Book Week

Last week was BookWeekNI - the challenge was to read for at least 15 minutes every day, encouraging those who don't have a reading habit to develop one, and those who already have, to continue to enjoy reading.

I've a well developed reading ritual. I usually read for at least 15 minutes in bed every night before going to sleep. The love of a bedtime story as a child has stayed with me. Reading creates a sense of calm, transports you to another world and helps you forget the worries of your busy day, and it also helps me sleep.

So last week I rose to the challenge, achieving at least 15 minutes reading time every day resulting in finishing Brian Moore's 'The Temptation of Eileen Hughes' and beginning (and I'm now more than half way through - and loving!) Jojo Moyes' short story collection 'Paris for One'.

I also managed to read some critique work for a couple of my writing pals, join a new online critique group, listen to one of my writing pals, Kelly McCaughrain speaking on BBC Radio Ulster about children's books and also do a little bit of writing! In my view it should be book week every week!

writer reviews and chewy shoes

Many writers rely on reviews to promote their work and increase book sales. Word of mouth online can be important for taking books to a new audience. Writers also like to hear what their readers think of their work. It reassures them that someone is reading their work and enjoying it (or not!).

I heard the other day that one of my stories had been reviewed by a reader, so I was excited to see what they thought about it. Last week one of my children's stories was published online. Later that afternoon one of my nieces (aged 8) read it to the family. Later on that day she decided to review the story for her 'book review' homework and wrote this:

"This book is written by my aunt. The goat's name is Gloria. Gloria is always hungry. First she eats grass, then leaves. She eats all silly stuff. I would recommend this to a friend."

Her teacher marked the homework with a red smiley face sticker and wrote:

"Wow. Amazing. It sounds great. Would you eat a chewy shoe?"

And while writers are told not to listen to the opinions of their family and friends about their work, to me this review will always be a very special one and it proves that book reviews really do increase your readership!

Storytime Sunday

I'm absolutely delighted to see one of my children's stories published online today. You can read my story 'Who's A Silly Goat?' here.

 https://smartypantsmagazineforkids.com/2019/10/06/storytime-sunday-whos-a-silly-goat/

Happy reading!

Back to the winter routine

Yesterday I spent a very enjoyable morning with some of my writing pals. It was a gloomy, wet and windy morning, more like a November day than one in early October but the salty sea air greeted us, blowing the cobwebs away with the fresh breeze. We were back in Coney Island for the first time since our summer writing retreat and it's good to get back into the winter routine. Along with sharing our writing news which included within the group, spoken word performances and publication we took time to listen to and review pieces a few of us have been working on, as well as flexing our writing muscles by doing some exercises.

And of course, there was time for coffee and chocanana muffins!