On the mend ...

... I think. Hurrah. But am about as lively as a squeezed-out sponge. Still didn't feel able to go to bed last night, though I managed to get 4 hours' sleep on the sofa early morning, so that was a relief. How I wish we'd bought a three-seater sofa though ... but where would we put it in our flat?? The plus side was that I caught up on the late-night wedding stories and, yes, Peter and Carlton did get married, and their costumes did turn up. Phew. As did Peter's estranged father, who was really quite sweet. And cute too - or maybe that was me being ill? Anyway, it was all wonderful and totally Cilla, and I cried like a dolt. That said, I had been put out of my misery beforehand by the kind-hearted Sarah (http://www.myspace.com/henna_rouge) who knew one of the bridesmaids, so my sick person's viewing wasn't as agonising as it might have been - thanks, Sarah!

It must also be the way I'm feeling right now, but I have to confess that I got totally wrapped up in "Springwatch" on TV last night, and am now desperately worried about the choughs (sp?) and the baby owls. Goodness me, I never knew Nature could be so stressful ... Oh, and I watched "The Graham Norton Show" for the first time too (so I'm no longer a Graham Norton virgin ...) - what a hoot. Loved it. Must watch again.

And I managed to eat a small salmon starter from Waitrose last night (I love salmon - under the right circumstances, I'd probably kill for it ...), and then had the other from the pack of two this morning for breakfast. So at least I've eaten something. And bizarrely that seems about all I can handle right now. Bloody hell, but when sick I do eat some weird stuff. I can remember the Christmas of the Nasty Flu many years ago now when I survived for 5 days on a diet of water, chocolate mints and Mills & Boon novels. And was none the worse for it afterwards, either, when I went back to normal. Apart from never wanting to read another M&B novel again, that is. Though I suspect that's just common sense. (And yes, I know they're very hard to write and the people that write them should be given medals and praised to the skies - but they're just bloody hard to read as well. I mean, what's the point??)

This morning (at least "morning" for normal people), I cancelled my golf game with Marian, and am in the process of cancelling all my weekend stuff too. Or as much of it as I can. There just ain't no way I'm going more than twenty feet from the flat if I can possibly help it. Unless Colin Farrell turns up of course. And then I might simply invite him in - though he'll have to deal with the mess.

The rest of the time, I have lounged around, watched "Loose Women" (oh, I'm hooked now, I'm hooked, God help me ...) and finished off Philippa Gregory's The Boleyn Inheritance. What can I say? The usual classic, gripping Gregory novel. Buy it now. Read it now. You won't regret it. I particularly loved the way Anne of Cleves grows so much throughout - it's a pleasure to see.

Oh, and Lord H will be so pleased, as I've just now had a bath and got dressed. Hell, I've even washed my hair. And put some make-up on. I've opened the curtains too! When he came back home yesterday evening, his eyebrows shot up at the realisation that, whilst he'd been at work, his wife had been replaced by a clapped-out pig on heat with hair you could fry bread on. Dressed in a stripy pink dressing-gown too. Oh, what a delightful image indeed - I must use it one day in my dreamed-for periodical, "Knackered Woman". It can be on the front cover of the inaugural edition ... Anyway, I hope that Lord H's homecoming tonight will be marginally less stressful for him.

Tonight, I shall do sod all. Frankly, having a bath has used up my day's supply of energy and I suspect it will be time for a nap fairly soon. Again. I think the grand finale of "Ugly Betty" is on though, so I can't miss that. Bloody hell, but the cleaning can wait.

Today's nice things:

1. Salmon starter x2
2. Philippa Gregory's book
3. Feeling a little more human, and less like a walking (for "walking", read "staggering") bundle of sicknesses - hurrah!

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

Sick. Very sick ...

This will be a short blog, I'm afraid, as I'm sick. Having one of my nasty sinusy sessions again so was up all night last night, though I think maybe I did get about a couple of hours' sleep. Maybe. It's hard to tell as my brain is slush and I'm having trouble making any kind of logical connections. To anything.

Actually, it's a bit depressing, as I haven't had one of these bouts for a while, and I was beginning to hope. As you do. You know how it is. Or rather, it would be depressing, if I had the energy to be depressed. If you see what I mean. Bugger. This is dull. Sorry. Still, it's true to life, as I am excrutiatingly dull today and my head looks - and feels - like it's been put through a mangle backwards. And the mangle won.

On the plus side, I haven't been as toe-curlingly bad as I've been in the past, (though it was touch and go at one point this morning, I can tell you!) so maybe I can come out of this sooner rather than later. You never know. God, I hope so.

That said, I have had some more lucid moments - which found me early on in the night and then again this morning managing to get together a running order for the poems I've been asked to read at the Writewords (http://www.writewords.org.uk) inaugural London Literary Circle meeting on 3 July. Thanks, Jools, for asking me by the way - I'm really grateful. I'm hoping I might even sell one or two more poetry books at the event - you never know. It would be nice to have my sales of A Stranger's Table in double figures before I get to the latter side of the year for sure! For the reading, I've decided to concentrate on poems about religion, sex, lesbianism and depression. That should get 'em rolling the aisles. Possibly trying to escape ...

For the rest of the day, I've cancelled everything - though honestly it's been quite hard to talk as it just makes my sinuses worse. Dammit. Oh God, groan, moan - get over yourself, Brookie, already! Sorry ... Anyway, so no counselling with Kunu, no lunch with Robin and no theatre tonight - though I'm happy for Lord H to go on his own, I suspect he might end up staying in. Oh, and no food. Don't do food at the moment. Nasty, rotten stuff.

And no writing - Craig remains trapped at the breakfast table with Paul. Possibly forever, poor bugger. He's still enjoying the view though. Thank goodness.

Have watched crap TV most of the night - was glued to the wedding stories thingy on at midnight. I'm so glad the lesbian wedding managed to go ahead (don't listen to the voices, Val - you know Lisa loves you ...), though I'm now really worried about the two gay nightclub owners - will they ever be able to afford the rings? It's a mystery. My crap TV viewing has also continued through the day - though I have to say "Loose Women" at lunchtime was great. Haven't seen that one before. Must see it again. It raised my sadly depleted interest levels and stopped me thinking about myself for a second or two. Now, there's a novelty - I'm sure Lord H wishes he knew how to make me do that more often ...

I'm not convinced I'll be sleeping any better tonight either. We'll see.

Today's nice things (oh God - do I really have to do this??? Oh well, here goes ...):

1. Um, thinking about poetry
2. The lesbian wedding
3. Loose Women.

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

Secretarial City and anniversary cakes

Madness in the office today – though a kind of organised, fairly contained madness, which was nice. I do so love it when there’s a secretarial panic on – it makes it all worthwhile. Anyway, I rushed around in a fairly logical way organising a meeting for tomorrow with the Guildford School of Acting, who want to come in to talk about our Freshers’ Week DVD script ideas. This meant throwing myself on the mercy of the adorable Helen from Catering – where would I be without her? – who rushed around and got me a room, the required numbers of glasses and biscuits too. What an angel.

Not only that, but we’re also doing a massive photocopy for next week’s Mentoring Board, which all has to be in hard copy. Don’t ask me why – as it seems most odd to me as these days I email 99% of stuff out, thank goodness. But for some reason, with this one, we have to photocopy for Britain (something to make an Olympic sport perhaps?... and yes I do hate that logo too ...) and then hand-deliver round the campus. What joy! Still, at least it gets us out of the office – usually – as this time I won’t have to do the hand-delivering, as I won’t be in on Friday. Ah well. So I am simply the Photocopying Queen.

Ooh, and as tomorrow is my third year anniversary at the University, I’ve bought cakes for the office for today. Which – hurrah! – include some utterly gorgeous chocolate chip cookies which are like heaven in the mouth (sorry, too poetic by far, I realise – but I felt I had to emote at this point) and make up 1000% for missing out on my chocolate chip biscuit earlier in the week. Ha! And it also means I am Mrs Popular for a while. More hurrahs.

Other work excitements - we've all got a wedding invitation from Carol (who marries Mike in August), which I'm thrilled about. So I shall have to get Lord H to buy me another frock - and maybe even a hat! I love hats. But rarely wear 'em. Sadly, I do look best in the kind of hats worn by the Cavaliers during the Civil Wars, but I fear that won't suit at all ...

