Gentle nudge - 50 things that make me happy...

Totals...Twitter 2 so far this morning - obviously only because I am avoiding doing anything actually productive...Facebook...one status update but many comments on friends threads once again a ploy to avoid any actual work!...Actual productive writing...nothing (hangs head in shame) studying and wedding planning eating all of my time.
Cups of coffee...2...cupcake...1 (home made gluten free with mini dinosaurs on it!!)
Mostly on Spotify this morning...Birdie, James Bay, John Mayer.

So in an attempt to once again re-kindle my motivation for blogging I have been sent a proverbial kick up the rear by a friend https://peachjones.wordpress.com/2015/07/05/50-things-that-make-me-happy , thank you so much! But here goes with my list...

Wilbur

Archie invasion

Milo rocking his bow tie

1. I am going to steal this one! (sorry Peach!) but my pets no matter what the day brings they can make you smile in an instant! Archie (the tabby) thinks that my writing cave is his own and that when I enter it gives him licence to lay across everything ensuring that nothing actually gets done. The fact that he is currently asleep gives me chance to do this!

My Dad

Me and my fiancée!

2. My family, friends  and my husband to be!
I don't have many family members that live close by apart from 

My Mum and Milo

an aunt, uncle and cousin the remainder of my family live
in Devon. Since moving here I have made some amazing friends and they fulfil the role of surrogate family and I truly value the friendships made.  But I don't think I have really appreciated how far away my family live, that is until recently on one of my many  'Bridezilla' mega meltdowns! The fact that by default I get to become part of another amazing family very soon makes me feel really happy.


3. PENGUINS!!! obviously! I can't help it and think as the years pass I may actually love these little creatures even more, and besides my pets they also have the ability to make me smile even on the most rubbish of days!

4. Baking.
There is nothing better than coming home from a stressful day than baking, at the moment I am trying to perfect my decorating skills in readiness for tackling our wedding cake for October. I guess I am basically a feeder, but people seem to like my cakes and I get the practice - what's not to love?!

 5. The Water, growing up almost a stones throw away from some of the most amazing beaches in the UK I think I was spoilt, so nothing makes me happier than being next to the sea or any body of water. I could sit for hours and am sad that
I haven't done that as much as I would have liked recently. Definitely something I intend to change.

6. Norwich, my new (or not so new) town. I have been reliably informed that you do not become a native until you have lived in Norfolk for 30 years + so having been here for a little over five years I guess I have a way to go yet!

7. My paid  job, I guess I am in a lucky position in that I really enjoy the job I do and like Peach this is in the NHS and I feel privileged that I get to play a small part in our patients recovery.

8. My unpaid (at the moment!) job, as much as I hate to admit my writing has really taken a back seat to studying and wedding planning at the moment. My first novel has been completed for some time I am just waiting to finalise the cover then make the decision on self publishing or not. There is no doubt in my mind that I am a happier person when I make time to write so I am going to have to make a conscious effort to fit more in.

9. Making things, many of the things I have been making recently I can't post on here yet as they are top secret until the wedding, but making things remind me of my Nan who is sadly no longer with us. I always remember her making something!

Hummus & avocado waffle  

10. Books/reading, I can't believe I have not put this earlier but books make me really happy, I have a kindle ap - I don't have an actual kindle. I love books too much and guess it come down to wanting to see  my book in a physical form.

Chocolate mousse waffleyloviness

11. My writing cave, it's kind of my little sanctuary, no boys allowed!

12. New York - my favourite holiday ever, and hoping to go back in the new year.
13. Dinosaurs! I haver n no idea about the why or the origin of this but I am the proud owner of a triceratops called Trevor who sits on my bookshelf in my cave.

14. Fairy lights, not just at Christmas!


15. Tea, I drink lots.

16. Noodles made from courgettes my new favourite thing.

17. The Waffle House in Norwich.


18. Music, I can totally be without a television but would be miserable without music or a radio.

19. Wagamama's enough said!

20. Spin classes (needed to balance out the food!!) is it wrong to enjoy 45 minutes of being beasted by a fitness instructor?21. Walking home in the rain.

22. Snow.

23. The fact that I graduated completing a foundation degree while working full time and actually enjoyed studying!

24. Plymouth Hoe, one of my favourite places when I go home.

25.  Ice cream.

26. Getting my nails done.

27. Lazy days off with nothing planned.

28. Being spontaneous.

29. Crazy golf (my new favourite thing!)

30. My pj's!

31. Meeting and making new friends - took me a while when moving to a new place.

32. Old friends and the fact you may not speak often but when you do it's like nothing has changed.

33. Train rides.

34. Things that are spotty and meant to be that way!

35. Crazy cousins.

36. Unexpected gifts.

37. My Dad on Facebook.

38. Knitting - when its all going to plan.

39. My obsession with Ryan Reynolds (sorry David).

40. My obsession with Sandra  Bullock (not sorry!)

41. Not having to work nightshifts anymore.

42. Brussel sprouts

43. Yoga.

44. New notebooks and my fountain pen (normally means I have found some time to write).

45. Purple.

46. My bath tub its huge!

47. Laughing so much it makes you cry.

48. Covering my grey hair (thanks to my Dad's faulty genes)

49. Cinema trips.

50. Peach Jones the  person who nominated me  for this!

Epic fail!

