News
Are you a real book nerd? Are you sick of being the only person at book club who’s read the book? Have you been thinking about returning to higher education to study English Literature but are put off by the price or time commitment? Words Have Power is the podcast for you! Taking on a different topic each series, Vicky introduces elements of literary theory as they apply to popular books released in the last few years. This fun, approachable, educational podcast features lectures, interviews, and other learning materials. You can also access bonus material and a discount on the books discussed on the podcast by subscribing on Substack or Patreon. Join Vicky every week, wherever you get your podcasts, to learn why Words Have Power!
Words have power podcast
I am re-opening my services for all editing. I am currently quite heavily booked up, but please drop me an email to enquire about my availability. Remember that if you are referred by an existing client, both you and they receive a one-off discount!
I am also now taking on academic editing and indexing work. I offer developmental and copy editing services for academic works in arts and humanities subjects. I am currently working towards my full indexing accreditation with the Society of Indexers, but am at a stage where I am able to take on work while training. You can find more details on these services, including pricing, here.
reopening and new services
VBE SCHEDULE ANNOUCEMENT
I am going to be switching around my working life to study my PhD full-time and edit part-time. I am really excited to be taking this step to prioritise my writing and research for a bit, although I will be sad not to attend the word mine every day.
My books are still open to my existing clients, and work will be carried out through the same process as normal. However I will only be taking on new clients through referrals. This means if an existing client contacts me and says, ‘can you take on this person’, I will take the work if I have room (and the refer a friend discounts still apply!).
This switch will be effective immediately for at least 18-months. Look out for Dr. Vicky Brewster in 2024!
Swansea Gaming and Comic Convention
I will be attending Swansea Gaming and Comic Convention (SGCC) on the weekend of April 9th and 10th. You’ll find me manning a vendor table representing my sister-business “Books Outside the Box”.
SGCC is being held at the recently built Swansea Arena. You can find out more and get tickets here.
Pantsing Masterclass
I am hosting an online masterclass with Sutton Writers on the art of pantsing your way through your writing on April 13th. The event is open to everyone, follow the link to book your spot.
Hope to see you there!
Book Reviews
As some of you may have already guessed, I am an avid reader of horror and thriller and have decided to share some of my thoughts with you. To get an update of when I post, follow me on twitter @VProofreader. After some consideration, I have decided that this site wasn't the right place for my book reviews. They are now being hosted on Books Outside the Box, a subscription service for spooky and speculative books.
Date And Guest Author Confirmed for The Writing Haunt 2022
I can finally announce that The Writing Haunt 2022 will be held over the weekend of the 11th to the 14th of February. Booking is now open and rooms are already being reserved. To book, you can either email me here or at TWH's email expressing your interest and your room preference. You can view the choice of rooms and ticket prices on the website. We ask for a deposit of £100 to confirm the booking.
Jason Arnopp will be joining TWH 2022 as our guest author. He will be hosting his own workshop (Details TBC) and will take part in an exclusive Q&A with Vicky Brewster on Saturday evening. Jason is an author and scriptwriter. He is the author for the chiller-thriller novel Ghoster (2019), The Last Days of Jack Sparks (2016), and co-wrote the official behind-the-scenes book Inside Black Mirror with Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones. A man of a multitude of medias, Arnopp has written for film (Stormhouse), expanded the fictional universe of Doctor Who and Friday 13th and runs his own Youtube channel featuring retro marvels. In Arnopp's previous life as a rock journalist, he interviewed the likes of Bon Jovi, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne and Guns N' Roses and has also written a guide to journalistic interviewing, entitled How To Interview Doctor Who, Ozzy Osbourne And Everyone Else.
The Writing Haunt 2022
We are back at it again and busy with planning next year's haunt. If you want to keep informed of the all the latest news (like perhaps an announcement of our guest author in the next month or so) sign up to our newsletter!
