Nuns, pens and plants

Book News:

Great news today! My children's book, The Origami Nun, has been accepted by Scottish Press, Karabeth Publishing, and I've sent the contract back to them just now. I'm really pleased about that, and am very much looking forward to working with them.

At the same time, I've returned the final proofs of gay short story Where You Hurt The Most to Riptide Publishing, and ARCs (Advance Review Copies) will be sent out to a variety of places over the next few days. I hope people enjoy the read.

And don't forget it's the LAST FEW DAYS of the five ebook giveaway of fantasy novel The Gifting at LibraryThing. The final day is 29 April, so don't miss out. There are now 63 people entering - for which many thanks - and I wonder if we can make it to 65. That would be great. Thank you. Other nice news is that literary paranormal short story The Girl in The Painting was earlier this week at No 11 in the Amazon UK short story charts, so thank you for that as well.

Meanwhile, there is still 30% discount off ALL my Untreed Reads ebooks direct from the publisher - so shop early shop often. Because there's only ONE DAY left on that offer ...

At Vulpes Libris Reviews, I find little to keep my attention in P.D. James' mishmash of a novel, Death Comes to Pemberley. Sigh. It just doesn't work, and I was really rather hoping it would. Oh well.

This week's meditations are:


Meditation 644
All that we are and do
recorded in the unchanging
book of our lives,
written on the skin

when our greatest need
is an interpreter
to measure with grace
the truth which lies within.




Meditation 645
There are times
when the seduction
of sin

is more than enough
to tempt
the devil in

but when the joys
we grasped at
are no more

then we are left
in a far worse state
than before.




Meditation 646
The slow grace
of returning
to the place
we started

is a gift
to make the birds sing
and all the stars
take wing.


Life News:

Happy St George's Day for 23 April! I hope you all had a great day and were kind to the dragon. As it were. In celebration, here's a rather scary photo of me and my fluffy pens at the office. Always the professional, that's me, eh ... Well, maybe in my dreams.

Lots of nature news this week. I've spotted a couple of sparrows on our apple tree, which is wonderful - as they're the first sparrows I've seen in Elstead. I hope they come back.

Plus we've taken delivery of another set of plants for potting on and then getting into the garden as and when. This time, we have five cuphea ignea (which I love) and five opium poppies (which K loves). So the perfect combination for something - but who knows what!

Anne Brooke
The Gathandria Fantasy Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK

Saved by the National Trust

Ye gods, but going to church on Easter Sunday was a bloody mistake. I knew the moment I walked in to be faced by countless hordes of people that I really should have stayed at home and - if my mood felt good and the wind was in the right direction - had a few private moments with God. Instead, I had to run the gauntlet of the service whilst wishing I was as many miles away as possible. God only knows why I felt like that - and please don't ask me to explain it as I don't think I can - but I do.

Maybe the basic fact is I'm not sure I really like - or can trust - any of the people there right now (apart from Lord H of course), and if I can't relate to the church people around me, then it's a zillion times harder under those circumstances to relate to God. Add to that the fact that the service was taken by our old vicar - a fly-by-night non-people person if ever I saw one - and you can imagine the scenario. I think that if the new vicar - Paul - had taken the service then I might even have made it to communion. As it was, I stayed put in the pew as if glued to the ruddy seat - and Lord H stayed with me, which he didn't have to do as I would have been fine if he'd gone up to communion and I hadn't, but his notions of marital loyalty were running high. Which in a way was nice, so far be it from me to complain - except that now I'm convinced that the church believes I'm leading my husband down the primrose path to paganism and sin. (Lord H's response to this: oh goody, when does that start?).

Also, I'm not sure, but does not taking communion at Easter mean I am flung from the church without hope of reprieve? No idea really - and I can't say that right now I'm bothered either way. However, I suspect that I won't be darkening the doors of St Peter's for quite a while now. Make of that what you will. Meanwhile, the call of the Quakers becomes ever more enticing ...

After making good our escape from the arms of the Lord (complete with 2 chocolate eggs for Lord H and me - hell, we bloody well deserve it! - and I ate four more mini ones while I was there), we nipped home for a quick turn-round before heading off to visit the newly-opened National Trust property of Hinton Ampner - in Hampshire.

