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 final curtain
All good things must come to an end, unfortunately. Courses wound up and the AGM held, it was time for the jollifications to begin.
Rain threatened and the Dregs party had to be held indoors instead of on the lawn, but the Buskers band kept us all entertained. I’m slightly to the right of centre and enjoying a glass of wine.
It was time to dress for the occasion and I think the smiles say it all.
After dinner, it was time for Swanwick’s own version of ‘Romeo and Juliet’, written by our newest committee member, Phil Collins. The sight of Romeo (Chairman Michael O’Byrne) in baggy pants and
Juliet (Cathy Grimmer in an impossible wig and speaking throughout in a squeaky lisp), the sword fight and dramatic deaths of Mercutio (Ben Scott) and Thibault (Simon Hall) will remain with me for a long time. The audience was divided into Montague and Capulet camps and whipped to a frenzy by Phil on one side of the stage and John Lamont on the other. Hilarious! The evening finished, as ever, with Auld Lang Syne and the many Scots among us ensured that we performed it correctly; not a trace of ‘for the sake of’ and no crossing hands until the second verse!
13 August, 2015 - Make the first comment on this story
A dramatic day at Swanwick!
What could possibly compete with a stellar performance from Simon Brett, multi-talented writer and raconteur par excellence? He set the bar very high indeed and I particularly enjoyed his take on ‘Under Milk Wood’ and the recent proliferation of gloomy Scandinavian crime dramas.
HOWEVER, the seven plays performed in this year’s round of ‘Swanwick Page to Stage’ had the audience alternating between tears of emotion and tears of laughter. With perhaps equal amounts of serious drama and comedy, there was certainly plenty to enjoy. Even I – a reluctant thespian these days – was persuaded to tread the boards again and I had a whole line to myself in Cathy Grimmer’s play about a family in disarray.
Above is a photo call for everyone involved. You can just about see me in a turquoise jacket, seated at the front with Cathy standing behind me.
12 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
Swanwick 2015 continued
What could be a better start to the day than a meditation session by the lake before breakfast. If my alarm clock hadn’t failed to go off, I might even have made it.
As it was, I had the usual hearty breakfast and then went to the first part of John Lamont’s ‘Succeed on Purpose’ course, which was very inspiring. It was serious stuff, but John could make the driest subject entertaining and I’m already looking forward to Part 2.
Before and after lunch, I attended travel writing sessions by Roy Devereux. Unfortunately, due to technical issues, the second part had to be cut short. Not only was that disappointing, but it means that my fingers will be permanently crossed until it’s time for my own course tomorrow, which will be taking place in the same room!
The Swanwick Facebook group got together during the tea break to discuss the way ahead. Watch this space!
The evening speaker was Mario Reading, who gave us a lot of information about his own successes and failures, the latter being greatly overshadowed by the former. His Anti-Christ trilogy – The Nostradamus Prophecy, The Mayan Codex and The Third Anti-Christ – for example, has sold more than a million copies in 38 countries! Mario, very unenthusiastic about the rise in self publishing, stressed the importance of literary agents in general and, in particular, their expertise in selling foreign rights.
9 August, 2015 - Make the first comment on this story
Swanwick 2015
Here I am again for my 10th consecutive stay at the Writers’ Summer School and the grounds of The Hayes Conference Centre are looking as glorious as ever. One very welcome innovation is a free hot drinks machine in the bar. (Regular doses of caffeine are definitely needed to keep most of us on our toes.) Soon the lawn will be filling up with writers from all over the UK and beyond, chattering away nineteen to the dozen and trying to balance cups of tea and plates of cake. It’s always a joy to catch up with old friends – in my case with one VERY old friend, last seen in the flesh in 1972 – and make new ones. As a veteran Swanwicker, I’m now sporting not only a yellow badge but also a pink one to show that I’m an ‘Ambassador’ and particularly approachable if problems arise. Not only that, I’ll be a table host for White Badgers (newbies) at the first evening meal to spare them the worry of wondering where and with whom to sit.
Many of them, like myself, will be staying in comfortable en suite rooms in Lakeside and will enjoy a stroll round the lake or a quiet read on one of the handy benches.
The speaker this evening is crime writer Alex Gray and I’m sure the Main Conference Hall will be packed to hear what she has to say.
8 August, 2015 - Make the first comment on this story
Let the celebration of ‘Shadows of the Past’ begin!
Here are the promised timings. (See earlier postings for more details).
Saturday 22nd August at home in Ripon: 5 p.m. onwards on a ‘drop in, stay as long as you like and drop out’ basis.
Saturday 29th August at Richard’s place in York: 2-5 p.m.
If you’ve never visited either of us before and need directions, please let me know.
3 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
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