Angels, Lions and Death

Book News

There's a definite religious theme in the latest book news, which is surely very appropriate for the season, hurrah. First off, biblical short story, Dancing with Lions, is being offered at a 25% discount directly from Untreed Reads until April 15th, so don't miss out on that one.

Plus four copies (four, gosh!) of my other biblical story, A Little Death, have just been purchased by Northern Ireland Libraries, so that's definitely put a smile on my face. Not to be outdone, gay romantic comedy Angels and Airheads is now a bestseller at All Romance Ebooks, and has just received a 4-star review at The Novel Approach (so many thanks for that).

And as a very special Easter treat for you, I'm giving away FIVE ecopies of my fantasy novel The Gifting until 29th April at LibraryThing. So pop across there now and add your name to the list and you'll be in with a chance of winning - good luck!

Meanwhile, I'm continuing to work on a set of interviews and articles for a variety of bloggers and review sites, so many thanks for those requests. Further details to follow ...



Life News:

I've spent the last three days at the AUA universities conference in Manchester. I enjoyed it as usual and it was really lovely to be up there with my wonderful colleague Carol C, but I'm not sure it was as good as previous conferences. I think that was probably due to a number of factors, including me still getting over being ill last week, the hugely long drive up in the rain there and back (groan ...), and possibly also the fact that we were in hotels rather than student accommodation, so it didn't have quite so much of the fun/community factor, to my mind. That said, I'm sure that once I get to grips with my notes, I'll find a thousand and one useful ideas to take away - it's just that I can't quite get my head round them at the moment.

Back home, K has planted a bed of pansies next to the sweet peas at the front, and our back garden tulips are going to be red (hurrah!) though they're not out yet. Plus we have one bluebell just out in the back, so I'm hoping there'll be more soon. We do so love bluebells.

Happy Easter, everyone!

Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian fantasy trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK

I'm ready for my close-up, Mr DeMille - possibly ...

Book News:

Well, the truth is well and truly out. I am indeed, as the Surrey Advertiser has now showcased for all time, a redhead. I sincerely hope that their rather wonderful pic (please note my much-loved collection of fluffy pens, though sadly they couldn't quite get my snow globes in the shot) will finally stop people strangely insisting I'm a blonde or a brunette. Um, no, as is very evident ... Plus a BIG thank you to Jennifer Maxfield at the Surrey Advertiser who somehow managed to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear and produce a rather good article about gay sex and faith in The Heart's Greater Silence from my mindless ramblings this week. Thank you, Jennifer.

To add to this excitement, I've had a visit today from the very charming Sam Milletti of Milletti Films, who is keen to pitch a ten-minute film about the psychology of the writing life in general and my writing in particular as part of his degree course film assignment. We've come up with a few angles so I'll see next week if his is the one chosen.

Yesterday was our Elstead Writers group meeting which was as inspirational as usual (many thanks, all). I think I now have renewed enthusiasm for battling on with my gay fantasy novella, The Taming of The Hawk, though I suspect progress will still be slow. In the meantime, I've done the second round of edits on Angels and Airheads for Musa Publishing, and have sent them off, so am awaiting the response.

This week, biblical story Dancing with Lions was my bestselling story at Amazon US, and gay short story For One Night Only gained a 4-star review at Goodreads (many thanks, Lennis).

I've now also signed up for the upcoming UK GLBTQ Writers & Readers Conference which takes place in Brighton in September, so am very much looking forward to that. Am hoping to be involved on one of the panels, and also in the novel beginnings session, so watch this space ...

Nearer at hand in terms of timings, I'm very happy to announce that for the whole of next week I will be the Featured Author at Pants Off Reviews, and this will include reviews of my gay short stories, an interview and a fun giveaway. Do pop in and join in the fun - all are welcome!

Finally, to round off your weekend and put the zing back in your week, why not pick up a copy of warm-hearted romantic comedy Pink Champagne and Apple Juice? A classic cocktail not to be missed indeed - enjoy.

The Sunday haiku is:

A glimpse of sunshine
across the silent grasses:
one lone daffodil.

Life News:

Yesterday I finally felt well enough to crack open the champagne we were supposed to have on Valentines Day but I was too ill. Mmmm, champagne - it was lovely, thanks. I really have never met a bottle I didn't like. Bliss. To maintain the universal culinary balance, however, I must needs confess I managed to burn the muffins, alas. I was attempting to be such a Kitchen Goddess too (hmm, as if ...) but I fear the oven is hotter than the recipe anticipates. So we do still have muffins, but the burnt bits have gone in the bin and the chocolate chips appear to have sunk to the bottom and are huddling together for safety (though not warmth). Ah well. Perhaps next week's cookery attempt will prove more successful.

Speaking of being a Bad Wife (of a sort), I decided to be very noble and tidy up my computer desk which has been in a shocking state for weeks. This resulted in the unexpected discovery of the Very Vital USB cable that I accused K of losing a fortnight ago. Hmm, anyone for Humble Pie? It's definitely on the menu for me ...

Meanwhile, the bird excitement here on the estate (as it were) is mounting. A couple of days ago I saw three goldfinches on our bird feeder, and K has now also put up the two nesting boxes we've very kindly been given. We might not quite stretch to installing a webcam to view them more thoroughly, but I do hope something will turn up and move in.

And today's sermon pointer: God is never as narrow-minded or resentful as we are. Well, thank goodness for that indeed!

Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK

Happy Easter!

