The Blog 2023-2025
16 February 2025 - Poetry, Songs & Music
In recent years, having decided to give up my car, I frequently find myself on my own in bars at lunchtime. This is usually a consequence of having to wait for public transport, not because I have nothing better to do! Pubs and bars at or near bus or rail stations are a great place for creative writing. Most of At Reception was inspired whilst travelling. A large part of At Warble’s Bar was written on trains. Over the last year or so I found myself constructing poetry. I have no idea what kick started this new thread of creativity, but it has flourished. I now have around 50 part-written poems and inspirations. None of these are ‘poetry’. Some bits here and there have elements of metre and rhyme. I have never allowed formal structure, eg spelling and grammar, get in the way of creative flow. There’s plenty of time to do that later, without the influence of alcohol! Now that At Warble’s Bar is done, I intend to craft the scribblings into poems before going headlong into completing the trilogy. I will see if I have any luck submitting them for individual publication and competitions. However, if no success, I have a theme that loosely links the individual poems. These will come together nicely as a set for publication later in the year.
One step on from poetry is setting the words to music. My father worked in the juke box industry. As a child we always has the top chart single records around the house. I don’t know if it was this influence, but I find myself occasionally singing along to my own thoughts. Literally making them rhyme and setting them to music. I thank Andrew Lloyd Webber for introducing me to songs that seem to flow naturally from your thoughts. At some stage, as the poems come together, it will be interesting to see how much of a transition is needed!
I recently received an an electric guitar as a gift. This is something I have wanted ever since I was a child. Who knows, maybe I’ll get to perform something I have written one day!
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16 Febryary 2025 - Play & Scriptwriting
Both At Reception and At Warble’s Bar have a single main setting: a hotel lobby and a bar respectively. This makes adapting the storylines for stage/TV/cinema an attractive option. I am very keen to collaborate if someone wishes to attempt this, even if only as an academic exercise. There are a number of competitions for short plays and films, so I plan to explore this later. However, my priority at this time is to complete the trilogy novels.
16 February 2025 - Short Stories
Over the years I have regularly submitted short stories for competitions, with no success. They do, however, provide a great way to explore themes and ideas that don’t fit into the main stream of my novel writing. In addition, if one was shortlisted there would be the bonus of extra publicity and raised credibility. I have accumulated quite a collection of varied stories and plan to publish them as a book. However, I cling on to the hope that one story will get somewhere - I could then use it as the highlight of the collection! With other pressures I may be forced to wait a little longer. Re-reading will certainly lead to reworking, which will be very time consuming. The one thing I have no idea about is whether my short story writing is getting any better! Maybe just one more story is required…
12 February 2025 - You are invited to meet Lucy at Warble’s Bar!
The second novel by Galahad Porter, about newly pregnant Lucy, is finished! It has taken a lot longer than expected - see my previous blogs for the catalogue of excuses! The provisional title is At Warble’s Bar.
Newly pregnant Lucy is searching for the father of her unborn child. In the hope of meeting him, or someone who knows him, she takes a job in Brooklyn at Warble’s Bar. She finds herself in a web of manipulation. Should she keep looking for him or move on? You can read more about the novel at www.atwarblesbar.com.
The novel will now be distributed to potential agents. It is hoped publication will be in time for the spring book market in early 2026.
Website upgrade
The GP website, www.galahadporter.com has had a makeover and new contemporary design! This was needed to raise the profile of work other than novels by GP, such as short stories, poetry, songs, music & playwriting. There is still work to be done, but the new look is a step in the right direction.
Newsletter
It is hoped that, after a break whilst finishing the Lucy novel, a newsletter will be issued soon. It is planned to cover not just news about At Warble’s Bar but also the newer areas of writing by GP.
11 September 2023 - Galahad is Back!
How many times have I changed publication deadlines? Surely nobody would take on such an unreliable writer! Writer of excuses, well, definitely! So, for the umpteenth time I have changed the timescales for publication - see the 7 September blog below. I make no apologies.
It has been a rather unproductive period since the start of the COVID lockdown. Whilst many budding new authors set off on their journey, Galahad came to a near halt! The Lucy novel requires an effective rewrite and that has not been completed. A number of short stories were developed and submitted for competitions but with no luck!
So why hasn't there been any progress? Surely with lockdown there was lots of time to write, wasn't there?
Every author has their own approach to when/where/how they write. That's all part of the creative process. Two other things are also important: getting into the zone and maintaining momentum.
Lockdown completely disrupted my routine: having a partner around all day; the TV on earlier as the main source of entertainment; not getting out enough - a lot of my original ideas have come when travelling! The biggest problem was relocating back to Menston near Ilkley. The house and garden needed a total makeover. I constantly had contactors around with the related distractions.
The main thing I do need is my own writing space, with no disturbances. There was a small room in the loft which I looked at adapting. It had two side walls, one of which seemed to block off most of the roof area. I had presumed it was covering unusable space. Curiosity led me to make a small opening in the wall. To my great surprise and delight behind the wall was a large open, empty void! This inspired a loft conversion and another 12 months of disruption. But now Galahad has his personal writing and hangout space. Although there are still a few decorating jobs to be done, the worst is over. So now I can try get back into a routine and the momentum will build and see me through!
At last somewhere to escape and write!
7 September 2023 - Office Relocation & Yet Another Revised Publication Timetable!
At last the Galahad office relocation and renovation work is nearly finished! It's now possible to give revised timings for publication. A lot has, and has not, been happening which will be addressed in The Blog and on social media shortly!
The Lucy novel draft continues to need rewriting. That will be the priority over the next few months. It is planned to send a draft out to agents later this year. Publication is targeted for late 2024.
The Trilogy Parts 1-3 drafts should start to become available from late 2024. Publication is planned from 2026. If there is demand for them, the Prequel could be available in 2027 and the Part 4 Series in 2028.
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