Playlist for Tinsel Street on YouTube

 I have just put together the Tinsel Street Playlist on YouTube, for those of you who don't use Spotify. Never let it be said that I don't think of my readers!

Here is the link. I have also added this to the Publishing History. Oh, and if you have bought my book, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Many thanks.

Successful Book Launch of Tinsel Street

Talking to Judith about writing

 I think I may have just about returned to earth after my book launch last week. It's taken me this long to get around to posting, partly because the video my son took needed some editing and he was short of time.

I was overwhelmed by the number of people who came along to the book launch. Friends/family came from Herftordshire, Sussex, Norfolk and Ireland. There were surprises, people I didn't expect, people I didn't know, and everyone was wonderful and said lovely things about the book cover.One group were going to start the book on the 28th November, the date the book begins.

The talk went well, and there were some interesting questions from the audience at the end. A queue of people lined up with books to be signed. Time flew by. I sold every book and have had to order another small batch, of which eight are already spoken for. 

For a first book, the turnout was amazing. I'd read somewhere that only 10% of people who attend book launches buy books. I hadn't intended to take all the books along until I heard how many may be there, and then I took the whole box. We had to bring in extra seats for people. I even sold a few of my previous books.

Thanks to my eldest son for being my media man and tackling the card reader for book payments.. He also put together the bookmarks with my card for each book.

Nearly all the refreshments went (the drinks certainly did), and I thought I'd overdone it! My friend Judith did a marvelous job with introductions, 'interviewing' me, setting up the chairs ahead of time and clearing up at the end while I said final goodbyes to friends.

Since then I have been uploading the photos, taking further orders, and thinking what next?

Thanks to my family for pitching in on the night and my wonderful friends for their support, and those I didn't know who also bought my book. 

It was a wonderful evening and I still can't believe it all went so well. Right now I am taking part in FlashNANO, writing a flash story every day throughout November. It's going pretty well, and I receive a daily prompt by email to work with. I am also doing some editing. However, I can now start to think about Christmas. My diary doesn't know what's hit it, and I need some time to relax. It's been one hell of year!

Book Launch - The countdown is on!

 

Under three hours to go to my book launch. Am I nervous? You bet! Hopefully, I've got myself organised, and everything will just flow.

In my last post I meant tp say that I have had a flash story published by Underbelly Press. This is my second showing in this lovely Ezine this year, and I'm proud of this story. You can read my story here.

See you soon.

Famous names and me!

 Out-Spoken

Life has become rather hectic lately, so much so, that I thought I'd written a blog post about the Out-Spoken event I attended, and now I can't find the list of people guesting. No matter - the famous ones I remember!

Out-Spoken is usually held in the Purcell Room on the Southbank, but the event was moved to the Queen Elizabeth Hall. What was amazing is that they kept the ticket price the same, just £15. It is always an evening of poetry and music, and often I've never come across the poets before. This time they had Simon Armatage, Jackie Kay and Michael Rosen. 

I came across Jackie Kay's poetry when I studied at the OU and we looked at a poem of hers. This made me seek out other things she had written, including several novels. She was also the after-dinner speaker at the Mslexia writing conference in Leeds a good few years ago. So, I've kind of followed her. Simon Armatage is a poet whose work I have read for many years. He hasc  done some installation poetry in the hills (Penine Way?). Michael Rosen I'd heard of, yet never read anything by him. I thought he was more a children's' poet, but I was wrong, though he does write for children. He had a long stay in hospital with Covid and wrote a lot about that.

Michael Rosen

The singers on the night I had not come across before, though the pianist had appeared at Out-Spoken before, and he is very good. The other two were a girl with a backing band and a guy from the Caribbean whose music is a fusion of reggae and jazz. Both acts were good.

The singers

Up first in the poetry performers was Michael Rosen. His poetry was a mix of funny and serious. There was even humour in his 'hospital' poetry. There were a couple of more political poems, including Don't Mention the Children, a poem for Gaza (see below) and a poem about Nigel Farage! Michael's performance has made me want to read more of his poetry.

