Tag Archives: jacey bedford

Researching Historical Fantasy

Posted on April 6, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

The first scene of Winterwood came to me almost fully formed. I knew there was a young woman paying a deathbed visit to her estranged mother and finding that there was still no forgiveness between them. I knew the young … Continue reading →

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What have I learned about writing?

Posted on March 23, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

Writing is a funny old business. Writers probably learn most by reading. You are what you read. Reading develops your ear for tight prose and snappy dialogue. Without even thinking about it, you learn about character and plot. The difficulty … Continue reading →

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Building a Universe – Law and Order in The Psi-Tech Novels

Posted on February 23, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

More about the universe in which the Psi-Tech books are set. The Monitors – Galactic PolicingFormed in 2391, the Monitors are an interstellar policing force largely concerned with providing law in the space-lanes and for those newly established colonies that … Continue reading →

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Building a Universe – Power Structures and Personal Stories.

Posted on January 12, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

When I started to write Empire of Dust I didn’t really know much about my setting. I didn’t build my universe first and then people is and dream up stories. The people came first, and along with them a predicament. … Continue reading →

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Looking Both Ways – 2020 and 2021

Posted on December 29, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

As a year, 2020 sucked bigtime. It was not fit for purpose. If I’d paid good money for it I’d want a refund. Sure, it wasn’t too bad in January and February. The weather was miserable so I mostly stayed … Continue reading →

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Scene 1 of Winterwood – author analysis

Posted on December 1, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

This was first written for Tiffani Angus’ blog. Tiff teaches creative writing and publishing. Story interspersed with my comments in bold italic. This first scene pretty much sprang into my mind fully formed. When I started to write I didn’t … Continue reading →

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Books etc. for Christmas

Posted on November 17, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

2020 has not been the year it was supposed to be. (Not fit for purpose. Can I get a refund?) I didn’t get anywhere as much writing done as I could have, but I read, and re-read an awful lot. … Continue reading →

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Space Opera

Posted on September 8, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

I write science fiction. I’m pretty sure my sub-genre is space opera. I’m happy with that definition. I grew up reading my dad’s Lensman books and the distinctive Gollancz yellow jacketed SF, however I wasn’t aware of any distinction between … Continue reading →

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Book Blogs

Posted on September 7, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

I’ve been posting writing-related blogs every other Tuesday, and I’ll continue to do that, but from now on I’m also going to do reading-related blogs on the intermediate Tuesdays. Yes, that’s right, this blog is going weekly. I blog everything … Continue reading →

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The Belgian Refugees of World War One

Posted on August 11, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

In 2017, when Alma Alexander asked if I’d be interested in writing a story for her refugees anthology, Children of A Different Sky, I jumped at the chance. There are so many refugee crises in the world that a writer … Continue reading →

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The Geography of Words

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

Writing science fiction and fantasy involves worldbuilding. Sometimes we take a concept, strip it right down to basics and invent a planet where the sea is pink, the sky is upside down and the dominant life form has seven tentacles … Continue reading →

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Rejectomancy

Posted on July 28, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

I don’t write much short fiction these days unless I get an invitation to contribute to an anthology. Mostly it’s because I’m too busy writing long fiction. My novels are published by DAW in the USA. I’ve just signed a … Continue reading →

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How Long is a Piece of String?

Posted on June 30, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

Chopping and Changing – Revisions, Cuts and Additions. How long should your story or novel be? A piece (story, novel or poem) should be as long as it needs to be – but that’s not always as long as you, … Continue reading →

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A Moment of Stuckness

Posted on May 19, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

Anyone who knows me will testify that I’m not usually stuck for words. It’s not that I don’t believe in writer’s block (obviously it is a thing) it’s that I’ve rarely experienced it. However, recently I had a period where … Continue reading →

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How I Got Here From There

Posted on May 5, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

First published on Gillian Polack’s blog in March 2020 for Women’s History Month It took me a long time to get here, possibly too long. If I’d known then, what I know now, it might not have taken so long… … Continue reading →

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Reading Writing and Rewriting

Posted on March 10, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

I was a voracious reader as a child, working my way steadily through the stock of my local public library children’s department. My literature of choice was anything with horses or ponies in it. Some of the books in my … Continue reading →

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Quantifying Success

Posted on February 18, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

A few years ago, Chuck Wendig posted to his Terrible Minds blog saying: ‘It Only Gets Harder Once You’re Published’. (http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2015/08/19/it-only-gets-harder-once-youre-published/) How true. That article really resonated with me. I wonder if authors ever get over the self-doubt thing. When … Continue reading →

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Updated Blog Archive: 2013 to 2019

Posted on January 14, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

  2013 Bated Breath Seven Short Men and a Waif Preparing for Milford Jumping in at the Shallow End Serendipitous Book Browsing Four days to go Three Book Deal Milford Writers Publishers Marketplace Announcement Editor Talk New Book Log on LJ: Karen Traviss: … Continue reading →

