One To Watch

My manuscript, The Glass House, has been chosen by the Authonomy Editors at the Harper Collins Authonomy website as this week's One to Watch. I'm so thrilled that it was chosen and at the comments they left on their blog about it.

If I didn't already have an incentive to get back to something I love, this has provided the nudge I needed.

I've been saying I feel like framing it...

And if that wasn't shameless enough, here's a link to the full blog post.

It's a new...

Well, just about everything.

There have probably been a billion posts since the 1st of Jan about resolutions, new year, new me but the truth is I'm hopeless at resolutions so I've stopped even trying to make them.

I am, however, annoyed with myself about how long it is since I last posted on the site or sat at my laptop and took time to edit one of my stories, never mind start a new one.

My excuse is I went back to work full-time and it's taken a toll on my free time and how I organise it but I want to get back to it so this is my first step. A new pen name, a new avatar and a new look blog but hopefully still a bit of fun, a few twisting tales and plenty of female characters getting up to all sorts.

I'm not going to start this new look with an empty promise but I do hope it will inspire me to get back to a hobby that's given me a lot of pleasure so watch this space and hopefully there'll be a new story posted soon.

BBC 500 Words

The Chris Evans Breakfast Show ran a 500 word writing challenge for children and my son decided to have a go at it. He loved writing the story and was thrilled when we got the email to say he got through the first selection round  - where they selected 3000 out of over 90,000 stories to go forward. He was disappointed to get the next email saying his story didn't get into the final round but we're all so proud of him and he's taken the story into school to read it out

So, here's his entry and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as we have.

Doughnut Dad

Max was on his way up to bed. I hate vegetables, he thought. He’d had another row with dad that night. Dad wanted him to eat sprouts and Max had just pushed them round his plate, saying he’d rather have doughnuts for supper.

That night Max dreamt of having doughnuts every day.

The next morning when he woke-up he went downstairs to breakfast and when he went into the kitchen he found three doughnuts on a plate!
‘Hip-hip-hooray,’ he shouted.
He took a bite.
‘Mmmmmmm. Melted chocolate doughnuts,’ he said.

Dad came in. ‘Come on,' he said. ‘Let’s go see haunted doughnut mountain in the cinema!’
 ‘Hooray,' shouted Max again.
After the movie, they went out for lunch. Dad ordered five doughnuts for each of them.
‘Yum,’ said Max, when their rainbow coloured plate of doughnuts arrived.

Every meal for the next ten days, Max’s dad gave him doughnuts and nothing else. No tasty sausages, no delicious chicken, no softly, flaking fish. No chips or creamy potatoes. No squishy parcels or ribbons of pasta coated in Italian sauces, bursting with flavour. No bread. And not even ONE, SINGLE VEGETABLE!

Max could feel his teeth rotting. They were starting to hurt from all that sugar, even if he cleaned them ten times a day.

On the tenth night, Max climbed the stairs to bed. His tummy ached and his feet plodded with a thump on each step. He was fed-up. Once more he cleaned his teeth but he was sure the sugar continued to cling to them. Then he curled up in bed.

Dad came in. ‘You’re very quiet tonight,’ he said, sitting down on the edge of Max’s bed.
‘My tummy hurts from all those doughnuts and my teeth are stinging.’
‘I see,’ said dad. ‘Sounds like you’re a bit bored of doughnuts.’
‘I know you love them and all,’ said Max, sitting up. ‘But could I please have something different!’
‘Well,’ dad said thoughtfully. ‘Tomorrow is Sunday. I’ll see what I can do.’

Dad tucked Max up and ruffled his hair. Max fell asleep and in his dreams he imagined a big plate of roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and beef in a pool of thick, dark gravy. He licked his lips, almost able to taste the big mound of mashed carrots and parsnips, a well in the centre containing a curl of melting butter. 'Mmmm. Vegetables,' he called out in his sleep.

 

Undertaking Love: Kat French

I've mentioned in previous posts that I belong to some online writing communities and one of them is the Harper Collins owned Authonomy.

It's a review site where writers can upload as much or as little of their work as they like, subject to a 10,000 word minimum. Readers can also join up. The site also comes with a forum, where several critique groups can be found. I've found them to be one of the most valuable aspects of the site. At one stage I ran the Romance Crit Group and I'm one of the original, participating members of the Women's Fiction Crit Group, run by Gail Cleare.

Previously, there was a lively critique group for chick-lit. Some of the chick-lit writers have since formed Vanity Case Books.

One book, which I first came across in the chick-lit group, is Undertaking Love. I've had the great privilege of reading and reviewing a brief sample of this story, at an earlier stage of its life, and was thrilled when the news came that Harper Collins had picked it up and would publish it. The book is available to pre-order. The release date is 25th April 2013 and I can't wait to download my copy so I can find out what happens to Marla and whether the wedding chapel and funeral parlour find a way to co-exist and live in harmony.

Good luck Kat and I'm sure you'll have a whole new legion of fans very soon.

Post Love Comment

As a full-time mum and blogger, I joined BritMums blogging network and had the privilege of meeting some other very busy blogging mums. One of whom, Victoria Welton, blogs at Verily, Victoria Vocalises.... Every Friday Victoria runs a linky called Post Comment Love and this week I finally got round to joining in. So, if you'd like to view any of the variety of posts added to the linky please check them out on the links above. You'll also find them on twitter with #PoCoLo.

Seaforde Gardens

Near the village of Seaforde in County Down a balmy oasis shelters some stunning butterflies. Seaforde Gardens is home to a tropical butterfly house, two joined glasshouses, one containing butterflies and the other reptiles, fish and birds.

We've visited lots of times before and on other occasions we've visited the grounds and maze, as well as the butterfly house. There are separate charges for anyone thinking of visiting. Today we stayed in the warmth of the tropical houses, apart from a brief sojourn for the kids to clamber around the play area. The butterflies are free flying and were quite happy to land on their visitors. The kids always enjoy checking on the cabinets of cocoons and today we saw a recently freed butterfly drying its new wings.

The other highlight are the peacocks and peahens which wander freely around the gardens. They were out in force today, the boys doing a great deal of showing off for the girls. The rustle of their showy tails could be heard all around as they vibrated them.

A butterfly making the most of the oranges dotted around the butterfly house

Enjoying a bowl of nectar

A peacock showing off for the peahens

If you click on this photo you should be able to see another peacock with his tail feathers on display in the background

      
http://www.seafordegardens.com/index.php?id=1

Flash Fiction

I love the challenge of Flash Fiction. I posted this story on SkyPen, meeting the challenge of a story on any topic, in any genre, in 99 words.