We all know what kind of a year 2021 has been. And while 2020 was a tough one, we all felt like 2021 would be the light after that dark night. For many, it was just as rough, but I’m proud of holding my head above water and for achieving what I did this year. Now that I’m done mixing metaphors, I’ll give you the lowdown. Some of it’s personal stuff, but I beg your indulgence. – here’s a bit about my new novel too. Reading and writing challenges in 2021.
New Careers
In January of this year, I decided I wanted a career change. Not just any change either – I wanted to become a teacher. And the first time I said it aloud, I wondered why it had taken me this long to work it out. It was inevitable. In all my jobs, I’ve loved mentoring my colleagues. I’ve loved being part of training. And I’d never really gotten to grips with not having six weeks off in the summer.
I have the most supportive family in the world, and with their help and support (emotional, professional and financial) I went through all the applications and interviews required to start my PGCE. I’m now three months deep into my placement at primary school, and loving every minute. It’s hard work but I think I might have found the vocation that has eluded me thus far in my professional life. And speaking of family…
New Family
Earlier this year, my wife fell pregnant. I say fell. It’s not like she tripped over and landed on a pregnancy – we had always maintained we wanted to start a family at around this point in our lives. We’re over the moon and our baby boy is due in January 2022. Time will tell how fatherhood might affect my reading and writing (as well as the aforementioned PGCE). So, if you see me in the street with baggy eyes, five o’clock shadow and my shirt on backwards, you’ll know why. And about that writing…
New Novel
I wrote a novel this year. It’s not my first. A few years back I wrote After Life, a gothic horror set on a ship sailing back from Egypt. I touted it to publishers and agents, and got feedback on the full manuscript (though no offers to represent it). I implemented that feedback in my newest novel, The House on Abaddon Square. Gothic again – think The Exorcist meets Reservoir Dogs in Victorian London – and meticulously planned, I’m incredibly proud of the manuscript. I knuckled down and wrote the 100,000 words over a roughly four-month period without taking a day off. It’s the best bit of writing I’ve ever done.
I sent the manuscript to the agent who had most enjoyed my last draft (and given it the most comprehensive feedback). But lightning didn’t strike twice, and they weren’t interested. I was disappointed, but to even have had feedback from an agent is a big step. Now it’s just a matter of finding a publisher or an agent who might be a good fit for the novel. I can’t wait for you all to read it.
New Reading Challenge 2022
I’ve heard being parent to a new-born takes up all your time, but then people say that about teacher training too. So they’ll cancel each other out, right? That’s how this works? Anyway. No reading or writing challenges for 2022. Send off my manuscript to agents every couple of months. Read and write for pleasure in between the other stuff. Simples.
All the Books I Read (2021 edition)
The Bloody Red Baron – Kim Newman
Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier
Melmoth – Sarah Perry
The Girl Next Door – Jack Ketchum
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires – Grady Hendrix
The Dark Half – Stephen King
The Stranger Diaries – Elly Griffiths
Room 13 – Robert Swindells
Inside the Worm – Robert Swindells
Thank You NHS – edited by Adam Kay
The Silence of the Lambs – Thomas Harris
(the first of several entries from my Ultimate Horror Novels List)
The Mistake I Made – Paula Daly
The Dirty South – John Connolly
Sleeping Beauties – Stephen King and Owen King
Atonement – Ian McEwan
Nemesis – Agatha Christie
The Great God Pan – Arthur Machen
Himself – Jess Kidd
The Postscript Murders – Elly Griffiths
The Birdwatcher – William Shaw
Red Dragon – Thomas Harris
Bag of Bones – Stephen King
The Burning Girls – C. J. Tudor
Hannibal – Thomas Harris
Chart Throb – Ben Elton
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty – A. N. Roquelaure
Watching the English – Kate Fox
The Marlow Murder Club – Robert Thorogood
Beauty’s Punishment – A. N. Roquelaure
Unnatural Causes – Dr Richard Shepherd
Beauty’s Release – A. N. Roquelaure
The Devil and the Dark Water – Stuart Turton
(loved this. Even if it was really similar to After Life!)
The Last Sherlock Holmes Story – Michael Dibdin
The Midnight Library – Matt Haig
Host – Peter James
The Miniaturist – Jessie Burton
The Murder Pit – Mick Finlay
If It Bleeds – Stephen King
How to Train Your Dragon – Cressida Cowell
The Fifth Child – Doris Lessing
Carrion Comfort – Dan Simmons
The House with Chicken Legs – Sophie Anderson
Rawblood – Catriona Ward
Eric – Terry Pratchett
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents – Terry Pratchett
(this was so good it inspired a whole blog post)
Jaws – Peter Benchley
Inspire – Ben Fogle
Exquisite Corpse – Poppy Z. Brite
The Bad Seed – William March
The Arrival – Shaun Tan
(a novel without words. Highly recommended)
The Chalk Pit – Elly Griffiths
Marley and Me – John Grogan
The Longest Trip Home – John Grogan
The Shape of Darkness – Laura Purcell
