tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26479621519260693972024-03-14T14:56:38.756+00:00Kit Berry - Moongazy GirlWelcome to my blog!
I'm the author of The Stonewylde Series. I also have a website and network site, but this is where I blog and ramble. Please join me.Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-51475187285530497112013-04-02T23:43:00.000+01:002013-04-02T23:43:45.021+01:00Moonfleet at Easter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've told many of my Stonewylde readers about my next project, which is an historical novel set on the Isle of Portland during the Civil War. But in the meantime, I've started writing an adventure book for 9 - 12 year olds. I have actually written the first chapter (always the hardest part in my opinion) but I needed more information. The book (which could potentially be a series) is set on the Fleet in Dorset, the setting for John Meade Falkner's wonderful classic <i>Moonfleet</i>. <br />
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So on Easter Sunday, Mr B and I set off to spend the day exploring the area. It's amazingly beautiful!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Fleet, with Chesil Beach in the background</td></tr>
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I read <i>Moonfleet</i> as a child and really enjoyed re-reading it recently. Falkner used quite a lot of artistic licence in describing the village and surrounding area. He wrote the book at the end of the 19th Century, but set it during the 18th Century, before the Great Storm of 1824 which destroyed several houses in the village of Fleet, and a large part of the church. Visiting Fleet today (both east, west and in the middle) there's very little there in terms of buildings. But I'd already decided that I'd be inventing my own places for my books, not wanting anyone to think I'd used their house as inspiration!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moonfleet Manor in the distance</td></tr>
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The name Moonfleet is in fact J M Falkner's invention - the body of water is known as the Fleet (from a Saxon word) and the tiny hamlet is of the same name. For several generations the land was owned by the Mohune family (around the time of the Civil War - so this is very relevant to my adult novel!) and Falkner amalgamated Mohune Fleet into Moonfleet. The house was originally known as Fleet House, but has since been renamed Moonfleet Manor (far more romantic) and is now a hotel. We started off our day with a coffee in the lounge. It's absolutely wonderful there, despite the poor stuffed animals - a legacy of a bygone era when hunting exotic animals was considered perfectly acceptable. I wish we could afford to stay at the hotel, but the coffee was lovely and maybe one day we'll splash out and treat ourselves. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">One of the lounges at Moonfleet Manor</td></tr>
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We ate our picnic in the lea of the ancient wall around the manor house. It was beautifully sunny but the wind was biting, and we needed the shelter. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The buttressed wall at Moonfleet Manor</td></tr>
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I took hundreds of photos, trying to imagine scenes in my book and looking for just the right spot to place the cottage where the children come to spend their summer holidays. I was keen to know if it were possible to swim in the Fleet, and how safe it would be. There were many little beaches, some stony and sharp and others full of sludgy mud. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beach on the Fleet - waterbird's nesting ground?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were many rowing boats - all other types banned</td></tr>
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We were absolutely freezing after a couple of hours out in the wind, and made ourselves a very welcome cup of tea in the car! A slice of homemade ginger and date cake went down very nicely too.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were careful not to knock it over! Too windy outside the boot.</td></tr>
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Then we found the old, original church - or what was left of it after the Great Storm of 1824. It's an amazing little place - really lovely. This is where Falkner described the Mohune vault where poor John Trenchard grabs a handful of beard from a coffin, and where the smuggled barrels bump together when the vault floods during a Spring Tide. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All that's left of the original church - a peaceful spot</td></tr>
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From the Fleet, the views of Portland are amazing. What's so good is that all my research and atmosphere-soaking-up can be shared for the two books - adult and children's. This area really does fill me with excitement and something that sparks off my imagination and creativity. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Isle of Portland in the distance, across the Fleet</td></tr>
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And then, towards the end of the day when we'd seen so many fantastic views and interesting things, we saw something that filled my heart with joy and made me absolutely sure that this was the place to set my children's book. The first ones I've seen in a long time - and many of you know just how important this creature is to me. The quality of this photo is poor as they were in the distance and we couldn't get closer - I've really had to blow up the image. See how the one on the left is stretching like a cat? So beautiful, and the perfect ending to a perfect day!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moonfleet hares! </td></tr>
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Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-87929699244531515702013-03-18T12:45:00.000+00:002013-03-18T13:03:26.474+00:00Save Wild Tigers - St Pancras eventI was so glad to take part in this amazing event, the purpose of which was to highlight the dreadful plight of Asia's remaining wild tigers. It's estimated that there are only about 3,500 wild tigers left in the world today, which means that extinction looms for this most beautiful of creatures. There are more tigers in captivity than in the wild. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At St Pancras International Station - Save the Wild Tigers</td></tr>
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It was thanks to a tweet by Orion children's author, Lauren St John, that I learned of the Tiny Tracks event - a children's weekend amongst three weeks of Tiger Tracks events, and their call for authors to come along and read stories to children at St Pancras Station. I volunteered, thinking I'd be one of many and probably not chosen, so you can imagine how delighted I was to hear that they wanted me to do two sessions of stories!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wore my most camouflaged of outfits!</td></tr>
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There had been a competition amongst local schools to create art work from recycled materials, with the theme "Tigers are not Rubbish!", and we enjoyed looking at the entries. This one was particularly spectacular!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiger made from recycled plastic milk bottles</td></tr>
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I had originally offered to read from my battered childhood 1960s copy of Mowgli's Stories, the source of the very popular Disney film, The Jungle Book. I have fond memories of my father reading this beautiful book to me, and of the huge colour plates that brought the magical Rudyard Kipling prose alive. But on closer inspection, fifty years later, I realised this was not suitable to read aloud to small children in public - not least because Shere Khan was an evil tiger who was killed by Mowgli, and skinned! Hardly the message that the Save the Wild Tiger campaigners wished to get across.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Story time at St Pancras Station</td></tr>
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I was pretty nervous about the whole event, to be honest. I had no idea what to expect as this wasn't like a normal school visit or bookshop event. But the organisers were lovely - Lisa from Foyles Bookshop and Fiona from the company running the Tiger Tracks events - and once I'd got used to the noisy bustle of the place (Eurostar arriving for instance!), it was wonderful.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very interested pink tiger takes a peek!</td></tr>
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The children who listened to the stories were great, as it must have been very difficult to concentrate with so much noise and distraction all around, including the never-ending station announcements about unattended luggage etc! The little girl in the picture above was very keen to see my copy of the book (Never Trust a Tiger by Lari Don) despite Lisa helpfully holding up larger pictures, and she kept knocking my microphone away in her efforts to climb up onto my lap!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bill Oddie read a story too!</td></tr>
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It was great to meet another story-reader, Bill Oddie, and I wished I'd met some of the other celebrities who've taken part in the three weeks of Tiger Tracks events, including Brian May, Virginia McKenna and Joanna Lumley. It's a great cause and so many people care about what's happening to our precious wildlife. It was really sickening to see some of the displays in the station - stuffed tigers and tiger skins, all seized during raids on London houses. I didn't take any pictures of these as they were too upsetting. I really cannot understand how anyone can kill for pleasure, nor want to display the carcasses from such a barbaric act. <br />
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Instead, I shall finish with a nicer photo of a very cuddly tiger - and do take a look at the amazing website of the Tiger Tracks people <a href="http://www.savewildtigers.org/upcoming_events.php" target="_blank">here</a>. I was really proud to have taken part in this wonderful initiative. You can see more pics on my Facebook author page <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Kit.Berry.Author" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<br />Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-1857691301197061992013-03-10T19:53:00.001+00:002013-03-10T20:37:17.122+00:00World Book Week - four fab school visits<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">World Book Day 2013 was on Thursday March 7th, but many schools celebrate for the entire week, and this year, so did I!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'd been invited to Pilton Community College in Barnstaple on the Tuesday to teach three classes and also take part in officially opening the newly refurbished library. I was very honoured and excited to be part of something so special. I'd arranged to travel down the day before and stay with a lovely author by the name of Victoria Eveleigh, known to her friends as Tortie, but to me as Tottie (due to meeting her at a very noisy Orion publishing party and mis-hearing her name!). She writes wonderful pony books for pre-teens, and with her husband and daughter, runs a farm on Exmoor.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">A lovely story - I really enjoyed it!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We had a slightly traumatic evening; after arriving later than expected and discovering that Tottie had arranged a dinner party for ten (complete with pink fizz!), one of the dogs was taken ill. Guests arrived, the delicious meal was served in the ancient farmhouse with huge fire blazing and the champers flowing freely - but poor Beetle was very poorly. The vet eventually diagnosed alcoholic poisoning - silly dog had discovered some vodka-soaked strawberries on the midden and gulped them down!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tottie, Sarah and their Ruby Red Devon cattle</td></tr>
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The next morning I was up bright and early and left for Pilton Community College. Lyn and Trish, the librarians, had put an enormous amount of work into preparing for this special day. Trish had decorated the library as Stonewylde, with hares, barn owls, a Green Man and the Wheel of the Year! It was very beautiful and as I walked in, I was moved to tears to see what a beautiful tribute she'd paid to my books. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A part of Trish's tribute to Stonewylde</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kit, Lyn, the Pilton Green Man (Hamish) and Trish - cutting the cake</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lyn had organised the whole event so well, and after teaching two classes, it was time to officially open the library. The local press were there and some of the younger children had dressed up as Villagers from Stonewylde, and served everyone with hot cross buns. And the Green Man himself turned up - it was amazing!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Year 7 students dressed as Stonewylde Villagers</td></tr>
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I spoke to one more class of Year 9 pupils, and after lunch with Lyn and Trish and a good chat about Stonewylde (they're both ardent fans) it was time to say goodbye. I really was overwhelmed by the amount of work that they'd both put in to arranging this special day, and I hope very much to return to the school again in the future. Thank you, ladies!</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I drove across the border into Dorset, and the next day I visited St Andrew's Primary School in Weymouth. This was a very special visit as I used to teach at this school, and my three sons had all spent many happy years there. Karen Hick, one of the teachers (and a Stonewylde reader herself) had asked if I'd visit during World Book Week to talk to the older children about writing and being an author, so I spent a wonderful afternoon in my dear old classroom speaking to first Year 6, and then Year 5.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lovely group of St Andrews pupils</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The children were absolutely brilliant; having taught older pupils recently, I'd forgotten the sheer exuberance and excitement of ten and eleven year olds. They were wildly enthusiastic and worked so hard, and I really enjoyed my visit so much. I promised to return when I'd written my book for 9-12 year olds, which is one of my next projects.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy boys at St Andrews School</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The next day was World Book Day itself! I spent the whole morning at the Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester, where my three boys had attended. This is a really fantastic school and I'd been delighted when Maddi Heinrich from the school library and Sylvia Russell from the English Department had arranged for me to visit. Maddi and Sue, the librarians, had also put a huge effort into making the event a success. I spoke to three groups of Year 9 students in the Talented and Gifted stream, and was a little concerned as they were all so amazingly quiet!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The very attentive Thomas Hardye pupils</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: start;">They sat, completely silent, as I spoke to them of my writing experiences, creating Stonewylde, and the incident that took place in their very school which had been woven into the second book in the series. Several Sixth Form students also listened to my talk and took part in the workshop, and it was lovely to see some familiar faces from previous book-launches in Dorchester. Great to see you again, Rob and Millie!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pupils buying copies of Magus of Stonewylde</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There were queues at break-time as I signed copies of Stonewylde, and I didn't have time to do justice to the lovely cup-cakes that Sue had been kind enough to bake for me. The enormous library at the Thomas Hardye School would put many public libraries to shame. After a final session with another group, Maddi, Sue and I enjoyed a delicious lunch made by them both, and I loaded up my things for a mad dash across Dorchester to St Osmund's Middle School and my final visit of the week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It was such a rush to quickly don my outfit in the loo as half of Year 7 (around 75 pupils) filed into the Art Room with their teachers and teaching assistants in tow. I was running late and began my talk whilst still setting up my table. Again, the group were fantastic, listening intently as I spoke to them of hares and labyrinths, of bloody noses and following your dream. My lovely sister, Joy Laver, who works at this school had helped me set up my books in the library, and whilst the pupils worked on their maps, I signed copies of Stonewylde for many pupils in a variety of fancy dress. Sadly we ran out of badges, though everyone had a bookmark to keep. Karen Ryan, the teacher who'd arranged the visit, was dressed as a Very Hungry Caterpillar and had incredible green eyelashes. She bought the last book, Shaman of Stonewylde (she started the series last year when I visited), and is now engrossed again!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karen Ryan and St Osmunds pupils dressed as book characters!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I arrived home late on Thursday night, exhausted but very happy indeed. It's been the most wonderful week ever! All four schools - Pilton Community College, St Andrew's, Thomas Hardye's and St Osmund's - made me feel so welcome. Every single pupil I encountered during the week was polite, friendly and very engaged during my talks. I met with such enthusiasm and warmth, and I really can't thank all the adults and all the children who made World Book Week 2013 so special for me. Oh - and Tottie's dog has now recovered from his drinking binge and is fully recovered! Here's a pic of one of her very beautiful Exmoor ponies, Orion Star, to finish this blog.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of Tottie's Exmoor ponies on her farm</td></tr>
