Blog Tour: Day 8, talking films with Libby

Ah, the half-way stage of the tour, but no slacking from me! Apart from the fact that I'm out for hot chocolate again, this time with my sister (yes, the shadow from Monday's post). And yes, there may be a little more shopping.

Today, I'm on Libby Heily's blog, talking about turning stories into films. As you'll know from Joanne Faries question the other day, my eldest is a budding film-maker, so perhaps I can ask persuade him to help me out...

I searched through my photo albums to find a good picture for this post, and stumbled across this one. This is the very notebook where all of the stories in You. I. Us. were conceived. In that beer garden, while listening to Hubby's lazy afternoon gig, I wrote two of the stories, one of which is In The Beer Garden...

The cider was nice too!

3 unrelated things

ONE

My fantastically musical husband, Peter Crawford, who I mention on here quite a lot, has reached the voting round of a fantastic opportunity. MTV Crashes is coming to our local city, and they are opening up the stage for a third night for local bands and artists. There are 20 on the list, but only 10 will get to play. If you would like to vote for Peter (no pressure, of course), please follow this link and scroll to the bottom to select Peter Crawford. Thank you!

TWO

I found a 30 day photo challenge on Pinterest (and I'm now starting to think I've mentioned this already...) which I am posting weekly on my web site. Today is Week 2. In the coming weeks, I'll be posting eyes, sunset and childhood memory among other things.

THREE

My vignette collection, You. I. Us, is going to be published next summer by the wonderful Vine Leaves Press. If you read my A-Z Challenge posts this year, you'll have an idea of what to expect. I got the idea for the challenge after writing this collection. I'm really excited.

Too much to do

It is probably obvious to my new followers that I a) don't post as regularly as I do during the A-Z challenge and b) there aren't many flash fiction posts. Perhaps I should do more fiction on this blog, but I prefer to write things that I might be able to sell, and if I post them here I won't be able to do that. Also, it will become obvious that I spend my time taking photos like this...

... instead of writing, posting and generally keeping on top of my to-do list.

However, the reason I take a lot of alcohol and nice-view pictures is because I spend some of my time listening to my husband gigging (Peter Crawford, in case you're really new here - he mostly gigs in Cornwall, Devon, Cheltenham, Belgium and Germany). And that will also explain why I take nice-view photos through windows rather than being outside!

My current to-do list includes making more use of my mailing list and writing a new novel.

I was doing well with the new novel, which was actually going to be a rewrite of an old novel, Until I realised that it was awful, certain events made no sense whatsoever, it was set in London even though I've only been there twice, and I'd used a narrative device which I mutated to use in Cat & The Dreamer, so I can't really use the same device again.

So, I've taken it back to the drawing board and letting my imagination run riot... and it is!

As for my mailing list goal, why not sign up to see how I get on...

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Chocolate and music!

Check out this gorgeous box of handmade German chocolates. Yes, I've eaten one already - it is past 10am, and they've been in the house for two hours. I think I've been quite restrained.

If you've been hanging around my blog, or my Facebook page, recently you'll know that Hubby has been on a five and a half week tour of Germany to promote the digital release of his album Six Strings... Keep Me Sane. Well, he's back! Yay, everything can return to normal.


I made the decision to put my writing on the back burner while he was away to make sure I was on top of everything else, like cooking. I've been scribbling a few flash fictions for the A-Z Challenge, but left larger projects alone; but now I'm really looking forward to getting stuck back in.

Not writing is hard, but sometimes it's necessary. Before Peter went away, I was in a bit of a writing rut - staring at a blank screen, having ideas running through my head, but being unable to put them into words - and now I can't wait to get back to it. My dreams have been getting more and more vivid, which is a sure sign my creative juices are flowing without a proper outlet.

In related news, it's finally light when my alarm goes off in the morning, and when I walked the dog over the last couple of days, I actually had to take my coat off!

You can check out/buy Peter Crawford's album Six Strings... Keep Me Sane here.

Catching up

Hello! It's been a while, how've you been? You look great... is that a new hair style?

So, what have I been up to? Actually, I'm not that sure. Time has drifted away from me over the past couple of weeks. I wanted to write a new short story, so I made some small attempts that petered out. I knew what I wanted to write about, and the feelings I wanted to create, but something was missing.

And then, last Thursday evening, Hubby took me to a gig with him.

This is Lusty Glaze Beach - it's a small, isolated cove, reached by climbing down a lot of steps. The bar/restaurant is beautiful, and this was the view.

