Back at last!

I’ve enjoyed my two month sabbatical but now I’m back with a host of events planned. Between now and Christmas, my books and I will be at a dozen or so Oxfordshire events – literary festivals, books fairs and Christmas fairs – including at Wolvercote, Steventon, Kennington, Oxford, Didcot, Harwell, Faringdon and Abingdon. Thanks to the amazing Oxford Independent Authors for organising this tremendous effort. Keep an eye out for further information from OxIA and please do come along to meet authors, listen to talks and, of course, buy books. Books make the best Christmas presents in my view!

Talking of books, I was thrilled to discover that Note to Boy is now, thanks to the efforts of Colin Wade and the 1in200 initiative, on sale in the excellent Mostly Books in Abingdon (pictured below) and splendido Il Botanico in Headington, Oxford. Please do pop in and say hello. Independent booksellers like these are to be cherished.

In further news, I’ve sent But Mostly Mabel off to the publisher, SRL Publishing, and await further news with bated breath.

That’s all folks. A busy few months head!

Me and Note to Boy out in the wild!

Update from Clark Towers

Apologies. I’ve been remiss. It’s been a while since I posted an update on what I’ve been up to. Here’s a quick rundown.

At December’s excellent and very successful Oxford Indie Book Fair I had the pleasure of meeting Colin Wade, Steve Lunn and others of Oxford Independent Authors (OxIA), a newly formed group focused on marketing, promoting and raising the profiles of writers in the Oxford area. Their enthusiasm convinced me to throw in my lot with this merry band of active writers.

In May I attended my first OxIA event, HeadLitFest in Headington, Oxford. Both the weather and the mood were sunny, and the lemon drizzle cake some of the best I’ve tasted. There I bumped into some familiar faces: the authors Peter Tickler and Steve Sheppard; as well as meeting other OxIA members for the first time. I was out again with OxIA for the Risinghurst Fete in June, spending an enjoyable day talking about and selling books, eating yet more cake and soaking up the village atmosphere of a summer fair. I’ll attach a selection of pictures below.

It’s hard these days making your voice heard above the clamour of the big five publishers and their celebrity clients. Associations like OxIA, where writers join forces and pool their collective talents, help increase the volume of the noise we can make. All power to them! More profile-raising OxIA events are planned throughout the year.

Enough of the marketing! What about the books? A Novel Solution (published in June 2024, almost exactly a year ago. Happy Birthday ANS!) and Note to Boy (reissued this April) have been making their presence felt. Note to Boy was seen in Pimlico library in London, and A Novel Solution was featured in the Round & About magazine (see below).

What’s next? My third comedy, But Mostly Mabel, is nearing the final stages before submission to the publisher. This is a nail-shredding time for any writer. Will they like it? What edits will they ask for? Just generally, ‘Eeeek!’ I’ll keep you posted on how Mabel fares.

Finally, I’m taking a couple of months off over the summer months to recharge and rethink. Hope to be back again around September. Have a wonderful summer!

Welcome back! Good to see you again

Eloise and Bradley are back. Hold onto your cameroons, Bradley and Eloise have returned, sporting a bright, new look.

Much to my delight, my humorous novel, Note to Boy, is being reissued today, 8 April. Note to Boy has been described as a ‘hilarious and uplifting page turner’ and its humour as ‘warm and knowing.’

The novel, which won a Pencraft award for humour, tells of the mayhem that follows when the worlds of a once-famous fashion guru and a downtrodden teenager collide. 

All this has happened, thanks to my lovely publisher, SRL Publishing. So, look out for new-look Note to Boy wherever you buy your books.

Note to Boy, so funny they issued it twice.

Here’s what readers are saying:

“an engaging, funny, and poignant read”

“a charming, hilarious story”

“heart-warming, darkly comedic”

“plenty of humour, and multiple reveals for the reader to enjoy”

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Note-Boy-hilarious-uplifting-turner-ebook/dp/B0DLBH5Q2G?ref

Note to Boy gets a smart new look

I’m thrilled to announce that Note to Boy, my ‘hilarious and heart-warming novel’ (the publisher’s words, not mine!) is now out on pre-order with a smart, new cover.

Note to Boy follows an unlikely duo of faded fashionista, Eloise, and glum teenager, Bradley, as the two write her racy 1960s memoirs.

