Debi Alper

Self-Edit Hall of Fame

2025-06-17T15:48:00.018+00:00

One thing we can all agree on: writing a novel is hard. Getting published is even harder. Authors need to do everything they can to polish and perfect their story until it leaps off the page. Of course, you can pay for a professional critique, but it's also possible to learn how to edit your own novel.

That's where the 6-week online Self-Edit Your Novel course comes in. Emma Darwin and I designed the course for Jericho Writers (previously The Writers' Workshop) and wrote the tutorials together back in 2010, though I now do all the detailed feedback, with Emma coming in at the end of the week with an invaluable round-up of the topic. The course is now Jericho's longest running course and always sells out in advance.

But does the course make a real difference, in practical ways? Can it increase your chances? Is there any way of proving that it does?

This should convince you: the self-edit course in numbers.

The first course was in April 2011 and it runs 4 times a year.

As at the beginning of March 2026, we have had 60 courses and a total of 705 participants. But how many of our alumni have since been published?

Let's first look at the industry average.

A top agent will receive about 2,000 submissions a year, some many more, of whom they will sign maybe 2 authors - a hit rate of 0.1%.

112 of our alumni are now published, or about to be, equating to more than 15%. In one particular course, back in March 2013, 6 of the participants are now published.

Some of these authors have self-published but I know from the signed books on my shelf that they are as professionally presented, and as well-written, as the trade published novels they sit next to. In fact, some of those authors make far more money from selling their books than people who have been trade published. Many of our authors have won or been shortlisted in prestigious competitions.

In case you don't believe me, here's our Self-Editing Alumni Hall of Fame, with links to their websites, Amazon pages, announcements by agents or publishers, or in The Bookseller and other sites in cases where the novels are forthcoming.

In no particular order, hearty congrats to:

Cathy Bramley (over a million copies sold)
Clare Flynn
Jody Klaire
Katherine Hetzel
G D Harper
Louise Walters
Susan Murray
Jules Ironside
Claire Evans
Sonja Price
Amanda Saint
Jackie Buxton
Claire Waller (also writing as Claire Lunn and Ellie Graves)
Matt Willis
Mari Griffith
Chrissie Bradshaw
Sandra Davies
Kat Mountfort
Bernie Steadman
Isabel Rogers
Shauna Bickley
Sally Miller (writing as Sara Bailey)
Voula Grand
Aneeta Sundararaj
Susie Campbell
Barb Ettridge
E S Rollett
Sophie Cayeux
Laxmi Hariharan
Marjorie Lazoro
Sophie Wellstood
Vicky Newham
Mandy Berriman
Maddie Please (over half a million books sold)
Sophie Jonas-Hill
Fiona Erskine
Britta Jensen
Ruth Heald
Moushmi Biswas
Alice Spigelman
Clare Wade
F J Campbell

May Woodward
Angela King

Kirsten Hesketh (also writes as Poppy Cooper)

Julie Cordiner (writing as Juliette Lawson)

Sally Zigmond

Maybelle Wallis

Lorraine Wilson

Jane Shufflebotham (writing as Jane Jesmond)

Steffanie Edward (winner of the first bursary, Jan 2019)

Wiz Wharton (winner of bursary, Oct 2020)

Siya Turabi

Elliot Sweeney (winner of bursary, Jan 2021)

Aisha Hassan (winner of bursary, Jan 2020)

Marve Michael Anson (winner of bursary, Jan 2023)

Rupa Mahadevan (winner of bursary, March 2024)

Zahirra Dayal (winner of bursary April 2021)

Paula Hillman

Su-May Tan (winner of bursary June 2024)

Kate Johnson (writing as Kate Beynon)

Emma Williams

If you know of anyone I've missed, please shout in the comments and I'll add them to the list.

NB: this post is updated regularly.
To see details of forthcoming courses, click HERE.

Since Jan 2019, there has one free place on each course for an author from an under-represented group. Please see here for details of how to apply for the bursary.

London Festival of Writing 2024

2024-08-30T11:46:00.000+00:00

The Jericho Writers' festival stayed in London again this year, but in a fancy new venue, the Leonardo Hotel in Tower Bridge. As before, I'll let the photos do the talking.

The joy of seeing novels by three of our fabulous self-edit alumni will never get old.

This year, there was merch!

My Facing the Fear workshop. Didn't manage to take any pix of the self-edit session.

The traditional Self-Edit alumni pic. Special shout-out to John Taylor and Zoë Richards, both of whom were celebrating their recent book launches and are now inscribed in our Self-Edit Hall of Fame.

Birthday flowers for me!

The shortlist for Friday Night Live (but on a Saturday)

The winner! Huge congrats to Kate Sheehan-Finn. Can't wait to see what happens next for her novel, Manumission.

On stage with festival director and co-host of FNL, Becca Day.

Big thanks as always to our panel of agents, Silé Edwards, Ciara Finan, Megan Carroll, Laura Williams, Louise Buckley, Susan Yearwood, whose feedback is always so useful.

The closing keynote address had particular resonance this year. I first encountered Marvellous Michael Anson when she was shortlisted for the online FNL in 2022. She came to York in 2022 as runner-up for the Kit de Waal bursary and we met in person.

This was us in 2022 at York.

I was delighted to see Marve had applied for the bursary for the self-edit course as, by now, I knew I really wanted to work with her. She completed the course in Feb 2023 and we met again at LFoW23 later that year.

Here we are in 2023 at Regent College.

And now, in 2024, Marve is our keynote speaker, celebrating the publication (in 2025) of her fantasy novel, Firstborn of the Sun. Marve was accompaid onstage by her agent, Kesia Lupo.

Plans are already underway for LFoW25, which will be at the same venue. You can register for updates here.

London Festival of Writing 2023

2024-04-19T17:44:00.005+00:00

Shamefully late in posting photos from LFoW23. This time, the festival was in London, at Regents College, and was non-residential. I'll let the pix do the talking.

The opening keynote address with Philippa East, self-edit alumna and starry star.


John Taylor, who has been to every FoW apart from 2022 (blame Covid) with his first published novel.

With Marve Michael, winner of the self-edit bursary and keynote speaker for 2024. Full list of bursary winners on the screen behind us.

Writers writing in my workshop on voice


Caring and sharing in my Facing the Fear workshop


Agent Silé Edwards making connections with one of the Friday Night Live (on Saturday) finalists.


The traditional self-edit alumni pic

With Anna Burtt, co-hosting Friday Night Live (on Saturday)

Bookings open for LFoW24, again in London but in a very swanky venue! The self-edit course, now in its 13th year, is going strong. Details here. Bursaries available - see here. For evidence of how transformative the course is, check out our Hall of Fame.

FoW York 2022. We're back!

2022-09-14T15:21:00.002+00:00

After a two-year break, the Jeri cho Writers Festival of Writing was back and it was bigger and better than ever before. While it was initially overwhelming to be with 400 people in one place, after only interacting online for so long, the weekend was a huge success. I'll let the photos tell the story. Apologies for the non-chronological order and the lack of tags.

With Emma Darwin and our wonderful self-edit alumni

L-R: Janette Owen, Audrey Niven, Mandy Berriman, me, Emma Darwin

The first shortlisted author reading at Friday Night Live

With Janette Owen

With Mandy Berriman, author of Home

The final keynote address with Neema Shah, author of Kololo Hill

With Marvellous Michael

With Neema Shah, keynote speaker and author of Kololo Hill, and Anna Burtt, Jericho's events organiser

The view from the stage in the final keynote address

Scrubbed up for the gala dinner

Bonus bunnies

With Mandy Berriman and Paul McVeigh

Disco!

Gala dinner menu - veg option delicious but not listed

With Mandy Berriman

Janette Owen and Audrey Niven

The room key at York. Geddit?

View from the stage at Friday Night Live

Friday Night Live finalists

Agent panel at Friday Night Live

Jo Unwin

L-R: Katy Massey, Janette Owen, Audrey Niven, Mandy Berriman

Forward to 2023, hopefully without the need for masks

I ONLY WENT AND BLOODY WON!

2021-10-29T11:16:00.002+00:00

When I started this blog, over 20 years ago, I could never have predicted writing this post. I'm still so overwhelmed, I'm going to reproduce the press release sent out by the Romantic Novelists' Association rather than find my own words.

LONDON INDIE EDITOR WINS INDIE EDITOR OF THE YEAR AWARD FOR THE ROMANTIC NOVELISTS’ ASSOCIATION INDUSTRY AWARDS 2021

FRIDAY 29TH OCTOBER 2021 London Indie Editor, Debi Alper, has won the Indie Editor of the Year award for the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s annual Industry Awards for 2021. The awards, which include four exciting new categories for this year, celebrate the hard work and talent of any person, group or organisation who has championed the broad genre of romantic fiction in a positive way. The Indie Editor of the Year award recognises an editor who has worked on an independently published novel that falls within the scope of romantic fiction, and who embraces the genre, supports writers to produce their best work, and is innovative, creative and visionary in the marketing and promotion of romantic fiction on every level.

