An Awfully Big Blog Adventure View RSS

There's an owl under my seat (Anne Rooney) 13 Jul 6:41 AM (yesterday, 6:41 am)

This isn't about books, though it might feed into a book one day. I was going to write about AI, but it's a Sunday and I think we could do with something more cheering. So I give you owls.

My parents used to collect owl figurines. When my dad died, the second to go, my brother and I were left with about 80 owls of different sizes. It's hard to know what to do with 80 owls if you don't share the previous owner's passion regard for them. I don't have space in my house for a collection of owls, either. What to do with the owls was a tricky question. I took a couple (one is an outdoor owl and sits in my garden), and my brother took one or two. We gave most to charity shops. But some were smuggled. 

Whenever someone who had known my parents visited the house, my nephew or neice took a small owl from the stockpile and hid it somewhere in the visitor's. I found two owls unstolen into my car. One still lives in the glovebox, one in the door compartment. 

And yesterday I found a third, jammed under the seat. It's been there more than year, waiting quietly among the dropped sweet wrappers and baby socks. What a wonderful moment of discovery! A quick flash reminder, not only of my dad but of my nephew's funny, thoughtful kindness in those difficult days of sorting through two lives. 

Anne Rooney 

Out now, Weird and Wonderful Dinosaur Facts, illustrated by Ro Ledsema, Arcturus 2025

 

And for Today's 'Prompt Response'. Penny Dolan 12 Jul 10:05 AM (2 days ago)

 The heat has been weighing down on everything for too long, and I feel too lazy to write anything right now, and way to lacking in self conviction. So I was pleased when, shuffling around in my bookshelves, I rediscovered the original 'A Writer's Book of Days', published in America over two decades ago.

 

Judy Reeves, the author, labels her book with an rather enthusiastic strapline, 'A Spirited Companion & Lively Muse for the Writing Life'. A title definitely not of the 'Construct your own MegaBlockbuster' writing genre. 

Month by month, in her bracingly encouraging style, Reeves suggests methods of breaking through reluctance and doubts along with lists a mixed selection of gossipy 'famous writer' facts. The main drive of the book, however, is to encourage the reader to build a daily writing practice.

To push things along, Reeves gives a list of optional Daily Prompts, leaving the reader free as to how to respond to the idea, and whatever character, voice or style they choose. She is, simply , very keen for her students to do some writing, to not put it off, and to get some words on the page asap. Also, I felt myself responding to the style of  her suggestions.

So here are seven of her random prompts, which you could use for a bit of daily writing of your own right now.

1 Write about a time you got what you wanted.

 2 The last time I saw . . . 

 3 Open the box

 4 Write about a wound.

 5 These were the reasons to stay.

 6 Write about a voice.

 7  Night is falling. You're not at home.

 

 Do any interest you, I wonder?

 If so, have fun! 

Penny Dolan 

I'm delighted to say that Judy Reeves website is there for you to find out more about her work and teaching:  https://www.judyreeveswriter.com/  The book pictured is a revised version: I wonder what has been changed?

RED by Sharon Tregenza 8 Jul 4:00 PM (5 days ago)

RED 

When I first started writing children's books, many years ago now, I was interested in the idea of using colour to create certain emotions and responses. There's a whole psychology involved and it's fascinating.

RED is an interesting one. It attracts attention and is often used to depict danger, anger or excitement so should be used sparingly unless that's the emotion you want to evoke, but conversely, this colour can be used to convey love and warmth.

Here are some examples of authors using the colour red to add energy and emotion to children's books.

Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall is a funny colourful story about being true to yourself. Here red is used emotionally and symbolically.

Members' News 6 Jul 10:00 PM (7 days ago)

 The sun is shining and life seems to have slowed down a little, but there are a few news items.

Moira Butterfield's newest book, the Secret Life of Clouds, will be published July 31st. It's the last book in the Secret Life series, published by Quarto, and the series has sold in many languages around the world.

Another of Moira's books, Look What I Found By the River, published by Nosey Crow, has been long-listed for the prestigious Wainwright Prize for children's nature writing. 

Check out Moira's website. https://moirabutterfield.co.uk/

Special congratulations to Teresa Heapy, whose first novel for children was published by David Fickling Books on July 3rd. It's illustrated by Adam Beer and is about the special bond Will has with his dog, Whisker - who turns into a wolf.

Check out Teresa's website for the full details. https://teresaheapy.co.uk/will-wolfheart/

And just look at this gorgeous cover!

Miriam Halahmy has been busy with events. During Empathy Week, June 9th-13th, she spoke to a massive 2,700 children in KS2 and KS3. 

On June 10th, as part of Hillingdon Libraries Empathy Festival, she presented her book, Saving Hanno, to 1800 KS2 pupils and Always Here For You to 600 KS3 students over Teams, with PP slides and a brief writing exercise, which they all loved. "We created a new slide in each session, to share the writing," she said. (This is a great idea for online sessions, which are often hard to manage.)

 On Thursday June 12th, she was guest author  at Hounslow Libraries Book Prize presentation. "I had my own slot to talk about The Emergency Zoo and Saving Hanno, to 300 KS2 pupils and then I announced the winners. It was a fab week."

Rights Reversion by Paul May 3 Jul 9:00 PM (10 days ago)

About six months ago I decided that it was time I did something about getting back the rights to the books I published back in the early years of this century. Most of them remained technically 'in print', though in practice they were 'print on demand' and available as ebooks, and as I hadn't received any cash for any of them for at least ten years there seemed little point in their presence on the colourful Penguin Books website.  

I asked the Society of Authors how to go about getting the rights back and they told me to write to the publishers. I thought I'd ask the agency which did the deals for those books who to contact, and they were happy to do the job themselves, so now I have the rights to my work back, and I'm wondering what to do with the books. Of course, they shouldn't really still be there on the Penguin website. Another job to do.

I'm not interested in making them into ebooks, so that simplifies things a little, and it looks to me as if, for a relatively small investment, I could produce paperback books for a reasonable price. I wouldn't need to sell very many books to make more from them than I have done in the last ten years from the traditionally published versions.

I'd got that far in my thinking when it occurred to me that I don't have any digital files of those books. Well, only of one of them, and that is the book I somehow managed not to put on the list for rights reversion. So if I want to publish them I'll have to type them all out again. That's not the end of the world. I could do that, and fix a few things at the same time. But then there's the question of the illustrations. Four of the books are heavily illustrated, if that's the right phrase, and I suspect it wouldn't be straightforward to use the illustrations. But I can look into that, contact the illustrators, and if necessary the books could be re-illustrated. I have a candidate in mind!

