Cecilia Peartree – woman of mystery
setting the scene in Pitkirtly
I am happy to report that I've just got past 20,000 words in Pitkirtly XXIII ('The Christmas Catastrophe') and the story is progressing more or less according to the very vague plan in my head. This is in spite of a recent blip when I realised I had written a pivotal chapter in a way …
THE IDENTITY ILLUSION – Pitkirtly Mysteries 22 Pitkirtly XXII has now been published. Thanks to anyone who has already got hold of a copy. This is the 22nd novel in the Pitkirtly Mysteries series, set in a small fictitious town on the south coast of Fife which is definitely not Culross, though quite close to …
At lunchtime today I reached the 50,000 word mark in 'Pitkirtly XXII' (still no title but don't panic - I've always managed to work something out before publishing, up to now anyway). This is significant because by this stage in a novel I almost always have a good idea of how it's going to end, …
I hope everyone reading this will be pleased to know that I've at last got to the point in what I like to think of as my writing schedule where I can start writing Pitkirtly XXII. I plan to begin a new document for this tomorrow, with the rest of today being spent re-reading two …
I noticed there was an article in The Guardian the other day about the difficulties of writing during the pandemic - here's the link in case anyone is interested (it focusses mostly on writers failing to find anything to be inspired by during lockdown, but there is a mention of a problem I had about …
Thanks to NaNoWriMo, in which the target is set to 50,000 for everyone, getting to 50,000 words in a novel always feels like almost the end. Actually 50,000 words or even 60,000, which most of my mystery novels conclude at, is fairly short for a novel these days. My writing session this morning has just …
I include this classic picture of Venice, taken by me on a visit there with my mother in about 1972, just as a random example of the kind of place I won't be going to this year, or for the foreseeable future. I still have a plan in my head for a trip down the …
I had a really pleasant surprise when I looked at my Twitter feed yesterday and noticed the word 'Pitkirtly' lurking in among all the politics and name-calling. I don't mind getting into an argument about politics on occasion, in fact as I worked on the family history book I've been writing this month while I …
As I come out of the post-publication slump which often happens, I've decided to set aside September for planning, thinking and possibly researching - that depends on how the planning and thinking goes. Although I am always happy to plunge into a bit of research, especially if it ends up taking me somewhere nice. When …
This won't be a very long post as I have to get back to Pitkirtly XIX (was Untitled, now with a title! - see image below). I've almost got to the stage of going through a printed copy with sticky notes in one hand and a pen in the other and the book precariously balanced …
