Thursday Doors – Silves, Portugal

img_0370This lovely little door is set into a wall on an ancient street, directly across from a twelfth century cathedral that may have even earlier origins, in the town of Silves, Portugal.

The street is sloping, as you can see from the line of the cobbles, and there is a view across red-tiled roofs to green hills beyond, the scent of blossom in the air. This little door has a history and age to it, but its story remains a secret for now. I wonder who holds the key?

This is my entry for the Thursday Doors Challenge, courtesy of Norm 2.0. For more doors, or to add one of your own, visit Norm’s site and click the link.

Wednesday Wander – El Morro, San Juan

el-morro-4El Morro, or, to give it its full name, Castillo San Felipe Del Morro, is a sixteenth century fortress guarding the entrance to San Juan Bay, Puerto Rico.

el-morro-3Situated on a promontory at the entrance to the bay, the thick walls and 360 degree views give El Morro a commanding position.The fort, which is similar in design to many other Spanish forts of the era, has seen its fair share of action, including a failed attack by Sir Francis Drake in 1595. It was also the place where, in 1915, the U.S. fired their first shots in World War I, when they stopped an armed German supply ship from leaving the bay.

el-morro-2El Morro was an active fort right up until 1961, when the US military  withdrew and it became part of the National Park Service. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1983, and was used by Stephen Spielberg as a movie set for his film, Amistad. It is now one of Puerto Rico’s leading tourist attractions, with several million visitors every year.

el-morro-1I visited El Morro a long time ago – in the intervening years, the lighthouse tower has been rendered and painted in a similar fashion to the restored archways above. I remember the fort being beautifully situated, but also a bit lonely, the weight of history in its thick walls. I hope to visit the Caribbean again one day – I’ve said before that it’s a place full of stories, and I think this old fortress would have plenty to tell.

Thank you for coming on another Wednesday Wander with me – see you next time!

Reflections, Fireworks and a Zombie Prom Queen

img_4273I’ve been out and about these last few days, as half term winds down and the celebration season winds up. On Saturday I walked along a stretch of canal I hadn’t visited before – I love reflections, and the calm water made for some interesting shots.

img_4276Yesterday was Devils Night, the precursor to Halloween, and also Diwali, so fireworks and light were all around, crackling in the night sky. The gorgeous girl and I headed into our Old Town, which was having a Halloween celebration complete with street stalls, rides and costumed revellers, culminating in a fireworks display at the nearby park.

img_4286It was great fun, with just enough spooks and thrills to get the atmosphere going, yet very family friendly. We met up with friends and managed to squeeze in a few activities before heading down to the park for the display.

img_4289However. It was a chilly night and a mist had descended, the air hanging still beneath the trees. When the fireworks started the lack of wind meant that the smoke just stayed put, drifting a little across the crowd but mostly just hanging in midair, mixing with the mist to obscure all but the most determined fireworks. Still, there was lots of laughter in the crowd, and cries of ‘That was a good one!’ after particularly loud bangs, even though we could see nothing in the murk.

img_4300Tonight is Halloween proper, or Samhain, in the old tongue. A night where the barriers between life and death are supposed to come down, and spirits walk the night. I will be walking the night as well, or at least the very early evening, accompanied, I am told, by a Zombie Prom Queen. Sweets will be sought and tricks avoided, although it will be a fairly early finish as tomorrow is a school day, sadly for her.

And then it begins. My favourite time of year. Bonfire Night, woodsmoke, the trees shedding the last of their leaves, Jack Frost arriving to line the fields and houses with silvery blue. And lights, everywhere, sparkling on rooftops and lamp-posts and high streets, an antidote to long dark nights. Gathering with friends and family, the warmth indoors counterpoint to the cold outside. Wishing you all a wonderful season, however you choose to celebrate!

 

 

Helen Says…Radio Waves, Lollops and One Hit Wonders: We Are Born To Be Alive

Another reblog – I know! But today I’m visiting Steve at Steve Says, with a post about the disco classic, ‘Born To Be Alive’ Dance on over and take a look!

Hills & Valleys

I know I’ve done a few reblogs lately – it’s because I’ve been out visiting in blogland this week – but I just had to share this lovely review for Hills and Valleys, the third book in my Ambeth series. Thanks, Kev!

The Friday Fiction Featuring Helen Jones

Today I’m visiting my author- and bloggy-friend, Ali Isaac, with an excerpt from my latest release, A Thousand Rooms. If you haven’t been to Ali’s blog before, hop on over – she writes wonderfully about the myths and legends of Ireland. I’m thrilled to be visiting – thanks for having me, Ali!

Thursday Doors – Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Stratford-Upon-Avon

img_2049This lovely door with wisteria crown belongs to one of the buildings at Shakespeare’s birthplace, Straford-Upon-Avon. There are several sixteenth century buildings on the site, including the main house where Shakespeare was born and grew up –  he even spent the first five years of his marriage to Ann Hathaway there, the couple living with his parents.

dsc_0500During his lifetime, Shakespeare leased out part of the property and it became an inn called The Maidenhead(!). Upon his death, the house passed to his daughter, Susanna, and it stayed in the family until 1847 when it was purchased by The National Trust, who continue to manage the house today.

dsc_0505The house and surrounding buildings have been restored to how they would have been during Shakespeare’s lifetime (except for the gift shop on the ground floor, of course). It’s a fascinating place to visit, and an insight into how wealthy families lived in the sixteenth century.

