Posted @ 12:24:03 on 28 May 2011
It is a long time since I have posted anything here. It is a busy busy time at the moment, and all really exciting stuff. This term is a quiet one as far as my MA goes - the summer term is not assessed, and on the Modern and Contemporary MA they are busy concentrating on the second year and full time students who are working on their dissertations. I thought this might give me useful library time, but although I did go to the lectures that were on offer, they didn't set my world on fire. I did however manage to sneak off to a few other talks which were interesting - "Nights At the Museum" which was a fantastic three part talk about the Mummy's Curse and what the security guards that work the night shift at the British Museum get up to after dark... It was fascinating hearing about a life lived by torchlight, eavesdropping on the research scientists and the exhibits, hidden doorways and staircases, and haunted galleries. But once that talk was over, what to do next. At my last lecture I got chatting to a friend who opted for the creative writing module with me last term, and both of us happened to comment on what our classmates from last term were up to, and wishing we could go to their lectures as well. In the true spirit of "ask and it is given" we decided to ask if we could possibly... if they wouldn't mind.... if maybe we could, and the response was an immediate, "yes, of course you can." So now, every Tuesday I am toddling off to Creative Writing lectures - this week was time and the narrative voice, as well as two really fascinating talks on the impact of e-publishing, next week more adventures to come. And as if that wasn't enough, I have finally finished The Dark Flood after six years on and off working on it, writing and re-writing bits, it is finally in a completed, fully edited, ready to go stage. But what do I do with it? Do I go down the route of just getting it out there on my own, or do I try for external help? This book feels somewhat special to me, it is close to my heart, it has been a long time in the creating. I want to give it the best start in life that I can. I want to make sure my child get's to go to the best school and get extra tuition as well. This time I am prepared to stick my neck out a little more than I did for the Lychway. The Softness of Water is also nearly ready to go, and I will be working on completing that one next. So for now, I guess I will just keep going, with the website, and Amazon and anything else I come across in my travels... I don't think I am quite brave enough for the whole launch thing, but I am trying to dip my toe into the water and just see what it feels like out there...