Jon Sparks

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com.
Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com.
Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too).
AI-free (and I mean free).

Public Key

npub1ljg6tcak3k7hrp3drdu0kk2e5r4ldth4qrl9je4y8e093gf4uukqtjx2lr

NIP-05 Address

JonSparks@writing-exchange.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs0eyd9uwmgm0t3sck3k78mt9v6p6lk4m6spljev6jruhjc5y67wtqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds0mnkvl

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1ljg6tcak3k7hrp3drdu0kk2e5r4ldth4qrl9je4y8e093gf4uukqtjx2lr

Show more details

Last Notes

2026-10-31 07:11:22 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 31/10: How did this month's writing go for you?
Pretty well. The final book of the Shattered Moon series has come together as a proof copy, and no changes needed apart from minor tweaks to the cover.
And my next project is coalescing pretty well from what was a collection of chapters sometimes written out of sequence.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon #NoAI

2026-10-31 07:07:08 UTC

#WordWeavers 31/10: What is something your MC would forgive almost anyone else for but could never forgive themselves for?
‘Forgive’ may not be exactly the word here… but Jerya is a lot better at encouraging other people to take a break, go a bit easier on themselves, than she is at applying the same approach herself.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon #NoAI

2026-10-30 13:28:28 UTC

My Favourite Science Fiction Films
https://theshatteredmoon.substack.com/p/favourite-science-fiction-films

2026-10-30 07:54:03 UTC

#WordWeavers 30/10: What tiny detail about your world or a character will probably never matter to the plot, but you created it anyway?
The fact that several key characters wear glasses—Hedric all the time, Jerya for reading—has no bearing on the plot, but then story is about a lot more than just ‘plot’. A thought I want to explore more fully soon—keep an eye on my Substack.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-30 07:47:43 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 30/10: How does your work immortalise those who came before you?
Austen, Tolkien, Arthur Ransome, Terry Pratchett, Ursula K Le Guin: they hardly need any help from me in the immortality stakes. I do pay tribute whenever I can, but writing a series set in an imagined far future doesn’t allow it. The next WIP, however, is a contemporary novel and one of the MCs is a writer who—curiously—acknowledges similar influences to mine.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-29 06:49:56 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 29/10: Pass along a book which came with a personal recommendation.
Top of that list, The Lord of the Rings; my friend Robin lent me his copy in our first year at Uni.
More recently, our friend Julia lent us Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell, a great read in itself but it led me next to The Bone Clocks, which is fabulous.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-29 06:43:43 UTC

#WordWeavers 29/10: Which character would you trust to take care of your pet? Who would be banned from coming anywhere near?
Pets hardly figure in the Shattered Moon series. Horses are a sort of exception, but as working animals. The person you want for them is Mavrys. She’ll be good with other animals too.
There isn’t an obvious person to be kept away. I can’t pick on poor old Perriad all the time and, anyway, she’s the sort who probably likes cats.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-28 07:32:32 UTC

#WordWeavers 28/10: Your antagonist and MC are forced to work together toward the same goal. What could drive them together?
Not possible in the time-frame of later books as the one real antagonist of the series is now dead. (She has ceased to be; she is an ex-Perriad.)
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-28 07:28:38 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 28/10: Do you hide 'secrets' in your works?
Depends what you mean by secrets. There are allusions that most people won’t get, but surely that’s the case in most books? You can’t explain everything.
I’m not systematically scattering references or clues to a deeper mystery.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-27 07:03:16 UTC

#WordWeavers 27/10: What location in your story would you most like to visit? What location would you absolutely avoid?
‘Most like’ would have to be Delven. I specially want to see the bridge to the maidens’ level (I wouldn’t be allowed to cross, for obvious reasons).
‘Avoid’: the slave market in Drumlenn. It holds such dark memories for both Jerya and Railu.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-27 06:58:31 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 27/10: As a writer, what do you need right now?
The big thing is simply to stay healthy. I’ve just about finished the Shattered Moon series, at least in terms of novels, but there are already other things bubbling up. I suppose there always will be, and I’ll never actually ‘finish’, but I’m happy to keep going on that basis.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-26 11:34:00 UTC

