I have heard it said many times that novelists should not shift point of views back and forth between characters within the same chapter.

Well, guess what? In my new novel Love vs Honour, I do exactly that.

To be fair, this advice is often good to adhere to, as jumping in between character points of view can be very confusing. But as long as it is done in an organic and above all coherent manner, there can be exceptions to this rule.

For example, Tolkien does this quite a bit in The Lord of the Rings. More recently, JK Rowling (writing as Robert Galbraith) does this in her detective novel The Silkworm.

I made the decision to defy conventional wisdom because I wanted the two protagonists of the main narrative in Love vs Honour to have equal weight. It simply didn’t make sense for the reader to only be in one of their heads for the duration of any given chapter. Once the novel is released (see pre-order link below) readers can decide whether or not I was successful.

Here is the blurb from the back of Love vs Honour:

Two Religions. Two Deceptions. One Love.

When Johnny meets and falls in love with Sabina, their bond proves stronger than a teenage holiday fling.

Fearing the disapproval of their strict Christian and Islamic families, they undertake an elaborate deception to continue seeing one another. Johnny pretends to convert to Islam whilst Sabina pretends to covert to Christianity to appease their parents. 

But how long can this deception last before it unravels?

Love vs Honour is released on the 31^st May on Kindle.

Print copies will be available from the 7^th of June.

I have written on this blog in the past about how much I dislike stories designed purely as propaganda. People with a political or religious axe to grind are particularly guilty in this respect, so here is a little insight into how I approach the problem. Like anyone else, I hold political and religious views. For instance, given that I am a Christian, how do I try and avoid making my writing sound “preachy”?

Firstly, I always bear in mind that a story is not a sermon or a political speech. I am not trying to convince anyone of anything, I am simply trying to tell a good story. That shouldn’t just be the primary goal. Really it should be the only goal. If a writer can do that, whatever they believe politically or spiritually will be inherent in the text in any case.

Second – and this is a point specifically for certain fellow Christians – because a story is not a sermon, it does not need to be “theologically accurate”. I am astonished at how many times Christians take issue with, for instance, supernatural stories, because “ghosts are really demons”. Or when they criticise depictions of an afterlife that doesn’t adhere to exactly what is written in the Bible. When confronted with such people, I normally ask if they can honestly say, with a straight face, that Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has no moral or spiritual worth.

This problem is compounded for some Christians when sex and violence are added into the mix. Again, for me such aesthetics are merely tools that can be used well or badly. Besides, it’s always worth referring said Christians back to the Bible in any case, which has more than its fair share of bloodbaths and sexual encounters/imagery (I can think of quite a few “too much information” passages).

The important thing for a story is that it should be honest. Propaganda tales like to tie things up in neat bundles. For instance, a Christian propaganda novel often involves a very neat, sinner-gets-converted narrative, which frequently glosses over any sex/violence elements. It feels phony not just for that reason, but also because the reader knows the author’s purpose is to try and make converts.

When I wrote my upcoming novel, Love vs Honour, I wrote it for one reason alone: I thought it was a good story. It does examine both the Christian and Islamic faiths at various points, but I believe the treatment is even handed, and not what might be termed “preachy”. Whether or not I have succeeded is ultimately for readers to judge.

Love vs Honour is now available for pre-order from Amazon:

Here is the blurb from the back of the book:

Two Religions. Two Deceptions. One Love.

When Johnny meets and falls in love with Sabina, their bond proves stronger than a teenage holiday fling.

Fearing the disapproval of their strict Christian and Islamic families, they undertake an elaborate deception to continue seeing one another. Johnny pretends to convert to Islam whilst Sabina pretends to covert to Christianity to appease their parents. 

But how long can this deception last before it unravels?

Love vs Honour is released on the 31^st May on Kindle.

Print copies will be available from the 7^th of June.

This May I am releasing a new novel entitled Love vs Honour.

For the cover, my regular designer Charles Bown had a serious challenge. How to convey the mood of events in the book without giving away too much?

I had a number of discussions with Charles, and various options were considered, but many of the stronger ideas could not be used, again for fear of spoilers.

Ultimately, Charles proposed a monochrome, defocussed image with silhouettes on a beach. I am very pleased with the finished image.

The brighter area at the centre of the image with the silhouettes obviously speaks of the central romance, but the brooding sky at the top and the darker imagery beneath suggest the challenge to their relationship posed by their respective religious backgrounds. The monochrome also hints at the direction the story will ultimately take.

