Winding Down for Christmas is Not Easy...

Only 13 days to go to Christmas Day...

One Day...
(created by and copyright Dane Bevitt)

I thought it would all get easier now my children had finished school: no more Christmas Concerts to attend; no Christmas card lists with the name and class number on the front of the envelope; small thank you gift to the class teacher...

This month I've already attended one progress evening at college for one of my younger three- so had to give up going to the belly dancing Hafla as they were taking place at the same time...

Got through awards night at Nottingham Writers' Club; performed my first solo belly dance in front of an audience- and a repeat performance for next year has been requested... gulp! :D
(If you missed the pictures in my earlier post- I didn't have them available when I did the post, so they were added later- here is one of them.)

At least I was smiling...

 A few posts back I reviewed my writing year. Though I hadn't set myself any targets for 2013 at that stage.

Well I've thought about it...

The only fixed target I have set myself, is to complete my Nottinghamshire novella 'After the Storm'.

As I've discovered in the past two years, 'real life' can throw all your plans out.

I'll be open to entering competitions, trying out different genres, and any opportunities that come my way to promote myself and my writing- can't be a wallflower in the publishing world today!

I will be creating a website for my alter-ego, Serena Lake. But in the meantime any news will be on Serena's page at the top of the screen (just click on the tab).

There will be a few posts yet before I shut down for Christmas.

Hope you like the little animation that one of my sons created for me last year (with limited programmes). I didn't use it then, so I'm adding it now.

Now where did I put the wrapping paper...? :D

Weekend Catch-Up and Belly Dancing...

Yes, I know this post is very late...

(Update: The photos of me belly dancing are at the bottom of this post.)

Wednesday was Awards Night at Nottingham Writers Club, and for the first half hour I was standing up front and announcing the presentations- one of the responsibilities of being the current Chairman- no sitting back with a glass of wine, or other alcoholic/non-alcoholic refreshment and relaxing...

There weren't as many trophies as in past year's- a couple of the


A few of the NWC annual trophies

competitions sadly didn't run, as not enough entries were received.

Some years that happens, and it's a disappointment, but hopefully next year those trophies will be presented.

I'm sure that most writers would have no problem when the subject is open, but it can be much harder when you have to fit it to a specific age (as with children's books) or a set theme.

Blogger and NWC member Keith Havers was the worthy winner of three trophies, including Writer of the Year. You can read his blog here.

Wednesday afternoon I was actually writing a 500 word flash fiction on the theme of 'a Christmas visit' that needed to be handed in to the competition Secretary that evening.

By the end of my story I had my usual issue of realising that I'd just written a scene from a much bigger story. So I don't expect it to do well.

Last December I promised I would do a party piece this year- some belly dancing. I kept my promise, and I will release the photographic evidence as soon as a copy of the photo arrives in my inbox from the club photographer. I only danced for a few minutes... :D

Otherwise the audience were royally entertained by a number of recitations, from the club president and two club members- both serious and fun pieces. And our newest member, Kate, read out the poem she'd been inspired to write during the merriment. Which proves inspiration truly does come from everywhere...

Enjoying the dance

I was going for the Christmas glitter look

and the flowing sleeves to waft about when my arms were
moving.

Below left: striking a pose...

Good News and a Competition...

First the good news, my triplets received their GCSE exam results yesterday (Thursday) and they got the grades they needed for their college courses.

The final lot of paperwork has been done and the last identity pass photo was taken today. Technology has moved on so much that the pictures look much better than they did when I went to college- no digital cameras then.

I looked like a dubious character in a police line-up on my college pass! And during the recent sort out it was rediscovered, and quickly lost again... :-)

As the return to school and college will be occurring in the next two weeks, I thought you might like a challenge to start the autumn term.

Bradt Travel Guides have launched the Bus-Pass Britain Rides Again Competition.

Hot on the success of Bus-Pass Britain: 50 of the Nation’s Favourite Bus Journeys, Bradt is on the hunt to find more bus routes for a follow-up book. Entrants to the competition write a short piece about their personal favourite.
The winners will be invited to write about their chosen route for inclusion in Bus-Pass Britain Rides Again: More of the Nation’s Favourite Bus Journeys to be published in late 2013. Selected entries will also be used in a Daily Express/Sunday Express Travel feature to coincide with publication.
Bradt is looking for long and short journeys, rural and urban rides (and a few quirky routes that defy expectation), as well as a good regional variety across England, Scotland and Wales. The deadline is midnight 15th November 2012. Each winning entrant will be contacted by 25 December 2012 and invited to write up their route, in approximately 1,500 words, for publication in Bradt’s forthcoming book. (Press Release)

Entries can be submitted as a Word document (see the link above for submission details).