Half-way through the evening, the storms started - amazing flashes of lightning and low, deep rumbles of thunder. And I could have sworn I saw two people sitting on the beach...

Peter Crawford and the beach

And that, for inspiration, was all I needed.

I have the first draft written, and in a moment, I'm going to read through it and cover the print-out with red and green pen.









In other news, it's been hot, hasn't it?

There's a new review of Our Beautiful Child up on A Thousand Words A Million Books, along with a short interview and a giveaway to win either a paperback or an ecopy.

My Facebook page book page also recently reached 200 'likers', so I'm also giving away books to three people - just comment on the pinned post at the top of my page, telling me which book you'd like and in which format!

Where did your last inspiration come from?

What's the weather like? And does anyone have 

any advice on coping with the heat?!

Happy Anniversary, Hubby

then

now

If you're visiting to catch up with yesterday's IWSG post, click here.

I couldn't delay this post because...

15 years ago today, I got married.

The 15th anniversary is traditionally Crystal. But I don't like crystal, so we'll be ignoring that bit.

During our reception, England - playing a European football championship qualifier - lost 2-1 to Sweden. We announced the result during the speeches, because it was important.

The best view of my dress is the back, because there are three red roses at the bottom of the bodice. Unfortunately, I think there are only a couple of photos, and one of them is black and white.

Yes, the bouquet was as heavy as it looks - never tell your florist to go wild with the colour! By the end of the day, my arm was pretty much locked in that position.

Our first dance was something by Wet Wet Wet, I think.

We're off out to lunch later which is the first time in those 15 years that we've actually celebrated!

Happy Saturday

Today is a great day, because after Hubby being away for two weeks he's back! He's been touring around Europe with a wonderful Belgian singer called Nele (pronounced Nay-lah). So after missing the last fourteen or so gigs that they've played together, I'm going to four this weekend. Sun, music and cider - sounds perfect, doesn't it?

Peter Crawford 

Nele, Nele Needs a Holiday

And here's a song they sing together, recorded when Nele was in England last year. It's a cover of the Civil Wars song, Poison and Wine.

Book Reading at CCP

On World Book Night, 23 April, I did my first book reading. You may be aware of this, I might have mentioned it. Okay, I mentioned it a lot, because I was so petrified. I was asked to read at my old workplace, the library at City College Plymouth. It seemed like such a good idea at the time...

Reading

Having a drink before hand

Spilling my drink - good start!

Me, John van der Kiste
and Matt Sharp

It was a very busy day in the end, because Hubby was doing 24gigs in 24hours (the link takes you to his fundraising page - charities benefiting are the Devon and Cornwall Air Ambulances, donations still accepted for a couple more weeks!) so I was rushing to get to a couple of those, plus fitting in my reading.

I read The Walking Dead from That Sadie Thing, although I found myself editing as I was going along, which is perhaps not the best way to read aloud.

It was a small turn out, because I was there so early, but it meant I knew almost everyone, so I volunteered to read first just in case any strangers turned up! In hindsight it wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be, so if anyone wants me to read my books, I'm ready for it... (just give me some warning, and a glass of wine!)

John read Death of an Artist 1905 from his book Devon Murders and Matt read his story Robot Hunter Squad which was published in Riptide 8.

Looking backwards and forwards

So, I am now a year older, and five days more exhausted than I was on Friday!

Looking Backwards
I had such a great time with Kyra Lennon - first at lunch, then at the Fozzy gig in the evening. My mum cooked a great meal, and baked a birthday cake with far too many candles in it (although unfortunately it was the right number). Manchester City won the FA Cup semi-final, although some of the unsporting behaviour was awful and best glossed over. And the Duke Special gig that Hubby took me to last night was such fun because he played my favourite album in its entirety, so I knew all the words and I started to get a flash of a story while he was singing... I just don't know what the story is yet.

The free promotion for That Sadie Thing seems to have been successful - lots of copies were downloaded, including three in Germany and two in Canada. It's lovely to know that these poor old stories are getting a second lease of life, and aren't just languishing in my filing cabinet. So, thanks to everyone to now owns a copy, and I hope you enjoy it.

Looking Forwards
So now I'm ready to get back to my novel, possibly tonight, but definitely tomorrow. And I'll be practising a lot for my first ever book reading on the 23rd April for World Book Night. The venue is the library I worked at for fifteen years (I left three or four years ago, I can't remember which!) so it will be like going home. Several of my old colleagues still work there, and I'm dragging another ex-colleague alone with me for moral support. Fingers crossed I don't turn into a puddly mess!

