“Write what you know,” they scream at all new authors as they stare at a blank screen or page.
Well I tried. I really did. But I had a huge problem. I know a lot, or, that should be I knew a lot. To be honest I’ve forgotten most of it.
For almost three decades I wrote for clients of all shapes and sizes (and temperaments) for radio, TV, the print media, conference presentations, educational, mayoral speeches and all points in between.
I became an instant expert on such diverse subjects as Shakespeare, car manufacture, crop growing, splitting the atom, climbing ladders, building roads, banking, ocean pollution, geometry – the list is endless. I was one of those nightmare guests at cocktail parties who could rabbit on about anything while making little sense of anything and any in-depth knowledge.
The moment the programme/article was broadcast/published, I quickly forgot everything I’d researched and written and I was off onto the next subject.
However, I have been informed that all that knowledge is still up there, somewhere, nestling among the brain cells. I suspect it would take many hours on a psychiatrist’s couch to find those facts now. My internal filing cabinets are overflowing, and dragging out facts can take hours if not weeks.
And, to make matters worse, I suspect I only have the odd brain cell functioning these days, the rest have gone AWOL and show no signs of returning home.
When I began writing books in 2013, I wrote action adventure series based in Africa. I did as I was told, I knew Africa, I’d lived and worked there for decades. But the world moves on. The days of young couples travelling abroad to work are past, it even hints a little at colonialism. So not PC these days.
The book reading public and taste has changed. My answer was to jump genre again (I began with memoirs) and turn to psychological thrillers, which seem to be the flavour of the year.
I made a wise decision as the first one, A Year in the Life of Leah Brand has outsold my other books since it was published a year ago.
I went travelling for 3 months this year returning just in time for our lockdown and in the peace and quiet I wrote a follow up, A Year in the Life of Andrea Coe, and then, because I was having so much fun, I wrote a third, and A Year in the Life of Deidre Flynn, will be released on September 12th.
I left Africa behind and set the books in a London suburb in an ordinary household. I explored what could become frightening in an everyday situation, scary enough to send my heroine (I am always so cruel to them) spiralling down into madness. Is she going mad or is someone out to hurt her?
Each of the three books can be read as a standalone, but they are best enjoyed in order, as Leah moves to an English seaside town and on to France.
It took me a while to transfer from media prose, if you can call it that, and scriptwriting to novel format. I can no longer think in sound, or only in visuals, but now I needed to ‘show not tell’.
It was easier to scribble – pan across boatyard – cut to fisherman by boat – pull focus to boat behind – cut to long shot out to sea – cut to cargo of fish in hold – dissolve to exterior fish market. It all had to fit with the dialogue. I wrote like this for so long, it was a new experience describing scenes as I penned my early novels.
My biggest thrill now I’m pretending to be retired is the freedom to do what I want. No more clients from hell, no more deadlines, no more writing to a time limit. I am my own boss.
I won’t discuss here the client I work for now. Between you and me, she’s a nightmare. She sets herself impossible deadlines, jumps from writing to marketing – and frankly she’s hopeless at that as she leaps from Facebook, to blog posts, to Instagram and Pinterest with very little idea of what she’s doing.
But she’s having fun and too busy to worry about the remaining brain cell working overtime.
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Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog 
It’s wonderful to see you here, Lucinda. This is a fantastic and spine-tingling series and looking forward to Book 3. Toni x
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Early readers have said they enjoyed it so I hope you will too. These characters are becoming as real as Amie!
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Oh, God, she sounds just like me! (apologies to anyone who thinks I’ve taken someone’s name in vain.)
I must keep in touch with her and see what I can glean from her experiences. It might be fun!!
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Jemima, if she is anything like my boss I would avoid her like the plague!
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Great to read more about Lucinda. I have a boss exactly like yours… 😉
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I have no idea where we find them. Mine was lurking in the shadows for years!
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An entertaining introduction for any who have yet to discover Lucinda and her excellent books. Having had the great pleasure of beta reading ‘Dierdre’, I can tell anyone waiting for it that they are in for a real treat as Leah’s story reaches an exciting climax.
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Frank you are one of my favourite beta readers. If there is a comma out of place, you will spot it! Glad you enjoyed Deidre. She’s doing well, after the big Leah promo, the first book reached 211 overall on Amazon.co.uk and just over 2,000 in the US, so really pleased. How do these big names keep their books up there week after week? That’s the secret I can’t crack.
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I am impressed that you could change genres so readily! Good for you. These new books sound amazing. Just keep that new boss under control!
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I’m sure you are just as versatile Darlene. It’s amazing what we can do when you have a broadcast deadline and a producer breathing down your neck and the children are screaming for food 🙂
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Reblogged this on lucinda E Clarke and commented:
Chris the Story Reading Ape gave me a guest post so I could rant about my new boss.
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Sorry Linda, silly programme won’t let me like! Writing is a worse addiction than heroin. I’ve yet to find a clinic that deals in weaning you from the desperate desire to write. Good luck with your books.
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Lovely to ‘meet’ you, Lucinda. Your client now sounds like me! lols. Best of luck with your writing and publishing 🙂
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Thank you. I’m now thinking quite fondly of some of my old bosses from hell. At least when I moved on to the next project, but I’m stuck with this one permanently. She follows me around everywhere.
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Thank you. I just love connecting with other authors. We are the only sane people on the planet!
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If that explanation doesn’t send you dashing off to Amazon to get Lucinda’s books, then nothing will. I have read, and thoroughly enjoyed, all of them so far and am perched on the edge of my seat ready to devour her latest book, which I have pre-ordered.
This one darn good – and versatile – author! 😀
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You are talking about the right author Ann? Ha ha, such kind words. Do you take cheques or would you prefer paypal !! 🙂
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Good luck, Lucinda! You’ve just described my writing life. I write what I know, what I don’t know, what I’m researching— it’s the life I always wanted to live when I had a good paying government career. Thanks!
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I seem to have messed up this thread – well I would! My reply is somewhere further up I think! Thank goodness for Google for research. I once owned 4 sets of encyclopedias! Inc the Britannica.
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