You'll find a link to T & C's here.

The route must be in England, Scotland or Wales. And not appeared in the previous book- you can find out which have already been done here in the Contents.

You can submit as many entries as you like, as long as they have not been published elsewhere.

And the prizes: All winners will receive one free copy of the book and a 50% discount on any further copies they purchase (postage free to one UK address). A small fee of £50 will be awarded to winners on publication of their article in the book.

Certainly different from regular competitions. Good luck if you enter.

History and the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics

Now I'm not the type of person glued to the tv when this four yearly sport event is taking place. But I do like to watch the opening and closing ceremonies.

Well the opening ceremony last night (Friday) was brilliant- considering there was 90 minutes to encapsulate UK history, culture and society in both an entertaining and thoughtful way, but still spectacular enough for a world-wide tv audience (27 million in the UK alone) and the thousands watching in the stadium.

Starting with a green 18th century pastoral scene- including a group of young ladies in Jane Austen style dresses with bonnets and shawls strolling around the base of the Glastonbury Tor- a big mound of green with paths and a big tree at the top (later used for placing all the national flags of competing nations).

Then moving to the emerging chimneys and dirt of industrial Victorian England with the 'forming' of the giant rings.

Films, books and music played a big part.

My favourite bits were, first, James Bond (actor Daniel Craig) turning up to escort her majesty Queen Elizabeth to a helicopter for the ceremony- yes the actual Queen.
Of course we know it was then actors jumping out of the helicopter and deploying their union jack parachutes, but it was fun...

And then when the orchestra under the control of Simon Rattle began to play the opening chords of Chariots of Fire, that was when the audience saw Mr Bean (actor Rowan Atkinson) was involved and the audience waited to see what chaos he might create.

The fantastic beach running scene from the film had Mr Bean included as his daydream while he is bored playing the same note on the keyboard...

There were the serious moments too- silence for those lost in wars, and the victims of the explosions on the day after it was announced London had won the games seven years previously.

The UK can do spectacle, pageantry and humour.

There was so much included covering so many aspects of life in the UK past and present; the NHS, and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Congratulations to everyone, be they volunteers, or paid staff, it was a fantastic evening.

And good luck to all the athletes taking part.

Kate Walker Workshop...

My post is a little late because I've been at the Kate Walker workshop on Writing Romantic Fiction at Nottingham Writers' Club today.

Thanks to everyone who took part, especially those who travelled a long distance to attend, and of course the brilliant, Kate Walker.

I'm not telling you what I said that caused everyone to laugh or smile- I only realised what I'd said after the words had left my mouth- and it wasn't what I'd meant, but that's romance writers for you, quick witted... :-D

I can assure you it was not just a roomful of women either, we also had four men there to learn about, or improve, their romance writing skills.

We started with a few facts about getting romance published in today's markets- the words, marketing is 'cut-throat' was mentioned. And just as with genre fiction generally, the 'who can market you' is important- after all there's no point in producing a book for publication if you can't sell it.

Writing a romance  requires characters, conflict, emotion and the HEA (happy ever after). And we looked at each element in more detail.

I'd never thought about the readers expectations, but thinking about it, it makes sense. A romance wouldn't be satisfying if the two main protagonists could solve their problems easily and without any suffering.

There was even a writing exercise, and we were soon being very creative- the only sound was pens on paper and pages turning.

So here are a few of the snippets I learnt today:

Setting is not just the background, but it can also be the stage that your character has reached in their life.

'Feisty' is a current buzz word...

PTQ- Page Turning Quality. 60% dialogue and 40% narrative.

"Emotions don't have a logical basis, so can't be reasoned away."

If there's a secret involved, write it from the point of view (POV) of the one who doesn't know it, as that makes the most of the emotional impact...

BM and GM- Black Moment and Grey Moment- those points in a novel when things are looking bad, and possibly unrepairable. (I'd not heard these terms before.)

There's a lot more but you'll have to go on one of Kate's workshops to find out more...

