My reading journey

Photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash

The first book I ever remember holding was a board book of farmyard animals. I was about three, had measles and was sitting in our front room in the semi-darkness.

I didn't grow up in a house full of books. My mum read magazines and sometimes books and my dad read James Herriot books after he retired for something to do when he wasn't down the shed!

Growing up I read the magazines my mum and grandmother read - Womans' Weekly and sometimes My Weekly or Woman or Woman's Own. But mainly it was Womans' Weekly. I read all the stories in those, including The Robin Family.

I don't remember being read to much as a child. Whether because I just dont't remember, or it didn't happen, I have no idea, but I do remember when I was about 8 or 9 my mum used to buy us a magazine called Treasure. In it was serialised The Borrowers. My mum read it to my brother and I and I was totally hooked and couldn't wait for the next instalment. I loved that story so much that I now have a copy of the book.

At school I wasn't a reader. It wasn't something that interested me. The first book I remember actually liking was The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C S Lewis. I loved the fact that there was another world beyond the wardrobe. I also remember liking a book by Gerald Durrell, but as a class we read To Kill A Mockingbird. I hated it. These days I'm a firm believer that you have to be ready for certain books. This is one of them. I didn't understand it back then as a young teen. When I came back to it as an adult I loved it, and I think that's because I had more experience of life and it suddenly resonated with me.

We didn't study poetry at school. I came across it once in primary school, and rather liked it, but I didn't come across poetry again until I was an adult.

As a teen/early twenties I bought the sort of magazines my mum would have frowned upon - Loving and True Romances. I devoured them cover to cover and had my very first poem published in one, though they misprinted it by leaving out two lines! Later I switched to Cosmopolitan.

I left school aged fifteen and it wasn't until I left that I joined the library. Because I'd never been much of a reader I had no idea what books I might like, so I went for things that interested me. I loved nature and anything to do with early man and read books by people like Richard Leakey and the findings of our ancestors in Africa. When it came to fiction, I borrowed what I thought I might like. It took me years to find my way and to the person I am now who reads on average at least one book a week. My taste has branched out into most genres.

From my mum's small book collection I tried Agatha Christie, but soon realised she wasn't for me. However, one book by Daphne de Maurier called The Loving Spirit really hooked me. It's a family saga, and I loved it so much that I still have that book today. Of course I read things my mum said I shouldn't, including Lady Chatterley's Lover. It wasn't nearly as racy as I expected, but by then I had read far racier things anyway!

I had a phase of reading loads of Mills & Boon, even joining their bookclub for a while, but I grew out of them.

Reading has broadened my horizons. Of the books I read as a young adult, Hatter's Castle by A J Cronin still stays with me.

I still use the library. I also buy new books and charity shop books, as well as swap books with friends. There is no room to keep books I've read, so I have to be harsh and part with all, except some non-fiction books I can't bear to part with, or I might use as reference to my writing.

Reading has grown along with my writing. I feel I write much better as an older writer who has more life experience, like I have grown into reading certain books.

If this post sounds familiar it is because I've probably written about this before. Having had this blog since 2009, certain subjects will inevitably crop up again.

My last point is this. My dad was not much of a reader. Even he admitted that. If he couldn't understand a word he skipped over it. But once, when my brother and I were young and had gone to bed but still awake, my dad was decorating the landing. While he painted, he made up a story about a little bird. I don't really remember the story, but the fact that he had the imagination to make up a story that I was glued to. When my own boys were young, I did the same. They particularly liked stories with a main character having the same name as them. I have a recollection of one story about a bear who flew an airplane, and when we kept guinea pigs, I wrote a story about them! I also wrote a story about a child with a talking TV remote control which I entered into a competition.

I still have my fascination for early man, and adored Jean M Auel's Earth Children Series, especially the very first book
. It was probably the longest book I had at that time, but I couldn't put it down. Some things have followed me through life and my interests end up coming out in what I write. I don't think I've written anything about early man yet, but music crops up a lot, as does religion. Maybe I'll chat about that sometime....obsessions with certain subjects!

Photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash

A gift and learning to take time out

Even though NaNoWriMo is over I am still writing. I thought I'd be written off, so to speak, but I am writing a (hopefully) witty and heartwarming story set around Christmas.