Charles was also the one to suggest a tagline – something I have never done before – to help sell the story alongside the image. The “Two Religions Two Deceptions One Love” tagline on the cover hopefully hints at the more dramatic elements that gradually build over the course of the novel. Although the story is a romance, it is far from straightforward, as indicated by the synopsis below.

Love vs Honour is available to pre-order from Amazon (see link below).

Here is the blurb from the back of the book:

Two Religions. Two Deceptions. One Love.

When Johnny meets and falls in love with Sabina, their bond proves stronger than a teenage holiday fling.

Fearing the disapproval of their strict Christian and Islamic families, they undertake an elaborate deception to continue seeing one another. Johnny pretends to convert to Islam whilst Sabina pretends to covert to Christianity to appease their parents. 

But how long can this deception last before it unravels?

Love vs Honour is released on the 31^st May on Kindle.

Print copies will be available from the 7^th of June.

For a fuller interview with Charles Bown from last year, check out this link:

https://simondillonbooks.wordpress.com/2014/04/24/charles-bown-interview/

You can follow Charles on Twitter here:

https://twitter.com/federalcreative

For five days only, you can download my novel Dr Gribbles and the Beast of Blackthorn Lodge absolutely FREE from Amazon.

Dr Gribbles and the Beast of Blackthorn Lodge is a gripping and scary tale involving spies, monsters, haunted houses, mad scientists and lots more besides, with action and thrills to spare. It was actually inspired by the nightmares of my youngest son, and the book is duly dedicated to him.

Here is the blurb from the back of Dr Gribbles and the Beast of Blackthorn Lodge:

September 1987.

Curiosity lands Tim Rawling in a world of secrets, spies and a desperate race against time.

The haunted house, the monster and the mad scientist are only the beginning of a terrifying adventure.

If you prefer to actually spend money and order print copies, they can be ordered here:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/simon-dillon/dr-gribbles-and-the-beast-of-blackthorn-lodge/paperback/product-21564790.html

Someone recently asked me, of the various genres I write, which are the most difficult? I had a think about this, and decided to answer in a blog post. So herewith a top 5 of genres I have written, in descending order of difficulty.

5. Thrillers – In relative terms, I find thrillers easiest out of the genres I write. Obviously they are still difficult, especially as they divide into so many sub genres – ie murder mystery, supernatural thriller, political thriller, conspiracy thriller, historical thriller and so on. But as long as the setting is contemporary and they are aimed at adults, these stories are frequently a joy to write. The Birds Began to Sing is a good example.

4. Adventure – Most of my adventure stories are primarily aimed at children (though grown-ups do enjoy them). These can be slightly trickier than straightforward thrillers as writing for children is always harder due to the discipline of experiencing events through the eyes of a child. Other factors can complicate these novels too. For instance, Dr Gribbles and the Beast of Blackthorn Lodge is set in the latter years of the Cold War, so historical accuracy comes into play.

3. Horror – Whether for children or adults (yes I have written horror for children – check out previous blog posts), horror can be very difficult to get right. Again, the genre overlaps with many others, so for example I have written two detective thrillers that rapidly evolve into full-blown horror (as yet, both unreleased), along with a very dark fairy tale that some will call horror (the afore-mentioned children’s story). How well I succeeded in both endeavours remains to be seen, but the next novel I am writing will also be a supernatural thriller/horror story.

2. Science Fiction – I don’t have experience of writing what I would call “hard” sci-fi, but so far my attempts in this genre include escapist adventure (the George Hughes series) and “light” sci-fi (Children of the Folded Valley). In both cases, the novels were extremely difficult to write. The George Hughes books require a huge amount of invention which has to sound pseudo-scientific for suspension of disbelief. The sci-fi elements in Children of the Folded Valley are very much in the background, but during chapters where they are expounded on, again the pseudo-science, even though it is utter nonsense, has to sound convincing enough for suspension of disbelief.

1. Fantasy – Without a doubt, I find fantasy the most fiendishly difficult of genres for several reasons. Again, there are multiple subgenres, but even without getting into that, the process of creating an entire and original world from scratch – including its politics, history, geography, culture, art, religion, languages and so on, depending on how detailed it is necessary to get – is a hideously troublesome undertaking. I have written a number of fantasy epics for both adults and children, but so far have released none, simply because they are not yet good enough, in spite of the fact that they contain good ideas. Being truly original in this genre is also very, very tricky indeed. I have half a dozen fantasy novels that I have been working on for years, and in some cases decades. One day I might actually consider one of them good enough to release, but I make no promises on that score.

