A Memory: Thistle

A Memory: Normandy wood

A Memory: Deauville

I'm not sure that they ever used these beach huts, but we can dream hey. 

November British Book Challenge: Cloud Atlas

Title: Cloud Atlas
Author: David Mitchell
Published: Sceptre, 2005
Synopsis: A reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer blagging a precarious livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor Reagan’s California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a genetically modified “dinery server” on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of science and civilisation -- the narrators of Cloud Atlas hear each other’s echoes down the corridor of history, and their destinies are changed in ways great and small.

In his captivating third novel, David Mitchell erases the boundaries of language, genre and time to offer a meditation on humanity’ s dangerous will to power, and where it may lead us.

from Amazon.com

Star parts: I read Black Swan Green a good few years ago, and it's a novel that's stayed with me. The MC in that book is a little older than I was in 1982, but I could relate to the lens through which he lived those years. So having really enjoyed that book and having heard some stuff about Cloud Atlas I thought I'd get it. So straight away this book is so different. Secondly, I don't read historical fiction, so on it's own, I probably wouldn't have picked up Adam Ewing's journal or the Letters from Zedelghem. I have no patience for crime fiction, so the Luisa Rey mystery probably wouldn't make it onto my shelf. Timothy Cavendish's story was amusing, I haven't read sci-fi for years and as for dystopian futuristic novels, they are generally on hold at the moment. So having detailed how I wouldn't read any of these books individually, let me tell you how I raced through the first half of the book. Some of the facts of Adam Ewings journal are historically factual. The story was fascinating, although I worked out the twist, but the characters seemed extremely authentic to me and then it ended. In the middle of a sentence at that. 

The Zedelghem journal reminded me a little of Fitzgerald. I loved the Luisa Rey's diaries. Here I recognised the Mitchell of Black Swan Green. He recreated the late seventies, the party scene, the changing face of society with women in top jobs, but just early enough to be lacking some key technology. Cavendish's story takes us to England and plays with the idea of memory and people's perceptions of what we remember. I found this part poignant and amusing. I liked Somni's story if only because the brands have taken over the world. It's not so far from reality people. Then Zachary's story was, I think the best. Again Mitchell played with language and dialect, but I liked it because in the end it was the one story that went from beginning to end. It made me question who we are as humans and all our beliefs. Also in this story and the orison story the characters were naive and yet completely authentic.

Black clouds: But by the second half of the book, I slowed right down. All the clever interweaving was clear now (I thought) and I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. Plus because of the way the stories were split up, I felt like I'd forgotten some of the details of the first part of the stories.
  
   Do I recommend it: But you know, in the end the book was pretty amazing,  you've got to hand it to Mitchell. When I think of the amount of work that would go into one part of the novel, let alone the six different parts. Then there's the fact that each different part is carefully interwoven into each part. It's an amazing force of imagination and if I could write just one of these novels let alone all six in one book, well you know, I'd be chuffed. So yeah, if you haven't already, read it. But maybe a bit quicker than I did. And I hope you love Zachary's story as much as I did. 


This is the twelfth book I've reviewed for the British Book Challenge, which means that I have COMPLETED the challenge. But more importantly, I've read a dozen more children's and YA books that I did last year and I'd like to thank Becky for the necessary kick up the proverbial backside I needed to do my research. I have read a couple of adult books this year, but I haven't missed them a great deal and I really feel like this challenge has helped my writing. I now have a HUGE pile of books to read by my bedside. So with that, I'm going to head off there right now and carry on reading Unhooking the Moon.

Dropped off the edge

Sometime on Saturday, I had one of those 'sit bolt upright and shout s...' at the top of your voice moments.  I realised that no photo had popped up as scheduled on Friday. In fact, that's because I have no more scheduled photos. Actually, I have loads of photos, I just haven't got anything ready. I've also got a well overdue interview (but that's not ready either). And I think I have four book reviews to write for The Bookette's British Book Challenge. I will also confess that I haven't been reading other blogs that much. I've pretty much dropped off the face of Twitter and I've been pretty intermittent on Facebook.

I believe the t'internet term for this is 'going dark'.

