“This Itch of Writing”

I borrowed my title form the blog of the lovely Emma Darwin, novelist, writing tutor and blogger (http://emmadarwin.typepad.com )I love to write. Poetry, flash fiction, short stories, novels, articles, biography. Like an itch, the urge is always there. Here is some encouragement for anyone who, like me, knows that itch and loves to indulge it.

IF (with apologies to Rudyard Kipling)

If you can write your book when all about you
Are on the writing websites – texting you,
If you can trust your plot when agents doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait for that rejection letter
With euphemistic phrases, if not lies,
And take it in, resolving to do better
And share it on the web, words to the wise:

If you can plot – and make it controversial,
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can write good Lit Fic and Commercial
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to read the words you’ve written
Twisted by editors – apparent fools,
Or watch the book you gave your life to, smitten
By agents who insist you keep the rules:

If you can add an adverb when it’s right to
And just as easily pick the perfect verb;
If you can keep the deadlines you’ve to write to,
And tendencies to overwrite can curb;
If you never hang a participle unduly,
If your adjectives are minimal and rare,
If your punctuation never gets unruly
And you never mix up they’re and there and their;

If you can talk online with some unknown,
Or meet best-selling authors over lunch;
If a contract signed does not mean you’ve outgrown
As yet unpublished writers in your bunch;
If you can fill each unforgiving minute
With ten good words of writing that you’ve done,
Your book will sell and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a writer, son!

AGL

Country Roads

A little piece of flash fiction inspired, of course, by the late John Denver’s beautiful song

 

Tyres singing on the Interstate, hour after hour, dull my mind. Most of the way up through Georgia my thoughts are still in Atlanta – going over and over next Monday’s presentation. So much is riding on it.

By the time I start climbing into the foothills of the Appellations, and the North Carolina landscape is flashing by, my mind has turned to Momma. Her pecan pie; how she used to holler at Mary-Beth and me if we came in late for supper. Times were hard after Poppa’s accident but never once did we go hungry. Momma always managed to put victuals on our plates. And she’d make sure we did our chores before we were allowed back out to play. Momma was tough, but we sure loved her.

Always a tough cookie, but it seems this time she isn’t going to make it. That hacking cough has finally got her; lungs all shot to hell. She’s been in hospital before and come out again. But not this time. Too old. No more resilience.

“You need to come now, John, straight away.”

I told Mary-Beth I would, but it took me 24 hours to get everything sorted, ready for Monday. Please let me still be in time. I cross the West Virginia state line and take the Charleston exit. The country roads through the Blue Ridge Mountains are slower but they start to remind me of home. And Momma. Driving over the Shenandoah River I have a dreadful feeling that I should have been home yesterday.

My cell rings. “Hi Mary-Beth. I’m just about a half-hour–“

“John. It’s Momma. She’s… I’m so sorry…”

My eyes well up. I continue on autopilot. Just wanting to be home. The roads I know so well will take me there. Where I belong. Take me home, country roads.

That Thanksgiving or Christmas Present

A little bird tells me this novel makes a really thrilling present. It’s easy to download or get the paperback:

tinyurl.com/Dillon1US (for US readers) and tinyurl.com/Dillon1UK (for UK readrers) and tinyurl.com/Dillon1SW (for non-Kindle eBooks) Just highlight one of these links and right-click.

Words

Amcrastinator – someone who keeps putting things off in their spare time but not while they are at work.

Indie author’s 5-star thriller pirated?

I reproduce this news report

Indie author, A G Lyttle, was surprised to see his historical thriller, Dillon’s Rising, advertised on YouTube as an audiobook. He has not, as yet, created an audio version of his popular tale of espionage, love and revenge set in Dublin at the time of the Easter Rising and has not sold the copyright to anyone else to do so.

Lyttle remarks, “If the quality of the voice rendition of the whole story is anything like that of the blurb on YouTube, I doubt if anyone would want to listen to it anyway. Which is a shame, because my readers have been kind enough to give Dillon’s Rising plenty of 4- and 5- star reviews on Amazon with such comments as:

‘A real page-turner’

‘Difficult to put down’

‘Wow, what a read’

‘I absolutely loved Will Dillon’

‘Great read. Exciting story to the end’ ”

You can see the YouTube ‘advert’ for yourself, here:
(After watching, though, do consider whether you are happy to trust the links on this particular YouTube site)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkJJJhpuGCM&feature=youtu.be

Fortunately, avid thriller readers can easily access the real thing. Dillon’s Rising is available as a paperback and a Kindle eBook on Amazon UK here:

www.tinyurl.com/Dillon1UK

and, for American readers, on Amazon.com here:

www.tinyurl.com/Dillon1US

Other eBook versions are available from Smashwords here:

www.tinyurl.com/Dillon1SW

 

And a final word from A G Lyttle: “I sincerely hope you aren’t one who has been put off by an unauthorised, sub-standard audio version of Dillon’s Rising, but that you’ll join, instead, the rising band of merry readers in Europe and the States who are so enjoying Will Dillon’s adventures. Happy reading!”

A Limerick for all Seasons

GARDENING (1)

Been weeding the rose bed all day;
Three barrow-loads all wheeled away.
Then just for a lark
All’s now covered with bark;
Those weeds better just stay at bay.

GARDENING (2)

Been weeding the rose bed all day;
Three barrow loads all wheeled away.
My limbs are now stiff
And I’m wondering if
It’s all worth the price that I pay.

*  *  *

Still, on the bright side, we should have great compost next year.

Let’s be Positive

A dour Scottish clergyman was renowned for always commencing his services with a prayer that, without fail, would start with thanks to the Almighty for the sort of day it was. So on a bright sunny morning he would say, ‘Dear Lord, how we thank you for the glorious sunshine.’ If it was a bit overcast it might be, ‘Dear Lord, how we thank you for the beauty of the clouds against the blue of the sky.’ If it rained, ‘Dear Lord, how we thank you for the gentle rain sent to water our fields and gardens.’ And so on.

One Sunday morning his congregation had to struggle to get to the kirk through howling winds and lashing rain and they awaited with eager anticipation to hear how their minister would start the service this week.

‘Dear Lord,’ he prayed with confidence, ‘how we thank you that every day is not like this one.’

*  *  *

Two molecules walked into a bar and one said to the other, ‘I’ve lost an electron.’
The other one said, ‘Are you positive?’

*  *  *

I’m hoping to make this a place of positivity to turn to when spirits need a lift. Not that everything I write about will be fun, happy things, nor will I studiously ignore any subject that has its dark side. But I trust that my approach to whatever inspires me to write will be one that manages to find the positive, or at least point towards it, in each situation – even if occasionally it has to be along the lines of, ‘Dear Lord, how we thank you that this is not the norm.’

Stories fo Homes

So to round off this inaugural blog, here is news of something whose roots are dark indeed, but which has inspired someone who cares to do something to help bring about change.

Sally Swingewood has set up ‘Stories for homes’ – a project to raise funds for the housing charity ‘Shelter’ and to raise awareness about the housing crisis in London and beyond.
Known and emerging writers have been invited to submit short stories on the theme of Home. A world-class anthology of the best submissions will be produced to provide great reading for millions (let’s be positive!) and much-needed extra funding for ‘Shelter.’

Read all about the project here: http://storiesforhomes.wordpress.com/

And look out for the anthology in the summer to be sure to buy your copy. Together we can make a difference.