And yes, sex did get mentioned briefly- we didn't have enough time to go into detail :-), but the scene must 'work' for you-have a purpose, as sexual intimacy can change everything (between the characters, their circumstances etc). We should also consider the emotional vulnerability of our characters at these times.

I certainly learnt a lot to add to the mass of writing information I've already absorbed.

Many of us bought books and Kate signed them for us. I got her '12 Point Guide to Writing Romance', now on it's Third Edition.

But I must also thank Mills and Boon for providing a freebie book for everyone attending the workshop- Kate signed those too.

And finally...

There's a new term that I must share with you- you've heard of the slush pile (the hard copy type) well there's even a digital pile- manuscripts loaded onto an e-reader for an editor to read- it's 'slush Kindle'...

Social Marketing -the Talk...

I spent most of Wednesday answering the phone, exchanging e-mails and putting together a hand-out on social media, and a mini talk sheet on blogging, for myself -because the speaker who was booked for Wednesday night at Nottingham Writers' Club was ill, and as I was also going to be the chair that night, I needed to get an alternative arranged.

Aware that writers of all ages and experience need to make the most of current technology, I contacted fellow member David Bowman-writer, e-book publisher, and proficient in social networking-and between us we agreed a format for the evening.

Now my part was very small, I covered blogging, so anyone at the meeting who might be considering a blog would (hopefully) realise that it isn't hard to do and is a great way to start making themselves known. I talked about free blogs, building up followers and the types of posts a writer might use their blog for- such as announcing a competition win, or a short story sale/publication date...

David talked about Facebook and Twitter, and also author websites.

The recommendations that I picked up, relating to Facebook, was keeping your account for personal, fun things, and your writing for your author page- (your name) writer; so book news, links and photos relating to your writing goes only on that page, so your readers go there for the information. And of course if you have different pseudonyms, it makes it easier to distinguish between different genres, if you write in more than one category- so that's more than one writer name for me then.

As I recently joined Twitter and was discovering for myself, hashtags # are not only useful but important; retweeting can be helpful. That there is a fine line between over promotion and sharing good news, so its clearly something that you learn by actually doing once you're on Twitter.

But never underestimate how widely your tweets can be seen. Every tweet seen by your followers, is seen by the followers of each of them- so you never know who and how many will see that interesting piece of information...

Now websites. This was interesting; having a press area that was kept up to date, so the latest press release was available was important. As David explained if a journalist wants to interview you they'll have gone and checked out all the information on your website so they don't need to waste time asking basic questions- which is logical when you consider modern day journalism.

We finally talked about Amazon and e-book ratings, and how a writer promoting their books on Amazon can use these various methods of social marketing to bring potential book buyers to their work, by promotions and free book offers- so get high up in the Amazon rankings and it will enable you to get Amazon to promote your book which could be very useful if you're a relative unknown.

I'd not considered all these various methods being used together to maximise exposure- but then I'm only on stage 2 of my marketing plan at the moment... Yes, apparently you should have a marketing plan.

The words I did take take away from the talk were as follows: politeness; being professional and start this networking before you have the publishing deal...

I've got a long way to go, but at least I've started.

Odd Book Titles Voting Time...

Yes it's time to vote (if you're so inclined) for the fun titles in the shortlist for the Diagram Prize, the Oddest Book Title of the Year- for 2011. You can read about it here on the Bookseller website.

"The Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year was first awarded in 1978 to Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice""

(The fact that it is still going suggests there's a slightly dippy portion of the population who like it- me included- and authors who are smart...)

I've voted, and have to say it was a tough choice this year. :-)

My personal favourite is the Estonian sock patterns, but I don't expect my choice to win this year, when it's up against titles like 'Cooking with Poo' ( it's actually Crab) or 'The Great Singapore P*nis Panic...' I think the latter is going to rate highly- and it's the only one available in digital format...

For the full list and voting form, go here. You can see the book covers too- which are quite normal, considering the titles.

If you've managed to miss this prize, then you can find out about it's history and discover what the winning book titles from earlier years were actually about, here.

If you're going to be in the running for a fun award, this is it. And you can be sure that it will get publicity and sales for books that wouldn't get much recognition beyond their own circles, or interest groups...

The winner will be announced on the 30th March.

Are you voting?

Merry Christmas...

