OTT celebrations

I finished my book of tips for writers and thought I deserved a treat.
On Tuesday I had vegetable filled pasta parcels in a rich tomato sauce, followed by ground almond and polenta cake topped with caramelised pears and marscapone cream. No wine. I rarely drink alcohol. This meal was taken at Puccini's in Worcester with the other members of LLWL - Literary Ladies Wot Lunch. A group of friends who all write professionally and all on different genres.
Today I spent the morning with a friend from schooldays and this afternoon was Betty's Book Club. We discuss the book we've read for half an hour, or even longer, and then it turns into something similar to Loose Women.
Time to get back to work now. And here's something to look forward to. A guest blogger. On 1st November the fragrant Julia Douglas will be here discussing her new book.

Nothing to do with writing

One tiny problem I have when going away is where do I put my hair at night? A wig stand is bulky to pack. I found the perfect solution at the last place we stayed. I turned a little dog into a friendly lion.

 

 

Your book is conspicuous by its absence

Those are the words my editor sent me in an email. They will remain with me for ever and should really be the title of a book.  ‘Your book is conspicuous by its absence’ was a real hefty kick up the backside and now it’s done. It stopped me faffing about and made me get down to work. I say it's done. I mean the first draft. Now comes the lovely bit. The polishing tweaking, changing it to get it as good as I can.

And I’ll let you know what it’s called when I’ve decided. And I’ll let you know when it appears.

Not our car!

Betty, born and bred in Yorkshire, reckoned it was God’s Own County we were taking a holiday in. We spent last week in Yorkshire and Betty had it wrong. It was God’s Own Swimming Pool.

Our holiday cottage was set on a hill. Lucky for us. We had fantastic views of floodwater where the roads and fields should be. And each day we watched as the island a JCB was parked on grew smaller and smaller. Then the waters receded.

Did I stop us from enjoying ourselves? No! We’d tackled floods before and drove through most, exploring the beautiful Dales. And, as if we hadn’t had enough water, we spent our final day of the holiday on a canal boat.