u/JEZTURNER

I've read

The City and the City
Perdido Street Station
Kraken
Embassytown
This Census Taker
Last Days of New Paris

I very rarely reread books at all - with so much out there to read once! But do people do this specifically for Mieville, like it adds specific value for them - is he that kind of writer?

I just started and there are spoilers very early on in it so I stopped. It's why I'm often wary of reading book reviews.

Hi all. This is my first post here (I usually kick around the r/weirdgirlliterature sub) - but someone advised I could ask re: beta reading.

My 80,000 word novel has had numerous revisions and alpha readers, but is now ready for some lovely people to beta read before final ediuts and contacting agents.

If you would be interested in reading it based on what I'm posting below, please DM me, and I'll provide you with your own google docs copy that you could annotate, download, send to Kindle, whsatever works for you.

I also have some guiding questions for feedback, but honestly just having eyes on it is a great start if anyone can offer that time. I'm asking if people can do that within a month, if possible? I can also reciprocate with feedback on your work. Thanks in advance for hopefully some DMs! Oh and please note that I don't describe it as weird girl lit because this is text I'm using for agents and that subgenre is possibly not used enough yet in the industry. I need to look into this.

GWEN JUST WANTS TO MAKE BLANKETS is an 80,000 word domestic, cosy horror. Comparisons include other books that give voice to people in older age, such as An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten, We Spread by Iain Reid and The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi. The story is a tribute to the solace of crafting, and a curse on the people who won’t let us get on with it.

Following her long, traumatising career in MI6, and now grieving the death of her husband, ninety-year-old Gwen Jones just wants to crochet blankets. But her family have decided she can’t have that peace, compelled by a pledge to look after her that feels more like a curse. Rallied by her oaf of a son-in-law Barry, her great-niece Trudy moves in, they drag Gwen to local craft groups and fairs, secretly livestream her crocheting, and fill her tiny English bungalow with dozens of crafters to run an online brand. And if that wasn’t enough, now she’s losing her knack with the crochet hook as well. 

Gwen resists their attentions as best she can, supported by her mischievous neighbour Edie over sisterly evenings, drinking port and watching snooker. Along the way, the scars from Gwen’s past lead to some troubling incidents – attempting to scoop out her dead husband’s brain with a crochet hook, crocheting gifts from rat’s intestines, smothering Barry with a blanket, and pushing Trudy off a church balcony. Even in those moments though, no one suspects this little old lady, so what else could she get away with? 

During a family weekend away in the country, Gwen is pushed to her final limit when the family stage an intervention, planning to sell her home and move Gwen into Barry’s horrific, cavernous mansion. And now Gwen realises that the very part of her life that left her so damaged might just provide her with the strength and resolve to get rid of them forever. After all, she has killed before – is this so different?

Is it good? Or actually unhelpful, breaking the show a bit too much? If that makes sense?

I've noticed some of her books do this. In this one we have five suspects, each interviewed and then each providing their own account, alomst like a police report.

Cards on the Table - four murderer suspects, four detectives.
Death in the Clouds - locked room type mystery, all suspects are on the plane.
And Then There Were None - to a level - people systematicaly dropping off one by one, but one of them must have done it.

Do any others spring to mind? I mean, I suppose ALL of her books, only the characters introduced can provide the murderer, but there's just something about some of them.

My friend and I are visiting the UK next month, and we plan to visit London (of course), Bristol, Liverpool, Chester, Bath, and Birmingham. However, many Brits have strongly advised us to avoid Birmingham, and we're wondering why?

It looks like quite a nice city, and although it does apparently higher crime rates, we're from Johannesburg, so everywhere in the UK is pretty much a safe haven for us. Is the main issue that it's just dull, dangerous, or something else? If other people here suggest we give it a skip, then we will, but we just want to get some more opinions beforehand.

If there's somewhere else worth visiting that we've missed, or if there's a place you suggest we could spend longer, please let me know! Thanks

Edit because many people are asking: It's my first time in the UK, so we're looking for 'Englishy' things to do. My ancestry is English, so I'm curious to explore. We'd like to see the things we don't get back home like the old architecture, art galleries/museums and street culture, rather than shopping centers or beaches for example, as we got a lot back home. I know many people have said to try going away from cities, which we are doing as we are staying in each place for 5-7 days at least and just using them as bases while travelling slightly outside of the city when worth it.

Also, many people have suggested visiting Scotland, we would have loved to but my friend Kalkidan has many allergies, so unfortunately, it's not practical, and she is not interested in going to Wales or Northern Ireland. We mainly want to stick to England in that case.

I'm about 30% through this one, and the setup, the way everyone in the family is trapped by the horrible mother is giving me proper horror vibes, more so than any other Christie I've read to date. Do any other of her books hit this way?

There are a few reading lists and things.

There's

Happy holiday book clubbers by Marjorie Fretwell

And then Hendrix says the following is bonus material

Reading group guide

Map

Happy November y'all newsletter by Marjorie fretwell

Another reading list by Grace

A letter from Kitty

Hendrix's own true crime reading list

What do you think all that might mean about what happened with the book clubs? As that was the initial focus of the social circle and local power dynamics, it feels quite important but is unclear to me.

There are a few reading lists and things.

There's

Happy holiday book clubbers by Marjorie Fretwell

And then Hendrix says the following is bonus material

Reading group guide

Map

Happy November y'all newsletter by Marjorie fretwell

Another reading list by Grace

A letter from Kitty

Hendrix's own true crime reading list

What do you think all that might mean about what happened with the book clubs? As that was the initial focus of the social circle and local power dynamics, it feels quite important but is unclear to me.

If not, Christie fans might enjoy it. A suspicious death, a large family and numerous suspects, a shocking will reading, etc. It's looking pretty promising so far.

My dad is almost 80, reads, but not often murder mysteries like Christie. But I feel he'd enjoy them. Although way back he may have seen some of the Suchet series when it was on telly.

What's a good entry point? I want to say Roger Ackroyd, but part of the impact for me was when I started it, wondering who exactly was telling the story, given that previous ones I'd read had been narrated by Hastings - and this helped build up the twist for me.

And Then Ther Were None is another good one, but I'm wondering if he'd prefer a Poirot? The Mysterious Affair at Styles is another logical one. Anyone have experience of introducing an older parent to these books?

I'm just back from the UK National Writer's Conference, and one takeout from a panel of two agents, was that a catchy, (high concept if appropriate) logline is increasingly appropriate, and likely to catch the eye of an agent. They cited the 'attention deficit' nature of society, which saddened me a little that the industry / writers are leaning into that.

They suggested of course it's not in place of all the other things we might put into the query, but that a good line up front can catch the attention more powerfully than the intro paragraph giving genre and comps.

In case you're wondering, I mean this kind of thing.

Any thoughts on this, from writers or agents please? I tend to think it can't hurt to work one up, as it's only taking a line in your query. Or maybe people would like to try out / test theirs here?