Agatha Christie Festival

I had a lovely time last week visiting the International Agatha Christie Festival which was held at Torre Abbey, Torquay.

I am ashamed to say that despite having lived a mere 11 miles from Torre Abbey my entire life, I had never visited. So, what better excuse than the Agatha Christie Festival?

The festival ran from Sunday 14th - Sunday 21st and I managed to get there twice.

Danika looked lovely in this fetching red hat!

The first Sunday I took my daughter for the 'All Things Vintage and Lovely Fair'. We had a wonderful time wandering among the many stalls, trying on hats and checking out the jewellery,




Having scoured the stalls, we then walked around the Abbey itself. Part-gallery, part-museum and part-historic house, it was a really interesting visit. Danika particularly enjoyed the 'Harry Potter style' moving pictures!


For me though, the best was yet to come.

Saturday morning; nervous, excited, not sure what to expect - I went back to the Abbey for the Crime Writers Workshop. This was my first ever workshop run by an actual author (Actual! Published and everything!) Honestly, I was a bit of a wreck. 

Anyway, I was first in. And there to greet me was Sarah Hilary - author of Someone Else's Skin, which  has been chosen for Richard and Judy's Book Club.

What a wonderful experience. Sarah created such a relaxed atmosphere that my nerves soon went and I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop. Sarah gave really good advice about such things as writing a synopsis, character development and finding an agent. She was open and honest about her own journey and was a real inspiration. I also met with like-minded writers and hope that we will keep in touch to share our journeys to becoming published authors. 

Sarah stayed to sign copies of her book. I wish her every success with her debut novel and the ones that will follow, she really is a lovely 'normal' (now an in-joke) person! You can follow her on Twitter here

One Lovely Blog Award

I have been nominated for the "One Lovely Blog Award" by the inspirational Vanessa Wester: short story writer, novelist and Twitter friend! Thank you Vanessa :)
CLICK HERE for her post.

You can follow Vanessa on Twitter HERE she is great to follow, always up for a chat and often posts scrummy pictures of baked goods too!

Okay, so for this award you have to give 7 facts about yourself... Now, this is going to be the hard part. Not long ago I did the same thing for a different award, so I have been racking my brain trying to come up with another 7 facts about myself that aren't too dull. It's been a challenge - but I don't like to back down from a challenge therefore will give it a shot. Forgive me if they are boring!

First though - THE RULES!

• Link back to the blog of the person who nominated you
• Share 7 facts about yourself
• Nominate 15 blogs that you particularly like, or fewer if you can’t think of 15
• If I’ve nominated your blog, please don’t feel obliged to take part if you don’t want to, just revel in the fact you’ve been nominated – but if you can that would be fab!

Here goes then -

1- When I feel sad, lost or just in need of inspiration, I am drawn to the sea, (this is cheating really as I mentioned this before - but I'm adding in my all time favourite place to be in this post, so it's a bit different!)  My favourite place is Porthleven in Cornwall - it's the most amazing place where in rough weather the sea can reach the church. Spectacular scenes!

2 - The very first short story that I wrote and sent off got published. I was completely gob smacked as well as being hyper for at least a week. This, however, lulled me into a false sense of security - it took a number of further attempts before my next success! But - it gave me such a buzz and increased my confidence so much that I will never forget that acceptance email! It's nice to think back to it whenever I get a rejection, that's for sure (of which there have been numerous lately!)

3 - My best friend Tracey has been my friend since we were two years old. We have been through so many ups and downs in those 39 years - but have continued to be there for each other and support one another through life's journeys - we have a bond that will never be broken.  I have just got back from coffee with her and it's the first child-free coffee we've had for years, her last child has just started school. 

4 - It took me 67 driving lessons before I felt confident to attempt my test. My instructor used to say to me "You may take longer than most, but you will be safer than most". Bless him. I think he was really fed up with seeing me come the end. He finally got rid of me after I passed on the second attempt.

5 - I became an Auntie for the first time at the grand old age of 7. My sister is 17 years older than me, and was much like a mother to me when I was growing up. I remember being such a proud auntie and when I was taken to the hospital for my first visit with my niece, I sat by her cot and refused to let anyone else see her!  

6 - I stole my first pet from my neighbour.

Before you think badly of me, it wasn't 'proper' stealing... as such... Thomas the kitten used to play in my garden, I was about 6 at the time and I loved him so much that I 'prevented' him from going back in his own garden - in a nice way - I played with him for hours and used to dress him up and put him in my pram and wheel him around (he did enjoy this I promise - I have photos somewhere to prove it!) Anyway, in the end the neighbours gave in and just told my Mum to let me keep him! He was the best cat - he died when I was 15 and it felt like my world had ended. Now I have Chester - and he's amazing, he has given me a fright recently but is still with us. 