A Study in Starlight—Epilogue
Concluding this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian London.
Check out my Substack profile for a chance to win a copy of the paperback.
https://theshatteredmoon.substack.com/p/a-study-in-starlightepilogue
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/117/506/992/522/959/580/original/c09acb9b812682c1.jpg

2026-10-26 07:56:04 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 26/10: How did you develop your voice?
I’m wary of the way the question is framed. The word ‘develop’ seems to imply that there’s a nice tidy technique or formula for this. There isn’t.
I’d prefer to say that I *found* my voice, and the key elements in doing this are: lots of reading; lots of writing; listening to your characters—and absolutely no recourse to AI.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-26 07:50:44 UTC

#WordWeavers 26/10: Share a moment from your WIP when a character says one thing but means something completely different.
It’s more nuanced than that, because Wandell is frequently unclear in his own mind, but from the very first moment he appears (in Chapter 2) his desire for ‘reconciliation’ is not as clear and well-intentioned as he tries to present it.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-25 07:27:13 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 25/10: Tell us about inspiration from an unlikely source.
This is a cunningly disguised variation on the dreaded ‘where do you get your ideas from’, isn’t it?
Since I rarely, if ever, know what my ‘inspiration’ is, I don’t know how to answer either question. I think my brain is some sort of fermenter, so what comes out is not easily traceable to what went in.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-25 07:21:13 UTC

#WordWeavers 25/10: What is something your MC believes everyone knows about them, but nobody has actually noticed?
I can’t think of anything, and it would be totally out of character for Jerya.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-24 07:31:36 UTC

#Wordweavers 24/10: Which character would survive the longest if suddenly dropped into our world with no money or identification?
Well, Jerya’s proved herself highly adaptable through several massive changes of circumstances, so she’d probably handle it as well as anyone. But she’s reached an age where trying to explain herself could lead people to assume they’re dealing with a peculiar form of dementia.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-24 07:22:46 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 24/10: What is currently provisional in your workflow/work?
Workflow is pretty well set at this point. The core writing process exhibits turbulent rather than laminar flow, but hey ho…
As to the work itself, this now means looking beyond the Shattered Moon series. The next book has key characters well established but some missing chapters and others that aren’t yet in order. Once they are, there will be some rewriting to do. All good fun.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-23 07:04:26 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 23/10: How do you make sure you deliver on your writerly promises?
Pardon? Is this a phrase with some specific recognised meaning that I have somehow never encountered before in decades of writing, talking about writing, and reading about writing? Or am I supposed to be like Humpty Dumpty. “When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less.''
🤔
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-23 06:57:24 UTC

#WordWeavers 23/10: What rule – legal, cultural, magical, social, or otherwise – does your MC regularly break?
The big one, for Jerya, is her Dawnsinger’s Vow. She only broke it once, but the consequences for her and for the Known Lands, are still being felt decades later.
She, and her allies, are also constantly bending, stretching, and ignoring rules and conventions relating to the rights and roles of women and of the enslaved.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-22 06:24:26 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 22/10: Share a work you found really challenging to read.
I’ll give you two, both read this year.
Challenging but worth the effort: Light, by M John Harrison;
Challenging but not worth the effort: Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks. Admittedly there’s a story: tried to read it during a stay in hospital this summer, and it was just too bleak when I was having transfusions, plasmapheresis, etc. But I’ve never felt the inclination to start again.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-22 06:17:02 UTC

#WordWeavers 22/10: Share a sentence from your WIP that you're especially proud of.
From Chapter 41 of The Skilthorn Inheritance, Book 9 of The Shattered Moon;
“Though the envelope bore all the signs of having been stuffed into a rucksack for a week, Helleril accepted it with scarcely less reverence than she would afford one of the Four Fragments.”
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-21 06:22:36 UTC

