Great joy this morning to discover a second five-star Amazon review (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dangerous-Man-Anne-Brooke/dp/0954594568/ref=sr_1_4/202-0915331-5590251?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176559428&sr=8-4) for A Dangerous Man (thanks, Sue! Great pseudonym too!...), which I reproduce below:
"I thought the novel was suspenseful, unsettling and well paced and took me into a world that is totally alien to me; that of gay men and the art world. Although the main character, Michael, is not your normal type of hero - in fact he is a very dark personality indeed - I felt a real empathy for him and I found myself rooting for him until the end (even when he had stepped over the boundary into criminality). The final chapters of the book are gripping as the shadows that have been stalking Michael come to the surface and threaten to ruin his all too brief taste of success. There is a sense of foreboding as the reader realises that there is surely tragedy ahead for Michael and the people who surround him. I thought the writing throughout was excellent, particularly in the final more violent scenes, and I found it easy to visualise what was being played out in front of me. I was sorry to be coming to the end of the novel so I left the final few chapters until later in the day to savour reading them - what a sign of a good book that is!"
Glad you enjoyed it, ... um, Poohbunny(!), and thanks for putting it up there. Much appreciated!
I've also, much to my delight, had a request for A Stranger's Table (http://www.poetrymonthly.com), which has cheered me no end. Hey, someone out there likes poetry! So, many thanks, Richard - and a signed copy will be in the post to you on Monday. Finally, as the ultimate hat-trick, I see I am in this month's edition of Writers' News (http://www.writersnews.co.uk), and that Michael and Flame (http://www.flamebooks.com) are mentioned, so that's lovely too. All three of us are very pleased, I'm sure.
The rest of my day so far has been spent lolling around aimlessly and squeezing out some more words to The Gifting. I've also attempted to contact my agent, but at the moment it seems to be a one-way track so I'm not holding out a great deal of hope (John? Are you there? Come out if you're still in the building ...). Perhaps he'll show greater interest once I've completed the novel, especially as fantasy is his genre of expertise - there's always that hope anyway! And, of course, as I'm very much a Z-list author, I imagine there's not a deal of point in him spending much time on me until I can deliver the goods. So, don't wait up then, at least not in terms of the big publishers, methinks ... Sigh.
And I've just watched An American in Paris on TV - lost of fun with Gene Kelly, the joys of tap-dance and some good one-liners, though I could have done without the ridiculous dance schmalz extravaganza at the end. A wasted ten minutes there, to my mind. Though I loved the character of the cynical concert pianist - great!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Lord H has entered one of his periodic silent zones (more silent than usual anyway ...), during which he speaks to no-one, particularly me, and mooches round the flat sulking. I've learnt over the years that he's best left to it, and am hoping that he emerges from the male cave in a day or two. Question to the boys: just what is it you do in that darn cave anyway??! Last year, he actually managed a week, but then again I was out a lot in the evenings that time, so may not have noticed as much (bad wife! Bad wife!...). Still, we'll see, and if I want idle chatter, I can always switch the TV on. Or ring Mother (yikes! That's worse!). Mind you, the good thing is that during such times, he does get a lot of DIY done, and even now is doing something peculiar with a new bookcase. So it's not all bad news and lettuce. (Lord B-I-L: if you're there, and have any good family tips, don't keep them to yourself!!...)
Tonight, I'm hoping they'll show Dr Who and it won't be kicked out due to overtime in some silly sports match or other (pause for brickbats to be lobbed!...). And I might try for some more scribbling. Might even get to the end of a page - who knows?
Today's nice things:
1. The Amazon review
2. The request for A Stranger's Table
3. Being in Writers' News magazine
Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk
ANNE BROOKE BOOKS: Independent writer of modern fiction
Showing posts with label Lord B-I-L. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lord B-I-L. Show all posts
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Wellbeing Group and the Marmite soldier
Straight into the Wellbeing Group today – 9.30am is way too early for a meeting, let alone a Monday morning meeting. I’ve really felt quite low most of the day actually. Drained and shattered. Lord knows why. Oh and I have stiff neck & back syndrome. Moan, groan – sorry. Anyway, the meeting was quite impassioned (I agreed with the views of the most impassioned people) and almost impossible to minute with any degree of honesty, so we’re going to rely on bullet points and a cunning summary. That’s the plan anyway.