Did my back exercise class at lunchtime – I do enjoy it. It makes me almost feel like a normal person doing normal things. Astonishing really. The tutor is pleased with me as I appear to be improving. Or maybe she’s feeling kinder, as I am the class no-hoper after all. In a fit of enthusiasm, I have actually purchased an exercise band from her so I can (no, don’t laugh … as I know perfectly well this won’t happen …) continue my good work during the week. Naturally, I have purchased the weakest strength version as I am so utterly pathetic at pulling the darn thing in any direction – which turns out to be Medium Strength, as the Wimp Strength is only for toddlers. Sigh. Seems ageist to me. But I am cheered with the fact that the Medium Strength band comes in a fetching shade of green, which goes charmingly with my eyes. Ho ho.

Oh and, groan, the boss brought his small child in today at lunchtime – which always makes me feel twitchy as I don’t like children, especially when I’m not prepared for them. Still, I managed to make a fairly good job of politely ignoring the alien in our midst until the boss took the child away and attempted to get us all to say bye-bye to it. Honestly, I don’t like to be prejudiced, but what is it about parents that makes so many of them turn from reasonable people who allow others their likes and dislikes into people who assume that you will actually want to relate in any way to their offspring? And, while I'm on the subject, why do parents put on funny voices when speaking to the little people anyway? It’s a mystery to me. The upshot was that when chivvied along to say bye-bye to Small Child, I must admit I didn’t play up to the role, instead simply smiling in a strained fashion and turning away. Hell, I’m in my forties now – I don’t have to pretend. And yes, there are some little people I’m quite fond of (few and far between, and possibly fewer than my friends with children actually imagine …), but only because I’ve got to know them better as people, not because they’re children per se. And I still wouldn’t want to be with one on my own – so, if you’re reading, ignore the soft spot I have for Charlotte & Sam, and don’t put me on your child-minding list, Jane H – honestly!!...

Sigh - the London Magazine has sent me a sharp, no-nonsense note rejecting my poetry offering. Actually I'm not really that bothered as I didn't expect any interest - it was a wild-card shot over the bows in the first place, as I know I'm way too 'umble for their 'igh-class clientele (ooh I say, pass the caviare, do, Carruthers ...). But they could at least have been friendly. Buggers, eh?

Tonight, Lord H is out shopping as it’s his turn, and I plan to ring Pauline (hello, Pauline – if you’re reading this, I’ll be ringing you sometime, I hope), my Kent friend. Am also hoping to get some more done to The Bones of Summer as Craig is feeling twitchy at being stuck where he currently is. Though, rest assured, he thinks the view is good … Hmm, Lord preserve us – pretentious twaddle, we say! I am rapidly becoming a fictionalised element in my own autobiography. Ye gods, somebody pass me a reality pill.

Oh, and I'm not feeling too good - double bugger. Am snorting like an old horse and sounding pathetic. Hmm, no change there then.

Today’s nice things:

1. Secretarial busyness – hurrah!
2. The wedding invitation
3. Anniversary cakes!

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

Birds, postmen and Guildford Writers

Forgot to say (or perhaps I’m too ashamed to confess it), but Lord H and I bought a birdsong CD at the end of last week’s holiday, so we could wow our friends with our amazing ability to distinguish a woodpecker from a sparrow. However, there are 99 tracks on it, plus a booklet (which unfortunately doesn’t include pictures of said birds, which might have been more useful), and we’re so far only up to track 12. Well, there’s only so much constant tweeting you can take really. But I do think I have recognised a blackbird since listening to one on the CD. And I now know that if you’re walking in woodland and hear something you haven’t heard before (birdsong, people, birdsong …!), then it’s probably a great tit (as it were), as they have a notes range so vast that no-one can log it all. It also surprised me that birds of the same species can sound so different, as they’re all little individuals. Just like people really. Astonishing. A statement which probably goes to show just how birdist I have been in my life.

This morning, Lord H performed another of his shapeshifting tricks – he left the flat looking entirely like his usual self but, by the time I was waving him off down the path, he’d changed into the postman. Suspicious, eh … I fear the mother-ship may be calling him home. However, fear not as, once the postman had vanished next door, Lord H turned up as himself again, pointing helpfully to his head so I could know it was him. Mornings in downtown Godalming are so exciting, you know.

Oh, and on the radio this morning, I heard a lovely song – “Grace” – by someone called Simon Webbe (whom I’ve never heard of, which probably just goes to show how ignorant I am). Sorry. Anyway, must get the CD sometime – I loved it.

It’s a bit flat at work at the moment. Yesterday’s flurry of activity has obviously stunned all my usual correspondents into silence. I’m waiting on a barrel-load of people to reply to my pleas for attention, but am held in a vacuum until they do. Welcome to the Secretarial World, eh? ’Twas ever thus.

Took my usual stroll round campus at lunchtime, and stopped in at the new exhibition at the art gallery. Sat by the lake for a while too – it’s such a good place to think in (if you get my meaning). Watched the coot (or are they moorhens? Who can tell?…) family – the youngsters were picking grasses from the parent bird, when really they should be old enough to do it themselves by now. Hmm, we obviously have more in common with the bird world than we thought. And there was also a grey squirrel rolling in a soil bath at the bottom of a nearby tree – perhaps we should all do this occasionally? It certainly looked like fun. Oh, and I thought I heard a tweeting from the bush behind me that I’m sure I’ve heard on the birdsong CD– but just couldn’t remember which of the tweeters it might be. Darn it. I think all this nature rambling must be due to age - when I turned 30, I suddenly developed an undying love for Dutch flower paintings (which I'd always hated before) - now I can't get enough of them. Give me a Dutch flower painting - even a postcard will do - and I'm your friend for life. In the same way, I think my 40s will be the decade of the bird. You have been warned ...

On the PR front, the Goldenford (http://www.goldenford.co.uk) article that appeared in The Guildford Times a couple of weeks ago has also apparently appeared in The Cranleigh Times, so our fame is spreading … Today Cranleigh, tomorrow the world.

Oh, and I’ve written a poem – which is something of a relief as I haven’t written one for a while and was getting twitchy. Again.

Shedding the skin

These days
I want to do less
and my pleasure lies in saying no.

While others fill their days
with lunches, hobbies, evenings out,
an ever-widening circle of friends,
my first and strongest instinct
is to open the closed fist
spread the fingers wide
and simply let it all go.

Watching my life
spin outwards to nothing,
a distant echo
of who I used to be
comes back to me
but I don’t remember her now.

If to be myself,
I have to release
what I thought I was
or might be once
then maybe that’s what I’ll do
anyhow.


Double joy - the A Dangerous Man reviews from Erastes (http://www.myspace.com/erastesdotcom) and Becky (http://www.myspace.com/edie1964) have finally turned up on Amazon and can be found here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dangerous-Man-Anne-Brooke/dp/0954594568/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/202-0915331-5590251?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181061968&sr=8-1. Many thanks, guys, I'm really grateful!

Tonight, there’s Guildford Writers (http://www.guildfordwriters.net), so that should be fun. Am planning to take the first page of The Bones of Summer along and get some feedback on that. I suspect I’ll be asked what my plans are for the book, as somebody usually asks me that whenever I start something. Um, and my answer is always the same – I’ll know when I write it, as it’s just as much of a mystery to me as it is to everyone else. It’s all done by smoke and mirrors, you know. That said, as usual I do have an end scene in mind, though I haven’t written it yet. I need to get the guys some way nearer it before I do that one (and even then no doubt it’ll change when I finally get there myself).

Today’s nice things:

1. Amazon reviews
2. Writing a poem
3. Guildford Writers

Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.pinkchampagneandapplejuice.com

Reiki and gin

Groan. Back to work today. Honestly, it’s not that the job is horrible – it isn’t – but the weight of despair that lies on one’s back on the dreaded Return to Work Day gets worse with age. I used to be okay about this in my 20s, even though the jobs I had then were utter and insurmountable crap, but now even the thought of it has me pinned to my bed, dragging my feet round the flat and weeping in Lord H’s arms before the dreaded 8.30am occurs. Lordy, but what an eventful morning indeed. Still, at least Lord H is used to this kind of thing, and reminded me that I am entitled to gin tonight if I survive the day without screaming and gibbering in a corner. Hmm, as of the time of writing, there are still five hours to go though. Hope I make it …

I have however managed to deal with all my outstanding emails before the noon-tide hour arrived, so am basking in Appropriate Secretarial Smugness (ASS for short …). I have also managed to sound normal and non-weepy when asked about how the holiday went – so am definitely deserving of tonight’s gin. And I remembered biscuits (from Sandringham, dahlings – of course!) for the office, so I have ticked all the right First Day Back boxes, hurrah. I’ve been good too and only had a Fruit Shrewsbury biscuit (which I don’t really like), so will rapidly be promoted to Food Martyr Status Level A. Double hurrah. Don’t wait up though – as I suspect I’ll succumb to a Chocolate Chip one soon. Damn and double damn - this afternoon all the ruddy chocolate chip biscuits were gone!!! I live in an office of gannets and vultures for sure!