#WordWeavers 21/10: Your MC wakes up with the ability to read minds for 24 hours. Whose thoughts do they most want to hear? Whose thoughts do they least want to hear?
Jerya would be horrified at the very idea and I’m sure she’d pack a few supplies and take herself off on a long solitary walk or ride into the Wolds until the cursed effect wears off.
Empathy is good, telepathy sounds appalling.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-21 06:17:17 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 21/10: How do you make your works approachable?
I can’t say I’ve thought in terms of being ‘approachable’. Not that I’m trying to exclude anyone, but I’m focused on telling the story as clearly as possible.
I think the people most likely to be put off are;
Those who object to same-sex relationships or have a naively binary view of gender;
Those who think skin colour defines character;
Those who are scared of semi-colons.
Sorry. Not.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-20 06:50:54 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 20/10: What's the shortest work you've ever finished?
Not counting juvenilia… in non-fiction there were commissioned pieces down to about 1000—1200 words. My most regular writing gig was 1800 words.
In fiction, I’ve generally struggled to keep anything below 5000 words. I like to follow a story and get to know (a) character(s).
As you may guess, I’m not into flash fiction.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-19 10:31:47 UTC

A Study in Starlight—Chapter Fifty-one
Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian London.
https://theshatteredmoon.substack.com/p/a-study-in-starlightchapter-fifty-5b9
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/117/467/112/005/705/886/original/86eaf331bd9f6068.jpg

2026-10-19 06:05:55 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 19/10: Tell us about some unwanted critique you've received.
I think the one that stung was years ago when my first book (I did the photos) was up for an award (Lakeland Book of the Year) and at the presentation lunch the judges’ comments mentioned some of the pictures being a bit ‘chocolate box-y’. Yes, it’s the Lake District.
I did try harder after that but the trouble was a lot of people want ‘chocolate box-y’.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-18 06:46:40 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 18/10: Talk about a time you had a revelation.
Writing Book 2 of the series, the moment when Jerya looks into a mirror and finally realises who her mother is; that was a revelation for me as well as for her.
I love it when things like this happen.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-18 06:40:29 UTC

#WordWeavers 18/10: Share a line from your WIP where a character is lying. Do they get away with it?
"And then he said—my son, that is—he said, 'we're not going to win that way, Mamma, and neither am I going to make any headway with Lady Torvyn if I'm still threatening her with lawyers. But if she thinks— "
Wandell’s mother to Torvyn, putting a very strong spin on what he actually said. It does work, for a while.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-17 05:35:40 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 17/10: What are the defining traits of your niche in your genre?
“Poised between science fiction and historical fiction, with a tinge of fantasy” is what it says on my website. That’s as close as I get to defining the ‘genre’, let alone a ‘niche’.
And that’s only the Shattered Moon series, not any of my other writing.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-17 05:11:16 UTC

#WordWeavers 17/10: What is the worst possible first impression someone could get of your MC? Would it be accurate?
For Jerya, in the second half of her life, it would probably be to be judged on her acquired rank—as if she were just another hereditary aristocrat—and not on her actual achievements.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-16 07:43:37 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 16/10: How do you feel about people reading your works without buying a personal copy?
I’ve done the same myself, as a lifelong borrower from libraries. That’s fine; and I do get something from it through PLR. Likewise, my partner and I share books, lend to friends etc. No problem with any of that.
What’s not OK is making unauthorised copies of the work. That’s why we have copyright law—and I have successfully pursued infringers before now.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-16 07:37:49 UTC

#WordWeavers 16/10: What is one choice your MC made for the right reasons that ended up having terrible consequences?
In Three Kinds of North, Jerya not only walks away from the Guild of Dawnsingers, she takes Railu with her. One result is that Railu ends up living as a slave for ten years; that probably qualifies as ‘terrible’. But by the time of the final book, fifty years on from the first, they can both look back with a different perspective.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-15 12:47:20 UTC

A Study in Starlight—Chapter Fifty
Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian London.
https://theshatteredmoon.substack.com/p/a-study-in-starlightchapter-fifty
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/117/444/995/972/896/550/original/ff9b7c460339339e.jpg

2026-10-15 06:06:44 UTC

#WordWeavers 15/10: What piece of backstory did you invent just for yourself that readers may never learn?
I wouldn’t use the word ‘invent’ for any of it, whether backstory or ‘front story’. There are all sorts of short pieces, some of which could be short stories in their own right, some discarded from one of the novels, some standalones. A common feature of many of these is that they’re too talky; too much exposition.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-14 06:50:58 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 14/10: Who do you wish you could share your work with, but can't?
My parents. I don’t know how far they’d get it, but I’m sure they’d be proud. I can imagine my Mum taking copies to every bookshop between Preston and Carlisle, the way they did many years ago with the postcards and greetings cards I once published.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-14 06:46:59 UTC