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Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-59841536121750875972013-02-20T22:18:00.000+00:002013-02-20T22:18:09.968+00:00The Crabchurch Conspiracy - pikes and mics<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hYcYdbjhOt4IXL3yIYwbnFX62UDDKy6wha9lB8UztFDTdfzk3Z5Yugv6JlLEGGD2r-x3vFhghWeRxILj_I9YC92PBRfpjydUF2haVueqAuC32Cc73dHfi3chh-HoyOr13xbYxDLcuHo/s1600/1-Marloes+Visser+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hYcYdbjhOt4IXL3yIYwbnFX62UDDKy6wha9lB8UztFDTdfzk3Z5Yugv6JlLEGGD2r-x3vFhghWeRxILj_I9YC92PBRfpjydUF2haVueqAuC32Cc73dHfi3chh-HoyOr13xbYxDLcuHo/s400/1-Marloes+Visser+5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside the Old Town Hall, Weymouth [(c) Marloes Visser]<br /></td></tr>
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These are two men with a mission. Mark Vine (right) is the author of "The Crabchurch Conspiracy", a slim but fascinating book that's now out of print. It tells the story of events in February 1645, at the height of the English Civil War, when the Royalists made an audacious attempt to recapture the twin towns of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis from the Parliamentarians. Steve Booth, on the left, is one of the people, along with Mark, heavily involved in raising money to renovate the Old Town Hall in Weymouth. <br /><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Town Hall, Weymouth</td></tr>
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Take a look at the <a href="http://www.weymoutholdtownhall.co.uk/" target="_blank">website</a> and see what's going on - the 17 Century building is in desperate need of repair but the council don't have the funds. So it's been leased at peppercorn rent to a local group determined to restore the lovely old building to its former glory, and make it available for community use. The happily named GOTHs (Guardians of the Old Town Hall) decided to combine the anniversary of the Crabchurch Conspiracy with a massive fund-raising event. Which is where I came into it.<br />
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Mr B and I spent the most amazing weekend in Weymouth at this event. I'd originally bought tickets to the fundraiser because I wanted to hear Professor Ronald Hutton give a lecture on the Civil War, and also see The Dolmen play. This band, local to Weymouth, are fast becoming internationally famous. Their energetic brand of folk-rock has gained them a huge following at home and abroad, and local historian Mark Vine writes many of their lyrics. A few years ago they recorded an album called The Crabchurch Conspiracy, which commemorates all those who lost their lives on both sides in the bloody battles that raged around the twin ports. I became involved when Mark asked for narrators for the evening.I volunteered, and before I knew it, I was judging local schools' art competitions with Prof. Hutton and doing a joint book signing at Imagine Books!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Professor Ronald Hutton and Kit Berry judging Beechcroft School's art work</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ronald Hutton, Marloes Visser and Kit Berry at Imagine Books, Weymouth</td></tr>
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It was lovely to see Ronald again - he's a great Stonewylde fan and his endorsement graces the final book, Shaman of Stonewylde. He's Professor of History at Bristol University, and is frequently to be found on the TV. After the book signing, we made our way to Weymouth Beach, where the re-enactment of a battle was taking place (the chosen site being too wet). On the way, Mark Vine showed us many points of interest.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kit Berry and Mr B with Mark Vine [(c) Marloes Visser]<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr B calling the shots in Weymouth</td></tr>
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There were large crowds at the beach watching the soldiers in full costume recreate the fighting. I'm no expert on the costume or weapons, but they looked fantastic! The noise was incredible with muskets creating the most amazing loud bangs which echoed off the stone pier, and thick smoke which added to the atmosphere. The pikes were lethal too - we all kept well back!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybTL1PUWbi73k7nvYIvRYxKHU7eaAwMwPqDJYRAo3p2hqKMEFDsT4-00mA29_0Vdr62KkgPvGgv2lUGNxlnd8pcfAonftc6BRTA9TRhUcFQcTMeV7fyPxipPgP1DDL42jicjivvMO8Ec/s1600/01-DSC_8715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybTL1PUWbi73k7nvYIvRYxKHU7eaAwMwPqDJYRAo3p2hqKMEFDsT4-00mA29_0Vdr62KkgPvGgv2lUGNxlnd8pcfAonftc6BRTA9TRhUcFQcTMeV7fyPxipPgP1DDL42jicjivvMO8Ec/s400/01-DSC_8715.JPG" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve Howl and soldiers in sword combat<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhALq5iDvQ97Bi8yhEpSZLMr0Ziuzk4LDaPvXBfbII9hyphenhyphenu5mPh9tVxs5gPXVgeiiQZps4UlIbFNiii1ZL3cxx0A1nhv7ArntDUX3Dz-kKaK7bU7IGur6BVGWFEA5EL614OA2l5ZOxE53-8/s1600/02-DSC_8754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhALq5iDvQ97Bi8yhEpSZLMr0Ziuzk4LDaPvXBfbII9hyphenhyphenu5mPh9tVxs5gPXVgeiiQZps4UlIbFNiii1ZL3cxx0A1nhv7ArntDUX3Dz-kKaK7bU7IGur6BVGWFEA5EL614OA2l5ZOxE53-8/s400/02-DSC_8754.JPG" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soldiers with pikes - very long and lethal<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Civil War muskets - so much smoke and noise!</td></tr>
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I never did find out the significance of the red and white striped gaiters - does anyone know? Whilst the battle was taking place, Steve Booth and many others were out collecting money from the public, all to go to the Old Town Hall's renovation. <br />
<br />After a lovely meal at Taloch's, leader of The Dolmen, we went to Weymouth College and the Bay Theatre, where the evening event had proved to be a sell-out! At this point I was incredibly nervous. Ronald Hutton gave the most fascinating talk about the Civil War - the man is a genius! He talks so knowledgeably and yet so accessibly, and I almost forgot my nerves. Then it was my turn to join him and the band on the stage for the performance of The Crabchurch Conspiracy - a whole album of songs linked by our narration, and all written by Mark Vine.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kit Berry with Ronald Hutton and The Dolmen</td></tr>
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The lights were blinding - I don't know how people perform on stage when they can't see their audience! You just have to hope they're enjoying it and plough on. I felt a complete amateur amongst such professionals, but then something happened that calmed my nerves. Steve Howl, dressed in full costume (see below) came on to provide sound effects. He fired his musket so loud and so close to me that I squealed! The audience all laughed, much to my embarrassment, but I found that after that my nervousness had vanished. Thanks, Steve!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ronald Hutton, Kit Berry and Steve Howl at the Bay Theatre [(c) Bekki Neveah]</td></tr>
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It was a wonderful evening, and The Dolmen were brilliant. Mark must have felt very proud hearing his lyrics performed so well, and knowing we were all there thanks to his efforts. He's a modest man but everyone knew just how much work he, and Steve Booth, had put into making the event happen. I don't know yet how much was raised towards the Old Town Hall restoration fund, but I'm sure it was substantial as the venue was given for free, along with the performers' normal fees. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dolmen - brilliant music and energy!</td></tr>
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<br />Next year, Mark hopes to get more local schools involved as this is everyone's history and it's a fascinating story. Beechcroft School entered the art competition and the children's artwork was wonderful; Ronald and I found it hard to choose the winners. I certainly hope to be involved again, and this isn't entirely altruistic! Some of you will know already that my next adult novel will be a slightly supernatural tale set in Weymouth and Portland during the English Civil War. What better way to do research than getting involved with this?<br />
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Many thanks to Mark Vine, Steve Booth, The Dolmen, Prof Ronald Hutton, Imagine Books and all the others for such a fantastic weekend. And thanks too to Marloes Visser, manager of The Dolmen, for the use of some of her photos, and also Bekki Neveah of Neveah Hair, Southsea. And the good news: Mark's book, The Crabchurch Conspiracy, will be reprinted and available again soon!Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-27448620484425836952013-01-03T17:12:00.001+00:002013-01-03T17:22:57.685+00:00A bright and shiny new year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I didn't quite manage to write a post on the first day of the year, but this isn't bad, is it? It's grey and dull outside now, but new year's day was glorious and we enjoyed a fantastic walk along the Ridgeway in warm, crisp sunshine. Look at this blue sky!<br />
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I hope you all had a great Christmas/Yule/mid-winter celebration. I was ill for all of December until the day before Christmas Eve. I struggled on, as you do, trying to get everything ready for the holiday. We always have lots of family here, the "children" all staying and other people coming and going, and there's a great deal of preparation to be done. I tried to juggle this around the book signings and keeping up with everything, but the virus got worse as the month went on, and the last time I ventured outside at all was on this gorgeous walk in the woods with Drax. </div>
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By the time we got home, I felt so ill and took to my bed. Mr B looked after me for days, and for the first time in memory, I couldn't even make it outside for the Winter Solstice. I was so disappointed as the sunrise was wonderful and Mr B took some beautiful photos.</div>
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But luckily the virus decided to let me go just in time for the festivities. We had a really lovely Yule after all, and I enjoyed it far more than the previous year when we'd only recently moved here and everything was so upside down and hectic. </div>
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Drax was much better behaved than I'd hoped for, and our beautiful Christmas Tree has survived well. I must un-decorate it but can't bear to yet as it still looks lovely. There was a slight issue over the tree this year, as I much prefer the old-fashioned Norway Spruce type (which may drop needles, but smells how it should) over the Nordman. I think I've blogged about this before. Mr B took pity on my over-emotional response to the original specimen he'd brought home, and we ended up with this beauty. And even some new lights, as both the old sets decided to give up the ghost. These ones are far more eco-friendly, so all guilt was set aside at the extravagance of buying new lights at such a time!</div>
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We enjoyed our fifth wedding anniversary on 29th and New Year's Eve was lovely. We stayed in, celebrating quietly with some delicious champagne. I must be getting old but I really do prefer this to going out. I look back to so many other New Year's Eves - wild times as a youngster, so many occasions when I was a single mum with small children and couldn't afford to go out anywhere, others when they were older and I could, and Mr B's and my early celebrations when we partied, including a very memorable one in Venice, and of course the one we spent en route to the Maldives for our honeymoon! I'm really happy to spend a romantic and companionable evening in - and after all the busyness over Christmas with so many people coming and going, it's really good to be alone again. Or as alone as Drax will allow!</div>
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On New Year's Day, the weather had finally cleared up and we drove to the Ridgeway for a decent walk, imagining it would be drier up on the chalk hills. Every day for weeks we've been dealing with a very wet and muddy Drax and wondering why we decided on a dog with such a coat! We live right by fields and woodland but at present, they're a quagmire and Drax returns from his walk each morning with half a ton of mud attached. </div>
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The Ridgeway was beautiful, and perfect for such a day. As we walked we reflected on the year that's passed and all that's been achieved. This time last year I was in a flat panic about my deadline for the final book in the Stonewylde series. Due to our house move, the original deadline (Christmas) had been and gone and I hadn't even STARTED it! Not even thought of a title! I was really, really scared that I wouldn't be able to do it. It's one thing writing the next book but quite another to actually finish the series and tie up all the loose ends. I was terrified of disappointing my readers and terrified of not being able to actually write at all. </div>
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It seemed very odd, therefore, to be striding along only a year later with the book (all 548 pages of it) not only written but out there in the shops and in people's hands! Gollancz/Orion really did me proud, getting it out there so rapidly in order to honour the original publication date we'd announced. I don't wish to sound smug, of course, but I am pleased with it and feedback from readers has been very positive, so I think the final instalment did justice to Stonewylde. </div>
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And now ... what next? There are so many projects I want to embark upon. I've made a little start (preliminary notes and jottings, lots of reading and some research) on three of them, in the spirit of seeing which one grabs hold and won't let me go. On our lovely Ridgeway walk we came across this signpost, and it made me laugh. So appropriate - three different directions, and not knowing which one to follow.</div>
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Happy new year, everyone! I hope it's a great one for us all. I'm so excited at the prospect of a bright and shiny start, and I have absolutely no idea what I'll have written by this time next year. Fingers crossed you'll all like it, whatever it may be. </div>
Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-15971259894228148622012-12-03T17:05:00.000+00:002012-12-03T17:05:40.754+00:00A Bloomsbury FeastWay back in February at the fabulous party in the Natural History Museum (there's a blog about this in Feb's archive) I met fellow Orion author Essie Fox. I'd bought but not yet read her debut novel, a Victorian Gothic tale called <i>The Somnambulist</i>, and we had a chat, agreeing to read each other's books soon. Our paths crossed again when we learned that Orion had given us both the same freelance PR lady (I think we also share her with Gregg Wallace); Essie and I decided to meet up in Windsor for coffee.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynecIKtOciOZKUe-8f8QHwZftLRcVzEy9WY0a1oq9r81I6lOgYdiCPhyrwL_hBp1h-jPWBMiFXp8N04LCdBOuvQhME6cjvg-SMSBfy-vT2BlAVAIavQ7GEevmekV89Ph4XpNITH3vEZI/s1600/Essie+Fox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynecIKtOciOZKUe-8f8QHwZftLRcVzEy9WY0a1oq9r81I6lOgYdiCPhyrwL_hBp1h-jPWBMiFXp8N04LCdBOuvQhME6cjvg-SMSBfy-vT2BlAVAIavQ7GEevmekV89Ph4XpNITH3vEZI/s200/Essie+Fox.jpg" width="146" /></a>Essie is a beautiful, tiny woman who appears to have stepped out of one of her own novels. She seems almost incongruous in 21st Century dress, and so it was wholly appropriate that when I next saw her in the Strand at the launch party for her second novel, she was dressed in black silk and crimson lace. Sadly I don't have a photo, but the book in question - <i>Elijah's Mermaid</i> - looks stunning too and I can't wait to read it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmAaXr_OqSO6l9rVGq_ygrZMIiJ78q9sZn4K09EKU_hs7iJUUqTM3Bk3FqSn9h8efdrzSgtpjyNPDv6i5T0f2uMtDI8eS_TI5ArGe-d_gJDaoBsJ8Qy0auy6ReoGOpO1vDBGIMjFVorA/s1600/ELIJAHS-MERMAID-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmAaXr_OqSO6l9rVGq_ygrZMIiJ78q9sZn4K09EKU_hs7iJUUqTM3Bk3FqSn9h8efdrzSgtpjyNPDv6i5T0f2uMtDI8eS_TI5ArGe-d_gJDaoBsJ8Qy0auy6ReoGOpO1vDBGIMjFVorA/s200/ELIJAHS-MERMAID-cover.jpg" width="130" /></a>It was a fantastic launch party, and great to see the familiar faces of some other authors: Julie Cohen from Reading who writes romance, erotica and other good things, Shelley Harris, author of <i>Jubilee, </i>whom I'd also met at the Orion party, and Emma Darwin, author of <i>The</i> <i>Mathematics of Love </i>and<i> Secret Alchemy</i>, whom I'd met at an historical fiction day at the Weald and Down Museum. I also caught up with my publicist, Emma Dowson, and Kate Mills, an Orion editor whom I'd long wanted to meet.<br />
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And then a very exciting thing happened. There across the crowded room I saw the most famous and important literary agent of them all - the legendary <b>Carole Blake</b>! She runs the prestigious Blake Friedmann Literary, TV and Film Agency and is renowned for her incredible prowess in the publishing industry. She's an author herself of the the seminal work <i>From Pitch to Publication </i>and her achievements are far too numerous to list here, but her profile on the company website is <a href="http://www.blakefriedmann.co.uk/agents/caroleblake/" target="_blank">here</a>. I wanted desperately to say hello, and in the end plucked up the courage to go over and introduce myself. I was very nervous as she has the reputation for not suffering fools gladly - and I certainly felt like a gibbering fool!<br />
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Would you believe this lady has been working in publishing for 49 years? No, I couldn't either - I thought she was my age! She was charming and friendly and we chatted for a while. Carole asked what I did, and I told her how I've now finished my <i>Stonewylde Series</i> and will soon start research for a new project - a novel set in Dorset during the Civil War. Immediately her eyes lit up and she started to tell me about a marvellous book set during that period. It sounded absolutely fascinating and I promised to read it, guessing that she must represent the author.<br />
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I can tell you that <i>John Saturnall's Feast</i>, by Lawrence Norfolk, is the most amazing book and I enjoyed it immensely. It's historical literary fiction and so multi-layered that it positively drips with richness and flavour. Its focus is food: feasting and fasting, fecundity and famine. I adored the culinary detail in the book, but more than that, I was entranced by the underlying themes of nature's wild abundance desecrated and plundered by Reason; of witchcraft flayed by religious zeal; of plenty laid waste by wantonness. The sensual delights of feasting and the masochism of fasting are explored, with abstinence and self-denial at one end of the table, indulgence and hand-feeding at the other.<br />
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When Carole recommended this book to me, how would she have known of my interest in natural magic? As I read the descriptions of the woods, the gardens and the Somerset Levels with the Tor in the background, my skin prickled with understanding. I loved the book and despite its depth and literary lyricism, I read it very fast. This was just as well, because I saw one of Carole's posts on Twitter (she's very prolific) about a forthcoming event in Bloomsbury where Lawrence Norfolk would be talking about the book! I was so excited and immediately snapped up a ticket.<br />
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It was a great evening. The Bloomsbury building is wonderful, very different from the Orion office block which is ultra modern. Bloomsbury is as you would expect, old and grand. I was hoping to see Carole again but anxious not to be a pest, and I'd brought along my copy of the book to be signed. After signing hundreds of copies of <i>Shaman of Stonewylde</i> since its launch in October, it was strange to be on the receiving end for a change. I was delighted to get the chance to chat to Lawrence over a glass of wine before the talk, and I asked him if perhaps he'd been inspired by John Keats' poem <i>The Eve of St Agnes</i>. I reminded him of the gist of these lines:<br />
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<i>"While he from forth the closet brought a heap </i><div>
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<i>With jellies soother than the creamy curd, </i></div>
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<i>And lucent syrops, tinct with cinnamon; </i></div>
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<i>Manna and dates, in argosy transferr’d </i></div>
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<i>From Fez; and spiced dainties, every one, </i></div>
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<i>From silken Samarcand to cedar’d Lebanon. <br />These delicates he heap’d with glowing hand </i></div>
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<i>On golden dishes and in baskets bright </i></div>
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<i>Of wreathed silver: sumptuous they stand </i></div>
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<i>In the retired quiet of the night ...</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3NdD4Fufh-Kk8gn-OhtSH1CTRS6QDmzoQt6RG1gQD2e2i4aSleJtK6074bMLir8uML3WkNJmlX4VfmMQ4SjkOkieWzVxDLEDPahejm9oZBtWEXIzAp8CvrLfun0JIZCNmTEQEzQKMTk/s1600/DSCN4482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3NdD4Fufh-Kk8gn-OhtSH1CTRS6QDmzoQt6RG1gQD2e2i4aSleJtK6074bMLir8uML3WkNJmlX4VfmMQ4SjkOkieWzVxDLEDPahejm9oZBtWEXIzAp8CvrLfun0JIZCNmTEQEzQKMTk/s200/DSCN4482.JPG" width="156" /></a>I'd felt other parallels between the book and poem too, but Lawrence laughed and said that although he'd studied the poem for A Level, it hadn't been a conscious influence when writing the book. We then talked of how, as a writer, one is influenced by every single thing ever read, seen or experienced. I explained how I was worried that now I'd read and loved his book so much, I may inadvertently mirror some of it when I write my own novel set during the same period. Lawrence laughed again (he's a very jolly fellow) and promised not to sue me for plagiarism!<br />
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The evening's talk, <i>The History of English Food</i>, was organised by Bloomsbury Cooks and was actually a conversation between Lawrence and fellow Bloomsbury author and food writer, Kate Colquhoun. Her most recent book is<i> Mr Brigg's Hat: A Sensational Account of Britain's First Railway Murder</i> but she was here to speak about her highly acclaimed book <i>Taste: the Story of Britain Through Its Cooking</i>. It was first published in 2008 and apparently helped inspire <i>John Saturnall's Feast</i>, despite the fact that the chapter on food during the Civil War is the shortest, and Kate's least favourite! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghl9Os4-V_wJASxQS5DgBXhKdr7RBmpiHag9nMX3_5q19gTzwqGnKe54DAWlp1WGjBkpWgUXQsAMvAOh735Yuj2hEay5Yr2S8r_FAzMaixHPfYnSigSfkWYbzvEizQXZlOuRPnMchVByI/s1600/Taste.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghl9Os4-V_wJASxQS5DgBXhKdr7RBmpiHag9nMX3_5q19gTzwqGnKe54DAWlp1WGjBkpWgUXQsAMvAOh735Yuj2hEay5Yr2S8r_FAzMaixHPfYnSigSfkWYbzvEizQXZlOuRPnMchVByI/s200/Taste.jpg" width="131" /></a>Kate and Lawrence are friends in real life, and this came across during their fascinating discussion. Lawrence spoke of the difficulties of describing food in intimate detail. The appearance and aroma are reasonably straight forward, but how to describe taste? There aren't that many words once you've used up salty and sweet, and besides, he said, it's like writing about sex - there's nowhere for the writer to be. Where are you, the author, in the scene? On the tongue? In the gullet? I immediately thought of the Numskulls in the old Beano comics. Lawrence was very funny indeed, although when I asked during Q & A time if he'd cooked or eaten any of the very exotic dishes in his book, he said that sadly he hadn't. Shame! I'd had visions of him facing up to shivering blancmanges and quaking puddings, roasted quails inserted in the breast of a swan and nesting on woven spinach stems and other such concoctions.<br />
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Kate's passion for her subject shone through and she spoke very entertainingly about food throughout the ages. I was lucky enough to get one of the four remaining copies of <i>Taste</i> (currently being reprinted), and was delighted when she signed it for me. I know I shall use this as a reference book and can't wait to read it. Lawrence signed my own copy of <i>John Saturnall's Feast</i> and another one I bought for a friend for Christmas. And the lovely man even asked about my own books! <br />
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It was a really enjoyable evening and even though I was succumbing rapidly to a cold, I returned to Reading with a warm glow, feeling very happy indeed. It was also a pleasure to meet and sit with Cheryl Cohen a food writer who works with London Farmers' Markets. She'd come to hear Kate talk, but after my wild enthusiasm for Lawrence's book, she bought that too. I hope she enjoys it as much as I did.<br />
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Many thanks to Carole Blake for recommending <i>John Saturnall's Feast</i> at Essie Fox's party. Not only did I love the book, it also affected me deeply. I've been dreaming of it; always a sign that ones subconscious has been stirred. I'm haunted by images of John and his mother in Buccla's Wood, foraging to survive during the depths of winter, desperate to escape persecution by the zealots. It's as well that I'm not yet ready to start writing my own Civil War story for I'd certainly be influenced by this powerful novel. Lawrence may not mind a bit of plagiarism, but knowing of Carole's fierce care for her fortunate authors, she'd certainly have something to say about it. And I would always hope to be on the right side of Carole Blake!</div>
Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-9423728242738751542012-11-15T22:52:00.000+00:002012-11-16T00:40:31.341+00:00Bright Carving - my new Green ManYesterday I was the very lucky recipient of a beautiful bench to go by my new pond. Some of you may recall me writing about this pond earlier in the year - all that digging and emptying and lining and tweaking, mostly done by my son Olly. I'm very pleased with the pond, although Drax has taken a shine to the waterfall bit, imagining himself as Monarch of the Glen as he poses on top. This is with the pump off, which it's been ever since we brought him home five weeks ago. When we turned on the waterfall the other day, he almost toppled in!<br />
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Anyway, last summer my very dear friend Jocelyn (my partner in crime in Dorset during my teaching days) was at Hampton Court Flower Show. Amongst the blooms she spotted a stone-carver displaying his wares. She knows how much I love stone-carving, which I used to do at evening classes in Weymouth College and also at Tout Quarry with Hannah Sofaer. When she saw his work she knew that she'd found the perfect wedding gift for me. Mr B and I are coming up to our fifth wedding anniversary, but Jocelyn is a patient woman and wouldn't be hurried into such an important purchase.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">My friend Jocelyn yesterday in Beaminster</span></div>
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By strange coincidence, it turned out that the sculptor, Peter Price, lives and works in Dorset! And so it was that Joc and I visited him in his workshop in Beaminster earlier in the autumn to chose my Bright Carving. (We share a love of Gormenghast.)<br />
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Peter's a talented man and produces some very unique pieces. They're all crammed into a tiny outdoor area attached to an old manor, with ivy growing around and the green hills of Dorset in the background. Who could not be inspired in such surroundings?<br />
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He said he'd carve the Green Man bench for me in his usual style, and by request would add some spirals and a little heart in the corner. Jocelyn, ever the cynic, had made gagging noises when I'd asked for this. But as I pointed out, the bench was meant to be a wedding present even if it was almost five years on! </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Peter Price at his Beaminster workshop</span></div>
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Peter was interested to hear that I'm an author, but not especially impressed. It turns out that many years ago at a Craft Fair, a man bought a small carving from Peter for his daughter. The man told Peter that she was a poet, and said to remember her name because one day, she'd be famous. The daughter's name? Carol Ann Duffy!!!!!<br />
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Hoping that my Bright Carving would bring me similar fortune, yesterday I drove it carefully back to Reading with the tail of the car much closer to the ground. Mr B and my teenage step-son managed to haul it into the back garden in the pitch dark, avoiding the pond and prancing puppy. I was so excited to see the bench this morning when I let the chickens out! Drax was intrigued too.<br />
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Isn't he a wonderful Green Man? So solemn and aged, so wise and all-knowing.</div>
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It's actually so beautiful that I'm now thinking maybe I won't use it as a bench after all. And I don't really want to sit on his face, which seems a little disrespectful! So perhaps I shall use it more as an altar to nature. I have a fire-basin that my children bought me last year, and with the water in the pond and my wind-chimes too, I think the area will become my Place of the Elements. I often sit here and watch the birds and squirrels, the sky and clouds, and feel the trees' presence all around me.The bench will make a lovely focal point and will represent Earth. Can you see the seam in the piece of stone? And it's slightly glittery too.<br />
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The spirals carved into the stone will remind me of the magic all around. I'll look at those and think of this incredible year when the final Stonewylde book was published. I'll recall the incredibly moving things that my readers have said to me about the journey we've all been on together. The heart will make me think of Mr B and our first five years of marriage, so unexpected and so joyful. And it will also remind me of enduring friendship. Thank you, Jossy!<br />
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<br />Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-91251528139649349192012-10-28T20:02:00.001+00:002012-10-28T20:02:33.674+00:00Faeries at Glastonbury<br />
