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There are times in the life of every author when they begin to feel they're going stir crazy.

It's usually at this time of year, and it's normally when the weather is looking unbearably good out, while the poor scribbler sits indoors and shivers in the cold. It's been rather like that this week: a week of fingerless gloves and thick pullovers.

But at least there have been diversions.

At last, with the launch of the books approaching at ridiculous speed, I have the joy of different jobs to get on with. For example, this week I've been called to discuss marketing issues.

There are the bookmarks: what to have on the front and back? I prefer Templar's Acre on one side with a short write up and some choice quotes from critics, while on the reverse, the covers to the first three books, since they'll be published on the same day.

What about some posters? I happen to live in a small village, and the pub here is keen to promote the local author, so he wants some posters for the place. And the shop wants to create a display about the books, too. So, posters - how many do I need? - and what to put on them, too?

Most of this kind of thing, from experience, never troubles the author. Not because the author doesn't care, but because all too few ever get a whiff of a marketing budget. Most are lucky to be posted a celebratory bottle of plonk when a new book comes out (if you're listening, Simon and Schuster, I would prefer a cheap whisky, if you'd be so kind!), but I'm lucky that my publishers want to involved me in the process. It makes a big difference.

Not only have I been choosing the layout for bookmarks and posters, I've also been dealing with the detail of the book launch on 6th May at Plymouth.

It'll be a day of running about, mainly.

First I have to go to Exeter and meet with my friends at the two Waterstones stores and sign their stock, before climbing into the car with the national sales manager and driving down to Newton Abbot to do the same. Finally we'll be ambling on south to Plymouth to sign and speak with people at the vast Drake's Circus Waterstones.

It's good to be able to say that the Waterstones staff are back on form again. For a number of years the lack of a salary increase and ever increasing workloads put them under a huge strain. Now, with more autonomy and responsibility in the shops (and a bit more money) they're much happier again. And that's good, because authors and readers like to go into a shop with happy staff. It makes the tatty old devils dressed in slightly soiled mackintoshes trying to look inconspicuous in the corner - you know, the authors - feel a bit more wanted.

The guys down here in the west country are certainly showing their enthusiasm. It's great to be involved with them over the launch of the new book.

But it isn't only the new book, of course. It's all the others too. The Last Templar, The Merchant's Partner, and A Moorland Hanging are all be relaunched on the same day, so it's not just a question of working for the one new book, it's a case of putting the effort it to make sure that the other, older books sell as well.

But there are other tasks to be done, too. And I've had the great pleasure of meeting some aspiring authors in the last week. One, an American lady with some fabulous ideas and clear focus, is a brilliant creative writer. The second is a sportsman with some fascinating insights - more tricky to sell, but possibly I can help him. I'll be thinking through what I can do over the next week or so.

Then there are two more jobs for me: completing my latest newsletter, sorting out a set of fresh ideas for stories, and then the happy event of going on a long Dartmoor walk with my brother. I'll need that break.

The problem with writing is, even with the best of ideas, the market is damn tough still. I'm always on the lookout for the next big idea, but even if I get one, persuading the editors to take it up is a problem. And looking at something like a new book based on a strange concept, it's difficult to sell that to a mainstream publisher. Still, there are ways of working.

The main thing, as I keep telling anyone who'll listen, is that editors seriously are not looking for the next Harry Potter. They have enough on their plates as it is. When they (or their readers) pick up a new manuscript, what they real want to find are lots of reasons to reject the work. Every day, I am told by my agent and my editor, each professional in the business will receive about ten unsolicited manuscripts. If there is any reason to reject, the editors will find it. So typos like one I had once, in which on page two there was a "body in the trunk of a black Sudan" would cause a guffaw of laughter - and then see the MS being dropped unceremoniously in the bin. Authors have to be more careful than ever with their work nowadays. The writing has to be really, really good. So does the grammar and punctuation.

After all, authors who can afford to live off their writing are about the top 2% or so of all writers in the country. So your writing must be better than 98% of all writers, if you want to earn money from your work. And since only about 10% of people write books, that means you are seeking to be one in a vanishingly small number of people, if you want to be a writer.

I have learned in recent years that many authors want to be writers without actually working at it. There is a touching faith that writing a string of stream-of-consciousness prose once will lead to worldwide acceptance and the gratitude of publishers who will throw money at the fortunate scribbler.

It really isn't like that at all.

Authors tend to write a sentence, and then rewrite it four or five times. I normally reckon I'll have written a book four times by the time it gets into print.

To tell a story well is not spontaneous. It requires work to hone it and make the story work well. We have all had the experience at one time or another of telling a joke that we heard a short while before, and which had everyone in stitches, but which, when we tell it again to a fresh crowd, falls flat.

All too often this is the difference between someone who has rehearsed his joke, and the fellows (you and I) who try to repeat the delight. Unless you practise, the joke will fail - as will any story.

You cannot start at the top of a blank document and start typing, hoping that the story will occur to you as you write. You need to have thought about it first, and then, when you have a basic outline, you can go in and adjust and add, finessing the story.

For me, the best way to work through the storylines is to use a pen and paper. I like to set down the characters, the main aspects of the story, the main themes, the motivations and the strengths and weaknesses.

And when you have written it, you must stop, read it, and rewrite it. Every time.

I confess that, for my plans and outlines, although I have always adored the variety of colours available for my pens, I am rapidly becoming besotted with Deep Dark Blue from Cult. It's not just because Cult Pens let me have a bottle to test, either (I'm not (quite) that shallow). However, a black ink is dull and appears sort of "flat" on the page, if you know what I mean. It's too stark.

On the other hand, while I love colours like China Blue, Teal, Sunshine Yellow and Emerald (all Diamine colours, and all highly recommended), when I'm plotting and figuring out how a story might develop, I really like something that is pretty bold on the page. For this, and for everyday use, I am going more and more towards Deep Dark Blue. It is very clear on the page, and yet it's not so harsh as a straight black.

I recommend it - especially for business use.

And now, finally, this is the last call for those who would like to win a copy of my latest book. I have two Templar's Acres ready to be posted to the winner of the competition. All you have to do is pick on a name or two for me to use in my next book. It's up to you entirely which name you pick.

For more information and to suggest a name, click here.

Happy name picking!

 **This competition has now closed, you can see who won here.**

As well as collaborating with fellow members of The Medieval Murderers, Dartmoor-based Michael Jecks is the author of thirty three novels in his best-selling Templar series. His latest, Fields of Glory will be published in June 2014 in hardback and Kindle from Simon & Schuster. Expplore more of Michaels' work at: www.michaeljecks.co.uk

This week has been rather lovely!

It all kicked off with a wonderful Saturday, the first day in ages that has been warm and summery. And thank goodness for that, because I, and the rest of Tinner’s Morris, were dancing out with Winkleigh Morris.

Morris more or less died out after the First World War, because just as all the other communities, Morris sides joined up as complete units with the outbreak of war. That war was horrible for so many things, but the damage done to English culture was catastrophic. The Morris men joined, and many became organised into platoons. And for many of them, the war ended on the first day of the Somme, when all these young men had completed their basic training.

