Thanks so much for having me on your blog today.
I know you’re part of the blog tour for Eternal Seas when it’s published on 28th September and I can’t wait to share the book with you. It’s been a long time in the making. I wrote the first draft whilst on a sailing holiday over three years ago.
I’m definitely more of a “pantser” than a “planner” when it comes to writing style. So that first draft of Eternal Seas had no plan, it was just a story that erupted from inside me and evolved through ice-cream fuelled discussions with my son, otherwise known as the “creative director”.
It was 18k words at that point. The big problem with being a pantser is, it had some enormous plot holes. So I started a very lengthy editing process, working with three fantastic editors: Brian Keaney, Gary Smailes, and Emma Mitchell. Each of them brought a different perspective to the story and their feedback was invaluable in knocking it into a fit state for publishing.
By the time I’d filled all the holes, including adding an extra character (I’m not telling you who though – you’ll just have to guess), it was 32k words and looked like a real book.
I wasn’t actually planning to illustrate it myself, but I had a bit of a disaster with the illustrator I wanted to work with who decided at the last minute that she was going to outsource the drawings to someone else. I think it was fate though as, at exactly the same time, my son found an old sketch pad of mine. And I mean old. It had doodles of “gonks” on it from when I was still at school. Let’s just count that as several decades ago. So, reunited with my school sketch pad, I bought a few 2B pencils and started drawing again. I’d honestly forgotten how much I loved drawing. In fact I had wanted to go to art college at one point but got swept down a formal university education route.
Of the illustrations in Eternal Seas, I think this one of Castle Gylen is my favourite. It’s actually a real castle, on the Isle of Kerrera about two miles from Oban in Scotland.
So now that Eternal Seas has gone to print, I’ve started work on the book two in The Relic Hunters series. This time I’ve carefully planned the whole thing out chapter by chapter. I’m horse mad and most of my friends were surprised that I didn’t have any ponies in Eternal Seas so I’m correcting that glaring omission in book two. And a cat has snuck in.
I’ll illustrate it again, but I also have a little illustration related surprise which I’ll tell you all about with the blog tour.
Anyway, I’m hoping the detailed planning work will make the editing less stressful this time. Remind me of that comment when I am deep in my editing cave! But, as a “pantser”, the story might not behave and do what I’ve planned anyway. I’ll let you know.
Lexi Rees
Lexi Rees grew up in the north of Scotland but now splits her time between London and West Sussex. She still goes back to Scotland regularly though.
Usually seen clutching a mug of coffee, she spends as much time as possible sailing and horse riding, both of which she does enthusiastically but spectacularly badly.
Her first book, Eternal Seas was written on a boat; the storm described in it was frighteningly real.
You can connect with her using the following social media links:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google + | Instagram
I had the pleasure to be a part of the blog tour for the cover reveal of Lexi Rees “Eternal Seas”, and I will be part of the blog tour with a review in September. So it’s an honor to have Lexi as a guest today, and I want to thank her for sharing this post with all of us.
If you want to join in as a guest on my blog check out the Guests Post page to know more, and them.
Love,
Jess
Jess Bookish Life 