This lunchtime, I had my first ever Reiki healing session – thought it might get me over the Day One hump. As it were. I’ve asked Emma (therapist) if it might make me 6 foot & blonde, but she appeared doubtful. Ah well, dreams are free, eh? Actually, it was really good – I felt very relaxed this afternoon. I could certainly feel the energy levels whizzing round. Emily said she had a strong vision of the colour red while she was doing her stuff. Can’t say that surprises me – it’s always been my colour. Darn it!

And I’ve been extra-whizzy and chased all the Faculty-to-be admin people begging for a Student Care Services slot in their induction week programmes – not sure I’ll get much response, but two seem keen already. Phew! We should get some kind of outing for our new DVD then … but sadly I don’t appear on it. Cries of relief from the crowds indeed.

Tonight, Lord H is out at theology (the 17th century & Cromwell – handy then!) class and I’m planning to do more to The Bones of Summer – I really have to get Craig & Paul beyond their first night together and into the family disaster/crime part as otherwise my head is in danger of exploding. Not a pretty sight then. And, at the very least, Paul does deserve breakfast, poor chap. He did have such a rough time in Maloney’s Law after all.

Ooh, and there’s a repeat of “New Tricks” on TV later on, so will probably watch that, and try to make a dent in the ironing at the same time. That’ll raise the level of my wife points. Surely?

And I’ve just finished Ansley Vaughan’s (http://www.ansleyvaughan.co.uk) very raunchy e-novel, A Personal Statement – really enjoyed it, so thanks, Ansley! The naughty (oo-err, missus!) side of Parliament (question: is there any other side??!) is always good to see, and the two male leads were great. Also loved Jack Wickham – and hope there’ll be more of him – and Pascal – soon?

Oh, and I wrote a piece of flash fiction for the Writewords (http://www.writewords.org.uk) challenge - the rules were to have something bovine with the word "blue" in it:

Bull’s-eye!

The tension in the room could be felt by even the most unreconstructed chauvinist. ‘Bull’s-eye!’ yelled Jackie, as the dart flew home. ‘Got it!’ The air around her turned blue as several hardened drinkers – male of course – swore at the humiliation. Surely they would never be able to hold up their heads in Barnsley again.


Oh, and I had the gin. It was grand, thanks.

Today’s nice things:

1. Reiki
2. Gin
3. Ansley’s book.

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

Post-holiday blues

Is it just me or is getting back into the normal routine post-holiday just hell? It feels like a non-day really, the calm before the storm of work. A space between two definite engagements. Groan. I was vaguely thinking of popping into the Quakers again today, but couldn't be arsed, frankly. So I have had a super-non-spiritual day tripping my way down the primrose path to sin. As it were. I think that might be some kind of Medieval image, but can't think where it comes from - possibly Chaucer? Who can say?

Lord H has been busy typing up his latest essay, which he has to give in tomorrow. Tomorrow! I ask you! I should rename him LastMinutedotCom. Anyway, he's done it and I've proofread it now, so honour is satisfied. Thank goodness we didn't have anything planned though.

Have also done some of the ironing whilst watching my video of last week's "New Tricks". Not enough jokes in this episode, I think - I missed the usual quick-fire routine, but it won't be the same without it, as sadly it was the last in the series. Hope they start a new series soon. We've also got "The Last Detective" on the video, but probably won't watch it till later in the week, if there's time, as Lord H is still playing around with the essay.

Oh, and I finished a couple of books whilst on holiday: Peter Gaunt's Oliver Cromwell was utterly marvellous, and I really must get the full biography, as this was only a shortened version. Well worth a read if you're into historical biographies, or just into Cromwell. As I am. I also read Jon Mcgregor's So many ways to begin. Having loved Mcgregor's first novel (If nobody speaks of remarkable things), I was really looking forward to this, but I didn't find it quite so inspirational, to be honest. Being Mcgregor, it's probably still a work of genius, but really way too depressing to take on holiday. I think you have to be feeling emotionally strong to read it and, as I haven't felt emotionally strong since 1975, that was a bit of a bummer.

Have also just today finished off Richard Grayson's The Silicon Valley Diet - gay short stories. With bite. Very quirky, but probably way too post-modern for me to get the point of them. Good writing indeed (though being me I could have done with more sex - and you people thought there wasn't enough sex in A Dangerous Man (http://www.flamebooks.com/product.asp?prodId=32) - ha! I say, ha! Michael definitely sees more action than anyone in TSVD!...), but I may have missed the quintessential meaning of it all. So no surprises there then.

Tonight, Lord H and I will be glued to "Midsomer Murders" on TV - but how I wish they'd put it on earlier in the evening. I've already squeezed in one nap today, and feel I'll still have trouble lasting the course. Ah well, I never was a great mover or shaker - even in my teenage years, I was the one curled up with a good book and a lemonade come 9pm on a Saturday night. Which may explain why I'm currently living out all my wicked stuff by writing it. Hey ho.

And I've thought about writing more of The Bones of Summer, but can't raise the energy levels. Bugger, eh?

This week's haiku:

Over level plains
wind turbines glide like giraffes:
beauty built by man.


Today's nice things:

1. TV
2. Reading about Cromwell
3. Finding a gay male writer who writes less sex than I do - aha!

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

Holiday & review

We're back! Had a great time on hols, once we'd finished with the rainy days. And in fact even they weren't bad either.

Holiday highlights included:

1. Lord H's comment that if people simply pressed the "off" button on the wind turbines, then everything would be much calmer. Not sure he's got the hang of what a wind turbine does. (I love 'em, by the way. They're soooo elegant - like giraffes in Prada).

2. Playing on the only hilly golf course in the whole of Norfolk (flat place, Norfolk - err, not where we were, dammit ...).

3. Staying at a hotel where the 1970s were still in vogue. Anyone for prawn cocktail, Black Forest gateau and asking the menfolk if they'd like extra vegetables (but never asking the same of the womenfolk)? Ah, the memories ...

4. Mango icecream - delicious.

5. The hotel counting green beans wrapped in bacon as a vegetable. Bliss.

6. Seeing 101 National Trust properties, plus Sandringham and two other posh houses. At least.

7. Going to Ely, visiting Oliver Cromwell's home and falling in love with him all over again. What a complicated, humane, cruel and fascinating man, and usually all in the same breath too. Love 'im. Bought the latest biography, and will probably buy another shortly. The ultimate East Anglian loser fallen on hard times who made good. Aha! Proving there's surely hope for me yet - just don't put me in the same room as an idiot king.

8. Being followed by mad people around Norwich Cathedral - is it the inbreeding, I ask? (Pause for brickbats from Lady Sister-in-Law, who lives in Norfolk ...)

9. Finding a lovely National Trust windmill on the Norfolk Broads, where we could just sit and stare out at the water. Total relaxation ...

10. Being with Lord H on our own - utter bliss!

So, back to 1001 emails, 1000 of those being Spam (no, I don't want to give extra pleasure to my woman, thank you - even if I had one. I mean, if we lived in Norfolk, she wouldn't have time for that kind of thing anyway, as she'd still be a 1970s cleaning slave ...).

And a lovely review from http://www.myspace.com/book_of_the_moment about Pink Champagne and Apple Juice (http://www.pinkchampagneandapplejuice.com), which I reproduce here:

"Pink Champagne and Apple Juice is the story of twenty something Angie Howard, who more than anything in the world, wants to escape her small hometown in England, and make a life for herself in the city. Despite her mother's attempts to keep her home, Angie boards a train and tracks down her estranged Uncle John. At one point Angie had been close with her uncle, but one day after a fight with Angie's mother, John vanished from their lives. Though surprised to see her, John agrees to give Angie a place to stay, neither of them knowing how important a role they will eventually play in each other’s lives. Pink Champagne and Apple Juice is a fast paced amusing story which offers a peek into a world that you won't soon forget. There is a little of everything tossed in: love, scandal, betrayal … and don't forget it all takes place in a transvestite nightclub. The story moves along quickly, and a few times I actually laughed out loud. Angie is a character you can't help but relate to; she's trying her hardest to make her dreams come true and just can't seem to catch a break most days. I think we've all felt that way at some point or another. Aside from being humorous, it’s honest and heartfelt. It flows, and I enjoyed it from the first page. If you're looking for something a little different, look no further."

Many thanks indeed - much appreciated! So glad you enjoyed it, Book of the Moment (Reviewer)!