There's a lot to think about. Being me, I'd want to do as much of the design and layout as possible myself. I'd need the right software and I'd need to learn how to use it. A quick look around on the internet suggests that this is one of those situations where, even though you only want to do a relatively simple task, you need to have a vast and powerful piece of software like Indesign in order to output a print-ready document of a quality you're happy with. Let's hope I'm wrong about that. 

However, none of these things really matter if I don't think the books are worth re-publishing, and about two of them I have serious doubts. My first book, Troublemakers, went through a lot of changes that I've written about before and it certainly isn't the book I originally set out to write. It was meant to be a tough but funny story about racism and misogyny and contained some splendidly vile baddies, but in the editing process everything got toned down. I understood why, but although racism and misogyny have not yet been banished from football I don't think I'd want to republish this one.

I also think it's interesting that I've seen very little discussion lately of something that was central to my original conception of the book. Having seen that the fittest pupil in the school where I was working was a girl (AND she had Type1Diabetes, AND she was great at football) I wondered how good a female footballer would have to be before a top football club like, say, Barcelona or Liverpool, would want to challenge the structure of world football and sign her on. I still wonder that. And, by a strange piece of serendipity, I was looking through some old photos yesterday and noticed this picture which I must include, especially after Penny Dolan's post about notebooks the other day. This is the very moment I had the idea for what became that first book. The dream noted underneath has something to do with being a school governor at the time!

The other book I have doubts about is called Nice One, Smithy!, and the trouble with this book is that it has dated because of the contemporary football references. The class guinea pig called Ronaldo I might just about still get away with, but the references to the  Brazilian style of football are probably at least 40 years out of date, and as for Michael Owen . . . On the other hand, I can easily update those references, and if I'm publishing it myself I guess I can update them as often as necessary. So that one goes on the 'possible' list.

I wrote a second football novel, Defenders, which still seems fresh to me. Again, a few footballers' names need changing and I think some of the characters will need mobile phones. The landline phone in the hallway was on its way to being a thing of the past even back when I wrote the book. Luckily 'The Magic of the FA Cup,' is still a thing. And, as a small sidetrack, How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won The FA Cup by JL Carr is a hugely entertaining read.

Then I have two Norfolk novels which I definitely want to republish. Green Fingers has lovely illustrations by Sîan Bailey, but as three of them are on my wall, specially altered for me by Sîan I think it's unlikely I'll be able to use them. In any case, as the book contains a character based on my daughter, and is dedicated to her, it might be fun to get her to illustrate it. 

The other Norfolk book is Rain, and I'd love to have a new edition of this if only to change the cover, which I've always disliked (sorry, designers). Both Rain and Green Fingers may need a little adjustment to the phone/tech aspects, but luckily Rain's mother, Max, is a New Age Traveller who wants nothing to do with tech.

Then there are two more books, both of which, it seems to me, work as well today as they did when I wrote them. Cat Patrol is very short, about 2000 words, and was illustrated by Peter Bailey. Again, I have some of these illustrations on my wall, and I think it may well be too complicated to use them. The original cover by Guy Parker-Rees was, I think, the publishers' third attempt to find something they were happy with. I guess there will now be a fourth. 

Finally there's the book I wrote about a few months ago, Billy and the Seagulls. This had the same illustrator, Kate Sheppard, as Nice One, Smithy, and it would be fun to have new editions of these with the same pics, but who knows? 

In all this I take heart from the example of the above-mentioned JL Carr who made a habit of buying back the rights to his books, along with as many copies as remained in warehouses, and published his two final novels himself. The Quince Tree Press, which he founded, is still going, and publishes its own very fine editions of all Carr's novels.

Together Again - Joan Lennon 2 Jul 4:30 PM (11 days ago)

I've recently moved into a small flat of my own and been reunited with books that defined the first 70 years of my life. I wasn't aware of missing them before - I knew where they were and I knew they were safe, and I didn't think about them. But now they are in my bookcases. I can see them, touch them, nod a greeting, and know they are there within arm's reach (it is a VERY small flat) at any time of the day or night.

And I am starting to re-read! Old friends, revisited, that remind me of why they were my friends in the first place. It's a very specific, particular pleasure.

When my mother, who was by then almost completely blind, moved into her last home, she brought all their books with her. Her sitting room was lined with bookcases, filled with books she couldn't read. But they were there, within reach, full of memories from a rich reading life that she'd shared with my father. It made absolute sense she wanted them, old friends, with her. Some of those books are with me now. I guess I'm re-reading for both of us. She'd like that.

Joan Lennon's website

Joan Lennon's Instagram

MY PERFECT NOTEBOOK by Penny Dolan 30 Jun 11:22 PM (13 days ago)

 Last night I finished a notebook. Today, the first of July, I will start a new one. The empty pages will be a kind of invitation, but how will this new book and I get along?

 

Notebooks meet a variety of needs. They work as a home for ideas and inspiration on the run, for the safe storage for facts and research notes, as canvas to fill with 'morning pages' thoughts, as a creative space for collecting words, memories and images,or simply as lodging for ephemeral everyday needs. 

Many books have lined or - worse - narrow lined pages, which, while being useful, must carry a feeling of restriction for anyone with big handwriting. Some newer designs have squares, like French notebooks, or dots or hearts as markers instead. Plain pages are, to me, a whole other writing experience.

Notebooks also come in different shapes and sizes.  I've used all sorts in my time: cheap school exercise books; hard covers rigid with efficiency; indulgent 'travellers' notebooks with back pockets for tickets & stubs; annoyingly tiny notebooks for tinier fingers; huge wire-bound books, sectioned for subjects;  a couple of those richly embossed notebooks with magnetic closures - and less than rich paper inside, imo - and many other models alongside and inbetween.   

 

Chocolate Nation - Sue Purkiss 29 Jun 9:00 PM (14 days ago)

 Belgium is well-known for a number of things: beautiful old cities, waffles, moules et frites, the European Commission, Tintin - and, of course, chocolate. So when earlier this week my grandson Casper suggested visiting a chocolate museum in Antwerp (my son and his family live in Brussels, and I was visiting them), I certainly wasn't going to say no.

We went by train to Antwerp - whose station, incidentally, is quite incredible: immensely tall, with a beautifully decorated ceiling and an extraordinarily ornate clock. The museum, which is only a few years old, is just a couple of minutes'walk from the station, and if you're a chocolate lover, it's a must. (If you're not, then probably best stay away.)

