Fi Phillips

January seems to have flashed by in the  blink of a watery eye and suddenly February is here with its promise of spring. I feel like I've spent the month in a curious limbo, coming down after my birthday trip to Venice and reeling at the loss of so many icons. First, there was David Bowie, such a wonderfully creative man, the brilliant actor Alan Rickman who I'll always remember as an irreverent angel, Glenn Frey from the Eagles, then finally the velvet tones and kindly ways of Terry Wogan. January seems to have left the world a little less colourful. So February needs to be a new beginning, with fresh colour and creativity, and a renewed intent. That's how I'm treating it. Let's get this year started. Novel(s) Novel 1 is still away with a handful of literary agents so I'm working on the next two novels. After eight rejections that all had much the same feedback (loved reading this, keep sending it out, but it's not for us), I posed the question to...

After the build up to Christmas and the day itself, my family and I are having a few days at home together. It's all very relaxed and with no real plans to keep to. Late nights, family games and good company. My husband and children are taking advantage of the lack of routine to have lie-ins so I'm usually first up, enjoying the quiet with my morning coffee. It gives me time to think and reflect on the year that's almost over. It's been generally a good one, in some ways quite magical, and definitely a year I want to remember. Back in January, I posted my 2015 reading list and my goals for the year . I didn't do very well with the reading list, only completing three of the fifteen (even worse than in 2014). I must read more next year. I did better with my goals. I revised and polished my novel and began the search for an agent. I returned to the partial first draft of my second novel which now requires a massive rethink because of changes to the first novel. Du...

From a reader's point of view, I love book trailers. They not only give a preview of what the book will be about but they also give an idea of how the writer wanted their book to be portrayed. One of the many things I'm looking forward to when my first children's novel is published (traditionally or self) is making a book trailer of my own. I haven't decided yet what form the trailer should take. I could use images from the book and quotes with some accompanying music like writer Kelly Hashway . I could have actors portray events in the book like my friend Suzanna Williams did in her book trailer. I could give clues to what the book will contain with beautiful photography and questions like another friend Heather Blanchard . Animation is quite costly but a series of drawings, like in Neil Gaiman 's book trailer, could work effectively with a voice over from the author. Alternatively, I could put my own face on the trailer and tell you what the book is about a...

Today I'm taking part in the blog tour for the recently released Into The Fire , a YA novel by Kelly Hashway writing as Ashelyn Drake. If you're interested in reading the other blog tour posts, you can find a full schedule here . Kelly has been kind enough to answer some interview questions for me, so here goes. Kelly, I've always been astounded by how diverse your writing is, covering so many age groups, but which is your favourite? I do love all age groups, but I feel most at home with YA. I'm lucky to say my teenage years were great. Writing YA means I get to revisit them often, and I couldn't be happier about that. With regard to your different identities, which is most you, Kelly or Ashelyn? Hmm, that's a good question. I've always loved the supernatural, but I'm also a very emotional person. I think the reason why I love Into The Fire  so much is because it's a perfect blend of Kelly and Ashelyn. They're both equal parts of...

Now that my novel is going through the final revisions, my mind keeps turning to 'what next'. Manuscript assessment? Agent? Marketing? New website? One of the fun aspects of this 'what next' stage can be creating a trailer for your book. YA and children's novelist, Kelly Hashway provides a 'how to' on her website - Making A Book Trailer . It's well worth a read and I'll be keeping it in mind for my own novel. Writers on Writing: Ian McEwan on Finding Confidence 

My friend and author Robyn Roze has passed the My Writing Process Blog Tour baton to me today. Please do check out her Blog Tour article here . Thank you, Robyn. The first rule is that I have to include a photo of myself so here's the best photo I could come up with from the last couple of years - sorry. I suppose I'd better get on with it then. What am I working on? Firstly, I'm continuing to work on my novel, Haven Falling. It's a fantasy novel set in a future where magic exists alongside robots. It started out as a novel for adults (as in grown-ups, not erotica) but after a rethink at the end of last year, I've decided to rework it for the 9-12 age range. My original protagonist Steve is now fourteen years old (not thirty three) and my new accompanying protagonist Blessing is eleven years old (not seven). It's the first of a trilogy and I envision the world I create in this novel leading to many other magical novels too. Secondly, I'm working o...

The intention of making new year's resolutions has always been to start anew but seeing as 2014 will be more of a continuation for me (working on my novel, writing more plays, losing more weight), I decided to make just one new effort. I'm constantly reading (on my bedside cabinet at the moment are Titania Hardie's The Rose Labyrinth and the first S kulduggery Pleasant novel) but in 2014, I've decided that I'll step away from my usual genres and authors and support some of the writers that I follow, know and converse with. So my reading list for the first half of 2014 looks something like this: Ninety-Five Percent Human by Suzanna Williams : a young adult alien adventure inspired by the 'Welsh Roswell', an alleged UFO crash in the Berwyn Mountains in 1974. A is for Angelica by Iain Broome : his debut novel, "Gordon Kingdom struggles with the fate of his seriously-ill wife while patiently observing and methodically recording the lives of th...

Today I received an award from the talented writer, Kelly Hashway . The rules of this award are that I should mention the blogger who gave the award, tell you seven things that you don't know about me and pass on the award to five other bloggers. What you might not know about me I took singing lessons from an opera singer. I love singing. For years, I was involved in amateur dramatics but haven't done any acting for about eight years. I miss spending time on stage. The older I get, the more I see my father in me. When I was eight years old, I was knocked down by a car and spent six weeks in hospital - Christmas, New Year and my birthday. Those six weeks changed my outlook on life, opening my eyes to the diversity in people's lives. When I lived in a bedsit in Surrey, many years ago, I once answered the door to an old lady who asked if this house was the keycutter. I said no and unfortunately had no idea if there was a keycutter in the area. As she turned to go...

Okay, I know that #followfriday (or #ff) is a hashtag on Twitter but I reckon it's an excellent thing to do on a Friday blog post too. So here we go. #amwriting This started out as a hashtag for a small community of writers to converse on Twitter and flag up their posts to each other. Started by the writer Johanna Harness , the small community grew, the hashtag won an award (2010 Christopher Al-Asward Prize) and now #amwriting has a physical online presence. This website is an excellent resource for writers with an author directory, the opportunity to see your blog posts online, and many helpful articles. Although I've been using this hashtag since last year, I only recently registered on the website. You don't have to be registered to use the website but I think the free registration on this site is well worth the time. Have a look. Neil Gaiman Neil Gaiman is a writing hero of mine. I was introduced to his writing through the novel Good Omens  which was written jo...

And I didn't even have a winner's speech written. Thank you to the wonderful Kelly Hashway  for thinking that Fi's Magical Writing Haven deserved the 'One Lovely Blog Award'. I shall display it proudly. Here are the rules for the award: Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and their blog link. Pass the award on to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award. I'm very lucky to have recently met a whole host of new bloggers through the recent blog hops I've taken part in. Choosing just 15 has been difficult but here it is, my list of award winners: A Writer's Reality Author Haven betwixt and between Challenging the Gnome Climbing My Family Tree Deborah Lawrenson Helen Smith Janel's Jumble The Riddle of Writing The Slight Detour What Else Is Possible? Writer Unboxed Chewing the...