To be honest, I didn't mean to, but a couple of weeks have passed and ...

• I've taken quite a lot of photos;
• I finished the revision of my WIP;
• had a crit group meeting;
• started a new WIP on the 1st November (but no I'm NOT doing NaNo this year);
• and joined my first Google+ hangout on chaired by Nicky Schmidt. 

There's also been a most uncharacteristic burst of domestic godessery, but I guess you don't want to hear about that. So instead...

...here's a picture of the sky...

... my final word count on the WIP that I churned out last November and have now revised: 39,600

... the crit group takes place here:

Here are my current project targets...

Did you see how well I did today?

And lastly if you don't want to do NaNo, but you kind of want to join in with the spirit then add me your circles (see the Google+ doobery on the sidebar), leave a comment here and I'll find you, or just leave a comment and say how you're doing. The hangout was pretty cool, but I'll talk about that later. Now I need to go and make dinner!

A Memory: Outside

A Memory: Inside

Getting to Know You: Brittany

This week for the eighth interview of the ‘Getting to Know You’ series, I met thirteen year old Brittany. Yes, I did say thirteen, but other than that, she blogs over at Hills and Corkscrews. She is taking part in Rach Harries’ 3^rd Writers Platform-Building Campaign and she’s pretty cool.

Brittany, you are 13 years old, when did you decide you were a writer?

I've written as long as I could. I wrote little stories for school and just for fun probably from 1st-4th grade. I have composition notebooks full of stories and drawings. I didn't really think of it as anything more than that until I wrote my first full-length novel 

during a NaNo WriMo spin-off in January. I've always wanted to be a writer but I think that's when I started to take my writing seriously.

Wow! I’d say that I’ve been writing all my life too, I just wish I’d thought to take it seriously a bit earlier. I've looked at some of the books you love and I see that we like some of the same authors, namely Neil Gaiman and Cornelia Funke. What do you love about these authors?

I know this is going to sound cliche, but what I love most about an author is his or her's ability to take you to another world. For example, Cornelia Funke can take me to a world that's inside a story in the world of the novel (book-ception!), Neil Gaiman takes me to places like a graveyard full of ghosts or a creepy parallel world (with Coraline). I also love writers who can create magical characters and twisty plots.

I see you took part in NaNoWriMo. Will you be taking part this year and why do you do it?

I'm participating in NaNo WriMo this year, and I do NaNo because it's incredibly motivating for me, it's lots of fun, and I probably wouldn't have written my first novel (or at least, it would have been a lot later in my life) without it. Even though I've realized by now that I can't write anything worth keeping during NaNo, I still do it because I think it's a great way to write those dirty water words and I can't imagine missing it. 

Not sure I agree with you. I am sure you can get something out of those dirty NaNo words ;) But let’s move onto writing now are you a plotter or pantster?

I'm kind of in between. I plot most of the story on index cards before writing it, I know a bit about my characters, and I know what happens for the first half or two-thirds of the story. Then when I hit that point, I usually throw out whatever outline I have left, though I'm not sure why, and I pants the rest of the story. I like knowing where the story is going but I also like freedom and spontaneity.

 I get that. I sort of plotted my last novel, but what I have now has definitely been the result of some pretty hard writing by the seat of my pants. Although I do recommend planning, too. So what’s your top writing tip?

My top writing tip is to write and read (let's pretend that's one tip instead of two). One of the best ways to get better at writing is to just keep writing, but you also need to read. You can learn a lot about writing from studying your favorite books.

And what’s your most valuable writing resource?

Probably some of my favorite blogs and websites about writing, like Janice Hardy's blog Storyflip, which has a TON of blog posts about writing. 

And finally why did you join this challenge?

I joined the Campaign to meet other writers who blog and to build my platform, same as everyone else I think. :)

If you’ve enjoyed getting to know Brittany, don’t forget you can read her blog over at Hills and Corkscrews. Unfortunately, she’s going to be taking a break from blogging, but hopefully we’ll see her again somewhere in the future.

Meanwhile, there might be a book review here on Wednesday and definitely a photo on Friday, and who knows I might even tell you a bit about the Red Hot Chilli Peppers gig I’m going to on Tuesday. 

