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...
Now is the month of Maying…
… When merry lads are playing. Fa la la la la – or something like that. It’s also the month during which prudent Yorkshire folk ne’er cast a clout and it is indeed, quite chilly today. (OK, I know that the old saying probably refers to the flowering of the hawthorn bush, but many people still hold fast to the view that you can’t trust the weather until 1st June.)
Pagans wouldn’t dream of moving Beltane for the convenience of industry and commerce, but May Day in the UK, unlike most other countries, is now rarely celebrated on the first of the month. Nor do the ‘merry lads’ and their bonny lasses often dance on the village green on that day. Even in Aldborough, the nearest place I know of around here still to have a maypole in situ, has chosen Sunday 12th May for the event this year.
Back in the day, though, every self respecting primary school and many other organisations, large and small, liked to keep up the old traditions. You might like to take a look at my very short story ‘May Day Mayhem’.
1 May, 2013 - Make the first comment on this story
Featured in Writers’ News
The arrival of the latest issue of Writing Magazine/Writers’ News is always something I look forward to – and not only when my own work gets a mention. However…
I can’t even begin to list the number of ways in which WM/WN has helped me over the years, but I’d certainly recommend the publication to any writer as an invaluable resource. Available to buy over the counter, a subscription is much more cost effective and there are perks for new subscribers!
Full details are available from https://www.writers-online.co.uk/
30 April, 2013 - Make the first comment on this story
What the Dickens!
I’ve always loved a challenge and the latest one was to write the ‘next chapter’ of a well known story.
Scanning the book shelves that line most rooms in the house, I came across A Tale of Two Cities. It always seemed a shame to me that Sidney Carton – forever pictured in my mind as Dirk Bogarde – had to die at the end. Well, now he doesn’t and you can read the update on my Stories and Poetry page.
Maybe one day I’ll also ‘rescue’ Romeo and Juliet from their fate!
30 April, 2013 - Make the first comment on this story
Even better than being shortlisted…
… is a win! I’m delighted that Helen Yendall has chosen A Timely Solution out of all the entries in the open section of her recent flash fiction competition.
The brief was to come up with a story in a maximum of 250 words which included the following: bone, collar, dog and stray (in any form). My entry also includes Louis XV of France, his favourite mistress,Madame de Pompadour, a certain Doctor (Who?), a hapless maid and a very 20th century product.
You can read this and much more at http://
29 April, 2013 - Make the first comment on this story
An Interview With Karin Bachmann
I was delighted with the opportunity to interview Swiss writer Karin Bachmann, whom I first met a few years ago at http://swanwickwritersschool.co.uk/ the Writers’ Summer School in Swanwick. Karin is unnecessarily modest about her command of English, as you will see from her answers below. You can read Karin’s reciprocal interview with me on http://stories47277.blogspot.co.uk/
Have you always been a keen writer?
I’ve been making up stories for as long as I can remember. So it came naturally to write them down once I’d learnt to read and write. In the beginning, they were micro-stories of only a few sentences. I’ve always had problems with spelling, and it took me some years to discover a love for letters. It helped a lot that I grew up in a house full of books. Both my parents are avid readers, and they always read stories for us at bedtime. I doubt whether I’d have become a writer without their support.
Where do you find the greatest inspiration?
I’m a born eavesdropper. And I commute to work. That’s where I find most ideas. You wouldn’t believe what great stories you can come by using public transport. I also find it inspirational to stare out of a train window while the world is gliding by.Having said that, I’ve also found great story ideas listening to the news or watching documentaries on TV. Once I had to wait at the town hall and found a fantastic story beginning simply by reading a flyer. Stories are everywhere. All you need are open eyes, open ears and an open mind.
Do you have a favourite story out of all those you have written?
I usually like my latest story best. However, there’s one of the children’s whodunits I wrote for SJW-Verlag, Zurich, called Die Zirkus Affäre (The Circus Mystery) that I think turned out rather well. It’s a mix of circus versus village life and a burglar mystery. There’s also a good deal of humour in it. When I’m invited to school readings, it’s often that story that I choose to read.
Do you always write first of all in German or sometimes directly into English?
The language I use depends on the market. If I’m writing for an English market, I’ll write the story in English. I have some very dear, long-suffering friends who are native English speakers and who proof read my texts, as my English is still very far from perfect. I have used stories in both languages and my blog is bilingual, in which cases I translate either from German into English or vice versa.
Do you plan everything to the last detail before you begin a new story or do you prefer to ‘go with the flow’?
I’d say it’s a mix of both. When I begin to write, I usually have a pretty good idea of the beginning and I know where I want to go. I also know what topics I’m going to use and what obstacles the protagonist(s) will encounter. So I know what kind of research I’ll have to do before fully embarking on a project. I don’t do to much planning because I’m afraid I might grow tired of a story before I even start. The disadvantage is that I might have to do stubstantial re-writing because a twist I insert doesn’t go anymore with an earlier part. But I like being surprised by a story, so I don’t mind the additional work.
What are you working on at the moment and what are your future plans?
