Everyone’s is different, and mine has definitely changed since that first M&B. I used to write the beginning quickly and get stuck at the end; nowadays, it takes me loads of thinking time before I get started, and then it’s rapid.
Plotter or pantster? Ten years ago, it was plotter. Nowadays, it’s mainly plotter with a bit of wriggle room. I did try panstering something, and all I did was stare at a blank screen or play word puzzles online for a fortnight. I ended up with a very tight deadline for that book when I finally gave in and planned it. (Lesson there: try something, but don’t think you’re a failure if it doesn’t work for you. A different process might suit you better. Experiment until you find what works for you, and don’t worry if it changes over time.)
And I’m very careful about reading craft books. Friends of mine swore by Donald Maass and how his books helped them move their writing up a gear; I tried reading them, and it froze me for a fortnight. I was looking at my book with my head rather than my heart, and convinced myself that I was utter crap (aka a really bad attack of the Crows of Doubt, as Julie Cohen would call it). It took me a while to get back to normal. (For the record, Liz Fielding and Kate Walker have very good guides to writing romance – they’re kind and full of common sense, much like the authors themselves. And I’d also recommend Sarah Duncan’s blog for writing exercises and generally making you think without freezing you. And all three of them will be guests at my blog party, so keep an eye out for them!)
So how do I write a book?
Character comes first, along with their conflict. I start with a two-page outline, which I agree with my editor (and we have an unspoken agreement that if I get a lightbulb moment when I’m writing, i.e. a deeper conflict or a better solution, go for it). Basically it’s a one-liner for the hero and heroine, a paragraph each on their conflict, and then the events in the story.
Once it’s been agreed, I break it into chapters, then start writing. Because I’m a plotter, I know where I’m going, I know what motivates my characters (and I just have to remember to make sure that’s on the page and not still in my head), and I know how they react to things. Sometimes research is involved, and I’m a bit of a ‘method’ author (so it’s probably just as well I don’t write crime!). I like to walk in my hero and heroine’s shoes. So, for example, with Rico Rossi – I have been to every single place in Rome mentioned in the book. I’ve put my hand through the Mouth of Truth. I’ve pedalled a Riscio in the Borghese Park. (And, OK, so I was obsessed with the Colosseum as a kid. Write what you know…) I’ve also made the two-tone icing for the cakes and taught someone how to use an icing bag (cough, was nothing like the book, though I had a lightbulb moment for that scene). For my first Cherish/Harlequin Romance, I dragged my husband off to ballroom dancing lessons (and I probably doomed us because my heroine found the waltz really tricky – we’re, um… oh, let’s just say we’re a lot better at Latin). And if there’s a scene at the seaside, that probably means I had a yen for the sea and we had a family research trip mid-book.
Actually writing it: I tend to write in dirty draft. That means note form, not properly paragraphed or punctuated, and just get the words down. The following day, I’ll tidy that up and it gets me back in the story enough to do the next bit of dirty draft. And so on until the end.
Once that’s done, it’s a read-through and check for continuity (especially if I’ve changed a name). And then I email it to my editor.
And then it comes back from my ed with revisions, and it’s ALWAYS ‘dig deeper’. (Or ‘lose the elephants’, or ‘take the reindeer out’ – though then I had a lightbulb and put in a few more and she let them stay.) You’d think, now I’m on book 54, that I’d know how to do it and not get slapped with revisions. Um... Nope. I certainly hope my books are better now than they were ten years ago, but it’s my editor’s job to make me try harder and shine more, to make it a better read. So it’s dig deeper, hope there are only two sets of revisions, and meanwhile start thinking about the characters of the next book.
And if I get really stuck on revisions, two certain writer friends who share my editor and know what she does/doesn’t like will bounce ideas with me (actually, we’ll do it for each other). And sometimes there are parcels of emergency chocolate. Or emergency lunch. (That sounds a bit bad – but it’s really not an excuse for a jolly. Sometimes you need to step away from that screen, talk it over with someone who isn’t as close to it as you are, and who can make you laugh out of panic mode so you can take a more balanced view of it.)
So that’s it in a nutshell. And if you see me playing word games, I’m not skiving off – I’m thinking. Ditto playing Beethoven :o)
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
How it all began...
This is going to be a bit of a self-indulgent week, so I will apologise for that in advance. But I think I have just cause, as it’s the lead-up to the biggest milestone in my career to date. On publication day, the party starts and goes on for – well, ages and ages, because my friends are really generous and wonderful. I have lots and lots of guest posts coming up, with a chance to win books on each. Plus I’ll do the odd door post to win a signed copy of my 50th. It’s worldwide (and so are my guests).
So do come along and leave comments – we all love talking to our readers, and my guests are all from the NICE side of publishing. No snark, no meanness – just nice people you’d enjoy having dinner with and talking and laughing with them until your sides hurt. I know Kate Walker dubbed me ‘Scary Kate’, but that’s actually because I write fast. I’m very far from being scary in real life. I’m middle-aged, short and round (well, a little less round since I’ve been going to the gym three times a week), I make great cookies, and you’re assured of a warm welcome here. Too shy to comment? Then I’d like to say thank you any way for your part in my career, i.e. reading my stories.
How did my career as Kate Hardy begin? I guess we should go back to when I was a pre-schooler. I’ve always written. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t making up stories; I could read at the age of two and I was definitely writing before I started school. My dad used to have those Challenge duplicate notebooks for work (the carbon paper was known as ‘magic paper’ by me) so he used to keep me supplied in notebooks and paper. To keep me busy in the holidays, my mum would give me a title, and I’d go and find myself a quiet corner and write a story. The early stuff (sadly, none of which survives) was all sci-fi, because I was a tad obsessed with the moon. (We queued for 5 hours to see a piece of moon rock at Norwich Castle when I was five or six. The ‘method writing’ thing – of which more later in the week – started early.) On my sixth birthday, my parents bought me a proper manual typewriter. From there, I wrote pony stories (influenced heavily by Elyne Mitchell’s ‘Silver Brumby’ series and the Ruby Ferguson ‘Jill’ series) and ghost stories.
In high school, I was always writing a novel (firstly Tolkien-inspired stuff, and then schoolgirl romance). By then, I had an electric typewriter. And when we had no money after moving in to our first house, my then-fiancé said I really ought to have a proper computer as I was going to be a published writer one day – and he bought me one of those little Amstrads that came with a printer and a narrow floppy disk. (That’s when I knew I’d definitely made the right choice of future husband, because he really believed in me. This is the man who built me a library – well, hired a builder to remodel the house and included a room for my books. The man who doesn’t mind being dragged off on research trips, and who puts up with quite a lot in the name of research. Superstar. And yes, he’s why most of my heroes have blue eyes.)
I had a few short stories published in my early twenties (including by Virago), and I tried for M&B and had a couple of rejection letters. [Big shout-out here to unpubbed writers – if you get long rejection letters, it means you have promise so you KEEP SUBMITTING – you don’t think ‘oh, they don’t want me’ and give up, as I did!] Then I wrote a string of erotic novels for Headline, NEL and Black Lace in my mid to late twenties. (No, I’m not telling you the names I used for them – I’m not ashamed of them at all, but my writing style has changed, and I’d want to rewrite them all in the light of what I’ve learned in my career.)
When I was pregnant with Chris, I went freelance, working as a copyeditor and a health journalist. I still wanted to write romance. And I watched an awful lot of medical dramas on TV. When I was pregnant with Chloe, Gerry suggested I should try writing ‘one of those doctor-nurse romances’. I decided to read a couple, to see the sort of thing M&B were looking for. And I discovered Caroline Anderson and Jennifer Taylor and Maggie Kingsley. Fabulous stuff. OK, I thought. When the baby’s here and things have settled down into a routine, I’ll give it a go.
Righty. This is the weepie bit. At seven weeks, Chloe had bronchiolitis. I was writing an article on it at the time, and wondered if I was being super-paranoid and she just had a cold. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. As it was the day before our doctor’s surgery was due to shut for Christmas, I took her in to be checked over. The GP sent her straight to hospital. Chloe spent the next week in hospital – on her first Christmas, she was being fed by a tube and was on oxygen – and I spent every day at her bedside. The only way I got through it was to start writing my own medical romance. My agent loved the outline and first three chapters. So did M&B. I had to do several rounds of revisions, but A Baby of Her Own was accepted on Chloe’s first birthday in 2001 and published on her second, and Ottakar’s gave me a huge launch party with balloons and a bouquet. Talk about feeling special. It really was a dream come true.
Oh, whoops – I forgot. After my editor accepted the book, she told me I needed a new name, as she wanted to make a distinction between my nonfiction and my fiction. My two best friends from uni (aka the children’s godmothers) happened to be coming to stay for ‘early Christmas’, so we sat down with a bottle of wine and brainstormed it. Hardy was obvious, because my special subject in my third year at uni was Hardy’s writing; and the most popular name in our year at school was Kate. So that’s how I became Kate Hardy, ten years or so ago.
So do come along and leave comments – we all love talking to our readers, and my guests are all from the NICE side of publishing. No snark, no meanness – just nice people you’d enjoy having dinner with and talking and laughing with them until your sides hurt. I know Kate Walker dubbed me ‘Scary Kate’, but that’s actually because I write fast. I’m very far from being scary in real life. I’m middle-aged, short and round (well, a little less round since I’ve been going to the gym three times a week), I make great cookies, and you’re assured of a warm welcome here. Too shy to comment? Then I’d like to say thank you any way for your part in my career, i.e. reading my stories.
How did my career as Kate Hardy begin? I guess we should go back to when I was a pre-schooler. I’ve always written. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t making up stories; I could read at the age of two and I was definitely writing before I started school. My dad used to have those Challenge duplicate notebooks for work (the carbon paper was known as ‘magic paper’ by me) so he used to keep me supplied in notebooks and paper. To keep me busy in the holidays, my mum would give me a title, and I’d go and find myself a quiet corner and write a story. The early stuff (sadly, none of which survives) was all sci-fi, because I was a tad obsessed with the moon. (We queued for 5 hours to see a piece of moon rock at Norwich Castle when I was five or six. The ‘method writing’ thing – of which more later in the week – started early.) On my sixth birthday, my parents bought me a proper manual typewriter. From there, I wrote pony stories (influenced heavily by Elyne Mitchell’s ‘Silver Brumby’ series and the Ruby Ferguson ‘Jill’ series) and ghost stories.
In high school, I was always writing a novel (firstly Tolkien-inspired stuff, and then schoolgirl romance). By then, I had an electric typewriter. And when we had no money after moving in to our first house, my then-fiancé said I really ought to have a proper computer as I was going to be a published writer one day – and he bought me one of those little Amstrads that came with a printer and a narrow floppy disk. (That’s when I knew I’d definitely made the right choice of future husband, because he really believed in me. This is the man who built me a library – well, hired a builder to remodel the house and included a room for my books. The man who doesn’t mind being dragged off on research trips, and who puts up with quite a lot in the name of research. Superstar. And yes, he’s why most of my heroes have blue eyes.)
I had a few short stories published in my early twenties (including by Virago), and I tried for M&B and had a couple of rejection letters. [Big shout-out here to unpubbed writers – if you get long rejection letters, it means you have promise so you KEEP SUBMITTING – you don’t think ‘oh, they don’t want me’ and give up, as I did!] Then I wrote a string of erotic novels for Headline, NEL and Black Lace in my mid to late twenties. (No, I’m not telling you the names I used for them – I’m not ashamed of them at all, but my writing style has changed, and I’d want to rewrite them all in the light of what I’ve learned in my career.)
When I was pregnant with Chris, I went freelance, working as a copyeditor and a health journalist. I still wanted to write romance. And I watched an awful lot of medical dramas on TV. When I was pregnant with Chloe, Gerry suggested I should try writing ‘one of those doctor-nurse romances’. I decided to read a couple, to see the sort of thing M&B were looking for. And I discovered Caroline Anderson and Jennifer Taylor and Maggie Kingsley. Fabulous stuff. OK, I thought. When the baby’s here and things have settled down into a routine, I’ll give it a go.
Righty. This is the weepie bit. At seven weeks, Chloe had bronchiolitis. I was writing an article on it at the time, and wondered if I was being super-paranoid and she just had a cold. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. As it was the day before our doctor’s surgery was due to shut for Christmas, I took her in to be checked over. The GP sent her straight to hospital. Chloe spent the next week in hospital – on her first Christmas, she was being fed by a tube and was on oxygen – and I spent every day at her bedside. The only way I got through it was to start writing my own medical romance. My agent loved the outline and first three chapters. So did M&B. I had to do several rounds of revisions, but A Baby of Her Own was accepted on Chloe’s first birthday in 2001 and published on her second, and Ottakar’s gave me a huge launch party with balloons and a bouquet. Talk about feeling special. It really was a dream come true.
Oh, whoops – I forgot. After my editor accepted the book, she told me I needed a new name, as she wanted to make a distinction between my nonfiction and my fiction. My two best friends from uni (aka the children’s godmothers) happened to be coming to stay for ‘early Christmas’, so we sat down with a bottle of wine and brainstormed it. Hardy was obvious, because my special subject in my third year at uni was Hardy’s writing; and the most popular name in our year at school was Kate. So that’s how I became Kate Hardy, ten years or so ago.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
swifts, swallows and Spidey
Current work: Medical (aka M&B #54)
Listening to: Richard Addinsell, Warsaw Concerto
Reading: next on TBR
We’ve actually had some sunshine this week! And DH is one of those who, the second the sun appears, announces that we’re going to have a barbecue. So I haven’t had to do anything more than chop salad for dinner, this week. (I will tonight, as it's dance class and we won't have time to fit everything in otherwise.)
