I have written two separate blogs and a website for many years.
It was becoming a little unwieldy so now I have brought all my writing activities under one roof at www.alanwhelan.co.uk
You will find all future blog posts under Travel Blog and Writing Blog, but the existing posts below will remain for the time being.
Here's what the new site looks like...
The third Word festival is almost upon us. If you are a writer (of any hue) in the northwest of England or just have a love of the written word, put September 20 2014 in your diary now.
It will not only be a great day out and a chance to meet several excellent writers and speakers (and me), it is also an investment in yourself as a writer. The past two years have been a great success.
You deserve to spend a day talking, thinking and musing about writing - and picking up some new ideas to energise your prose or verse. And lunch is included.
I have just finished a very interesting job writing about a great manufacturing company in north Manchester.
The chairman of the plc had commissioned a corporate history in 1995, but it was now out of date and needed a fresh rewrite. A lot has happened in the company over the past 20 years, so I was commissioned to edit the original history (that was a little dry in places), and add a ghostwritten memoir section that brought the story up to the present day: 68,000 words of precious stories that might otherwise have been lost.
The timing was perfect because in 2015 the company celebrates 100 years since its founding - on the same site where they trade to this day. What a terrific gift for staff, shareholders, suppliers, and the fourth generation of Halsteads.
We have produced two versions: a handy paperback and a sturdy hardback with dust jacket.
The Word is almost upon us. Tickets for the one-day festival of writing on September 21 are going fast.
There is a strict limit on the number of people we can accommodate at Astley Hall in Chorley, so please buy your ticket now.
The line-up is unmissable if you are a writer in Lancashire (and the northwest) who is looking for inspiration and would like to network with fellow writers.
Orange Prize longlisted Carol Birch, travel writer Peter Moore, and short storyist Zoe Lambert will be our guest speakers.
We also have a session from two book designers who will give an insight into this crucial aspect of getting your book on bookstore shelves.
Then, after we take part in a group writing project, a tasty lunch is laid on.
More info here: http://the-word.org.uk
Tickets here: http://the-word-es2.eventbrite.co.uk/?rank=1
Recently, literature festivals have proliferated as fast as daisies after a summer shower.
But The Word is a little different - it's a writing festival for writers. I have organised it with my writing group. The Lancashire Word.
Set in the coach house of the beautiful Astley Hall in Chorley, Lancashire, The Word 2013 - on September 21 - will welcome Carol Birch, Peter Moore and Zoe Lambert, and book designers Ed Christiano and Ned Hoste.
Come along to network with other writers, pick the brains of our terrific guest speakers and enjoy a tasty lunch.
Last year we sold out.
I'll be speaking at this year's Leigh & Wigan's Words Together festival. For those who have not heard about my travels, it's a good (FREE!) opportunity to see what I get up to when I hit the road.
I get to tell the stories behind the stories from my books African Brew Ha-Ha and The Black Stars of Ghana.
The festival runs from April 1 – 13. My slot is at 2pm on Friday April 5 at Wigan library.
Call 01942 826721 for tickets.
I've just finished another great ghostwriting commission.
Here is the cover from a proof copy of the new book, A Call From the Future.
It's the story of a life of extraordinary coincidences and a woman's search for a theory that will explain the recurring synchronicity that seems to be guiding her life choices.
After eight blog posts, I have now finished ghostwriting the memoir which, because the client was so busy, has taken longer than expected. The final word count is 71,000, longer than she anticipated but it doesn't read long.
In the final edit, we tweaked a few stories so that we didn't upset people that she likes/loves, rewrote certain quoted passages (for copyright reasons) and deleted a couple of incidents that may have fallen foul of defamation laws. We haven't lost any power from the story, and we can both sleep easy in our beds!
Now that the client is in a kind of post-adrenalin state – I've done it! I've really done it! – the next stage is to decide whether to approach a publisher or self-publish. Whatever the final destination of the manuscript, the memoir is written and will be there forever – no one can take that away from her.
In the meantime, I have already made good progress on the next ghostwriting commission. It's another memoir from a client who's had an amazing life.
I have a new website that combines most of the writing I do – ghostwriting, business writing, PR, editing, critiques and travel writing.
Have a look http://www.alanwhelan.co.uk