I have to admit the title of this blog entry is largely based on my failure to keep my blog updated, I am almost tempted to delete the whole blog and start again to hide my embarrassment, however at least for now I will take a deep breath, shake my head ever so slightly and endeavour to turn over a new leaf - well in my blogging habits at least!

So the story since I last blogged...

Milo

New addition, in the form of Wilbur the hamster, new job moved house, moved in with a boy, more new additions - this time in the form of brothers Archie and Milo.

Archie

Milo steals Archie's food

Me and Deborah Harkness!

Got to meet the very lovely Deborah Harkness author of A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night and The Book of life an amazing trilogy. Not going to lie I loved the books so much that I was a little awestruck and Deborah couldn't have been more lovely. Even got a picture!  

 

 



Completed studies and graduated! Yay :)  Having not actually studied for a long time (writing fiction does not even compare!)  I am not going to lie this was challenging but we did it, and am actually proud of all of us and made some amazing friends on the way.



Graduation day was made even more special...

 

 ...and obviously it goes without saying there has been baking...

So the year ahead promises to be equally as busy, wedding planning, the cover for my first novel now underway and fingers crossed publication is not going to be too far away! Lets just hope I manage to blog a bit more!

  

Real life...stranger than fiction.

Totals...Twitter 5 Tweets (even got a re-tweet!)... Facebook...two status updates...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel... 1500 words after uni...Emails/text messages from mad cousin...none today (not sure she could keep up the pace!!)
Cups of coffee...2 Cupcakes ...0  (unless a raspberry muffin counts?!)
Music mostly on spotify today ...Aqualung, Tyrone Wells, U2.

To be honest it has taken me so long to actually get into my blog this evening due to computer gremlins I have kind of lost the plot! So lets start with some pretty pictures!!

One day a week at the moment I get to have away from my day job for the purpose of attending university, due to stupidness earlier in the year I have only attended twice before and both times it was grey and miserable and cold. Today however it was lovely and not raining and actually nice and warm (yes I was shocked too!). It made a nice change to be able to get out an about in the sunshine, even if we did have to sit in a classroom and learn about research for a bit! If this continues I think I may like being a student for a while.
The added bonus being that today when I got home, feeling inspired by the happy weather - instead of sitting in a quiet corner trying to digest the latest lesson I was actually able to spend a couple of hours writing book 3. It was also nice to sit down for a while having walked about 9 miles today!

It was from events that have happened recently that I decided on my title for today's blog. I like most of the world I can only imagine, have been gripped by events happening around the globe. Obviously the 

tragic events that have recently happened in Boston, as well as the all that is happening in Syria seem to be dominating the news. I have to admit I was pretty much glued to the news watching the events unfold in Boston and I suppose not having any direct connection it felt like watching a movie or TV programme, obviously I know it is real. It's just sad to think that there are people out there that think actions such as these are justified. It's not just events far away that have an unbelievable quality to them.                                                                 

A friend currently having a tough time informed me today about a situation they have found themselves in, they find it so incomprehensible (I hope they don't mind me quoting) that they stated "this could be a storyline from one of your books." Once they had finished I had to agree, not that I would use it - that would be mean but still sometimes things happening on our own doorstep can often be much more scary, upsetting or unbelievable than anything we can write in a book. Perhaps that is why there are so many genre's available, everyone needs to escape sometime and although there is a need for the serious literary works - the humorous or mystical can sometimes provide the light relief or escapism that we all need?

 

Providing my light relief today that I can actually put in print is my disastrous performance in the World Book Night quiz! I really need to hang my head in shame, especially at the James Bond round. The fact that I was practically dragged up on James Bond films (thanks Dad!) seems to mean that I have blocked any learnt James Bond trivia completely from my brain. I guess I was traumatised having to watch the films over and over, the funny thing is that I actually choose to watch the most recent ones and to my surprise really enjoy them. Perhaps this has more to do with Daniel Craig? It's certainly possible. In my team of two (apart from one other team of two who did come last, all the other teams had at least four and in some cases seven people in them) I am proud we came...um...second to last by 2 points and that we only scored 2 points on the James Bond round - I even attempted to text my Dad (yes I am aware this is cheating) but he didn't answer so it wasn't much use to me tonight.

