Empty Feeling

Over lunch I treated myself to reading Lesley Cookman's Muder In Steeple Martin. I thought it would give my burning brain a break from Sol Stein and all the notes I had been making. After my sandwich I stretched out and thought I would take just a half hour. Well two hours later I have finished the book which was wonderful but I have that awful empty feeling when you have finished a book and left the characters behind. I enjoyed their company so much. I love watching crime on tv but don't often read it. this book combined my joy of Midsommer Murders with a bit of romance. It would have been gripping with out the romance but the romance make the book for me. Great book. Looking at her website it looks like there's another one oout in May 2007 :)

However I needed to settle back to Sol and my note book and I just have that restless feeling....

Backwards

The long awaited book from Amazon arrived yesterday. This book is to help with the revisions on August Rock and was recommended by an agent so I couldn't ignore the advice. I went straight to Amazon an ordered it back in August.

Now with Sol Stein's Solutions For Writers in hand I reworked some of the 80 pages I had just finished. I have much work in front of me but I have to say it all makes sense and isn't changing the essence of the novel but strengthening it. I hope so as that is what it is supposed to do :) Back to the book and back to work.

Progress

Who would have thought that I would be finding as much joy cutting words as I did writing them a few months ago. Instead of looking at the word count to see how many words I have written I am checking to see how many I have cut. I am hoping that this will make the writing tighter and the pace faster although no one has critized the pace of August Rock. So as of now I have reworked 75 of 375 pages of major revision one.

This morning reading the emails I did a happy dance for another struggling writer who has just crossed sides to the published side. Anna celebrates her first sale on her blog. So that's two this week. It does happen. Hard work makes dreams come true.

Monday

Why is it so hard to get started on a Monday. I woke at 5:30 thinking I would clear the depris and get straight into revisions once I sat to the computer. Hah, I have found a millions other things to do like make soom room on my C drive which keeps flashing a low space warning. I have checked all the blogs I read to make sure I haven't missed anything.

Today I would have as Jessica Raymond has just sold her first full length book. It lifts the heart hearing news like that.

So no more procratenating..........

It's Begun

Yesterday I took the plunge and began the revisions of August Rock. Didn't get too far but at least I began :)

I also went to the Romantic Novelist Association meeting in London. I enjoyed the talk by Anita Burgh who has had one interesting life. Will now need to put one her books onto my tbr list.

I am loving Lesley Cookman's Murder in Steeple Martin haven't finished yet - not enough hours in the day.

Oh and I forgot I read Catherine Alliot's Old Girl Network this summer too. Great beach read and I enjoyed all the references to familiar things in Cornwall.

Off to some more revisions!

Summer Reads

As I wasn't doing any writing this summer, I read pretty widely but not enough as my to be read pile is still huge as growing daily!

First book off the self was by Nicola Cornick The Larkswood Legacy. I love regency so I devoured this with great enjoyment. It was a real escape form the hell of moving house. In fact it was so good I now have too more of her books sitting in my too be read pile - Lord Grenville's Captive and her latest Deceived.


Sitting beside pool at the Le Mas Candille, I read Katie Fforde's Life Skills. I love the characters and chuckled away between dips in the pool and eating the most amazing meals at the Michelin starred restaurant. This treat away with out kids was in honour of our 15th wedding anniversary. So, I had the Dh to myself, good food and wine, sun, and great reading! Looking forward to diving into Katie's next book Paradise Fields.

The next book was Kate Mosse's Labyrinth. I began this was while waiting for our delayed flight back to the UK. It had me gripped until our plane eventually touched down at Gatwick in the small hours of the morning. However when I picked it up a few nights later my pace at reading slowed as I got to the middle. I loved the history but at times struggled with the characters motivation. However the end was a gripping get away from me until I finsh this book read!

Liz Fielding's Five Year Baby Secret was a stolen delight when I was plodding through the middle of Labyrinth. There was no putting this one down. It was a pure escape. I have her latest The Sheikh's Guarded Heart sitting in the tbr pile although I am not a fan of sheikh books.

Having said that I have another one by Kate Walker sitting in my tbr pile, At the Sheikh's Command. Both Kate's and Liz's bookes have landed in the tbr pile purely because they write un-put-downable books. I read Kate's Antonakos Marriage and couldn't stop the book once I started. I waved the kids aside and ignored the glorious sunshine outside. Fantastic book - I can see why it won an award!

Then I moved onto my nephew's favorite book, William Boyd's Any Human Heart. I can't agree with the nephew that it is the best book I have ever read but I did enjoy it although it left me a bit low at the end. Would I read Boyd's latest yes. I found the way he followed one life fascinating and also enjoyed the insight into the male mind even if it was fictional. His latest is about a woman and I think I will find how he looks into the female mind interesting.

