I'm pleased to announce that my trio of short stories, Uncertainty has been reduced in price to make it available to more people. I had thought that it was overpriced to begin with but I did state that it was a learning experience. After several attempts, it is now a more marketable price. Many apologies to those people who bought it at the higher price.
One thing I would ask is that if you buy it at this new price, could you please be so kind as to post a review telling me what you think. A line or two will suffice.
I'm looking forward now to publishing some more of my short stories on Amazon.
Friday, 12 April 2013
Friday, 22 March 2013
Bolsover Castle - Return of Cavendish's Horses
I'm lucky enough to live in the historic Derbyshire town of Bolsover, dominated by Bolsover Castle. Built on a limestone escarpment overlooking the Scarsdale Valley, it is hard to miss on the approach to the town.
The present castle was built on the site of an ealier Norman castle as a 'Pleasure Palace' , a 17th century holiday home, by Sir Charles Cavendish, younger son of Bess of Hardwick. His son, William Cavendish, was passionate about horses and it was he who built the stables and riding school. Here he championed advanced dressage techniques, known as 'Haute Ecole'.
Now, Cavendish's Horses are returning to English Heritage-owned Bolsover Castle. From Easter weekend, a spectacular display of these techniques will be demonstrated in the historic riding school twice a day on Saturdays and Sundays.
On Thursday, 21st March, I was privileged to see a full dress rehearsal and it was wonderful. With the riders in 17th century attire, the horses enjoying all the attention, accompanied by atmospheric music and authentic-sounding commentary, it was an experience not to be missed. I can thoroughly recommend this experience.
The present castle was built on the site of an ealier Norman castle as a 'Pleasure Palace' , a 17th century holiday home, by Sir Charles Cavendish, younger son of Bess of Hardwick. His son, William Cavendish, was passionate about horses and it was he who built the stables and riding school. Here he championed advanced dressage techniques, known as 'Haute Ecole'.
Now, Cavendish's Horses are returning to English Heritage-owned Bolsover Castle. From Easter weekend, a spectacular display of these techniques will be demonstrated in the historic riding school twice a day on Saturdays and Sundays.
On Thursday, 21st March, I was privileged to see a full dress rehearsal and it was wonderful. With the riders in 17th century attire, the horses enjoying all the attention, accompanied by atmospheric music and authentic-sounding commentary, it was an experience not to be missed. I can thoroughly recommend this experience.
Sunday, 10 March 2013
Published on Amazon Kindle!
Haven't posted any blogs for a while due to one problem or another. But I now have something positive to report!
On Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, I have now published 'Uncertainty', a trio of short stories where not everything is as it seems. I'm excited about this as it's a new venture for me and it's another learning experience. For one thing, at £1.53, I think it's overpriced for what it is but there didn't seem to be a facility for pricing it any less. But if you're a member of their Prime lending scheme, you can obtain it FREE for the next couple of days.
So remember the name, Anne L Harvey, and the title, 'Uncertainty'. It's important to me, as a writer, to receive feedback so I would welcome a review. Many thanks.
On Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, I have now published 'Uncertainty', a trio of short stories where not everything is as it seems. I'm excited about this as it's a new venture for me and it's another learning experience. For one thing, at £1.53, I think it's overpriced for what it is but there didn't seem to be a facility for pricing it any less. But if you're a member of their Prime lending scheme, you can obtain it FREE for the next couple of days.
So remember the name, Anne L Harvey, and the title, 'Uncertainty'. It's important to me, as a writer, to receive feedback so I would welcome a review. Many thanks.
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
How to publish an ebook in a day
Last Saturday, I attended an amazing workshop on 'How to publish your ebook in a day' at the Writing School in Leicester. It was a very hands-on computer workshop using Sigil a freeware eformatting program and Calibre another freeware program, this time for ebook management. Fascinating stuff! As Calibre can send my work direct to Kindle, I'm hoping to download a short story to my Kindle to see how it looks in print. If it's ok, I'm hoping to publish it via Kindle Direct Publishing. My book 'Save The Last Dance For Me' may well follow.
I'm still working on the rewrite and hope to get it finished in the early part of 2013 but progress has been slow for a variety of reasons, too lengthy to relate here.
