10 Things You Didn't Know About Me...

Someone, somewhere in blogland nominated me for this a while ago. For the life of I can't remember who they were! But in the spirit of the "award" here are 10 things about me..

1. Most of my formative years were spent abroad. My dad was in the RAF, so I've lived in places such as Germany, Quatar, Saudia Arabia and the Persian Gulf amongst others.

2. I used to swim competitively. 200m butterfly was my best event. Now? 2m would probably kill me!

3. The day job prior to the one I have now, involved working with asbestos. When I die my epitaph will read, "it wasn't the cough that carried her off, it was the coffin they carried her off in."

4. I always wanted to be a marine scientist. Even now after 30 years I can still remember the scientific names of seaweeds. Fucus vesiculosus anyone?

5. I love the film Zulu, and one day I will go to Rorkes Drift.

6. I love motorhoming. In an ideal world the DH and I would travel the world in our motorhome. I would write (and get paid) for my books and short stories and this would fund our adventures. (Well you have to dream don't you!)

7. My dad was an electronics engineer and to this day says that he fitted circuit boards on ICBM's! I still don't know whether I believe him or not. (OK, not exactly related to me - but it is a good one!)

8. I love heavy metal music. I was well into the rock scene in my youth. It sill surprises my step son (now 25) when I recall all the songs from bands such as AC/DC, Metallica, Motorhead etc. which he is now into!

9. I go to church. Our congregations averages 14 on any one week! Small, but friendly at the same time.

10. I love tills or anything that money goes into! I should really work in a shop or a bank!

Well that's it! As most of my fellow bloggers have already done this list - I nominate anyone who hasn't already done their "Top 10". Caroline xxxx

Just popping out of the Bat Cave to say....

......

1. Got a "R" from Take a Break - Fiction Feast for one of my short stories. 3 still out there tho' so fingers crossed.

2. Is it me - but is there general apathy out "there" at the moment? A lot of my blog pals seem to be finding it very "hard" at the moment. My creative well has dried up at the moment - so I'm plodding on with edits - it's about all I can manage!

Back into the cave now. Bye! Caroline x

It's time to go into the Bat Cave......

.....and not come out until:

1. My NWS MIP (Mess In Progress) is done and dusted! I *need* to get this ready by 1st July at the latest on the premise that the NWS (and poor Melanie Hilton) is snowed under come the August deadline. So head down and "GO!"

2. I need to finish my latest WIP (not to be confused with the MIP above!) This is book 3 that needs a final edit - and as Jane Holland pointed out on her recent blog - "why does the edits and rewrites take more time than the actual 1st draft...." *sigh*

3. I'm also enjoying, at the moment, writing lots of short stories which I am subbing to the WOMAGS (Women's Magazines). I never thought I could do "short" but I have surprised myself by actually having some "out there". I've also joined an (invitation only) blog group (there are 12 of us) who sub (anonymously) a short story every 2 weeks. We then critique each others stories and this gives valuable feedback on plot, character, and (more importantly) whether there is a chance it could be good enough to be sent to various editors at the WOMAGS we all target.


SO WHAT DOES ALL THE ABOVE MEAN? Well my amigos it means I'm going to go AWOL for a while. Less blogging, less commenting until numbers 1 and 2 above are done and dusted.

I can feel the withdrawal symptoms fast approaching - this bunny *loves* blogging. But wish me well and god speed (etc) and I'll "see" you all soon....(sob).......Caroline xxxx p.s. well.....maybe a couple of my "favourite" blogs will still get read and....well you get the picture.

Has it been THAT long?.....

.....since I last posted? Nearly 2 weeks. Time just seems to be flying (unlike the planes recently lol).

Writing wise I've been hit by the short story bug. I was lucky enough to get onto a private blogsite that consists of 12 writers who target the womag short story market. The remit of the group is to submit a story once a fortnight which is then critiqued by the others. Honest, and frank advice is given about it's chances "out there". The group consists of some published short story writers, and some (like me) unpubbed. I feel quite excited about being in this group, and this has fueled my creative juices to such an extent that my brain has been working overtime. I think I'm up to 28 short story plots that have either been fleshed out, written, or in a folder marked "TO DO".

