It's all about so much more than the writing... What has been happening lately to inspire me? A&C Black sent me a paperback edition of the compilation, All In The Family, which features one of my short stories. What a nice surprise parcel. Oh, and I received an advance copy of the US edition of Sisters of the Sword, Journey Through Fire, published on 9 June. All that writing seems such a long time ago now!
What else? Birthday drinks for a friend introduced me to fellow writer, Tim Davis. Tim is a native English speaker, who wrote his first children's manuscript in Turkish - and just happened to have it published! Not bad, for a first attempt. The same evening, I finished reading Meg Rosoff's superb novel, What I Was. This slim, unassuming book is a lesson in restraint and excellence, with dollops of wistful atmosphere and a fantastic twist that I did not see coming, didn't recognise when it was first hinted at, had to be hit over the head with so that I finally understood that things were not all they seemed. Brilliant, brilliant. I was fully happy to indulge in public crying as I finished the book. Care, I did not.
And today I was glad to hear that I will be contributing to the Scattered Authors Society shared blog. The SAS has been a wonderful community of friendliness and support and I am looking forward to attending their writing retreat next month, when I leave London for four days of writing, relaxation, afternoon napping and hopefully more writing. My first blog entry for the Scattered Authors Society, on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure, will be on 3 July. Must screw thinking cap firmly on my head, before then.