So I guess I have a year to expand my team, and I suppose my knowledge! The highlight of the evening was the book stash (see above) I came away with, I had to limit myself I couldn't carry anymore. But they may keep me going for a while and I even have my very own first James Bond book and I promise I will read it and um...post a full book report!!

Goodnight.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Totals...Twitter 0 Tweets (shocking!)... Facebook...none since 05/04!...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel... 500 words before work (yes I am feeling very proud!)  Emails/text messages from mad cousin...one just arrived (not read it yet but she's bound to be nagging me in there somewhere about blogging)
Cups of coffee...3 Cupcakes ...0
Music mostly on spotify today ...Lykke Li

Back to reality with a huge bump today, and I have to say am feeling a little grumpy for no reason. After weeks of being in limbo and pain and trying to get all of my holiday in before I lose it I finally went back to work properly today! I will be fine once I am in a routine I am sure but I kind of feel out of the loop, however one achievement to be proud of is the fact I managed 500 words before work this morning.
Perhaps my grumpiness is down to the lack of sugar - no cupcakes, obviously I need to bake!!!

Turns out I'm even angry at the kettle for not boiling quickly enough, perhaps a cheese and pickled onion sandwich will help?!

The past week has been interesting and challenging for many reasons, too numerous to talk about them all here. One of the more memorable my birthday and introduction to cherry beer! Amazing I had never tried this before and I don't especially like beer but this was great.  Having been disappointed that my first choice for birthday meal venue didn't actually let you book tables we went here http://www.thebelgianmonk.com/index2.html to The Belgian Monk in Norwich instead. The beer menu fills a wall, so there is a few to chose from! Had an amazing time and the food was excellent - even as a vegetarian I had difficulty as there was so much to chose from, that definitely makes a change! I got totally spoilt and bought lots of books and got loads of fab presents to make so it was a great day.

On the writing front I decided that it was high time to book in the last section of my first book to be edited, it feels like I have been working on this forever and the stall is all my own doing I'm afraid. Its going to be a good feeling to have it completed whatever I decide to do with it afterwards. As well as this I got tonnes of writing done during my holiday so I think it may be time to think about a self imposed deadline perhaps I will think about that for a few days before I commit...who knows I may even be more cheerful then?!!

Brave...

Totals...Twitter 0 Tweets (shocking!)... Facebook...1 status update ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel... nothing today but I am thinking about it!  Emails/text messages from mad cousin...one yesterday (think she's slipping!)
Cups of coffee...0 Cupcakes ...0 ( I am drinking red wine as I blog - I figure that along with the Easter Egg cancels out my lack of coffee and cupcakes?)
Music mostly on spotify today ...much randomness...Goldfrapp, Rita Ora, Over the Rhine, Ingrid Michaelson, Norah Jones.

So having saved my bed from the evil clutches of text books, yes this is really what my bed looks like most of the time when I am trying to study.

I am certain that things will only get worse as I continue my studies - to be fair when I am writing and editing it probably looks so much worse but I fear I may need a trolley to cart this lot back to the library.
Having been nagged (somewhat) and bullied (as much as I will let her get away with) I have returned to blog. I am not entirely convinced that my life is all that interesting to make excessive amounts of posts but I have promised to keep at it so I shall try.
From the picture above it is quite evident that for the last few weeks the majority of my reading materials have been somewhat dry, so it was time for some light relief. I was so pleased to get hold of my copy of  'Good Husband Material' by Trisha Ashley on Friday. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Husband-Material-Trisha-Ashley/dp/1847562817/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364843905&sr=8-1
I came home that evening and didn't just start reading I can say hand on heart that I pretty much devoured it in one sitting - ignoring the phone, the pull of emails and everything else that easily manages to distract me and finished it all except a few pages - which I finished on Saturday.
Talking to a colleague about books we were attempting to recommend books to each other and got talking about Trisha Ashley's books which she described as the book equivalent of a cuddle! I love that - I think I may have to steal it. Certainly this book didn't disappoint and made me feel pretty good, so well done! The characters for the most part were very likable although I did want to get hold of James and give him a good shake - what an idiot ( I know that was kind of the point!) but it was a good mix of humour and moments that make you shake your head in disbelief and really what was needed after reading one too many text books. I only hope that as my writing progresses I am able to draw people in just as easily.

Once finished with the book I had to find something else to challenge my creativity as I just wasn't in the mood to write - so decided that my life would not be complete without cupcakes topped with penguins (obviously). I have yet to make the cakes or cake - its my birthday on Thursday so may just make myself a cake so
currently these little guys are living in my fridge. I need to make some more to add to the collection. I have a few days I am sure I still have plenty enough time to reenact the March of the Penguins. Not that I am obsessed (much).