7 - Charlotte's Web was the first book I remember being 

completely enthralled by and the first that I read in just one sitting. My love of reading came from my Dad. He used to take me to the library every week and I looked forward to it greatly. I loved all the adventure books by Enid Blyton too, particularly "The Sea of Adventure" Great stuff!

Well, that's it!

I haven't nominated the full 15 (I know cheating again) as I am a bit worried the ones I would have nominated would have emitted a loud groan as it wasn't long ago that I tagged them for the last one!

Here are my somewhat fewer nominations:

Jan Baynham

Fran Clark

Wendy Clarke

Mary Papas

Patsy Collins

James Smith

Andrew Webber

Amanda Green

Click on each name to get to their blog!

Thanks for reading :)

On finding an Agent

Well, it has been a while, and whilst it may appear that I have been AWOL I can assure you I have been a very busy person! Who knew that the easy part was writing a novel, and that the hard part was the 'trying to get it out there' and all the things that come as part of that process? Yeah, okay, so I was aware of this, but was I prepared?

I think it's fair to say I'm pretty exhausted. It has also hit me that gaining an agent may be akin to winning the lottery.

There is so much information out there: on the world wide web and in writers magazines and various other articles, that quite frankly, it can be off-putting to say the least. For example, what I thought was a simple covering letter (see HERE for some examples) that would convey the necessary information to my prospective agent, was actually quite a complicated matter.

 The more research you do,

 it seems the more of a pickle you can get yourself in. 
                                               Plus, each literary agency, and each individual agent may expect something different in the covering letters/emails they receive. Get it wrong at your peril! One resource stated categorically do NOT compare your novel to an existing author, yet another asks you to. One states do not use humour, be very professional, yet I found evidence of 'real life' covering letters of successful authors that did just that (see examples HERE).

Oh - and don't get me started on the synopsis. I thought I was doing well, I had completed a 1 page and 3 page synopsis which I hoped would entice the agent and 'sell' my story. Again, I had researched the 'how to' and found some good advice (see HERE) but, I found varying recommendations as to 'spacing'. So my one pager (single spaced lines) turned out to be one and a half when spaced at 1.5, so just a bit more stress to add to the pot. 

I have only queried a handful of agents, (and that has taken a very long time), ones I like because of their reputation or the authors on their lists, or ones that have great profiles that got me all excited thinking about working with them. And, it IS exciting - this long process of trying to be found in the slush pile - don't get me wrong, but ultimately I would rather it be easier! Wouldn't we all. 

The Writers' Workshop is one resource that tells you 'How to Get An Agent Without Dying of Old Age'. It outlines some KEY STEPS that may help. Or there may be another site that tells you something different...

Basically I think you have to do your homework, pick and choose which advice you feel suits your work and the agent you are approaching, definitely follow their individual submission guidelines, and keep your fingers crossed. I also advise keeping alert - I made a fatal error in one covering email because I was tired, and once you've hit the send button it's too late, so check, double check and then check again!

In the meantime, if you are waiting for the offer of representation, or the rejection - which apparently are merely 'responses' NOT rejections (yeah, whatever) -do what I am doing - write another novel. It'll take your mind off it all and propel it back into the exhilarating world of new characters and story lines and remind you what you are doing this all for in the first place :)

I would love to hear your experiences, and any hints or tips you've picked up along the way - so feel please free to leave a comment. Thanks for stopping by.

I have been nominated for another blogger award! 

The Versatile Blogger Award - VBA is a way to honour a blogger within this wonderful online community. It also helps to bring new readers to the blogs nominated and to those who will be nominated by me! It is a great way to find new blogs to follow and I look forward to making some new blogger friends along the way :)

So, firstly, thank you Jan Baynham for nominating me.

Right, the rules of the Versatile Blogger Award are:


- Thank the person who nominated you, (as I have above). 

- Include a link to their blog - click on Jan's name to follow the link to her fantastic blog 'Jan's Journey Into Writing'

- Nominate 15 bloggers. - I'll do this at the end.

- Tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself. Well, that's the easy bit, so here goes; some random pointless information about myself -

• I once made headline news in The News of the World. Okay, when I say 'headline' it wasn't front page or anything, or 'news' as such - but it was top of the page! I won't embarrass myself by going into too much detail - the headline stated "Put Your Pic Where Your Mouth is Sam"-  read into that what you will...

• I sleep walk, talk, shout/scream. My son has inherited this too (unfortunately his is far more dramatic) - it's a bundle of laughs in this house at night!

