Generated by All in One SEO v4.9.0, this is an llms.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site. # Graham H Miller Crime writer ## Sitemaps - [XML Sitemap](https://grahamhmiller.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website. ## Posts - [Motorhead England](https://grahamhmiller.com/motorhead-england) - Anyone who knows me in real life will know that usually I wear jeans and a rock t-shirt. However I have some t-shirts that are my favourites - Motorhead shirts. To explain this, I'll have to give a quick history lesson. Motorhead was formed by and always was defined by one man - Lemmy. He - [>Hello](https://grahamhmiller.com/hello) - >An initial test post before I start to pull together all the information about this project. Probably when the children are asleep! - [>Pure metal](https://grahamhmiller.com/pure-metal) - >Pure metalOriginally uploaded by graham_h_millerThis is the final outcome that I wanted from stage one - pure metal to go into a crucible for stage two. - [>Introduction](https://grahamhmiller.com/introduction) - >HiFinally I've got a bit of peace and quiet to properly explain what this blog is for.I have this project to investigate whether it would be possible to cast my own statues out of molten aluminium from drinks cans. I've already started and have comments spread between different forums and Flickr. So I've started this - [>Flickr set](https://grahamhmiller.com/flickr-set) - >Here's a link to my set of photos on Flickr. I'll blog when I add photos but may not always get around to putting every photo across on here.http://www.flickr.com/photos/grahams_pictures/sets/72157617864504151/CheersGraham - [>Charcoal and Copper](https://grahamhmiller.com/charcoal-and-copper) - >Isn't the internet great? When I was a student 20 years ago the internet was basically user-groups. Now, with everything else, the most useful bits are sometimes forums and yahoo! groups. I've just been told that my aluminium will flow better with 5%-6% copper added to make an alloy. That's just saved me a lot - [>Bentonite clay](https://grahamhmiller.com/bentonite-clay) - >My cunning plan is slowly working. I've been listing things I don't need on ebay to generate enough money to buy the things that I absolutely can't make, scrounge or recycle. So I've just sold two books, which has given me enough in paypal to buy 750g of bentonite clay which should make proper foundry - [>Sand](https://grahamhmiller.com/sand) - >The starting sandOriginally uploaded by graham_h_millerYesterday I got some bentonite clay in the post from ebay.So in the evening I started sorting out the sand that I rescued from the preschool sandpit. As you can see it's full of bark chips, twigs and leaves. I gradually sieved it through a garden sieve and then a - [>Another burn](https://grahamhmiller.com/another-burn) - >HiThe furnace is running again. I used old charcoal on top of fresh and it took a couple of hours and lots of meths to get it all burning OK. No sign of any aluminium dripping out from underneath which is a shame. I had used green sand and made some impressions to test it - [>Quality counts!](https://grahamhmiller.com/quality-counts) - >Well, I used up three different bags of old charcoal and nothing dripped out of the bottom of the furnace. It took nearly two hours to start burning properly as well. I'm guessing now that it's right on the edge of developing the 660 degrees centigrade that I need. Which does make sense as last - [>It's been a while](https://grahamhmiller.com/its-been-a-while) - >I've been a victim of low resources - money, time and health. On the money front I've been scanning Freecycle pretty much every day I've been around to collect stuff and that's starting to pay off. I now have an old metal wheelbarrow and a load of wood, mostly an old bed and shelving unit.While - [>Making Charcoal I](https://grahamhmiller.com/making-charcoal-i) - >Right so. The reason I've stopped melting things is that I couldn't afford my charcoal habit! So after some very diligent months of reading Freeglecycle every day I have accumulated everything I need to make my own. Hopefully.Here's a big pile of wood, chopped to size, with fire-lighting things and gloves.Here's the fire all laid - [>Charcoal II](https://grahamhmiller.com/charcoal-ii) - >Right so. That didn't work then! I got maybe a handful of charcoal from the bottom and a lot of charred wood.So, I listened to what I'd been advised on Creative Living forum and made a nice neat stack of fresh wood on top of kindling...... waited til it was all nicely alight and blazing...... - [>Charcoal III](https://grahamhmiller.com/charcoal-iii) - >Progress is being made. Now the thin bits that I thought of as kindling are turning to charcoal and the big lumps are becoming brown ends. So I think the next stage will be to do a proper charcoal stack with a hole in the middle made out of the thinner bits of wood. Then - [>Making slow progress](https://grahamhmiller.com/making-slow-progress) - >HelloI almost can't believe it's been a whole month since I did anything. Except I only like setting fire to things at the weekend as then my wife's around to watch the children, so really it's only four weekends.Anyway, a neighbour told me of a recently dismantled wooden greenhouse that was fit for fire-wood, so - [>My charcoal worked!](https://grahamhmiller.com/my-charcoal-worked) - >Well I'm chuffed. Home-made charcoal burns nice and hot. I took it all apart this morning and found big globs of melted aluminium and lots of cans with the paint burnt off. More importantly, I've sold some unwanted stuff on ebay so I now have a nice large pay-pal balance to spend on modeling clay. - [>Hello and Welcome](https://grahamhmiller.com/hello-and-welcome) - >Well this is my wife's idea - one blog to bring together all my creative projects in one place. To be honest it's because I have such a butterfly