#WordWeavers 14/10: If your MC could ask their future self one question, what would they ask?
In the course of the current WIP, Jerya turns 70; from the perspective of the 19-year-old she was at the start of the series, she IS her future self. But that girl didn’t even have the context that would have allowed her to frame a sensible question.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-13 08:31:07 UTC

A Study in Starlight—Chapter Forty-nine
Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian London. A very short chapter today…
https://theshatteredmoon.substack.com/p/a-study-in-starlightchapter-forty-315
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/117/432/663/771/275/796/original/115be4cf0195ab3f.jpg

2026-10-13 06:33:28 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 13/10: What writerly weakness do you overcorrect for?
I don’t know that I ‘overcorrect’ anything in particular. There are things that get changed in editing—some subtraction, some addition—but that’s normal. I don’t think there’s one recurring weakness I have to deal with.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-13 06:28:24 UTC

#WordWeavers 13/10: What is something your MC would risk their life to protect but would struggle to explain why?
Jerya would risk her life for a number of reasons, but I don’t think she’d struggle to explain any of them: not since the closing scenes of Three Kinds of North, anyway, and that was eight books and fifty years ago.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-12 06:51:13 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 12/10: What do you specialise in, prose-wise?
Not sure I understand this question. If it’s about the way I put words, sentences, and paragraphs together, then I don’t see that I ‘specialise’ in anything. I try to write in a way that, first and foremost, serves the story and the characters, rather than showing off the breadth of my vocabulary. If this makes me ‘genre’ rather than ‘literary’, so be it.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-12 06:45:49 UTC

#WordWeavers 12/10: Which relationship in your story changed the most from what you originally planned?
The question assumes that relationships can be ‘planned’, but that’s not true in real life, nor in my stories. I wouldn’t want it any other way. Every relationship is a series of surprises.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-11 07:34:57 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 11/10: What's a turn of phrase you've 'inherited' from someone else?
Assuming this means something recurrent, I can’t think of anything, except in the sense that language in its entirety is ‘inherited’, i.e. learned.
On occasion I may intentionally include a phrase from another writer. In current WIP there’s ‘a wonder of an evening’. I wonder if anyone can place its origin?
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-11 07:29:11 UTC

#WordWeavers 11/10: Share a passage from your WIP where the setting is doing as much storytelling as the characters.
Can’t do that within a 500-character limit, so image + alt-text. Here’s Torvyn at the Velya Lakes, after parting from Wandell.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/117/421/085/993/745/509/original/d6e055dda0fb10a3.jpeg

2026-10-11 07:27:32 UTC

#WordWeavers 11/9: Share a passage from your WIP where the setting is doing as much storytelling as the characters.
Can’t do that within a 500-character limit, so image + alt-text. Here’s Torvyn at the Velya Lakes, after parting from Wandell.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/117/421/085/993/745/509/original/d6e055dda0fb10a3.jpeg

2026-10-11 07:26:38 UTC

https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/117/421/085/993/745/509/original/d6e055dda0fb10a3.jpeg

2026-10-10 07:44:50 UTC

#WordWeavers 10/10: What is one thing your antagonist genuinely admires about your MC?
Well… since the demise of Perriad there’s been no one in the series who could really be called an ‘antagonist’. In the current WIP you could label Wandell as such, but his position is really too ambiguous, and mostly he’s trying to do the right thing if he can just figure out what that is.
‘Goodies and baddies’ were fine when I was seven, but too simplistic now.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-10 07:35:38 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 10/10: Do you have a guiding principle as a writer? What is it? (Or why not?)
It’s not a question I’ve ever asked myself, but that might just mean that the ‘principle’ is something I’ve internalised. I suppose I could say ‘write the stories you want to see out in the world, and do it as well as you can’. Nothing fancier than that.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-09 06:52:13 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 9/10: How does your own sense of mortality influence what you write?
My sense of mortality is pretty acute these days. Life is short, but it’s all there is, so make the most of it. It’s a big part of what impelled me, first, to shift my fiction writing from a spare-time thing to a primary focus; and then to commit to self-publishing, because I can shorten the time-scale. I’m still happy with both decisions.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-08 15:38:27 UTC