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Creativity and the laugh-track of my life

Posted on December 3, 2019 by Jacey Bedford

I signed up for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) at the beginning of November, a commitment to write 50,000 words in a month. It’s fewer than 2000 words a day, so it should be—if not easy—not all that difficult. I’ve … Continue reading →

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Retro-Blog of a Pre-published Writer from Autumn 2008

Posted on October 22, 2019 by Jacey Bedford

With hindsight this is really interesting. This (edited) collection of blog posts is from the early days of writing The Amber Crown, which then had the working title of Spider on the Web. (Sometimes the working title became That Bloody … Continue reading →

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Writers Injuring Characters

Posted on October 8, 2019 by Jacey Bedford

I went to visit my dentist for a particularly difficult tooth extraction today, so as I write this I’m sitting nursing a sore jaw as the anaesthetic is wearing off. I can’t deny that I felt a bit wobbly after … Continue reading →

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Home from Milford – Tired but Happy

Posted on September 24, 2019 by Jacey Bedford

I’ve just arrived home from Milford SF Writers’ Conference in North Wales, and I could sleep for a week. I’m not ready for the real world yet. After a week of intense writing critique punctuated by meals taken with fourteen … Continue reading →

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Science for Fiction 2019

Posted on July 16, 2019 by Jacey Bedford

Science For Fiction is an annual event organised by Dr. David Clements at Imperial College, London. It’s a series of lectures by scientists at the cutting edge of their field, specifically aimed at writers. (Unsurprisingly a load of Science Fiction … Continue reading →

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Book Browsing

Posted on July 2, 2019 by Jacey Bedford

This is a revamp of a post from 2013, updated The tor.com blog had a feature on book browsing back in September 2013 and it prompted this original post, reminding me that I so very rarely got to browse real … Continue reading →

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Submission, Rejection, and my Coping Strategies

Posted on June 18, 2019 by Jacey Bedford

I’ve always written. I started my first novel when I was fifteen. (It was dire, and I never finished, but I loved writing it.) It took me years to actually tell anyone I wrote, and even more years before I … Continue reading →

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NASA’s Free Photo Library

Posted on June 4, 2019 by Jacey Bedford

NASA has released its whole photo library, complete with a searchable database, and made all its images free for public use. Yes, their entire collection of images, sounds, and video is now available. I can’t begin to tell you how … Continue reading →

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Read the first chapter of Silverwolf

Posted on May 21, 2019 by Jacey Bedford

You can read the first chapter of Winterwood (Book 1 of the Rowankind trilogy) here. Silverwolf Book 2 of the Rowankind Trilogy by Jacey Bedford (Published by DAW, USA) Chapter One Happy Ever Afters Deep in the Old Maizy Forest, … Continue reading →

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Milford Writers’ Retreat

Posted on May 7, 2019 by Jacey Bedford

So here I am, in the wilds of Welsh Wales on a writing retreat organised by Milford SF Writers (of which I am the secretary – so yes, theoretically I organised it myself). The venue is Trigonos, the village is … Continue reading →

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The Truth in Historical Fantasy

Posted on April 9, 2019 by Jacey Bedford

My Rowankind trilogy: Winterwood, Silverwolf and Rowankind (all out now, published by DAW) is a fantasy set (mostly) in Britain in 1800, 1801 and 1802 respectively. It tells the story of Ross (Rossalinde) Tremayne, cross dressing privateer captain and witch, … Continue reading →

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What I Like to Read, and Why

Posted on March 26, 2019 by Jacey Bedford

Though I have a large collection of paper books, some of them from my childhood, I mostly read fiction on Kindle these days. It’s not that I prefer electronic to dead tree books, but books are books and it’s the … Continue reading →

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Updated Blog Archive: 2013 to 2018

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Jacey Bedford

2013 Bated Breath Seven Short Men and a Waif Preparing for Milford Jumping in at the Shallow End Serendipitous Book Browsing Four days to go Three Book Deal Milford Writers Publishers Marketplace Announcement Editor Talk New Book Log on LJ: Karen Traviss: Star … Continue reading →

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Looking Back and Looking Forward: 2018 and 2019

Posted on January 1, 2019 by Jacey Bedford

It just so happens that my alternate Tuesday blog falls on 1st January 2019, so it’s a good time to assess 2018 and see if I can peep into the future to 2019. I’m not sure where 2018 went to. … Continue reading →

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Happy Book Day to Me

Posted on November 27, 2018 by Jacey Bedford

My new book, ROWANKIND, is out today. WHOO-HOO! It’s my sixth published book, and the third in my Rowankind trilogy, so it represents a milestone. It not only completes my second trilogy, but it means that my published words have … Continue reading →

