What is poetry?

Something sunny for a sunny day

 I don't know about you, but if I don't have a book on the go, I get jumpy. I finished the last book on Saturday, and knowing I am going to the library today, I decided not to start another off my pile, but wait until I can choose something from the library. But the agony of not having a book to read! So I decided to catch up with all those Poetry Society Journals and read other poetry books I have.

As I read I came to a stark conclusion. I know nothing about poetry! Of all the poetry I read, I realised that a lot of it I didn't understand, or it didn't appeal to me. The poetry I liked was something that I could identify with. Am I so out of it that I am nowhere near where I need to be to make it as a poet? 

One poem that made me laugh, after I realised that it was a spoof on a Villanelle. At first glance it was just letters related to a bee buzzing....buzzzzz etc. I thought, what the hell is this? How can this be poetry? And then I looked at it again, at the form, and then it twigged, and I laughed out loud. How clever, Silly, but clever. Experimentation gone wild!

It made me think that poetry can be fun. And we should have more fun in poetry. There's lots of serious, angsty poetry around, but amusing poetry is rather looked down on. I think I have mentioned this before. I follow a couple of fun poets. It all rhymes, but there is an art to writing funny poetry. I'm out of the habit of writing this type of poetry because I've been struggling to write the serious stuff, but people like Brian Bilston sell loads of their amusing poetry books. And the public love them. So who are we writing for? Well, I always write for myself. I don't follow trends. Some of my work is experimental enough to get published, though I call it fun poetry, as it usually is! So, out of all the poetry I read over the last few days, the poem that stayed with me was the buzzy bee spoof. Reading it out loud might be a challenge, but a lot of laughs.

Talking about reading things out loud, I will be reading at Carshalton Eco Fair on Bank Holiday Monday, around 1.50pm. If you are around come and say hello. I will be with other members of Sutton Writers and I will be reading two climate poems. I was trying to post a link, but the Fair's website is down. They do have a Facebook Page, so go take a look. Meanwhile, I'm off to the library to find a book to read.

Getting back into the swing of things

 Here we are nearly at the end of another month. Where is the time going?

After what I wrote last time I ended up working on different things! Typical of me. I sent out a poem to the Winchester Poetry Prize, one I had written as part of the course City Tales. I've hardly sent anything out lately. 

I am now working on re-writing the ending to the piece my friend read through for me, but before that I went back to the novella and did another edit, (this is the 4th version but more than four edits) and this has now been forwarded for feedback. There have been substantial edits on this. I deleted some parts and re-wrote a lot of new material. Reading it now, I feel I might be getting to close to a final edit. Is there ever a final edit?

Last week I finally got my hands on Sutton Writer's anthology.There is a lot happening within the group, all exciting stuff, some of which I will be part of.

My flash piece entitled Silent Speaking is finally live on Wildfire Words website. As well as the text, you can hear me reading it. Somehow I survived the Zoom showcase, but I was glad when it was over. Zoom meetings are so stressful for me and I really struggle to take part in them.

I'm away for a few days next week and I've been sorting my reading material. Having been to the library on Monday, I borrowed the next LJ Ross book in the DCI Ryan series. I daren't start it too soon as I know I will devour it before I even go away! I have borrowed another book about Surrey's past. Before the boundary changes, we lived in Surrey, but we are now part of a London Borough. Some of the places mentioned in the book are now also part of a London Borough. I do enjoy a little local history, so I shall begin with that book.

I will take my notebook with me in case the muse hits. As I'm walking another section of the Thames Path, it might well hit as I write a lot about the Thames. At the moment, I'm worried about how hot it will be. We may have to start early in the morning so we're not walking in the worst of the heat.

Procrastination

Sutton Writers launch night

 Well, I'm good at this procrastination thing. I know when I've got it bad because I actually think about doing housework rather than write or edit. I cannot get lower than that!

Writer's block means nothing to me. Yes, I get times when I get stuck. For that I just leave what I'm writing and walk, or leave it to my 'mulling time'. It usually works, even if it isn't immediate.

But procrastination is a whole new ball game. It usually happens when I have finished something and I take a break. And that break drifts from days into weeks. It's not like I don't have lots sitting on my laptop waiting. I still have two pieces unfinished and loads of editing to do. There are also submissions I could be doing. Motivation goes, and my pen pals (yes, I have those - something I began around the age of fourteen and still have one pal I write to who I first wrote to when was eighteen) begin getting letters they have waited months for.

Take today, for example. I thought I might begin editing (well, actually I thought that yesterday and spent a long time on social media and listening to music). It never happened. Today I've been reading nearly all day. It is a very good book called The Gathering by CJ Tudor, a favourite writer of mine. It falls into the horror genre. I'm already three quarters of the way through and I only began it two days ago.

Before that it was too hot to write. This is true. It was too hot to do anything, but there is a breeze now and the temperature, while still hot, is not that fierce 32c or 34c we've had.

So, I've decided to put the book down and do something. But you see, I'm not editing; I'm writing a blog. Close, but still avoidance.

Do you have this trouble too? What I do know is once I actually open up a file and start, I'll be okay and well into it. So, why do I do this? I've no idea, but it happens. I can't even say it's because I received a rejection the other day. I went over my head, just one of those things. It doesn't always go that way. Maybe I was too hot to care.

I don't want you to think I've not been doing anything writerly. I have. Just not what I am supposed to be doing. Recently, I was at Sutton Writers Anthology Book Launch Night. It was held in the Cryer Arts Centre in Carshalton, in a marquee out the back. There were readers of poetry and prose from the group, and the mayor attended. There was blip with the arrival of the books, but we did have some copies to sell on the night. If you would like to buy a copy here is the link. I have two poems in it. If you buy it please leave a review.

After the official launch we headed for the bar in the arts centre. It was a fantastic night with some fantastic talented writers reading.

I have a flash fiction piece being published in an online anthology by Wildfire Words very soon. I will get to read my piece on a showcase zoom at the end of next week. Oh, and the piece was 'commended.' |I was really chuffed at that. I was looking up some strange facts as part of something else writerly and found something that made go, really? Well, I never knew that. That sparked an idea. I won't tell you anymore or I will spoil the reveal. When I have more details and links, I will put them up.

Finally, I had a moment of inspiration over a manuscript I had actually thought I might abandon. It really wasn't working and I couldn't see what I could do with it. It had been edited, looked at by an editor and rather slammed. I tried to change things and then I got to that stage where I felt I was losing my original idea. It was becoming overworked. So I stuffed it away. It needed a new approach, and I came up with writing it as a diary. It was originally written with mainly looking back at events with bits of the present. Now the present features more as my main character writes briefly about his day before looking back. I tried to use something that would connect the two. I hope it works. It's now sitting.