Afterwards, I nipped into the Students’ Union and picked up one of the spare tee-shirts from the recent “Know Yourself” wellbeing campaign. Nice design on a decent black shirt, so my idea of perfect, really. This lunchtime, I did steward cover for the gallery sound & vision exhibition. Unfortunately, it was way too loud to sit in the room for long with any degree of comfort so when Jo (gallery co-ordinator) returned, we tried to turn the sound down. Hmm. Bad move. This resulted in the whole thing switching off so nobody could see/hear anything. Bummer. Thank God no-one was actually in the gallery at the time. Ah well. Jo and I had a nice chat anyway, and decided that if anyone came in we'd pass ourselves off as living sculptures. Could make a fortune if we tried ... Still, she’s hoping to call the sound engineers later on. No rush though – this was obviously not the University’s most popular exhibition.
And I’ve written a piece of flash fiction for the next Writewords (http://www.writewords.org.uk) Flash Fiction II group challenge, which has to incorporate the words: horny, devil and Marmite:
‘What the devil are you doing with that?’ Algernon asked as he strode into the living room. ‘And what is it anyway?’
Felicity shrugged nonchalantly. ‘This, darling? It’s Marmite. Surely your mother must have given it to you when you were young?’
She bit into her toast, full red lips closing with a firm crunch on the salty darkness.
‘Well, yes, darling,’ Algernon replied, feeling the tightness in his shirt collar. ‘I just hadn’t … eaten it whilst … naked … before.’
‘Really?’ Felicity said. ‘Doesn’t it make you feel horny? Anything salty is best experienced naked, my love.’
Hmm, never did like Marmite - my mother put me off for life by spreading it on like jam. Scary.
Tonight, Lord H is doing his GM presentation for the theology class, so is very twitchy today. He hates doing these things, but actually I think he’s good at them – especially when he knows the subject and can relax into it more. But I’ve got him some chocolate buttons (his favourite) – a packet for before to calm his nerves and a packet for afterwards to celebrate the fact that it’s over. So I may well regain my Wife Points after the Great Flapjack Disaster of yesterday – you never know …
Oh, and Lord B-I-L (http://www.peterandsusan.co.uk/blogs/petersblog.asp) appears very kindly to have put an entry for me on the Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_brooke) site, so thank you very much for that, L.B-I-L – much appreciated! It’s almost like being a proper writer, you know …
Tonight, I think I’ll catch up on some video viewing and also watch Part Two of the adaptation of Andrew Taylor’s (http://www.andrew-taylor.co.uk) marvellous “Fallen Angel” trilogy. I won’t be able to see Part Three, darn it, but it’s still great viewing.
Today’s nice things:
1. Getting a free tee-shirt
2. Chatting with Jo in the Gallery
3. Being on Wikipedia.
Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk
Afterwards, I nipped into the Students’ Union and picked up one of the spare tee-shirts from the recent “Know Yourself” wellbeing campaign. Nice design on a decent black shirt, so my idea of perfect, really. This lunchtime, I did steward cover for the gallery sound & vision exhibition. Unfortunately, it was way too loud to sit in the room for long with any degree of comfort so when Jo (gallery co-ordinator) returned, we tried to turn the sound down. Hmm. Bad move. This resulted in the whole thing switching off so nobody could see/hear anything. Bummer. Thank God no-one was actually in the gallery at the time. Ah well. Jo and I had a nice chat anyway, and decided that if anyone came in we'd pass ourselves off as living sculptures. Could make a fortune if we tried ... Still, she’s hoping to call the sound engineers later on. No rush though – this was obviously not the University’s most popular exhibition.
And I’ve written a piece of flash fiction for the next Writewords (http://www.writewords.org.uk) Flash Fiction II group challenge, which has to incorporate the words: horny, devil and Marmite:
‘What the devil are you doing with that?’ Algernon asked as he strode into the living room. ‘And what is it anyway?’
Felicity shrugged nonchalantly. ‘This, darling? It’s Marmite. Surely your mother must have given it to you when you were young?’
She bit into her toast, full red lips closing with a firm crunch on the salty darkness.
‘Well, yes, darling,’ Algernon replied, feeling the tightness in his shirt collar. ‘I just hadn’t … eaten it whilst … naked … before.’
‘Really?’ Felicity said. ‘Doesn’t it make you feel horny? Anything salty is best experienced naked, my love.’
Hmm, never did like Marmite - my mother put me off for life by spreading it on like jam. Scary.