Some years ago I was secretary to a pistol club, and from interest I studied the records. The membership in 1914 was over a page long. But by the end of the summer in 1916, only four or five names remained. The men had all volunteered as a group, and they were wiped out in their first battle. The same happened to little clubs up and down the country, but Morris was more devastated than any other, and the reason was simple: every Morris side had its own variations of their dances. When the one or two men from the side who remembered the dances were killed, there were no videos or DVDs to refer to, no tape recorders or MP3 players, to remind a new generation how their dances were performed.

It is only in recent years that Morris has grown again. A mad Victorian did have an interest in Morris and folk dancing, and he made copious notes. And now his notes are being used to rediscover the dances. It is a great thing to have so many return. Morris is at least six hundred years old, and some reckon far older still. It would be a terrible thing, were we to lose this part of our cultural heritage.

Sadly, all too much is gone for ever, but at least some of the great traditions have survived, and that is enough cause for celebration. And we all celebrated on Saturday!

It was an excellent day, with coaches transporting Tinner's, Cogs and Wheels, and the Cornish Wreckers from one town to another. We travelled all over the north of Devon before being returned via one last pub.

And I'm glad I had that day, because the rest of the week has been full of writing. At least I had one day out!

Much of the week has been involved with proof-reading past books. I have published thirty-two books now, with a thirty-third available as an ebook and another ready to print next year. However, the first twenty eight were all published with a different company, Headline. Since I've moved, Headline have agreed that Simon and Schuster can take the series over, and the first thirteen have been taken on.

On June 6th, my thirty-second book is to be published. The Templar's Acre is, I think, going to do well and has already won praise from other writers and critics. My editor feels the same, and so she has decided to republish the older books alongside this new one: there will be the first three published on the same day, and then three books will be republished every month from then on.

Which seems marvellous, until the poor old author has to go back and reread all his work from twenty years ago.

The publishers copy over, or have retyped, all the words in the books, and then print a copy for the author. So, my job has been, for the last four months, to drop everything and read like billy-oh for two weeks at a time, looking for any errors or typos.

It's not always terribly easy!

Of course, the worst thing is, the shameful truth that I do not remember any of the books.

My first radio interview was a salutary lesson for me. I was invited to Radio Devon to meet Janet Kipling, and drove down to Plymouth full of the joys of spring. I was ushered into a waiting room (the BBC always asks people in half an hour early to ensure they don't turn up late) and left to wait.

At the signal, a door opened, and I was led into the studio, a small, compact office full of computers, radio sets, and a couple of large, oddly-shaped tables. Around the walls were sound-deadening nodules and cheap board. I was excited just to be there.

Janet turned out to be a lovely young woman with masses of curly brown hair and a beaming smile. She welcomed me, explained the format of the show, a light came on, and we were away.

The easy part was the first, when she got me to talk about my background, what I'd been doing before taking up a keyboard and so on. It's easy to talk about yourself, and we had a good chat before she asked me about someone by name.

I had no idea what she was talking about. I thought the name she'd given me was from the newspaper or TV news, and I explained I hadn't seen the news. She laughed a little at that, and then asked me again.

I should explain that this was all about my first book, and it was March 1996 to celebrate the publication of the paperback of Last Templar.

However, the hardback had been out the previous March, and in fact I'd written it in March 1994. Since then, I'd written two more books and set out the synopses for three more. Which is why I didn't recognise that the name she kept mentioning was that of the chief suspect in my crime book!

It is no surprise I didn't remember the fellow.

Now, though, I am going back and rereading all those books, and I'm learning that they weren't bad. It's really good to go back and discover characters and scenes I'd forgotten long ago, and to realise that the books actually work very well.

And now, in case you didn't see the last blog piece, there is a prize of two signed books and a mention for people who give me two names I can use in a book. I don't mind whether they're male or female, but they should be old-fashioned enough for me to be able to use them in my medieval stories. For more information, look here and start plugging in your names! Good luck!

**This competition has now closed, you can see who won here.**

As well as collaborating with fellow members of The Medieval Murderers, Dartmoor-based Michael Jecks is the author of thirty three novels in his best-selling Templar series. His latest, Fields of Glory will be published in June 2014 in hardback and Kindle from Simon & Schuster. Expplore more of Michaels' work at: www.michaeljecks.co.uk

24 May 2013

Many years ago now, back in the early 1990s, I was sitting in the New Cavendish Club in London, enjoying drinks with some Crime Writers’ Association colleagues, when a loud voice could be heard. It was the larger-than-life author Laurence Block, a proud New Yorker, who had happened to be staying at the Club while on a signing tour for his latest book.

In a few moments the CWA Chairman, Keith Miles, had wrestled him to the ground and forced him to sign up for an international subscription.

Laurence was excellent company, and when I was chatting to him later, he told me that he had been in Ireland recently, and as an experiment, he had delved back into his own roots. Not in terms of his ancestry, but his writing.

Usually when he came on tour, he would bring a laptop, as would any sensible writer. He tended to write away from home, and wherever he was staying, he would set up a desk and sit and write. But this time, he had left his computer at home, and instead he had brought an electric typewriter. It was wonderful, he said, to sit and type and listen to the clatter of the hammers striking the paper and platen. There was something energising about it, something almost elemental. Next time, he was going to bring a manual. Or perhaps he would leave it at home and bring only pencil and paper.

I thought he was mad. I had been involved with the computer and office information industry since leaving university, and the idea of returning to a typewriter (I tried damn hard, but I never managed to type a page of working story on one in my life), let alone a piece of paper and pencil, almost struck me dumb with horror.

In my office here I have a massive 27 inch iMac. I use this every day to type on. For the days when I’m out of the house, I have a wonderful Macbook Air, fabulously light and thin, on which I can type in coffee bars and at Exeter University when I’m there. I have a brilliant little smart phone, on which I have photographed notes, some ebooks, and all the access to the internet I could hope for. And I have a tablet.

Some years ago I bought an iPad which I was keen to use for editing. It struck me that the iPad would be perfect: I could download books to it, and read them on a screen that would be similar to a book. It would be lighter, and I could save to or three trees a year by not printing out my books for editing. Also, when I had to go to London, I could carry the iPad rather than an entire ream of paper when I was editing.

It was good. In fact, I loved that iPad, but it suffered from some issues. First and foremost was, by the time I’d got to twenty notes or corrections highlighted in one book, the whole thing slowed down to a painful degree. It didn’t work for me, sadly.

But then that little devil who so often perches on my shoulder and suggests new ideas (David Hewson, marvellous writer and exponent of technology of all forms), spoke to me. He told me of the wonderful little HTC Flyer, a tablet a little smaller, of a size to fit in my cargo-trouser pocket, and which came with a stylus that could write on the screen like a pen. Better still, the notes created on the screen could be added to Evernote and brought up on my iMac at home. It was the perfect fusion of technology. I’ve been using it for some two years now.

Know what? I’m selling it.

The thing is, it’s irrelevant. I have learned that when I proof documents and have to reread them, it’s a lot easier to do so on paper, rather than even the best little screen. I like pens and pencils, and I can use them more effectively and without hassle than I can a tablet. Pens and paper actually work.

Don’t mistake me: the HTC is a great device. It’s a good size, it’s neat and well-built, and powerful. However, although it does lots of things brilliantly, it just so happens they are not the things I’m worried about.

