 If you’ve followed me for a fair amount of time, you’ll know - I’m a New Year’s resolutions kind of gal. Every year, I attempt to master certain skills, improve knowledge, achieve specific goals in relation to my writing, my reading, my activity and hobbies. Most years, I succeed.
This coming year, I have just one resolution which I’ve borrowed from E.M. Forster - ‘Only connect’ which fits beautifully with my current mindset. The epigraph is a quote from his novel of 1910, ‘Howards End’ in which its main character Margaret Wilcox ponders whether humans can truly align and ‘connect’ their inner world ‘passion’ with their outer world ‘prose’. Forster’s belief was ‘Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its highest’ – which covers all aspects of life, me thinks. Forster’s other quote of ‘Choose a place where you won’t do harm – yes, choose a place where you won’t do very much harm, and stand in it for all you are worth, facing the sunshine’ – hasn’t gone amiss in my life, so fingers crossed for 2025!
0 Comments
17/12/2024 0 Comments Play it again, Erin! You might remember back in March 2024, that I sat my grade one piano exam and was chuffed when I actually ‘passed’ having taught myself since the Lockdown experience. I was delighted at the time, and had no intention of ever repeating the experience – I’d proved to myself that I had understood the basics.
I recognise that I’m never going to have the finesse or grounded understanding that a pupil will gain from a regular music teacher. Let’s be honest, I didn’t truly know what to expect when attending the actual exam other than the basic requirements from the official ABRSM website - which I studied, as necessary. I attended without the ‘hints and tips’ that a music teacher would have prepared their student with beforehand. Thankfully, experience counts for everything in my world. You won’t be surprised to hear, that having 'passed', I continued to practice my pieces and retook my grade one, in early December. This time, I achieved a ‘merit’. Woohoo, now I’m officially done with grade one piano! 13/12/2024 0 Comments Christmas and Jolabokaflod 2024 For me, Christmas officially begins at home on Christmas Eve. All preparations such as gift wrapping, delivery drop-offs to friends, food shopping or last-minute bulk buying of big bottles of Bailey’s liqueur has to be completed by the 23rd. If it hasn’t crossed the doorstep by that date - I can live without it!
Such measures came into play after ‘lockdown’, when I admitted that my love of Christmas was being ruined by the corporate marketing teams and their seasonal guilt-tripping. I refused to buy into their reinvention of my Christmas. I was happy with my tried and trusted family traditions, so I made a stance! I stole back my Christmas from the corporate Grinches – along with one additional tradition especially for Christmas Eve! Three years ago, I’d learnt about the Icelandic tradition of Jolabokaflod (meaning the Christmas Book Flood) where families present each other with a festive book and spend the evening embracing the ‘togetherness’ of reading whilst cosy and warm, accompanied by lashings of hot chocolate! I have whole heartedly nabbed and extended this tradition to fill the entire day! Christmas Eve in my house is now a snuggly reading day, of self-care and seasonal pampering, in preparation for the big day. It’s no coincidence that I feast entirely on mince pies, stollen, Turkish delight and the big Bailey’s gets cracked open! Let’s be honest, some Christmas books are simply ‘December books’ where the setting coincides with Christmas time, and nothing more. I like genuine Christmas books where the story starts a day or two before December 25th and ends near New Year. I need to ‘meet and greet’ a cast of characters who remind me of love ones, with their quirky mannerisms, their bizarre yet unfunny jokes and their numerous allergies to turkey, plum pudding or Brussel sprouts. When I dive into the pages of festive mayhem, I wish for a cosy, idyllic setting, waist-high snow drifts and unfinished arguments from yesteryear simmering beneath the festive smiles and threatening to erupt during the King’s speech. I need secret desires, mountains of chocolate treats and characters who plan to return and exchange their unwanted gifts for store vouchers. I want to read about complicated heart break, New year fears and witness gut-wrenching tears beneath or beside a real Norwegian spruce. This festive reading confession probably explains the reasoning behind the plot twists and seasonal ingredients crafted within my own Christmas books. My aim is to provide my readers with a traditional family Christmas, as outlined above. Sadly, I always ruin my characters’ festive break by crafting numerous trials and tribulations that ignite conflict and calamities that aren’t welcome anywhere near my own doorstep during my twelve days. Call me ‘festive-selfish’ but I want the best of both worlds! To indulge in a great Christmas book filled with chaos, mayhem and possible romance whilst experiencing a memorable yet peaceful Christmas of the Dickens variety, whilst counting my blessings, albeit with a festive coffee or three! This year, I’ve selected two classic Christmas books ready for my ‘Jolabokaflod’ reading fest. Wishing each and every reader the Christmas of your dreams overflowing with festive ingredients and traditions of your choosing! 5/12/2024 0 Comments Publication day! Today 5th December is publication day for my fourteenth book, which is book four in the Lakeside Cottage series. The story is a standalone tale, set within the beautiful Cumbrian landscape so it doesn't have to be read alongside the other Lakeside books - though some readers like to read in publication order.
Remember you can sample the opening chapters by visiting Amazon and selecting the 'sample tabs' beneath the book cover. The reading sample gives you access to the first 38 pages of the book ... enough pages to try before you buy! The audio sample gives you a five minute section - so grab a coffee and enjoy! Book blurb: Welcome back to the Lakeside Cottage . . . a place to come together, or be driven further apart? It's that week between Christmas and New Year, and sisters Kate and Selena, and their friend Paisley, are meeting for an all-girls mini-break - no men allowed. But Affie, Carlos and Joseph have a similar idea, involving a sports channel, plenty of beer, and absolutely no women. Somehow, there's been a double booking. Paisley just wants to escape her worries, to recharge and reset for the coming year. The last thing she needs is complications. Kate, the elder sister, is a people pleaser, used to making things run smoothly for her CEO boss, but even she can't fix this, can she? Selena, meanwhile, may have a hugely successful career and be about to turn thirty, but she's her own worst enemy, and, as per usual, this mess may well be her fault... To make matters worse, Paisley and Joseph have history. Can the six of them find a way to navigate nearly a week together? Can the past be left behind and a new future found? The Amazon link: www.amazon.co.uk/Reunited-Lakeside-Cottage-heart-warming-uplifting-ebook/dp/B0D5QQPL8J 2/12/2024 0 Comments DrawingI’m a creature of habit as many of you may know. I’m a firm believer that you achieve in what you repeatedly do rather than what you occasionally do – which pretty much explains my daily routines. I like to incorporate many of the interests that make my heart sing for 20-30 minutes each day rather than having to wait until the weekend for a three-hour session. Previously, I always found the inevitable occurred and my planned weekend activity was pushed aside and it might be three weeks until I had the desired free-time. That’s no good for me. I need time to enjoy myself each day - I’m not entirely sure how many I’ve been assigned! You've probably heard that 18 minutes a day equates to over a 100 hours a year - hence the improvement at any task or skill. Having a scheduled downtime each day to enjoy my art enables my brain to slow, my thoughts to flow and supports my creative writing – you’d be amazed how many of my plot points have occurred whilst I draw or paint. You’ll remember back in October that I took up the challenge to draw each day. I know I promised to share but they were little itty-bitty sketches which were fun to do in the moment but not entirely finished, so I didn’t share. I might when I’ve improved them a little. The month-long challenge proved worthy as I managed to sketch for the majority of the days. I’ve decided to continue with my daily practice by focusing on one main piece. Which brings me around to my current drawing – a combination of graphite pencil and coloured pencils, which I'll update as I progress. |
Archives
January 2025
Categories |
RSS Feed