Had a great time at the work conference in Nottingham Monday to Wednesday with David & Carol from the office - it's certainly much better going with people you know, though it was also nice to catch up with those I've met before from other universities. It was even nice travelling up the M1 on Monday morning as when I joined it at Junction 6 it was gloriously empty, what with it being shut from Junctions 1 to 4. I've never seen such a clear road ...

So, the weather was marvellous and the seminars and live debate sessions almost equally so. Heck, I even said something in all my seminars (brave me!) though I'd never dare to in any of the plenary sessions. Mind you, for some reason, I had a room on Nottingham campus the size of a button - and had to move the bin and the fridge (a fridge, in a room - heck, the students don't know they've been born!) in order to sit on the chair, ah well. I also woke up in the middle of the night on the first night wondering why my stomach was so terribly gurgly even though I felt fine, and then realised it was the fridge, not me. Phew ...

Meanwhile, while I've been away, our house situation has moved on rapidly in one area at least - our buyer would like to move into our flat in mid-May so it's now all systems go to try to find somewhere in the area to rent on a short-term basis (two or three months, I would guess) some time over the next two weeks - which is basically all the time we have, as we're on holiday the week commencing 7 May and then back at the beginning of potential completion week. Heck, if it wasn't Lent I might be panicking, but I am trying to remain calm & logical, hey ho ...

Today, I've also viewed, as a buying option, a house in Bisley, and tomorrow K and I will view another in Knaphill. We're still keeping the Woking house option open as that slowly trundles through, but really we can't be bothered to chase any more. It's too exhausting. If something else comes up that we prefer, so be it, but if we do manage to get somewhere to rent, at least that gives us a breathing space. Come what may, it will be fantastic to be out of the flat ...

Whilst waiting for the estate agent to turn up at Bisley, I also heard my first cuckoo of spring, which was great. Everything's just so early this year, it seems. I hope summer doesn't end up being over by June! And I've had my last haircut with Lynda, who's cut my hair for 18 years but who doesn't travel as far north as Woking to do business. So I do indeed look lovely (trust me on that one) but will have to look for another hairdresser at some point - though of course it's not top of my To Do List right now.

Oh, and I thought last night's episode of Midsomer Murders was something of an improvement, at least in the realms of the relationships between characters - though the bitchy Barnaby definitely needs to treat poor Sergeant Jones a damn sight better before I'm any way near convinced ...

Finally I'm pleased to say that A Woman like the Sea gained a 5-star review at Goodreads - thanks, Jesse.

Happy Easter - hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Anne Brooke

Blind Dates galore

Book news:

I'm happy to announce that Tommy's Blind Date is published today and available at a first week discount at Amber Allure Press. Enjoy!

I've also spent a really wonderful day today at the inaugural UK gay fiction writers & readers conference in Ely - it's been fabulous and we're definitely going to do it again next year. It was fascinating to meet some of the writers whom I've known for a while on the Internet and via email, and to meet some new faces/names too. Great stuff. Special thank yous to Alex Beecroft for organising it all, and for Sarah & Jo who had to put up with me in the car - a special medal for them for sure! Can't wait for our Christmas get-together either.

Meanwhile, The Executioner's Cane has finally made it to the 70,000 word marker so well over half-way now. Phew. And the first-round edits for The Prayer Seeker are looking interesting, with my editor/consultant (a new one to me, but she deals with religious fiction) describing it as "quiet and luminescent". Gosh, I didn't think any of my stuff would ever be described in that way and it certainly feels nice. Still a lot to do to improve it but I'm on the road. Somewhere ...

This week's meditation is:

Meditation 424
Beware of dogs
and vultures,

beasts that bite
and beasts that fly:

no good will come
of either.


The Sunday haiku is:

Girl in a pink top
and purple skirt is dancing
amongst the fuchsias.


Life news:

K and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary on Saturday which was great. We spent most of the day at Wisley Flower Show - it's amazing what they can do with flowers, don't you know! - and had a picnic there as the weather was just about okay to sit out. At least it wasn't raining. And we opened a bottle of champagne in the evening - which always goes down well. I've never met a champagne bottle I didn't like.

Earlier in the week I spring-cleaned most of the kitchen. I have to say the under-the-sink cupboard was utterly gross in every way and took 2 buckets of hot soapy water to clean it properly. I don't know what had died in there but I spent a long time mopping up a vast and evil lake of what appeared to be a gravy and soy sauce mix that had flowed everywhere without us noticing (we are such slobs). Honestly I had to prize the tins of peas away from its sticky grasp, so it was not pleasant! All clean now, thank the Lord, and at least I didn't find the head of John the Baptist, or Shergar, both of whom would be grateful not to have spent time there, I imagine.

Finally, the news on the house remains distinctly disappointing and, really, I just don't want to talk about it that much. It just makes me too angry and upset. Suffice it to say we made another slightly higher offer in response to the vendors' new apparent reasonableness, and they have come back with another rude and unnecessary email not really responding to our offer but just expressing their personal opinions about us, so seem to have reverted to type somewhat. All very exhausting - don't these people have any idea how to do business??? Well, obviously not .... Anyway, we will send another letter to them and their solicitors reminding them that our new offer is still on the table if they wish to consider it again and see what that brings out of their very peculiar communications pot.