Was very nice chilling out yesterday afterwards, lying on the trampoline and looking up at the blue, blue sky. We were trying to work out if the birds swooping overhead were swifts or swallows. There wasn’t a mega-obvious fork in the tail, and they were very high up, so we think they were probably swifts. And there were some enormous dragonflies, too.
Apart from that, what have we been doing in the holidays? I’m keeping my gym routine, but shifting it to a 7.30 am start. Which means I can be home to spend the whole day with the kids, and maybe do some work in the evening. (Dear ed. I am thinking about it.) Yesterday was a quick blitz on some school uniform, a new music book for Madam, and then we went to see Spiderman. The cinema’s air conditioning was broken, so we were forced to eat ice cream. (Ha. As if I ever need an excuse for ice cream. The middle of winter is ice cream weather on Planet Kate.) There was a quick fix for me: sticking a bottle of chilled water on the back of my neck. (Learned that one from the lovely Chillow.) And it was much less humid and horrible than the nights have been, this week.
Spiderman was superb. I liked the Maguire films, but this one really raised the bar for me. There was much more depth of character (and growth of character, too), and the story was brought very much up to date. I was blown away by Rhys Ifans – I always thought of him in reference to his Notting Hill role, so this was a revelation. Beautiful acting, great use of tension, moments that really made me laugh (anyone with a teenage boy will understand just how quickly a fridge can be stripped), and moments that made me cry. Highly recommended. There were some trailers we quite fancied, too – this might turn out to be the summer of the action flick for us :o)
Listening to: Richard Addinsell, Warsaw Concerto
Reading: next on TBR
We’ve actually had some sunshine this week! And DH is one of those who, the second the sun appears, announces that we’re going to have a barbecue. So I haven’t had to do anything more than chop salad for dinner, this week. (I will tonight, as it's dance class and we won't have time to fit everything in otherwise.)
Was very nice chilling out yesterday afterwards, lying on the trampoline and looking up at the blue, blue sky. We were trying to work out if the birds swooping overhead were swifts or swallows. There wasn’t a mega-obvious fork in the tail, and they were very high up, so we think they were probably swifts. And there were some enormous dragonflies, too.
Apart from that, what have we been doing in the holidays? I’m keeping my gym routine, but shifting it to a 7.30 am start. Which means I can be home to spend the whole day with the kids, and maybe do some work in the evening. (Dear ed. I am thinking about it.) Yesterday was a quick blitz on some school uniform, a new music book for Madam, and then we went to see Spiderman. The cinema’s air conditioning was broken, so we were forced to eat ice cream. (Ha. As if I ever need an excuse for ice cream. The middle of winter is ice cream weather on Planet Kate.) There was a quick fix for me: sticking a bottle of chilled water on the back of my neck. (Learned that one from the lovely Chillow.) And it was much less humid and horrible than the nights have been, this week.
Spiderman was superb. I liked the Maguire films, but this one really raised the bar for me. There was much more depth of character (and growth of character, too), and the story was brought very much up to date. I was blown away by Rhys Ifans – I always thought of him in reference to his Notting Hill role, so this was a revelation. Beautiful acting, great use of tension, moments that really made me laugh (anyone with a teenage boy will understand just how quickly a fridge can be stripped), and moments that made me cry. Highly recommended. There were some trailers we quite fancied, too – this might turn out to be the summer of the action flick for us :o)
Monday, July 23, 2012
summer holidays start here
Current work: Medical (aka M&B #54)
Listening to: Jon Lord, Boom of the Tingling Strings (kudos to Classic FM for making him composer of the week – he wrote some lovely classical stuff as well as the rock side)
Reading: next on TBR
Really relaxing weekend. Started with quick trip into town with DH on Saturday – I wanted to get the Pandora bead for book #53. (Nearest I could get to a bluebell - is a pretty, stylised spring flower.)
Henry V and a glass of Chablis in the evening - real treat. Tom Hiddleston is absolutely superb as an actor and I’d love to see him playing Hamlet as I think he’d bring a lot of depth to the role.
Sunday, DH went to Brand’s Hatch to see the Superbikes, so the kids and I had a chilling-out day. Playing games, watching Ratatouille (forgot how much fun that film was), and then a bit of a jam session, switching between piano and guitar, before chilling out and talking too much. (Both my kids are articulate and good company – I enjoy being with them, and although I’ve enjoyed every stage I do think that each year just gets better.)
Today, the sun is actually shining, which is a great start to the summer hols. Had an early session at the gym (lots of cardio today with circuits, and I thoroughly enjoyed it), then picked up the new Now compilation for littlest on the way home as well as croissants (note, latter were NOT for me). Holiday routine is really nice: early gym session, home for breakfast with the kids, then a little bit of work and the rest of the day spent with them. Am also sorting out blog posts and pics from my lovely, generous friends who are involved in the massive party to celebrate my 50th M&B – there are some absolutely fantastic books on offer as giveaways, and it’s something different every single day. It all kicks off on Friday next week, and I might be a bit boring about it before then, but…!
Listening to: Jon Lord, Boom of the Tingling Strings (kudos to Classic FM for making him composer of the week – he wrote some lovely classical stuff as well as the rock side)
Reading: next on TBR
Really relaxing weekend. Started with quick trip into town with DH on Saturday – I wanted to get the Pandora bead for book #53. (Nearest I could get to a bluebell - is a pretty, stylised spring flower.)
Henry V and a glass of Chablis in the evening - real treat. Tom Hiddleston is absolutely superb as an actor and I’d love to see him playing Hamlet as I think he’d bring a lot of depth to the role.
Sunday, DH went to Brand’s Hatch to see the Superbikes, so the kids and I had a chilling-out day. Playing games, watching Ratatouille (forgot how much fun that film was), and then a bit of a jam session, switching between piano and guitar, before chilling out and talking too much. (Both my kids are articulate and good company – I enjoy being with them, and although I’ve enjoyed every stage I do think that each year just gets better.)
Today, the sun is actually shining, which is a great start to the summer hols. Had an early session at the gym (lots of cardio today with circuits, and I thoroughly enjoyed it), then picked up the new Now compilation for littlest on the way home as well as croissants (note, latter were NOT for me). Holiday routine is really nice: early gym session, home for breakfast with the kids, then a little bit of work and the rest of the day spent with them. Am also sorting out blog posts and pics from my lovely, generous friends who are involved in the massive party to celebrate my 50th M&B – there are some absolutely fantastic books on offer as giveaways, and it’s something different every single day. It all kicks off on Friday next week, and I might be a bit boring about it before then, but…!
Friday, July 20, 2012
whoo-hoo - and the end of an era
Current work: Medical (aka M&B #54)
Listening to: Def Leppard
Reading: Jodi Thomas, Welcome to Harmony (enjoying - really like the relationship dynamics in this one)
First, the woo-hoo – had an email from lovely, lovely ed yesterday saying that she’d accepted #53, now known as ‘The Brooding Doctor’s Redemption’, and out in the US and UK in February 2013.
Even more of a woo-hoo – it’s been a very long time since I only had one set of revisions. So I’m utterly thrilled. (And there was an emergency trip to Sainsbury’s last night for a bottle of Chablis – that’s how I celebrate book sales with DH, and I never, ever keep Chablis in the house because it’s tempting fate. I learned a very, very hard lesson two years ago about assuming that just because I have a contract the book will be accepted. I never take anything for granted now.)
And I’m really looking forward to going into town with my daughter tomorrow and choosing the Pandora bead for the book. (That’s my personal celebration. Also happens to be good doubt-bashing material - tip for new authors, celebrate your successes with something visual. Then, on bad days, you have a reminder that you've done it once so you can do it again.)
End of an era? It’s littlest’s last day at junior school today, which means a totally new routine in September. I’m looking forward to the future, but she’s had such a good time at that school (and done well there) and it’s sad to say goodbye after 7 years of involvement with the school. But I do wish all the teachers the very best for the future, and thank them for helping shape both my children into rounded individuals. It’s not just about the academic achievement, whatever Ofsted might like to think. I'd rather my children also had the chance to learn a few life skills.
Have a nice weekend, all :o)
Listening to: Def Leppard
Reading: Jodi Thomas, Welcome to Harmony (enjoying - really like the relationship dynamics in this one)
First, the woo-hoo – had an email from lovely, lovely ed yesterday saying that she’d accepted #53, now known as ‘The Brooding Doctor’s Redemption’, and out in the US and UK in February 2013.
Even more of a woo-hoo – it’s been a very long time since I only had one set of revisions. So I’m utterly thrilled. (And there was an emergency trip to Sainsbury’s last night for a bottle of Chablis – that’s how I celebrate book sales with DH, and I never, ever keep Chablis in the house because it’s tempting fate. I learned a very, very hard lesson two years ago about assuming that just because I have a contract the book will be accepted. I never take anything for granted now.)
And I’m really looking forward to going into town with my daughter tomorrow and choosing the Pandora bead for the book. (That’s my personal celebration. Also happens to be good doubt-bashing material - tip for new authors, celebrate your successes with something visual. Then, on bad days, you have a reminder that you've done it once so you can do it again.)
End of an era? It’s littlest’s last day at junior school today, which means a totally new routine in September. I’m looking forward to the future, but she’s had such a good time at that school (and done well there) and it’s sad to say goodbye after 7 years of involvement with the school. But I do wish all the teachers the very best for the future, and thank them for helping shape both my children into rounded individuals. It’s not just about the academic achievement, whatever Ofsted might like to think. I'd rather my children also had the chance to learn a few life skills.
Have a nice weekend, all :o)
Thursday, July 19, 2012
do you see a pig?
Current work: Medical (aka M&B #54)
Listening to: Boccherini
Reading: Nicola Cornick, Notorious (enjoyed very much)
We had a massive storm last night, and it was glorious to watch. Once we were home, that is – driving through it wasn’t very nice, especially when the hail started. Visibility was a bit iffy, to say the least.
But, as soon as we were back, we found the best viewing spot in the house (living room window) and enjoyed the show. Even the dog (he was happier when all four of us were back, though we had left him with son).
I would love to take a really spectacular lightning photograph. Now, I know that means using a decent camera (SLR, really) and a tripod, and probably either bursts or long exposures (or maybe even both). But, by the time you’ve set all that up, you’re missing the storm. So the shots I took were hand-held on a digital compact, through glass. Although I didn’t get a spectacular photograph, when I reviewed the ones where I thought I’d just caught the reddish light at the bottom of the stormclouds, I spied this…
I see a grumpy pig, nose to the left and a big ear coming down. What do you see?
Listening to: Boccherini
Reading: Nicola Cornick, Notorious (enjoyed very much)
We had a massive storm last night, and it was glorious to watch. Once we were home, that is – driving through it wasn’t very nice, especially when the hail started. Visibility was a bit iffy, to say the least.
But, as soon as we were back, we found the best viewing spot in the house (living room window) and enjoyed the show. Even the dog (he was happier when all four of us were back, though we had left him with son).
I would love to take a really spectacular lightning photograph. Now, I know that means using a decent camera (SLR, really) and a tripod, and probably either bursts or long exposures (or maybe even both). But, by the time you’ve set all that up, you’re missing the storm. So the shots I took were hand-held on a digital compact, through glass. Although I didn’t get a spectacular photograph, when I reviewed the ones where I thought I’d just caught the reddish light at the bottom of the stormclouds, I spied this…
I see a grumpy pig, nose to the left and a big ear coming down. What do you see?
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
last week of term...
Current work: Medical (aka M&B #54)
Listening to: Vaughan Williams (Thomas Tallis)
Reading: Nicola Cornick, Notorious (I was looking forward to this as it’s another of her Scandalous Women of the Ton series – love the premise behind this one about women being paid to be matchbreakers)
Sooo – last week of term, and it’s busy. I’m in the middle of sending tons of emails re my big blog party (which is going to be SUCH fun and last for ages, and I have some really fabulous guests – but obviously also takes organising. Juggling this between my own deadlines and those of my friends is, um, interesting, and I’m quite humbled that everyone’s being so accommodating). In the meantime, it’s report season (both kids had pretty much what I was expecting, so I’m very pleased with both of them); and daughter is doing the Y6 show. We went last night, and it was hilarious. They worked really hard at singing, dancing and acting (and it was well scripted). But when they did the slide-show of our kids, showing them on residential trips and doing cross-curricular activities, and the whole year sang ‘Rule the World’ - let’s just say I don’t think there were many mums there with dry eyes.
Grumpy teenager informed us this morning that today is the last day of term worth going in for. (Tomorrow is the rescheduled sports day – hmmm, rain? – and Friday is a half-day as it’s the last day of the academic year.)
Other than that, work is ticking over nicely (until revisions hit again – ho ho); the Kate Unlardy project seems to be ticking along nicely, too (including the ‘eat more’ business – I couldn’t quite break my check-the-scales habit this morning, but I’m going to relax a bit now). The protein shake taste-test is going well, too. Bought a shaker at the gym this morning, and that makes a huge difference to the texture. The latte flavour is a little bit on the sweet side, but is bearable. With a 7.30 training session, I’m not going to be able to face breakfast first, so swapping breakfast and the mid-morning snack (i.e. shake before workout, breakfast after with the kids) is going to work really well. NB this isn’t a shake diet. (Don’t think I’d last long on one of those, because I enjoy real food and cooking too much.) This is all to do with muscle repair, so shakes are only for workout days.