A Memory: Perspective

Every year the Grand Palais is given over to an artist whose task is to fill it. The yearly exhibition goes under the name of Monumenta and has been home to artists such as Anselm Keifer, Richard Serra and Christian Boltanski. This year was the turn of British/Indian Artist Anish Kapoor. I was a bit worried about going as the Frog really didn't get the point of Promenade by Richard Serra and didn't see how I could spend so much time fascinated by slabs of bronze. Well as you can see Leviathan was not a slab of bronze and I loved it so much that the next few week's memories will be made up of pictures of the Leviathan. Hope Anish doesn't mind.

Getting to know you: Kelly Smith

In week seven of Getting to know you, I've hooked up with Kelly Smith from Writtled. She is the first self-published author I've interviewed and gave some insight into the process of going from aspiring to Indie author. As ever Kelly and I were put together through Rach Harrie's 3rd Writer's Platform-Building Campaign. 

Your book GLITTERING ASHES is available at Amazon, Smashwords, Apple iBooks and a few other places. Why should we add it to our to be read lists?

I think Glittering Ashes should be added to your TBR piles because I really wrote something that I wanted to read. I wanted to read a YA paranormal romance that wasn't the stereotypical vampires, werewolves, angels, or demon story (though I have read good ones of all of those). You're supposed to write about what you're passionate about, and YA romance is that for me. I had fun writing it; so hopefully readers will have fun reading it!

Your book is an e book. How did you reach the decision to be an indie writer? 

It took me a long time to come to that decision. I thought about going the traditional route because of the support writers receive, but I wanted to be able to have control of my book so ultimately I decided to go alone, at least with this series.

Can you explain a little about he steps you took e publish your book?

I don't have an agent currently. There hasn't been a need as of one as of yet, but I am not opposed to having one at all. Any help is good help, right? I'm not currently a part of a writer's group, but I have wonderful people surrounding me, through my blog, Twitter friends, and the vibrant YA writer community all over the internet, let alone my own family and friends.

As far as what steps I chose to self-publish Glittering Ashes, I want to say it took a lot of research. I highly suggest Smashword's Style Guide for formatting your actual manuscript. Also, there are many, many resources (including awesome blog advice) about how to make your own cover. It may all seem overwhelming at first, but if you're willing to learn, all of the information is available, and it may even turn out to be fun. My experience so far has been very fun :)

What was your revision process to ensure that your book was ready for publishing?

Every person's revision process is different, and the stakes are higher when you decide to self-publish because you don't have an official team of editors behind you (unless you hire them). I let friends and family read the book and give me their feedback, and I did a lot of editing of my own. After much deliberation, I decided I wanted to release Glittering Ashes into the wild internet and see what people thought of it.

What did you need to learn in order to get the book ready for e publishing?

 Getting the book published is a complicated process, even though it might not seem that way at first. I had to first format the manuscript (the font, title page, dedication (optional), paragraph indention decisions, contact page and author bio, table of contents, chapter bookmarks--all of which are outlined fairly succinctly in the Smashwords Style Guide.).

After formatting the actual manuscript, I had to decide on a cover. For me, I chose to make my own cover for Glittering Ashes, but one could hire a cover creator for several hundred dollars or more, depending on who you chose to design it.

After you format the book and create the cover, it's only a matter of uploading to Amazon, Smashwords, and the like, but those two steps may take a while, and I wouldn't suggest trying to rush them.

Once you finish everything and have uploaded your book, it's all about getting the word out about it (one of the hardest parts).

There is a lot of talk about platforms nowadays, and this challenge is all about building a platform; why is it so important for an indie author?

Building a platform is SO important for an indie/self-published author. The hardest part of being an indie or self-published author is getting the word out about your book. You have to have contacts, followers, and friends to tell about your book, and then you hope you've written something good enough for word to spread. Without a platform, success is still possible, but you should have all the friends you can get to help you be even more successful. I suggest doing blog interviews (like this one here, THANK YOU! :) ), having interesting content on your own blog, and being active in promoting your book in all avenues.

