Le Weekend et Les Livres*

It's weekend time! It's been such a hectic week, and not all about writing either. I've been neglecting my blog, and reading others in return. So I'm going to reserve my place at the weekend table with a cuppa and a book. Time to relax and maybe even get some writing done!

*I hope I've got the French grammar right. Anybody checking? No. Good! :-)

Versatile Blogger Award

I'm absolutely delighted to have been picked by  JoAnna (Helen) for nominating me for the Versatile Blogger award. The rules for accepting the award are to:

1. Personally thank the person who nominated you for the award and link back to them in your post.
2. Share seven things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 recently discovered blogs.


As I've recently shared ten things about myself for the write campaign, which were mostly around the theme of my childhood. I thought I'd make this more current.

1. I'm in the throes of planning a new romantic suspense novel...
2. ...for which I've just bought myself a wonderful new notebook.
3. My honours degree is in Marketing; Masters in Urban Policy.
4. I work from home, which allows me time to write.
5. First drafts are written using my Neo AlphaSmart.
6. My first academic interest was the solar system when I was seven years old...
7. ...which led to a lifelong passion for science fiction (and possibly Doctor Who!)



I now have to nominate other recently discovered blogs for this award. Here are some of the wonderful people I've met, some in both blogland and on twitter.

1. Elliot Grace
2. Samantha Verant
3.1000thMonkey
4.Madelinemora-summonte
5.CreepyQueryGirl
6.Lisa Potts
7. Brynne
8.Lola Sharp
9.Paula S Jordan
10.Pamela Mason
11.AliBacon
12.Alison O'Neill Hess
13.Jamie Harrington
14.Bridget Straub
15.D J Kirkby

Weekend for a break

This weekend we're taking a break and going to a spa to indulge in some serious pampering. Honestly, it's about time I took a break. My life seems to revolve around endless housework - if you think teenagers can be messy, try an autistic teenager - and trying to fit in writing around that and of course, there's the day job, that's before I say anything about the trapped nerve that's decided to lodge itself somewhere between the bones in my back!

Anyway, it's time for me to get my swimming costume out of my gym bag and into my case. Although I'm looking forward to going away to be pampered, I have so much work to do when I get back, but for now, I'm slipping into something comfortable for the weekend, and letting it go, just for a bit.

If I could be...

To celebrate Talli Roland's launch day for her new book Watching Willow Watts, I've put my thinking cap on to answer the question: If I could be anyone, who would it be...

Then it came to me. Easy! Who else, but Ginger Rogers (I have a long standing love affair with dancing). With natural flair and a lot of hard work, Ginger learned how to dance on the job. Her vivacious energy and passion for dancing was obvious, and she made it look so effortless.

Which reminds me of what it takes to be a writer, you learn by writing, and re-writing, and writing again and maybe trying something new. It was Nathaniel Hawthorne, who stated: 'Easy reading is damned hard writing.'


That's what I'm finding with Watching Willow Watts. It's easy to read, it's entertaining, and well written.  Well done Talli for another great book.

Don't forget to peek over at Talli's blog as that's where the party is today.

Ten Random Facts

I've been tagged by fellow blogger Ali Bacon (she also tweets here), to provide ten random facts. I've also tagged some lovely bloggers, see the end of this post for details.

Anyway, I signed in to twitter and found the calling to do this fairly late in the evening, too late for my brain to function at anywhere near non-gibberish. Which is how I ended up in bed wondering how on earth I was going to come up with ten random facts. Just as well they don't have to be interesting too.

The first couple of facts are those I remember just before edging off to dreamland:

1. My first hamster was called Midge, after a character from my childhood TV viewing. I was six years old. My first tiny little pet. Awww look at the little pink feet....

2. This paved the way for my next pet; a gerbil I also called Midge (there's a pattern to this!) He was with me for four years, and once, when I spent the summer (six weeks) with relatives, he nearly pined to death for me. :(

3. Moving away from pets. As a youngster, I spent my days not reading Enid Blyton or Wind in the Willow type stories, but Doctor Who series books. My favourite being, 'The Five Doctors,' (Remember when there were only five. Can you name them?)