It's an extraordinary piece of design and technology. You're only allowed in a very few people at a time: the doors to each of the first four rooms open to let you in, then swing closed behind you. And these four rooms take you on the journey of the cocoa pod, from the trees where it grows in South America to its eventual transformation in Belgium into delicious chocolate. The whole experience is really clever: light and sound and heaven knows what else combine to show you each stage of the process. It's beautiful, but it's also very informative: you learn without realising you're learning. 

After these four rooms, you go first into a sort of virtual restaurant, where you sit down in front of a plate and watch as tiny people zoom around in front of you - to be honest, I'm not quite sure what they were doing, but it was all very pretty and entertaining.

And then you go into a room with a slightly more conventional layout, where you learn about the history of chocolate making in Belgium, and the people involved. I was intigued to learn about Guylian - those chocolate seashells that are in every supermarket. They were developed in 1958, by a young couple named Guy and Liliane. Guy was a passionate chocolate maker. He spotted a gap in the market. Chocolate tended to be more of a winter thing - but what if you could create something that evoked summer? On holiday at the Belgian seaside, the couple hit on the idea of creating chocolate seashells filled with praline. Guy's responsibility was creating the chocolate and praline, and Liliane's job was the all-important design. Guylian was born, and now their chocolates are sold all over the world.

Innovation continues. A few years ago, someone discovered that if you combined certain types of cocoa beans, the chocolate that emerged was pink, with a taste that's creamy, but also fruity - and completely natural.

By this time, I was beginning to wonder if we were going to get to actually taste some of this deliciousness. The next room concerned the people who actually grow the trees and harvest the pods, and the initiatives which have been created to help them succeed and imrove their conditions and outcomes. Then, passing this beautiful castle, made entirely, of course, out of chocolate, we finally came to the tasting room, where we judiciously sampled around ten different strengths of liquid chocolate - "Hm, not sure whether I prefer this one or the one back at the beginning - maybe better have another taste, just to be sure..."

And of course, there was a shop.

It's a fascinating museum - not just because of the pervading chocolatiness, but also because of the innovative ways in which it tells its stories. Very well worth a visit - and Antwerp too is lovely, though we only had time for a quick hike round to the old town and the river.

Out of my Comfort Zone -- and Having Fun by Sheena Wilkinson 28 Jun 8:00 PM (15 days ago)

I don't really 'do' small children. Never having had any children of my own, or any nieces or nephews, I've had little to do with them. When I do primary school visits, I insist that the minimum age I'll work with is nine. Which makes sense -- I've written books for middle grade, teen, young adult and adult, but nothing for smaller kids. 

But this post comes to you after a full day of reading to Very Small Children Indeed, including babies in prams. Reader, I am shattered! But what fun it was, and I've decided to tell you about it, partly because those of you who are writers might also find you're asked to do something you didn't think you could, and end up rather enjoying. And in the current financial and intellectual climate, we could all do with maximising our chance to earn money. 

One of my main roles over the last ten years has been as a Royal Literary Fund Fellow. The RLF is the world's oldest literary charity, founded in 1790 with a remit to support writers. Their ethos is simple: writers matter because writing matters. And they put their money where their mouth is in various ways: giving grants to writers in need, but also giving writers work in a wide range of educational and community settings. I like to see them as a matchmaker: matching up the writers' skills with people who would benefit from them. I started off in 2015 as a Writing Fellow in a university, helping students with their essays, and since then have delivered various kinds of workshops in universities, schools, workplaces, mental healthcare settings and more. 

What has this to do with reading 'Piglet Meets a Heffalump' to Very Small Children Indeed?

Well, the RLF derives most of its income from authors' estates (mine won't be worth much, but I'm going to make sure I give them something) and one of their most high-profile donors was A.A. Milne, most famous, of course, as the writer of Winnie-the-Pooh. Next year is the centenary of the publication of the first WTP book, and  there will be celebrations in lots of places, starting off in my very own Northern Ireland. 

Disney, Historic Royal Palaces and the Royal Literary Fund have got together to transform part of the grounds of Hillsborough Castle in County Down into a storybook wonderland: Winnie-the-Pooh's Hunny Hunt. Every Saturday a different RLF author will bring the world of Winnie-the-Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood to life. My remit -- being local I was the first of the authors to give it a go -- was to read from WTP as well as from my own work. 

I was well looked after by everyone -- by the RLF (as always!) and by representatives of Disney and the staff at Hillsborough, but the biggest thanks must go to my own old toys, pictured at the top. I wasn't sure who would turn up to Owl's Storytelling Corner, but I was pretty sure they would be Too Young for my own books. And so it proved. The children ranged from eleven-ish down to nought-ish, with the average being about four. They had never heard of me or my books; they just wanted a story. Luckily I had chosen 'Piglet Meets a Heffalump' which is a Very Satisfying Story Indeed. 

I had brought Betjeman Bear, Blue and Scottish Toby along simply to look cute, along with a 'hunny' jar but very soon I pressed them into service to act it all out. After all, long before Disney, the original Pooh characters were based on real toys owned by Milne's son Christopher, so perhaps it was fitting that my scruffy old toys* played their part. Betjeman made a dignified Christopher Robin; Blue, who has sat on my bed for 56 years, did not deserve to have his head jammed into a hunny pot for the entertainment of small children, but he has survived worse over the years, and Scottish Toby made a surprisingly convincing Piglet. 

I learned a lot today. I learned that if you let one child hold one bear, you have to let her tiny sister hold the other one, even if the latter's nose is dripping snot which she is cheerfully rubbing with the same hands she is holding out for the bear. I learned that small children love being asked to give 'a loud roar of sadness and despair' in Heffalumpish style, even if they do not know what all the words mean. And I learned that sometimes, doing something outside your comfort zone can be Jolly Good Fun.

*Betjeman Bear requests that I point out that he is neither old nor scruffy, but is in fact a beautiful handmade bear sewn by my friend Elizabeth and is no more than twenty years old and therefore Very Young Indeed. 

Memory and writing by Claire Fayers 26 Jun 10:00 PM (17 days ago)

 Casting about for a topic for this month's post, I happened to hear the latest episode of Curious Cases  on BBC Sounds. It's a lightweight science show where listeners send in their questions. This week's was on the subject of memory, specifically could it ever be possible to take a memory from one person's head and transplant it into another person's.