Why do people make such a fuss about pre-orders? They’re important as a way of alerting booksellers and readers to what’s coming and getting their attention. And booksellers use the quantity of pre-orders as an early indicator of how popular a book is likely to be. Pre-orders inspire confidence and can mean that retailers increase their orders. So if you’re thinking of buying a book that’s not yet published, don’t delay. Preorder it and give the book a boost.

If you enjoyed A Novel Solution, you’ll love Note to Boy! Just take a peek at its blushingly good reviews.

And here’s a sneaky peek at the new design. Smart eh?

An Elemental Launch and a Library Talk

Thursday, September 26th was an exciting day for me. Not only was I giving a library talk for the good folk of Abingdon about my latest book, A Novel Solution but, in a happy coincidence, it was the day my short story, We’ve Got Chemistry, was published in the latest Breakthrough Books anthology, Elemental.

There was a good turn-out for the library talk, perhaps due to a pause in the incessant rain, and the offer of a glass of wine to help things along. The audience was lively, listening and laughing in all the right places and, at the end, asking intriguing questions that got discussions going, and buying books. I really enjoyed myself, and hope they did too.

Big thanks to to Jessica and Sarah at Abingdon Library for inviting me and for making the evening run so smoothly.

I’ll post some pictures of the event at the end of this.

As I said, the anthology, Elemental, the third in the series by Breakthrough Books was published on Thursday this week. It features a collection of short stories by different authors, each giving their own take on the theme. Imaginative, ecclectic or amusing, there’s something for everyone here. My short story, We’ve Got Chemistry, imagines what it would be like to be a teenager going on a date with a young wizard. It conjures up a literary cauldron that mixes alchemy with particle physics in, I hope, an amusing fashion.

Elemental and A Novel Solution are both available from good bookshops and the usual places.

A Novel Solution is ‘One to watch’!

Thrilled to discover that, not yet out a month, and already A Novel Solution is grabbing attention.

Dumbstruck to find that The Bookseller magazine, no less – the publication read by publishers, retailers, agents and libraries – has singled it out as ‘One to watch’, praising the ‘warm, knowing humour of Clark’s clever second novel.’ Swoon-worthy praise indeed!

And these are some of the reviews that readers have kindly posted. My thanks to all who took the time to express their views. Please keep them coming. Writers love to hear from their readers:

*

‘It takes quite some skill to not only write humour (with a touch of pathos) but also to write something that becomes such an ‘easy reading’ experience. More that that, something in which the reader can immediately ‘view’ – even hear – the characters and plot coming to life. Sue Clark achieves all this and more.

A Novel Solution (great title!) is an intriguing romp through one woman’s mid-life crisis and her highly creative – if often disastrous – attempts to revive her fortunes.’ – Kindle customer

*

‘I had high hopes of this book. After all I’d really enjoyed Sue Clark’s first novel ‘Note to Boy’… Well, I was NOT disappointed… This is comic crime fiction, the plot is well-handled and I am very much loath to spoil any of the jokes. Suffice to say that many are aimed at writers, would be and published, self- or otherwise.

‘Much funnier than any of the tall bloke with the glasses’s books, this little wonder has more in common with Horowitz’s Magpie Murders than those.’ – Ewan

*

‘This book was so quintessentially English and eccentric, it was a rip-roaring read! Part mid-life angst, part thriller/mystery, all entertainment… The cynical humour that Sue Clark uses throughout the book hits all the right notes, the quick wit of Trish and the pithy put-downs of Amanda had me giggling to myself as I read it.

‘This book does have a serious message within its laughs – as we age, women find it difficult to see their worth and to define their place in a world that is hell-bent on making them more and more invisible. The world should take heed from this book and ignore women ‘of a certain age’ at its peril!’ – Kerry Young

*

‘I tore through this book. A funny and satirical read about two middle-aged women Trish and Amanda, the former a wannabe writer with a failed marriage, and the latter, a supposed “success” in the literary world, A Novel Solution highlights the plight of Trish as she takes “writing classes” from Amanda to gain some skills to reinvent herself. The characters/voices are well-developed and likeable, including the builder and a metaphysical, surrealish Ivy character too.’ – Ivy Ngeow

Publication day!

It’s here. The day has come and I am beside myself with excitement! A Novel Solution is published today.