Debi is an author, freelance editor and creative writing tutor. Since 2006, Debi has spent her time helping other writers to perfect their novels through critiques, mentoring, Book Doctor sessions and creative writing workshops. She also runs the phenomenally successful Jericho Writers’ Self-Edit Your Novel course, together with Emma Darwin. An astonishing one in four authors from the first five years of the course are now published. Debi also acts as a competition judge, is on the jury for the London Independent Story Prize and is a reader for the Costa Short Story Awards.

She commented, “I would like to dedicate this award to the hundreds of authors I've worked with over the years, many of whose novels now grace my bookshelves. The world needs your stories and I'm so privileged and proud to have been a part of such wonderful journeys.”

Laura James, the RNA Industry Awards organiser, commented, “I am delighted for the recipients of this year's Romantic Novelists' Association Industry Awards and applaud their wonderful skill and creativity. The range and depth of expertise and their dedication in supporting romantic fiction is outstanding. Honouring the winners has been a pleasure and a privilege.”

The awards, which have been held for the eighth time, are highly respected in the UK publishing industry. The shortlistees are nominated by the full and associate membership of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, with the winners being chosen by a panel of judges.

The new award categories recognise the best Narrator, Named Cover Designer, Indie Editor, and Indie Champion of the Year. Along with the best Bookseller, Media Star, Agent, Publisher or Editor, Library or Librarian, and the Inclusion Award for championing inclusivity in romantic authorship and publishing, they spotlight the many professionals who promote and support romantic fiction.

The winners of the ten awards were announced during the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Winter Party and Industry Awards ceremony, which was held at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City, 8-14 Cooper’s Row, London EC3N 2BQ, on Thursday 28th October 2021.

ADDITIONAL MEDIA INFORMATION ABOUT DEBI ALPER

Debi commented, “I became a published author – and a parent – in my forties, having worked in a variety of jobs after leaving school. I began working full-time as a freelance editor in my fifties. Now in my sixties, I have my dream job and can’t imagine ever wanting to retire. I like to think that I’m proof that age need not be a barrier to success, nor do you need a string of academic qualifications.”

EDITED TO ADD LINK TO THE INTERVIEW RNA DID WITH ME AS PART OF THEIR 'ASK AN INDUSTRY EXPERT' SERIES.

GET ME! AN EXPERT! Thanks so much to Sue Fisher for the interesting questions.

With Orna Ross from ALLi, who won the Indie Champion of the Year

I'm still here!

2021-10-05T16:10:00.002+00:00

Ah, my poor neglected blog. What a lot has happened in the world since I last posted in 2019.

I'm breaking radio silence to announce some BIG news! I'm blown away to have been shortlisted by the RNA for their inaugural Indie Editor of the Year Award 2021. I know, right? I love what I do - who wouldn't? I spend all day (and quite a lot of my nights) working with wonderful authors on fabulous stories. That brings its own rewards and I never expected to be recognised in this way for doing the job I enjoy so much. It's as if a dream that I never knew that I had has come true. Here's the announcement in the Bookseller.

I'll also get to go to the famous RNA awards party! For years, I've seen photos on social media and thought these events looked like such fun, never guessing that I would be there myself one day in this capacity.

It's going to take some adjustment. Like many people, I'm not used to socialising after well over a year of keeping my head down and, in any case, I'm always more comfortable with the spotlight shining on someone else, having the satisfaction of having helped them to get there. I'm going to have words with myself though and own this. I like to think I'm proof that age is no barrier to success, nor do you need academic qualifications to know how stories work.

Festival of Writing 2019

2019-09-09T15:16:00.001+00:00

It's the day after an adrenalin-fuelled weekend, and I've coined a new word: I'm twired - a combination of tired and wired - after running a three-hour self-edit mini course, hosting Friday Night Live, running a two-hour psychic distance story lab with Emma Darwin, a workshop on Breaking the Rules and one on Facing the Fear, as well as chairing the final keynote address, with Cathy Bramley. Cathy is the superstar of the 6-week online self-edit course I've run with Emma since April 2011. One in five of our alumni from the earlier courses have gone on to be published but, in Cathy's group, six out of 11 are now published, with Cathy having sold over a million (!) books.

I'm not the only person to say that the 10th Festival of Writing in York was the best yet. The team at Jericho Writers put together an event that covered just about every aspect of writing and getting published, exploring all the different ways to write a novel, as well as the different routes to publishing. As ever, the warmth and inclusivity makes FoW different from many other festivals. With a packed programme of workshops, keynote addresses, story labs, competitions and 1-1s with agents and Book Doctors, it's no wonder so many people come back year after year. And, of course, some of them start out as delegates and end up running workshops as published authors. I'm talking about people like Mandy Berriman, Cathy Bramley, James Law, Jody Klaire, Melissa Addey, Isabel Costello and Amanda Saint. There can be no doubt lives will have been changed as a result of FoW19 and I can't wait to hear the success stories rolling in.

I didn't take as many photos as usual but I've managed to gather some together to record an incredible weekend.

York wouldn't be York without a duck pic

Half of the people at the self-edit mini course

Bribery

Julie Cordiner and Janette Owen at Friday night dinner

Friday Night Live, with all the shortlisted authors

Blurred - but you get the energy and excitement

Assembling the panel of agents

And we have a winner! Congrats to Taranjit Mander

Half the room in the psychic distance story lab

Gala dinner. L-R: Emma Darwin, William Angelo, John Taylor, Mandy Berriman

Gala dinner. L-R: Julie Cordiner, Melanie Garrett, Emma Darwin

Gala dinner. L-R: Janette Owen, Helen Kampfner

John Taylor and Julie Cohen

Gala dinner. L-R: Emma Darwin, William Angelo, John Taylor, Mandy Berriman, moi, Helen Kampfner, Janette Owen

The traditional self-edit alumni photo

And another alumni pic

Emma Darwin, Janette Owen and Jody Klaire, with Ferb

Finding the self-love in the Facing the Fear workshop

Sharing the love

More sharing

My York safe space

Final keynote with Cathy Bramley

Letting Go

2019-07-18T12:18:00.002+00:00

I'm feeling very sad on the day I should be celebrating. The Gene Pool has now been published - the fifth and final novel in the Nirvana series - so I should be dancing, eh? Instead, my guts ache with a feeling that I've managed to identify as loss. I miss my Nirvanan family. I've lived with them for about 20 years and it's not just that they've gone off into the world, like your kids leaving home. I have to recognise that I'm never going to be sharing space with them again.

I'm handing them all over to you now. Please be gentle with them - though they're tough enough to kick back if you're not.

Oh, and if you want the full set you can buy all five for under a tenner from you know where.

Farewell to Nirvana

2019-07-15T17:59:00.002+00:00

Drumroll...

On Thursday (18 July) I will be publishing The Gene Pool, the fifth and final novel in the Nirvana series. The first two, Nirvana Bites and Trading Tatiana, were originally published by Orion before being re-published by my Nirvana Publishing imprint, along with De Nada Nirvana and Me, John and a Bomb.

I ought to have a mailing list. I should be sending round ARCs. I should have organised a blog tour. I ought to have set up advance orders. I should be BUILDING A BUZZ FFS.

If you know me, it will come as no surprise that I've done none of these things. This blog post, and an update when the book is up on Amazon, is the limit for me. My utter crapness at self-promotion is legendary. I've come to terms with it, as I said a while back, at the end of my Facing the Fear post. Do as I say, not as I do, folks.

It’s odd to be publishing this final Nirvana novel and I have to admit to feeling bereft. Nirvana Bites was originally published in 2002. The Gene Pool was written over a decade ago (though it’s been recently edited). I’ve lived with these characters for about 20 years and now the time has come to share them with the world for the last time – and to let them go.

When I began writing the lives of these people, I originally thought they would sustain a single novel. I had a two-book deal with Orion and when I started writing Trading Tatiana, focusing on a different main character narrator, my Nirvanan characters muscled their way back in, insisting they weren’t done yet. It was my agent who suggested I should continue writing their story, saying he thought they were ripe for a TV series. And so De Nada Nirvana was born – the first novel I’d written in third person, following the lives of the narrators from the first two novels: Jen in South London and Jo in Spain. In this novel, Jen was pregnant, and the members of the Nirvana Housing Co-op were all learning and growing, continuing to do so in Me, John and a Bomb, where Jo had returned to the co-op and Jen and Ali were by now the parents of twins.