Given that the above genres are what I generally write in, I was very surprised back in 2006 when I felt inspired to write a young adult romantic drama. I am finally releasing this novel, entitled Love vs Honour, this May. It is available to pre-order from Amazon (see link below).

Love vs Honour is only time I have branched out in this particular genre, and I suspect I might never do so again (though never say never). How successful I was remains to be seen, but here is the blurb from the back of the book to whet your appetite:

Two Religions. Two Deceptions. One Love.

When Johnny meets and falls in love with Sabina, their bond proves stronger than a teenage holiday fling.

Fearing the disapproval of their strict Christian and Islamic families, they undertake an elaborate deception to continue seeing one another. Johnny pretends to convert to Islam whilst Sabina pretends to covert to Christianity to appease their parents. 

But how long can this deception last before it unravels?

Love vs Honour is released on the 31^st May on Amazon Kindle.

Print copies will be available from the 7^th of June.

This May I am releasing a new novel entitled Love vs Honour.

It is available to pre-order from Amazon (see link below).

Love vs Honour is a novel I wrote almost ten years ago and have sat on for some time, for reasons I will explain in subsequent posts.

It exists entirely outside of my usual genres; being neither a thriller, nor science fiction, horror, or a children’s adventure, but a young adult romantic drama aimed primarily at the Fault in our Stars demographic (although it isn’t about life-threatening illness). It will, I suspect, also be appreciated by grown-up readers, or anyone who enjoys a gripping, provocative drama.

Here is the blurb from the back of the book:

Two Religions. Two Deceptions. One Love.

From the author of Children of the Folded Valley…

When Johnny meets and falls in love with Sabina, their bond proves stronger than a teenage holiday fling.

Fearing the disapproval of their strict Christian and Islamic families, they undertake an elaborate deception to continue seeing one another. Johnny pretends to convert to Islam whilst Sabina pretends to covert to Christianity to appease their parents.

But how long can this deception last before it unravels?

Love vs Honour is released on the 31^st May on Kindle. Pre-order your copy now!

Print copies will be available from the 7^th of June.

For five days only, you can download my debut novel, Uncle Flynn, absolutely free from Amazon.

Uncle Flynn was received very positively. On the surface it is a properly old-fashioned treasure hunt adventure, but it contains underlying themes about overcoming fear and the dangers of mollycoddling. The book is dedicated to my eldest son, and was largely inspired by our many excursions over Dartmoor, as well as a bit of local history.

Here is the blurb from the back of Uncle Flynn:

When timid eleven year old Max Bradley embarks on a hunt for buried treasure on Dartmoor with his mysterious Uncle Flynn, he discovers he is braver than he thought.

Together they decipher clues, find a hidden map and explore secret tunnels in their search. But with both police and rival treasure hunters on their tail, Max begins to wonder if his uncle is all he seems…

Here are some reviews:

“Harking back to the wonderful adventure stories of Arthur Ransome, Uncle Flynn is a welcome return to the excitement of outdoor exploits in wild surroundings. Excitement, tension and peril combine in a well-written tale where The Goonies meets Swallows and Amazons. The evocative descriptions of treasure seeking on Dartmoor will have you longing to visit and explore for yourselves. Action-packed puzzle-solving pleasure for children and adults alike, with a neat twist in the tale to keep you guessing.”

Mrs Alice R Brewer.

“A treasure for all ages. Kids and teenagers would love this fast-paced adventure story. Most adults would also find it a light and enjoyable read.”

B Fraley, Amazon.

“Really enjoyed this book. Had read Folded Valley and thought I would try this by the same author. Kept me reading well past my bedtime.”

Simon Smith, Amazon.

“Don’t pass this one by. I have been burning through the free NOOKbooks and this is the absolute BEST. Doesn’t matter what type of fiction you like to read, I can imagine this would capture just about anyone’s attention – and heart.”

willreadanything, Barnes and Noble.

“Could not put the book down, so enjoyed the journey. Recommended it to my 12 year old grandson who now wants me to be his book reading adviser. Loved by three generations.”

Brinney, Barnes and Noble.

“What a wonderful book for young readers and anyone else who loves a book with a great twist on an amazing story of courage over fear.”

Beansie47, Barnes and Noble.

