Feature Friday: Writes of Passage Anthology Launch

The penultimate version of our cover

This is possibly the last time I will be mentioning the Writes of Passage anthology because the launch happened on Tuesday evening! The whole event, which was held at Foyles, went extremely well from start to finish. Most people attended and the place was pretty packed, but with canapés making their way around the room and tables laid out with glasses of wine, orange juice and water for attendees, everyone seemed very happy.

Foyles, Charing Cross

All of the agents and editors I talked to were absolutely lovely. For once I wasn't anxious either. On the day I think I was more worried about having to buy an underground ticket from one of the machines than actually talking to people, and I didn't even have to buy a ticket in the end because a very kind stranger gave me his travelcard because he no longer needed it!

The Gallery, where the event was held

It was a very enjoyable evening. I don't like talking to people I don't know. I don't even talk to shop assistants unless I really have to. But everyone at the launch was there for the same reason, because they liked the writing in the anthology and because they love books. Being in a room full of around 100 people who all love books and a few of which particularly want to talk to you about how they really like your writing makes the whole situation a lot easier. Also, no one asked me to pitch my story to them because they had already read at least a bit of it. I had one person ask me to tell them the ending, that was it. The rest just wanted to say that they really liked it and would like some more. I did talk to a few people who weren't interested but did say that they really liked my writing, they just don't take on that genre/age group. Which is totally understandable.

This is where I studied for my masters degree

Even if nothing comes of it, it's a big step, and I know that people in the publishing industry do like my story and do like my writing, so that's definitely a positive and something to brag about on cover letters.

I helped to create an anthology. I put together the website and the twitter. I attended the launch and networked with other writers, editors and agents. Child-me would be astounded.

Feature Friday: Bikes

I do not own a bike, and this makes me a little sad. I also don't drive so if I want to go somewhere I usually walk or if it's further afield I have to get the bus. Which is fine, but I'd really like to be able to go places under my own steam. So, today I'm featuring some pretty ladies bikes that make my heart flutter.

There's a definite shape I prefer, the top one being my favourite, and I want a basket to put things in.

Feature Friday: Ten Things To Look Forward To In A Busy Week

Source

We all have busy weeks and sometimes it can feel like it's all too much, so take a few minutes to breathe and think of ten things you're looking forward to! It's sure to cheer you up, remind you of what you are working towards and what you can reward yourself with when you're done!

Here's some things I look forward to when I'm feeling stressed:

1. Cuddling my pets. It's pretty much guaranteed to make me happy. Sometimes they're not awake and then I have to cuddle my fiancé.

2. My next cup of tea or coffee. It's pretty much guaranteed to make me happy because it also means I have to take a few minutes to stop, boil the kettle, make my drink and then drink it. Sometimes that's all the time you need.

3. My next meal. Even if it's nothing special it's nice to look forward to something yummy. I'm also of the view that there is nothing wrong with eating dessert first, that's sure to make anyone happy.

4. Getting back to the book I'm currently enjoying. This is also why I tend to read several books at the same time, so I'll have at least one to look forward to reading.

5. Whatever holiday is coming up next. I love holidays, whether they be actual time off work or events like Christmas, Halloween or Easter.

6. The next time I get to see my family. I adore my family and love spending time with them so I always look forward to the next time I'll get to see them. I also look forward to seeing my friends because they live far away.

7. Watching my favourite TV shows. I tend to watch the same ones over and over, such as Gilmore Girls and Scrubs, but I also like watching more current things like Game of Thrones.

8. The funny/cool/pretty stuff I'll find on Tumblr, Twitter and forums when I check later on.

9. Getting to work on my novel manuscript a bit more.

10. Getting paid! We all love to get paid and it's definitely something to look forward to!

So, what about you? What things do you look forward to when you're feeling snowed under?

Feature Friday: Writes of Passage

I'm a little late in updating today because I had to take one of our pet rats to the vet, she's having an operation so keep your fingers crossed for her!

The Writes of Passage anthology is done! I have two copies sitting on my bookshelf right now and it's just so lovely to have the actual, solid, real copy right there! I can touch it and everything! It's not a dream!

This photo was taken by our editor-in-chief

Isn't it pretty? 

It isn't available to the public but of course if you do fancy being nosy you can always check out the website.

Friday Feature: My Favourite Female Characters

I thought that I would feature just a few of my favourite female characters from books, both novels and manga. These are in no particular order

Eowyn (The Lord of the Rings)

Arya Stark (A Song of Ice and Fire series)

Brienne of Tarth (A Song of Ice and Fire series)

Hermione Granger (Harry Potter series)

Sakaki (Azumanga Daioh)

Meiko (Solanin)

As you can probably tell, I like my female characters to be independent, intelligent, willing to take risks for what they believe in but also kind, sensitive and loyal.

