Reflections on a Week Past

I missed my Wednesday Wander this week. It wasn’t because I’d run out of places, though – I’ve quite a few locations still to share, and more to visit, so will keep the series going as long as I can. No, it was for a couple of other reasons – one, I was part of a blog tour for a new book, The Finding Of Martha Lost, and my slot was Wednesday. The other was that it’s been a strange sort of week. Understatement, I guess. The tragic incident in Manchester affected me (as it affected a lot of people worldwide), and, once I’d posted about it, I just felt like hanging with family, especially my gorgeous girl, so blogging got put on the back burner for a few days.

I’ve done some walking, too, along my favourite canal route and past the river, taking photos of green calm and reflection. The swans I saw nesting the other week now have cygnets, three little balls of grey fluff following their parents across the water.

I did do some writing this week though, managing to sort out a few plot tangles in Silver and Black, my vampire novel. I know, right? I never thought I’d write a vampire novel, but a writing prompt almost two years ago via Ali Isaac brought me the character of Emelia Raven, and her story was too insistent to ignore. So, I’m pretty close to a finished first draft, which I’ll put away for a couple of months before coming back to, as I find that’s the best way to see what changes need to be made for draft two.

It’s a Bank Holiday weekend here as well, meaning Monday is a day off work and school (plus it’s the start of half-term). There’s work to do around the house, plus a bit of family fun, so I have fingers crossed the lovely sunshine we’ve had this past week sticks around.

Wishing you all a peaceful and happy weekend. Back to writing and wandering next week xx


If you enjoyed this post and would like to read more, you can find me on Twitter @AuthorHelenJ,Β  Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Plus my latest book release, A Thousand Rooms, is now available on Amazon. Visit my Amazon Author Page to see more.

19 thoughts on “Reflections on a Week Past

  1. Love ❀️ your favorite spot.. what a beautiful scenery..

    I know.. that Manchester tragedy was just horrific..

    It makes you think.. it can happen to any of us.
    Such waste of life..

    Enjoy yourself holiday weekend.. we have one here in the USA too..

  2. What a lovely peaceful post, lush and green, vibrating with life. In such contrast to the horrific struggles you are having over there at the moment. You are right, that the world’s eyes are fixed on Manchester this past week, dumbfounded. What a terrible tragedy.

    On a happier note, vampire novels always have and always will be popular. (It’s sad when “vampires” are the happier note…) I also think it’s important to take a step back from the first draft. Go back to it with fresh eyes. Don’t you find that in the writing process you become blind to the details of the actual print? For instance, after a time, I can no longer see my typos or silly little grammar mistakes. I need that time in between.

    Have a nice long week end!

    • Hi Linda, thank you for your lovely comment. Yes, I was trying to find some peace this week, definitely. Isn’t it a strange world we live in? I take hope in that there was so much more love than hate around though, so many people wanting to help – may it always be so.
      And yes, I always have to ‘rest’ my writing for a while – I can tell I’m getting very close to that point with Silver and Black. Like you, I miss small grammar things, as well as big things like plot holes or inconsistencies. I guess we just get too close to the work πŸ˜€ Hope you have a lovely weekend too xx

    • Thanks Louise πŸ™‚ I feel very fortunate to have this option for my morning commute! It’s a half hour of peace before the day starts. It’s lovely, everyone along the canal is friendly and says hello and, even though it’s close to a main road and train line, it’s quiet and still, somehow removed. πŸ™‚

    • They are sooo cute! Wish my phone took a better photo of them πŸ™‚ It’s a gorgeous place to walk, I feel very lucky to have it as part of my morning commute.

      • I do some days, though not every day – it’s about a half hour each way. I try to do so at least once a week though, depending on the weather πŸ™‚

      • I’m jealous of the fact that you can walk to work. That’s nice, especially wheb walking home. There’s no need to really rush on the way home; it’s like you can unwind a bit.

        I love my job, but it would be cool to walk to work sometimes, particularly if it was scenic. My job is not conducive to walking there.

      • Yes, I guess it wouldn’t be – they don’t make airports pedestrian access! Which is kind of a shame. It is really nice to have th option of walking – although I do have to get home in time for school pick up πŸ™‚

  3. I’m with you regarding last week, Helen. I didn’t post anything either. Sometimes not blogging speaks the loudest of all. Time to switch everything off and go outside.

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