Great Jones Street and a Stranger's Perspective!

First of all, it has been a while since I have written a post that isn't advertising something and to begin with, this may seem yet another one of those posts! I was saving some of the thoughts here for my December post, but I've just had some great news that I want to share.

I have had a run of bad luck on the publishing front this year. Two of the companies that I've had stories with went under and that affected my desire to write more than I thought possible. It felt like I had a jinx on me, especially as one of those anthologies was 'What Went Wrong'! But there's nothing like a bit of stiff upper lip to shake me out of the doldrums and I've just sold three stories to Great Jones Street! What's that you might ask? It's a new short story app and intends to do for short stories what Netflix has done for TV. Sound great right? Looks great too - check out their teaser video. I will give you more details when my stories go live there.

Some of you may have noticed how the title of my blog changed this summer, well there are several reasons for this. Through the Eyes of a Stranger is a line from a song I loved in my early teens and it just seemed apt. The Greek word for foreigner ξένος can also mean stranger. I am a foreigner in the place I've lived almost half my life - that won't change no matter how much I adapt. Thing is, I am also a stranger to the land of my birth not having returned there for over a decade. It's a pretty unique perspective I can tell you. But then, I've always made slightly obtuse observations about things (and often miss what most others see as obvious)!

All this had been churning in my subconscious and the aforementioned dark period acted as a catalyst for what was probably writer's block. It's hard having all the ideas that just pop up in your head just disappear and not have the will to sit down and put pen to paper so to speak because there's nothing there. But it happens. If you don't write then perhaps you've lost your voice at some point in time, or maybe broken a limb? If you have you'll know what it's like to have something you take for granted just stop functioning! You can't go on the way you were, you have to figure out another way. Some writers advise keep on plugging away, write everyday. For me that was like looking inside my soul and seeing a void! Why should I waste time sitting in front of a screen trying to get something from nothing? It was like taking a helter-skelter ride into self-loathing introspection. I didn't stay there and won't attempt it again. Time's too precious to beat yourself up, believe me! I just gave up, took a break, threw myself into some other activities and sure enough, the ideas have come flooding back! Nothing like a little perspective. Be looking out for more fromme in the coming months. Until then, I've finally got a follow tab just on the right here.>>>
Get yourselves signed up for further updates!