Ooh, and I've had some lovely comments from the Writewords (http://www.writewords.org.uk) gang on my first couple of pages of The Bones of Summer, which I uploaded on site last weekend - thanks, guys!

Best go and do some unpacking now before "Dr Who" turns up - can't miss that second-parter, after all.

Today's nice things:

1. Holiday
2. Being with Lord H for a whole week uninterrupted - hurrah!
3. The Champers review.

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

Rain stops play ...

It was nice getting back into the swing of the Glyndebourne (http://www.glyndebourne.com) season last night, but I have to say that Lord H and I were rather disappointed in their production of "Macbeth". Though, whatever they do, the play will of course be more powerful and more human than anything in the known universe ... The singing was first-class, as ever (as far as I can tell anyway - the singer playing Lady Macbeth was particularly good, and Macduff had his moments), but the settings were rubbish and the use of the chorus more than inane in some respects. And everything was so irritatingly Scottish. I mean, if you're going to insist on using 101 different tartans, at least divide people into recognisable clans to give the audience a fighting chance to work out who's on whose side. But, over and above anything else, if you're going to do "Macbeth", you really, absolutely, utterly have to choose a man to act/sing the title role who has overflowing charisma and an NVQ level 5 in sexiness & power. Otherwise - and trust me on this one - it just doesn't work. The audience has to fall in love with him and want him to succeed somehow even though you know he doesn't, and you have to have a shit-hot physical passion between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Last night's man could sing - no disputing that - but had no charisma or sexiness or power at all, and seemed to look on Lady M as some kind of distant half-sister he'd had no contact with for several years. Therefore, in dramatic terms, it just didn't work.

Ah well. Mind you, dinner was nice. And I asked the waitress to bring me extra pouring cream for my chocolate slab of joy (I don't think that was the official dessert title, but it might as well have been) which already came with its own great dollop of clotted cream. She did too, Gawd bless 'er. Well, it's the healthy option, you know ...

Today, Lord H and I were supposed to be going to see a polo match we had free tickets for (no, don't laugh - I've been practising my posh-git County Class accent for weeks, dammit), but decided to give it a miss as the weather is such shit. It's rained so much even the wasps haven't come out today - so, hey, there's always a silver lining (to every rain-filled cloud).

Instead, Lord H has been busy with his next theology essay, and I - sound the trumpets and open the nearest wine-bar! - have made a start on my next novel, The Bones of Summer. Honestly, the start of a novel is one of the best, most exciting things in the world and I feel tingly now just thinking of it. I love this stage in the game - where I can see the scenes in my head and am just scrabbling around like a mad woman in the attic (oh, sorry, I am the mad woman in the attic ...) trying to get the stuff down. Before the heat fades into obscurity sometime around the 20,000 word mark and I'm thrown back to the snarling wolves and my own meagre resources. Hey ho, what a life.

Ooh, and we watched our video of last night's "Dr Who" (oh, perr-lease, not the doctor falling in love again - just get over it already, can't he??), and I then watched the wonderful, gripping double bill of "Ugly Betty". How I love that programme. What the hell am I going to do when it's not on any more?? Only two more episodes to go before the end, and my life with be bereft of the glorious B. Groan!

And I've been noble and rung Mother. And I didn't mention anything about Mr Perfect Cousin either (not that I'm bitter and twisted, ho ho ...) - so I should really be showered with Daughter Points galore. Hmm, don't wait up then, eh. She also asked about church (she knows something of the fiasco - but as little as I can get away with really), so I told her we'd left in April, and we're not looking for a replacement for a while. Possibly longer. Think she was surprised, but didn't make a fuss - so also gains Mother Points. My, what an award-winning pair we are today indeed.

Tonight, we've having Chinese - as we're into holiday mode now (see below) - and beer, and lounging like slobby lizards in front of our "The Last Detective" video. Bliss. And I've packed, though of course Lord H won't pack until two minutes before we're due to set off tomorrow, and will still remember everything. Dammit. Sound of wife grinding teeth due to marital packing injustices ...

So, have a great week, people - we're off for a week's (rainy??) golfing, and we'll be back on Saturday. Probably quite late. Hope the weather is good for us all ...

This week's haiku is:

The rain starts slowly,
easing the wires in my flesh,
silencing the wasps.

Today's nice things:

1. Starting The Bones of Summer
2. TV
3. Chinese & beer.

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

Eyebrows and operas

Had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine yesterday, who'd been to a Chinese healer and had had a face reading. Apparently, he'd spent one-and-a-half hours reading her eyebrows. One-and-a-half hours!!! I mean: weird, or what?? Especially as the friend in question has eyebrows that are barely visible, even though she doesn't pluck them. It appears that such eyebrows mean that you're the sort of person who only does one thing at a time and can't multi-task well. Bloody hell, I could have told her that in one-and-a-half minutes, and done it for free too. Is New Age healing disappearing up its own arse or am I in the twilight zone??

And I'm sure if I had an eyebrow reading, they'd have to spend one-and-a-half days on me as my eyebrows are of the Dennis Healey/Helena Bonham-Carter variety and have to be smoothed down every morning with water and a strong comb. I'm constantly plucking the damn things too - it's amazing I can see at all really. But at least I know where to place the blame for my obsessive multi-tasking orientation - it's all in my bloody eyebrows. Allegedly ...

This morning, I've not done much - though Lord H has nipped into Godalming to ransack the shops and bring the buffalo home. I've watched my video of "New Tricks" - which was great, especially as it had a truly sexy guest actor in, who was Sandra Pullman's love interest. Ye gods, but that was some seriously hot totty - I hope to God it's the start of a long-term relationship. That'll put a smile on my face for sure.

Oh, and I've just finished reading Tomas Transtromer's latest poetry collection, The Deleted World. It was okay, I suppose, though not a patch on his utterly marvellous prose poems - he's a master of that genre. Still, it did have two poems, in particular, which made me stop breathing for a moment or two, so I'm glad I bought it for those alone.

This afternoon, Lord H and I are off to the first of our Glyndebourne (http://www.glyndebourne.com) operas - we're seeing Verdi's "Macbeth", which we haven't seen before, so that should be interesting. I have to say that "Macbeth" is one of my all-time favourite plays. I love all that evil and trauma and a good man gone wrong stuff - just my sort of thing, really. So it will be good to see the opera version. We're not taking a picnic, but have booked a table in one of the restaurants instead - which is lucky as it's the rainy season once more here in the shires. Then again, when is it not?...

Oh, and I've had another rejection for Maloney's Law - from Waywiser Press, which didn't surprise me much as they never ever take anything I offer them. Bastards. I won't bother again. They're obviously too much up their own bottoms to know good stuff when they see it. I always see them as being rather mealy-mouthed too - something in the tone of their letters, I think.

And I fear the wasps might be back - I think we have a nest developing on the flat roof above the bedroom. Deep, deep sigh. We can see them flying in and out just over the window, the little stripy beasts. I'm hoping Lord H will go up and have a look sometime, so we can see how big a machete we might need. Honestly, if I ever ruled the world, I'd take every single wasp and destroy it. Without the use of an anaesthetic. That'd show the buggers! I am indeed so full of the milk of human kindness, not - I'm sure I would have got on with the Macbeths ...

Today's nice things:

1. Hot totty on "New Tricks"
2. Laughing at eyebrows
3. The Glyndebourne season - here at last!

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

The Surrey woman ...

Today, I have been very "Surrey". Played golf this morning - much better than last week, thank the Lord (I couldn't have stood the shame ...) and I even sunk a hugely long putt to get four - hurrah! I know that won't mean anything if you don't play golf but, believe me, it's pretty hot! And I beat Marian, aha!, so honour has been satisfied. Not that I'm a competitive stressed-out bitch at all of course ...

Back home for my haircut, and Lynda arrived early, just as I was considering doing the cleaning, so phew what a relief! And, bless her, she's taking A Dangerous Man (http://www.flamebooks.com) on holiday with her next week (she likes the dark stuff, though she is making noises now about buying Pink Champagne and Apple Juice (http://www.goldenford.co.uk) sometime) - so hope Michael enjoys his quick trip to a Greek island. I'm sure he will - lots of hot men for him to check out, so I'm sure he'll be smiling.

And the article I sent to the Surrey Advertiser (http://www.surreyadvertiser.co.uk) about Goldenford has appeared in The Guildford Times - hurrah! It may not be quite what I intended, but hey any publicity at all is pretty good, as far as I'm concerned. We need all the help we can get!