A Study in Starlight—Chapter Forty-eight
Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian London
https://theshatteredmoon.substack.com/p/a-study-in-starlightchapter-forty-1d2
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/117/406/032/711/672/459/original/7ca20c6d101a406d.jpg

2026-10-08 06:34:16 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 8/10: Tell us about someone who supports you on the sidelines.
It’s my partner, although ‘on the sidelines’ doesn’t really do her justice. Her contribution to my last non-fiction book was such that I would have liked to put her name on the cover… and A Study in Starlight would not be the same book without all the conversations we had in coffee shops about all the implications of being a compiled person.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-08 06:28:44 UTC

#WordWeavers 8/10: Which character is most likely to make a terrible decision for a very good reason?
In current WIP, which concludes the series, it has to be Wandell, who’s accepted that his (and his parents’) long pursuit of the Skilthorn estate is baseless and futile… but doesn’t quite know what to put in his place. He needs someone to help him find a new balance.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-06 07:01:39 UTC

#WordWeavers 6/10: What is considered completely normal in your story's world that would seem bizarre to us?
Well, almost everything in the story is mirrored in our own history within the last 200–250 years and much of it remains in some parts of the world… but we would probably look askance at the way the Guild of Dawnsingers, still, recruits by taking girls from their families at age ten or eleven. At least, now, they are allowed to maintain some contact.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-06 06:54:50 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 6/10: What might an inattentive reader miss in your work?
Well, I suppose a truly inattentive reader could potentially miss just about anything…
I imagine a lot of people would miss the small acts of homage to Ursula K Le Guin (guys, there’s an actual Archipelago…). I wonder how many, even among the fortunate ones who’ve read Malafrena, will catch the direct quote in the current WIP?
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-05 14:54:41 UTC

A Study in Starlight—Chapter Forty-seven
Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian London
https://theshatteredmoon.substack.com/p/a-study-in-starlightchapter-forty-7ec
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/117/388/873/755/517/246/original/bfc207a302857850.jpg

2026-10-05 06:09:10 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 5/10: What haunts the narrative of your current work?
There’s a clue in the title: The Skilthorn Inheritance. There’s been dispute in the past, people who hold grudges, and it’s a highly desirable property. Not to mention that the Earl or Countess of Skilthorn automatically becomes an Elector of Denvirran.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-05 06:05:32 UTC

#WordWeavers 5/10: If your characters had to swap lives for a week, which pairing would create the most chaos?
Possibly Torvyn and Gafeira: Torvyn would probably do okay as an assistant mountain guide, but Gafeira would flounder as a portrait painter. She’s been heard to say she hasn’t an artistic bone in her body. And that’s before we get to the rest of their lives…
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-04 05:58:41 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 4/10: How isolated are your characters in your current WIP?
Most of them have friends or family to call on for support. But Wandell spends a lot of his time wandering around and not properly connecting with anyone.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-04 05:56:05 UTC

#WordWeavers 4/10: What is your MC's most irrational fear? Where did it come from?
I don’t think Jerya has any really irrational fears. There’s plenty to be concerned about without cluttering her mind with irrational stuff.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-03 06:37:54 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 3/10: How do you feel about spoilers?
I think there’s a clue in the name…
And even when writing about a really well-known book, we should remember that there will always be people who are new to it, and don’t yet know that Lizzy and Darcy ultimately do… oops, nearly gave it away there.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-03 06:34:08 UTC

#WordWeavers 3/10: Share a line from your WIP that foreshadows something important without giving it away.
This is the first appearance of a character who will become more significant, much deeper into the book.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/117/375/579/851/291/281/original/a1a94dfc7775b840.jpeg

2026-10-02 15:34:29 UTC

A Study in Starlight—Chapter Forty-six
Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian London
https://theshatteredmoon.substack.com/p/a-study-in-starlightchapter-forty-f04
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/117/372/043/471/121/514/original/46dbf7f80907a60b.jpg