There's already a way to do that, I wanted to say. It's called writing. It's not quite the same thing, but as a way of storing and transferring memories, it's pretty efficient.

The discussion led to a lot of interesting questions about the relationship between memory and imagination and the way we remember the gist of an event and fill in the details with created details. Which seems to be exactly what happens when someone reads.

Anyway, it's an interesting programme and well worth a listen. Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts!

Claire

 

The Bixby Letter 24 Jun 10:00 PM (19 days ago)

If you start digging into the history of this letter – written by Abraham Lincoln to the mother of five sons who had all been killed in the Civil War - all sorts of bumps and complications bubble up. It later turned out that only two of her sons had died. Mrs Bixby herself was thought to have harboured Confederate sympathies. There’s even a suggestion that one of Lincoln’s private secretaries, John Hay, actually wrote it. 

But put all that aside – as well, perhaps, as the idea of dying gloriously in battle - and you have what is one of my favourite pieces of writing; as pure writing. It’s one I turn to regularly, just to admire the choice of words and the graceful fluency of its prose. 

Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.

Dear Madam,--

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,

A. Lincoln

Do other readers have examples they treasure as much as I do this one?

Creating Talismans for Writing Success - by Lu Hersey 18 Jun 3:30 PM (25 days ago)

Looking for something specific on my bookshelves earlier this week, I got totally distracted by a book on charms and talismans, some of which were 'certain' to help bring writing success. OK, I had a few doubts (actually quite a lot) - but writing success is something we all crave, right? So I decided I may as well share a few relevant talismans with you.

The following info all comes from The Book of Charms and Talismans, published in 1924, written by a man who went by the pen name of Sepharial. Investigating Sepharial further (meaning a quick google), I discovered his real name was Waltar Gorn Old, and apart from his many writings on esoteric subjects, he was a founder member of the Theosophical Society. According to Wikipedia, he was a prolific but 'slapdash' writer, otherwise he might have gained more posthumous success. Slapdash or not, I figured Sepharial had a keen interest in Enochian magic and talismans, and on these subjects it might be worth giving him the benefit of the doubt. 

So which Talismans did Sepharial reckon would bring you writing success? Firstly he tells us that A Talisman to Secure Eloquence (above) is very useful for public speakers, and should be worn by clergymen, auctioneers and politicians as well as writers. Apparently it's important to make this Talisman on a Wednesday, though he doesn't bother to explain why (probably because of the slapdash thing), but I happen to know it's because Wednesday is the day associated with Mercury and successful communications. 

More importantly, it's best to use the Talisman to Secure Eloquence alongside The Seal of Eloquence (below) to ensure success. Or in Separial speak, you'll 'find great benefit from the use of these in combination.'

He assures us that 'this Talisman will assist all those who are desirous of becoming writers, authors, journalists, orators and who may wish to develop ability for radio, stage or screen activities...' and that 'concentration upon this Talisman will intensify the natural inspiration and hence assist in the writing of books and plays, poetry or short stories'. 

So I guess it might be worth a shot. Sepharial stresses again that you make your Seal of Eloquence on a Wednesday, also suggesting you make it using either silver, platinum or aluminium, in either the first, eighth, fifteenth or twenty-second hour of the day (which is all to do with Mercury again. And no, he doesn't explain that either).

If you don't happen to have any silver, platinum or aluminium handy, he says you can cut the Talismans you need out of his book if you prefer, and place them in a silk bag to wear on your person. I reckon on that basis, it should also work if you print out this post and cut out the talismans instead. Though where you get the silk bag from is up to you, and you probably need at least one pocket in whatever you're wearing to keep them on your person. Also, on a practical note, remember to take them out before washing your clothes. (He doesn't tell you any of that, obvs)

If I haven't already lost you at the silk bag bit, and you can be bothered to follow all his instructions, you might also want to include Prosperity (with a capital P) in your collection of talismans. After all, what's the point of all that eloquence if you don't earn anything?

The Seal of Great Prosperity is best made on a Sunday, and Sepharial suggests we make it in gold (gold is associated with the sun, and Sunday is the sun's day...& no, of course he doesn't explain this). Fortunately you can save yourself a lot of effort and money by cutting the page out of his book (or from a print-out of this post) so long as it's in the first, eighth, fifteenth or twenty-second hour of the chosen Sunday. Sepharial was a keen numerologist, so the hour numbers probably hold significance. Oh, and remember that silken bag to put your Seal of Great Prosperity in, and keep it on your person. The benefits are not only wealth, but also finding "the right contacts, and to say and do things at the right time in order to lift you from mediocrity to relative eminence."

So there you go. A simple matter of making your talismans (on the right day, at the right time) and putting them in that silken bag you happen to have, so you can wear them on your person - and writing success will be yours. Probably.

Got to admit I haven't tried any of this out so far, but doutless Sepharial would say that's why I'm neither rich nor successful...

Yet :)

Lu Hersey

Patreon: Writing the Magic

Substack: An Old Hag's Snippets of Folklore, Myth and Magic

Adventures in Youtubeland By Steve Way 16 Jun 7:00 PM (27 days ago)

 

As children’s writers we often aim to create new worlds and new dimensions. I’ve been wondering lately if a utopian land, that I’m certainly not a resident of, called Youtubeland exists.

Recently a friend of ours very kindly gave us a smart TV that she was no longer using.* As her various streaming accounts, such as Netflix etc. were still linked to the TV, I turned to Youtube to find out how to return it to its factory settings, so that we could erase her accounts and start anew using ours.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long to discover videos explaining how to do this. The instructions were along the lines of; ‘Click on this option, this page will appear, click here, this second page will appear, click here… and so on a few times and then Hey Presto, factory settings will be restored!’

I don’t know if you’ve had the same experiences as me, perhaps you unconsciously own passports to Youtubeland and all works for you as on the videos. In my case, as on previous similar occasions, when I tried this in real life, it didn’t quite work out that way. I carried out the first instruction, I clicked on the named option but even though I’d seen the page in the video appear on the same model TV as ours, a completely different page appeared instead. Not for the first time I fell at the first hurdle.

What I fail to understand is why based on the same action, one screen appears on the TV in Youtubeland replaced by a totally different one in what appears to me to be reality (we’re getting philosophical here.) It’s the same with the ‘watch how we make something complicated appear really easy’ videos. For me these activities remain complicated and fraught with various frustrations and difficulties, accentuated since it appears they don’t exist in this parallel reality.

