Legendary Authors

Happy Halloween!

 

We’d be a disgrace to Goth kind if we didn’t blog on the best day of the year to wish everyone a happy Halloween. As you can see, we decided to be pirates this year. The doomed pirates from the Mary Celeste. They didn’t have girl pirates then but we like bending the rules. If we’d been alive then we might have been pirates. We’d also like to welcome our niece to the world. Brooke Amy Katelyn was born 3 weeks ago so congrats to our sister Sarah and her fiancé Craig. Naturally we bought Brooke lots of Halloween outfits and when she looks at the photos when she’s older she may never forgive us.

            Been pretty busy lately. One of our Renault 4’s threw a tantrum after we’d spent days de-rusting and repainting the pair of them (which resulted in rust going in Cat’s eye, and staying there until her eye was so swollen and bloodshot she was forced to spend the night awake. But when the choice is all night agony or A and E 2:30 on a Saturday morning, she wisely chose the pain.) Anyway, the damn yellow R4 blew its gasket on a test run after messing with the points. We were like a mobile fog machine, crawling along the main road rendering other drivers blind. Any drivers who wouldn’t let us turn back into our street got a faceful of white fumes in retaliation. Never mess with R4’s. They’re a temperamental, angry species. Our garage didn’t want to touch it and we love the car (despite the many times it’s broken down in the cold) so we figured, we’ve got a Haynes manual and a toolkit and heaps of enthusiasm, what more do we need? So we took it apart. Dismantled the carburettor, removed the alternator and everything connected to the cylinder head then carefully removed the cylinder head. Sure enough, tiny hole in the gasket. After getting a replacement we’re now in the process of re-fitting everything and praying to the god of R4’s that it works when it’s completed. Or we’ll be having serious words with the yellow Renault. We’re sure he hates us.

            In between dealing with stroppy cars we’ve been writing, as always. Currently working on a comedy diary style piece about social phobes attempting to find friends, based on our own disastrous yet tragically funny experiences. As well as redrafting our current novels, writing poetry and working on short stories. Just had a rave rejection for another one – they said we “clearly have the necessary tools of the writing trade” and thought our descriptions were “brilliantly evocative.” We’re getting there.

            Our laptop’s died again so we’ve been forced to buy yet another adapter. It costs the same as the royalties we’re getting from 8Hours. Kind of ironic.

            So, Happy Halloween. We’re off to stuff our faces with coffin cake, play ducking apples and dance Thriller really badly.

 

C L Raven. No-one’s going to save us from the beast about to strike. Mwa ha ha ha ha!

Poetry at work - and other writing!

Happy National (UK) Poetry Day! And the theme this year being 'work', it seems appropriate that this week has been full of both work and poetry for me...

I was delighted, but nervous, after being asked by a local reading group this week if I would lead a session next May on Legend Press anthology Remarkable Everyday, which contains my short story Monday. I'm hoping to pop along to the April session on The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve to pick up a few tips on what will be expected of me. Wish me luck though, as leading a reading group session will be a first for me!

I've also been busy this week on other things as I was lucky enough to be asked to accompany my son's deputy head teacher on a conference about engaging parents and parent and school partnerships. His primary school is thinking about setting up a parents' council or forum. It is all interesting stuff, as I'd love to be more involved in his school and education, but I have a feeling it promises more work than poetry, or have I just set myself a challenge!

My son's school has also just set up some new 'university' sessions where parents can share their skills with pupils. Younger son's childcare permitting, I'm hoping I may be able to get involved on a creative writing/poetry/journalism front. Last year, I was lucky enough to help out with a year two class and hearing them read, make up their own poetry, book reviews, riddles etc was very rewarding - and inspiring too for my own writing.

It has been a productive week for me on the writing front. Amongst other projects, I've been busy editing a new short story which I'm hoping to have ready to submit for the 2009 Legend Press short story anthology. The deadline is ticking closer for me and anyone else who's yet to submit (you've still got till the end of the month though!).

I also found out this week that I've gained two Merit awards in Nottingham Poetry Society's 2008 Nottingham Open Poetry Competition, with my poems to be published in the next issue of Poetry Nottingham. As I said, a productive week of both work and poetry! Hope everyone else's has been good too.

Sarah James