Bath: Part 2, Saturday - Going Georgian...

Saturday's 'Georgian' visits are going to be split up into two blog posts, as the Fashion Museum deserves a post by itself; and as No.1 Royal Crescent doesn't allow photography, I don't have any of my own images to show you, just links where you can see more. So No.1 will share a post with the Jane Austen Centre...

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Assembly Rooms with the
Fashion Museum

The Fashion Museum is downstairs in the Bath Assembly Rooms.

It is just around the corner from The Circus, and just beyond that is the Royal Crescent.

As I was at the Pultney Bridge end of the city I had to walk uphill for quite some distance, but at least going back it was all downhill.

2014 is 300 years since the ascension of George 1 to the English throne, there have been a number of exhibitions, and television/radio programmes, taking place about the Georgians. 

Bath has such strong associations with Georgian Society, so where else would you expect to see the wonderful clothes worn between 1714 and 1830...

For anyone unfamiliar with original historic costume, displays such as this have rules. No flash photography- bright light or even natural light (sunshine through the window) would damage and fade the material, so you'll see from my photos that the lighting is low. Likewise the environment around the clothes is strictly controlled. At the end of the year, the clothes on display will go back into storage to rest... 

Woman's Closed Robe 1730's and Man's Light Pink
 and Green Woven Silk Coat 1750's

I'm only going to pick out a few of the images I took. But it will give you an idea of the range displayed. If you can get to the exhibition you won't be disappointed.

The Georgians were not scared of colour, and even the men wore pink- sort of!

I'd seen one of the Mantua Court Dresses before- many years ago- but there were three on display, and my photo does not do them justice- they are wide!

My favourite has to be the Red Woven Silk Damask dress from about 1750, I could see my Dorset novel heroine wearing this...

The Red Dress

You have an audio guide that you take with you, and whenever you see the guide symbol with a number beside it, you press the buttons and press play, to hear details and relevant information.

Now to the gentlemen,  though they featured more noticeably in the storage area of the exhibition that goes from 1800 to the early 20th century.

Here are two men's coats from the late 1700's- 1780/90 approx

The image of the men's coats has been digitally lightened so you can see the decoration against the dark fabric, which isn't as clear in the original light level.

(You can see the audio symbol with 77 beside the bases for the men's coats...)

The exhibition moved onto a small display of designer outfits inspired by Georgian fashion- including a Vivien Westwood dress- long, pink and purple with a big bow...

If you think the Georgians used a lot of embroidery then you have seen nothing until you reach the 17th century gloves on display. They are currently on loan to the museum from The Glove Collection Trust, but were items where photography was not allowed at all. Their original owners were definitely peacocks where fashion was concerned...

There was then a section of the modern- an ongoing exhibition- with fashion designer David Sassoon's donated archive of fashion drawings, charting the history of the firm Bellville Sassoon Lorcan Mullany.
This part of the display included three outfits designed for Diana, Princess of Wales, and immediately recognisable- she was a Spencer before marriage, and was related to Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire, a well known Georgian.

Moving on it's the Georgians in the 19th century and a peek into a part of the storage area. This was much darker, so again no photos.

Fortunately there was seating available as some of the audio commentary was longer than earlier pieces.

Each display featured a specific time period set among stacks of labelled identical storage boxes. The first featured simple white muslin gowns from 1800, and there was a coat worn by Lord Byron's bride- her going away outfit...

As you moved round the room you could see how fashions changed as you progressed from the Georgian into the Victorian.

Each display highlighted certain aspects of the changing designs; and in one case to one side there were rails of neatly hung but covered waistcoats- I would have liked to have seen all of them...

My tour was over and I climbed the stairs back to the present day. I couldn't leave without popping into the ballroom first, and peeping in to the Octagon, set out with chairs and display equipment for some event.

I wandered into the Tea Room and on into the Card Room that is now set up with a bar and a café.

As I sat there fortifying myself with drinking chocolate and a scone ( plus jam and cream of course) before I made my way to The Royal Crescent, I couldn't help but imagine those men and women who had passed through the rooms in their finery, each with their own dreams and fears...

How to Dance
(lightened)

You can find out more about the Fashion Museum at: www.fashionmuseum.co.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FashionMuseum

Twitter: @Fashion_Museum

Part 1- Friday in Bath...

After a slight delay on my train from Cheltenham Spa to Bath, I arrived mid-afternoon, but was at my hotel in Henrietta Street a little over 5 minutes later by taxi.

Bedtime Reading Available

I immediately recognised street names from Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen's books; Laura Place and Great Pultney Street...Tall many storied houses lined each side of the road in uniform precision, but gently curving into the distance.

Fountain in the Middle of the Road at Laura Place...

My visit coincided with the UK-wide Museums at Night festival, so I had plenty of options for entertainment that evening.

I chose the talk by writer Lindsey Davis  in The Pump Room (her books have been about a Roman Detective- Falco. The first book, 'The Silver Pigs' has been on BBC radio many times).

The audience, of about 40, learnt about Lindsey's early career in the civil service, her first novel attempt- a civil war romance-that didn't win the Georgette Heyer historical novel competition, but did get sold to Woman's Realm (a magazine no longer in existence).

We were read an extract from her new Albia book, and heard about her stand-alone on the Emperor Domitian, that was written between the Falco and Albia series.

At the Q&A,  I asked Lindsey if she plotted or wrote as she went along? (She'd already said she kept firm control of her characters.) Her reply surprised me a little- "If I plotted I would never get a book written."

The entry charge to the talk also allowed me to go around the Roman Baths museum afterwards- they were staying open later than usual.

The King's Bath viewed from The Pump Room

I knew I wasn't going to have time to do a proper tour, so I wandered through the first part of the exhibition fairly quickly, having been told the museum was shutting at 9; but as it was so busy it remained open for longer. There was a large party of Brownies attending...

There was music everywhere, inside the museum a man playing a lyre type instrument- a mini harp almost, and a little further on from him, a group with a device that had a simple keyboard, small hand pumped bellows, creating notes by metal tubes in water...I can't play a note but got a reasonable sound out of it!

The rooms off the main pool showed the structure and design of the steam room, warm room and so on; and there were projected images on the wall of semi-naked men in the cold water pool area.

Looking down from the walkway

Outside, around the big pool - that you see in photos- there was a small bar, and a trio (singer, double bass and guitar) providing entertainment- they were very good; while people sat on benches in alcoves, or at the edge of the pool, enjoying the warm evening air, and the torches burned brighter as the evening sky dimmed.

Usually visitors only get to experience the pool in the evening in June and July, so it was a fantastic bonus.
It really wasn't difficult to imagine the Romans of the past lounging around the pool...

