Still sick, my dears, dammit - not a great way to spend Valentine's Day really - though between Lord H and myself, we have gathered together a satisfying collection of books, chocolates, flowers and cards, so we are doing our bit to support the great saint (who apparently is buried in Birmingham, according to the Church Times, and they're never wrong - so there's still time to rush there and pay your respects ...).
And I'm smiling as one of my outstanding publishers has requested the full manuscript for The Bones of Summer, so I've formatted that in the way they specify and sent that off to them last night. Well, gosh - something that isn't a rejection (yet) is always good news. It would be so lovely if I could get the second (and final) part of Paul & Craig's story out into the public domain. I think it deserves an airing and, if I got lucky, it would be my first ever sequel - so a new string to the bow for me.
For most of today (which we had planned to spend worshipping at the Chocolate Festival in Polesdon Lacey, but sadly that's off the menu) I've stared at the television (Friends was fun this morning - how I do love Chandler and Monica; they're so made for each other), done some sudokus and slept. Well, getting up and getting dressed is just sooo exhausting, you know.
I've also uploaded my supernatural short story, Miss Dobson's Angel, to the new Shortbread Short Stories site and you can read it here. You may have to join up but it's free and you get such stalwarts as Alexander McCall Smith strutting his literary wares there, so it has class. Although having me on it as well is probably moving from the sublime to the ridiculous, but hey ho.
Ooh, and I've eaten a small lunch of some sushi, so am just about keeping body and soul together (possibly unlike poor Miss Dobson ...). Plus in a fit of confidence, I've added champagne to the fridge in case I feel up to alcohol tonight. Bloody hell, I'd better do - no Essex Girl has ever refused alcohol except under duress, so I don't want to buck the trend now.
So, whatever you're doing, have a good Valentine's Day and don't forget the most important person to love is yourself. Hell, where did that come from???!! Somebody pass me the bucket - my personality has obviously been swopped ...
Today's nice things:
1. Presents
2. A request for the full MS of Bones
3. TV
4. Sudokus
5. A new short story being available
6. Champagne (whatever my state of health).
Anne Brooke
Anne's Website - has a few tales to tell of its own ...
ANNE BROOKE BOOKS: Independent writer of modern fiction
Showing posts with label presents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label presents. Show all posts
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Birds, books and a Number One slot
Phew. That's over for another year then. Hope all your Christmases were as good as they could possibly be. Lord H and I have had a lovely couple of days, highlights of which included:
1. Visiting the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust at Arundel and having an exceptionally cold walk on Boxing Day. We had to have soup and hot chocolate with cream on to warm up. Well, it's a tough life but hey somebody's got to roll with the punches.
2. Coming back from church on Christmas morning and seeing a small boy walking up the road with a stick. Lord H then commented that some people's ideas of Christmas presents for the family seemed distinctly dodgy this year. However, my feeling was that a stick could only help to strengthen the imagination - after all, with imagination it could be a spear or a sword or a poker to poke people with. Maybe even a javelin. Lord H responded that actually he'd been thinking along the rather less violent lines of a wand to grant people's wishes with - an exchange of ideas which surely shows the difference between us ... Ah well.
3. Spending time with Lord H and not having to see anyone else.
4. Getting some lovely presents, hurrah (and for more on one of them, see below)!
5. On the minus side, my left arm and hand are really playing up at the moment - it's all very achy and stiff, and produces the odd shooting pain if I accidentally twist it the wrong way. Think I might go and see the doctor again next week - I'm hoping my right arm trouble hasn't changed sides and moved over to my left but I'll have to see. Besides of which, I haven't been to the surgery for a couple of weeks or so, and I must therefore be due a visit soon. Hey ho. This is what we pay our taxes for, after all ...
Anyway, today, Lord H and I have travelled up to Marlow to see the glorious and wonderful red kites in the Chilterns as we haven't seen them since last year. They're still as breath-taking as ever. Honestly, watching them in flight and soooo very close too makes our year. Fabulous. On the way there, we also managed to stop off and catch sight of a ruddy shelduck (that's a technical bird name, I hasten to add ...), so that was great too.
