Back from My Holibobs!

Embleton Bay where we walked every day

I’ve just come back from a lovely week in Northumberland. So many castles and beaches and general loveliness.

We had a brilliant time and so did Bonnie, who enjoyed her long walks.

We only lost her once, in the tall bracken at the top of the sand dunes. Luckily, she has a tracker on her collar so we found her after a few minutes but it was panic stations for a little while!

Just before she disappeared…

We even managed to avoid the rain most of the time. The forecast for the week had been a bit mixed but even when rain was forecast, it seemed to miss us! (To be honest, I was quite looking forward to the rain – a good excuse to stay in and read and write – but it was not to be!)

Lindisfarne Castle on Holy Island (Lindisfarne).

I did read two novels, though:

Metronome – Tom Watson
This is a very impressive debut, set in a dystopian future, about a couple exiled on an island for a crime they’ve committed. They’re due for parole (after 12 years) but the expected ‘rescue’ doesn’t seem to be coming. I’d heard about it on the BBC programme ‘Between The Covers’ and thought it sounded intriguing. It was beautifully written but a bit bleak and violent (eek!) and probably not the best holiday read!

Crooked Heart – Lissa Evans
Ah, this was more my cup of tea, I must admit. It’s a heartwarming story of the relationship between a WW2 evacuee and the woman who takes him in (because she’ll earn 10 and 6 a week!), set against the backdrop of the Blitz. Funny and poignant, with larger-than-life characters, I read it (almost) in one sitting, which was total BLISS.

Insta’
I have joined Instagram (finally). Yes, a bit late to the party but it seemed to be the only way to join Threads, potential successor to Twitter (not that I’ve done that yet. Give me a year or two). I have only posted a couple of pictures so far. (Sssh, don’t tell anyone but I’m not really sure how Instagram works! If anyone’s got any tips, they’d be gratefully received!).

New Magazine for Writers
And talking of new things, a free on-line magazine for writers (Writers’ Narrative) is just about to be launched which might be of interest. You can subscribe here and there’s information too about submissions and topics to be covered in future issues.

Curtis Brown Creative (who are celebrating the fact that over 200 of their former students have gone on to get commercial publishing deals) have a 30-day on-line ‘Writers Bootcamp’ starting on 1st August, for just £35 which looks pretty good, if you want to kick start a project (that novel?) or want something that’ll help with motivation and writing over what remains of the summer (or there’s another start date of 11th September).

The link’s here if you want to see more.

Short Story Competition

And finally, entries are now being accepted for The Val Wood Prize for Creative Writing 2023: The Tide. Entries should be submitted by 5.00pm (BST) 31st August 2023.

The competition’s open to everyone, there’s a first prize of £100, plus other prizes and the theme is ‘The Tide’.

Read the rules carefully and good luck if you decide to enter!