2026-10-02 06:26:09 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 2/10: Do you have plans for your next work yet?
Yes. While finishing (editing) the final book of the Shattered Moon series, I’ve also started a new novel, in very different vein. Contemporary, local, and drawing extensively on my life and my parents’—but with the ingredients thoroughly stirred and redistributed.
Although I wouldn’t say ‘plans’, being a proud pantser.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-02 06:18:45 UTC

#WordWeavers 2/10: Other than novels, what types of writing do you do, such as poetry, screen plays, etc?
These days, mostly essays, in the form of Substack posts. But for about 40 years my income rested on a mix of photography and writing, both books and features, covering a range of outdoor activities and destinations. Plus a bunch of books on photography—these and guidebooks stretched my ability to deal with complex matters concisely but clearly.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-10-01 06:15:06 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 1/10: What are you hoping to achieve this month?
There’s a simple objective: to finish editing on the final book of The Shattered Moon, The Skilthorn Inheritance, then at least get started on the remaining steps to publication.
Then and only then can I give undivided attention to my next, very different, project.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-30 06:33:57 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 30/9: Where did this month's writing take you?
While editing the final Shattered Moon book means spending time in that world, the new writing I’m doing is much more local and wholly contemporary. The main settings are loosely based on the area close to where I live, but further afield they’re not even thinly disguised—although the farthest anyone’s travelled so far is Edinburgh.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-30 06:29:47 UTC

#WordWeavers 30/9: What stereotypes do your MCs deal with in their world?
Mostly, exactly the same ones we struggle with in our world today. Skin colour doesn’t really code for status, but all the problems of sexism and class division are there in full measure; plus, in the Five Principalities, there’s slavery. In the most recent book there’s also a trans character—in a world that doesn’t have the means to effect a complete transition.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-29 08:38:00 UTC

A Study in Starlight—Chapter Forty-five
Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian London
https://theshatteredmoon.substack.com/p/a-study-in-starlightchapter-forty-1b7
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/117/353/418/517/521/298/original/e7f85929d061ce25.jpg

2026-09-29 06:48:18 UTC

#WordWeavers 29/9: Is your character more likely to enjoy a sunrise or sunset, and why?
Growing up in a land regulated by Dawnsong, sunrises carried a special significance; but for Jerya sunsets were a greater visual spectacle purely because the mountains to the East blocked a full view of the sunrise. Since making her home East of the mountains, she’s appreciated sunrise differently, but now she enjoys both whenever she has a free moment and a clear view.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-29 06:41:11 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 29/9: Talk about something with your work this month you're really proud of.
While finishing editing the final book of the Shattered Moon series, I’ve also been writing large chunks of a new and very different story; it’s contemporary and, in a skewed way, sort-of-autobiographical. I’m pleased and excited by how this new project has come together so quickly.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-28 07:03:23 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 28/9: Could you work without the internet? What would change?
I started out typing on paper, communicating by post/phone, shooting pictures on film.
In terms of my personal workflow, I wouldn’t want to go back, but ‘progress’ is a mixed blessing. On one hand, I can self-publish my novels at minimal cost and reach readers everywhere; on the other, fees for writing and even more for photography were much better (relative to cost of living).
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-28 06:56:29 UTC

#WordWeavers 28/9: Tell us about your MC’s religious or spiritual beliefs
Jerya grew up accepting the common belief that Dawnsingers had some influence over the sun. It was only when she became a Novice Dawnsinger herself that she discovered that this wasn’t true. Since then she believes in what she can observe for herself, or what can be proved to be true. This doesn’t leave room for religion and she doesn’t feel any need for it.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-27 09:10:25 UTC

Now free to read on my Substack: a short (<600 words) review.
https://theshatteredmoon.substack.com/p/slaughterhouse-five-a-mini-review

2026-09-27 06:23:37 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 27/9: How much time passes between sitting down to write and actually writing?
Variable. Sometimes the words are ready to spill out and I can hardly get seated and open the laptop fast enough. Other times, I have to read back over previous work to find my way in—and sometimes that turns into more of an editing exercise. That’s progress too, but indirect.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-27 06:15:59 UTC