I suppose when it comes down to it, we’re exposed to many odd apparent ‘other’ worlds, starting with the inappropriately named ‘reality’ shows where participants are thrown into largely unreal environments. There’s also Cooking Competition Land where food has to be prepared that no longer looks like food and is manhandled onto the plate by hand. (I don’t know about you, I don’t care how posh the food is, I wouldn’t want anyone fiddling about with it by hand before serving it.) Also, House Renovation Land where, no matter how badly things seem to be going at some stage, without fail the house always ends up looking like a five star show home. Meanwhile out here in what I perceive as reality (here I go again) the vast majority of renovations are fraught with far more problems and often end up incomplete or imperfect.

So maybe sometimes when we’re thinking of creating imaginary worlds different from our own, perhaps they could be closer than we think.

By the way we did get the TV sorted out in the end, mainly with the help of our teenage grandchildren.

*We’re very lucky when it comes to friends – see last month’s piece about tea bag deliveries!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite my trials and tribulations, I have ventured into Youtubeland in my own ways. You might enjoy this poem about flat shapes;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Koo5U4eLDss

Or possibly my silliest poem…

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7eci8Bc98U0

Birdie, by J.P. Rose, reviewed by Pippa Goodhart 14 Jun 3:30 PM (29 days ago)

Not all sports, please - Anne Rooney 13 Jun 7:55 AM (last month)

 This something of a follow-up to Lynda Waterhouse's post about children's writing. I'm a bit late with this today as I had to go out to MB's sports' day this morning when I was expecting to write my post. It was very much last minute as she'd forgotten to tell us when it was and I was the only person even slightly free to go. It occurred to me as I sat in the scorching sun watching children who didn't really want to be running around, that each summer there is a sports' day, and there is some kind of dramatic performance, but that's it. There is no art exhibition or celebration of children's writing. This is a shame, as writing gets dumped in the bin of academic accomplishments and is never celebrated for itself, as a creative endeavour for the child's pleasure and enrichment. 

 MB moves up to secondary school in September, so it's a bit late to try to persuade her current school to do anything about it. But I will be looking out for what the secondary school does. How about a pupils' literary festival and art exhibition? Does any school do this? I can't say I've ever come across it. Maybe it happens in the private sector. There are concerts for the musical pupils, and drama, and a ton of sports (of course). 

The same is true of the holiday club activities available. There are summer camps that offer arts and crafts, drama, music, sports, bushcraft and survival, but not writing. Perhaps it's not just that writing isn't highlighted as enjoyable in school, but there's not much support outside school hours/days, either. It's quite telling that a lot of professional children's writers haven't heard of National Writing Day, organised by the Literarcy Trust. I certainly hadn't. (25th June 2025, if you're in the UK.) The Literacy Trust also has lots of ideas and resources to help schools develop writing for enjoyment. None, that I can see, mention fanfic, which is one way kids find their way into writing. Maybe I should start up a fanfic summer school....

Anne Rooney

Out now: Weird and Wonderful Dinosaur Facts, Arcturus 2025, illustrated by Ro Ledesma

 

 

 

Share your voice – National Day of Writing June 25th by Lynda Waterhouse 10 Jun 10:00 PM (last month)

 In 2024 the National Literacy Trust undertook its annual survey into children’s writing habits. The results were shocking. Fewer than 3 in 10 (28%) children and young people aged 8 -18 said that they enjoy writing in their free time.

 Levels of enjoyment have decreased by 18.1 percentage points over the past 14 years, with levels decreasing by 11.9 percentage points over the past year alone. Just 1 in 9 (11.1%) children and young people told us they that they wrote something in their free time. Interestingly, the data shows that opposite is true of children’s experience of writing in schools with more than half of the children and young people saying they enjoy the writing that they do at school.

Findings show that children’s and young people’s enjoyment of writing and frequency of writing in their free time is at an unprecedented low

What’s happened to writing for enjoyment?

Children and young people deserve to be re - connected to the amazing art form that develops their creativity, gives them a voice, helps them to understand the word and supports their mental well-being.

Wednesday 25^th June is National writing Day. The theme for this year is Share Your Voice. Everyone is invited to take part.

First Story have commissioned Dean Atta to create an activity to inspire us, so let’s get started!

Check out these websites. They have lots of wonderful resources .

https://firststory.org.uk/writeday/?mc_cid=d8b31fb5ea&mc_eid=a7f4527e64

https://literacytrust.org.uk/about-us/national-writing-day/

https://nationalpoetryday.co.uk/national-poetry-day/poems-and-resources/

Have fun sharing your voice!

CARN EUNY, ANCIENT CORNISH VILLAGE. by Sharon Tregenza 9 Jun 1:47 AM (last month)

CARN EUNY

On a recent trip "home" to West Cornwall we decided to visit the ancient village of Carn Euny. As a child the random stone settlements and circles that seemed to populate every lane and cow field were of no particular interest. Now though, I want to know more. 

If you're brave enough to the navigate the winding narrow lanes, where the hedgerows are so close and prolific that the wildflowers brush against your car, you can visit this fascinating piece of history.

Carn Euny is Britain's best preserved ancient village. It's a landscape dotted with mossy stone huts, mysterious underground chambers and the kind of silence that you only find on deserted moorland.

It was once a bustling settlement with people living there from the Iron age right up to late Roman times. That's over 1,500 years of living in round stone houses with thick walls to suit the wild Cornish weather.

The main attraction is the Fogou (pronounced fo-goo) it's a mysterious underground passage that still has archaeologists scratching their heads. Was it for storage? Rituals? Who knows.

What makes Carn Euny such a delightful place to visit is its peaceful tucked away location. Apart from the odd tourist or druid you'll probably have the place to yourself. There are no gift shops or visitor centres, just the quiet hum of history and the buzz of the bees. It's the perfect place for a picnic and to listen to the whispers of an ancient world.

www.sharontregenza.com

sharontregenza@gmail.com

Members' news 6 Jun 10:00 PM (last month)

Lui Sit's debut Middle Grade novel LAND OF THE LAST WILDCAT was Waterstones's book of the month in May and featured a special edition with sprayed edges. Lui's next book is out in June, THE LUCKY HOUSE DETECTIVE AGENCY, writing as Scarlet Li with illustrator, Sian James. 

Check out Lui's website here.

Pippa Goodheart's new picture book, YOU CHOOSE BEDTIME, was published on June 5th. With illustrations by Nick Sharratt and fold out flaps, it's described as a joyful and accessible introduction to the 'You Choose' series.