Tonight, Lord H is doing his GM presentation for the theology class, so is very twitchy today. He hates doing these things, but actually I think he’s good at them – especially when he knows the subject and can relax into it more. But I’ve got him some chocolate buttons (his favourite) – a packet for before to calm his nerves and a packet for afterwards to celebrate the fact that it’s over. So I may well regain my Wife Points after the Great Flapjack Disaster of yesterday – you never know …
Oh, and Lord B-I-L (http://www.peterandsusan.co.uk/blogs/petersblog.asp) appears very kindly to have put an entry for me on the Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_brooke) site, so thank you very much for that, L.B-I-L – much appreciated! It’s almost like being a proper writer, you know …
Tonight, I think I’ll catch up on some video viewing and also watch Part Two of the adaptation of Andrew Taylor’s (http://www.andrew-taylor.co.uk) marvellous “Fallen Angel” trilogy. I won’t be able to see Part Three, darn it, but it’s still great viewing.
Today’s nice things:
1. Getting a free tee-shirt
2. Chatting with Jo in the Gallery
3. Being on Wikipedia.
Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Poetry, chocolate and grumpy women.
Not necessarily in that order though. It's very rare to meet a grumpy woman after a chocolate session. Before, of course, is another story ... Anyway, I forgot to say that Lord H came home last night, saying that the 14th Feb had been an interesting day at work, in that he'd been surrounded by 2 happy women and 20 grumpy ones. Being a boy, he hadn't liked to ask why. Probably a wise decision really. Still, at least he could safely wear his Smug Husband expression, knowing that he'd passed the marital test for that day. Ah, say I, but there are so many other days in the year ... the riotous rollercoaster that is married life continues apace, aha!
Also yesterday, but I forgot to say, my lovely colleague Ruth suddenly screeched and began to scrabble in her drawers (careful, people ... office drawers, you know. Please ...), eventually bringing out a chocolate Satan (yes, I have spelled that right) which she'd been saving up for me but had forgotten about when I was ill. And I can tell you that there really is nothing like a chocolate Satan to cheer up the general wellbeing quota. Just the sort of thing a non-church going, church going girl needs. I ate it in seconds. Maybe less. Thanks, Ruth! Though it is strange that I do know a woman who doesn't like chocolate. What is the world coming to?
And, talking of Ruth, she has once again been on her mysterious Number 19 bus, which turned up just when she wanted it to and took her to where she needed to be in the nick of time. This would ordinarily be dull news indeed - but the local timetables don't actually have a Number 19 bus and nobody else local has ever heard of it. Apparently, when she gets on, she never actually sees the driver's face and he doesn't ask for standard fares. And the bus is always virtually empty apart from her. Hmm. I'd suggest making sure she's not giving her hard-earned cash into a skeletal hand or hearing strange, maniacal laughter before she makes herself comfy next time. Still, as long as it works ... and after all stranger things have happened in Surrey, so they say. Just not to me.
Today, I've done more marketing and almost feel like a real author - if only because the sum total of my actual writing has been to (a) change one word in a poem - from "them" to "you", if you're asking - and (b) type a lot of new bumph down for "The Gifting", and then delete a whole load of old scenes, so that my total wordcount came out as significantly less than I had yesterday. God, how I hate it when that happens!! And why on earth do I write ahead when I know I'll probably change or scrap it anyway when I get to that point? It is indeed a mystery ... though if I'm honest I do enjoy dotting around like a goat on a rock when I'm stuck on a scene - it pushes me out of my "stuck" position. Sometimes. But I did get quite excited about the actual words I typed and left in today though - I think I got to the point when I was writing one thing and meaning something else about storytelling and how characters take us (um, for us, read "me" ...) over and don't let go. And, hell, I should know what that feels like (yes, yes, Michael, I can hear you, but not every novel is always about you, eh?...). Weird stuff. But fun.
Other news of today - "A Dangerous Man" is now on the scrolling advertising section of the YouWriteOn (http://www.youwriteon.com) site, so thank you very much to Edward for putting that up for me. And my brother-in-law (http://www.peterandsusan.co.uk/blogs/petersblog.asp - and now to be forever known as Lord B-I-L) has found my blog. Scary biscuits indeed! Soon, news of my oddities will spread through the whole of Lord H's family and I will be found garrotted one dark and lonely night with my hair pinned to the nearest chapel. You heard it here first ...
