The Essex Lion

Found the Essex lion hiding in my wardrobe!!!!!!
When I asked him what he was up to he replied 'Narnia business!'

Back At Coney Island

Lovely to be back down at Coney Island again with fellow writers today - Maddie, Imelda, Fionnuala, Rhonda, Mairi, Yvonne, Moira and I.

A couple of useful websites worth checking out - National poetry competition with £5000 prize -

http://www.poetrysociety.org.uk/content/competitions/npc/

and
a
http://www.publishingireland.com


includes listings of Irish publishers.

Happy writing

Goodbye Maeve

I love her quotation about going to a dance...

In a 2001 interview with the BBC, after she had won the WHSmith Book Award for fiction, Binchy described the five rejections she received for her first novel as "a slap in the face".

Binchy had sold more than 40 million books worldwide

She said she was glad she persevered and sent the book to a sixth publisher.
"It's like if you don't go to a dance you can never be rejected but you'll never get to dance either," she said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19108575

Bliss

A sunny summer evening in the garden with the September edition of Writing magazine. What could be better?

Sad news

So sorry to hear of Maeve Binchy's passing today. I have loved her writing since my high school English teacher first introduced me to 'Light a Penny Candle' in sixth form. I've been inspired by her sense of humour, her being true to herself and writing what she knew. All her stories and characters are wonderful. One friend described reading a Maeve Binchy novel as wrapping yourself in a big cosy cardigan. I had the pleasure of hearing her speak several years ago at Belfast's Whitla Hall. I could have listened to her for hours - she was highly entertaining and hilarious in her observations of everyday life. I'm the proud owner of a signed copy of one of her books from that event. I can recall being asked by an obnoxious twit, a few years ago, when living abroad, what I was reading - he was expecting me to say something very high brow. I proudly told him I was reading the latest Maeve Binchy novel. I will miss her as a writer always producing new material. I will just have to wrap myself in my favourite cardigan & read all her books again! Thanks Maeve

A different route

Today I took the first steps down a new path. So far I've assembled a collection of rejection letters from publishing companies and undeterred I keep revising, re-editing and re-submitting manuscripts to a variety of publishers, with no offers forthcoming yet. So I decided to take a different approach. Today I posted a manuscript to an agent. I don't know if the result will be any more favourable but at least I'm trying a different approach. A successful author is one who doesn't give up!

Rain stops play....

'Wherefore art thou Romeo?'
We should have been hearing these words last night at the outdoor theatre and picnic in Carrickfergus. Those hardy souls who braved the cold and the rain would have heard the stoic, soggy actors tread the boards and perform 'Romeo and Juliet'. I'm sure it was a wonderful performance.
But this Juliet opted to stay inside in the warmth, snuggled up with her own Romeo, enjoying highlights of the Olympics and munching the remnants of birthday Thornton's chocs.