• I love 80s films. I haven't seen them all - but those I have I admit to having seen again and again. Can't beat the 'Brat Pack' :)

• I am completely freaked out by low flying aircraft. I mean - totally. I will hit the deck if needs be. And to be fair, it doesn't even have to be THAT low. Can be a tad embarrassing at times... However, I love flying and have even had a flying lesson. Go figure.

• I love being by the sea. It is my all time favourite place to be when I need some time out. Being by the crashing waves is so therapeutic, the rougher the better! I do have to be careful though, as if I stare too long it has this 'drawing' effect and I just want to jump in. 

• My last child weighed in at 12 lb 10 oz -a week early. At the time he was the biggest baby born in the hospital ever. I may still hold the title, not sure. Bearing in mind he was that big, my placenta weighted 4 lbs and I had polyhydramnios (too much amniotic fluid) - I had lost 2 stone when I weighed the next day. Wish I could lose 2 stone in a day now!

• I struggle to finish things I start. I have a dozen beginnings to stories that I fear will never reach 'the end' and I have begun a number of courses in my time that just never got completed. Not sure what that's about - possibly it's because I get bored easily!

It's my turn to nominate other bloggers now. I keep up with quite a few and love it when a new one comes along. I know that many I follow have already been nominated, but those I have chosen range from ones I have followed for ages, to 'newly acquired' ones. Each brings something different and I always take something from each post. Please drop by and check these great people out!

And to those on this list, please feel free to accept or decline -

Shirley Wells

Mary Papas

Vanessa Wester

Mel Chesley

Peter Lewis

Karen Einsel

Mackenzie Brown

Gary Alan Henson

Terry Tyler

Rachel Stirling

Jenny Burnley

Deina Furth

Amanda Green

Dona Watson

Susie Kearley

I will look forward to finding out more about my nominees!

Thanks again Jan for the award.

I would love to add to my list of blogs to follow, so if you have any recommendations, please do leave your suggestions in the comments - as well as anything else you might want to tell me :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Publication of new collection

It's been a busy time and I'm pleased to say I hit my own deadline of publishing my new short story collection by the end of June! Phew. 
Here it is :

What do you think of the cover? I've tried to give it a similar look to my first collection - Love Potion.

It is now available on Amazon, just follow this LINK

I would love to have your feedback/review if anyone would be so inclined ;)


Other News

I have also had a flash fiction piece included in an anthology compiled by Mary Papas 

Mary ran a competition a while back and has brought together some of the entries in a short collection 
Murder: Horror Flash Fiction 

Back to novel writing this week (in between the court sessions - Oscar Pistorius trial starts again today - in fact NOW - must dash!)

Have a good week everyone! :)

It's been a while...

Well! I have been very neglectful of my blog for well over a month now and I really should rectify that. So, where have I been? What have I been up to?


Actually the last six weeks have been somewhat of a blur. For a while my priorities were all skew-whiff, but I think I am getting back on track now. I won't go into details - I'll save that for a short story or two... haha!

I have been making up for lost time, that's for sure. I'm exhausted! I have been enjoying great interaction with my online writing group, who have been instrumental in giving me a gentle push in the direction of 'forwards'. 

Sharing 'works in progress', editing and offering and gaining feedback has been a really helpful and educational process; and fabulous practise at proofreading too. It's amazing what you can pick up from others, I feel I have learnt so much over the last week, all of which I hope, will have a positive impact on my own work.

I have read, re-read, edited, edited, edited and edited and read the first 50 pages of my novel - so much so, that I think I now know it word for word. Why? Because I have submitted it - to an actual publisher.  

I know - but I had nothing to lose. It was an open submission so I may as well go for it. Who cares about rejection? 

As well as the constant manuscript re-writes, I have been writing short stories for my new collection. A few months ago I informed Twitterland that I would be publishing it by the end of June. Thus, having stated this, I felt I had to actually deliver. Hopefully, after - guess what? - re-reads and editing - it will be up on Amazon before Monday. Fingers crossed.

Once it's up, I will be going back to novel writing. 

Such fun! 

I know a few writers who belong to writing groups (of the physical, meet-up kind) and find them invaluable, I wonder how many belong to an online group? I would love to hear from you about your experiences. Thanks for reading :)

The Liebster Award

     What a lovely surprise to have been nominated for this award by Jan Baynham. I admit to not having heard about it until now though - and then I had to use old faithful  Google to see what it was all about!

The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have a following of between 200 and 3000 – depending on which resource you read. 

You can just accept the award as an honorary one if you don’t wish to pass it on, but - where's the fun in that? 

Here are the Liebster Award rules:

• Thank and link back to the person who nominated you.