Only a few days left until Christmas Day so this will be my last post for a week.

So I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...

So enjoy the festivities and start making plans for 2012.

I'll be planning work on my novel and the novella- I just wonder which hero will win out; the patient Marcus or the sometimes impatient Hugh...

Merry Christmas card image by digitalart.

Christmas Approaches...

Less than two weeks to go to Christmas Eve- twelve days in fact.

So the blog will be winding down a little as I'm trying to catch up on all the normal Christmas stuff still to do, that has been delayed by being ill.

I've got the cards ready to write, stamps for the cards, and I've started wrapping presents...

So today I'm sharing with you one of my favourite websites for Christmas, the NORAD tracks Santa site.

Early December each year I put the website onto my favourites list and check the Countdown Village each day to play the easy games they have-okay I'm not very good at anything where I have to throw basketballs into a moving hoop, as I discovered today...

For the very young out there, this is how they track Santa, and the data is "then pushed into Google Maps and Google Earth" so Santa's journey can be followed.

And even better you can view the site in half a dozen other languages beside English.

If you have friends on the other side of the world it is great fun on Christmas Eve to watch Santa reach their part of the world, heralding the approach of their Christmas Day.

Do you have any favourite Christmas traditions you'd admit to?

A Good Evening and News to Come....

Wednesday evening was Awards Night at Nottingham Writers' Club. We were short of quite a few regulars as a few were away on holiday and others were ill. In fact a few were suffering tonight with the coughing and croaky voice problem...

But all who turned up enjoyed the evening.

I'm just waiting for a few photos to be e-mailed to me tomorrow, so you'll see my fun headgear and also hear some good news.

But more of that tomorrow...:-)

It's That Time of Year Again...

Yes, Christmas approaches...

There's financial crisis in Europe as well as the UK, and no doubt there are a lot of writers who are watching their pennies this Christmas.

A lot of shops are offering discounts to tempt buyers, and if you have any store loyalty cards you can build up points throughout the year, that you can use for buying Christmas presents- and treating yourself.

What might be good presents for writers?

Here are a few practical suggestions:

• memory sticks
• packs of paper for printing
• notebooks
• pens
• a supply of chocolate- okay, a large bar is always appreciated any time of the year...:-)

If you want something different then there are some fun gift items for writers at The Literary Gift Company and I really like their mugs- there's even one that says 'Go Away I'm Tweeting'...

It was my birthday recently so I think I'm going to get myself the t-shirt with 'Careful or you'll end up in my novel' on the front.

An ideal gift for horror writers is surely their Edgar Allen Poe mini journal with a suitably eerie cover.

You can find a great selection of writer gifts at CafePress -my particular favourite is the small mug with 'do not interrupt inner dialogue in progress'.

About 7 to 8 years ago I used to do articles for an online magazine (sadly no longer in existence, as the editor went in a different direction and eventually closed the magazine) and at this time of year, I used to produce a gift buying guide for readers, with a variety of gifts from under £5 to over £20.

It was hard work but great fun finding a variety of gifts suitable for all ages...

So have you ever been given a gift specifically because you're a writer?

Saturday at Sally Quilford's Pocket Novel Workshop...

I had a busy Saturday attending Sally Quilford's first Pocket Novel Workshop in Chesterfield. Now it's not far from Nottingham, 30-40 minutes by train, so off I went. I have to admit I haven't been on a train for over 20 years, so initiously I was a bit anxious...

I needn't have worried, I arrived in one piece at Chesterfield and followed Sally's directions to get to the Market Hall building. Chesterfield is clearly a thriving market town and I'd like to visit another time.

Anyway I got to the room we would be in and Sally and her daughter were there to welcome us, and they provided tea, coffee and biscuits- as it had been an early start for all of us.

We were a mixed bunch of writers, from those who had an idea for a pocket novel, to those who were broadening their writing horizons- our number included two males.

Writers are always told to study their market, so we started with the differences between the My Weekly pn (pocket novels) and those produced by People's Friend. One big difference is 'kissing'; there's no kissing in the PF version, while the My Weekly pn editor is very happy with kissing (more about that shortly).

So we got down to some writing. First our heroine- we wrote about who she is, her background, description (if we knew what she looked like) and anything relevent.
And it's not easy if you don't already have a character in mind, or you do have a character but don't know anything about them yet.