Later on, I'll pop into Godalming to pick up a few bits and pieces - tea tree oil, Jiffy bags, Epsom salts - bloody hell, I am turning into my grandmother ... Anyway, it's all the things today's Harrassed Woman (great magazine title - I'd buy it ...) could possibly want. Naturally. Tonight, I'll be glued to the TV, sipping my wine (chilling nicely in the fridge even now, as you're asking) and thinking about doing the cleaning. Maybe ...

Today's nice things:

1. The Guildford Times article
2. Haircut
3. Golf.

Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.pinkchampagneandapplejuice.com

Counselling and competitions

Got into town early today and posted the first completed version of The Gifting, plus synopsis (hurrah! hurrah!) to The Literary Consultancy (http://www.literaryconsultancy.co.uk), where it can fester away for a while waiting for a report to be done. It's such a relief to get it away onto the next part of its journey. Which is ironic really, as Simon does a great deal of journeying of his own.

Also good to get back into counselling with Kunu - who unfortunately has broken her wrist whilst on holiday and will have to have it in plaster for six weeks. At least it was the end of the hols rather than the beginning though - but it just goes to show that holidays are dangerous places ... Anyway, this week, we talked about my family and childhood stuff - which seemed fitting bearing in mind my cousin's mealy-mouthed email last Sunday. Bah we say to him (still), bah! It struck me (indeed, I think it struck us both) that I've probably spent the first twenty years of my life trying to fit in with what the family wanted and hiding as much as possible so they couldn't find me out. Not a great scenario for much development as an individual there then ... And, since leaving home, I've spent the last twenty years trying to work out who I actually am. So I'm probably up to the teenage years round about now then - all over again, dammit! And also I don't think church has helped much - it's just another traditional environment I can try to conform to and hide in. Hmm, so that one didn't work that well either. So here I am now, putting myself firmly outside the bosom of the family and the all-encompassing arms of the church, feeling the wind whistling through the gaps (wherever they may be), but thinking like I might know myself a little better for the first time in ... well ... forever. Hey, it may be chilly here in the twilight zone, but the view's nice. There's still just enough light to see it by ...

Well, I always did say that Kunu was a woman who relished a challenge.

Anyway, on the way home, I popped into see Gladys, who's looking perky but has obviously forgotten everything I told her two weeks ago about leaving church. Ah well, at least she remembered for a while. And she's enjoying the new poetry book her niece has just bought her - Matthew Arnold, which brought back some happy memories for me. Gladys does love her poetry. I left when the Meals-on-Wheels lady turned up - but not without making a brave attempt (thwarted cunningly by Gladys) to steal the food to save me making lunch. Ah, foiled again, eh ...

At home, I've prepared my monthly poetry competition entries and also a submission to the next poetry magazine on my list. I'll get them posted tomorrow, so expect the rejection back by COP Saturday. Knowing my luck! And I've fleshed out the outline for The Bones of Summer - bloody hell! I've done an outline without starting the novel first. That's a first for sure! The change in writing practice is just too much for me and I shall have to go and have a lie-down soon.

Tonight, Lord H and I are at the theatre, seeing Priestley's "Dangerous Corner". We can't be arsed to cook so we're eating there - I've ordered smoked salmon, which is my utter favourite. Honestly, I could eat smoked salmon every day and never have enough.

And I've just finished reading Joanne Harris' "The Lollipop Shoes", which is a sequel to the adorable "Chocolat". Hmm. Have to say I was sorely disappointed with it - the beginning and ending were good (though the ending was rather cliched), but the middle needed the stern hand of an experienced editor to cut the flab. It really could have done with being slashed by a quarter. And, to be honest, I had real trouble differentiating the voices of the three main (female) characters - I kept having to go back and work out who on earth was speaking, which was tremendously irritating. I'm actually really sorry to have to write all this, as I count Harris as one of the best novelists of this generation, so I hope she's back on form for her next one ... In the meantime, if you haven't read any, I recommend "Five Quarters of the Orange" (her absolute best, in my opinion) or "Gentlemen and Players".

Today's nice things:

1. Counselling
2. Sorting out my writing admin
3. The theatre.

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

The secret life of shops

Shops are strange places indeed. Lord H came home last night with a pack of kiwi fruit emblazoned with the legend “Wash Before Eating”. Well, I have yet to find anyone who actually eats the skin of a kiwi fruit, but there you go. Lord H thought they’d be better off adding a label saying “Open This End” for the hard of thinking. Could be useful for eggs too.

Waving goodbye to Lord H this morning was something of a shock actually. I’d said goodbye at the front door and then rushed to the bedroom window in the usual way to wave as he goes down the path but, instead of his tall figure and elegant charm, I saw a grey-haired, elderly figure limping along. Goodness me, I thought, Lord H has aged since I last set eyes on him – are we in a temporal anomaly here in downtown Godalming? Luckily, I recognised the neighbour just before ringing the Husband Shop to see if they have a newer model …

Managed to get some more synopsising/timelining done to The Gifting last night. Am now about to start Chapter Thirteen (of Seventeen) and, with about 100 pages to go, the end is surely in sight.

Oh, and at work I’ve finally met the wonderful and supremely efficient Helen from Catering – whom I have been emailing at least every five seconds for about two years now and who is actually only in the office opposite (though it’s a secure office so we can’t just walk in …). We are indeed already in the virtual society – in so many ways! Anyway, she’s just as lovely in real life, so great to meet you at last, Helen.

Being the end of term, there’s a big 3-day bash on at the Students’ Union, which is just next door to our offices, and the Estates guys are already preparing for it. This seems to involve caging us in completely, supposedly so that students can form an orderly queue to get into the Union, but my theory is that they’re trapping us inside the block so we’ll never be able to go to the loo again at all. Legs crossed, gals!...

Sneaked out at lunchtime to do some shopping – it’s the end of term this week so the car park is easier to get back into as the lecturers are beginning to flee to the hills, and it will save time this evening – when I’ll only have to get the chilled goods – as I want to crack on with The Gifting. That is, if I can stop Lord H from being a Super-Husband and secretly doing shopping when it’s not his week for doing it. Sigh! Not that we’re a super-regimented household of course – after all, I’ve long since discontinued the enforced dawn get-up time and the morning salute. I like to think of myself as a benign dictator. Ho ho …

Oh, and I’ve scribbled a poem:

Summer madness

I don’t do
beaches,
tanning
and certainly not bikinis –
perish the thought! –
and I’m not that partial
to lazy afternoons by the pool
or in the garden –
if we had one.

No.
Summer madness
will find me
scouring the shelves
for sun-cream,
hiding out under trees
or lurking indoors
until the autumn chill.

Oh to be blonde
or brunette and be free!
It’s different for redheads
you see.


And at last the office has found a use for the ball of string that Ruth ordered three years ago and which we’ve been teasing her about ever since – so more fool us then! The mentors will be using it today in their Fun Day for the races, so we have been silenced and Ruth is cultivating her Smug Look, aha!

I’ve also drafted a brief synopsis (more of an outline really …) for my next novel (assuming nobody wants The Gifting of course, as in that case, there’s little point in writing a sequel straight away) – working title: The Bones of Summer. As you can no doubt tell, it’s in the crime genre. Better give it to my agent (http://www.johnjarrold.co.uk) sometime then to see what he thinks. I’ve taken the basis of it from a short story I wrote last year – which is something I usually hate doing as I think short stories are what they are and shouldn’t be stretched into novels. But for this one, I’ve put the character into a different situation six years on and he’s also reacting with Paul Maloney from Maloney’s Law – so it a quasi-sequel … almost. Anyway, we’ll see.

I've just finished reading Martin Seligman's "Authentic Happiness". Hmm. Started off well enough but got very flabby in the middle, to my mind. And his quasi-theological ending lost me entirely. I think he might have needed a reality check pill there ... But at least I do now know what my key signature strengths are - love of learning, and humour apparently - so I must remember to use them every day to achieve quality of life. Ho ho. Somebody pass the encyclopedia ...

Tonight, I’ll be working my way through Simon’s life again and attempting to act like a normal human being. Is it just me, or do all writers get this obsessive need to complete when fiddling around at the end of a novel? Thank goodness it’s counselling tomorrow, eh? Heck, I obviously need it …

Today’s nice things:

1. Laughing at kiwi fruit
2. Realising that my husband hasn’t suddenly shapeshifted into a frail eighty-year-old
3. Sorting out The Gifting.

