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...
The York launch of ‘Shadows of the Past’.
The venue this time was my elder son’s house for an afternoon ‘do’. The original plan had been to lay out the refreshments picnic style in the garden (hence the blue plastic plates etc.), but dark clouds were looming over York as we arrived with a carload, so we thought discretion the better part of valour. The Cobbett men, having done their bit earlier on, found time for some displacement activity whilst I added the finishing touches.
Among the guests were fellow writers and salsa dancers, some devotees of both activities. On a different occasion, we might have pushed back the furniture and practised a few moves. Well, Susan does have tango numbers in her repertoire!
However, literature was the thing that afternoon. I read a couple of extracts from the novel and explained the background to those who hadn’t heard all about it before.
It was good to welcome people who hadn’t seen each other for a while and to make some introductions.
The rain held off and allowed the party to spill out into the garden.
For more photographs of the afternoon’s proceedings, please click on the images below. The quality is variable with some images being stills taken from the video.
30 August, 2015 - There are 2 comments on this story
‘Shadows of the Past’ is officially launched in Ripon
There must be something special about an author’s first book launch. Although Shadows of the Past isn’t my first published work, it’s my first novel and has been a real labour of love.
The sun was still shining when I was ‘setting out my stall’ and, although the heavens opened later and some guests had to battle through a ferocious storm to get home again, nothing could dampen my mood. Many people have asked me about the inspiration for the story, parts of which are more or less autobiographical, and the selection of photographs in the centre of the table was there for them to browse through.
By an amazing stroke of luck, I met Susan again at Swanwick a couple of weeks ago and invited her along, upon which she offered to bring her accordion and play some French bal de musette numbers to enhance the atmosphere. As a better wordsmith than I am a cook, I’m also indebted to my good friends Cathy and Sue for providing most of the wonderful food.
People from many different threads of my life came together and some were astounded to discover that they had me as a mutual friend. The quality of the photographs below is variable – my roving photographer was also host, barman and general factotum and didn’t manage to capture everyone – but they will give you some idea of the proceedings. Some of them are stills taken from the video he was trying to make at the same time. To guests who dropped in for a while and left before he picked up his camera or arrived after exhaustion set in, I can only apologise.
23 August, 2015 - Make the first comment on this story
The excitement mounts…and the fear!
Knowing that my first book launch is only three days away (Saturday, 22nd August from 5 p.m.) reminds me of the panic that always set in when my flatmates and I in Manchester were about to throw a party during our student days. Would no one turn up and we’d be left to languish alone amongst the refreshments we’d lashed out on? Would everyone we knew turn up and there wouldn’t be enough to go round or even room to stand comfortably? (Well, we did once have 200 people in our flat!)
The weather wasn’t a factor in those days, but now it is. Our garden is quite a picture at the moment and I’m hoping to see a crowd of people enjoying it on Saturday. I’ve even arranged to borrow extra outdoor furniture from the neighbours. However, as natives of our ‘green and pleasant land’ know only too well, we pay a price for all that greenness. I once took part in an ‘erotic drama’* called Natasha, filmed a few miles away from here, and have never forgotten its Indian director ranting and raving every time we were rained off. It was August, for heaven’s sake, wasn’t it! Yes, but this was North Yorkshire, not Bombay.
Anyway, Que sera, sera as the song goes. There will be refreshments, there will be music and there will be a hopeful author with a pile of books to sign. Please come along and join me!
*In case you’re wondering, ‘my’ scenes were neither erotic nor particularly dramatic. I was part of the church congregation of ‘Little Haven’ (actually Birstwith) and had a badly sprained ankle at the time, which made it difficult to run for cover each time the heavens opened during the church picnic scene. Richard Lintern, who played the vicar, was very kind and almost carried me at times. If you’d like to know more about this ghastly film, which went straight to video – I have a copy somewhere – you can see the trailer on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJkv67-vRY4
19 August, 2015 - Make the first comment on this story
Friends reunited!
One of the joys of Swanwick is making new friends and catching up with old ones.
Not many go as far back as Geoff and I, who last met in 1972. It was great to see him again.
Today was definitely one for basking in the sunshine and I really envied Julia’s hat. She gave us another stunning performance at Buskers’ Night, which included many other talented Swanwickers. As one who can neither play nor sing to any remotely acceptable level, I was content to sit back and enjoy it all.
11 August, 2015 - Make the first comment on this story
Been there, done that, got the T-shirt!
Yes, folks, I really have got the T-shirt! Today was the day to don it and do my short course entitled ‘Focus on Fillers’. I’d been dreading the technology going wrong but, with some help from a couple of obliging fellow Swanwickers, the Power Point presentation in the morning ran smoothly. The afternoon was given over to a workshop where people could come up with their own ideas and discuss where they might submit them. The room was full for both sessions and there was a lot of laughter, so I hope that everyone enjoyed the course as much as I did.
