A Postcard from Hiati

The weather is lovely!


I have been quiet a little longer than planned. But the experiment has proven that, in the case of this novice novelist, less time online results in an increased production of fiction.

In other words, the writing is going really, really well. At the moment, I’m busy with further ‘tweaks’ of the novel I now realise will never be ‘finished’ until it is a) published, or b) shelved.

I’m not quite sure when I will return to more regular blogging, but I’ve just signed up to Twitter! And because any funny, cool, cute, or even vaguely acceptable plays on Mary are already taken ... I am using my real, full name. (I feel so brave!)

In reading news:

A novel I had been meaning to read for ages but only recently got round to is A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb. It completely blew me away! It is the story of a ghost who falls in love, possessing a living body in order to be with her lover. It is unique, and beautifully written.

Continuing the spectral theme...

I am just over halfway through Katie Alender’s debut novel, Bad Girls Don’t Die. It is a gripping YA thriller, and yes, I did have to sleep with the light on after one particularly creepy moment. Katie has a gift for characterisation, and the protagonist’s scary little sister is especially well drawn.

Catch-Up!

Katie Alender, author of BAD GIRLS DON’T DIE -- a novel I am dying to read as soon as it’s released in April 2009 -- tagged me on May 31st. I know... that was AGES ago! But, with all this moving malarkey... 
Enough excuses; here goes! 

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was living a fast-lane fashion life in New York City; designing by day, socialising by night. I’d worked incredibly hard to reach my position -- but, I wasn’t creatively satisfied, and was starting to doubt whether I wanted to remain in the fashion world for the rest of my life.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

Write ‘snagging’ list (I’m in a newly converted apartment). Meet with developer’s site-manager to discuss that list and arrange for snags to be fixed. Unpack another box or two. (It’s never-ending!) Paint toenails with new silvery-brown nail polish. Finish reading Little Brother by Cory Doctorow.

3) Snacks I enjoy:

Black olives are my favourite, although I’m currently addicted to almond, apricot and yoghurt Love Bars, and macadamia nuts. And I’ve had a life-long love affair with XL Cheese Crisps.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

First thought: I would give a lot to charity. Second thought: How many billions are we talking about? Would it be enough to do something to stop bio-fuel being grown in place of food crops, and to start producing fuel from household waste on a humongous scale? If so, then that’s what I would do.

I’d also buy my parents a bigger bungalow, and pay-off my little sister’s mortgage. I would design and build a modernist/futuristic house in the country, on a plot with some woodland, a stream, and a field for two horses.

5) Places I have lived:

Carlisle, Cumbria; Wetheral, Cumbria; Dundee, Scotland; London, England; New York City, USA.

6) Jobs I have had:

Waitress, shop assistant, factory worker, bar tender, art gallery assistant, extra in music videos, artist in residence, art reviewer, accessories designer, fabric designer, knitwear designer, trend forecaster.

7) This is where I’m meant to tag six others. Instead, I say this: If you would like to do the meme... then YOU are TAGGED!!! :)