The other thing that's happening is Hubby is undertaking 24 gigs in 24 hours in aid of our two local air ambulance charities. I'm going to be following a couple of gigs, but I'm not getting up before dawn! If you live around Plymouth (that's the UK version, not the several worldwide ones), then why not check out the times on the link and pop along.

Super Sweet Blogging Award, and some Sunday music

The wonderful Rachel at Writing on the Wall passed this yummy award to me recently, and once I stopped looking at the picture, I realised I should answer the questions!

1. Cookies or cake? Cake.

2. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate.

3. What is your favourite sweet treat? Chocolate cheesecake.

4. When do you crave sweet things most? After I've eaten something savoury.

5. If you had a sweet nickname what would it be? I'm sure there used to be a kid's character called Chocky - I'd love that one. My actual nicknames are not sweet.

Once again, this is one of those pass-it-on deals, but once again (again) I've seen this award on so many blogs and I think everyone has had their cake, eaten it, washed up and put the dishes away. So, feel free to grab this award if you haven't done it yet - and enjoy the cake... or cookies!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A couple of weeks ago Hubby released his first music video (made by Hole in the Wall Media), so as it's Sunday, I thought I'd I share it! This is the link to Peter Crawford's website, where you can check out his latest gigs and buy his CD!

I'm sure something special happened on the 5th September one year... a sort of IWSG post

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's time for another insecure post. You know the drill by now, and if you don't click the logo in the right-hand side-bar to find out all about the wonderful Alex J Cavanaugh and his fantastic blogfest.

Except, once again, I'm not feeling overly insecure. This has happened about three times since the very first post almost a year ago (we're two days short of a full year). That's not bad, is it, three secure moments in a year! (Well, I hope there have been more than that, or else I'm in BIG TROUBLE!)

The reason this time is because I'm writing a new novella, rewriting some old stories to keep my submission levels up (I've been very bad at submitting this last year or so), I have a short story online at Alfie Dog Fiction and... it's my wedding anniversary today!

14 years!

I know, I'm not old enough to have been married for 14 years, right?? LOL!

I would post pictures, but this was before digital photography so the photos are actually in a big box stored in a big inaccessible cupboard. Just so you know: I look fifteen and very scared, and Hubby is wearing big round 1990s glasses which makes it look as though I'm marrying Harry Potter. There, that's enough description to help you imagine the scene.

Anyway, I'm probably not going to be around much today, but I'll try my best to visit insecure writers tomorrow.

Is anyone else celebrating today?

Friday interview with Peter and Nele... part 2

If you haven't read Part 1, please read it here

Please ignore the phone in the corner!

Me: Are there themes that keep reoccurring in your songs?
Nele: I think I theme that keeps coming back is the difference between who you are and who you are trying to be - my attempts to be a pop star, for example, I have a song called 'When I Drink I Always Think That I'm Beyonce'. Love is something that keeps coming back, and love sickness - it's such a constant thing in life. So, that, and trying to be somebody else...
Peter: My album 'Six Strings... keep me sane' was themed around moving from full-time teaching to becoming a full-time musician. There are other themes within it - there are songs about love, and about arguments, and about drinking whiskey - Straight JD - which strangely enough I don't drink. I'm actually struggling at the moment over what the theme of my next album will be, but rather than worry about that, I think I'll just write the songs and see what they're about.
Nele: Yeah, I gave up on album themes. Maybe I'll do it one day, but right now I'm just writing songs. But organically they fit together because they are all my songs and they have something in common.
Peter: It does happen like that. I've got a good example - if you listen to Frank Turner's back catalogue, his first album is about 'screw the system, f*** the man, we're going to have a revolution'; the second album is 'hmm, this isn't quite working out the way I thought it was going to'; and the third album is 'I'm too old for this shit'. And you can tell he's just growing up as a song-writer. So maybe that's the way it goes, you just write what's current and what you're feeling at the time, and it's a document of that.