As night draws in

My next posts: 3 Museums on Saturday...

I'm Back from Bath...

I had a great weekend, and did a lot of walking- lots of it uphill and down again.

Now I have to get back to reality; unpack, sort out my various purchases- postcards and books. Then download and label my photos- I'll have to get my little pocket map out for that.

My hotel was a Georgian house, so every time I went out, or returned back in the evening, I had the delight of walking past a parade of houses that have been there for hundreds of years...

I've probably got enough for a few blog posts plus the photos. :)

My arrival on the Friday afternoon coincided with the Evening at the Museums event, so I managed to fit in a couple of extra events beyond my original plans- Friday evening had a literary event; history and writing together...

And I will have to take a picture of my new mouse mat, from The Jane Austin Centre, as it's not shown in their shop- you'll like it. :D

More to come soon...

I'm Off to the City of Bath...

I just have to pack my clothes and my medication for my travels.

My camera battery is charged, ready to take some interesting images- I hope! The weather is meant to be good so I'm dragging out some summer clothes...

I've been making a list with opening times and entry costs, and compared to some places they are not that expensive- especially when they offer saver tickets to get into a combination of museums.

If you want to read about some of the places I'll be visiting- while the rest of the family are left at home- you can find out more here at the Visit Bath website.

There are lots of pictures and videos, just look at the individual website links for each museum/place.

Once I'm back it will be a couple of days before I've got everything sorted, so I may not blog again until mid-week.

Enjoy your weekend, wherever you are...

Learning From Travel Writing...

It's taken me a few days to decide what I was going to mention about last Wednesday's talk at Nottingham Writers' Club.

The May speaker, Gail Simmons was a very interesting, and insightful person. I recommend you visit her Travelscribe website- you will not be disappointed with any of it. If you are interested in travel writing then you will find plenty to feed your interest, and some great photos.

Gail Simmons with Nottinghamshire's
D.H. Lawrence in the background

Gail's talk was about creating a sense of place, and that is something all writers need to do, whether you're writing a poem, a short story or a travel piece.

We started by closing our eyes and listening to a recording of a poem. The aim was to recognise how the senses were used to evoke not only the place but the time it was set too.

I think we forget little details sometimes, those memories of our childhood conjured up by sweets in big jars for example; the sweet sharp tang that pervaded the air around the counter as the shopkeeper weighed out four ounces of sugar coated pineapple cubes... That memory transports me back to the little sweet shop that stood beside the lane that was a short-cut to school...

One of the books mentioned was Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee. We heard the author reading an extract describing his arrival at Slad. His description of his surroundings were used to reinforce his state of mind, but when you think about it more you can understand that these are the memories of the grown up looking back, rather than the three year old child that was.

I read Cider with Rosie in secondary school. In fact one of my class mates wrote to the author because she'd liked the book so much. He wrote back and she excitedly shared his reply.

Famous places have been written about before, lots of times in the case of some, so we were reminded that it was too easy to use clichés about such places- it was suggested we Google any phrase we considered using, and if it came up more than once in the search results, don't use it.

Clichés and purple prose it seems "haunt travel writing."

As Gail lives in Oxford she gave the example of Oxford's 'dreaming spires'- we've all heard it used to refer to the view of the city from Boar's Hill. And anyone who has read 'Jude the Obscure' by Thomas Hardy, will have read about that same view.

Using the senses to emphasise the sense of place, emotion and setting, certainly got me thinking how much more I could do with my own writing.

It was a very useful evening, and when I go to Bath next week, I'll certainly be thinking about how I can describe things without resorting to clichés...

A Quick Post...

I've been aiming to post regularly on Sunday and Wednesday, but today's post won't happen until sometime tomorrow, as tonight (Wednesday) I'll be at the writers' club hearing about travel writing.

So hopefully I'll have some tips I can pass on.

See you tomorrow.

Changes for the Romance Market?

The purchase of Harlequin (from Torstar Corporation) by News Corp slipped by without too much notice in the UK yesterday (Friday). Admittedly it still has to pass through regulatory processes before it is an irrevocable deal, but that's just a matter of time.

There were a couple of items on the Bookseller website, this one and then this item. And the BBC web pages announced the news by branding Harlequin as the 'bodice ripper' publisher...

Harlequin will then operate as a division of HarperCollins.

In the UK, there are 4 imprints, Mills and Boon, Mira, Mira Ink and the the digital Carina. They are a small unit among the 1,000 Harlequin staff worldwide.

Romance is still a strong area of publishing- especially in digital- so I don't think there's any worry that Mills and Boon or Harlequin will suddenly disappear.

Though I do wonder if all the category romances managed in Toronto and New York will survive when the new managers start looking at the ongoing costs...

In the UK when any business is taken over there's usually staff loses and reorganisation; but perhaps the size and reach of the existing UK operation will protect it to some degree...

For one, across the ocean, view you might find this item on forbes.com interesting.

I can certainly see the advantage for Harper Collins, as it must be tough competing against the diversity that the Penguin Random House merger brought.

But I do think that this will start the countdown to the other major publishers doing mergers.

First there was 6, then 5...how long before it's 4?

Writers and readers are understandably going to be concerned, because until someone tells them what is going to happen, they can only speculate, and that's not good for anyone.

Also the larger the publisher gets, the harder it seems to be for writers to get their attention.

I'm becoming more convinced that the smaller publishers are where new writers should be looking, or go the self-publish route.

The next two years certainly will be interesting...

Do you have any thoughts on this merger?

Competition Alert - Wells Festival of Literature Competitions...

You may remember that last year I entered the Wells Festival of Literature short story competition. Sadly I didn't get into the shortlist, but that's life!

You can read the winning entries from 2013 via these links: short story, poem, crime novel.

The details for this year's competitions are now available: short story, poetry and a crime novel. Online entry is available, and the instructions for this method of entry are here.

The short story judge for this year is Kate Fforde.
Your story can be on any subject, but must be between 1,000 and 2,000 words in length.

Poetry is being judged by Andrew Motion.
Any subject, but must not exceed 40 lines in length.

The crime novel is being judged by Janet Laurence.
Submit the opening chapter of an original crime novel (no longer than 3,000 words), and the plot synopsis. For this competition "entrants should not have had a full-length work of fiction published before."

Competition rules for each category can be found here.

Prize money is as last year.

The closing date for all 3 categories is 31st July 2014.

You can keep up to date with the Festival via their website, or like them on Facebook at Wellslitfest.

I won't be entering this year as I have longer works planned for this year, but if you do submit an entry, then good luck.