For example, it’s good at emails and making notes. But when I’m out and about, I don’t carry it with me. For emails I have a perfectly good phone, and if I need to write something longer, I reach for the Macbook Air. For notes, I rely on paper because the HTC isn’t weather proofed. It would be expensive to get it soggy, whereas if a notepad gets a soaking, it’s ruined - and can be replaced for a small amount. The Flyer is very good indeed at web browsing. But I have the two computers and the phone. In fact, for about everything I need, I have twice or three times the processing power I need already. It makes the HTC redundant.

So I’ve decided to bite the bullet. The poor old HTC is going, and in its place I will copy Laurence Block and stick to notepads and pens.

They look better, they’re lighter, and I am not so scared about breaking or losing them. Makes sense to me!

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO NAME A CHARACTER IN MY NEW BOOK! **COMPETITION NOW CLOSED - The winners have been announced here**

The pace is hotting up for the latest book. There will be more shortly about the actual events and where I’ll be, but the publication of TEMPLAR’S ACRE, the prequel to my main series, will be published on the 6th June by Simon and Schuster. And that is a cause for celebration, isn’t it? So here’s a little thought.

Between now and the date of publication, Cult Pens will run a competition with me. If you would like to have a little say in future books, I’m giving you the possibility of naming some characters in two upcoming books!

Now there are some limitations here. You cannot name someone you really hate and demand that I make him or her a baddie with the sort of background that would make the devil wince. Assume I’ll be making this person a strong character in a story.

Firstly I will need a good, strong name that I can use in a medieval book. The book in question will be Fields of Blood, which is published next year in June and it will be the story of the battle of Crécy.

The second book will be a follow up to my book ACT OF VENGEANCE, which I hope to write late this year, early next year. For that I will need a simple English name, or the name of an African American. Again, I don’t want to be sued, so I’m going to assume that the names given are going to be good guys!

You can suggest names up until the 9th June 2013 and the strongest names given will be selected by me. The winner will receive a signed copy of Templar’s Acre as well as having the pleasure of seeing their characters in the books mentioned above and to top it off, being acknowledged in the book itself!

So, there you are: two books for prizes, but you have to do a little work for them. All you have to do is think up your favourite medieval or present day names that would be an ideal character name, and reply with the names in the comments section of this blog for a chance to win.

Because I will be wandering the wilds of Devon and Cornwall signing copies of my books all that week, the winners will be announced the following week.

Happy inventing!

As well as collaborating with fellow members of The Medieval Murderers, Dartmoor-based Michael Jecks is the author of thirty three novels in his best-selling Templar series. His latest, Fields of Glory will be published in June 2014 in hardback and Kindle from Simon & Schuster. Expplore more of Michaels' work at: www.michaeljecks.co.uk

22 May 2013

For a writer, to sit indoors and stare out when the weather is fine is a form of torture. The urge to nip out and get on with the gardening, or just to take the dog for a walk, is almost overwhelming when confronted by the cliff-hanger that looked so clever the night before, and which now appears utterly implausible and impossible to recover from.

However, this week having included a bank holiday, I was allowed to submit to my whims and joined the family camping in Cornwall where we enjoyed the sunshine so fully that we returned like a contingent of lobsters. The wind was so cool off the sea that we didn't realise how hot the sun was.

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent back in Exeter completing the last two student appointments and writing up my report. Well, beginning my report, really.

The Royal Literary Fund collates anonymised information about how many students and what kind who visited their authors. It's not to check up on individual students (all meetings and discussions are entirely confidential and no names are ever mentioned under any circumstances), but it's important for the RLF and universities to assess how successful the authors, like me, have been in getting to the people who need help with their writing.

So I spent all Tuesday riffling through my notes and files, recording how many students came to see me, how many were of this or that age, how many came for one meeting, how many for two and so on. Four hours, it took me. After that, I had the basic numbers.

Next came the task of figuring out what the percentages were for each separate heading, which for me meant grabbing my trusty thirty-year-old Hewlett Packard calculator. A great device this, which I bought when I was selling computer leasing for a period, just as Atlantic Leasing collapsed and took the industry (and my job) with it.

Thursday was a fun day out for me. I drove up to Evesham to meet with my friends and partners in crime to discuss a literary festival next year. I'm helping to plan and organise it, and so far it's looking really good. All the authors we've approached have accepted our invitation, and the plans are progressing nicely. I'll put some information up when the plans are finalised.

Back home, Friday was the day for writing up case notes for the Royal Literary Fund report and making a little more sense of the numbers I had collated earlier in the week. Which was fun - I used to be a mathematician before I attempted to write.

In fact, I was a very happy student actuary for some time, until it dawned on me that the definition of an actuary (someone who finds accountancy too exciting) was in fact thoroughly appropriate.

Thus it was that, early in 1981, I began a career as a salesman. No, I didn't think of a career as an author - after all, I knew full well that writing would be a daft way to try to earn a living. Talk about unpredictability. It was Steinbeck who said that "The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem a solid, stable business." He was right.

But writing is only, really, telling stories. We can all do it, with a greater or lesser degree of success. I can stand on my feet in front of an audience and talk for some time about amusing situations that I have experienced in my time as a writer, with plenty of anecdotes to illustrate how daft this business is. I can also talk about the Knights Templar, the Knights of St John, leprosy, the reign of Edward II and his miserable end. In the same way, anyone can talk about the things that interest them.

However, when many people are confronted by a sheet of empty paper, something goes "BANG" in their brains. It is as though the paper sucks the inspiration from them. I know. I've been there.

I am lucky, because I was taught as a mathematician, and I have always liked to analyse and plan. It means I can happily sit with a pen and paper and brain-dump. Putting ideas down on paper has never held any fear for me. I will make notes, scrawl outlines, and sketch ideas for faces or scenes - it doesn't matter what: anything to stimulate the brain into action. Often I will use software such as the superb Scapple from the folks that wrote Scrivener, because the two work together so well, and they can save me hours, but the first port of call is always still the sheet of paper. And ideally blank, unlined paper. I want to be able to sketch and play with ideas, because that is how stories can be helped into existence - and lines constrain. They force your words into a regimented order, and order is the enemy of creative writing.

It's been interesting for me to help students with the RLF, because the issues they face are the same as any other writer. Whether you are setting out to write novels, essays, dissertations, or responses to tender, it doesn't matter - the problems are the same.

Everyone is struck with fear when they are confronted by the blank sheet. It's the fear that the words won't flow, that other people will think you a fool, that the things you write will seem silly.

University students have the fear that their work will not make sense, or won't read as being academic enough. They are petrified that their writing will look puerile when compared with other students.

Oddly, the same fears strike all authors. Many will mutter and complain when a new book has to be written. As a salesman I was always told that I was only as good as the previous month; as a writer, there is always a sense of dread at launching into a new novel, because one never knows whether the concept is good enough - or the writer's skills are up to the task this time.

However, the best advice is the same for any writing. "As to the adjective, when in doubt, strike it out," Mark Twain said, and Orwell had a series of rules about keeping things simple.