I didn’t know it at the time, let alone intend it, but, looking back over the five novels, I can see there’s an overarching arc for all the main characters. The members of my Nirvanan family, having established the power of non-blood relationships, were now ready to concede that blood-ties also matter. While the plot of The Gene Pool revolves around local government corruption, by the end of it, one thing was clear to me: my Nirvanans had grown up.

Although, theoretically, each of the novels can stand alone, my hope is that readers will have bonded with my Nirvana family over the whole series. They’re still out there somewhere, living their lives, but my time with them is done.

I'd love to release them as paperbacks eventually but, for the time being, they're e-book only. And just think about this: after Thursday, you will be able to buy all five books for less than a tenner. That can't be bad, eh? Check 'em out here.

FoW18 in pictures

2018-09-14T12:36:00.000+00:00

The annual self-edit alumni photo at York

Friday Night Live winner, Helen Kampfner

The 9th Festival of Writing in York, and the first under the banner of Jericho Writers - formerly Writers' Workshop - passed in the usual blur of activity, creativity and enthusiasm. As a result, I have a tsunami of work to catch up on so this post is going to rely on pictures to convey a flavour of the weekend in which lives were changed.


Friday Night Live hopefuls


The view over the lake

Jody Klaire and Ferb


My secret festival sweet spot


Writers writing in my self-edit mini course


The fabulous Julie Cohen and John Taylor, wearing his storyteller face

John Taylor and Mandy Berriman

Helen Kampfner, self-edit graduate and winner of Friday Night Live!

The Psychic Distance workshop

Mandy and John again, scrubbed up for the gala dinner


Self-editing lovelies: Julie Cordiner, Janette Owen, Helen Kampfher

The Jericho Writers posse

The 1-1 hall

Sharing the love in my Facing the Fear workshop


Sitting on the floor. We need a bigger room next time

The closing keynote speakers: Susanna Wadeson, publishing director at Transworld, and Mandy Berriman, author of Home - and my mentee!


Grabbing their places early for the closing keynote: Janette Owen, John Taylor, Vanessa Thornton-Rigg, Julie Cordiner

On stage for the final keynote: Susanna Wadeson, Mandy Berriman and yours truly

Mandy signing copies of Home

Stories for Homes 2

2017-11-21T14:15:00.003+00:00

The story behind the stories: 256 anonymised submissions, all on the theme of 'Home'. 55 stories chosen (with great difficulty!) for the anthology.

Another 29 published free on our website.

And, now after many, many hours of hard work by our team of committed volunteers ...

... I'm more than delighted to share the news that the paperback launch for Stories for Homes 2 is TODAY!

See an interview I did with Retreat West here.

Check out our forthcoming events here.

And, in case you need any persuasion, this is why we're committed to doing something about the housing crisis.

* According to Shelter, 65,000 families will be homeless this Christmas.
* At least one more family becomes homeless in Britain EVERY TEN MINUTES.
* There are 250,000 homeless people in England. That's a quarter of a million!
* 300,000+ in Britain.
* In the worst hit areas, 1 in 25 people are homeless.
* Last year, the lowest number of socially rented homes were built in 71 years. 71 YEARS!
* Tory austerity is linked to 120,000 deaths, according to a study in BMJ Open (medical journal).

The devastating tragedy of Grenfell Tower should never have happened. That's why we dedicated this book to the victims and survivors of the Grenfell fire.

SfH1 raised over £3000 for Shelter. This is a photo from our previous launch. We eventually doubled the figure in that dummy cheque! You can still buy the first anthology here.

Read more about the project here, in a blog by the wonderful Jel, who has been doing sterling work with promoting the anthology. The gorgeous cover was designed by Head and Heart, featuring an original artwork by my co-editor, Sally Swingewood.

As before, all this has only been possible thanks to our fabulous team of volunteers. Their unpaid hard work means that every penny raised goes direct to Shelter.

Access to a safe and secure home is a human right – one that thousands of people are denied in 21st century Britain. This world class anthology is a good deed in a very naughty world. Thanks so much for your support. Together, we can make a difference.

Fow17 In photos - and a shout out for Stories for Homes

2017-09-16T11:33:00.000+00:00

Another brilliant year in York for the 8th Festival of Writing and I now have the distinction and pleasure of being one of only three people who have been to every single one.

As well as running the self-edit mini course, a Voice workshop ...

... chairing the literary genre panel ...

... chairing the final keynote address and doing two hours of Book Doctor sessions (this is the view from my Book Doctor desk) ...

... I devised a new workshop this year.

The idea for Facing the Fear came as a result of the responses to this blog post, where I had a conversation with the Doubt Demons. This photo is of people struggling to find the love for themselves.

And in this one, they're sharing that love with each other.

Tha gala dinner rocked, as ever. This will be the last year in which Mandy Berriman, my wonderful friend and mentee, is at the festie as an unpublished author. Her stunning novel, Home, will be published next February and I couldn't be more delighted and excited. John Taylor and I are two of the three people who have been to every FoW.

Lovely to share a table with literary lovelies, Deborah Install and Tor Udall, who were also both on the platform for the final keynote address. Both credit FoW for setting them on their journey to publication, having met their dream agent, Jenny Savill, at York

Massive congratulations to Sophie Snell, who won Friday Night Live, and Ruby Speechley, who won the Opening Chapter competition, as well as being runner up for Pitch Perfect. That's Ruby at the mike, with agent Sallyanne Sweeney, who judged the Opening Chapter comp, on the left.

And here's the traditional photo of Emma Darwin and yours truly, with our self-edit alumni who had made it to York. We keep adding new names to our Hall of Fame. Details of the next online self-edit courses will be appearing here.

While I'm here (and we all know how scarce I am on my blog these days) I want to talk briefly about Stories for Homes. Remember the amazing success we had last time, when we published our world-class anthology and raised over £3000 for Shelter? Well, we're doing it all again and this time the book is dedicated to the victims and survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire. I'm sure no one here needs to be reminded of how acute the housing crisis is in the UK and the causes of the tragedy, as well as the response since, highlight just how appalling life is for the most vulnerable people in our society. The fire happened three months ago and, at this point, there are still no firm figures for the number of people who died ('about 80') and only two families have been permanently re-housed.

This time, Sally Swingewood and I received 256 submissions for the anthology, which we had to whittle down to 55. Damn, but that was hard. So hard, in fact, we decided to also publish an online anthology, where people can read free stories on the theme of 'home'. The website has been spruced up, with tabs for Real Life stories and posts by a professional who works with homeless people, as well as the online stories and a donate button that goes direct to Shelter. Once again, producing an anthology at this standard has only been possible thanks to our wonderful SfH community, who have generously given their time and skills to create a world-class anthology.

The e-book is due to be launched on 28 September, with the paperback following in November. This is when we'll start to make serious money for Shelter. Please keep an eye on the news tab on the site. Meanwhile, we want to spread the word and get the hashtag #SfH2 trending. Please help us to make that happen by supporting our Thunderclap, as well as publicising (and buying!) the anthology.

In which I try to find the words ...

2017-04-05T15:37:00.000+00:00

Towards the end of last year, a Bad Thing happened to me and my family. It wasn't a Very, Very Bad Thing - no one died, we didn't lose our home or our income but, nevertheless, it was a Thing that caused us great pain and stress, and it rocked our faith in human nature.

I'm not going to go into detail here about the Thing, though I intend to at some point in order to warn others. The Thing was very negative and this post is the opposite of that. I won't allow it to taint this space. I don't like spreading negativity - there's more than enough of it online and in the real world - and so I haven't said anything in public about the Bad Thing before now. Only those closest to me knew about it.

At the lowest point in the last five months, I turned to G and said, 'I've always thought things happen for a reason. We're in the middle of this right now and have no perspective beyond it but a point will come when we'll look back and say, Ah, so that's what all that was about.'

How right I was, though I never expected the answer to come so soon and I could never, in my wildest dreams, have anticipated the form it would take. Without my knowledge, those few people who knew about the Thing - some of whom had never met each other - got together to start thinking about ways they could turn the Bad Thing around, support us in a practical way and, most importantly, restore our faith in human nature. They came up with an audacious plan to start a Crowdfunding campaign. Knowing me as they do, they agreed it was vital to keep the plan a secret from me because I would have vetoed it. Not because I'd be ungrateful (how could I possibly be?) but because the very idea would make me squirm with discomfort.