Anyway, on Friday I went along to the last local NaNoWriMo meeting and was presented with a gift for turning up to every meeting. I am very pleased with my gift. I've really enjoyed the meetings and will miss them a lot. The ladies who ran it (library staff) are putting together a reading challenge for next year. I have seen the categories and shall look forward to taking part. We had great discussions on Friday about all sorts of things not NaNoWriMo related over nibbles and a big tub of Celebrations, including graphic books for adults, something I haven't really explored, though my son has read Manga books.

In the latest edition of Breathe magazine there is an article on writing a novel. It comes with a little notebook! I've not read it yet as I'm still working my way through other articles. I love this magazine. It is my time out session and this issue touches on a lot of what interests me - music (as therapy), singing (so good for you), dealing with anxiety, spontaneity as well as  an article on the environmental damage being caused by plastic waste in the sea, and lots more besides.

There are a few of these mindfulness/well-being magazines on the market at present and they are just what I need for that other side of me I know I need to nurture. I'm an 'on the go' sort of person. Two days in the house and I'm climbing the walls, but I know sometimes I run myself ragged, even though I enjoy it. Stopping to do a little colouring (I even have a dot to dot book!) or just unwinding with music and not doing anything at the same time (I'm a dreadful multitasker) is good for me. I should do more of it. Maybe we all should.

New Poetry Journal launched - Eye Flash

There is a new poetry journal on the block. it is called Eye Flash and the very first copy arrived through my letterbox two days ago.

In these difficult times poetry magazines come and go quite quickly but while they are going their submissions overflow and it seems that soon they are not accepting anymore. Often I follow links to magazines/zines to find they no longer exist or their submission windows are closed for the foreseeable future.

To find a new magazine is quite exciting and I was keen to read this. Printed on thick card it runs to 22 pages and costs £5. The cover art is from Kitty Copper and the cover quote is from The Cormorant by Daniel Bennet. The overall theme this issue seems to be water and death, though not exclusively.

There are short poems - the wonderful four line stanza The flood by Neil Richards (about Noah and God) to those running over two pages. This issue includes poems about the death of Angels by Jack Little (the dumping of them in a park), The Night That Robin Died by Laura Potts (the sentence structure at times made me fall over words and I had to go back and re-read) - and the poems about water, rather a tide of them (sorry!) including The Sign Recreates the Water by Sue Spiers which I rather enjoyed (nice internal rhymes), At the Lido by Suzannah V Evans (lots of colours and sounds you hear as you swim and rise to the surface), Cycling by Ian Cuccask (the result of a comfort break!) and Wade by Ellora Sutton. In between there are other poems - Crabs by Anna Cathenka (likening each type of crab to 'you', I guess a lover), Correcting a stutter by Sarah James and another about angels which made me smile - The Angel of Revelation visits the New Age Centre by Anna Saunders.

Overall it's a nice collection of poetry stories. I would have liked a page with a biography of the poets, though I guess I could google them.

I do hope the magazine survives. They need readers. It often seems there are more people writing poetry than reading it. Small Press magazines need our support.

Micro writing and waiting for my characters to call.

I've been doing more reading than writing lately. The new comedy novel is proving slow and at one point I had to stop because the current scene I was writing didn't feel right. I had to mull it over and play it out in my head. I went back to it the next day and re-wrote it. However, I have left it alone for the past few days. I decided I needed to do other things - catch up on reading, go out more. The 'out' has mainly been in the garden reading! The weather had been wonderful and this always pull me outside.

The only thing I have been writing is very short pieces. I started to follow #microprompt on Twitter. They put up a new word every day and invite you to write a piece with that word in it. I've written about four so far. I don't do it every day but I do enjoy the challenge of writing even more concise pieces. I try not to go for the obvious in order that my piece stands out. I was rewarded with a comment of 'gorgeous' from microprompt after one of my tweets. I was thrilled and it has encouraged me to continue as well as reacting to others who tweet using the prompt.

The Poetry Book Fair is holding a poetry competition for those of you who are poets, and the fair is on Saturday 17th September. It's a great place to pick up poetry books and hear poets read.There is always a buzz around it. I'd recommend it.