I mentioned Julie Cohen's Being a Bad Girl a few days ago and I still smile when I think about the book. I have two of her books in the tbr pile - Delicious and Married in a Rush. She also has out Spirit Willing Flesh Weak and this is on my to be bought list.

Finally, I picked up Lesley Cookman's Murder in Steeple Martin last night and cursed Lesley as it was very hard to turn out the light and leave the book until tonight. I let you know if it continues in this way :)

I am geering myself up for the big revision on August Rock. The Dd has been home sick from school the past few days so work on writing has been limited but hopefully all will return to normal tomorrow.

Research and Nostalgia

Reading Trish Wylie's blogthis morning I realize I have a hefty bit of research in front of me for A Cornish House. Not that I mind research in fact I enjoy it but my mind is ichy to write. I am actually holding myself back from the process. Hopefully this means it will flow willy nilly when I begin. Let's hope so anyway :)

I am also quite excited to meet my best friend's neice this morning. She is over as an exchange student. I can't recall the last time I saw her in person but have a picture of her in my mind. She is wearing a sweater I made for her to match the one's I made for her parent's wedding present. You see her mother was like a big sister to me. So because I knew she was in the country this weekend, I found my self thinking about my childhood. Frightening - no. Interesting to me yes. Many images came to mind of screen doors, lilacs, tea, and piles of leaves. All good images really........I am also looking forward to sharing with my kids a bit of my history. They really know nothing of my life pre-England. So here's to C bringing on more memories and linking my kids to my past.

On another note, I have figured out how to add pictures to the blog! My technological brilliance, hah, never ceases to amaze me.

The Setting

This weekend we ventured down to Cornwall again. I could say that it was purely for research purposes but that took a back seat to the glorious day out on the water. Saturday began with a bright blue sky that remained untarnished with clouds all day long. The Dh positively hopped as he prepared to take his mistress, our boat, out for her last spin of the season

The Helford River sparkled as sailors of every size headed out river as we bombed past. Once out into Falmouth Bay I waved to the bouy marker at August Rock which reminded me of the revions waiting on that manuscript. However as I looked as the coastline whizzing by I felt the huge desire to write more about my adopted home. Each time I look at the landscape it inspires me and I find my head buzzing with stories and new twists on the work in progress


We spent a few hours wandering through Falmouth which was baking in the September sunshine. Again as I peered down alley ways I felt the history and began to wonder if i should write purely historic fiction but the thought of all the research overwhelms me


After coming back to Helford at full tilt, we gently cruised to Frenchman's creek so I could 'feel' the atmosphere again. Unfortunately the tide was already too far out for us to venture beyond its beginning but as always the beauty lingers long after you have left

My Hero

Yesterday I took up the challenge of Trish Wylie on her blog to follow along and write with her for this next book. Yesterday's assignment was the Hero. Well Mark my Cornish architect from August Rock gets his own book this time with A Cornish House. The hardship of the day was that he physically looks like Hugh Jackman so I have to search the web looking for images of my hero. I know sympathy abounds for this difficult task. The DH rolled his eyes when he asked what I did all day.........

Having mentioned Bernardine Kennedy's blog yesterday another author Jan Jones stated her favorite quote:

'A mind is a terrible thing to waste on housework'

So today I will try and work on my heroine............and happily forget the house and try not to search for more pictures of Hugh.

End of the Dry Spell

Well, I did stop procrastinating long enough to put a mind map together for the next book currently called A Cornish House. Not having written in so long it practically exploded onto the computer........not a pretty sight but clearly my mind had been working over time. I even wrote the first three hundred words but I am going to stop there before I run away with myself. For this book I need to be more organized and fully flesh out my main characters before they start changing on the pages. I have promised myself I will keep better track of what is happening in the story so that I don't find myself at 50,000 words in wondering what colour so and so's eyes were!

On a delightful diversion, I finished Julie Cohen Being a Bad Girl. What a fantastic read if a triffle tricky to read and not squirm while sitting next to my seven year old. I loved the book start to finish and had the added extra of discovering on Julie's blog that she had Hugh Jackman in mind for the hero Oz. (Oh and the DD did wonder why she was being a bad girl girl!)

I'll end by pinching Bernadine Kennedy's quote of the day:

'I understand the concepts of cooking and cleaning, just not how they apply to me'.

It is so me :)

Geting Started

I am hoping this will get me back on the road to writing. I am always thinking about writing but recently I am almost afraid to take the plunge again. Yet the new characters are begging to be put on a page and live. Keeping them in my head isn't fair really.

So enough with starting a blog and off to plot and write character descrition of The House for lack of Cornish house name at the moment.