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Jacey’s Quick Book Links

Posted on November 16, 2018 by Jacey Bedford

With the publication of Rowankind just a few days away (27th November), I thought I’d post links to all my books. Obviously the (not-so-hidden) subtext is, go out and buy them, but seriously folks, those advance orders for a new … Continue reading →

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Winterwood Chapter One – Read it Here

Posted on November 3, 2018 by Jacey Bedford

In anticipation of the publication of Rowankind, due on 27th November, the third book in my Rowankind Trilogy, I offer for your delectation, the first chapter of Winterwood. It’s the beginning of the trilogy, Rowankind is the finale – with … Continue reading →

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The Reading Conundrum

Posted on April 25, 2018 by Jacey Bedford

When I got my first publishing deal back in 2013 I found that when I was writing to a deadline it was difficult to keep up with my reading. This reading conundrum is something many writers suffer from… When I’m … Continue reading →

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Cover Reveal Rowankind

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Jacey Bedford

Cover reveal: Rowankind, the last book in the Rowankind trilogy is due in November from DAW. Need to read the first two? They are Winterwood and Silverwolf in that order.  The cover illustrates Ross (Rossalinde) with Corwen the wolf shapechanger … Continue reading →

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Men in Science Fiction and Fantasy

Posted on April 4, 2018 by Jacey Bedford

A comedy panel at Eastercon 2018 with Jaine Fenn (moderator), Juliet McKenna, Adrian Tchaikovsky and Jacey Bedford. Comedy panel on Youtube

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Pleasantly Pleasing Progress

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Jacey Bedford

I’m delighted to say that I’ve beaten my February 28th deadline and already delivered a draft of Rowankind to my publisher. OK, only 3 days ahead of schedule, but AHEAD is the important word here. Of course the book isn’t … Continue reading →

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How to get a literary agent

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Jacey Bedford

I’m writing madly to a deadline, so I don’t have time to write a new blog post this week, so this is an updated reprint from my own blog, previously published in two parts and now condensed to one. I … Continue reading →

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What’s the Psi-Tech trilogy about?

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Jacey Bedford

Nimbus, the final book in my Psi-Tech trilogy, is out now.  Who-hoo, I have five books out and this is the first complete trilogy. Sometimes big ideas start with a bang and arrive fully formed, sometimes they start small and … Continue reading →

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IAm/Am Not a Word Machine

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Jacey Bedford

A reprint from a blog I did for Emerald Musings back in February 2017 – with updates. Douglas Adams famously said: ‘I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.’ That may have worked for … Continue reading →

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Zombies Need Brains

Posted on September 3, 2017 by Jacey Bedford

Zombies Need Brains is proud to present its 2017 Kickstarter, with three new anthology themes! ZNB is a small press founded by fantasy author Joshua Palmatier. Every year, they run a Kickstarter to fund a set of themed anthologies and so … Continue reading →

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Bladdered or Shitfaced? The gentle art of word choice and the bogglement of page-proofing.

Posted on July 25, 2017 by Jacey Bedford

No, I’m neither bladdered not shitfaced – that’s one of my characters. I’m sober as the proverbial judge, and doing page proofs. Five hundred and thirty four pages of closely printed text – almost one hundred and seventy thousand words. … Continue reading →

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Corwen Silverwolf Speaks

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Jacey Bedford

Denby Hall, September 1801 I don’t usually get the opportunity to say much. It’s not that I’m henpecked, you understand, but—well—my author is female and she lets my beloved, Rossalinde, tell the story. So it’s nice, for once, to be … Continue reading →

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Due Process

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Jacey Bedford

My publishing process goes like this: The publisher offers a contract (negotiated by my agent) which may be for one, two or three books, and on signing I get half the advance. My agent takes the agreed cut and I … Continue reading →

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Worldbuilding for a Series

Posted on May 1, 2017 by Jacey Bedford

In the last blog I talked about Committing Trilogy, but glossed over the worldbuilding aspects so I could talk about them in this blog entry. I’m going to (mostly) talk about the worldbuilding involved in my futuristic SF trilogy, though … Continue reading →

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Cover Reveal: Nimbus

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Jacey Bedford

Nimbus isn’t due until October 2017, but I just got the cover and permission to let you all see it. So here it is: Nimbus, the third in the Psi-Tech trilogy. Cover by the fabulously talented Stephan Martiniere. In a … Continue reading →

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Style Sheets

Posted on February 7, 2017 by Jacey Bedford

There’s a lot of information to keep in your head if you’re writing a book. There’s even more if you’re writing a trilogy or a series. I happily wrote seven books without having a single style sheet… and then I … Continue reading →

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Ten Quick Tips for Writers

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Jacey Bedford

Here are ten quick tips for writers (not necessarily in order of usefulness and not necessarily complete). Feel free to ignore what doesn’t work for you. Remember: ‘Follow no rule off a cliff.’ – C.J. Cherryh. Besides these are not … Continue reading →

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