Haven't heard of The Writing Haunt? We're a relaxed writing retreat, based in the beautiful Northmoor House, ideal for anyone working on horror, fantasy, thriller, or historical fiction. THW is a weekend event that hosts workshops, critique groups and evening events such as ghost stories by candlelight. Check out our website.
CIEP Upgrade
I have been upgraded to an Intermediate Member with the editing professional body CIEP. This is a recognition of my professional competence, development through training and increased experience. I am thrilled to have been awarded this, plus a new badge to show off. Yay!
Guest Appearance on Bert’s Books
I appeared on the Bert’s Books podcast over the weekend (episode 44) in their quiz. It was a lot of fun. You can catch that episode and see how I did on Spotify, just follow the link.
Announcing a new sister business. It is a monthly subscription box that provides either two books – one in the sci-fi/fantasy genre, and one from thriller/gothic/horror – or one book with your choice of genre. It is perfect for new readers moving into speculative fiction genres, or for old hats looking for something new and fresh to read. We aim to send you titles from genres you love that might have passed you by. We have also partnered up with The Haunted Bouncy Castle to put extra special gifts in every box for our subscribers.
For more details on how you might be able to get your hands on this wonderful bounty of books, check out our website.
Books Outside the Box has finally launched!
Client Publication: Vampire’s Key
A hearty congratulations to P.G Devlim for the publication of their book, Vampire's Key (Sister's of Annis Book 1)
Click here, to get this on Kindle today !
Happy to have worked with Mark Collins t edit their novel: Riven Calyx: An Escavian Chronicle.
Perfect for those who love high fantasy with knights, princes and banished wizards. Find it here.
Client Publication: Riven Calyx
Client Publication: Return of A Warlord
Proud to announce the release of the Return of a Warlord, the fourth instalment of the Silvan Saga. A massive congratulations to R.K Lander on it’s release.
You can pick up a copy on Kindle or paperback on Amazon.
cLIENT pUBLICATION: hAPPY nOT tORTURED
I am thrilled to announce Céline Terranova’s second non-fiction book: Happy Not Tortured.
This is a great guide book for creatives who may have or are struggling with mental health.
You can purchase your copy, which comes with its own workbook, directly from Céline’s website; The Part-Time Artist, where you can also pick up her first advice book. Or go directly to Amazon, where you can get it on ebook or paperback.
Client Publication: Shadow Stained
The biggest congratulations to Rachel Hobbs for publishing Shadow Stained. It was a delight to edit and my copy will be added to ‘The Shelf of Pride’, along with my other favourite edits.
If you love dark fantasy, with demon kings and magical items then this book is perfect for you! Click here to see for yourself.
tHE wRITING hAUNT 2020
The very first Writing Haunt, which was held between 7-9th of February 2020, was a complete success. We received positive feedback from all guests and are looking forward to hosting more haunting retreats in the future.
Check out what our 2020 guests had to say here!
Client Publication: Estan
A massive congratulations to L. J. Thomas for publishing We Survivors!
Any fan of the post-apocalyptic genre (or science fiction, survival, adventure…) will have a blast with this novel. No pun intended.
Client Publication: We Survivors
Excited to share that G. M. White has released his short fantasy novel, The Swordsman’s Lament!
I had the great pleasure of working editing G. M. White’s very first novel and I wish him the best.
Congratulations!
Client Publication: The Swordsman’s Lament
A whooping congratulations to Joseph Phelps for publishing his novel, Illusion!
Join Kurt as he enters The Life of Crime, a sort of fully immersive crime-heist style game. Brimming with action, from heists to police car chases; get lost in this power-hungry gaming world.
Available now.
Client Publication: Illusion
Client Publication: The Wolf of the Prophecy
A returning client, Victoria Jayne, has just released the second of her vampire romance series, The Wolf of the Prophecy.
Book two sees a werewolf, vampire, and witch in a passionate love triangle as they try to defy the prophecy that has bound them all together.
Victoria received a great number of pre-orders and we hear that a third book is on the way.
Congratulations, Victoria!