A reader - and it doesn't matter whether it is a professor reading a dissertation or the woman who sat beside me today on the bus home - wants to understand what you are trying to put on paper. They don't want to be impressed by polysyllabic demonstrations of dictionary-like vocabulary, they just want to be able to comprehend what you are trying to get across.

The rules can be stated briefly: keep the words as simple as possible, your sentences short and concise, and the meaning will come through. Don't ever use words you don't understand, because that way disaster lies.

The best language is the simplest, which is why Dickens, Wodehouse, Laurence Block, Elmore Leonard, and Raymond Chandler are still so popular today.

And finally, now I have to get back to the latest set of proofs. Three books to read through every month is proving to be enormously time-intensive, but it'll be worth it. I'm really looking forward to seeing all the books in their new covers.

In June I'm being sent around Devon and Cornwall to sign copies of TEMPLAR'S ACRE in all the major shops, and the next week is going to be all about marketing, so I hope you'll want to come back and read about the joys and pitfalls of going out and selling books!

Michael Jecks

As well as collaborating with fellow members of The Medieval Murderers, Dartmoor-based Michael Jecks is the author of thirty three novels in his best-selling Templar series. His latest, Fields of Glory will be published in June 2014 in hardback and Kindle from Simon & Schuster. Expplore more of Michaels' work at: www.michaeljecks.co.uk

10 May 2013

On Sunday, I finally finished the last proofs of the three books to be published in July. That was a relief. Two weeks to work on three novels is not a lot of time, but luckily, because the books were all published already, the number of changes was not huge. Still, it does take a lot of effort (and concentration) to read each word in a four hundred page book. And every word does have to be read in case a typo slipped in. Focusing like that is tiring. It’s a relief that the books are back with the publishers now. Phew.

And so to Monday.

For the last few months, I have been privileged to work with the Royal Literary Fund under their Fellowship scheme.

As you will see from the link above, the RLF was created many years ago to help authors who were struggling with their incomes. In 1790, as a result of the death of Floyer Sydenham, an “elderly translator of Plato” (Royal Literary Fund, A Short History by Janet Adam Smith), subscriptions were invited, and the Prince Regent was one of the first to contribute. Over the years, the RLF has helped many authors struck with temporary financial embarrassment, from Coleridge and Chateaubriand to James Joyce and DH Lawrence. Even dependents of authors, such as Robert Burns’s widow and James Boswell’s daughter, have been helped.

However, the RLF also helps other people. One approach, through their Fellowship Scheme, is to pay authors to go to universities and give assistance to students who find writing essays and dissertations difficult.

I work with the RLF two days each week. I’m based at Exeter University, where I meet with students for an hour at a time, giving them help with planning the structure of their work, arranging their research into a rational order, or going through their writing with them, showing them how to tighten their text and bring more clarity to their sentences.

It is not easy. Take this week: I had two days at Exeter, Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, I met my first student at nine in the morning, and finally left the last at half past three. In that time I had no break for lunch or coffee - I had to snatch occasional cups of tea while working with the students. On the second day, I had the same. Now, while it may not sound too much, working with seven students each day, but think again. Imagine listening to third year, Master’s or PhD students talking about their dissertations or theses and helping them write with clarity on their subjects. These are clever people, researching some of the most abstruse subjects imaginable. I can happily state that working with some of the country’s brightest minds, absorbing the fruits of their deliberations, and helping them to cogently and concisely explain their thoughts on paper is not easy - at least, not for me, it isn’t.

I can, in one day, work with students of foreign languages, English language, mathematics, medicine, history, geography, business studies, the law - just about any subject under the sun. It is challenging in the extreme to try to cope with such a range of disciplines, and by the end of seven appointments, my brain is completely fried!

But it is also hugely rewarding. Some students have come into my room with every sign of rapidly approaching despair. I’ve had two turn up in tears. But by the end of almost every meeting, desperation and distress were converted to relief, and in some cases delight. One lovely young lady even brought me biscuits and some flavoured teas in gratitude this week. The fruit teas are delicious … in fact, I think I may go and put the kettle on now.

That was Monday and Tuesday. From then on, I’ve had an easier time of it. I’ve been writing letters confirming the authors attending the new literary festival I’m helping organise for next year, a certain amount of marketing, but mostly I’ve planning different pieces of writing.

I have spent a lot of time analysing and writing out some new characters, and thinking through the way that they will behave and react to certain stimuli. The good thing is, I am in the middle of planning a short story, a novella and a novel, all of which will include the same main characters, so if I can depict the characters well and in some detail, plotting the stories will be a great deal easier. It remains to be seen as to whether that will work, though! Very often, as soon as I start writing a new story, new aspects of people occur to me, and the characters begin to take over. There is an old cliché about the characters doing that, and it is none the less true for being a cliché. I think in fact it’s just that as soon as you put your inventions into stressful and troubling situations, you realise that they wouldn’t react in a way you had originally thought. Their motivations will become more clear as you have them talk to other people, and that is good. It means that they are growing to be more rounded, that they are more believable.

However there is one problem: as a writer I love getting inside the brains of people and seeing the world from their eyes. But by the time I reach the end of a novel, I am writing from the point of view of six or seven people, holding their motivations, aspirations, hatreds, loves, all in my head simultaneously. Is it any surprise that authors can be schizophrenic?

The week has not been all plain sailing. There were two less happy items of news for me.

Regular readers will know that last week my poor, ancient Gaggia coffee machine died. The first news was the dreadful communication to tell me that the replacement I ordered last week was despatched from the shop on Tuesday. I didn’t know that the shop I bought from (in London) was to be supplied from a warehouse in Italy! That being so, I won’t get my first shot of caffeine from it until next week. That, to me, is a pure disaster!

The second piece of bad news was - go back to the top of this blog - that my publishers have already sent me the next three books to be proofread! I have another two weeks to go through them before sending them back urgently.

A writer’s life is not all champagne and caviare.

Michael Jecks

As well as collaborating with fellow members of The Medieval Murderers, Dartmoor-based Michael Jecks is the author of thirty three novels in his best-selling Templar series. His latest, Fields of Glory will be published in June 2014 in hardback and Kindle from Simon & Schuster. Expplore more of Michaels' work at: www.michaeljecks.co.uk

3 May 2013

Every month we highlight the work of a different artist or illustrator through the title banner of our monthly newsletter - Penorama. If you don't already receive Penorama, you can subscribe here.

Until now, only subscribers to the newsletter got to enjoy these unique banners, but this blog series is changing that.

In this issue, we speak with Simon Jardine, artist of the month and creator of our May banner below:

Here's how it appeared in the May newsletter:

Cult Pens: Hi Simon, tell us a bit more about yourself?
Simon: I'm a freelance illustrator and artist and I've been drawing professionally for about 10 years. I also teach art classes and workshops to both adults and kids. I'm based near Newbury in Berkshire. I've got a border collie named Jodie and when I'm not painting and drawing I like spending time in the countryside, seeing my friends and listening to heavy and alternative rock.

Cult Pens: How would you describe your work?
Simon: Cartoon illustration and quirky humorous art. Hand drawn is my thing and I don't like to use typed fonts if at all possible even if I do end up colouring it on the computer.