Life’s going to feel very different in September, with both children at the same school for the first time ever. So I’m hoping for a quiet, chill-out summer.
Listening to: Vaughan Williams (Thomas Tallis)
Reading: Nicola Cornick, Notorious (I was looking forward to this as it’s another of her Scandalous Women of the Ton series – love the premise behind this one about women being paid to be matchbreakers)
Sooo – last week of term, and it’s busy. I’m in the middle of sending tons of emails re my big blog party (which is going to be SUCH fun and last for ages, and I have some really fabulous guests – but obviously also takes organising. Juggling this between my own deadlines and those of my friends is, um, interesting, and I’m quite humbled that everyone’s being so accommodating). In the meantime, it’s report season (both kids had pretty much what I was expecting, so I’m very pleased with both of them); and daughter is doing the Y6 show. We went last night, and it was hilarious. They worked really hard at singing, dancing and acting (and it was well scripted). But when they did the slide-show of our kids, showing them on residential trips and doing cross-curricular activities, and the whole year sang ‘Rule the World’ - let’s just say I don’t think there were many mums there with dry eyes.
Grumpy teenager informed us this morning that today is the last day of term worth going in for. (Tomorrow is the rescheduled sports day – hmmm, rain? – and Friday is a half-day as it’s the last day of the academic year.)
Other than that, work is ticking over nicely (until revisions hit again – ho ho); the Kate Unlardy project seems to be ticking along nicely, too (including the ‘eat more’ business – I couldn’t quite break my check-the-scales habit this morning, but I’m going to relax a bit now). The protein shake taste-test is going well, too. Bought a shaker at the gym this morning, and that makes a huge difference to the texture. The latte flavour is a little bit on the sweet side, but is bearable. With a 7.30 training session, I’m not going to be able to face breakfast first, so swapping breakfast and the mid-morning snack (i.e. shake before workout, breakfast after with the kids) is going to work really well. NB this isn’t a shake diet. (Don’t think I’d last long on one of those, because I enjoy real food and cooking too much.) This is all to do with muscle repair, so shakes are only for workout days.
Life’s going to feel very different in September, with both children at the same school for the first time ever. So I’m hoping for a quiet, chill-out summer.
Monday, July 16, 2012
skivingitis
Current work: Medical (aka M&B #54)
Listening to: Beethoven
Reading: Victoria Lamb, Witchstruck (I was expecting this to be good because she’s a friend and under another name she writes wonderful poetry – and I enjoyed it very much. Looking forward to the sequel, now!)
Lovely weekend. Henry IV part 2 on the Beeb on Saturday night (Jeremy Irons, Tom Hiddlestone, Simon Russell Beale, Alun Armstrong – fantastic cast, beautifully acted, and I was close to tears at the last scene between Henry IV and Hal – superb use of emotion). Especially nice as it was accompanied by a glass of pinot grigio and, ahem, raspberries with Greek yoghurt.
Sunday was spent sorting out the spice rack and baking cupboard (actually, to be fair, most of that was my daughter, bless her). And we had breakfast out. We were going to do the usual at M&S, but we forgot that the shops don’t open until 11 on Sunday and arrived in town a little bit early. And, as Carluccio’s was open… All I can say is that eggs Florentine and good coffee is a lovely start to a Sunday :o)
Actually, I’m feeling a teensy bit guilty because I went Carluccio’s today as well – lunch with one of my best writer mates (it’s her birthday = excellent excuse). But I did work hard at the gym this morning (skipping! Haven’t done that since junior school) so I earned the chicken and lemon risotto, garlicky spinach and white chocolate panna cotta. And we discussed books and plot points, so there was work involved. It just happened to be enjoyable work! (#noguilt)
Listening to: Beethoven
Reading: Victoria Lamb, Witchstruck (I was expecting this to be good because she’s a friend and under another name she writes wonderful poetry – and I enjoyed it very much. Looking forward to the sequel, now!)
Lovely weekend. Henry IV part 2 on the Beeb on Saturday night (Jeremy Irons, Tom Hiddlestone, Simon Russell Beale, Alun Armstrong – fantastic cast, beautifully acted, and I was close to tears at the last scene between Henry IV and Hal – superb use of emotion). Especially nice as it was accompanied by a glass of pinot grigio and, ahem, raspberries with Greek yoghurt.
Sunday was spent sorting out the spice rack and baking cupboard (actually, to be fair, most of that was my daughter, bless her). And we had breakfast out. We were going to do the usual at M&S, but we forgot that the shops don’t open until 11 on Sunday and arrived in town a little bit early. And, as Carluccio’s was open… All I can say is that eggs Florentine and good coffee is a lovely start to a Sunday :o)
Actually, I’m feeling a teensy bit guilty because I went Carluccio’s today as well – lunch with one of my best writer mates (it’s her birthday = excellent excuse). But I did work hard at the gym this morning (skipping! Haven’t done that since junior school) so I earned the chicken and lemon risotto, garlicky spinach and white chocolate panna cotta. And we discussed books and plot points, so there was work involved. It just happened to be enjoyable work! (#noguilt)
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
New cover!
Current work: (don’t ask, because you know what I’m struggling with)
Listening to: Bach
Reading: next on TBR
Here’s my new cover for my September book, ‘Once a Playboy…’ – and very nice it is, too!
Four nice things. Life is nice, right now. Quiet, balanced and happy. Long may it stay that way.
Now back to the salt mines :o) Onwards and upwards!
Listening to: Bach
Reading: next on TBR
Here’s my new cover for my September book, ‘Once a Playboy…’ – and very nice it is, too!
This week has started pretty well.
The Kate Unlardy Project continues, and I’ve just discovered a new bonus – better blood pressure measurements. In fact, better than since before I was pregnant with my eldest, so that’s very good going.
I’ve also discovered that this week I’ve moved up to #4 in the M&B top ten with my 50th book – so thank you VERY much to everyone who’s put me there. You’ve really made this book special for me.
And daughter had a very nice school report yesterday.
And I won a book thong on Sherry Gloag's blog tour.
Now back to the salt mines :o) Onwards and upwards!
Friday, July 06, 2012
why I love social media
Current work: revisions (yeah, I know, still – have I mentioned how much I hate doing revisions?)
Listening to: Beethoven (my box set of the complete symphonies is through, yeehah)
Reading: next on TBR
Social media can be a timesuck, and I’m terrible when I’m procrastinating. (Look away now, dear editor – it’s when the writing isn’t going well that my FB feed is really busy.)
But I see it as being a bit like the water-cooler in the office. It’s my virtual office, because I work from home and I’m here on my own with the dog all day. Every so often, I need a break and a chat. I love it when people recommend a film or book or a piece of music they think I’ll enjoy (note, not touting for business, but people with similar tastes who say, ‘Have you tried this?’). Or swapping recipes. Or sharing beautiful pictures, witty cartoons and the kind of dry, slightly sarcastic humour I like. Especially the stuff with wordplay.
And it really came up trumps for me, this week. It’s been muggy and miserable, and one of my FB friends sent me a link to a website with a cooling gel pillow which she said might work for me and help me sleep. I had a look, rang them up and had a quick chat, and ordered one.
Last night was muggy and miserable. And, for the first time ever, thanks to the gel pillow, I slept through it without having to get up and sit next to a fan for 20 minutes to cool down, then be like a zombie from lack of sleep the next day. So thank you, Kate MacDonald, for recommending something that worked beautifully.
Had it not been for social media, I might not have met Kate – or a lot of other very nice people I know online. (Sure, there are mean people out there, but I believe that everyone’s nice until proven otherwise. Not rosy-tinted glasses, either, because it’s quite rare that people disappoint me by being mean.)
So I’m raising my mug of coffee this morning to social media. And long may it stay that way!
Listening to: Beethoven (my box set of the complete symphonies is through, yeehah)
Reading: next on TBR
Social media can be a timesuck, and I’m terrible when I’m procrastinating. (Look away now, dear editor – it’s when the writing isn’t going well that my FB feed is really busy.)
But I see it as being a bit like the water-cooler in the office. It’s my virtual office, because I work from home and I’m here on my own with the dog all day. Every so often, I need a break and a chat. I love it when people recommend a film or book or a piece of music they think I’ll enjoy (note, not touting for business, but people with similar tastes who say, ‘Have you tried this?’). Or swapping recipes. Or sharing beautiful pictures, witty cartoons and the kind of dry, slightly sarcastic humour I like. Especially the stuff with wordplay.
And it really came up trumps for me, this week. It’s been muggy and miserable, and one of my FB friends sent me a link to a website with a cooling gel pillow which she said might work for me and help me sleep. I had a look, rang them up and had a quick chat, and ordered one.
Last night was muggy and miserable. And, for the first time ever, thanks to the gel pillow, I slept through it without having to get up and sit next to a fan for 20 minutes to cool down, then be like a zombie from lack of sleep the next day. So thank you, Kate MacDonald, for recommending something that worked beautifully.
Had it not been for social media, I might not have met Kate – or a lot of other very nice people I know online. (Sure, there are mean people out there, but I believe that everyone’s nice until proven otherwise. Not rosy-tinted glasses, either, because it’s quite rare that people disappoint me by being mean.)
So I’m raising my mug of coffee this morning to social media. And long may it stay that way!
Thursday, July 05, 2012
in the top 10!
Current work: revisions
Listening to: Take That
Reading: too hot and tired to concentrate and enjoy book treats properly :o(
Thank you very much to everyone who bought my 50th M&B and put it in to the top 10 on the M&B website today. You’ve really made my day!
Listening to: Take That
Reading: too hot and tired to concentrate and enjoy book treats properly :o(
Thank you very much to everyone who bought my 50th M&B and put it in to the top 10 on the M&B website today. You’ve really made my day!
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
Ginger
Current work: revisions
Listening to: Take That
Reading: (when I catch up with myself... Christina Courtenay's timeslip arrived today and I so want to read it RIGHT NOW but I must behave)
Ginger?
Yep, it's the first Tuesday at the month, so it's my Kate's Kitchen slot over at the PHS, so I'm doing ginger biscuits. These are a real favourite in this house. I forgot to take a pic last time I made them, so I had to make some last night to illustrate my blog post. (Is that the most creative excuse ever for making cookies?) Plus we wanted to try out our new cookie cutter. Littlest and I spied the sunburst in Lakeland on Saturday. (The lady in the shop told us that all husbands go white when they see their other half with a Lakeland bag... so it's not just mine!)
Listening to: Take That
Reading: (when I catch up with myself... Christina Courtenay's timeslip arrived today and I so want to read it RIGHT NOW but I must behave)
Ginger?
Yep, it's the first Tuesday at the month, so it's my Kate's Kitchen slot over at the PHS, so I'm doing ginger biscuits. These are a real favourite in this house. I forgot to take a pic last time I made them, so I had to make some last night to illustrate my blog post. (Is that the most creative excuse ever for making cookies?) Plus we wanted to try out our new cookie cutter. Littlest and I spied the sunburst in Lakeland on Saturday. (The lady in the shop told us that all husbands go white when they see their other half with a Lakeland bag... so it's not just mine!)
Monday, July 02, 2012
Elsewhere today
Current work: revisions, and thinking about new book
Listening to: Beethoven (my symphonies have arrived!)
Reading: next on TBR - very behind with my reading at the moment
Update on the Kate Unlardy Project - well, six weeks in, and I'm still going (and still enjoying it). Three times a week at the gym - not so much on the swimming side, but I've been busy with work. I will try to do better during the holidays, mainly because I intend to talk littlest into coming swimming with me.
As I'm losing fat but gaining muscle (which weighs more than fat), I'm not seeing much of a difference on the scales. So I'm going by the tape measure instead. Measuring day is the first of the month. So in six weeks I've managed an inch off my bust, waist and hips (that's each, not added together). And - drumroll - a whole inch off my upper arms! The team at the gym say they can see the difference; DH also says he can see the difference (even though he wasn't that tactful!).
But the big difference isn't really in my shape. It's in my confidence. I've had a couple of seriously rubbish years, and I've been faking confidence I really haven't felt. But right now, thanks to my gym sessions, I've been moved a bit out of my comfort zone and I'm doing things now I never would've thought I could do. And that's had a very nice knock-on effect on my confidence. (It's not just the endorphin rush, either!) It's good to have my bounce back, and long may it stay there.
Zealous, now? Nope. Because the only person who can change yourself is you. And you have to want to change, and to want to do it for the right reasons (sustainable ones - in other words, for yourself). If I'd tried this six months ago, it would've failed. But six weeks ago I'd come to the right decision for me, for the right reasons, and it's working.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Winner..,
Current work: revisions and stuff
Listening to: Def Leppard
Reading: next on TBR
Thank you to everyone who took part in the competition – the subtle changes were the colour (a bit deeper), the strapline (changed from ‘drama passion danger’ to ‘warmth heart charm’ because I’ve stopped kidding myself and I’m playing to what my readers tell me my strengths are rather than what I thought they were, LOL) and the hearts are a little bit different, too. So any of those would’ve been acceptable as an answer,
Congratulations to Kayla – please email me your snail mail address (email contact is on my website) and I’ll post the book to you on Monday :o)
Sorry to disappoint everyone else, but please keep visiting my website – there’s going to be a massive two-month-long blog party with fabulous guests and giveaways every single day (because my writer mates are lovely, supportive and generous) as well as more chances to win my 50th M&B!