We've just spent an amazing time in Glastonbury! First there was a book signing event in the Cat and Cauldron, an Aladdin's Cave of witchy goods. I'd met the proprietors, Trevor Jones and Liz Williams, ages ago when I was interviewed for Radio Glastonbury, and they were kind enough to host this event for me to coincide with the Avalon Faerie Ball. We'd hoped to get to Glastonbury nice and early and give ourselves plenty of time to spend in the Faerie Market. <br />
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Linda Ravenscroft is one of the many talented artists who were at the market. We met Linda several years ago at the Elf Fantasy Fair in the Netherlands, where we had a stall selling Stonewylde books and cards, and we've bumped into her many times since. It was lovely to see her again in Glastonbury, although sadly we only had ten minutes to spare in the market. The drive down had been horrendously slow and we'd failed to anticipate all the half-term traffic heading west.</div>
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The Cat and Cauldron were well organised and had ordered in plenty of copies of Shaman of Stonewylde. We brought along some ceremony cakes, badges and bookmarks, and before long, the shop was filling up! </div>
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It was great to see so many lovely, smiley faces! <br />
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Time flew by, and before we knew it, all the copies of Shaman had sold out! It was a shame having to disappoint people who came dashing in (also held up in the traffic). Members of our Stonewylde <a href="http://www.stonewylde.net/" target="_blank">network site</a> had organised an impromptu get-together across the road in the old George and Pilgrim Inn, so we packed up and headed off across the road. <br />
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It was so good to see so many Stonewylde friends. I knew none of these people before I wrote the books, but I count them as my friends now. We were given the use of a room to ourselves, which was great, and there was a lot of hugging and catching up. There have been several smaller meet-ups since the big Moongazy Camp last May, but because we're spread so far geographically, it's always good to get an opportunity like this to see each other.<br />
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Many of us were staying the night in Glastonbury and attending the Avalon Faerie Ball that evening. So we reluctantly said goodbye to those who weren't, and went to get ourselves ready for the ball. <br />
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Unfortunately faeries must have a big thirst on them, because it wasn't that long before the bar at the Faerie Ball was drunk dry! There were several acts, and the one we enjoyed the most was an amazing couple called the Gypsy Pyksy, performing a dance which I think was called Ur Tre. It involved a girl, covered in mud and her clothes in rags, being engulfed by a tree. It was really spine-chilling and creepy, and I had a nightmare about it later that night! The very talented Dorset band The Dolmen were headlining, and once they came on, they immediately had everyone dancing. It was all great fun and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. But now ... back to reality. Although some of that glitter just won't scrub off!<br />
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Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-79274523561146476912012-10-21T20:40:00.000+01:002012-10-21T20:40:02.790+01:00Shaman of Stonewylde - book launch in DorchesterIt's Sunday, and I'm feeling tired and happy. Yesterday was the official launch of my final Stonewylde book (despite Amazon sending out copies all during the week!) and I'd chosen to do this at Waterstones in Dorchester. I decided this because the shop (as Ottakers) had been one of the very first places to stock the original self-published editions of Magus of Stonewylde back in October 2005. I'll never forget the thrill of seeing my first book on a proper shelf in a proper bookshop! So seven years on, it seemed appropriate to launch the fifth and final book in the series in the same shop, although the staff have changed several times.<br />
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On Friday I spent the morning baking cakes. These were Ceremony Cakes, which anyone who's read the books will know all about.<br />
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There were many jokes in Waterstones about the likely effects of these cakes - but the exotic taste was, I promise, nothing more than a careful blend of cinnamon, rosemary and lavender, with a sprinkling of poppy seeds for good measure. </div>
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The staff at Waterstones (Max, Darwin and Emma) had done me proud again, with a lovely big table and plenty of copies of Shaman, all beautifully arranged, as well as the other four books. It was brilliant to see so many people who'd come along to buy copies of the books and get them signed.<br />
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It's so exciting to have a queue of people waiting, and one of the first customers of the day was a lad I'd met on World Book Day when I visited St Osmund's School to talk to the pupils about writing. He's now an avid fan, and he stayed in the shop for most of my time there talking to other shoppers (he's a great salesman!). <br />
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Another very keen Stonewylde fan came to buy her Christmas presents. She's bought all the Stonewylde books for members of her family right from the start, and she's a little concerned about what she'll buy them next year! You can see her here with eight copies of Shaman!<br />
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A very proud moment for me was when a handsome young man who'd been standing in the queue for a while finally reached me, and stood there grinning. <br />
'I don't expect you remember me,' he said a little shyly, and I was amazed to find it was a boy I'd taught many years ago when he was in Year 6 at primary school - he'd just graduated from university this summer! I certainly did remember him, though I didn't recognise him! In fact, several of my ex-pupils turned up, and it was great to see them all looking so grown-up. And excellent to know that all my nagging about reading paid off too!<br />
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One thing that did surprise me was how many people who came along who were my friends on Facebook. Many of them I'd never met before (they "friended" me after reading my books) and it was great to actually meet them in the flesh.<br />
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I really appreciated some of my self-named Promo-pixies turning up to support me. There's nothing better than the sight of a lovely familiar face at a book signing, and they were brilliant. Unfortunately Mr B didn't take any photos of them in action, which was a little remiss.<br />
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One of the very last people to come to the signing, just as we were finally packing up and getting ready to leave, was a young lady who's at present studying Creative Writing at Winchester. I was so glad she made it in time, and it was great to know that she's found Stonewylde such an inspiration.<br />
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Many thanks to everyone who came along to buy the final Stonewylde book, and I really hope you enjoy the story. On our social network site, there are discussions going on amongst people who've now finished it. Many are referring to it as "a roller-coaster read" and I'm looking forward to seeing how people review the book online.<br />
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My next trip out is on Tuesday when I'm a guest of Greg Mosse, who runs the Creative Writing MA at West Dean College. I'll be speaking to his students about Stonewylde, and I'm really looking forward to it. The next signing event is on Saturday at Glastonbury, where I'm also attending the Faerie Ball. I have a small pair of wings ready, and lots of glitter.Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-40569524994534621522012-10-17T14:25:00.000+01:002012-10-17T14:30:18.479+01:00James Naughtie and those pesky chickensIt's been a week of radio so far, in this run up to the launch of Shaman of Stonewylde. The book will be published tomorrow, although many people who've pre-ordered it on Amazon have already got their copies. This seems a bit naughty to me, and nothing to do with making sure readers have it on the day of publication at all. But anyway, talking of naughty ....<br />
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On Monday, I went up to London to take part in the Radio 4 Bookclub. I've done this before and it's great fun. This recording was done at Langham Place and it's very exciting, going into the BBC building, getting your security badge, sitting in the grand studio with lots of people buzzing around with microphones. James Naughtie is the presenter, and he's a really lovely man. This photo is courtesy of the Radio Four website - I didn't like to ask if I could take a picture.</div>
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I made him laugh the last time I attended a Bookclub recording, by likening characters in the book <i><b>Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont</b> </i>to characters in Fawlty Towers. I was delighted when this was included in the final edited show that went out on air! So on my visit this week, to discuss the Costa prize-winning book<i><b> Pure</b></i> by Andrew Miller, I hoped to amuse him again. And I certainly did that - although not in the way I'd intended.</div>
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We were about to start recording, and James told us to make sure our phones were off. I'd already put mine on silent, not actually knowing exactly how to turn it off. It was all very quiet, no rustling or coughing, no interruptions as James began introducing the novel and its author in his beautiful, mellifluous tones. And then suddenly, the room was full of a terrible jangling noise, the sort that plays in Tom and Jerry cartoons when something dreadful happens and someone's eyes are out on stalks. And I realised, as my cheeks flushed and my body broke out in a sweat, that the noise was mine.</div>
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Everyone in the room - over thirty people - stared at me in horror as I scrambled in my bag to locate my phone. I'd put it on silent! But I knew exactly what that noise was:</div>
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You probably can't read this - I took this photo of my phone-screen yesterday but it didn't come out very well. The top line of the alert says "Chickens!!!". This goes off every day, including Monday. Whilst the weight of everyone's disapproval crushed me, James made light of my dreadful faux pas with a kind comment about the bad timing of people's calls.</div>
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'No,' I muttered, horribly embarrassed and still scarlet with chagrin, 'it's not my phone going off. That's my chicken alarm.'</div>
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'Chicken alarm?' </div>
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'It's to remind me to put the chickens to bed, so the foxes don't get them.'</div>
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At this the room erupted into laughter and I didn't know where to look.</div>
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'Well are they alright? Do you need to phone someone to ask if they can be put to bed?' asked James, rolling around in mirth.</div>
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'No, no!' I said. 'They're fine - I put them into their pen before I left.'</div>
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James made several references to my chickens throughout the recording (I'm assuming these will all be edited out) including referring to me as the chicken-lady when I plucked up the courage to ask the author my question about the elephant in his book. The book <i><b>Pure</b></i> is wonderful, by the way! Dark, quite Gothic, disturbing but utterly fascinating and beautifully written too. Before I left the studio, I promised James that if ever I were lucky enough to take part in the Bookclub again, I'd bring him a box of eggs! And the darling man told me that he kept bees! </div>
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The next day saw me in another radio studio, doing an interview for BBC Radio Solent. This station covers the Hampshire/Dorset area, and as I have book signing events in both Dorchester and Southampton, my PR lady had no trouble arranging this interview. I had intended to drive down to Southampton to the main studio, but at the last minute it was arranged for me to pop up to Caversham, just outside Reading, and use the BBC Radio Berkshire's studio. How clever!</div>
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Another grand building, and although there was some confusion, at last I was shown into a little studio where I could speak with Katie Martin from Radio Solent. </div>
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It was a bit weird talking to a blank wall like that (when I'm on the phone I always pace around and do things like water the plants or tidy up the fridge) but Katie sounded really friendly and the interview went well. This is what she looks like, apparently - such a smiley face! The picture is from the Radio Solent's website.</div>
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Apparently the interview goes out today - you can hear it on Radio Solent which can be found<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radiosolent" target="_blank"> here</a> - and it's available on the listen again facility for seven days. I can promise that during the interview, there are no alarms whatsoever - I've certainly learnt my lesson, and how to actually turn the damn phone off!</div>
Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-74926073423842738182012-10-11T12:41:00.000+01:002012-10-11T12:54:47.429+01:00Shaman arrives - by DraxI'm Drax, and on Sunday I left my litter and was driven all the way to Reading to live with my new family. I've settled in quite well at my new home, although it's a bit mad here. The two Burmese cats, Magus and Malik, are very unfriendly and have resisted all my attempts at friendship. The three chickens run when they see me and hide amongst the trees making silly noises. Good job Kit and Mr B love me so much!<br />
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A bizarre thing has happened though - this big cardboard box arrived and it made Kit squeal! I had a good sniff of it but really, it seemed quite innocent. I have no idea why she was in such a state. I thought I'd better stand guard whilst she dashed off to the kitchen to get a knife. A knife??? <br />
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While she was gone, still making strange, excited noises, I thought perhaps I could lend a helping paw. Or at least, a very sharp set of puppy teeth, which are much safer than anything she could find in the kitchen. <br />
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So I pulled and tugged at this delicious little cardboard tag that silly old Kit had missed ....<br />
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And I really pulled hard, and gave a little growl for good measure, until at last ....<br />
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A bit of green was visible, and Kit made such a very loud shriek that I had a small accident on the carpet! She took over at this point with the box, pushing me away and muttering about my sharp teeth and her precious Shamans.<br />
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Honestly - I was quite pleased then that she hadn't called me Shaman, which I know she nearly did. I mean - I'm not green, nor do I have anything to do with hares, magpies or snakes, all of which I could see on the front covers of the books. By this time, she was doing a crazy dance all around the room and phoning Mr B and really, getting quite over the top. And then she grabbed one of the books and raced upstairs (where I'm not allowed - and all because those snooty cats think it's their domain) and I heard her burst into tears!<br />
