My sixteen-month-old grandson has impetigo (an infectious bacterial skin infection) which he caught at nursery but he isn’t allowed to return there until 7–10 days after starting a course of antibiotics. As a result, we’ve covered some of the emergency childcare needs. It’s great to be helpful and looking after our grandson is always a lot of fun. He’s started talking much more and points his index finger when out in his buggy and calls out words like car, truck, bus and dog. We’ve spent a lot of time building towers with plastic cups (which are immediately knocked down) and stirring pretend porridge which is always too hot or too cold.
As a former teacher, I’ve discovered I’m entitled to join Boundless an experiences club that helps those who work or have worked in the public sector to make the most of their free time. It does this by offering savings on events and a variety of free benefits. The club was established in 1923 by Frank Edwards who set about bringing people together to share adventures. Nowadays, the £40 membership offers free entry into Kew Gardens and (for an additional fee) several royal palaces including the Tower of London and Hampton Court. To make the most of our membership, David and I visited Kew Gardens last week which is a train ride away from our flat in South West London. We explored a section of the grounds and enjoyed the temperate house. We also took a stroll along the treetop walkway which offered fantastic views over the London skyline.
David and I spent a superb week in the French Alps where I learnt to ski. He’d been skiing in his twenties, but I’d never thought it would be something I might enjoy. How wrong could I be? There was so much to like about the experience starting with the joy of being surrounded by snow-covered mountains when the sun shone and the sky was blue. The setting was very uplifting and the weather remained consistently good throughout the week. We stayed half board in a hotel with a view of Mont Blanc and enjoyed excellent buffet meals in the restaurant.
In preparation for skiing, I had completed training to strengthen my legs and was quite confident when I approached the nursery slopes. The taster session provided guidance which I put into practice for stopping and turning. A conveyor belt called a magic carpet took me back to the top of the slope and after several goes I felt prepared for ski lessons. David and I shared an instructor who took us onto a green slope (for beginners) where we learnt to take wide curves and control the movement of the skis. A big priority was to return home injury free, so we weren’t terribly adventurous but I certainly found it exhilarating to get from the top of the slope to the bottom with a little speed.
I am nearly at the end of writing my latest manuscript. Conversation Classes is the story of a diverse group of people who stay at a remote hotel in northern Italy where native English speaking volunteers are matched with business people to improve their oral language skills. Although the Conversation Classes emersion programme has a high success rate at building the participants’ use of spoken English, many of the attendees have very different reasons for enrolling on the course. These are revealed through the chapters of the novel with some intriguing and hilarious results. The story is based on the experience of being a volunteer on one of these courses in Spain (you can read about it here) although I’ve set the novel in a fictional location and the characters and situations are imagined.
While creative writing remains a priority for me, I’ve spread my interests to include singing, learning to read music, running and pilates. These activities cross fertilise to improve my stories while being good for the body and mind. My exercise programme currently includes some ski fit activities. After years of saying I’d never want to ski because I don’t like falling over or being cold, I’ve changed my mind. Something about completing the Caminho Português from Porto to Santiago de Compostela in appalling weather (you can read about it here) has improved my resolve in tacking new physical challenges. In January we’ll be heading to the French Alps for my first experience of skiing.
I am a member of the Women’s Institute (WI) and was delighted to join the Kingston branch to talk about my journey to becoming a published author. Here I am with the audience waiting for my session to be introduced.
Although I planned the talk carefully and rehearsed it twice, I was still nervous. Thankfully, the audience were very kind and receptive… and it turned out to be a lot of fun. There were many questions at the end of my thirty-five minutes of delivery and I was pleased to share my inspiration and approaches to writing with such an interested and responsive group.
The KWI book group will be discussing The Secret Life of Carolyn Russellin August and asked me to devise a few questions. I thought followers of this blog might also be interested so I’ve pasted them below:
We’ve taken the opportunity to spend the next couple of months in Exmouth on the Devon coast. According to Wikipedia, it’s a port town, civil parish and seaside resort situated on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe 11 miles (18 km) southeast of Exeter. This does sum up the place but I should also mention it has an extensive sandy beach and is located close to other delightful seaside spots such as Budleigh Salterton.
We’re here to clear the flat of my husband’s elderly aunt who’s now in a care home. Her place is situated not far from the beach and so on alternate days, I run along the seafront, get back in time for a quick online pilates session and then settle down to some daily writing with Writers Hour. The new novel is progressing slowly but I find even adding a couple of hundred words keeps the story alive in my mind.
This week we are attending a series of lunchtime concerts as part of the Budleigh Music Festival 2024. On the programme has been Ryan Corbett, who plays a Bugari Spectrum classical piano accordion made in Castelfidardo, Italy. What a remarkable sound! We’ve also attended a session from the Avalon Trio who play piano, cello and violin.
