Tuesday 17th November - Break a Leg!

Apologies for the lack of blog posts - as you may guess from the title of this post and the rather lovely poster, it's show week so I've been rather caught up with preparations for that.

Loughton Operatic Society's production of Bow Bells to Broadway (d'you like the title? I came up with that...) will be running over five performances and encompasses a mixture of songs from London based musicals (Oliver! Half a Sixpence, Jack the Ripper, Matchgirls, Liza of Lambeth) to Broadway blockbusters (Sweet Charity, Mack & Mabel, 42nd Street, Chicago) . My favourite number is What a Life! from Jack the Ripper, where I play a Victorian lady of negotiable affections. I'm slightly worried by how much I enjoy the costume and the role...

Our next production will be My Fair Lady, in April 2010, and the audition process starts almost immediately after the close of this show. Since I'll be auditioning to play my dream role of Eliza Doolittle, there'll be no rest for me. I'll report back on how I get on in a couple of weeks.

Needless to say, there's been little writing progress, although I have crawled to 50% on teen novel #2. Deadline? What deadline?

Friday 6th November 2009 - Stunt Bunny Uncovered!

I was going to wait until this went up on my website but I can't resist sharing it with you now. This is the fabulous cover for Stunt Bunny: Showbiz Sensation, which is published by Simon and Schuster in May 2010. The illustrations are by the super talented Lee Wildish. Don't you just love it?

Thursday 5th November 2009 - Remember, Remember...

Time flies, doesn’t it? This time last week I was writing about our trip to Alton Towers and suddenly it’s seven days later and dressing up as a zombie is a happy but distant memory. Some of you insisted on a photo so being an obliging type, I’ve posted one below. Please note, I take no responsibility for any damage to your eyesight or computer resulting from this image.

The weekend itself was fab. Highlights included The Boiler House maze (in which you are chased around a prefab building being by people pretending to be serial killers) and the challenge of being catapulted through the air at 100kph in fancy dress. I know the saying goes that hell is other people but at Halloween, fellow thrill seekers are what make the theme park so much fun. We saw Batman, Freddie Krueger, Superman and The Joker queuing for one ride together and Scooby Doo sneaking a crafty cigarette around the back of the Runaway Mine Train. Can’t wait for next year J

In other news, rehearsals for the am-dram show I’m in are hotting up. This week is fairly relaxed but next week is looking extremely manic. At the same time, I’m trying to finish the first draft of teen novel #2 and the eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that the progress bar for SSADH is creeping up. It’s going to need a big edit when I’ve finished but at least I’m getting it down on paper.

But this weekend is all about the whizzbangs. I do love a good firework display and this year I’ll be watching one local display on Friday night and another at Leeds Castle on Sunday. Chuck in the tour of the Olympic Park we’re lucky enough to be taking on Saturday morning and it’s looking like a busy weekend. I think I need a ghostwriter…

Thursday 29th October 2009 - Off for a Spooky Time

I'm signing off for a few days as it's time for our annual trip to Scarefest at Alton Towers. The hotel is booked, our tickets are pre-ordered and the costumes are packed. We will be dressed as funky fairies (and before anyone thinks this is isn't scary, you need to see me in a dark wig - you will be very afraid) and fully intend to scream ourselves hoarse. TD is very excited as the soundtrack to New Moon is being exclusively played around the park. Oh, and I'll be wearing my "Who Killed Lucy Shaw?" jumper to promote My So-Called Afterlife so Lucy will be with us in spirit.

So how do you feel about Halloween? Are you a Night of the Dead junkie or do you hate this time of year?

Saturday 24th October 2009 - A Jaunt Down Memory Lane

I amused myself with a trip down Memory Lane today. Rustling away in the recesses of my brain recently has been the knowledge that it's a year since I bagged me an agent, so I took a look at my blog posts from this time last year. And I was right; it is a year and a few days since I signed on the dotted line and joined the Big Cheese Agency.

It was fun, looking back at all my breathless posts about V Exciting News (see? I haven't changed a bit) but more than anything it's made me appreciate how far I've come. This time last year, My So-Called Afterlife was only just going out to publishers and Stunt Bunny was still tucked away in her hutch. I moaned about the day job every bit as much as I do now (although I'm trying to be more positive about that - ahem).

So my challenge to you is to look back at your own lives to see where your journey has taken you. Maybe you blog (very easy to reflect if you do), maybe you keep a diary (also handy) or perhaps you'll be relying on memory alone. The time scale doesn't have to be a year. Not everything will be good but I'm willing to bet you've grown and moved forwards. How far have you come?

Wednesday 21st October 2009 - On Writing With A Puppy On My Lap

Just as I was about to start this blog post, Lillie got bored of waiting for me to play with her and decided to climb on my lap. The post is going to much shorter as a result.

So what's been happening this week? Well, no sooner had I finished my proof edits for My So-Called Afterlife than the copy edits for Stunt Bunny arrived. Thankfully, they were light so I'm done with edits for the time being and can concentrate on writing teen book #2. Apart from that, I have been mostly reading the wonderful Heaven Can Wait by Cally Taylor. There'll be a review to follow soon but in the meantime I really can't recommend it enough. If you haven't bought yet it then you don't know what you're missing.

There's also Cally's short story comp, which I'll be helping to shortlist (see my previous blog post for details). I know Cally is hoping for lots of fabulous entries so get writing!

Lillie is now trying to eat the laptop so I guess that's it for now! Anyone fancy puppy-sitting?

Thursday 15th October 2009 - A Heavenly Short Story Comp

When I started writing, I happened upon the inspirational blog of one Cally Taylor. Recognising a good thing when I saw it, I popped back there frequently and in the process got to know Cally. At the time, she was writing her first book and I've followed her as she first found an agent and then a publisher. That book is being published today (you can buy it here) and I am super proud to be able to call Cally a friend.

To celebrate the publication of Heaven Can Wait and to give something back to all those wannabe writers out there, Cally is running a short story competition. Pop over to her website for full details and how to enter. Good luck!