So, thank you to the lovely Jan Baynham, who has been of great support in both the blogging and writing worlds. Her short stories appear on Alfie Dog Fiction and her blog is very informative, including some great tips she gained from a Woman's Weekly Fiction Workshop that she was kind enough to share. You can also follow her on Twitter @JanBayLit 

• Answer the questions posed.

Here are the questions that Jan set for me to answer, together with my answers:

·         Who is your favourite author?

    Difficult one - I'm a bit fickle! Currently it's a throw up between  S J Bolton and Gregg Hurwitz because I think they are probably the only authors for a while that I have read more than one book of!

·         When is your favourite time for writing?

      I tend to be a morning person on the whole. Once my brood are out the door and it's just me and my cat and dog. Having said that I have written some short stories late at night in bed.

·         What is your current work-in-progress and what inspired you to write it?

     I am over half way now into my debut novel. It centres on Mel, an Interventions Facilitator in a male prison and her desire to 'get into the head' of a convicted rapist. Having worked in a prison  with a range of offenders delivering Offending Behaviour Programmes my experiences (and those of my co-workers) were my inspiration. Obviously I have made it all up though!

·         Does your writing fit into a particular genre?

  I am pitching my novel as a Psychological Thriller. My short stories are far more light-hearted and fit more with what is popular in women's magazines.

·         If you could invite three people from history to dinner, who would they be?
      1- Oscar Wilde - for his brilliance and all those amazing quotes he can spew forth at dinner!
     2- Nostradamus - how fascinating to hear his prophecies first hand, I'm sure they would keep the guests entertained - one way or another :)
    3- Sigmund Freud - I have always been interested in Psychology and his 'take' on my choices of dinner guests would certainly be an insight! Obviously it would all be sexual ...

·         What book are you reading at the moment?

     I am reading The Truth Will Out, by Jane Isaac although I do have some others on the go too! I often have 2 or 3 going and it depends on my current mood as to which I will pick up.

·         What book that you've read has successfully been turned into a film?

     I guess that depends on what you mean by 'successfully' turned into a film! I read and loved The Silver Linings Playbook and although I enjoyed the film version some of the changes they made really annoyed me! 

·         Post a link to one of your favourite poems.

     Now, I don't read poetry (awful admission I know - sorry!) and have very little knowledge of poets. I'm afraid I have to admit to not being able to recall any poem other than this one. Now there is a story behind this - this poem was featured in one of my all time favourite books The Outsiders, by S E Hinton. I read the book when I was 12 (ish) and is memorable because it was this book that sealed a friendship - a life-long one - with my friend Jo. We still quote this poem, which in the book was recited by the character Ponyboy.

·         What do you like to do when you are not writing?

     Apart from reading and spending time on social networks? Is there any time left for other activities? I enjoy walking Riley, my border terrier and spending time with my 'kids' 19, 16 and 14. I fear I may be a tad boring...

·         Whose blog - not already mentioned here - would you recommend for writers to follow?
      Wendy Clarke is someone I admire and have followed since I became interested in short story writing. She is successful, lovely and shares interesting and informative information on her blog, called 'Wendy's Writing Now' I really enjoy it.
      http://wendyswritingnow.blogspot.co.uk/

• Choose a number of bloggers to nominate.

This is quite difficult as many I know have lots of followers and so do not strictly qualify!

Apparently the number of bloggers to nominate varies depending on which source you read, I was meant to be following Jan's lead here and nominate three, but as yet have found only one who 'qualifies' has not already taken part (and Jan has chosen one I would have) or done a load of work lately which may cause them to really sweat if I nominate them!

I may have to cheat, let the side down - sorry! Perhaps I can sneak another in a bit later??

My nomination therefore is:
Fran Clark - her 'Writing Women's Fiction' blog  is both entertaining and informative, she has a lovely style. 'Holding Paradise is her debut novel and she also writes short stories. You can follow her on Twitter  @FranClarkAuthor

• Make up more questions for your nominees to answer.

Here are my questions for my nominee/s:

1) What is one mod-con that you cannot imagine living without?

2) What is you pet peeve?

3) Who are the 3 people you most admire?

4) What is the first record you purchased with your own money?

5) If you could only take two books on holiday with you, which two would you choose and why?

6) What is your favourite quote, and by whom?

7) Why do you write?

8)  In your opinion what is your best blog post? (Please provide link)

9) What are you scared of?

10) You've got 3 wishes - what are they? (Just to note - I'm afraid I can't grant them!)

I hope Fran doesn't mind flying the flag as it were - no pressure!

Thank you again Jan for the nomination :)

Not sure I deserve the award, but I'm displaying it anyway!