Meanwhile, I hope everyone who’s experiencing these extreme weather conditions (flooding in the UK and forest fires in the US) is staying safe. We’ve been lucky in that the massive storms missed us yesterday, but it’s been disgustingly sticky here in Norwich. Mr Kate is being dragged off to John Lewis tonight in search of a whisper-quiet fan – he can’t stand the noise of our fan and won’t let me have the bedroom window open because he says the birds wake him up (!), but I can’t cope with humidity and I’ve spent two nights pacing the house/sitting in front of the fan in my study. Not good. There are four possibilities on the JL website, so hopefully one will be quiet enough to keep him happy and mean that I have lovely cool air.
Have a nice weekend!
Listening to: Def Leppard
Reading: next on TBR
Thank you to everyone who took part in the competition – the subtle changes were the colour (a bit deeper), the strapline (changed from ‘drama passion danger’ to ‘warmth heart charm’ because I’ve stopped kidding myself and I’m playing to what my readers tell me my strengths are rather than what I thought they were, LOL) and the hearts are a little bit different, too. So any of those would’ve been acceptable as an answer,
Congratulations to Kayla – please email me your snail mail address (email contact is on my website) and I’ll post the book to you on Monday :o)
Sorry to disappoint everyone else, but please keep visiting my website – there’s going to be a massive two-month-long blog party with fabulous guests and giveaways every single day (because my writer mates are lovely, supportive and generous) as well as more chances to win my 50th M&B!
Meanwhile, I hope everyone who’s experiencing these extreme weather conditions (flooding in the UK and forest fires in the US) is staying safe. We’ve been lucky in that the massive storms missed us yesterday, but it’s been disgustingly sticky here in Norwich. Mr Kate is being dragged off to John Lewis tonight in search of a whisper-quiet fan – he can’t stand the noise of our fan and won’t let me have the bedroom window open because he says the birds wake him up (!), but I can’t cope with humidity and I’ve spent two nights pacing the house/sitting in front of the fan in my study. Not good. There are four possibilities on the JL website, so hopefully one will be quiet enough to keep him happy and mean that I have lovely cool air.
Have a nice weekend!
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
tweak (aka chance to win a book)
Current work: revisions and stuff
Listening to: Bach
Reading: next on TBR
Up to eyes. Apologies for being slack. Please bear with me because I have lots of guests coming with book giveaways in August, September and it looks like October as well, to celebrate the release of my 50th M&B title.
In the meantime, my lovely web designer Heather Reed has made a couple of tweaks to the website for me. They’re subtle, but I didn’t want to change the rest of the website because it’s easy to navigate and it works. So. This is the challenge. Tell me what’s changed (clue: it’s reflected in the blog, too) and I’ll put you in the draw to win a book (the new one, i.e. #50, The Hidden Heart of Rico Rossi – hopefully my author copies will turn up this week). Will be picking a name from the hat on Friday morning UK time, when I’m back from the gym.
Have a nice day!
Listening to: Bach
Reading: next on TBR
Up to eyes. Apologies for being slack. Please bear with me because I have lots of guests coming with book giveaways in August, September and it looks like October as well, to celebrate the release of my 50th M&B title.
In the meantime, my lovely web designer Heather Reed has made a couple of tweaks to the website for me. They’re subtle, but I didn’t want to change the rest of the website because it’s easy to navigate and it works. So. This is the challenge. Tell me what’s changed (clue: it’s reflected in the blog, too) and I’ll put you in the draw to win a book (the new one, i.e. #50, The Hidden Heart of Rico Rossi – hopefully my author copies will turn up this week). Will be picking a name from the hat on Friday morning UK time, when I’m back from the gym.
Have a nice day!
Monday, June 18, 2012
church crawling again :)
Current work: revisions
Listening to: Bach
Reading: next on TBR
Revisions have landed, so I’ve spent the weekend thinking about them. Which effectively means I went out doing nerdy stuff with DH. We had to nip into town to get Madam a new water bottle (Byron pinched it and chewed it to pieces), then afterwards he decided we’d go out for a little bit of nerdiness. I do wish he’d warn me if he’s planning to go churchcrawling, so I have my camera with me (not to mention Pevsner). I apologise in advance for these pics being awful, because I had to resort to the iPod - which is fine for little snaps but isn’t really up to the job.
Anyway. This is St Michael at Coston – it’s a redundant church, but I’m glad it’s still open as it’s so pretty. You can actually still see the rood stairs there. (And go up them a little way. If you’re thin enough. The Wife of Bath would definitely not have managed it.)
I was taken by this headstop.
And then there was Runhall – another of the gorgeous round-towered churches in Norfolk.
Actually, that’s a fib. I was also really, really taken by the little church organ – one of those you have to pump by hand – which was given in memory of those who’d died in the first world war. Sadly, my picture of it is utterly awful, and even fiddling with it on iPhoto hasn’t helped :o( But it really made me think of Thomas Hardy. All we would've needed were sheep in the meadow next door... (Yup, Hardy's Dorset rather than Norfolk. But the two counties have a lot in common.)
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
new cover – for my 50th M&B!
Current work: new book
Listening to: Take That
Reading: Louisa Young, My Dear I Wanted to Tell You (really enjoyed it)
Bit busy on Planet Kate (catching up with stuff, and doing work neglected by other people that has an impact on me. Not best pleased about that one, but whining about it will achieve nothing – it’s a matter of getting on with it, being polite and being very firm). The Kate Unlardy Project is going OK – I’m not seeing the change myself, but my personal trainer today says she’s noticed a change in my shape and she can see a definite change in my fitness. (And, hey, I managed 10 mins on the stepper on Monday. Couldn’t even do 5, three weeks ago.) But the big thing for me is the change in my confidence. I really didn't expect that as a by-product of getting fitter. Mens sana in corpore sano, indeedy.
Dance class tonight – we think we cracked the spin turn and the waltz last week (definitely the hardest dance), and am hoping we can remember it tonight!
But while I’m in a snowstorm (or, rather, my characters are), I’ll leave you with the cover of my UK August release, aka my 50th M&B :o) You may, um, notice some overexcitement in the coming weeks. I am planning a big blog bash… with guests… and giveaways… and… well, I love planning parties. This is going to be fun.
Listening to: Take That
Reading: Louisa Young, My Dear I Wanted to Tell You (really enjoyed it)
Bit busy on Planet Kate (catching up with stuff, and doing work neglected by other people that has an impact on me. Not best pleased about that one, but whining about it will achieve nothing – it’s a matter of getting on with it, being polite and being very firm). The Kate Unlardy Project is going OK – I’m not seeing the change myself, but my personal trainer today says she’s noticed a change in my shape and she can see a definite change in my fitness. (And, hey, I managed 10 mins on the stepper on Monday. Couldn’t even do 5, three weeks ago.) But the big thing for me is the change in my confidence. I really didn't expect that as a by-product of getting fitter. Mens sana in corpore sano, indeedy.
Dance class tonight – we think we cracked the spin turn and the waltz last week (definitely the hardest dance), and am hoping we can remember it tonight!
But while I’m in a snowstorm (or, rather, my characters are), I’ll leave you with the cover of my UK August release, aka my 50th M&B :o) You may, um, notice some overexcitement in the coming weeks. I am planning a big blog bash… with guests… and giveaways… and… well, I love planning parties. This is going to be fun.
Monday, June 11, 2012
how I nearly met Alan Rickman...
Current work: new book – getting to know characters
Listening to: Joe Bonamassa (love the new album)
Reading: Stanley Wells, Shakespeare and Love (very interesting)
Fabulous weekend. Stayed with my best friend and we took Son to the Roundhouse on Chalk Farm Road to see the RSC production of ‘The Tempest’.
The building itself was gorgeous, a Victorian roundhouse which used to contain a turntable for steam locomotives (which couldn’t go backwards very easily). When the engines grew too big to use the turntable, the building was used as a warehouse by a gin distillery company, and then became a space for performance arts.
The set was very well done – it worked both as the deck of a ship and as the bare, rocky island. The box in the corner worked as Prospero’s cell and the ship.
Jonathan Slinger was absolutely superb as Prospero (which I expected, as I liked his Macbeth very much indeed); Ariel was nicely done, too, and the masque worked very well (nice to see the spirits acting as ‘puppeteers’ to make it very clear it was a masque). The music was beautiful – the first time I’ve heard ‘Where the bee sucks’ done in a melancholy fashion, and I really liked the use of a violin bow with a glockenspiel – very eerie.
Would highly recommend the performance – the supporting cast were all good, too.
And Mr Rickman? Well… my best friend nudged me in the interval and asked me quietly, did I realise who was sitting four rows in front of us?
Yes, I did. And it was confirmed at the end of the performance, when he stood up.
It’s a terrible pic because I was trying to be discreet (I mean, the guy was out for a nice evening watching Shakespeare – he wouldn’t want to be bothered with a short, round, middle-aged woman coming up to him and running on about how much she enjoys his work, particularly ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’, which is her second all-time favourite film). We also passed him on the way back to Chalk Farm tube. As in walked right next to him… I think son was a bit amused to see his mother and godmother going into girly teen fangirl mode for a moment.
(And, Mr Rickman, if you get Google alerts and pick this up – I think you’re a superb actor, and I’d dearly love to see you in an RSC performance.)
Listening to: Joe Bonamassa (love the new album)
Reading: Stanley Wells, Shakespeare and Love (very interesting)
Fabulous weekend. Stayed with my best friend and we took Son to the Roundhouse on Chalk Farm Road to see the RSC production of ‘The Tempest’.
The building itself was gorgeous, a Victorian roundhouse which used to contain a turntable for steam locomotives (which couldn’t go backwards very easily). When the engines grew too big to use the turntable, the building was used as a warehouse by a gin distillery company, and then became a space for performance arts.
The set was very well done – it worked both as the deck of a ship and as the bare, rocky island. The box in the corner worked as Prospero’s cell and the ship.
Jonathan Slinger was absolutely superb as Prospero (which I expected, as I liked his Macbeth very much indeed); Ariel was nicely done, too, and the masque worked very well (nice to see the spirits acting as ‘puppeteers’ to make it very clear it was a masque). The music was beautiful – the first time I’ve heard ‘Where the bee sucks’ done in a melancholy fashion, and I really liked the use of a violin bow with a glockenspiel – very eerie.
Would highly recommend the performance – the supporting cast were all good, too.
And Mr Rickman? Well… my best friend nudged me in the interval and asked me quietly, did I realise who was sitting four rows in front of us?
Yes, I did. And it was confirmed at the end of the performance, when he stood up.
It’s a terrible pic because I was trying to be discreet (I mean, the guy was out for a nice evening watching Shakespeare – he wouldn’t want to be bothered with a short, round, middle-aged woman coming up to him and running on about how much she enjoys his work, particularly ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’, which is her second all-time favourite film). We also passed him on the way back to Chalk Farm tube. As in walked right next to him… I think son was a bit amused to see his mother and godmother going into girly teen fangirl mode for a moment.
(And, Mr Rickman, if you get Google alerts and pick this up – I think you’re a superb actor, and I’d dearly love to see you in an RSC performance.)
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Catchup
Current work: well-refilling :o)
Listening to: Joe Bonamassa (love the new album)
Reading: next on TBR
Weekend? Major well-refilling. Going to London with son to see The Tempest at the RSC with his godmother (aka my bestest friend). Am trying to work out if I can squeeze in a trip to Fortnum’s as I’m almost out of tea (sadly, Twinings’ Lady Grey is nowhere near as nice as F&M’s Countess Grey – and there are far worse things that I could be into). Feel slightly guilty that am not taking daughter, but I did take her to Grease with her godmother for her birthday, a couple of years back, and this is a late birthday treat for her brother. Besides, I want her to enjoy her first Shakespeare, so it’d be better to wait until she’s a little older and then pick something like Much Ado or Twelfth Night.
Righty. I have a couple of contracts to go through with a fine-tooth comb. And a tumble-dryer that has decided it is really a pneumatic drill - I think it's the drum, and it has a sensor, so fixing it is going to cost a fortune. Given its age, we might be better off going for a new one. Need to persuade DH...
Listening to: Joe Bonamassa (love the new album)
Reading: next on TBR
- Book #53 off my desk and on my editor’s – tick
- PLR and ALCS records updated – tick
- Sorted out cooking plan for son’s party tomorrow (involves gluten-and-dairy-free baking as he has a friend with major allergies; there is absolutely no way I’m going to tell a teenage boy that no, he can’t have one of the choc-chip cookies fresh out of the oven and make him watch everyone else scoff them. We’ve experimented and adapted our recipe so everyone can have one) – tick
- Sent off M&B author lunch cheque and put note on calendar to book train ticket – tick
- Regular gym sessions – tick
- Sulk at unfairness of putting on 2lbs this weekend when I wasn’t actually very naughty (was DH’s bday) – tick
- Getting excited about this weekend – tick, tick, tick
Weekend? Major well-refilling. Going to London with son to see The Tempest at the RSC with his godmother (aka my bestest friend). Am trying to work out if I can squeeze in a trip to Fortnum’s as I’m almost out of tea (sadly, Twinings’ Lady Grey is nowhere near as nice as F&M’s Countess Grey – and there are far worse things that I could be into). Feel slightly guilty that am not taking daughter, but I did take her to Grease with her godmother for her birthday, a couple of years back, and this is a late birthday treat for her brother. Besides, I want her to enjoy her first Shakespeare, so it’d be better to wait until she’s a little older and then pick something like Much Ado or Twelfth Night.