Ooh and my lovely nearly sister-in-law very kindly bought me Tania Hershman's short story collection, The White Road and Other Stories (thank you, Sue!) and I've just finished reading that and have therefore posted the following review on Amazon:
"This collection of short stories takes as its theme the edgy and sometimes difficult relationship between humanity and science. There is a great deal of energy about the stories, as well as a strong and distinctive voice. Not all main characters are sympathetic but, then again, they're not meant to be - and each one does have a gripping issue to raise or an arresting tale to tell. My favourites amongst the collection tended to be the longer stories where both character and situation were allowed to live and breathe a little - during some of the shorter/one page tales, I personally felt that interesting scenarios were being unnecessarily curtailed and I would have liked to have known more. It would certainly be fascinating to see some of those very short pieces given a longer life - this author knows how to create character and story, and it's therefore a shame not to use that talent to the full. That said, it's a very worthwhile collection - special mention has to go to the title story, The White Road (a tale of loss, grief and decisive action - and my personal favourite in the book), Heavy Bones (flash fiction about the start of a marriage that really works and shows not all stories have to be sad), On A Roll (where sacrifice brings about hope and the possibility of a new life), and Express (where the mysteries of language uncover a forgotten history). Definitely a thought-provoking read."
So, buy early and buy often, and well done, Tania!
Meanwhile, here's today's meditation poem:
Meditation 32
Only one thing is needed.
Put aside
the hooks and frames,
crossbars, posts and bases
of your life.
Take up only
the sacred, silent garments
of the heart.
It's also been hugely pleasing to see that the eBook of Thorn in the Flesh actually hit the Number One Spot in the US Amazon Gay and Lesbian Fiction reads very briefly on Christmas Day (yes, I was looking, sadly ...) - so I basked happily in an hour of glory before sinking down to my normal unnumbered level. Thank you hugely to those out there who bought it, and I hope you enjoy the read.
Today's nice things:
1. Birds, especially the red kites
2. Books
3. Poetry
4. Laughing with Lord H
5. Thorn having a brief Number One Amazon slot. Well, gosh!...
Anne Brooke
Anne's website - never trust her with a javelin ...
1. Visiting the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust at Arundel and having an exceptionally cold walk on Boxing Day. We had to have soup and hot chocolate with cream on to warm up. Well, it's a tough life but hey somebody's got to roll with the punches.
2. Coming back from church on Christmas morning and seeing a small boy walking up the road with a stick. Lord H then commented that some people's ideas of Christmas presents for the family seemed distinctly dodgy this year. However, my feeling was that a stick could only help to strengthen the imagination - after all, with imagination it could be a spear or a sword or a poker to poke people with. Maybe even a javelin. Lord H responded that actually he'd been thinking along the rather less violent lines of a wand to grant people's wishes with - an exchange of ideas which surely shows the difference between us ... Ah well.
3. Spending time with Lord H and not having to see anyone else.
4. Getting some lovely presents, hurrah (and for more on one of them, see below)!
5. On the minus side, my left arm and hand are really playing up at the moment - it's all very achy and stiff, and produces the odd shooting pain if I accidentally twist it the wrong way. Think I might go and see the doctor again next week - I'm hoping my right arm trouble hasn't changed sides and moved over to my left but I'll have to see. Besides of which, I haven't been to the surgery for a couple of weeks or so, and I must therefore be due a visit soon. Hey ho. This is what we pay our taxes for, after all ...
Anyway, today, Lord H and I have travelled up to Marlow to see the glorious and wonderful red kites in the Chilterns as we haven't seen them since last year. They're still as breath-taking as ever. Honestly, watching them in flight and soooo very close too makes our year. Fabulous. On the way there, we also managed to stop off and catch sight of a ruddy shelduck (that's a technical bird name, I hasten to add ...), so that was great too.