It was bliss. Bloody hell, but walking round that house, gardens and shop was the most peaceful I've felt for a long time. The weather was perfect, and there weren't many people around. Also the stewards didn't leap up and confront us (National Trust stewards are, unfortunately, rather prone to that kind of behaviour), so we could wander round, stare at stuff and just take the whole thing in. Only the ground floor is open, but it's a marvellously soothing mix of beauty and lived-inness (is that even a word? Hell, you know what I mean). And the gardens were lovely - beautiful views over Hampshire, and the occasional waft of scent. Plus a rather fetching yellow butterfly that followed us around, and a small bird that looked like a linnet, but probably wasn't. And I bought two chocolate mice in the shop (the reliable provision of chocolate mice is one of the NT's many strengths indeed), and a new fluffy pen to add to my work collection. Though, to be honest, it was more curly than fluffy. And vibrantly orange too. Hurrah!

Then home for a late lunch, and an evening watching DVDs, I hope - as there's nothing on TV really, though we might watch some of the golf. And we've also managed to get the cleaning done, and check the car tyres, water etc, as well as make a shopping list, so I am brimming with domestic nobility.

This week, I've done two haikus, as they were both nagging at me, so here they are:

The first for Simon and my attempts to finish The Gifting:

The end of the novel:
Last two scenes to go:
my pen drags over the page,
trailing blood and hope.

And, in response to the very hairy emu at Birdworld yesterday ...

The emu stalks me,
splayed claws poised for the attack:
a thatched roof on legs.

Today's nice things:

1. Hinton Ampner
2. Chocolate mice
3. Lord H.

Happy Easter to all.

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

Ratings and rejections

Another day with an okay centre and a bloody bad ending. Ye gods, you'd think I'd be used to it by now - but no. Still at least all the crap is firming up my decision not to put my next novel out to the commercial marketplace. Believe me, it's not worth the hassle. I think these days I'd most definitely advise any halfway decent writer to self-publish or set up their own company with like-minded friends, and give the whole bloody commercial (ha! so-called) publishing world a wide berth.

Anyway, the day started sensibly enough - I spent most of it typing up the minutes I took last week at the Nursery Management Group meeting, and sorting out the boss's idiosyncratic meeting arrangements. Note to bosses everywhere: it really is far better if you just let your secretary do the organising. You don't have any abilities in this field. Trust me. And the normal grey hell of Monday took on a brighter hue as Ruth, one of my colleagues, had brought me a spare chocolate Santa left over from Christmas. Bliss indeed. Mind you, I worry about Ruth - how can anyone have "spare" chocolate? It's a mystery. But I'm not complaining, as it was two minutes of pure pleasure while I ate it.

At lunchtime, I sauntered round the lake and stared at the birds, trying to decide which was a coot and which a moorhen. Had to google it back at my desk in the end, and I now have the definitive answer: those with white beaks are coots and those with red beaks are moorhens. So now you know. And talking of birds, we have finally decided that the wonderfully lyrical bird which performs each day at 4pm outside the office window is definitely a blackbird. We checked the BBC birdsong site to find out, and it's an almost perfect match. Another mystery solved - hurrah!

And Stephanie at the Health Centre has brought me back a kiwi in a snowstorm from her trip home to New Zealand. Marvellous! I can now add it to my snowstorm/fluffy pen collection. Never say I don't have a mission in life. I also have the Holy Family in a snowstorm, and the old Pope too - so I think the kiwi will add essential secular gravitas to the desk.

Some good news on the Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk) front - my rating on "Pink Champagne and Apple Juice" has shot up to be only 5 figures today, so some wonderful person must have bought it. A thousand blessings upon you, and please God you enjoy it, whoever you are. I shall bask in the temporary glory to the full as, no doubt, next week I shall be back to my usual six figure rating. Ah well. And speaking of potential misery, those no-good bastards (I speak only of my opinion of course ...) at Two Ravens Press (now to be known as Two Bastards Press - and no I'm not giving you the web address as I really can't be arsed) have rejected "Maloney's Law" on the grounds that it's not literary enough for them, even though they think it's an exciting read and a good thriller. Well, up your arses then, TR(B)P - oh sorry, I see there's a broom handle already up there. That'll explain your narrow-minded stiffness. I'll say it again - bastards. Which means there's only one more publisher considering M's L now, and I utterly refuse to send it out anywhere else, as I really seriously can't take any more bloody grief about it. I've chased that particular publisher today and if they say no then I'll try Goldenford (http://www.goldenford.co.uk) to see if the gang might want to consider it. Because when push comes to shove, I'm really not being beaten by these bloody narrow-minded commercial publishers who are too much up their own arses to give a good novel a chance. Oh, if I had any power, I'd make sure they all go to the wall and leave room for good, decent novels to see the light of the day, rather than the unreadable crap they make us put up with. You heard it here first - so watch this space.

