Lessons in Poetry

It was great to be back with the writing gang at Coney yesterday (and I remembered my notebook this time!)

Over apple and cinnamon muffins we caught up on news (there was much to be celebrated within the group!), made plans, did a writing exercise and shared our work. Among our good news were  publications including this gorgeous anthology 'Colors' from La Rotonde Review. I'm delighted my poem 'Helianthus' has been included.

It's been a busy writing week, with our first SCBWI Ireland 'Picture This, Write Now' online session for this winter taking place, providing an opportunity to develop a new rough draft and edit other pieces.

I also enjoyed seeing Agatha Christie's 'The Hollow' at Belfast's Grand Opera House and hearing poet Brian Bilston at the Seamus Heaney Homeplace.

He is an absolute genius with words. It does amuse me that the book he's often pictured hiding behind, 'How to Write a Poem' by John Redmond is one I have at home. I picked my copy up in a book exchange in the Seamus Heaney centre in Belfast last year. 

In a week when there's been more submissions and more rejections (all part of the writing journey) it seems a timely reminder to be taking heed of advice, whether from my writing pals, Brian Bilston, John Redmond or Heaney himself.

Now to get back to those drafts....

A big week

It's been a busy writing week, but it was good to take some time out today to visit Gulliver in Carrickfergus.

Celebrating 300 years since 'Gulliver's Travels' was first published, this giant has been made out of recycled materials and the Lilliputians made by local children. It looks amazing close up. The 'Swift Fest' celebrates Jonathan Swift who lived nearby in Kilroot. 

On until the end of November, the exhibition in Carrickfergus museum and upcoming events look good.

I'm still celebrating the big announcement in last week's Sunday Post that my short story, 'Stitched Up' made it to the top ten in their fiction competition. I'm beyond delighted at this news.

This week I also received a copy of Community Arts Partnership's ' Endure' anthology which featues two of my poems, 'At the Back of the Class' and 'We Only Had Daffodils'.

Along with a few rejections this week, there's been good news in the form of an acceptance in another anthology. And KissMet Quarterly's new anthology was published yesterday. It features my autumnal romance 'Orchard County Heights'.

I'm looking forward to dipping into this when my copy arrives and enjoying some gorgeous autumnal fiction.

Going Paperless

What sort of a writer goes to their writing group without writing materials? One who forgot to pack their bag properly! Thankfully one of my writing pals gave me a few pages to write on when I realised I'd forgotten my notebook when we were back down in Coney yesterday so it didn't spoil the session.

It was a glorious autumn day as we caught up on news, made plans and shared some writing we've been working on over coffee and apple and cinnamon muffins.

Later we enjoyed a delicious chocolate and zucchini loaf cake made by a vacationing writing friend who joined the group.

And we did some writing exercises. While I could have used my laptop for the exercises, I realised I needed to feel a pen in my hand and I needed paper. I'll never know if without those sheets of paper would I have written the same poem? Somehow I think it might have been different.

Just Wonderful!

Thursday was celebrated as National Poetry Day, with the theme of 'wonder' this year.

It coincided with me attending a local apple fair market night where I was on holiday in Fife, an experience which will stay with me and which I'm sure will inspire at least one new poem.

With a 'Wonderland' theme, it felt as if I'd fallen down a rabbit hole when I stepped into this secret garden, just off a street I know very well. 

Every nook and cranny was filled with gorgeous, quirky details as we followed the winding path up the hill, discovering enchantment round ever turn.

I was mesmerised by the magical atmosphere in the orchard, half expecting the Queen of Hearts to appear.

I was in awe of the planning, hard work, talent and imagination that must have gone in to transforming this garden into a place of magic and wonder. 

With stalls selling gorgeous gifts and food and offering advice on growing apples, I can confirm the spiced apple juice was just perfect.  

Well done to the organisers. Let's hope it becomes an annual event.

On a writing roll

It's been a good writing week, with some projects which started some time ago now finding homes. I learned this week that 'Helianthus', a poem I wrote in 2020 has been accepted by La Rotonde Review for their forthcoming 'Colors' anthology due out in November.

I was over the moon to learn my short story, 'Court Games' has been longlisted in the Historical Writers Association's Dorothy Dunnett short story competition.

Inspired by Mary Queen of Scots, I wrote this story last year.

On Thursday, my story, 'Fidelity' was published by World History Encyclopedia in their 'Dust and Divinity' anthology. This volume includes winning and shortlisted stories from their 2025 Ink of Ages competition.

It's great to see this story I wrote in 2018 now in print. 

While it might seem everything has come together this week, it's taken time to get here, and there have also been rejections this week. However, a good writing week has also spurred me on with new projects.

In good writing company

It's been a good writing week, with several good times spent in good writing company.

On Wednesday I was delighted to be asked to take part in the launch of 'USA-NI 250 Liberty' poetry jukebox curation at Belfast's Linenhall library.

I shared the stage with poets Paul Maddern and Kathleen McCracken, when we read the poems we'd each written in response to the 250th anniversary on the Declaration of Independence and talked with Maria McManus about our writing process. 

It was an honour to be asked to take part in this poetry project, alongside the eminent poets featuring  in this jukebox curation. My poem 'Letter to America - August 1776' is inspired by the publication of the Declaration in the Belfast Newsletter.

You can see the original newspaper on display in the library and you can listen to us reading our poems by visiting the jukebox in the library until the end of this year, or you can hear them here:

Poetry Jukebox Soundcloud

During the week I hosted our SCBWI Ireland online event with Sara Grant considering 'How to hook your reader in your opening pages.' The hour and a half workshop flew in while we picked up tips from Sara and received feedback on our work. I'm looking forward to delving into her book and applying more of her tips to my work.

Yesterday I arrived home to find my copy of 'Dust and Divinity' the new anthology from World History Encyclopedia had arrived. My story, 'Fidelity' (shortlisted in the 2025 Ink of Ages competition) is included alongide that of one of my writing pals, Mairi.

I'm looking forward to dipping in to these amazing stories.

Read a Book Day

Today on, 'National Read a Book Day', I've spent some time doing exactly that as well as exchanging some books I've finished reading with a good friend.

This followed on from an inspiring morning back at Coney yesterday where, among other things, we'd talked about novels we'd enjoyed and book exchanges.

It was lovely to welcome a writing friend on holiday to the group. Over coffee and chocanana muffins, we were busy chatting, catching up, laughing and eventually doing some writing. 

We were so busy that I forgot to take a photograph of the lovely beach, so here's one taken from a few weeks ago....

....although the sky was much a much brighter blue yesterday.