Happy Author Birthday

Six years ago tomorrow my first book, a children’s one, was published. It’s funny, when I say it, when I say ‘six years ago’ it sounds like an awful long time ago. And it is. And it feels it in many ways but, at the same time, it feels as though it could just have been a couple of years ago.

But. Six years. I’m not sure if I was convinced back in 2006 that I’d still be doing this. I certainly hoped I would be and I feel exceptionally lucky that I am. Lucky that I’m still enjoying it, lucky that it provides me with a living (well, of sorts!), and lucky that I’ve had a further two books published, and all at the grand old age of thirty-one. Most of all, I think I’m lucky that Im still able to produce stories and books that people like. That’s the big thing. That’s the acid test right there.

And I’m not going to pretend this last six years have been trauma free because they’ve really not. There have been tantrums and fallings out, good friendships and some relationships have died, I’ve been pretty miserable some of the time and some of the time I’ve wondered whether I really should be writing. And there’s been a lot of self-doubt, a lot of wondering if I’m good enough to be a writer. I don’t know if that will ever change. I probably wouldn’t want it to, to be honest.

But, mostly, these six years have been good. Really good. I’m proud of what I’ve written and I’m proud of what I’ve done, and I intend to keep doing it, one word at a time, for a long time to come. I hope I’ll be able to say something similar on here in another six years. I wonder what they’ve got in store for me.

Happy birthday, book.

 

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And, as it’s a bit of a celebratory kind of thing, I’ve a few signed copies up for grabs. If you’d like to be in with a chance of winning one, leave me a comment (and a way of contacting you). I’ll pick some names out of a hat at the end of next week.

A Question of Romance

I said yesterday that I’d watched, and loved, the Breakfast at Tiffany’s movie. I did. And then I read the novella. And while I enjoyed it a huge amount (it is a classic for good reason) I couldn’t help but question the blurb on the cover, hailing it as ‘The most romantic story ever written’. Now, of course, that could just be my tastes and it may well be true. I just can’t help thinking there are other worthy contenders out there for such an illustrious title.

My question is, dear readers: what do YOU think the most romantic story ever written is?

If I love (see what I did there!) any of your recommendations, I’ll send you chocolates or a rose or something.

A Happy Post

So, last week I was a bit ill and, as a result, ended up with more or less a week off work. It wasn’t anything serious, just a virus, but it left me knackered and I thought it best to take a little time to recuperate (I think one of the downsides to living and working alone is not having anybody around to tell you you’re looking peeky or to take the day off – a small trade off for what’s, really, a pretty wonderful job).

Anyway. While I was off I watched a few films. Old ones. Most notably Breakfast at Tiffany’s which I’d not seen before and which is wonderful. (I totally get the Audrey Hepburn thing now.) Now, Buddy Epsen’s in that film and it made me think of The Beverly Hillbillies – I used to love the re-runs as a child. So I did a little idle googling and searching on Youtube and ended up finding an interview with him, where he’s talking about the show. One line really stuck with me from it. He said it was ‘a happy show about happy people‘ and I think I love that.

Happy’s good, after all.

So here’s something that made me happy. I don’t think I could ever listen to it and not smile, even if it’s only on the inside. (And it’s with Earl Scruggs who, not so happily, died earlier this year.)

To happiness. Even when it’s flooding and pissing it down outside.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgLSowrUQKU]
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A Beautiful Film About the End of The World

Sorry to have been a bit quiet on here lately. I have been been busy writing and doing all the other bits that come with being a writer, so I’ve not really had anything to say.

But I’ve not just been writing. Oh no. I have been watching the occasional film. One was Melancholia. The tagline is ‘a beautiful film about the end of the world‘ and it is. Really. Have a look.

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzD0U841LRM]

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