By the time I knew it was happening, donations were well into four figures. I sat staring at my laptop, struggling to breathe, trying to process what I was seeing. What had me gasping for breath the most was not so much the gob-smacking amount that had been raised but the comments people had left. I was reading the sorts of things usually said about someone after they've died, when everyone says what a shame it is that they never knew people cared so much for them. And here I was, alive and very much kicking, the recipient of an outpouring of love and generosity that knocked me sideways. I was way beyond my comfort zone and had no idea how I was supposed to be, or act, or even feel. Words - the raw material of my trade - escaped me or took refuge in cliché. The only way I could cope was to pretend it wasn't happening. I asked the inner circle to pass on a request not to link to me, while worrying that it might look like I was taking it all for granted. But the one thing I was certain about was that it was really important for me not to appear in any way as if I was soliciting on my own behalf.

By the end of the campaign, 171 people had donated, leaving comments that made my eyes stream and my heart soar. (See? Not possible without resorting to clichés.) Many chose to be anonymous and I will never know who they - you - are. I wanted to contact everyone and thank them personally but it felt somehow wrong when there were so many I can't identify.

So I hope no one will consider it lazy if I give a huge collective

THANK YOU

here to each and every one of you. Please imagine me looking into your eyes and holding your hands and telling you how you have touched my heart. I hope that everyone this applies to will see this at some point.

One person was responsible for the Bad Thing. 171 of you have counter-balanced that negativity with a tidal wave of love. If life is all about making a difference, then you all win at life. And I win because I know all of you.

I think it's appropriate to end by quoting my dad. I once remarked when out with him that he always chatted with everyone he encountered: in shops, banks, on the street.
'I like to think that when I meet someone, they go away feeling a little better than before,' he replied.

Thank you all for being like Daddy Alper.

The Nirvanans are back!

2016-12-27T14:50:00.003+00:00

This has been quite the year, hasn't it. For so many people, it's been filled with shock and grief on a national and international scale and I have to admit I've had some tricky personal challenges too.

But there have also been things to celebrate and that's what I'm trying to focus on. I ran 4 more online Self-Edit Your Novel courses, together with Emma Darwin, taking the total to 21 courses and 239 alumni. The Hall of Fame for our graduates is getting crowded. I started singing in a choir (video here) and discovered a love for mudlarking, inspired by this wonderful woman. In the face of the housing crisis, Sally Swingewood and I decided it was time to create another Stories for Homes anthology. (The last one raised mucho dosho for Shelter, as well as being the launchpad for several authors who have gone on to achieve great things.) Details of how to submit are here. Join our community on Facebook, where you can find out all the ways you can get involved.

On Mayday, I published De Nada Nirvana - my first new (though written over a decade ago) novel to be available to readers since 2005. And on 20 December, Me, John and a Bomb exploded onto the scene. This novel was written in 2004-5 - a time when chequebooks and cards were still a thing, it was announced in July that London had won the 2012 Olympic bid and, the following day, the city reeled under devastating terrorist attacks.

What goes around, comes around and the issues are still very relevant. No one needs me to tell them about the ongoing terrorist threat. And, in one of those strange bits of writer-ly synchronicity, the day before Me, John and a Bomb was published, I saw a piece on the news about a cop who infiltrated the anarchist network in Cardiff 10 years ago - the central plot thread of my novel.

We all know Amazon rankings are pretty much meaningless, but I had a little frisson when I saw Me, John and a Bomb had shot up higher than Nirvana Bites and Trading Tatiana ever did when they were published by Orion. Of course, that was pre-FB and Twitter. Still worth a small squee, I reckon. You can see excerpts from all my Nirvana novels on my website. Next year, I hope to publish The Gene Pool, the 5th and final book in the series.

Wishing you all the very best for 2017 and hoping for some sweetness and light in a world that often seems filled with darkness.

FoW16 in photos

2016-09-12T15:44:00.001+00:00

Yet again, the Festival of Writing was an absolute blast. So much talent; so many inspiring stories; such warmth and love between fellow authors. I think the weekend is best summed up in this email I've received from a delegate who has just signed up for the January online self-edit course. (September's is sold out.)

I did feel a huge sense of trepidation on Friday when I was driving up to York. My inner monologue kept asking me what on earth I was doing! By total contrast, I listened to Jo Cannon's heartwarming story yesterday and felt a real sense that I belonged there. I really didn't want to leave! But I have come away with a wealth of information and tips to apply to my writing, and am looking forward to getting stuck in.

For me, it was my busiest festie yet - and that's saying something. I ran the self-edit mini course on Friday and was also on the panel for the wonderful Friday Night Live experience. Massive congrats to all the shortlisted authors and the joint winners, Gerry Fenge and Jo Bunt. On Saturday, I had two hours of Book Doctor slots, a workshop on psychic distance and I did the compering for the Saturday competitions after the gala dinner. Congrats to everyone who had cause to celebrate. The real high was being on the crime genre panel as an author rather than an editor or tutor. And on Sunday, I had another hour of Book Doctoring, a final workshop on dialogue and - oh bliss - I had the privilege and enormous pleasure of being the person who introduced the final keynote speaker and FoW success story, Joanna Cannon.

Self-edit mini course. Interesting body language when people are forced to write about an emotionally charged episode from their own past.

Cloudies

More Cloudies

Self-edit alumni: Gerry Fenge, Sylvia Petter, Julie Cordiner and Arabella Murray

The view from my desk for Book Doctor sessions

Veggie starter at the gala dinner

Yet more Cloudies

And more

The wonderful Cally Taylor and her agent, Madeleine Milburn

Cally and Madeleine

Struggling with psychic distance

Cloudie, Scheherezade, who won the Pitch Perfect competition

Katherine Hetzel AKA Squidge, with tiara for added sparkle

Winner and runner up for Jo Cannon's Goat bursary: Linda McLaughlin and Nasreen Rafiq

The glorious and inspiring Joanna Cannon, who made me cry in front of several hundred people. Be more goat, people

The only book I came away with - but what a book

I've been mentioned in acknowledgements for many novels but this is the first time I've had one dedicated to me. Thank you, Squidge

Dialogue workshop - writers gotta write

Who could ask for a more beautiful setting?


The traditional self-edit alumni photo. Similar numbers to previous years but many different faces

Having been reminded that I'm also an author, I'll sneak in a nod and a wink to remind people that my first three Nirvana novels are all available as e-books on Amazon: here for the UK and here in the US. This has just been posted on my FB wall by someone who bought a copy of Trading Tatiana over the weekend:

Every line is bursting with wit handled with the lightest touch, and I can't stop chuckling. The characterisation is very clever and your observations hilarious. Every time you introduce someone they become my new favourite... The list is growing.

My cockles are warmed to boiling point.

As in previous years, lives will have changed over this weekend. Whether or not people end up being signed by agents, everyone should go away with new tools to apply to their writing. FoW is magical and I wish everyone the very best for the journey ahead. See you online - if you haven't already joined the Cloud, what are you waiting for? - and, hopefully, at FoW17.

Self-edit course Hall of Fame

2016-05-19T15:21:00.050+00:00

NB: an updated version of this post is here.

Writing a novel is hard. Getting said novel published is even harder. Authors need to do everything they can to polish and perfect their story until it leaps off the page. Of course, you can pay for a professional critique, but it's also possible to learn how to edit your own novel.

That's where the 6-week online Self-Edit Your Novel course comes in. Emma Darwin and I designed the course for Jericho Writers (previously The Writers' Workshop) and wrote the tutorials together, though I now do all the detailed feedback, with Emma coming in at the end of the week with an invaluable round-up of the topic.

But does the course make a real difference, in practical ways? Can it increase your chances? Is there any way of proving that it does?

This should convince you: the self-edit course in numbers.

The first course was in April 2011, and it runs 4 times a year.

As at April 2016, we have had 19 courses and a total of 215 participants. (See updated figures below at the bottom of the post.)

I recently asked around on social networks to see how many of our alumni now have books 'out there'. Most of these come from our early courses, the authors having had the time to edit their drafts and go through the next steps towards being published. I'm sure there are many more in the pipeline and probably several I've missed.

So how does that figure compare to the industry average?

A top agent will receive about 2,000 submissions a year, of whom they will sign maybe 2 authors - a hit rate of 0.1%.

The hit rate for our alumni is 59 out of 215 = 27.44% = (approx) 1 in 4. (This figure refers to the first five years of the course. I will be editing the figures as new deals are announced.) Some of these have self-published but I know from the signed books on my shelf that they are as professionally presented, and as well-written, as the trade published novels they sit next to. In one particular course, back in March 2013, 6 out of 11 participants are now published, or about to be.

In case you don't believe me, here's our Self-Editing alumni Hall of Fame, with links to their Amazon pages, announcements by agents or publishers, or in The Bookseller and other sites in cases where the novels are forthcoming.

