It has been a hard year, and if there are any followers out there wondering where I had gone, don't worry, I'm back!
In June my husband was medically retired. A few weeks later my mother died - she had been ill for some time and had a heart attack. Three weeks after that I had to put my german shepherd dog down as she suffered a massive heart attack also. My son announced his girlfriend was expecting a baby in May next year and my uncle developed cancer of the oesophagus. All in all I am glad to see the back of this year.
On the up side. My second son made me proud by achieving a goal. I also managed to join the crowd and get my children's book Stella's Secret published through KDP Amazon. All I have to do now is hope that next year will be a little better.
When you get year's like that and you feel that everything is against you I believe it makes you stronger. Your personal experience helps you to face whatever other problems may arise and in the process you can be there to help others through their traumatic times. I try not to think of this as a personal afront but a learning curve. It teaches us to appreciate what we have and not to look to things we don't. I also try not to worry about things I cannot change, things I have no control over. We have enough to worry about without imagining things that may or may not happen.
I will start this new year afresh and look forward to what life may bring.
Thursday 22 December 2011
Saturday 30 April 2011
writing competition payments
There is a lot of controversey over methods of payments in writing competitions.
Many of the sponsors require payment by cheque. Unfortunately cheques are being phased out and in fact my bank now charges £10 per cheque. So for an entry fee of £3 - £5 it get expensive.
The alternative is to use your credit card details. Writing your personal details on an entry form and sending them in the post is not very secure in my opinion. Dishonest people will have a field day collecting all these bits of paper and creaming all your hard earned....
Something needs to be done. A few sponsors are now allowing you to pay through Paypal which is indeed secure but not everyone has a credit card or internet to be able to do this.
The writing community needs to get their heads together and come to an amicable solution or interest in entering competitions will wane and that is something we cannot have.
Many of the sponsors require payment by cheque. Unfortunately cheques are being phased out and in fact my bank now charges £10 per cheque. So for an entry fee of £3 - £5 it get expensive.
The alternative is to use your credit card details. Writing your personal details on an entry form and sending them in the post is not very secure in my opinion. Dishonest people will have a field day collecting all these bits of paper and creaming all your hard earned....
Something needs to be done. A few sponsors are now allowing you to pay through Paypal which is indeed secure but not everyone has a credit card or internet to be able to do this.
The writing community needs to get their heads together and come to an amicable solution or interest in entering competitions will wane and that is something we cannot have.
Wednesday 13 April 2011
Fiction Project
At last, I've done it, it's finished.
In February this year I saw an advertisement in Writer's News for a fiction project run by the Brooklyn Art Library. The idea was to write a notebook, in your own style, on a given subject. There was a list of approximately 20 different subjects; then one I chose was If You Lived Here...
On receiving my notebook it felt daunting having to fill all those pages by hand - my hands aren't all that good due to arthritis. Anyway, it was a challenge and taking the bull by the horns and began. I wrote all about my home town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. I drew several pictures and regaled anyone who reads the notebook with my own opinion of the town.
Now, two months down the line, it is finished. I feel a great sense of achievement. This notebook will now be returned to Brooklyn, NY where it will travel the USA in several locations, on display for all to see. I scanned a copy into my pc and anyone that wants one only has to ask.
I never realised how much time and energy it would take, nor how much of my mind it would occupy. The relief now that it is over is wonderful. The only thing is I'm already starting on my next project - a children's book called The Pumpkins. Ah well, no rest for the wicked!
In February this year I saw an advertisement in Writer's News for a fiction project run by the Brooklyn Art Library. The idea was to write a notebook, in your own style, on a given subject. There was a list of approximately 20 different subjects; then one I chose was If You Lived Here...
On receiving my notebook it felt daunting having to fill all those pages by hand - my hands aren't all that good due to arthritis. Anyway, it was a challenge and taking the bull by the horns and began. I wrote all about my home town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. I drew several pictures and regaled anyone who reads the notebook with my own opinion of the town.
Now, two months down the line, it is finished. I feel a great sense of achievement. This notebook will now be returned to Brooklyn, NY where it will travel the USA in several locations, on display for all to see. I scanned a copy into my pc and anyone that wants one only has to ask.
I never realised how much time and energy it would take, nor how much of my mind it would occupy. The relief now that it is over is wonderful. The only thing is I'm already starting on my next project - a children's book called The Pumpkins. Ah well, no rest for the wicked!
Tuesday 18 January 2011
what would we do without electricity?
Having had a gas emergency this winter I felt sorry for those who had lost their electricity during the cold weather and I wondered how we, as a nation, would cope.
We enjoy the luxury of our modern gadgets; where would we be without our mobile phones and tv
But what about those who have not got the luxury of all our modern gadgets? Could modern Britain survive if we had an earthquake on the scale of Haiti? I doubt it.
We may cope for a while and soldier on - the British “stiff upper lip” etc; but what about the long term? Years ago we were advised to think about a Nuclear winter. Maybe it is time to think about emergency situations - just in case. After all we have had earthquakes in this country too.
On a cheerier note; I believe we would survive, we always do but our thinking would be changed. ’s?
We enjoy the luxury of our modern gadgets; where would we be without our mobile phones and tv
But what about those who have not got the luxury of all our modern gadgets? Could modern Britain survive if we had an earthquake on the scale of Haiti? I doubt it.
We may cope for a while and soldier on - the British “stiff upper lip” etc; but what about the long term? Years ago we were advised to think about a Nuclear winter. Maybe it is time to think about emergency situations - just in case. After all we have had earthquakes in this country too.
On a cheerier note; I believe we would survive, we always do but our thinking would be changed. ’s?
Monday 3 January 2011
Where do all the turkeys go after Christmas?
At Christmas stores are throwing goods at us on special offer but what about the rest of the year. Has anyone ever found a turkey on special offer in July? I havenIt is true, however, that we all enjoy a bargain and cupboards have been filled with ‘buy one get one free’ offers and ‘half price’ items, half of which we thoroughly enjoy for the time being but fill the larder with oddments when we get fed up of them.’t. I like turkey but the only time I can find it at a price I can afford is in the month of December. With intensive farming and chemical engineering surely there must be a way for us to enjoy turkey during the summer months. Thankfully I have a large freezer and enjoy this delight throughout the year. Come on farmers think of all of us and not just your pocket at the end of the year.
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