A couple of useful books...

image from Amazon.co.uk

image from Kindle store

I've recently bought a couple of books to help me expand on my writing skills- and hopefully earn a little bit of money!

Both of them are easy to read, straightforward and very good value for money.

Easy Money for Writers and Wannabes by Maggie Cobbett. (£1.53)

If you've ever looked at fillers in magazines and thought you had something that would be ideal, then read this book.

I know I certainly read a few magazines that have slots for readers contributions- a letters page, household tips, funny stories, and photos.

With examples of her successful fillers, Maggie shows the reader how varied the opportunities can be; and if you don't know how to start then this is the book for you.

By the time I'd finished reading it, my brain was ticking over with possible ideas...

The second book I've bought and found very helpful is:

Photography for Writers: Using photos to sell more of your words by Simon Whaley.
(Paperback £7.99; Kindle version £4.32)

As you know I've recently replaced my camera.

Quite a few writers bought this book when it was released and recommended it, so I opted for the paperback version for easy reference in the future.

You can find out what sort of markets you can use your photos in- not just fillers, but articles, research and non-fiction books.

Simon's clear explanations on shutter speeds and aperture finally made sense to me, so I now understand how to use it when needed.

It's a book that you can refer to for quick reminders, or when you need helpful advice once you've got your images.

Chapter 5, on managing your photographic library, will be helpful to anyone who takes a lot of images. That is now something I will be doing with my existing photos- before I add any more.

Both these books have now been added to my essential writing reference shelf.

I'm studying the markets, and honestly my OH can't complain about the number of magazines lurking around the house when they're work related. :D

Do you have any recommendations from your reference shelf?

Expanding Talents...

I've been looking to replace my digital camera for some time, but have been frustrated by how small many of them are.

April Evening Sky

Now my hands are not slim- they are quite wide, so I have quite a bit of trouble holding a compact camera securely and pressing the button without getting my fingers across the image somewhere.

So I went to my nearest camera shop- a small chain, and explained what I needed, what I wanted to use it for, and what I'm able to do so far. I came away with a bridge camera.

A Bridge camera is a mid-point between a Compact and a DSLR. If you haven't ventured beyond a compact then have a look at this link to find out a little more.

Hawthorn in Bud

I've been trying out the different settings, attempting to familiarise myself with everything. I've not tried the manual adjustments yet...

Now my trip to Bath is booked, I want to be able to take some reasonable photos to capture all I see there.

I have images in my memory from other short visits, but I've never been able to see the city at different times of day- how light falls can give completely different impressions to places.

It will be used for a story one day...

Here's a few images from my first attempt, with no
 image adjustment.

Me

I even took a shadow selfie - deliberately (in case you thought it was a mistake) because I liked the evening light falling on the brickwork. It wasn't intended for anything, just an experiment, hence the window ledge, washing line and the pipe in view...

There is a world of potential images and memories ready to be captured with a camera; whether it's on your phone, tablet, or other device.

Not sure how many images I'll end up taking in Bath, but the memory card will be more than enough for what I'll need... :D

Happy Easter...

I've been trying to ease up on everyday stuff recently, just to take some of the pressure of myself and my brain. It's helped as the creative bits of my mind are now functioning again- slowly.

The spring bugs have hit me and I'm on antibiotics and steroids again!

So I'm taking this week easy, catching up on reading and anything else that's pleasant.

I'm also going to consider how I blog in future. I think I'll be scheduling my posts so I can make the most of my time, and so they appear regularly. The once a week system hasn't been a success.

Meanwhile, don't eat too many Easter eggs...

Illustration courtesy of gubgib from www.freedigitalphotos.net 

Too Many Things to Do...

My brain is getting overloaded.

The end of March beginning of April is always busy- not enough hours to do everything- and it's badly hit my writing this year.

Ideas for longer stories keep bubbling away in the background, but then they reach a point where there are enough aspects clear, so they come into my consciousness and interfere with whatever I'm working on - this time it's occurred with two different story ideas, each set in a different time period too...

I'd already gathered some of the random notes together on one of the stories, but now the creative part of my brain is throwing plot bunnies here and there- usually at a time I don't need them and can't deal with them...

I'd started reading the novella first draft and making notes, but can't do that properly while I'm dealing with the other characters and scenarios in my head wanting attention. I need to concentrate on my hero and heroine in this story, not get contamination from these other characters.

I haven't finished the final editing, on the two short stories I intended submitting, either!

Then there's my trip to Bath, I still haven't sorted that out.

Equally there are a lot of other bits and pieces that need sorting to stop chaos taking over life at home...

As it's now the two week Easter break for schools/colleges here, I'm going to take some time out and organise my trip to Bath, then tackle the short stories and get them out the way. Hopefully that will help a little.

Creativity can be as much a curse as a joy sometimes...

So how do you cope when your mind is buzzing with ideas?

Almost Ready to Start the 2nd Draft...

I just have to finish minor editing ready to submit 2 short stories, then I can begin reading the 1st draft (D1)

It's been a month since I finished, and I probably could have left it to settle for a few more weeks, but printing out those last 2 chapters (that had been waiting for the new printer to be bought and installed) started my brain whirring.

I really shouldn't have started reading them!

So this coming week I'll start the reading- and making notes as I go.

I asked friends for any helpful tips, and I'm certainly going to be using the red and green pen idea they suggested. Red for typos and grammatical errors, green for changes, where inserts are needed. I may also use a blue pen for anything that falls outside of these areas.

The second half of the D1 was much more rounded than the first half - I realised this as I was writing. I suppose by then I'd learnt a lot more about my characters and the plot line had become more fixed; also the changes I made in event order fitted better than how I'd originally imagined them, so the writing flowed better.

By the last few chapters my hero's home was staffed by a small group of servants who weren't there before, and a couple had distinct parts to play. Obviously they will have to appear as appropriate in earlier chapters, but I do know exactly where one will fill a suitable role.

I know that this 2nd draft is going to be as much of a learning process as the first was.

I've not only been discovering how my mind puts a longer story together, but also how to make the best of the time I have to write...

If you have any insights on the 2nd draft process, I'd enjoy hearing them.

Three...

Things breaking...

All three...

After losing my broadband a month ago due to damage to the line outside the house, once I was reconnected I found my printer/scanner/copier wasn't working.

It took changing all the inks and doing a few maintenance tasks to get it to photocopy, but printing from documents on the computer, no!

There are two chapters of my first draft waiting to be printed out...

So I thought I'd start looking at replacement printers. Choices, choices...

Then the mouse began being unresponsive- checked for faults, made sure the driver was up to date and it was no better...

It was only when I went into John Lewis looking for a new one that I discovered how techy the mouse had become, and everything is geared to Windows 8, even if you're still on version 7!