brain that I'm always working on lots of projects at once.Today I've been trying to replace the cardboard coffee table. When we moved house I turned - [>Winemaking](https://grahamhmiller.com/winemaking) - >Well had a good day today. Helene came over today to learn about winemaking. Together, we bottled up the elderberry and blackberry. And we got the rowan berry wine strained off and into an air-locked demi-john. While this was going on I was simmering four pounds of damsons which are now sitting in a brewing - [>Writing](https://grahamhmiller.com/writing) - >Well after a good few days off, what with Christmas and school holidays I have finally got back into it. Wrote nearly 1,000 words this evening while waiting for middle son to go off to sleep. I've been writing the Dark Ages bit of my novel, which is starting to come together now! - [>Sunrise over Thanet](https://grahamhmiller.com/sunrise-over-thanet) - >Sunrise over ThanetOriginally uploaded by graham_h_miller - [>Woodworking!](https://grahamhmiller.com/woodworking) - >Woodworking!Originally uploaded by graham_h_millerA couple of weeks before Christmas we got a new cooker. Luckily for me when it arrived it came wrapped up not only in poylstyrene but also some cardboard and packing wood. Once I realised that the cardboard was about the right size for the top of a new coffee table, it - [>Lots of progress](https://grahamhmiller.com/lots-of-progress) - >I'll upload the photos later, but I have made progress on my next cardboard coffee table. I have marked out the four big triangles and promised middle DS (aged 5) that we'll build the pyramid tomorrow. And I've cut the joints on another crosspiece. Because of the added wood this is shaping up to be - [>End of life coffee table](https://grahamhmiller.com/end-of-life-coffee-table) - >My Coffee TableOriginally uploaded by graham_h_millerReady for RecyclingOriginally uploaded by graham_h_millerIf you look at the top picture you can see all the problems with the old one. First of all the top has creases in it, one right through central London, the other one a lot further to the West! Also the legs are very - [>And in with the new!](https://grahamhmiller.com/and-in-with-the-new) - >Flat pyramidOriginally uploaded by graham_h_millerAlternative Flat PyramidOriginally uploaded by graham_h_millerAnd here's Cardboard Coffee Table mkII - new and improved. I'm not going to reveal the design yet, but it's been in my head for a while. Somehow all the bits of wood will be incorporated into this one. Anyway, this is the base of the - [>Cardboard Pyramid](https://grahamhmiller.com/cardboard-pyramid) - >Well I let the glue set for all of its 24 hours to be on the safe side, because I was nervous about folding it up into a pyramid. I could see that it would just want to spring apart and it felt very stiff. Luckily I had scored the tabs and it folded up - [>The Equivalancy of Triangles](https://grahamhmiller.com/the-equivalancy-of-triangles) - >Well the cardboard pyramid is proving to be as strong as I hoped - the boys find it greatly entertaining as they find new holes through which they can poke things. The sooner I finish and seal it off the better.Today I've been thinking about the table top. I'm making up a frame that sits - [>Another good day](https://grahamhmiller.com/another-good-day) - >Really making progress now. Got a lot of the woodworking done today. I think I have five more joints to cut and then I'll have to buy more wood glue and borrow as many G clamps as I can find to put it all together. Also put the chamfers on the edges of the beams - [>Table-top mock up](https://grahamhmiller.com/table-top-mock-up) - >Table-top mock upOriginally uploaded by graham_h_millerWell. Finally I have come to the end of all the sawing and chiseling and have the framework assembled. It's all (roughly) flush. At the moment it's very slow as I only have three G-clamps, even with a bit of borrowing. So I'm using the work-bench to clamp one side - [>I said it'd go quiet](https://grahamhmiller.com/i-said-itd-go-quiet) - >and it has. Every evening I turn the framework round and glue and clamp another section. This evening I'll glue the tabletop onto it. I must clear up the table to let me do that safely and out the way of the boys!Meantime I seem to have resolved my issues with my book. I seem - [>Final Mockup](https://grahamhmiller.com/final-mockup) - >Final MockupOriginally uploaded by graham_h_millerThis is the final mockup before I breakout the wood glue and stick the top to the pyramid. I've borrowed a nice long spirit level so I can do it properly... then it's on to decorating it :DGraham - [>Chocolate art - vote for me!](https://grahamhmiller.com/chocolate-art-vote-for-me) - >Hihttp://www.theartofgreenandblacks.com/?artworkId=2511It's my Green & Blacks artwork!Vote for me and I could win 700 bars of chocolate...Graham - [>Lots of tiny pyramids](https://grahamhmiller.com/lots-of-tiny-pyramids) - >See the top of the pyramid looks a bit scruffy because the cardboard is too thick to hold the detail. I can see in my mind's eye exactly what I want to do - make a mini-pyramid out of a Weetabix box and glue that over the top. But I can't quite make one that - [>Lots of tiny pyramids](https://grahamhmiller.com/lots-of-tiny-pyramids-2) - >PICT1630Originally uploaded by graham_h_millerThis is some of them - I think the rest have escaped... - [>Behold the Chocolate Pyramid](https://grahamhmiller.com/behold-the-chocolate-pyramid) - >Right well I've gone as far as I can for now. This is it at the moment. I'm still eating chocolate and my Mum and Brother have offered to post down some more wrappers so I can finish off decorating the sides of the pyramid. It's a bit frustrating as I know it'll look different - [>Now I'm drawing](https://grahamhmiller.com/now-im-drawing) - >I've started on the illustrations for my 2011 Lunar Year Planner. I always thought