Category Archives: Proof Reading

January 23, 2026 · 11:22 am

New Year, New Resolutions to Make or Break!

Well, it is near the end of January. Here’s a review of where I am at with my writing projects:

Firstly, I have a completed manuscript which is currently under review by my first editors. Chapters have also been sent to a museum in London for comment and criticism.

    AIM for 2026 ~ publish this sequel to MISSING by the end of this year, telling the final story of Dot’s recovery from homelessness, but it is much, much more than that ….

    Secondly, I am beginning to carry out the research for the third in my Riduna Series. I carried out a great deal of the research for this novel between 2010 and 2013, when we moved to Fife. Much if it is notes scribbled by hand and so I am scanning through all of this to select the most important. I will tell you more about this process as the year progresses.

    AIM for 2026 ~ Once this is done I need to begin to plan and fill in the gaps and so I hope by the end of the year to have this novel underway. The writing to take place in the winter 2026/27.

    Thirdly, I am moving away from my huge commitments to Eventispress and focussing on my own writing life.

    AIM for 2026 ~ to be under less pressure and thus less stressed. To enjoy my writing life to the full, but also to relax in the other facets of my life too.

    So, that’s it folks! Have a good 2026 and let’s hope it is a more peaceful one.

    Leave a comment

    Filed under Author Diana Jackson, Historical Fiction, MISSING Past and Present, Planning a novel, Proof Reading, Writing, Writing a novel

    Tagged as ,

    October 8, 2012 · 11:48 am

    A salutary lesson…..Never rush a blog post or a comment!

    I was checking the statistics of my blog posts just now and was surprised to see that the post:

    ‘Legends and Folktales ~The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter’ came near the top, alongside ‘Can you Snuggle in Bed with a Kindle’ and ‘I feel somebody has pressed the pause button on my life.’ Strange I thought.

    Are school children in the country doing projects on lighthouses?

    Is the school on Alderney researching it’s own folklore?

    You see, it is not just in at a particular moment in time but the same post pops up as having been read fairly regularly. This prompted me to return to read the post which, incidentally,  I wrote back in April 2011.

    The post said nothing remarkable. It is a story I know well but it never seems to lose its charm, of a lighthouse keeper’s daughter who was born on les Casquets, a rock just off the coast of the island of Alderney. It goes on to talk about population trends and gives a link to an article about the benefits of moving to Alderney. Maybe that’s the reason why there is an unusually high number of readers, those who are looking for a simpler life, away from the rat race, on a beautiful island within fairly easy reach of the UK. (If only I could) Ah, it began to make sense.

    Then I checked through the article and that seemed to be fine but

    Ouch! Then I checked the comments.

    One of the last light house keeper’s on les Casquets had taken the trouble to let me know that the name of the young girl was Rosebud, an unusual name since she lived on a rock, with no roses in sight. Unfortunately I must have been in a hurry when I wrote the reply because, I’m ashamed to say, that there were no less than two mistakes in my short but polite reply. Oh dear.

    It was a salutary lesson and I’m sure my blush sent waves back through my newly acquired Wi Fi. As writer’s we compose blog posts, sometimes when our mind is on other things, but we need to remember:

    Our blog is like a showcase to the world

    Many posts may be read and thought little of

    A few of our posts will have an impact but

    Grammatical or punctuation mistakes will certainly be remembered and come back and haunt us.

    Will anyone else admit to making mistakes which embarrass them?

    2 Comments

    Filed under Alderney, Blogs, History of Alderney, Proof Reading, Writing

    Tagged as , , ,

    July 25, 2012 · 11:37 am

    Shuttleworth ~ 5th August Book Signing

    On Sunday 5th August I will be signing copies of Ancasta ~ Guide me Swiftly Home at The Shuttleworth Air Pageant Day. As members of SVAS we try to get over to several air shows at Shuttleworth each year and I was given a considerable amount of support by John and Richard in the archives, both while researching for this novel and proof reading the manuscript for factual accuracy. Their help and  guidance was invaluable.

    I am really pleased that a group of family and friends have agreed to join me once again in support of Shuttleworth. It was sad that our original pre book launch celebration was curtailed and moved to our back garden when we heard about the accident on July 1st, but we were devastated, later that day, to hear the news of the tragic death of the pilot Trevor Roche, the Gulf War veteran, who lost his life flying at Shuttleworth that day, just before the start of the show.

    I would like to pay tribute to him, his skills as a pilot both in action and in giving us all such pleasure over the last few years at Shuttleworth.  He will be missed!

    Leave a comment

    Filed under Early Flight, Events, Marketing your novel, Proof Reading, The Shuttleworth Collection, Uncategorized

    Tagged as , , ,