The wine has clearly taken effect already and the title of today's blog so far bares no relevance to the content - just for a change. As I blogged last week about the challenges of 'pressing the button' and sending my writing off to be judged. In a moment of bravery I did it again this week and sent bood 2 off on its merry little way. I can only conclude that it means I am either feeling more confident about my writing or less precious - I am not entirely sure which is more true. I am sure other writers are the same, filled with self doubt, worried about being judged. But ultimately I am not too sure my aspiration of becoming a writer would be too successful it all I did on completion of my novels was to hide them under my bed, although it is a little tempting.

For the rest of this week I am now on leave from work (who wants to work on their birthday?) and work on my current project in between dragging my reluctant wobbly bits to the gym to get beasted. My next challenge to set a deadline for said project which is yet the untitled sequel to book 2 and over halfway written. I may have to ponder that for a while, perhaps after the wine has worn off.

Happy Easter!
x

 

 

Push the button...

Totals...Twitter 1 Tweets (shocking!)... Facebook...1 status update ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel... nothing today but 1500 words at the weekend! Did write 2000 word essay today does that count? Emails/text messages from mad cousin...1
Cups of coffee...2 Cupcakes ...0 (but I had some birthday cake see below...not my birthday but I made the cake)

Music mostly on spotify today ...James Morrison tonight.

So I guess I should start tonight with an apology to mad cousin that featured in previous blog. It seams she was a little perturbed at the picture of her stating 'it was a very flattering picture of me, NOT!' In my defence I am also in the picture and look just as good...NOT. It was cold and snowing and a few minutes after it was taken we couldn't actually see much more than a metre in front of us. I have also been reliably informed that unless I blog regularly I will receive regular emails nagging me until I do. I'm not entirely sure that my life is interesting enough to blog every day so I will have to wait and see if the emails arrive - incidentally I did receive one today. I'm not convinced she can keep it up.

So yesterday I did something very brave after I thought I'd done something very stupid...so I guess I will start with the stupid.
Looking for book two to tweak a few more bits before I was as happy as I could be HUGE panic when I opened the file and the page was blank...Now I have done this before so I now save my writing in a few different places just in case, however on this occasion I had been editing said book and had not re-saved it in my usual places. Not good, I thought it was probably karma - the book is about a girl who is a little accident prone and to whom ridiculous things happening to her is a daily occurrence. Perhaps she was seeking revenge? I have to admit apart from tweeting about my stupidity (because obviously it seemed important at that moment in time to share my pain!) I did remain pretty calm. I even went and made a cup of tea!
The good news for whatever reason I did a few things with the computer - pretending I actually knew what I was doing...I didn't. But regardless I found it - my only conclusion that my computer had in fact eaten it just to mess with my head.
On finding it you could say I was a little happy, I have also now re-saved it in all of the various locations. I am sure that I have learnt my lesson now...until the next time.

So onto the brave...I am a relatively new writer so I am still very precious about letting my work go. It's very hard giving it over to someone to be judged, of course I am aware that this is a ridiculous notion when I am actually wanting to publish, have lots of people read my writing and can't wait for the day when I hold an actual published book with my name on the cover in my hand.
So why is it so hard to send it on its merry little way to try and raise some interest from a publisher?

I have no idea (answers on a postcard?) but I did it and pushed the send button then felt sick, excited, a bit more sick, nervous and a bit more excited.
The important thing is that I have done it and alongside I am sure hundreds if not thousands of others it awaits its fate, so I guess it is now a waiting game. I am sure I am not the only person to feel this way - its just hard to describe to people who have never done it!

I am sure that's enough rambling for tonight so I am going to leave you with something that made me laugh this evening.


I would just like to think that if my computer was a cat (just go with me on this for a moment) that this is how guilty it would look for causing me to panic about my lost book.


Bye for now!

...back to reality...again

Totals...Twitter 4 Tweets ... Facebook...1 status update ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel (s)...possibly minus a few as am editing!
Cups of coffee...1 Cupcakes ...0 (but I am going to make some tomorrow!)
Music mostly on spotify today ...Neil Finn, Blondie, Nelly, and up next Freemasons, Kelly Clarkson, Natasha Bedingfield and Ellie Goulding (bit of a mixture!).

Wow two posts in a month that's not happened for a while!
So the past week or so have seen visits from the parents and one mad cousin who stayed with me for a few days. It was great fun and very welcome after feeling sorry for myself for weeks due to the stupidness of a trapped nerve in my neck! I am not sure I had laughed so much for a very long time.

This was helped a lot no doubt at my cousins enthusiasm for the snow that continued to fall - thank goodness as I had been on the receiving end of many texts earlier in the year with the ridiculous amount of snow that we had here when they had none in the south west, I think I was also accused at one point of 'stealing all the snow.'