Today's nice things:

1. See above for any - sorry, but I'm too angry and pissed off to do this tonight.

Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com

Lunch with strangers and Radio 4 photos

Did more to the work website today and eked (eeked?!) out the time. It's been puzzling me recently that I've changed my earring routine (I think I have earrings on the brain at the moment). I usually change them each day and go for the dangly ones, but lately I've been going for studs 'n' pearls. And more lately still just keeping in the same old boring gold hoops I've had since I was 16. Hmm. Is this laziness, old age or depression? Or is it just that I can't be arsed? It's a mystery. Perhaps in the end I'll give up wearing them at all - much like I gave up wearing mascara last year - and my ears will heal over. This will please Lord H who had a Baptist upbringing and thinks any body piercing is the work of the devil.

Anyway, I had lunch with strangers - one of the gals in the Registry got wind of the fact that I used to work (many, many years ago) for Guildford College and organised a get-together for ex-Guildford College survivors at the University. However, I've been stressing for days that I don't actually know any of the names on the list and I would have to walk into the restaurant (packed full of curious students) and look lost and lonely. How I hate walking into anywhere on my own - it reminds me of always being picked last for whatever sport we happened to be doing in the games lesson at school. Hey, look, Billy-No-Mates - honestly, I should have it emblazoned on my t-shirt. Anyway, in the event, I recognised one of my lunch people after all and we had quite a good time. I do so like my social events to be small (there were only 6 of us) and time-constrained (a lunch-hour only). That constitutes my social inclusion fill for the week. Possibly the month.

This afternoon, I took part in the Radio 4 "PM" Window on Your World project - which involved taking a photo of whatever you happened to be looking at at 5pm and sending it to Radio 4 for collation. For me, this was my work collection of fluffy pens (hell, I have to have my soft side somewhere ...) and my Wuthering Heights mug. Hmm. Maybe I need to get a life? Though, actually, I thought the end result was quite charming and does indeed give a snapshot view into my psyche at 5pm on a work day. Swinging somewhere between ditzy and psychotic. Lovely.

Tonight, it's Guildford Writers (http://www.guildfordwriters.net) and I'm going to be brave and take something to read out this time. Probably. Oh God. Which means I'll need to go to the loo twice before the meeting starts and will feel sick until my part is over. If anyone out there has a confidence pill, please send a year's supply.

Today's nice things:

1. Lunch (surprisingly)
2. Taking my photo (sadly)
3. Guildford Writers (hopefully).

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

Back to work

Groan. No, double groan. Hell, Mondays are bad enough, but after a holiday they're triply bad. As if I've been in heaven for a week and then am pushed back out into the lion's den. But without the two companions. Still, it's over, thank the Lord.

And in purely practical terms, it wasn't that bad - I managed to get up-to-date, with all emails sorted, by the middle of the afternoon, which is saying something. Lord H was less lucky - with 522 emails to deal with and a dodgy computer he had to hit with a spanner, and then a bigger spanner, to persuade into action. Ah, the joys of accountancy. That said, highlights of the day were Julia's emailed words of wisdom and a seriously hot picture of Daniel Craig in the new Bond movie emerging from the waves in a pair of speedos. Bliss. Serious bliss - it's part of my work screensave now - thanks, Julia! And Steph & Monique from the Health Centre have bought me a pair of red and white Christmas fluffy pens to add to my rapidly increasing collection. Thanks, gals - much appreciated!

Tonight, Lord H is doing weddings and funerals at his theology course - not that he can take either, as he's not on the vocational strand, but the theory will be fun. And I've got an evening of entering writing competitions planned - my monthly routine. And later on, it's "New Tricks" on tv. So it's not all bad.

Today's nice things:

1. Daniel Craig photo
2. Fluffy Christmas pens
3. Surviving my first day back.

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