I gave up in despair- not enough staff and too many people wanting help to hang around, so I looked online. That was a case of too much choice...

And yes, you've guessed it, the keyboard went next.

One moment it was working, then I shut the computer down while I was off doing something else, came back, turned the computer on and I got a screen load of data, and at the bottom, the message that my keyboard was kaput! (Admittedly it didn't actually say kaput, but you get the idea.)

I'd been intending to get on with editing a short story, but without a functioning keyboard...

My personal knight-in-shining armour (my OH) responded to my phone call and went and got me a new keyboard on his way home from work.

(As I had to do the keyboard, I tried a spare mouse too.)

It's brilliant. Okay it cost a bit more than a standard keyboard, but it's worth it. It's curved, and the central area is raised- makes typing consonants much quicker- I'm a one or two finger typer, but even better, the shortcuts are marked on the edge of the keys.

Now I've never been able to remember Ctrl and whatever letter to do things quicker, but now it's there for me to see instantly.

As that's three items that have gone wrong, I'm hoping that's it and I can continue writing, and printing, without further troubles.

Technology, can't live with it, or without it...






Image courtesy of Stuart Miles: http://freedigitalphotos.net

Confused About Publishing to Kindle? You Need This New Book...

Available on Amazon platforms
(image from amazon.co.uk)

Unsure about creating a kindle e-book, then worry no more.

Kindle Direct Publishing for Absolute Beginners by Sally Jenkins.

I think this new book will sell very well, as it covers so many essential elements of the publishing to Kindle process.

You can read about how this new book came about on Sally's blog here.

This e-book doesn't cover formatting in detail- there is an e-book that covers that aspect that Sally recommends.

Her book goes into all those other essential areas that you need to understand and use, from the pre-publishing stage- what you need to consider and check for before you begin formatting, to the options for cover design, and more.

You will find out about the thorny issues of pricing, royalties and tax- the latter has always seemed to be the most confusing issue for UK writers who have sales in the US (30% withholding tax, and the US Tax identification number- and how to get one).

Then after your e-book is loaded and on sale, important issues like keywords, getting reviews and keeping track.

I've only been able to have a quick scan through my copy- I bought it last night, £1.53 on Amazon's UK site but the parts I have read for compiling this blog post, have convinced me.

I like the straightforward manner in the way each aspect of the process is addressed, and even those elements that always seemed quite unnerving are no longer scary, or headache inducing.

This e-book is a purchase you will not regret making.

The 1st Draft is Done!

Yes, the 1st draft of the novella is now complete.

While I've completed short stories and flash fiction, I've never actually completed one longer piece of work...

I actually started this first draft in June 2011. But there was a big break in there while I was getting over the bus accident, so I've only been working on it intensively for the last 12-15 months.

Obviously putting the word count on my blog has kept me in line!

It's also been a learning experience. Previously, I'd tried to do too much at once with my other longer projects, so thought I'd try the general planning and skeleton 1st draft approach.

It worked for me.

I did character sheets for my main characters - but I've discovered more about them during the writing process too.

Each chapter had a general outline, so I knew where I thought incidents and important events occurred- even then I found that a few things changed order, or I needed an extra chapter here and there for scenes I hadn't foreseen, but realised I needed.

As I went along I made a note of anything I needed to research, or query for the correct term, descriptions, or form of address.

And I went through doubts about my abilities - and sanity!

Yesterday (Thursday) I finished my first draft at 29,005 words in 17 chapters.

The same day I received the answers from the official office that deals with Baronetcy's. It's taken a while because it seems everyone understood their place in the inheritance stakes in the early 19th century (when the novella is set) so my questions had to be referred up to someone else who knew the definitive answers- the Garter King of Arms.

(I may tell you about the Baronetcy system another time.)

The good news, is that I won't need to make big changes to the plot/sub-plot.

The bad news is that I have to provide my antagonist with another reason/s for what he does. But I can think of a few things that would qualify in Edward's case...

Otherwise it's minor adjustments in certain scenes.

Next I need to go through and list the research points/queries, so I have everything I need to know for the 2nd draft...

I'm going to have a short break from the novella while I get on with sending out a few short stories- they just need minor revisions, but have been waiting long enough.

Also it's the Romance Trophy competition at the writers' club this year, so I have a synopsis and first three chapters of another romance to get on with for that- the deadline is the end of June.

Now I now know what works for me:

• Writing for an hour, three hours or anything in-between for as many days as I can each week.
• Not worrying if something isn't quite right, or I don't know the answer to my query immediately.
• Listening to my characters and what's working well - and what is never going to work.

Fingers crossed for the next draft...

Romance is in the Air...

Happy Valentine's Day to you all.

I was the happy recipient of a large Valentine's day card, and a box of Black Magic chocolates when I got up this morning. My darling husband had left them on my chair at my desk... No possibility of missing them that way...

Reading the online newspaper headlines, before I ventured out into the yucky weather, I came across a hark back to the past of Mills and Boon.

Love and Romance

Apparently there is a Mills and Boon archive in the University of Reading's Special Collections.

There has to be an archive somewhere considering how long they've been in existence...

In this archive there is a book, 'Boons Mots: An Anthology of Artless Extracts from the writings of Mills and Boon's Authors' signed by The Editors...

There are a number of extracts from various novels by their authors, including Violet Winspear, who began her Mills and Boon career in 1961. There's even a questionnaire from her that it seems she sent to the editors.

She was obviously aware of writing for the readers when you look at some of the questions she asked.

Her questions went from A-Z, and Z had 4 sub-sections.

My favourites are H, and P... :D

Of the quotes, I did smile at the extract from Violet's 'The Passionate Sinner'. Perhaps the editors were just having a bad day, or remembered the questionnaire!

The writers' club I attend, once had a couple of Mills and Boon authors. Our bi-annual trophy for a novel is in memory of one of the long serving members, Gwladys Bungay, who was published by M&B as Gwladys Duke.

Whatever you may think of the article/extracts, it just shows that writers have always had same creative issues...





photo courtesy of http://freedigitalphotos.net and by grauer razvan ionut

Now to Writing the Love Scene...

I know I could leave this until later, but I write sequentially, whether it's a first or last draft...

So I'm now at that stage where my hero, Hugh, has resolved his conflict, and Sarah has remembered enough to make sense of the past, so getting the pair of them together shouldn't be difficult, should it?

The storm has made it easier to create the opportunity, but why do two confident people then suddenly turn shy!

I know some writers, and readers, prefer the action to stop at the bedroom door. I've no problem with that.

I think it really is about the characters and how they feel. If you know your characters well then you'll know what is right for them.

