The RNA Winter Party, The Dutch Edition of The Cornish House and A Catch Up

My shoes!

Well, it has been a crazy time...from the Festival of Romance ( I blogged about it here), DS2's 18th birthday, and finishing my edits on A Cornish Affair (YAY!).

Today I am sitting in PJs wondering if I really have to venture forth from the flat or can I just be lazy all day...

Aside from what's been mentioned above, I was on Sue Moorcroft's blog yesterday sharing a romantic dream of mine here to celebrate the release of her latest book Dream A Little Dream...there's a free copy of the The Cornish House on offer for the most romantic story...

The fabulous Tracey Edges reviewed The Cornish House on her Saturday morning Radio programme Edges Review. You can listen to the programme here and the review of The Cornish House comes about a half hour from the end of the programme...

I will be signing copies of The Cornish House in Truro at Waterstones on Saturday 24th of November from 11...please come by and say hello...

I'll also be in Fowey at the Mini Du Maurier Festival called the  Cornish Compendium with the wonderful Veronica Henry talking about Inspirational Cornwall (and there's a cream tea!) on Thursday the 29th at 4PM The Old Quay House Hotel. Please come if you are around. Tickets can be purchased here.

Sterren boven Cornwall (stars over Cornwall), the Dutch edition of the Cornish House is out now...so exciting

Yesterday I sent off the edited version of A Cornish Affair to my agent and my editor...nail biting time but also relief...now a few days to catch up with life and begin writing the next book! I'll be entering NaNoWri a bit late!!!!

RNA Winter Party

I had a wonderful night catching up with friends and of course making some new ones. Frustrated as always that I didn't get to see all the people I knew there....maybe next time....

My pictures are up over the RNA Blog. And here's a pic of the boots I wore last night but they were not as lovely as Nicola Morgan's red suede ones.

Have fallen behind a bit on NaNoWriMo but am still having a ball writing it...

NaNoWriMo Progress and Travel Again

There is a bounce in my step...this year I'm on target and in fact ahead - just a tiny bit, on NaNoWriMo, which is so different from my experience last year. In the far reaches of my brain I have wondered why...because I do things like that, silly I know. I have come to the conclusion because I have let go. I have shut the inner editor firmly off and I'm writing pure fantasy because I know nothing of the thriller world or genre. It might be classified as a women's fiction thriller but of course there is no such thing. It is not like my previous venture into the thriller world with the experimental Dickens Challenge piece EXPLOSIVE DREAMS which was chick lit meets thriller. It is a wholly different beast and pure fun to write.

I began on the first of November fully expecting THE SUMMER OF THE BLACK HARE to fall in line with previous work - the work that has been growing into my voice for the past few years but no. I have discovered that when I try first person my voice morphs into a different mode. It wants to take risks and experience things differently. It still explores some dark things, but it is more playful as maybe when using 'I' a lightness from me must slip in - a touch of irreverence.

This is a good thing to learn as I have said here before AUGUST ROCK needs to be in first person so when I make that transition I will be aware of the consequences....for August Rock is not meant to be a thriller but it may become more shall we shall Gothic for lack of a better term...

In the meanwhile I'm cracking on with TSOTBH and enjoying every moment of it - because if I'm not I just move on - such freedom is bliss. I am also aware the title does not fit the book any more, but I doubt this book will ever see the light of day so it doesn't matter and I can write one in third person which will.... (Funny how one knows instinctively that the title doesn't fit - may explore this thought more another time)

On Tuesday I fly back to the UK again in time for the RNA Winter Party....oh the joy and the agony of what to pack and wear....maybe it's a bit like what to call a book....

Are you a 'try everything on in the cupboard sort of person' - or do you know without even looking what to wear -or what to title to call a book -or even what to write??????

RNA Winter party

Starting this blog from the end of the evening! The party for me ended in fab Italian restuarant in Pimlico - a great finish to fabulous evening.

It was just a wonderful party - the atmosphere was abosultely buzzy. So many people and not enough time as ever and of course complicated by the fact that I now know more and more people and had DS1 in tow. In order to keep him happy I handed over my camera so I appologize that i feature in many of these photos!
Many of my other photos are over on the RNA Blog and here's a link to Janet Gover's blog for shoe photos (including my H&M Jimmy Choos!) from the Winter Party and launch Party of LOVES ME, LOVES ME NOT. Couldn't take shoe photos because I wasn't in charge of the camera and didn't want ds1 to get slapped in the face :-)

Reckless

It's half term and all my chicks are here, which is brilliant. However it means that no writing gets done nor should it - they are my focus.My editing has ground to a halt and A Cornish House remains at two chapters polished. Fine.

Now next month is crazy. This is the month where I compose the family Epistle to send to family and friends come December. This should be a quiet month of preparation but alas it is not meant to be. I will be all over the place again. First I am hosting an alumnae function for Mt. Holyoke and several of the Sevens Sisters here in Dubai when DH is away - so sans extra hands to help. Then I am off to the UK again - for a couple exeats, the RNA Winter party and so on. I return from there to be at the naming ceremony of two vessels for DH's work on the 24th then it's Eid here and DH wants to see the kids so I am back on a plane for a long weekend in the UK and boom November is over...

Not a lot of time for much of anything but breathing really. So being typical me I realize I won't have the focus required to continue editing ACH because it demands my full attention to really see what I need to do and make the appropriate changes. This is where the reckless bit comes in - do I want to lose a month of the year to not writing? Who me - wonder woman? Absolutely not therefore I have signed up for NaNoMo. Yup- stupid definitely but I have nothing to lose. I'm hoping that joining up with other deranged souls I will produce a sh*tty first draft of PILGRIMAGE. This is truly madness because I have been toying with idea of making this a time slip novel and I haven't done the historical research - so the first draft may well be all the present part with chapters full of 'fill in here later'.

So today I begun making cards of things I do know about Pilgrimage - the title and it is set in Cornwall but haven't decided where. My heroine's name is Prudence (Pru).

That's not a lot to begin with but I have nothing to lose.......

Now can you share with me what pilgrimage means to you?