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

Writing City and the sins of the Church

Got so involved with The Gifting synopsis & timeline last night that I decided to miss “New Tricks”, though I have videoed it instead for later. This part of the process is taking longer than I thought, probably as it’s a longer novel, I imagine, and I’ve put a lot of different strands in it. The timeline is helping sort out a few oddities too – as I knew it would. I’m keen to finish by the end of this week before Lord H and I go on holiday – being a true OCD (Obsessive Completion Disorder …), I can’t stand the thought of it hanging over me while I’m away. It’s making me quite twitchy indeed.

Lord H enjoyed the theology last night, but when I asked him (not for the first time …) if he’d received his last two essays back yet, admitted that he thinks the Diocese might have lost them. Honestly! They’re sooo hopeless!! I of course was at once up in arms, and keen to confront the course tutors, demanding that they return my husband’s work to him – he works hard enough to get them done after all! And if they can’t be arsed to give them back, well then they’ll have me to deal with … Not a pretty thought then. Lord H, being the sweet person that he is, doesn’t want to make the tutors feel uncomfortable (ha! So what? is what I say – let ’em suffer!!), but I hope I’ve managed to persuade him at least to email them so they can get their proverbial fingers out before the hols come upon them. In my experience of educational admin, once a lecturer is let loose for the summer, you’ll be whistling in the wind for any left-over work.

Hmm, I wonder if it’s because the Diocese can’t be bothered as he’s the only one not on the vocational training part of the course? That would be typical … though I do understand, that under the current circumstances of my uneasy relationship with the Church, I might be seeing Reds under the Bed where there are none. Again. We’ll see …

Anyway, this morning, I managed to squeeze in 10 minutes of synopsising/timelining (ooh look! A new verb – hurrah!) in a stressed, obsessive way before going to work. As you do. And the car started – what a relief!

Have been doing more to the mentoring handbook over the last couple of days – am having fun with front and back covers, and spine templates. Actually, I really enjoy this – there’s nothing like fiddling around with fonts to put a smile on a secretary’s face. At lunchtime, we had our next meeting of UniSWriters – the “homework” was to write something on Easter and/or children. Naturally, being the anti-child person that I am, I have done something cynical and twisted on Easter festivities. Ho ho. A very good meeting too – lots of people and most had brought something to read, hurrah!

I even had a meeting today that wasn’t cancelled, so that cheered me up. I tempted them all by ordering muffins – aha! – and we discussed possible online booking systems for students for Student Advice, Counselling etc – the Health Centre already do it anyway so we really should follow suit soon. We’re hoping we manage it by September. You never know! Anyway, we were all quite inspired by the thought of lots of fun buttons for the students to press – which may well prove what a strange bunch we are. Strange, but happy.

Tonight, it’s Guildford Writers, but I don’t think I’ll take the next section of The Gifting as I’m still sorting the whole lot out – I’ll take a piece of flash fiction instead. And I think I’ll leave early as I’m just soooo tired (didn’t sleep that well last night, possibly because my head is full of Simon & synopses. Though, bizarrely, I did dream of being a bridesmaid at the wedding of a friend’s daughter and having to read something out which I hadn’t practised and where the words kept changing on the sheet of paper so I couldn’t make any sense of it. Much like life really. Hmm, must schedule in some relaxation soon, I fear, before the men in white coats come knocking …).

Today’s nice things:

1. Handbook fonts
2. UniSWriters
3. Guildford Writers

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

The black sheep bites back ...

Received a charming (err, not …) email in my inbox last night from my cousin – whom incidentally I haven’t heard from in nigh on twenty years – telling me what a bad person I am to not be attending the family get-together in July and what good and holy people the rest of my family are. He also very helpfully pointed out what some of my crimes actually were (goodness, how sweet!) and, as the piece de resistance (sorry, can't be arsed with the accents ...), crowned the whole self-righteous, judgemental load of old twaddle by saying that as he was a parent then this gave him the right to say what he liked.

My, my, and I hadn’t realised that being a parent meant that your sense of humanity and simply politeness were forcibly removed and hung out to dry with the nappies … Thank goodness this household remains a child-free zone indeed!

And while he was on, he also thought it the right time to tell me that my aunt and uncle found A Dangerous Man disturbing and uncomfortable, and that in his opinion my Michael was a thoroughly nasty piece of work. Gosh, thanks, Cousin M – to be honest, I’m not that keen on you either ...

So I’m now even more determined (if such a thing were possible …) to give the family festivities a miss, on the grounds that I really don’t want to spend a single jot of my personal time with such a bunch of narrow-minded, utter twats as they appear to be. I’ve got a million better things to do with my weekend, to be frank.

Hmm. In case you hadn’t realised, I don’t like my family very much and find (as you can see above) that my emotional and physical health is probably a thousand times better without them. Honestly, I have trouble enough in my relationship with my mother (which sometimes I think I keep going purely by cracking jokes and saying as little of importance as possible) without worrying about the rest of the mob.

And then they wonder why every single one of my novels is based on a split family theme, eh?... Err, doh! Still, the good thing is that it does give me so much more material for the next one, tee hee! It would indeed be sooo refreshing if a member of my family one day actually came out in my defence. In anything really! I don’t honestly think it’s happened, with any degree of commitment, since my father died when I was thirteen. The last great champion of his daughter …– should have had that carved on his cemetery plaque, if we could only find where we’d put him, darn it …

What a family indeed! I’m so glad I made the decision to walk away. And go back as little as humanly possible.

Oh and, as you can imagine, my email response to Mr Perfect was short, sharp and ballsy. I don’t think he’ll be back.

This morning, my car was acting strangely, but I managed to get it started at last – just what I needed, eh?! Hope it’s all right for going home tonight. I’m looking forward to my Monday gin for sure.

At work, I find that it must, however, have been a “Let’s Get at Other People When They Least Expect It” weekend (did I miss the announcement somehow??) – as Carol says that she was told off by the woman behind her in the shopping queue for attempting to save plastic bags, and then her neighbour popped round and said how delighted she was to meet a Chav at last. What is wrong with people??!! So we’ve decided that we’re going to designate next weekend as a “Now It’s Our Turn to Be Nasty” weekend, and get our own back on the world, aha!

In the meantime, Ruth is struggling with the new finance system which, for some reason, is giving her all the student names in alphabetical order of first name – which she then has to rejig into surname order before she can check it against our records. Progress is indeed a wonderful thing. So we’ve decided that, in order to make the world a better place, Ruth is going to be V-C, Carol is going for the role of Prime Minister, and Andrea will be the evil mastermind with the white cat. Which leaves me in the position of tea lady. Anyone for a muffin?

Went for a walk at lunchtime, battling through the building works, and checked that my car starts. It does. But whether it will start again at the end of the day is anyone’s guess. Andrea and I have also decided that attempting to get in touch with the university chaplains is much like attempting to get in touch with God; they don’t respond for months and, when they do, their emails are incomprehensible and they’re answering something you didn’t ask in the first place. Hmm, perhaps my cousin should apply for the role of chaplain – it might be a perfect fit.

Talking of which, a huge thank you to all my Writewords (http://www.writewords.org.uk) contacts who have been super-supportive about the trials of horrid family members today, and who have truly terrible tales of their own to share. Thank you, WW gang – you’ve been wonderful. And also thank you to my other friends who've contacted me today - hugs to you all. So yes, the newly-formed Black Sheep Club looks like it will surely be a strong voice for change and the right to say non to family twats, hurrah. Of which there are many. And the general agreement is that all such twats should be smeared in quicklime by the injured party while the rest of us hold them down. Sounds great to me, chaps!

Oh, and I’ve written a poem:

Sometimes it feels as if

in each word I say
something inside is lost
a power bled out
through flesh and bone
into unfeeling air

until one day
all words are gone
no warmth left
skin sucked dry
and when I look

I’m not there.


Cheery little number, but there you go … And the car worked - double hurrah! Tonight, Lord H is out at theology, and I’m going to crack on with doing a proper synopsis and a timeline for The Gifting. I also need to send off the next round of my poetry competition entries, but probably won’t get to that till later in the week.

And mustn’t forget there’s “New Tricks” on TV – something to look forward to indeed!

Today’s nice things:

1. Support from friends …
2. Planning a Revenge Attack Weekend (RAW for short)
3. TV.

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

The Gifting - completed!

Have worked like the proverbial today and have now done my entire first pass through the Gifting edit - hurrah! I even think it might hang together okay, but then I always think that at this stage. It doesn't mean anything. And at the same time, I think it's pants - but that's normal too. It's probably both - simultaneously. That wouldn't surprise me either. It's panned out at 124,215 words long, which is 401 double-spaced pages. Aha!