#WordWeavers 27/9: What interesting quirks do your characters have?
I don’t think in terms of ‘quirks’; that smacks (to me) of assembling characters from a kit of parts, like a glorified Photofit picture. To work for me, characters should be whole people that I get to know in the same way as in real life. Doesn’t mean they’re not quirky, but I don’t want the tail (quirk) wagging the dog (character).
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-26 05:38:22 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 26/9: How does your faith feature in your works?
I don’t often use the word ‘faith’ about my own beliefs, but atheism/humanism are belief systems too. There’s nothing we’d call a religion in the Shattered Moon books, but my next project centres on the relationship between a priest and an atheist. Yes, they fall in love, and yes, there are tricky moments.
This story does draw heavily on my own background—my Dad was a Church of England priest.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-26 05:31:16 UTC

#WordWeavers 26/9: Authors talk about how smart their MCs or villains are, but have you ever written a slow-witted character?
There’s one in my current/next WIP. Though it’s probably more accurate to say he lacks aptitude for critical thinking. So much so that he’s swallowed a lot of right-wing and ‘manosphere’ rhetoric. The challenge is how to make him something more than a cipher or totally unsympathetic.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-25 06:42:37 UTC

#WordWeavers 25/9: Do illicit drugs or alcohol play a role in your story?
Nothing illicit. And alcohol is the only drug of note, but lots of significant conversations take place in pubs, with an occasional acknowledgment to the delight of good beer.
In this respect, it’s a lot like my own life.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-25 06:38:00 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 25/9: Talk about a communal writing project you worked on. How did it go?
I’ve never worked on a project I’d describe as communal. I’ve contributed to anthologies, & recruited writers for a walking/travel book, but in both cases individuals still wrote their own chapters. The most genuinely collaborative projects I’ve worked on are two ‘Scrambles and Easy Climbs’ guides and a book on ‘Outdoor Photography’, but with at most two other writers.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/117/330/298/063/356/681/original/3aed400681a7ae11.jpeg
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/117/330/298/153/022/708/original/d01b6f8d3e129c23.jpeg
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/117/330/298/215/172/544/original/29d18beb8a4f7aa1.jpeg

2026-09-24 14:30:13 UTC

A Study in Starlight—Chapter Forty-four
Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian London
https://theshatteredmoon.substack.com/p/a-study-in-starlightchapter-forty-2f6
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/117/326/492/082/172/967/original/b83ba8dafefababb.jpg

2026-09-24 07:16:58 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 24/9: Do you write primarily for yourself or for a reader?
It’s a false dichotomy. As Toni Morrison understands: "If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it."
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-24 07:13:03 UTC

#WordWeavers 24/9: If your MC made a grand entrance, what fitting song would accompany them?
Having reached a position (in fact more than one) of eminence, Jerya tries very hard not to appear grand and to remain approachable. The last thing she wants is a fanfare or anything equivalent to it.
Besides, no song that we know exists in her world.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-23 06:20:37 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 23/9: What "little thing" really helps you write?
My brain 😉
And a cushion, not for me, for the laptop, to set it at a comfortable level for typing.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-23 06:17:27 UTC

#WordWeavers 23/9: Have your characters' journeys affected your own life? If so, how?
First response is that it’s mostly the other way around, but I guess thinking about the experiences and choices they face must have had some impact on me.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-22 06:23:45 UTC

#WordWeavers 22/9: If you wrote a memoir on your writing journey so far, what would it be called?
Back to the Future.
Good title isn’t it? I’m amazed no one’s thought of it bef—sorry, what did you say?
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-22 06:19:58 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 22/9: What's the latest in the writing process you've found a mistake?
I reckon I could pick up a copy of any published book, including ones that I worked on years ago, have been through several editions and multiple rounds of professional editing, and still find an error or two if I looked hard enough.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-21 06:52:23 UTC

#WordWeavers 21/9: In your current WIP, which character do you relate to the least and why?
I relate to all the POV characters; not sure how I could write them otherwise. But ‘relating to’ someone doesn’t mean being unaware of their flaws. Here (Book 9 of The Shattered Moon) the most obviously flawed character is Wandell, which in a way makes him the most fun to write. Sometimes neither he nor I knew what he’d do next.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-21 06:47:20 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 21/9: What can a reader know to be true about you from your work?
If they get a general impression that I’m a decent human being, that’s good enough for me. I think it’s clear enough that I have no truck with sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc.
My personal values are likely to be closer to the surface in my next project; it’s not autobiographical, but in a more convoluted way references a lot of stuff from my past and my parents’ lives.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-20 06:22:28 UTC