This is my entry to this week’s Thursday Doors Challenge, courtesy of Norm.2.0. For more doors, or to add one of your own, visit Norm’s page and click the link.

Self-publishing and the snobbery issue

A wonderful post by Alison Williams – just had to share 🙂

alisonewilliams's avatarAlison Williams Writing

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I work with all different types of authors, those who are hoping to secure a publishing deal, those who are chasing the self-publishing dream and even a couple who have gone on to secure a deal with one of the big five (or six, or whatever it is). Some of these writers are brilliant, some are really talented, some are steady, dependable story tellers who can spin a good yarn, some aren’t that great, some have accepted help and advice and have improved in leaps and bounds, a few I have advised to go right back to the drawing board and there have been a handful who I have had to advise that writing is perhaps not the path for them (this is at the sample edit stage – I never take a penny from authors in this situation).

You might be surprised to know that most of the authors…

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Wednesday Wander – Manyana Beach

manana-2My wander this week is to Manyana Beach, on the NSW coast south of Sydney, Australia.

I visited Manyana many years ago with my now-husband. I think I’ve mentioned before that he’s Australian, and likes to surf. On this particular trip we were driving north from Melbourne to Sydney, a drive that takes seven hours or so if you head straight up the Hume Highway inland, or one or two days, depending how often you stop, along the winding coast road.

At the time we were living in Sydney, and had been in Melbourne for Christmas with his family. We’d decided to drive back up to Sydney in time for New Year’s Eve so set off a couple of days before. For some reason, even though we knew it was high summer, school holidays and the magic week between Christmas and New Year that pretty much everyone has off work, we didn’t book any accommodation, confident that we’d be able to find somewhere in the many towns and hotels along the route.

Haha. We spent our first night on the road sleeping in our car, parked in a grocery story car park near the beach. It wasn’t the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had, especially when we were entertained by the local youth frolicking nearby, one girl squealing ‘I’m in a trolley!’ as they clattered past the car around 4am. Still, we were younger then so, after an early morning dip in the ocean, we hit the road once more, although with firm instructions (from me) that we were to find somewhere nice to stay that night.

And we did. The last remaining room in a small bed and breakfast, patio doors looking across a paddock lined with gum trees, curious horses wandering up to have their noses scratched over the wire fence. A place where the friendly owners told us about the time they swam with whales as they fed us an excellent home-cooked breakfast. To say it was a step up from the previous night’s accommodation would be an understatement.

And then we went to Manyana. I sat on the sand with my book and parasol, while hubby-to-be surfed the blue waves. It was idyllic, the beach almost deserted, the weather splendid. We left in the afternoon and headed north, arriving in Sydney that evening. I can still remember driving over the Harbour Bridge as the sun was setting, relieved to be almost home.

manana-1And now I sit in a different home, halfway across the world, writing my Wednesday Wanders. Thanks for coming with me – see you next time.

An Author Event

img_4169I had an author event this past weekend. That sounds rather grand, doesn’t it? Three of Hertfordshire’s busiest libraries are running independent author events over the next six months, and the first one was this past Saturday, at St Albans Library.

When I arrived I was given a table on which to set up my books – there were five other authors as well, and it was interesting to meet them and discuss the different ways we had all approached self-publishing. Three of them had worked with printers to produce their work – the quality of illustration and the type of book they wanted to produce meant that this was the best option for them. The other three, myself included, had gone the Amazon/Createspace route, with varying degrees of success.

We discussed a lot, in fact – they were a great group of people and I was happy to meet all of them. We bought books from each other, talked about different kinds of social media, of how to find our desired audience, exchanged contact details and ideas. It was worth attending for that alone.

img_4172The event was a bit of a mixed bag in terms of sales. I think it’s great that libraries, certainly in my area, are starting to get behind independent authors, and I really appreciate their support. I’ll be doing one of the other events, and I’m looking forward to meeting more people there. However, it seemed there might have been some crossed wires with the promotion, as most of us spent our time talking to people who wanted to publish their own books, rather than purchase ours. I even had a lady sit down, pull out pen and paper, and ask me to take her through the process of publishing! Still, I did make a few sales, and I remembered how it was before I published, and the people who so generously shared their knowledge with me.

I don’t much enjoy public speaking, nor do I like being the centre of attention. However, I really enjoyed being part of this event. It made me realise that I don’t mind putting myself out there when it’s to talk about something I enjoy, and writing is definitely something I enjoy. In some ways, blogging has helped too – letting me put my words out there for an audience, and figuring out that maybe, I might have something to say. I’m planning on doing more events now, going out into the real world to find my reading audience, as well as trying to connect with them online.

So, I think the day might have been a success, after all. 🙂