After the long slog of writing, Saddleback Wife is in final draft form at last and talks are happening with a potential editor this weekend.
Saddleback Wife is the story of the farm we ran on our five acres in Tasmania. It began with two little sows called Bella and Rosie and went on to be an adventure in sausage making and taking premium pork cuts to market. It’s the story of the impacts running a small farm business can have on your family and sometimes your sanity. Here’s a preview from the opening chapters.
On leaving the bantam shed, we found Oliver amongst the agricultural displays, deep in conversation with a woman wearing a white lab-coat and a ten-gallon hat, an intriguing combination. Tucked under one arm, she held a small, black and white piglet which squirmed vigorously. Before her stood a wooden crate filled with straw, and scuffling about in it were two more black piglets with white stripes around their shoulders.
You can bring on the gilts by feeding them whey, if you happen to have a cow,’ she said to Oliver, who was giving her his rapt attention. ‘But we use a commercial pig feed that has leftover bits from the chocolate factory in it. They like that.’ This woman and her partner, Oliver told me later, were the biggest breeders of Wessex Saddleback pigs in Tasmania. Little did I know then how much her ideas of whey-fed gilts and chocolaty pig-feed would figure in our future.
Saddleback Wife © Fiona Stocker 2023
It’s difficult to stop twiddling with a manuscript but you have to know when it needs a fresh look from a professional. Ever wondered what an editor does? Here are some of the things mine will be looking at.
- Balance of humour and gritty content about farming and pigs.
- Too much moaning about Oliver?
- Tedious passages and repetition.
- Does the prologue and opening chapter hook the reader in?
- Real names or changed names for ‘characters’ in the book?
- Balance between dramatic scenes and dialogue, and essay-style chapters.
- Is the ‘arc’ of the book in good shape?
- Political chapter. Should it stay or go?
- It’s a real-life account of what agri-tourism is like. Is this going to offend?
Q&A – ask the wife!
Got questions about Saddleback Wife or about Apple Island Wife? Ask me! I’ll answer them in the comments below, or mail me here!
Fiona Stocker Writer 