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When she came down again, I gave her a very thorough wriggly, bitey lick to cheer her up, but I don't think she was sad at all. She said it was one of the best, happiest days of her life, seeing all her five books together on the shelf. And then she said something even stranger ...<br />
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"Five - always five!"<br />
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Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-57449272635463066072012-10-09T23:26:00.000+01:002012-10-09T23:26:02.743+01:00Tout Quarry on Portland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last week I drove back to Weymouth for the day, for an interview with Ruth Meech of the Dorset Evening Echo. She's writing a piece about Stonewylde for the special Saturday paper, and hopes it'll be out on Saturday 13th, one week before the book launch in Dorchester on Oct 20th.<br />
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After the interview, I went to visit a very good friend and we drove across to Portland for a walk. You can see how blessed we were with the weather - it had been absolutely pouring on the drive down, with so much spray on the motorway that visibility was dreadful. But just look at that glorious blue sky in the photo!<br />
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We walked to Tout Quarry, which is actually the place that inspired me for Quarrycleave. Tout Quarry is a disused quarry near Easton, and it's been turned into a sculpture park. It's wild and natural - you just turn up and wander around. It's enormous and would take several hours to see all of it; it's well worth the time. <br />
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Tout Quarry is an amazing place, but it's not the Place of Bones and Death that features in Stonewylde. That idea came to me in a nightmare a long time ago and scared me so much that even many years on, it still frightens me. But when I began constructing Quarrycleave in my imagination, it was Tout that kept popping up in my mind's eye. The boulders, the swarming ivy ...<br />
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There are canyons of stone, dead ends, great blocks, hidden recesses. And without wishing to put any spoilers in here, there's a carving called "Still Falling" which had a profound effect on me. I think of it often. Can you see the falling man?<br />
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Tout is full of unusual carvings and sculptures. It's a strange place - not terrifying like Quarrycleave, but with a certain atmosphere that would definitely put me off visiting after dark. Not exactly haunted or creepy, but not comfortable either. And just look who's crawling back up!<br />
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<br />Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-83891045083015717822012-09-19T12:25:00.002+01:002012-09-19T12:43:25.802+01:00Society of Authors - CWIG conference 2012I can't believe that it's over six months since my last blog about World Book Day! So much for good resolutions. I'd intended to blog regularly all the way through writing the final Stonewylde book, but that just didn't happen in the end. And now it's due out in four weeks' time!<br />
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With Kevin Crossley-Holland</div>
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But last weekend I attended the Society of Authors' CWIG conference - this stands for Children's Writers and Illustrators Group - and blogging was mentioned several times in various talks. Apparently I'm not alone in struggling to maintain a regular blog. One of the things recommended was to be part of a joint blog, where you have your monthly post to write (eg The History Girls, The Awfully Big Blog Adventure, etc) and that sounds like a great idea - but nobody's invited me to join one yet! <br />
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You may wonder why I was at a children's writers' conference. Gollancz were intending to publish my books under their new Young Adult imprint, Indigo. However this didn't happen, although Waterstones still keep the series in the Teen Section and much of the marketing has been aimed at this audience. Although there are many young Stonewylde readers and the books are suitable for 12+ readership, I'm sure most of you reading this are adults and I've had some quite disgruntled comments from older readers about finding their Stonewylde books cowering amongst shelves of dark and dripping vampire-type books and ghastly American high-school dramas. It's not my decision! I'm hoping this will change in the future, and will keep you posted.<br />
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However, I did feel at home amongst other authors at the conference, not least because I'm hoping to write some children's books in the future. I met some really interesting people from all ends of the scale - from famous writers such as Patrick Ness and Malorie Blackman, to others just starting out who are as yet unknown. One of the lovely things was that Kevin Crossley-Holland was there, and it was great to see him again. I first met him many years ago (2004 I think?) when I was a teacher, and helped out every year at a conference that brought authors to speak to teachers and school librarians. I was Kevin's minder for the day and whilst he was eating lunch, he told me to tell him all about myself. I said (very shyly) that I'd written a novel and was looking for an agent. He was so charming and kind, and told me to send him the manuscript. He gave me a wonderful endorsement which I used on the self-published versions, and which Gollancz have used on their covers too. I met Kevin again at an Orion party, not having realised they published him as well. So last weekend it was brilliant to meet up with him again and have a longer chat. He really is a wonderful man and I was so glad he signed my copy of Bracelet of Bones, one of his Viking sagas.<br />
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It was also incredibly exciting to finally meet up with Jane Ray, the renowned and very gifted artist. I've loved Jane's work since I first discovered it in the 90s. I bought wrapping paper and greetings cards featuring her work, and framed them to hang on my walls in my house in Weymouth. I bought as many of her picture books as I could find, and two of my absolute favourites are 'Sun, Moon and Stars' and 'Song of the Earth' (also known as 'Earth, Fire, Water, Air'). It was the double paged spread at the beginning of the latter that really got me thinking of the whole concept of the Goddess in the Landscape, and inspired me to weave this into Stonewylde. There's also a picture in the former book depicting the moon as a lady in a dark cloak, walking through a marsh, and I always imagined this when I refer to 'the Bright Lady' in my books. <br />
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Amazingly, both Jane Ray and Mary Hoffman, the lovely author who wrote all the text in both books, were at the conference! I'd previously met Mary Hoffman at the London Book Fair earlier this year, when she'd been so kind to me. And now at the conference I was thrilled to have both Jane and Mary sign my copies of these books - a dream come true!<br />
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With Jane Ray</div>
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With Mary Hoffman</div>
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All in all, apart from the appalling sound system in the main lecture theatre and a distinct lack of air, it was a great conference and I came home exhausted, my mind teeming with information, ideas and notes. And I made many new acquaintances whom I hope will become friends. But I have a confession to make - I'd booked into the conference months ago, thinking it was in Henley. But it turned out to be the Henley Business School at Reading University. So on Friday night, having surveyed the perfectly clean and adequate student accommodation (narrow single bed, spartan bathroom) I quietly trundled my suitcase back to the carpark and nipped home to my comfortable house and wonderful husband! I think the real deciding factor was that the (nasty) coffee machine in the canteen had broken - and there was Mr B ready and waiting to oblige with Lavazza Oro!Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-30324403179572344932012-03-02T15:13:00.010+00:002012-03-02T15:49:36.152+00:00World Book Day 2012<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF93pOXBiXFubluJNT65HdNCIzp9_JH3sCBKyFqLuf72Kb90g1PTCyor43QXnvac_svXEBLT717ctQkJGtGGDWJewgIxTEWGF5EsRhW8Zx1auZ8r_e-2xL1sXa7FOcagrJ9bc6-VUkcJ0/s1600/Kit+Berry+in+St+Osmunds+school+library.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 175px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5715323395668590674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF93pOXBiXFubluJNT65HdNCIzp9_JH3sCBKyFqLuf72Kb90g1PTCyor43QXnvac_svXEBLT717ctQkJGtGGDWJewgIxTEWGF5EsRhW8Zx1auZ8r_e-2xL1sXa7FOcagrJ9bc6-VUkcJ0/s400/Kit+Berry+in+St+Osmunds+school+library.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPS0fdzkIKsqc7oHHkVhmV8jIoRiYzffnSVnu38JA9beldDsgzATxJqHMLsMy83JaCfqVnKMAMBstOske84eVj5zBtNH0QmACL_r0vMSraQ6uhceCKpHF6PVHKQYLPS8VvLfgM7WhKgeQ/s1600/Kit+Berry+in+Dorchester+Waterstones+WBD.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 276px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5715323392439209650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPS0fdzkIKsqc7oHHkVhmV8jIoRiYzffnSVnu38JA9beldDsgzATxJqHMLsMy83JaCfqVnKMAMBstOske84eVj5zBtNH0QmACL_r0vMSraQ6uhceCKpHF6PVHKQYLPS8VvLfgM7WhKgeQ/s400/Kit+Berry+in+Dorchester+Waterstones+WBD.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>This is just a quickie as I really, really must get on with Shaman of Stonewylde. It's March 2nd - my deadline is March 31st. I've written about 91,000 words and have about 50,000 (maybe less) to go. I NEED to get on now!<br /></div><br /><br /><div>But I've been really tired today as yesterday's World Book Day was pretty full on. I drove down to Dorchester in Dorset (just over two hour drive) to St. Osmund's Middle School in Dorchester. I taught two lovely classes of children - in Years 7 and 8, which is 12 and 13 year olds for anyone out of the loop with the current education system. This age group is the lowest end of the suitable readership for Stonewylde, but with Yul and Sylvie starting out aged 15 and 14 respectively, they could be seen as the target audience for the series. It's funny - every time I mention the fact that Stonewylde is published as a Young Adult series, I receive irate/amused/worried e-mails from adult readers questioning this!</div><br /><br /><div>Anyway, the two lessons went very well I think, and the children (and teachers) were lovely. I hope they gained something from my pearls of wisdom; I certainly gained from being back in a classroom again and talking to interested kids. I did a quick photo in the school library (tricky nowadays to do photos with children because of parental permission etc, so I didn't do that) and then went in to Dorchester to have coffee and some lunch with a fellow blogger from over at Loose and Leafy (from whom I'd learnt about tree following). </div><br /><br /><div>Next it was Waterstones - I especially love the Dorchester branch. They were the first bookshop (as Ottakers) to take Magus of Stonewylde in its old self-published incarnation, and they've always been so supportive of Stonewylde and me. The staff had dressed as characters from Alice in Wonderland for the World Book Day and there were story-telling events for younger children, a Where's Wally competition (as Mr B pointed out last night - you'd think after 25 years someone would've found the guy) and a fancy dress competition too.<br /><br />It was great to sell copies of Stonewylde to St Osmund's pupils whom I'd met that morning and who came in to buy the books. I also sold lots of books to the mothers of the younger children enjoying the story-telling event, after whispering to them that actually, grown-ups love Stonewylde too. I met, amongst others, several pink princesses, some Dennis the Menaces, a knight and a Cleopatra. It was really good too to meet with the other authors there: Ron Dawson who's created the marvellous Scary Bones stories (and who had a skeleton with him as a prop) and Gill Lewis, author of the lovely book Sky Hawk. I wish now I'd got a photo of us together, but didn't think of that at the time.<br /></div><br /><br /><div>It was a long drive home as the event didn't finish until 7pm and my driving night-vision is not brilliant - I'm okay whilst I'm driving but as soon as I stop, I feel exhausted. Anyway, I had a bath and went straight to bed to read my new copy of Scary Bones, a fitting way to end the World Book Day 2012. Many thanks to both St Osmunds and Waterstones for inviting me and making the day so special for me. And now - back to Shaman of Stonewylde!</div></div>Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-90175671191116922782012-02-29T22:13:00.020+00:002012-03-01T00:13:58.759+00:00A Gothic Sunday down in the catacombs<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinWJkzSew0UUo_U5YAeIu1T4Ohn46fvT1oVK7JfyZKeA38B2hng1VJ2DEOUG4hYnUxJp_1NET-fOfqfZosYZIu-KdRijqH9bt4CT7H9PcSqMLt5hdYl-X4DfM9_Lb9EKJ1vX0CW-2zB28/s1600/DSCN3404.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 324px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714698478069277906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinWJkzSew0UUo_U5YAeIu1T4Ohn46fvT1oVK7JfyZKeA38B2hng1VJ2DEOUG4hYnUxJp_1NET-fOfqfZosYZIu-KdRijqH9bt4CT7H9PcSqMLt5hdYl-X4DfM9_Lb9EKJ1vX0CW-2zB28/s400/DSCN3404.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQXWUWGmg6OHdh0m_c963h_mCiBl_7dIxfZo_-VD539Zul4Shs4-hKvLmke3AhwrUXQExoCv0CgxbHFivo13x8L3LfirarQHkeBuW0uyNYeBWt_I5hgFw7I2rU57TZ34TTiZOSwJTqRQ0/s1600/DSCN3402.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 379px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714698466403919810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQXWUWGmg6OHdh0m_c963h_mCiBl_7dIxfZo_-VD539Zul4Shs4-hKvLmke3AhwrUXQExoCv0CgxbHFivo13x8L3LfirarQHkeBuW0uyNYeBWt_I5hgFw7I2rU57TZ34TTiZOSwJTqRQ0/s400/DSCN3402.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi32g5c45rFg37C56u7mJ9KyRY2-xskTtcLIyGmUbW_ceLwZaP5-niBJ1GObJ-5aREG3THS7MxRQovcPzmqaBSzDg38m6T-9Do8xQnfPiZ245OFfJ27EQW321FED0hzIYHvvdkEN44VmcM/s1600/DSCN3397.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 272px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714698463270033266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi32g5c45rFg37C56u7mJ9KyRY2-xskTtcLIyGmUbW_ceLwZaP5-niBJ1GObJ-5aREG3THS7MxRQovcPzmqaBSzDg38m6T-9Do8xQnfPiZ245OFfJ27EQW321FED0hzIYHvvdkEN44VmcM/s400/DSCN3397.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUm7Xpv4rSSoslAWSsLxZPJTLh3Cmol2I9qPXQpTqtt2WLmHO6fRvn_OeZF-znFGU3giwE8TBBsquHunIIifx6cm7_Q1EeimP2NoS9AoU5GBYjmh8ebkWb_1IhGB_rHu2OCYMk3dCKZ5g/s1600/DSCN3402.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEKnxbDzgk44IMP0ejxX-CfLiI7Y2A_keISQiM9mH5LO8VSv0K8qQgEMLlA3Dk50SFoP-c52pjHmoXjbXYFGWq5CqV_duu3Hc2ibiHpBWBU7HCmjyu38FmHpBDXYVdcv79mtjCs4E-Rw/s1600/DSCN3349.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 269px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714688840585107410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEKnxbDzgk44IMP0ejxX-CfLiI7Y2A_keISQiM9mH5LO8VSv0K8qQgEMLlA3Dk50SFoP-c52pjHmoXjbXYFGWq5CqV_duu3Hc2ibiHpBWBU7HCmjyu38FmHpBDXYVdcv79mtjCs4E-Rw/s400/DSCN3349.JPG" /></a> One of the best things about Stonewylde for me is the new experiences I've had since writing the series. Our social network group has flourished for several years now and members meet up regularly all over the country. Last Sunday saw one such get-together at Kensal Green Cemetry in London. Ten of us met up there, and were given a private tour by Sue who's a huge Stonewylde fan and also a volunteer guide at this amazing cemetry.<br /><br />She looked after us for over three hours and it was one of the best afternoons I've had for a long time. Sue is such a knowledgeable guide and admits that she particularly enjoys the scandal. We learned all sorts of naughty things about the inhabitants of the cemetry and what they got up to when alive. It's a myth of course that everyone was prim and proper in Victorian times - some of the tales that Sue told us would really make your hair curl!<br /><br />Apparently the cemetry was opened in 1833, one of seven I think in London to cope with the high mortality rate. It's over 70 acres (no wonder I felt so tired at the end of the tour) and is still very much in use today. Kensal Green has its share of famous bodies, including writers such as William Thackary and Anthony Trollope, and historical figures such as Lord Byron's half sister and wife. To be honest, there was so much interesting information that not much of it has stuck in my addled brain.