Bees, pens and honey cakes

Am happy to say that my sting-in-the-tale flash fiction piece, Night Bees, is now up at Every Day Fiction and can be found here. Hope you enjoy it and do feel free to leave a comment.

Other good news of the day is that the Pens on Fire webzine have accepted my romantic comedy short story, Speaking Her Mind, for publication in June - so something to look forward to for the summer, hurrah! And, along the same lines, I've had a lovely email from Nancy from Goodreads to say how much she's enjoying A Dangerous Man. In fact, she's enjoying it so much that she's providing some lovely running commentary on what she thinks so far throughout the novel, which you can find here. Thanks so much, Nancy - emails from readers enjoying my books whilst reading them are very rare, so it's really made my day! I hope you keep on enjoying it right until the end.

But let's not forget this morning's meditation poem - an early example of the power of women indeed:

Meditation 103

It takes five women –
Mahlah, Noah,
Hoglah, Milcah, Tirzah –

to change the way
inheritance is bequeathed,
stepping up to face God

for the chance to live
without men.
Proof indeed,

if we needed it,
that sisterhood started early.

This morning, Lord H and I trundled off to church - and today is obviously a day of very strange hymns. I'm not sure anyone knew the tune of the first one. It was a kind of Anglican fudge tune - perfectly harmless but not something you remember. Today's sermon was about finances and interest - subjects that normally pass swiftly through my head without making any impression, but I have learnt something. Apparently there's a difference between monetary policy and fiscal policy. Lord H says the first is to do with money and the making of it, and the second is to do with taxes, and that both fall under the umbrella term of economic policy. At least, he thinks it's that way round but as now even the FT is using the terms interchangeably, frankly who gives a damn? Ah well.

On the way home, we popped into Winkworth Arboretum and wandered about happily for an hour or so. We managed to spot some white-fronted geese, a yellow wagtail and - wait for it!! - a bat! In flight for quite a while and in the morning too. How very strange. Perhaps it was the confusion of this missing hour we don't have. I will now be an hour behind my own life until I can pick it up in autumn again, sigh ...

Moving briefly back into religious matters, I must say that Rowan Williams' Silence and Honey Cakes is bloody stonkingly good. An excellent introduction to the humanity of religion and the wisdom of the desert fathers and mothers. Inspirational and quiet, at the same time. Well worth reading if you're drawn by the idea of silence. The only part I'd disagree with is the section where he questions the validity of fantasies and says that reality is more important. To my mind, fantasies are part of the reality of my life (how else would anyone write or draw or compose at all without fantasy??) and should be given equal billing with what is real. That's my only quibble though - otherwise read it.

Oh and the universe has also managed to keep the balance of life fairly steady - in that I've had a couple of short story/flash fiction rejections (sigh) too, so I've turned them round and sent them back out the door again to see if they can find land. Meanwhile, tonight, there's something on TV about volcanoes so I'll probably watch that (volcanoes are like dinosaurs, you see, but more immobile ...) and then of course there's the marvellous Lewis. Perfect Sunday night viewing, bliss.

This week's haiku:

I drink a haiku
for breakfast; its sultry beat
layers my cold bones.

Today's nice things:

1. Night Bees being published
2. Short story acceptance
3. Reader comments about A Dangerous Man
4. Poetry
5. Birds - and bats
6. Books
7. TV
8. Haikus.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website - a honey of a site (ho ho)