There wasn't a huge amount of snow but it was enough to keep her happy for a while, and the picture to the right I have been reliably informed is a snow frog (!) this from someone with an art degree!!! I can confirm that her sculptures are much better than her snowy creation.
For some reason the whole visit she was obsessed with frogs to the point she had told me that I should write my next book about ghost frogs, not entirely sure where that would fit but I promised to keep it in mind. Who knows if a scene needs livening up I could always use a few ghost frogs (!).

Needless to say I had a great time and was sad to see her go home only to be followed a few days later by my parents, its great when they come to visit its just horrible when they go home again I am sure it feels worse every time.

In any case I didn't have too much time to think about it as I finally got the all clear to go back to work. Six weeks is a long time to be off and bored and to have to do as you are told (I'm really not very good at that) especially when your job is hectic it's hard to do nothing - I was on the verge of throwing my television out of the window, if ever there was a reason to go to work daytime television is it.

I am very happy that now it is easier and not so painful to sit at my computer I can write more than I have for a long time, most of my time at the moment seems to be spent editing and I have to say I am being more brutal than I ever was with my first novel. I am just wondering if it is because my writing is worse or if I have learnt more - I am hoping it is the latter. That's it for now as I am off to have a Friday night editing session...yes it is true I know how to live!

Blog...re-booted!!

Totals...Twitter 2 Tweets ... Facebook...1 status update ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel (s)...nothing for a few weeks more to follow on that!
Cups of coffee...1 Cupcakes ...0 (sadly lacking in the cupcake department, had some lemon cake does that count?)
Music mostly on spotify today ...have gone all high tech and made my own play lists full of randomness song playing at the moment A&E by Goldfrapp, up next Drive by by Train and Let Your Love Walk in by Paloma Faith

Am feeling slightly ashamed at my abandoning of blog! It lasted longer than my diary normally does but still not good. Lets see a quick catch up of life since...um...June 2012 (currently hanging head in shame!)

Book one still working with an editor on this one, think its a labour of love but am starting to feel that my writing is getting better the more I write so not sure where to go with this one when complete. Self publishing is an option, who knows? I don't! Tested edited parts (and last part still to be edited) on lovely housemate who cried twice and told me I was evil...I am hoping it was a compliment? The book is on a supernatural thriller theme I was being evil on purpose!

Book two that randomly I had the whole plot mapped out during a swimming session and it has nothing to do with swimming...weird! I keep tweaking trying to make my voice stronger, I've never done funny am hoping it is as funny as I think it is! Am currently road testing this with American friend...I know she will be honest I am nervously excited awaiting her feedback. During a random Tweet this week pondering out loud if I should be brave and enter book two into a comp got a reply from the lovely Trisha Ashley encouraging me to do just that. Kind of have to now it would be rude to ignore the encouragement! Thank you for that and the subsequent Tweets I needed that.
Will keep you posted the comp closes on 29 March 2013.

Book three which is a sequel to book two I am currently two thirds of the way through and that's the state of play at the mo.

Lots of things happened last year I got a new job which has been very interesting, studying for said job took up lots of time then by the time I stopped studying it was Christmas. This was almost a wash out and disaster for so many people and going back to the South West for Christmas and travelling by train on Christmas Eve was an epic journey, which was made fantastic by the sight of my parents who came to rescue me about 30 miles away from my destination to save me from another coach/train change.
They will probably not thank me for this but look at their amazing Christmas jumpers, definitely brought a smile to my face after travelling for 8 hours.

Incidentally I stole the penguin jumper it came home with me! I did consider wearing it everyday for work but it has so far been relegated to a drawer ready for next Christmas!



 My parents very rarely give me opportunity to take pics of them that I decided it was high time that they made an appearance on here!

So Christmas came and went, then the snow came...and went...eventually!

 Then stupidness happened and for whatever reason I managed to injure my neck. This caused me to be in a considerable amount of pain the likes of which I have never felt and would prefer never to feel again. It also resulted in me having to do what I was told, something I am not very good at. I am very happy to say that after physio, acupuncture, countless medications, hydrotherapy and mindfulness I appear to  be on the mend and am allowed to go back to work - this I am very happy about. Yes really!

Phew...so that's me almost up to date! So tonight is the first time I am going out for about 6 weeks and am going to the theatre I am very excited! And if this wasn't enough excitement my parents are coming to visit at the weekend along with my Very hyper cousin who will be staying with me, am wondering how I will cope!!!!

So with a bit of luck I will post soon, and perhaps I would have even done some writing (but only if I finish my assignment first!).

Trying...

Totals...Twitter 0 Tweets (REALLY bad!)... Facebook...1 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...nothing so far I worked a 13 hour shift, there's still time!
Cups of coffee...1 Cupcakes ...0 (sadly lacking in the cupcake department, will remedy this tomorrow!)
Music mostly on my itunes this evening...Florence and the Machine, James Morrison, Alanis Morissette (forgot how good she was!)

