Getting My Groove Back...

Well, hellooooo there! It's been a while, for which I make no apologies (other than to those who were worried about where I'd gone- sorry about that). I was having a little restorative me-time and catching up on anything that wasn't writing.

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You see, having published my novel, The Hungry-Man, in April, I found that (once again) I ran out of words for a little while. Seriously. I'm starting to see a pattern of post-book blues, a strange exhaustion or creative death that means once a book is out, I need to rest my writing brain for a while before I can begin again. I suppose it's a bit like how introverts wear themselves out being extroverted and social, and need to retreat to their hermit caves in order to recharge before they can do it again. So that meant no writing, no blogging and very little in the way of words whatsoever.

Except reading, of course. Not reading would be like not breathing, as in I start to go purple and make odd noises after a while. And I've read some corking books over the last month!

Shortly after The Hungry-Man was released, I went to the cinema to watch Divergent. Oh my days, what a film! I'm a complete wuss when it comes to action, which greatly amused my friends (as I squealed over every punch and death-defying leap) but I thoroughly enjoyed the film. So much so, that I instantly had to read the trilogy, in order to relive it all and find out what happened next.

Yeah, mixed feelings about that. Still love the books, but the only word to describe my reaction when I finished the third (Allegiant) was devastated. No spoilers on why, though. just read it. With tissues.

After that trauma, I moved on to Hauntings, a gorgeous little collection of spooky strangeness that I'm glad I only read recently or I'd swear I'd pinched Susan Price's style for my first book, Strange Ideas: Death, Destiny and Decisions. This was much more familiar territory for me, with ghosts and ghastly goings-on aplenty. Much fun and perfect bedtime reading if you like sleepless nights.

Craving something a little different again, my next literary stop was with LK Jay's The Book of Saint Giles. This novella only came out very recently, and it's definitely worth checking out. The story focusses on Dr Jack Woodbridge, an archaeologist with an interesting love-life who uncovers an intriguing box during a televised dig in the ruins of a Fenland church. As he reads the journal he finds, he (and the reader) is drawn into the mysterious events of 400-odd (very odd) years ago. Spooky all the way through, the ending is pure horror- just the way I like it- although I did have a few midnight hours pondering on the fate of poor William...

So, what else? Oh yes- knitting. Before you start to snigger, I like knitting, and I've heard it's the new rock and roll, probably. Even if it's not, it's very therapeutic and soothing and not all of my knitted animals are scary-looking... I've knitted three bears and a hare this month, the last one as a gift for a glum friend who needed a laugh. I think I scored a bull's-eye there, anyway!

And drinking. Last weekend, I fell off the wagon in a most spectacular fashion, beginning with real ale in a local micro-pub that had somehow slipped my attention and ending with shaking my tail-feather (literally) to a crooner in a pub where my friend and I were the youngest people there by a good twenty years. Much fun, once again. Although I'm not sure the buffet was the smartest move for a sozzled dieter... Never mind.

The random outcome of all that alcohol is that my words came back! My poor friend couldn't get a word in edgeways as a month's worth of drivel poured out in between me clapping my hands and skipping. Even strangers didn't escape, so eager were the words to be heard. Goodness knows what most of them were, though... Thankfully, after a good sleep and some crumpets, the drivel slowed to a trickle, until I began to sound almost normal once more.

And then the typing started. I'm currently about 6,000 words into a nasty little story of jealousy and back-stabbing, centred around two little brats who take a practical joke way too far. No title yet, but it'll come. Maybe I'll have to check out the micro-pub for inspiration...

So, I think it's safe to say I've got my groove back! How was your month?