In the meantime and on a happier note, we continue the efforts to spruce up our flat and are busy admiring the lovely number of buyable properties in the local paper this week. If the vendors want to keep us as potential buyers which is after all the easy and cheap option for them as we're already in the damn house for goodness sake, then they're going to have to be a lot nicer and work much harder than they currently are. Hmm, don't wait up, eh ...!!

Anne Brooke

A lovely day at the fair and the final Maloney

Irene, Jennifer and I have spent most of the day selling Goldenford books at the Annual Writers' Conference today. And what a good time we've had! So far it's proving to be the best Writers' Conference ever, in terms of conversations held with people and even books sold. Well gosh! Amongst the rather respectable sales we've done, I even managed to sell two copies of Thorn in the Flesh and two copies of A Dangerous Man. Hurrah! That's pretty good going for me. I now only have 2 ADM first editions left so will be moving on soon to attempting to sell some of my 2nd edition stock. Double gosh. I almost feel like an author, you know. Hell, it can't last.

Interesting how the more you engage a browsing customer in conversation, then the less they're likely to buy. It's the knack of knowing when to withdraw verbally and leave them with buying space, I suppose. If you talk too long, it just becomes a (usually very interesting) conversation and you lose the roles of tradesperson/customer. Interesting also how people were particularly taken - as they often are these days - with Goldenford being an all-woman company. There's power in the Golden Girls indeed!

Anyway, we packed up for the day at about 6pm and I'm now home for the evening. Thank the Lord. I couldn't have borne the thought of a night out certainly. I'm aiming to concentrate on going through the final proof (gosh! final proofs - whatever next?) of Maloney's Law which turned up from PD Publishing last night. I'm now about to start Chapter 8. The excitement notch is definitely on the up here in the shires. I'm so looking forward to seeing Paul Maloney in print - he's one hell of a hot babe. In my opinion.

Today's nice things:

1. The Writers' Conference fair
2. Going through the final Maloney proofs
3. Selling books.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website
Goldenford Publishers

Conference Queen and the Radio Virgin

Goodness me, but what a long way it is to York. A jolly long way. And even further back - did they make the M1 longer while I was up there?? I wouldn't put it past them. Anyway I had a surprisingly good time at the AUA Conference - it might even have been, on a personal level, the most enjoyable one so far. Partly because hey, it's York. And in the sunshine, it's an amazing city. I also teamed up with Miv and the rest of the gang from Surrey wherever possible, which made networking less terrifying, frankly. Networking is much like DIY, I suppose - if you can't do it alone (and I can't - in both cases), then do it together. As they say. Also the food on the Gala Dinner tonight (Tuesday) was fabulous and (typical Yorkshire) there was lots of it. Hurrah! There's nothing worse than Nouvelle Cuisine, in my opinion, which is simply another way of saying Not Enough Food. I also sat at the table which won the champagne, so - hick! - we were all right, Jack.

Oh, and the seminars were good too - I even got quite inspired at the ideas for alternative media for reaching students. Goodness, somebody pass me the normality pills. Though I could have done with more content in the Humour at Work seminar. Hell, Miv and I could probably have taken it ourselves! I also managed to fit in visiting my aunt - though why must I always get the one taxi-driver who's been done for GBH, sigh? A fascinating tale indeed and one I shall, no doubt, use later, but I'm beginning to wonder if I wear an invisible sign saying Please tell me your GBH story while I'm in your cab - as I really want to hear it? Hmm, it would explain a lot.

Anyway, this morning, I was up whilst the owls were still hooting (and I know because I heard them) ready for my radio interview on BBC Southern Counties with the very kind Fred Marden. What with taking four calming pills and two Rescue Remedy sprays, I was relatively calm (shock!) and actually I really enjoyed it - which was mainly, I suspect, thanks to Fred for making me genuinely feel it was just a conversation between me and him. Quite a feat when there's a huge green microphone a millimetre away from my mouth, which would have gone with my eyes if they hadn't been red-rimmed and thoroughly bagged-up at the time. Well, it was early, you know. So I am no longer a Radio Virgin, hurrah! And when I got back Lord H said it sounded fine, so that's a relief. I always fear that my Essex twang will take over on these occasions and I will feel the urge to dance round my handbag - a scary thought indeed.

For the rest of the day, I have napped (ah, sleep - blissful!) and popped into see Gladys - though I didn't stay long as she was at the hospital this morning and was quite exhausted, poor thing. I've also managed to squeeze out 500 words to The Bones of Summer and it seems to be going off in a rather unusual direction. So I've decided to go with it and see what happens. I fear there'll be more traumas ahead, so I'd best fasten my seatbelt and take care on the bends. Good advice for life, indeed.

Today's nice things:

1. The radio interview
2. Napping
3. Writing.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website
Goldenford Publishers' site - for the moment ...

Reviews and the web

Delighted to see that Alex Beecroft, author of Captain's Surrender (a high-octane fun read!) has put a review of A Dangerous Man on the US Amazon site - and as they don't stock it, here's the review:

“A gorgeously written, tense and creepy book, combining a love story and an artist's passion for his work into a force that makes the narrator of the book a very dangerous man. Not for those who like their fiction fluffy, this is a real work of literature.”

Thanks, Alex! And I was trying so hard to be fluffy ... ah well.