Hello June! Wow it's halfway through already, I have no idea where the time is going, but it's going somewhere pretty quick these days. So my good intentions of increasing blog posts has kind of failed but still here I am!
The title of today's blog means many things and kind of sums up life at the moment, trying to study, trying to blog, trying to write...trying to get fit (not sure my bottom has recovered from the three spinning classes I attended last week!!) and generally things that come up day to day. I sit here this evening enjoying a nice glass of wine (red of course!) thinking about the last couple of days in the day job, which have been somewhat trying for a number of reasons. What is great to see is the support from colleagues and how a team really pulls together when things get difficult, my job is rewarding on so many levels but can be very difficult. I'm not sure if any of them will be reading this out there but I would just like to say cheers!

In terms of life outside of the day job, it has been interesting to say the least. I am waiting for the next part of my first novel to be returned from the editor which is both exciting and terrifying - receiving feedback on my 'baby' and acknowledging that he is helping me on my journey. Picking up a new project which I'd not bargained for! Having already decided I would re-visit a project that is halfway through now that I have completed the second draft of my second novel. Instead of which I am now three chapters into a follow on to second novel, this thing seems to be taking on a life all of it's own so I figured it was only right to go with it and see where it leads...only time will tell.

At the same time 'trying' to feed the inner creative being I took myself to the movies, thankfully this time I was not plagued by compulsive talkers.

Cosmopolis, I've read the book - I found it an interesting read and will admit I had to read a few bits more than once but I stuck with it and loved it. I think there has been mixed reviews for the films and to be honest I usually make my own mind up if a film looks interesting and I enjoyed it. There were no special effects, huge explosions or the like as much of the films takes place in the back of a limousine but I thought it was great! I suppose the fact that Robert Pattinson has been cast in the lead will cause interest for some female fans, but rest assured for those who are not fans this is nothing like it! Hopefully it will prove to some out there that he can actually act? Who knows, but I enjoyed it.
Aside from the cinema this week I will be going to the theatre to see Carmen, something that I have wanted to do for a very long time. I love the music and it's the first time I've been to see and opera so I hope that I am going to like it. Perhaps I can let you know next time.

In terms for the next few weeks, I am hoping to really be able to concentrate on the storyline to the latest novel and develop it into something worthy of a sequel. Often sequels are a huge let down so I am determined a continuation of a story has got to have enough of a spark to captivate a reader to want to spend time with my characters once again, at least that's what I am trying to do.

Why?

Totals...Twitter 2 Tweets (which is kind of pathetic!)... Facebook...1 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...nothing I took a day off! Cups of coffee...1 Cupcakes ...1
Music mostly on my itunes this evening...Goyte, Florence & the Machine, Christina Perri.

Hi! So I vowed to get better with the blog and I have failed fairly spectacularly, so here in a nutshell is what has been happening in my life just in case you were wondering...the day job, studying related to the day job, having an impressive meltdown about studying, finished second draft of third novel, sent second part of first novel to editor (after emailing him under the influence of red wine and cocktails, not advisable!) and have now gone back to second novel - which is currently half way through, after stopping it to write third. Confused? Try being in my head!

And breathe...am wondering if I have a finger in too many pies, but I have to admit I've never been good at sitting still for long.
Currently I am enjoying two days off from the day job, I had a nice day planned. Spending the day with my Aunt who was catching the train to come and meet me...so here is where the title of today's blog comes into play... Why is it when you have something planned do things never go as you think they should? I get a message saying she will be late because the train has been cancelled, they put buses on instead which means it will take and hour instead of 20 minutes to get to me...a few minutes I get another message telling me the bus has hit a car! Thinking I have plenty of time I think I will leave the car and take a bus to the train station, after standing at the bus stop for forty minutes I give up, walk home and pick up the car. Finally we meet! Then after a bit of shopping we do lunch!

Well, this wasn't our entire lunch but definitely my favourite bit! If the bus had turned up it would have been even better because I would have been able to have more than half a glass, but I am sure my Uncle was very appreciative of a slightly tipsy wife to accompany him to the cinema after I waved goodbye. In any case it was a nice way to spend a couple of hours.
Having had my evening plans cancelled I decided a trip to the cinema would be a nice way to end the day. I didn't want anything I would have to think about too much so having already seen What to expect when you're expecting last week I decided to give Snow White and the Huntsman a try...

Now I doubt the film will win many (or any) Oscars but I have to admit I enjoyed it, or would have. Sorry am going to moan a bit here...WHY do people insist on going to watch a movie and talk through the ENTIRE film? What is the point in going, or do they think that everyone else in the theatre has paid their money to listen to their conversation? I can probably guess the answer to this and it would be NO!!!! Everyone makes the odd comment and that's fine but there really is no point in going to see a movie if you are going to talk all the way through it. OK I feel better now I have that off my chest. I guess I've probably been spoilt as in a former job I got to go to press screenings and had the entire screen to myself most of the time - perhaps I need to find myself another job like that? In the meantime I will try and avoid the cinema at busy times or maybe I could just take a supply of projectile weapons to launch at anyone talking to excess and ruining the film...too much?