I've never had any doubts about my current couple in the novella, they've clearly been attracted to one another from the moment they met again; and as their relationship has progressed, on the few occasions they've been able to kiss you could see the lighted fuse slowly heading for the powder keg...

But give them the opportunity to be alone together and for Hugh to propose...

I really can't blame either of them for this temporary hiccup, as they've both got issues that they've had to deal with. And their story is set in a time when there were moral expectations for young women.

When I went back to the scene today they were making progress, but I think they will only let the reader stay for a while before they demand privacy; they'll tell me when enough is enough...

As the final part of tying up the past has still to be finished to reach the happy ever after (HEA) it will only need one more chapter to complete the draft.

I know I said Chapter 16 was going to be the last one, but I was wrong, it will definitely be Chapter 17. :D

I've no doubt that when I begin the second draft and put in the missing scenes, some of the current chapters will change number. I may even end up with a couple more than I have now...

First Novel Award for the Bridport Prize 2014...

Must say a big thank you to Claudia on the Writing Magazine, Talkback Forum, for letting everyone know there were details available of this addition to the competitions on the Bridport Prize website.

This is the Peggy Chapman-Andrews Award for a first novel extract ( first chapter of a novel, minimum 5,000 words, maximum 8,000 words in total, plus a 300 word synopsis), with a £1,000 prize, expert mentoring and possible publication.

This will be a popular competition, so only the best will get through to the longlist and shortlist...

Entrants must be resident in the UK, 16 years old or over. Nor currently represented by a literary agent.

They can either have a completed, or a part-written novel. But do be aware that for the latter case, if you progress through the competition to the longlist stage, you will need to have a minimum of 15,000 words available, and for the shortlist a minimum of 30,000 words.

The longlist will only consist of 20, sifted by the Bridport Prize readers from all entries. Those 20 will go on to The Literary Consultancy and A. M. Heath Literary Agents, who will shortlist to 5.

The winner and runner-up (receives £500, plus other elements) will be chosen by them and the named judge, Alison Moore. There are qualifying criteria for the winner- not agented or previously published a novel (self-published is okay, as is being published in another genre, such as short stories, poetry, non fiction).

(Full details of entry, prizes, terms and conditions can be found via the above link.)

Bridport's entry fees are high, £20 an entry. Entries can be submitted online or by post (see the relevant links in the Entry Format section of the terms and conditions).

Closing date is 31st May 2014.

There is a lot to read on both the main page, and the one with the terms and conditions, but do read them fully.

When you have to pay a high entry fee, it's a shame to waste both your time and money by missing an essential piece of information that could result in your hard work being disqualified.

If you enter, good luck.

Connections and Respect...

Having got back into a steady routine of writing and blogging, my life was thrown upside down last weekend by not only losing my broadband, but my phone line too.

Okay, I know. If my phone line goes then so will my broadband. Unfortunately it happened the other way round for me...

I should add that we suspected our loss of service was 99.9% related to the engineer (from our provider) who was putting a broadband line in for one of our neighbours, as we lost our broadband about the time he would have been connecting up to the box in the pavement.

All the cables run under our pavements where we live, so we don't have any telegraph poles with wires running across.

But the provider's fault system requires you go through the testing routine, and of course their instrumentation said our broadband signal had no drop-out (!!!!) and the problem was our phone line-further tests then went on to blame our house wiring, and warnings that if the engineer came out we'd be liable to pay nearly £130 if it wasn't their equipment at fault.

So from Friday evening until the engineer arrived early Tuesday morning we were stuck. You get a lot of other things done with no phone calls, or Internet to distract you. (I read three e-books on my kindle.) But my desk had to be moved right up against my bookcase!

Very pleased to say that the engineer quickly found that the problem was outside, and as we'd suspected on the Friday when we started losing our service, it was related to what the other engineer had done.

Took about an hour+ to fix and test- even that wasn't trouble-free, but eventually we had a working phone and broadband line.

But it has taken the rest of the week getting the bandwidth back to where it was. And don't mention how many e-mails there were to sort through!

It's only when you lose your broadband that you realise how much of everyday life has moved online.

We communicate with friends and acquaintances from all over the UK, and in other countries, as if they were in another room. We use the Internet to interact with companies and services, even publishers! It's often easier to contact a company online than it is by phone...

The Internet has opened up so many resources that writers, a hundred years ago, would either have had to make a time-consuming trip to access the location, museum, gallery or specialist library and spend hours finding the information needed, or send lots of letters to get the answers.

My loss of broadband for those few days certainly increased my respect for those early writers. Their books may have been shorter word counts than we produce now, but they put as much, if not more effort, into producing their manuscripts.

It also makes you realise how much we take access to information for granted.

If the Internet hadn't been invented how many of those essential services and goods we writers depend on, would not have been invented? How many companies and organisations that employ, and sometimes support, people (including writers) may never have come into existence?

That's slightly scary...

I WON!

If you read any of my blog posts in December, you may know that I was a contender for the Nottingham Writers' Club,Writer of the Year trophy.

Usually it's presented at Awards Night in early December, along with all the other annual competition trophies, before we have the Christmas party.

Unfortunately the external judge wasn't able to get the results to the club until a week or so after the event - unforeseen delays on both sides. But as the first meeting in January was New Year's Day- a public holiday in the UK- it wasn't until yesterday evening (15th) that the trophy was finally handed over.

So here's the trophy being presented to me by Vice President,

Writer of the Year 2013-Carol Bevitt

Viv Apple.

Hopefully the next time I get presented with a trophy the photo will be able to catch me when I'm not missing a front tooth and can smile! :-)

My winning entry, The Ladies of the G.O.D Club received praise from the judge, a knowledgeable local bookseller.

I'm sure she won't mind me revealing some of what she wrote for the club.

"In a short story, time is precious, and it can be easy to lose readers' interest by adding unnecessary detail, but by selecting just the essential elements, Carol makes the most of her small word count. Her scenes are set wonderfully, ('rattan chairs', 'large metallic coffee pot', 'plump cushioning in cerise' – all add an instant sense of comfort and leisure), and characters' speech is designed to hint at exactly the right traits without being over-prescriptive: it is here particularly that Carol has balanced the 'show/tell' storytelling techniques most proficiently, setting her writing apart from the competition."

There's a bit about the symbolism used too, but I must admit that wasn't an element I was consciously aware of, it just came out of creating Jenny's (my viewpoint character) story...

My other entry was a 500 word flash fiction with an historical romance leaning. Admittedly, hard to do with a limited word count. It is a bigger story, which is probably why the judge said of it, " I feel Carol's imagination could be honed to produce romantic fiction pieces on a much larger scale: this short story has all the wit and personality to take her writing further."

