Stocking Filler

I haven't made any recommendations for books here before but this one is worth a mention. It looks at the classic fairytales in modern settings and from new perspectives. More for the adults than children this would make a great stocking filler for anyone with Kindle or a Kindle app. It would also make a good retreat from the Christmas chaos if you just want to put your feet up and escape it all for a while.

Sue Moorhouse: Broomsticks, Walking Sticks and Zimmer Frames

Next Big Thing - Blog Hop

A fellow blogger and member of Authonomy, Audrey Bennett, has invited me to join in The Next Big Thing blog tour. The idea is to hop from blog to blog to discover exciting authors and their books we might not have heard about or that are still Works in Progress (WIP).  This is Week  23.

The hop rules require me to answer questions, and then at the bottom of my post, to list links to authors who will answer the same questions on their blogs next week. 

So, the Q&A part:

1) What is the working title of your book?

My latest manuscript is called The Glass House.

2) Where did the idea come from for your book?

I love gardening and inherited a glass house from my grandmother. I write women's fiction and I wanted to write a story about judging people on first impressions and the dangers of doing so. I took inspiration from the old phrase, 'People In Glass Houses Shouldn't Throw Stones.' That gave me the idea to make my main character a gardener and from that the story revolved around a Victorian Glass House that she discovers and restores.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

Women's Fiction with a hint of crime/thriller.

4) Which actors would you choose to play in your movie rendition?

As the story is set in Northern Ireland, preferably natives of Northern Ireland or at least someone who can do a plausible Norn Iron accent. Three women and three man are pivotal to the plot so there are a few roles to fill. I recently watched a film called Cherrybomb, set in Belfast. Rupert Grint plays a lead role and I was pleasantly surprised at his Northern Irish accent. Robert Sheehan is also in it and, although from Co Laois, he can also do a good accent. He would make a great Stuart. Homegrown talent in that movie is in the form of James Nesbitt and I could see him in the role of Tom.

5) What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

A sanctuary. A Workplace. When a blackmailer finds a use for it, what secrets will the glass house cultivate?

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I hope it sits well within the realm of women's fiction. It has a surface plot of romance, deception and blackmail. The underlying issue of judging people on impressions develops throughout the story so I hope it will have commercial appeal. I intend to submit it to agents and see what sort of reaction it gets. So far the feedback, on the sample chapters, on two writing sites has been positive and encouraging.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I started the story and wrote the first few chapters about a year ago. Then I turned my efforts to editing my first MS, Twisted Truth. Feeling that I've done all I can with it, for now, I returned to The Glass House and wrote the rest of the first draft within two months.

8) What other books would you compare this story to?

I read a lot of chick-lit and women's fiction but can't think of another one that combines gardening and blackmail in this manner, or that is set in Northern Ireland. Hopefully that all makes up for a unique selling point.

9) Who or what inspired you to write the book?

This answer mirrors that to question two. My own love of gardening and the phrase, 'People in Glass Houses.' One of the characters in the story is too quick to judge people on first impressions. Combine that with a stubborn mind and it's a recipe for trouble.

10) What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I hope the Northern Irish setting will appeal. I've used my blog to try and highlight this corner of the world and I hope the book could do the same. Caitlin gets a role presenting a gardening show which takes her around Ireland. The glass house is near the village of Sion Mills, which has some very unique architecture and parts of the story are set in Belfast, which provided an opportunity to show the changes and development but also reflects our history and ongoing problems.

Next Wednesday, you can visit the blogs of friends listed below to read the answers on their 'Next Big Thing.'

Melanie Jones - Melanie's debut novel will be released next year and you can also follow her on Facebook.
SJ McClanahan - a husband and wife team who write together and can also be found on Facebook.
Gail Cleare - Gail writes women's fiction and runs a critique group on Authonomy for those who write in the genre.

Beginning To Feel A Lot Like...

It's that time of year again.

As a parent, I'm normally very organised when it comes to Christmas and, whilst I usually veer far away from ornaments, I love Christmas decorations.

This year I'm finding it harder to find the spirit and had done very little shopping or thought about the decorations. I got myself geared up this weekend and dragged out the trees (all 5 of them) and the decorations. I left the children to decorate their own small trees in their bedrooms and gave them the baubles to decorate a little fibre optic tree in our family room. I turned my attention to the remaining two - one for our drawing room and the big one in the hallway. We used to have a real tree but since moving to a house with under-floor heating, we discovered it doesn't agree with the real version so that year I ended up buying a bigger artificial tree before Christmas was over.

I'm not particularly into collecting things or cluttering up the house with trinkets, but two things I look for on my travels abroad are shot glasses and tree baubles. I was quite sad to discover my Elvis-styled Santa from Las Vegas is now missing one ceramic hand but he's still gracing the tree with his cream and red jumpsuit.