And talking of Amazon, I gather that they're having a serious crackdown on small publishers who use POD (print-on-demand) technology - which probably explains why so few of our Goldenford books are ever in stock on Amazon these days, and also why Thorn in the Flesh has never been in stock there. Interestingly, my test request for a copy from Amazon UK is now over one month old and still shown as outstanding on my account - yet I've heard nothing from them. Even though they can get it within only a few days from Gardners UK (book stockists and distributors). I fear that the little people are once again about to be shafted by the big conglomerates. Honestly, it really pisses me off - so much for individual choice, eh. Buggers. UPDATE: Gosh how weird - Amazon have just emailed me saying they are still trying to obtain a copy of Thorn in the Flesh for me and do I still want it? Um, yes. Actually I do. Get off your arses and send an email to Gardners, you idjits!!! Ye gods, how thick can one company get??!

Anyway, for most of the day, I've been slogging away updating the old Goldenford site and I think that - with Lord H's valuable help - I am now almost there. I just need to sort one or two of the book covers out, upload the PayPal details, work out a transfer schedule and we're done. I hope! Actually, I've thoroughly enjoyed doing it - computer creativity is a marvellous thing - but it's utterly exhausting too.

I've also packed my bags for next week's AUA conference - that's the Association of University Administrators, for the 99.9% of you not in the know on that one. I'm off bright & early tomorrow to York and don't get back till Wednesday evening. Depending on the traffic. Am also hoping to go and see my aunt while I'm up there - when we will spend a lot of time not talking about my writing, as that part of the family find it so terribly unsettling. I think the poor thing is still in shock at having tried to read A Dangerous Man - so she's going to find Thorn in the Flesh even more startling, I'm sure!

Anyway, as I'm away for a few days, I hope the beginning of your weeks are all as good as possible, and I'll be back blogging on Thursday - if I recover from my breakfast radio interview in time, that is!

This week's haiku:

In the slate-grey day
the road is full of bridges.
They whisper secrets.


Today's nice things:

1. Alex's review of A Dangerous Man
2. Website creativity
3. Haikus.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website
The old Goldenford site

Conferences and contracts

Just back from the conference (http://www.writersconference.co.uk) now, so sorry about the lack of blogging - I've been shattered when I got home each night and unable to do anything but crawl across the floor to bed, let alone place my fingers on the keyboard. I'll give you a quick run-down of events (and, my goodness, what events there are!):

Friday:

I spent most of the day (wo)manning the Goldenford (http://www.goldenford.co.uk) stall. I was supposed to go on one of the all-day courses, but Jennifer unfortunately couldn't help me due to personal matters - have to admit I wasn't that bothered as the course I'd originally wanted to go on - writing about weather - had been cancelled, and I wasn't greatly interested in the one I was put on instead. And actually, I had a good day. Managed to sell four books (good for a Writers Conference: writers don't want to buy other books on the whole, as they simply want to sell theirs, understandably), including a copy of Pink Champagne and Apple Juice, and two of A Dangerous Man (http://www.flamebooks.com). I also had a one-to-one appointment with a publisher, who shall remain nameless (ye gods, am I being tactful at last?? Surely not!...) but who was basically sweet but bland, and totally unhelpful. I also had lots of good conversations with fellow bookstall people, which was great.

In the evening, I did the first part of the poetry workshop with Phil Carradice, who's a great poet and a totally inspirational tutor. So I managed to write two new poems, which I shall clean up later, but which I'm very happy with - hurrah!

Saturday:

Again, I had booked onto several smaller poetry seminars throughout the day, but actually I only really felt up to coping with the stall stuff, and selling books, so in the end I didn't go on any of them. Managed to sell another copy of A Dangerous Man, and more of our other Goldenford books, which was great. ADM went to Diane (am I getting that right, Diane?) who came up to me and said she read my blog regularly and wanted to buy the book - so a great big thank you for that, Diane - it really made my day! Also had lots of good conversation with other stall people, including the marvellous Jacqueline Gabbitas from The Poetry School and Writewords (http://www.writewords.org.uk) and who also edits "Brittle Star" poetry magazine. Lovely to meet you in the flesh at last, Jacqueline! Also had interesting talks with Lesley Horton (crime author) and Phil Carradice (poet - see above!), and other authors. Which means that I can name-drop for months on the stories I could tell - hurrah. Jo Gambi, author of Holding On, also shared our stall - and it was really good to meet her too. She certainly attracted some trade for us! So thanks, Jo.

In the afternoon, the Goldenford girls arrived, but I didn't do any seminars anyway, as I think I'd lost the urge to by then. And it was nice being on the stall and chatting. However, I did have a really good one-to-one appointment with Alex Bonham of Hodder (see, I'm really good at name-dropping now!) who said she loved what I'd sent in of Thorn in the Flesh, and could I send more. Hurrah! There's a first for me, eh? I was on a high for the rest of the day about that, but must admit to being brought down to earth later on when my agent (http://www.johnjarrold.co.uk) told me that Alex's boss at Hodder had in fact already rejected Thorn. Sigh! Ah well. Still, he's going to talk to Alex on Monday anyway, just in case ... And at least he can't complain that I'm not networking! I also had a third one-to-one with an editor, which was interesting in terms of general women's issues and writing but, frankly, rather a waste of time in terms of my specific work.

I'd also entered the competitions run by the conference - much to my shame, I didn't even get shortlisted for my poem (deep sigh!), but was Highly Commended in the novel competition for The Gifting. Hurrah! And - great news indeed - Jackie from Goldenford (http://freespace.virgin.net/jackie.luben/) won 2nd prize with Tainted Tree. Many congrats, Jackie - I screamed when your name was read out! Never say I'm not a consummate professional, eh?...