So that was a great way to end 2013; and with the presentation of the trophy, to start 2014.

Sadly I only get to hold onto the trophy (and get my name added to the little plate on the side of the base) until late November, but I will receive a certificate this December to mark my 2013 win...

I have plans for my winning story so won't reveal it, but it will have a home somewhere and when it does I'll let you know where so you can read it.

Likewise the 500 word flash will be made into the longer story it is determined to be.

2014 is going to be a year of hard work...

TV and Film Adaptations of Novels- How Far Should They Stray?

Normality has just about returned to my writing schedule and I'm now on the last chapter of Draft 1.

I know a few writers who use well known actors and actresses as templates for what their fictional characters look like.

Sometimes an actor in a TV role will have the 'look' I envisage one of my characters as having.

And I'm sure we've all had moments when we've thought, who would we choose to play our characters if a film or TV adaptation was made of our book...?

But we all know the reality.

If the option has been bought, yes it means money for the author, but no guarantee it will ever reach the screen. And for the majority of those few that do, the writer has to accept that their characters and storyline may not fit exactly what is wanted, so will be changed.

We're realistic enough to understand that a lot of the story in a novel will have to go to slot it into a 90 minute film, or a short series. Perhaps characters have to be amalgamated into one to continue to fulfil their roles; or a character who didn't appear in the book is put in to take on those (combined) original parts.

Over the Christmas holidays Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh could be seen in Gone With The Wind. The film is over 3 hours long and doesn't stray too far from the book, even though the script went through various versions to get it to length.

The 2014 TV season is bringing versions of Daphne Du Maurier's 'Jamaica Inn', 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell ' by Susana Clarke, and 'The Musketeers', from Alexander Dumas's 'The Three Musketeers'.

How far they stray from the original text to accommodate the needs of a television production, will be interesting to see.

Meanwhile there was an item in the Bookseller about the ending being changed for the film version of Gillian Flynn's 'Gone Girl'.

This film adaptations has been written by the author, who has apparently admitted writing a new final scene, a scene that was not in the book.

There is a spoiler in the original article from Variety magazine. So don't click on the link, if you want to wait to find out about the new ending. The film comes out in October this year.

So, do you think it is better to read the book first, then see the TV/film adaptation? Or the reverse, watching the adaptations then discovering how different the original story actually is?

A Workshop in 2014 You Might Like...

2014...

If you've made any resolutions about attending workshops, and you want to write romance, and you can get to Leeds in May, then the following may be a possibility.

Writing Romantic Fiction with Kate Walker 16-18 May at Weetwood Hall, Leeds.

Kate is a very successful Mills and Boon (Modern) author - there are just too many titles to list, but her next book, 'A Question of Honour', is due out this June...

You may remember my blog post about attending Kate's one day workshop at Nottingham Writers' Club a while ago. If you missed it, then catch up here.

Kate kindly sent me the details of her May workshop so I could pass them on, so here they are.


Writing Romantic Fiction with Kate Walker

Dates:  16 - 18 May 2014

Place: Weetwood Hall LEEDS

Cost: £240 (Weekend residential- see the workshop page link below for more information and contact details.)

Romantic Fiction is big business.  This course is intended to provide information and advice for anyone who wants to learn how to write romantic fiction.  It gives an introduction to all the skills needed for success, from initial research to the final submission of the typescript. The courses are informal and fun.

TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN THE PROGRAMME
•             Creating realistic characters
•             Sustaining pace and conflict
•             Packing emotional punch
•             Writing sex scenes
•             Crafting a satisfactory ending.

If you're just starting out writing romance, or you’ve written a manuscript or two but are not yet published and are interested in honing your skills, this course is for you.

For further information Contact Lois Bird-Maddox ‘Relax & Write’ Course Organiser
Further details:  www.malagaworkshops.co.uk

There is a day visitor option, so contact the organiser for details...

I know that many of the writers, who attended Kate's workshop at my local writers' club, found it beneficial, giving them the confidence to start writing a romance, or for those already working on their stories to start submitting them.

Even if you can't go to a workshop like this weekend one, there are lots of one day workshops or courses being run by writers' groups and writing organisations in the UK.

Do look around for what's available, and book early- please don't leave it to the last week or few days - many organisers frequently have to pay room hire charges ahead of the date, and if there aren't enough bookings it can result in cancellation of the workshop.

(I speak from experience of organising workshops last year...)

If you do attend any workshops or courses, enjoy them, and put what you learn into practise; find what works for you and build upon it.

Happy New Year!!! :)






Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/ http://freedigitalphotos.net

MERRY CHRISTMAS...

As I take a break for the Christmas holidays I just want to wish all my friends and blog readers a peaceful and joyous Noel...

And a Happy New Year...

image courtesy of jannoon028/freedigitalphotos.net

Review of my 2013...

I'm still rushing to get everything finished, and blogging has just not got to the top of the list, so sorry for my absence...

I always think it's good to look back and see what has been achieved in the year, and then see what can be done to improve the weak areas in the following year...

The biggest improvement has been in working on the novella. I've almost got to the end of the first draft; it is only the skeleton at the moment, running order, dialogue, high points and notes for where I need to check information.

In 2014 I'll be concentrating on the major revision. I already know where I need to make adjustments in the plot line, so that's going to take work.

Despite a few setbacks in available time, most of the 23,000+ words have been on the novella.

I've also found that I can get more done in the first 6 months of the year than the final 6!

Once again I read a couple of stories at the Fringe event at the Lowdham Book Festival.

The One Word Anthology became available in paperback on Amazon via the createspace service.

A few months ago a piece of my flash fiction was published on the CafeLit site- it was fun to write it and eventually see it up on the screen...

Had a wonderful time earlier in November at the Festival of Romance. It was fun, but also an opportunity to meet other writers, and learn more...

I won two of the quarterly prose competitions at Nottingham Writers' Club earlier in the year- for which I received a gift card at Awards Night this month.

And finally Serena Lake has started to emerge in the writing world. Serena tweets about her interests @Serena_Lake.

So what does 2014 hold beside more work?

January sees the announcement of the Nottingham Writers' Club, Writer of the Year winner (delayed from December).

There are a few exhibitions I want to visit, especially the Georgian costume exhibition at the Fashion Museum in Bath.

And finally I need to organise some sort of timetable to make the most of my time. Having targets does help.

Have you achieved all that you wanted to this year?

Awards Night at the Writers' Club...

Another Awards Night has been and gone.

Now this year I was in the running for the Nottingham Writers' Club, Writer of the Year Award. This is for the four winners of the club's quarterly prose competitions (from Autumn last year to Summer this year).

