Blog Tour: Who Killed Patrick by Syl Waters: Guest post: How do I become an author?

Who Killed Patrick? isn't The Crime Warp's usual type of crime novel , but I just couldn't resist it after reading the blurb and seeing the cover image. Such a fun novel and I 'm intrigued and i bet you will be too.
Huge thanks to Syl Waters fro agreeing to do a guest post for us and to Rachel's Random resources for organising the tour.

Here's the Blurb

Who Killed Patrick?

Sun, sea and… murder in Fuerteventura!

Boring. Going nowhere. That was Tarah’s life in the UK, before she moved to Fuerteventura to start a new adventure. But things came unstuck quicker than she’d planned. A dead guest on the holiday complex she manages threatens to pull apart her hoped-for dream life.

If she wants to keep her job and save the reputation of the business, she’s got to find out what happened to Patrick. Did he die of natural causes – or was he murdered?

Tarah’s pet guinea pig, Mr Bob, has a knack for sniffing out trouble and he suspects foul play. The mission is on: Who Killed Patrick?

With the assistance of Mr Bob and Diego, a local plumber, Tarah turns amateur sleuth to find out the truth.

Can Tarah and Mr Bob find the murderer before it’s too late? Will they be able to save the business and protect their blissful new life?

Guest Post

How do I become an author? by Syl Waters

It’s a question you hear so much from novice writers who long to scale the bookish heights and label themselves an ‘author’.

And I know my answer won’t impress you. And I know my answer sounds so simple you won’t believe me.

But you should, because it’s the truth.

All you have to do to become an author is to write.

‘Write?’ I hear you say, indignation flooding your veins.

‘Yes, write, is what I’m saying,’ would be my reply with a nod.

And you’ll look at me all confused and like I’m trying to explain the physics of getting to Mars, but I will say to you again, over and over. The answer is simple: if you want to be an author, then you must write.

And one fine day, this advice will pinch you into life. You’ll wake up and you’ll decide to write. You’ll get a few words down, then a few more, and then you’ll read it back and think ‘I can never be an author, I’m not a very good writer.’

And I will say, ‘Don’t be so hard on yourself, keep writing, keep going. The End is the most important part, so keep writing. Turn up to your dream and make it happen.’

One fine day you’ll believe me, you’ll write and you’ll write and your heart will sing and your mind will flow and you will never experience a sense of happiness, joy and creativity like you will in those moments. At those times you will feel like you’re flying, that anything is possible. That you can sell a gazillion books and be an author.

And then you will reach The End. It may take you days, weeks, months or years, but when you reach The End, you will feel a buzz of pride that you achieved what you set out to achieve: you wrote a book.

It’s no small feat, so take a moment to enjoy the feeling. Celebrate. Every victory should be marked as a great occasion. And remind yourself how many people say they want to write a book and never do, but you’re no longer one of them.

And now will come the time to settle into your ambition. If you want to make it as an author, you will need to edit.

‘But, I’m not an editor!’ I hear you cry. ‘I’m a writer!’

And I will patiently explain to you how editing is part of the job of being a writer. How editing is actually the magic of writing. How editing can polish and prune and make your work really come alive. How editing can be just as joyful and pleasurable as the actual art of creation, because this is the stage where you finesse and you find the beauty of your work.

There will be times when you find only tangles and plot holes and things that don’t make sense. But editing is your time to put all of these right, this is the luxury of being a writer. Editing is the art of making your writing right.

And there will be wrong words, and there will be wrong times, and your head will hurt sometimes and the wall will be beaten from your bashing. But at the end, when you’ve edited and you’ve made your brain hurt and your heart sing, you will reach the stage where you can set your book free.

And when you set your book free, and it’s no longer a file on your computer, or a pile of papers in your drawer, then you can say: ‘Yes, I am an author.’

Purchase Links

UK –https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08BJ4RPTS/

US - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BJ4RPTS/

Author Bio

Most people know crazy cat ladies are a ‘thing’, but I’m a proud crazy guinea pig lady! I love fun in the sun and plenty of cocktails. My happy place is flip flops. I write stories to keep me company - my characters ensure I’m never lonely and always smiling (when I’m not tearing my hair out!)

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