In no particular order, hearty congrats to:

Cathy Bramley (over a million copies sold)
Clare Flynn
Jody Klaire
Katherine Hetzel
G D Harper
Louise Walters
Susan Murray
Jules Ironside
Claire Evans
Sonja Price
Amanda Saint
Jackie Buxton
Claire Waller
Matt Willis
Mari Griffith
Chrissie Bradshaw
Sandra Davies
Kat Mountfort
Bernie Steadman
Isabel Rogers
Shauna Bickley
Sally Miller (writing as Sara Bailey)
Voula Grand
Aneeta Sundararaj
Susie Campbell
Barb Ettridge
E S Rollett
Sophie Cayeux
Laxmi Hariharan
Marjorie Lazoro
Sophie Wellstood
Vicky Newham
Mandy Berriman
Maddie Please
Sophie Jonas-Hill
Fiona Erskine
Britta Jensen
Ruth Heald
Moushmi Biswas
Alice Spigelman
Clare Wade
F J Campbell
May Woodward
Angela King
Philippa East

Julie Cordiner (writing as Juliette Lawson)

Sally Zigmond

Maybelle Wallis

Lorraine Wilson

Jane Shufflebotham (writing as Jane Jesmond)

Hilary Taylor

Dina Hawthorn

A few of the novels published by our alumni

If you know of anyone I've missed, please shout in the comments and I'll add them to the list.

People who have attended more recent courses:

S teffanie Edward (winner of the first bursary, Jan 2019)

Wiz Wharton (winner of bursary, Oct 2020)

Siya Turabi

Elliot Sweeney (winner of bursary, Jan 2021)

Aisha Hassan (winner of bursary, Jan 2020)

Marve Michael Anson (winner of bursary, Jan 2023)

Rupa Mahadevan (winner of bursary, March 2024)

To see details of forthcoming courses, click HERE.
As at May 2025, we have 669 alumni. The above percentages refer to people who had taken the course in the first five years, at the time of the original post.

There is one free place on each course for an author from an under-represented group. Please see here for details of how to apply for the bursary.

On this day ...

2016-05-01T12:10:00.008+00:00

It's Mayday 2016.

To pagans, this is Beltane.

To lefties, it's International Workers' Day.

And, to me, it's LAUNCH DAY for De Nada Nirvana!

No party, no booze and nibbles and signings, no cards and flowers, but this one is just as meaningful as the previous ones. So here's a photo of me and my dad at the launch of Trading Tatiana in Jan 2005. Dad was 90 in this pic, and had crossed London on public transport from Edgware to Crystal Palace to be there. (Londoners will get the enormity of going from NW of the city to SE.)

DE NADA NIRVANA IS NOW AVAILABLE HERE IN THE UK AND HERE IN THE US
NIRVANA BITES AND TRADING TATIANA ARE STILL ON SPECIAL OFFER AT 99p EACH. Check them out here (UK) and here (US)

Massive thanks to all those people who have encouraged me to make this happen. You know who you are.

Facing Down THE FEAR

2016-04-21T11:22:00.001+00:00

Everything was on track. I'd received the fourth version of the converted file of De Nada Nirvana. All I needed to do was a final, final proofread and I'd be ready to publish. At least, that was the theory. The reality turned out to be rather different. I'm going to talk through this part of the journey here. Let's get ready to ramble.

I can't say procrastination paralysed me. Instead, I suddenly found a huge number of things to do that needed to take priority. Except I didn't. Not really. True, I was running a self-edit course, but there was a lull in editing commissions and I didn't have my usual pile of MSs to work through. But there were Other Things getting in the way. I told myself my website had to be updated first. Emails that I'd usually consider to be non-urgent shot up the to-do list. I even cleaned corners of the flat that were shocked to see me.

My mood plummeted and the questions began to roll in. What if this wasn't just a lull in editing work? What if it had dried up forever? Had my career stalled? Was I going to go back to struggling to pay the rent? Eventually, the questions crystallised and I identified the big one, The Fear.

What if people HATED my new novel?

Yep, I'd been beset by the Doubt Demons, as a writer friend calls them. Only one way to deal with them. I had to call each of them out from the shadows and get them to state their case so I could come up with the answers to silence them.

The conversation went like this:

Doubt Demon: De Nada Nirvana is the first novel you've published in ten years.

Me: No need to rub it in.

Doubt Demon: Ah, but this one's different, isn't it. It hasn't been through a gatekeeper.

Me: That's not strictly true. My agent took me on, on the basis of this novel.

Doubt Demon: Wait. You mean you didn't have an agent for the first two? Are you mad? Or just stupid?

Me: Quite possibly both. What can I say? Hindsight's a bitch.

Doubt Demon: So let me get this right. You were signed direct by Orion without an agent. They didn't offer you a third book deal though, did they? Hmmm? Wouldn't you say that suggests it Just Wasn't Good Enough?

Me: Maybe. But it's also true that a lot of that might have been down to timing and circumstances beyond my control.

Doubt Demon: Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that. Or maybe it's because the first two weren't that good either. Your sales didn't exactly set the world on fire, did they?

Me: Sales of Nirvana Bites were not spectacular, it's true, but they weren't disastrous either. Don't forget I had no web presence back then. It was much harder to build a buzz. But Trading Tatiana had a fraught journey before she even got to the published stage. There was a series of events at the publishers - some tragic - that meant she went through four different editors before she was launched. It was nothing to do with me, nor did it have any connection to my novel. The editorial team must have been in total disarray. There was no one in my corner, championing me.

Doubt Demon: Shame you didn't have an agent back then, isn't it, eh?

Me: Oh, do piss off. We've covered this one. Move on.

Doubt Demon: OK, we will. Let's get back to De Nada Nirvana. Your agent loved it but he couldn't sell it, so it hasn't been through any kind of professional editing process, has it. Answer me that one.

Me: I believe I can answer that, since you ask. I wrote De Nada Nirvana over ten years ago and only returned to it last year when I decided to self-publish it. In those intervening ten years, I've worked as a freelance editor, editing an average of 2-3 MSs a month. For the last five years, I've run an online Self-Edit Your Novel course with Emma Darwin, as well as teaching creative writing at events and to writers' groups. I believe I have both the skills and the distance to edit my own novels. In any case, De Nada Nirvana looks very different now from the version my agent was unable to sell. I know it's a better book. As far as I'm concerned, it has been professionally edited.

Doubt Demon: Yeah, but you have some worries about it, don't you. Go on. Spit them out. You've broken rules and you're scared you're gonna be called out on it. And then that'll undermine your reputation as a professional editor and tutor. You're done. This is the end, my friend.

Me: You're no friend of mine.

Doubt Demon: Go on then. Defend yourself against the charge that you've head-hopped.

Me: Right, I will. I've looked very carefully at the areas where some people might think that's what I've done and you know what? I think it works in the story. A newbie to the concept, looking for things to criticise when they read published novels, might spot it and go, 'Aha! Practise what you preach, Editrix!' but I'm willing to bet that readers won't notice any of the dislocation you get when the psychic distance spectrum hasn't been used to good effect.

Doubt Demon: OK, but while we're on the subject of breaking rules, you always bang on about how novels often struggle to sustain more than three or four POVs. Remind me again how many POVs you have in De Nada Nirvana?

Me: Don't forget that I'm a huge fan of breaking the rules, as long as you have a good reason and do it well. I concede that there are several characters, some very minor, who have their own limited POVs, but I maintain that it's very clear that the story belongs to Jo and Jen. Besides, it's not that uncommon in the thriller genre to have brief scenes in minor POVs.

Doubt Demon: Ah, I'm glad you brought up the business of genre. What the hell is this novel? The politics are more in the background than in the two previous Nirvana books. De Nada Nirvana was the first you wrote in third person. There are two threads: Jo's, in Spain, is the crime thread, and Jen's in South London is ... is ... What the hell is that? Are you writing romance, Alper?

Me: Ha! Yeah, I know. It took me by surprise too. But I don't think I'll be joining the Romantic Novelists' Association any time soon. It's a very quirky sort of romance and I think it's the kind of thing that readers who are following these characters would expect and want to see. One of the reviews for Trading Tatiana, described it as an unorthodox mix of comedy, kitchen-sink drama and dark thriller. All I've done with De Nada Nirvana is throw a new element into the mix. The threads are interwoven. What can I say? I believe in the book. I enjoyed writing it and hope others will enjoy reading it.

Doubt Demon: You do realise that by writing this blog you're going to draw people's attention to the very things you're twitching about ...

Me: Sigh. I know. What can I do? I'm a writer. Lots of us have a tendency to over-share.