Now I have a choice. Edit the extensive work, finish a half-written manuscript, or rewrite the ending to the piece my proofreader read. Maybe the latter now I look at it logically because there is less to do, hopefully. Meanwhile, there are some submission deadlines coming up at the end of the month, so I need to get my finger out if I want to get something sent. More procrastination? I hope not!

Weather, sleep, life and keeping going

Nothing to do with writing but cute!

 I don't know about you, by my sleep pattern is completely gone to pot lately. The hot weather, late night football, and this morning, around four o'clock, we had the mother of all storms. Admittedly it was exciting with so much lightning. I got up to watch, but that's my morning messed up because here I am at five thirty writing this. Breakfast number one must be due. I often find I am eating two breakfasts when I am up early. This isn't helping the diet!

I am falling asleep before lunch and have to take two naps sometimes in this heat. Rue is suffering too. Two nights ago he dragged me downstairs. He wanted to go out. What he really wanted to do was lie on the patio in the dark, enjoying the cooler air. Eventually, I threw the curtains back on the open window to let in as much air in as possible and he settled on the bed. I was then under the covers because I was chilly!

Lack of sleep makes me snappy and I cannot concentrate, so I've found myself in bed in the afternoon just to catch up. Maybe I shouldn't have stayed up to watch the Scotland match, but at least this one finished around 1am, whereas the previous match didn't start until 2am (no way was I staying up for that one).

Strangely, Rue isn't bothered by storms (nor fireworks, thankfully) but if he finds a random flying plastic bag, he's spooked. We have a fan downstairs and Rue has two cooling mats, one downstairs and one upstairs. I've been taking him walkies earlier and earlier in the mornings. I must admit I like the early morning walks when no one much is around, but these really early mornings make the day drag sometimes because it's too hot to do anything. Yesterday I did some early morning gardening after Rue's walk, and made it out to the post office after breakfast. I don't have anything much on this week, but friends are telling me they are cancelling meet-ups because it's too hot.

I feel sorry for the tennis players (Queens last week and Eastbourne this week). Surely, there must come a time when these events are cancelled if summers are going to be like this? I see most horse racing has been cancelled due to the heat. Thank goodness someone is thinking of those horses travelling long distances in this weather. For a long time I have thought that our world is going to have to change and we really aren't prepared. This morning I was reading that rail companies are suggesting people only travel if necessary. In this weather rails can reach 50c and that's when they buckle. And does anyone want to travel on the tube? London is unbearable in the heat.

On Friday I go to a short tennis class for the over 50's with the dreadful title of Forever Active! I'm not sure about this week. The guy who usually oversees the class is away, and he opens the fire door to the outside when it's hot. The other staff don't. My gripe is that as people of a certain age, it is is less safe for us in the heat with the door shut for 'health and safety' than it is for us being open. I may go for one game and then leave. I'll see how I feel and how hot it is before I decide.

Anyway, I didn't really mean to go off on one about climate change (though have you noticed that the sea is no longer as cold as it used to be at this time of year?)

I am writing a climate fiction story right now, so this kind of feeds into it. The first time I wrote about climate was back when I was in my twenties (like King Charles I was aware of all this way back). I still have the story (handwritten) in a cupboard. Maybe one day I will dig it out and revise it.

Yesterday I sent my six poems to the tutor for feedback. I did a little more editing before submitting them. I'm interested to see what she thinks and how the poems can improved.

The manuscript I sent to my proofreader has come back and I have made most of the amendments, but I am yet to receive answers to the questions I asked. However, she doesn't like the ending, and there are aspects of it I don't like either. At the moment I am not sure what to do with it, but I feel it is not going to be ready to submit by the end of this month for the competition. There will be other opportunities. As the fee for entry is quite high, it is not worth sending something that I am not completely happy with. It has to be the best I can do and not hurried.

Meanwhile, Streetcake magazine has published their latest issue which includes a piece by me called Best Mother in the World Award. Two friends have read it and laughed in all the right places, identifying with the sentiments of motherhood. Do have read yourself. I'm quite proud to appear in this experimental magazine for the third time, I think it is. I love reading the magazine too.

Well, I'm off. Should I eat breakfast or go back to bed? I'm not sure, but I really would love a decent night's sleep. Stay cool folks.

Writing yourself into a story

A recent meet-up with the London Writers is always helped with the right refreshment!

 When I talk about writing into a story, I'm not talking about that part where you write tons of backstory before the story begins. You know the sort of thing I mean. It's those first paragraphs or pages that help you find out what you are writing about, and later you delete. I'm talking more about really loving your story and finally being in the moment when you think about it wherever you are. The sort of thing that makes me forget where I am and almost miss my tube stop because I'm in the head of a character or living the next scene I am going to write, and missing hours of sleep going over future scenes wondering if I should just get up and write it. Are you with me now?

When I get to that point where it takes me over, where before I had been struggling to 'get personal' with it. The characters are separate, and the flow of writing is slow, and I cannot seem to get into it. Then suddenly everything clicks, and I am in the story. Everything becomes more real and my characters follow me around disrupting my non-writing life!

That's the point I love (though it's not great when I wander off a train and think 'where am I going'?). I guess you could call it obsession.It's also that point where the writing really begins to flow and I put off shutting down the laptop, making myself late for other things. Leaving my characters in limbo makes me smile, but I don't always have time to finish a scene, which is both annoying and a delight because I know what I am going to write when I get back to it.

What I have learned over the years is that it is better to carry on with a piece rather than leave it. I have two unfinished manuscripts on my laptop. The one I am currently working on and another. Leaving things means going back months, or even years, later, feeling a little alienated from the piece and having to work yourself back into the story, rereading everything that went before because you've forgotten it. The momentum is hard to summon up again. And that's what has happened with this piece. There is another side to this, because rereading something that's months old and finding you still like it or that it surprises you, means you are likely to finish it.

Rereading this one, I found I love the beginning, but I got a little lost and couldn't find my way. It became abandoned, and it has taken me several thousands of words to get to that sweet spot of being in the story. Suddenly scenarios came to me. I had to research one to make sure it was possible. I've always known the ending, it's just getting there, but I am now making my way towards it. There was also the problem with one character, about his destination in my story. Ideas came and went and what I've just written shocked me! I do let my characters lead, which I find is part of the adventure. I never pin them down because I like to give them free rein, though I might yank them back! This way I never get bored. Of course, I have some set things, though when I say set, I use the word loosely.

Anyway, I now feel I can finish this story, hopefully soon. I have several pieces waiting to be edited and to decide on their future. 

I am also one of those people who research as they go and often read around a subject after I have written the story. This might seem the wrong way round to you, but I don't want to be swayed by things until I have told my story. I can flesh things out later.