Zen like calm...

Totals...Twitter 6 Tweets ... Facebook...2 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...nothing I'm (still) editing! Cups of coffee...1 Cupcakes ...1
Music mostly on my itunes this evening;  very sore subject...but Rebecca Ferguson, Marcus Foster.

Am feeling a little guilty not having posted anything since April. it's not that I've not had anything to say - I've probably had too much but life has just got in the way a little.

So I will start by saying that life has been a little stressful recently, it was not helped any by itunes yesterday. When I sat at my computer ready to edit - and as usual I need music to work with - my house is too noisy most of the time not to have something in the background to drown it out. But as I logged in my play list was nowhere to be found!
Now obviously I am aware in the grand scheme of things that this is a very trivial matter - but to me this was a disaster, the list was not that bad (honest) and I had been cultivating it for months. It sported a very eclectic mix of everything I liked at the moment and found motivational while I wrote. Needless to say I was not happy. I still have no idea where it went, I also spent a considerable amount of time looking for it when I could have been editing - so to say I was unhappy was a bit of an understatement! I have now started the process of compiling another play list - but it's just not the same and is going to take time to love it...I'm just wondering if by the time I come to love it the same thing will happen? Perhaps or maybe that is just paranoia?!

Due to the fact it has been a while since I last blogged I should at least prove that I have used my time wisely in order to harness my creativity...

Painting! I had a huge space on the wall which has been home to my story board for almost six months and it finally got taken down and was replaced with this! I had great fun with paints and mosaic mirror stars. It was a bit of a stress reliever too!

I also made some crab cakes for a friend who is a little bit obsessed with crabs! They were great fun to make but a little time consuming, but I think they were well worth it.

In terms of writing progress I had some great feedback from my editor, which I was very pleased about and having now had the first half of my first novel back I have to say that I love what he's done with it. It's still me ( I was worried - having never had anything edited before) but it's tidier and flows better. It's true to say that I probably walked around with a cheesy grin fixed to my face for close to a week. He is currently working on the next part and I can't wait for it to be finished.

In the meantime I have now finished the second draft of my second novel which is so completely different to my first, and the first time I have attempted to write "funny" I'm hoping it pays off as it was fun to write. I am hoping for this to be edited when first is done, and now I can pick up the next which I am about a third of the way through. If that wasn't enough alongside a full time job I am also studying and my assignments are really starting to pile up. I am trying not to let my writing take a back seat but I have a feeling something is going to have to give...if for nothing other than my sanity!

I am open to suggestions of how to juggle my time effectively, until that happens I guess I will just have to keep smiling and carry on! While on this I have to say that my gym membership has been wasted too, this is something I will be rectifying on Monday! I am going to drag my reluctant butt to start my running schedule (this is going to be hilarious!) along with a very lovely yoga class...

What the ****?

Totals...Twitter 5 Tweets ... Facebook...1 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...nothing I'm (still) editing! Cups of coffee...1 Cupcakes ...0 (Replaced with a muffin today!)
Music mostly on my itunes this evening; Emeli Sande, Maroon 5

As I talked about on previous posts I'm currently having a little break from writing. I'm not sure how other people do this but, having finished the first draft of my second novel I feel it is only right to devote some time to reading and editing as much as I am able to before handing it over to the editor I have been working with.
My writing process is perhaps a little more drawn out than it needs to be, owing to the fact I hand write initially before transferring onto the computer so I have already "tweaked" things here and there. This doesn't stop me from hanging my head in shame when I read through some of the things I have written, my initial reaction is what the **** have I written, my next thought is - I am hoping that a passing alien has in fact hijacked my brain for a few hours, taken it for a spin and decided to have a bit of fun with my project, either that or I  really am in trouble!

Or is this normal?
Are the feelings I am having of blind irrational panic that it's not good enough part of the creative process? I may need some help on this.
I am alternating between loathing and loving my novel in quick succession it's very odd - it's also a very different feeling from the feeling I had after I'd finished my first.
When I finished my first novel I was so proud that after all these years of saying I wanted to write a book, I actually sat down and wrote one. Yes there were flaws (major ones) but it didn't diminish how proud and probably smug I felt. The novel I have just completed is in a totally different genre the character just popped into my head and I sort of went with it to try and have a bit of fun, so why am I finding it so hard to like it?
I'm hopeful that after another few days, I will change my mind again...until then I may have to lock up the shredder!

Back to reality...