<br /><br />There are some amazing tombs, monuments and graves, some very simple but many incredibly ornate if not downright vulgar, reflecting the taste of the time. Rich and poor are buried at Kensal Green, and even some royalty too. My favourite part of the tour (but also my worse) was visiting the catacombs. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos down there so I can't show you just how terrifying and grim it was. There were coffins in various stages of decay everywhere - it was a city of death, with streets going off the main thoroughfare and all full of hundreds and hundreds of coffins. I was thoroughly spooked by the whole thing, although it was an experience I'm so glad I had.<br /><br />Sue was fantastic, and I certainly want to go back there again as there was just too much to take in on one visit. Many thanks to her for such a wonderful private tour for Stonewylde readers. Thanks too to Sam for the lovely handbag charms she made for all of us, and Ros for the delicious lemon drizzle daisy cakes. What a great afternoon it was! For more information about Kensal Green cemetery and visits, click <a href="http://www.kensalgreencemetery.com/index.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Tomorrow, 1st March, is World Book Day and I'm off at the crack of dawn (actually, while it's still dark) to Dorset. I'm speaking to children at St Osmund's Middle School in Dorchester, followed by a coffee with Loose and Leafy blogger, and then a signing session in Dorchester Waterstones. I'm really looking forward to it and will post about it soon.Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-66152348774634981062012-02-22T11:53:00.018+00:002012-02-22T12:55:38.363+00:00Orion 20th Anniversary Party<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMZ7zTb2faMv2rjLCXzE1Je3TeHysIvXfJoiwK_xNi1Hy_S19zqoTWfFwF49BAQzVIOEgGtqTLTdgCWZz5TR2Ou5S-CWJtNyYOwYhOPy6ZakoeBeFYi4lqc-w15AORq4A_yOgZ-QzgJV8/s1600/photo+1.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711927237072589314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMZ7zTb2faMv2rjLCXzE1Je3TeHysIvXfJoiwK_xNi1Hy_S19zqoTWfFwF49BAQzVIOEgGtqTLTdgCWZz5TR2Ou5S-CWJtNyYOwYhOPy6ZakoeBeFYi4lqc-w15AORq4A_yOgZ-QzgJV8/s400/photo+1.JPG" /></a> This photo comes courtesy of Nina Douglas, the lovely publicist from Orion Books. On the left of the picture, in case you didn't realise what it was, is the dinosaur! What a fabulous, wonderful, exciting event it was.<br /><br />I read somewhere that there were 900 guests and 500 bottles of champagne - not sure if that's correct, but the champagne was lovely and there was a lot of it. And delicious canapes too. Certainly it felt like 900 guests as the place was packed. We were sent name badges (posh ones - not sticky labels) and most people wore theirs, but even so it was hard to find people you wanted to talk to, or see the names of those you were talking to. Peering at someone's chest to decipher their name before making eye contact feels a bit rude!<br /><br />I had a marvellous time despite my nerves. I was a little late (Hammersmith Flyover trouble) and in the queue to leave coats, noticed that Ian Rankin was standing behind me! He addressed the audience later, talking about his history with Orion and how just that day he'd signed another two book deal with them. He was one of the very first authors to sign with Orion when they set up twenty years ago - and everyone's done very well from that deal! </div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxq89jWVNR5M71OPmDbFszX_AAXK_DJ8_sRPwnop4PTopvWZtb6CSXFLs_VPZc61OXNhuIWF9co5So10kXlMpUOYmS7BfSciOvkDKzi5ZoOPnHo4RPkKC_Ff17TSYLeTnlh4n_ObKSuUU/s1600/DSC_7010.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 139px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711934813658493538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxq89jWVNR5M71OPmDbFszX_AAXK_DJ8_sRPwnop4PTopvWZtb6CSXFLs_VPZc61OXNhuIWF9co5So10kXlMpUOYmS7BfSciOvkDKzi5ZoOPnHo4RPkKC_Ff17TSYLeTnlh4n_ObKSuUU/s200/DSC_7010.JPG" /></a> There was also a speech from the CEO who's a lovely man called Peter Roche. I spoke to him at the Gollancz 50th Anniversary party last November and he told me that he hadn't read Stonewylde. Understandable really, given how many books Orion publish and that he's firmly a crime/thriller fan. But at the party on Monday night, I bumped into him (I kept bumping into people literally as it was extremely crowded) and he recognised me and told me he'd now read all four books!!! I said, 'Wow - I only hoped you might read one!' to which he replied, 'Once you've read one, how could you not read all four?'. I felt so honoured!<br /><br />I spoke to many very interesting people, lots of new authors who looked lost, and established authors who didn't. I had a lovely chat with Essie Fox, who's debut novel The Somnambulist was recently featured on the Channel 4 TV Book Club and we agreed to read each other's books. I also had a chat with Greg Mosse, who's invited me to speak at the college where he teaches an MA in Creative Writing - that will be great, if it comes off. We started talking because my Stonewylde charm bracelet had become entangled with my lace dress - and he extricated me! I had a good chat with fellow Gollancz author Suzanne McLeod about the merits of attending some of the big conventions such as SFX Weekender, Eastercon, Fantasycon, etc.<br /><br />There were several other authors I'd hoped to speak to but never found - we'd made contact on Twitter but the Natural History Museum is so huge and there were so many people that it was impossible to track down individuals - especially if you didn't know what they look like! I did manage to talk with my agent, my editor at Gollancz and some of the marketing and PR team too, and said hello to Malcolm Edwards, head of Gollancz. So in a networking sense it was a successful evening.<br /><br />But on another level it was almost like a timeslip film/novel, and this must have been the same experience for everyone there. I remember my father taking me and my younger brother to the Natural History Museum when we were children in the 1960s. I remember standing there being totally awestruck by the dinosaur and the sheer size of the place. I stood there on Monday night feeling amazed and overwhelmed that here I was, an author at a publisher's party mixing with loads of other publishing professionals, authors, agents, etc. And I imagined that small girl standing in the same place with her father and her little brother, not knowing that one day she'd be there in such a glitzy capacity. It always was my childhood dream to be a writer, and here I was. And I bet the same was true for so many of the people there. Nobody who'd visited as a child would have any sense of this destiny. It would make a great film or story, wouldn't it? I wonder how many of the 900 people had visited the museum as children? I wonder if this thought struck any of them too? <br /><br /><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 143px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711936824272711842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4p77qDIAh8IgCO8ro7-c1tNurxVWaW92IJwYbUlE24ZI1pb_hyuvSvQK1oWv6dHgCSUtD44xXIDUtDXnqrpJcRnaagp9zcSzn4qd_-qfOXg57qDZItJnchjFzvCGl7w4nFONGN5jGkM/s320/DSC_7009.JPG" />We were given a goody bag of books as we left (all very welcome - each one is a title I want to read) and my wonderful Mr B was waiting outside for me. We had a quick supper in a nearby restaurant with some other authors (I've done enough name-dropping so won't bore you with more) and then drove back to Reading. It was a fantastic night altogether, and I'd had just the right amount of champagne too. These photos of me were taken at home by Mr B before we left.<br /><br />If by any chance anyone from Orion reads this blog - thank you for a magical evening!Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-72307926761014793302012-02-20T14:23:00.017+00:002012-02-20T15:29:09.693+00:00My horse chestnut tree is maleThanks so much for all the lovely comments on my last post, and other messages I've received on Twitter, Facebook and my Stonewylde network. It seems that the idea of following a tree for a year is a popular one, and also not a new one. How lovely that many of you either already do this or are now planning to.<br /><br />I'm afraid my promise last Monday to blog soon was broken. What happened was that suddenly the fifth book started to flow and I didn't want to stop writing! I'm now almost half way through (though not quite) and I have just under six weeks to finish this first draft. I'm living in a state of moderate panic which never leaves me, and I'm not sleeping that well either because of it. Last night I had a horrible nightmare about one of the characters in the book which really disturbed me.<br /><br />Anyway - back to the Horse Chestnut Tree. I think, given that it's my tree of the year, it deserves capital letters. Today I'll post three photos, but I'm afraid they won't always show just the tree. It's a perching place to so many birds and squirrels and obviously a feeding place too. Horse Chestnut Tree dominates the view into our back garden and is particularly visible from our bedroom window. I stood gazing out at it the other day and saw something very special. I tend to spend hours doing this when I'm thinking of what comes next in <em>Shaman of Stonewylde</em>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFrX2hutD33L0KNrS9OGhyEZZWMB0AQcfxg9XCuj_qkUUzhPyME0gmFDwEWyb6UdXY5ik_q1f0346k40XhHXWD3nqfQqj-acpM8syBGvgsRGUfZPjMSTA0hpeSDJW4r09RoeOEf81n0WY/s1600/DSCN3228.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvm14NHeTLSNpoBrRInB2pEh9cRVO-T7qFyUwlyljjDegKarr1OUKgLjskvIqRdiMS3auUwXknEMuUCpLBWCod_5tvnmZOoYoDfNXUxg_l2vNDcutoU2YJcyDnYr-Ko1M7fhhCbseEVHs/s1600/DSC_6944.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711225627850251186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvm14NHeTLSNpoBrRInB2pEh9cRVO-T7qFyUwlyljjDegKarr1OUKgLjskvIqRdiMS3auUwXknEMuUCpLBWCod_5tvnmZOoYoDfNXUxg_l2vNDcutoU2YJcyDnYr-Ko1M7fhhCbseEVHs/s400/DSC_6944.JPG" /></a><br />Can you see what I spotted on it? Take a close look ...<br /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8EF97uel7n0Se6wLMEHfU-56Xoiv7LIteYRpnsyO0ZxDK9LAXzlV9upfSrTh-Q_q9satr2TaDU8kAsUiwCzVdQ00G6HCiQoWKxfQ2TH2R97ksgkcfPRD5Ax_lBflpVpunNmazvvdItTI/s1600/DSC_6924.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711226359797345762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8EF97uel7n0Se6wLMEHfU-56Xoiv7LIteYRpnsyO0ZxDK9LAXzlV9upfSrTh-Q_q9satr2TaDU8kAsUiwCzVdQ00G6HCiQoWKxfQ2TH2R97ksgkcfPRD5Ax_lBflpVpunNmazvvdItTI/s400/DSC_6924.JPG" /></a><br /></p><br />It's a little nuthatch - so beautiful! I watched it creep all over the great chunks of bark on my tree and was really glad to get these photos. Not only is the tree a huge, magical presence in my garden, but it also attracts the most wonderful creatures. I'd never seen a nuthatch before.<br /><br />Mr B said recently that he felt the tree was male, and this interested me. I know on my Stonewylde network we've had discussions in the past about trees being male or female. In tree folk-lore, any books you care to read on the subject, say with great authority "The oak is a male tree..." and other such statements. Obviously this isn't a biological observation but a more imaginative one. I too had felt that the Horse Chestnut Tree was male, and was pleased when Mr B said this entirely unprompted. He's not quite as fanciful as I am about these matters and it always makes me happy when his fancy does take flight. So ... you can imagine my sense of disillusionment when he explained why the tree, to him, was masculine.<br /><br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5OilU0iwfB7Sbsj-xvVPKI3BLhRZh7I29v3AkxcAWtiHiYZQzZDpej_Wxknj1wcrmHADsAx9495g6ucJW7hcamKa2rYi1Q7VizJPmZ_zem-8mKgf-2ActYWkywbz8InruoOBS030ivb4/s1600/DSCN3228.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711230075572425314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5OilU0iwfB7Sbsj-xvVPKI3BLhRZh7I29v3AkxcAWtiHiYZQzZDpej_Wxknj1wcrmHADsAx9495g6ucJW7hcamKa2rYi1Q7VizJPmZ_zem-8mKgf-2ActYWkywbz8InruoOBS030ivb4/s400/DSCN3228.JPG" /></a></p><br />Anyway, moving on ... last week was a very lucky week for me - I won prizes in THREE competitions! I never win anything so this was very exciting, and I shall tell you all about it in another blog later this week.<br /><br />Tonight it's the big, posh, glitzy Orion Authors' Party which this year takes place in the Natural History Museum (no jokes please about old dinosaurs). I'm very excited and nervous too. It's only for authors, agents and other publishing professionals; partners aren't invited, so I won't have Mr B there by my side. Don't get me wrong -I'm a confident person and all that. But this is a huge do, and I know very few people but they all seem to know each other! It's also enormous (last year it was in the Royal Opera House) so the chances of finding the few people you actually do know are slim. It's very daunting and last year I coped by gulping at the ever-flowing champagne until my nerves had gone, along with most of my other faculties! This year I shall be sensible and if I feel a bit lost and lonely, I shall merely stand at the edges and people-watch.<br /><br />I'm off now to get ready, and must abandon my characters in the Great Barn where they're just about to start something rather special ...Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-2218728075335056262012-02-13T14:38:00.008+00:002012-02-13T15:27:31.344+00:00I am now a Tree FollowerLast week I came across an amazing blog, via Twitter. One of the big guys at Gollancz had tweeted about a blogger he admires, and fully expecting a fantasy type blog featuring swords and dragons and other things that don't really float my boat (well, I do like dragons), I had a look. Wow! I was blown away by the blog called Loose and Leafy.<br /><br />It actually comes from around Weymouth, which is where I lived for 27 years and I so wish I'd met the lady when I lived there - she sounds lovely. She's a Tree Follower, and the idea is that you choose a particular tree and then follow it for a year. You take lots of photos (or draw or paint it, I guess, if you can) and blog about it whenever you feel so inspired. What a lovely, lovely idea! I bet many of my followers will join me in this - several of you whom I've got to know spring to mind immediately. If you follow <a href="http://looseandleafy.blogspot.com/">this link</a> and then go back to her Feb 5th post, she explains a bit more about it there.<br /><br />So today is my first Tree Follower blog, and I'll probably do one of these every couple of weeks or so. Although it could be more as I can see how exciting this could become, for me at least. The tree I've chosen is one that really chose me. As you may know, we moved house at the end of last year and finally bought our first house together. One of the three things that sold this house to me - and the most important one - was the beautiful garden. Not beautiful as in it's perfect and full of wonderful plants, which it isn't. But beautiful because it contains several mature trees and it's reasonably private, considering we're in Reading, and it's full of birds and squirrels. I really, really love it.<br /><br />I was just a tiny tad disappointed when we examined the garden closely to discover what the trees actually were. Horse chestnuts, lime, hornbeam and sycamore I think. Not entirely sure as all the leaves are now gone, but definitely horse chestnuts and sycamore and the other two are debatable as I don't know them so well. I was disappointed because my favourite trees are the ones I grew up with in the two gardens of my childhood. These were, in the first garden: beech (all-time favourite), oak (with mistletoe), sweet chestnut, silver birches, Scots pines and rowans. The second garden had a giant yew (a real favourite of mine), a massive walnut tree (so big it had its main branch held up with a kind of pit-prop) and a large orchard. I spent hours and hours of my childhood playing, reading, daydreaming and scribbling under each of these trees, and I can still picture each of them perfectly even though it's over 40 years since I saw any of them. It's because of these trees that I grew up loving nature and believing in magic and eventually writing Stonewylde.