Also published on June 5th, Jasbinder Bilan's NAELI AND THE SECRET SONG features a young Indian girl trying to find her English father in Victorian London, armed only with her violin. The Times Literary Supplement describes it as 'Atmospheric, dreamy, charged with wonder and menace, loss, sorrow and delight'.

https://www.jasbinderbilan.co.uk/

Congratulations, all. 

If you have any news to share, send it to Claire Fayers for the next round-up.

Doodling Away And Finding Oodles of Joy by Eva Wong Nava 5 Jun 9:30 PM (last month)

I took a break from writing recently. On a whim, I decided to register for Jane Porter’s Comics making online course. It was another children’s author, the award-winning Candy Gourlay, who inspired me with her Substack blog, where she shares snippets of her life in comics — comics that she’d learned to make from Jane’s class — that I thought I’d give it a try. That Candy calls her blog, House of Procrastination, is no coincidence. I was literally procrastinating from doing the writing I was meant to be doing when I thought why don’t I try to do some sketching instead… but before this, I need some lessons, and lucky me, Jane was just about to start her next 10-week online course. It was all meant to be. Sometimes, procrastination does do some good. Writers are well known for procrastinating, as we all know. If there were to be a collective noun for writers, we would be ‘a procrastination of writers’. 

I digress… 

Everyone who knows me, knows that I can’t draw to save my life. What I see and what my hand comes up with is rarely in the same likeness. For example, take a look at this drawing (I hesitate to call it an illustration) from a photo I’d taken at a book launch recently. Here we are — Shireen, Alex and me. Shireen Lalji is the author of So Devin Wore A Skirt (Quarto, 2025) and Alex Falase-Koya needs no introduction — he’s the author of OUP’s award-winning Marv series. 

I wish I could say this sketch was ‘in our likeness’, but as you can see, it’s, sadly, not. But what’s important is that I had FUN! I had fun colouring in my doodles. I love the cross-hatching (I think that’s what they’re called) of colouring in comic Alex’s shirt. I did try to give him a faux sheepskin coat like the one he’s wearing IRL, but the hand just wouldn’t yield to what the eye is seeing. (If they reading this, I apologise, Shireen and Alex for using you both as guinea pigs.) 

As a picture book author, I get to work with some very talented illustrators. I feel honoured and privileged that they are translating my words into visuals that inspire imagination and make the heart sing with joy. Xin Li captured and blended the contemporary and fantastical worlds in I LOVE CHINESE NEW YEAR (Scholastic, 2022) that it captivates every child I’ve ever read this book to during school visits. Natelle Quek made dumplings dancing in the hot bubble bath so deliciously alluring in DANCING DUMPLINGS FOR MY ONE AND ONLY (Walker Books, 2025) that stomachs rumble during story time at book tours. I love how Holly Sterling's cutie patootie illustrations of small people and their adults in WEDNESDAY IS FOR WIGGLING (Walker Books, 2025) truly capture how children see themselves.  

A couple of weeks ago, I learned to sketch penguins. I can’t say penguins are my favourite birds. They waddle. They look like waiters. And, their feet are NOT EASY to draw. And I won’t even begin with how I couldn’t draw their beaks. But hey ho, the point of the exercise was understanding that function is more important than perfection. That if your penguin’s form resembles a penguin, the eye will tell the brain that it’s a penguin. And penguins make great characters in comics and children’s’ stories, and they don’t even have to look like real penguins. If you don’t believe me, click on this link. 

After a couple of attempts at penguins, which I think Oliver Jeffers does so well, as this Guardian article shows — and mind you, his is a funny comic/comical one — I thought I’d try a kingfisher. Why not? They old saying goes, if you don’t fish, you’ll go hungry; if you don't try, you'll never know. I’ve never done a bird before, and at the end of it, it wasn’t the form but the colouring-in that did wonders for my mental health. I even learned how to make its feathers fluffy. So proud of myself! 

Here’s one of my versions à la  Oliver Jeffers. Caveat: This is not AI-generated. I drew this cute little thing by hand and added the Marine Bay Sands as a surf board for a bit of fun! You can read about my thoughts on AI here. 

So, readers and writers, if you’re ever in doubt about your sketching skills, take heart! If I can do it so imperfectly and still make a penguin and a kingfisher look somewhat like what they’re meant to look like, you can too!  

Bred and Born in a Briar Patch by Paul May 3 Jun 9:00 PM (last month)

Blackberries have played a big part in my life. Every autumn when I was a child my mother would head up to the golf course with me and my three younger sisters in tow. We were all sent off with containers to pick blackberries but I know that my mother picked ten times more than we did. As I remember it, we didn't mind. I enjoyed figuring out which clumps of fruit offered the best chance of reasonable picking with the least scratches. I expect there was an element of competition with my sisters, although now I think about it I remember there was a pushchair involved, so at least one sister was too young to be helping. A hillside in South Bucks on a sunny autumn afternoon wasn't a bad place to be, even if you ended up with badly-scratched, sticky, purple-stained hands.

Then we'd all go home and it was bramble-jelly time. This was a mysterious process that involved a lot of straining blackberry juice through muslin into a preserving pan. Eventually there was a lot of boiling and jar filling, and finally, if the jelly set properly, there was this slippery purple stuff to spread on toast. I was never that keen on it, and it always seemed like such a complicated procedure that I've never been tempted to try it myself. But the blackberry-picking talent might be inherited because, many years later, my two-year-old son was an enthusiastic picker of hedgerow blackberries.

I have no idea when I first heard or read the story of Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby, but I must have been very young. It was probably a retelling by Enid Blyton. I had most likely just started to read and I remember that I didn't know what a 'briar patch' was. I think the tar-baby was also a mysterious object, and the combination of slight weirdness and humour meant that the story has been stuck in my mind ever since. In case you don't know, Brer Fox sets out to catch the annoying Brer Rabbit by placing a figure painted with tar in the middle of the road. This tells you that Brer Fox knows Brer Rabbit all too well. When Brer Rabbit tries to start a conversation the Tar Baby naturally doesn't reply, and eventually Brer Rabbit gets so annoyed that he punches it, first with one hand, then the other, then he kicks it until he's well and truly stuck.

Brer Fox is waiting of course. He threatens Brer Rabbit with various dire fates but Brer Rabbit just keeps telling him to do whatever he likes as long as he doesn't throw him in the briar patch. Which is what Brer Fox finally does, only for Brer Rabbit to use the thorns to pry himself free and laugh at Brer Fox with those immortal words: 'Bred and born in a briar patch, Brer Fox. Bred and born in a briar patch.' 

