cocoa biscotti with chocolate coating. My partner went back to sleep and I went downstairs, but not to the room I work in for my employer. I sat at the kitchen table, cleared of all flatware, with Pieces Of Novel spread everywhere. One happy fed dog retreated to her nap.

I am very thankful to have spent the last two and a half hours working out the first chapter of my next novel. The world is quiet, the neighbours' dogs are not barking, the lot down the street has all chainsaws and wood chipper and the backhoe silent, a brief respite in the ongoing [de | con] struction. Time to think, time to write, without interruption, when the day is fresh and full of potential. When anything might happen.

I hope you have a chance to get what I had this morning.

I know I am looking forward to morning after morning like today's morning.

The Storyteller's War by J.C. Corry

Go out and get your copy of The Storyteller's War by J.C. Corry published by Black Rose Writing! Whether you are a student of medieval studies, a lover of literature, or (like me) all of the above, this collector's item will improve your bookshelf.

In The Storyteller's War: Geoffrey Chaucer Reluctant Spy, Corry pulls enough detail from the age to ground his tale of espionage and personalities without halting the momentum of what is a compelling story.

At the time of the major battle in Chapter Thirty-One (3 April 1367) Chaucer is about twenty-four years old. More than twenty-four years ago, when I was younger than twenty-four, I studied Chaucer's words (yet only a small bit of his life). I wish I had had this book then.

The family of Chaucer has connections to both the wine trade and King Edward's court. This, plus Chaucer's ability to meet notables of the age then pull stories out of these captivating characters, makes for a solid spy tale. Young Geoffrey Chaucer's faults and foibles add dimensions. These strengthen the work.

On The Consolation of Philosophy has a close place in my personal history. As I hold my own copy and consider what this book meant to me, I am cheered to see the place Boethius' work holds in this story of Chaucer as well.

I really enjoyed the interactions between Chaucer and Pippa, how their desires and worries collide, mix, and form witty wordplay. The relationship between Chaucer and Pippa seems vivid and alive. I found their scenes compelling, riveting, and engaging.

I loved the exotic castles and palaces of Zaragoza, Olite, and other places in the Iberian peninsula.

The capture of Ayala is very moving. I don't want to give anything away, but the lines about "Chaucer and Ayala...  side by side, two storytellers bonded by fortune, fate and courage" pulled much of the novel together for me.

Corry adds a depth to the life of Chaucer I have never read about before.

I learned a great deal about Chaucer's life, about historical fiction as a genre, and about writing a novel from enjoying The Storyteller's War. I anticipate the next novel in the series: The Storyteller’s Reputation.

I seek the publisher of Title Undetermined

My local public library lists new books.

Each new book usually has both a title and a cover.

Sometimes a new book has only a title and a grey rectangle substitutes for the cover.

The new book at the bottom left intrigued me:

Now, that is an interesting way to market a new release! I thought. 

Intrigued, I clicked on the rectangle. 

The mystique increased:

Who is the author behind “Title Undetermined”?

Did that person have a title in mind and argued with the publisher over it, then both sides gave up but decided to print it anyway? Or did the author never determine the title, ever? How long did the author slave away at a work without even a working title? (Is this work created by AI and the title was not part of the parameters?)

Setting aside authorial intent and the marketing team's effective yet murky method of hyping this book by obfuscating the title,  I really want to learn more about any publisher who decided to go ahead with promoting a book called “Title Undetermined”.

Perhaps this is a publisher I could work with!

I pulled up the Full details and scoured the Original record for this work:

Obviously the author and the publisher value their privacy. In today's digital age, when so much information is out there, I can respect this. 

Still, I remain very intrigued, and decided to place a hold on this work.

Here, I became devastated:

It appears that both maximum secrecy and minimum utility have been achieved.

I am not able to secure this work using the app.

I intend to seek it out In Person at my local public library branch. 

If I successfully determine Title Undetermined I will update this post.