Two? Surely not… Well, yes and no…
Delamere Nine
This book is underway and, so far, is running smoothly. It’s one of those that I am making up as I go along (don’t we always do that when writing a novel?), but I know where it is going. I know what the climax should be like, I know who is involved, and what the emotional through line is to be, what the ‘theme’ is, and how the mystery starts. What I don’t yet know is what the mystery is (I have a vague idea) or how it will be solved. That’s the joy, you see, the joy of the job. I discover as Jack and Baxter discover, and from what they discover, comes the next chapter, and so on. If I reach a point where I start to lose the thread, I go back, unstitch, and start again. Or I make repairs as I go. This way, I avoid plot holes.
I am aiming for half a chapter a day, and I am already up to the end of Act One, at 25,000 words. There has been a tragedy, there is a mystery, and someone in the cast is trying hard to grow up, while two others have to share a bed…
More on this story as it develops.
Honestly – a Novella
The other project on the go is updating and uploading ‘Honestly’, a novella I wrote following on from the success of ‘Remotely.’ That was a gay/straight body-swap coming-of-age comedy. ‘Honestly’ is also coming of age and is set in a small fishing village ‘up north’ where a young lad and his mother have moved from ‘down south.’ All is not well, however, and Miss P has been sent on a mission to put things right because the problem in the village has been caused by that dreaded thing, writer’s block.
Well, you can download the whole novella here for $0.99, or you can start to read it online, chapter by chapter. Today, I have chapter two available, and am working on preparing chapter three so you don’t have to wait too long to continue the story.
https://jacksonmarsh.com/honestly-chapter-two
If you’re interested in the straight/gay body-swap, you can find ‘Remotely’ at this link. That’s Amazon.com, but it’s available in all my usual Amazon stores. Here’s the blurb:
Britain’s newest and most pointless TV talent competition is coming to Middlestone-On-Sea. ‘So You Think We’re Remotely Interested?’ has taken Friday night viewers by storm as it streams live variety shows from remote, provincial theatres across Britain. The theatre with the most audience votes wins regeneration and revival, and lord knows, Middlestone-on-Sea needs both.
The dying seaside backwater rests its hopes on the performance of two ex-best friends, gay Gary and straight Stag.
The visiting celebrity judge, the mysterious and timeless Miss P, knows that for all to be well, they must mend their broken friendship. But there is no success without trial. She magically swaps Gary and Stag into each other’s bodies. Secrets are learned, comedy ensues, and yet the community remains divided.
Rifts must be healed, differences accepted, and bodies swapped back before the season grand finale in four days’ time otherwise Middlestone will lose everything.