You might be waiting to hear about the piece I mentioned in my last post. It is still with my proofreader. She has come back to say she likes the story and is now going through it again to make notes and answer my questions. One thing she did mention is pacing. I wonder if she means it's too fast (my usual problem) or with adding extra scenes I've slowed things down too much. I will have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, I have completed the four-week poetry course I was doing via email. I have really enjoyed it and found it became rather a personal insight into my connection with London. I have chosen the six poems to send for feedback, but will let them settle for a few weeks and re-edit if needs be. There was so much material on this course that I have thought about putting a series of poems together on the subject of London.

Finally, five weeks ago I became a grandmother for the first time. My youngest son and his wife have a gorgeous baby girl. They are also in the throws of moving (two stressful things), but they are moving closer to us. My other son is a very proud uncle and offered to buy a car seat for her to go in his car. The first things I bought her were a bath book and a board book. It pays to start early!

Until next time enjoy your reading and writing.

Overwriting or underwriting

Photo: unsplash
(ashutosh-knot)

 The advice is to overwrite and I'd agree with this. I used to struggle with this aspect of writing when I first  began story writing. Maybe that's why I rather like flash. It's short and to the point. No time for backstory. You are straight in on the action.

Overwriting allows for the very important aspect - editing. And friends, editing also means cutting. It is far easier to cut than add. If you are submitting a piece of work which has a word limit, then you must stick to that. I can always remember when I was writing essays for an OU course how people would complain that they had 'so much to say that it wasn't possible to get it in to the word count.' Oh, yes it is! Word limits there for a reason and are great for honing your editing skills. I've cut hundreds of words to get a piece to the right word count to submit. It's amazing what you can cut without losing the story.

Adding to a story can end up being filler. Trying to plump out a manuscript. It is much harder and may well reflect in the work you have put in. I had this problem recently, and totally my own fault. I misread the word count and had a novella ready and waiting to go after an edit. I sent it my proofreading friend and then thought I'd just check the submissions process again. Horror! I was six thousand, five hundred words short of the minimum requirement. At that point I was ready to give up. That's far too much of a gap to fill. And then I thought, could I do this?

I emailed my friend and told her to hang fire reading it because I was going to try and rectify the problem. I felt I had an original story, and I loved it. What I will say now is I can't stand reading it again and can't see the woods for the trees. I got there, adding three new scenes and inserting new work into my original scenes, but does it work now? I can no longer be the judge of that. I have asked my friend to be honest and let me know. She's the kind of friend who will. I can only wait and see what she says. I'm pretty sure it's littered with mistakes. The first thing she said when she printed it off was that I had two chapter 23's. That didn't surprise me. 

So, my advice to you is to overwrite and then cut. It's a nightmare doing it the other way around, unless you are only short by small margin. I am proof of that.

I will let you know what my friend says about my manuscript. I'm expecting the worst! The good thing is that I kept the original before I doctored it. I wouldn't want to do that again.

Publication, open mic, and a new course

 

It's strange how things come together at the same time, but that's life. After a long waiting time, Stoat Poetry was launched at the end of last month. This is a new journal, and if you would like to buy a copy just follow the link. This issue contains two of my poems. After a leaner period of submitting last year, it was good to end the year on a high when I heard my poems would appear this year. It was good to finally see them in print.

After writing a lot of fiction over the last year or so, the chance to read poetry at an open mic event, was one to grab. This meant searching through my poems to see what to take. Choosing three was difficult. How to pitch it? I began by searching through some loose poems I had read elsewhere or just happened to have printed off. One I came across I'd not seen in a long time and straightaway after reading through it again, I knew I was taking with me. That would be my opener. Another was a lighthearted poem entitled A Chance Encounter with Marmite, and finally one about clothes on a line.

Having chosen my poems, I had a longing to write poetry again, but writing poems uses a different muscle to writing fiction, and I had got out of the habit. What to do about that?

Anyway, the date for the open mic appeared. It was a daytime event - a Saturday afternoon at Whitehall House in Cheam Village. Whitehall House is a gorgeous old building with a lot of history. I had been there before some years back and is really worth looking around. The open mic was held on the first floor, and I knew a few other people from Sutton Writers who were reading.

Our host/organiser was the poet Sara Nesbitt Gibbons, and she read some poems from her book And They Are Clapping, and yes, I did buy the book! There were eleven readers in all (I was first in the second half). The poetry was really good, and this is the point where I wondered if my work was as good. My little demon, that negative voice, was sitting on my shoulder asking why I am here. However, that feeling changed. I was given a full introduction, the fact that I wrote fiction as well as poetry, and Sara mentioned some of the publications I could be found in. I've never had an intro like that. Once I began to read, I settled down and remembered my own advice to others about not rushing! People laughed in all the right places, and I got a cheer at the end. That's a good feeling. I am now on Sara's mailing list.

Having read at the open mic, my interest in poetry peaked again. Maybe it started when I went along to the Free Verse Poetry & Magazine Book Fair. Anyway, I was looking for a way back into poetry writing, yet I needed a push, something to give me that kick-start. Searching online, I found Sue Burge who runs courses via email and has taught at The Poetry School. The course that drew me was Tales of the City, all about London, the city I love. I signed up. The course runs for four weeks, and for a little extra, I will have feedback on four to six poems.

I began the course on Monday and I am hooked. This first week is all about the River Thames, my other passion. The resources are brilliant - articles, music, readings and printed poetry, plus freewrites and prompts. One prompt really was a challenge, but one I was keen to try. This is writing a poem using just one vowel! I got there in the end. The process was all consuming but fun.

Sometimes I can kick-start my own poetry back into life, yet this time I knew I needed something more, and after trolling through several courses, this was the one that spoke to me, and I'm thrilled with it. There is lots of potential for more writing using the resources supplied. I feel a theme coming on!

So, right now I am knee deep in poetry books and studying away on new ways to write.

The Poetry Book & Magazine Fair

Inside the hall

 Yesterday was my day to stock up on poetry books and do a little networking. I'd missed this fair for the last couple of years for one reason or another, now it was in a different venue to the one I remember. So I set off for Knightsbridge in London and St Columba's Hall (St Columba's Church of Scotland).

The Free Verse Poetry Book & Magazine Fair is a great place to meet people running small press magazines and books and is sponsored by The Poetry Society. Expect a crush of people and the heat! To be honest, it is always hard to know where to start. There are so many stalls (there were 69 this year) and lots of nice people to chat to. I recognised some publishers like Two Rivers Press, Shearsman Books, Magma and The Long Poem Magazine, yet others I had never come across. Even though I had a programme I still managed to miss Out-Spoken and Poetry London.However, I have the list and can look them up.

When I first attended this event hardly anyone took cards. I remember having to get cash out and carefully keeping an eye on what I spending, and watching the cash run out far too quickly. Now nearly everyone has a card a machine (only one publisher preferred cash yesterday). But as I told one exhibitor, paying by card you lose track of what you are spending!