Ooh, and really exciting news - when I got home, I discovered that US publishers, PD Publishing (http://www.pdpublishing.com), want to publish Maloney's Law. Ye gods, and crack open the champagne!! I had to read the bloody email three times before I believed it. They're a small GLBT publisher, so I hope it goes ahead. I've sent it along to John (agent) for him to deal with and I'm praying (yes, even me ...) that it all goes well - as I must admit that last time I gave an agent (a different one) an interested publisher to handle, they lost me the deal and then dumped me - so I am on serious, stressed-out tenterhooks ...

Sunday:

Went to the second part of the poetry workshop with Phil Carradice today - again, very inspirational and I've written another poem. Hurrah! Just about to have lunch with Lord H now (who's been, during the weekend, to visit a tank museum and look at lots of birds). Never say our lives are not exciting here in the shires ...

Tonight, I'm going to chill, watch the video of "Dr Who", and later on there's "Rome". Bliss.

Oh and here's a haiku:

Spaces crowd my head
where a map should go: flummoxed
by geography.

Nice things:

1. Alex Bonham's reaction to Thorn
2. PD Publishing's offer on M's L
3. Writing poetry.

Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.pinkchampagneandapplejuice.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk

Counselling and conference prep

Had counselling with Kunu today - felt really hyper and twitchy during it. Talked at a speed of about six zillion knots and kept switching wildly from subject to subject. So no surprises there then. But I'm astonished the poor woman kept up at all. I think it's the busy-ness of the week and the huge busy-ness of the weekend and week to come that's making me feel like a mad foaming horse. Or is that dogs? Anyway, you know what I mean. I'm sure though that in the first five minutes alone of our session, I touched on dyspraxia, my hatred of parties and large groups of people, the space in my brain where a map should be, publishing, Shakespeare, work, how overwhelmed I feel if there's more than one thing to do at breakfast and how simply getting fruit juice and bowls onto a tray in the morning is often an exercise in logistics. Which sometimes defeats me. Is it just me, or do other people feel that often they're simply hacking their way through the undergrowth of their own lives, with no real idea of what the direction might be, and every so often another gap that might be another path appears, and while you're out hacking away at that one, the original one gets overgrown again?... Oh. Yes, it is just me then. Sorry.

Whilst shooting quick-fire words at Kunu, it did strike me that my actual emotional connections to people are few and far between. Possibly the only really key people in my life thus far have been (a) my father and (b) Lord H. With a rather dreadfully long gap in between. Poor old Lord H - what on earth did he do to deserve this, eh?! Ah well, at least he gets his shirts ironed and gets to be married to an emotional hermit. Which has to have its advantages, one would think.

Post-counselling, I popped in to see Gladys - as I just couldn't bear the thought of going home and then having to go out again. Horror! Today, and with a weekend ahead of not being at home to consider, once I'm in, I'm in. Gladys was quite lively today - she complained that nobody sees her, but actually she's had three visitors during the week, and has a weekend with her niece to look forward to, plus a trip to the library next week. Sounds way too busy to a party-hater like me. I'd be exhausted and lying adrift on the sofa after all that. And even while I was there, two other people turned up, so really it was much like Piccadilly Circus on a Saturday afternoon. To my mind.

This afternoon, I have finished off a short story I started yesterday - well, it's more of a mix between story and fact. And I've done a little (a very little) to The Bones of Summer. I've got to a section where I have to put Craig and Paul in Alexandra Palace, and I always find description difficult - I have to really work on it. Lordy, but it would be nice if writing got easier, but I'm afraid it doesn't! I've also packed boxes ready for this weekend's conference (http://www.writersconference.co.uk) and worried about if I'll get there at the right time, if I'll be able to set up the table all right, how hyper I might be if people ask me something, and how nasty the publishers I'm seeing will be. In my experience, that could be pretty nasty then! But never mind, I have the memory of Ansley's (http://www.myspace.com/ansley_vaughan) review of A Dangerous Man to see me through - and the knowledge that 2 or 3 people have actually ordered it because of that. Thanks again, Ansley!

I've also practised my poetry reading for next week's meeting for the Writewords (http://www.writewords.org.uk) London Literary Circle. Again. Lordy, but I'm sure I'm doing it differently each time. Must remember to take calming pills to work with me that day - will never survive without them!

Oh and I think my underarm problem is triggered by deodorant with alcohol in it. I'm back to using Lord H's again, which doesn't have alcohol, and things seem better. I hope to goodness I'm not scratching like a deranged monkey all through the ruddy conference. That'll certainly put a dampener on my attempts to sell books and look like a normal writer, ho ho.

Tonight, I'm going to watch my video of "Will and Grace", and there's always "My Name is Earl" on later on. But I'd better aim for a relatively early night, what with the conference coming up. I'll be way too hyper to sleep much during the weekend.

As I'm not back (please God let the car work this time so I can actually get back!) till very late tomorrow night - I never stay at the conference as I'm pulled always by my overwhelming desire to get home - I won't blog again till Saturday. So have a great Friday, all!

Today's nice things:

1. Counselling
2. Writing
3. TV.

Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.pinkchampagneandapplejuice.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk

Conferences, bullfinches and champagne

We filled up all the available buckets and pans with water last night as Southern Water had promised us a drought between 1-6am today while they did something peculiar with our system. As last time they switched us off, it took nearly 3 days to return (though to be fair we were warned about it), I wasn’t convinced. But more fool me – the water was back to normal at 6.30am, so I take all my grumbles back. However, we now have buckets of water we don’t know what to do with (we don’t have a garden), and it seems a shame to waste it. Ah well.