Cult Pens: What got you into drawing/illustration?
Simon: I've always drawn, but it was seeing people's reactions to my work that made me think yes I could do that. I always wanted to be good at something and work in an area I enjoy and art and illustration just felt right for me. I have put a lot of time and effort in though.

Cult Pens: If you weren't a illustrator, what was the back-up plan?
Simon: I learned to picture frame and did that for a few years while I was getting established and so that was the backup plan. I still have the equipment which is great for framing my own work.

Cult Pens: What are your favourite subjects/topics to draw?
Simon: Animals, buildings, characters and designs for theatre shows. Anything I find amusing or that captures my imagination though really.

Cult Pens: Where do you get your ideas or inspiration from?
Simon: Responding to a client's brief gives me the initial inspiration if I am being commissioned. The internet if i quickly want to see what something looks like. I keep sketch books full of character designs and ideas and I use these later for inspiration too. I get ideas from everyday life, conversations, interesting things I notice and I'm influenced a lot by music. Not that much by art though funnily enough.

Cult Pens: What are you currently working on?
Simon: A map of Peru and some cartoons for a text book. Also, I've just measured up and am working on designs for a pantomime themed schools mural project for The Corn Exchange Theatre in Newbury which will be taking place in the Autumn.

Cult Pens: How long does it normally take to complete a project?
Simon: Anything from a morning to two to three weeks. A week is about average for a complicated large scale drawing. And although I might not be constantly working on something there can be a certain amount of waiting for approval on rough drawings etc.

Cult Pens: What are you top five pens or pencils?
Simon: Pentel brush pen, Uni super ink marker, Pentel P205 pencil, rotring art pen, and the Pentel N50 marker.

Cult Pens: What pen or pencil couldn't you live without?
Simon: A Pentel P205 pencil. All my artwork starts with a sketch using one of these. I use one for just doodling for fun too. Also great for demonstrating drawing when I teach as of course you never have to sharpen... I don’t use normal pencils at all now.

Cult Pens: Black and white or full colour?
Simon: I enjoy both equally. You can’t go wrong with a bit of full on in your face colour, but black and white has so much impact. It depends what I’m working on.

Cult Pens: Do you know when a work is finished or are you constantly tweaking?
Simon: Usually I just know - it just looks finished, but if deadlines allow I do like to have a second look a day or so later and maybe have a bit of fine tune.

Cult Pens: What work are you most proud of?
Simon:My poster artwork for theatre shows. I get a list of characters and what they would like included and then it is over to me. The characters are then also used on promotional items and banners etc. I particularly like the one I've just designed for Jack and the beanstalk.

Cult Pens: What tips do you have for aspiring artists/illustrators?
Simon: I think it's important to have your own style and references that you really like yourself, rather than trying to duplicate other people's work. For illustration it's also important to be able to draw a wide range of subjects and situations even if you are not that interested in them normally. I think the most important thing though is to never turn work down. I get asked to do all sorts of different art related work and it's helped me develop a unique skill set on top of just being able to illustrate.

You can see more examples of Simon's work below or by visiting his website.

If you'd like to have your artwork featured in our newsletter, drop us a note to marketing@cultpens.com, with a link to some examples of your work.

There are some weeks when the words flow and hum. At such times, it seems as though all an author has to do is sit at his desk and the words wash through him like a river. This week hasn't been one of them.

It's a strange thing for a self-employed scribbler to say, but while there are attractions to working from home - my commute is extremely short, my work clothes rarely require a tie, and with my laptop, I can sit in the sun to type - but there are advantages to going to work in an office. There is the change of scenery. There is central heating, and other people with whom to chat around the coffee machine. Oh, and there is a coffee machine. As I used to have here, in my house.

But on Saturday, the coffee stopped flowing. My excellent, ancient Gaggia coffee dispenser didn't. Dispense, I mean. Whereas in the past it used to reliably grind beans, clunk very loudly, and then hiss as it presented me with a perfect espresso, now all it does is lurk sullenly in the corner of the room. It knows it's on the way to the dump. The electronics are shot, the bean grinders have worn through their bearings, and now the brewing unit has graunched to a halt.

I shouldn't complain: it's made me about 10,000 cups of coffee, and since each coffee has cost me roughly 16 pence, it has been about one tenth the price of a Starbucks fix. Not a bad investment.

So, my coffee machine has broken. An author without coffee. How bad can life be? Things are worse at sea, as my mother never tired of informing me. I never saw the relevance. Since I get seasick stepping over a puddle, I was never likely to go and find out how much worse things could get mid-Atlantic.

But yes, it's a pain to do without coffee. I am not by any means a caffeine addict, but I do like a couple of shots of espresso during the day. However, it's not the fact of no coffee that was difficult this week. It was the fact that something had to be done about it.

It is the conundrum at the heart of self-employment: basically. my wife and I are the two partners in our business. If something needs to be done, it is we two who must do it. So, we had to research a replacement on the internet. We had to sort out what sort of machine, then look up suppliers, checking that the new machine had all the little details we need, that it would work as we wanted. And to find out all those little details took an entire day. In the cold, because sadly our oil delivery was late, too. So on Sunday, we lost central heating, hot water, and the ability to cook. Thank God for understanding neighbours and electric ovens … but I digress.

We now have a coffee machine on order (after a day's bleary-eyed, shivery staring at a screen full of pictures of delicious coffees, it came down to the early evening muttered curse and a "Look, I've already wasted a day on this ruddy machine! Let's just buy one of them!" and ordering the one that looked workable). With luck it will arrive just as I deliver the latest three proofs to my publisher.

Did I mention that I had proofs to read and correct as well? All due back on Monday. You'll have seen the photo of them in last week's blog.

But in addition to the proofs, there are the other little bits and pieces of work.

A short email with new book covers to approve; two phone calls from the agent, leading to an urgent flurry of activity as I hunted down the paperwork he needed, and more conversations that led on from their discovery. Then there were the business meetings, with a pleasant fellow coming to see how to help us with our social media. If he could tell me how to get on without it, I'd be happier, to be honest! Then there were urgent discussions about foreign rights, and issues about other contracts, and emails asking me to give talks.

One was interesting: I've been invited to speak at a meeting of the Templar Heritage Trust and the Grand Priory of Knights Templar in England and Wales. They are great charitable organisations, and it will be a pleasure to give a talk to them - but just sorting out the cost of travelling to the meeting took up plenty of time.

And as well as all this, I know that soon I will have editorial comments on next year's book to work on, and I still have a short story, a novella and a further novel to write. And probably somewhere in the region of twenty more proofs of titles from my backlist to work through.

At least I managed to finish reading two books from aspiring authors (don't get ideas, I don't do that very often) and I had an auction in aid of a charity, selling three of my books. It was a relief to take Saturday off, and go to Exeter to join in the Morris Day of Dance, hosted by Great Western Morris. I danced all day with my side, Tinner's, and had a great time. My muscles are still complaining.

To be quite honest, all I want to do now is pack a rucksack and go out on the moors for a few days. Sadly, I need to get the outlines of the short story and novella mapped out first. And the difficulty for an author is, getting those ideas down.

Which is rather good. Because next week I will be able to start describing how I brainstorm and get rough outlines of stories ready to write. Mind you next week I also go back to Exeter University with the Royal Literary Fund to help students write their dissertations and essays. It's going to be busy again!

