A toast to...

...everyone who participated in the Your Messages project. Last night's launch of the book was a fitting celebration of the 115 people from all over the world who contributed during November. The event was in the spirit of the original idea - warm, generous and welcoming. In the preface to the book Lynne and Sarah say that they "truly wished we could put them all in here, but failing that, we love the idea that they are still up there altogether on the Your Messages site where they all belong." It is fantastic to be able to revisit the site and read favourite pieces, including the many wonderful ones that aren't in the book.

Lynne and Sarah annonced that bluechrome are donating all the money from the sales of Your Messages to the Kids Company charity, which is fantastic. They raised £500 from sales at the launch, and it's now available on Amazon.

It was great to meet fellow bloggers in the flesh and a shame to miss those who were unable to attend. I met the lovely Leigh, was initiated by Caroline into the world of In Search of Adam (I now have a badge!) and would have bought the paperback today if Waterstones had been open at a reasonable hour (ie before my train left London), was enticed by Oz Hardwick's description of the forthcoming York Literature Festival, made note of a couple of blogs I had previously not encountered (Three Beautiful Things and Mercs World) and generally met lots of fantastic people.

Had an uneventful journey back, immersed in Sarah Waters' Fingersmith (what an amazing book). At one point though I got totally distracted by the mobile phone conversations of the woman sitting next to me - to the extent that I started to just pretend to read so I could have a good listen, and then when I realised I wasn't very convincing I pretend to doze off. It was fascinating stuff - a world of seriously rich partying , exotic holidays, dastardly exes, finanicial crisis that 'I'll just have to ride dahling' and invitations to 'the house in Chamonix'.

Wish I'd made notes but that might have been too obvious and anyway I don't think I'll forget her in a hurry. It was also interesting in light of my Messages piece - which is about an Internet stalker. By the end of the journey I had so much information about her and her life that I am tempted to Google her and find out more - does that make me sound really creepy?

Off to that London

Very excited about my trip to the big city tomorrow for the Messages / Your Messages launch. I have a to-do-list a mile long which has worrying things on it like - 'Pay Tax Bill' and 'Find out where this Covent Garden place is'.

I found this lovely picture of The Book on Sarah Salway's page - it's so very beautiful and so very purple.



It's available from Amazon and all proceeds go to the charity Kids Company

It's too late for me to take up the suggestion of wearing purple to match the book, I always plan well in advance what I am going to wear and cannot be moved on the subject (unless I discover a big stain down the front / can't do up the zip/ realise it makes me look like a frog).

I am reading my 'message' at the do and am third on - after published author Caroline Smailes!! I'm a wee bit nervous but I'm taking my step-sister along for support and she is going to make sure I don't succumb to the vodkas beforehand. Talking of which, it is the last day of my not-drinking month tomorrow but I think I may permit myself a premature tipple (or two) after I have read my piece, rather than waiting 'til midnight.

OK I've got a to-do list to deal with and it seems to have 'Polish boots and buy some nice tights' on it which both seem unlikely before I catch my train in the morning.

A message

The 15th Dec at last, end of vow of silence, I can make public the news that one of my messages for the Your Messages project is going to be included in the published book. I'm extremely chuffed and very pleased with the piece they have chosen as of those I submitted it was one of my favourites.

Well done to everyone else who is to be included in the anthology, can't wait to meet those of you who will be attending the launch of the book and of Sarah and Lynne's Messages in January.

Big thanks to Sarah Salway and Lynne Rees for thinking up such a great idea. Profits from sales of Your Messages will go to the Kids Company charity, which:

"Provides practical and emotional support to ‘lone children’. These are children and young people who experience significant psychosocial difficulties because their parent is unable to function as a caring adult."

A really good cause to support. Follow the link to find out more. I will post up details of how to purchase the book when they are available.

Poetry, Paris and parrots

One of the spin-off benefits of the Your Messages project (yup I'm still doing it) is following links to the blogs and web sites of other writers. I have been really enjoying Oz Hardwick's postings. Visit his website to discover his poetry, if you haven't found it already.

I've got a trip to Paris planned for a couple of weeks time and a friend has loaned me her copy of The Guide to the Architecture of Paris by Norval White. The architectural delights that Mr White has promised me so far include “a bejeweled and bedecked dowager on the way to a fancy dress ball” and “vegetative soffits and cubistic capitals … bedecked in attic finery.” Great stuff, I’m looking forward to spotting the buildings from his luscious descriptions.

I’ve been working in that London this week, hence the brief absence from blogging and messaging. I had access to a computer but not much head space, although I did manage some scribbling on the train on the way down. Journey back was totally devoted to Ali Smith’s ‘Hotel World’ - stunning stuff especially when read in one sitting - the luxury of train travel.

Had to watch lots of Monty Python for research purposes last week (sometimes I really love my job). I'd forgotten just how funny this sketch is (a bit like hearing 'Stairway to Heaven' for the first time in ages and realising that it's actually jolly good).

An 'everything is possible' moment

This 'Your Messages' thingummy is so working for me. Its giving me a new structure to my writing day (and I do really need structure) I got my 300 words off first thing (well first thing after having coffee with friends and a trip to the market scouting for bargains). I was so fired up from having written and posted something that I then had a stonking game of Spider Solitaire and got my highest score ever. And its only 11 o'clock!

I must continue on this up beat for the next few hours - maybe I can finish that novel, write my WEA assignment for tomorrow, edit my story for the Fish Short Story Comp, set up a Ning social networking site for our writing group AND plant out the forget-me-nots that are currently languishing in the shed. Everything seems possible.

But first I'd better feed the cat

A good start to the day

If you want a really good start (or end depending on what time you're logging in) to your day then get yourself over to the Your Messages blog. Inspirational jumping off points for stories and the potential for publication. I've just posted my first story there and it was a great feeling to have written something new and put it up where it could be read (scary feeling too of course.) I'm aiming to try to post something up there most days this month. Even if you don't fancy contributing something yourself it's worth having a look at the other submissions - there's some really good stuff.


Its Writing Group night tonight. Twelve to fourteen of us meet up about once a month to talk about writing, share our recent scribblings and sometimes do writing exercises together. Last month we had a 'guest speaker', a local author and script writer who did a fantastic workshop for us on dialogue. This week we are supposed to be continuing the dialogue theme. We had an 'assignment' following on from last months session which I have sadly not got round to doing. Never mind It will be good to hear everyone else's pieces, and I might just take along something else to read out. We meet in the pub and its usually quite a jolly affair. I really enjoy having time to talk about writing and to get support and feedback from other writers.

I have a work free day today - a rare and wonderful thing. So I am going to crack on with my children's novel. I'm unlikely to make the deadline for the Times competition but after that's passed I will have to set my own deadline for completion - Christmas? I dreamed last night (in between a dream about a giant rabbit and one about freewheeling on my bike) that I had finished it - the feeling was lovely, so satisfying, I've just got to make it happen.