Monday Blogs: My Writing Process

Today is May 19th, which marks the birthday of two people who have been influential in my life. The first is Pete Townshend, who inspired me with his song Behind Blue Eyes to write my rock novel series of the same name. He shares his birthday with my lovely friend and fellow writer Val Poore, who invited me to contribute to Monday Blogs by answering four “simple” questions about my writing process, so here goes!

What am I working on at the moment?


I am working on the final novel of my Behind Blue Eyes rock fiction series. The four-part series, which starts the story of musician Ian Harrington in 1978 with the book Love Reign o’er Me will end in 1994 with Empty Glass.

How does my work differ from others in the same genre?

I’ve not read a lot of rock fiction so this is a hard one for me to answer. I think my series differs from others because it is based on the Who song of the same title and builds its narrative around a blue-eyed sad man. The books are about him and his band, but it is also a family saga, a love story, and a nostalgic look back at the 70s of Toronto and London through to the 90s, and so can also be classified in many other sub-genres. I think my lead singer is also rather different from those in other rock fiction bands in that he is not a confident frontman, but rather someone whose doubts and fear overwhelm him all too often.

Why do I write what I do?

I started writing the series in 1979; I was 16, loved music and books, and was frustrated by the lack of mainstream novels with settings in the music industry or featuring rock musicians as main characters. I solved my problem by writing the first book for myself to read, and then continued to develop the series because I enjoyed the result of my initial efforts.

How does my writing process work?

My writing process for the book series has been unorthodox in many ways. I wrote Love Reign o’er Me and Love Ain’t for Keeping (books one and two, respectively) in 1979 and then shelved the first drafts to pursue my studies at university and then begin a teaching career. I forgot all about them until 1997, when I found and picked up my original manuscripts and began to read them again. The 18 year gap had given me insight into some of the characters and conflicts in the books, and I decided to rewrite them to add the nuances and character depths my younger self had been unable to understand at the time. As I rediscovered my books, I began to write again and finished a third book as well as about 85% of the final instalment of the series. It took another 14 years and a decision to take a sabbatical year away from teaching before I finished many rounds of editing and revising and self-published the first three books. Books one and two were released in January and May of 2012, respectively, after which I got to work on the editing of the third one, Let My Love Open the Door, which came out in January 2013. The last one, Empty Glass, is still not completely written nor edited, though I am hoping to have it out by August 2014. Ambitious, I know!


I would like to thank Val Poore for the opportunity to share my process with readers, and am tagging Ian Gordon Craig to continue the link by giving us his insights on next week’s #MondayBlogs. 

I Wish I Wish I Wish...

I could hit rewind and got back to the fall of 2012. Knowing now that I would end up losing more than 8 close friends and family in the 18 months ahead, I would spend more time with them and treasure every second.


I'd seen menopause coming. Perhaps if I'd known what I was in for, I might have made a greater effort to fight it or at least contain some of its effects. I ended up with higher highs, lower lows, and a level of manic, frantic energy that often made me say and do impulsive, foolish things. If I's been able to prevent some of them, I would not have hurt a few important people as much as I ended up doing.


I had patience and could handle unfinished business. But I don't, and I can't. It's my most frustrating flaw, and I've yet to figure out how to silence the voice that nags at me to hurry up and resolve things when they aren't ready for it. It's the same voice that makes it hard for me to let things go, to let them unfold, and I hate it more than anything else about myself.


I could just disappear for another year like I did for the 2011-2012. I'm not sure I have it in me anymore to keep doing what I do for a living in current conditions. Another year away would perhaps give me answers in that regard.

I had handled certain relationships differently in the last year and a half. I know I didn't balance most of them properly, and that my attentions were sometimes too intense towards some of them, and too flippant with others.


I could still my mind. It never stops thinking, doubting, dreaming, asking, wanting. No wonder I have so many headaches.


I could adequately convey to my husband how much he has saved me from myself and from my own despair this year. He is the best thing in the world, and I hope I tell him enough times for him to realize how much I adore him and would be lost without him.



For everyone to be happy. Including me.