Have a great weekend!

Michael Jecks

As well as collaborating with fellow members of The Medieval Murderers, Dartmoor-based Michael Jecks is the author of thirty three novels in his best-selling Templar series. His latest, Fields of Glory will be published in June 2014 in hardback and Kindle from Simon & Schuster. Expplore more of Michaels' work at: www.michaeljecks.co.uk

26 April 2013

Ask one hundred authors what the best part of their job is, and you'll probably get about a hundred different answers. No author out and out hates writing, no matter what they say - or I hope they don't. What a miserable thought: having to sit and type a hundred and forty thousand words when you hate the idea of the task. But writing is not merely a matter of picking up a keyboard and putting words down on paper.

The sentences have to be honed. It's often said, fairly, that writing is a matter of rewriting. No author leaves his sentences alone. They are all edited, tautened, and then worked through again.

Many people new to writing think that they have to be careful, and stick to a series of strange rules. They scatter adjectives around like machine-gun bullets on the Somme, especially, it sometimes seems, if they have studied on a creative writing course. It's the same with students: many believe they must write "up" to a certain, non-specific, academic level. It's not right. There is no need to write to sound clever. Mark Twain once wrote: "As to the adjective, when in doubt, strike it out" for the very good reason that all too often adjectives simply get in the way. There is rarely a need for convoluted sentences. The reader will take in more, faster, if you let them use their own intellect from your writing. Writing has one requirement, really: clarity.

Some writers will say that they love the research, rather than the writing. Many, I know, look upon the actual writing as a chore that is better deferred. Others loathe it so much, they dictate and hope that the computer will perform the hard task itself. I am not quite of that mindset. I find that the process of researching is fun, especially when I find a strange topic that is new to me; however I think that writing itself is a delight.

I seriously enjoy sitting down and imagining myself in other men's or women's minds. It is what I used to do as a salesman. A good salesman has to be able to think about what the client actually wants, how a product will benefit the business, how it will help him in his work, how he might present it to his boss to make the price palatable. In the same way, to plan a story means looking at it from four or five different points of view, seeing how each participant looks at a scene, and trying to explain their thoughts to the reader. It's not easy - but although it's a challenge, it is stimulating.

I'm at the beginning of a new story now. The first consideration is the characters involved. If I don't understand them, I can't view the world through their eyes, and that leads to a weak description of their motivations. So, for me, the earliest stages of writing involve inventing the people, their inner thoughts, their basic natures, before I even think about the locations or the main thrust of the story.

For this, I tend to use a lot of paper.

A pad like this is ideal, I find. I should say, this superb Rhodia pad has been donated, along with the full A4 version, by Cult Pens as a part of their sponsorship for this blog, and I am inordinately grateful for them.

I structure the plan in a very basic manner. The first stage is the research for any genuine characters I'm using. Most of my work revolves around real people, their families and their woes, so I can go straight to their biographies. I always have the Dictionary of National Biography and a vast number of books of biography to hand.

However, sometimes there isn't enough there. I have a collection of several thousand books for my researches now. Since I live in Dartmoor, the cost of travelling to London to the British Library is prohibitive. Instead, I use the local libraries down here in Devon, and the superb resources at the Devon & Exeter Institution, the university, and archives, but if there's a book I will need to refer to regularly, I make use of a number of specialist booksellers, such as medievalbookshop.co.uk, which is run by a fabulously helpful man.

However, the other characters, the ones which I have to invent to fill out the story, will always come from people I have met, and who possess certain attributes that will make the plot work. There are many ex-colleagues and clients from my days as a salesman who have been given a second life in my pages. One unpleasant fellow has been killed several times, to my great delight!

So, this week, I have notes made on Sir John de Sully, a real man with a stunning career as a fighting knight in the 1300s and the early days of the Hundred Years War, and a delightful character called Berenger Fripper, whom I invented. These two will be the driving forces behind my short story, I think.

The story will be quite brief: about six thousand words or so. That will be plenty. So the next task is to work out what the plot will be.

With luck, soon a basic thread to the story will occur to me, and I'll be able to start writing. First there are a few things I'll need to get working, though.

And some more meetings to attend. Writing is sometimes a balancing act between displacement activities ...

Michael Jecks

As well as collaborating with fellow members of The Medieval Murderers, Dartmoor-based Michael Jecks is the author of thirty three novels in his best-selling Templar series. His latest, Fields of Glory will be published in June 2014 in hardback and Kindle from Simon & Schuster. Expplore more of Michaels' work at: www.michaeljecks.co.uk

This week has been a busy one. Over the weekend I had to drive 400 miles to Scarborough for their literary festival. Medieval Murderers - that is, my friends Susanna Gregory and Karen Maitland - and I were the very last gig of the festival and it was brilliant. A large audience, and we couldn't have been made more welcome by the excellent staff of the library and the volunteers. We all had a wonderful time.

Driving back on Monday was good. Susanna and I went up and back together, and in ten hours we managed to put to rights most of the problems in the world today. Not only did I get the chance to chat to Susanna for five hours, after dropping her off at Bristol, I went and had a cup of tea with my friend Phillip Gooden at his home on the way back to Dartmoor.

There were good reasons for needing to see him. We are in the middle of planning the tenth anniversary book for Medieval Murderers.

Many years ago, I had the idea for Medieval Murderers while wandering around the various crime writing festivals. I had got to know Susanna, and then met Bernard Knight and Ian Morson. All of us got on well, and it became obvious to me that we would work very well together. The Medieval Murderers were formed in a (rather grotty) pub in London twelve years ago, purely as a performance group. We would go on stage and talk about all the funnier things that happened to us as authors - the highlights and the opposite. We would talk about money, publishing, editors, proof reading, money, and the misery that is the life of an author. But on the way we also chat about our research, how we write, and why we choose our specific periods. The objective each time was simple: to make the audience laugh.

Soon our little band had grown to include Phil Gooden, CJ Sansom and Karen Maitland, and then we had a brilliant idea: rather that merely talking on stages, we could go and write collaborative books. I thought we could write separate stories that were linked by a common theme to create a working novel. We met (in a nicer pub this time) and had a long talk, and soon we had the logic set out for a novel that became THE TAINTED RELIC.

It seems incredible to think that was ten years ago now.

But now, looking at the anniversary story, there is a lot of work. The main theme is there, with plenty of mixed tales to fit together, but as always we still need to make sure that the whole book flows logically. After discussing it with Susanna and Karen in Scarborough, and then an hour's work with Phil, I think we're getting closer. Still much more to do.

This week has been a strange one. It's the London Book Fair week, which I cannot help thinking about with mixed feelings.

I have been writing now for nineteen years. In that time I've published thirty-two books, a bunch of short stories, novellas, ebooks and I don't know how many magazine and newspaper articles. And I have never been to the London Book Fair. Editors always tell me not to go. It would be, they tell me, too depressing. The effect of seeing how publishers, agents and sales teams deal with their poor bloody infantry (the writers) would only make me think of Smithfield meat market and how the butchers treat the cattle.

One day, I will probably go to look at it all. There are some interesting things going on - I expect. Somewhere. But authors aren't welcome.