I couldn't draw too well but I'm quite chuffed with how it's been going so far. I'm away from my scanner so it'll have to wait until I can show what I've been up to! - [>Creative Writing](https://grahamhmiller.com/creative-writing) - >Yesterday I was walking up to the Post Office and I saw a CD lying in the grass. A recordable CD with "AC/DC Back in Black" written on it. I took it home and today on the way to school we had a bit of Hells Bells. Except when they came to the final few - [>Past the block](https://grahamhmiller.com/past-the-block) - >I've been thinking over the past few days and I think I've worked what I'm not happy about in my main book that I'm writing. So I've amended a bit and now it feels much more natural and "right" so I'm making progress again. Hopefully I'll finish the Dark Age section and that'll be about - [>Different way to be creative!](https://grahamhmiller.com/different-way-to-be-creative) - >Hi I haven't made much progress on my many projects, but since the weather's improved in the last couple of weeks I have spent more time out in the garden. I think with three children to look after and three different jobs I've got to give myself a bit of a break and try to - [>OMG one whole month went past!](https://grahamhmiller.com/omg-one-whole-month-went-past) - >There's a month just gone by. But on the plus side, the garden is well under control. And I am still writing, albeit quite slowly. And I've done the entire middle bit of the year planner for 2011. Except for the quarter days, but they can be done in the next couple of days. Either - [Solar power](https://grahamhmiller.com/43-2) - >My brother came down today and we got to messing around in the garage. This is the end result... Here's a really odd star shaped light we got for Christmas. It's plugged into this four-way under the stairs: Note the bright orange lawn-mower cable. The other end of that cable is here, in the garage: - [>Home education](https://grahamhmiller.com/home-education) - >Well, a lot of water has gone under various interesting bridges. My LSW has been made redundant and has started contracting. This means, for the next eight weeks or so that she's doing a weekly commute of over 200 miles and I'm home alone with the boys. I'm also home educating the elder two boys - [>Trying to be creative](https://grahamhmiller.com/trying-to-be-creative) - >Hi At the moment I'm trying to find time at either end of the day to be myself and to be a bit creative. I went out to Herne Bay the other day and took photos just for the fun of it. And I've sat down here to write this. I've also made decisions about - [>Light at the end of the tunnel](https://grahamhmiller.com/light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel) - >Well, middle DS starts school any day now and youngest is going to nursery three mornings a week, so hopefully I'll soon get a bit of time to be creative. I've got a couple of craft fairs coming up for Christmas so I'd really like to get some stuff made for them... I'm working on - [>Hoping for a more settled 2011](https://grahamhmiller.com/hoping-for-a-more-settled-2011) - >Right so. The state of our family so far is that youngest DS has a nursery that he likes (at 2 1/2 he knows his own mind!) and goes there three times a week. Middle DS is going to his local primary and he can walk there with me which is lovely! But the eldest - [>The Joy of Lego](https://grahamhmiller.com/the-joy-of-lego) - >I bought middle DS (aged 6) a huge box of Lego for Christmas/Solstice. I've found it's a really good way to be creative - like a rapid prototyping tool. Although now I've got a project I'm investing lots of time and effort into it to do the best I can at it. The end product - [>Writing](https://grahamhmiller.com/writing-2) - >Just to let you know that I'm writing away, a few hundred words every night. I'm guessing that after about three weeks that means that I must have written thousands of words. The current plan is to get it all down on the screen no matter how bad it looks. And then when I go - [>Publishing](https://grahamhmiller.com/publishing) - >I'm still plugging away at the writing. I'm well over 57,000 words which is good, but it's like half way up the hill. I'm just realising how much more there is to go!Been talking to my LSW about the changes in the world of publishing and generally out there in the creative media. How, previously, - [It's all different now](https://grahamhmiller.com/its-all-different-now) - For a while now I've been noticing things that have changed in our society. Like, ever since we invented farming and settled down, those settlements have been built along trade and transport routes. Whether it's a bridge or a river or a coastal harbour, natural transport nexus points become settlements. Except that in the last - [Geodesic domes](https://grahamhmiller.com/geodesic-domes) - Being all mathematical I've been long fascinated by geodesic domes. There are instructions in many places on the web for a method involving rolling tubes of newspaper up and then stapling them together in the right configuration to make a dome. Newspaper being free, I thought I'd have a go... This is actually the best it ever managed. Having - [Cake of Harmony](https://grahamhmiller.com/cake-of-harmony) - Here is a cake baked by my wife and decorated by me. It's another way to be creative and tastes good too! - [That Full Moon](https://grahamhmiller.com/that-full-moon) - Here are my pictures of the perigee Full Moon conjuction... Enjoy! - [How big is the world?](https://grahamhmiller.com/how-big-is-the-world) - I've had lots of odd conversations with my wife about the way the world is and how it is going. In particular she's been looking into whether we as a world can continue with a possession based culture or if some sort of responsibility based structure should be implemented instead. In the course of this - [Geodesic