books and cake and book-cakes

It's a busy time of year in the run up to Christmas. Last night I was double booked with writing events. The previous day I'd received a lovely personal invitation, (along with writing group members) from Anthony Quinn https://www.anthonyjquinnwriter.com/ to the launch of his new book in Belfast's No Alibis bookshop. From accounts on social media it was a successful launch and I'm looking forward to reading a copy of 'The Listeners' soon.

My other writing engagement had been in my diary for several weeks. One of my writing friends https://twitter.com/IdreamofNarnia - tweeted this photo yesterday to give a flavour of what was in store.

Not only is she a talented writer- she's also a very accomplished baker. I can confirm that these fabulous book-themed cup cakes tasted even more delicious than they look - well 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' one did. The occasion was a pre-Christmas get-together with some writing friends last night, which was a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
Cake is a common theme that accompanies many of the writing meetings I go to - whether it's my home baked muffins or coffee shop cakes - but the prize for the best book-cakes this year has to go to Jenny!
Looking back over my writing year, one of the highlights has to be the many catch-ups I've had with fellow writers. Writing is a solitary business so meeting and chatting with other writers is important in supporting each other and learning from each other.
Another common feature in these groups is laughter - always a good barometer of team spirit. There are several times this year I have laughed so much I have cried in the company of fellow writers - usually over the antics we get up to, or the situations we have found ourselves in. And if we wrote some of these down, you wouldn't believe them! - but maybe we will at some point - exploding eggs, evictions etc....

Writers are generally nice people and I feel very blessed to be a part of two separate writing groups where I can now call these like-minded people who share their passion for writing, my friends. But, as another of my writing friends blogged earlier this week,   https://awfullybigblogadventure.blogspot.com/2018/12/on-finding-one-kelly-mccaughrain.html?spref=fb&fbclid=IwAR0ZdXLGQFuUPQDnkv8FvOFUtfzHn-TK_aP9Q5HxaLbsfXaiK6-mIAgyjbM it doesn't always work this way - which is why I feel so blessed to be part of not only one, but two such groups. Our groups are special and I look forward to seeing everyone each time we meet up.
It's also nice to have made new writing friends during the year as new members have joined the group and when my own writing has taken me to other events further afield I've also made new writing friends. So as this writing year draws to a close, thanks to everyone who is a part of these two groups - you know who you are and I look forward to many more writing adventures in 2019!

Can pantomime change the world? Oh yes it can!

It's that time of the year again - pantomime time - oh yes it is! Last night some of my favourite little people, big people and I were entertained at one of our local theatres to a fantastic performance of Peter Pan.

It was a close tie between Captain Hook and Tinkerbell as to who our favourite character was.

Mr Hullabaloo and his team never fail to impress with their songs, costumes and puppets http://www.mrhullabaloo.co.uk/mrhullabaloo_hom.html Going to the pantomime usually heralds the start of the Christmas festivities for us. One of my nieces recently told me it's her favourite part of Christmas and it is lovely to enjoy this magic with the little people in my life.

 

This pantomime is probably my favourite for a number of reasons - it's not the traditional fairytale with a prince and a princess and it's a more modern story than most. But to me it's much more than this - it's story behind the story and the legacy the writer JM Barrie left. 

Peter Pan first appeared as a character in 1902 and the book has never been out of print since. In 1929 he gifted the copyright from Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital - that's what I call a writing legacy. You can read more about this here https://www.gosh.org/about-us/peter-pan/history and how the House of Lords took an unprecedented decision a few years ago to ensure that the hospital receives the rights in perpetuity.  

There's still tickets available - so get along and see it!

Christmas at Coney

Cranberry and orange muffins can only mean one thing - it's Christmas time at Coney!

So while it may only be the first day in December we celebrated Christmas in Coney today in style. After catching up on news and completing a few writing exercises, a veritable feast was had by all. We writers certainly know how to enjoy our food! - smoked salmon to start, roasted goose with all the trimmings, followed by a selection of delicious home made desserts.

We also know how to have a good laugh together.  I just love my new slippers - Hungry Haggis lives on! Heelin coos rock!

Not only are we a great bunch of writers, we have a few very talented artists in the group and it was inspiring to view some of their work today as well as looking at 'real' picture book illustration proofs.

 

spine poem

Just a bit of fun earlier today! As part of Book Week Scotland I had a go at creating a spine poem:

 

 

 

 

 

Birds without wings beginning the unbearable lightness of scones,

Angels and demons sweet caress holy fools,

Joseph Andrews eats, shoots and leaves in a blue velvet dress,

Warning Jude the obscure half of a yellow sun

Disappeared north and south in cold blood.

 

 

It also reminded me I've piles of books in the house still to read! 

NaNoWriMo - my way

So, it's that time of the year again - less than six weeks to Christmas and half way through NaNoWriMo - or National Novel Writing Month in full. You can find out more about this here https://nanowrimo.org/

I've taken part in this a few times before, with varying results. Twice I've run out of steam half way through the month and once I completed a first draft of a novel. This year I decided to do it my way. It is a big commitment to write more than 1000 words a day for a month, and I've a few WIPs (works in progress) so I decided that instead of starting with a blank page on 1st November and ending up with a first draft on 30th November, I'd take a draft and work intensively on it this month.

I started on 1st November with my rough first draft of a children's middle grade novel and have been working my way through it diligently for a time every day. I'm now half way through November and half way through the third draft. There's still so much to do in editing the work I suspect I will still be editing and redrafting this after 1st December.

Remembering

As we approach the centenary of the Armistice, I'm delighted that one of my poems, 'Stop...Start..' is going to be included in the Pendle War poetry anthology.

https://pendlewarpoetrycompetition.blogspot.com/2018/11/2018-anthology-contents-for-uk-ireland.html?fbclid=IwAR1ML2k7LxNlbMzPp7h7c9z8fTiwaTuJgsDQ_bgO6SZz7mmhs_7jdTIf-MQ

Return to Coney

It was one of those wild, winter mornings when we arrived at Coney yesterday - the type of day when otters appear out of nowhere and the sea crashes over the bumpy road. The tail end of Hurricane Oscar made its presence felt as we descended on Coney. When I opened the car door, it was buffeted by the wind and we were met by rolling surf and salty air.

 

It was good to see everyone again. We spent the morning catching up on our writing news over coffee and chocanana muffins. We discussed the recent successes in the group, recapped on key elements in a story and read out some of our work. And as we spent so much time talking, we didn't have time to write, so now we've homework for the next time.....