Unfortunately because of unforeseen delays- more than one of them in fact- the judge wasn't able to get the result back in time, so no one yet knows who won.

There are actually only three writers this time, as I won two of the four competitions- still amazed at that.

So it will be January before the winner is announced and the trophy presented. And that will be mid-month, as our regular first meeting in January next year is New Year's Day! So no meeting as the venue is closed due to it being a public holiday.

After the awards are presented, and the food is eaten, the competitive and humorous nature of the writers starts to emerge with the quiz and games.

The social secretary, Pat, puts together a simple, but fiendish quiz of questions about what has been in the news during the year- it is amazing how many things you forget, and how many minor facts get remembered...:-)

All I am going to say is never invite any of us to do Countdown...Not unless you've handed us the rulebook and stood over us while we've read it!

As it was a party I dressed up- I've got to get some use out of my Festival of Romance Ball outfit...

Glammed up...

Despite the delays in the trophy presentation- there were a couple of others who were also away and couldn't receive theirs either- I did receive a gift card for my two first place wins.

Now it's back to reality and the Christmas to do list...

The Great British Write Off Competition...

" Are you the next big women's fiction writer?"

Well if you think so, then have a look at this competition showing on the handbag.com website. They've teamed up with booksandthecity.co.uk and publisher Simon & Schuster UK.

They want to find and publish a debut women's fiction writer. Full details here.

"The plotline can be anything; the only requirement is that it must fall within the women's fiction genre."

Entrants are required to: " submit your short story, which should be a maximum of 2,500 words" (and this is done by copying and pasting into the entry form on the main page).

The closing date is 5.30pm on the 31st January 2014.

The winner will get some fantastic opportunities.

• Publication of the winning e-book short story in April 2014.
• An agent advice session with Lizzy Kremer, director of David Higham Associates.
• An author mentoring session with Sunday Times bestselling author Milly Johnson.
• And a book jacket and feature on Simon & Schuster's social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

The winner gets a standard e-book contract.

(details from www.handbag.com)

You'll find full details, t&c's, and links you need on the main page- see my link at the top.

Apologies to overseas writers once more, this is only for UK residents aged over 18 years.

If you enter, good luck. 

APOLOGIES for the appearance of white blocks behind quoted text. I haven't been able to get rid of it. 

Competition News...

If you know a new writer, or one who has been writing for a while, and who is starting to send stories out, then please spread the word about the inaugural Nottingham Writers' Club Short Story Competition.

The club want to encourage new, and less experienced writers to enter.  As the club's ethos has always been to support and encourage writers, it's especially important to those newer writers building up essential skills...

It's open to non-professional writers in the UK.

(For clarification, non-professional has been defined as a writer who has not earned more than £500 from short story writing in a year -in this case 2013.)

And yes, there is money for the winner, and also for 2nd and 3rd place. Plus 12 extra prizes donated by Random House, Tesco and Morrison's.

1st: £200, 2nd: £100, 3rd: £50. The winning entry will be posted on the Nottingham Writers' Club website. All writers retain copyright of their entry/entries.

The subject is 'Emotion' and stories can be up to 2,000 words.

The story can be any subject or genre.

The entry fee is £5 per entry, or you can enter 3 for £12.

The judge is short story writer, and author, Sally Quilford.

Sally is well-known for her long-running column in Writers' Forum magazine (which she recently passed over to Helen Hunt) so she could pursue other projects.

The competition is open for submissions between the 1st January and the 31st January 2014.

For full details and an entry form, use the contact form here.

Fun and Learning at The Festival of Romance...

I finally have time to share a few snippets from my visit to Bedford last weekend for The Festival of Romance.

I had to write a piece about my trip to the festival for the Nottingham Writers' Club magazine, with the deadline of yesterday (Thursday).

I also ended up writing a couple of other items for inclusion in the forthcoming issue, in between appointments.

Next time I go, I will keep the week following, clear...

So what did I learn?

So much. From being able to talk to other writers, listen to them reading their work aloud, and on the Sunday from the editors of the various romance publishers talking about what they're doing currently, to what they're looking for in submissions - and encouragement to submit.

There were one to ones available, but I wasn't ready for that this year, so didn't put in a request when the opportunity was offered a few weeks prior to the festival.

After an evening of readings, from authors in historical dress, set against a background of drawings and paintings by the pre-Raphaelite artists in the art gallery on the Friday night, I was glad of a good night's sleep before Saturday's events.

There was the Romance Fair where you could buy a wide selection of books by various authors attending the festival. I moved onto the Coffee and Cake to listen to more authors reading excerpts from their novels.

I did the 3 hour workshop in the library run by Sue Moorcroft and Christina Courtney on 'Irresistible Heroes'. I learnt a bit more about one of my heroes in waiting, Hugo, during the practical sessions.

And following that the talk, How to Stand Out, Get Published and Stay Published, given by author Miranda Dickinson and her HarperCollins editor, Sammia Rafique. Miranda described her journey to publication, while Sammia explained her role in the author’s books. 
There was a very useful question and answer session. I wanted to know the current length they required, and for their books it’s at least 90,000 up to 120,000. (Other publishers have their own specifications.)

I can actually be seen at the Ball (on Table 4 in purple and glasses) in the video of the after dinner entertainment- I'm in the background for a while; amazing I was still wide awake as that was at 11pm and I'd been up since 7am that morning...

http://vimeo.com/icundell/professorelemental

Sunday was conference day, with an early start of 9.30am.

Spread throughout the day there were author led panels, including one on building an author platform.

The presence of editors from the main romance publishers was keenly anticipated.

Mills and Boon covered the 5 UK acquired series they deal with: Modern/Presents, Cherish, Historical, and Medical. Guidelines can be found on their website.

I've read their historical novels on and off over the years, and they have changed a lot in that time- length has increased too, they're now at 70,000.

Piatkus Entice is a digital first imprint at Piatkus Fiction.

The important message that came over was that stories needed to be a commercial proposition. And like all the other publishers they wanted 'voices' - fresh, engaging and consistent.

Carina UK - this is an imprint of Harlequin UK. They are a digital first publisher, with their first print title due out early 2014. They talked about their interest in trans-media projects, a different method of reaching readers...

And the good news is that they don't just publish romance. They're seeking, women's fiction, new adult, contemporary young adult, and erotica. And if you happen to have a WW1 romance ( considering next year's anniversary of 100 years since the outbreak of war) it could find a home.

Mira publish Women's Fiction and Crime, aimed at the older reader. Heroines 40+, well written, a hook, and commercial were important words, and they will accept unagented submissions.

