The People's Friend Magazine and a Friendly Blogger Award

Thank you  Susan @ http://susanjanejones.wordpress.com/ for this award. Sue awarded me for the My Little Pony stories I wrote a few moons ago and for my Cresslethwaite stories in The People's Friend magazine. I think the next Cresslethwaite story will be in the Winter Special out in January next year.
So many of my Blogger Friends have this award already so I'd like to award it to the People's Friend Magazine  'cos, you know, it IS a Friendly Friend. 

An Award and Some News as Well

Thank you Suzy Doodling at http://susanjanejones.blogspot.com/ for this award.

I'm supposed to tell you seven things about me. Well, I only did that a couple of posts ago and I'm not sure I can come up with seven more.

I could start with the News, though.

I've just had another short story accepted by People's Friend.

I once won first prize in a Fancy Dress, I was a Teddy Boy.

My auntie took me to have my hair done teddy boy style and the barber (yes, really) burned my neck with the waving tongs.

I love making chocolate cakes and chocolate mousse.

I have been known to eat a whole (small) jar of nutella off a spoon.

Numbers 6 and 7 are a cheat:    

I'm meant to name seven more bloggers for this award.

I don't want to put anyone on the spot. So...

If any of you who read my blog would like the award, it's yours as long as you follow the rules.

Did You Know...?

May 3rd is Rowan Tree Day.  This was when country folk used to take a sprig of rowan indoors to protect the building and its occupants against witches and disease! People also carried sprigs of rowan to ease rheumatism (hmm, might try that).

OK, so what has that got to do with writing? Well... I woke up this morning wearing my 'other' hat - the one that puts itself on my head when the muse thinks it's time to write a short story for a woman's magazine - and there was this character saying, "Rowan". I didn't know if she was telling me that was her name so I looked in one of my books of country lore and that's when I learned about May 3rd.
Rowan as a girl's name means red-haired one but the character talking to me didn't have red hair.
So, I suspect she either has a Rowan tree in her garden, or she'll be going somewhere there's a Rowan tree. Either way, the tree (or its flowers, berries or bark) obviously plays a big part in her story.
I guess I'll be spending the May Bank Holiday finding out why.
What will you be doing?
 

Mapping a Series and Authors for Japan

Welcome to Hingle - My Fictitious Village
Click on it to see a larger version 

This was my last year's birthday present from Husband up the Hill - an A2 map of the fictitious village 'somewhere in North Staffordshire' where the characters in my (proposed) series for 8 -10 year olds live. 
I think Loretta, the graphic designer, has done a fantastic job; she had to work off my really, really rough and messy plan.
I always find having a map gets the muse working on more storylines.
So, what gets your muse working?


If either of my bids at Authors for Japan win, it will be one of the stories for this series I'll have critiqued.

Ooh, An Award and a Win and Hedgehog

Thanks to Debs of Daydreams in the Shed
for this lovely award.
The rules are that I post seven things about me that you didn't know and then nominate seven other bloggers for this award.

1: Over the years, I have hand-reared seven baby hedgehogs
2: When we had fish and chip shops, I was known as the Mushy Peas Queen
3: I wrote most of the stories for My Little Pony comic for eight years
4: I get lost if I turn round twice
5: I can't drive (possibly related to#4)
6: Slugs make my ears pop
7: I love very sweet things to eat but can't stand sweet drinks
OK, so now for the nominations:

Aaaagh! Now I can't work out how to do the link thingie so I'll just have to name, Crystal Jigsaw, Shirley Wells, Amanda Ashby, http://laneswrite.blogspot.com/, http://nelldixonrw.blogspot.com/,

http://sallyquilfordblog.co.uk/ and The Real   Nicky Schmidt @  http://absolutevanilla.blogspot.com/

And the 'Win' bit of this post:  I won Kate Johnson's novel, The Untied Kingdom



Sick baby hedgehog
First Day





Baby hedgehog, Billie,
3 days later 1 oz heavier

Click the pictures to see larger version

The Winner of Run Rabbit Run is...

Barbara Mitchelhill's dog, Ella, has picked the winner of a signed copy of Run Rabbit Run

Congratulations to Shirley Wells!

Email Barbara your address, Shirley, and she'll post the book to you.

Wow! Look at This!

I asked Barbara what made her write a book set in WW2 and did she surround herself with items from that era.
Here are her answers:
Why I wrote a book set in WW2
After my Aunt Sarah, who was well into her nineties,
gave me a brooch with a picture of her younger brother, Fred, set in it, she told me something she must have been holding secret for over fifty years.
Fred had hated the thought of war and wanted to register as a conscientious objector.
But the shame on the family would have been enormous as all the local lads had left for the front. He never did register. Maybe Aunt Sarah persuaded him to join up. I don't know. But within a year he was a prisoner of war and died building the Burma Railway.
I became very interested in conscientious objectors and so I wrote Run Rabbit Run.

While I was writing the book, I didn't surround myself with WW2 items but I did do a lot of research, including the wonderful Whiteway colony in Gloucestershire.
But now I do have some WW2 items, ready for school visits.
One is a baby's gas mask which the mother wore like a back pack.



It's truly scary!

Barabara, thank you for the great answers.

Remember, if you have any questions for Barbara, post them in the Comments section on the post before this one.
You could win a signed copy of Run Rabbit Run
But, hurry! The draw will take place on March 4th.

