Guest spot - Cathy Shuter - Talking To Children About Death And Dying

Many writers touch on ‘big themes’ in their fiction – life, death, loss, etc. – but it’s another thing entirely to write about them without characters to hide behind. Cathy Shuter has done just that with her latest book: 100 Free Ways To Happier Days! 'Talking To Children About Death And Dying.' I caught up with her in cyberspace to talk about her work.

Hi Cathy, thanks for joining me. I can see from your Amazon page that your latest book is part of a wider series. What prompted you to write specifically about death and dying for children?

I work with children and young people in my role as a Wellbeing Caseworker. Quite a number of them have experienced relatives and friends being very ill and dying. They find that their parents and carers avoid talking to them about what is happening and this often leads to them feeling anxious and afraid. 

Talking to parents and carers revealed that many know they really should talk to their children when their loved ones are seriously ill but they don’t know how to bring the subject up. They want to shield their children from being upset.

I thought that a book offering tips on how to tackle this subject would be useful. 

Did you approach writing this book in a similar way to your previous works?

Yes. My books offer 100 free or very inexpensive tips that people can use to help them tackle a variety of issues. Other themes my books have covered include: coping with anxiety, how to approach Menopause, how to feel happier working in schools, and how to deal with transition to college from school. 

Each book is designed to be quick and easy to read. People can try the tips that appeal to them and skip the ones that don’t. 

Were there any particular challenges in creating this book?

One challenge was making the tips relevant to all ages and stages of development. Children develop at different rates so I wanted to ensure that the tips would be helpful to all ages. 

What are your goals for 100 Free Ways To Happier Days! 'Talking To Children About Death And Dying'?

When I wrote the book, I wanted my writing to be accessible, quick to read and the ideas easy to apply. My goal has been to create a book that is helpful to as many parents and carers as possible. I have produced it as cheaply as I can so that cost is not a barrier. 

Were there any influences or defining experiences that made you want to become a writer?

I love reading personal development books and have learnt a lot from them so I wanted to share what I have learnt with others. I have an informal writing style that can appeal to people that don’t usually read personal development books. 

What have been your highs and lows in independent publishing?

For me, publishing my own books is thrilling. I love that a book can be created just from ideas that pop into my head. The thoughts and ideas get translated into sentences that I type using my laptop and the book is drafted. If someone buys my book it gets printed and sent out. My thoughts have become a thing!

The lows are connected with marketing. I am not very good at selling myself! 

Reading your Amazon page I get a sense of a spiritual core or impetus to your work. Could you shed any light on that?

Yes, I would consider myself to be a spiritual person. I believe we are all connected and on this planet to learn from and help one another. My books are based around that core belief. 

You’ve written two books that have a connection to Autism Spectrum Disorder. What would you most like people to understand about ASD?

I would like people to understand that no two people with ASD are the same. Each individual has their own unique challenges but they also have their own unique gifts to share with the world. 

How important is a connection to Nature for you as a person and as a writer?

I find being in Nature very grounding. When I walk the dogs in a wood, I feel incredibly peaceful. I like wild places such as The New Forest. I believe that we all benefit from visiting wild places. 

Many of my books touch upon the importance of using our senses, living in the moment and surrounding ourselves with Nature as often as possible. 

What book are you working on at the moment?

I am working on another ‘100 Free Ways To Happier Days’ type book. This one is intended to help children and young people to feel safe and benefit from being online.

Where can we find out more about you and your writing? 

My Trusty Life Coaching Facebook page features my writing and has some Facebook Live videos that talk about them:

https://www.facebook.com/Trusty-Life-Coaching-614780095261862/

I also have a page called ‘Reading And Writing About Life’ that features all things book related:

https://www.facebook.com/readingandwritingaboutlife/

I have a blog that includes my Cloud Thoughts Blog. This has links to all my writing to date:

http://my-cloud-thoughts.blogspot.com/

All my books can be found here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cathy-Shuter/e/B071D3PZBK  

What books and authors have inspired you?

The first personal development book I read inspired me so much. It was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I find Sonia Choquette’s books inspiring too. The Book Of Joy by the 14^thDalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu stopped me in my tracks. It is simply beautiful. 

One year on

It's tempting to see the world of publication - and self-publicaton especially - as purely a numbers game. That makes for a simple equation: 'n' sales = 'n' success. Likewise, using that logic, small sales = small success. But is that always the case?

It's a little over a year now since I took the plunge and self-published Covenant, my fantasy, in ebook and paperback. I was always upfront with others and myself that it was never just about the money. That didn't even register on my top five list:
1. Get Covenant out there.
2. Get reviews.
3. See whether readers got the essence of Covenant, given its mystical and magical heart.
4. Learn about marketing (another form of mysticism and magic, as far as I was concerned), and what works for a book like mine.
5. Go into a bookshop and see Covenant on the shelf.

Okay then, maybe sales / money was hovering around six or seven.

So how did I get on and what have I learned?

1. Covenant is out there and I'm very proud of it. Both the ebook and the paperback versions benefited enormously from my having supportive friends with technical expertise of, on the one hand, formatting ebooks and negotiating the labyrinthine (to me) process of setting everything up on Lightning Source, and, on the other, turning a word doc into an actual book file. I also discovered that one more proofread is worth its way in gold (let me know how you do that). It's all fixed now, but early purchasers may find those few typos make it a collector's item in the years to come!
2. I have a clutch of reviews by people who clearly appreciate what Covenant is about. I mean the deeper stuff - the story behind the story. I can always use more though - just in case anyone is still holding back.
3. Some readers loved Covenant and wanted to discuss it with me. That was fun. Others found it too long and wordy (as opposed to numbery, which only applied to the top right of the page header). Them's the breaks, as they say.
4. What I learned about marketing and sales may be specific to me, but I'm the caring, sharing type:
a) Chain and independent bookshops are not that interested in self-published novels. You can chat for a few minutes, leave a paperback and an ebook on a disc, shake on it and still never hear from them again. They have a business to run and if you can't demonstrate the profitability of your book - or you get your timing wrong - you'd best chalk it up to experience.
b) Giveaways on Kindle help spread the word, but don't hound your Twitter followers with endless (if occasionally witty or ingenious) messages about your opus. Also, freebies do not automatically lead to reviews of any persuasion. I gave away about 300 copies and received a single review - but thanks anyway.
5. I regret to report that I'm still waiting to see Covenant on a shelf in a bookshop. I could sneak one in for effect and have someone take a photo of a delighted me, but that would just be cheating. 

