Quiver and Arrow

I’m excited to announce the first draft of Quiver and Arrow is finished!

What happens next?

Nothing. I let the story sit for a few months. Then, I format it using Reedsy (they have a brilliant, free formatting tool) and read it like it’s a normal book. I find the fallow period combined with the change in formatting helps me spot errors more easily.

After that, I’ll submit Quiver and Arrow to my publisher to see if they think it’s got any merit.

And the rest of the Mirrordom Trilogy?

Venom and Blaze will need edited nearer to its publication date. And then begins the fun bits, like choosing a cover and promoting the story. The same process will happen with City and Shadow.

Will there be any other books in the Mirrordom Universe?

Let’s not rule anything out. I do have a novella planned, but that’s not progressed beyond a scribbled note in my journal.

What else is in the pipeline?

I’m writing a psychological novel for adults, purely for my own pleasure. I’m also working on another YA novel, completely unrelated to Mirrordom.

And then there will be all the work of promotion, engaging with readers, approaching booksellers and, hopefully, achieving my dream of getting Venom and Blaze into Waterstones!

What am I reading?

At the moment, I’m reading The Toll by Neal Shusterman – the last in the Arc of a Scythe trilogy. I’m absolutely loving his work. I’m also still reading The Dark Queen by Dana Gricken. I’ll be writing reviews on both when I’m done.

Are you reading anything riveting? I’d love to hear all about it.

January is (finally) about to draw to a close as I write this. In spite of it being January the 3,001st, payday still being days away and the weather showing no signs of improving, brighter days are on the horizon.

There is something to be said for dark winter nights. There’s a plausible reason to stay home, write books, read books and not socialise. But I am more than ready for the summer!

I’m also one step closer to writing “THE END” on Quiver and Arrow. The book has taken me on an emotional rollercoaster, and I hope you get to enjoy it one day.

I can already see myself going back to Mirrordom and delving into the backstory of Quiver’s mother. But we’ll see if anything comes of that. One thing for sure, she is a fascinating, resourceful woman who definitely has a few stories to tell.

As far as we know for now, though, this is the end of the Mirrordom stories – and definitely the end of the Mirrordom Trilogy. So, it’s important to me that we get a satisfying ending with plenty character resolution and development. Although the stories all happen over the course of one year, there’s numerous events that cause our protagonists all manner of consequences. However, I can safely say the most drastic of all those consequences has happened in Quiver and Arrow.

Meanwhile, in the world of Mirrordom, I’m looking forward to starting the process of editing Venom and Blaze, so it can go straight from my imagination into your hands.

How is your endless January going? I’d love to hear all about it.

It’s the dreariest of January days as I’m writing this. Rain sluices down the window and biting winds bend the trees into submission. Perfect writing weather – I’m just missing a crackling fire and a mug of hot chocolate.

I’m taking a break from writing Quiver and Arrow, the third and final (is it final, though? Are we sure?) book in the Mirrordom Trilogy. And, let’s just say, it’s the darkest one yet. I’m slightly traumatised writing it. There are a lot of deaths.

And there’s also a lot of new characters. You’ll get to meet Arrow, Zenith, Fang, Sapient and more.

How do I keep my writing sharp?

Behind the scenes, I’ve been watching Harlan Coben’s BBC Maestro course on writing thrillers. Now, I’d be the first to admit I don’t have the brains to write a thriller. But I love Harlan Coben, both his books and his Netflix adaptations (do yourself a favour: stop reading this and watch The Stranger. You can thank me later.), but Quiver and Arrow isn’t like the other books in the Mirrordom Trilogy. You can expect more twists and turns than a Scottish single track road. And there’s no one who knows more about twists and turns than Harlan Coben.

You see Quiver and Arrow starts with a mystery. In fact, there’s quite a few mysteries. And they’re all throwing Quiver’s world into total chaos.

If I’m being honest, Quiver was my least favourite character in the Mirrordom Trilogy. I found his ideals naïve and didn’t think he was especially nice to City, a character I always felt terribly protective of. But now Quiver has come into his own – I can sympathise with his actions and choices. And, let’s be real, he’s getting a really tough time in this book. Will it end happily? There are no guarantees with this series.

How much plotting do I do?

I plot a lot. But I find that it doesn’t really matter if I do or not. I can write the entire plot out, chapter by chapter, and still I get surprised. The act of writing the book, for me, is an entirely organic process. By that I mean that it grows like a plant. I can encourage it in a certain direction. But I have no real control over it. It happens how it happens. Which is very annoying because I’m a planner by nature and I’d quite like to stick to the plan I had at the start.

How do I think of new characters?

The character of Arrow was actually dreamed up back when I wrote the first book in the series. I liked the way her name matches with Quiver’s. However, I never got round to doing anything with her until the third book.

I also decided I wanted Quiver to have a pet, so I gave him a beautiful, pure-white wolf called Fang that never leaves his side.

And what book would be complete without a villain? You’ll have to wait to find out who the villain of this story is, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

What are you working on this January? Are you reading anything exciting? I’d love to hear all about it.