So who did I speak to? Well, I met Tommaso Olivero who runs Osso Prints. He makes little booklets, some of which are sewn up by hand. I like the approach, and we had a chat about how he runs his business with the personal touch. I also spoke to Tuba Press and Paekakarisi Press, the latter from whom I bought two books of poetry about London (they offered me a deal!) I also managed to pick one free book of poetry from another publisher. It's not often you get something for free, but the guy was moving and couldn't take everything with him.

I had to limit myself to what I bought. I think I ended up with six books and a freebie, something like that. When I used to attend this event there would be sessions of events, discussions, and poetry readings going on throughout the day. I arrived too late for the first event on Publishing New Poetry and the talk following, The readings were not until 7pm and I couldn't stay that long. So, I was a little disappointed. Listening to poetry is always evocative and can pull me enough for me to want to purchase a book by that poet. 

My poetry book haul!

It was a great pleasure to meet a lady from Banshee Press. They have published a couple of my flash stories. Based in Ireland, they publish writers from across the world. We had a lovely chat, and of course I bought one of their books, though they had already run out of their journal.

Having not written any new poetry for a while, I thought visiting the fair might kick-start my creative juices. I've certainly accumulated enough material to read, and nice to see so many tiny presses still hanging in there, as so many have gone to the wall over the last few years. For some small presses, these fairs are a lifeline as they cannot afford publicity, and are often run by volunteers who dedicate their time to the love poetry. They need our support.

So, I think that's my poetry reading sorted for another year! I hope all the presses had a good day yesterday. I certainly did. If you want to know what's being published and have the chance to chat to those running the presses, this is a good place to start. I shall try to remember to post the date for the next fair when it comes around again.

The venue for the book fair

Let's talk about poetry

Photo: Nick Fewings on Unsplash

 We all have questions about poetry, like how to write the best opening line, titles, poetry forms and why some poetry leaves us cold while other rave about it.

These, and other questions, were discussed last night in a Poetry Toolkit Zoom by Bridport Prize, hosted by the lovely Liz Berry. Liz spoke to two poets, Michael Lavers and Kizziah Burton. All three read a poem they had written, and Liz explained how she edited her poem, workshopping it with a group and with another poet. I don't know why, but I just thought that well-known poets don't need to do that. They've made it. They know their craft. So this was a bit of an eye-opener for me. Am I really that innocent? Seems I am! This editing process was fantastic to watch, and included which parts she changed and what was important in her poem that she felt should stay. Liz showed examples of the edits before it reached completion.

So, first lines. These were described as being:

• an arrow in flight
• mysterious
• surprising
• something to engage with the reader (whether they agree/disagree or feel curious about)
• a question
• beginning mid-story or conversation giving info to locate so the reader can enter the poem

What a poem should not be:

• boring (what you did on holiday - what is known as postcard poem)
• predictable (in spring the daffs bloom)
• too obvious or on the nose
• cliched
• a run-up to a poem (I've been thinking about trees or when I was young we had....)

The good thing is that a bad first line can be transformed.

Suggestions:

• read your poem aloud
• Refine, add detail, the more the better
• come to the poem with questions not answers (you don't need to know the ending of your poem before you begin)

Now about those submissions to competitions or magazines:

It is all subjective. A poet once entered the same poem twice to the National Poetry Competition. The first year it didn't even make the longlist. The second year he won the competition. It was down to different judges and what they liked. So don't beat yourtself up the rejections. There are many reasons for a 'no'. Which brings us on to those poems we cannot understand and think we must be an idiot when so many people rave about it.

Liz Berry suggested we compare it to music. We all have different tastes. Some genres of music we may really dislike, others we love, yet our friends may feel totally different about our musical choices. Poetry is the same. Suddenly, after hearing this things began to make sense. So, it doesn't matter if you 'don't get it', that you think the poem you've read is obscure and doesn't touch you, while others think it's the best thing since sliced bread.We all have preferences. I also think this is like art. I visit many galleries and exhibitions. Some pieces move me (and some I can't even say why, except maybe the colour choices - I'm no art expert), while other pieces look as if they have been painted by a kid in nursery, and why is it so popular?

When it comes to your writing, write how you want. There is a sudden trend for abstract poetry, big gaps, long drawn out concrete poetry. All three poets have noticed this trend, and they seem to be winning prizes, but I hate it. Often I don't even read it. The way it sits on a page does my head in! But that's my preference. Some of you reading this may well really like it, and that's fine. It was suggested that as poets wee can play with these ideas. Give it go, but you don't need to adopt it, just because it's the trend. Trends change.

Still on forms, it was suggested that we consider the form we use and how it works for our poems. I wonder how many of us reading this use a set form for our poetry. I love free verse, but do sometimes write a sonnet or villanelle. I do like to experiment now and again. I'm a big fan of Brian Bilston who writes a lot of amusing poetry and was known as the Twitter poet. Once he wrote a poem in the form of a spreadsheet. I loved that idea and got the idea for my Sudoku poem from him.Thanks Brian. I had it published!

Finally, that old chestnut - how do you know when a poem is finished? Most poets will tell you that a poem is never finished, and I understand this. I've had poems published and gone back to them and thought, 'I can do this better now'. And it's always going to be like that. Kizziah Burton said that with her, some poems seem to lock the door on her and refuse to let her edit anymore. Again, I understand this. One of my best poems (it was a runner-up in a competition) was written in one long stream of consciousness. After some editing, I was totally happy with it, and though it had been out on submission a few times with no takers, I would not alter one word of it. I backed it as it was, and it came good in the end. Other poems, Kizziah said had loose threads in them that needed attending to. According to Michael Lavers, he said the finished poem came when he was sick of it! I think we have all been there!

Liz Berry said that some poems never get finished, and that she had lots like that. They just don't work however much she edits them. Again, that sounds familiar.

And those pesky titles? Each poet said titles for poems was hard, so we are in good company. Keep going!

There was time for a quick Q&A and then the hour was up. I learned a great deal from this Zoom and will have to check out my first lines.Maybe compare the ones that made it to publications against the ones that haven't. But at the end of the day reading a poem is subjective, so our poetry takes a chance, and we hope it gets to a person who appreciates what and how we write.

Updating

 Having talked about technology and social media last time, I've been thinking about how I can update my website (again) and my other accounts. So early this morning I put all my published books together and took photos. The best one I uploaded to this blog  see above and on About and Publiciation History pages) and I also updated X and my author page on Facebook. It is a little thing and I don't know why I didn't do it earlier. At least this is something I could manage. 

Then I read a post from a penpal of mine who had used Copilot to make some lovely writing paper. Why can't I do these things? Of course she is much younger than me! My son once put a synopsis of one of my stories into AI and it came back with a cover. It wasn't quite right, but I must say I was blown away by what it could do. Maybe I will have to lean on my son more. He'll love that!

Maybe there is a course I can go on to learn this stuff. I've not looked into that. It annoys me that I cannot use these tools, not just for what it might be able to do for my publicity, but just being able to understand this stuff. 