We then repeated the process with out hero- I only had a name, but realised he was actually a character who'd been lurking in my mind for some time (I'd teamed him up with another heroine originally but realised they were not right together).

Our next task was conflict-both internal and external-  difficult when you don't know your characters well.

The secondary characters came next. I've found my secondary character usually acts as a support to both my hero and heroine, rather than one for each, or creating problems.

And finally the kissing scene. We all groaned at the thought of producing this. When you consider you've just started to discover your hero and heroine and then got to get them kissing without the normal lead in time...help!!!!

But we survived and all too soon the day was over- we did have a break for lunch, Sally was not that cruel...

We all learnt so much, but if you want to know, you'll have to find out from Sally. She hopes to do others if she can arrange them, and you can always contact her about her online workshop- see Sally's blog.

It was a great day and among Sally's suggestions were links on Womag writer's blog, the current  pocket novel guidelines and Douglas McPherson's interview with the My Weekly Pocket Novel Editor Maggie Seed (which originally appeared in Writers Forum ).

Murder Mystery and Thinking on My Feet...

For a few hours I was a potential murder suspect.
No, not in reality (if you haven't read my previous post) but as a suspect in a murder mystery event held on Wednesday evening (3rd) at the writers' club I attend.
It was not our usual writing related activities as August is the holiday month for many, so we have a fun social event for the members that are still available.

This year it was decided to do something different, and it was certainly different...

I'd volunteered to be one of the eight suspects- it gave me an excuse to dress up and put on full make-up (honestly you wouldn't want to see what my computer screen faces each day).

My character Florence was a former eye make-up model, so I concentrated on the eye liner, shadow and mascara. Honestly it looked good at the start of the evening but it was very hot in the room even with the windows open, so it smudged later...

My character's husband Donald- related to the victim- was also there.

The murder was set in the late 1930's and I actually had an outfit that would have been ideal, but it was too thick for the weather, so I opted for a long sleeveless maxi dress and one of my numerous wraps to give a general impression of an evening outfit.

'Florence' relaxes

As we went along we were each given information- some that had to be revealed during the round, and other information about our own character that it was important not to reveal.
Then it was up to us, act and react...

By the end not only had at least half of the audience been convinced that Florence and Donald were the murderers, even I thought I was guilty! It had to be the revelation about the acrobatics...

But as it turns out, although I did make an attempt the plan hadn't been thought out enough and I gave up.

When the murderer was revealed there was only one person who'd guessed correctly, blogger Keith of  Dream it, then do it.

From a writing viewpoint it just confirmed that I should never be a crime writer...

At The Book Festival...

I'm now feeling human again after a good night's sleep so can recall the day...

The weather started out very overcast and from past experience at the festival Saturday knew that it would be quiet if the sun didn't shine.

There were the usual book stalls from assorted antique and collectible old books to new ones. I have to put imaginary handcuffs on myself when looking at the old books- but that's not strange in writers I'm sure...

I did find an Arthur Mee's The King's England series book for Nottinghamshire. My copy from 1949 was only £2.50, and there are lots of useful snippets in it.

There was a lovely little book on the meaning of flowers, the illustrations were by Kate Greenaway but at £15 it was too costly, though I considered the 1970's copy of the same book at £10, I still decided to pass.

That did generally seem to be happening. People were looking but buying less than in comfortable years, whether you were talking new or recycled.

Well we got the sunshine and the side of the marquee was opened up to improve airflow and space. But there were a few showers to deal with during the afternoon.

There were sudden gusts of wind as well, so leaflets on our stall went flying and on a few occasions I was seen to crawl about on the grass to reach under tables and chairs to retrieve them- and no there are no photos (I was in charge of the camera this year).

I never got to any of the talks, but as you can see from the photo they were well attended.

Overspill at the talk

In fact many of them had a person holding up a sign behind their back at the marquee entrance saying sorry, they were full.

Members of the literary community supporting the Alan Sillitoe Statue Fund spent the day selling raffle tickets- there were a number of prizes that consisted of books and bottles of alcohol...

The winner(s) of the Alan Sillitoe Short Story Competition were also announced. The short list had been judged by writer Nicola Monaghan and David Sillitoe. As they couldn't choose between the top three stories the first prize was split between the three writers who received £60 each- one apparently donated their winnings to the statue fund.

