Monthly Archives: March 2009

The bus stops here – last leg of The Letters blog tour

Well – it’s the last stop for my little orange bus : (

Today I visit Lizzy for some lemon polenta cake – doesn’t it look yummy? I could definitely have a slice of that for breakfast.

What a fantastic time I’ve had. I’ve spoken to Aliya about vegetables, Lane about smiling cats and Caroline about Mr. Men. I’ve had marvellous reviews at Patteran Pages, More about the song and Juxtabook. And a WHOLE LOT MORE besides.

So I’ve had a ball – but have I sold any more books? I’ve definitely been selling a book here and there, but who knows what turns an interested-person into a book-buyer? If you did buy my book as a direct result of the tour, I’d be everso interested to hear.

On the subject of who buys my books, I’m already planning what I want to do with my next book, The Blue Handbag, which comes out on Aug 1st (you can pre-order it on Amazon now). It will involve you…

I’d like to say a HUGE thank you to all my blog tour hosts – and another HUGE thank you to everyone who travelled with me on the little orange bus (a special thanks to Jem who kept my company all the way). Here’s to the next adventure!

The difference between loving and hating gardening (or how to potter)

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Last weekend the sunshine was warm and bright, and I got out into the garden for the first time this year.

I am a rather sloppy, erratic gardener. I’ll spend all weekend doing bits and bobs, then abandon it completely for a while. Sometimes I love it, and sometimes I hate it.

Last weekend I repaired the net over the veg patch, planted some beetroot outside, planted all sorts of veg seeds inside, got some new potatoes into the ground, did some weeding, planted lots of flowers in pots, and went on several trips to the garden centre. I really enjoyed the things I did, and it led me to wonder why.

Hmm. I’ve been mulling this over, and the best way I can think of putting it is how ‘spacious’ I feel when I approach the garden. If I feel spacious, I approach one task at a time and I don’t feel phased by the 99 tasks yet to do. I notice the rich smell of the earth and the rosy pinks of the rhubarb shoots. Trying to fish the dead leaves from the icy water in the watering can becomes a game rather than an annoyance.

If I feel hurried, I want to get what I’m doing done as soon as possible so I can get on with all the other jobs nagging for my attention – both in the garden and in my office. I feel impatient with myself for not getting things ‘right’, and for the objects around for me for being so awkward and time-wasting. I feel like a pretty rubbish gardener with too much garden and too little time.

The first way of working is pottering, and the second is battling. Although it feels like I’m working more slowly when I’m pottering, everything seems to get done.

The same is true for my writing. To get my writing done, I need to clear the decks as far as possible, and calm myself as much as I can. I need to focus on the little bit I’m writing now, rather than thinking about the whole book at once (argh!). I need to be kind and encouraging to myself, whilst not letting myself off the hook. I need to relish the words.

How can we get better at pottering? I’d be interested in your thoughts. Maybe starting to catch ourselves when we’re speeding up can be helpful. Meditation is good for me. Here’s to a week of pottering.

A little favour if you’ve read The Letters (and didn’t think it was rubbish)

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If you’ve read The Letters and didn’t think it was rubbish, I’d very much appreciate it if you could pop over to Amazon UK (or Amazon US if you’d rather) and put a little review up. It doesn’t have to be a proper review, a few words would be lovely.

If you did think it was rubbish you are also very welcome to go to Amazon and write a review, but I don’t require you to make a special effort.

There’s no excuse for that photo of a kitten. I hope you forgive me. Unless you like it, in which case don’t worry there will probably be more pictures of kittens at some point.

Also, my friend Heather is doing a charity walk for Breakthrough, the breast cancer charity. If you’d like to give her some money here’s the page.

There. I’m off to eat a chocolate.

POSTSCRIPT: 4 reviews up already - thank you lovely people.

Juice, new cars, and annoying cats

The cover art controversy rages on…

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Well, rages on might be a bit strong. Let’s say ‘continues’.

At a few of the stops on my blog tour, my hosts have questioned the appropriateness of the cover of The Letters. They (and they are usually either men or women who tend to read novels from the ‘literary’ end of the scale) said that they wouldn’t have picked the book up in a bookshop.