Today (19th March) sees the publication of A Novel Solution. First to hit the bookshops is the hardback version – please contact me if you’d like me to sign your copy. I’d be delighted. The e-book is also out today. The paperback is available everywhere to preorder and will reach your hot little hands in June, just in time for that holiday read.

Like my previous comic fiction, Note to Boy (also still available, folks), A Novel Solution combines heart and humour. It’s published by the lovely SRL Publishing.

‘Funny and touching. A Novel Solution is an engaging and uplifting story of a woman’s struggle to sort her life out.’

If you need me, I’ll be celebrating!

The Many Hats of the Modern Novelist

Writing a novel is difficult and demanding, and many fall by the wayside. It’s tough but it’s a process with a clearcut and straightforward goal, right? An obvious beginning and end.

You have an idea. You labour to transfer it onto the page and fashion it into a book – let’s call it My Debut Tome. You struggle to find an agent, publisher – anyone! – who will help you get it out to readers. Eventually you succeed and MDT is published. You do a bit of publicity, heave a sigh of relief, and reward yourself with some time away from the keyboard.

Except, it’s not like that. Not at all. Let me tell you about the multiple literary hats I am currently wearing. My Tome Number Two – that is to say, the comic fiction A Novel Solution – is out in just under three weeks in March. Naturally I – along with my publisher SRL – am pulling out all the stops to get the title in front of as many readers, reviewers and booksellers as possible. That has to be my priority. My biggest bonnet, you could say.

However, at the same time, I can’t neglect My Debut Tome – that is, Note to Boy – since the launch of the new novel offers a great opportunity to promote my first, and find a fresh audience for it. Another hat.

However, qui n’avance pas, recule, as the French say. Those who don’t go forward, fall back. I need to plan ahead, and balance another titfer on top of the other two.                 

As every writer I know finds, before the ink is dry on the last book, people are asking ‘What are you working on now?’ Plus writing is an addiction. Without a text to tinker with, I’m like a vaper craving their next fix, and probably as grumpy. So, I am about 75% through drafting Tome Number Three and hoping to have it in good shape for submission later this year. We’re up to three hats.

However, as you may have noticed, I am also involved in a project with Breakthrough Books to publish short story anthologies. Two volumes have been produced already; the well received and reviewed Taking Liberties and Order & Chaos, both of which include stories from me as well as other established writers. Ideas for short stories are constantly bubbling in my brain, demanding attention. I need to work on them, ready if the call should come for a third anthology. Four hats.                              

All this is in addition to marketing and social media activities, and, if I’m lucky, finding time to read other writers’ books. By now the pile of hats is in danger of toppling.                    

Being a novelist, straightforward and clearcut? I should coco.                                                                                                                           

Out in March. Grab your copy.

Fiction fun in Oxford

It’s free, it’s fun and it’s (mostly) fiction.

The Oxford Indie Book Fair (OxIB) is about to welcome one and all to another day of buying, selling and talking books. This year’s fair promises to be bigger and better than ever before and takes place in Oxford’s historic Examination Rooms on Sunday 26th November.

I’ll be bringing along my comic fiction, Note to Boy, and introducing my latest humorous book, A Novel Solution, which is available to pre-order. Keeping me company will be my very good writer chums, Jason Cobley and Eamon Somers. As well as our own books, we’ll be showcasing the short story anthologies, Taking Liberties and the newly released bestseller, Order & Chaos, which the three of us, along with other established writers, have contributed to.

So, there’ll be lots to see and talk about. And buy of course! Come along, meet the authors, publishers, booksellers and other professionals who make books happen, have some wonderful conversations and find your next great read. Entry is free. See you there!

Spring cleaning

The roses are in full bloom. The sun is shining. And young and older person’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of … spring cleaning. Not the house! Of course not! Rather than going to the bother of dusting the cobwebs from the vacuum cleaner and trying to locate the polish, I decided to spring clean my website instead. That is, ask the lovely Jason* to give it a bit of a facelift.

The result is the pages as you see them now. In addition to more up-to-date pictures (and, sadly, my more up-to-date wrinkles!) and information on my comic novel Note to Boy, two new projects have been added: Taking Liberties, the short story anthology I contributed to, which is just out; and A Novel Solution, the comic fiction I am currently editing with the publisher, to be released in early 2024.

Hope you like the bright new look.

*Jason Harvey of Somefolk did all the hard work.