Doubt Demon: Right, howzabout this for the killer punch then. You're crap at self-promotion. You'll sell a few copies. You have loyal friends, many of them writers themselves, who will buy it because they know you. But you'll never spread the word beyond that small community because you have neither the will nor the skill to tell the rest of the world your books are out there.

Me: You're absolutely right. I'm not going to try arguing with you on this one. I'm fully aware that self-publishing also means self-promoting. That doesn't have to mean you should be ramming your novel down people's throats at every opportunity but there's an enormous gulf between doing that and doing sod all. I know I should be thinking about mailing lists and competitions and blog tours and special offers and all that but I'm not.

And you know what? I'm OK with that. It all depends on how you measure success and what it is you want to achieve. I wanted to write books I'd enjoy reading. I've succeeded in doing that. I wanted to make the rest of the Nirvana series available for those who want to read them. The job's in hand and making progress. I also want and need to balance being an author with my role in working with other people to perfect their novels. I'm simply not prepared to devote the time and energy it takes to do more than the occasional blog post, or FB post or tweet to promote my novels. But I'm cool with this. I'm not settling for second best. It feels right to me. De Nada Nirvana will be out shortly and then I'm going to start looking at Me, John and a Bomb. It's gonna happen.

Doubt Demon: Bollocks. Looks like we'll have to go off and find some other poor author to torment.

And there we have it. I've faced The Fear and I'm still standing. De Nada Nirvana will be published on 1 May. Because Mayday, y'know. Over the next day or so, I'll set it up so it's available for pre-orders. Meanwhile, Nirvana Bites and Trading Tatiana are still on special offer at 99p each. Let's get this show on the road.

UPDATE: DE NADA NIRVANA IS NOW AVAILABLE HERE IN THE UK AND HERE IN THE US.

Love your local library (before it's too late)

2016-04-06T14:18:00.000+00:00

UPDATE FRIDAY 8 APRIL
AN EVICTION NOTICE HAS BEEN SERVED ON THE OCCUPIERS OF THE CARNEGIE LIBRARY. THEY HAVE 24 HOURS TO LEAVE OR FACE ARREST. PLEASE SUPPORT THE DEMO TOMORROW. DETAILS AT THE END OF THIS POST.

When I was growing up, my parents couldn't afford to buy books but I was addicted to stories. I swept through the children's library, exhausting the stock well before I'd left primary school. A kind librarian agreed to allow me to enter the hallowed halls of the adult library, where the biggest excitement was that I could now borrow five books at a time, instead of a paltry three. It was during my teenage years that I ploughed through almost all the books on the lists of 'classics you should read' that come out every so often. I worked through biographies, as well as novels, discovering the likes of Tolstoy, Kafka, Hesse, Austen, de Beauvoir and many more. Genre was meaningless to me: strong stories were what I was after. It was on the shelves of the library that I discovered that stories could take many forms.

In secondary school, I discovered a new use for the library and was there almost every day in the study room, revising for exams. Once I had my children, I was once again in my local library several times a week, pulling books from the shelves and attending reading sessions and after-school clubs. As an author, I've read at many events organised in libraries, connecting readers with writers. The staff were invariably warm and welcoming. One heard that the day I was appearing in their library was also my birthday - and baked me a cake!

When my father was in his nineties, and before he moved to a care home, I would often go over and find he wasn't at home. Needless to say, my initial response was always a stab of anxiety. My first port of call was to check his library, just a few doors away from his flat. And nine times out of ten, there he would be, sitting in an armchair, chatting to other people, or reading a newspaper or books pulled from the shelves.

As a member of the East Dulwich Writers' Group, I was part of an event at the glorious Carnegie Library in Herne Hill in June 2011. We read in the gardens on a beautiful summer's evening and it was clear to us all that this was a perfect example of a library that was deeply rooted in the community. Libraries like the Carnegie operate as community hubs, offering so much more than book loans, though Gawd knows that would be enough.

And now the local council has decided to close the library and re-open it a year or so later as a fee-paying gym, with a single room with books, but no librarian.

On 1 April (the council has no sense of irony) the library was officially to close but a group of about 80 people, including some families, occupied the building.

The council has since served them with an injunction - which they're determined to ignore.

It's worth remembering these words from Andrew Carnegie: 'A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a spring in the desert.'
In other words, the library belongs to the community, the people. It's not the Council's to take away.

The campaign website is here. Lots more info on Brixton Buzz. If you're on Twitter, there are numerous accounts to follow but this is the one for seeing tweets from those inside the building. There's also a Facebook page. And, finally, this is a map of the location of the library. If you live locally, why not pop along. They have no cooking facilities so gifts of food are welcomed. After snipey tweets from Labour councilors in response to a photo of the occupiers drinking wine, loads of people turned up the next day - bearing gifts of wine. This is community activism at its best.

In case you're still wondering if libraries are about much more than 'just' borrowing books, have a look at the list of events which will not take place if the closure goes ahead.

Please don't let this happen:

Hope to see lots of you there on Saturday.

Praise for Nirvana Bites and Trading Tatiana

2016-03-23T15:48:00.001+00:00

As Nirvana Bites and Trading Tatiana are both on special offer at 99p each for the next week or so, I thought I'd post some reviews the novels received at the time when they were published. (In truth, several writer friends have ordered me to do this.) No links, I'm afraid, as these date back over ten years ago. However, I have managed to track down this on the wonderful Crimeficreader's blog (re Nirvana Bites) and this re Trading Tatiana. Also the late and much missed Maxine Clarke posted about Nirvana Bites on her Petrona blog.

Cath Staincliffe, Manchester Evening News
When unemployed Jen goes for an interview for a post as a researcher at the BBC she walks in on a scene of mayhem: a naked man stands on top of a ladder, his most private parts attached to a chain and his colleagues seemingly incapable of talking him down. But Jen recognises the man from his distinctive piercing as Stapled Stan, a regular on the S&M scene, and she persuades him not to jump. Stan, married to a high profile Tory MP, is being blackmailed and Jen is enlisted to try and find out who’s calling the shots. Assisted by fellow members of the Nirvana Housing Co-op, a handful of outlandish and damaged individuals who still manage to function as a collective, Jen becomes enmeshed in a world of murky dealing. Sustained by vegetarian feasts, regular spliffs and occasional flurries of direct action, the motley crew discover the trail leads them to the aquatic shop, Koi Korner. When Jen’s friends are on the receiving end of some very ugly violence things get a lot heavier. Comic crime caper from Alper who writes with panache and affection about the alternative worlds of co-operative living, new agers and fetishists. She’s very funny and … delivers a very entertaining read. A fresh voice we should hear more from.

Big Issue

A quick-paced and witty trawl through London’s sub-cultures.

Publishing News

A mix of funny, sad and astute.

Zaria Shreef, New Books Magazine

A funny, decidedly unpretentious thriller with a sub-cultural cast of characters and a fantastic heroine … From the first page NIRVANA BITES is a gripping, witty and distinctive read. It may stick in the throat of the old-school, anti-pc brigade, but its cast of lesbians, New Agers, animal rights activists and drop-outs is an engaging and refreshing alternative to the usual cast of fictional characters … An education for those who have no inkling of the S&M, drug and anti-capitalist scenes, it’s great fun.

Marcia Wellington, The Beaver

A hilarious whodunit set in the backdrop of the netherworld … A side to humankind that is dark and sinister yet, in spite of the negative environment, love and a true sense of family prevail. Woven into all this is a mystery to die for (some did) that kept me guessing to the end … It allowed me a peek into the dark, disturbing world of S&M, junkies and the otherwise fringe elements of society … A series of comical twists and turns … NIRVANA BITES is a definite must read for all mystery buffs. Otherwise it’s a good/funny/sad/whimsical book for those of us who just like a good read.

Tangled Web

Bursting with energy, NIRVANA BITES is a brilliantly observed comic triumph, and heralds the arrival of a highly individual and hilarious new voice.

Give Me a Break

Becoming a bit fuzzy? Here’s a in yer face tale of blackmail, villainy, bondage and housing co-ops that really kicks. Get down to a bit of amateur sleuthing and have some laughs by all means, but wake up to what you know is really going on.

Daily Mirror

Look out for NIRVANA BITES by Debi Alper – dark comedy as Jen’s job at the BBC leads to bondage and blackmail

Families SouthEast

Full of wild and whacky underground characters, involved in a weird world of eco-terrorists and S&M.

Magenta Publisher

Gripping stuff.