Come and Meet Award Winning Children's Author, Barbara Mitchelhill...

I've got a grandson called Damian so when I spotted some Damian Drooth, Supersleuth books, I just had to read them.
I enjoyed them so much I kept a look out for new titles from Barbara - her thrillers for 8-12 year olds are great, too, and Storm Runners won The Solihull Children's Book Award.
Dangerous Diamonds was nominated for The Stockport Children's Book Award 2010 (I lived in Stockport for years) and The West Sussex Book Award 2011.

The third coincidence was when I heard about Barbara's latest book: Run Rabbit Run


It's set in WW2 and I'm about to send out a proposal of a book for 8-10s set at that time. (I was more than slightly worried at first but, luckily, my storyline and theme is completely different.)
Run Rabbit Run begins in Rochdale and, although it was a long time after WW2, I lived and worked in Rochdale for a few year; Barbara also lived in Rochdale at one time but not when I was there.
Anyway, what with loving Barbara's books - and the coincidences - I thought it would be great to have her as a guest on my blog.

And here she is...


What's more, Barbara is willing to answer your questions.
Barbara, my questions are, "What made you write a book set in WW2?" and "Did you surround yourself with items from that era while you were writing Run Rabbit Run?"

Go and have a look around Barabara's website: http://www.barbaramitchelhill.com/ to see all the books she's written then ask your questions in the Comments section for this post.
Oh, and Barbara's offering a signed copy of Run Rabbit Run as a prize. On March 4th, official publication day, the names of those who've asked a question (or questions) will go in a hat and Barbara will get her dog, Ella, to paw out a name.

We Stopped the Cow Factory Farm... We WON!!!!!!

Just had an e-mail from 38 degrees!
Last week, the business behind plans to build the UK's first US-style cow factory farm cancelled their plans.

Isn't that great news!
Go to their website www.38degrees.org.uk or see their facebook page to read more.

In other news... Keep a look out for an award winning children's author visiting this blog soon...

Please Help Stop Cow Factory Farms

Ok, I know it's soooo long since I blogged - life and writing (lots of writing) ate up my time.
I hope some of my 'old' blog mates will see I have now posted and come and have a look.
Here is what broke my self-imposed 'no blogging' until I had something important to say.
I hope you'll all agree this is important!


Companies are planning to build huge 'mega-dairies' in Lincolnshire. These factory farms keep cows inside all year.
Please go and sign the petition.

www.38degrees.org.uk

It must be a Sign! March 1st of Many Moons Ago

Do you believe in signs?

I was looking through old photos this morning and came across this one and...
It had a date on the back. March 1st 1990. Twenty years ago! It was the only photo with a date on so it had to be a sign, didn't it? Primple, the cat in the photo, was 15 - she died seven years later. Hmm, was it a sign telling me to write a book about a cat? Or...
Ooooh, the farmhouse in the photo is across the valley on the moors opposite our house up the hill and in one of my books that farm is where Claire Evans, a secondary character, lives. I think Claire, aged 11, must be telling me she wants a book of her own.

So forget Mad March Hares, I've got a Mad March Muse.

Does anyone else believe in signs?

The WIP that wants to be 'in progress'

I’ve got the title, plot, theme, characters, the characters’ personalities – their GMC and loads and loads of notes. Heck, even though it will need fleshing out and the characters will probably give me a few surprises, I know the story.

So why am I finding it so hard to write the first line…first paragraph…first page? Or at least write something I’m happy with. It isn’t that I’m trying to start in the wrong place – more that I can’t find the right place.

Seeing as I know so much of the story already, why can’t I leave the first page for now and just get on with the rest?

I can’t work like that, though. I have to have a title before I can start writing and then get the first page right. OK, the opening might change if, after I’ve finished the first draft, I decide I’ve started the story in the wrong place or at the wrong time.

But to know that, I have to get to the end…and to get to the end I have to have a first page that really, really works for me…

Now you'll understand why I've been absent from the Land of Blog for a while and apologies to all my blog mates for not visiting.

P.S. Thanks to Jarmara and Carol for my Awards. I'll display them when my current problem is resolved!

Season's Greetings

I tried to do this with cartoony pics but
when I downloaded them they kept repeating themselves.
I guess they knew I really meant my:
"Merry Christmas to ALL and a Happy, Peaceful and Healthy 2010"

Writing and Dodging Wild Weather to Walk Puppies

I can't believe it's so long since I posted.

Time gets eaten up. I try to dodge the bad weather to take Tim and Ted for a walk, that often isn't possible, though, and getting myself water and windproofed adds on ages at either side of the walks.

I've been busy writing - 1 book finished and new one 'bubbling'. I think Autumn and early Winter are my most creative seasons.

How about you? Do you feel more creative at certain times of the year?

Tim and Ted are 10 months now and don't look like puppies any more.

These photos were taken last week on one of the truly gorgeous (but a bit windy) Autumn days.

Better Late than Never

Due to circumstances beyond my control - aka sick computer - this Fabulouslyfantastic announcement is overdue!

My real-life writing mate and CP, Christina Phillips, has

a 2 book deal!

Here's the PM announcement:
Christina Phillips’s HIS FORBIDDEN PRINCESS, in which a Roman centurion leads an invasion into Cambria, and the druid princess who both defies and enthralls him, to Kate Seaver at Berkley Heat, in a two-book deal, by Emmanuelle Alspaugh at Judith Ehrlich Literary Management.