I've found there is a whole lexicon of writerly words and phrases, terms of art. Such as filtering, purple prose, and then this one - darling axe. It's actually the name of a website I stumbled across, and the juxtaposition of the two words, slightly creepy, is a reference to lopping off the sections of your manuscript you grow attached to because you think they are well written or clever. But they don't serve the story so it's your duty to cleave them. I have taken my word count from 100k down to 94k and, like a fighter looking to make weight, the story is better served. Perhaps I will stick a few of the orphans in an out-take section of this site one day. Nothing is sacred.
Gone To Ground made a long list (First Pages) - I entered probably five competitions in the past few months and have lost track. Also have a story/excerpt that cleared the first review for an online magazine called Onyx.
Got an offer to publish with an independent with an option on two subsequent novels. We shall see...
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