My delegate information for the Winchester Writers Conference (http://www.writersconference.co.uk) arrived yesterday – I’m on the courses I wanted (mainly poetry ones) and I also seem to have got the three one-to-ones with publishers I was looking for too. Ye gods, how brave – and foolish! – I am. Though, no doubt, by the time I get there, they’ll have read my offerings and downgraded me to the rank of unmarketable no-hoper to be seen by one of their own authors. At least, that’s what usually happens. I am after all the definitive Z-list author – I couldn’t possibly catch a sniff of any upgrade, surely … Still, in a remarkable display of hope over much painful experience (for which I should at the very least be given a knighthood – perhaps Sir Rushdie’s will do?), I’ll be taking along Thorn in the Flesh, as it’s probably my most accessible unpublished work. Ho ho. Well, it’s got a (fairly) straight female lead. Which is rare for me in the serious stuff, I have to say.

Anyway, this morning, I was much cheered by the sight of a male bullfinch flying into next door’s tree, followed I think by Mrs Bullfinch, though I couldn’t quite make her out. Such is the place of women indeed. So I’m going to have to rush home tonight, and listen to the “bullfinch” track on the birdsong CD. However, Lord H says bullfinches are rather quiet, from memory, so much like husbands then. Ooh! Here’s a haiku. Early too, how nice! It will save so much time and frantic breakfast scrabbling for words at the weekend …

In one respect only
are bullfinches like husbands:
they don’t say much.


No idea if it’s true in the bird-world as we haven’t checked the CD yet, but heck I like it anyway.

Today, I typed up more minutes at work – this time it was the Mentoring Board stuff – it was heavy going yesterday, so I hope I can raise the energy levels for it today. Plus I popped into town at lunchtime to get Mother’s anniversary present, which is coming up fast. Hope she’ll be well enough for it – it would be such a shame if she wasn’t, particularly as she’s had to rely on Marriage Number Two to get her to the grand old 25 years’ spliced category. Dad pegged out too soon, dammit … She’s never really forgiven him for that, you know. Sometimes, we Essex Women (though Mother is only an Honorary EW, being really from The North …) just want an excuse to get our silverware for free.

Oh, and I’m wearing my nice dusky pink soft jacket from Per Una today – and Andrea has already said how nice it is. And yesterday, I wore my soft stripy blue one, and she liked that too. I’m obviously having a Good Clothes Week. Hurrah! Believe me, that rarely happens.

Ruth popped in this afternoon, between exams, and looking frazzled, poor thing. Only one more to go though and she’ll be free, hurrah! Exams – don’t think I could ever do those again. It would be too much like revisiting my past (yukk!), though I have to say that up until very recently, the onset of summer did make me go twitchy (well, twitchier than normal) at the related thought of revision. Horrors.

And good news on the Pink Champagne and Apple Juice front! Sue & Frank (thank you both!) have updated the site at http://www.pinkchampagneandapplejuice.com to include lots more film actors for the different roles. I particularly loved the idea of Alexei Sayle as Mr Sanguini – a stroke of genius indeed! Do pop by and have a look – you won’t regret it!

Tonight, Lord H is doing the shopping, and I’m hoping to get some more done to The Bones of Summer. Up to 4000 words now. If I get to 5000 words, it’ll almost seem like starting a new novel, rather than fiddling around with scenes and shiny new characters and generally pretending to be a writer. And then if I get to 10,000 words, I’ll know I’ve begun in earnest. On the other hand, I also really need to catch up on last week’s video of “My Name is Earl” sometime. Such a great series!

And we’re having chicken & chips for dinner – bliss! Chips, hmm …

Today’s nice things:

1. The bullfinch sighting
2. The Pink Champagne site update
3. Getting compliments for clothes!!

Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.pinkchampagneandapplejuice.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk

A medley of writing thoughts

The very talented Amanda Mann (http://fessingauthor.blogspot.com) has put a fascinating series of questions on her blog today, and invited me to answer them too - which I'll try to the best of my ability. I'm not a great believer in the concept of "tagging", but if there's anyone else out there who'd like to answer them too, feel free to have a go!

1. Do you outline?
Not if I can help it would be my usual answer - but my agent (http://www.johnjarrold.co.uk) made me do it for The Gifting, and actually it's helped. Probably because it's fantasy, therefore a genre I haven't tackled before and also much longer than my usual projects.

2. Do you write straight through a book, or do you sometimes tackle the scenes out of order?
Straight through on the whole. But I do dot about every now and again.

3. Do you prefer writing with a pen or using a computer?
Always pen for poetry. Usually straight to computer for novels (though, again, the last fifth of The Gifting has been done by pen first).

4. Do you prefer writing in first person or third?
First person for my gay male protagonists; third person for my straight or bisexual women.

5. Do you listen to music while you write?
Never. It's just too distracting.

6. How do you come up with the perfect names for your characters?
By guesswork and trying things out. For Maloney's Law, I did ask my husband for a good solid surname for my main character, Paul, and he suggested "Cole" - as he thought a novel entitled "Cole's Law" would be a bestseller. Hmm, so much for marital support, eh?!...