So is that the end of the story then?
Not at all.

I know that Covenant will be a grower and I know that because my portfolio of books is growing. When I read about someone recently who'd written 20 books, I was envious of their productivity. And then I counted up my own books - published and unpublished, novels and others - and it totalled 13. Lucky for some. 

So, although at the moment Covenant is my only full-length novel in print and digitised, it won't be the last. And of course, at some point, there'll be the sequel.

I also know that tribe is really important and I struggled to find the ideal readership for Covenant. I didn't want fantasy readers to try it and find it too esoteric or occult, and I worried that readers of occult books would find it too lightweight to be considered a credible work on the subject.

To some extent I still have that argument in my head. I mean, is Covenant a mystical fantasy, an epic quest, a set of pathworkings, a spiritual allegory, or a book about magic?

The truth is that it's all of those things, and more. You see, that's the thing about a book - it's not just the characters that have lives of their own! It's true of any form of artwork: it is what it is. If you like it, that's genuinely brilliant for the creator. And if you don't, it's a bummer all round, so you'd best move on and find something else more to your liking.

However, if you do enjoy fantasy quests interspersed with ideas about reincarnation, the tarot, pathworkings, mythology, archetypes, magic, mysticism, allegory, the Western Mystery Tradition and the occult, Covenant could be just the thing. That also applies if you have a space in your bookshop!

You can purchase Covenant by clicking on the link: viewBook.at/Covenant 

Feedback Deciphered

By any other name...

For those who think sequentially, feel free to consider this post a direct descendant of something I put on Strictly Writing, not so long ago, just for fun.

Rejection can be a bitter pill to take, not least because it isn't always clear what to do next. Oh, sure, you can dive into the Handbook or the Yearbook, but have you ever received a note back from an agent or publisher and wondered exactly what they're trying to say?

Grab a comforting drink and find yourself a comfy space - it's time to break the code...

1. Not one for me this time (because hell hasn't frozen over and we want to stay solvent).

2. Your work shows great promise, however. (Many of the words are spelt correctly and appear in the right order. Well done, you.)

3. Unfortunately I'm unable to give you any feedback (because it's difficult to laugh this much and type at the same time).

4. Our schedule is full for the next year (with real books). (And the year after that I'll do whatever it takes...)

5. However, I'd be interested in seeing your next book. (Go away for a year or so and try to forget about me.)

6. We have a special scheme for new authors. (Do you have any money? We could really use a sponsor.)

7. It's an unusual premise. (Your ideas scare me, or confuse me, or revolt me.)

8. Unfortunately we've recently taken on something similar (only with better ideas and better execution).

9. After careful consideration...(we let the intern decide).

10. It still needs some work. (You've cut corners and it shows.)

11. I hope you won't feel too disappointed by this letter. (I have no concept of how important this is to you.)

12. I wish you every success in finding the right agent or publisher. (Next!)

13. The story failed to come alive on the page. (I want magical pages that sing and dance.)

14. There was insufficient narrative tension and the characterisation wasn't fully realised. (I have an MA and you can't disprove my opinions.)

15. It's not our policy to reconsider previously rejected material. (You again? You may be desperate, but we're not.)

16. This is only my opinion and you may find another agent or publisher who sees your book differently. (I didn't like it - end of story. Someone else might dislike it less.)

About the author
Derek Thompson is a humorist and purveyor of words. Some people mistake that for being an embittered cynic, which is a shame. Especially if they are potential clients. However, if his brand of wit doesn't put you off and you need a writer, drop him a line - he wants to buy more shiny things.

Creativity, illness and The Silent Hills

A recent piece on the BBC website by Health report Michelle Roberts, caught my attention. Headlined 'Creative minds mimic schizophrenia', the article cited a conclusion drawn by scientists at Sweden's Karolinska Institute.

In essence, brain scans of highly creative people and those who suffer from schizophrenia show striking similarities.

You can read the BBC piece here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/10154775.stm

We are, of course, used to the notion of the tortured genius, and it may be worth noting that a popular creative writing technique is to just close our eyes and listen to 'the voice within'. I have used this approach to good effect, on occasion, when a clear voice will come through and tell its story. In my opinion, when this does work, the stories themselves have a different quality and arrive whole, with little plot or narrative editing required.

I used to travel regularly between the West Country and London; so regularly that I'd trained myself to see travelling time as writing time. One time, I looked at the cover of a train mag and saw a tiny photo of green fields. From there, I hopped from Green Hills to Silent Hills. Then I closed my eyes and listened for that elusive voice from the depths of my imagination. I didn't stop to question what was coming or from where it had been influenced, I just waited and listened, as my pen hovered.

The Silent Hills arrived over the course of the journey, in free flow. The protagonist's voice was there from the start and my only real effort lay in keeping pace with him and writing down his words. When we pulled into Paddington, I ran to the Underground so I could sit down again and pick up the thread.

The story was published in Issue 2 of the Black Market Review. The Silent Hills was subsequently published as an ebook by Musa Publishing.