Now onto writing. Are you a plotter or pantster?

Good question. I am a loosey-goosey plotter, who sometimes moonlights as a pantser. All of that means that I have to have a rough outline before I start any WIP, but I don't want to know everything that could possibly happen before I start writing. You have to keep yourself focused enough to move forward but excited enough to not be bored, I say. 

What's your top writing tip?

My top writing tip is definitely to write down everything that remotely sounds like a good idea. I have a brain book of sorts (at least that's what I call refer to it as on my blog) where I write down any and everything that seems inspiring to me. Song titles, dreams, snippets of ideas--you never know what you could read over later to inspire your next WIP!

What's your most valuable writing resource?

My most valuable writing resource is other people's writing blogs. I love reading about how other writers do what they do, and their blogs are goldmines for that. I highly suggest meeting other writers through blogs and getting familiar with other people's processes. It's inspiring to learn that other people have been successful and you can be successful too!


If you would like to know more about Kelly, you can find her at her blog Writtled. And if you've been convinced to buy her book, you can click on the link below. 

Also remember that voting for the 2nd Campaign Challenge goes on until Friday. You can find my entry here and I'm #153 over at Rach's site. 

A Memory: A Windmill

The Windmill - Wimbledon Common

Getting to know you: Rosalind Adam

In week six of the 'Getting to Know You' Rosalind Adam joins me from Writing in the Rain. Rosalind is a children's writer from Leicester, England. As well having picture books and non-fiction books to her credit, Rosalind also runs writing workshops, is part of a memories project and was a primary and secondary teacher. Finally, we could say that none of this would have happened without Rosalind. It was her tweet that led me to Rach Harrie's blog and the campaign. So, without further do, let's get to know Rosalind. 

Can you tell us a little bit about your most recent book Children's History Leicester? How did you become involved in this project?
My latest children’s book, Children’s History Leicester, is proof that writing a blog can get you published. I was contacted about this commission as a direct result of a blog I’d written. I was asked to submit some ideas for the book and the rest, as they say...


...Is History? Now, Bathtime Rap is a picture book, can you tell us how that came about?
The content of Bathtime Rap was originally a short poem that had been sitting in my computer pending file for over a year. I heard through my crit group that Franklin Watts were looking for Leapfrog manuscripts so I rooted it out and sent it in. 


Another writing project you have been involved in is the reminiscence writing project, how did that come about?
In conjunction with Writing School Leicester I put in a bid for a grant from the UK Heritage Lottery to collect memories from the local Jewish community. I spent a year collecting, collating and turning those memories into a book called Jewish Voices. It was an amazing experience.


We've talked about your projects, but as a writer are you a plotter or pantster?
Both! You can’t write a book without knowing something about your plot but your book will never come alive unless you’re prepared to type into the unknown.


Can you share your top writing tip?
To write! People sometimes tell me that they’d love to write and that maybe one day they will. I say, “Why wait for ‘one day’? You only need a pencil, a notepad and words and we’ve all got those.”


And what's your most valuable writing resource?
My imagination. It’s where I prefer to be most of the time. It beats real life and that’s a fact.


Finally, there is a lot of talk about platforms nowadays, and this challenge is all about building a platform; why is it so important for an author?

There are too many of us out there these days. If you read about someone like Beatrix Potter you realise how much easier it once was to get noticed by a publisher. Even ten years ago publishers were still answering unsolicited manuscripts with personal letters and suggesting ways work could be improved. It would seem that they have no time for that sort of thing now so if I’m going to get my name noticed, it has to be out here on the Internet... “Rosalind Adam” flashing brightly... in coloured lights if possible!

Thanks Rosalind for taking the time to do the interview. If you would like to find out more about Rosalind, you can visit her at her blog: Rosalind Adam is writing in the rain or at her website RKA Writing. 


Rosalind and I are also both taking part in Imago challenge as part of this campaign. You can read my entry here and you can vote for me here. Rosalind's entry is #90. Just to remind you voting goes on until October 14th and the writer with the most likes wins. 