Me: So you mentioned Frank Turner, who are your other song-writing influences?
Nele: In early 2000, when I was about 13, there was this genre called anti-folk... it's not against folk, let me say that first - it's an American genre, New York actually, with people like Kimi Dawson and Jeffrey Lewis who are really obscure names, they never really made it. Something really valuable that they were trying to do was writing about daily life - sometimes it goes too far, sometimes you can hear lyrics like 'Oh I lost my shoe, I don't know what to do'. There's a song by Jeffrey Lewis that goes 'I saw a hippy girl on 8th Avenue, she barely looked at me for a second or two, and I suddenly realised I no longer look much like a hippy'. But for some reason, one day when I was 13, someone was playing a song on Belgian radio, and I kept on listening to it. Daniel Johnson, as well. I really like 60s melodies, close harmonies like the Beach Boys or anything from Phil Spectre. I have a band back home, and that's what we try to do in that. My dream would be to get a sound that's between anti-folk and 60s girls pop.
Peter: My influences are Frank Turner and Ryan Adams, a sort of country-folk. The most pleasing comment I got was at a festival in Saltash last year when a guy came up to me and said I really reminded him of Crowded House, because Neil Finn is my song-writing god. It's fairly obvious, that if he's a major influence I am going to sound a bit like him, but it was really nice that somebody recognised that. I think one of my biggest influences at the moment is Vince Freeman, purely because he's shown me the way forward in becoming a full-time musician - I saw him play, I saw how he used the guitar and it showed me a way of playing it differently. He's also given me a lot of advice. I got to know him as a fan, but the first time I went to his house he picked up his guitar and said 'Look, I've written a new song', and it was a moment of clarity that   that was now my life. Not that a copy any of those four.

Me: Just one more question, what's next? What are your new projects?
Nele: I have a lot of songs I've written and want to record properly. I have an EP out, but I want to record a full album - the problem is I play very simply live (Nele has a great variety of humorous songs) and it works because people laugh and you can see my face. But the album needs to be more, arranged propely - I'm still working on how to do that. I actually have a ten-year plan - I'd love to bring out an album in English and in Dutch for the Belgian market. There's a television programme next year, where I'll write a song every week about things going on in Belgium. And then in a year or three, I'd like to write a musical, in my style - so there would be characters, but they would all be me. It's going to be about love. I still have to live a little to write it, though. One day I hope I can write songs about what's going on in the world, to change the world, to say something, but I feel I'm not ready for that yet.
Me: I feel the same way about my writing - it's very similar. I write about very small things, every day things. But it's those big world-changing events that the big authors write about... I'm not there yet.
Nele: I would love to change the world with my songs. And I want to have a sit-com about my life! And travelling around - I wrote a song called 'I'm Not Famous, But I'm Free' - the way I'm living now I can play my music and see the world.
Peter: For me, it's taking my music around the country, touring different cities. And then we're organising a European tour for next year. We did a gig at a National Trust property last night, so it would be great to tour around National Trust houses. Maybe there'll be another album next year - maybe record that in Germany. And we've just decided on America - land in New York, down to New Orleans, and then drive across and end up in California. And maybe even Australia...

Me: Thank you for your time. (Although they didn't have much choice, they were both sitting in the same room as me and I nabbed them. And at least I discovered I'm going to be a music widow next year... So if you're ever unsure about what's going on in your hubby/wife's head, just interview them, apparently!)

Here are the links again for Peter Crawford and Nele Needs a Holiday.

Friday interview with Peter and Nele... part 1

I don't know about you, but whenever I have a Belgian singer-songwriter staying at my house, I have to interview them!

So, please welcome Peter Crawford (Hubby) and Nele Van den Broeck to my blog. (Nele is pronounced Ney-la, and is known as Nele Needs a Holiday when she's performing!.) They are touring Cornwall and West Devon until Friday 20th July. Check out their Facebook event page for more information.







Me: How old were you when you started playing musical instruments?
Nele: I started at 10 with the clarinet which I gave up after two years. I played the violin for a while, the drums. But the only thing I kept on playing was the piano. I taught myself - I was in music school for singing, but you had to take an extra theory lesson and I learnt how chords work, and knowing that I just taught myself the piano, and ukelele. I'm not really good at it, but it doesn't matter to my music whether I'm a virtuoso piano player or not, the lyrics and story are the most important.

Peter: I started playing guitar when I was 12. I had a few official lessons, but didn't get on with the silly dots and squiggles, so I taught myself, using music books - strumming chords and singing. But I also play the mandocello, I'm learning the piano - hopefully Nele will give me some lessons. And I'm inventing instruments...

And here it gets far to technical, but basically he's putting different strings onto a Cuatro de Puerto Rico, and... um...

