Repost of Tidy Up Time!

Hello!

It was my turn to post on the Ocelot Press Blog yesterday, but since the post is very relevant to what I'm currently doing, then I'm sharing some of it here.

When I’m at the work-in-progress writing process, my hand written references and notes tend to be a muddle. I scribble on the nearest bit of paper to hand if something needs to be noted elsewhere later on in better detail. Often my home-made maps or diagrams tend to have random comments added which probably only mean something to me. Hence the title of Tidy Up Time! 

My contribution for the Ocelot Blog Anthology Doorways To The Past is done and dusted, and I eagerly await the publishing date of 30th July for the anthology. Being a participating author has been an excellent way to give some of my Celtic Fervour secondary characters some extra limelight. My story features Ruoridh of Garrigill, who played a small role in Book 4. He is one of the two main reasons for Enya and Nith to go journeying after the battle at Beinn na Ciche, searching for Beathan of Garrigill being the other. I have no current intention of writing a whole book featuring Ruoridh, or Judicial Legate Liberalis who is my interviewed character. Therefore, this is a great way of sharing them with readers. 

The e-book of Beathan The Brigante, Book 5 of my Celtic Fervour Saga series is on pre-order (publishing date 20^th August 2020) and I'm finalising the paperback versions for publication very soon.  Back to that aspect of tidying - Having finished the manuscript, and having gone through beta reader advice and changes, I really don’t want to find something in my mess of notes that I feel compelled to add to my story, but I always feel duty-bound to re-read the scribbles – just in case.

I love this stage of the process of getting a story ready for publication. I really enjoy putting together the Historical Context for the book, since not all readers are familiar with the complexities of Roman Britain history. I like organising my Glossary sections, adding brief information on things like the gods or goddesses mentioned by my characters – Roman and Celtic. This time around for Book 5, I’ve included a longer section on Roman Army terms that appear in the story, and I’ve added an explanation of the interior of an Ancient Roman fort. Readers who already have some knowledge of Roman Army history will gloss over the sections, but I’ve learned during the process of producing the first four books of the series that some of my readers really appreciate the extra information that helps them understand how my characters operate in their environment.

I particularly like creating the map pages for adding to my historical series. After the first book was published, it was a revelation to find a Canadian reviewer had mistakenly thought that the story had mainly taken place in the Caithness area of Scotland. I had written that Brigantia was the northernmost area of Britannia to be invaded by the Ancient Roman legions  in AD 71. The reader had envisaged a current map of Great Britain, and had decided that the northernmost part was Caithness, and thus that was where Brigantia had been. It was then I decided that adding maps to all of my Celtic Fervour novels, even ones created by me, were a necessity rather than an indulgence. I heartily thank that reviewer for pointing out the problem, even if it was done in an inadvertent fashion.

Making final versions of my maps has become a part of my ‘tidy-up’ routine, and any hand drawn maps and plans are scanned before being added to my stored files.

What about you? Are you a messy worker who eventually does ‘tidy ups’, in your writing… or in daily life?

I'm not sure that I've shared it yet, so here’s the blurb for Beathan The Brigante.

AD 85 Roman Empire

How can young Beathan of Garrigill – held hostage by General Agricola and dragged in chains to Rome – escape and wreak vengeance on his enemies?

Torrin is a strong-minded Brigante warrior-woman who forges her own future. She willingly takes care of him in a time of need, but her own plans are paramount.

Agricola's career is in tatters. Attempts on his life are plentiful, having lost favour with Emperor Domitian. His gods have abandoned him, though assistance comes from a surprising source.

Will Beathan gain his freedom to return to his kin in Caledonia? Will Torrin be by his side? And how will Agricola survive without the emperor's benevolence?

Beathan the Brigante is the fifth in the bestselling Celtic Fervour series.

Look out for details coming soon on paperback publishing progress.  

Slàinte!