When I was younger, I was good at this. I could install a new video recorder for my mum and dad, change plugs, and at work I was the one people called on to sort out paper jams on the copier and change the toner and paper rolls. When the audio machines went wrong, I was the one who tried to rectify the problem before calling the engineer, who had the audacity to ask if I had switched the machine on!

Then technology went crazy. Videos and DVD players became complicated. How many people, I wonder, ever used all those little extras written in the instructions? We didn't. I even find some microwaves complicated. Ours for instance. I just use the basic buttons and up the time by 30secs rather than use the programme which I just don't get. I know I'm not the only one. A friend and I guessed using a microwave while staying in an apartment. (Please leave instructions for appliances!). As I said, if the food is piping hot it's done.

Does any of this ring a bell with you? Or maybe you are of that age of growing up with fast technology. Don't even get me started on apps!

My son kindly bought me a refurbished Google Pixel mobile just over a year ago. He said it would be easier as I use Google and I wanted a better camera. Well, Google tries to take over everything. I take tons of photos, and it wants to back up everything, which means I run out of storage. But I back up all my photos on my laptop and a secondary device, so I had to Google how to switch off backup. But they don't like it. They keep reminding you that you might lose your photos. I miss my old phone, which had an SD card. When that was nearly full, I'd replace it. And then for this mobile, I had to buy an adaptor to plug in my earphones as there was no separate socket. I suppose this is because everyone wears Bluetooth ones (yes I do know what means, strangely!), but I'd be worried of them falling out and losing them.

Why can't things be simple?

I must apologise for a second rant about technology and I hope I haven't duplicated any of this! I will try and do better next time. Please do leave a comment about anything I talk about. It's a lonely business, this writing business. Hearing from others lets me know I'm not just talking to myself! And it's lovely to interact, isn't it?

Technology/social media friend or foe?

Photo by Mariia Shalabaieva on Unsplash

 I have to admit that technology and me don't mix. Some of my friends think I'm really good at it. It's just that they are worse than me! I have managed (sometimes) to help friends with their mobiles. Tthe most recent was when a friend couldn't pick up wi-fi except in the hotel where we were staying. I suggested turning the phone off and on again (a tip my son gave me...and hers apparently). It worked. Sons, what we do without them? Though they don't get why us oldies can't remember what they've said/shown us before. It will come back to haunt them one day!

Technology can do so much these days, if only one can understand it. I'm not good at reading instructions and prefer someone to physically show me how things work. And then I need notes. It takes time to learn new things, and too much at once overwhelms me.

Instagram, now that's another thing I can't seem to master. I used it years ago when my youngest went travelling. He was never the most communicative, but he did post to Instagram, so I joined for him. That way I'd knew he was safe. I used it myself very rarely. Recently, I thought I'd go back to it. It's changed. I have no idea what I am doing. I posted a couple of times and haven't bothered since. The whole thing confuses me. Writers use it a lot, so I thought it might work for me, but I'm out of my depth and I don't have the patience to get involved.

Goodreads is another place I thought I'd engage with. I've used it in the past to review books, so this time I decided to set up an author page. Three times I've tried, and I really thought I'd got there the last time, but no. I know a friend has left a review of my book there (and Watersones), but that's all that's been achieved there.

On Substack, I have a few followers, but not nearly as many as I have here, and like X I seem to attack US males who have no interest in books or writing. There is very little interaction on any media I choose. Am I just not doing it right, or does everyone have this problem? I've heard others complain about it, yet others have tons of followers. Sometimes I think it's just luck. And then I wonder whether it's all worth the bother.

Whether you are a traditionally published author or go down the indie or self-publishing route, most of the marketing/publicity is down to you. But if you cannot get your book across to people, what then? And as for book reviews...well. I had people tell me how much they loved my book and wanted a follow-up. I begged them to write a review. They said yes but I'm still waiting. I  know everyone hates writing reviews. I do too. I don't think readers think how difficult it is to get noticed. They just see all the books on shelves and how much these authors are making. Huh? Only a small minority make the kind of cash that one can give up the day job for. 

I would rather be writing than have to deal with all the business side of this game, especially as I am not savvy on social media. I do my best, and of course there are people you can pay to do this for you. That's more money I cannot afford to spend.

Sorry, this is a moany post. I envy the youngsters who know their way around apps and such like. All I want to do is write stories and hope people like them. Is that too much to ask?

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Books, glasses and writing

Signs of spring

 I've never been one to read a book to the end if it doesn't suit me. The Sea by John Banville was one of those. The book was adapted for TV, but I'd not watched it. The blurb on the back of the book made it sound my kind of read. Sadly, it wasn't. Don't get me wrong, it's beautifully written, but so slow. Description far outweighed dialogue (and I'm a dialogue kind of girl) and I'm afraid I gave it up after around 60 pages. Thankfully, this was a library book, so at least I'd not spent money on it. 

There is a backlog of books here at home waiting to be read, so I picked David Bellamy's autobiography, a book that belonged to my cousin and which I rescued when clearing her house last year. I'd grown up watching David Bellamy on TV and still own his book Botanic Man. Eveyone on TV in those days was doing impressions of David Ballmay romping through the foliage. He was just one of those guys. I even did it myself, along with my impression of David Attenborough and Alan Wicker (the Monty Python version). Yes, I am a sad person! Or is that mad?

Anyway, Jolly Green Giant is an apt title for David Bellamy's autobiography. I learned that he was born not that far from me in a place I love to visit - Carshalton, and he mentioned catching the 213 bus which runs all the way to Kingston (one of my bus routes).

David charts his life through home, school and university and how he became a Don at Durham University. He married Rosemary and after a stream of miscarriages and baby deaths, they finally had a child. After that they adopted many children. As well as a being a botanist David taught, lectured and wrote so many books. I don't know how he found time while travelling all over the world for projects and TV shows. He campaigned widely on issues close to his heart, and he gave a speech on how he would like to see the future of this world. He died in 2019. David did so much to encourage others to take species loss and the damage to our planet seriously. He was one of the greats, a man I admire. He was funny, but serious about his aims. 

David talked about Gerald Durrell, another wonderful man. I first came across Durrell at school when we read one of his books. I think it was The Bafut Beagles. If I am right, and this was about 50 years ago, some of it was written in the pidgin English of the natives in Cameroon. For some reason we never finished the book. I wasn't a great reader in those days, but that book intrigued me. As an adult, I visited Gerald Durrell's zoo in Jersey and loved it and what he was doing. Of course, a few years back there was the wonderful TV series. I miss that.

I've always been interested in nature and in my later years have even been on protest marches standing up for the environment, but like David Ballamy says, sometimes it's like banging your head against a brick wall getting people to change. Having just watched the documentary called Dirty Business on Channel 4 about the state of our water, it brings it home to you how companies lie for profits. I hope the documentary (which was excellent - do watch it) changes something.