I've even succumbed to the statistics and added another shopper to the Mega-Monday numbers. Now I need to turn some attention the rest of the long-list. Sorting out the house for the visitors we'll have staying with us this year, finish off the present-shopping, wrapping, card-writing and the dreaded food shopping. Not much left then!

As December is now upon us I hope wherever you are in the world, whether you celebrate Christmas or not, that your holiday is a fun one and not too stressful.

A taste of our festive decorating:

Christmas Tree

Decorated Fireplace

Elvis Santa

After publishing this post I discovered that BritMums are doing a blog hop for Christmas: BritMums Christmas Blog Hop

Published

It made me smile, although the champagne corks aren't popping yet. The school my children attend have decided to produce a cookbook in time for Christmas to raise money. They asked each family to submit an original recipe (to avoid copyright issues) that is a favourite in their home. I opted for a slow-cooked chicken and chorizo casserole. Filling, handy for busy households, tasty and, as it's slow-cooked, fabulous smell to come home to.

The kids came home from school, very excited, with the news that their recipe was one of those called out in assembly and chosen for the book. Of course I'm now under strict orders to purchase a copy of the cookbook once it's ready for sale. When I get it, I'll try to add a photo of our page up on the blog or at least post the recipe.

Confusing Tourism Stats

I read a report today on the BBC NI website and I'm still trying to work out what it says. Are we seeing an increase or decrease in tourists to Northern Ireland?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-20525743

According to these new statistics the number of oversees tourists has fallen in 2012 by 12% but then the report goes on to say that North American visitors are up 18% and hotel room occupancy up by 11%. The figures from places like Titanic Belfast and the Giant's Causeway appear very healthy and certainly in my own travels this summer, I saw more tourists than I ever recall before and a greater number of them were from overseas. I remarked on that in a few of my blog posts. The stats coming in from Titanic and the Causeway reflect what I encountered and I find it hard to believe visitors are down, overall, by 12%. I know I didn't feel that when I was queuing for a much desired cup of tea in the visitor's centre cottage at Carrick-A-Rede.

Our Place

We've had reminders recently that there are still people in Northern Ireland determined to bring the peace process to an end. I grew up in a time when reports of punishment shootings, tit-for-tat revenge, and talk of legitimate targets were daily news articles. A time when a loud bang had you wondering where your nearest and dearest where because your first thought was bomb and when a fire alarm meant bomb scare. I never want to go back to that or see another generation feel the need to get out and away.

For all this country has been through, I've always been proud to be from Northern Ireland and am glad I moved back here. It's a beautiful place and it, and the people, deserve peace. I talked about that in the post Why Northern Ireland? when I discussed why I set my stories here and talk about it on the blog. We have to acknowledge what's happened, it's part of us but there is so much more to Northern Ireland and I hope some small piece of what I do here shows that.

Today, after speculation, it's been officially announced that the G8 Summit is coming back to the UK and this time it will be in Northern Ireland. They've chosen the Lough Erne Resort outside Enniskillen in Co, Fermanagh. I visited the Resort this summer, enjoying a relaxing evening there with my husband and children, after a day spent cycling around Crom Estate and Castle Coole. It is based around golf courses and a lake, with a turreted hotel, lodges and holiday homes. It's a quiet spot around the edges of Fermanagh's lakes and we found the welcome, service and food excellent. There's already been some talk of those who will protest against or at the Summit, as usually accompanies it, but there's a strong focus on the positive aspects of this group coming to Northern Ireland. The logo for Discover NI (the official tourism site for Northern Ireland) is currently 'ni2012 our time our place.' With recent tourism highs like the MTV EMA's, the opening of Titanic Belfast, the Olympics torch relay and the investment we've seen in places like the new visitors centre at The Giant's Causeway we're seeing much greater number of visitors and maybe this is the time for the people of NI to hold our heads high (or at least higher) and be proud of our place.  Northern Ireland has climbed up the rankings of places to visit, according to Guides such as Lonely Planet (incidentally one of it's founders - Maureen Wheeler - is originally from Belfast) so perhaps this Summit will continue to put NI on the map for good reasons, rather than just our troubled past.

Losing the light and rain coming in means this wasn't the best picture (snapped as we drove out of the Resort) but this is a photo of one of the views at Lough Erne.

Lough Erne Resort

Discover NI

Writing Tips

I've seen a few blog posts coming out of the recent Mumsnet Blogfest but I chose to link to this one by Simone Antioniazzi because the 10 tips she has complied are useful for writers and bloggers. Some pragmatic advice and useful tips.

Writing Tips From The Bottom Of Their Ironing Basket