Author of Creative Fiction Writing, Books and Stories
I was recently wondering which book is classed as the First Novel of any kind in the English language? How easy is it to pinpoint such a milestone from so long ago? Turns out it depends on what you class as a novel, and there is a lot of argument about it…
Writing can be a very lonely thing to do sometimes, filled with a lot of self-doubt. You can write something one day and think you created something special, and then look at it the next day and cringe inside. So it’s wonderful when somebody reaches out and recognises what you’re trying to achieve…
So, I’ve been experimenting because there was an expanse of shiny whiteness on my office wall with scribbles on it like ‘Get milk’, ‘Weed the garden (again)’ and ‘***Don’t rescue another cat; you have enough now***’.
All the battles and triumphs between then and now seemed suddenly irrelevant, for this… this was the Black Wood…
The Killer Carriage and Unlucky John Swift, from ‘The Blackwood Crusade’
This tantalising tale is based on a collection of medieval manuscripts which tell of an all-out war against pesky supernatural elements bothering a tiny village in the middle of England. Who wins? Read it and find out.
Jo Danilo | Writer 