Next up was Jackie Kay, whose performance I strangely remember least about, I'm sorry to say. maybe because of the build-up to see Simon Armatage! 

Jackie Kay

Simon Armatage was the highlight of the evening, for me, at least. He read various poems including one using those buzz words business people use, that no one but them understands. It was hilarious. I could have listened to him all night.

Simon Armatage

I was sitting in the rear stalls, but with my phone camera set on maximum zoom, I was able to capture a few half-decent shots. It really was a great evening.

Booker Prize Readings

I went to this event last night with a writer friend. Again it was on the Southbank, this time in the Royal Festival Hall. This isn't something I would normally attend, but it was good to see my friend. For those don't know (and I didn't), the shortlist for the Booker Prize are:

Flashlight - Susan Choi

The Loneliness of Sonia & Sunny - Kiran Desai

Audition - Katie Kitamura

The Rest of our Lives - Ben Markovits

The Land in Winter - Andrew Miller

Flesh - David Szalay

I've not come across any of the authors before, though Kiran Desai is the daughter of Anita Desai, whose books I have read. If you want to know more about these books, click here.

Each author read a piece from their books, though the readings were shorter than I expected.They were then 'interviewed' by the host. In the main, the books all seemed very intense, and nothing really stood out, except the one by Ben Markovits. I liked him, He was funny, and the book has humour in it. This appealed to me. Right now I'm looking for books with humour in them, and of course I write a lot of humour. There are times in life when only humour works. I have to be in the right mood for some of those deeply intense stories.

There was a lot of talk about writing with risk, but this was never fully explained, and at times I had no idea what was being discussed. Is this what Booker Prizes is about? It's all very serious and above me. The winner will be announced today - tonight. While the concept of these books sound interesting, none of the readings made me want to go out and buy one, certainly not in hardback! I'm rooting for Ben, and I may buy his book when it appears in paperback.

Me

I had a pre-launch meeting for Tinsel Street with my friend. She's very efficient, and turned up with a spidergram plan and coloured pens, I laughed. I hope I didn't offend her. He is so organised, while I muddle along. However, she is the right person to have on board. We went through where things will be on the night - books, refreshments etc., and what will happen in sequence. It is now two days away! Eek! I am part filled with nerves and part with excitement. It will be lovely to see many of my friends who are coming from near and far for the event. I am even going to be making my bran fruit loaf (vegan) to cut up into squares. Let's hope this isn't the time for cooking disasters, because yes, I'm stressed. Otherwise, I have bought all the drinks and nibbles for the event.

My son is going to take photos on the night, so I will have something to show you in my next blog post.

I can tell you that I have now got Tinsel Street into my local library. I went down to ask if I could leave some leaflets and then presented them with the book. Although they couldn't find it on their system, they asked if I could leave it with them and they would see if it could be catalogued. A little over a week later, they emailed me to say it was on their shelf. I went down there a few days later and found it on the recently returned shelf! Oh, the excitement! And I'm overusing exclamation marks here, but I never imagined I'd have book on a library shelf (oh, in my dreams maybe, but to actually happen?)

Until next time, happy reading. Maybe see you at the book launch?

Tinsel Street - the lowdown

 When Kitty O'Brien moves into Tinsel Street with her daughters, just before Christmas, she throws a drinks party and invites her neighbours. But while Kitty is bringing the community together, her own life is falling apart. (Part of the blurb from Tinsel Street)

Tinsel Street is a story about community, friendship and love. Let's face it, gone are the days when people knew who their neighbours were. We might know them by sight, but do we know their names? Do we know anything about them? Apart from the two friends in Tinsel Street, Vera and Alison, Tinsel Street is much like any other road where people pass each other and maybe say hello, but that's it. Kitty wants to change all that. It's what she does, and it's a distraction from her own problems. Yet in the end she has to confront them.

