Bonnie Scotland

Edinburgh is a beautiful city. I remember it vividly even though I haven’t visited for years. (It somehow fell off my radar, usurped by Glasgow.) It’s unique features include two extinct volcanoes, one of them right in the city centre onto which Edinburgh Castle is built; a fact I was unaware of until today.

I have a meeting there tomorrow. It’s a trip I could do easily in one day, but I’m going to stay overnight and spend Friday enjoying the city. Fingers-crossed for sunshine and no rain!

Next week, I hope life will be more-or-less back to normal, after the chaos of moving. I’m hungry to get back to writing and catch-up on blog reading. Bet I’ve missed tons of great stuff!

New Horizons

It has happened. Last week was a blur, but, by some small miracle, and the hard work of two fabulous helpers, I have moved!!! The apartment is WONDERFUL. It’s on the top floor of a converted mill and the views are spectacular!


(I'll take more photos, with my real camera, on a less cloudy day.)

Nothing feels strange or unfamiliar -- as if I've lived here much longer than five days. However, the partly unpacked boxes and general disorganisation prove that I’m barely installed. And I can confirm -- as a scientific fact -- unpacking takes ten times longer than packing.

Speaking of which, it took a non-stop, twenty-hour packing marathon to have everything ready to leave the haunted house by last Wednesday’s deadline.

I am now totally, utterly, and completely exhausted. Which is perhaps why the unpacking is such hard work.

This apartment does seem to be ghost-free. All I’m picking up on the ether is my neighbours’ Wi-Fi. Lucky for me, as mine won’t be connected for another week to ten days. :)

Cardboard Boxes

The final countdown: In 36 hours, removal men will cart my worldly possessions out of this haunted house.

Not all my worldly possessions; I have a storage unit that I intended to use for a month or two -- to which I still have the keys after almost two years! After moving into the apartment, I intend to move everything out of storage. It is probably time I started behaving less like a gypsy and more like a settled, grown-up person. (Perish the thought, says the teenage part of my brain.)

I’m navigating an obstacle course of part-packed boxes, semi-organised piles of paraphernalia, disassembled furniture, assorted tools and packing materials. Whenever I move, I imagine a quick and organised process, but in reality, it’s chaotic, slow, and slightly boring.

There are so many more interesting applications for cardboard boxes. Other than stuffing them full of possessions then sealing them with dull brown tape, one could…

Make an attractive lamp


A warm blanket


A car


A rocket


Star Wars costumes!


A kitchen


Or a monster...


to keep life scary, in case the new property does not come with ghosts. :)

I’ve been a bit of a nervous wreck these last few days, and slightly distracted. It’s been a time of sleepless nights and silly punctuation mistakes.

And now? Well, I’m so excited I can hardly type. In fact -- my hands are shaking! Today, my solicitor confirmed that we have exchange of contracts on the sale of my haunted house and the purchase of what will be my apartment in the sky!!

Because this is the third time, in the last nine months, that I’ve tried to move, I decided to tell very few people about it. (I had begun to wonder if the ghosts were not allowing me to move.) But, in a surprise turn of events, the people who wanted to buy my house earlier this year, then pulled out just before we were due to exchange contracts, realised that global financial Armageddon was not as imminent as they thought. And several weeks later, decided they still wanted to buy this house.

The apartment in the sky was still on the market (phew!), so we started the process, again. But I was cautious. I’d been so disappointed when it all fell through that, until we exchanged contracts, I couldn’t allow myself to believe it was happening. The downside of this is that I’ve made little to no preparations for the move.

But it is happening! And I’m moving on Wednesday the fourth of June!!! :)

Happiness, Sadness, and Something In-Between

:-)

I love good news. And good news about a brilliant book by a fabulous writer is double (or even triple) good news! Which means it must be GREAT news! What, what, what? Well, I’m delighted that Patricia Wood’s wonderful debut novel, LOTTERY, is a contender for the 2008 Orange Prize for Fiction!

And, because I’m having no luck winning the UK’s National Lottery (though I live in hope), I’ll trot along to the bookie’s and bet on LOTTERY winning the Orange Prize!

:-/ 

I adore characterful property. And the gypsy blood that runs through my veins means I’m always thinking of moving. In fact, I was supposed  to be moving next week. To this apartment:

But my buyer backed down two days before exchange of contracts, so I was forced to pull out of the purchase. This is exactly what happened when I tried to move last October. So, I’ve had two potential buyers pull out, you guessed it, two days before exchange of contracts. And on both occasions, I was trying to move to an apartment!!

This must be a sign that my next move should be… NOT to an apartment, but towards my dream of living in the country.

:-(
The untimely death of writer and director Anthony Minghella is incredibly sad news; “… absolutely ghastly” is how Juliet Stevenson describes it in her warm and insightful tribute.

I re-watched Truly, Madly, Deeply only last week, as part of my research on ghosts.

And Moving Means… Shopping!

After last week’s roller-coaster ride on the local property market, I took off on Friday evening to celebrate with a friend who lives fifty miles away. It’s an easy drive from west to east. And I always imagine the road as a straight line, even though, in fact, it isn’t. But never mind…

On Saturday we toured furniture and department stores. Daisy, my eleven-year-old protagonist, kept popping up with her thoughts and opinions, but was polite enough not to comment out loud. (Her manners are definitely improving!) However, she did drag me into a couple of clothes shops and surprise me with her choices. She has an eye when it comes to creating a look; though she wants you to know, she’s not massively interested in fashion.

Together, my friend and I quickly developed a scheme for the new apartment. Before driving home on Saturday night, I broke the news that, after totting up our selection, I couldn’t afford the Ligne Roset sofas -- just yet!

She looked straight at me. “And the silk curtains for your bedroom?”

“Don’t worry; they are my TOP priority.”

“Thank heavens,” she said.

“Phew!” Daisy sighed.

This girl has exceptional taste!

Yes, I'm Moving

I made a decision on the apartment. The deal is done, and, if all goes according to plan, I will be moving in 8 to 10 weeks!!!


No more endless cleaning!
No more gardening!
No more parking problems!
No more music blaring through the party walls! (I hope.)


I could not be happier. I feel light as a newborn lamb.













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In writing news...

The main character in my WIP is an eleven-year-old girl named Daisy. This is the youngest MC I’ve written. And the problem is … she’s spilling over into everyday life. I’m thinking like an eleven-year-old, even in grown-up situations! (Daisy likes the new apartment, very much.)

Time to create some boundaries!

Moving?

I bought my Edwardian house eighteen months ago. I'd always lived in apartments, so I thought a house and garden would be fun. But I’ve never felt organised here, and the truth is… I don’t have time to keep on top of the property.

I’ve been thinking about moving for several months. But buying/selling/moving is a project that takes time away from writing. However, once moved, I will have more time to write!

There’s an apartment I’ve viewed twice in the last week, and it’s a very serious contender. I have a few more things to think about, and a few more questions about the property before making the final decision.

Despite being somewhat preoccupied with the pros and cons of this potential move, my new novel is happening at quite a pace. It’s the roughest of rough drafts, but it’s exciting and surprising.

Previously, I would write and edit as I went along. This time, I’m allowing the ideas to flow. And this is my favourite part of the process; no thoughts of synopses and pitches – only characters, story, and FUN!!!