Not here, but Still There

I'm now blogging over at my website (don't run away!  I'm not! Honest!) come and visit

http://www.megantaylor.info/category/blog/

x

At Nottingham Uni...

Reading and chatting writing with marvellous Alison Moore at Nottingham University in May

Good (ghosts) things

So, in the run up to the launch, plenty of great stuff happening to be extremely grateful for...

First Amazon review!! (because, you know, already released on Kindle folks)

Scarily honest Scottish Gothic rural myth, 28 Mar 2012

By

newnatbooks

This review is from: The Lives of Ghosts (Paperback)

Human forms loom out of the mist in Megan Taylor's evocative tale of loss and its dreamy nightmare consequences. Imagine a gloomy lochside house, a grinding car and a rattling train combined with imagery as sharp as a fisherman's fly and as earthy as the mud on his boots. The impossible distance between child and adult provides difficult reading for parents but stay with it and the percentage left on the eReader dwindles like the fuel gauge on a sports car.The Lives of Ghosts Megan's acrobatic trapeze act of multiple metaphor is infectious and brings about an unlucky sequence of events to blowtorch the reader's tongue and twist something deep inside the heart. Characters stumble about wildly out of control. Thank goodness real life isn't like this. It is? Help me someone


:-) haha! How fab is that? I am acrobatic! I am a blowtorch! Who knew?
Thank you so very very much
& 5 stars (which always makes me think about a certain ancient school disco, but less said about that the better)

And a wee mention of my Ghosts in the Guardian (!) for a piece about magnificent MMU

yay!

And in addition to the NWS launch, a reading alongside the frighteningly talented Alison Moore at Nottingham University - more on that to come...

Creative Nottingham

I've been blogging for the very kind, supportive and important folk at Creative Nottingham, about Ghosts and about my writing, and a little of what this fine city means to me...

http://www.creativenottingham.com/art-craft/literature/the-lives-of-ghosts-megan-taylor/

99 Reasons Why

I'm happily shooing aside my book news (off you go Ghosts, back to the loch house with you for a wee while longer) to proudly join so many other bloggers in celebrating the release of 99 Reasons Why by Caroline Smailes.

This controversial! experimental! groundbreaking! but more importantly, simply brilliant new novel provides the reader (aside from an excellent read) with the possibility of multiple endings, and today, as the book is launched, I'm honoured to host one of them right here...

99: the reason why I was only worth ninety-nine quid

It’s been six days since the little girl in the pink coat went missing and me Uncle Phil’s in me bedroom.

We’ve been watching the little girl in the pink coat’s mam on the news. She was appealing to the public for witnesses.

‘Didn’t realise she had a mam,’ I says, looking at me telly.

‘Everyone’s got a mam, pet,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

‘She sold her story to The Sun,’ I says, looking at me telly.

‘Got a few quid,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

I nod.

‘She wanted nowt to do with that bairn before all this,’ me Uncle Phil says, looking at me telly.

‘Do you know where she is?’ I asks me Uncle Phil.

‘Belle?’ me Uncle Phil asks me.

I nod.

‘She’s safe,’ me Uncle Phil says to me. ‘Your mam’s keeping an eye on her.’

‘Can I be her mam?’ I asks me Uncle Phil.

‘No, pet, you’re a filthy whore,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

I nod.

‘Can you make Andy Douglas come back, Uncle Phil?’ I asks me Uncle Phil.

Me Uncle Phil shakes his head.

‘I love him,’ I tell me Uncle Phil.

‘Andy Douglas is your brother, pet. You didn’t seriously think Princess Di was your mam, did you?’ me Uncle Phil asks me.

I nod.

‘You’re a cradle snatcher just like your mam,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

I nod.

‘Your mam miscarried when she found out I’d been banging Betty Douglas. Betty was expecting you,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

I don’t speak.

‘When you was born, your mam went mad and I ended up buying you from Betty Douglas for ninety-nine quid,’ me Uncle Phil says.

‘Ninety-nine quid?’ I asks me Uncle Phil.

‘I paid a hundred but got a quid change for some chips for your mam and dad’s tea,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

‘You bought me?’ I asks me Uncle Phil.

I’m a little bit sick in me mouth.

‘It was the right thing to do,’ me Uncle Phil says to me. ‘I got Betty Douglas pregnant straight away with Andy.’