Tinsel Street is set in a fictional town called Willesby, near to the city of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire. Some of the scenes in the book take place in Peterborough. I spent a few days in there checking my locations and taking lots of photos. Why did I pick that city? Well, I was going to choose Ipswich, but I already had a story located near there, so I plumped for Peterborough. I really liked the city when I visited. There is lots to do, and it has a river (always a plus with me as I love rivers). Suddenly my characters came to life more when I could see where they walked, even though only a handful of scenes are set there. It gave me a feel for the area, and I had time to explore Flag  Fen Archeological Park, a 3000 year old Bronze Age settlement, as well as other places in the city itself.

Flag Fen (replica building)

The book took five years to get to publication, including three years in the writing. I began it in the run-up to Christmas and then ran out of steam after festivities, and didn't return to it until the next Christmas. In the end, I had to bite the bullet and write at non-Christmas times to get it finished. Otherwise I might still be writing it! Then there was the editing, rewrites and more editing before sending out into the world. And here we are. Finally, a book in my hands. Actually, a box of books! It was the most exciting thing to open that box and see my story in book form. It is something I dreamed about for years, yet never thought would actually happen.

So, who are these characters of mine who have become my friends? Here is a little about the major characters of Tinsel Street:

• I've already mentioned Vera and Alison. Alison loves to bake and thinks it is the cure for all ills. The two friends spend time together and often frequent the local cafe for cake and teacakes! 
• Arnold is retired, but has a special job at Christmas....which he hates! He is grumpy and dislikes the dog next door with a vengeance. He keeps himself to himself, but someone wants to change that.
• The owner of the dog, called Mitzy, is Sally, and she has her own problems. Something that happened in her past is both a struggle and a delight, and she doesn't know which way it will go.
• Jamie is the paperboy, a kid with his head firmly on his shoulders, except when it comes to Keya, the daughter of Mr Patel, the corner shop owner.
• Mr Patel sees all and has his eye on Christmas for making extra cash and having a traditional English Christmas dinner with his wife, his parents and his children. They have other ideas.
• Ellie works at Drayton's Department Store and is in the doldrums after a break-up with her boyfriend. She is not looking for a new love interest, but with all the parties suddenly happening, will she find someone?
• Jo has lost everything. Can he fall much lower? Well, this is Tinsel Street and maybe people are learning from Kitty as the residents are beginning to pull together.

Some other little nuggets:

• My favourite characters to write were Vera and Alison (Alison in particular) and Arnold. 
• One of my beta readers really loved Sally's story. 
• There is a lot of humour throughout. 
• Each character has a story.
• This is a feel-good contemporary Christmas story.

The book comes with a playlist (see my Publishing History page for the link, or if you come to my book launch on 12th November, the bookmarks have a QR code).

I hope you have enjoyed this delve into Tinsel Street. I've tried not to give any spoilers. If you want to know my characters' stories and whether Kitty sorts out her own problems, you'll have to read the book!

A few photos of Peterborough from my trip in May 2023:

Locations: Where Jo does his busking (above)
and the bell (right) gets a mention in the book

Peterborough Cathedral

Searching for a location

River Nene

Central Library gets a mention too

Book launch event & other stuff

Photo by Nika Benedictova on Unsplash

 I have just read this article comparing writing and editing like knitting. Yes, it has a lot in common. Do give this a read. It made a lot of sense to me as I have knitted in the past and dropped stitches. My mum and grandmother were great knitters. I remember my gran knitting vests in two-ply on thin needles. Oh the patience (I'm afraid I liked large needles and big wool because I had no patience!). When I dropped stitches they were always there to bail me out. They are no longer there and so there is no one to bail me out, which is why the throw I made has dropped stitches and mistakes I couldn't rectify.

What has this to do with editing? A lot, because we all need someone to turn to when we get stuck, have a plot hole or can't see the woods for the trees. We need expert help, and we shouldn't feel shy about asking for help. Anyway, read the article and it will all make sense.

Meanwhile, I've a poem published in Streetcake. Follow the link here and scroll down to page 11. I also heard from Underbelly that they are to publish my story soon. I will post the link here when I have it.