Do you find engaging with other arts stimulates your creative process? I’m crossing my fingers that all this music will have a positive effect on my writing.
It’s less than a week until I’ll be running a workshop at the Bournemouth Writing Festival. I’ll be sharing my experience of winning a publication contract with Bloodhound Books after entering a pitch competition for The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell. The workshop will include tips and hints for anyone wishing to develop skills in online pitching of a manuscript. The event is a new one on the Dorset writing scene and the programme has grown considerable since the inaugural year in 2023. I’m pleased to be delivering on Sunday 28 April 2024 alongside writing friends Paula Harmon and Alice Fowler. Do check out the full programme!
I purchased a Book Spa as a birthday gift for my daughter in 2023. It’s been a long time coming (I reserved a place for myself too) and we finally made the trip to Mr B’s in Bath this week. The Book Spa involves chatting with a member of the bookselling team over tea and cake to gain an idea of our interests. Nethmi then collected a tower of books for us to browse. (The Reading Spa includes £60 to spend on books, plus a Mr B’s mug and cloth bag and a £10 gift card for future purchases.) Here is the stash of books I chose.
I went with a broad range of requests (and likewise my daughter) but these are the books I took away with me:
A novel written in second person: How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid. A riveting tale of one man’s journey from impoverished rural boy to corporate tycoon.
The manuscript of my latest novel is almost ready for submitting to agents and publishers. I was in the same position two years ago and it took ten months to secure a deal. I’m going to use the same approach as before. I’ve compiled a list of where to send the manuscript and will work through it by sending out submissions in batches. In the last few weeks, I’ve been polishing the opening chapters and was keen to look back to see how the first paragraph had changed during the latest revisions. The essence remains the same but little tweaks have meant the writing is tighter. Here are the paragraphs for you to compare:
July 2023, Slingback Resort
Moonlight slid through the full-length windows and illuminated the trail of their abandoned clothes across the hotel bedroom floor. Night came early in the southern hemisphere and Ashley anticipated the rest of their evening. She wanted to enjoy drinks on the terrace but it wasn’t the right time to suggest the idea. Instead, she straightened the pillow in its white cotton case and rested against it. The air conditioning pumped cool waves across their naked bodies and she longed to share the warmth emanating from James’s skin. Inhaling the briny smell of sex and sweat, Ashley moved closer and placed her head into the nook between his chin and shoulder. A sigh made her slump closer.
November 2023, Three Couples
Moonlight slunk into the hotel room and Ashley noticed how it illuminated the trail of abandoned clothes across the marble floor. James had cracked her open like a nut. She stretched on top of rucked cotton sheets until a tap on her shoulder registered. His index finger commanded that she tuck her head into the nook between his shoulder and chin. She settled into place there, and found the musky smell of him soothing. James sighed as the tension he carried evaporated. It was the same for her. She enjoyed a momentary sense of relaxation but then heat from his body pulsed and she was glad of cool bursts from the air conditioning unit.
I’m one of those people who struggle with Christmas. It’s a legacy from my childhood when money was tight, my father always drank too much and everyone made an effort to have a good time. Since my own children have grown up, it’s become a lot easier and we’ve introduced new Christmas traditions which I really enjoy like the 9am Christmas morning parkrun along Weymouth seafront. I also love visiting Weymouth on Boxing Day to see children riding their new bicycles and scooters. This year, the sea glinted silver under leaden clouds and was absolutely beautiful.
The new addition to our Christmas celebrations is Truffle, my daughter’s puppy. She’s still in training and tries very hard not to jump up, steal newspapers or lick everything off the kitchen floor. Unfortunately, my husband was clearing up his wine making kit (as if there isn’t enough to do on Christmas eve) when Truffle guzzled a few elderberries. My daughter was worried and rang the emergency vet who recommended a visit to the practice in Bournemouth. They duly set off but avoided a consultation charge by ringing a special phone number to be told Truffle hadn’t eaten enough elderberries to poison her.
My husband always cooks the Christmas dinner (my contribution is making red cabbage in the slow cooker). It was a splendid meal followed by music (I can play Jingle Bells on the piano – thanks to learning how to read a few notes on Duolingo‘s music programme) and singing – I just had to share with everyone my karaoke performance of Killing Me Softly which (after hours of practice), I’ve finally nailed. Well, the first verse anyway.
As for writing, I’ve submitted the opening 25,000 words of my new novel to Kate Nash’s mentoring BookCamp 2024. I thought I’d have it finished before Christmas but there was more to do than I’d anticipated. Several 6am starts and I sent it off yesterday. Hurray! (Now I need to go through the rest of the novel with a fine-tooth comb.)
I’ll close with a couple of Christmas snaps and greetings to you and yours for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2024.
the writer is a lonely hunter 