I stopped to say hello to crime writer Stephen Booth during a gap in the book signings- he always supports the Lowdham Saturday in some form.

There were storytellers dressed as characters from Southwell Workhouse and they stayed in character even when walking around the festival- very impressive.

My NWC colleagues had (like me) spent time talking to people interested in writing and others interested in members books that were on sale.

By four pm I was getting tired and was glad to be finishing for the day.

So if there's a book festival near you, it's worth going along...

Lowdham Book Festival...14th June-14th July

This coming Saturday (25th) I'll be leaving my family at home to spend the day at the 12th Lowdham Book Festival, Nottinghamshire. It runs from 10am to 5pm.

The writers club has a stall and I'm usually one of the volunteers that man it. Club members are able to sell copies of their published books, or provide promotional material for their e-books. Then there's the advertising for the writers club itself.

It can be a long day and like any event you have to be there early to set up, so no lie-in for me this weekend.

The festival takes place at various locations around Lowdham, and on Saturday most of the activity is in the village hall and the marquees behind it, though a few other buildings along the main road are used too.

If it's a warm day it's fun to bring a picnic and find a patch of grass to sit down and enjoy the atmosphere before launching back into the day's offerings.

I'm hoping to get a break to go along to the 2-3pm slot where Jasper Fforde is in conversation with Stephen Booth.

Also there will be an exhibition of memorabilia, books and photos celebrating the life and works of Alan Sillitoe. This is all part of the campaign to raise the £50,000 needed to commission a statue to be placed in Nottingham.
There is a raffle (with proceeds going toward the fund) and the results of the Alan Sillitoe Statue Fund Short Story Competition will be announced -with readings from the successful stories.

I was very fortunate to have met Alan in 2008, he was a charming man, very unassuming, and I think a statue is a great way to honour his memory.

All events on the day are free and there's a tent for children to listen to stories and be creative. There's two chances to see children's writers Tom Palmer and Helena Pielichaty.

Plus there's always book stalls- new and second-hand (I take a large bag with me so I can carry my purchases home).

If you want more details of the day then look here.

So if you get the chance to visit, enjoy yourself.

A Boat on the River...

I spent two hours on the river today. Well I was inside the boat, which was fortunate as it was a bit breezy and dismal outside.

A friend was celebrating her birthday and she chose a two hour boat trip up and down (parts of) the River Trent-where still navigable, so we could enjoy sandwiches and scones as we passed by some of Nottingham's past- warehouses, canal locks leading to other once connected waterways, and the two football grounds (Nottingham Forest and Notts County).

It was interesting to see the backs of the many buildings whose frontage I'm so familiar with that I don't pay much attention to them anymore, or even think about what is behind them.

Each of the places we passed had stories attached and could give a writer ideas- I have enough ideas to deal with at the moment...

So if you ever get the chance to take this sort of river trip, a mystery tour or an open-topped bus trip around a historic city, then go, look beyond the obvious and discover...

The Time I got Flash Fiction Right...

Flash Fiction is becoming very popular, more competitions are using this format. Even the major Bridport Prize competition introduced a flash fiction category in 2010- and there's still time to enter the 2011 competition.

I have a problem with condensing a story into such a brief amount of words. Basically I am much better at writing longer pieces.

Personally if the idea inspires me then I might be able to do it, but often the problem is my ideas are too big and don't work when they're cut...

Whenever I try anything this short I refer back to my post of the 17th January this year where writer AJ Humpage kindly helped me out by explaining the essentials. You can find the link to her blog post on writing flash fiction, there.

I said I did get it right once-and as it is no longer available on the web- I'm going to post it here for you to read.

Now here's the inspiration for my story...

In 2007 all the awards ceremonies had a few celebrities wearing strapless dresses and hems that flowed out over their feet. I did wonder what would happen if someone foolishly stepped on their hem...

About a week or so after this I was listening to Radio 4 and an actress who had appeared in one of the early Star Trek episodes (the 1960's TV version) was recounting her costume disaster, it was fine until she breathed and moved, so the costume department used tape to keep her brief dress in place.

(I later discovered you can buy pre-cut tape to keep your clothes in situ, and it's great for low necklines that could expose too much flesh if you bend over. It's saved my embarrassment a few times.)

I was also inspired by a number of older well known lady celebrities who still look stunning despite their age- I'm not suggesting they went to Lola's extremes of course.