I would like to have gone this year to see how Comma Press are getting on. I published a story with them a little while ago, a collaboration with Professor Jim Al-Khalili, the physicist from Surrey University, and a couple of months ago they asked if they could use it for a new app they were developing on the iPhone. But since there was no fee, I said no.

It's the problem about being an author. There is a general belief that authors who are published must be millionaires, when the truth is that three quarters earn less than the average wage, and the majority of writers earn less than half that. When an author's asked to give away his work for nothing, it tends to bring on a response leading to men being called to measure him for a suit that buttons at the back.

But last week I was prevailed upon, and reluctantly I agreed to let it go. There is an argument for marketing purposes, sometimes. The Comma Press will be launching their app this week at the Book Fair, with my story included.

The week is not going to be all about Medieval Murderers and London Book Fair. Oh, no. There are exciting developments too.

I have another short story to write to link with the new book I will publish next year, and I have a new novel to plan which must be written before October. And in case I thought I had time to go outside and enjoy the sun, these arrived on Tuesday:

There were supposed to be lighter moments. Thursday was to be devoted to a lunch with the Royal Literary Fund. I, like several other authors up and down the country, help students to write their essays and dissertations, and all this work is paid for by the RLF. The lunch was to be a get-together for the writers on the Fellowship scheme to swap stories and exchange ideas in the run-up to the end of the last term, and prepare us to write the lengthy report on how our year went. Sadly, other things got in the way, and I was unable to get up to it. I will go to other meetings, though. If there's one thing for certain, it is that authors do tend to meet socially at any opportunity.

It's been a busy week, but an enjoyable one. Now, to get back to the proofing of those books...

Michael Jecks

As well as collaborating with fellow members of The Medieval Murderers, Dartmoor-based Michael Jecks is the author of thirty three novels in his best-selling Templar series. His latest, Fields of Glory will be published in June 2014 in hardback and Kindle from Simon & Schuster. Expplore more of Michaels' work at: www.michaeljecks.co.uk

19 April 2013

Authors are often asked how they get ideas.

There seem to be two supposed ‘facts’ about writing which are absolutely set in stone in the minds of the public: that all authors are multi-millionaires, and that it’s an easy job with a magical formula that changes an otherwise inoffensive book enthusiast into a dribbling, private jet-owning scribbler.

Sadly, neither is true. Nope, most authors are permanently broke, and there is no magic formula to writing. Mostly it means a lot of hard work.

In my case, I started writing almost twenty years ago, mainly because my employers would keep going bankrupt while owing me money. For a long time it was joked among my friends that if I joined a company, they should sell any shares in it. After all, it was during my tenure at IBM’s largest software house that the firm disappeared and IBM went into anti-trust meltdown.

After thirteen years and thirteen jobs, I reckoned I was getting enough of a hint, and gave up the day job. Well, I got fired, really, and that really did annoy me. So, sitting at home, I decided I ought to try a new career. As an unqualified salesman, that was an interesting concept. What can you do, when you’ve no training? Since I knew I loved reading, I thought I’d try to write a book.

Writing is easy. We all know that. You sit at a keyboard and type. After some time, if you keep on typing, you have a book.

Yes. In theory. But you do have to type rather a lot, and hopefully you won’t have interruptions. You know the sort of thing: Coronation Street starting, hearing the children experimenting with grandad’s cut-throat razor upstairs, or seeing young William being taken for an interesting walk with his arm in the mouth of next-door’s pit bull. They can all cut into your concentration.

And there is the minor thing that if you start out with a black sheet of paper, you probably won’t get very far.

For my first books I used a pretty infallible method. I wrote lots, on sheets of A4 by hand.

You see, I’d decided (based on my enthusiasm for Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie’s books) that I was going to write a crime book. And there are simple rules with crime. You can’t have too few suspects (about five or six is right) because it’ll be too easy to guess the culprit. Equally, you can’t have too many, because that’ll confuse the hell out of the readers.

But once you have characters, you need to have a plot as well. And that was when I invested in a brilliant Post-It note. No, not the little dinky thing in a block that sits by your desk, but a massive twenty by twenty-three inch pad.

It was brilliant. I designed the whole plot as a flow-chart, just as I had done when project managing software developments, and then could stick the sheets in front of me on the wall or bookshelves.

But soon I needed a different system. As I was writing, characters suddenly began to take on new aspects. It wasn’t enough that I had a stable of suspects: they had to be believable, and that meant changing them as the plot developed. More, while I was writing I needed to keep a handle on when things were happening that could influence the rest of the book. And that was when I discovered the brilliant use of … scrap paper!

All old drafts of manuscripts were pulled into use. I tore sheets of A4 into four long strips, and used Blu Tack to stick them to my walls. On each I wrote in a thick, black, soft pencil to tell me in summary what the scene was about, who was in it and so on.

The idea, you see, was to have the whole story in front of me. I had the Post-It sheet that told me what the story was supposed to be, what the interrelations between characters were, and a basic timeline; alongside this I now had all the scenes. And then I began to elaborate.

Using marker pens (because my eyesight’s lousy) I began to mark different colours for the scenes so I could see at a glance whose point of view was being used for each scene. That way I stopped finding that one character was hogging the limelight for too long.

None of them was allowed red, though. And for one important reason: I believe that if a thriller/crime story hasn’t got something exciting happening every ten or fifteen pages, it isn’t going to work as a story. So to highlight tension and danger, I used red ink in the scenes. Then I could see how the scenes were spread, and make sure that there was adequate excitement through the story. And if it wasn’t working, I could pull one strip of paper and stick it down somewhere else, to alter the flow of the story, fiddling around until I was happy.

And this is still the way I work.

My Post-It pads still get regular airings — although now I’ll use a good quality clutch pencil to write up the main flow, and I use Faber Castell dry highlighters to emphasise the main areas I need (the day-glow yellow is my favourite, although the orange works as well for contrast). Then I have a whiteboard for all characters and the timeline, along with any crucial notes.

The strips of paper are gone, sadly. I use a software package called Scrivener, which is designed by a devon-based designer exclusively for authors. Most of my peers use this superb piece of software. It gives me the sheets of paper on-screen, and I can pick up each and drop them into a different order at will.

Being an author means using lots of technology, after all. I have an Apple desktop (and it does take up a whole desk, with a 27 inch screen) on which I write my books; I send them, when ready, to my HTC Flier tablet, which allows me to read and mark up in red all those elements I need to edit or alter. When printed, I use the same Faber-Castell dry highlighters and an old Cross fountain pen with red ink to mark them up.

But still, although I have all the weird and wonderful electronic gadgets an author could hope for, the best times for me are still those when I’m sitting down and toying with a pen or pencil, with a large sheet of paper, dumping ideas down, hoping that something will spring into a connection. My next purchase will be a large clutch pencil from e+m for those doodling moments

My ideas always come from those moments. So perhaps it is easy to get ideas to write about. They just appear from nowhere when I have a pen in my hand. There is some sort of relationship between holding a pencil or pen and ideas coming. Certainly, it’s much easier to think up people and plots with a pencil in hand than on the screen.

So I’m looking forward to the e+m arriving!