Dome II](https://grahamhmiller.com/geodesic-dome-ii) - I am pleased to say that I didn't get too disheartened by the failure of my first attempt and I have now made a whole new dome. Admittedly on a more modest scale, but this one actually worked and has all the right proportions of a dome. It's also incredibly light, and for it's weight, - [Instructable for viewing eclipses etc.](https://grahamhmiller.com/instructable-for-viewing-eclipses-etc) - Last week I put up this Instructable for a solar viewer - to allow me and the family to view eclipses and transits safely! - [The Fifth Warrior and other stuff](https://grahamhmiller.com/the-fifth-warrior-and-other-stuff) - Two events coincided this last week for me. First I started putting a bibliography on this website to let people know what I have written in the past, which naturally led me to thinking about a book I wrote over 10 years ago - The Loch and whether I should drag the pdf out of - [Photographs](https://grahamhmiller.com/photographs) - I've been quiet for a while. Actually writing and going on courses about writing! Here are three photos I took that I like: - [Dinosaur Cake](https://grahamhmiller.com/dinosaur-cake) - Dinosaur Cake, a photo by graham_h_miller on Flickr.I made and decorated this cake with a bit of help from my six year old. It was meant to be a test but it came out so well it's now in the freezer waiting for the three year old's birthday party! - [Update](https://grahamhmiller.com/update) - Quick update from me. I started 2011 writing every single day which was brilliant. Then we moved house. With three children. Over 200 miles. I am now, about six weeks later, just about recovering. My wife is still working and took hardly any time off over the move, and of course now we're into summer - [Nearly the end of the holidays](https://grahamhmiller.com/nearly-the-end-of-the-holidays) - Well, another few days and all three of my lovely children will be busy during the mornings. I've been feeling a bit stifled of late, I tend to write things in my head and then type them out when I get the time. Except that I haven't had time to start the writing process. But - [The death of books?](https://grahamhmiller.com/the-death-of-books) - It does appear at the moment that every broadsheet is running an article on how the Kindle is killing off books and that soon either paper books or the option of earning a living as an author is about disappear. There are a number of flaws in this argument. The first is that the Kindle - [Structuring a novel](https://grahamhmiller.com/structuring-a-novel) - I've had one of those realisations that initially seemed like an overnight bolt of lightning. But when I analysed it I realised that it's been brewing in my subconscious for several months at least. Let me explain, I subscribe to various twitter and Facebook feeds aimed at independent and self-published authors and last night, have - [Breaking the rules](https://grahamhmiller.com/breaking-the-rules) - Having written my last post about rules and structure, I'm now going to reply to a couple of the comments about breaking the rules. I think in any form of craft or art work breaking the rules is essential, but with some very important provisos. First of all, you must know the rules and preferably - [Still writing](https://grahamhmiller.com/still-writing) - Well, I'm doing something quite tricky here, I'm reading a book about plotting (Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell) and I'm still writing my novel. It's similar to painting a picture and reading a book on how to paint in between times. I can already see differences in how I work. The reason that - [Movember](https://grahamhmiller.com/movember) - I've just updated my profile picture for this website and my twitter feed. In case anyone was wondering, I am looking particularly hirsute in these photos as I've agreed to take part in Movember. This is a charity event to raise awareness of and funds for male cancers. The principle is simple - to start November - [Finding the plot](https://grahamhmiller.com/finding-the-plot) - At 75,000 words in, my rate of writing is slowing slightly. This is because I have read my book on Plot and Structure and I think my subconscious has digested it. Now, when I write, a voice at the back of my head asks questions like: how does this scene move the character forward, or - [Getting into the flow](https://grahamhmiller.com/getting-into-the-flow) - I'm now getting into the flow. This section I'm writing is set in the English Civil War and it has been really tough to get into. I think it's because the whole period from 1640 through the protectorate to the restoration is immensely complex. It's all about politics and religion and the role of parliament. - [Learning from published authors](https://grahamhmiller.com/learning-from-published-authors) - I was lucky this morning, I caught John Grisham being interviewed on BBC Breakfast. The initial focus of of the interview was the fact that he'd sold 275 million copies of his books. But for an author, he gave some valuable insights into his success. He stated that he always knows the final scene before - [#amwriting but #nottweeting](https://grahamhmiller.com/amwriting-but-nottweeting) - I've spent a lot of time skipping through Twitter posts about how to build an author platform and generate a loyal base of readers. I do have a Goodreads account but it isn't one of my regular 'sites that I check every day. I have a range of them - Twitter, Facebook, a couple of - [History and accuracy](https://grahamhmiller.com/history-and-accuracy) - Time to own up - I've been reading a lot about building an author platform and how to use social networking for self promotion. While I don't take it all on board, one thing that did resonate was advice about finding a target audience and trying to tempt them to your site. So, prepare to - [Language