“I’m an 83 year old woman. Your book was a joy to me. I felt I was having all the adventures myself at this ripe old age. Your book was like a cold drink of water on a hot day. Thank you.”

Joan McLaughlin, commenting on the Uncle Flynn blog.

“I downloaded the book for my boys to read, and thought I’d just read the first few lines… Needless to say I read to the end! Well written and most enjoyable – great adventure with life lessons woven into the story.”

Cecile Weyers, commenting on the Uncle Flynn blog.

If you prefer print copies, they can be ordered here (but are not free, sadly): http://www.lulu.com/shop/simon-dillon/uncle-flynn/paperback/product-21165126.html

One simple fact any writer has to face is that you cannot please all people all the time. Often the very reasons one person loves your work is the reason another hates it. The important thing is to provoke reactions.

That said, no matter how thick skinned writers claim to be, or how much bravado they put across, bad reviews can be seriously discouraging. How then do I deal with this?

Fortunately, I have not yet been in a position where any of my novels are universally or near universally reviled. I can imagine such an occurrence would be deeply disheartening. For the most part, reaction to my work has been overwhelmingly positive. Such a good/bad ratio means it is very easy to dismiss bad reviews with a “can’t please everyone” shrug.

Yet some bad reviews have actually proved instructive, either to confirm that I succeeded in my goals (eg, when reviewing a horror story if someone says “I hated this book because it was too scary”), or to legitimately highlight areas I can improve.

Ultimately a review is simply an opinion, but it is very gratifying when a large amount of opinion is positive. My novel Children of the Folded Valley has almost entirely five and four star reviews on Amazon, and clearly the majority of readers have really embraced the novel.

But if you click on the link below, you will note that despite such apparent success, there are still a couple of bad reviews.

So how do I handle bad reviews? Depending on what they are saying and why, I either am discouraged or encouraged. I either disregard them, or see (sometimes through gritted teeth) where valid points have been made. They can hurt, but they can also be vitally important.

In short, they should not automatically be dismissed.

Every writer desires that their work will somehow affect the reader, getting under their skin as it were. In fact, sometimes bad reviews are preferable to good ones if the writing has made the reader frightened, sad, angry, offended, or otherwise provoked them in some way.

Occasionally I read reviews of my work that clearly demonstrate I have achieved this with a particular reader. For example, here is a review from an Amazon reader, David MacGuire, reviewing my novel Children of the Folded Valley.

“I generally review only the books that I really love or hate passionately. I neither hate nor love the book, it has its flaws, but the story has stuck with me. This is a good, original story. The concept and characters are engaging and appealing. There are places where the writing gets a little thin, but I hope to see many more books by this author. It has a happy ending, of sorts, and yet left me profoundly depressed. I think it was that the author hit it right on the head; even in a perfect paradise, people are going to be perfect s***s to each other, given half a chance. Even so I recommend it.”

Mr MacGuire’s review sounds as though he is still struggling to figure out what he really felt about the novel, which I am pleased about because it demonstrates the story got to him. I am not ashamed to admit that reviews like this provide great encouragement, so thank you David MacGuire.

Children of the Folded Valley is available to download for Kindle (see below link):

Print copies are available from Lulu.com: http://www.lulu.com/shop/simon-dillon/children-of-the-folded-valley/paperback/product-21836029.html

How long should a chapter be?

Like so many writing related questions, my answer is: it depends.

Many contemporary thrillers seem to consist of literally hundreds of chapters, with each lasting no more than two pages. I am Pilgrim is a good recent example, and anyone familiar with the works of Michael Crichton will also know what I am talking about.

Other texts, surprisingly often stories aimed at children, contain chapters that at times seem very long. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix contains many lengthy chapters, for example.

Both approaches work well for their respective formats – fast contemporary thriller, versus more traditional fairy tale. The short chapter approach doesn’t necessarily mean the writer considers the reader to have the attention span of goldfish. Other novels have a mixture of short and long chapters for artistic reasons – Life of Pi, for instance.

In my own writing, I generally stick to average length chapters in both my novels for children and for grown-ups, regardless of genre or subject matter. My stories seem to naturally gravitate to a relatively straightforward format. However, the stories themselves are often anything but.

On a related note, I generally do not title chapters in a novel aimed at grown-ups (with rare exceptions), but I always do in a novel aimed at children. Why? I have no idea. Perhaps chapter titles in books aimed at children just sound cool.