My head is now packed with ideas for the second and third in the sequel, but I'm not starting them until someone actually wants the first - so, bearing in mind that I usually struggle for about four years to get something published at all, my advice is: don't wait up. I do have an urge for another slimmer gay crime novel though and even some ideas for it, but I'm certainly not starting anything for a couple of days at least!

In the meantime, I'll send The Gifting off to the wonderful Literary Consultancy (http://www.literaryconsultancy.co.uk) people for a second opinion. Once that's back, I'll do the corrections and then send it on to an independent editor for a final trawl through before emailing it to my agent. I like to think I produce a quality product whether it's self-published or otherwise ... And, yes, it does set me back a bundle and I'll never make up the money I spend getting it right in terms of any royalties received, but at least three sets of good people get their hands on it apart from me. I need all the help I can get. And the readers (all 60 of 'em, Gawd bless 'em every one!) - I hope - gets a better end product. Bizarre, but it works for me.

Also today, Lord H & I have visited the local Farmers' Market and Spring Fair in Godalming, and stocked up on interesting cards, fruit pies, treacle tart, turkey sausages and apple juice. Oh, and a nice chocolate crunch for tea tonight. Bliss. Lord H has also been busy with his next theology essay whilst I've been editing - he's going to do a comparison between Reformation times and modern times, focusing on the issues of (a) vestments, (b) the Bible in the vernacular, and (c) the Church as a national establishment. Hmm, some quite meaty topics there.

And we've discovered that a pair of blue tits is nesting in the space left by a missing tile on the kitchen wall - cue kamikaze birds flying full-tilt at the kitchen window and then swerving at the last minute to enter their nest. It's all very exciting to watch. And sweet too. At least we're doing our bit for nature (red of tooth and claw ...). And if we're feeling peckish, we can just eat them, ho ho. After all, you have to remember I am the granddaughter of a woman who could catch birds in flight and break their necks, whilst still making stotty cake and sewing a coverlet for the poor. We didn't have much other entertainment when we were in the country ...

Ooh, and the Surrey Advertiser has produced the first of its summer wedding reports - so the wedding season is now truly upon us. Lord H and I always like to look at the photos and work out which of the couples is going to stay together and which isn't (hint: if they look alike they're more likely to stay together ... or else it's incest, which in the countryside is not as frowned on as it should be, I fear). We were however highly amused by the picture of one wedding which didn't, as far as we could make out, actually have the bridegroom in it. Unless she was really marrying her father ... Hmm, I suspect that if you don't appear in your own wedding photos, then it is definitely time to phone a lawyer and run for the hills. You have been warned, Mr GF of Surrey ...!!

Tonight, Lord H and I are going to slump like sloths in front of our video of "The Last Detective" and completely ignore the desperately dull "Kingdom". Do something else, Mr Fry - this one's a loser!

This week's haiku:

Our shared journey:
rock and air, sand and strange sea.
Finding out the truth.

Today's nice things:

1. Performing an imaginary high-five with Simon at getting to "The End". We did it, m'lad!
2. The Farmers' Market
3. TV.

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

Editing tics and dinosaurs

Oh lord, more editing tics today - now I can't seem to stop writing words with "some" in them. Somewhat, someone, sometime and just generally some. I'm attempting to put them in the cage with all the a little phrases which I'm also finding. But don't worry - I'll put them in another novel soon, I fear. Hmm. As you can tell, I've spent a large part of the morning and early afternoon sorting out The Gifting, and I'm now at the start of Chapter Thirteen - of seventeen, though they're long chapters so I have over 100 pages to go. It's beginning to astonish me how much I've managed to pack in, and how much of Medieval life there is in it. Though I suppose that's not entirely a surprise, seeing as I read Medieval English for my undergraduate degree and Medieval Latin for my postgraduate one - but, no, I can't remember anything about it now, so please don't ask me!

I forgot to mention in my blog of yesterday how much Lord H and I enjoyed the play we saw on Thursday night. Only an hour long, "Skin Tight" nevertheless packed a powerful emotional punch and held us utterly gripped. I actually found myself in tears at one point, and laughing in sympathy the next. There's nothing like a piece of good experimental theatre to stir the blood. It's one of the best things on earth.

Oh and, during the week, I had an unexpected conversation with a former fellow church-member who turned up at Gladys' while I was visiting. Wendy wasn't one of the people I would normally talk to at St Peter's but, when she asked the question, I did try to be as honest with her as possible about why I left. It did feel like a punch in the gut though when at the end of what I was trying to say, she came back into the conversation with "Oh, you mean you've lost your faith then?" Er, thank you, but no. It doesn't feel like that at all - weren't you even listening to what I said, Wendy? Honestly, I don't know why I bothered. If I hadn't been feeling stunned by her comment, I would have liked to (a) give her a good slap - though I appreciate that's not a good response to a lady in her late 70s, and (b) say that it's my faith in the church I've lost, not - as far as I'm aware - my faith in God. Such as it is. But the moment passed and frankly I'm not going to bother explaining again.

Anyway, back to today - late afternoon, Lord H and I went into Guildford to see the film, "A Night at the Museum". It was great - we both really loved it, and it made a change from having been in the kingdom of the air and the land of the fire all day (at least for me and in literary terms). And, yes, it had a dinosaur in it - hurrah! I love dinosaurs - there can never be enough of them. Also I think Ben Stiller is ace in quirky comedies with heart. Anyway, we were back in time for "Dr Who" - which I'm sure was a rehash of a plot from a couple of seasons ago, but nice to see Martha in full action mode.

I'm not feeling so good at the moment though, I have to say - either the onset of hay fever or a cold, but I can't quite tell. Damn it. Will try to get an early night, I think.

Today's nice things:

1. Editing
2. The film
3. Dr Who - the rehash.

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

The editing queen

Ye gods, but I've done so much editing today that my brain will probably explode soon - so beware of any sudden noises in the ether. Am now up to the start of Chapter 10 (they all get longer from here on in, so don't get too excited), but will start that tomorrow. I can do no more tonight.

And, yes, I know all the "experts" tell you to put the first draft away for a month before working on it but frankly, m'dears, that never works for me and I can't ever be arsed to wait that long anyway. Sometimes I think that my actual writing is done on the whole in the cool light of day and my editing takes place in the heat of the moment. Sorry about the cliches, by the way, but I haven't used any all day so need to up my quota before the onset of evening. Anyway, I've made some changes, added in some foreshadowing (aha! I can do the lingo too, you know!) for different parts and attempted to rid the work of my current recurring phrase which, this time round, appears to be "a little". (He stepped a little away; I withdrew my arm a little; the mountains were a little further than I'd thought - oh God, when will it all end? Ah, in just a little time, m'dear ...). Still at least it beats having to rid all my poetry of the word "shimmering" which was last year's literary tic.

Oh and in the middle of all that, I've managed to play golf with Marian. Very, very badly. She even won!!! Damn it - that hardly ever happens!! I am shrouded in shame. Hey, that's a good line - must use it sometime, ho ho. I've also popped into Godalming and bought a nice burgundy men's shirt (for me of course ... Lord H isn't so keen on burgundy) from the Edinburgh Woollen Mill. And I've had a ten minute phone conversation with Colin from the Surrey Advertiser (http://www.surreyadvertiser.co.uk) discussing the article I sent him about the new Goldenford (http://www.goldenford.co.uk) connection with Virtual Tales (http://virtualtales.com) in producing some of our books as eBooks. He's hoping to print it next week, so that'll be good. I also mentioned the Pink Champagne site (http://www.pinkchampagneandapplejuice.com) as well, so I hope he includes it. Hey, I can talk to journalists without babbling and sounding insane. Um, no, actually I can't. Damn it. But you knew that anyway.

I will have to start the cleaning soon and gain Wife Points before Lord H comes home - or at least show willing. Ah, I have so many marital points to make up after his superhuman efforts of last weekend on the domestic front. Best get down to it then (as it were).

Tonight, I'm planning on champagne (celebrating the first pass through of The Gifting) and TV. Hell, I deserve it.

Today's nice things:

1. Editing
2. Buying a shirt
3. The Surrey Ad ringing me up!

Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com

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

Cacti and cockroaches

Another battle to circumnavigate the building cages into work today. Goodness me but my exercise quota will be overshot at this rate, what with having to walk halfway round the campus to get into the office. Well, that may be a slight poetic exaggeration, but heck I always exaggerate. Tee hee.