Harper Impulse, another digital first publisher. Again like other digital first publishers length is not an issue. You could send a 1,000 word short story that could be read on a phone. They like to get a full manuscript, covering letter and short synopsis.

Generally: They all had a presence on Twitter. Many of the editors can be followed on Twitter; and writers having a social media presence was very useful.

Just as with any publisher, they want good stories, and fresh voices, stories that will sell.

But again and again the editors kept saying submit it! Don't worry if it's not perfect, or you're not sure it's quite right for them, just submit it.

There was so much useful information, that it was hard to take it all in. That's why I made good use of my notebook.

I learnt a lot, and have started putting into action the elements that I was missing- in social media.

But most reassuring was that my writing seems to be going in the right direction...

I'm Back!

Life has been catching up with me this past month.

Romance

With my sons new college days, my previously settled writing schedule has been disrupted and I've been finding it difficult to settle, or find a new routine that works for me.

I'm struggling to get used to short writing sessions, rather than longer ones-which is more natural for me and my longer work.

I have added to the novella, but I'm finding the penultimate chapter slow going, as I'm dealing with the final confrontation between the hero and his cousin.

Everything is getting busy at the writers' club too, as we approach the Christmas party and Awards Night at the beginning of December.

This year I'm a contender for the Writer of the Year trophy, alongside two other very good writers- one of whom is fellow blogger and club member Keith Havers.

Only the two Competition Secretaries will know who the judge has chosen (someone from outside the club, who has read the four winning prose competition entries from the past 12 months); and the winner only finds out when their name is announced on the night.

Tomorrow (Wednesday 6th) is the club's annual Manuscript of the Year competition. Members are given a theme and have 250 words to write a story.

Now my mind is in blank mode at the moment, so no 'Why Me' story. This theme was one of the suggestions from club members, on another evening, earlier in the year. For the poets there's a Verse of the Year that happens each March - same formula.

One day I may astound myself- and everyone else - by entering a poem! :D

The Festival of Romance in Bedford happens this weekend. There's still just enough time to buy tickets...

It's going to be a busy information packed, and fun, couple of days.

There are so many things I'm looking forward to - an Irresistible Heroes workshop with Sue Moorcroft and Christina Courtney early Saturday afternoon, and the ball in the evening, among the numerous events on Saturday.

I finally found a suitable outfit for the Ball, last week, after searching for months. I no longer need worry that I'll look like Cinderella before the transformation... :-)

There's a conference on the Sunday, with romance publishers doing one to one sessions- I'm not ready for that this year so didn't apply. But they have editors doing short talks, among lots of useful topics.

I'll also get to meet a few of the writers who I know from Facebook, at some point...

So I'm finally leaving the men in the family at home to look after themselves, while I immerse myself in romance...

I'll review my weekend experience when I post next week. And I'll try and get some photos taken in between events.

And if you're going to the Festival and see me, do say hello.



Image 'Rose Petals and Glass Heart' courtesy of Victor Habbick and http://freedigitalphotos.net

Disappointment is a Fact of a Writer's Life...

The short story that I entered into this year's Wells Literary Festival short story competition, didn't get into the shortlist.

I know it isn't that my story was utter rubbish, nor was it the victim of poor spelling and grammar, or even that I'm a rotten writer.

It's just didn't make the grade against other entries, those that were eventually chosen for the shortlist.

But that's life.

I now need to decide this story's future.

I still believe it has potential. And it doesn't deserve to just be put away in the box file and forgotten about.

So it will be going off to another place for consideration.

Fingers crossed it will be third time lucky... :-)

But if it's another no, then it may just end up in that file box for a while...

Weaponry Research for the Writer...

If you want to see old weaponry on display, and in context, then you will get a lot out of the Royal Armouries in Leeds. But don't expect to see everything in one visit, so be prepared.

It's a National Museum, so it costs nothing to go in- though they welcome donations- and there are additional activities inside, and in the jousting yard, that you pay for, but the rest is FREE.

There are five floors with different displays, as well as an outdoor area for specific displays (they run on set days/weekends, and times, you also need to pay for these).

They have an inexpensive guidebook which it it worth buying, but if you don't there is a sheet to help you find your way around- it's essential to get the best out of your time there.

A few things to bear in mind; you can take pictures, but many areas you can't use the flash on your camera, so check for the unobtrusive warning notices.

If you have a problem with heights, stay away from the window alcoves as can almost see straight down, because of the building design. (I feel wobbly just thinking about it).

This is sunlight falling on the floor from the floor to ceiling windows in the self defence section. It also gives you some idea of the lighting without the camera flash...

                                            A selection of Cannon in the ground                                               floor area of the Hall of Steel...

Looking up at the weapon array in the Hall of Steel. Each section is covered with a selection of arms. You can climb the stairs that surrounds this area and look through the windows as you climb.

                                  This is a pair of flintlock pocket                                         pistols- French, from about 1780.

(They triggered the arrival of another new character for me to discover...)

This is a detail from the large display, including a Civil War Cavalryman on horse.

(In the War section there was a full size display of soldiers from various time periods including this Parliamentarian.)

I have to say I was quite pleased it was just a model, as the fully armed cavalryman looked very intimidating...






There is also a library on the ground floor for researchers, but that wasn't open when we went at the weekend, and you can't just turn up to use it when it is open, booking is required.

Now, I've saved my favourite for my last picture - duelling pistols.

Many historical romance writers will be familiar with the name, Manton. Well in one of the display cabinets among a variety of duelling pistols- and a fully equipped box- was a Manton.

Now it's a good quality version, and could have been used for duelling, but that wasn't its sole purpose; but even so, it was in its own way beautiful -but still deadly.

(This photo has been created by taking the Manton pistol image out of the display cabinet picture I took- big thanks to my son Dane for his editing skills to create the picture for me so you could see it properly.)

                                       A gentleman's Manton                                               flintlock pistol.














Hope you've enjoyed looking at my pictures from my visit to the Royal Armouries.

If you want to copy any of them, please credit the source, myself/blog link, and the Royal Armouries who allow visitors to take photos.

The Best Laid Plans...

When you think everything is going along nicely, you can guarantee something comes along to muck it all up!

I've started back to writing the novella, but it's hard work at the moment, as I desperately need quiet without any interruptions to get my mind into the historic time period, but unplanned changes to my sons timetables is giving me 'quiet time' issues...

It doesn't help when I'm writing anything else either! :)

Today has been the first day for months where everyone is out at the same time.

So I'm blogging and then getting back to the novella.

And finally, my next post is definitely my trip to the Royal Armouries in Leeds. 

I'm off to put it together now...