Back at Coney (virtually)

It was great being back at Coney Island this morning - well in the circumstances a virtual meeting is the best we can do, and it almost felt we were there. Thanks to technology we could see the sun was shining in Coney Island. The sky was a brilliant blue and there was home baking here and most of us were present and correct.

Aren't we so fortunate to have the technologies we enjoy? It's making lockdown slightly less difficult. It was great to see everyone, chat about our writing and to hear some writing that's been done in the last few difficult weeks.

It's thanks to these guys, that I am back writing. A few writing prompts they shared have got my writing kick-started again. I should have known I just needed to wait and the Coney Island touch would get me going again. Thanks all!

Pitching

Yesterday I spent my day off doing lots of things I enjoy - spending some time in the garden and baking - in these strange days simple pleasures are now really special.

I also spent quite a bit of time taking part in Write Mentor's pitch event on Twitter and really enjoyed the experience. I developed three pitches for my work and released them during the day, sat back and watched to see what might happen. While I was 'sitting back and watching' I was looking at the other pitches and retweeting those I liked - some were from writing friends I know, some from writing acquaintances I've made on social media and some by writers who were new to me. My pitches received a few retweets as I waited to see if an agent would like them. 

This would be the signal to go the the next stage and submit something to them. I was delighted that my pitches received a ❤ from local writers Pauline Burgess and Sheena Wilkinson and even more delighted to get a ❤ from a couple of agents!

I've followed up on these - unfortunately one has rejected the work already (two and a half hours is a new record for a rejection for me!) And I'll wait and see what happens with the other one.

Reflections

During these strange days some of us are getting a bit of time to reflect on life, what's important and maybe how we might change when we return to a new normal way of life.
Simple pleasures like a coffee in the sunshine suddenly seem really special.

Each day in the garden there's some new shoot sprouting or a new bud about to burst, or a bird, bee or butterfly visiting.

And indoors I'm enjoying spending a bit more time baking, trying new recipes and enjoying the results (the mincemeat cake is particularly good!)

I haven't had much time for writing or reading, but hopefully that will change soon. And today through the post I received a copy of an anthology which features one of my poems. 

'Reflections 3' is the third anthology produced by the Lagan Navigation Trust following last year's annual storymaking festival. I'm delighted that my work has featured in all three anthologies, and that I was a prize winner in the last two years of this festival. I'm looking forward to spending some time in the garden over the weekend, reading the stories and poems in this collection while I enjoy a coffee and some home baking- bliss!

Strange days

We're living in very strange times. In difficult days we usually turn to our friends for support and while we can telephone them, we can't meet up with them presently. What's making this period of social distancing more manageable is social media and technology. We can at least keep in touch and have virtual meet ups. I'm used to this in work and with family and friends but not so much with my writing groups. I had one of these virtual meetings during the week with some writing pals, another one today and a further one is planned next week.
Today was the morning we should have been back in Coney Island, and we were, virtually. Thanks to technology and a willingness to 'keep calm and carry on' we had a virtual meet up.

With the wonders of technology we were able to catch up on each others' writing news, drink coffee and still get a glimpse of the Coney shore thanks to Maddie. And of course there was baking, although I could only share the chocolate queen cakes virtually. Technology hasn't advanced so much yet that we can taste cake virtually - maybe that's still to come

But believe me they were VERY good!

St Patrick and St David

It's St Patrick's Day tomorrow, traditionally a day of much celebration throughout Ireland and across the world- but this year it will be very different. Why not celebrate the day by learning more about Ireland's patron saint?
Did you know what links St Patrick to St David?

I discovered working on a writing project about St David.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Crime and Punishment

It was lovely to see one of my short stories included in a collection about crime and punishment in Co. Down. My story 'Dear Martha' is based on excerpts from 19th century editions of 'The Down Recorder'.  A copy of 'Foul Deeds Will Rise' popped through my letter box yesterday.

Even better still, the collection includes stories by two of my Coney Island writing pals Rhonda and Mairi.

Happy St David's day

Happy Saint David's day! The first day of March is the day Welsh people everywhere take time to celebrate the life of their patron saint.

And although not Welsh, I'm celebrating finishing working on a writing project about St David.