As well as reading books I'm catching up with Writing Magazine, enjoying the articles and refueling the enthusiasm to get writing again,. It will come. Eventually, my characters will be shouting at me to come back and get on with their story. In the meantime I've left my main character with his head in his hands at his office desk. About how I feel sometimes!

What is a haibun? and Popshot Magazine

When I met David Cobb at the Poetry Book Fair back in September he asked me if I knew what a Haibun was. He was impressed that I had heard of it. I bought his little book, The Spring Journey to the Saxon Shore, because David's journey by bike through the 'land of my ancestors' - Suffolk and Norfolk, to be exact, appealed to me. David kindly signed my book and I looked forward to reading it.

So, what is a haibun? The short answer, given by David in his book, is that it consists of 'prose narrative punctuated at irregular but frequent intervals with haiku poems.' This is a little gem of a book, just 63 pages long and includes a map of the bike journey with notes/references to the prose. The prose refers to people and events in history as he cycles from Wethersfield to Sandringham. Some of it I knew about - Thetford and Thomas Paine seems to crop up a lot in my life, yet I have still to read his The Rights of Man (it's been on my wish on Amazon for over a year!). Then there is Bury St Edmunds, another place I love. Others who get a mention are Henry Moore, Gustav Holst, Dickens, Shakespeare and Boudica.

The prose narrative is indeed interspersed with haiku - one or two per page. It seems to work and I liked the content. I think I will give another read through to take in the notes as I go next time. I'm so glad I saw this and bought it. It took me into the past and kept me reading.

Popshot Magazine is new to me and caught my eye in WHSmith today when I was buying the latest copy of Writing Magazine. It is unusual to see this sort of magazine on the shelf and I was intrigued. I picked it up and had a quick flick through it, saw it contained both fiction and poetry and decided to buy it. Over lunch I read the first poem and the first short story and loved both. The magazine contains some great colour illustrations and I loved the Endnotes which gives a short background to each piece in the magazine. If the rest of the magazine is as good I feel a subscription coming on. I've had a quick look at the website and I shall be back to investigate more. A nice find, this.

This is what I'm doing

I have been obsessively writing over the last two weeks. I have gone back to an earlier project and aim to finish it by the end of summer, hopefully. More on that at a future time.

This lunchtime I actually wrote a short poem. It's been some time since I did that as poetry has taken a back seat lately. It's just a wee little thing:

Untitled

I seek the light place
where sun streams,
warming skin,
bringing life to flesh and bone.
Blood bubbles and flows
as I unravel, stretch like a cat,
settle like a lizard, heating up.


I have subscribed to two magazines to get an insight into what is being written and published in the small press, getting to know new writers. Bare Fiction is one, Brittle Star is the other. I have to admit that to save money I opted for the online version of Bare Fiction. This could be a mistake as I tend to forget about them and find the next issue comes along and I've not read the last. I much prefer something to hold and take with me, to snuggle up with. But I must make the effort.

Brittle Star arrived this morning. I love it's size. I could stick it in my handbag. I've already started reading it. It contains fiction, poetry and articles and I like what I see.

I've subscribed to a couple of blogs too, but the biggest thing I've done lately is to book a place at the Winchester Writer's Festival in June. I've wanted to go along for years, but it is only in the last year that I have started writing fiction again, so it didn't seem worth it before. There was little for poets. Of course in September was the fantastic inaugural Winchester Poetry Festival which I attended. I'm pleased to say that is back for this year. Anyway, I decided that this was the year to try the Writer's Festival. Am I ready, I ask myself. Hopefully. I've booked two workshops and a full programme of talks. I have also taken the step of booking two one-to-ones (very scary). The first is with an agent, the second with a poet. I am now frantically putting together a synopsis for my first novel (still in editing mode) and a covering letter. I've had to research both as I've never done them before. These things have to be submitted before the festival. I also have to submit a poem in advance. All this is new to me and I am, to say the least, very nervous.

If you are going to the festival too, let me know.

Finally, I have found a competition for my piece of writing that has so far fallen between the categories, due to its word count. The Penny Dreadful is running a Novella competition (open for entries on 1st June). I shall be submitting!

See you next time.