An award shortlisting for Editing assistant Abigail Mann’s novel
Some exciting news from in house this week, as my assistant Abigail Mann’s first (as yet unpublished) debut novel The Lonely Fajita was shortlisted for the inaugural Comedy Women in Print prize! She’s in the running to win a publishing deal with Harper Collins along with four other comedy writers. Congratulations! We’re looking forward to July 10th to hear the results.
Client Publication: David Pearson’s: Orson
In exciting news, David Pearson’s novel ‘Orson’ has a release date! I had the pleasure of working on ‘Orson’ and am thrilled it’s now coming to a whole new host of readers on 28/6/2018.
David’s novel is available for pre-order now on Kindle.
Appearance on ‘The Part-Time Artist’ Podcast
This week, I was featured on a episode of Céline Terranova’s podcast, The Part-Time Artist, named ‘Think Wide and Believe in Yourself’. In the episode, I talk about building a creative business, developing my editorial skills, and switching from my previous career as an accountant to a successful editor. Oh, and The Writing Haunt gets discussed too!
Have a listen here.
AIA Membership
I’m thrilled to say that I have officially been accepted as a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors in the capacity of a partner editor and proofreader. The Alliance pride themselves on a rigorous vetting and accreditation scheme that ensures writers receive quality work for a fair price, and I will now be listed in their directory of recommended editors.
As you know, I’m passionate about about self-publishing, so linking up with the AIA feels like a great way to keep my clients up to date with developments in the self-pub industry and offer my services to more writers who have ambitions to publish.
Oh, and I get a shiny new badge!
The Writing Haunt tickets go live!
I’m incredibly excited to announce that tickets to the three-day writing retreat I am hosting and organising in February of next year have gone live. You can find out all the details here, including day ticket options and a number of add-ons to make your retreat unique and rewarding.
If we meet our minimum target, I can book the beautiful Treowen House; a Tudor mansion in mid-Wales, which will be the perfect, immersive environment for writers of fiction (especially if horror, historical, fantasy or speculative fiction is your remit).
If you’re interested, have a look at The Writing Haunt’s website, Twitter, or our Crowdfunder.
Client Publication: ‘The Part-Time Artist’ by Céline Terranova
We are delighted to announce that Céline’s non-fiction advice book, ‘The Part-Time Artist’, is now available to purchase on Kindle and in paperback from Amazon.
Céline shares how you can balance creative projects alongside a job and explores the balance between maintaining motivation for your art and being able to pay the bills.
Alongside the book, Céline has launched a website and has big plans to develop a podcast and workshop series on the same theme.
Launch of Patreon subscriptions
I’m delighted to launch my new Patreon page!
I’ll be posting videos with writing and editing tips, materials from workshops I deliver at conferences around the country, and will even be offering free editing services to top tier patreons.
Tiers start from $2 a month for Scribblers, $5 a month for Strategists, and $10 a month for Preppers.
If you’re looking for ongoing advice or more tailored support for things like cover letters, synopsis, and querying, there’ll be that suits you.
Click the logo below to find my page.
Writing workshop at the Abergavenny Writing Festival
I will be hosting a workshop titled "I've Got Chills: Creating Atmosphere in Horror Fiction" at 11:30 - 12:30am on Friday 12th April as part of this year’s Abergavenny Writing Festival.
We will be looking at examples from contemporary horror fiction to examine how authors today are creating horrific atmosphere using only the written word. Looking also at pacing and sustaining levels of atmosphere, this workshop will seek to help writers of long- and short-form fiction create those tense, stomach-clenching moments that so many readers are coming to expect from good horror.
More information can be found here.
Click here to book your place in the workshop.
I hope to see you there!
Client Publication: ‘The Witch of the Prophecy’ by Victoria Jayne
I’m thrilled to announce that Victoria Jayne, whose novel I had the pleasure of working on last year, has published ‘The Witch of the Prophecy’, a passionate supernatural romance for fans of Stephanie Meyer, Charlaine Harris, and L. J. Smith.
It is available now in paperback and on kindle.