Other news? My dear M-I-L who has been in hospital since September may be able to come out next week. Fingers crossed she can as it is her 70th birthday on the 8th of May and it would be fantastic if she could have a party with friends and family. I'm doing the "Race for Life" next weekend in aid of Cancer Research which I enlisted for as MIL had bowel cancer so wish me luck. Caroline x

Blame it on the sunshine....

....but not as the song goes "on the boogie". Blame what? My very poor attendance at the PC this week that's what! The sunshine has been 'acallin' and I've been very naughty sitting outside in the garden and soaking up the rays. My only excuse - it was a loooong winter this year and I'm making the most of it. Also doom and gloom in the Sunday newspapers today saying that the ash cloud from Iceland is going to mean a bad summer apparently. *Growl* What worse than last year? Surely not! So all in all I've not had much enthusiasm to do any writing this week on the wip.

I have done a few bit'n'pieces - namely getting my first ever short story out into the post and landing on some poor editors huge intray. I've also finished another short story and I'm fine tuning a 3rd. So at least that's something to report.

Sorry Judy - your critique is about 1/2 done. Promise to get it done this week.

Like I say - Blame it on the sunshine....

Best go. At least I wrote this blog today....that's something I suppose. Caroline x

5 - 5 - 5 Blog Award - sort of!

Thanks to going onto Masey Yates Blog I got this Award by default!

Question 1: Where were you five years ago?
1. I was living in Gwynedd, just over the "border" in North Wales.
2. I hadn't even thought of writing then. I was a "reader" only.
3. I was working for Anglesey County Council - but full time. Now I only work part-time - BIG result!

4. We only had one dog. Now we have 2 - another rescue dog.

5. I was engaged, but now I'm married.

Question 2: What is (was) on your to do list today?

1. Take the grandson out for the day. We did and had a great day.
2. Re-read my story and edit. Done it.
3. Take dogs out for a long walk. Done.
4. Hoover. Failed. Too busy taking grandson out and having fun! Yay!
5. Write blog. Done.

Question 3: What five snacks do you enjoy?

1. Chips. (French fries!)
2. Digestive biscuits
3. Crisps .
4. Toast and jam
5. Tea (especially if answer 2 accompanies it!)

Question 4: What five places have you lived in?

1. Germany
2. Quatar
3. Saudia Arabia.
4. England.
5. In my head - creating stories - a great place to be IMHO.

Question 5: What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?
1. Buy a villa somewhere hot for breaks.
2. Buy a house in the UK with a study that overlooks the sea.
3. Sort out all my friends and relatives so they don't have to worry about money again.
4. Put my MIL in a private hospital so she could be sorted out asap. She's been in hospital since Sept 2009 - I kid you not!
5. Give a whack of money to my favourite charaties including the setting up of my own dog and cat rescue centre!

Thanks Maisey for nominating me - sort of!

And now for something a bit different...

Now the wedding and honeymoon is over it's back to the writing. But something a bit different for me. I've just written a short story! First one ever, and to be honest it was quite fun, and quite easy to do! I've always had a bit of a mental block when it came to short stories because I had always convinced myself that no way could I put together a story in so few words! I like to read short stories but I write books. 75k the norm. Not 1500 words.

But never say never. I decided to have a go and well...it worked. I finished one. The story is about a wedding (no really!) but it has a twist at the end. From my limited research into the short story market editors like stories with a twist in the tale - a lot.

My lovely CP Suzanne (Jones) had a read of it for me - because as we all know - she has been uber successful recently on the short story front - and well...she liked it! Yay!

So I'm going to fine tune it today and send it off to Take a Break Fiction Feast and see where it goes. Probably back in the SAE - but hey - nothing ventured nothing gained.

On a serious note I did enjoy writing it, mainly because "The End" came a whole lot sooner than writing a book. And it was good to craft a story from beginning to end in a matter of days rather than months. I'm currently taking 7 months to write a book and that's a long time before I see the light at the end of the tunnel. The short story also focussed my mind on the nitty gritty details of writing as I had to think a whole faster as to where the story was going and how it would end. With a book you can just write it and edit later, layering / deleting etc. With the SS it has to be "right" more or less from the outset, otherwise you don't have a story. And as I said it was nice to see a final resolution in a matter of days with the short story.

Anyway enough wittering. Fingers crossed. and happy writing. This weekend it's back to the wip - book. Take care. Caroline x