I needed a lighter book after all that, so I'm reading one from the Summer Mysteries series by LJ Ross.

I now have a pair of reading glasses. This is to make things easier when I use the laptop. They do help a little, but I think the main problem is that I cannot get the laptop at the right height. What I need is a separate screen and keyboard. Basically, I need a desktop. The alternative is to raise the laptop on some sort of platform and use a separate keyboard plugged into one of the USB ports. All this will take space I don't have, so I am persevering and making the best of it. It's a sad fact that my sight isn't ever going to be perfect. I've been wearing glasses since I was five years old, so I suppose I've not done bad all these years.

Meanwhile, back at the writing, I can tell you I am writing again and it's going well. I manage around 1,000 words or more a day, but because I don't want to put the kibosh on it, I'm not yet revealing what the project is.

I've just had the proofs through for two poems to be published by Stoat Poetry. The journal is going to the printer next week, I believe, so I should have something to report about it next time, I hope.

And here we are at the beginning of March. How did that happen? Easter will soon be upon us. If I get my act together I might even try and make a few Easter cards this year. See you next time.

New inspiration

 

I finally finished reading the book Why I Write Poetry. While I haven't been writing, I have been trying to catch up on reading. I have a backlog of Writing Magazine and Mslexia which I am now going through. And then two bits of inspiration came on the same day. Yeah, finally, thank you, Lord!

I was reading an essay by the Welsh poet Jonathan Edwards (in Why I Write Poetry) about how he writes about family in his poetry. This was a complete eye-opener. Over the years I have written about my family, but this gave me a new perspective on doing it. Suddenly, I had an idea for a poem about my grandfather and how he played piano in a bar and was paid in kind with beer! I have linked it with something that's not true, but, blimey, it works.

Edwards talked about how readers see poetry as being personal and true to what happened. We associate the poem with the poet's experience in a way we don't with fiction. This has opened up new possibilities for me. Think of it like a fiction writer's licence to exaggerate. Edwards illustrated this by two poems he'd written and then explaining which bits were true and which wasn't. Absolutely fascinating, and I loved his poetry. I exaggerate all the time in my fiction, obviously, but when writing about family in my poetry, I tend to stick to truths.

Why I Write Poetry contains essays by twenty-five different poets and they show new, fascinating ways to write, and each essay comes with an activity. I've attempted most of the exercises and have come away with poems I wouldn't normally write. I'm definitely going to rework my poem about my grandfather and see where it takes me. The prospect is exciting.

My other inspiration, as I said, came on the same day. I went along to my writing group where there were some picture prompts. I was drawn to an eerie snap of a dark place with fog swirling around. I began tentatively, not knowing quite where I was taking this and whose voice it was to be in, but gradually it opened up. Two hours later I had a complete story. Yes, it needs editing, but I was so pleased. This is the first new thing I have written since way before Christmas.

I'm going to be writing about picture prompts and other things in my next post on Substack. Now it's back to the reading and typing up my scribbled lines of poetry and fiction. See you next time.

The first three reads of the year

 I maybe struggling with writing right now, but I have been reading a lot. The first read of the year comes from Uncertain Stories, an imprint of The Fiction Desk.

This anthology called Broken Ground features seven stories both ghostly and ethereal. They have uncertain endings and the reader is left not quite sure what is real and what isn't. In The Builder by David Frankel, a man returns to a house from his past in the countryside and he begins to demolish it by hand, taking out everything that is left in the house and burning it. Afterwards he takes the house apart stone by stone and timber by timber, joist by joist. Memories edge in of the people who lived here, but on he goes until he has destroyed everything. It would be hard to see what remained. And then he walks away. In another story a young lady lives in a flat. She thinks others live in the building, but she has never seen them. She thinks about her boyfriend, but gradually she is losing herself and eventually joins the other 'ghosts' who live there. If you like something a little different (and I do), this is a nice little anthology.

My second read this month was a classic, which I borrowed from the library. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy couldn't be more different. However, I was expecting tragedy, and yes, it was there. Jude pines to go to university, but he hasn't had the education. He only attended night classes and was fond of the old schoolmaster. Jude reads everything he can get his hands on and writes to the old schoolmaster after he leaves the village, asking for books in Latin and Greek. When they arrive, Jude feels overwhelmed by them. Yet over the years he learns from them. Still he has his heart set on moving to Christminster and being a student. Then he meets Arabella, who is set on Jude and tricks him into marriage. They later part. Finally, in Christminster Jude meets his cousin Sue and falls for her, yet she has agreed to marry someone else, as it turns out, the old schoolmaster! The couple do come together, but Sue feels guilty about having left her, by then, husband. This is a book about prejudice and guilt. The two never marry because they are married to others, but even after the spouses relinquish their interest, Sue cannot bring herself to marry Jude, though she loves him dearly. They have three children together and also end up looking after Jude's son by Arabella. Tragedy strikes in a terrible way and eventually Sue leaves Jude, even though she loves him. I won't give the ending away, but expect sadness. I really enjoyed this book, far more than I expected. Sometimes classics can be a bit dry and waffly. This one had its moments, but the story was so good. Interesting to learn that when this book was first published it was banned for being immoral. The feedback Hardy received put him off writing again and this was his last novel. What a shame. This is the third Hardy novel I have read, and I intend to read more.

The third book, Cold Earth by Sarah Moss, was her first novel. I have read a few books by her, and she has really grown on me. With this book, I felt I might have read it before, but a long time ago. I keep a list of books I read going back a number of years, and I looked through the list but couldn't find it. The list isn't foolproof, as sometimes I do forget to enter things. I thought I might remember bits if I'd read it before, but the feelings were vague and I still can't make up my mind whether I had read it before. I have read similar books, so maybe these were echoes. The book is set in Greenland and a group of archaeologists are assembling traces of a lost Viking settlement. At home there is a virus spreading (this was written before COVID) and soon into their stay they cannot get the laptop to update,. There are also strange happenings which one of the team experiences, but the other dismiss, thinking she is dreaming or imagining. Eventually, they come to believe there is a presence there. This is a spooky story, though it took me a while to get into it. The story is told in the voices of all members of the team. As they wind up their time there and pack up the tent,s they wait for the plane to take them out. It doesn't arrive, and they are left wondering whether this is it. The food is running out, the weather is deteriorating and they all begin to write their last letters home. A good read.

What have you been reading? Do let me know. Have you read any of the above?

Stress and writing

Photo by SEO Galaxy on Unsplash

 How does stress affect you as a writer? For me, I find it hard to write. At the moment I have things going on and I feel like I'm on hamster wheel and can't get off. I'd hoped this year would be better in this respect, but it seems to be a continuation of last year. There is so much to be done and at times I feel overwhelmed by everything. I've found it very hard to write anything new, or indeed to concentrate on editing existing work. I know I overreact, but knowing that doesn't help. It is my nature to feel anxious, especially about things I have no control over. So, what, if anything, works?