From the past

Last Sunday I woke to the gurgle of voices in the street. This was unusual on several counts. Although we live in a heavily residential area, it's quite quiet on the street. It was also 8 o'clock in the morning. After shuffling into the front room the Frog informed me that the Brocante I'd mentioned the day before was happening NOW. I stumbled out onto the balcony and indeed, all the little doozers below were feverishly setting up tables and laying out shiny things. 

I hate Brocantes, second hand shops, white elephant stalls, stuff like it. I don't know why. Is it all the old dust that is carted around? Or the smell of age and the thought of my own mortality? Or am I just too much a part of the throw away generation? I don't know, I just hate them. But on the other hand, it was just THERE and like the two poles of a magnet are drawn together, I just had to go; with my camera. 

It's difficult to comprehend the amount of crap there is out there, and the fact that these people think that other people want to buy it, and that there are people out there who will buy it. But then part of its attraction is the hunt for the real crackers. You know the stuff you thought nobody could possibly have anymore. So, come on hands up? Who had one? 

Another thing that existed in the late 70's early 80's were The Specials. Although there are a bunch of albums, and the band went through name changes and various incarnations, the original line up only did two LP's. Their songs form the soundtrack of my youth where you either loved or hated Thatcher, people cared about stuff and pop stars sang about things that mattered. Apart from Terry Hall, I couldn't pick the band out in a crowd, but they form a part of my aural history. And from that  soundtrack I've seen quite a few of them: Elvis Costello, The Buzzcocks, Blondie, Billy Bragg, Joe Strummer, but I haven't seen them all. I read an issue of The Word a couple of years ago that was dedicated to the Madness come back (they never split up) and the The Specials reunion tour and I remember thinking then that there was a band I would love to see. And I did! On Tuesday. All that was missing was a Nutty Pure and a 15p bag of chips. 

And just a final note (if you look down here). Voting for the second challenge at Rach Harrie's blog goes on until the 14th October. You can read my entry here and then please remember to  vote for me here (if you want to that is). And this time I really mean  see you Monday when I shall be getting to know Rosalind Adams who writes in the rain.

A Memory: Red sky at night

My view

If you can tear your eyes away from my red sky, voting for Rach Harrie's second challenge goes on until the 14th October. You can read my entry here and you can vote for me here. See you Monday when I shall be getting to know Rosalind Adams who writes in the rain

The 2nd Challenge

Right, well last week Rach Harrie (she of the 3rd Writers Platform-Building Platform Campaign) posted her second challenge. I didn't win the last one (did you notice?), but I did get through to the second round. Because of that I was determined to give this second challenge a try. Humph, but did she make it easier? To say this challenge is a stinker is understating things. See what you think: 


The Challenge is:

Write a blog post in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, whether flash fiction, non-fiction, humorous blog musings, poem, etc. The blog post should:

• include the word "imago" in the title
• include the following 4 random words: "miasma," "lacuna," "oscitate," "synchronicity,"

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional and included in the word count), make reference to a mirror in your post.

For those who want an even greater challenge (optional), make your post 200 words EXACTLY!

(taken from Rach Harrie's blog)


So after scratching my head for a few days. This is what I came up with. What do you think? If you like it  I am number #153 on the linky list. 


Changing Imago


They sit in silence on either side of the desk.

“No, too many letters.” His eyes scan the next clue. “You bore me beyond the Latin word?

“Latin for yawn.” He taps his forehead. “Oscitare, no, because that word is definitely synchronicity. But wait, it’s beyond latin, so in English, yes, that’s it, it’s oscitate.” He looks up, his eyes sparkling. “Am I right?”

“Absolutely.” She yawns.

“OK.” He squeezes his hands. “Los Angeles gap in the United Nations ABC. Lacuna, yes? Am I right?”

She nods and yawns again.

“Right, last one. A smelly foreboding of something unpleasant to come.”

She takes out a packet of cigarettes and lights one, inhales deeply and exhales. He looks into the smoke confused, then a smile cracks across his face.

“Of course! Miasma.” He slaps the paper down on the table. “Yes! I did it again. I am the king. Say it, I am the king of the killer crossword.”

“You are.”

“Aren’t you going to say it?” He frowns. “Since when did you smoke?”

“I’ve always smoked.”

“I don’t smoke.”

“I know.” She nods. “One across?”

“Imago.”

She picks up her handbag and flicks ash on the floor. “You aren’t mine.”

Getting to know you: Michelle Flick

We're half way through this series of interviews. If this is the first time you've happened across this blog, Rach Harrie is running a writer's platform building campaign, through this campaign I've been put into contact with a whole bunch of different bloggers, some of whom I've interviewed each Monday.  So far we've had some English pre-published writers and some American pre-published writers. We've had a debut author and we've had a couple of teachers. And one thing we've had each and every week are some extremely inspiring women. This week is no exception, so I'll hand straight over to Michelle Flick from Oh! For the Love of Books.

And look another teacher! We've had a few teachers, I think you are number three or four, I've lost count. So what is it with teachers and writing or writing and teachers?


With me, its my students are inspiring. They have awesome, break through moments, emotional rollercoasters that break my heart because they feel so much, and I NEVER know what's going to come out of their mouths. They leave me laughing all the time and that leads to great material for me.  And as a high school English teacher, I have them work on creative writing and it's a great chance for me to model the behavior for them.


Your review a lot of YA on your blog. Can you share three of your favorites from this year and why you loved them?


I am in love with Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck. I think the cultural aspect and mystical world she is building is so gripping. November can't come fast enough for me. Another one is Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick. I love how snarky Patch is and talk about a cliffhanger at the end of that story! And my last, I read in December, so I am going to count it, Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. I read this before the Mortal Instrument series, and I fell in love with the world she created and, the 1800s in England is one of my favorite time periods. All three of them are must reads if you like paranormal.


I haven't read any of those, so I will definitely add them to my TBR pile. Thanks. Now if we move on to your writing, You recently finished your first manuscript and are now looking for an agent. What made you decide it was finished? 


I worked on my manuscript for over a year, before I let anyone read it. It's super personal and I was really nervous whoever read it, wouldn't like it. So I started with a dear friend of mine, who gave me a lot of insight and a lot of positive reinforcement - which is super important in the writing world. After that, I gave it two more people, one a former English teacher of 30 years (plus) and a librarian who does editing on the side. They were great and did a great job editing and catching where I needed to improve. Did I mention they did this twice? After that I started looking for an agent. I got a little bit of nibble the other day so I hope it pans out for me.  But my critique partner, just finished reading my manuscript and picked up ona few things - so, I'm working on it...again. 


Oh yes, I know that again feeling and again, and again. But moving on, I've asked everyone this question. When you write are you a plotter or pantster? 


Total Panster. It's how I start all of my stories. I get this intense scene in my head, typically the climax or the last three pages of the story, and after that I start to piece it together. And always I keep that first scene that I wrote. It's like my foundation and I have never wanted to change it.


I start with scenes too, but unlike you. they are usually so far from what I end up with. So from one Michelle to another, what's your top writing tip? 


Get an honest, positive support system. I have a few people I trust to be completely honest with me but not in a mean way. Encouragement will get you through. You want people who are on your side and won't let you submit something that isn't ready or write something (like a scene) that just doesn't fit. The writing world is critical and I think it is better to hear it from someone who cares than a stranger.


I agree with getting a support system, but my critique group were strangers to begin with, who are now pretty invested in helping me improve. If you don't mind Michelle can you share your most valuable writing resource?


I have two. The book, How Not to Write  a Novel (it's hilarious) and Nadine, the English teacher of 30 years plus. Both reliable and knowledgeable in all things writing.


I'll have to check out the book, unfortunately I guess we can't share Nadine. Oh well, we're nearing the end now, so finally why did you join the challenge? 

I think networking is great for a lot of reasons: support, comic relief - one of my groups is trying to coin the term "art ho", new information, and feedback are some of them. I think it is a place that I will grow and learn and hopefully move me closer to being published.

Good luck with your journey Michelle and thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. If you'd like to find out more about Michelle you can visit her here at her blog. Michelle is also hosting a bloghop with lots of giveaways. If you would like to enter, it's really easy, just go here and follow the links.