in historical novels](https://grahamhmiller.com/language-in-historical-novels) - Something my editor said a while back struck a chord with me. She saw a short excerpt and questioned my use of the word "cute" as the piece was set in the Roman Empire and it was too American. Since then, as I'm red-penning I'm taking out as many modern words as possible. As I - [Travelling through history](https://grahamhmiller.com/travelling-through-history) - Many historical stories feature travelling from one place to another. Actually, a real journey is a common enough plot device as it can easily mirror the characters' internal journey. But when this applies to historical fiction, whole legions of problems (or opportunities) assault the author. Everything from the names and locations of towns to the - [The life of a writer](https://grahamhmiller.com/the-life-of-a-writer) - I seem to be getting into a pattern here. While I'm planning out some writing I am capable of keeping up with my author platform - blog posts, tweets and Facebook updates. But then, I get an outline all sketched out and thankfully I appear to be able to write between 500 and 1,500 words - [Milestones](https://grahamhmiller.com/milestones) - Following on from my previous post where I realised that I have become a "proper writer" I thought I'd look back at some milestones in my career as a writer. I was thinking over this and realised that I started at the age of 15 when I had an article published in White Dwarf, a - [Solitary profession](https://grahamhmiller.com/solitary-profession) - A quick update on where I am now. I've done the bulk of the writing on the Fifth Warrior and am now leaving it off to one side for the moment. I was feeling a bit odd about it as I started writing it about three years ago and I've learned a lot about plot, - [Writing a page-turner](https://grahamhmiller.com/writing-a-page-turner) - As I mentioned in my last post I've read On Writing by Stephen King, and while I don't agree with many of the points he makes one thing really stuck with me. If you want your writing to be exciting, page-turner stuff, then write it quickly. I worked out that I only had eight weeks - [Editing strategy](https://grahamhmiller.com/editing-strategy) - Everything I've read about editing suggests that you should write lots and then cut out the superfluous words to create tighter, leaner prose. I think Stephen King aims to lose at least 10% on the first draft rewrite. I have a problem with this. Ever since I was at school, I've always been very terse - [Enhanced books](https://grahamhmiller.com/enhanced-books) - I was looking for something to read this morning so I picked up a Kate Mosse. I vaguely remembered that she'd started one of the big fiction prizes (the Orange Prize for Fiction) so I flicked through the back to find her bio. I was a bit surprised to find that there was more than - [Word count and free time](https://grahamhmiller.com/word-count-and-thoughts-on-sales) - Nine weeks ago I finished planning and outlining my novel. I looked at the calendar and worked out that I had eight weeks of typing available. This is because I am house-husband to three lively boys, one at pre-school and two at school. This means that most of my free time is in the morning, - [Burning down Hogwarts!](https://grahamhmiller.com/burning-down-hogwarts) - Apologies to those of you who don't read Harry Potter, but I am father to three boys, aged 4, 8 and 11 so it is common currency in our house. Thinking about the series of books (and films, etc.) I realised something. By the end of the book, a lot of things that were axiomatic - [Finished!](https://grahamhmiller.com/finished) - I have just finished a draft of my novel, Identity. I suppose it's a second draft although the process to get this far has been a bit convoluted. As mentioned in a previous post, I tend to write very short, then make it longer as I go through and rewrite. With this book, it's the - [Beta Readers](https://grahamhmiller.com/beta-readers) - I'm now at the stage of needing beta readers. I've just been for a wander around the Internet and now have a better idea of what a beta reader is in general and what I'm specifically looking for. The term beta reader is an adaptation of the software term beta tester. This is the first - [The Process of Novel Writing](https://grahamhmiller.com/the-process-of-novel-writing) - When I was younger (more naive?) I thought that becoming an author would go something like this. I'd write a novel, by starting at the beginning and writing through to the end. Then I'd send three chapters and a synopsis off to some publishers, one would ask for the full manuscript and I'd get published. - [Tools of the Trade](https://grahamhmiller.com/tools-of-the-trade) - I know the old saying - a bad workman blames his tools. But the other side of coin is that you have to use the right tool for the job. (I have scars on my hands to reinforce this lesson!) In thinking about how my writing has changed over the years, I've realised that advances - [More Writers now than Ever Before?](https://grahamhmiller.com/more-writers-now-than-ever-before) - As I said in a previous post, I've been writing on and off for (I can't believe it) nearly thirty years. OK, so I did get a magazine article published when I was 15 but that's still a long time! When I started, I had a manual typewriter, and then scrounged an electric one with - [Writing and Music](https://grahamhmiller.com/writing-and-music) - In my head I've always compared music and writing. Both listening to music and reading books are two important parts of my life. Unfortunately, I am not blessed with any sense of pitch or rhythm. Thankfully however I appear to have more talent as a writer than I do as a musician! I view literary - [Thanks for the memories!](https://grahamhmiller.com/thanks-for-the-memories) - Today, in our rather untidy house, the