#WordWeavers 20/9: How do your characters access water or whatever they need to drink?
Population centres exist where there’s a reliable water supply, be it well, spring, or stream. It’s widely known that water from streams needs to be purified, and using it to make small-beer is a favoured method. Better-off homes have running water, sometimes even hot.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-20 06:15:49 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 20/9: Share an analogy that really stuck with you.
“Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.”
Ursula K. Le Guin, The Lathe of Heaven
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-11 06:00:23 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 11/9: What's a part of your process you'd give free advertising to?
I suppose I already do, having several times extolled the virtues of Pages (c70 books, hundreds of articles, never used anything else). But as it’s pre-installed on every Mac, iPad, and iPhone, does it need it?
Yes, because there are people who don’t realise that it’s really not necessary to fork out annual subscription for MS Office.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-11 05:53:54 UTC

#WordWeavers 11/9: What does your MC believe about themself at the beginning of the story that turns out to be completely wrong?
Going right back to the beginning of Book 1, Jerya has no idea that her future could lie anywhere beyond the small, remote, village of Delven.
In the Epilogue to Book 9 she’ll look back and reflect on how wrong she was.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-09 08:13:45 UTC

#WordWeavers 9/9: What secret would cause the most damage if it were revealed in your story right now?
Nothing springs to mind in the present WIP. There are some big reveals in Book 5 (there’s a hint in the title), and in Book 8 we learned that Tari is not quite what she seems on the surface. She’s still very careful who she tells.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-09 08:09:41 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 9/9. What's your standard operating font, size, format? Or do you not have a standard?
For drafting, which is personal, the font is Cambria 11pt, on A4, 123% zoom on my laptop.
But because I use Paragraph Styles, it takes 30 seconds to change according to requirements. And for book formatting in Atticus it’s down to their font choices.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-08 05:24:33 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 8/9: Share a moment when a reading of your work surprised you.
The most surprising reading of my work was when a colleague of my partner, an eminent name in narrative sociology and health research, described Three Kinds of North as an ‘illness narrative’.
None of the main characters are ill at any point. The book was finished when I was facing some health issues, but all the bones of the story were fully established well before then.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-06 05:45:35 UTC

#WordWeavers 6/9: What is your MC hilariously bad at?
I don’t like the term ‘hilariously bad’. I wouldn’t apply it to anyone I know in real life. We all err and stumble in life, and sometimes we laugh at ourselves, but it’s an occasional thing, not a character trait.
It belongs to third-rate comedy shows on daytime TV, and let’s leave it there.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-06 05:39:30 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 6/9: If you work digitally, what keyboard or dictation do you use? If paper, what do you write with?
I’ve been a Mac user since 1994. Currently using a MacBook Air, a few years old (which is a good thing because it doesn’t have Apple ‘Intelligence’.)
The only real failing in ergonomics of any Apple device I’ve used, including iPhones and iPads, was the misconceived circular mouse of the original iMac.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-05 06:21:54 UTC

#WordWeavers 5/9: If your antagonist could justify their actions in one sentence, what would they say?
If Perriad was still around, she’d say, ‘everything I did was for the good of the Guild of Dawnsingers.’
Cue widespread scepticism, increasing as time went on.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-05 06:18:45 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 5/9: Do you track your word count? How? Why?
The number’s on screen, so I’m vaguely aware of it, but I don’t track it closely. At the end of a day I generally have a loose idea, no more. I don’t think raw word count is a great measure of progress; sometimes a 500-word day means more in terms of real progress than a 2000-word one.
It was different in my freelance days, when I was writing to specific numbers.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

2026-09-04 05:31:07 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 4/9: How does what you read influence what you write?
Profoundly, but I hope not too obviously. Although the Next Thing (after completing The Shattered Moon) has an MC who openly discusses her influences—many of which are curiously similar to mine: Arthur Ransome, Ursula K Le Guin, Terry Pratchett.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon