P. M. Saul - Author

Thank you! 🙌 Trust me, the motivation comes and goes. I just caught a good wave and hung on.

You’ll get that burst too when your timing’s right. We all move at our own pace with this writing gig.

Thanks so much, Justine 🙌 I’ve definitely poured everything into this one, so fingers crossed someone out there connects with it.

Self-publishing is absolutely on the table if the agent route comes up empty. But for now…yes, time to crack on with book 2! 😄✍️

Sent High Five off to 6 agents today. 🚀

Wish me luck! I need a strong cup of coffee now while I refresh my inbox like someone possessed.😱

Hopefully one of them sees the potential I see in this story.

Redman’s ready. I’m ready. Let’s see what happens.🤞🏻

#amwriting #HighFive #writerslife #booksky

Thank you so much! 🙌

And best of luck right back at you. Querying really is a battlefield, isn’t it? May both our manuscripts find the right hands at the right time 🤞

And yes, the temptation to sneak in those extra words is real. Might have to engineer a few very necessary adjectives 😂

Just went on another following spree, to the point Bluesky told me to cool it 😅

Thanks to the brilliant @author19.bsky.social for those top-notch author lists 👏

Now that High Five is fully polished off, I’ll have more time to post and join the chaos on here for a while! ✍️💥

#booksky #writerslife

I know. I’m sure I can fit a few ‘he said’ ‘she said’ in there right? 😂

Also…88,788 words. Anyone else think I need exactly 100 more? 😅

#amwriting #booksky #HighFive

🚨 It’s official: High Five is DONE.

Fully edited, locked and loaded.

No more tweaks, no more tinkering…unless a pro tells me otherwise 😎✍️

Heading out to a select few agents this week.

Fingers crossed 🤞🔍🔥

Time to let Redman loose. 🕵️

#amwriting #thriller #HighFive #writerslife #booksky

Calling all fellow writers.

How do you know when the work is really complete? 🧐

Do you hand it to a pro editor ✍️ or trust a few honest readers 👀 to catch what you can’t see anymore?

I’m deep in the “just one more tweak” phase…again. 😅

#amwriting #amediting #writerslife #booksky

I’m hoping it’s just an induced coma for this one, rather than murder 😂

This one was a quip from one character and it used to land perfectly, but the scene’s taken a darker turn since. The humour jarred against the tone, so out it went. Painful cut, but the mood’s stronger for it and it is definitely one for the new cut file. Thank you for that idea.

Fully in edit mode and I’ve found that sometimes the line you loved most is the one that has to go.

I once read that it isn’t about what sounds good, it’s about what serves the story.

Still hurts, though. 💔 ✂️

I’m staring at the gap left, maybe that line will work in book 2!

#amediting #booksky

The middle section of High Five finally sings. Tight pacing, hidden clues, every thread where it should be

It’s taken patience, caffeine, and a few rewrites that hurt to delete, but it flows

Next stop: polishing the final act - where everything unravels…

#amwriting #editing #booksky #crimefiction

Yes! I had originally planned a trilogy but now feel that book 1 deserves a standalone ending. The upside is that I already have the plot notes for at least the next two books, so the mysteries will keep coming 👀 Plus I can concentrate on getting book 1 published without having to complete books 2&3

Plans change. Stories decide their own shape ✒️

High Five will no longer be a trilogy. It stands tall on its own, a complete tale 🕵️‍♂️

But the world I’ve built is too dark, too alive, to stop there 🌌

Expect follow-up novels, fresh mysteries, and returning ghosts 👁️ #amwriting #crimefiction #booksky

Just finished redrafting the first 6 chapters of my first novel ✍️📚 (like you do!) and…wow.

So much tighter, sharper, better?

Apologies to any agents who got the “early edition” 😬😂 You really should read it again. Go on. I dare you! 🥹📩

#amwriting #amquerying #booksky #writerslife

Went on holiday ✈️☀️ with no pen, no pad, no laptop 💻 - a forced break, I told myself.

Came back with napkins full of scribbles, scribbles on newspaper scraps and café receipts covered in half-legible ideas.

Turns out the writer always sneaks through ✍️🧳

#amwriting #writerslife #booksky

Off on holiday soon ☀️🧳 and facing the ultimate writer’s dilemma:

Laptop 💻 for proper writing?

Notepad 📝 for scribbles on sunbeds?

Or…nothing at all 🤯 to force an actual break?

Either way, my suitcase knows I’m lying to myself. 💻 ✍️ 📝 📚

#amwriting #booksky #writerslife

📬 I love literary agents. I hate literary agents.

I swing between literary genius and over-caffeinated wreck every time I refresh my inbox. I sit here like a loyal labrador saying “please pick me.”

They hold my future, I hold a high score in compulsive email checking.

🥲📚✍️ 😂

#amquerying #booksky

Re-read Book 1 this weekend. 📘

Still proud. Still obsessed.

A few lines might get a polish ✍️ because of course they will. 🔍

Question for published authors: does the urge to tinker ever truly fade? Or do you just learn to let go?

#booksky #amediting #amwriting #writingcommunity #HighFiveTrilogy

Don’t jinx it, Sam. 😂 If Book 2 misbehaves, I’ll blame you when I’m outlining Book 5 in a dark corner surrounded by empty coffee cups and conspiracy boards. 🕵️‍♂️📚✨

The day job’s a bit less demanding these days, so in theory I can fire off a few books a year now. That’s the dream, anyway! 📚✨

#amwriting #HighFiveTrilogy #booksky

I started what has become High Five (Book 1) back in 2016 ✍️ It was meant to be one book.

Naturally it has turned into a trilogy.📚 📚 📚

Book 1 is finally done ✅.

Now to wrestle Book 2 into shape before it decides to become a five-book saga 🔍🕵️‍♂️.

#HighFiveTrilogy
#amwriting #crimefiction #booksky

Haha! S12 is basically my writing panic room - classified words, secret plot twists, plausible deniability if anyone asks!

Tomorrow I’m working from home.

Spreadsheet open, manuscript open, mug of fake productivity nearby.

If my clingy mortgage-paying ex (aka the day job) wants me, it’ll have to find me hiding in cell S12.

📚😏 #HighFiveTrilogy #WFH #writerlife #amwriting #booksky

The sun’s actually here for once and I’m under strict orders (from myself) to “make the most of it.”

Laptop’s fully charged, manuscript’s glaring, but let’s be honest - I’ll just lie here, watch clouds ☁️, call it “creative incubation” 🧠, maybe nap 😴.

Productivity, sort of.☀️

#booksky #amwriting

Fair point! I’d probably melt at 34 degrees too - at least here the chaos keeps you on your toes.

Try and send me a few rays though - enough to fool myself the washing line isn’t just decorative. 😂🌦️

Lake District “summer” update: I went for a wander, I wore sunglasses, I got rained on sideways, I ate an ice cream anyway.

10/10 would recommend if you enjoy weather-related identity crises and explaining to tourists that, yes, this is the good weather. 🌧️🍦😆

#LakeDistrict #writerslife

Love this, Sarah!

A cunning plan - either capture ideas or guarantee a dramatic sprint home mid-thought.

Thanks for the nudge to wander! 🌳✍️😆

I think I will leave the notebook behind. The ink would only run anyway - it’s usually raining where I live! 🌧️

Love it!

Snacks, commas, AND a brain wander? Now you’re talking.

Might let Book 2 stew in the corner while I test if biscuits count as creative fuel. 🍪🧠

Thanks, it’s a solid plan!