Righty. I have a couple of contracts to go through with a fine-tooth comb. And a tumble-dryer that has decided it is really a pneumatic drill - I think it's the drum, and it has a sensor, so fixing it is going to cost a fortune. Given its age, we might be better off going for a new one. Need to persuade DH...
Thursday, May 31, 2012
dog in the daisies
Current work: med
Listening to: Beethoven
Reading: next on TBR
Am deep, deep, deep in deadline (not helped by Word having an enormous hissy fit yesterday and opening 10 docs at once, then not letting me into any of them to close them – ouch, and I was VERY grateful for the excellent support team at Apple).
We learned the spin turn yesterday at dance class. We’re, um, just about doing a straight line now with the normal and reverse turns, so we struggled a bit. If DH could take smaller steps, it would help! But we’ll get there.
Am up to eyeballs so am posting a pic instead of wittering on. Dog looked very cute among the daisies, earlier this week.
But he wasn’t in the mood for having his photo taken. He either lay on his side with one paw up, demanding a tummy rub; or did this with his head so you can't see his cute little face properly. I tried saying ‘walkies’ to get him to sit up and look interested, but then he started bouncing around, so… this is the best we can do :o)
And I need to be gone!
Listening to: Beethoven
Reading: next on TBR
Am deep, deep, deep in deadline (not helped by Word having an enormous hissy fit yesterday and opening 10 docs at once, then not letting me into any of them to close them – ouch, and I was VERY grateful for the excellent support team at Apple).
We learned the spin turn yesterday at dance class. We’re, um, just about doing a straight line now with the normal and reverse turns, so we struggled a bit. If DH could take smaller steps, it would help! But we’ll get there.
Am up to eyeballs so am posting a pic instead of wittering on. Dog looked very cute among the daisies, earlier this week.
But he wasn’t in the mood for having his photo taken. He either lay on his side with one paw up, demanding a tummy rub; or did this with his head so you can't see his cute little face properly. I tried saying ‘walkies’ to get him to sit up and look interested, but then he started bouncing around, so… this is the best we can do :o)
And I need to be gone!
Monday, May 28, 2012
deadline and fast track
Current work: med
Listening to: Beethoven
Reading: next on TBR
Deadline week. Book due. Any sense out of me? Noooo.
Quick update on last few days: hard cardio session at gym, new hair colour (is a bit more red this time), shopping to get DH’s birthday present, barbecue and watching blu-ray of Iron Man (enjoyed hugely), LOTS of work, another session in the gym this morning, a ton of admin, more work… Yeah, I know, I said to everyone I was going to be a tortoise this year. My head sees it differently. Lots of faffing around and thinking it over – and then write fast. It’s not the way I’d choose to do it, but hey.
Fast track? M and B are looking for new Medical romance authors. Details are over on the M and B site here. Good luck if you’re going for it!
Listening to: Beethoven
Reading: next on TBR
Deadline week. Book due. Any sense out of me? Noooo.
Quick update on last few days: hard cardio session at gym, new hair colour (is a bit more red this time), shopping to get DH’s birthday present, barbecue and watching blu-ray of Iron Man (enjoyed hugely), LOTS of work, another session in the gym this morning, a ton of admin, more work… Yeah, I know, I said to everyone I was going to be a tortoise this year. My head sees it differently. Lots of faffing around and thinking it over – and then write fast. It’s not the way I’d choose to do it, but hey.
Fast track? M and B are looking for new Medical romance authors. Details are over on the M and B site here. Good luck if you’re going for it!
Friday, May 25, 2012
it's official!
Current work: med
Listening to: Bach
Reading: next on TBR
Today I have my official welcome as part of the Harlequin Romance authors (over here). And I am so, so thrilled to be one of them. Thank you, Donna Alward, for writing such nice things about me! :o)
Listening to: Bach
Reading: next on TBR
Today I have my official welcome as part of the Harlequin Romance authors (over here). And I am so, so thrilled to be one of them. Thank you, Donna Alward, for writing such nice things about me! :o)
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
book 52 has a title...
Current work: med
Listening to: Del Amitri
Reading: next on TBR
I think it’s fairly well known that I really like the Pandora charms, and I buy a bead for each book I have accepted. This is the one I bought at the weekend for book #52 – which is now called BALLROOM TO BRIDE AND GROOM and is out in the US in Feb 2013; UK hardback is the same month but we’re waiting to hear about the UK paperback.
Why this bead? Because it’s my ballroom dancing book, and the swirls on the glass are a bit like the way the waltz would look from a bird’s eye view. DH and I are not quite (!) up to that standard, so I have a feeling we’ll get stuck in the middle of the reverse turn tonight at class and need to be reminded which way to go. (Trust me. You forget your left and right. My heroine has trouble with the waltz. Not sure if I’m channelling her or she was channelling me!)
Apart from that, this week I’ve had a personal training sessions, a guitar lesson (mainly Mozart, which was nice), and my first ever Zumba class (hmm, was a bit ambitious on my part to do that between two PT sessions, especially as it meant 13 hours between a hard class and a session with someone who always makes me work really hard – in future, might go for a swim after guitar, instead). And I’ve written a bit – not enough, so Must Try Harder :o)
Have a nice day!
Listening to: Del Amitri
Reading: next on TBR
I think it’s fairly well known that I really like the Pandora charms, and I buy a bead for each book I have accepted. This is the one I bought at the weekend for book #52 – which is now called BALLROOM TO BRIDE AND GROOM and is out in the US in Feb 2013; UK hardback is the same month but we’re waiting to hear about the UK paperback.
Why this bead? Because it’s my ballroom dancing book, and the swirls on the glass are a bit like the way the waltz would look from a bird’s eye view. DH and I are not quite (!) up to that standard, so I have a feeling we’ll get stuck in the middle of the reverse turn tonight at class and need to be reminded which way to go. (Trust me. You forget your left and right. My heroine has trouble with the waltz. Not sure if I’m channelling her or she was channelling me!)
Apart from that, this week I’ve had a personal training sessions, a guitar lesson (mainly Mozart, which was nice), and my first ever Zumba class (hmm, was a bit ambitious on my part to do that between two PT sessions, especially as it meant 13 hours between a hard class and a session with someone who always makes me work really hard – in future, might go for a swim after guitar, instead). And I’ve written a bit – not enough, so Must Try Harder :o)
Have a nice day!
Monday, May 21, 2012
zippededoodah
Current work: med
Listening to: Beethoven
Reading: next on TBR
Busy weekend – went to see Avengers Assembled on Friday night (enjoyed very much – I’ve ordered both Iron Man films, because that kind of humour and wit REALLY works for me; and intend to sweet-talk DH into Thor, because… OK, shallow, but the actor who plays Loki would work rather nicely as the hero of one of my books!). Saturday, nipped into town with Chlo and bought the bead for book #52 (still untitled, but I bet I don’t get to keep my working title of ‘Putting on the Glitz’), then dinner out with DH and the kids for son’s birthday.
Sunday was son’s 15th birthday, so we had the family over for a barbecue (and I could open a florist’s – have run out of windowsill space).
Celebration of my new career move, too (thanks to bestest cousin for the pink champagne).
Lots of cake. (NOT scoffed by me, I might add. Some of us, i.e. not DH, were sensible about what they ate.) But notice the wonderful candles - these are the 'angel flame' ones they sell in Lakeland and Hawkins' Bazaar, which have different colour flames. (What I really wanted was one of those indoor Roman candles, but I'm working on finding a local supplier.)
The Kate Unlardy project is ticking along nicely. 1lb off this week. Am enjoying the gym sessions (especially as I’m having a real mix of personal trainers and they all do different things with me – I’m happy to try most things). Oh, and especially for Michelle Styles… I did my first planks, today :o) (I might not be smiling tomorrow…!)
And I came back this morning to some nice news – can’t share yet, but I’m feeling more settled and happier now than I have in a very, very long time.
Listening to: Beethoven
Reading: next on TBR
Busy weekend – went to see Avengers Assembled on Friday night (enjoyed very much – I’ve ordered both Iron Man films, because that kind of humour and wit REALLY works for me; and intend to sweet-talk DH into Thor, because… OK, shallow, but the actor who plays Loki would work rather nicely as the hero of one of my books!). Saturday, nipped into town with Chlo and bought the bead for book #52 (still untitled, but I bet I don’t get to keep my working title of ‘Putting on the Glitz’), then dinner out with DH and the kids for son’s birthday.
Sunday was son’s 15th birthday, so we had the family over for a barbecue (and I could open a florist’s – have run out of windowsill space).
Ran out of vases, too! (But both the kitchen and the living room smell gorgeous because of the stocks.)
Celebration of my new career move, too (thanks to bestest cousin for the pink champagne).
Lots of cake. (NOT scoffed by me, I might add. Some of us, i.e. not DH, were sensible about what they ate.) But notice the wonderful candles - these are the 'angel flame' ones they sell in Lakeland and Hawkins' Bazaar, which have different colour flames. (What I really wanted was one of those indoor Roman candles, but I'm working on finding a local supplier.)
The Kate Unlardy project is ticking along nicely. 1lb off this week. Am enjoying the gym sessions (especially as I’m having a real mix of personal trainers and they all do different things with me – I’m happy to try most things). Oh, and especially for Michelle Styles… I did my first planks, today :o) (I might not be smiling tomorrow…!)
And I came back this morning to some nice news – can’t share yet, but I’m feeling more settled and happier now than I have in a very, very long time.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
some really, really, REALLY good news...
Current work: med/Vienna book tweaks
Listening to: Beethoven/Roberto Alagna
Reading: Kristan Higgins, Somebody to Love (fabulous – her books are always a treat)
I’m thrilled to say that my 52nd book – aka the Vienna book – has been accepted. Publication date is some time in early 2013; title to be confirmed.
And the big news is that it’s to a different line. Bit of a sea change, but as from now I write for Harlequin Romance (Cherish in the UK) rather than Presents. Extra/Riva. And obviously I’m still a medical author!
And yes, we went out to dinner last night to celebrate. Nothing fancy, just the local pub, but it was nice to go out and celebrate.
The last couple of years have been a real struggle for me, both personally and workwise. My post yesterday on Liz Fenwick’s blog, about resilience, was very heartfelt. And what got me through a fairly bumpy time was having some seriously good friends who listened, were my cheer squad, and most importantly didn’t let me wallow and get miserable. The Vienna book is dedicated to them, with much love and thanks.
The future is looking brighter than it has for a long, long time. The personal stuff is pretty much resolved (as in my dad is at peace now, and I'm staying well out of reach of the people in my life who gave me unnecessary grief - if they apologised for their unkind, spiteful behaviour, I'd be prepared to forgive, but I'm certainly not putting myself forward for more of the same treatment); I’ve also made a decision to look after myself a bit better than I have been (hence the Kate Unlardy Project); and workwise I’m feeling really enthusiastic because I think that the Romance line will fit my voice better. My ideas are flowing again, which is always a good sign. Obviously I still have a bit of a learning curve to come, but the really big worries I’ve been living with for the last few months are over for now. It will be lovely not to be wide awake and worrying at 3am.
Onwards and upwards - that's my mantra.
Have a nice day :)
Listening to: Beethoven/Roberto Alagna
Reading: Kristan Higgins, Somebody to Love (fabulous – her books are always a treat)
I’m thrilled to say that my 52nd book – aka the Vienna book – has been accepted. Publication date is some time in early 2013; title to be confirmed.
And the big news is that it’s to a different line. Bit of a sea change, but as from now I write for Harlequin Romance (Cherish in the UK) rather than Presents. Extra/Riva. And obviously I’m still a medical author!
And yes, we went out to dinner last night to celebrate. Nothing fancy, just the local pub, but it was nice to go out and celebrate.
The last couple of years have been a real struggle for me, both personally and workwise. My post yesterday on Liz Fenwick’s blog, about resilience, was very heartfelt. And what got me through a fairly bumpy time was having some seriously good friends who listened, were my cheer squad, and most importantly didn’t let me wallow and get miserable. The Vienna book is dedicated to them, with much love and thanks.
The future is looking brighter than it has for a long, long time. The personal stuff is pretty much resolved (as in my dad is at peace now, and I'm staying well out of reach of the people in my life who gave me unnecessary grief - if they apologised for their unkind, spiteful behaviour, I'd be prepared to forgive, but I'm certainly not putting myself forward for more of the same treatment); I’ve also made a decision to look after myself a bit better than I have been (hence the Kate Unlardy Project); and workwise I’m feeling really enthusiastic because I think that the Romance line will fit my voice better. My ideas are flowing again, which is always a good sign. Obviously I still have a bit of a learning curve to come, but the really big worries I’ve been living with for the last few months are over for now. It will be lovely not to be wide awake and worrying at 3am.
Onwards and upwards - that's my mantra.
Have a nice day :)
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
One thing I've learnt...
