Had an interesting email (at least in terms of the wider literary scene) from the agent today - who says that apparently publishers are now taking much longer to respond to submissions (even agent submissions) than ever before and that even the New York agents are noticing the change. So it appears that The Gifting is not particularly unusual in having been out for six months with no feedback - as it's now the case that up to a year is rapidly becoming the norm. So, in my case, they probably haven't even got round to opening the envelope yet. Hell, they must be busy and - in this current economic climate - reluctant to open anything at all which might cost money. Hey ho. But at least I am not alone then. And hey I can write another novel in a year - though not a fantasy novel! There's a silver lining to every proverbial, eh ...
Oh, and talking of books, a lovely Goodreads reader has given Maloney's Law a five-star rating, double hurrahs and crack open the champagne! Of such unexpected pleasures is a writer's life made, I can tell you ... Thank you, Shannon.
Other good news today is that the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre have accepted our sponsorship of seats A13 and A14 in the circle (where we almost always sit indeed) for three years, which means that our names will be carved on the back of them, hurrah. So at last I have managed to get my name on a plaque - something I've been longing to do for years! And yes I know that people will be sitting on us (as it were), but it's the best I can do ... So, if you want to know what Lord H's real name is (and no, we don't share the same surname either), you'll have to get yourself down to Guildford and stare at the theatre seats. We will sit on them for the next three years with pride.
Anyway, this morning I've had my regular annual eyetest and - yes, it's finally come upon me, I fear - I'm now of the age where I must wear variefocals. The ultimate in professional glamour, of course. The optician and I were hoping to get away with another year before I'd need them, but my eyes have other ideas, dammit. So I have chosen a suitably glitzy frame (ho ho) and will wait to see what turns up in two weeks - though I suspect that now it won't be till after Christmas. It should at least save me from having to carry round my reading/computer pair and my driving/TV pair together all the time.
This afternoon, I've had my 9th session of physio and things are looking pretty good on that front. I've booked my last appointment the Thursday after my holiday and hopefully that will be it. Helen the physio is a definite miracle worker. In the middle of all this excitement, I've added another 1000 words to Hallsfoot's Battle, which brings me to 63,000 in total. I've got some major ideas for the scenes involving Simon and the mind-executioner too - which will I hope kick all expectations into touch, including mine. We'll see.
I've also finished Fiona Robyn's poetry collection, Small Stones: a Year of Moments. It took me a while to get into it as you do really need to slow down and chill - the collection is a series of short pieces taking you through the months focusing on one particular moment at a time. If you see what I mean. Some of the pieces I thought were stunning and very humane, as well as being utterly perfect in their length - but I do think that others needed to be longer and it was, in their cases, an opportunity missed. Well worth a read though for sure. The woman can certainly write.
Talking of writing, here's this morning's meditation poem:
Meditation 17
Carve
a special day
out of the lunacy
of the working week.
Give yourself
what the world refuses you:
time to rest,
time to think,
time to breathe.
Tonight, the gas man is coming (hurrah!) and Lord H & I will look at what boiler and new system options we want to keep us warm through the rest of the winter. Lordy, we just need something that works! And as quickly as possible, dammit.
Today's nice things:
1. New glasses
2. Theatre seats
3. The Gifting maybe not being such a sad case after all ...
4. Maloney's Law five-star Goodreads rating
5. Hallsfoot ideas
6. Books
7. Poetry
8. The possibility of warmth to come.
Anne Brooke
Anne's website - perhaps not as hopeless as originally thought ...
2 comments:
I have varifocals and find them useful - especially for reading whilst on public transport and still being able to see what's going on around me!
Ooh, that's a thought - glad they work, Jilly!
:))
Axxx
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