Hello, and thank you for visiting my site. I hope that you'll return often and always find something of interest about my world and what inspires me to pick up a pen. (This is a figure of speech, unfortunately. My handwriting is terrible!) Here's what I've been up to recently...
A strange kind of recognition!
Like all writers, I expect, I’m keen to expand my readership. However, the revelation that sparked this winning letter in the May 2017 of Writing Magazine came as a bolt from the blue.
4 April, 2017 - Make the first comment on this story
York Writers’ Showcase
I very much enjoyed being part of the line up of York Writers for the last HUB event of this year’s York Literature Festival. Each of us was allowed ten minutes and I chose to read a couple of very short stories from my Anyone For Murder? collection. They seemed to go down well with the audience. Well, at least everyone laughed in the right places.
Paul Mulryne, seen in the photo above taking a breather, did a great job as compere.
It was a shame that some of the people originally down to take part were unable to make it, but the rest of us agreed that it had been a very worthwhile experience. Roll on HUB 2018!
30 March, 2017 - Make the first comment on this story
York Writers Anthology
Yes, I know. I’d have given the title an apostrophe too, but it was an editorial decision.
That said, the anthology is hot off the presses and a great read. Twenty-five stories and poems have been contributed by members of York Writers. Between us, I hope that we’ve catered for all tastes. Well, not quite all, but a fair few.
My own story, No Time For Contemplation, is about a puppy farmer getting her comeuppance – and not before time either! Anyone who exploits helpless animals is a villain in my book – books, actually. (One of the characters in my novel Shadows of the Past comes to a very unpleasant end, although his callous attitude to creatures that he considers to be vermin is only one of his crimes.)
Anyway, we of York Writers hope to raise our profile through this collection, which is available through Amazon and will also be on sale at our Showcase Event at York Theatre Royal next week. Please come along and support us.
20 March, 2017 - Make the first comment on this story
Promoting Yorkshire Authors next event
Tomorrow evening will see us in the De Grey Rooms, next to York Theatre Royal.
Writing a book is only the first step on what can be a long and rocky road.
We don’t pretend to have all the answers and hope to pick up a few pointers ourselves from the other writers we welcome to this session.
19 March, 2017 - Make the first comment on this story
A Double Whammy!
The March 2017 issues of these popular Yorkshire magazines feature two very different contributions from the Cobbett household.
The Dalesman has a ‘filler’ in its ‘Signs and Wonders’ column, a rather unsavoury gem captured by my husband last autumn when he dropped me off in Malton for the Ryedale Book Festival. Has he been reading my Easy Money For Writers And Wannabes, I wonder?
Down Your Way, which specialises in nostalgia, has my article about family mementos. We probably have far more than our fair share of those!
26 February, 2017 - Make the first comment on this story
Thanks, Edwin!
I’m indebted to fellow member Edwin Rydberg for this great image, which has already appeared on www.promotingyorkshireauthors.com
6 February, 2017 - Make the first comment on this story
News Flash!
Following advice from several writer friends, I’ve decided to set up a Facebook page for my novel ‘Shadows of the Past’. I’ll be posting notes on the background to the story and the items featured on the cover, regular updates on promotional events and even the odd competition. You’ll find it all at https://www.facebook.com/maggiecobbettnovelist/
6 February, 2017 - Make the first comment on this story
A Tale of Two Poems
I’ve never considered poetry to be my strong point, although I’ve had a few successes over the years. My first blissful week at the Writers’ Summer School in Swanwick, for example, came about when I was awarded the first prize – a free place – in the poetry competition that year with a quirky sonnet about friendship. To My Writing Partner can be viewed on the Stories and Poems page of this website.
However, I’ve recently learnt a valuable lesson about writing poetry for the commercial market. The example above has just appeared in print and is a heavily adapted version of a much longer poem written in free verse some years ago. I was delighted when an adjudicator at that time, a highly respected local poet, awarded the latter second place. The magazine that liked the theme but not the form requested a version that rhymed and had a conventional metre. For the free verse poem I received kudos; for the adapted version I received cash. Go figure! Up to you to decide which you prefer, of course. The former is available to read on my Stories and Poems page, should you so wish.
6 January, 2017 - Make the first comment on this story
Happy New Year to One and All!
December 2016 saw the publication of my ski holiday story in TPF but was otherwise a month full of distractions – OK, maybe some of them were excuses – to keep me away from my normal writing routine. Now that we’re into a more sober January, I aim to do much better. However, here are a few memories of the month that has just gone.
On the bright side were the York Writers’, Strictly Salsa and Ripon Activity Project’s Christmas parties, as well as socialising over meals with friends and family.
Unfortunately, December also saw the deaths of a dear friend from Ripon Writers’ Group and a much loved cousin. The latter was my hero as we were growing up and I’m still struggling to come to terms with the fact that he’s gone. Oddly enough, a poem to be published in the 4th January 2017 TPF Special was inspired by Joe’s appropriation of his mother’s washboard for use in a skiffle group!
I didn’t do any filming during December, but I did take my younger son to The Emmerdale Experience at the old studios in Burley Road and enjoyed it far more than I expected to. For me, of course, it was something of a busman’s holiday, but the photo of us both behind the bar at the Woolpack is certainly one for the family album. It’s a rare example of yours truly beaming directly into the camera, something which we humble ‘extras’ are generally forbidden to do.
Whatever 2017 has in store, I’m sure that there will be plenty of ups and downs and I can only hope for all our sakes that the former will outweigh the latter.
1 January, 2017 - Make the first comment on this story
Promoting Yorkshire Authors
Our fledgling group, formed earlier this year, dipped its first toe into the water last night at the Christmas Fair in Poppleton near York and took it in turns to man our well stocked stall. (Wrapping all those items for the lucky dip reminded me very much of ‘pass the parcel’ at birthday parties in years gone by.)
The atmosphere was very festive, although the lighting made it difficult to take decent shots with my phone.
There was certainly plenty of choice for all ages and in several different genres.
Other members of the group had worked very hard on the promotional materials. We hope to welcome other writers in the New Year. Please click on the link to the right for more details if you might be interested.
Whoever is responsible for the decor is certainly to be congratulated. What is a sports hall by day can be transformed by clever use of draped fabric into something that looks just like a marquee for special events. (Our stall, one of many, is just visible back left.)
19 November, 2016 - Make the first comment on this story
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