If you aren’t a writer, a WIP is a ‘work in progress.’ I have been absorbed in my WIP for the past couple of months. The aim being to write a story a day. Of course, it doesn’t quite work out like that as typically life gets in the way. On a good day I write two stories in a day, most days I manage one, except at weekends because at that point I become a full-time carer, and there simply isn’t the time.
Also, I have other business to focus on, I am building up a collection of notebooks using my photography on the covers plus greeting cards. There is always a new project in my head that I am keen to put into operation.
It is a bit soon to talk about a launch date for the new book, but March 2022 is my target and I intend to make it a particularly special launch. Time between now and then is already flying past like a supersonic jet. And yep, I do feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants.
What can I tell you about the new WIP? Well, of course I do not want to give too much away but I will say it involves a fascinating mix of characters, and this time animals too. Unlike The Isolation Sex Stories, there is not much (if any) sex involved. I know this may disappoint some of you, but if you are fascinated by people; I think you will love it. They all live in their own little worlds, but their worlds interlink in small, sometimes poignant ways. It is my belief that there are not many people on the planet who get to live an ‘ordinary’ life, whatever that is. With 7.9 billion humans on the planet and 1.2 million known species of animals, there are endless stories to be told. Even if I live to 150, I won’t be able to write that many stories!
So, roll on March. I am trying not to be too impatient to get the book done and I am certainly enjoying the process. I hope that you will enjoy the book as much as I am writing it.
If you are an indie author reading this, please head over to my sister website myriadlifebooks.com where my latest blog might interest you.
Until next time… please subscribe to be updated with progress. You may even win a free signed copy of The Isolation Sex Stories if you hit the button. Go on, I dare you…
Norfolk UK is my home, I live in Norwich by the River Wensum where everyday there is something different to see and learn.
I feel a big affinity with the river as I grew up in Cambridge, another great river city. My childhood and teens involved many walks along the Cam where we would watch 'The Bumps,' raft races and as we grew older we enjoyed adventures on our punting pub crawls.
Growing up in a multi cultural university city definitely influenced my reading choices, I am a big fan of Japanese fiction, love French literature and enjoy Shakespeare. As a young teen I entertained myself with Jilly Cooper and Dick Francis and then became quite obsessed with Henri Charriere's Papillon. At school all I cared about was English, Art and French, in that exact order. When I finished with school I went to live and work in Greece for a wonderful year before returning to study English Literature and Sociology. At this point I read more classics like the Wyf of Bath, Wuthering Heights and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man plus poets such as Wilfred Owen.
My first UK full time job was with Heffer's Paperbacks where I devoured several books at a time, excited by the fact I could borrow what I liked. Bizarrely for me I remember reading The Zurich Axioms, I have no interest in the stock markets but it had me gripped. I can't remember why I picked it up but I have never forgotten it. Heffers introduced me to so many authors, via their books and sometimes in person. It was here I learned about all the genres, it fascinated me that science fiction and horror were so popular, I tried reading it all.
Aside from writing letters, it didn't really ever occur to me to write anything myself for many years as I worked my way through a variety of interesting and varied jobs. Then on a visit to the London Aquarium I became struck by an idea so powerful I sat down and wrote my first novel. It went nowhere as really I wrote it because I wanted to. I wrote another novel and again, didn't have the persistance or determination to take it further, I simply enjoyed the process of writing and my characters.
Then years later another idea struck me and during a severe bout of Pleurisy where I couldn't do anything physical for months, I wrote the Eight of Swords and The Putsi. This time I published them as ebooks and they became pretty popular. When I fully recovered, I had to concentrate on my business and looking after my mother who has various health issues and the writing went adrift again for many years until 2020 when the Coronavirus pandemic hit the world.
March 2020 I moved to my apartment alongside the Wensum to live alone for the first time ever. During the first lockdown I began to write a diary and then the idea for a new set of short stories came to me and in February 2021 they will be published. The Covid-19 Pandemic is not simply a scary virus, it is a historical time and here we are trying to live through it. To many it will feel like a punishment but to me as a writer, in some ways, it came as a gift.
Please stay as safe and as well as you can. I hope to entertain you with my stories as we all try to get through this together, even though we are apart.
Petra
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Petra Kidd Writes... 