Thursday 10 May 2018

Meeting C.J Tudor - author of The Chalk Man...

It was my Wednesday evening out at the Writers' Club last night (that was the 9th, if
you' re reading this at the weekend).

The guest speaker was author C.J Tudor, whose debut novel 'The Chalk Man' was published this January in hardback; there will be a paperback later this year.

C.J Tudor author of
The Chalk Man
As Caroline is a local author the club was already connected on Twitter, so that made arranging the talk much easier for me; being able to suggest what we'd be interested in hearing about and adapting to her way of working.

Caroline began with reading the prologue of her book and there was a definite ooh at the end...

We heard about her journey to publication with the "little notes of hope"- the comments she received from agents she'd submitted her earlier books to; but it was clear that the process can be long and the path not always smooth just getting an agent.

The insights into the actual publishing process (once The Chalk Man manuscript was accepted- after an auction) was something many writers don't usually hear about.

Anyone who ever wondered why it takes so long for a book to be published- about 2 years- would have understood why, after Caroline explained the process she and her book went through. Editing and more editing featured heavily.

But it did also give some useful insights that self-publishers can learn from.

Creating a buzz using social media and the value of book bloggers, especially with debuts.

The value in getting pre-orders and the concentrated effort needed the first two weeks the book comes out.

All writers are aware of book covers, so it was surprising to hear why the cover of The Chalk Man had to be changed for the US market; they had an orange cover.

It seems they don't like black covers...

Caroline's talk was entertaining, and interesting. She is a pantser as a writer and her talk was that way too, but it worked well.

If you get an opportunity to see her at an event you won't be disappointed. And the same goes for the book...

As it says...










Monday 16 April 2018

A Vintage Break...

That title sums up my weekend.

Sunday I attended Lou Lou's Vintage Fair held at the Albert Hall (no not that one in London);this one is in Nottingham City Centre next to the Playhouse (the smaller of the two theatres in the city).

Going Vintage...
I was looking for a few 1920's pieces for inspiration  on one of my future projects.

Now I love brooches. I have a few inexpensive costume jewellery brooches that my mum wore on her dresses or coat when I was a child, but rarely wear myself.

Possibly that's why I started a board on Pinterest just for Brooches - old and new,

I took it as a good sign for the story, that in my first ten minutes at the fair I got a lovely Art Deco brooch and a postcard of the poster for the New Pullman Express, The Southern Belle, which travelled from London to Brighton in the early 20th Century- this was one of my initial research areas for the idea.

It's unsettling to see clothes and household items that were so familiar when I was growing up, but equally disturbing when the clothes from the 1970's were now considered vintage- though perhaps it's not so bad if you call them retro instead!

There was a wonderful selection of cakes on sale to go with tea in proper cups- no plastic there...

I found a few items of 1920's clothes on one of the rails, a black coat with a high velvet collar, and a couple of dressing gowns with beautiful red/plum silk linings. Even though they were aged (and on a coat hanger) they still exuded that suggestion of elegance. Sadly they had to stay on the rail...

It was a fun and relaxing few hours and has certainly reignited my interest in collecting brooches.

From a research point of view vintage fairs are especially useful for 1930's-1950's household items, clothing and jewellery.

(Etsy seems to be another useful place to look.)

Also there will be true aficionados attending; they dress up with the clothing, hairstyles and jewellery of their chosen decade.

When I stopped for coffee and cake I shared a table with two ladies, one dressed 1940's and the other 1950's. I felt quite overdressed in jeans and a jacket!

Have you been to a vintage fair or similar event and did you enjoy it?


image from Pixabay