Oh, and Lord H and I have been chuckling at the funny test papers someone sent him yesterday which can be found here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/5107/They-didnt-study - my personal favourite is “Find X”. The answer is right after all, as the question wasn’t “Find the Value of X”!!! And they do always tell you to answer the question …

But at least it’s stopped raining and the sun is even shining. Ye gods, must be springtime already. Again. Here in the hot seat, all my carefully planned meetings appear to be going to the wall, as nobody wants to come to them at the moment. Groan. It’s really quite disheartening. I even fear for my stalwart Steering Group on Monday as (a) we have nothing much to discuss and (b) everyone seems to have gone on holiday. Perhaps I am not ordering enough muffins and they’re beginning to vote with their feet? (The people, not the muffins). Wouldn’t surprise me. Anyway, I’m fighting a rearguard action to make it into a brief informal meeting instead of the usual two hour formal one, but we’ll see. Result: Failure. The meeting is cancelled. Groan. It’s one of the ones I like, darn it!

There’s a very strange squashed thing on the doorstep to the office today, I must say – but none of us are brave enough to do anything about it. Could be animal, vegetable or mineral, to my mind, but looks like some ghastly stag beetle thing, I fear. Or, worse, a cockroach. That’s what the students seem to think anyway. Horrible thought! Still, at least it’s dead and its friends haven’t turned up to the funeral party yet. So it could be worse. Hope the cleaner can do something with it this afternoon.

This lunchtime, I’ve done my back exercise course – but tried to take it easy as my neck’s not so good at the moment. Must be the golf on Friday, I fear. Though at least it’s better now – the neck, not (sadly) the golf. Actually, the trainer was very nice and put in extra neck exercises for me. Might try to do some of these during the week too, if I’m feeling noble. Hmm. So don’t wait up then.

Oh, and a man came to try to mend the blind I broke last week. Unfortunately, in my enthusiasm to show him how I’d done it, I leaned over the desk, at which point the cactus we keep near the window attached itself to my jacket and swung itself, the pot and all the soil over the floor. My, how the window man laughed. Still, at least he said it did show him how we’d managed to trash the joint. Suspect that Estates & Facilities now think we’re all insane in here. They won’t be far wrong either. One good thing though – the cactus and the jacket both survived the encounter. Not sure about my reputation as a professional though …

On the writing front, I’m scribbling my way through the scene I left out on my way through The Gifting. I think I know where to put it, but will have to see how it feels when it’s done. ’Twas ever thus. Oh, and I’ve just finished the latest edition of poetry/short story magazine, Tears in the Fence. Must admit to enjoying the short stories more – some great stuff there. But a few of the poems were good too. And anyway it’s always a good thing to support the small poetry presses – without them we’d be forced to read a diet of only Armitage and Muldoon. Arrrgghh!! Scary thought indeed … Does anyone actually like any of the “big” poetry hitters these days? Anyone with any reading sense anyway …

Oh and the mean punters at The Intepreter's House have turned down my latest poetry submission. Buggers. Obviously don't know quality and style when they see it then. So no surprises there.

Tonight, Lord H and I are going to be glued to our video of last week’s “The Last Detective”. Might even have a sherry if I’m feeling wild. After all, Wednesday Night is Sherry Night … Perhaps I am turning into my grandmother (argghh!!) after all? Someone pass the Fruit & Nut chocolate and the support stockings then …

Today’s nice things:

1. Funny test papers
2. Writing
3. TV.

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

Rain, writing and reviews

Lordy, lordy, more rain. How I love these early UK winters we’re having. Have been forced to wear my fingerless gloves and scarf at work today, plus put my little owl-shaped desk heater on. I’m beginning to feel like something sad from a minor Dickens novel. If there are any minor Dickens novels …

It was a voyage of discovery getting into the office today – the builders who are taking over the campus have moved all their wire fences so that the stairs between the car park and where I work are totally shut off. Which meant I had to rootle around at the back of the café block and attract the attention of a passing cleaner who was able to let me in the back way. As it were. All of us had the same problem, and we’ve all found a different route round it – honestly, they should give us a ruddy medal. People forget about our little office when they plan stuff like this – I’m sure nobody knows we’re here at all. In the past, we have actually been completely locked in one winter day and had to call Security to let us out. My, how they laughed.

Anyway, we’ve had an office delivery of new first aid boxes for the residences wardens, which has caused much excitement here. Perhaps we should get out more? If only it weren’t so wet. Anyway, the boxes are a lovely shade of green and are very soothing, so it’s cheered us all up. Even without the need for the contents.

Ooh and Sharon from MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/aonia) has given a very generous-hearted review to A Dangerous Man on her blog today, which can be found here:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=120629655&blogID=264788652&Mytoken=50358126-71AE-4164-BE326C67102904C325704694

Thank you, Sharon! I’m really glad you enjoyed the read. And, as I said in reply to your blog, I certainly think your Dean from Snow Angel and my Michael would make an interesting pair of protagonists. Now there’s a scary thought!!...

Managed to get the last major chapter of The Gifting under wraps. Hurrah! Now I’ve only got the final closing scenes to go. Plus the one extra scene I need to put in earlier in the book, and a whole lot of editing to do, and I’ll be laughing. Phew. It is beginning to feel good even to have got to this point. Lord alone knows whether (a) my agent will like it or (b) even if he does, whether any publisher will take it (seeing as I am of course invisible to them all), but I think I’ve done the best I can with it. Anyway, we’ll see.

Oh, and I’ve done a piece of flash fiction for the Writewords (http://www.writewords.org.uk) Flash Fiction II challenge – which was for a piece of writing of not more than 500 words set in a zoo, where a character has a life-changing experience in under five minutes. This is my attempt:

Over in five

Minute One:
I enter the zoo gates with my son. Should have taken him to the match this afternoon, but couldn’t get the tickets. Left it too late as usual. That’s what Amanda always says. Maybe she’s right. So the zoo this time and not the footie. Never mind. Amanda will be pleased it’s educational. Once she finds out. She was in a rush this morning when I picked Danny up. Couldn’t seem to get rid of us both fast enough. I was hoping to have a chat with her, maybe see if we can go out one evening this week. After all, we’re not divorced yet. There’s still time.

Minute Two:
I’ve forgotten the smell of zoos. Or how expensive they are. Should have just taken Danny to McDonald’s. Though I suppose the smell’s the same. Only difference is one meat’s dead and the other’s alive. As far as I can tell. Though with some of these animals, I’m not so sure. Danny’s enjoying it though – look at the expression on his face. At times like these, being a father’s the greatest. Only wish we were a family again. What? Yeah, sure you can have an ice-cream, love. Just the one though – don’t want to spoil your lunch.

Minute Three:
Wonder if I can think up a decent excuse to ring Amanda? Sometimes I just want to hear her voice. If I say something light about Danny, she can’t get cross. I’m trying my best after all. What? Yeah, the tigers are great. I haven’t seen one before either. Well, not for a long time. That’s right. Like cats but scarier. We’re not frightened though, are we? No, mate, I thought not. You and me, we’re two of a kind. Hey, I’m just going to give your mum a quick call. Let her know where we are. Hold onto my hand and I’ll see if she answers. What’s that? I …

Minute Four:
… Weird. I recognise that ring-tone. Sounds like your mother’s, Danny. That’s funny, isn’t it? And at the same time as I was ringing too. Hey, I wonder if she’s here. Is this where she was rushing off to this morning? Did she tell you? No? Never mind, she might have come here for a day out herself – after all, she thought we were due for the footie, but I never got to tell her. Let’s see if we can see her. She can’t be too far away.

Minute Five:
At first, I don’t know it’s her. There’s a woman. Long fair hair. Maroon raincoat. She’s in the queue for the ice-cream van. Not just waiting either. She’s kissing someone. Someone tall and slim. Wearing a Burberry jacket. Danny’s fingers are cool in my palm and I cling to them tightly. Her phone’s ringing but she’s too engrossed to answer it. My skin feels cold and everything changes. Come on, Danny, I whisper. Let’s look at the tigers again.

THE END


Oh, and during my lunchtime walk around the campus, I see the builders have completely blocked everything off again, so I will have to wait for a passing cleaner, no doubt, before I can escape for the evening. Sigh.

Tonight (if I get home at all …), Lord H & I have an evening in. Bliss. And the second part of “Holby Blue” is on. I loved Part One, which I saw on the video last night whilst doing the ironing (pause for huzzahs at build-up of Wife Points …), so will look forward to tonight’s offering very much. Great characters & great plots, with a good balance of tension and humour. What could be nicer?

Apart from the return of my website of course - thank you, UK Hosts - I'm back!!

Today’s nice things:

1. Sharon’s review
2. Getting near closure for The Gifting
3. Writing a piece of flash fiction.

Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com (yes, I exist!)
http://www.pinkchampagneandapplejuice.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk