Well, this is fun! I’ve just been nominated for The Liebster Award by the lovely Paola Crespo – thank you so much! Paola is a writer and poet and you can visit her blog here:

http://www.writingandrewriting.com

According to the interwebs, the Liebster Award originated in Germany. The word Liebster means kind, loving, cherish, sweet, endearing, beloved, and welcome, and the award was created to give up-and-coming bloggers with promising content and few followers the chance to be recognized for their talent and to “welcome” them to the blogosphere.

There are rules, for those who are nominated and choose to take up the challenge. They are as follows:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog

2. Answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you

3. Nominate other bloggers (ideally those who are just starting and would benefit most from this exposure, but of course nominate whoever you wish!)

4. Give these bloggers 11 questions to answer and let them know they have been nominated.

So, here are my eleven questions and answers, courtesy of Paola:

What was the last book that made you cry?

Hmm, that’s a tough one. I have to say when Hester dies in Phillip Pullman’s The Subtle Knife, that always does it for me.

What is a really underrated book that you would love to see on the big screen? Why?

I know The Night Circus was pretty popular, but I also think it would be amazing as a movie. The imagery was so rich I think it could translate very well. The Kingdom Of Ohio is another one that would make a great film.

What is something in a book that has to be well-done for you to like it? (for me it’s characterisation). Is it plot, setting, characters etc?

For me it’s the plot. Of course characters are important but the only times I’ve put a book down, unable to finish, is because the plot either drags or is so convoluted I can’t be bothered to figure it out.

Is there a book that you consider your guilty pleasure? If so, why?

A few years ago I might have answered this differently. But now I think of books the same way I think of food – if you’re enjoying it, there’s no reason to feel guilty!

What is your favourite book setting?

I love urban fantasy. The idea that fantastic things can happen in ordinary places is fascinating to me.

What is a book that you want to read purely for the cover?

The Kerry Greenwood Phryne Fisher mysteries. The first one I ever read was borrowed from a friend because I loved the look of the cover. Phryne is a detective in 1920’s Melbourne and the book covers are Art Deco style paintings of her, usually in some fabulous outfit.

Is there a book that you’ve tried to read innumerable times but never finished? What is it?

In a word, no. If I don’t finish a book it’s because I don’t want to. Doesn’t happen very often, I might add.

What is your OTP (One True Pairing)?

Hmm, another tough question. There are so many to choose from! Matthew and Diana in the All Souls Trilogy stand out to me at the moment. Though Heathcliff and Cathy, for all their selfish angry nature, are a favourite as well.

Why and when did you start your blog?

I started blogging in late May of 2014. As to why, it felt like a natural thing to do. A friend had just started her blog and it inspired me to do the same. It’s been absolutely fantastic, both as a writer and for making connections.

If you estimate, what is the most books you’ve ever checked out from your library?

Probably ten, back in the days when I had time to read that much!

What is your favourite type of post to write for your blog?

I don’t really have a favourite type of post. It really is just what comes to me week by week. I do have some favourites that I’ve written. Believe is one and Found Objects is another.

Thank you Paola for the questions – hope you enjoy my answers 🙂

Now the bit where I nominate other bloggers, and here is my list. (I realise it’s not quite eleven, sorry!) To all of you I’ve nominated, it’s absolutely up to you as to whether or not you choose to participate.

http://www.skilledwithkids.com

http://www.Faykeenan.com

http://www.nofrigatelikeabook.com

http://www.louise-allan.com

https://davidcastanho.wordpress.com/

http://www.connieflanagan.wordpress.com

http://www.sophiesdiamondwords.wordpress.com

And here are my eleven questions:

1. How often do you write? Is it daily, a few times a week or whenever the muse strikes?

2. Where do you write most of the time?

3. What would be your dream writing location?

4. Where is your favourite place you’ve ever been?

5. And your favourite book?

6. Inspiration can come from anywhere. What is the strangest thing that has inspired one of your stories? (mine was an outside light on someone’s house)

7. What is your favourite book made into a film?

8. And your least favourite? (Mine is The Lovely Bones – it could have been so so great)

9. Do you listen to music while writing? And do you have a favourite artist?

10. Have you ever had a character run away with the plot, disrupting your carefully planned story? (I have)

11. If someone appeared and gave you three wishes, what would you wish for?

Thanks again Paola! And thanks to everyone for reading xx

PS I’ve realised that some of my questions are a bit writer-y and so might not be relevant to everyone I’ve nominated! Apologies – this is what comes of doing this during a house renovations at the start of half term! If you do decide to participate, just answer those you can xx

 

Hi everyone!

