Portobello Book Blog

I’m very pleased to welcome TA Williams back to blog. He has visited before and you can read his previous post here and my review of his What Happens in Cornwall here. His latest book, Chasing Shadows, is a departure from his previous books as it is partly a historical novel. It was published as an e-book on 16th January and is currently only £1.99 for a Kindle copy which you can order here: Chasing Shadows

A day in the life of TA Williams

Since I gave up the day job, I find myself commanded by the sun. By this I mean that my body responds to the light of dawn, so in winter I probably don’t get up until seven thirty or eight o’clock, while in summer I’m often up and about at six. So, with that caveat, here’s what one of my “typical” days might look like.

0700    Get up, shave, shower, clean teeth. Check face in mirror, note appearance of even more wrinkles and fewer strands of hair. Sigh. Head for the kitchen.

0800    Breakfast (tea, bread and jam) in front of the TV, watching the news and feeling depressed at man’s stupidity and cruelty towards fellow man. I should also say that my wife is beside me at this stage, but neither of us are great conversationalists until at least mid morning.

0900    Head for my study. I always write in the same place, on a desktop PC. I also have an iPad for Social Media and my first task is to check Twitter and Facebook. As an old man, it has been an amazing baptism of fire over the past three years since my first book was published. Before then I had no experience of this kind of thing. Now it’s (almost) second nature to check tweets, thank retweeters and comment on Facebook posts.

0930    First of numerous (do I hear you say “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder” by any chance) trips to Novelrank throughout the day to see which of my books are selling. I also check prices as Harper Collins have a habit of raising/lowering prices without telling me.

Rest of the morning is normally spent at the computer either writing a new book or making editorial changes to a forthcoming title as stipulated by my editor. This usually involves considerable invective thrown at the screen along the lines of, “Why the *$%& does she want me to change that?” or, “For %&£$’s sake that’s £$&*ing crazy”. etc etc.

1300    Lunch (normally a sandwich and some fruit) with my wife. We have normally managed to start talking by this time.

1400-1600       Depending on the time of year and the weather, either a bike ride or a walk. My favourite walk is through the Devon lanes to the seaside town of Exmouth and then home on the bus. I love that bus ride. I feel so young! At 67 I bet I’m ten years younger than anybody on there, apart from the driver.

Rest of the afternoon back at the iPad and computer writing and swearing at all the mistakes I make. I never learned to type and barely manage it with two fingers (that’s one on each hand) and I make a whole heap of mistakes. NB by this time you will have realised that, in my case, profuse cursing is an integral part of the creative process. I could never go to a café and write. I’d be thrown out within minutes.

1800    The most important moment of the day… The Simpsons. I am totally hooked on the Simpsons and always record it if I’m going out. Sad, eh?

1900    Dinner and conversation with my wife, normally along the lines of,

Still having trouble with those edits?

Yes, I ££%*ing well am.

And the new book? How’s it coming along?

Fine, but I expect my editor will rip it apart when she reads it…

I rarely work in the evening and reserve that for a bit more hopping about on social media and reading. My new year’s resolution for 2017 is to read more.

2300    Clean teeth. Go to bed. Drift off to sleep.

2330    Suddenly work out how the heroine’s internal conflict can be resolved. Get up, go through to study and write on a post-it (I need to do that or, by the next morning, I will probably have forgotten.

Midnight         Sleep

From the back of the book

Amy had it all – money, brains and beauty. And then the accident happened.

The Present Day: Left blind and without her family, Amy feels she needs to get away. On a trip along the Camino, she is accompanied by the mysterious and troubled Luke. Having been set up to help Amy by a mutual friend, Luke finds he is also running from his past…

1314: A Templar Knight, Luc, is also running. He meets the wife of a former comrade, now blinded in a terrifying attack: Aimee. Taking her under his wing, they must journey together through a dangerous world.

As they travel through the stunning scenery of Northern Spain, this couple, so very like Luke and Amy, emerge from the shadows of time carrying a treasure of inestimable value.

Chasing Shadows is an enchanting novel about the search for happiness, fulfilment… and love.