Michael Jecks

 As well as collaborating with fellow members of The Medieval Murderers, Dartmoor-based Michael Jecks is the author of thirty three novels in his best-selling Templar series. His latest, Fields of Glory will be published in June 2014 in hardback and Kindle from Simon & Schuster. Expplore more of Michaels' work at: www.michaeljecks.co.uk

19 April 2013

It was many years ago that I first began to appreciate better quality writing tools - long before I became a full-time novelist, in fact. However, I still have a delight in using real pens and pencils, smooth paper and a variety of inks.

Six years ago I started using Cult Pens, and I've always been impressed with their cheerful and efficient service, so it was a real delight to be given a chance to work with them on a diary-piece.

The idea is simple: I will write each week about how I work and the things that have happened to me, giving you tips and insights from the world of a writer. One week I'll be writing about the process of planning a novel, perhaps how I research, or how I create a plot, maybe it will be how I invented some specific characters; the next I may be writing about a particularly embarrassing meeting with Marketing or Publicity; perhaps it'll be the torment of a writer trying to wrestle with a specific scene or the horror of dealing with a coffee machine that refuses to knuckle down and do what it said on the box. Whatever I do write about, it will hopefully be entertaining and informative. And because I tend to scribble and scrawl at length, I'll be able to write a bit about different products as I go.

Do I write everything long-hand? No. I have to use a computer for almost every aspect of my work. But I still have to use a pen and paper every day, for the simple reason that I will not trust a mobile phone or tablet with every random thought that sparks while I'm out and about. A notepad is more flexible for me. All planning and thoughts for a book are put on paper first.

So, who am I?

I am the author of thirty-two novels. In 1994, I was a computer salesman with a major handicap: I was unemployed. In the thirteen years before, I had managed to hold down two jobs for five years each, but after those two - well, you can do the maths. And after that many jobs, I knew I was unemployable in my chosen profession. So, at the grand old age of thirty-three, I had to reinvent myself. Knowing I loved books, I thought I should take a crack at writing one.

My first three books about to be republished. The post-it notes show each correction![/caption] My first book was a great one, if I say so myself. THE SNIPER was a fast, thrilling read, rather like a Frederick Forsyth. It had guns, bombs, sex and a plot that grabbed. To my delight, it was accepted by a major publisher over the phone - and rejected two days later in writing.

The book was all about the IRA, and after making the offer, my publisher learned that the IRA had just agreed their first ceasefire. That was one modern thriller that suffered from being too of-the-moment.

Which is why I began to write medieval stories. History tends not to change and get reinterpreted so much.

The latest book comes out in June. A prequel to the series, TEMPLAR'S ACRE looks at the appalling events of 1291, when the last Christian strongholds on the coast of the Holy Land were finally overwhelmed by the vast armies of the Mamelukes. At the same time, my first three novels are being relaunched and offered with their glorious new covers. I will be writing about the work involved in getting these onto the shelves of stores all over the country, and writing about the signing tours I'll be sent on.

If only that was all I had to do. Since this year I have to write two short stories, a novella, two novels and also help plan out a literary festival, I have a feeling I will not run out of topics to discuss. Oh, and two days a week I work for the Royal Literary Fund helping students at Exeter University with their writing skills. No pressure, then!

I hope you enjoy seeing my ramblings here on the Cult Pens website and that my thoughts encourage the writer in you. Do please keep in touch with questions or comments.

Michael Jecks

As well as collaborating with fellow members of The Medieval Murderers, Dartmoor-based Michael Jecks is the author of thirty three novels in his best-selling Templar series. His latest, Fields of Glory will be published in June 2014 in hardback and Kindle from Simon & Schuster. Expplore more of Michaels' work at: www.michaeljecks.co.uk

15 April 2013

Every month we highlight the work of a different artist or illustrator through the title banner of our monthly newsletter - Penorama. If you don't already receive Penorama, you can subscribe here.

Until now, only subscribers to the newsletter got to enjoy these unique banners, but this blog series is changing that.

In this issue, we speak with Johanna Basford, artist of the month for March and the first person to design a banner for us, which you can see below:

And here is how it appeared in the March newsletter:

Cult Pens: Tell us a bit more about yourself?
Johanna: I am a illustrator and ink evangelist who prefers pens and pencils to pixels. I create intricate, hand drawn illustrations predominately, although not exclusively, in black and white. My creativity is cultivated by a curious imagination and a delight in the fantastic. Much of my work has roots in the flora and fauna that surrounded me growing up on my parent's fish farm in rural Scotland.

Cult Pens: How would you describe your work?
Johanna: Every piece I create starts life as a simple pencil sketch, evolving into a rambling pen and ink drawing usually spanning several sheets of paper. I love the tactile nature of the materials I use and the joy of smudgy fingerprints. My delicate hand inked designs intend to charm and delight, inviting you to peer closer and discover the hidden intricacies.

Cult Pens: What got you into drawing and illustration?
Johanna: I've always loved drawing, I can't remember a time when I didn't. Even as a pre-schooler at playgroup I can remember the drawing and painting table was my favourite place to be. Growing up I drew on everything and anything: walls, books, myself, my clothes, furniture.... luckily my parents nurtured my creative streak and didn't get too mad about all the inky vandalism...

Cult Pens: If you weren't a illustrator, what was the back-up plan?
Johanna: A florist. I adore flowers.

Cult Pens: What are your favourite subjects/topics to draw?
Johanna: Funnily enough, flowers. Anything nature inspired - I think there's nothing more beautiful than something the earth has crafted. Failing that, I'm partial to penning the odd robot.

Cult Pens: Where do you get your ideas or inspiration from?
Johanna: We all subconsciously soak up the stuff around us and filter it back into our work. It may be a walk out with the dog, a book in the library, some packaging, a magazine article, an amazing photo gallery on the web... It all sort of gets pulled in, mashed about a bit then emerges as a drawing on my desk.

Cult Pens: What are you currently working on?
Johanna: A beer bottle label for BrewDog, my next colouring book with Laurence King and some work for Abbotsford House, the ancestral home of Sir Walter Scott.

Cult Pens: How long does it normally take to complete a project?
Johanna: This depends completely on the brief and the client. It could be 2 days or 12 months!

Cult Pens: What are you top five pens or pencils?
Johanna: Staedtler Pigment Liners 0.05 and 0.2's, Staedtler Mars mechanical pencils 0.3mm, POSCA Pens, Sharpies, Edding Paint Markers.

Cult Pens: What pen or pencil couldn't you live without?
Johanna: Staedtler Pigment Liners

Cult Pens: Do you know when a work is finished or are you constantly tweaking?
Johanna: The temptation to tweak is huge. I could probably go one forever with a project, but likely the client deadline usually draws things to a close. I always look back and spot things I could do better or change, but I think that's just part of the process.

Cult Pens: What work are you most proud of?
Johanna: Wonderbeasts, my Kickstarter co-creation project was pretty darn cool to work on.

Cult Pens: What tips do you have for aspiring artists/illustrators?
Johanna: Work hard, do something different, be nice and never give up.

You can see more of Johanna's work below, and you can find out more by visiting her site.

If you'd like to have your artwork featured in our newsletter, drop us a note to marketing@cultpens.com, with a link to some examples of your work.