And I've been a good secretary and done the Goldenford (http://www.goldenford.co.uk) minutes - better late than never! Sorry, gals ... I got in a muddle over a finance minute ('twas ever thus ...) but thankfully Jackie (http://www.myspace.com/jackieluben) has corrected me. Thank goodness someone has their finger on the pulse, eh?
Oh, and "Borderlines" (the Anglo-Welsh Poetry Society's mag) has turned up. This Winter 2006 edition has one of my poems in ("Silken") - which also appears in "A Stranger's Table". It's one of my intermittent lesbian offerings (and if that doesn't scare Lord B-I-L, nothing will!! But don't worry, people - Lord H is entirely used to me by now ... cue: A lesbian moment? Super! How nice.)
Today's nice things:
1. Seeing "Silken" in Borderlines
2. Getting excited by writing - and wanting to do more: hurrah!
3. Seeing the ADM advert on the YouWriteOn site.
Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
Also yesterday, but I forgot to say, my lovely colleague Ruth suddenly screeched and began to scrabble in her drawers (careful, people ... office drawers, you know. Please ...), eventually bringing out a chocolate Satan (yes, I have spelled that right) which she'd been saving up for me but had forgotten about when I was ill. And I can tell you that there really is nothing like a chocolate Satan to cheer up the general wellbeing quota. Just the sort of thing a non-church going, church going girl needs. I ate it in seconds. Maybe less. Thanks, Ruth! Though it is strange that I do know a woman who doesn't like chocolate. What is the world coming to?
And, talking of Ruth, she has once again been on her mysterious Number 19 bus, which turned up just when she wanted it to and took her to where she needed to be in the nick of time. This would ordinarily be dull news indeed - but the local timetables don't actually have a Number 19 bus and nobody else local has ever heard of it. Apparently, when she gets on, she never actually sees the driver's face and he doesn't ask for standard fares. And the bus is always virtually empty apart from her. Hmm. I'd suggest making sure she's not giving her hard-earned cash into a skeletal hand or hearing strange, maniacal laughter before she makes herself comfy next time. Still, as long as it works ... and after all stranger things have happened in Surrey, so they say. Just not to me.
Today, I've done more marketing and almost feel like a real author - if only because the sum total of my actual writing has been to (a) change one word in a poem - from "them" to "you", if you're asking - and (b) type a lot of new bumph down for "The Gifting", and then delete a whole load of old scenes, so that my total wordcount came out as significantly less than I had yesterday. God, how I hate it when that happens!! And why on earth do I write ahead when I know I'll probably change or scrap it anyway when I get to that point? It is indeed a mystery ... though if I'm honest I do enjoy dotting around like a goat on a rock when I'm stuck on a scene - it pushes me out of my "stuck" position. Sometimes. But I did get quite excited about the actual words I typed and left in today though - I think I got to the point when I was writing one thing and meaning something else about storytelling and how characters take us (um, for us, read "me" ...) over and don't let go. And, hell, I should know what that feels like (yes, yes, Michael, I can hear you, but not every novel is always about you, eh?...). Weird stuff. But fun.
Other news of today - "A Dangerous Man" is now on the scrolling advertising section of the YouWriteOn (http://www.youwriteon.com) site, so thank you very much to Edward for putting that up for me. And my brother-in-law (http://www.peterandsusan.co.uk/blogs/petersblog.asp - and now to be forever known as Lord B-I-L) has found my blog. Scary biscuits indeed! Soon, news of my oddities will spread through the whole of Lord H's family and I will be found garrotted one dark and lonely night with my hair pinned to the nearest chapel. You heard it here first ...
And I've been a good secretary and done the Goldenford (http://www.goldenford.co.uk) minutes - better late than never! Sorry, gals ... I got in a muddle over a finance minute ('twas ever thus ...) but thankfully Jackie (http://www.myspace.com/jackieluben) has corrected me. Thank goodness someone has their finger on the pulse, eh?
Oh, and "Borderlines" (the Anglo-Welsh Poetry Society's mag) has turned up. This Winter 2006 edition has one of my poems in ("Silken") - which also appears in "A Stranger's Table". It's one of my intermittent lesbian offerings (and if that doesn't scare Lord B-I-L, nothing will!! But don't worry, people - Lord H is entirely used to me by now ... cue: A lesbian moment? Super! How nice.)
Today's nice things:
1. Seeing "Silken" in Borderlines
2. Getting excited by writing - and wanting to do more: hurrah!
3. Seeing the ADM advert on the YouWriteOn site.
Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
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