Ooh and my lovely nearly sister-in-law very kindly bought me Tania Hershman's short story collection, The White Road and Other Stories (thank you, Sue!) and I've just finished reading that and have therefore posted the following review on Amazon:
"This collection of short stories takes as its theme the edgy and sometimes difficult relationship between humanity and science. There is a great deal of energy about the stories, as well as a strong and distinctive voice. Not all main characters are sympathetic but, then again, they're not meant to be - and each one does have a gripping issue to raise or an arresting tale to tell. My favourites amongst the collection tended to be the longer stories where both character and situation were allowed to live and breathe a little - during some of the shorter/one page tales, I personally felt that interesting scenarios were being unnecessarily curtailed and I would have liked to have known more. It would certainly be fascinating to see some of those very short pieces given a longer life - this author knows how to create character and story, and it's therefore a shame not to use that talent to the full. That said, it's a very worthwhile collection - special mention has to go to the title story, The White Road (a tale of loss, grief and decisive action - and my personal favourite in the book), Heavy Bones (flash fiction about the start of a marriage that really works and shows not all stories have to be sad), On A Roll (where sacrifice brings about hope and the possibility of a new life), and Express (where the mysteries of language uncover a forgotten history). Definitely a thought-provoking read."
So, buy early and buy often, and well done, Tania!
Meanwhile, here's today's meditation poem:
Meditation 32
Only one thing is needed.
Put aside
the hooks and frames,
crossbars, posts and bases
of your life.
Take up only
the sacred, silent garments
of the heart.
It's also been hugely pleasing to see that the eBook of Thorn in the Flesh actually hit the Number One Spot in the US Amazon Gay and Lesbian Fiction reads very briefly on Christmas Day (yes, I was looking, sadly ...) - so I basked happily in an hour of glory before sinking down to my normal unnumbered level. Thank you hugely to those out there who bought it, and I hope you enjoy the read.
Today's nice things:
1. Birds, especially the red kites
2. Books
3. Poetry
4. Laughing with Lord H
5. Thorn having a brief Number One Amazon slot. Well, gosh!...
Anne Brooke
Anne's website - never trust her with a javelin ...
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Champagne, roses, and my first review!
Valentines Day. Hurrah! Another chance for a small exchange of presents, so Lord H and I had fun opening ours this morning (presents, people, presents …). I bought him two books he wanted, plus chocolates, and in return I also got choccies, plus a fantastic pair of winter golf gloves so my tiny hands are not frozen when I’m swinging. As it were. I’m sure it will make all the difference to the sad state of my game. Talking of presents though, Lord H has told me that Caroline at work received a book on funerals from her husband for her fortieth birthday. Hmm, we have some seriously strange people in Surrey, don't you know ...
Oh, and the Goldenford (http://www.goldenford.co.uk) Gals had a jolly time in our meeting last time – though sadly depleted by the loss of Irene (http://www.myspace.com/ireneblack), who has broken her arm in an altercation with a Waterloo Station gate on the way to see Michael Wood perform. Bummer that it wasn’t after he’d finished his hot totty lecture though. And hope you’re on the mend soon, Irene – we missed you. At the end of the meeting, Jackie (http://www.myspace.com/jackieluben) was telling us that friends of hers who live in Brighton and Hove have renamed “Hove” to “Hove, Actually”. Bliss – in my innocence, I hadn’t heard that one before. Which resulted in a few old chestnut Hove jokes of my own, such as “People will say we’re in Hove”. We’re a highly intellectual and focused set of publishers, as you can see.
Today at work, I’ve done all the changes to the mentoring handbook that I had to do – and now only have to shove in (technical secretarial phrase there – meaning, um, “shove in”) some pretty pictures and read the whole darn thing through again. I’ve also updated the mentoring info on the website, so I almost feel like a useful member of the university society. Almost. And at lunch, I attended the back strengthening torture class (though that isn’t its official title, I have to admit), so have grown another few inches in height. No sign of turning blonde as yet though. Will grey do?
