I am Australian and have just finished writing a novel. The publisher I will be using is in the USA and uses the Chicago Manual of Style. Because I use UK English, I would prefer to leave my manuscript in the UK style, especially with regard to punctuation, and I would also like to preserve UK En...

Example: I gasped. Tom swallowed. He was also surprised by the maid's sudden appearance. In this case the narrator is directly talking about Tom's feelings. I gasped. Tom swallowed. He also seemed surprised by the maid's sudden appearance. This one is more indirect; the narrator is ju...

I'm concerned that my opening somewhat fits both the amnesia cliché, and the waking up cliché. Do you think this affects it badly? Also, Is the writing confusing? (Optionally, general feedback on writing style) Chapter One: Its first sensation was of utter confusion. Everything felt wrong, when ...