camera case got knocked upside down. I know this because I found an 8GB memory card on the floor. Later I picked up a 4GB card. I know I put them down somewhere but can't find them right now. But it did get me thinking, and reminiscing. Less - [More about structure and plot](https://grahamhmiller.com/more-about-structure-and-plot) - I've just finished reading Vogler's Writer's Journey (Mythic Structure for Writers) and am in the process of absorbing it. It is a complicated but thorough blueprint for what sells, what readers find satisfying and want to go back to. Actually, that is slightly inaccurate - Vogler's main experience is in Hollywood, so it is really a - [Squibbleflip](https://grahamhmiller.com/squibbleflip) - Hi all. I'm just testing out the whole Google Authorship thing. To do that I need a page that will be easily found on a Google search so this one is entitled squibbleflip as there aren't any other pages on Google with that name. I'm just going to leave this up here for a few - [What's it all about?](https://grahamhmiller.com/whats-it-all-about) - I've decided to share my ideas for a blurb, intro letter or even an elevator pitch in this blog. (An elevator pitch is where you find yourself in the same lift (I am British not American!) as a publisher and have thirty seconds to pitch your idea before they get off at their floor.) It's - [Enjoying being a writer](https://grahamhmiller.com/enjoying-being-a-writer) - I have one completed novel and I'm working on the sequel. I'm currently in the process of looking for either an agent or a publisher which entails a lot of waiting. I am still writing and putting words down - I should crack the 10,000 barrier in the next day or two! But, maintaining a - [Three Hundred and Fifty](https://grahamhmiller.com/three-hundred-and-fifty) - It's been a long time since I blogged. At first this was because I was writing but then the summer holidays arrived. As I'm a stay-at-home Dad or House-husband, the summer holidays mean that the three boys take priority. As they get older, they stay up later, and my writing time diminishes. I have, unfortunately, - [Spring cleaning](https://grahamhmiller.com/spring-cleaning) - I've decided to have a spring clean of my social media presence. I run four different blogs about four different aspects of my life and I am now feeling that I'd like to draw the threads closer together. This is probably a good time to apologise – if you're an avid follower of all things - [Lunar Year Planner 2016](https://grahamhmiller.com/lunar-year-planner-2016) - Every year I make a year planner that is arranged by the phases of the moon instead of the conventional months of the year. Recently I have found out that my approach of starting on the new moon is a very ancient way of measuring time (both Muslim and Jewish calendars work like this). However, - [Success!](https://grahamhmiller.com/success) - I have signed with a publisher - Crooked Cat Books - so I thought I should give some insight into the process and what I did to get here, in the hope that it might help someone else along. Everyone in the business offering advice to aspiring authors says that you should never give up. - [Crafting a story](https://grahamhmiller.com/crafting-a-story) - I'm a firm believer that writing is a craft. IMHO it has skills that can not only be learnt, but also honed through practice. The analogy I use most often is that writing is a bit like carpentry. I refer to my early books as "slightly wonky tables" as I was practising when I wrote - [Anatomy of a Near Miss](https://grahamhmiller.com/anatomy-of-a-near-miss) - The life of a writer is a weird one. I plot out in advance of actually writing. I've never recorded my time, but I'd guess that staring at a blank page, typing fresh words is probably only 20-30% of the time I dedicate to creating a book. What do I do the rest of the - [A blog post about blogging](https://grahamhmiller.com/a-blog-post-about-blogging) - So, once I got a publishing contract, I thought I'd better sort out my social media presence. What that means is blogging and tweeting on a regular schedule so that when my launch date rolls around (about six months give or take) I'd have some people to launch to. Part of this plan was to - [Where do you get your ideas from?](https://grahamhmiller.com/where-do-you-get-your-ideas-from) - This must be one of the most common questions that writers get asked, so I thought I'd have a go at answering it. Training Inspiration I believe the brain is capable of being trained even in something as nebulous as creativity. I can't find the quote now, but someone said "I write whenever my muse - [Modern crime writing](https://grahamhmiller.com/modern-crime-writing) - A lot of crime writers bemoan the modern era of smart phones, Google, Facebook and everything else that conspires to change the face of crime and detection. Some even go so far as to write retro-crime setting their books in a past period. The changing face of crime This link shows how much technology is - [A quick update](https://grahamhmiller.com/a-quick-update) - As long term followers of my blog will know by now, my brain has a limited capacity for producing words per day. When I start either writing or editing intensively, I don't have any spare words left over for putting down in a blog. Or answering emails. Or marketing my book. Or organising life, come - [The Hay Festival 2017](https://grahamhmiller.com/the-hay-festival-2017) - I have a confession to make. We've lived here for nearly six years, and The Wife was born in South Wales and her mother still lives here. So, we have had many opportunities to go to the Hay Festival. And this year was the first time we actually managed it! An awkward distance This was the first - [Those exciting milestones](https://grahamhmiller.com/those-exciting-milestones) - All writers have those milestones in their career