Ashley Ryan draft 2 and GO WALES!!!!!

After a few hours on Sims 3 and after finding out a rise in the likes on my Facebook page I just thought I'd update my blog. The first draft of my first Ashley Ryan novel (jokingly titled “When Ashley met Yuji”) is finally finished I am not kidding. I have had lots of ideas floating around for stories for years but this is the first I have ever completed (“Opening Pandora's Box” doesn't count because it only sold one copy, it was self-published by me and to be honest, it was crap, although I have been wondering if this novel could be rewritten. I mean, if my main girl Enjay can rewrite her stuff and republish it, why can't I?).

Over the years, Ashley has gone through many changes. She was originally a girl named Gemma who was bitten by a werewolf and she was brought into this pack who teach her to accept herself for who she is. I had an idea on what happens when she found her attacker, she goes off the rails big time. However, the first novel only reached halfway before stopping. This is for two reasons:

a) I got to a point and didn't know how to progress. This was about 8-10 years ago and I am not as free and easy as I was.

b) with the success of Twi-shite and the Teen Wolf show coming out, I felt it was too cliched to use anything to do with werewolves or vampires. Of course, my idea with Ashley now is cliched because the idea of Grim Reaper style characters have emerged in the young adult market but it still could work. I swear, I panicked when I heard of Odd Thomas but I have never seen the film or read the book so I should be okay. Ironically, the idea of death was influenced by Graham Masterton's brilliant Jim Rook series.

I think when it comes to this first Ashley Ryan novel, my big regret is having two short stories set after this novel published whilst I was still struggling with this novel so I had to be contrived to keep it canon. To be honest, I couldn't decide on an antagonist which didn't help well. The backbone and key points of the story have never changed in four years. It was just hard to make it work.

To be honest, I think the first draft is shit but then most are. Any author who said they said they wrote a perfect first draft and got it published with any rewriting or editing is talking out of their backside. The problem with my first draft is the antagonist. This one can be a redeemable character and their powers are so great, well just say, my notes for the 2^nd draft involving this character led to a battle between reapers, monster cats, zombies and witches, this was far too big for Ashley. This novel is Ashley BEFORE she becomes a monster hunter so it cannot be so epic. It's a novel where she takes the first steps in finding out what she is and what she can do and the ideas involved this antagonist are too big for that. So I am cutting characters and trying the story with a different creature. The backbone of the story will be there though.

The ideas involving around this new change makes the story more bizarre and more of a mystery and hopefully will be not as fast paced.

In the meantime, I am job hunting with no luck to be honest. In my last blog, I mentioned I was short changed on the two of my last job. So imagine my shock when I checked my account on Saturday to find some extra money from the agency. I would like to point out I did not ring the agency at all. I was just going to leave it. After all, it was only by about £30-40. It's not much but now I can no longer be frustrated about it. I'm singing up for another agency tomorrow who claims their client “is very busy at the moment” and need new people asap. I'll believed it when I got the job.

My plan is to get the 2^nd draft done by 27^th July, the day before my birthday. With the way my brain is, that won't happen. Still hope springs eternal.

Signing off. TTFN xxxx

PS I even had plans for a story when Ashley meets her future detective partner, Michael which was jokingly called “When Ashley met Michael” but I think small flashbacks in this story would suffice.

PPS GO WALES!!! GET TO THE FINALS AND THEN BRING IT HOME FOR THE UK! YOU ARE OUR LAST HOPE!*

(*Just remember that line being said by the chief Thermian in “Galaxy Quest” and I dare you not to smile)