And I am now officially a “Champing-at-the-Bit Author” – Wayne (http://www.myspace.com/wblackhurst) at Myspace has received his delivery of “A Dangerous Man” (http://www.flamebooks.com) even before I’ve got my author’s copies. Double damn it!! Still, he kindly tells me that the book looks good and like a real book, so that’s a relief – thanks, Wayne. I’m still champing though …
And, amazingly, I even have my first comments on the book – Sarah from Writewords (http://www.writewords.org.uk) & MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/henna_rouge) has read it already and says the following: “The writing in the book is pretty special. I read it at one sitting - I can't resist books I love, couldn't put it down. I bled for poor Michael. The tale is dark and brilliant and absolutely terrifying - congratulations!” Bloody hell, Sarah, thank you so very much. Hope you don’t mind me blogging this, but I’m just so very thrilled! You don’t know how much that means to me, you really don’t. Thank you.
Oh, and Lord H sent roses to work – hurrah! – so now has huge numbers of Husband Points. And sensibly, he’s also provided a pot with them, so I don’t have to worry about our lack of vases – due to Lord H’s birthday flowers still going strong. They breed them tough these days for sure. Tonight, we’re having champagne, lasagne and ice cream. And probably a few chocolates as well – heck, I’m all for the healthy lifestyle choice.
Today’s nice things:
1. Getting roses - & champagne
2. Finding out my book actually exists
3. Getting my first review – thank you, thank you, thank you.
Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
Oh, and the Goldenford (http://www.goldenford.co.uk) Gals had a jolly time in our meeting last time – though sadly depleted by the loss of Irene (http://www.myspace.com/ireneblack), who has broken her arm in an altercation with a Waterloo Station gate on the way to see Michael Wood perform. Bummer that it wasn’t after he’d finished his hot totty lecture though. And hope you’re on the mend soon, Irene – we missed you. At the end of the meeting, Jackie (http://www.myspace.com/jackieluben) was telling us that friends of hers who live in Brighton and Hove have renamed “Hove” to “Hove, Actually”. Bliss – in my innocence, I hadn’t heard that one before. Which resulted in a few old chestnut Hove jokes of my own, such as “People will say we’re in Hove”. We’re a highly intellectual and focused set of publishers, as you can see.
Today at work, I’ve done all the changes to the mentoring handbook that I had to do – and now only have to shove in (technical secretarial phrase there – meaning, um, “shove in”) some pretty pictures and read the whole darn thing through again. I’ve also updated the mentoring info on the website, so I almost feel like a useful member of the university society. Almost. And at lunch, I attended the back strengthening torture class (though that isn’t its official title, I have to admit), so have grown another few inches in height. No sign of turning blonde as yet though. Will grey do?
And I am now officially a “Champing-at-the-Bit Author” – Wayne (http://www.myspace.com/wblackhurst) at Myspace has received his delivery of “A Dangerous Man” (http://www.flamebooks.com) even before I’ve got my author’s copies. Double damn it!! Still, he kindly tells me that the book looks good and like a real book, so that’s a relief – thanks, Wayne. I’m still champing though …
And, amazingly, I even have my first comments on the book – Sarah from Writewords (http://www.writewords.org.uk) & MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/henna_rouge) has read it already and says the following: “The writing in the book is pretty special. I read it at one sitting - I can't resist books I love, couldn't put it down. I bled for poor Michael. The tale is dark and brilliant and absolutely terrifying - congratulations!” Bloody hell, Sarah, thank you so very much. Hope you don’t mind me blogging this, but I’m just so very thrilled! You don’t know how much that means to me, you really don’t. Thank you.
Oh, and Lord H sent roses to work – hurrah! – so now has huge numbers of Husband Points. And sensibly, he’s also provided a pot with them, so I don’t have to worry about our lack of vases – due to Lord H’s birthday flowers still going strong. They breed them tough these days for sure. Tonight, we’re having champagne, lasagne and ice cream. And probably a few chocolates as well – heck, I’m all for the healthy lifestyle choice.
Today’s nice things:
1. Getting roses - & champagne
2. Finding out my book actually exists
3. Getting my first review – thank you, thank you, thank you.
Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
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