Current work: nonfic and Modern Heat
Listening to: Badfinger (Sweet Tuesday Morning – this is definitely going on a playlist. DH is stunned because I usually moan when he plays Badfinger, but this isn’t one of the dirgy ones and there’s a really lovely bit of guitar. Now, how to get him to hand over said CD…)
Reading: Fiona Harper: Christmas Wishes, Mistletoe Kisses (I really do love her style – and this I think is her best one yet. Couple of things in it that really struck a chord with me)
We were nearly late for school on Friday, because we were busy watching the visitors to our bird-feeding station. The kids absolutely loved identifying the birds (son has clearly been doing some reading up, as he told me about the colour differences between male and female blackbirds). We saw a woodpigeon, blackbirds, a robin, and there was a blue-tit enjoying the peanuts. (This is with 10x zoom lens through glass and the pic is highly cropped. I will get better at bird pics.)
Listening to: Badfinger (Sweet Tuesday Morning – this is definitely going on a playlist. DH is stunned because I usually moan when he plays Badfinger, but this isn’t one of the dirgy ones and there’s a really lovely bit of guitar. Now, how to get him to hand over said CD…)
Reading: Fiona Harper: Christmas Wishes, Mistletoe Kisses (I really do love her style – and this I think is her best one yet. Couple of things in it that really struck a chord with me)
We were nearly late for school on Friday, because we were busy watching the visitors to our bird-feeding station. The kids absolutely loved identifying the birds (son has clearly been doing some reading up, as he told me about the colour differences between male and female blackbirds). We saw a woodpigeon, blackbirds, a robin, and there was a blue-tit enjoying the peanuts. (This is with 10x zoom lens through glass and the pic is highly cropped. I will get better at bird pics.)
There was also a magpie perched in the trees at the bottom of the garden.
But no further sign of my mysterious yellow-and-red bird. Honestly, I didn’t imagine it…
The kids are really excited about this and have asked me for a proper bird guide. They know I never, ever say no to buying them a book – so I’ve sorted that… and a family membership of the RSPB. Until our book arrives, I’m playing with the RSPB bird identifier (thanks, Diane, for the link). Although we live in an urban area, about four miles from the city centre, our garden backs onto fields, woodland and a lake; and, because Norfolk is a real birdwatcher’s paradise (it’s the top county for bird-watching, according to the RSPB), we may end up with some interesting visitors.
The library session at Poringland on Friday evening was great fun. I was a bit shocked when they had to bring in extra chairs. I was expecting maybe a dozen people – not nearer 50! But I enjoyed it, particularly the questions at the end. (And the hat belonging to a member of the Sluice Women book group – red, trimmed with ostrich feathers and purple flowers… I feel that’s going to make an appearance in a book somewhere.) And I was so chuffed when people came up to me in the mingling sessions and said they’d enjoyed my books. Writing’s a very solitary pursuit, so it’s good to know that I’m doing what I intend to do: entertaining people (and teaching them things, in the case of my nonfic).
I think I did say something stupid, though: that writing wasn’t my job. Umm. I should’ve clarified that writing is essential for me to be able to breathe. It’s who I am. So it’s more than a job. I have a nasty feeling I also lived up to my ‘scary Kate’ reputation. Look, I’m short and round and make wonderful cookies. How can I be scary? But then I was asked how many books I write a year, and I answered honestly. Three Medical romances, three Modern Heat romances, three local history books. Wordcount? Between them, that’d be about 600,000 words a year. Then there are the words I scrap (because it doesn’t all come out nice and polished). And writing isn’t just about putting words on paper (or, in my case, straight on screen). I need thinking time and planning time and research time, too. My research team got an acknowledgement, as did the wonderful Norfolk Heritage Centre, where I spend quite a lot of time (but not as much as I’d like to).
One of the things I love most about doing library talks is that I always end up talking with someone interesting, and/or learning something new, and/or getting seeds for the future. One especially pertinent one was from the lovely lady who told me that there would be reindeer outside John Lewis in Norwich on Saturday morning. Considering I’m about to start my reindeer book… (Whoops, wash my mouth out – dear ed, do you really think I would be so evil as to sneak in some reindeer after you nixed the reindeer farm?) (That was a rhetorical question. Ahem.) (And she did say I could have one…)
Anyway. This reindeer is 6½ months old and very cute.