that stick in the memory. The first time you actually finish a manuscript or a draft. That one alone suddenly moves you out of the "I've got a great idea for a book" category into the realm of a writer. There are many dubious stats but I'm - [Why plan your novel?](https://grahamhmiller.com/why-plan-your-novel) - Introduction I can think of no other creative endeavour where newcomers would be told to just start and see what happens. Want to learn how to build furniture - grab some wood, nails, glue and screws and see what happens! Want to start painting, grab some paint and canvas and have a go. Don't worry - [Backups](https://grahamhmiller.com/backups) - Introduction On my Facebook feed, I've seen writers get frustrated with losing their work, or if they're forward thinking, worrying in advance about how to cope in the worst case scenario. I used to work in IT and while I've tried to shift my focus more to writing and not get distracted by the technology, ## Pages - [Home](https://grahamhmiller.com/) - Home page of Graham H Miller, author of murder mystery novels - the Jonah Greene and the Angel & Haines series. - [Author Services](https://grahamhmiller.com/author-services) - Everyone needs a helping hand with their novel at some point. I'm here to help. See below for my list of services, from a deep developmental edit to see if the structure of your book is working, all the way through to a proofread to catch those last few typos. I'm autistic and I find - [About](https://grahamhmiller.com/about) - Welcome to my homepage - the centre on the web for all my creative ventures. I write murder mystery novels. My first novel, The List, was published by Crooked Cat books in July 2017. I have since parted ways (amicably) with them, so unfortunately it's coming up as out-of-stock on Amazon. However, 2019 is going - [Other blogs](https://grahamhmiller.com/otherblogs) - The Ancient Minecrafter is my username within the Minecraft community. In brief, I'm trying to use Minecraft to explore prehistoric monuments, starting with an epic Stonehenge build. This blog only has mod tutorials on it at the moment, but there's also a YouTube channel. The Busy Pagan is my blog about the Wheel of the - [Homepage](https://grahamhmiller.com/homepage) - Graham H Miller is a crime writer based in South Wales. My Books Click on the headings below to learn more about my bibliography. Angel & Haines Two detectives; DC Angel is new and keen to make a difference while DCI Haines is nearing the end of his career. Learn More Jonah Greene Graham's first - [Block Content Examples](https://grahamhmiller.com/block-content-examples) - Block Content Examples Below are examples of column classes that are available in the block editor. Two Columns This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like - [About Us](https://grahamhmiller.com/about-us) - About Us Hello! We are StudioPress, and we build themes with an emphasis on typography, white space, and mobile-optimized design to make your website look absolutely breathtaking. 555.555.5555 1234 Block Blvd.San Francisco, CA 94120 - [Pricing Page](https://grahamhmiller.com/pricing-page) - Two Columns Package #1 This is a basic web design. $2999 Logo concept 3-page web design 1 hour of training1 email template Get Started Package #2 This is a premium web design. $4999 Logo concept 5-page web design 3 hours of training 2 Email templates Get Started Three Columns Package #1 This is a basic - [Books](https://grahamhmiller.com/books) - Some sales links on this page are affiliate links. This means that I earn a small commission on every sale made through the link, at no extra cost to you. Angel & Haines book 4 - The Way To Hell The latest instalment in the series set in Wootenshire. DC Emma Angel has an old - [Homepage](https://grahamhmiller.com/homepage-2) - Welcome to the store Write a short welcome message here Go shopping New Products - [Shop](https://grahamhmiller.com/shop) - [2021 Lunar Year Planner](https://grahamhmiller.com/2021-lunar-year-planner) - Every year I create a year planner that's arranged primarily by the phases of the moon and secondly by the usual months of the year. So, all the new moons and full moons line up horizontally and there's a band of moon dark days across the bottom. In addition, all the quarter days are marked, - [Buzzard House Redirect](https://grahamhmiller.com/buzzard-house-redirect) - [Buzzard House 2](https://grahamhmiller.com/buzzard-house-2) - All sales links on this page are affiliate links. This means that I earn a small commission on every sale made through the link, at no extra cost to you. Buzzard House is the next exciting Jonah Greene novel. Buzzard House sees Jonah brought out of his comfort zone. He's the coroner's officer for South - [Buzzard House](https://grahamhmiller.com/buzzard-house) - All sales links on this page are affiliate links. This means that I earn a small commission on every sale made through the link, at no extra cost to you. Buzzard House is the next exciting Jonah Greene novel. Buzzard House is the sequel to The List, the introduction to coronor's officer Jonah Greene. If - [Advance Readers](https://grahamhmiller.com/advance-readers) - Hello and thank you for signing up to my advanced reader team. Reviews are incredibly important to authors and readers. For the writers, like me, they make our books easier to find. And for the readers, an honest review, even if it's short, helps them choose their next great read. Don't worry, it's not very - [Thank you!](https://grahamhmiller.com/thank-you) - You've just signed up for my email newsletter. I'll send you a few emails to welcome you on to the website and then you'll only hear from me about once a month - just after the new moon usually. Click here to go back to the home page or here to see my books. - [Contact Us](https://grahamhmiller.com/contact-us) - Add a contact form to this page with the