By the time of the 1946 Disney movie, Song of the South, those words had been reversed to 'Born and bred.' The film, like just about everything to do with Uncle Remus, fell victim to controversy. It was a mix of live action and animation and was set during the reconstruction period after the end of the Civil War, but following accusations of racism (much disputed) Disney have never released the film to home video or Disney+. You can, however, watch the very fine animated sequences on Youtube. The film also won an Academy Award for Best Original Song, the song being Zip-a-dee-doo-dah. There was also an Academy Honorary Award for James Baskett who played Uncle Remus. This was his final film.

This is from the British edition of around 1883. The illustrations were by Frederick S Church and  James Henry Moser. I think this is one of Moser's.

The Brer Rabbit stories are Trickster tales, and the version I knew as I grew up first found its way into print at the hands of Joel Chandler Harris, a nineteenth century journalist and writer from Georgia in the USA. As a young man, Harris went to work on a newspaper that was produced on the Turnwold Plantation and distributed widely throughout the Confederacy during the Civil War. When Harris wasn't working he spent his spare time listening to the stories and conversation of the slaves on the plantation. It was these stories and conversations that he later used as the basis for Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings, first published in 1880, which was where the Brer Rabbit stories appeared. Brer Rabbit sounded like this:

"'Skin me, Brer Fox,' says Brer Rabbit, sezee, 'snatch out my eyeballs, tear out my years by the roots, en cut off my legs,' sezee, 'but do please, Brer Fox, don't fling me in dat briar-patch,' sezee."

This was the first time that an attempt had been made to record the speech of African-Americans in the South. The book sold in huge numbers and was influential in many ways. Those speech patterns were used by Mark Twain in Huckleberry Finn. Twain admired Harris and his work, and even tried to persuade him to accompany him on speaking tours, but Harris had a stutter and didn't enjoy public speaking. Instead, Twain included readings from Harris's work in his performances. Kipling and his friends at school were obsessed with Uncle Remus. Beatrix Potter grew up with the stories and produced illustrations for them, even as she was working on Peter Rabbit. AA Milne, too, used elements of Harris's work, and I've already mentioned Enid Blyton's retellings. Adult writers were also influenced—William Faulkner, T S Eliot, James Joyce, for example. And, more generally, that whole genre of children's fiction which is concerned with talking animals, from Sam Pig to Farthing Wood and Watership Down, owes a debt to Joel Chandler Harris, and through him to those stories told by slaves that were, in their turn, derived from Trickster tales from Africa.

Harris's retellings were controversial. There was general agreement that his transcriptions were an accurate record of the way people spoke. The problem of course is that Harris was a red-haired white man of Irish extraction who made a lot of money from the stories. Alice Walker accused Harris of 'stealing a good part of my heritage,' and you can read plenty of discussion of these matters online. The arguments about cultural appropriation continue, but Harris's influence on the development of children's literature in the twentieth century is indisputable.

That quote from Alice Walker reminds me of an incident that occurred a few years ago in Bekonscot model village, where I'd gone with my grandson. We were looking at an area that had been recently remodelled when a nine-year-old boy approached with his mother. He was expecting to see whatever had been there before, and was appalled at what he saw now. 'But . . . they've stolen my childhood!' he cried.

But to return to blackberries and briar patches. The thornless blackberry I planted on my allotment would have been useless to Brer Rabbit, but it has unbelievable quantities of blackberries on it every year and they couldn't be easier to pick. What's more, the first of them ripen at the start of July here in London. I'm fairly sure it's a variety called 'Merton', in case you want one. But bear in mind that when the description says 'vigorous' it means what it says! The nurseries seem to want to sell these things in sets of three, but you would need a LOT of space for three of them.

This week

July 2021

The Story is Already There - Joan Lennon 2 Jun 4:30 PM (last month)

[Still struggling to get Blogger to allow images, videos and even my own photos, and I'm realising just how often I use those things when I've been thinking about what to post over the last, yes, 17 years ... Copy, paste and reformat I can at least still do, so here's a bit of blog from the past.]


Saturday, 13 December 2008

The Statue Inside the Stone - Joan Lennon

I've heard authors speaking about their books as surprising, unlikely, almost miraculous things - their coming-into-being a mysterious process that leaves their creators like first-time parents - gob-smacked, anxious, proud, worried. Possibly appalled. (At the event, of course, not the product.)

For me, it's not so mystical. Even though my books are full of time travel, shape shifting, kelpies and talking ferrets, I try to tell people that I write documentaries, because that's the way it feels. The story is already there, waiting to be told. It's already real. And my job is to let other people know about it. Hand me a chisel and watch the chips fly, sort of thing. (Though the writer has the advantage over the sculptor - we can glue bits back on again if we chop too much.)

Okay, it's not an perfect analogy, but you catch my drift. I hope. It would be interesting to know if other fiction writers are as basically convinced, or perhaps taken-in, by their own creations as I am.

And while on the subject of delusions - do I think my books are as perfect as the statue in the picture? I wish!



4 comments:

Stroppy Author said...

Absolutely, Joan - I have always said that the story is there waiting to be revealed. There's still a mystery about it - where is 'there'? and how did it get there? Is the story just in the ether, since we don't have any stone?

But there is the sense that I just stumbled on this one, and someone else could have stumbled on it instead. If Michelangelo had picked a different lump of stone and maybe Sansovino got that particular one...would they get the same statue out?

JUNE - AND THOUGHTS ON WRITING A PICTURE BOOK. Penny Dolan 31 May 2:33 PM (last month)

This half term holiday, I spent some time in the Library, chatting about Under-Five Storytime sessions , and about why this or that book is satisfying to read aloud to children and their grown-ups. Sometimes, while choosing these picture books, I sigh inwardly, and wish I had the wisdom, skill and patience to create such small treasures. 

Then, today, I came across these lines, written by illustrator and writer Shirley Hughes, which seem just perfect for today's post. 

"The text is a matter of writing around the pictures in my head and, some time later, as part of the pattern of the page. I reach for a pencil at a very early stage to get down some roughs. I need to know what the characters look like. This process helps to crystalise the plot.

With picture books, the fewer words the better. But that isn't to say they are all that easy to write. The great danger is overwriting (as many skilled writers of older fiction tend to do). The aim is to hone it down and down, and to make it  flow rhythmically, like a phrase of music, in and out of the pictures. It should end up sweetly and satisfyingly within the thirty-two-page (or twenty-four-page) format, including prelims and endpapers, which is usually all that the strictures of colour printing will allow. Most importantly it should be bearable for grown ups and older siblings to read not once, but over and over again.