Gwyn Griffiths, Morning Star

Grim lives of desperate people told with love and humour. A 20th-century Welsh poet wrote that fiction, which is all lies, is closer than the historian to perfect truth. By that definition, the same would be true of the politician’s statistics. Those thoughts spin through the mind while reading Trading Tatiana, Debi Alper’s pacey, funny, heart-warming and ultimately tragic second novel. It is released at a time when Tony Blair and Michael Howard are out-bidding each other to show us all how tough they are – or will be – on asylum-seekers. They should read this novel. This is a political novel by a committed writer, writing from first-hand knowledge and detailed research. The snippets of information about the scale of what is done by those who live off the misery of others is enraging and heart-breaking. This is about the grim existence of desperate people clinging on at the brink, yet told with great humour and love. It is brilliantly written with all the underlying tensions of a terrific page-turner. Get out there, buy it and read it.

Catherine Hunt, Shotsmag
Here’s a welcome new crime writer … Alper’s theme isn’t original – she uses the current favourite crime, the traffic in prostitutes and the former iron curtain thugs who smuggle in naive, young girls, beat them up, terrorise them and then become their pimps – but her way of telling is refreshing. Her heroine and narrator is a thirty-something, ex-drug addict living the twentieth floor of a vile block of flats in the Old Kent Road. Jo Cooper has every right to be depressed and cynical but her voice is self deprecating, honest and optimistic. She vividly describes the sleaze and mess around her from the filthy, often broken lift, to the street battles between rival gangs. Multi-cultural London is her city and she loves everything about it but it is dirty, noisy and overcrowded so if people seek asylum there, she figures the place they leave must be hellish. Alper has a gift for voices; she can do Rasta, East End, posh, stroppy, anything at all. Her funniest scenes are those in neighbours’ kitchens when the women get together with their kids and chat. These are real characters not stereotypes and not to be disdained because they live in a grotty place. Moreover, they react to events and their thinking changes. She understands suspense, too. The pace is fast; as Jo gets further and further embroiled into what is patently a very dangerous situation, the tension increases, new characters get involved and the plot, as the cliché goes, thickens very satisfactorily.

Cath Staincliffe, author of the Sal Kilkenny mysteries and creator of Blue Murder, starring Caroline Quentin

‘My big fear is insanity. Everything else comes a long way behind.’ Ex-addict Jo Cooper is lonely, vulnerable and genuinely kind. She’s also brave and daft enough to offer sanctuary to a troubled teenage runaway. With compassion, humour and a strong sense of social justice Alper takes us for a walk away from the mainstream and into the seedier, needier, weirder side of London. An alternative, contemporary crime scene with the authentic flavour of life in the new, mean millennium yet there’s hope and belief too, in the potential of friendship and the possibilities of ‘families’ we choose rather than those we are born into.

Roz Clarke, Chatshow.net

Debi Alper’s second novel, like “Nirvana Bites”, is set in the downtrodden areas of South London she knows well, areas of desolate high rise housing and vibrant street markets where silent desperation and glorious optimism walk hand in hand. Humour, tragedy, poverty and lawlessness are the daily diet of those who live in within the sprawling urban community and all these elements are evident in Debi’s blackly comic crime thriller. Debi writes with comic affection about the alternative worlds of co-operative living, new agers and fetishists. She has known the strong women who battle against the odds to survive and are knit into a supportive sisterhood. She has sympathy not condemnation for the junkies and the home boys. Debi has revealed that initially she wrote in episodes to read out at her writers’ group, that she didn’t know she was writing a novel. There’s something almost Dickensian in this approach, as there is in the element of social documentary she includes, in her characterisation and in the landscape against which her novels are set. Her photographer’s eye gives her writing a depth of detail and a reality that makes the story both stark and rich … her voice is fresh and bright and laced with a darkly delicious anarchic sense of humour.

Tangledweb

Sparkling, fast paced and blackly comic.

Martin Tierney, Glasgow Herald

The second novel from the London-based writer is an unorthodox mix of comedy, kitchen-sink drama and dark thriller… Alper… move[s] the narrative seamlessly from the comic opportunities sexual perversion provides, to the darker, violent side of prostitution and sexual slavery.

Zoe Walker, South London Press
Alper’s portrayal of South London living is perhaps as honest a portrait as has yet been painted.

Fiona Hook, Big Issue

It’s funny how one thing leads to another. If Jo Cooper, ex-heroin addict and incurable helper of waifs and strays hadn’t decided to let the strange man she found on her roof in buttockless S&M gear into her top-floor flat in horrible, rundown Boddington Heights, she’d never have had enough money to take her neighbour’s kids to Brighton for the day. So she’d never have rescued a mystery girl from the thugs who were pursuing her, and the course of her life would have been different. The mysterious woman turns up at her flat … exposing Jo to a strange new world of illegal immigration and prostitution, where any victim who escapes must be ruthlessly hunted down. Its utter savagery is thrown into sharp relief by the everyday kindness of neighbours who band together to watch each other’s kids, the sweetness of agoraphobic Pete whose handmade candles Jo earns her living selling and the astonishing generosity and willingness to help of the housing co-operative she stumbles into in her quest for her visitor’s real identity. In trying to save her mystery guest, Jo finds her own salvation.

Love Reading
A blackly comic thriller where a London market trader finds herself plunged into the world of illegal immigration and teenage prostitution.

LATEST 7

Trading Tatiana is a rapidly-moving novel that blends black comedy, soft politics and an array of well-developed characters to form a book that is immensely entertaining and packed with unexpected twists.

Over a decade later, the Nirvanans are back

2016-03-19T14:30:00.004+00:00

As I draw closer to the publication of De Nada Nirvana, I'm feeling the excitement of releasing a new book into the world. Although each of my novels is able to stand alone, it's obviously best if people read them in sequence. And so ... drum roll ... I've reduced the price of Nirvana Bites and Trading Tatiana to 99p each for the next two weeks. Those links are to Amazon, but you can read extracts of both novels on my website.

I'm also taking this opportunity to look back at the amazing journey I had to publication, over twelve years ago now.

Unlike many debut authors, I hadn't been toiling away for years, I had no piles of unpublished MSs under my bed, and I had no ambitions to become a published author. I simply started writing a story to read out to my writers' group, with no idea that it would even be a complete novel, let alone any understanding about how publishing works. It's hard to believe that Nirvana Bites ended up being picked up directly by Orion and I was offered a two book deal with what nowadays would be considered a healthy advance. Nirvana Bites was published in 2002 and Trading Tatiana followed in 2005.

Trading Tatiana had a fraught journey, bless her. As the result of a series of unconnected (and sometimes tragic) events at the publishers, the novel went through four pairs of hands before landing up with an editor. The MS came back to me with comments and corrections made in all their different handwriting. I already knew that sales of Nirvana Bites had been decent but unspectacular. (This was pre-internet days, when word of mouth was much harder to access than it is now.) I also realised there was no one left at the publishers to promote my cause. By now, I was savvy enough to know that it was unlikely I'd be offered a subsequent deal by Orion and so I started the (some may say belated) search for an agent. (Worth noting that many long-established authors, including Val McDermid and Ian Rankin, have said their novels didn't take off until the fourth or fifth in the series and that if their career had begun a few years later, they would have been dropped.)

Ten years later and my agent had another three Nirvana novels. He loved each of them but, in spite of some near misses, he was unable to sell them to publishers who were unwilling to commit to a series in which the first two novels had already been published. Of course I was disappointed but you know what? It wasn't as bad as you may think. All authors go through rejection at some point. My career may have been arse-upwards to most others, but that didn't mean I could escape the inevitable pain. And what happened to me had been life-changing. Without that original deal, I wouldn't be doing what I do today. I've loved spending time over this last decade with other authors, polishing and perfecting their novels, crying with them when they get setbacks and dancing with them when they achieve success, in whatever form that may be.

But ... but ... I was still an author. I still had those unpublished novels and I still had people contacting me to ask when the next were coming out. Timing may have been instrumental in me not being offered a subsequent deal by Orion, but I'm also around at a time when I can bring those novels in front of readers by other means. The Nirvanans are back on the scene.

Now I need to adjust my thinking. Going it alone means that I need to wrap my head round pricing and promo and all that other stuff that I don't want to be taking up time and head space. I'm not good at this. It's not what I want to be doing. So don't look to me for answers about how to successfully publish and promote your own novels. I'll be crap at it. One thing I can do though, is write blog posts like this one and then FB and tweet the link. If you don't like the method, look away now.

I'm a hybrid!

2016-02-01T14:57:00.001+00:00

The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed an addition to the sidebar of this blog. Yep, I'm now a fully paid-up member of the Alliance of Independent Authors - a giant step forward for my new incarnation as a hybrid author.

