When your book comes to life...sort of

 In just the last week, I've seen pictures of two things that could have come straight from Tilda's world. 

The first is this amazing picture, posted by a friend of mine 'Down-under'. 

Ronnie does tours of her local area, and this is a shot of the ruins of a guest house - Chateau Napier, in Leura - which was destroyed in bushfire, 1957.

But I looked at it and - assuming you've read Tilda and the Mines of Pergatt - I saw the doorway in the forest that I'd imagined and written about. Admittedly, my invented doorway also has a door within it, but it was exactly how I imagined the setting...

The second time Tilda's world came into sharp focus was when the National Trust magazine dropped through my letterbox. Mr Squidge was flicking through and I nearly jumped out of my chair when I saw this inside;

Now, I don't know about you, but my first thought was - Lady Duska! Pergatt's colour is green, and the dress is covered in gemstones...

I read the article about this dress and, it's even more impressive than gems - all those glittery 'gems' are the wing cases of irridescent beetles. And it was made for a theatre production of Macbeth - this is Lady Macbeth's gown.

I do so love it, when you find something real that could fit so well into the fantasy... Don't you?

I have publication dates!

When you read the next line, imagine you're playing a trumpet.

Pom-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-paaaar!

Delighted to let you know that I have publication dates for not one, but TWO books.

Squidge's Guide to Super Stories (and how to be a better writer)  is set to be published in June. It will, I hope, give anyone who wants to start writing the confidence to get going, and show those who are already writing some of the things they can do to become an even better writer.   

On top of that, Tilda's third adventure - Tilda and the Tombs of Kradlock - will be published in August! 

I'll update you as and when I get more information, because there will be online (probably) launches for both, and I'm already racking my brain for competition ideas.

I am one VERY excited Squidge.

Watch this space!

What I've been reading...

 I don't usually post book reviews on the Scribbles, cos I never feel I'm very good at them. I do post over on Goodreads, but my reviews tend to be quite short - definitely not the 'here's the whole premise for the story, plus everything good the author did/n't do, and what I thought of it' variety.

Don't get me wrong - I admire reviewers who write that kind of thing about books. I've been on the receiving end of some really lovely ones myself, like this one for StarMark, or this one for Kingstone, and I really appreciate them. But I find writing that kind of thing myself quite hard. I tend to stick at what I liked about a particular story, or how it made me feel. 

(Plus, as a writer, it's hard to read a book without being overly critical of what you're reading. If I find a book that I get lost in, then kudos to its author!)

Last weekend, I did A LOT of reading. I wasn't very well. Nothing covid-related, I hasten to add, but the fatigue kept me in bed for two days and all I could manage for most of that time was pressing the next page button on my aged kindle. I know, I know, ebooks...but I couldn't bear to hold the weight of a physical book, so kindle seemed like the best option.

Thought I'd share with you what I read, cos there were some absolute corkers. 

Loved this - so many twists and turns, and some beautifully drawn characters. If you want a masterclass in character voice, look no further! 

Atmospheric Icelandic mystery. Beautifully descriptive, to the point where the land is as much of a character as the people. 

An almost ninety-year old in an Antarctic penguin research station? Sounds far fetched, but when you meet the redoubtable Granny V, you'll believe anything is possible. Laugh-out-loud funny, yet also very poignant in places.

Another fun one; Queen Elizabeth II, a behind the scenes sleuth? Again, beautiful voice for her Maj, so much so I pictured Olivia Colman in The Crown all the way through. Kept me laughing. 

This one is a children's novel, up for review on the Everybody's Reviewing blog. (That's a local review site - the StarMark and Kingstone reviews I mentioned earlier were posted there) As a child of the 60's, growing up in the 70's, there was a lot of this that resonated with me. 

You can read my review for Marmalade Skies by following the link, and any of my Goodreads reviews here. 

So what's next? Well, after watching the Netflix series Bridgerton (the duke...swoon!) I've also started reading the first of the Bridgerton books - The Duke and I.  Can it possibly be as steamy as the TV adaptation...? I'll keep you posted.

Finding out you're a social writer

I've realised that I'm perhaps a rare breed - I'm a social writer. 

That doesn't mean I like to write in a roomful of people. I still have to be alone pretty much of the time, scribbling in notebooks or tapping away on the laptop to actually get words and ideas down and work out what's going to happen to Tilda while she's in Nargan (Book number 4 of the series - making slow but steady progress). 

What it does mean - for me at any rate - is that actually, I think what I enjoy most about calling myself a writer is having the opportunity to talk about writing and books and helping people with their writing, based on my own experiences. 

Now, as we all know, the coronavirus restrictions have prevented much of that kind of opportunity from happening; it affects the everyday, not just writing. I haven't been into the school library to talk books with students since last March, haven't been into any schools to do a creative writing day, and I miss my little writing group with all the different prompts we used to challenge ourselves with. 

There have been moments of interaction of course - the virtual zoom launch for Tilda and the Mines of Pergatt, for example. Dropping off signed copies of the paperback to local readers or the Post Office for another. But on the whole, my motivation to write, on my own and within my own four walls because there are simply no other options for venue in a covid-riddled world, simply isn't as strong when I don't have the opportunities to interact with other writers and readers. 

It's made me wonder what I like more - writing stories, or meeting the people who read what I've written or who I might be able to help? 

Thing is, I wouldn't have one without the other, would I? 

So on that note, I'd best get back to Tilda. I left her in a coach, on the way to Nargan... 

Now where did I put my pen?