In response to these misgivings, my editor Emma has written a very good piece about Snowbooks policy on cover design here. She really knows her stuff.

What do you think? Do covers matter to you? Do you think this is a feminist issue? What do you think it says about the mass market of readers? Do comment here or over at the Snowblog.

My thoughts, for what it’s worth, are that I’d rather my book was picked up and read by as many people as possible – and these covers have made that possible. I wasn’t so sure about this earlier on, and my ego received some much-needed puncturing as a part of the process.

Although I must say I still hanker for a woman with some trees or plants behind her for the next book, The Blue Handbag – Leonard would like a bit of greenery on there somewhere. Don’t tell Emma ; )

Thank you Mr. Jones

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Thank you Dick of Patteran Pages for a rather marvellous review of The Letters. What a lucky author I am.

The picture of the beach huts will make sense if you’ve read the book. Aren’t they beautiful colours? I’d like to sit there awhile with a cup of mint tea.

On a sadder note, my car died yesterday. I put it into gear at a roundabout, and it decided it was tired and refused to go any further. The new gear box will cost £1600 – very much more than my poor old car is worth. I will be giving it a good send-off later today.

If I was rich I would like to have a spanking new bright red Fiat 500, but a used gunmetal grey Nissan Micra will do nicely – we’re off to have a look at it later today.

In further exciting news, I am going to plant some celeriac seeds later today.

How We Were Lost by Megan Taylor

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I probably wouldn’t have found or read this novel if I hadn’t met and liked Megan in blogworld. I’m so glad I did.

How We Were Lost follows 14 year old Janie during one long, hot, sticky summer. Two young girls have gone missing from her local beach, and Janie becomes obsessed with finding them. She also starts to uncover the secrets in her own troubled family…

What I liked most about the book was the language. There’s sticky ice-cream, armpit smells, scabbed elbows… we’re really THERE. Here are a couple of little extracts so you can get a taste of Megan’s writing:

The room flickers and I jump up from the bed to see a bird floating outside the window, calling and calling as he blocks out half the sun. For a moment he looks black and huge and then he’s gone and the brilliant yellow morning rushes back.

The buzzing-crackling in my head is back, a soft popping and a gentle smouldering. When I touch my forehead, my fingers burn and my eyes are watering. I don’t touch my eyes, though, not even to wipe the slow, warm tears away. I don’t want to think about eyeballs in sockets. Bones beneath skin. I don’t want to think about how loose, how prevarious, it all is; as though we’re held together with nothing more than lolly sticks and bits of string. How easily, I think, it comes apart.

Good, eh? You can buy the book on Amazon UK here. Thanks Megan – can’t wait to read your next one!

This week on the little red bus…

The Blue Handbag – meet Leonard!

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Well – sales of The Letters seem to be going well, and before I even have a chance to catch my breath I have another book out!

I can’t wait to introduce you to Leonard – a gardener who becomes a reluctant detective after discovering some mysterious facts about about his wife after her death. I am so fond of him. And his twin grandsons. And his dog Pickles. Find out more about the book here.

It’s just the hardback – you’ll have to wait until August for the paperback (although you can pre-order on Amazon here) – but Snowbooks do produce very gorgeous hardbacks so I thought I’d let you know just in case you fancy treating yourself or someone else.

You can get it on Amazon UK for £16.99 here, or direct from Snowbooks here.

PS I know the cover is ultra-girly but if you’re a man you could always cover it up with a brown paper bag if you want to read it in public. Unless you’re already secure in your masculinity, of course, in which case there’ll be no problem…

A mental health flotation device

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Thanks to the very lovely lassie and timmy for this:

Sincere forgiveness isn’t colored with expectations that the other person apologize or change. Don’t worry whether or not they finally understand you. Love them and release them. Life feeds back truth to people in its own way and time.

— James Thurber

She says, ‘Love that last line. It is, for me, a mental health flotation device.’

Life feeds back truth to people in its own way and time. I know this, but I don’t act as if I know it. I must tattoo it onto the palm of my hand.

What a relief. We can let go of all that.