With my eyesight deteriorating rapidly, I've been struggling to read. And I do read a lot! I can manage still with my Kindle because I can increase the font size but I've had to give up on normal print books. There's always large print books at the library although I've found the choice a bit limited. But audiobooks are wonderful for people like me! I can listen for hours without straining my eyes!
I really admire how the narrators manage the different accents of the various characters. It seems to add to my enjoyment and make the characters come alive for me. But have you seen the price of audiobooks to buy? Between £20 and £25 on average! Thank God for public libraries.
Last time I posted I mentioned about tackling yet another rewrite of A Suitable Young Man (I've more or less decided that will be its title). Unfortunately, the rewriting and the cataract problems have come into conflict. I'm find it hard to concentrate on writing for more than an hour. This means that it will be slow progress but I'm hoping the cataract operation will be scheduled early in the New Year. In the meantime, I shall just have to learn patience - not one of my strong points!
Yes, at last, some good news. A couple of weeks ago I pitched a two articles to a couple of editors, one to a magazine I have written for in the past, the other to Discover Your History, a magazine I hadn't heard of before but was mentioned in Writing Magazine. I'm pleased to report that the editor of that magazine has accepted my article! I haven't heard from the other one yet but he may be up against deadlines or on holiday.
The other good news is that I have made a slow start on my latest rewrite of A Suitable Young Man/Save The Last Dance For me (I still can't decide!). I suspect that once I really get down to it, the process will speed up. At least, that's what I'm hoping!
Unfortunately, some bad news to counteract the good, I knew my eyesight was deteriorating but now that I have been to see my optician, I have learned that I now have two cataracts not just one. She has referred me to the hospital but goodness knows when anything will come through about that. In the meantime, I'm struggling to read (oh, horror!) and typing this through a fog.
Breaking News! Medley, my selection of short stories, is on offer for free this Saturday and Sunday only. Not sure of the times due to time zones. If you go for it, please be so kind as to leave a review, hopefully a favourable one.
After a hiatus of a couple of months (see my previous blog Time to 'Fess up' for the reason why), I've finally got around to pulling together some of my short stories and publishing them with Kindle Direct Publishing. This is it:
MEDLEY consists of eight stories, six of which were written to a theme suggested by Writing Magazine/Writers' News competitions. Several of them were shortlisted to final judging stage. Apart from one, an adult fairy story, all are about real people coping with real life.
For further details, go to www.amazon.co.uk./dp/B00F988258
Enjoy!
Yes, it's confession time. I've had my reader's critique on A Suitable Young Man/Save The Last Dance For Me from the Romantic Novelists' Association New Writers' Scheme for a few weeks now and said nothing about it. The reason I haven't mentioned it before is because the reader had written quite a harsh report, leaving me devastated and demoralised, especially after such a good report last year.
However, while at the RNA Conference, I had a lovely chat with the New Writers' Scheme, Melanie Hilton (who writes Regency romances as Louise Allen.)
She agreed that the report was harsh but said that, had the reader not believed it was worthwhile, she wouldn't have written such a comprenhensive report. Melanie also confessed that even after having numerous books published, she still gets reports like that from her editor!
She advised starting with the easier edits; that way the rewrite wouldn't be as daunting. In fact, when I finally looked at the manuscript, I discovered that the reader had comprehensively annotated pages in much the sam way I would imagine an editor would do. These suggestions are extremely helpful and it's those I will be making a start with. Once I've done those, I'll look again at the report to see how much of her other suggestions I can take on board.
Although my heart quails at the thought of yet another rewrite, I know that it has to be done if ever I am to be published.
Ha! That got your attention, didn't it? Actually, I was talking about last weekend (12th-14th July) when I was a delegate at this year's Romantic Novelists' Association Conference. The steamy experience stems from the fact that the air conditioning in The
Edge Conference Centre had broken down. Although portable air con units and fans had been hired, we still steamed in the extremely warm temperatures. Here are some random thoughts of the weekend.
Who designs a building with windows that don't open especially when, predictably, the air con breaks down during the hottest weekend of the year - meeting up with old friends and making new contacts - established authors are some of the nicest people around and so generous with their time - the abundant greenery of Endcliffe Student Village - interesting and informative workshops - pity I had to come out of a couple before I flaked out - spendid Gala dinner on Saturday night with everyone dressed in their finest, fancy shoes, plenty of wine - hard-working organisers and committee members - sitting out in the blissfully cool night air - regret that I hadn't taken my comfy old sandals and paying the price with swollen feet and blisters - saying goodbye to everyone - regret that it was over with for another year - roll on next year!
Yours truly at the Gala Dinner.
After much thought, I decided to set my novel Save The Last Dance For Me (or it could well be called A Suitable Young Man - I haven't made up my mind yet), in my home town of Horwich in Lancashire. My logic was that I knew it well. When I lived there in the 1950s/1960s, it was a vibrant thriving town with a couple of mills and the Locomotive Works and many traditional independent shops. I found that using it as the location for my novel, it became as much a character of the book as any of the other characters.
Sadly, the Locomotive Works, then the main source of work for Horwich men, closed about 1968 followed soon after by the mills.
I haven't lived there since 1967 but have returned there many times, especially with my mother before she died. Now that I live in Derbyshire, hubby and I try to go back at least once a year to tend the family grave and spend some time with a friend I've known for 60 years.
Last weekend, we took a short break holiday to the area and on Saturday morning, as usual, took a walk around Horwich. It seemed as if every other shop was shuttered and the rest of the town looked shabby and careworn. One of my abiding memories had been the independent ironmongers', Buchanan's, with its pervading smell of firewood and paraffin. We were so sad, on Saturday, to see that, too, was closed and shuttered. It seemed to me then that the heart and soul of Horwich has gone. There's no doubt it my mind that the town has been killed off by the nearby retail park of Middlebrook.
At least, Horwich lives on in my memory and in my book!