‘I’m pregnant,’ I says to me Uncle Phil. ‘I’m pregnant with me brother’s baby,’ I says, and then I throws up on me purple carpet.

‘You’re a filthy whore,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

‘What am I going to do?’ I asks me Uncle Phil.

‘You’re going to have the baby,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

‘Have me brother’s baby?’ I asks me Uncle Phil.

‘Then I’m giving it to Betty Douglas to bring up,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

‘You what?’ I says to me Uncle Phil.

‘It’s the right thing to do,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

‘I can’t—’ I says to me Uncle Phil.

‘It’s either that or I’ll make you disappear,’ me Uncle Phil says to me.

I don’t speak.

I’m thinking, they’re all a bunch of nutters.

99 Reasons Why is available in Kindle and IBooks editions -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/99-Reasons-Why-ebook/dp/B006KWAI2W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1331652988&sr=1-1

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/99-reasons-why/id510349347?mt=11

What are you waiting for? You know you're intrigued.

(and there are way more than 99 reasons to love Caroline)

Kindles and Kindness

So, there was talk of The Lives of Ghosts being released a little earlier exclusively for Kindle - and lo and behold, it has already happened!

The Kindle edition of my third novel is available right now, right here -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Lives-of-Ghosts-ebook/dp/B007GQ0GXW/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1330940103&sr=1-4

Blimey, Amazon can be speedy, and publishers even speedier. And wonderful (thank you Weathervane Press!) I also recieved a package of print copies on Friday morning. My book - my actual book - went for a long, damp park walk and think with me on Saturday morning. Nevertheless, I remain in a daze, am immensely proud and grateful, but still can't quite fully believe it truly exists (perhaps the reality will sink in when I take it out on the town for whisky?) I'm a very lucky woman.

And further kindness - the incredibly talented and prolific Caroline Smailes took time out of her incredibly awesome book busy-ness (she has her latest 99 Reasons Why and Freaks both due for release this month) to read my Ghosts. This is what she said:

'Stunning, absolutely stunning, this chilling tale is woven with sparingly eloquent prose. It is fearless, it is believable, it is captivating. I am left with an ache. I understand human suffering just that little bit more.'

I really can't tell you what this means to me. Overwhelmed.

Thank you X

3...2...1...LAUNCH!

Hello.

I have confirmation about my Ghosts launch.

From 7.30, April 26th, at Nottingham Writers’ Studio

Apart from the regular wonderful crew, NWS will be open to non-members for the evening (EVERYBODY welcome!), although please get in touch if you’d like to come along so that I can pretend I can do maths and tell people about numbers. Or something.

(and aside from anything else, how much wine to accrue? And not just for me – so who knows??)

Megan xx

Workshops and Wonders

Firstly, I’m looking forward to running a workshop about Openings and Images with Lee Rosy’s fabulous writing group in Nottingham next Wednesday. We’ll be playing with hooks and pictures – in particular, I might be hijacking (/honouring) some stunning Gregg Crewdson prints for inspiration. Shiveringly brilliant images such as this...

If you would like to find out more about Writing at Rosy’s, please investigate here –
http://writingatrosys.wordpress.com/

And also!

Wondrous things reeling along with my Ghosts. There’s a press release. There’s a Facebook page (possibly!). There’s pre-ordering available (already!) on Amazon and at the Weathervane Press bookstore. There’s me going woah! But mainly going wow!!

(and it seems there might be a general over-enthusiasm about !exclamation! marks!! too)

Thank you tons for all the support already. You’re great, you are.
Xxxxxxx
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
x

Coming Soon...

Out 26th April 2012

A New Year... A New Novel

What’s that? I hear you cry (or perhaps wonder vaguely)

Could it be that the story I’ve been muttering on about for ages is to be released in a matter of months?

That I’ve just signed a publishing contract with wonderful Weathervane and my Ghosts will finally be unleashed?

Yes, yes.

Oh, yes

More (professional – well, professional-ish, is that even a word? It is now!) details to follow...

Turning Pages at She Writes

I'm guest-blogging over here -

http://www.shewrites.com/profiles/blogs/turning-pages-by-megan-taylor

talking about 2011 becoming 2012 (and quite clearly not really knowing what I'm talking about at all) but hugest of thanks to Fiona Robyn and She Writes for letting me babble.