Church again

Just for interest I've found a link to the tiny church I featured on Friday. I have an interior photo in my file but this is so much better.

http://www.walesdirectory.co.uk/tourist-attractions/Churches_and_Chapels/Wales7478.htm

church

This is the tiniest church imaginable. It's in Wales and there's no seating, just an alter. But it's a must to visit every time we're in the area.

Time

What happened to Monday? Where did it go? We had another weekend spent with our eldest grandson - we went to the cinema this time to see PAUL. It's not somethig I would have chosen to see but in the end I actually enjoyed it.



And yesterday we went shopping for paint for our bedroom. It's badly in need of redecoration and new curtains. I do plan to make my own but have yet to find any material I like. And I wouldn't like to hazard a guess as to when the room will actually be done! We've been talking about it for so long...

Adam & Eve are not yet true best friends.....

Book covers

Compare these two covers - my very first one and my latest! It's almost as though they've gone full circle.

Names

My new hero and heroine are taking shape and becoming real people even though I seem to have been doing anything but writing recently. Believe me, though, the new story may be out of sight but it's never out of mind. I still don't have names for my H&H - they're temporarily called Adam & Eve. But I'm tossing the idea around of Dendra for my heroine. It's the name of a small Greek island but also a friend of a friend, etc, knows someone of that name and said it came from the Greek word for rhododendron.

What do you think?

St Valentine's Day

Do you know, I'd almost forgotten it was Valentine's Day today so I'm coming in a bit late wishing everyone a Happy St Valentine's Day. Perhaps the reason I'd forgotten was that we've had a full weekend with our eldest grandson staying here. We took him shopping (he's at the age when he likes designer clothes), we intended to go to the cinema but the film he wanted to see had finished two days before! And we went to one of our local Chinese restaurants for dinner. Which was a treat. So this morning I had a lie in and then while my DH hoovered I polished the furniture and cleaned the windows - and consequently forgot all about blogging and Valentine's Day.

So I hope you all enjoyed it and that you had cards from your loved ones - even cards from secret admirers (those are the best kind).

Book cover

I've just found the cover for my latest book A NIGHT WITH CONSEQUENCES. It's not going to be released until May here in the UK, but Amazon have the cover up already. Isn't it just gorgeous?

I'll tell you more about the book a little nearer the time of publication. Or maybe Kara or Blake will tell you theselves if they get too impatient.

Memories

I think I mentioned some time ago (a long time ago actually) that I had come across the first manuscript I had ever written. Well, I found time today to take it out of its box. It didn't start out as a HM&B, it was just going to be a love story to please myself, I had no thought of trying to get it published. But the more I wrote the more I realised that I wanted to do something with it. The thing was I didn't know how to go about it.



I found out there were such things as Writer's Circles and I joined my local one. By this time I'd written about 25,000 words and I was lucky in that the lady who ran it was a HM&B writer - or just M&B as it was in those days. Her name was Norrey Ford, I don't know whether any of you have ever heard of her? Don't forget this was in the 70's, so she must have been writing in the 60's, maybe even earlier.



These were her first words:



This is a promising beginning, but you will realise it is a beginning, and not yet anything like submitting to a publisher. Most writers, even experienced professionals, do 2 or 3 drafts before a book is finally polished sufficiently. However if you are prepared to work like a galley slave, through blood, sweat and tears, like all professionals do at the beginning, you'll make it - possibly in a couple of years, though some take at least three. Writing is not an easy profession and I would never encourage anyone who didn't have what it takes - that would lead to too much heartbreak. I do think you have what it takes, but only you can tell if you have the stick-to-it-ness and the will to succeed. By your reaction to this first critique on the manuscript you will find out for yourself what you can take, and I shall certainly know.



The date of this was September 1974 and my first book was published in January 1976, less than the 2-3 years she prophesied. So I guess I did have the stick-to-it-ness and the will to succeed.



That first manuscript was my learning curve, it didn't get accepted but I knew by then what I wanted to do and which direction I needed to take. Just for fun here is the first paragraph. I called it Live For Tomorrow. (which I realise now sounds like a James Bond film!!)



Trina sat with her head buried in her hands. The sunlight slanting through the window enhanced the golden tones of her long silken hair. Unaware of the picture she made, the glow of the evening sun givining her an almost ethereal appearance, she lifted her head. Her clear blue eyes and wide, generous mouth gave the impression of sudden determination.



This isn't so far off the style I write now - and I could almost use this paragraph as an opening to a new novel. In fact it's given me an idea...

Foto Friday

I'm in the Cotswolds today.

Isn't the car cute on a hotel forecourt?

Then there's the little village of Bourton on the Water where the river runs through. This is a lovely place with lots of little individual shops and in the summer time it's always crowded.

And a cottage to die for!

The Cotswolds is one of my favourite parts of England.

Slowly, slowly.

Wednesdays are supposed to be about the progress I've made so far this week. The short answer is not much. I'm busy plotting. And as I haven't yet found names for my new hero and heroine they are being temporarily called Adam and Eve.