<br /><br />So when I realised that not one of these special trees featured in my new garden, I was a little disappointed but determined, nevertheless, to make friends with the new ones, all of which are subject to a Tree Preservation Order. Not of course that I'd consider chopping them down! Plus I have a veritable nursery of baby trees that I've been growing in pots for the past four years until such time as we could afford to buy a house. So I shall soon be planting some of these in the garden - and they include most of my old favourites.<br /><br />The tree that has demanded to be chosen is the one nearest to the house - a massive horse chestnut. It's a whopper and I really hope it doesn't invalidate our house insurance. This has proved to be a bit of a long blog so I shall end now with a picture of a bit of it, and write more about it during the week. I'm on a real roll at the moment with Shaman of Stonewylde and I'm itching to get back to it. So here's a detail of Horse Chestnut, with more to come soon. Have a lovely week, everyone!<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 301px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 403px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708637396460052338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYf7_5PS256Bj364bU0en6kVud-NOGKbPobiZhvpkdrINs-S2P18rprXkH_Pjp6RdANN0ebdJK2Mm_-6nZbiz1C1BIeGtJUcRl4adjDcGXQZPqYONiNq2oirAZs3WOWShtBtz20GBLeHw/s400/DSCN3223.JPG" />Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-91019244147997088852012-02-10T21:14:00.019+00:002012-02-11T12:28:25.229+00:00Log jams and blog jams<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0DtdOn6ZYyHEl1QXR4dL0MHTCfilBHw1gO97rRqe0HDGuMnnXCcMKL_LKIKWJKRvKTyv-2Pqw7eZaT0Jrv2ruFrxO7ZW1-rnAAcJCUO8dy4NqcgeMVs_FTlwC7fGCrI1wy_yiy6FFmA/s1600/DSC_6782.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 266px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707620232778527394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0DtdOn6ZYyHEl1QXR4dL0MHTCfilBHw1gO97rRqe0HDGuMnnXCcMKL_LKIKWJKRvKTyv-2Pqw7eZaT0Jrv2ruFrxO7ZW1-rnAAcJCUO8dy4NqcgeMVs_FTlwC7fGCrI1wy_yiy6FFmA/s400/DSC_6782.JPG" /></a> Well here I am, hard at work on the story planning board for Shaman of Stonewylde. As I've said before, with such a broad canvas and being the fifth and final book, it's very important that I can see the whole picture, or at least a big part of it. I need to make sure the balance is there, between the characters, the conflict, the setting and the action. No longer do I have the comfort of knowing that I can put that bit right in the next book - there won't be a 'next book'! All ends have to be tied and yet not in a trite, happy ever after type way. Tricky stuff, but I'm getting on with it and after Monday's doldrums, it's started moving again. Phew!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZv8P8YN_RKFCDd8kudch3QpYn6R2VjBPrXDElPBQmsTxkkRMTtCZ2N-ZW-b4oiW7PlwwbzfpBHn1m5hXGvhlRBtWmOmq5ybkqJtRJr7i6EUreIFe-Bp4r3REgXszhy1w69rCVFHKwe2A/s1600/DSC_6819.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707624572051866834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZv8P8YN_RKFCDd8kudch3QpYn6R2VjBPrXDElPBQmsTxkkRMTtCZ2N-ZW-b4oiW7PlwwbzfpBHn1m5hXGvhlRBtWmOmq5ybkqJtRJr7i6EUreIFe-Bp4r3REgXszhy1w69rCVFHKwe2A/s400/DSC_6819.JPG" /></a> I realised that one of the issues was this handfasting scene I'm trying to write. Several of my lovely readers are going to tie the knot in Avebury in May, at our annual Stonewylde gathering. I rashly said to them a long time ago that when I'd written this particular scene in the book, I'd let them have the text to adapt it for their own handfasting ceremony. So Chapter 7, the handfasting one, caused a massive block in my thinking. I was trying to write it for Avebury, for the Stonewylde fans, instead of staying true to the story itself. Once I'd realised this and overcome that hurdle, the chapter flowed and I'm now on Chapter 9. I'm sure the four couples who want to use my ceremony in Avebury will be able to adapt what I've written, and the log-jam has now freed itself and all is flowing again.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-So-_KuAYJiaFGKzOmPK7McSgnccETi5Q7b9GpuMroUPAKqn-okVEo874dnG3Jhr4OOM-q41hErZWiw3MoYheD9DKc-bGEsXSrW66WubaE0hpr0GUvRUv9otE7mWP5_gLghfp6zJ_cBo/s1600/DSC_6902.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 278px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707624077214063762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-So-_KuAYJiaFGKzOmPK7McSgnccETi5Q7b9GpuMroUPAKqn-okVEo874dnG3Jhr4OOM-q41hErZWiw3MoYheD9DKc-bGEsXSrW66WubaE0hpr0GUvRUv9otE7mWP5_gLghfp6zJ_cBo/s400/DSC_6902.JPG" /></a> Since last weekend's snow, we've had more. The little robin above was snapped by Mr B this morning as he tried to grab some breakfast. I thought robins were ground feeders and wouldn't use these type of seed feeders, but obviously I'm wrong. We have several robins who visit us for food, which again flies in the face of what I'd always believed: that the robin is territorial and guards his place fiercely. Maybe the snow puts paid to all that and in the end it's only survival that matters.<br /><br />We've had lots more avian visitors this week - in fact it's become quite ridiculous. I counted eight blackbirds today, and there could have been more rustling around in the leaves at the end of the garden. They're very bold, and I know they're plain birds but I do love them. We've also had a crazy amount of blue-tits, so much so that I actually wrote a blue-tit into the story today. I suddenly realised what I'd done and it made me laugh. Just as Baba Yaga has also appeared, after the wonderful blog post that I linked to on Katherine Langrish's site.<br /><br /><br /><p><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 201px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707626917767652882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKLIEIqQrt_5mljgiVI81pdQJrGlxxK_OgWptYA_fvP4Un5Zm-y8Z6ZMkHPVAq0BYZ-0njwsUg7_QVj5gvo50L0I-l-xOUrLt8I4V3iWAwfux0WaHqb6U6hFAl9ZtJYqGMtMUCIW6-wvQ/s400/DSC_6873.JPG" />This has been a week of discovering some really amazing blogs. Of course I can't allow myself to be distracted as I just don't have the time for that, but how can I resist? In my next post I'll do some links to these lovely sites so you can all go off and explore them. I feel quite inadequate when I see what some people produce on their blogs. I must say this was one of the reasons I stopped blogging during 2011 - I felt I had nothing to say that would be of any interest. Now I'm starting to think that actually, a bit of rambling may be okay after all. I guess all blogs are different; some erudite, some clever, some entertaining. Mine's like you're popping into my kitchen for a quick cup of tea while I take a break from writing the fifth book.<br /><br />So on that note, I hope you like this very acrobatic woodpecker who was just showing off to all the pigeons and magpies who couldn't get to the birdfeeder. I have filled up the feeders now, by the way, in case you were wondering about the dearth of food. Our garden has been awarded two Michelin stars by the local birds, and I had to keep running out flapping my arms at the flock of seagulls (yes, in Reading!) who kept trying to land today. They mistakenly took us for a drive-thru. It's back to work for me (10pm but that's no reason to leave Sylvie on the hill and Yul in the Barn) and I wish you all a lovely weekend. On Monday - hopefully - I'll tell you about the wonderful blog from Weymouth of all places (my old home) that I discovered today via good old Twitter, and how I'm now a tree follower. Can you let yourselves out and shut the door behind you please? Bye!<br /></p>Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-12596220443503219262012-02-06T17:47:00.025+00:002012-02-06T19:10:33.013+00:00Gloomy Monday<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgheyzlrPF8KBB5nnvxGofELvzZOF8URXUwT0tIeWPhSDekL82NN-F0Ni0tcDzrtujKmZ07Vd23wWCrE3qlIkdwEk_m359CDyB8utIIm65i69yPWDgce9LA41jsnNDXPArpN9tPrm89UZ8/s1600/DSCN3201.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706088752192219650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgheyzlrPF8KBB5nnvxGofELvzZOF8URXUwT0tIeWPhSDekL82NN-F0Ni0tcDzrtujKmZ07Vd23wWCrE3qlIkdwEk_m359CDyB8utIIm65i69yPWDgce9LA41jsnNDXPArpN9tPrm89UZ8/s400/DSCN3201.JPG" /></a> I was feeling like this poor little rose in my vase. Drooping, wilting, sorry for myself. It's been a miserable, dripping sort of day with slushy ice outside and try as I might all day, I've just been unable to get anything written. And as you all know, with the end of March my deadline, this is not a good state of affairs. I did all the usual displacement stuff: e-mails, overdue phone-calls, twitter, e-bay, other people's blogs, my own Stonewylde network - and I even popped very briefly into facebook. But I just couldn't get started on Shaman of Stonewylde, Chapter 7.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiJaSd1gKsfJPc8tWJrrvi4495cRjRGDUhJvkVaRazbge4TxeG76yQ1Tnwr4NWndMONliohL4oUSXQ540YU_ZtL9H4fNk_AN3BHLWrwneNdr0OOD3rgurmm_Cy-qnOKaBGKS8WKhmH-RM/s1600/DSCN3204.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 157px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706092262693687634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiJaSd1gKsfJPc8tWJrrvi4495cRjRGDUhJvkVaRazbge4TxeG76yQ1Tnwr4NWndMONliohL4oUSXQ540YU_ZtL9H4fNk_AN3BHLWrwneNdr0OOD3rgurmm_Cy-qnOKaBGKS8WKhmH-RM/s400/DSCN3204.JPG" /></a> Out in my garden, all was dark and slushy. Even my room with a view didn't cheer me up nor inspire me. All I could see were my footprints in the slush where I'd been topping up the birds' food and water. Also, my chair is right by the radiator which was belting out heat, and this just added to my inertia and lethargy.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYasGhsUJ6bLKFnmaqIK-2vAmAIhVWZ0doR8C5VgRWjNM_yaREwy_fdm0tqCU0PVKPiHv_TgDmNcTFVVVwLh7n6a_8zLPn6KmQku1VkYAbOZjvulKsEDEbL1WlIkSHoWO6eaYEzu6DOBI/s1600/DSCN3200.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706093274616627538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYasGhsUJ6bLKFnmaqIK-2vAmAIhVWZ0doR8C5VgRWjNM_yaREwy_fdm0tqCU0PVKPiHv_TgDmNcTFVVVwLh7n6a_8zLPn6KmQku1VkYAbOZjvulKsEDEbL1WlIkSHoWO6eaYEzu6DOBI/s400/DSCN3200.JPG" /></a>Malik, the brown Burmese, was still asleep in his basket - and this at 4pm! He'd been here all day after a quick, paw-flicking trip outside for a wee in the snow. I know the bedding in the basket looks a bit manky but they curl up together every night and love it. Please note the very considerate positioning of the basket - directly under the radiator. And there's more - the hot water pipes run underneath the basket so they have under-basket heating too.<br /><br /><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 145px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706095604166612690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FuawgthSwhpLsOnb4kIYePCwNR5C9i5pyWCwFdAlxwtIcYn33mEy1_Qc3dklIf5o3hnm9SXf2sB-dE7HPUd9hoRqZD-1weK-F7fgmG9RNDHifOd0vve3WwqyD__LjiXXcfQxtImQW98/s400/DSCN3208.JPG" />So, nothing for it but to go for a walk. Mr B, who'd been working from home due to the snow, ice and fog, thought I was just a little mad and flatly refused to accompany me. I put on my pink wellies, hat and jacket and set off for the fields and woods that lie behind my house. Outside it was cold and damp, the sort that makes even straight hair go frizzy and sits on your eyelashes.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQlP5hyphenhyphenRWIITuxdMk88IwlNGMiJN2bLmtS1XQu8ykvpikd2YXtHCrUg2Vr4j-p-4Ohh0xUP_fFyY1928lb8naxXRH3fcF3ftS1WIiMX0zYE_1ACm2-Yv-bHkNiXhimA7YUR0VTcZv_FZQ/s1600/DSCN3212.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706097469100684946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQlP5hyphenhyphenRWIITuxdMk88IwlNGMiJN2bLmtS1XQu8ykvpikd2YXtHCrUg2Vr4j-p-4Ohh0xUP_fFyY1928lb8naxXRH3fcF3ftS1WIiMX0zYE_1ACm2-Yv-bHkNiXhimA7YUR0VTcZv_FZQ/s400/DSCN3212.JPG" /></a> However ... I'm sure you can guess what I'm going to say next. Yes, as ever the sheer magic of nature got the better of me. Gradually, all those nasty grumpy, gloomy thoughts ('I can't write', 'I'm never going to hit the deadline', 'Might as well give up now', etc) melted away. I watched three crows messing about, found a lovely pine stick to add to my collection (sticks that may be suitable to make into wands), had a good old think about Chapter 7 and why I'm stuck, and even saw the almost full moon peering out from a chink in the freezing fog!<br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>So now - I'm home, happy and ready to tackle Chapter 7! Mr B will have to cook tonight as it's after 7pm and I've a long evening ahead of me if I'm going to make up lost time. I hope you all have a lovely week and manage to get out and enjoy some of the freezing but still beautiful weather. </div>Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-67271918082064043882012-02-01T12:08:00.009+00:002012-02-01T13:23:37.084+00:00Bright blessings for Imbolc<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAD0BBcDGto4mibYh54H5zcnwgVvJge_ryEJQ9TkILME66pOF2V8vHqfHnZuzc1DtzUPH6wlvhIo5fVWUW2oVjm9_aOhCXpz_HBE2bXxoAFxsPy_834eNxhbV0910sM1Y2Oz7X19Ct8k0/s1600/Imbolc+Helixtree.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 278px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 164px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704156547524489522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAD0BBcDGto4mibYh54H5zcnwgVvJge_ryEJQ9TkILME66pOF2V8vHqfHnZuzc1DtzUPH6wlvhIo5fVWUW2oVjm9_aOhCXpz_HBE2bXxoAFxsPy_834eNxhbV0910sM1Y2Oz7X19Ct8k0/s400/Imbolc+Helixtree.png" /></a><br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjCcKGjVEvzlWpLMFvmkg-qIiqURao8B3v_O5HHmaG49UTI7whP0v_tgOczCezTTxAzvPc_j0pLGOfaMFUH-zmsrQq24lfSEPJ3aFTIgKSxc3gBpn6si3Vkbw0_3XjleVnNUMo9RFY4N4/s1600/34%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 313px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704153096512698370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjCcKGjVEvzlWpLMFvmkg-qIiqURao8B3v_O5HHmaG49UTI7whP0v_tgOczCezTTxAzvPc_j0pLGOfaMFUH-zmsrQq24lfSEPJ3aFTIgKSxc3gBpn6si3Vkbw0_3XjleVnNUMo9RFY4N4/s400/34%255B1%255D.png" /></a><br /><br /><div>Today is Imbolc! I'm sure many of my blog readers will know this already, but for anyone who perhaps doesn't, today is one of the old Celtic cross-quarter festival days. I send out a Stonewylde newsletter eight times a year on the festivals, and my latest one for those who haven't yet seen it can be found <a href="http://www.stonewylde.com/newsletters/2012-stonewylde-imbolc-newsletter.htm">here</a>. In this newsletter I've announced the title of the final book in the Stonewylde series (the one I'm currently writing) and also details of an award for which Shadows of Stonewylde has been longlisted - the David Gemmell Legend award. All very exciting stuff so do please take a look.<br /><br />I'd also like to share a link to another post about Imbolc which you can read <a href="http://nookofnames.com/2012/02/01/imbolc/">here</a>. Only yesterday, I received a 'hot-off-the-press' copy of Kay's wonderful new book with a personal dedication inside and I was so very excited. I'll blog about this another day, but let me just say now that Kay Sheard's dictionary is absolutely fab and I thoroughly recommend it. I shall be using it in book 5 - say no more!<br /><br />This is a quickie today as I took the day off from writing yesterday to celebrate my middle son Olly's birthday. He was 27, and all my children and some of Mr B's were here (nine of us) to eat an enormous dinner involving fajitas, nachos and birthday cake. It was a lovely but hectic day, with a lot of cooking, baking, hoovering and bed-making, but the evening was wonderful. Obviously no writing at all took place yesterday and I must catch up today.<br /><br />So I shall leave you with an old-fashioned 'Riddle-me-ree' from Wild Roses, a huge Stonewylde fan and maker of fine jewellery (see her website <a href="http://www.wherethewildrosesgrow.co.uk/">here</a>).<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><u>Riddle me ree - who am I?</u><br /></div><br /><div align="center">My first is in Sylvie but not in her love</div><br /><div align="center">My second in solstice and starlight above,</div><br /><div align="center">My third is in moondance but not in sunlight</div><br /><div align="center">My fourth is in raven as black as the night.</div><br /><div align="center">My fifth is in Maizie but not in her son</div><br /><div align="center">My sixth is in shadows and will they have won?</div><br /><div align="center">My seventh in young magus and in his great love</div><br /><div align="center">My eighth in his sister, of the shaman beloved.