Am over at lovely Liz Fenwick’s blog today, as part of her blog party for her debut novel, A Cornish House (I am so looking forward to this one!). Do come over and say hello, and wish Liz happy publication. She’s worked incredibly hard and her success is richly deserved.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Bluebells, redux
Current work: med (expecting tweaks on Vienna book later this morning)
Listening to: Beethoven
Reading: Yesterday’s Sun, Amanda Brooks
Starting with Friday – went out to dinner pre-theatre, but it was also a celebration as I’ve sold my 52nd book. (However, it’s a bit complicated and I need a chat with my editor before I can make a proper hoppy-skippy-bouncy announcement.)
The Winter’s Tale was excellent – Tony Bell was fabulous as Autolycus, playing it almost in a Keith Richards way. The whole cast did a great job, but the star of the show for me was Paulina (always was my fave character in the play). I still cannot understand Leontes. Or why Hermione forgave him. And that set me thinking. I have another lightbulb flicking very, very brightly in the back of my head. It’s ambitious, but worth playing with. Oh yes – and the text adapter for this production was none other than one of my favourite Renaissance lecturers from my undergraduate days: Roger Warren. I texted the Godmothers, the next morning, to tell them, and they both came back with exactly the same quote. (And if you can remember a lecture 25 years after you graduated – I rest my case.)
Saturday was my usual stroll in town with daughter (and yes, did involve a bookshop as well as coffee).
Sunday was really sunny in the morning, so I begged to do some method research for a scene in the current med.
Where we went was very, very muddy. (My poor wellies, on their first outing.)
It's a beautiful part of the world. (I love the contrast of colours: the green hedgerow, the yellow oilseed rape and the wide blue skies.)
And yes, it’s the same place we went to a couple of weeks back, when the bluebells were just coming out - Foxley. On Sunday, the woods were in full glory.
I know it’s usually called a bluebell carpet, but to me it always feels more like drifts of bluebells. Just lovely. (The white flowers are stitchwort, I think. My mum used to call them 'daddy's shirt buttons' and made up stories when I was tiny about the animals in the countryside, and how they paid for their goods with flowers. Such a shame that she never wrote them down.)
And I'm a happy bunny - sunny, but not HOT, so I can walk for miles. (Oh - talking of bunnies, we saw a couple of hares dashing about.)
Plan for today: training session at the gym (aka the Kate Un-lardy Project), then cracking on with the med while awaiting last tweaks from ed re the Vienna book. (And a chat. But that might be tomorrow.)
Listening to: Beethoven
Reading: Yesterday’s Sun, Amanda Brooks
Starting with Friday – went out to dinner pre-theatre, but it was also a celebration as I’ve sold my 52nd book. (However, it’s a bit complicated and I need a chat with my editor before I can make a proper hoppy-skippy-bouncy announcement.)
The Winter’s Tale was excellent – Tony Bell was fabulous as Autolycus, playing it almost in a Keith Richards way. The whole cast did a great job, but the star of the show for me was Paulina (always was my fave character in the play). I still cannot understand Leontes. Or why Hermione forgave him. And that set me thinking. I have another lightbulb flicking very, very brightly in the back of my head. It’s ambitious, but worth playing with. Oh yes – and the text adapter for this production was none other than one of my favourite Renaissance lecturers from my undergraduate days: Roger Warren. I texted the Godmothers, the next morning, to tell them, and they both came back with exactly the same quote. (And if you can remember a lecture 25 years after you graduated – I rest my case.)
Saturday was my usual stroll in town with daughter (and yes, did involve a bookshop as well as coffee).
Sunday was really sunny in the morning, so I begged to do some method research for a scene in the current med.
Where we went was very, very muddy. (My poor wellies, on their first outing.)
It's a beautiful part of the world. (I love the contrast of colours: the green hedgerow, the yellow oilseed rape and the wide blue skies.)
And yes, it’s the same place we went to a couple of weeks back, when the bluebells were just coming out - Foxley. On Sunday, the woods were in full glory.
I know it’s usually called a bluebell carpet, but to me it always feels more like drifts of bluebells. Just lovely. (The white flowers are stitchwort, I think. My mum used to call them 'daddy's shirt buttons' and made up stories when I was tiny about the animals in the countryside, and how they paid for their goods with flowers. Such a shame that she never wrote them down.)
And I'm a happy bunny - sunny, but not HOT, so I can walk for miles. (Oh - talking of bunnies, we saw a couple of hares dashing about.)
Plan for today: training session at the gym (aka the Kate Un-lardy Project), then cracking on with the med while awaiting last tweaks from ed re the Vienna book. (And a chat. But that might be tomorrow.)
Friday, May 11, 2012
the right decision
Current work: med (and getting nervous about verdict on second revs)
Listening to: Sheryl Crow
Reading: Yesterday’s Sun, Amanda Brooks
So today was my induction at the gym. It was hard work (I’m unfit, and I am going to feel it tomorrow). What I wasn’t expecting was to enjoy it. Or to feel great afterwards.
I saw a couple of people I’ve known since nursery, and I made a new friend (who came over to me in the changing room and asked how my first session went – that was SO kind – as well as reassuring me I’d made the right decision by sharing her weight/shape loss experience).
Definitely the right decision.
I also came home to a new Manga edition – this time, The Cinderella Project – and tonight I’m taking Son to see The Winter’s Tale at the Theatre Royal. So a nice day all round.
The sky was blue when we left for school this morning. Aha, I thought, I can finally get my shot of the oilseed rape against the sky. It’s not quite how I wanted it, as the clouds had already started to come in (and in the shot where the flowers look great and I did get a bit of blue sky, there’s a fuzzy bit of cow parsley in the way). But this will give you some idea of how pretty the fields are around here at the moment.
Listening to: Sheryl Crow
Reading: Yesterday’s Sun, Amanda Brooks
So today was my induction at the gym. It was hard work (I’m unfit, and I am going to feel it tomorrow). What I wasn’t expecting was to enjoy it. Or to feel great afterwards.
I saw a couple of people I’ve known since nursery, and I made a new friend (who came over to me in the changing room and asked how my first session went – that was SO kind – as well as reassuring me I’d made the right decision by sharing her weight/shape loss experience).
Definitely the right decision.
I also came home to a new Manga edition – this time, The Cinderella Project – and tonight I’m taking Son to see The Winter’s Tale at the Theatre Royal. So a nice day all round.
The sky was blue when we left for school this morning. Aha, I thought, I can finally get my shot of the oilseed rape against the sky. It’s not quite how I wanted it, as the clouds had already started to come in (and in the shot where the flowers look great and I did get a bit of blue sky, there’s a fuzzy bit of cow parsley in the way). But this will give you some idea of how pretty the fields are around here at the moment.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
making a big change
Current work: back to the med (awaiting verdict on second revs)
Listening to: Take That
Reading: Yesterday’s Sun, Amanda Brooks (really interesting concept)
We all know I’m a ‘method’ writer (cough, just as well I don’t write crime… yet). And for the last few weeks I’ve been seriously thinking about a personal trainer. Not just for book purposes (though it does have a lot to do with the Med), but for me.
The thing is, I hate exercise.
I eat really, really sensibly (when I go on about stuffing my face with chocolate, most of that’s teasing – I’m too aware of the calorie count). But my weight just isn’t shifting. So I can’t get away from it: to shift the weight (and make sure I don’t look a total blob at the M&B party pictures in September – when I’m due to get my pin for my 50th book, so I have to scrub up a bit instead of being my usual scruffy self) I will have to do some exercise.
Which is a big lifestyle change for me, and one that I should have done long before now.
So I went to have a chat at the gym I pass on the school run every morning. It’s convenient (which is a big part of helping me to do it). The monthly fee is reasonable. But then they told me something that had my ears pricking up: as part of my membership, I can have a personal training session three times a week. This is exactly what I need – someone to cajole me into doing that little bit more, bully me in a nice way, and get me fitter. Booking 1-2-1 appointments means I have to put them in my diary and turn up.
I liked the atmosphere – it’s a really friendly place. Not one full of muscle-men who’d sneer at a middle-aged, overweight and totally unfit woman. Not one full of lycra-wearing twiglets in full make-up. (Yes, I have been to a gym like that, years ago, and I never went back!) It’s a place where they listen to you, find out what you want to get out of your exercise (in my case, to lose 1lb a week, to be fitter and more toned, and to get my energy back), and they help you achieve it. I’ve met four of the trainers now, and they’re all really nice and made me feel very welcome. None of them made me feel fat, unfit or stupid. (I am definitely the first two, but not the third!)
So I've decided that it’s time to be selfish and look after myself a bit better. My life is way too sedentary and it needs to change. It means carving out an extra hour and a half a day. But I can fritter that very easily on the internet – online word puzzles – so that habit is going to be broken and the time switched over to exercise.
I could’ve waited until September, when littlest starts high school (next door to the gym) and I get an extra two hours in my working day. But now I’ve made the decision, what's the point of waiting?
This morning, I went for a swim when I'd dropped littlest at school. It was a joy. Quiet pool – only three others there, and two of them finished their swims partway through mine. So there was plenty of room to turn round at the end of a length; nobody splashing me; and I felt wonderful afterwards. (Scary thought. I might actually like exercise, if it's on my terms.)
Today’s probably not a normal day, because I haven’t done a stroke of work yet and it’s after lunch! But that’s because I went into town to buy exercise gear. I live in black trousers, but I don’t actually own jogging bottoms. I have some nice stuff now, thanks to M&S. Couldn’t find a top I liked – I wanted something baggy, and all the women’s stuff seems to be clingy, so I’m going to take up DH’s offer of letting me borrow one of his. Bought a swim bag, too, so can return lovely daughter’s to her. (Bless her - she lent it to me this morning so I didn't have to use a carrier bag!) Bought a nice new swim towel, too, to inspire me (think daughter might try and pinch that). So now I’m all organised. The plan from today is: mens sana in corpore sano. (Already had the first – cough, or as much as a novelist does – but the second… that’s my target.)
In other news: I’m supposed to be doing a Fast Draft with Fiona Harper and Jenna Burke. I’ve been a bit fidgety (awaiting verdict on second revs, and rather a lot hinges on that – more on that subject when I’m able to talk about it) so haven’t written as much as I should. But am getting down to it now.
Dancing is also going well. We did the shoulder-to-shoulder movement on the rumba last week, and this week we added it in to the cha cha cha. DH and I can do this and it’s fun. But then Donna showed us what we’re going to do next week – getting the waltz to where it should be. Doing the reverse turn and alternating it with the natural turn (we can just about do the latter, but… let’s say it’s just as well I spent my birthday money on wellies rather than dance shoes).
Tomorrow, I have my induction training, and on Monday my programme starts for real.
Tomorrow, I also have a Shakespeare production to look forward to - The Winter's Tale, and it's an all-male cast (so will be interesting for son from a drama perspective as well as English Lit). Am also making plans with lovely best friend because my London trip in September coincides with an exhibition that includes my all-time favourite artist. Then we have to choose between a production at the Globe and King Lear with Jonathan Pryce. (We can't do both. Can we? No, we'd be zombies. Hmm. How bad can I be?)
And that’s me caught up for now. Have a nice day!
Listening to: Take That
Reading: Yesterday’s Sun, Amanda Brooks (really interesting concept)
We all know I’m a ‘method’ writer (cough, just as well I don’t write crime… yet). And for the last few weeks I’ve been seriously thinking about a personal trainer. Not just for book purposes (though it does have a lot to do with the Med), but for me.
The thing is, I hate exercise.
I eat really, really sensibly (when I go on about stuffing my face with chocolate, most of that’s teasing – I’m too aware of the calorie count). But my weight just isn’t shifting. So I can’t get away from it: to shift the weight (and make sure I don’t look a total blob at the M&B party pictures in September – when I’m due to get my pin for my 50th book, so I have to scrub up a bit instead of being my usual scruffy self) I will have to do some exercise.
Which is a big lifestyle change for me, and one that I should have done long before now.
So I went to have a chat at the gym I pass on the school run every morning. It’s convenient (which is a big part of helping me to do it). The monthly fee is reasonable. But then they told me something that had my ears pricking up: as part of my membership, I can have a personal training session three times a week. This is exactly what I need – someone to cajole me into doing that little bit more, bully me in a nice way, and get me fitter. Booking 1-2-1 appointments means I have to put them in my diary and turn up.
I liked the atmosphere – it’s a really friendly place. Not one full of muscle-men who’d sneer at a middle-aged, overweight and totally unfit woman. Not one full of lycra-wearing twiglets in full make-up. (Yes, I have been to a gym like that, years ago, and I never went back!) It’s a place where they listen to you, find out what you want to get out of your exercise (in my case, to lose 1lb a week, to be fitter and more toned, and to get my energy back), and they help you achieve it. I’ve met four of the trainers now, and they’re all really nice and made me feel very welcome. None of them made me feel fat, unfit or stupid. (I am definitely the first two, but not the third!)
So I've decided that it’s time to be selfish and look after myself a bit better. My life is way too sedentary and it needs to change. It means carving out an extra hour and a half a day. But I can fritter that very easily on the internet – online word puzzles – so that habit is going to be broken and the time switched over to exercise.
I could’ve waited until September, when littlest starts high school (next door to the gym) and I get an extra two hours in my working day. But now I’ve made the decision, what's the point of waiting?