I now have the A5 flyers for my book launch of Tinsel Street. Do you like it? A friend of mine designed it and Troubador put it together in keeping it with my bookmarks. So, if you can, do come along. I would love to see you.

Next time I will be giving you the low down on who is who in Tinsel Street with a little about the characters. Don't miss it.

Writing in longhand -v- writing to laptop Part 2

My muse!

 Recently I posted about writing a story in longhand and what I had learned. I didn't expect to write a second part. Then again one never stops learning in this writing business. My experiences will always be a bit different from your own because we are unique and what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another.

Having finished writing the story totally in longhand, I knew I would have to type it up, and immediately I realised why I stopped writing in longhand. I hate having to type it up! In my world, that meant hours of trying to make sense of my scrawl, and I considered this a waste of time. Time I could be writing something else straight to laptop. Still, it had to be done. I left it a while as the thought of having to copy type (something I've never been great at) was daunting.

I was given two conflicting pieces of advice by members of my writing group on this, which made me laugh. One person said don't edit it as you type. The other person said the opposite. I am with the latter. I always edit as I go. Just tweaks. Nothing major. Generally, I read back what I've written before I start writing again, and I might make a few tweaks, but nothing major. I tend to go with the flow and write at break-neck speed and then have to go back and fill out the bits I skipped over when the whole thing is written. I'd call this method writing the bones of a story.

Typing up this story felt like a slog. I kept looking at how many pages I still had to decipher and sighed. Editing was done lightly, though. Written in a stream of consciousness at the time, I found errors even though I had read the last bits back. Mostly, they were missing words my brain had automatically put in. In the end, it took me four or five sessions to get it all typed up. I had two major sessions transcribing it and finally it was done.

I write in longhand like I type - fast. There were parts that didn't quite make sense, parts that I really loved and others that needed a lot of editing. It ended up as over 13,000 words, around 42 pages of A4. I was chuffed I'd actually written that much by hand.

The last time I wrote something as long was one summer when I spent all the time in the garden scribbling away and for the first time I set a story not in the UK. I wrote it as a non-linear novella. I really liked that until I typed it up and read it back, and I wasn't sure it worked. It's still sitting on my laptop, and one day I will have to go back to it and see if I can save it. I still like the story, but I think it will confuse the reader. All the scenes are individual and, as I said, not in chronological order. I've read novellas written this way, and this was my first experiment with this method. However, it needs a lot of work on the structure.

Having written both ways (I began writing in exercise books in the early days) would I do it again? Well, I'd say it has its uses. At the time, I was about to go on holiday, and writing by hand was easier, and I rather looked forward to my little writing sessions. A notebook is certainly more portable than having to take a laptop out with you. Mine isn't the smallest. It takes up a lot of space on a table when there are several of us using laptops.

I certainly wouldn't make a regular habit of writing by hand. The quality and way I write is about the same. The mistakes are the same too! When I meet up with the writing group to write, I always write by hand. The immediacy of free writing by hand is quite liberating. 

This piece of longhand began as a scribbled opening on A4 printer paper as I had no time to type it, and then I decided to carry on doing it this way. It was convenient while I away from home, and I continued and experimented with writing in a cafe to finish it. Now and then it is good to try new things in writing. If I'm in the zone I can block out the noise around me. At home I use earphones and listen to music while I type, but I've realised I can be quite versatile in the way I work, and that's good. I didn't want to become one of those writers who had to have the right surroundings in which to write. Years ago as a teenager I wrote in my bedroom, sitting on the bed or floor (no desk) and later I wrote on a laptop on the dining table (this is where the earphones came in as the TV might have been on at the other end of the room). Now I have my own room in which to write, with a little drop-down desk I bought for my son when he was working from home during covid. You certainly don't need a room of your own (though it is very nice, and I love it).

I'd say go and experiment and write in different places both in longhand and straight to laptop. This experiment taught me something. That it is a freer way of working, and I still hate typing up my own work!

Aside from this, dog walking has improved my ideas. The experience of dog walking has resulted in a poem about it, which came to me the other day when walking Rue. It seems he is my muse!