Sunday Musings

When Writing Isn't Enough

When I start new books, I like to come up with interesting careers for my characters. Right now I’m inspired by my daughter. She’s a musician and although she’s predominantly in the pop world, she trained as a classical violinist and composer. She’s currently writing and producing strings and full orchestral music for film and television. The video clip is her performing one of her original tracks.

This week she went to Cremona, Italy, to change her bow. We bought her original bow many years ago from the renowned maker, Giovanni Lucchi, who sadly passed away in 2012. The business was taken over by his son and daughter, and today, Lucchi bows are known the world over. The Lucchi foundation runs the world’s leading school for bow making. But sadly, it’s a dying trade. There are now so few people in Europe who know how to make quality bows that within ten years this extraordinary skill could be lost. I was surprised to learn that the bow is considered more important than the violin. In essence, the violin is the amplifier, but it’s the bow that actually makes the sound. The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable is one of my favourite books of this year, and of course I set Fatal Finale in a music school where the main characters are strings players. However I’m wondering if there’s scope to set another psychological thriller in the world of Italian luthiers. What do you think?

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Book News

Last week I sent off the edits of The House Swap to my copy editor. The manuscript will be proofed and then it’ll be sent out to my publisher’s advance readers before being launched onto Netgalley and BookSprout. That’s always the scariest time for me. Netgalley readers are notoriously tough. (For those of you who don’t know what Netgalley is, it’s where book bloggers and avid reader can lay their hands on pre-publication books in return for reviews. I’m on it as a reader and author.)

Next up in the publishing process is the front cover. The designer has been briefed and I’m waiting to see what he comes up with. It could be several weeks before the cover comes back to me. Ultimately my publishers give the final seal of approval, but I do get a say.

Before The House Swap is published (hopefully at the end of November or beginning of December) a few other things are happening. Firstly, The Godchild is being released as an audiobook on 22 October. Then my Fatal books are being released as a boxset. The Visitors has been translated into German and it will be published in German speaking countries. And finally, my friend and international book coach, Emily Maher Tamayo, and I, are releasing a ‘how to write book’ called, The Rapid Novel Blueprint. So although I’m not actually writing, there’s a lot happening in my little publishing world.

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Crafting

For the first time, I’m not pushing myself to come up with a new idea for a book. I need a breather. But that creative urge doesn’t go away. I have a huge collection of crafting materials that I’ve gathered over many years. This weekend, in the spirit of autumn , I’ve turned to needle felting. The needles are horribly sharp and unsurprisingly, I have stabbed myself too many times. (I have just purchased some finger protectors!). Here is one of the little toadstool scenes I made today. Completely useless but cute! And next, I need to choose a new knitting project. I always have one on the go, so I’ve feeling a little bereft without a sweater on my needles.

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Have a great week ahead and please let me know if you’re reading any great books.

Miranda x