I'm still working on the rewrite and hope to get it finished in the early part of 2013 but progress has been slow for a variety of reasons, too lengthy to relate here.
Thursday, 1 November 2012
Update on novel rewrite
Way back in June, I posted about receiving a critique of my novel Save The Last Dance For Me from the Romantic Novelists Association under their New Writers Scheme. I mentioned that on the whole the critique was most encouraging but that the reader had suggested some fairly major modifications which would have thrown my carefully managed timeline. At that time, I didn't feel I could face up to yet another rewrite.
Now, though, after an interval of several months during which time, for various reasons, I didn't get much writing done at all, I've taken another look at the critique. I've listed all the modifications on a separate piece of paper and suddenly could see the sense in it. The upshot of this has been that I have started the rewrite and have so far written three new chapters and amended several others to fit in with the revised timeline. And it works!
Any novice writer will tell you, and possibly some published writers, that at times one wonders if it is worthwhile carrying on and whether you really have got what it takes to succeed. I'm so thrilled that I decided to take another look at the critique and now feel that I have got my writing voice back in shape.
Now, though, after an interval of several months during which time, for various reasons, I didn't get much writing done at all, I've taken another look at the critique. I've listed all the modifications on a separate piece of paper and suddenly could see the sense in it. The upshot of this has been that I have started the rewrite and have so far written three new chapters and amended several others to fit in with the revised timeline. And it works!
Any novice writer will tell you, and possibly some published writers, that at times one wonders if it is worthwhile carrying on and whether you really have got what it takes to succeed. I'm so thrilled that I decided to take another look at the critique and now feel that I have got my writing voice back in shape.
Thursday, 18 October 2012
Tom Jones
My OH and I watched a small, intimate concert of Tom Jones on BBC4 a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed the music. It was Tom in a refective mood. With maturity, his voice has taken on a deeper, velvety note entirely suited to the bluesy music he was singing. A couple of the songs were outstanding, namely 'Tower of Song' and 'Gotta be Me'. The outcome to our enjoyment was that we bought the CD. It's called 'Spirit in the Room' and it's fantastic. I would recommend this to anyone who likes the blues and/or Tom Jones. The two go well together.
Incidentally, I'm a longtime fan of Tom and have seen him in all sorts of venues. Last time I saw him live was in the grounds of Chatsworth House a few years ago. If anything, I think he's more handsome now with grey hair and beard than he was then.
Incidentally, I'm a longtime fan of Tom and have seen him in all sorts of venues. Last time I saw him live was in the grounds of Chatsworth House a few years ago. If anything, I think he's more handsome now with grey hair and beard than he was then.
Thursday, 11 October 2012
J K Rowling's new novel
A couple of weeks ago, my OH came home with a present for me (he's like that!). It was J K Rowling's new novel, 'The Casual Vacancy'. For anyone who doesn't know, this is her first offering of an adult novel. Now that I've read it, what do I think of it?
Well, adult it certainly is, with mention of drug addiction, rape, domestic violence and self-harming among other themes. The swearing is frequent and explicit. Personally, I found the characters a pretty unsympathetic bunch though they do sort of redeem themselves somewhat towards the end. The only really sympathetic character dies in the first couple of pages, hence creating the Casual Vacancy on the local parish council, leading to much conflict in the town. Rowling's great strength is her portrayal of the teenagers in her novel. Perhaps she should consider a Young Adult novel next time?
Having said all that, it was an absorbing read and I enjoyed it. I love how she she builds up the story layer by layer - it was what I admired most about the Harry Potter novels. And yes, I read them all!
Well, adult it certainly is, with mention of drug addiction, rape, domestic violence and self-harming among other themes. The swearing is frequent and explicit. Personally, I found the characters a pretty unsympathetic bunch though they do sort of redeem themselves somewhat towards the end. The only really sympathetic character dies in the first couple of pages, hence creating the Casual Vacancy on the local parish council, leading to much conflict in the town. Rowling's great strength is her portrayal of the teenagers in her novel. Perhaps she should consider a Young Adult novel next time?
Having said all that, it was an absorbing read and I enjoyed it. I love how she she builds up the story layer by layer - it was what I admired most about the Harry Potter novels. And yes, I read them all!
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