For me, switching off usually involves reading or listening to music. They are my go-to stress busters, yet the problems linger in the background. Walking, getting away for a day somewhere also helps, but that isn't always possible. Being with friends who make me laugh is a great help too. Where would I be without those great friends of mine?

 Stress interrupts sleep. I either can't get to sleep, or wake too early and can't get back to sleep. Sometimes both! Lack of sleep then adds to the problem. I get snappy with people, and I feel cold all the time. I can't concentrate and can't settle to anything for long.

Today, I have fallen back on my trusty herbal tablets. These should help me feel calmer and hopefully able to sort out the things I need to do without getting into a state. When anxious, my decision making isn't as good and/or I make mistakes. It's time to take action.

I wonder how others deal with stress and/or depression when writing. I think some write through it, but I find if I do write at these times it reflects how I feel, so angry words, dark subjects, and I usually have to scrap what I've written, or at least tone it down! It's probably more about me than anything else, and I wouldn't want anyone to read it. Another way is to just write my feelings down to try and exercise the ghost, as it were. However, this can become self-indulgent and ends up making me feel more depressed! When the reading and music stop working, I know I'm in trouble.

It's not all doom and gloom. There are lights in the darkness. I've had two poems accepted for a new poetry print magazine (two poems from a set of four I submitted last year and was awaiting the outcome of). I'm thrilled about that. More news to come on that.

I have been trying to edit a short manuscript; it feels like an uphill struggle. It needs to be gone through again before I let anyone see it. It doesn't help that the subject matter of the piece is a little depressing and contains very little humour, which is unusual for me. I have even considered abandoning it, but I don't think I'm in the right mindset to make that decision right now. So, I'm leaving it for a bit.

Submitting poetry and short fiction is something I wanted to get back to this year, and I have managed to submit to two places this month so far. At the moment I don't have any particular goals. Last year was a great year for my writing, but I can't keep that up. I feel a bit wiped out, so I am not rushing into anything at the moment. I've had the opportunity to sign up for courses, but again, I'm not ready to tackle them. My personal life is commanding so much of my attention right now I cannot commit to much else. So, I am doing bits and pieces when I can with no big projects to aim for yet. Sometimes you just have to look after yourself.

I have another nice photo to share with you from my launch night for Tinsel Street. This was taken with my friend Ioana, who took her play to the Edinburgh Fringe last year. If you would like to find out more about her work, you can find her on Instagram @joan-of-all-trades.

If you have comments about how you deal with stress as a writer or anything else, do leave a message. See you next time.

Review of 2025

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

This is my yearly round up of my writing life in 2025. I always rather look forward to this bit as I can see what I have achieved (or not) and think about setting goals for the following year. Make a cuppa or read this over your lunch hour. This is a long post, but I hope you will get something out of it.

In terms of submissions, it's been a rather lean year, but that is mainly due to producing two books and all the marketing and setting up a book launch for one. In terms of goals, those were my two goals, and  I achieved them.Tinsel Street in particular took off far beyond my expectations. I've heard from my friend, who works in the bookshop in Switzerland, that they are going to order more of my books for next year! I also found out that the bookshop is the largest in Switzerland and what I thought was an English table is a whole floor dedicated to English books, and is one of them.

With all the push to get my Christmas book out there, the book I call my Lawnmower book, a collection of flash stories, became rather overshadowed, which is a shame. My publisher loved it, his words were 'I was hooked'. So as ABBA once said, Take A Chance on Me and try another of my books. This one will really appeal to those of you who like quirky stories of various genres, some humour and some serious subjects. It really is a mix. And as a reminder, most of the stories have previously been published in places such as Visual Verse, Paragraph Planet, Goldust and others. However, there are some new stories in there.

So, on to submissions for 2025. As I said, there were less of them, Here is a rundown:

Poetry - 16 submissions, three of which were published

Flash - 11 submissions, three of which were published

Short stories - 1 submission

Novellas - 2, both published

I am still waiting on three replies - 1 flash, 1 short story and 4 poems submitted together.

So, a lean year, but I am still hitting above the 10% published mark, which is around what is reckoned to be the average acceptance rate of work.

Events:

During the year I attended various events either in person or online. These don't include writing group meet-ups, which tend to be monthly.

Open mic night in London

Webinar series in self-publishing - 6 weeks in all (January-February)

Line Endings correspondence course with Live Canon (poetry) which was incomplete. I don't know what has happened to them. I only received feedback on one poem, and the last tutorial never arrived. I also had no reply from them when I emailed. Disappointing as they are usually very good.

Zoom with three poets - Cafe Lit

Troubador Self-Publishing Conference in Leicester

Making Your Scenes Cinematic - Readsy Webinar

Organising Chaos - Self-Editing Your Manuscript with Writers Online

Outspoken - Live event with poetry and music at the Purcell Room, Southbank, London

Booker Prize Readings - Live event at The Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London

Poetry Society, poets reading - live link which broke down several times, so I'm afraid I gave up

Other stuff:

This year I finally upgraded to Windows 11, firstly backing up all my files just in case. My little laptop copes well, though I still have the problem with the screen blacking out for a few seconds now and then, though I am still able to keep typing and hear whatever playlist I am listening to! The cost is too much to have it repaired. as it needs to be sent away abroad and I'd be without it for months. My son will build me a desktop, but maybe not for a year as the cost of parts has gone through the roof. He did tell me why, but I've forgotten. In the meantime, I may just have to buy a cheap laptop if things worsen, or my laptop completely crashes one day, God forbid. This laptop was built to specification and has an enormous amount of saving capacity and still runs quickly.

My new way of recording things has worked. Over the years I've tried different year planners, yet they never seem to work for me. This year I bought a book with some tabs, which I labelled Deadlines for submissions, Goals, Mini Projects and Events. This has worked for me, and I can continue to use it in the coming years as it's not dated, and I'm not wasting pages I don't use. It was also a lot cheaper than a Year Planner. Like everything else, its a case of what works for you.

I began writing on Substack this year. The content is usually different to what I write here, but sometimes there is a crossover. I have a few followers, though this blog is well established, and I don't intend to move on from Blogger as we understand each other (mostly!). I did some work on the blog to bring it up to date, and that will probably continue. 

Speaking about my writing life, I hope, helps others to see the positives and the lows of writing. Many people (non writers) have no idea about what goes on behind the scenes. I had some friends who thought my book was available in supermarkets or on Audible. Er..no. Audio is a whole new ball game, and an expensive one. I'm not saying never (I never say never), but not at the moment. There are only so many learning curves I can deal with at one time! I hope I continue to write content that is interesting, but if there is anything you are burning to ask me, you can. Just leave a comment and I will answer.