Friday Feature: Writing Spaces

I find other people's homes interesting, especially their workspaces. I'm nosy like that and I'm sure you are too, so I thought I would feature writer's work spaces this Friday!

Michael Morpurgo

From The Guardian

Virginia Woolf

From The Guardian

Roald Dahl

From The Guardian

Judith Kerr

From The Guardian

Kate Mosse

From The Guardian

Jacqueline Wilson

From The Guardian

I do most of my work here:

but I do occasionally take my laptop downstairs and work in front of the TV.

Where do you do most of your work? Or if you don't work at a desk or similar, where are you reading this from?

Feature Friday: Travel

I've been watching The Hairy Biker's Bakeathon recently because 

1. It's about baking yummy things

2. I find the guys funny and I like how cuddly they look and 

3. They're travelling around Europe and I want to travel more.

So I thought I'd chat a bit about travelling! I have lived in England, The Philippines and Scotland, but I've also visited Wales, Ireland, The Netherlands, France and Malaysia. Hopefully the boy and I will be going to Belgium next year for our honeymoon and I hope that one day I'll get to visit South-east Asia again, namely South Korea, China and Japan., and I also want to see more of Europe. My fiancé isn't much of a traveller but luckily I have friends who I am sure would be happy to join me if he really didn't want to go.

A few places I would really love to go one day:

Norway

The Netherlands - Amsterdam (again)

France - Paris

Iceland

 

China

South Korea

Japan - Tokyo, Osaka and Hokkaido

So just a few places...

The nice thing is that I would like to go to these places not just to visit but also in many cases as a chance to do research for future stories. Currently I just can't afford to travel so I have to research mostly online or by talking to people, but I'd like to experience things for myself. Travelling can be so much fun, if you don't let the stress get to you. 

My favourite memories from travelling are:

My first time on a plane when I was ten, we had the entire Business Section to ourselves and I was allowed to go into the cockpit.

Arriving in The Philippines and being overwhelmed by how hot and noisy Manila was.

Going to Malaysia for Christmas, riding horses on the beach and holding hands with a baby Orangutan.

Going to Baguio in The Philippines for the Millennium and seeing the huge lion carved into the mountain side.

Dutch coffee and Amsterdam's coffee shops.

Buying Tintin and Asterik's in French while in Brittany.

Going to Dublin Zoo and having it practically to ourselves.

Camping in The Forest of Dean.

Taming wild rabbits in the Lake District until they would let me feed them.

Swimming in a clear blue ocean.

White sand beaches.

Black sand beaches.

Drinking out of coconuts.

Stroking a water buffalo.

Seeing wild fruit bats and wild monkeys.

Everything.

What about you? Where do you want to go, what do you want to do?

Feature Friday: Bread

I wasn't sure what to feature this week, but seeing as I've already talked about tea and cats in past posts I feel that I can get away with this.

I like bread. I don't eat it all that often because I'm never sure what to actually eat it with. I don't like sandwiches all that much, so I rarely eat those unless it's something delicious like hummus and sweetcorn or cheese toasties. I also never put butter in sandwiches, it's disgusting, but I do like butter on toast and on vegetables. Go figure. As a kid I went through a stage of eating bread and drinking water all the time. I would get slices of bread, pull off the crusts and rolled the bread into a ball, then nibble at it. I have no idea why. I'm pretty sure that's not normal...

So, you've guess it. Today is all about bread!

I have made bread a few times, both in the form of loaves and in the form of pizza bases. I love making bread. There's just something very fun and very satisfying about it. It's also super easy which I love because I hate when things go wrong. I'm one of those people where if a recipe goes wrong I throw down my tools and walk off in a huff to sulk in a corner somewhere. Bread doesn't tend to do that to me. It's generally been well behaved.

There are lots of bread recipes that I really want to try out, such as these delicious looking beauties:

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-apart Bread

Walnut and Carrot Bread

Browned Butter Soda Bread

Pierogi 

Scandinavian Rye Bread

Don't they all look yummy?

Feature Friday: International Women's Day

Yesterday was International Women's Day so today's post is dedicated to famous women writers.

Here are just a few!

J.K. Rowling

Ursula Le Guin

Cornelia Funke

Banana Yoshimoto

Margaret Atwood

Maya Angelou

Judy Blume

Sylvia Plath

Kate Chopin

Virginia Woolf

Anne Frank

Enid Blyton

Agatha Christie

Christina Rossetti

There are hundreds of amazing women writer's so this is a very small sample but isn't it great that there's so many to choose from? The list just keeps getting bigger too. I haven't featured many contemporary writers because I think it takes time to become 'great' and so most of the 'great women writers' we think of sadly aren't with us any more. But their work lives on and if you haven't read it, you should. I do wish that there was more variety in race with my list...any recommendations?