When you’re next in your local library, can you please ask them if they could order The Portal Between into stock?
They should be able to and most libraries don’t charge for this service, or don’t charge much so it’s not like going out to buy a book! Of course, I’d been even more pleased if you all went out to your local WHSmith, or other bookstore, and ordered it there instead.
Details for ordering:
Title: The Portal Between
Author: Sarah Barnard
ISBN: 978-0-9556887-0-6
Thanks!
Some of the more observant of you might have noticed that the Portal Sundered progress tracker has dropped about 6,000 words.
I know, I know, I’m meant to be adding to it not using the delete button. But I’d written an ending and was working towards that, and it was starting to stifle me a bit. So I cut it into a separate document and I’m not sure if it’ll be the end of this book or maybe the start of another one.
It’s a powerfully written, emotional chapter and it’ll get used somewhere, you’ll get to read it one day don’t worry. I’m just not sure when.
This is all because Lily is taking over again, as is a new character, so you can blame them!
Blimey, The Portal Between has appeared on Tesco.com.
Oooh, and Books-a-Million, and WHSmith, and the Book Depository, and Blackwells.
Not on Asda, Barnes & Noble or Waterstones yet and I haven’t found it anywhere else, but I’ll keep checking and seeing how far it’s got.
This afternoon The Portal Between popped up on Amazon.co.uk, which is the Big thing I’ve been waiting for. I’m all giddy and excited.
It needs a couple of days to settle in the search doodads on there and then the buy it/add to cart buttons will appear too. Then I’ll be able to put my name into the search box and it’ll find me - it’s that direct link only at the moment, but still very exciting.
Search inside has popped up on The Portal Between’s listing on Amazon.com.
I do hope that means it won’t be long before I can tell you all about the book turning up on amazon.co.uk very very soon. No sign as of five minutes ago.
The Portal Between’s listing on Amazon.com is getting better and better.
Now it has a cover image that comes up in the main search, it’s in the searches for Solstice, Equinox, Magic, and both title and author - which is so very exciting to see! It has the back cover blurb on there too.
Sam has been missing for two long years. Kate struggles on with her own children and Sam’s after Jack left her but she continues to believe that one day Sam will be back. It’s Hallowe’en, Samhain and it’s a dark moon. Abruptly in a flurry of mystery and magic, Sam is back and Kate’s already insecure world is torn apart as forces beyond her experience and understanding flood into her life.
The process for enabling the search inside facility has begun too. If you’re anything like me you’ll like to pick up a book in the library or in a shop and look at the cover, read the back and maybe open it and read a few paragraphs to see if you like the writing style. Search inside lets you do this, sort of, on Amazon.
I’m just waiting for it to pop up on Amazon.co.uk now so I can focus on marketing in the UK.
And working on the sequel, obviously. Can I have a cuppa and a slice of cake first?
I love this. The Portal Sundered has become organic, it’s like it’s writing itself, taking me on a journey and I’m not sure where I’m going!
Lily is back and on top form, being mysterious. Kate is bemused and Sam, well, Sam’s in trouble and she knows it. I have new characters emerging and doing the unexpected, things happening that are taking the plot on a side trip and I’m not sure if the ending I had in mind will happen now. Which is a shame because it’s a powerful piece of writing and it makes me all emotional when I read it back.
Oh and there are yurts, and cooking griddle scones on a pot bellied stove but not quite as much tea drinking ……..
I tried writing to a plan, to a formula, about 18 months ago (NaNo 2006) and although I did complete the 50,000 words and it wasn’t too bad, I hated the result and still do. It’s waffle, padding and far too bland. It’s a part of the Portal story that I needed to get down on paper (in a word doc) but I don’t think it will ever see the printed page. It’s dreadful. I get bored and skip parts, and I wrote it!
Clearly this is when I produce my better work, when I let it grow and almost just record the story as it unfolds.
There is a drawback though - The Portal Sundered is turning into a longer book so it’s going to take a while to write. Sorry. Watch the progress bar, I’m aiming for 100,000 words but it might go over a bit. I’ll post here and let you know when the creating part is done and I start editing, and when I want test readers (Indie, I have you on the list already!)
The Portal Between has appeared on Amazon.com.
Click here to be suitably impressed!
It’s not on Amazon.co.uk yet, that will take a few more days, and it hasn’t appeared on any of the other notable book sellers sites either, but it’s on the way now. I’ll keep you posted on news as it develops.
I know the writing is going well when things I write make me sit back and ask, “Why did you do that?” and “What?” (think David Tennant at the beginning of last years Dr Who Christmas special, the one with Kylie and the Titanic.)
Lily’s got her magic back. You didn’t know she lost it? Oh yes, it’s a long story - book 2 in fact, well a large part of it anyway but it’s back, in an unexpected way. So why isn’t she using it how I expect her to? I know, but she’s not saying. She is explaining a few things but she’s keeping more under her hat. Do you think she’s saving it for another book?
I love writing Lily, she does unexpected things and takes the story where *she* wants it to go.
I think I need a word count widget for The Portal Sundered in the sidebar here so you can see how I’m doing on this first, very rough, draft. Then at some point I’m going to need a couple of test readers for it too, any volunteers?
I’ve had a bit of writers block. It’s been there for ages, since Christmas really, probably before. It’s now unblocked and book two (still the Portal Sundered) is flowing nicely again. Lily is back on form, Kate is moving on and Sam is still in trouble……
But why was I blocked? I couldn’t work it out until I came across a thread on the Book Club forums. Join up if you like books, it’s a lovely friendly place. But the thread in question is the Featured author one, Tess Gerritsen. On page 3 there she talks about writers block being the writers subconscious mind telling them that there’s something wrong with the story. There’s something that needs to be thought about, resolved or looked at in a different way.
So I wrote something else for a while, but Lily kept popping into my head. This woman was invented as a child care option for Kate to go and rescue Sam, but she took over. She has a sister, at least one child and she commands the most incredible power but only rarely uses it. So now I have a couple of pages of Lily notes and the germ of a couple of ideas for more stories in the Portal series. A large part of my notes is a list of questions. Where was Lily born? Is she human? Who is Andrew’s father? Why did she leave that idyllic life over there? Why doesn’t she go back?
Now who wants to know more about Lily?