</div><br /><div align="center">My ninth in dark waters into which they must dive</div><br /><div align="center">My tenth is in Heggy and five, always five ... </div><br /><div align="left"><br />How cool is that - to have a special poem written? Thanks to Wild Roses, and a very lovely Imbolc to you all. </div></div>Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-34631306396677337612012-01-26T09:55:00.010+00:002012-01-26T11:15:00.028+00:00Mary Hoffman and serendipity<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd0oDXDlRctR6B7RtH9J-qefcZM7Eg0Z9-YOmhl0RxCpC_GHWO4hlZrEsCQ3GdIUVvrd962KtFOTqXTFLe9UaDInqKsXxzpRjkK3Sz9U8jauk6hyQB1-R4V80ZBqH_B60WYTAbR8XqmT4/s1600/sun+moon+and+stars.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701877886185862082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd0oDXDlRctR6B7RtH9J-qefcZM7Eg0Z9-YOmhl0RxCpC_GHWO4hlZrEsCQ3GdIUVvrd962KtFOTqXTFLe9UaDInqKsXxzpRjkK3Sz9U8jauk6hyQB1-R4V80ZBqH_B60WYTAbR8XqmT4/s400/sun+moon+and+stars.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnCl6FlWXQhHqUnAm4v1G4qFigr7o1C-XshXLiRYERVGZ7icNb2Rn_WtUMcgxLMWliDmlfIDbuhl4Yia07US-DhmYqYc5Z-RbLdp5ySdwMzhPBaXKg1YwZzeLUxzqUKWY-bGiUT0FN1JY/s1600/Song+of+the+earth.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 252px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 252px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701877882828142434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnCl6FlWXQhHqUnAm4v1G4qFigr7o1C-XshXLiRYERVGZ7icNb2Rn_WtUMcgxLMWliDmlfIDbuhl4Yia07US-DhmYqYc5Z-RbLdp5ySdwMzhPBaXKg1YwZzeLUxzqUKWY-bGiUT0FN1JY/s400/Song+of+the+earth.jpg" /></a><br /></div><br /><div>Stonewylde book 5 is coming on really well now. But my editor at Orion has been asking that dreaded question, 'Do you have a title yet? And what ideas do you have for the cover?' Yikes! I knew this would happen and I haven't yet decided on the title, although there are two main contenders at the moment. And that will dictate the cover art of course. I've set myself a deadline of Sunday night to decide. <br /><br />In the meantime, I was struck this week yet again by the way that strange and weird things happen in life - call it serendipity, fate, coincidence or whatever. I think we all know that moment when the hair on our arms rises and we have evidence that there is some kind of pattern to life. This week, the parents of a very good friend of mine visited me for lunch. They wanted to see the new house and bring some things over. <br /><br />Anyone who's read the re-published versions of Stonewylde will see that the series is now also dedicated to my friend, Debbie. She was my best friend from when we were thirteen year-olds at school together. She remained my closest and dearest friend over the years, even though we've both spent time living abroad and our lives were very different. She always expected me to be a writer one day, remembering my scribbles, dreams and imagination from younger days, and was one of the first to read the draft manuscript to my original books. She died in 2009 of cancer, aged 50. Her parents and I (who've also known each other since I was 13) remain close and now the initial shock and pain of bereavement has eased, we enjoy reminiscing about Debbie and the past. <br /><br />They've finally sorted through all Debbie's things and have given me lots of her bits and pieces - always lovely, but it does bring back the pain. There are also a life-time of birthday and Christmas presents and little random gifts that I gave her and which they want me to have. Debbie was very sentimental - she kept everything I ever gave her. Her parents have gradually worked their way through it all and every time we see each other they give me another box or bag of stuff, including clothes and shoes. It may seem a bit macabre, but I get a lot of pleasure out of wearing Debbie's old things and I know she'd have approved. She always said she had better taste than me! When they visited on Tuesday they brought what they believe is the last box of things, and it contained various books I'd given Debbie over the years. I'd already had loads of books returned, so this was a surprise. And when I saw two of them I had that hair-raising moment.<br /><br />Way back in the 90s I bought two books which really changed things for me at a time when I was "finding my path". One was called 'Sun, Moon and Stars' and the other 'Song of the Earth'. They were beautiful books - exquisitely illustrated and with wonderful text. They were children's books, but I've always loved children's books. These two books, which I spent so many hours browsing through, focus on mythology and legends about the world and the universe. They're so well researched and reshaped my feelings about nature and deity. There's one double-paged spread in 'Song of the Earth' called 'Mother Earth', with a picture of a sleeping woman - a goddess in the landscape. This is how I picture Stonewylde, and I know that these two books significantly contributed to my ideas for Stonewylde when the whole concept was still embryonic. <br /><br />Debbie had such unwavering faith in the ultimate success of Stonewylde and always encouraged me, even when it all looked impossible. So a few years later, I bought her copies of both these beautiful books to thank her for all the support and encouragement she'd given me. I felt tearful when I looked in the box and saw that her parents had found them and returned them to me. <br /><br />And then I went cold - firstly they're published by Orion which I hadn't appreciated, not having looked at my copies for years, and certainly not since signing my publishing deal with Orion. And then I saw ... they're written by Mary Hoffman! And only last week I put a link to that same lady's blog about the Fisherman's Wife!! Of course when I did that I hadn't realised that she's the author of these two favourite and much-loved books. What a strange world it is - her name leapt out at me and I couldn't believe the coincidence. <br /><br />Mary, if you read this - thank you for all the pleasure these books gave to me, Debbie and also the many children I taught, who also loved them. Thank you for the inspiration I gained from them too. And are you going to the big Orion authors' party in February? It would be wonderful to meet you! </div>Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-77127366208062389022012-01-23T14:47:00.007+00:002012-01-23T15:56:09.452+00:00Monday is washing day<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700839428503693378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuwCmDxfnJrv5mxDkPtscqt8DHyIuWHyaIQmvazzv4O0yTkOaCI3G_4lixpqvuYfayu9PoNh7MLhaIaNJd8FbDhZajtVzls7627sIHbHAqC6RfeMbPpbTQjJa3GR7Syhe6_0QyvQcfcxk/s400/dolly.jpg" /><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">Photo courtesy of Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery</span></div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="left">Does anyone remember that funny old song about Monday being washing day? It went through the whole week, ending in "Is everybody happy? You bet your life we are!" I thought of this as I bundled a load of whites into the washing machine this morning, prior to beginning Chapter 4. A king-size sheet, two pillow cases, a bath sheet and one of Mr B's white shirts - all were stuffed in the aperture, the washing liquid and fabric conditioner sloshed into the correct holes, the buttons pressed and hey presto - washing done. And the toaster hadn't even popped in the space of time it took me to do this. One hour and twenty-five minutes later it's done and ready to be put out to dry.<br /><br />I never take my washing machine for granted, remembering only too well what it's like not to have one. Washing machines are one of the wonderful inventions that liberated women from some of the household drudgery. Without one it takes hours and hours a week to keep a family in clean clothes and bed-linen. I was aware of this when writing my books. At Stonewylde there's a Laundry House in the Village and of course the Hall has its own laundry. This is where Rowan worked and where Magus first approached her to ask if she'd do him the honour of being his May Queen at Beltane. You can imagine how time-consuming it must be for Villagers to do their laundry and how much more effort it takes to keep everything clean. But at Stonewylde the emphasis has never been on doing things quickly. When you think how long it takes to actually produce a shirt, for instance - grow and harvest the flax, spin and dye the fibre, weave the cloth, cut and sew the garment - the washing of it would also be done mindfully and carefully.<br /><br />Two of my sons are about to move into a new house-share and have found somewhere lovely. Their new place of course includes a washing machine, and this made me wonder how many people in western society today don't have access to a washing machine, or failing that, a launderette? They're good around the house, but I don't think my sons would have a clue how to wash clothes by hand. I remember when they were born I washed everything by hand. It took a large chunk of my morning, every single morning, to wash the family's clothes and worst of all, the nappies! I boiled those in a big pan, having soaked them overnight in a bucket. All the washing was wrung out by hand, which was a difficult job, especially for the big things like sheets. I used to long for a mangle like the one I remember my grandmother using. Then the dripping items would be hung out on the line, and in the winter it really was a nightmare getting everything dry. I bet older readers will have similar memories.<br /><br />As finances improved, we bought a second hand spin-drier - that was a dream come true even though it skidded across the floor if you didn't hold on tight. Then we stretched to an ancient twin-tub - it leaked horribly and still took ages, but it seemed like luxury! And finally we managed to get an automatic washing machine. Sadly by then the nappies had more or less finished, but the bliss of being able to put the washing on and then get on with something else - I shall never take that for granted. So this morning, after I'd put the washing on and then sat with my toast and coffee, I thought of the women of Stonewylde and their Laundry House. </div><br /><div align="left"><br />As a post-script, I'd like to thank the Schools Liaison unit in Birmingham for their kind permission to use the photo above. I'm never quite sure about copyright for pictures on blogs - so many are beautifully illustrated but there's often no credit to anyone, and I wonder how that works with copyright? I'd be really interested to hear from other bloggers about this. Do you bother asking permission? I spent about ten minutes on the phone getting permission to use the photo above, and in some blogs I read there are loads of different pictures - it would take for ever to ask everyone concerned. Of course normally I try to use my own pictures but that's not always possible. I'd welcome any advice on this from anyone who knows.<br /><br />Right - back to Chapter 4 then. The writing has started to flow, the threads have been picked up again (so tricky by the fifth book as there are so many of them) and it's all happening in my head. Phew! Have a good week, Stonewylders! </div>Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-82087275479085636392012-01-20T14:10:00.006+00:002012-01-20T14:27:17.320+00:00The Fisherman's Wife - by Mary HoffmanI do hope I'm not breaching any blogging etiquette here, and I'm also doing something that I vowed never to do - just provide a link to another interesting blog because I don't have time to create one myself today! I hope Mary Hoffman doesn't mind, and I hope you all don't either. It won't happen very often I promise, but this blog of hers seemed so timely in view of some of my blogs moaning about things not happening fast enough for me. I'm now sitting here feeling a bit guilty and know I'm very much in danger of becoming fisherman's wifely in my aspirations at times. But like Mary says, not for fortune so much as fame. And by that, I mean wanting people to read and love your creations, not ghastly celeb type fame.<br /><br />Anyway, here's the link to this excellent blog, and I hope you enjoy it. Have a lovely weekend, Stonewylders! I'm about to start Chapter 3 now - whoo hoo!<br /><br /><a href="http://steelthistles.blogspot.com/2012/01/fisherman-and-his-wife.html">http://steelthistles.blogspot.com/2012/01/fisherman-and-his-wife.html</a><br /><br />Thanks to Mary Hoffman for her wonderful blog, and to Katherine Langrish, whose blogsite this is posted on.Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647962151926069397.post-15224954276822447182012-01-19T15:27:00.008+00:002012-01-19T16:26:21.281+00:00Stonewylde - article for deletion in Wikipedia<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM1oIjjKG9n7Y2VsbdAKbe3oid5j-1VhpNst7NIrxrBHpfg6WjyQ-AqpboxYJvhVmze0FtwZDkdWLE01itTxajRs2Iz-j3SeKTiAtVchnchNaCOWJbhhreiJYIQCA9S_6MUjvSujuvXIM/s1600/DSC_6708.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699365606839926578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM1oIjjKG9n7Y2VsbdAKbe3oid5j-1VhpNst7NIrxrBHpfg6WjyQ-AqpboxYJvhVmze0FtwZDkdWLE01itTxajRs2Iz-j3SeKTiAtVchnchNaCOWJbhhreiJYIQCA9S_6MUjvSujuvXIM/s400/DSC_6708.JPG" /></a><br />This photo isn't particularly relevant to my blog today other than it's the view of sunset from my writing room window. I call this special room 'A Room of One's Own' and Mr B gets confused and calls it 'A Room with a View'. So here is the view.<br /><br />I went out today (briefly) - the first time I've driven my car in almost two weeks. I'm still a bit wobbly but finally, this virus has released me from its grip. I've started writing again, having tried and failed miserably whilst I was feeling ill, and am so happy to be getting on with the fifth book properly. I've almost finished the second chapter, which I know seems like appalling progress, but in fact it's the hardest bit, the beginning. There'll be no stopping me now!<br /><br />In the meantime, in view of some of the lovely coments on my last rather disconsolate post, I thought I should say a little bit about what's been happening on Wikipedia recently. We were first alerted to the shenanigans by our own dear Cornmother. For any reader of this blog who doesn't belong to our online community, Cornmother is one of our original and most loyal and staunch supporters, and is also an incredibly efficient researcher and gatherer of information. She warned us recently that Stonewylde was about to be deleted on Wikipedia.<br /><br />It seems that they'd already deleted the entries for each of the Stonewylde books, and also the entry about me as an author. Now under the hammer (or is that axe?) was the article about Stonewylde. This article describes(d) the whole place - not the books, but the place and the community itself. It spoke of things like the Meadery and the Stone Circle, the Great Barn and the celebration of the festivals. The article was all about the world of Stonewylde. Apparently it's up for deletion not because it describes a fictional place (examples cited in the debate were Narnia, Gormenghast and Hogwarts) but because it isn't notable. This is wiki-speak for it doesn't have lots of references - or rather, it hasn't been referenced by many other articles. In other words it's not actually important enough to warrant an entry.<br /><br />There were some very disparaging and dismissive remarks about the fact that the books were self-published (sadly this had not been updated) and as all information about me led back to my website, I was not considered notable in my own right. There was quite a lot of discussion from various sources about this. The fact that I'd been featured by the Dorset Evening Echo four times (and one of these was a huge double paged spread) wasn't considered enough to make me or Stonewylde notable. The fact that the first book was reviewed in the Financial Times, and there have been articles about me in many magazines and also The Times (T2) and the Telegraph, not to mention other local papers such as the Western Morning News - none of this counted for anything. Nor did the fact that the series had been picked up by Orion Books and republished, generating articles in The Bookseller and Writers' News.<br /><br />The whole thing has made me wonder - at what point does something become big enough or important enough to warrant an entry in Wikipedia? I think the latest news is that they're reinstating an article about me as an author. I haven't actually looked today to see if Stonewylde has been deleted yet. I tried yesterday but of course it was blackout day. It isn't the end of the world and I'm sure if Stonewylde grows further, it'll warrant its own entry in Wikipedia. Not that the inhabitants of Stonewylde would approve of course - it is a secret community after all!Kit Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747077148847756149noreply@blogger.com6