7. When you're writing, do you ever imagine your book as a television show or movie?
Sometimes. The scenes always happen in my head like a film as I write them down. Afterwards, I fantasise about which people would be best to play which parts. For more of that, see http://www.pinkchampagneandapplejuice.com and click onto the Film section!

8. Have you ever had a character insist on doing something you really didn't want him/her to do?
Yes. Or, rather, they've taken the book in different directions and I'm more than happy to give them their head.

9. Do you know how a book is going to end when you start it?
No. I like a surprise! Sometimes, I do write a quasi-ending fairly early on (I like something to aim for ...) but I always change it when I get there.

10. Where do you write?
At the computer in the spare room; on the sofa in the living room; on holiday; at work; on trains; sometimes on the loo in the middle of the night when I've wanted some privacy! Dont' we all?

11. What do you do when you get writer's block?
Panic. Attempt to do something different in another genre to kick myself out of it.

12. What size increments do you write in (either in terms of wordcount, or as a percentage of the book as a whole)?
I used to go for 2000 words on a clear day, but I've scaled that down to about 500-1000 now.

13. How many different drafts did you write for your last project?
One so far! I've just finished (hurrah! hurrah!) the first draft of The Gifting at 123,000 words and am preparing to start the edit now.

14. Have you ever changed a character's name midway through a draft?
Once only - with my first novel.

15. Do you let anyone read your book while you're working on it, or do you wait until you've completed a draft before letting someone else see it?
I take the start of my work to Guildford Writers Group (http://www.guildfordwriters.net) and also upload sections to the Writewords site (http://www.writewords.org.uk). Comments received are very helpful indeed.

16. What do you do to celebrate when you finish a draft?
Eat chocolate. Crack open the champagne.

17. One project at a time, or multiple projects at once?
Usually one novel at a time (unless they overlap towards the end of one and the start of another), but I also write flash fiction and poetry to get a writing balance and to give myself a boost during the longer projects.

18. Do your books grow or shrink in revision?
Shrink.

19. Do you have any writing or critique partners?
Not really. But see Question 15. It's a very private matter, I think.

20. Do you prefer drafting or revising?
Both can be fun, but revising is when you can really get your teeth into it. Hold on, Simon - I've got The Gifting in my sights now so you'll soon be rather more polished than you currently are!!...


So, there you go. Hope you enjoyed the brief run-through of Brooke's Writing Style. I certainly did!

Other things that have happened today (apart from finishing the first draft of The Gifting - did I mention that?...) include Sean at Flame Books (http://www.flamebooks.com) contacting me to say that he knows that A Dangerous Man needs a more proactive marketing push on their behalf and he's hoping to rectify this over the coming weeks. That'll be good (says she!) but I wait to see what plans he might come up with. Now that he's seen that I'm being proactive on the internet marketing front, I'm hoping it might be matched by Flame, so I've given him some ideas - and I'm hoping that will come to fruition.

I've also put together my novel submissions (all Thorn in the Flesh, as I think it's probably my most easily marketable work) for the Annual Writers' Conference (http://www.writersconference.co.uk) one-to-ones with publishers and will post them off later today or tomorrow - apparently I'll be seeing Alex Bonham from Hodder & Stoughton, Katie Elspiner from Transworld, and novelist and ex-Darley Anderson agent, Lucie Whitehouse. I'm hoping against hope that they'll be more pleasant than the two (very well-known) agents I saw in my first conference who told me I was unpublishable, unmarketable and unreadable. Bollocks to those two, I say - they obviously have no idea about quality! But I'm hoping that the people I see this year won't be as rude or curt as they usually are at these things - after all, we pay good money for these conferences; we deserve decent treatment at least.

Oh, and I've just finished Jodi Picoult's Keeping Faith. The usual Picoult brilliance. I loved it! A great and clever ending too. More please (though as Picoult writes about a novel a month, that won't be too hard a task for her to fulfill ...)!

Tonight, Lord H and I are going to see "Skin Tight" (drama with nudity, I think - hurrah!) at the Mill Theatre in Guildford tonight, so that'll put smiles on our faces for sure. Best make sure I set the video for "The Last Detective" before we go.

Today's nice things:

1. Finishing the first draft of The Gifting (did I say that already??...)
2. Thinking about my writing methods
3. The Picoult book.

Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk

The squeezed-out conference attender

Well, I'm back from the AUA (http://www.aua.ac.uk) conference up in Nottingham and feel like a squeezed-out sponge. It was well worth going, but these things are always very intensive and it's great to be back.

This isn't going to be a huge blog, I'm afraid (thank God, you all cry!), as I can barely keep my eyes open, and I still have to (a) wash up Lord H's sausage & chips supper (yummy) and (b) unpack. Not to mention the mountain of post to deal with - oh well, there's always tomorrow.

Highlights of the conference: getting an Easter egg as a goodie bag in the second seminar; actually bringing it home unwrapped for Lord H to share with me; having chocolate cheesecake for dinner on the first evening; seeing lambs in the fields next to the M1. Lambs with black legs and white bodies, no less. Ye gods, it must be Easter.

Oh, and a couple of times during the conference I think I almost sounded like a professional. But not for long, I fear.