Just a short post today – I’ve just written another guest blog for the Bloomsbury Writers & Artists website, all about working with an editor. The content is similar to my post on here, but if you’re interested in taking a look, here’s the link:

https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/2015/02/self-publishing-and-working-with-an-editor

If you haven’t already visited their site, it’s a great resource for writers. As well as blogs on different aspects of writing and publishing, they also run competitions and of course produce the W&A Yearbook, a comprehensive lists of agents and publishers and very handy if you’re going through the submission process.

Thank you as always for reading xx

 

I love watching old music videos. When I say old, I guess I mean the ones from my youth, the ones they now show on the channel called ‘Vintage TV.’ God, I suppose that makes me vintage as well.

I sat down a few nights ago and caught a half hour or so, and I laughed my ass off. Because these were the days before bands had stylists, where if one guy wanted to show up in a bright green boiler suit and another in his jeans and t-shirt, it was OK. When female artists wore real vintage stuff they sourced themselves, or just whatever was in their closet at the time. Before record labels ‘packaged’ bands to appeal to mass audiences, before make-up and hair and clothing were calculated to the nth degree. When bands were free to show their personalities. It was excellent.

(and before everyone shouts at me, I am fully aware there are still musicians out there who dance to their own drummer, so to speak. But I’m referring to the ‘pop’ charts, the songs that were popular then vs the ones that are popular now).

First cab off the rank was Abba ‘The Winner Takes It All.’ Oh the hair! The jumpsuits! This, to young me, was the height of sophisticated clothing. This was what grown ups wore and how they acted, and I remember I couldn’t wait to have my very own lace trimmed jumper or blousy jumpsuit, tied just so.

Next, the surreal beauty of Boy George and ‘Do You Really Want To Hurt Me’. At the time, Boy George was at the forefront of a fashion movement in London and I think his look still stands the test of time. Imagine if he’d been forced to ‘conform’, to tone down the make-up, maybe not have the floppy fringe and dreadlocks. Sure, the honey voice would have still been there but that point of difference, that thing that made him stand out, would have been lost.

Next stop, Bryan Ferry and ‘Jealous Guy.’ Bryan is the god of cool. That is all.

From the sublime to the ridiculous and Survivor with ‘Eye of the Tiger.’ This I enjoyed immensely. It starts with the band members on the mean streets of some neon lit night time city, marching around as they meet up to stalk along the pavement like some leather clad posse (except for the guy who didn’t get the memo and showed up in a chambray shirt over a white t-shirt – I enjoyed him the most). So they walk along singing, but they don’t walk in time to the music. Instead they walk faster, like they just want to get this part over with. They wander into some sort of warehouse and start playing instruments and, just like that, the outfits change! There are suits with skinny ties, white muscle shirts, and chambray shirt guy has changed his to a darker blue. The back drop is billowing garbage bags and everyone looks super serious, especially the singer, who has retained his beret from his initial look. The drummer for some reason ends the video soaking wet – perhaps he’s sitting under the leaky bit of the roof.

Then an ad break, and we come back to Belinda Carlisle with ‘Heaven is a Place on Earth.’ Belinda always reminds me of a family trip we took to California when I was fifteen, three weeks driving the coast from LA to San Francisco. I loved that trip. But I’m not loving this video. Random thoughts come to me. Why is Belinda stuck in that tight corner? She looks uncomfortable, spinning around and banging into the wall, fidgeting up and down. And why can’t any of her clothes stay on her shoulders? There is kissing and net curtains and strange people wearing masks and holding glowing balls, and then it ends.

When I was thirteen, I was mad about Duran Duran. They sang about sex and women and parties, all wrapped up in poetry and sinuous keyboard sounds. Their look was studied, but it was their own, born out of the club scene they started from. At the height of their popularity they were all in their early twenties, much like the popular boy bands of today. But the point of difference (other than the fact they wrote their own songs and music) was that they were presented to their audience as men, instead of over-coiffed boys singing about girls they liked and summer holidays. And it didn’t matter at all. I still was mad for them, even though I knew they were too old for me and my chances of ever getting close to any of them were zero.

Anyway, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I enjoyed this time in music, when artists were more free to be themselves. Perhaps I’m just old, perhaps I’m edging into ‘get off my lawn’ territory, but I just find a lot of the stuff my daughter sees is so overproduced and packaged it loses any individual appeal.

Does this relate in any way to writing? Probably not, other than the fact I’m writing about it. Perhaps it is that music triggers memories, and memories can trigger ideas, releasing emotions that might lead us to a story or two. Bit of a stretch? Perhaps.

I miss the old days.

My daughter and I have a game we play on the way to school. It’s a game we came up with ourselves and we call it Counting Kitties. The way it works is this: every day we have to see a certain number of cats on our way to school, or else we have to give each other a ‘squeezy hug.’ So on Monday it’s one cat – starting the week off easy, not too much stress. Then Tuesday it’s two, Wednesday three and so on until Friday. We take pretty much the same route to school each day, so the challenge lies in remembering our ‘regular’ cats and where to find them, as well as keeping our eyes open for new cats to add to the game.

These cats are everywhere. Some wait on doorsteps, others sit curled in windows or perched on shed roofs, while other prowl and it’s just lucky if you happen to see them. We have names for some of our regulars, Moo-Cow Kitty (black and white), Super Fluffy Kitty (for obvious reasons), Balcony Kitty (where she likes to sit). We’ve also added a couple of dogs we see regularly to the tally and, if we’re really pushed, two magpies equal one cat. We will also accept our local red tailed kite, or as we like to call him, ‘Hawkie’ – he’s often to be seen riding the wind high above, feathers flashing in the sunlight. The rules are fluid and subject to change – recently we’ve allowed a carryover tally, whereby if we have a particularly good day of sightings, we can carry the excess over to the next day.

So why am I sharing this with you?

Well, first of all it’s a bit of fun. I look forward to our walks every day, time spent talking and taking in our surroundings, using our imaginations to come up with silly names and complicated rulings, starting the day with thought and laughter. I have only the one child and that’s it for me, so I’m making the most of my time with her as she grows. I also want to encourage her to look at the world, to see where it takes her and find fun in even the most mundane of things, such as a walk to school.

I remember my grandmother taking me for walks when I was young, pointing out and naming wildflowers, bringing me to the local woods to gather snowdrops in the spring and hunt for fairies at Midsummer. She showed me that the world holds infinite possibility; that stories can be found anywhere. When I grew older and had to make daily train commutes to school and later, work, I would look out of the window and see if I could discover something new each day, or, if it was an underground trip, imagine stories about myself or the other passengers (no staring, of course!). The point is, I made the most of my time as best I could, and so that’s something I’d like to pass on, if I can. Writing is part of it, trying to convey in words what I’ve experienced and imagined. And this is another part, encouraging the growth of ideas in my own child, sharing in her life as she grows.

And this game, I think, is similar to what we do as writers when we write. Taking everyday things, such as the fact we see a lot of cats on our walk, and turning them into something more meaningful. I recently wrote a short story that featured an unusual outdoor light, inspired by the fact that one of the houses we pass every day also has a striking outdoor light. Ambeth is based on a park I used to visit as a child. One day I might even write a story about a neighbourhood with lots of cats. In every day there’s potential for us to find inspiration in even the most mundane things.

And what about you? Where do stories and games lie in your own life?

I was going to write about Charlie Hebdo, and then I wondered what I could add to the many eloquent words and images created by artists around the world. But I do have some thoughts, and so here they are.

As humans I believe we should be free to worship whomever or whatever we choose – faith is an intensely personal journey.

As writers and artists we should be free to create what comes to us, to use our voices unfettered.

As consumers of said art, if we see something we don’t like we can look away, give a bad review or write a rebuttal. Violence is never the answer.

And I am so very tired of people with guns and knives and bombs using religion as some sort of justification for their terrible actions (a problem not confined to Islam, so please no negative comments).

By their actions, these gunmen have succeeded in disseminating the literature they found so offensive to a far wider audience than it would ever have reached alone, as well as causing further damage to the religion they claim to hold so dear.

There is no action without consequence.