This morning, I went for a swim when I'd dropped littlest at school. It was a joy. Quiet pool – only three others there, and two of them finished their swims partway through mine. So there was plenty of room to turn round at the end of a length; nobody splashing me; and I felt wonderful afterwards. (Scary thought. I might actually like exercise, if it's on my terms.)
Today’s probably not a normal day, because I haven’t done a stroke of work yet and it’s after lunch! But that’s because I went into town to buy exercise gear. I live in black trousers, but I don’t actually own jogging bottoms. I have some nice stuff now, thanks to M&S. Couldn’t find a top I liked – I wanted something baggy, and all the women’s stuff seems to be clingy, so I’m going to take up DH’s offer of letting me borrow one of his. Bought a swim bag, too, so can return lovely daughter’s to her. (Bless her - she lent it to me this morning so I didn't have to use a carrier bag!) Bought a nice new swim towel, too, to inspire me (think daughter might try and pinch that). So now I’m all organised. The plan from today is: mens sana in corpore sano. (Already had the first – cough, or as much as a novelist does – but the second… that’s my target.)
In other news: I’m supposed to be doing a Fast Draft with Fiona Harper and Jenna Burke. I’ve been a bit fidgety (awaiting verdict on second revs, and rather a lot hinges on that – more on that subject when I’m able to talk about it) so haven’t written as much as I should. But am getting down to it now.
Dancing is also going well. We did the shoulder-to-shoulder movement on the rumba last week, and this week we added it in to the cha cha cha. DH and I can do this and it’s fun. But then Donna showed us what we’re going to do next week – getting the waltz to where it should be. Doing the reverse turn and alternating it with the natural turn (we can just about do the latter, but… let’s say it’s just as well I spent my birthday money on wellies rather than dance shoes).
Tomorrow, I have my induction training, and on Monday my programme starts for real.
Tomorrow, I also have a Shakespeare production to look forward to - The Winter's Tale, and it's an all-male cast (so will be interesting for son from a drama perspective as well as English Lit). Am also making plans with lovely best friend because my London trip in September coincides with an exhibition that includes my all-time favourite artist. Then we have to choose between a production at the Globe and King Lear with Jonathan Pryce. (We can't do both. Can we? No, we'd be zombies. Hmm. How bad can I be?)
And that’s me caught up for now. Have a nice day!
Monday, May 07, 2012
pure nerdy bliss
Current work: back to the med (awaiting verdict on second revs)
Listening to: Nick Drake (been out with DH)
Reading: The Midwife of Venice, Roberta Rich
For quite a while, I’ve wanted to visit the church of St Mary’s at Houghton on the Hill.
The village itself no longer exists (the last ruins were demolished barely 20 years ago), but in the field opposite the church, where cattle were grazing, we could see the old ‘hollow way’ that went through the village. The church itself was abandoned before the second world war and gradually fell into ruins. Bob Davey rescued it when his wife Gloria discovered the church on a WI ramble, and has spent the last 20 years working to save the church and showing people round. (He’s a really amazing man – a real powerhouse, even though he’s in his eighties.)
The church is immensely interesting for lots of reasons. It’s built on the remains of what’s thought to be a Roman temple (and there’s certainly Roman brickwork and tile in the structure of the building – typical re-use of the materials). Peddar’s Way passes at the bottom of the hill. The church itself has some Saxon features and the nave dates from the late 11th century.
The reason I wanted to visit was to see the wall paintings. They’re some of the oldest wall paintings in the country (dating from around 1090) and include what’s thought to be the earliest pictorial representation of the Trinity as the Thone of Grace (i.e. God seated on a throne, supporting Jesus on the cross, and with the Holy Spirit as a dove by God’s halo), contained within a mandorla. (That's the shape that looks like a Baboushka doll in the middle of the picture below.)
This is actually part of a marvellous Doom (Last Judgement) painting on the east wall, with an angel blowing the Last Trump to wake the dead from their coffins – note his almond-shaped eyes, and he has three sets of wings. The people below him all have elongated hands, showing that they’re praying. Above them, there are figures with haloes who have already gone to heaven; on the right (i.e. God's left hand side) there are others falling down to hell.
There are also roundels with Jesus and some saints or apostles, holding scrolls.
On the north wall, there’s the Creation of Eve – God has a crossed halo and he’s holding Eve (having just created her from Adam’s rib). Adam is a smaller figure lying against the Tree of Knowledge, and you can also see the serpent in the branches. There’s also a fragment of Noah’s Ark.
On the south wall, there’s a fragment of what’s thought to be the Wheel of Fortune.
Oh, and did I mention the Saxon splay window on the north wall with its original wooden frame? (It’s bricked up, yes, but that woodwork is 1,000 years old. Forty generations. Imagine.)
The lovely man who showed us round told us that when they excavated the soakaway on the north side of the church, they found six burials (criminals or others who’d fallen foul of the church and were therefore buried in unconsecrated ground). One was a woman who’d been buried face-down and with a flint placed on her head. I went cold at that point!
He also told us about the stub of a tomb found on the south side during excavations, thought to be that of Sir Robert de Nevile (the lord of the manor there in 1270), who was executed in Yorkshire for having ‘criminal conversation’ (aka an affair with a married woman).
If you’d like more detailed information, take a look at the church’s website.
Listening to: Nick Drake (been out with DH)
Reading: The Midwife of Venice, Roberta Rich
For quite a while, I’ve wanted to visit the church of St Mary’s at Houghton on the Hill.
The village itself no longer exists (the last ruins were demolished barely 20 years ago), but in the field opposite the church, where cattle were grazing, we could see the old ‘hollow way’ that went through the village. The church itself was abandoned before the second world war and gradually fell into ruins. Bob Davey rescued it when his wife Gloria discovered the church on a WI ramble, and has spent the last 20 years working to save the church and showing people round. (He’s a really amazing man – a real powerhouse, even though he’s in his eighties.)
The church is immensely interesting for lots of reasons. It’s built on the remains of what’s thought to be a Roman temple (and there’s certainly Roman brickwork and tile in the structure of the building – typical re-use of the materials). Peddar’s Way passes at the bottom of the hill. The church itself has some Saxon features and the nave dates from the late 11th century.
The reason I wanted to visit was to see the wall paintings. They’re some of the oldest wall paintings in the country (dating from around 1090) and include what’s thought to be the earliest pictorial representation of the Trinity as the Thone of Grace (i.e. God seated on a throne, supporting Jesus on the cross, and with the Holy Spirit as a dove by God’s halo), contained within a mandorla. (That's the shape that looks like a Baboushka doll in the middle of the picture below.)
 |
| Doom and Throne of Grace |
This is actually part of a marvellous Doom (Last Judgement) painting on the east wall, with an angel blowing the Last Trump to wake the dead from their coffins – note his almond-shaped eyes, and he has three sets of wings. The people below him all have elongated hands, showing that they’re praying. Above them, there are figures with haloes who have already gone to heaven; on the right (i.e. God's left hand side) there are others falling down to hell.
 |
| detail of angel blowing the Last Trump |
There are also roundels with Jesus and some saints or apostles, holding scrolls.
 |
| roundel of apostle holding scroll |
 |
| Creation of Eve |
Oh, and did I mention the Saxon splay window on the north wall with its original wooden frame? (It’s bricked up, yes, but that woodwork is 1,000 years old. Forty generations. Imagine.)
 |
| Saxon splay window with original timber frame |
He also told us about the stub of a tomb found on the south side during excavations, thought to be that of Sir Robert de Nevile (the lord of the manor there in 1270), who was executed in Yorkshire for having ‘criminal conversation’ (aka an affair with a married woman).
If you’d like more detailed information, take a look at the church’s website.
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
elsewhere (with a recipe)
Current work: second revs on Vienna book
Listening to: Corelli
Reading: next on TBR
May already? Scary – my eldest hits his mid-teens later this month.
I’m over at the PHS today with my brownie recipe. Adapted to suit the aforementioned teenager.
Up to eyes in revisions and waiting for DH’s new shed to be delivered… so I’m gone :o) Almost – before I do, a good friend of mine has her first mainstream out today (written with her sister) so do go over to Facebook and wish Ali Ahearn and Ros Baxter happy publication day!
Listening to: Corelli
Reading: next on TBR
May already? Scary – my eldest hits his mid-teens later this month.
I’m over at the PHS today with my brownie recipe. Adapted to suit the aforementioned teenager.
Up to eyes in revisions and waiting for DH’s new shed to be delivered… so I’m gone :o) Almost – before I do, a good friend of mine has her first mainstream out today (written with her sister) so do go over to Facebook and wish Ali Ahearn and Ros Baxter happy publication day!
Monday, April 30, 2012
blossom
Current work: second revs on Vienna book (lovely ed was very swift!)
Listening to: Corelli
Reading: next on TBR
Blustery weekend so, even though my fabulous wellies arrived, not the sort of weather for walkies :o(
Today, however, the sun is shining and the skies are blue – first time in for what seems like for ever – and the blossom on our tree in the front garden is fabulous. An English spring at its best.
I leave you with a pic while I go back to the salt mines, aka revisions...
Listening to: Corelli
Reading: next on TBR
Blustery weekend so, even though my fabulous wellies arrived, not the sort of weather for walkies :o(
Today, however, the sun is shining and the skies are blue – first time in for what seems like for ever – and the blossom on our tree in the front garden is fabulous. An English spring at its best.
I leave you with a pic while I go back to the salt mines, aka revisions...
Friday, April 27, 2012
Tulips
Current work: new medical (while awaiting ed’s verdict on Vienna book)
Listening to: playlist for new book (Take That, Coldplay, Sheryl Crow, Bryan Adams – oh, this is a goodie)
Reading: Annie Claydon, Doctor on Her Doorstep (enjoyed, and LOVED the observatory scene)
Still being a bad blogger. Maybe I should drop down to twice a week…
So, this week. It’s been busy and yet not, at the same time. What have I actually done?
Tulips? They’re up now and looking fantastic with the purple edges. (They’re called ‘Shirley’ – waves to my mate and excellent crime writer Shirley Wells.) So I’ll leave you with a picture, and get back to work :o)
Listening to: playlist for new book (Take That, Coldplay, Sheryl Crow, Bryan Adams – oh, this is a goodie)
Reading: Annie Claydon, Doctor on Her Doorstep (enjoyed, and LOVED the observatory scene)
Still being a bad blogger. Maybe I should drop down to twice a week…
So, this week. It’s been busy and yet not, at the same time. What have I actually done?
- Finished revisions – awaiting verdict and trying not to stress;
- Started new medical (note to self, sign that contract and get it in the post to Canada);
- Had guitar lesson (not to self, more practising required);
- Started learning the rumba at dance class;
- Haven’t done anywhere near enough exercise;
- Need to drag daughter into town tomorrow to get new school shoes because hers are falling apart and enough is enough – she’s put it off on the grounds that they’re comfortable, but the rain this week has meant she’s had wet feet most days (and this is my sensible child, sigh);
- Also need to buy collar for dog after yet another drop-and-roll incident, and he is in SO much disgrace;
- Discovered that the Mac 'magic mouse' is very finicky about batteries (note to self, in future have a spare pack of two different types and don’t wait until you’re down to the last two in the pack before buying new ones);
- And the usual 101,000 things that come with having a husband, two kids and a dog.
Tulips? They’re up now and looking fantastic with the purple edges. (They’re called ‘Shirley’ – waves to my mate and excellent crime writer Shirley Wells.) So I’ll leave you with a picture, and get back to work :o)
Monday, April 23, 2012
Bluebells
Current work: revisions on Vienna book (nearly, nearly, NEARLY there)
Listening to: Bach
Reading: next on TBR
Apologies for being a bad blogger. Am under revisions cosh. I did however skive off for part of yesterday – lunch out at DH best friend’s, then we went for a walk in Foxley Woods to see the bluebells.
Although most of the plants around here have been out a couple of weeks early, I think we were really a little too early for the bluebells – another fortnight, and the carpet will be magic.
Even so, we saw primroses.
And bluebells. (Proper English bluebells with a scent, not hybrids.)
And a bit of a bluebell carpet.
While we were there (and we will gloss over the ditches DH made me clamber through and the fact he was very close to letting me fall flat on my face in the mud), there was a massive storm about six miles away. The thunder was incredible, because it’s not like hearing a storm in a city with a background of traffic. This was birdsong, birdsong, and literally five seconds of booming, rolling thunder. This scene over the oilseed rape fields will give you an idea of the sky.
And this one taken from the churchyard in Foxley – that’s not a blue sky, by the way. That’s the storm, with the sun shining from behind us to the trees.
And maybe this one sums it up the best. Glorious.
The day involved too much talking, too much laughing, and too much eating (as all the nicest days do). And I think I’ve cracked my revisions. I’m on the last readthrough, now, just making sure I’ve got enough emotion in there. (And yes, I am expecting second revisions. And praying it’s not a rejection. Been there, done that, with the Venice book (after two complete rewrites) and I do not want to go back there.)
Have a nice day. Happy St George's Day; happy birthday to Shakespeare; and I'm back to the saltmines :o)
Listening to: Bach
Reading: next on TBR
Apologies for being a bad blogger. Am under revisions cosh. I did however skive off for part of yesterday – lunch out at DH best friend’s, then we went for a walk in Foxley Woods to see the bluebells.
Although most of the plants around here have been out a couple of weeks early, I think we were really a little too early for the bluebells – another fortnight, and the carpet will be magic.