For this very young age group the background of the story, much of the characterisation and humour, is there to be discovered in the pictures . . . It's a first introduction to fiction which is not to be missed."

 Lines that explain so very much. Thank you, Shirley Hughes, for these and for all your work.

 

Penny Dolan

 Text taken from 'Writers Writing', edited for the Edinburgh Book Festival by Jenny Brown and Shona Morris (1993) 

The Listener by Sheena Wilkinson 29 May 2:48 AM (last month)

I have always been a lover of audio content. When I was ten, I used my first cassette recorder to make my own radio programmes, Cherry’s Chat (I can still remember the jingle, written and performed by me of course, and aren’t you lucky there isn’t an audio facility on this blog?) and Arthur’s Book Reviews (I was going through an Arthur Ransome phase) as well as numerous phone-ins where I did all the voices -- though I have absolutely no memory of what the conversations were about, my interests at the time being mostly reading and animals. (So maybe things haven't changed much.)  

I walk for miles every day and having something to listen makes me walk further and more joyfully – and yes, I know I should be appreciating nature and thinking beautiful thoughts but I can do all three; as a freelance writer I’m an inveterate multi-tasker.

So what do I listen to? Well, it depends on my mood and what else I'm doing, but at any one time I will tend to have on the go –

An audio book in the car – a physical CD from the local library. I often to listen things which are a little more romantic/saga-ish than the books I read with my eyes, simply because the library’s stock of physical audio books is probably geared towards an older demographic (though in fairness I am 56).

An audio book on my phone, again from the local library service, borrowed through the Libby or Borrowbox apps. If you don’t know these apps, they are wonderful: all you need is a library card and you have access to thousands of books. I have heard people say that audiobooks don’t count as reading: I think this is nonsense. Of course it’s a different reading experience than reading the words with your eyes, but I don’t see how it’s any less valid. 

From BBC Sounds: episodes of The Archers, plus The Archers podcast; Brain of Britain or Round Britain Quiz according to the season, and lots of drama content. I have exhausted the archive of Desert Island Discs, but I thoroughly recommend it, especially for listening to favourite (long-dead) writers. 

From my podcast app: whatever takes my fancy, and I go through phases, but some podcasts I have been loyal to, and which might be of interest to ABBA followers are: 

Writer's Routine, with Dan Simpson, is the ultimate podcast for writers who are interested in other writers' routines. Dan interviews a wide variety of writers, some very well known, others less so, and the conversation is always insightful. I often find myself talking back (which must look and sound odd, but luckily I am usually walking in lonely places), saying 'Yes! I do that!' or, 'Gosh, that's a funny way to do it,' or, 'Hmm, I might try that.' Definitely a writer's podcast. 

I am also very fond of the eclectic Tea or Books, which has introduced me to many books I might not otherwise have known. 

About to celebrate its tenth anniversary, this jolly, friendly podcast involves friends and book bloggers Simon (Stuck in a Book) and Rachel (Book Snob) talking about -- yes, books. There's a preponderance for the mid-century, which is why it appeals so much to me, but they do cover a wide range of reading. A typical episode will include a dilemma/ question -- for example, Can literary fiction be a comfort read?; Resolved or unresolved endings?; Do we care about authors' personal lives? followed by a comparison of two books. I have been listening for so long that it feels like eavesdropping on two pals chatting about books I'm likely to enjoy. 

Finally, because I haven't mentioned the Chalet School for, oh, it must be a couple of months, the exuberant Tophole! Hosted by Chalet Fan Deborah Lofts, and often featuring a chat with her sister Wendy, this too is a friendly, knowledgable chat about the Chalet School and related matters. 

Questions, Questions by Claire Fayers 26 May 10:00 PM (last month)

 The Tir na n-Og award is given by Books Council Wales every year for the best children's book with an authentic Welsh setting. This year, I joined Liz Hyder and Meleri Wynn James in Penglais School, Aberystwyth, to be grilled by the young writers' group. Their questions were so much fun, I thought I'd share some of them.

If you were trapped in the void of space for eternity and you could only have one thing with you, what would it be? (Meleri and Liz predictably went with writing equipment. I reckoned I could make up stories in my head without needing to write them down and so I went off piste and chose my piano, because in space nobody would be able to hear all the wrong notes.)

How long would you survive a zombie apocalypse? (Not long. I'm the person who'd see a door marked DANGER, DO NOT OPEN UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES and open it just to see what was behind. On the other hand, I can grow potatoes, and Liz grows courgettes so if we managed to survive the first six months we'd be able to feed ourselves.)

If you could have any mythical creature as a pet, what would you choose? (Meleri chose a dragon, I picked a stormhound, and Liz went with "you know, that fluffy thing that's really cute but also mythical and it can go on your lap.")

What do you think of AI? (This one brought groans from the authors. Meleri and I have both had our work stolen. Our answers focussed on the joy of creativity, something you can never get through AI, and the fact that relying on AI stops you developing your own imagination. I really hope the young writers took note of this one.)

Do you Google yourself? We all admitted to a sneaky look online now and then. 

Then there were writing-related questions.

When did you first know you wanted to be an author? (We all started telling stories from an early age even if we didn't hope to become authors then. It seems that the seeds of writing are sown early.)

If you could only publish one of your books, which one would it be? (This was a nice variation on the common question, which is the favourite book that you've written? I cheated and said the next one.)

And finally, If you weren't an author, what would you want to be? This one has unfortunately become a more pressing question for many of us with incomes dropping and AI taking work. I'd go back to working in a library, though those are under threat too. For now, though, I'm glad I can still do this.

Liz Hyder won the Tir na n-Og for The Twelve. I've just started reading it and it's fantastic. I was happy to come away with the readers' award for Welsh Giants, Ghosts and Goblins. 

Claire Fayers

Three times 24 May 9:30 PM (last month)

A short post this month. 

(I’m stuck into the first draft of a new story, and plotting for me is like wading through treacle wearing lead-filled wellington boots. Exhausting.)

Anyway, I’ve been reading a critical study of crime fiction from 1800 – 2000. And in the section about Agatha Christie, I came across this sentence:

‘Like some other deeply original books [her first novel], The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920) found a publisher with some difficulty, being rejected three times.’

I had to stop and read that again to let it sink in: three times.

Only three times?