Afterwards, I was very happy to relax and become a consumer again. Prolific short story writer Della Galton was a sure fire winner as the evening speaker.
10 August, 2015 - Make the first comment on this story
Delighted with my first 5* review!
So delighted, in fact, that I’ve decided to reproduce it here for everyone to read.
***** Amazon review
Rural France has long been an inspiration for writers. Flaubert’s MADAME BOVARY originated in Normandy. Simenon set much of his Maigret series of detective novels in the seedy underbelly of Paris but his stories acquired a whole new perspective when they transferred to the countryside. More recently, Joanne Harris gave us a taste of what goes on beyond the confines of the capital in CHOCOLAT and its sequels, THE LOLLIPOP SHOES and PEACHES FOR MONSIEUR LE CURE. These novels are generally held to show there is a darker side to life in the French provinces but in her debut novel, Maggie Cobbett takes that one step further as SHADOWS OF THE PAST explores it to the full.
We know right from the start that there’s something nasty in the woodshed – the dramatic prologue tells us to expect it. So when Laura Fitzgerald sets out on what she hopes is a pleasant and informative tour of France in her new Triumph Spitfire we know she’s heading for trouble. We’re soon introduced to the families Binard and Gaudet and the questions begin to rack up – who’s hiding what from whom and why? And when young Daisy and her friends arrive on the scene, we fear for them and the story starts to crackle with an underlying tension. If you go down in the woods today…
After setting out the scene in the first half of the book, things quickly gather pace as the secrets begin to tumble out in the second. Someone is going to die – but who will it be? Daisy? Her friends? Or will it be Laura herself who fails to survive and escape the retentive clutches of Saint-André-la-Forêt? But as compelling as this mystery may at first appear, SHADOWS OF THE PAST is more than just a thriller – it’s also a social history of provincial France for the fifty year period beginning just before World War Two. Unlike the countryside in which it’s set, the book is densely populated with a myriad of interesting characters, each of whom has an agenda of their own – some of which are not entirely pleasant.
2 August, 2015 - Make the first comment on this story
Update on ‘Shadows of the Past’
My first novel is now available in print or electronic version from Amazon and the dates for the official launches – think ‘celebration’ rather than anything too formal – have been set. There will be music, there will be refreshments and there may even be readings! Needless to say, signed copies will also be available.
Please make a note of these dates: Saturday 22nd August at my home in Ripon; Saturday 29th August at my son’s place in York. Details of timings will follow and an email to me will ensure directions for anyone who needs them.
With my annual stay at The Writers’ Summer School (Swanwick) to enjoy beforehand, I couldn’t be more excited at the moment. (Stifles mad cries of ‘Yippee’ for fear of scaring the cats.)
28 July, 2015 - Make the first comment on this story
‘Shadows of the Past’ is finally here!
I unveiled the final proof copy at the summer social of the NSG (York Writers’ Novelists’ Support Group) last week and hope to publish details of my book launches very soon. In the meantime, here’s the cover to be going on with. I hope you all like it. It’s a shame that people buying the eBook will only see the front, because every item in the line up is of significance to the story. Thanks again to those of you generous enough to entrust me with some of your precious items.
26 July, 2015 - Make the first comment on this story
Novelists’ Support Group Summer Social
This evening of good food and good conversation was held at Grays Court in York. Thank you very much, Linda, for arranging it. I’m sure that Steve, Sarah, Sally, Joanna, Nick, Amy, Paul, John and Richard enjoyed it as much as I did.
The proof copy of my novel Shadows of the Past had arrived just in time to be passed round. A page inside is dedicated to fellow writers, including several of those present, who have been kind enough to read and comment on the final draft. In particular, I cannot thank my son enough for designing the cover, doing the lay out and putting the whole thing together.
23 July, 2015 - Make the first comment on this story
My article in ‘Down Your Way’ magazine
‘Down Your Way’ is a cheerful little magazine, much loved by Yorkshire people still living in our great county and cherished by exiles all over the world. It has included many of my articles over the years and the bottom right hand corner of the cover gives a clue to the subject of the latest one.
Being a Saturday girl in ‘Woolies’, Woolworth’s Briggate store in Leeds in my case, was my first taste of paid work and quite a culture shock. My immediate boss ruled her department with a rod of iron and was far less forgiving of mistakes than any of my teachers. I was also in terror for the first few weeks of my colleagues, who had all left school at fifteen and were far more sophisticated and worldly wise than I was. Being at the bottom of the pecking order was a new experience.
The first draft of the article was almost a stream of consciousness piece, but I had to tone it down to avoid giving offence or even being sued! Suffice it to say, that I could have said a great deal more about the goings on than made it into print.
27 June, 2015 - There are 2 comments on this story
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