Are you writing a novel? Do you want to make sure you finish? Will you get lost and fizzle out? Will you spend more time reading

Underground Book Reviews TOP SUMMER READ 2012
League of Extraordinary Authors TOP 10 INDIE ELITE 2012
'Genius premise ... characters you won't want to leave behind'

If your life is another person's past...

What echoes do you leave in their soul?
Could they be the answers you need now?

A suspense novel in the vein of Life After Life. It’s the story of Carol, a musician who finds herself living another haunting life in the future. She’s a gifted pianist who has never needed anything but her talent – until a mysterious injury forces her to stop playing and she has to confront an empty existence. Enter her next incarnation, Andreq. Is he really her future? And can he help Carol learn to live now?


‘Reminded me of The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas (one of my Top Shelf Authors = I Want To Write Like That.)’

‘Reminded me of Doris Lessing--though Morris is much more readable.’

How do you create characters who keep readers hooked? How do you write the opposite sex? Teenagers? Believable relationships? Hi

*** SHORTLISTED for the People's Book Prize. LONGLISTED for the World Fantasy Award ***

'In the great tradition of Atwood and Bradbury - highly recommended' - Joni Rodgers

'Marvellous, powerful, beautiful' - Kij Johnson, Hugo & Nebula Award winner

Misty woods; abandoned towns; secrets in the landscape; a forbidden life by night; the scent of bygone days; a past that lies below the surface; and a door in a dream that seems to hold the answers.

Paftoo is a �bod'; made to serve. He is a groundsman on the last remaining countryside estate, once known as Harkaway Hall � now a theme park. Paftoo holds scattered memories of the old days, but they are regularly deleted to keep him productive.

When he starts to have dreams of the Lost Lands' past and his cherished connection with Lifeform Three, Paftoo is propelled into a nocturnal battle to reclaim his memories, his former companions and his soul.

Includes an appendix of suggested questions for reading groups.

What keeps a reader curious? It's the story. You might have a dazzling prose voice and plausible characters, but if nothing happens, the reader is likely to lose interest.
So where do you find story ideas? How do you make them into a captivating read?
What's your personal vision? Do you know what genre you are best suited to write? What is literary fiction and how do you write that? How will you give your book depth without seeming preachy or bringing the plot to a standstill?
What are the hidden structural patterns that ply the reader's emotions, regardless of your genre or style? How can you use them with originality? How should you begin and end? What should go in the middle? Where should you play your best twists - and what should they be? How can you write each scene so it holds the reader's curiosity?
If you want to write a story that breaks with convention but still keeps readers riveted, how do you do it?
Whatever type of novel you want to write, this book will show you, in down-to-earth tutorials, games and brainstorming exercises.
Use it before you write and when revising, to diagnose your story's strengths and weaknesses. If you've had feedback from critique partners and editors, use it to decode what's really wrong - instead of what they think might be.
Most of all, use it to find out where you already have spellbinding plot material. Discover where your best ideas are hiding and how to tell stories with drama, depth and heart.

About the Author
Roz Morris's fiction has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide, although you won't have seen her name on the covers as she ghostwrote for high-profile authors. She is now writing acclaimed fiction under her own name - My Memories of a Future Life and Lifeform Three. She is a writer, journalist, fiction editor and the author of the Nail Your Novel series for writers. She teaches creative writing masterclasses for The Guardian newspaper in London.
Her websites are www.rozmorris.wordpress.com and www.nailyournovel.com

As featured on BBC Radio Devon, BBC Lincolnshire, BBC Wiltshire, BBC Berkshire, BBC Oxford and BBC Bristol

In life there’s the fast lane, and then there’s the scenic route. Take your time getting there and you might meet people whose stories are as gripping as those of any famous name.

In Not Quite Lost, Roz Morris celebrates the hidden dramas in the apparently ordinary. Her childhood home, with a giant star-gazing telescope on the horizon and a garden path that disappears under next door's house. A tour guide in Glastonbury who is having a real-life romance with a character from Arthurian legend. A unit on a suburban business park where people are preparing to deep-freeze each other when they die.

But even low-key travel has its hazards, and Roz nearly runs down several gentlemen from Porlock when her brakes give up on her. She takes her marriage vows in a language she doesn't speak, has a Strictly-style adventure when she stumbles into a job as a flashmob dancer, and hears an unexpected message in an experiment in ESP.

Wry, romantic, amused and wonder-struck, Not Quite Lost is an ode to the quiet places you never realised might tell you a tale.

You’re writing a novel… Unlock your full potential and finish like a pro When Roz Morris first published Nail Your Novel in 2009, writers of all stripes devoured her 10-step process for drafting, fixing and finishing. This workbook enlarges that process, guiding you to:
* tame your inner critic
* devise compelling characters and surprising plots
* find resonance
* hit your essential genre/non-genre notes
* find your best method for drafting and polishing
* craft a standout title
* write a slick synopsis and sales pitch
* organise and complete your research tasks

And much more.

Use on its own or alongside the original book for extra depth.
This book is a contract with yourself. Draft, fix and finish with confidence. Get your copy now.

Grand prize finalist with honourable mention, Eric Hoffer Award 2022
Twenty years ago, Hugo and Ash were on top of the world. As the acclaimed rock band Ashbirds they were poised for superstardom. Then Ash went missing, lost in a mountaineering accident, and the lives of Hugo and everyone around him were changed forever. Irrepressible, infuriating, mesmerizing Ash left a hole they could never hope to fill.


Two decades on, Ash's fiancée Elza is still struggling to move on, her private grief outshone by the glare of publicity. The loss of such a rock icon is a worldwide tragedy. Hugo is now a recluse in Nepal, shunning his old life. Robert, an ambitious session player, feels himself both blessed and cursed by his brief time with Ashbirds, unable to achieve recognition in his own right.


While the Ashbirds legend burns brighter than ever, Elza, Hugo and Robert are as stranded as if they were the ones lost in the ice. How far must they go to come back to life?


A lyrical, page-turning novel in the tradition of Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano, Ever Rest asks how we carry on after catastrophic loss. It will also strike a chord with fans of Meg Wolitzer's The Interestings and Taylor Jenkins Reid's Daisy Jones for its people bonded by an unforgettable time; fans of Ann Patchett's Bel Canto, for music as a primal and romantic force; and Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air for the deadly and irresistible wildernesses that surround our comfortable world.