Holiday reading

What do you take on holiday to read?  I would have loved to take the latest book I'm reading - Peaches for Monsieur le Cure by Joanne Harris - but it's a library copy, too big and bulky to pack.  So I took a Susan Hill's book The Bird of Night, a Woman's Weekly Fiction Special and the latest New Writer magazine.  The book was a disappointment.  I usually enjoy Susan Hill's books but this, about friendship and madness, I couldn't get into.  However, it was a short read and I finished it in about three days, glad it was over!

The Fiction Special (which I finished on the plane back home) was really good.  There were a few longer stories to really get into - contrary to what I said about short stories a few weeks back (must have been an off day!).  Anyone who can get into print I admire and I'm not a short story writer myself.  The New Writer magazine I've also nearly finished and have enjoyed too.

Now I'm back and into Joanne Harris' book again.  This is the third in the series as Vianne Rocher returns to Lansquenet, the place of Chocolat.  Really enjoying the revisit.

New Writer Magazine relaunches

The New Writer magazine has just been relaunched and my copy arrived today.  It has joined its sister magazine New Books and now looks slick and professional and is also in colour.  There are writer's prompts for writing groups/individuals, poetry in focus, an article about blogging, Katie Fford writes about five books that have helped her to write and there are competitions for stories, poetry and a photographic competition.  The magazine features some short stories and poetry and writer's gifts to buy.  In have only had a chance to glance through it but I really like what I see.  There are lots of opportunities to to get your work into print.  The magazine retails at £5 but look at their website as there may be subscription offers.

Three in one publication

Just heard today that I will have three things published in Areopagus' Christmas edition (Christian Writers Magazine).  They are a combination of three types of poem (one free verse about Advent, one with rhyming stanzas and the other a Haiku).  Of course, I am thrilled!

My last Villianelle was well received and now that course is finished.  I will write more in this form but right now I'd quite like to give it a rest!

I had my two poems printed in the OU Poets workbook and now I wait to see if I get any votes.  I have just done my voting on the poems from the last two editions.  Poems with the highest votes will be published in their Anthology next year.

1,000 words to tell a tale

I've collected all my vouchers from Best magazine and now am considering entering the short story competition. Not having new ideas I am editing a story I wrote when I attended a creative writing course some years ago.  I had to take out several hundred words to get it down to 1,000 in total.  That's what I have been doing this afternoon.  It is the only suitable story I have and I think it has been improved by editing but whether it's a winning entry is another matter.  Still, it's a free to enter and I have nothing to lose, so I shall send it once I am happy that the edit works.  I'll leave it for a few days so I come to it fresh again.

A new one for you

Leaf Writers' Magazine is a great read with articles, stories, poems, tips and ideas, competitions, writing activities, courses and adverts. I've just subscribed for the e-version (half the price of the hard copy) and am impressed. Do take a look. The current issue has an article on how to write a blog, an interview with a tutor from the Arvon Foundation and how to overcome writer's doubts.

Mslexia magazine also has some pretty good articles too. A couple caught my eye. The first is on Dreamwriting - including how to induce lucid dreaming (this is the time when you actually know you are dreaming - ever had that happen?  I have!).  In the past I've kept a dream diary and found it helpful in forming ideas for stories.  Worth a go.  The other article is entitled What rhymes with sesquipedalian? and asks does poetry have to rhyme? This also includes a  nice glossary box.

Their How to write a Bestseller page features The Long Song by Andrea Levy who's books I love. The Long Song is set in Jamaica during the period of the Baptist War of 1831 and the days after the abolition of slavery.  Levy writes in both the third person and directly to the reader in the voice of July, a slave, in the language of the time. July is taken from her mother at a young age by the widowed sister (Caroline) of the plantation owner and given the name of Marguerite. July is raped by freed slave, Nimrod, and gives birth to Thomas (who is then left on the doorstep of the Baptist Minister and brought up with his children).  After Caroline's brother dies Robert is employed to run the plantation. Caroline falls for him but he has his eye on July. He ends up marrying Caroline and July becomes his mistress. The story is being written by July and her son Thomas (with whom she is later reunited) is to publish it.  I found the book compelling reading and it touched many emotions. The characters were wholly believable.  It was dificult to say goodbye to July - I wanted more! It's a book that will stay with you for a long time. 

This is the third book of Andrea Levy's I've read (her 'biggy' was Small Island) and like the previous books I was totally drawn in by the characters.