Nora and the Secondhand Bookworm - rewrites, editing and preparation for release during a bookwormy Christmas

NORA AND THE SECONDHAND BOOKWORM
Book Two of a hilarious series of novels set in an English secondhand bookshop
by Emily Jane Bevans


Today's post - December 26th 2017
Writing, editing, final preparations

I am pleased to have been making good progress with this second novel in my 'bookworm' series, preparing it for release on kindle and in paperback through Amazon and published by Mary's Dowry Productions. Christmas is a rare time for me in that I am able to sit down and force myself not to work on the films of Mary's Dowry Productions but to try and relax. Although writing and novel-editing can be exhausting if I don't discipline myself, it is what I would class as relaxing. So I spent a good few hours on Christmas afternoon immersed in my manuscript after Mass.

I wrote the original edition of  Book Two: 'Nora and the Secondhand Bookworm' back in 2009-2010 but published it privately in 2012 for my work colleagues. There was a lot of material in it that I wasn't completely happy with so I have been editing, shuffling chapters and contents about and doing large sections of rewrites as well as chopping characters out and taking content over for use in Book Three. It's been great fun and I have been chuckling to myself as I've been working on it, enjoying the memories and the story.

I hope to have the book completed and published by the end of 2017 and am keen to get to work on Book Three of the series. Book Three was only partially written back in 2010-2011 and never completed due to my work with Mary's Dowry Productions. I had carefully planned Book Three so although it will take a little longer to complete most of the plot and plan and content is there.

Visiting my old place of work
I had a lovely time visiting my old place of work on Christmas Eve, amazed to see that after five years the shop is pretty much how I left it! Wow, the memories contained in those three floors of books all started to come back to me. I made some notes as I chatted with my cousin who is presently following in my footsteps and managing that branch of the bookshop. He regaled me with new stories which he is keen for me to include in upcoming novels and we had some amusing encounters with last minute Christmas bookwormy shoppers.

A visit to my old place of work - the front window display area
Always a selection of Tolkien

 You can probably imagine the titles I already have in Book Three which is called 'Christmas at the Secondhand Bookworm'. Well, here's a sneak preview:

The Singing Father Christmas
Mr Scrooge
The Grinch
Of Mince Pies and Men
Shopping by Candlelight
The Surprise

I won't let on what chapters they each belong to, the order or the content, but it has been fun delving into Book Three as I prepare to knuckle down and complete it as soon as I have finished Book Two.
I have been taking advantage of the Christmas Season to remind myself of a bookwormy Christmas experience as well as glean some fresh descriptions of the atmosphere and attitudes in a secondhand and antiquarian bookshop over the festivities.
Visiting my old place of work
I don't know if it's just me but I am a very impatient writer. I can get frustrated and over-excited when I see a book completed in my mind but have the time-consuming task of writing it, especially while working on my film projects and spiritual life. My 'New Year Resolution' for 2018 is to slow down, calm down and try to practice patience when writing. I think it's because I am keen to share these stories with readers as they are so much fun, uplifting, feel-good, typically English and amusing.

I have at least seven separate novels in my 'Bookworm' series and am enjoying working on them. I am a selfish writer and write firstly for myself; all the things that I would like to read, my humour and observances and the characters and story lines I enjoy. I hope my readers are enjoying them too!

Look out for 'Nora and the Secondhand Bookworm' released on Amazon Kindle and in paperback within the next week. Meanwhile, the first book in the series is available to download now or order in paperback from AMAZON here:

THE SECONDHAND BOOKWORM

More soon!

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