March in Review

notes from my writing desk

After that unheard of coldness,

That intolerable winter,

Came the spring with all its splendour…

- HW Longfellow

March has felt long and rather overshadowed by the depressing story of LibGen, Meta and AI. If you already know this, please feel free to skip to the heading “Good Things” but if you want to know how to support writers then read on!

On Thursday 20 March, thanks to an Atlantic article, it became clear that many thousands of authors have had their novels pirated by LibGen, an illegal download site. Meta, one of the richest companies in earth, decided to use this pirated material for training their AI models because, they claim, paying us to use our copyrighted work would be too expensive. Most writers get paid so little as it is (there's s reason I still work in conveyancing and it's not a passion for land law) so the insult is very real. Nine of my ten published books are on there, some multiple times.

I learned a long time ago that the only thing we have control over in this life is our reaction to things. Now look, I'm a work in progress when it comes to this and I often can still be reactionary even after years of trying not to be. But I have a rule when things like this happen. I have 24 hours to wallow and moan and then I crack on. Numerous health conditions mean i have to look after my wellbeing above all else. My work has been pirated and used illegally without permission or remuneration, but I can't reverse time. I can't stop that having happened. So what can we do? Well firstly if you're a writer, join The Society of Authors - they are your Union and have a list of practical things you can do here. If you're a reader and don't want this to keep happening, write to your MP.

But most importantly we must remember we live in a world with a history of big level art theft and destruction and nobody has ever stopped creating. We keep on, no matter what because a world without art, literature, poetry and music would be unbearable. So I will keep returning to my writing desk because persistence is resistance.

(I will probably write more on this in the next few weeks as I've seen a lot of misinformation and bad feeling but now is not the time).

Good Things

Spring is most definitely here and I for one am delighted! I love spring, it is my absolute favourite time of year and I am currently deep into Blossom Watch! Due to the Snowmaggedon we had here in January everything is much later than usual but the buds are beginning to burst, the daffodils are out and the seedlings in my greenhouse are starting their long journey to be beans and peas and tomatoes. Every year I am blown away by the wonder of it all!

On top of that my eleventh novel is nearly here. It is released in May (my favourite month) in all formats and you can preorder here. I revealed the cover and wrote a little bit about the background of the book in my last post which you can read here.

My author copies arrived the day after the Atlantic story about Meta broke and it was the most perfect timing. Sometimes it is hard to remember why we writers do this but holding a copy of your new book in your hands never gets old. I’m ridiculously proud of this book for many reasons, not least because I wrote most of it with a broken pelvis. I really hope my readers love it too.

What I read in March

Small Bomb at Dimperley by Lissa Evans, Swordheart by T. Kingfisher, Adam Bede by George Eliot, To Swoon and to Spar by Martha Waters, The Floating Amsterdam Flower Shop by Annabel French, The Wicked Boy by Kate Summerscale and The Last Dress From Paris by Jade Beer.

I particularly recommend Small Bomb at Dimperley, an absolute delight!