And I've come back to a lovely review of "A Stranger's Table" (http://www.poetrymonthly.com) by Anna Avebury of the Ver Poets Society, as below:

“In this collection, the poet reveals a striking awareness of the power of poetry to enact a ‘strange sea-change’ on the ‘heated substance’ of the reader. The majority of poems are celebrations of the life of the imagination and the senses, skilfully crafted, timely reminders of an aspect of life all too often neglected. A veritable “Ice Dancer” herself, Anne Brooke communicates ‘the danger, the explosion/of words/into ice’. She explores the inner world of personal relationships with an acute awareness of its complexity and is able to share these insights in poems, which are richly sensuous. Nor does she neglect the mundane: “Calling” describes a fridge door crammed with telephone numbers and messages; although she finds the ‘net of community’ ‘unforgiving’ and ‘beyond our calling.’ “Things I fold away” lists not only the obvious ‘briefs, bras, (into nests) … socks, jumpers …’ but also ‘my history, silences … your disapproval … resentment, irritations …’ And ultimately, ‘life’. The last poem in the collection, “The cat’s response to yellow”, captures the elusive nature of inspiration and its transformation into art, leaving the reader pondering the experience of ‘the echo of yellow air.’”

That's kept the smile well and truly on my face.

Oh, and before I left, I finished the poem on Marat:

The Death of Marat: The Studio of Jacques-Louis David

One pale arm hangs down,
gripping a quill
with which he might have written mercy,
while the other holds the letter
that condemned him,
making the unseen woman
a murderess
and him a martyr.

High upon his body,
almost at the collarbone,
a thin trail of blood
trickles down over white skin
to the bath he ran to soothe it.

His head, wrapped in cream cloth,
rests on the nearest shoulder,
eyes closed in peace,
lips half-smiling
as if only asleep
or dreaming.

In line with the tilt of his face,
the woman’s knife lies
abandoned,
his life’s blood still staining
its ivory handle.

And, above,
only the vast, uncharted dark
hangs waiting.


Today's nice things:

1. Coming home
2. The review
3. Lambs.

Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk

Golf & some small successes

Some good news this morning - the Bird and Moon 55 word website (http://www.birdandmoon.com/55words/) has nominated my 55-word fiction, "When the phone rang", for their Readers' Choice category awards, and you can find the story here:

http://www.birdandmoon.com/55words/readerschoice.html

under the February category. If you like it, please vote by 20 April! Many thanks! It's nice being shortlisted for a Readers' Choice in anything - a first for me indeed.

And I see also that the Momtazi website (http://www.momtazi.com) has now published my poem, "One small song", in their writers' gallery section, and you can find it here: http://www.momtazi.com/Gallery/index.php?do=poem&action=cat&cat=3. Heck, that feels nice too!

This morning has also been marked by a lazy lie-in and our complete non-attendance at the Palm Sunday service. Hell, I don't feel guilty at all. Which, I suppose, must be progress of a sort. I'm still intending to grace the church doors with my presence next week at Easter though - so I hope nobody keels over with the shock.

The majority of the day has been spent playing a wonderful round of golf with Marian & Siegi - though Siegi can't play very much at the moment due to recovering from a recent shoulder operation, though he did manage a few shots on the walk round with us. But we were not too bad at all, especially off the tee. Though I seem to have perfected my trick putting shot of going round the hole a couple of times before actually dropping in. Now if only I could work out how I'm actually achieving that, I could probably make a fortune. Hey ho. Lunch at Marian's was also very pleasant - and I've also been very brave (pause for astonished gasps and the odd cheer) as when the subject of church came up (which it sometimes does in their company though they're not church-goers), I admitted that I'm having something of a break from it. Lord, but I felt brave - it's quite rare for me to tell the truth when a social lie would be so much easier. Maybe I'm discovering a personal morality at last? Goodness, but my mother will be pleased. Anyway, we had a short discussion about it, and they were surprised but sweet, so I've lived to tell the tale. Phew.

Tonight, I'll have to finish packing for my three day conference in Nottingham next week (Monday to Wednesday) and then I have a slump in front of "Persuasion" on TV planned. It's my favourite Austen novel, I think, so they'd better do it well. It's got some hot boy chick (whose name I have forgotten - Rupert Somebody or Other? - but I can't be arsed to get off my ... um ... arse and check it out, sorry) in the role of her long-lost lover, so if I don't like the production at least I can admire the totty. Hurrah.

If I get a moment, I might well also start scribbling a poem about one of the paintings I saw at the Royal Academy exhibition on Friday, as I can feel the ideas quivering under my skin (yes, it's weird, I know but it's the closest description I can find to how I feel ...), but I doubt I'll finish it tonight. Which will be irritating as I usually like to finish a poem on the day I start it, or I get twitchy. Gosh, that's me well and truly out of my poetry writing closet, isn't it? Usually, when the poets I go to listen to start talking about how many weeks they've spent on their verses, I nod wisely and look sympathetic - but to be honest I haven't a fecking clue what they're talking about. If I haven't finished a first draft in an hour and polished it enough for public comment and advice after another hour, then I lose the will to live. I may well change stuff around later, of course, depending on comments received and my own instincts, but it's really only fiddling. Get 'em out, get 'em written, get 'em filed is what I say. As you can see, I have many hidden poetic shallows ...

Talking of which, here's this week's haiku (which I suspect is more of a thought I'll expand on into a larger poem later, so just call it a marker poem):

The Death of Marat:
One pale arm hangs down,
eyes contemplate peace while
the bloodied bath grows still.

Oh, and as I'll be away from Monday to Wednesday, I won't be blogging till Wednesday night, but I hope the start of all your weeks is as good as possible!

Today's nice things:

1. Being in the running for a Readers' Choice
2. Online publication of a poem
3. Golf.

Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk