"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

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Boo! I'm back!



October had its way with me...not only did it pass in a flash, it was a strange combination of settling in again after the trip, closing up the cottage, a spate of diocesan events and gatherings, and a Lodge-related project.

And last week I published The Islanders Series, now available for Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and more e-readers to come.



Frankenstorm, aka Hurricane Sandy, swept through our region. Lots of Granite Staters lost electricity but we did not. Every time the lights flickered, we expected to hear our generator kick in, but it never happened. Our NY, NJ, DC, VA, CT family and friends seem to have come through unscathed. But oh, my, it is so painful to see the carnage.

A couple of weeks ago we had an earthquake--not much more than a 4 on the Richter scale, but extremely jarring. The Chap and I were standing in the kitchen when it happened, and felt the Lodge shift above and below us.

In honour of Halloween, here's a scan of a fridge magnet featuring artwork by the Chap's great-grandfather, a noted Salem newspaper editor and colunmist, artist and cartoonist, naturalist and ornithologist:



I simply haven't had time to deal with the comments issue and probably won't any time soon...I've signed up to participate in NaNoWriMo, (National Novel Writing Month) which lasts all of November. I'm hoping to finish off my contemporary novel. Wish me well!

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Home Again

It's lovely returning to autumn foliage and happy, cuddly dogs.

While in England--in countryside and in London--I took hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of photos. I'm sharing only a few here, but perhaps I'll put together a public Facebook album or something. Re-entry to normal life is always a curious and hectic process!

Our usual digs in London are only a few steps from this townhouse where P.G. Wodehouse lived, and which he supposedly assigned to Bertie Wooster.



Bernard Cornwell, dinner speaker at the Historical Novel Society's conference. (He was side-splittingly hilarious!)



This year's red callbox photo--at night, no less. In Shepherd Market, after a wonderful dinner of Spanish tapas and wine.



All dressed up for the conference banquet.



The Chap standing in front of his former London dwelling. This time it was his turn to lead the tour down Memory Lane.



After our stay in the countryside, seeing friends, touring National Trust properties, and wandering through beautiful gardens, we had a similarly fantastic time in London. We saw three palaces--Buckingham, Hampton Court, and Kensington (the latter two for research), art museums, writers' conference, restaurants, shopping, seeing more friends.

And as usual, on the homeward flight we were already discussing the next visit...