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Thursday, April 18, 2013

Guest Post: Alex Woolf, Author of "Soul Shadows"

Ello everyone! Today I've gotten you guys a real treat, an exclusive guest post with Alex Woolf! Alex's new book "Soul Shadows" was just published last week by Curious Fox, so be sure to give it a look! Hence without further ado, I present to you "The Highs and Lows of being an Author"
Take it away Alex:

"The highs and lows of being an author"

I can’t say that life as an author is exactly a grind. Then again, it can be hard work and, in it’s own way, quite stressful. There are the exhilarating moments – for example, the incredible feeling you get when you complete a novel you’ve been working on for months; or when the advance copies of your latest book arrive at the door, dressed in their shiny new jackets; or meetings with publishers to discuss future work; or speaking to schoolchildren about writing.
But these sorts of things don’t happen that often. Most days, you’re stuck at the coalface, AKA the computer, chipping out decent prose, one word at a time. Actually, with my current novel, it feels more like each paragraph has to be wrenched out with pliers or some other painful implement. I have constant doubts about it and am always rewriting parts that I’ve written. Sometimes it feels like I’ll never get to the end. The only thing that keeps me going is the thought that I’ve been in this exact situation before, many times.
I work from home, which can be a nuisance. Roald Dahl had his garden shed. J K Rowling had her Edinburgh cafe. I have a tiny, book- filled spare room in the upstairs of my house. Itʼs great to be able to work in my own house, but it also means that I canʼt avoid domestic callers, be they friends of my kids, gas meter readers or smartly dressed people telling me to join their religion or be condemned to eternal damnation. My study is the messiest room in the house. There are books and papers and coffee cups absolutely everywhere and a corkboard that is sagging under the weight of things Iʼve pinned to it. There are probably notes on that corkboard dating back to the last century – it’s hard to be sure.
The view through my window is of a very ordinary, sleepy suburban street with a few trees and cars and lots of houses with lace curtains that are always firmly closed. I live in Southgate in North London now, but I grew up in a similar suburban street in Willesden Green, a few miles to the west, where the curtains were also always closed. I wonder if, maybe, this is why I tend to write fantastical stories. I’ve always thought that strange things can sometimes happen in the most ordinary places, and we never know about it because the curtains are always closed.
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About the Soul Shadows...
Tying in with a recent trend for YA ‘fright-write’, Soul Shadows can be compared to Charlie Higson’s The Enemy or Darren Shan’s series, in its ability to grip and scare in equal measure. Exploring themes like mental health, childhood psychological abuse and the morality of science, SOUL SHADOWS offers much more than a one-dimensional Woolf places the reader right in the centre of the action – and vulnerable, personality, and it’s the reader’s connection feel so true, so raw. In the world of SOUL SHADOWS, Woolf explores what would happen if your shadow could come to life, and, ultimately, try to take your life. It’s a sinister concept which leaves readers jumpy and, literally, scared of their own shadow.......  View it on Amazon!

2 comments:

  1. Great guest post! Love the topic as well. Writing at all is an accomplishment by itself and I have such great respect for people who can do it-and do it well!

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