"It was imprudent of us, in the first place, to become authors. We could have become something regular, but we managed not to.
We were lucky, but we were also determined." Roy Blount Jr

"I don’t change the facts to enhance the drama. I think of it the other way round, the drama has got to fit the facts,
and it’s your job as a writer to find the shape in real life."
Hilary Mantel

Friday, September 28, 2012

On Tour

First of all, my comments area is gone. The widget I've been using goes out of business on 1st October, and till I get another the feature is entirely disabled. Sorry about that, but this blog doesn't generate that many comments anyway--except for spammers who slip them into older posts. During time in England, I've been busy. Here I am... with Jane Austen's writing table



hugging shrubbery in Hampshire



revelling in roses



visiting Buckingham Palace (without Alice)



returning to Hampton Court.



More later. I'm about to be quite busy with a writers' conference.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Author Talk



That's what happens when my friend Tess Gerritsen and I get together. The husbands managed to survive...plus we all got caught up on non-authorly news.

It was a gorgeous day in Portsmouth and a fab start to the weekend. I went almost directly from the Seacoast to the Lakes Region. The Chap joined me at the cottage today. Not really sure how long we'll be here. It's blustery and cool--but sunny--and the wind is carrying a change of season.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

The Anniversary

Eleven years. The passage of time hasn't numbed the pain, or my awareness of how it altered my life and my perspective. And how it hasn't.

This morning I woke alone--as I did then--at the lake cottage instead of the Lodge. The Chap is safely and securely at home, not on a business trip and isn't cut off from me by closed airports and airspace. We'll be together again in a matter of hours.

And again, it's a typical September 11th--the identical "severe clear"--cloudless blue sky, bright sunshine--that I remember so well. How could something so dreadful, so unimaginable, happen on such a beautiful, pristine day?

This year the anniversary falls on Primary Day and later I will visit my voting place. There's a comfort in being able to exert the freedoms I still enjoy as a citizen of my country on this day of remembrance and reflection.

Now as then, I appreciate the comfort provided by the presence of dogs. As we folllowed our usual route this morning along the tree-lined road, they were contented, unaffected by events past or present, trotting along, interested only in the next peculiar scent on the ground, or squirrel leaping from tree to tree.

The rest of this day will be full and busy, so I'm grateful for this quiet morning solitude. It feels much calmer and pleasanter than it did eleven years ago. But sad, too.