pre-installed WPForms Lite plugin (Third Party). Learn how to create a form using WPForms. - [Landing Page](https://grahamhmiller.com/landing-page) - This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with them what is on your mind. There are only two places in the world where we - [Sample Page](https://grahamhmiller.com/sample-page) - This is an example page. It's different from a blog post because it will stay in one place and will show up in your site navigation (in most themes). Most people start with an About page that introduces them to potential site visitors. It might say something like this: Hi there! I'm a bike messenger - [Creative projects](https://grahamhmiller.com/creative-projects) - This is the page for all my other creative projects. I mostly like to work in cardboard, but I also like working with anything that is considered junk by our society. I have made two cardboard coffee tables and various other things. On the direct recycling theme – in the past I have run a - [Pagan Writing](https://grahamhmiller.com/pagan-writing) - This is the home page for all my pagan and other mind body spirit related work. At the end of 2006 I self-published the Busy Pagan. I'm now working on a major rewrite. Every year, I design and produce a lunar based year planner. I used to work evenings doing layouts for a print house. - [Writing Blog](https://grahamhmiller.com/categorywritin) - [Bibliography](https://grahamhmiller.com/bibliography) - I've just been signed by Crooked Cat Books for The List and my current focus is to get it ready for publication. Here are some links to some of my previously published work. The Witches Calendar 2011 features an article by me entitled Talking to Trees and The 2011 Magical Almanac has an article by ## Products - [2024 Lunar Year Planner](https://grahamhmiller.com/product/2024-lunar-year-planner) - Live your life by the phases of the moon! This unique wall planner is A2 size and full colour, arranged so that all the New, Full and Dark moons are aligned horizontally. The year planner covers all of 2024 and shows the correct time and sign for every Full Moon, New Moon and Quarter Day, along with the Pagan Sabbats. Conceived and designed by Graham Miller, the illustration and graphic design are by Amanda Folwell. This attractive A2 full colour poster has a unique design, with all of the phases of the moons aligned horizontally. The top row shows all of the New Moons, followed by the days of the Waxing Moon. The centre line shows the Full Moons, followed by the days of the Wane, and the last three rows are Moon Dark. All manner of events can be either planned or recorded across the year, and you can easily see at a glance in which phase of the moon they occur, and any correspondences. The calendar also has the exact time and astrological sign for every Full Moon, New Moon and Quarter Day across the year to further help your planning. Similarly, if you you are recording the results of magickal work it will soon become apparent what effect the moon's phase is having. The usefulness of this year planner is extensive - a host of activities can planned using this calendar, from night fishing and hunting, through to Permaculture gardening and astronomy, and the astrological data will prove invaluable to astrologers. In addition to the Lunar information, the eight Pagan Sabbats of the year are also shown, and the Equinoxes and Solstices are marked with their correct astrological time. Every month is marked in alternating shading, making it easier to find your way around, and the changes to and from British Summer Time are also marked. The Year Planners will be sent in a poster tube. If you order more than one, we can send up to five with no extra postage cost - we will refund or send an invoice at time of sale. - [The Wrong Suspect - Signed copy](https://grahamhmiller.com/product/the-wrong-suspect-signed-copy) - Signed copy of The Wrong Suspect - [The Way to Hell - Signed copy](https://grahamhmiller.com/product/the-way-to-hell-signed-copy) - Signed copy of The Way to Hell - [The Retirement Party - Signed copy](https://grahamhmiller.com/product/retirement) - Signed copy of The Retirement Party. - [The List - Signed copy](https://grahamhmiller.com/product/the-list-signed-copy) - Signed copy of The List - [Buzzard House - Signed copy](https://grahamhmiller.com/product/buzzard-house-signed-copy) - Signed copy of Buzzard House - [The Wrong Victims - Signed copy](https://grahamhmiller.com/product/the-wrong-victims-signed-copy) - Signed copy of The Wrong Victims - [Six Book Super Bundle](https://grahamhmiller.com/product/five-book-super-bundle) - Every book that I've published so far - The List, Buzzard House, The Retirement Party, The Wrong Victims, The Wrong Suspect and The Way To Hell. All signed by the author (that's me). If you want to catch up on my two series, Jonah Greene and Angel & Haines, then this is the package for ## Categories - [Uncategorized](https://grahamhmiller.com/category/uncategorized) - [Creative](https://grahamhmiller.com/category/creative) - [Designing](https://grahamhmiller.com/category/creative/designing) - [Growing](https://grahamhmiller.com/category/creative/growing) - [Inventing](https://grahamhmiller.com/category/creative/inventing) - [Making](https://grahamhmiller.com/category/creative/making) - [Photographing](https://grahamhmiller.com/category/creative/photographing) - [Smelting](https://grahamhmiller.com/category/creative/smelting) - [Writing](https://grahamhmiller.com/category/writing) - [Cooking](https://grahamhmiller.com/category/creative/cooking) - [History](https://grahamhmiller.com/category/writing/history) - [Thinking](https://grahamhmiller.com/category/writing/thinking) ## Tags - ["dean koontz"](https://grahamhmiller.com/tag/dean-koontz) - ["Full Moon"](https://grahamhmiller.com/tag/full-moon) - 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