Even so, we saw primroses.
And bluebells. (Proper English bluebells with a scent, not hybrids.)
And a bit of a bluebell carpet.
While we were there (and we will gloss over the ditches DH made me clamber through and the fact he was very close to letting me fall flat on my face in the mud), there was a massive storm about six miles away. The thunder was incredible, because it’s not like hearing a storm in a city with a background of traffic. This was birdsong, birdsong, and literally five seconds of booming, rolling thunder. This scene over the oilseed rape fields will give you an idea of the sky.
And this one taken from the churchyard in Foxley – that’s not a blue sky, by the way. That’s the storm, with the sun shining from behind us to the trees.
And maybe this one sums it up the best. Glorious.
The day involved too much talking, too much laughing, and too much eating (as all the nicest days do). And I think I’ve cracked my revisions. I’m on the last readthrough, now, just making sure I’ve got enough emotion in there. (And yes, I am expecting second revisions. And praying it’s not a rejection. Been there, done that, with the Venice book (after two complete rewrites) and I do not want to go back there.)
Have a nice day. Happy St George's Day; happy birthday to Shakespeare; and I'm back to the saltmines :o)
Monday, April 16, 2012
sunshine award
Current work: revisions on Vienna book
Listening to: Corelli
Reading: Julie Kagawa – The Iron Daughter, The Iron Queen, The Iron Knight; Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies
Back to school today, so I might have more of a chance of working out what day today is :o) (Though it was my organised child who forgot her PE kit rather than Mr Scatty – so I have to drop it off before her lesson. First day back to work, and a bit gets shaved off. Sigh.)
My lovely friend Kate Jackson has given me the sunshine award. Rules: say what makes you happy, and then tag someone else.
What makes me happy? In no particular order: quality time with husband and children, the sea, bluebells, fossicking about in ruins and ancient churches, music (whether I’m listening to it or playing it on the guitar or piano), good coffee, exploring new places (especially if museums and/or gorgeous architecture is involved), researching things for a book, going to the theatre, going to the cinema, ballroom dancing lessons…
Actually, I could go on. I’m very fortunate, because there are lots of things in my life that make me happy. (Being a glass half-full person helps, too.)
I’m tagging India Grey for this one :o)
Listening to: Corelli
Reading: Julie Kagawa – The Iron Daughter, The Iron Queen, The Iron Knight; Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies
Back to school today, so I might have more of a chance of working out what day today is :o) (Though it was my organised child who forgot her PE kit rather than Mr Scatty – so I have to drop it off before her lesson. First day back to work, and a bit gets shaved off. Sigh.)
My lovely friend Kate Jackson has given me the sunshine award. Rules: say what makes you happy, and then tag someone else.What makes me happy? In no particular order: quality time with husband and children, the sea, bluebells, fossicking about in ruins and ancient churches, music (whether I’m listening to it or playing it on the guitar or piano), good coffee, exploring new places (especially if museums and/or gorgeous architecture is involved), researching things for a book, going to the theatre, going to the cinema, ballroom dancing lessons…
Actually, I could go on. I’m very fortunate, because there are lots of things in my life that make me happy. (Being a glass half-full person helps, too.)
I’m tagging India Grey for this one :o)
Thursday, April 12, 2012
lucky 7 meme
Current work: revisions on Vienna book
Listening to: various
Reading: Jojo Moyes, Me Before You (very, very moving)
Have been tagged by my mate and fellow Riva author Nicola Marsh on a meme. Rules: go to p77 of your current work, 7th line down, and paste the next 7 sentences. Then tag 7 others.
Oh, dear. I spy infodump, whining and way too much navel-gazing. My red pen is going to have a field day. (And yes, I cheated. I added line 8. That single line is the whole point of all that verbiage. Harsh editing required!)
Polly took advantage of the moment to splash her face with cold water. Yes, Liam Flynn was gorgeousness personified, and a really nice guy to boot, but she couldn’t get involved with him. Even if it wasn’t too soon after Harry, there were other things in the way. Liam wanted to work on Broadway when Ballroom Glitz had finished; this phone call sounded as if he was well on his way to making that happen. And, if he was in New York while she was in London, that would mean being apart for a long time. That, or she’d have to give up any security she had in London to join him – in a place where she knew nobody and where she couldn’t be sure that she and Liam were looking at forever, either.
Neither option was one she wanted.
So she just had to forget about that kiss.
Listening to: various
Reading: Jojo Moyes, Me Before You (very, very moving)
Have been tagged by my mate and fellow Riva author Nicola Marsh on a meme. Rules: go to p77 of your current work, 7th line down, and paste the next 7 sentences. Then tag 7 others.
Oh, dear. I spy infodump, whining and way too much navel-gazing. My red pen is going to have a field day. (And yes, I cheated. I added line 8. That single line is the whole point of all that verbiage. Harsh editing required!)
Polly took advantage of the moment to splash her face with cold water. Yes, Liam Flynn was gorgeousness personified, and a really nice guy to boot, but she couldn’t get involved with him. Even if it wasn’t too soon after Harry, there were other things in the way. Liam wanted to work on Broadway when Ballroom Glitz had finished; this phone call sounded as if he was well on his way to making that happen. And, if he was in New York while she was in London, that would mean being apart for a long time. That, or she’d have to give up any security she had in London to join him – in a place where she knew nobody and where she couldn’t be sure that she and Liam were looking at forever, either.
Neither option was one she wanted.
So she just had to forget about that kiss.
Who do I tag?
Shirley Wells
Kate Jackson
Michelle Styles
Nell Dixon
India Grey
Julie Cohen
Fiona Harper
Shirley Wells
Kate Jackson
Michelle Styles
Nell Dixon
India Grey
Julie Cohen
Fiona Harper
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
where does the time go?
Current work: about to start revs on Vienna book
Listening to: Vivaldi (playing it on guitar rather than listening to)
Reading: Essie Fox, The Somnambulist (enjoyed – very good period detail); Jojo Moyes, Me Before You (superb)
Am being a Very Neglectful Blogger. Apols. Is school holidays, so I have no real routine, and bank holidays mean I have to look at a calendar and work out what today is.
What have I been up to? Chilling with the family, spending time in the kitchen with littlest, reading, watching films and documentaries, messing about on guitar and piano. Oh, yes, and we have a research trip booked – something I didn’t think I’d say this year, given it’s our Year of Austerity. We’re staying in England, but the children put in a bid for the sea. I have half an outline in my head and specific places I want to see, within walking distance of the cottage. Lost my bid for the smuggler’s cottage, complete with tunnel; and the ancient scheduled monument in York (way out of our budget); and the cottage that was 50m from the beach. But the location was more important than the accommodation, so we have reached a workable compromise. Now to persuade DH that we need to take wellies. As in he can sit with a coffee and the paper by the beach, if he chooses, but I intend to go fossil-hunting with the kids.
Revisions have landed. Have sent my nerdy table to my ed (yay, nerdiness works for her) and, once she’s happy with how I’m planning to fix the problems, I can get cracking.
That’s me up to date. How was your Easter?
Listening to: Vivaldi (playing it on guitar rather than listening to)
Reading: Essie Fox, The Somnambulist (enjoyed – very good period detail); Jojo Moyes, Me Before You (superb)
Am being a Very Neglectful Blogger. Apols. Is school holidays, so I have no real routine, and bank holidays mean I have to look at a calendar and work out what today is.
What have I been up to? Chilling with the family, spending time in the kitchen with littlest, reading, watching films and documentaries, messing about on guitar and piano. Oh, yes, and we have a research trip booked – something I didn’t think I’d say this year, given it’s our Year of Austerity. We’re staying in England, but the children put in a bid for the sea. I have half an outline in my head and specific places I want to see, within walking distance of the cottage. Lost my bid for the smuggler’s cottage, complete with tunnel; and the ancient scheduled monument in York (way out of our budget); and the cottage that was 50m from the beach. But the location was more important than the accommodation, so we have reached a workable compromise. Now to persuade DH that we need to take wellies. As in he can sit with a coffee and the paper by the beach, if he chooses, but I intend to go fossil-hunting with the kids.
Revisions have landed. Have sent my nerdy table to my ed (yay, nerdiness works for her) and, once she’s happy with how I’m planning to fix the problems, I can get cracking.
That’s me up to date. How was your Easter?
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
the big scary spider story (not for arachnophobes)
Current work: on holiday (though not for much longer, as ed promised me outline feedback today)
Listening to: whatever torture the kids are inflicting on me (Now 80-wotsit)
Reading: Lucinda Riley, The Girl on the Cliff
So – the spidey story I promised you.
There I was on Sunday night, quietly reading in bed. (DH was watching the motorbike racing = mega tedious, so I decided to go and read in comfort.)
And suddenly I was aware of something moving just above my book.
As in the legs of a spider.
A BIG spider.
I’m not scared of spiders. They intrigue me and I love the patterns they make in their webs. But when it’s a spider that’s the size of my palm, and it’s parascending down from the ceiling and is about to land on my book…
To quote son: ‘You screamed like a girl.’ (He then grinned and said, ‘Well, obviously, because you are one.’)
Did Dog rush up to rescue me? (Did he, hell. Too lazy.) Did DH rush up to rescue me? (Did he, hell. He was busy watching the motorbikes, aka too lazy.)
Stomped downstairs and requested that DH please go upstairs, find supersize-spidey and put him/her outside. ‘There’s no point in looking. It will have gone by now.’ DH rolled eyes at me. ‘And did you have to scream? Now Madam will be convinced it’s scuttled into her room and she’ll refuse to go to sleep.’ (True. She made her brother check everywhere with a torch before she would return to her room.)
Oh, and just in case you think I might be exaggerating about Spidey… this is one from last summer. And that’s about the size of Sunday’s monster. (If you are interested in UK spiders, there’s a great website - http://www.uksafari.com/spiders.htm)
Listening to: whatever torture the kids are inflicting on me (Now 80-wotsit)
Reading: Lucinda Riley, The Girl on the Cliff
So – the spidey story I promised you.
There I was on Sunday night, quietly reading in bed. (DH was watching the motorbike racing = mega tedious, so I decided to go and read in comfort.)
And suddenly I was aware of something moving just above my book.
As in the legs of a spider.
A BIG spider.
I’m not scared of spiders. They intrigue me and I love the patterns they make in their webs. But when it’s a spider that’s the size of my palm, and it’s parascending down from the ceiling and is about to land on my book…
To quote son: ‘You screamed like a girl.’ (He then grinned and said, ‘Well, obviously, because you are one.’)
Did Dog rush up to rescue me? (Did he, hell. Too lazy.) Did DH rush up to rescue me? (Did he, hell. He was busy watching the motorbikes, aka too lazy.)
Stomped downstairs and requested that DH please go upstairs, find supersize-spidey and put him/her outside. ‘There’s no point in looking. It will have gone by now.’ DH rolled eyes at me. ‘And did you have to scream? Now Madam will be convinced it’s scuttled into her room and she’ll refuse to go to sleep.’ (True. She made her brother check everywhere with a torch before she would return to her room.)
Oh, and just in case you think I might be exaggerating about Spidey… this is one from last summer. And that’s about the size of Sunday’s monster. (If you are interested in UK spiders, there’s a great website - http://www.uksafari.com/spiders.htm)Tuesday, April 03, 2012
elsewhere again today
Current work: on holiday (aka baking and taking car in to be fixed)
Listening to: actually, playing guitar duets with daughter (am on holiday)
Reading: Lucinda Riley, The Girl on the Cliff
Today, I’m over at the Pink Heart Society with one of my favourite deadline recipes. I guess it’s sort of springlike, as the colours of daffodils and tulips are involved :o)
Other than that, a warning light has illuminated on the car dashboard. The manual said it’s the ‘malfunction’ light (clearly they like being vague rather than telling you what it actually means), so it was off to the garage this morning to see what’s wrong. Turns out it’s a sensor in the exhaust, so it’s back again later this week.
Tomorrow, I will tell a story that arachnophobes might like to avoid…
Listening to: actually, playing guitar duets with daughter (am on holiday)
Reading: Lucinda Riley, The Girl on the Cliff
Today, I’m over at the Pink Heart Society with one of my favourite deadline recipes. I guess it’s sort of springlike, as the colours of daffodils and tulips are involved :o)
Other than that, a warning light has illuminated on the car dashboard. The manual said it’s the ‘malfunction’ light (clearly they like being vague rather than telling you what it actually means), so it was off to the garage this morning to see what’s wrong. Turns out it’s a sensor in the exhaust, so it’s back again later this week.
Tomorrow, I will tell a story that arachnophobes might like to avoid…
Monday, April 02, 2012
Elsewhere today
Current work: on holiday (aka tidying office)
Listening to: actually, playing guitar duets with daughter (am on holiday)
Reading: Jessica Hart, We’ll Always Have Paris; Patricia Wastvedt, The German Boy; Natasha Solomons, The Novel in the Viola
Am over at Love is the Best Medicine today, talking about refilling the well (aka what I did at the weekend – and there are pics).
Listening to: actually, playing guitar duets with daughter (am on holiday)
Reading: Jessica Hart, We’ll Always Have Paris; Patricia Wastvedt, The German Boy; Natasha Solomons, The Novel in the Viola
Am over at Love is the Best Medicine today, talking about refilling the well (aka what I did at the weekend – and there are pics).
Have a nice day!
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