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9/1/2014 Books I wantTomorrow, I'm in London to see a play, and I will also have a list of books to buy. I hope to get my little hands on:  A Grumpy Book by Grumpy Cat. Yes, I read high literature. I'll explain why I want it in a forthcoming blog. OK, so I redeem myself with these:  The Palace of Curiosities by writer, poet, singer and performer Rosie Garland.  Under The Skin by one of my favourite writers, Michel Faber - I want to read it before I go and see the movie in March.
7/1/2014 New for my collection During the Christmas holiday, I have acquired yet more amazing items for my vintage collection! The seller who sold me the Film Weekly magazines had an absolutely amazing stock of fabulous stuff (also quite a few The Play, the theatre mag, which makes a brief appearance in The Book of Thoth!). I am not a big spender, but I could easily have bought their whole stock in one go... I will go back for more this year! I am becoming rather obsessed with theatre people from the Edwardian era and, of course, the 1920s. In The Book of Thoth, one of my characters is a former actress who was about to become a big star of the stage just before the First World War, but it is only mentioned as part of the background story. What I'd like to do is to write a novel entirely set in the world of the theatre, but the amount of research would be staggering - and I would have to find an original angle as it has been done before, hasn't it? Ideas, ideas... The pictures below are not very good as they were taken minutes before my camera gave up for good.  Picture Post, December 1945. Vivien Leigh on the set of "Anthony and Cleopatra" In the next few weeks, I will be heading to the National Portrait Gallery to see their display Starring Vivien Leigh: A centenary celebration. They also have Jane Morris: Pre-Raphaelite muse which I will see at the same time! Now back to The Book of Thoth. Draft 1 will be completed next Tuesday, January 20th. 6/1/2014 The Wind...
A lucky escape for this little seal... Hello!
Well done to my sister and her partner who found a lost injured baby seal in Staffin Bay on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, this weekend. They called the seal rescue centre and they came to pick him up... What a cute little chap! We wish him a swift recovery!
 I have started the second draft of The Book of Thoth and I'm aiming to have this version finished for early/mid March - I have no work booked so far, so I should make the most of it.
The first draft is not finished yet, but I think it is time to begin the editing process anyway, especially after a week and a bit away from the computer and the manuscript. So over the forthcoming days, I will be splitting my time between editing and getting draft 2 into shape and writing the last few scenes of draft 1. I also need to start working on my Arts Council grant application for The Right Place (which might have a change of title soon as well!). 2/1/2014 Essex skies Sunset at Paglesham by Matt ArtPix  Lovely house near Brightlingsea. In our house, there is a writer/editor and a designer, which means that we spend most of our waking hours at a desk in the middle of an urban area. It can get pretty claustrophobic and often cripples the thought process. There's nothing better than a good walk to get your brain to work again.
Robert Macfarlane has written extensively about the kinship that exists between walking and thinking and how he "remains fascinated by the idea that when on foot, we think in ways that would never otherwise be possible." I agree. After a good walk in an inspiring environment, I could easily write half a book in one sitting! So as we love walking and nature, we put our walking boots on and get out there. If you read the blog regularly, you know that our favourite place to do this is Dorset, but as we currently reside in Essex, we try and explore the area. We have had some gorgeous weather during the Christmas holidays, and managed to get to Brightlingsea, Bradwell and Paglesham. We barely saw anyone... Go to Matt ArtPix's blog to see more pictures! I have found an informative blog about Brightlingsea HERE.  HURRY! This fantastic exhibition closes this Sunday 5th January, having already been extended by two months. We went to see it on the Monday before Christmas, and therefore had the exhibition to ourselves! We were allowed to take pictures, so here are a few of the beautiful posters on display. Do go if you can, it is incredibly inspiring, evocative and enchanting, and gives you a glimpse of life in London throughout the decades. As developers carry on destroying our capital city, it is lovely to spend a few hours immersing oneself in its history and let one's imagination run wild. Perfect for a writer! Find a few more details about the exhibition on a nice little blog HERE. By the way, if you pay entry for this exhibition, you get a one year pass for the rest of 2014! Well worth it... Their next exhibition sounds interesting too! Today is the first day of 2014 and I have just started work again on The Book of Thoth, my second novel, to be released - hopefully - at the end of this year. I am trying out a few new things for this one, so the writing and publishing processes are taking much longer! More news soon... Normal service is resuming on this blog from today, so I will be posting regularly again here. Expect even more blogs about writing, art - we have our National Art Passes again this year, vintage and antiques, music and the sea this year! |
AuthorI think therefore I write. Archives
August 2024
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