For those of you who may not know, my first two novels, Nirvana Bites and Trading Tatiana were originally published by Orion. A few months ago, (on my birthday, since you ask) I set up my own imprint and published them as e-books. (See here for Nirvana Bites and here for Trading Tatiana.) I've now edited De Nada Nirvana, the third novel in the series. It was fun to re-visit a novel I considered to be final draft several years ago, when I was still largely operating by instinct. This was my first novel written in third person, with two different threads: one set in London, following Jen and her fellow Nirvanans, and one set in Spain, where Jo has gone to search for a missing teenager.

As an editor and tutor, I often advise people not to have characters with names beginning with the same initial but it's too late to change Jen and Jo now. Anyway, if it was good enough for Orion ... But I did have to cast a beady eye on some of the other characters when I realised four of them had names beginning with T.

Tony Bennett is a mobster and there are references to him having the same name as the crooner so that's not going to be changed
Tina's name is fixed in stone for me but she's a woman and stretched very far apart from TB, so no possible confusion there
Techno Tom has only a small part and is likewise unlikely to be muddled up with TB
Ted Baxter, I decided definitely was a problem and so he has become Harry Baxter. There was a salutary lesson there, folks. Thank goodness I knew not to use a global find/replace, or I would have ended up with lots of things like I wanHarry and I was exhausHarry.

While I'm naming names, I have a main character who never appears in the story: the missing teenager, Matt Willis. Since I wrote the original draft, I have met a real life Matt Willis and wondered whether to change the name of my character but have been persuaded to let it stand. I guess this is why novels always have the warning note about characters not being based on real people.

Anyway, the previous draft has now been edited (by moi), proofread by my wonderful friend Angie, who has been with me on this journey from the beginning, and has now been sent to the wonderful Leigh Forbes, who is doing the techy schmecky stuff, including creating the series covers. I LOVE working with other people on their novels but I have to say it's felt really good to focus on my own stories again. Who knows? I may even find myself blogging more.

Happy 10th birthday to my blog

2016-01-02T17:55:00.001+00:00

This blog is ten years old. A whole decade of blogging.

A lot has happened in the world since then and it's fascinating to look back at my early posts.

I'm still spending a lot more time over on Facebook and Twitter these days but have popped in here to announce that De Nada Nirvana is scheduled for publication in the next few months under my Nirvana Publishing imprint. Nirvana Bites and Trading Tatiana are already available and I intend to edit Me, John and a Bomb and The Gene Pool next, thereby completing the Nirvana series. Unless there's a miracle between now and then, I'll also be publishing Somebody's Child, the novel which my agent loved so much but has sadly been unable to sell.

The only way I've been able to carve out time for my own writing has been to treat myself like a client. And, as a client, I've also felt free to tell my editor-self to piss off, as I break the rules the Editrix points out.

#FoW15 in words and pictures

2015-09-07T15:58:00.000+00:00

It's the morning after the weekend before and, as ever, I feel jet-lagged, hung-over, culture-shocked (Real Life is WEIRD!) and, especially this year, very happy. Although previous years have been fab, it always felt like I spent a lot of time picking people up from the floor and handing them tissues. In some ways, that's not a bad thing. It shows how much they cared about what they do.

Back: Sophie Wellstood, Mandy Berriman Front: Jody Klaire, Katherine Hetzel, John Taylor

But here's the real point: those people who had dusted themselves off, who had taken on board the advice from their 1-1s, internalised what they learnt in the workshops and panels, and come back to the festie with sparkly new writing were the ones who, this year, had the affirmation they had worked so hard for. Time after time, I was approached by shiny-eyed people who had received really positive feedback from agents who want to see the whole MS. At least one, including my gorgeous mentee Mandy Berriman, was told by a top agent that they are 'really excited' by their stories. Another RL friend, Rachael Dunlop, faces the possibility of having to choose between several agents. Two Cloudie friends, Michelle Bromley and Hilary Taylor, were shortlisted for the Friday Night Live Competition and one, the fabulous Sophie Wellstood (who I first met when we accepted her submission for Stories for Homes) won the Opening Chapter competition.

The shortlisted authors in the Friday Night Live competition

These are the competitions which have led to such runaway success in the past for authors such as Shelley Harris, Deborah Install and Jo Cannon. (Click the links to see their FoW stories.) And these are just a few of the people I know who were wearing ear-to-ear grins this time. Truly, my cup runneth over.

Andrew Wille, Deborah Install and Jenny Savill

When I stood in for Harry Bingham on Saturday night, I asked for a show of hands. How many people were festie returnees? I calculated approximately a third. When I asked our self-edit alumni to come up on stage for a group photo, I was blown away to see that about 30 of the 179 people who have taken the course so far were at the festival. These are the people who, by dedicating themselves to their craft and demonstrating their commitment to their writing, are now reaping the harvest of all that hard work.

A reminder that the self-edit course runs 4 times a year and consists of detailed tutorials to give you the tools of creative writing, and exercises which are based on your own WIP, thereby showing how to apply the tools to your own story. See here for some feedback and here for the syllabus and booking details.

Huge thanks to everyone who has tweeted, FBd and emailed their appreciation following the mini course, workshops and 1-1s. The Psychic Distance workshop was, as ever, the one that blew people's minds, even though it was the last workshop of a packed weekend. More than one person said the insights almost brought them to tears but then it was the end of a totes emosh weekend for all of us. Do check out Emma Darwin's blogposts on PD to get those synapses firing.

If anyone is itching for more writerly input before FoW16, I'll be running workshops at Verulam Writers' Get Writing Day on 26 Sept and also a one day Craft of Writing event in Exeter for The Place to Write on 10 Oct.

York Uni is a stunning setting

Some of the wonderful Writers' Workshop team

Delegates and pros trickling in

Jane Ayres and Moira Please, who run The Place to Write

Mandy Berriman and Janette Owen - natural storytellers

No caption needed. Well worth the indigestion


Craig Taylor at the controls

For the first time - a DISCO!

Discovering the magic of Psychic Distance

Happy birthday, WW!

One final thing, which I post while attempting to uncurl my toes. Several people had a go at me for not talking more about my own books and writing so I'm just slipping in here that Nirvana Bites and Trading Tatiana are now available as e-books and yes, I will try to get the next 3 out there too at some point.

Lovely bloggers

2015-05-07T12:23:00.004+00:00

A glance down my list of recent posts shows I've been a lazy blogger for some time now. I'm so busy, and there are so many other people who say what I would about the craft of writing better than I can, so I spend most of my online activity accessing the quick fix of Facebook and Twitter.

So why am I posting now? Well, I've been shamed into it by the wonderful Loretta Milan who has declared this blog to be lovely.

To accept the award, there are a few things nominees have to do…

Thank the person who nominated them for the award.
Add the One Lovely Blog logo to their post.
Share 7 facts/or things about themselves.
Nominate up to 15 bloggers they admire and inform nominees by commenting on their blog.

I've ticked off 1) and 2) so here are 7 personal facts that you might not know about me. In no particular order:

I can speak backwards fluently.
I covered my hair for 6 years when I was in my 30s. In that time, more people saw my breasts than the top of my head.
One of my eyes is lighter than the other.
In another lifetime, I would have been an archaeologist.
I'm the shortest person in my immediate family by over a foot.
I was made homeless when I was seven months pregnant.
I once lost the losers' race at my primary school, despite being the oldest child competing.

There we go. Please note: I will NOT be elaborating on any of the above.

And herewith my nominees, bearing in mind that Loretta has named many I would and Squidge has named some more of my favourites. I've chosen the ones I think are most useful/entertaining and, in some cases, it wouldn't be appropriate to leave a comment on their blog so I'm just putting these up here as a resource.

Jackie Buxton's Agenthood and Submissionville
Isabel Rogers' blog never promises to be entirely serious
A collective of bibliophiles talking about books - Vulpes Libris
Rachael Dunlop's blog, Butterflies
Writers' Workshop House Blog
Agent Hunter blog
Nicola Morgan's Heartsong
And though she no longer posts there, Nicola's Help! I Need a Publisher is a treasure trove of useful advice
I know Squidge mentioned Chuck Wendig, but his Terrible Minds blog merits a mention here too
The ramblings of a few scattered authors - An Awfully Big Blog Adventure
Norman Geras sadly died in October 2013, but his normblog remains as a beacon of sanity in a naughty world

While I'm here and have you attention, do you know about Authors for Philippines? Set up by the wonderful Julia Williams, you can bid on ebay for all kinds of goodies including signed books, illustrations, named characters and critiques. Every penny goes directly to help the Nepalese people in the wake of the devastating earthquake. My offer of a crit of synopsis and first 5000 words of a novel is here.

Right, I'm off. I'll try not to leave it so long before I post again. Thanks again to Loretta's Literary Lightbox for bringing me out of the shadows.