It’s already getting some lovely reviews. Here are just a couple:
Two bodies, two walls, one mystery
Journalist Phil McGinty knows her stepdad Clive didn’t kill himself on a school building site seven years ago. Now she’s got five days working undercover to prove it.
Meanwhile, DS Jen Collet has her own mystery to solve. A body has fallen out of another school wall, but Jen’s superiors seem strangely unwilling to connect this murder to the death of Clive McGinty.
With Jen’s bosses closing ranks and Phil’s time running out, two investigators from different worlds must navigate political scheming and corporate cover-ups to get to the truth.
The Man In The Wall is the first gripping novel in the Aldhill Mystery series by KJ Lyttleton, a compelling new talent in British mystery.
Let me tell you about my top secret pseudonymous book project
In which I attempt to self-publish a hugely successful novel under a pen name without telling anyone about it…
Here is my plan. I write a book as fast as I possibly can. Then I write another one straight after. I self-publish those books (writing another two more as I do) under a pen name. I tell no one, and yet my books become hugely successful. By the end of the year, I have written and published four books and am rolling around in all the money I have made from self-publishing. Buoyed by my success, I am confident enough to reveal my true identity. I am invited to do readings in book shops, making the audience laugh just enough that I can kid myself I am actually a mildly successful standup comedian (but one who sits down and also gets to go to bed at a reasonable time and doesn’t need to be that funny; ie The Dream.) Here is an update on how my plan is going: badly. Over the course of three years, I have written two books* and published none. I have yet to complete any part of my plan, So what went wrong? Well… Actually, you know what? I’m not going to go there. I started writing a huge long explanation, opening with a mea culpa about embarking on an artistic endeavour cynically (which I then retracted because wanting to earn a living is not a sin, even for artists, despite what people might believe), but I promised myself I could only do these newsletters if I kept it short – for all our sakes – and since I have no expectation that anyone is really interested in the ins and outs of every thought in my brain (especially me), I’m going to skip to the end. The point is, before the end of this year I have to publish these two books Even if it means admitting the total failure of my plan from conception to delivery. Even if I die from the stress and embarrassment of putting myself out there. Even if it’s the worst thing I ever do. I have to get these babies out there into the world. I have to look back and say I tried. And I have to tell people about it. So, this is why, dear reader, I am telling you. Telling you feels like the same as telling no one, since I can pretend no one has seen this (this is not a reflection on you personally, it’s just that as I write this, you are just a faceless blur in my mind.) I just send it out into the ether and then act like it didn’t happen. Of course, if lots of people see this and they all love me and everything I write, I will be delighted (since that will bring me a step closer to my early-evening-sit-down comedian ambition). But for now, I can just try to imagine the kindest, most supportive possible person has opened this (ie, not my mother) and they wish me well. So, here is my new plan. I tell you about the books I’m currently editing. I share semi-regular updates about those books – what they will be called (help!), what my pseudonym should be (ideas?), why I’m writing under a pseudonym (or not?) why am I self-publishing, what the cover will look like, etc etc – and I hope some of you read these updates. Even better, I hope some of you read the books when they come out. If you are interested in joining me for this wild, text-based ride (no riding experience necessary), I would be extremely honoured. If not, I do genuinely understand. Life is short, time is money, emails are a blight, waffle is a bore. But please do unsubscribe; I will feel much happier knowing I’m only pestering people who want to be pestered. Have they gone yet? Good! Now it’s just you and me. Welcome, blurry-faced benevolent reader! And so, we come to our conclusion (for now). I have kept it reasonably (by my standards) short, and now I am sending it out into the ether. Please feel free to hit reply/comment, but only to say something nice. I want you to know that I felt sick the entire time I was composing this, and my hands will shake as I hit send. Speak soon! Katie *Actually three and a bit, but the one and a bits are part of another plan.- If this Threads thread is to be believed, running away to join the circus is more common than you might imagine.
- Thomas Cromwell had himself photoshopped, Tudor-style, into a picture with Henry VIII.
- Here’s how to get AI to use AI to use AI to plan and write all your LinkedIn posts (and then use AI to turn it into a slide deck). If the lessons of inbreeding have taught us anything, it’s that this is FINE and not a problem AT ALL.
- Tor Freeman explains Wally Wood’s 22 Panels That Always Work (in comic books) and updates the illustrations in her own hilarious style.
- “We need to get the draft to Bob before he goes on holiday”. Fuck Bob. Bob is not sitting on a beach reading my script. A diatribe against the entirely fabricated “faux urgency” of the movie and TV industry. In my experience, these bullshit deadlines exist in the corporate world too.
Your Hand Found Mine: Best Drama at the Berlin Flash Film Festival!
The micro short film I wrote has just won Best Drama at the Berlin Flash Film Festival!
I can’t quite believe how beautiful this film is. It came out exactly how I imagined it, which is just nuts. Working with the team on this has been a privilege and pleasure; I can’t believe how lucky I am. We made the film as part of BAFTA Crew x BFI Network. Our groups were assigned at random (we were Group One) and I totally lucked out with mine.
You can watch the award-winning one minute cut here:
This is the one-minute edit of Your Hand Found Mine. A longer cut is coming soon! #BAFTACrew #BFINetwork @BAFTA #BerlinFlashFilmFestival pic.twitter.com/1baYdzMAlw
— Katie Lee (@shinykatie) June 7, 2021
Watch this space for the longer cut!
Lost Tapes of Roxy Jones gets BAFTA Rocliffe shortlist!
Very excited that we made the shortlist for BAFTA Rocliffe Children, Family and YA competition with our YA script, THE LOST TAPES OF ROXY JONES. This is the third time we’ve made it through on this prestigious award. Rocliffe really is a life-changing competition. It helped us get representation, it’s given us the chance to meet so many new contacts and friends, and it’s been a massive boost for morale. I entered my first ever script – Mum-Life Crisis – into the Comedy competition back in early 2016, and the thoughtful and encouraging feedback I received helped me to write a better draft (and – most importantly – stopped me from giving up straight away!)
That draft went on to make the shortlist for the Funny Women Awards.
The next script I wrote (family comedy drama DARKE TIMES, co-written with Alex Milway) reached the Rocliffe Children’s Award final six (also in 2016) and we got our agent, Clare Israel.
We stopped entering for a few years because we were busy developing a project with Zodiak Kids and working on other things. Then, in 2019, I decided it was time to try again, this time getting shortlisted for FOLLOWERS in the Childrens’ & YA category again. (Full disclosure: there have been at least three other scripts that didn’t get anywhere! Don’t want to give the impression it’s been all sunshine and lollipops.)
Anyway, if you’re trying to decide whether or not to enter, just go for it! I entered that first script not knowing anything much at all about screen writing. It really has been life-changing.
Here's a congrats to the @BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Children Family and YA runner-ups: @shinykatie and @Alexmilway (THE LOST TAPES OF ROXY JONES), @Freya_Alderson (HEX), @SarahMc65044669 (GROWING PAINS) pic.twitter.com/vYqphjrI3b
— Rocliffe Productions & Writing Competition (@rocliffeforum) May 16, 2021
Working with Arx Anima
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