Maloney done and a musical coronation

Have finished the final edit of Maloney's Law this morning and sent it back to the lovely people at PD Publishing. I only found 5 mistakes, so that's fabulous. And, bloody hell, but certain passages especially later on in the novel still make me cry. And I wrote the bloody thing - not to mention having read it through about a dozen times in the last few months! I'm not sure I'll ever write anything as emotionally strong as that again. It packs a punch for sure. And probably, in essence, says a whole lot more about my family than I'd realised. In its fashion. Now there's something for the reader to chew on ...

Anyway, the very generous and talented Vicki Tyley - whom I met via the Authonomy Beta site - has made an eBook of Thorn in the Flesh for me. It looks good, Vicki - many thanks! I've sent it to the Golden Girls as a sample of what can be done and it's certainly a very interesting thought for the future. I just have to work out how to add in the cover art and publisher details etc. One for Lord H, I think!

This afternoon, we're off to Glyndebourne to see The Coronation of Poppea. I love Monteverdi and it's the first Glyndebourne of our summer season (my, how posh I'm sounding for an Essex Girl ...) so I'm so excited I might actually be sick. We're eating in the Mildmay Restaurant which is our favourite too. Bliss.

And there's a slight shock for Lord H waiting, which I'll have to break to him gently when he comes back with lunch soon - I've realised that when I have to send something from his mailbox it adds in the photo of his good self which the Mac took when we first had it. Whoops! I know he's going to hate that ... I feel that photo - lovely though it obviously is - is not going to be around for too much longer. Sadly. The dangers of new technology are rife, you know.

Today's nice things:

1. Finishing off Maloney and feeling happy with it
2. The eBook of Thorn
3. Glyndebourne.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website
Goldenford Publishers

Massage, a late lunch and where's my Mac??

A brief visitation from the Mac today before it decided to deny all knowledge of ever having an Internet or a mailbox connection. Sigh. So I'm back on the old PC typing this. Ah, it's like I've never been away, you know. However it's another one to add to Lord H's list of mending things. Poor chap.

Anyway, apart from the Mac deciding it doesn't like me any more, I've actually had quite a nice day. Shock! Had a Clarins facial & massage in Guildford with the lovely Charlotte today - it's her last day (sob ...) as on Monday she flies off to a new life in Gran Canaria. Lucky for some for sure! I took in champagne to toast her on her flight - good luck, Charlotte, we'll miss you. Though, honestly, some people will do anything to get away from me.

After that, it was a very late lunch and girly chat with Sue - another Guildford friend, which was fun but I think we may well have doubled the noise volumes in the cafe. At least. Not much of a surprise there then! And I also managed to catch up on my essential shopping needs - and even tried to go into a clothes shop that wasn't M&S and look like I knew what I was doing. So that didn't last long. I don't think I really understand clothes shops, and M&S is the only one I can cope with without hyperventilating and feeling like I'm in an alien universe. I knew I should have taken my How To Be A Girl pills before I left.

Though, apparently, today is a day when I should actually have been in Godalming rather than Guidford - as Godalming is now the centre of the artistic universe; Chris Evans is moving from these parts and his driver appears to have taken a priceless Damien Hurst painting from his house and deposited it by mistake in one of the Godalming charity shops. Ah, rich pickings are here for the the taking, you know. We are indeed a town of many treasures. I bet all the Matrons of Godalming are even now slugging it out in the High Street for victory. There's an image you don't really want to dwell on. At least not for long.

I've just finished (for the second time - no wonder I thought it was so familiar!) Barbara Vine's The Chimney Sweep's Boy. Very well written but oh the people in it are soooooo irritating. The one good thing is that the wretched Gerald is dead by Page 2 - if I'd been Ursula I would have finished him off way way before he managed to die of a heart attack. And the daughters needed a good slapping too. By the time I got to the (plot give-away alert!) incestuous homosexuality flashback bit at the end, I really didn't care much. Nor find it particularly believable. Anyway, Gerald deserved a bit of suffering - shame it didn't seem to make him any nicer.

Tonight, I'll catch up on the cleaning and stare mournfully at my Mac until Lord H takes pity on me. Hmm, maybe I have been taking those Girlie Pills after all.

Today's nice things:

1. Clarins massage
2. Lunch with Sue
3. Thrilling at Godalming's moment of artistic fame.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website
Goldenford Publishers

New Mac, a mysterious delivery and on with Hallsfoot

My first blog using the new Mac. I must say I like it and it's a lot quicker with stuff than the old PC. I'm still not sure what to do about printing though, but Lord H assures me that can be sorted. Emails seem to be getting through, though I'm having trouble with sending some replies. I'm hoping that will be solved soon as well! Mind you, the slightly wild whooshing noise the Mac makes when it sends something is utterly terrifying. Still, at least you know it's been sent - somewhere ... I only wish I knew how to make the font larger. But, all in all, I think I'm about to be a Mac convert.

This morning I have been getting my own prescriptions sorted out - it took a couple of car journeys (lucky I filled up on petrol then - in a panic-free fashion) but I'm okay now. Or as okay as I ever am. Sadly, my sick Guildford friend is back in hospital and not up to seeing people today, but we're hoping she might be up to being visited next week. And if she's really unlucky, one of those visitors will be me!

I've also been zapping along with Hallsfoot's Battle - goodness me, it's amazing how much easier - and more exciting - writing becomes when you give up worrying about being published. Astonishingly, I'm now at over 6000 words and I even have ideas. Hell, if I'd known giving up on (ho ho) the idea of potential fame and fortune would have this effect, I would bloody well have kicked my ego into touch sooner. Give me anonymity and a life of literary obscurity and watch those fingers fly.

Maybe I should even write a book on "How Not To Be A Successful Writer ... Stylishly" - I have the experience after all. No, no! Stop! Even I see that it would be just too surreal if some commercial bugger actually published it. Then, gods preserve us, where would my reputation for failure be?... Ah, that way madness lies indeed. I'll stick to the day job.

Meanwhile the mysteries of our temporary holiday post-boy continue - when our usual man is away, which he obviously is this week, post is delivered in a variety of ways and at a plethora of times. On Monday, the new boy delivered the post for the whole house to the downstairs neighbour, who then had to trudge up and down the stairs giving it to the correct owners. Today, I pop down to the hall just after lunch and find a Waterstone's package for Lord H wedged in the partially-open window frame. Are letter-boxes just too dull these days? I fear that tomorrow the street will have to be on the alert in case Postie decides simply to lob the letters at us as he cycles by.

Tonight, I'm planning an evening doing sod-all apart from watching the last (no, no, don't leave us - I'll never find out what happens to the blue tits now!) "Springwatch" and catching up with "My Name is Earl". It's a tough life, but hell somebody's got to live it.

Today's nice things:

1. Writing
2. Marvelling at postal deliveries
3. TV.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website
Goldenford Publishers