Totals...Twitter 7 Tweets ... Facebook...2 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...nothing I'm editing! Cups of coffee...1 Cupcakes ...0 (Replaced with carrot cake today!)
Music mostly on my itunes this evening; Marcus Foster, Chopin (Yes really!)

I have to admit I've been fairly lax with the blog updates over the past few days. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly it has been my birthday. They don't seem to bother me now, I had a really issue on my 29th birthday right up until a month before my 30th and now I don't care! (I was 35 this birthday in case you were wondering!) I had a great time, got thoroughly spoilt, spent a considerable amount of time in my local Waterstone's in Norwich spending my birthday voucher (making my inner bookworm very happy!) and then went out for a celebratory waffle with friends in the evening. So my day in pictures went a bit like this...

My birthday (cake) provided by my Auntie who I met for breakfast at 0800hrs not realising that I could have actually had a lie in but never mind we sat and yawned together and it was nice to see her!

These were actually cookies in the shape of cupcakes (major sugar overload) and were a gift from one of my housemates who said he'd cheated and bought them as his cooking is rubbish! Never the less they were lovely and provided much needed substance later in the day when returning from dinner after much wine was consumed.

Completely spoilt!! Lots of prezzies and lots of books to keep me busy for a little while while I edit, and have a breather before I start writing again.

Birthday waffle, mushroom and cheese sauce, very nice!!

Birthday dessert waffle, chocolate mousse with cream and banana and chocolate sprinkles. Well it would have been rude not too!

Finally after all the trauma with the printer, here it is. The first draft of my second novel I would give you the title but I'm not sure I'm feeling the love for it yet so may change it still. However that being said I am now starting to work my way through tweaking things a little before it gets sent on its merry way to be edited professionally! It was a weird feeling and actually kind of emotional seeing it all printed in front of me, not sure I will ever get used to that, not that I think I'd ever want to feel less excited at the achievement!

Sadly now my holiday is almost over, I go back to the day job on Sunday and it will be nice to see everyone but I know I will be itching to get home again each day to get through with this first draft as soon as it's now going to have to take a bit of a back seat now that I am returning to the job that pays the bills and keeps a roof over my head!

It will also be a bit of a relief to have the cakes and chocolate and everything else gone and get stuck into the healthy eating again and get myself back to the gym which I have to say I have neglected for a little while and I am starting to feel guilty so it must be time to go back! The idea for the plot and the main character for the book pictured above came to me while I was actually at the gym swimming (very slowly, I can swim for ages but I'm not very fast and I'm a boring swimmer I use the same stroke). It was probably because of the repetitive motion I was able to just switch off and after about forty-five minutes had to get out and grab my notebook. I scribbled furiously until I'd written as much of the plot and character information I could remember before it drowned in the abyss of my brain never to be thought of again. If it's successfully published I suppose I will have the gym to thank but until then I will probably continue to return begrudgingly.  

Hype...

Totals...Twitter 12 Tweets ... Facebook...1 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...nothing I'm editing! Cups of coffee...1 Cupcakes ...1
Music mostly on my itunes this evening; Snow Patrol, James Morrison.

I suppose it had to happen eventually and all this talk about Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James had to get the better of my curiosity. There has been so much hype over this book, trending on twitter, Facebook followers and countless articles on the Internet and in print it's been difficult to avoid.  The fact that it originated as fan fiction in homage to The Twilight Saga brought to life by Stephanie Meyer is probably what drew me to it, it would be interesting to know her thoughts on this - though I can say having read all four books in The Twilight Saga and all three books in the E.L James trilogy I fail to see the link. Obviously changes have been made since the early days of it being more geared to being fan fiction but I would be concerned if the target audience of The Twilight Saga seek out Fifty Shades of Grey.
In my honest opinion (for what it counts for!) Fifty Shades of Grey is not the usual type of book I would read but I succumbed to the hype and decided to make my own mind up! It's not the worst book I've read but it certainly isn't the best book either, there are lines in there that are (and again in my own opinion I do not wish to offend) that are so overused they are uncomfortable to read, and to say that the main character has issues is a vast understatement!
However the success story for this self published story is something to be very impressed with and just goes to show the power that social networking sites for example have on our reading habits these days it's certainly impressive, all that and the talk of turning this now into a film is nothing to be sneezed at! So while I am dubious about whether or not the story content is my thing I have to admire and applaud the success it's received and only hope that if this is the route I end up choosing for my writing that I can write something equally as captivating to such a wide audience.

Any way enough of that! Moving on from that some welcome relief in the form of a picture taken by my brother who currently lives in France, something so cute I felt the need to share...

This is Colin (don't ask!) he is a french dormouse and is a protected species and was very nearly eaten by my brother's two cats, he has informed me (my brother not Colin) that he has spoken to the cats and explained that they are not to eat Colin. I'm not entirely sure they are going to listen to him but I sincerely hope for Colin's sake that they do!