The kids are really excited about this and have asked me for a proper bird guide. They know I never, ever say no to buying them a book – so I’ve sorted that… and a family membership of the RSPB. Until our book arrives, I’m playing with the RSPB bird identifier (thanks, Diane, for the link). Although we live in an urban area, about four miles from the city centre, our garden backs onto fields, woodland and a lake; and, because Norfolk is a real birdwatcher’s paradise (it’s the top county for bird-watching, according to the RSPB), we may end up with some interesting visitors.
The library session at Poringland on Friday evening was great fun. I was a bit shocked when they had to bring in extra chairs. I was expecting maybe a dozen people – not nearer 50! But I enjoyed it, particularly the questions at the end. (And the hat belonging to a member of the Sluice Women book group – red, trimmed with ostrich feathers and purple flowers… I feel that’s going to make an appearance in a book somewhere.) And I was so chuffed when people came up to me in the mingling sessions and said they’d enjoyed my books. Writing’s a very solitary pursuit, so it’s good to know that I’m doing what I intend to do: entertaining people (and teaching them things, in the case of my nonfic).
I think I did say something stupid, though: that writing wasn’t my job. Umm. I should’ve clarified that writing is essential for me to be able to breathe. It’s who I am. So it’s more than a job. I have a nasty feeling I also lived up to my ‘scary Kate’ reputation. Look, I’m short and round and make wonderful cookies. How can I be scary? But then I was asked how many books I write a year, and I answered honestly. Three Medical romances, three Modern Heat romances, three local history books. Wordcount? Between them, that’d be about 600,000 words a year. Then there are the words I scrap (because it doesn’t all come out nice and polished). And writing isn’t just about putting words on paper (or, in my case, straight on screen). I need thinking time and planning time and research time, too. My research team got an acknowledgement, as did the wonderful Norfolk Heritage Centre, where I spend quite a lot of time (but not as much as I’d like to).
One of the things I love most about doing library talks is that I always end up talking with someone interesting, and/or learning something new, and/or getting seeds for the future. One especially pertinent one was from the lovely lady who told me that there would be reindeer outside John Lewis in Norwich on Saturday morning. Considering I’m about to start my reindeer book… (Whoops, wash my mouth out – dear ed, do you really think I would be so evil as to sneak in some reindeer after you nixed the reindeer farm?) (That was a rhetorical question. Ahem.) (And she did say I could have one…)
Anyway. This reindeer is 6½ months old and very cute.
And this one is 4½ years old.
On Sunday, we had ‘early Christmas’ with my sister – she lives 100 miles from me, so we don’t get the chance to see each other at Christmas. Pressies are kept for the day itself, but I cook a traditional Christmas lunch (well, almost traditional – not Christmas pudding), and we have crackers and tinsel and it’s all good fun. My stepmum made a gorgeous apple pie, and Dad was in a good frame of mind, so it was a really lovely day. Madam played guitar for us and sang the carols she's singing in church (school choir carol service); son stunned everyone with how tall he is, and I think he's a definite teenager in training!
I have another ‘early Christmas’ lined up next week with my bestest uncle and aunt, who also live near London; and one the weekend after with my best local friend (her family lives up North, so they tend to be away over Christmas).
Plan for today: am going to put a Christmas wreath on my mum’s grave. Then I’m going to pick up something from Santa for the kids; and then I’m going to come home and start my new book.
I love the beginning of a book, because there are so many possibilities – and this is despite the fact that I’m an über-planner and I know exactly where the book is going before I start.
Oh, yes – and I’m spilling the beans re secret #1 tomorrow…
Plan for today: am going to put a Christmas wreath on my mum’s grave. Then I’m going to pick up something from Santa for the kids; and then I’m going to come home and start my new book.
I love the beginning of a book, because there are so many possibilities – and this is despite the fact that I’m an über-planner and I know exactly where the book is going before I start.
Oh, yes – and I’m spilling the beans re secret #1 tomorrow…
2 comments:
What a fabuloso, upbeat post, Kate! I almost felt I was there at the library with you. Also a grand idea to have several different Christmases before the real thing!
Kate, it all sounds so absolutely lovely - the library talk, the bird-watching, the writing, the time spent with family. Hurrah!
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