4. I love and adore all shades of purple, from powder lavender to royal purple.

5. When I was sixteen, I won a medal for cross country running.


6. I love the Harry Potter series, ever since being introduced to them when the second book had just been published. I also enjoyed reading Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials. I'm not a pretentious reader at all, but the book must be well-written, otherwise I lose interest.

7. I'm left-handed, and ...

8. my eyes are green. Of course, if I'd lived in the fourteenth century, I'm sure I'd have been hung for being a witch, as I also have a fluffy black cat.

9. My first computer was a Vic20, bought in 1982 - I still have it, and it works!

10. When I'm not writing, I love to paint.

So there you have some very random facts about me - well the ones I want to share, anyway. Thanks to Ali for tagging me, and now I'm gonna randomly tag some more fellow writers.

Tag, your turn to give some random facts about you: J.R. Williams,  Lisa Potts, Juliet Greenwood (for her lovely new blog), and Ozlem Yikici

Write Campaign – Challenge No. 1 Flash fiction

Although I don't normally write fiction for my blog, part of our Write Campaign challenge, which I have completely embraced is to write a flash story. 


Challenge: Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “The door swung open” These four words will be included in the word count.


If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), use the same beginning words and end with the words: "the door swung shut."


For those who want an even greater challenge, make your story exactly 200 words – Well, as it's a challenge, I had to do that too, so it's exactly 200 words

~ ~ ~

The Misfortune of Clocks

 

The door swung open. Crystal shielded her eyes, momentarily blinded.

A girl stood in the doorway. Pale, quiet, sad.

In her hand was a flower. She looked at it in much the same way she’d looked at life: through large inquisitive eyes.

‘The violet is lovely,’ Crystal said.

The girl walked toward the woman. ‘It can’t be comfortable standing here, Mummy.’

‘There’s nowhere else for me to be. Since I lost you, I haven’t been well.’

‘You haven’t lost me, Mummy. I’m in here.’ She pointed to her heart.

Crystal nodded. The visions haunted her. The daughter she’d lost. She felt the pain as before, as if her heart seared with heat, twisted and turned by an unseen force.

‘Georgia,’ she said, trying to control her voice, to stop it quavering. ‘You shouldn’t be here.’

‘I’m not here, Mummy. I’m IN here.’ Again, she pointed to her heart. ‘It’s yours. Yours still beats, let it go.’

Crystal’s heart raced, then slowed. Timed to precision.

Somewhere in the darkness, a clock tick-tocked, and the second hand danced round with mechanical precision. The most expensive clock in the universe. Pleased with his day’s work, the clock-maker laughed and swung the door shut.

The Magic of Writing

As part of my blogging experience, I would like to select some books that have made an impact on my writing life in one way or another. One such book is Susan Sipal’s A Writer’s Guide to Harry Potter.
A few months ago, I was looking for books to read up on the craft of writing, when I came across the wonderful blog of Susan Sipal. Now Susan writes exclusively about the craft and techniques used by JK Rowling – and love or loathe the author or her work, you have to admire the phenomenal success of the Harry Potter series.
As soon as I began reading, I realised this is no ordinary book on craft, nor is the author telling me how to write. Rather, it’s an instruction manual, detailing how to weave the same type of magic into my own writing. Using examples from the books, Susan covers some important topics such as characters and how to embed them in your story, building believable worlds – whatever genre you write – and how to incorporate mystery in your writing, which in turn, creates suspense.
This isn’t just another ‘how-to’ craft book. As Susan herself states in her foreword: ‘This is an artistic study to learn and develop specific craft techniques.’ And I couldn’t agree more. It’s the single most valuable book in terms of what I’ve learnt about the writing craft.
Susan majored in Religious Studies in College, and has since focused on Egyptian mythology. She frequently holds workshops based around the content of this book. She has been an industry professional for over ten years, as a writer, editor, and marketing consultant. Her expertise on writing is evident on every page and I highly recommend it. Buy A Writer's Guide to Harry Potter on Amazon. I also recommend a trip to Susan’s blog: Harry Potter for Writers
Just one last thing. Have a great weekend everyone!