(The final line was plucked out of the air after the rest was written and got a laugh...)

The story appeared in print in the Winter 2007 edition of Scribe magazine, and between May 2010 and early May 2011 as an audio download (read by me) on the Nottingham Writers' Club website. (I even have my own MP3 copy).

(My pseudonym for the entry was Lola de Cortez.)

Positive Exposure

    When the work dried up I knew I had to do something. Who would know it was me doing the voice-over for Squeaky Clean washing up liquid?
     I made changes, finding a nice cosmetic surgeon in Harley Street; who reminded me of my third husband. I had a face lift; botox and breast enlargement, and it certainly got me noticed.
     I was booked for Parkinson, and then invited to present a BAFTA for the best Make-Up and Hair in a movie. I'd have liked something a bit more prominent, but there's always the Oscars.
     I looked amazing on the night, three inch heels, diamonds at my wrist and ears, complimenting those sweet little gems in my beehive. And the dress...a perfect grey strapless floor length silk. It was such a shame I had to tape myself into it.
     It wasn't that it didn't fit,well it was a teeny bit loose about the chest, but I couldn't let the opportunity go- it was reduced in the sales.
     Double-sided tape was all I needed, strategically placed; I even bronzed my shoulders and cleavage to give me a glow.
     If only that silly young man doing all the talking hadn't stepped on my hem. My dress parted company with my chest, and I was bared to the world.
    The next day the tabloids were covered with my moment of exposure, and I must say I looked good for 62.
     The headline blazed '60's Siren Coming Unstuck', and I've been working every day since.

© Carol Bevitt 2007

    

Rarely do I get such a ready-made character pop into my head, so Lola was obviously lurking, waiting to be written, just at the right time...

Vote for the Oddest Book Title of the Year...

The Diagram Prize shortlist was announced last week. This is an annual award for the oddest book title of the year. It is run through the Bookseller and you can read about this year's selection- and previous year's if you wish, here.

In the past it has brought us (in 2009) 'Advances in Potato Chemistry and Technology', 'Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich' and 'An Intellectual History of Cannibalism'. But it was eventually won by 'Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes' by Dr Daina Taimina (A K Peters).

They say that any publicity is good publicity, so authors (and publishers) in the 2010 shortlist are probably hopeful of a few extra sales by their inclusion- as they don't get a prize.

The 2010 longlist comprised 66 books- here is the shortlist of 6 for this year's judging.

• What Color Is Your Dog?                                          Joel Silverman (Kennel Club)
• The Generosity of the Dead                                        Graciela Nowenstein (Ashgate)
• Myth of the Social Volcano                                        Martin King Whyte (Stanford University Press)
• 8th International Friction Stir Welding Symposium Proceedings                       Various authors (TWI)
• The Italian's One-night Love Child                              Cathy Williams (Mills & Boon)
• Managing a Dental Practice the Genghis Khan Way    Michael R Young (Radcliffe)

You can vote on the home page of The Bookseller.com website. Voting began 18th February and the winner will be announced on Friday 25th March.

My vote went to the Genghis Khan Way- perhaps we all secretly think of dental practices in this way...:-)

Christmas is coming and now for some fun...

As the snow starts falling again and the last of the presents are wrapped, I'm running out of things to talk about.

Plus my computer time gets limited by the children finishing school for the Christmas holidays and wanting access to the Internet.

So I'll be posting less over the next week and then leaving you to have a wonderful Christmas. I'll probably be posting a few photos before the New Year.

Otherwise normal service resumes in early January.

Here's a fun Christmas YouTube video- enjoy.

Christmas is coming...

A temporary diversion from writing and transport problems because of the snow and ice.

This time every year I turn into a big kid again (temporarily) when the countdown to Santa begins (yes I know I'm a grown-up and I know the man in the big red suit doesn't really exist but it's better than moaning about all the miserable stuff. I'm a writer so imagination is allowed :) ).

So here's a link to put you in the Christmas spirit, NORAD Tracks Santa. You can click on the page for Santa's village- an alternative advent calendar...Hover your mouse over the building of the day and it will light up and the banner at the top will tell you what the building is. Click on it and a puzzle of some sort will come up- simple enough for a child to do and accompanied by Christmas music, probably courtesy of North Pole Radio at number 4...

image from photobucket.com

Enjoy.

Back to normality soon...