For some time, I’ve been trying to interest a publisher or agent in a children’s whodunit set in the Isles of Scilly, without any success. A course at last year’s Swanwick Writers’ Summer School set me thinking about going the self-publishing route. Two Swanwick friends read the story and I’m now re-working it according to their ample and helpful suggestions. A lady friend of mine, who’s an illustrator, will do the cover. I’m at the editing stage and hope to bring out the book either in time for the next Swanwick Writers’ Summer School or for Christmas (probably in both, English and German). The working title is The Venetian Pearls.
My plans for the future? I have two or three projects in the pipeline, which I hope to be able to finish soon and sell. Being superstitious, I won’t tell you more at the moment. But if you wish, you can follow my progress on http://stories47277.blogspot.com or on Twitter (@BookwormKarin).
Thank you very much, Karin. I’ll continue to follow your career with interest and look forward to seeing you again at http://swanwickwritersschool.co.uk/ Swanwick in August. In the meantime, I’ll test out my German skills by reading Die Zirkus Affäre, which can be found in http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mord-Switzerland-Kriminalgeschichten-Edition-ebook/dp/B00BQ8OR86/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1367145473&sr=8-2&keywords=Mord+in+Switzerland Mord in Switzerland.
28 April, 2013 - Make the first comment on this story
A Timely Solution
Squeezing a credible story into 250 words is a tricky business, so I’m very pleased to have made the short list in Helen Yendall’s latest mini-saga competition.
A Timely Solution can be read at
http://blogaboutwriting.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/shaggy-dog-tales-competition-the-shortlists/
25 April, 2013 - Make the first comment on this story
My desk companion
All kinds of desk companions are available, from pencil holders to Piranha plants made of felt. (This is not a joke. You’ll find one on offer at http://desertbus.org/giveaway/232) Mine is Tabitha. Sometimes asleep, sometimes regarding me with a fixed stare and sometimes blocking the screen – generally when a mealtime is approaching – she invariably joins me as soon as I sit down at the computer and stays there until I move away. Her brother Tom appears at the first sound of activity in the kitchen but is generally busy about his own affairs during the rest of the day.
William Burroughs, Raymond Chandler, Jean Cocteau, Colette, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Ernest Hemingway, Patricia Highsmith, Samuel Johnson, Jack Kerouac, Doris Lessing, Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain are amongst the many cat loving writers I know of. Someone may come up with an equally long list of writers who can’t/couldn’t stand the creatures, but please don’t bother. We probably wouldn’t ever have got on!
20 April, 2013 - There is one comment on this story
A sunny day in Emmerdale
After all the snow we’ve had in North Yorkshire this year, it was a real pleasure to bask in some spring sunshine. Filming goes on five days a week in all weathers, so cast, crew and ‘extras’ are a hardy bunch, but smiles were definitely broader this afternoon. Maybe the fact that the weekend was looming also had something to do with it!
The shoot coincided with the birthday of one of the children in the cast, who had brought along a huge cake to share with everyone. I do admire the professionalism of these young actors and the sterling work put in by their chaperones.
My main task today was to wander down the street with my Emmerdale partner – a lovely man whose blushes I’ll spare here, but you can look out for us together on the show – and examine the vegetables on the stand outside the shop. Tough job, but someone’s got to do it!
In case you’re wondering, the clothes are my own and I’m indebted to a talented friend for the pretty scarf she gave me for Christmas. As Emmerdale is set in present time, I’m informed in advance what sort of thing to wear. However, as episodes are filmed several weeks before transmission, this takes some careful planning when I’m deciding what to take along. Each outfit has to reflect the supposed season while still catering for the vagaries of North Yorkshire weather!
19 April, 2013 - Make the first comment on this story
A morning with Peggy Riley
As part of its programme of literary events, The Little Ripon Bookshop hosted a ‘meet the author’ session at the Spa Hotel this morning.
Writer and playwright Peggy Riley held the audience spellbound with a reading from her novel Amity And Sorrow, which she described as being about God, sex and farming. This seemed a strange combination indeed, until she explained that it’s the story of a mother and two daughters fleeing from a fundamentalist religious cult. Taken in by a sympathetic farmer, they have to come to terms with life in the outside world.
Originally from Los Angeles, birthplace of many a cult, Peggy has taken features from several to invent one of her own for the book. I have yet to read it, but the many glowing reviews already posted on Amazon have ensured that I shall.
13 April, 2013 - There is one comment on this story
Featured in the local press
Laura and I sat for an hour over coffee last month and this is the result of her many pages of shorthand notes. I should point out for those not able or wishing to read the whole article that she means ‘crafty’ in the sense of pursuing a craft and NOT devious! As I share the glory with Paul Richardson, you’ll be able to read all about him and then scroll down to the second half of the article to find what Laura wrote about me.
The Ripon Gazette’s own photographer was on holiday, so Gary from the Yorkshire Post came round with his camera and set me up in some very ‘writerly’ poses in my unusually tidy study.
11 April, 2013 - Make the first comment on this story
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