>Me: How long was it before you started writing your own songs?
Nele: I remember I wrote my first lyric when I was 13, but I didn't know how people would get music to the lyric - it was something so mysterious. How would anyone be able to write a song? I wanted it so badly. Recently I re-read that lyric and it was terrible. And when I was 16 I was in a band, a punk bad with guys from school, and we started making music by jamming - they would play some chords, and I would hum, and put some lyrics to that. And I thought, oh yes, this is how you write a song. It's just the melody in your head... once you've got the trick, the melodies just keep on coming. My first actual song, I was 21 - Red Dress Song was my first song... it took me half a year to write it, because I had a very repetitive melody in my head, and bits of lyrics would just pop into my mind so it took so long. Now I'm writing songs in two hours.


Peter: I think I was about 15 or 16. The first one I remember writing was for a band I was in during A-levels - I think at the time we were called Valentine's Failure.

Me: Which one was it?


Peter: It was the one I wrote for you, I think. (Yes, folks, that's how you get girls when you're a musician!) There might have been one or two before that, but not written for a full band. But when you're 17, 18 and you decide you want to be the next Velvet Underground, you don't half write some crap. Looking back on the lyrics, it's just painful, but out of the dozen or so songs we wrote together two made it on to my first album. But those are the two commercial ones that I wrote, but they weren't typical of what we were writing at the time - we wanted to be Bowie and Lou Reed, and didn't have half the talent to be able to do it.

Me: So how has your style changed over time?
Nele: The most important change was when I realised I'm writing song about me and my life. Before, when I was a teenager, I wanted to write a rock song how it was supposed to be, about the rock life or about cool things. But when I realised I'd never driven on Highway 66, or whatever... I'm a girl in my twenties, living in Belgium, I have my own subjects to write about. I don't have to invent cool topics... I can of course - I like singer-songwriters who use beautiful metaphors, but I'm still at the stage where I write songs about my life, and I try to do that as honest as possible. I write literally what happens to me. I don't use a lot of metaphors - when I got kicked out of theatre school, I wrote 'I got kicked out of theatre school'. And when I boyfriend dumped me, I sing 'this boyfriend dumped me'. And people come up to me and say they recognise themselves in my lyrics, so I think there's something in the cliche that if you write something personal it becomes universal.


Peter: Looking at the stuff I've written recently and the stuff I recorded for my albums, it hasn't changed massively, I don't think. It's more the delivery, learning to use the acoustic guitar properly. I don't have a system for writing songs, it's purely if the lyric hits me, or a chord progression - a day later, there's a song there.


Me: Do you want to share the 'Blood on Strings' anecdote? (If you've been to a gig, you'll have heard this one!)

Peter: It was one of my first professional gigs, and I was strumming away, and I looked down and noticed my guitar was changing colour, and I couldn't work out why. And then I realised I'd split the ends of my fingers and was bleeding all over the place. So, it gave me the lyric 'blood on strings'...

Part 2 - here! 

X is for Extras

My post for X was going to be the rock band Extreme, who I listened to almost on a constant loop, when I was writing my first submitted novel (submitted, but probably never to be published). However, YouTube didn't want to share their best stuff, just the easy listening selection, so I bottled it - I didn't want you to think I had bad musical taste!

So this post is about the other stuff that inspires me, the eXtras! (Hubby is disappointed I haven't used xylophone or xenophobia, but I hope you're more forgiving.)

My Manchester City mug! I like football and this is my team! (Just so you know, it's only first on this list because it's the first picture, not because it rates higher than my kids!)

My fountain pen, given to me by my uncle for my 21st birthday. I promised myself I'd only use it to sign my first published book. However, I was young and stupid and didn't realise how long it would take to have a book published (or that when I finally did, it would be an ebook with no cover to sign) - so a couple of years ago I started using it to write my first drafts, and I'm sure it adds something very special to my work.

Pretty notebooks - I've always been addicted to stationery shops. I love looking at notebooks, folders, pens, files! The notebook in this picture was a present from my son for my birthday last year. I'm waiting for ideas before I use it - I don't want to waste it - I want this to be the notebook that I compose my Booker winner in :-)

My kids. Of course. I don't write childrens stories, but what I really hope is that when they are older, they'll be interested in the things I've written. I've spent all their lives huddled in corners with pads of paper, sometimes letting them spend just a little too long on the Playstation while I finished a chapter. It would be nice to show them what I've been up to!

And Hubby. I wrote a post about him here, so I won't repeat myself. If you're interested, I'd be delighted for you to read it. Here's a gratutious link to his blog - he's a musician, by the way: Peter Crawford.