Wreck

I’m surfacing briefly from my revisions. Santo & Penny’s story has of necessity taken a different twist and it’s taking me far longer than I thought it would to re-write the last few chapters. Actually I have written them but in doing so I’ve lost 4,000 words. If anyone knows where they are…
Yesterday, my DH persuaded me to take a day off and we drove to Blackpool – mainly to see the wrecked cargo ship Riverdance. It’s not actually on Blackpool beach, but a few miles further north. It was hit by a freak wave in gales at the end of January and it’s been there ever since – becoming quite a tourist attraction. There were still crowds of people taking photographs.
It will eventually be floated again but it will need a very high tide, and I understand they’ll need to take some of the fuel off before they do so. One amusing thing I heard was that thousands of packets of McVitie’s chocolate biscuits have been washed ashore. How sad is that for all us chocolate biscuit lovers? Salty chocolate biscuits anyone?

Revisions

Thank you to everyone who said such nice things about my new website. I cannot thank the wonderful Heather enough for creating it.

But the excitement is over. My birthday flowers are dead. And it’s back to reality with a bump. Revisions. A long email from my editor. She was really upbeat about it – she called it a wonderful story – which I’m happy about. But she had reservations about the last few chapters – so I’ll have to re-write them.

I’ve read through her suggestions and I can see exactly where she’s coming from – it’s amazing that I can never see these things for myself. It’s because I’m too close to my work. Unable to see the wood for the trees. I know that when a manuscript is finished it’s wise to put it on one side for a while before giving it it’s final read through, and I did leave this one for a whole week but because of a deadline I couldn’t afford to leave it any longer.

I think it worked though plotting the book out beforehand (which is something I rarely do) and then just going for it without constantly re-reading what I’ve done. So I shall be immersing myself in revisions this week.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY EVERYONE

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.
-Helen Keller

Apparently there are over a billion Valentine’s cards sent every year. How amazing is that? So if you’ve either sent or received a card I hope you’ll enjoy this special day.

And of course I’m more than happy to be sharing this Valentine’s Day with the launch of my new website.

www.margaret-mayo.com

I hope you’ll find the time to take a look and let me know what you think.

Website

W-DAY IS APPROACHING

February 14th

But isn’t February 14th Valentine’s Day? And in that case wouldn’t it be V-Day?

Yes, it would, but I’m sharing the date. W-Day is something very different and far more exciting.

February 14th is the launch date of my brand new website. Website-Day! Those of you who have looked at my website before (or should I say sites because I’ve tried two different ones) will know I’ve had problems with them - simply because I was trying to be clever and build them myself. How self-deluding was that?

Now I’ve had a new one designed for me and it’s being launched on – yes, you’ve got it. Valentine’s Day.

So watch this space for the web address and after you’ve had a look around it let me know what you think.

London

I’m back from London, exhausted but happy. Lunch with my editor went very well. We talked about what she wants from me in the future, and she was sorry she hadn’t read my book yet but things have been manic at the office. I showed her my new synopsis but she wasn’t exactly thrilled with it so that’s going on a back burner for a while.

I met an extremely handsome Scotsman in a kilt in the hotel and I’m wondering whether I can weave a novel around him. Well, not him exactly, but you know what I mean. He certainly had the looks and the build for a M&B hero. I’ve actually not seen many over the years who I’ve thought would be good hero material. There was just one who I once interviewed because I set my book on a stud farm and he owned one. But although his looks were right – he was a very shy man. Definitely not a M&B hero.

And then there was the Centenary Cocktail Party – which was incredible. We were met at the door of The Wallace Collection – where it was held - by stilt walkers dressed like pink flamingos, and then greeted inside by handsome waiters offering glasses of champagne which flowed freely throughout the evening. We were all given long-stemmed red roses, and it was three hours of drinking and eating and talking. So many familiar faces, so many new ones. It’s something that will remain with me for a long time.

It was actually my birthday on that same day and waiting for me in my hotel room when I returned from exploring the new Pancras Station – which is so beautiful – and walking along the Embankment – the weather couldn’t have been better – was a most beautiful flower arrangement from Mills & Boon. I did wonder how I was going to carry it home, but I managed, and it looked lovely, though the flowers are beginning to fade a little now.

Treats

London is calling. Lunch with my editor. The cocktail party. A little bit of glamour in the life of a writer who spends most of her time tapping into her keyboard.

This afternoon I have the task of entering a whole batch of phone numbers into a new phone we’ve bought. Can you think of anything less interesting? It was lovely and sunny this morning and now it’s pouring down with rain, which doesn’t make the task any pleasanter.

Tonight, though, we’re off out to dinner at my daughter’s. She’s cooking a meal for my birthday later this week. So all in all, apart from the unenviable task of entering phone numbers, it’s going to be a lovely week.

Eureka!

When two become one – and I’m not talking about marriage. I’ve been working on a new plot, well two actually because I wasn’t getting anywhere with the first idea. I have them both in the same document and this morning I was working on the first one again when I realised that what I was typing related to the second one. What an idiot, I thought - until - Eureka! This works! So I’ve merged the two plots into one, done a few hatchet jobs here and there, and have a hopeful beginning. I’m going to run it by my editor when I lunch with her next week – so fingers crossed that she likes it.

Some other exciting news as well. My new website is almost ready! So watch this space for the launch date.