I would like to thank my family, especially my son Stephen, for all his help, not only the endless tech questions and fault solving with my laptop, but for being so great at my book launch. You couldn't tell from the state of his bedroom that he can be so organised. He was my little right-hand man on the night and dealt with my card reader like a pro. My friend Judith deserves a mention for her enthusiasm and organisational skills for the book launch. She kept everything running like a tight ship time-wise, and for her relevant questions on the night. The book launch was in the local Methodist church cafe and she was asked to write a piece for their Spotlight magazine. I had read it previously, but I've just seen it now in the magazine with a few photos. So thanks for that too. Thanks to Chris from Sutton Writers who wrote a lovely piece with photos for their website. And for all my friends who travelled from near and far to be with me on the night. There aren't many friends who will listen to me waffling on about writing without their eyes clouding over (non-writers), but I have a few, and one said to me recently that she looks forward to me waffling on in the coming year!

My friend Diane, who is one of my beta readers and feedbacker, couldn't be at the book launch, but we met another day and spent hours chatting. She reads most of my work (even the stuff not yet published) and keeps all my work in a folder. She's always saying 'when are you going to send me something else?' We all need friends like these, and I appreciate every one of them.

Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash

Books:

I've been very lax writing book reviews this year (did I write any?). I'm not going to promise to do better next year, but I will try. I am in the process of reading my 70th book of the year. I've half way through it, and it's another LJ Ross one called The Creek. I've read lots of hers this year, but this is a different series  - the Summer Suspense Mysteries, which I also enjoy. Anyway, here are my top reads of fiction and non-fiction this year:

Fiction:

William by Mason Coile. I couldn't put this one down. Having ventured into the horror section in the library, I picked it because it sounded interesting. The main character is an inventor living with his wife. His computer runs the house, and he has built an AI robot. However, the robot begins to want a life of its own. He has thoughts and is getting out of control. He needs shutting down before he kills someone. Can it be done? This is fast paced, on the edge of your seat stuff. Once the robot takes control of the computer and shuts down the house, they are all trapped. Can they get out? Yet everything is not what it seems as a huge twist arrives near the end. I didn't see this coming, and I don't want to spoil it for you. With AI making a big splash right now, this is relevant about what is possible and perhaps we should be afraid...very afraid. Great one.

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kid. There are some authors whose books touch you, and I have loved everything this author writes. The book is fiction but based on facts. Classed as a Christian book, it is about a woman who meets Jesus. Ana is related to the wealthy and her brother is Judas. She meets Jesus when he is eighteen years old. They eventually marry and live with his family. But Jesus is always wandering off, leaving Ana with the family. The story follows Ana as her own family is driven out and she longs to see her grandmother again. The facts of Jesus' life (apart from the marriage) are based on the New Testament, and when Ana hears that Jesus has been arrested she goes searching for him. This is an excellent book of what could have been Jesus 'life and the settings and characters are believable for that time period. I loved this, though it is heartbreaking, and passed it on to a friend who is equally enthralled with it.

The Sanctuary by Andrew Hunter is set in the future. A place built on an island for the future of mankind while the rest of the world is falling apart. Ben's fiancée has been living/working on the island for six months and now he wants to find her. Getting there is difficult and dangerous. People are suspicious, and reluctant to take him there. Once he does arrive, he begins to think this is a good place, but Cara, he is told, is working and cannot yet see him. She is off island. As Ben begins to fall into a feeling of acceptance and the way things work, he also finds things don't add up. Once he begins to question and look for clues himself, people want to stop him. Sanctuary isn't what he thought it was, and evil is at play. Can he find Cara and get them off the island before destruction occurs? A great story this. It draws you in and then turns you.

Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss. Picking any Sarah Moss book is hard because I love her writing, and I've read two books of hers this year. This one is set in Victorian times. Two sisters growing up in an unusual household. Their father is an artist and their mother is a do-gooder to the extreme. Her religious evangelical morals turn her children into a life of drudgery. Anything their mother deems unholy is stamped upon and they are given tasks to complete. They are often cold and hungry. This would be child cruelty these days. Their father indulges them when he can, but he never stops what the mother is doing. I guess looking after children was very much down to the mother in those days. While May poses for her father's paintings, Ally devotes herself to becoming a doctor and working with her mother in the slums. She works hard, but her studies are interrupted by her mother's tasks for a wrong doing which are almost unbearable. This was a hard read, with the cruelty and hardship the two girls live through, but there is a happy ending, thank God! 

I have read a number of Japanese books this year. My youngest son is married to a Japanese girl, and he often passes books to me. It seems Japanese books are becoming really popular now. Two of the books were about life in a Japanese convenience store and the third was part written and featured a local cafe I go to, a very dog-friendly cafe, so I knew all the local places mentioned. I think I shall be reading more books set in Japan. It is a fascinating country,. My son loves it, though he and his wife live here.

Non-fiction

The Criminal Mind by Dr Duncan Harding. I picked this up without even reading the blurb. I knew it was my book. I find the mind fascinating and why people do what they do. No one is born evil. The  book held me all the way through as Dr Harding describes interviewing criminals for court and finding out about their lives and behaviour. Some of it is really sad, their backgrounds. Yet why do some people go through terrible childhoods and never offend while others go on to do unspeakable things to people? I guess its down to how one reacts, and we do all approach things differently. Of course I felt sorry for the victims, who couldn't, but I also often felt sorry for most of the perpetrators. It makes you question things. Haunting. The book is also about the author's life too, what he grew up experiencing himself and how he came to be top in his field. Fascinating.

Steeple Chasing by Peter Ross was a book I received last Christmas. The author visits famous churches and cathedrals, quite a lot of which I've been to. He talks about the history and what is happening now. He speaks with the clergy. I really enjoyed this one.

Estuary by Rachel Litchenstein. Anything about the River Thames and the estuary interests me, and while there was a moment I got bogged down with this book, I really enjoyed most of it. It's about history, the changing times of the Thames and its estuary as well as the author's adventures on the tidal Thames. There are handy maps too.

Auscultation by Ilse Pedler (poetry). I won this book at an open mic night (not for my poetry, sadly, but in the raffle). It's taken me a while to get around to it, but this was really good. Medical in content about humans and animals. Ilse is a holistic vet which comes across in her poetry. I didn't know what to expect reading this, but it was enlightening and sad. I felt at one with this book, maybe because of my love of animals. A really good read. I looked up the title to see what it meant, and it is listening to the body's internal sounds mainly using a stethoscope. Well, you learn something new every day.

There are other books I loved like The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page (fiction) and Offshore by Penelope Fitsgerald about the loneliness of people living in boats on the Thames (set some years ago) and The Testaments by Margaret Atwood which should be in the horror section! Reading her 'author bit' at the back of the book was another eye opener and we should really think about what this world is coming to now as we see what's happening around us. A big warning, I think.

Well, that wraps things up for another year. Thanks for reading my blog, and I hope you will continue to drop by. Happy New Year to you all.

Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash