What Kate Did Next

Wise Monkeys

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:51:00 +0000

How are you all? My father-in-law once told me about an editor he knew in Moscow in the sixties. I picture the men walking through a snowy Gorky Park having this conversation, fur hats, greatcoats and all: the editor said to him that he rarely had to cut articles because his writers knew to self-censor before putting their copy in.

The beauty of blogs, of Twitter, of Facebook is their freedom. You say, and write what you want - right? Well, no. Lately, for a whole host of reasons, I've found myself discounting idea after idea for blog posts. For instance ...

What can I say about where I live? Not a lot. The kids are happy. In a global recession, my husband is working. So, what about home life then? The pilot made it very clear early on that he had no interest in the family being written about except in the most general way. *Scratch that one too*. Frankly I don't feel comfortable talking about the family anyway (Jojo Moyes wrote interestingly about this in her blog).

Another side to being published is that rather a lot of people you know in real life start subscribing/following you, and it suddenly feels like you are flashing your knickers at a cocktail party. I find myself saying 'would I want X to know about this?' if I think of a blog post that means something to me - or 'I can't write about that, no matter how hilarious, because Y will read it.' I miss my comedy sidekick - the Hound. Dogs are good, safe, humour. Cats take themselves too seriously, both rescue hamsters have died within a week of each other, and how much mileage can you get out of a Siamese Fighting Fish called Flashman?

Perhaps I could write about the books? But you need to keep your powder dry with a new story, and how interesting are posts on copy-editing and proof-reading (which is what I've been doing for the last couple of months). Hm. The MA, then? Could tell you about my thesis on ... hey, wake up at the back there.

It's quite ironic that the hands-down worst review I have ever had for anything, *ever*, suggested that my work was so appalling I should 'stick to blogging'. This is the one thing I'm finding difficult at the moment. Public flaming on review sites like this will never be wrapped around tomorrow's fish and chips - it's there, forever, and if you're sensible you just ignore it, keep a dignified silence, get on with good work and say ... nothing. (Or as one author does, makes t-shirts bearing the worst reviews: 'Author of the most god-awful tripe ...' etc).

Which leaves us with, what? The weather? Abnormally cold, if you're interested. We've gone from day after day of 'scorchio!' to 8 degrees and Siberian winds in the desert. No ... I really don't do the weather, or smalltalk. Something will come to mind soon.

Meanwhile, *please* tell me what you've been up to, and writing (comments below), and here are some of my favourite things this week. Enjoy:

A search for the complete 'Writers on Writing' series in the New York Times. I *love* these articles, and hope they help with whatever you're working on: http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch?query=writers+on+writing&more=date_all

The trailer for Wim Wenders' film celebrating Pina Bausch (makes you feel glad to be alive): http://www.pina-film.de/en/trailer.html

And finally, in memory of the wonderful Etta James, a clip of her and Dr John - I'd Rather Go Blind

TODAY'S WRITING PROMPT: Think about one of your characters (or yourself for that matter). What are they - or you - not saying? What are they closing their ears or eyes to?

Take It Easy

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 06:18:00 +0000

So, how are you all this morning? One sure thing in life is change, and the last few weeks have blindsided me time and again (including, at last, being allowed to move out of the company compound - nicknamed 'Alcatraz' - as long as it was in 10 days flat). Meanwhile, the pilot's been flying non-stop everywhere from Shanghai to NY to Montreal, (from where he sent this photo - yes, that's The Beauty Chorus, under Dan Brown :)

It's still crazily fun seeing the book out there in the wild - and it's great hearing back from readers who are making the story their own - including a girl who saw this article in my 'old boy' alumni magazine (I feel a little like the prodigal child appearing in this ... but then we did have an Ondaatje Hall at school, donated by the philanthropist brother of the author, and I believe his school career was interesting too ...).

It's been a steep learning curve this year, getting used to the rhythm of publication. While 'The Beauty Chorus' is getting ready to come out in paperback in a couple of months, I'm writing a new story, and proofs of the next book 'The Perfume Garden' are being printed. This Spanish story is something that I put heart and soul into, so it's exciting and scary to think of it 'out there' next year. Maybe it's good to feel nervous - like stage fright sharpens a performance. Frank Delaney - who's a great writer to follow on Twitter @FDbytheword, said recently: 'Emotional energy is as real as the physical kind. If you’ve done truly good work, as good as you can make it, you’ll be exhausted'. Do you find that true? I wonder if it is the same with any creative act - writing, acting, painting?

I was thinking about Delaney's words this morning. All the plants I thought the fierce aircon in the apartment had killed have come back to life in the new garden. They were just exhausted, or thought it was winter - in the space of a couple of weeks, the baobab is in leaf, the bougainvillea is blazing, and my gardenia's in bloom ...

These were taken just now - nothing on earth like the scent of freshly watered gardenias on a cool sunny morning. Heaven. Anyway, enough boondoggling and down to work. I was just thinking as I was drinking my coffee on the back doorstep that maybe we're like these plants. If you take care of the basics - fresh air, plenty of water - and take it easy on yourself, pretty soon the next story comes along. Have a great day x

TODAY'S PROMPT: We've talked before about the need for 'fallow fields' - Cameron called it 'filling the well', a time to rest and build back your creative energy. You can't pour out good work if you're running on empty. So what does it for you? For me, always, it's the beach, countryside, great music, art, (reading also, but - maybe you're the same - if a book's good I just find myself analysing how the author did that), or something as simple as a cup of coffee and watering the plants. It's amazing how if you give yourself a little time you bounce back from feeling like you couldn't write a shopping list let alone another novel. If you can carve out even a few minutes a day for yourself to do something you *love* outside the daily demands of family/friends/work it pays back a hundred times over. What are you going to do today?

Only Connect

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 07:05:00 +0000

Morning all - how are you? It will be back to normal at WKDN come October, and I've got a few ideas about some new directions beyond 'today's prompt' that will hopefully help with your writing. Let me know if there's anything you want to see more of, or any exercises you'd find useful. We're all 'back to school' here after the 74 (not that I was counting), day summer holiday, and I'm looking forward to getting down to some new writing. The characters for my new book, set in the South of France, are lining up and yammering away waiting to tell their story.

They have to be patient for September - if it's been quiet around here since the 'four for forty', that's because this is a big month workwise. I'm finishing up the MA, and the copy-edit of the next book has been all-consuming. How do you all find editing, and copy-editing? For me, it's a real challenge pulling apart a story and putting it back together again. I'm always in awe of people who like doing fiddly things - miniature painters, watchmakers, embroiderers - who has the patience for that? Even jigsaws defeat me. The way my mind works is forwards, big creative strokes - I'm not a natural go-back-overer or nitpicker and copyediting is like unpicking stitches in a tapestry. Once it's done the whole picture is a lot smoother, taughter, everything is in the right place but the process is hard.

The Spanish book was still giving me goosebumps on the umpteenth read through though, (which is, hopefully, a good thing). Today's video clip by the Foals has been on a loop for the last month - so much so that the children can now sing along on the school run, and ask me to 'turn up the good bit'. Hope you enjoy - it's a beautiful song, that was the soundtrack I listened to writing the key scenes of the book. This is the most ambitious thing I've written so far, and the most personal. I don't know if the goosebumps are excitement or fear at the thought of sticking my head above the parapet with this one ... we'll see what people think.

Sometimes I think writing a book is like glass-blowing - you start with something completely malleable (an idea), and shape it, and gradually it takes solid form (a book). Each stage, each edit is a little closer to that separation where what you've been working on becomes something solid, and real, and 'out there' in the world. It's no longer just yours, it belongs to everyone, and everyone is entitled to their opinion about it. That's been the single most amazing thing about seeing 'The Beauty Chorus' published - hearing from people how they've made the story their own. It's blown me away how people engage with the characters and the world you create. Equally, it's amazing how protective you feel about your characters when you get a snidey review. The best advice is not to take any notice of good or bad reviews and just get on with doing the best work you can. Not everyone is going to love your work, and you have to step back and just let it be. However, my tutor told us a wonderful story about how he managed to get the name of a particularly malicious critic worked into a new novel, so that he had the line 'H****, R***** is a c***t' immortalised. You can see the temptation sometimes.

TODAY'S PROMPT I'm finishing my MA thesis, and I want to ask your opinion. I'm writing about how the web and social media can enhance your enjoyment of a book. What I'm not writing about is how to market via Twitter. What I'd love to hear about are any writers, or sites that you think do a really good job of adding value to your experience of reading. What do you like? Author sites or blogs that tell you more about the person who wrote the books you love? Fan sites? Forums? Apps with bells and whistles that have animations leaping out of the text at you? If you have a moment, share your favourites in the comments box below with everyone. What do you love? Have you tried out book apps - what did you think? Have you used sites like Book Drum, or Authonomy? Give a shout out to people you think have done a really good job of enhancing your experience of fiction, and I'll take a look. Thanks x

Four for Forty: 2000s

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:15:00 +0000

Somehow the noughties began with us walking home along the Embankment in London at 4am on the morning of the new Millennium in evening dress, and ended with us living in a desert thousands of miles from everyone and everything we knew and loved. How did that happen? The entire decade is a bit of a blur, come to think of it - not for any terribly exotic reason, just because it was really busy. The pilot decided he was going to be a pilot, we sold our home so that he could train in Spain. We travelled round the world, lived overseas, had two children while he built up his flying hours. Meanwhile, I worked as a travel writer, set up an art consultancy, started writing a novel and ... and the whole trip felt like I was a passenger on a rollercoaster, (trying desperately not to let the children, cats, hamsters and hounds fall out of their seats along the way). There have been great highs, and some terrible lows. But that's life, and the rollercoaster is still riding. How about you?

TODAY'S PROMPT: I remember an old friend said 'oh, your thirties are a *breeze*, the kids, the house, you feel really settled for the first time ...' Not my experience at all. A calculated gamble made ten years ago changed the course of our life. With children, you become very much the frame, not the picture, I've learnt - everything changes. The stakes are higher. Today, why not reflect on what the last decade taught you - what did you learn? What surprised you? What did you/didn't you risk? Write a stream of consciousness - what have you seen, loved, lost in the last ten years - what has been your journey? Enjoy the ride x

Four for Forty: 1990s

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 08:27:00 +0000

So, how are you this morning? I was up late researching, so yes I would like another coffee, thank you. It's hard to think in a straight line during the school summer holidays - this first paragraph has been interrupted by: 'Mum, if I bought a parachute would you let me jump out of the window?' and 'Mum, can I have a squirrel monkey for my birthday'. Late night working it is.

There's an amazing moment with writing novels when they suddenly rise up and become real to you. Have you had that feeling? It would be interesting to know if it's the same for other artists - actors and musicians. That amazing moment when everything clicks into place, the characters round out and the world you've been building floods with colour and sound. It's like falling through the back of the wardrobe into Narnia.

This new book is a story I really want to write, but the research has been like pushing a boulder uphill. The hero - an all-American 'enigma wrapped up in a puzzle and tied with a mystery' as he described himself, has been hard to get a handle on. The book started with me wondering why on earth someone as unlikely as him would be that heroic. One of his biographers said in the myths there were times when men became gods - maybe it's that. When he landed a contract to write his autobiography, he complained 'it's impossible! It's a cast of hundreds - it's worse than WAR and PEACE!'

I was beginning to agree with him, then yesterday I had some big breakthroughs. I tracked down a rare DVD from a filmaker in Munich of the house where it's going to be set, and out of print catalogues from dealers in Paris and New York. Then, through my wonderful ex-tutor at the Courtauld Institute, I've been put in touch with a woman who was there - the last survivor of this amazing, heroic chapter during WW2. It was one of those days when you feel like you've got an angel sitting on your shoulder making everything come right. We even had a new one - my daughter came through and told me to turn *my* music down when I was celebrating.
So, in terms of 'process' this is where I wanted to be before doing the copy edit on the Spanish novel, (it is that point where you are scribbling notes on the backs of envelopes - ideas are coming hard and fast). In a funny way, it's like I'm coming full circle back to the beginning of the nineties, because this book brings in all the academic study, all the art ... The nineties are a strange decade aren't they? Not as easy to pigeon-hole as the previous decades. What were they characterised by? Grunge? To paraphrase my mother's: 'it may have been the Sixties but nothing was swinging for me, dear,' I kind of missed the whole grunge thing. How about you? Answers in the comments box, please.

My 90s began here - I rocked up in Durham to study Philosophy, with a cinema size Betty Blue poster, a couple of pairs of jeans, and a head full of questions. I wanted answers - I wanted to understand the world, (instead, I just found more questions, and I was missing Art so I transferred to the Courtauld Insitute in London). But Durham was beautiful - my favourite walk was from the Cathedral along the river bank at twilight, Prebends bridge lit up by old streetlamps. It was - and is magical. Not least because I met the pilot there.

The Courtauld was amazing - the years there really shaped the rest of my life. It's one of the best places in the world to study Art - it was academically rigorous but eccentric, (I walked in to the student cafe on the first morning to find a guy wearing a gold lame jump suit draped over his boyfriend). This was the nineties to me: lectures in rooms hung with masterpieces, hours in the V&A or National sketching, making a cup of coffee last as long as possible in the Waldorf Brasserie across the road (there were no coffee shops on the Strand in the olden days). As today's video clip says: nobody told me there could be Days Like This.

TODAY'S PROMPT: What were the nineties to you? After a few months in Durham, I spent the whole decade in London. It was: studying, walking back to our first flat over Westminster Bridge at twilight. It was a crazy year as an Administrator for a performing arts festival, taking care of VIPs and performers. It was my first career - as an art consultant working out of a gallery in Chelsea with a group of people who became like a second family. It was buying art at auction in Paris, curating jobs in embassies and palaces of breathtaking extravagance - and then coming back to the half renovated flat we were doing up, and getting on with hanging tiles and plastering walls. What about you - what was your soundtrack of the decade? The films you loved? The places that shaped you? Why not free write and see if you can define a decade that seems to lack an easy 'tag' - use what you get to write a short story about the pre-Millennium, or to feed in to a character's background. Enjoy x

Four for Forty: 1980s

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 09:15:00 +0000

One of my favourite lines from my mother was: 'it may have been the sixties, dear, but nothing was swinging for me.' My equivalent, my 'summer of love' was the 80s - how about you? Looking back was it a non-stop party with fabulous hair, scent that could knock a guy out at 40 paces and shoulder pads that could take an eye out? Maybe we all live several lifetimes in one - the decade seems like a different world entirely from where we are now. Do you remember that confidence?

Boy, you need a healthy sense of that as a parent. Last night I was tucking in our daughter, and she said to me: 'Mum, when's Dad back from Washington?' I said he flies in late tonight. 'Oh good. Dad's *fun*' I don't know how this happened - when did I get to be the bad cop? The one who enforces bedtime, manners, brushing hair and teeth, rather than the one who comes home from trips like Father Christmas and is *fun*.

What do you say? 'I used to be fun, my girl, let me tell you about the 1980s ...' (you can see the rolling eyes, hear the 'Jees, Mum you're so *old* can't you?) I was her age when the decade began, and most of my best memories are tied up with the house above - summers were swimming in the river, horseriding on the moors, ballet classes, endless games of tennis on a sand court with wooden rackets (I'm sounding old to myself now ...) Sometimes I wonder why siblings' memories of identical childhoods can be so different - to me the 80s were an incredible time. It all seems so innocent now. Horses, friendships you thought would last forever, boys, beach parties, summers driving half way across Europe in a red Renault 5. I used to be *fun* (she says quietly ...).

Thinking about this post, I checked out the place I grew up in Devon on Google Streetview - I still wonder if this isn't the ultimate Big Brother style invasion of privacy - it was sad to see how the woods I played in have been cut back and built on (though weirdly you can still see the old stable and my bedroom window ...). Have you ever looked at your old homes?

Things change, our family moved on. As a teenager I wanted to live in every capital city in the world. (Now of course all I want is to give our children the childhood I had, free in the country with animals, wild swimming and less computer/TV time ...). I was idealistic, and naive, had my heart broken several times and made all the usual mistakes kids make. The career's teacher encouraged me to join the Foreign Office. So of course I became a writer. My study walls at school were plastered with Peter Lindbergh fashion shoots - the strong, glamorous Supers were great role models for a near 6' kid growing up (my nickname: Miss Vogue ... *sighs wistfully* ...). Is it just me, or were we more confident then? More certain? My girl's cathedral school, and sixth form at a boy's public school gave me a sense that anything was possible - it's just as well all that confidence hasn't been knocked out of me entirely. Maybe it will help me make it through the most incredible challenge yet: parenthood. But that's to come in the 00s :) So, that's my 80s - now over to you ...

TODAY'S PROMPT: What were the 80s to you? What would you tell yourself if you could hop in a DeLorean and go back in time? Write a stream of consciousness in the comment box, or on your own if you prefer. How about: Robert Palmer's dancers; black lycra minidresses; Obsession; Poison; Giorgio; dry ice and strobe lights; Rayban Wayfarers; Sobranie Black Russian cigarettes; brat pack movies, Breakfast Club; Cindy Crawford ... Why not take a few minutes today and write a few pages, the first things that come into your mind - smells, tastes, images, anything. You can mine this resource later for a longer piece, or maybe a short story about the days when hair was big and the shoulder pads were bigger. Enjoy x

Four for Forty: 1970s

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 09:57:00 +0000

Love is in the air. I just had to explain to the five year old why the Sea Monkeys were 'wrestling'. We may have to get a bigger tank. Sea Monkeys were one of the impossibly cool things from America we used to read about in the classifieds in DC Comics in the '70s. Devon at that time was anything but cool, and there was no hope of getting them, X-ray specs or Twinkies, whatever they were.

Imagine a time before ebay or Amazon - unthinkable now. I'm finishing up the research for my next book, and just had a rare copy of the 'Jeu de Marseille' the Surrealists created during the war delivered from Paris via London to the desert in under a week. It's insane how much has changed in forty years.

One of the things I love about this place is how it's such a bizarre cultural melting pot. I was in Daiso last week, (like a brilliant Japanese dollar store/pound shop), and bought a genuine Life cover: 'The Year in Pictures 1971', which I'm going to frame in honour of this - ah- special birthday. The cover lists: hot pants, Sinatra, ski bums, Ali & Frazier etc. (The flip side is a very hip cigarette advert 'Sounds & Kent!' of some dude with a combover smoking and listening to his vinyl with huge headphones a jackhammer operator would be proud of).

With finishing the edits on the Spanish book, and research, and *y'know* the two and a half month long school summer holidays, my idea of forty posts for forty years was a bit optimistic. How does four posts - one for each of the decades sound? Today, let's kick off with the 70s, and enjoy today's clip x

TODAY'S PROMPT: Assuming you are old enough to remember them, what did the 1970s mean to you? What are your memories of that time? Take five minutes and write a stream of consciousness list - anything that comes to mind. You can mine this list for a story, set way back when women were wonderful, men were bionic, and there was enough static from all those nylon flares to supplement the National Grid.

It might go something like this: Saturday Night Fever, Farah Fawcett posters, Sesame Street, sneakers, The Three Investigators, Pop Rocks, Spangles, Tiswas, Stevie Wonder, tank tops, polo necks, Hair, Brut, Denim, Hi Karate, Charlie ... Why not see what else you can come up with?

Home Sweet Home?

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 08:39:00 +0000

How are you all? At the start of the *two and a half month long* school holiday, it's either panic at the thought of filling all those weeks with activities for the children, or post-edit wipe-out but I succumbed to the flu. The new book is off to the copy editor, the pilot's been in Shanghai, so for the last few days the children have been making the most of non-stop Disney XD and the finest junk food the compound shop can offer while I've been poleaxed in bed. What is it about finishing a book that wipes you out? Maybe it's the same reason you can guarantee getting a cold at the weekend, or when you have some vacation from work? Anyway, bouncing back now and it's been a busy month writing. I've been here:

If you ever get the chance to write at the Arvon centre in Moniack Mhor, near Loch Ness, jump at it. It was a blissful week of perfect peace - think workshops, visiting authors, log fires, and so much laughter. So good, in fact, that we're all meeting up again next year. Then, after flying back to the desert to pick up the family, the pilot and I took the children 'home' to Valencia. It was wonderful, and emotional, seeing a place we'd lived in and loved after ten years. So much had changed - our lovely, isolated little house in the orange groves is now surrounded by new builds. So another 'home' no longer felt like home at all.

It was amazing seeing the streets and countryside I've been writing about for the last year - almost expected to see my characters dancing in the village square, or relaxing over a glass of wine in one of the plazas. It helped, I think, to draw a line under the end of the story - and maybe it drew a line under part of our story too.

Back 'home' now, and feeling revived by everything we've seen and done this month. Just really simple things were such a pleasure - lighting the woodburner at night, walking through dew-laden grass, rain, getting off the plane in Madrid and seeing serrano ham bocadillos and cava for sale in the airport cafe ... I've had a wonderful dose of 'normal' - which is in short supply here. Back home, and back to work, so here's a writing prompt for you today - enjoy x

TODAY'S PROMPT: How many homes have you lived in? Which of these homes really stand out in your memory? Why? Have you ever gone back to a place, a house, you lived in and found it changed beyond recognition? Or have you gone 'home' and found it exactly the same? Today, why not dig out a photo of somewhere that means a lot to you, and free-write for a few pages about how it shaped you, or tell us about it in the comments?

Losing Control

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 07:32:00 +0000

By the time you read this I'll be in the Highlands of Scotland with fifteen other writers, hopefully lying in a field somewhere staring at grass, trees, lochs, mountains - and doing a bit of work of course. It is (at last reports), 46 degrees cooler than here and raining. Sounds like bliss. Meanwhile, I'm delighted to welcome debut novelist Emma Jane Unsworth to WKDN with a guest post about how it feels when your book is published. Over to Emma - enjoy x

‘Aggghhh’ is a word I’ve found myself typing a lot lately. Of course, ‘Aggghhh’ isn’t technically a word but hey, I like to think anything goes when you’re blogging – at least that’s what I tell myself when I write long, impassioned posts about the antics of the birds in my garden, which can’t be interesting to anyone other than me, and perhaps Bill Oddie (although I’m pretty sure he doesn’t subscribe).

Anyway, back to ‘Aggghhh’. I’ve been typing it in response to the many lovely people who have been getting in touch to say they’re reading my first novel, which is winging its way into the world this month. It’s the strangest feeling, getting something published. Publication is ultimately a brilliant thing if you want to make a career out of writing – but it’s also pretty bloody strange. This is partly because the process is a slow one. From the moment you sign off the final edit of a book it’s approximately a year until that book sees the light of day. That’s a year on top of the years it has taken to write and redraft. And that’s on top of the time you’ve spent thinking about the ideas and characters and letting the story ferment in your mind (for me, thinking is at least 75% of writing). It adds up to the best part of five years: a very long time. And then all of a sudden there it is, your book, staring back at you – a real, solid thing in the real, solid world.

It gets stranger still when you think about the fact that not only is out there, but people are actually reading it. Every time I think about this I find myself saying/typing that same Aggghhh! It’s not an exclamation of despair or joy, but somewhere in between. A sort of intense, exquisite confusion. In some part it’s excitement too, because it is exciting, and there are times when I can surrender to the pure excitement of it all (usually after a few vodkas). And I think, in part, it’s also probably a case of good old healthy stagefright. That fear of exposure, of standing up naked in front of everyone you know; of – as my sister-in-law would say – “baring your bum on the town hall steps”.

There’s something else at work, too: an inherent frustration in suddenly not having control over something I have thus far controlled every last iota of. I find myself wishing I could peer over the shoulder of everyone who’s reading it and say things like Just to clarify what I meant there and What do you think of that bit? but instead I’m having to sit back, shut up, and let it do its own thing. I have to trust it. Let go.

I don’t have kids but plenty of my friends do, and they’ve told me how they felt on that first day of school – when they had to leave their baby at the gate and walk away – and I feel as though now I know something of what that’s like. The parallels between books and babies are well worn: from conception, to gestation, to labour (NB painful as that is for novelists, I’m sure childbirth is worse, although it is usually over faster) and finally to birth. Similarly then, you spend immense amounts of time and energy making and moulding something for the sole purpose of abandoning it to become something without you. And so it must be.

Still, Aggghhh.

In his 1967 essay ‘The Death of the Author’, the French literary theorist and general misery guts Roland Barthes insists that when a text goes out into the world it becomes detached from its creator, rendering that creator essentially “dead”. If only! Au contraire, Roland: I’m actually a little bit too alive right now. If I was dead, I wouldn’t be worrying half so much.

Joking aside, when I think about what (I think) Barthes is really saying – that the work is all, in itself – it’s actually a very calming sentiment. Writing novels feels like an intensely private act most of the time, but if you want to make a living as a writer by selling your work, then you have to be prepared for the exact opposite of that, too. You have to promote it. And then, you have to surrender it to anyone who might want to read it. And, once you’ve got over the initial bizarreness of your novel existing independently of you, it’s actually immensely liberating, and you find yourself freed up to write the next thing. At least, that’s the plan. Now if you’ll excuse me, there’s a shoulder somewhere I should be peering over…

Emma Jane Unsworth’s first novel Hungry, the Stars and Everything is published by Hidden Gem this month. It is available to buy here:

http://www.hiddengempress.com/apps/webstore/

Emma also blogs here:

http://emmajaneunsworth.wordpress.com/

And if you are near Manchester:

Manchester Book Market

Dates: Fri 17th - Sat 18th June (Next week!)
Times: 10am-5.30pm
Location: St Ann's Square, Manchester

Now in its fourth year, the Manchester Book Market is the largest open-to-the-public book market specialising in independent publishers in the UK. It features publishers from across the country publishing poetry, novels, short fiction, art, photography, artists' books, non-fiction, local history and collectible editions. The market will be accompanied a live performance space with through-the-day readings by poets and authors published by presses featured in the market. This live space will also include a juice and food stall and will be partitioned off and feature over 30 authors a day.

Featuring over thirty publishers, including: Route Publishing, Comma Press, Commonword Press, Crocus, Satchel/Suitcase Press, The Hidden Gem Press, Night Jar, Peepal Tree Press, Flapjack Press, If P Then Q, Thanatos Books, Caton Books, Shearsman Books, The Reader Magazine, TTA Press, Manchester University Press, Societa' Dante Alighieri, Poke-in-the-Eye Publishing, Nude Magazine, and many others.

The readings will feature Manchester’s premier spoken word collective, Penultimate, the launch of Emma Jane Unsworth’s debut novel (and the first book from Hidden Gem Press), Hungry, the Stars and Everything, a special 25 anniversary showcase from Peepal Tree Press, and a whole host of Northwest poets and prose writers

Letting go

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 15:33:00 +0000

How are you all? I came across this beautiful Modotti photograph this morning - my head's firmly back in Spain after the fun of the week-long Summer Writing Insitute. It seems to sum up so much about one of the main characters ... and yes, browsing Modotti is boondoggling with a purpose. So is translating Lorca, planning a flying visit to Valencia for a final recce, listening to the music I have on a loop for the story. Who said editing couldn't be fun? As I've often said on WKDN really letting go, immersing yourself in your story works wonders.

The writing institute was great - I worked with the British novelist Lesley Thomson, whose book 'A Kind of Vanishing' won the UK People's Book Award, and the inspirational American writer Carol Henderson. It was all a bit like having your brain cells pummelled and loosened up. Then, in the middle of the week Bloomsbury Qatar held a launch at Virginia Commonwealth University for 'The Beauty Chorus' - an amazing experience reading in front of a large crowd for the first time. There was great press coverage - an interview in Time Out Doha, and a cover story for Gulf Times Woman (when the photographer said 'Mam, perhaps you want to dress your hair ..?' I took it to mean I wasn't looking quite - well - coverworthy :) All good fun.

One of the most interesting things about seeing 'The Beauty Chorus' published has been getting feedback from people. I'll never forget a fully veiled student coming up to me on the night of the final, celebratory dinner and saying 'I bought your book. I am a feminist - I love stories with strong women.' Equally, it's been great seeing the blog tour is causing spin-off reviews, like this lovely one over at Freckles Family. Cara's a great photographer and crafter, and I loved this picture she took of her copy with some amazing knitted cupcakes. I've always loved those 'reader column' pics of people holding copies of magazines in front of the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China - surreal and homely at the same time. So I've decided to do something similar - send me a jpeg of you and your copy of the novel via the profile page email or Your Beauty Chorus page on Ask Evie, and I'll mail a signed bookplate and bookmark anywhere in the world (and put up links to your blog).

Meanwhile, I'm heads down editing this week, and next week I'm off here for a week-long writing retreat for the MA ... can't wait. It will be the first time the children have had a week alone with the pilot, and needless to say they are *cockahoop* about it. See you in a couple of weeks :) x

TODAY'S PROMPT: The single most interesting exercise from the writing insitute was this: write a dialogue between yourself and something - an object, a person, a part of you. Anything that's been taking up mental space or bothering you. For example, if your addiction to cupcakes/your cronky back/your tiresome relative is causing you grief, you might begin: 'What is it with you cupcakes/back/etc?' then write their response. Just let the essay flow - it's surprising what comes up. As our teacher said, this kind of personal essay as debate has been used since Seneca's time, and it's a valuable tool. Why not try letting go - enjoy.

Have you heard?

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:46:00 +0000

Today the unabridged audio book of The Beauty Chorus is published by Whole Story Audiobooks - if you like having a book read to you, (and who doesn't), check out the amazing selection of books they have on their site. The book has been beautifully narrated by Julia Franklin and Maggie Mash - it's magical to hear your words come to life. If you'd like to hear their great work, there's a sneak peek for WKDN readers over here.

For anyone in Doha, come and join us tonight at the stunning Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar down in Education City at 6pm tonight for a reading and signing of The Beauty Chorus. It would be great to see you there.

In more important news, the five year old is about to take his blue belt Taekwando, so I'd better get a skate on ... Hope you enjoy the audio sample - I'd be really interested to hear what you think. x

Around the World in a Blogpost ...

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Tue, 31 May 2011 14:35:00 +0000

There's nothing like spending a few days with a great bunch of international writers to make you feel supported and less - well - bonkers. The Summer Writing Institute is amazing - I'm having a blast, working hard, and there's a great bunch of writers and teachers involved.

It's one of the huge benefits of the web, and the support for writers through blogs, forums, Twitter has changed the writing life - we are nowhere near as isolated as our predecessors were. It really is a global writing community, and I hope the blog tour has introduced you to some great new sites.

Today, on the final leg of our blog tour we are heading to Canada, visiting So Many Precious Books So Little Time, to the UK where Helen Hunt interviews me on Fiction Is Stranger Than Fact, and reviews The Beauty Chorus on Bookersatz, and to Qatar where Chris interviewed me for KooKi. Chris is an American-born, Swiss-immigrated, Qatar-living writer, and it was great to bump into her at the Writing Insitute. For those of you who are curious about life out here, her blog is a brilliant insight into the kookier aspects of life in the Middle East. For anyone who's 'local' do join us at Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar tomorrow night, 1st June 6pm where I'll be doing a reading and signing.

So, hope you've enjoyed our tour - it will be business, and writing prompts as usual soon. Happy writing x

Bookaholics Anon

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Mon, 30 May 2011 13:59:00 +0000

Yes, I know it's a mistake to Google yourself, but while checking up on The Beauty Chorus' reviews, I came across this little beauty on ebay. Tempting, no? I think we'll all feel right at home over in Vancouver with Teddy Rose on 'So Many Precious Books So Little Time' for the next couple of days on the blog tour where I guest post, and Teddy reviews the book. Teddy is a self-proclaimed bookaholic and animal lover - in other words, our kind of person. Enjoy.

Meanwhile, the children are on half-term, and hooted with laughter as they skipped off swimming tonight and I stayed behind, because (for once), I'm the one with homework. It's been a full on day over at Education City - a morning of fiction with the brilliant British novelist Lesley Thomson whose novel has just won The People's Book Award in the UK, and an afternoon of creative non-fiction with the inspiring local author Carol Henderson. Add to this an amazing bunch of international writers and some of the most incredible architecture I've seen since landing in Doha and it's been a good day.

One exercise I found really interesting was this: what do you save? Why not give it a whirl? x

Out of the Box

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Sun, 29 May 2011 14:48:00 +0000

The first day at school is always a little challenging - where's the building? the classroom? the loos? It doesn't change if you're four or forty. The Bloomsbury Qatar summer writing institute is being held in the futuristic Student Centre in Education City - I kept expecting to see someone in Barbarella bacofoil walk by. Instead, we were an international bunch of women - everyone from local girls fresh from their science degrees who had never written creatively before, to bloggers with book contracts and professional journalists. Talk about a small pond - it was great to meet virtual writer friends in the flesh. I think it's going to be a good week.

One of the first questions we were asked this morning was 'what do you want to get out of this course'? It's a good question. When was the last time you asked yourself what you want out of your writing? Why do you do it? For me, I'm hoping to play around with some new ideas this week, start fleshing out some new characters. I hope it's going to get me thinking outside the box.

I'll let you know how it goes and any interesting exercises you might enjoy. Meanwhile on our blog tour we are off to the excellent Writer Unboxed - Kath and Therese's site is a fantastic resource for writers, whatever stage you are at. We're talking about some practical steps you can take to get your story down, no matter how crazy the juggling act gets. Enjoy.

Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Fri, 27 May 2011 08:29:00 +0000

The pilot left for New York in the early hours, and it’s the weekend here. So as I can never get back to sleep properly, I’ve been up baking blueberry muffins for breakfast. New York is one of the pilot’s regular trips, and it’s always the one that makes me feel a little – what’s the word? Blue? The thought of a mid-town Manhattan hotel, the museums, the jazz clubs … Well. It’s best not to think about it. A friend has just managed a flying visit to see the Met’s McQueen show. I enjoyed reading about it in Newsweek, where I saw today’s beautiful picture. Maybe you won’t get to see it either, so today’s videoclip is the ethereal hologram of Kate Moss the Met is showing again. The man was a genius, and there’s something about these images that chime with me at the moment for the new story. There’s such unearthly grace to them.

Once you’ve enjoyed these, we’re off to America on the blog tour to Book Dilettante (where we talk about exactly that - how to immerse yourself in images, music, anything that resonates with your story), and to Canada to Fire in Mine Ears for a review of The Beauty Chorus.

It was interesting being interviewed about the book on local radio yesterday, and having to explain the story from scratch (questions included ‘what is a Spitfire?’). There’s still so much I don’t understand and want to learn about this place, and equally the cultural references and knowledge I take for granted aren’t understood here. John asked what yesterday’s image was – it was a beautiful tughra Bismillah. I love Arabic calligraphy (even a Coke can looks sublimely graceful), but haven’t yet had time to start basic Arabic classes. Bismillah translates as ‘In the name of Allah (God)’ – and the phrase is used both as a blessing, and to precede all the chapters of the Quran. You hear it a lot here – religion permeates the day in a way it no longer does ‘back home’. You’re woken at dawn by the first call to prayer, and the cries of the Muezzins compete across the city throughout the day. When the radio alarm goes off, every English language station has lessons from the Quran. When I’m out on the balcony watering the olive and fig trees in the evening, you see the men racing to get to the Mosque – but when they walk back, they look peaceful, relaxed. Maybe that’s the power of prayer whatever your religion – maybe that’s grace in everyday life.

Book Babe

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Wed, 25 May 2011 08:00:00 +0000

This morning I’m off to Qatar Radio, where I’m being interviewed along with Leila Aboulela, the brilliant Sudanese writer whose latest book ‘Lyrics Alley’ is up for Scottish Book of the Year. It should be interesting. I worked with Leila last year in a workshop, and it’s always great catching up with writers, especially here. Next week, there’s an author event at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, organised by Bloomsbury Qatar for ‘The Beauty Chorus’. This is one of the things that’s so great about this place – an American University hosting a British author at an event organised by a London publishing house in Qatar – I’m really curious to see how people react here to young girls flying Spitfires …

Meanwhile, we are heading to Canada on the blog tour, to Book Babe Tara Chevrestt. Tara knows *all* about planes, far more than me - as well as being an avid reader, writer and book reviewer, Tara is an aircraft mechanic! Enjoy her four star review x

Chocolate Reality

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Wed, 25 May 2011 07:22:00 +0000

I remember visiting an art installation in the early nineties in the East End of London - the artist had completely coated the walls of the gallery in chocolate. It was bizarre - the heady smell, the sweetness. You could see people fighting the urge to lick the walls. Fittingly for today's stop on our Canadian blog tour, I've spent the afternoon watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with our five year old. I'm still a big fan of the scary original, but he loves the Johnny Depp version. Chocolate and a good book go together like .... well, just look at the Galaxy Book Awards in the UK.

When we lived in Valencia, a local treat was proper hot chocolate at a Chocolateria - the kind you can stand your spoon up in. I was never interested in the churros fritters, just that gorgeous dark cup of bitter chocolate. Now, I'm a darker the better girl - quality not quantity - how about you? Enjoy your trip to Chocolate Reality, where we talk about blogging vs novel writing. We're off to the sweetie shop ...

Scat, man

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Tue, 24 May 2011 06:45:00 +0000

How are you all? Today on our blog tour, we're globetrotting. In Australia, over at the fantastic site Creative Penn I'm guest posting about Write What You Love - and giving several prompts to help out if you are searching for fresh ideas for your work, or if your project has hit a wall. Then, over in Canada, Krissy Brady is reviewing The Beauty Chorus. In the UK, it's just been selected as You magazine's Book of the Week, which is amazing. To see the book up there with Barbara Trapido, (an all-time hero), is quite something ... can't believe it.

Meanwhile, here at 'home' enjoy today's clip of Faye vs Raye - pure joy. Have a great day x

Form an orderly queue ...

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Mon, 23 May 2011 13:21:00 +0000

Monday morning, and I'm staring at two very big files of notes, about to embark on editing the next book. It's a bit like standing at the bottom of a mountain, looking up. You know it will be great when you get to the top, but there's a long way to go. That pesky boondoggler at the back of your mind goes 'hey, look, you need a new file - what are you going to do with all the editor's notes? C'mon - you could do with a good cup of coffee too, let's just sneak off to the mall, buy some stationery, grab some breakfast ...' Then an email comes in to do with the launch at VCUQ, and that little voice goes 'come on, you need to write up a press release now ...' Then you think - 'crikey, the Canadian blog tour. Let's get ahead of the game and write today's post ...' Does any of this sound familiar? How do you cope with the excuses - legitimate or otherwise, that you come up with not to dive into what you really need to be getting on with?

Today's blog tour post over at the Krissy Brady's great site Keeping the Passion for Writing Alive is all about process - we talk about how books really get written. What I'm looking at on my desk today are three distinct phases: there's the finished article - The Beauty Chorus (and in my filing cabinet/basket, all the publicity and blog tour notes). There's the rough diamond, the next book (the files in the foreground that could give you a hernia). Then there's the shimmering, glimmering idea of a book - the one I'll start writing this summer. That book is pictures on the mood board, it's piles of research books and notes, it's music on my mp3 player at the gym. Add the three together, and that's three competing casts of characters jostling for mental space. Form a queue, ladies and gentlemen, please.

So - how do you keep your passion for writing alive? The truth is, I love it. Wouldn't change it for the world. When 'work' involves reading endless books for research, pinned down by two indolent Siamese cats who make a beeline for you the moment you sit down with a book - well, this process isn't too bad. Now, who needs a cup of coffee?

You Say Boxer Shorts ...

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Sun, 22 May 2011 06:40:00 +0000

There's been some hot debate among the female friends I've spoken to about what 'Beau' - the lead male character of The Beauty Chorus looks like. He's caused quite a stir. My favourite comment so far came from a husband, who said he hadn't been able to get any attention from his wife for a week because she had her nose buried in the book each night. 'Oh, yes ... Beau ...' she sighed, her eyes taking on a dreamy look.

After doing some research at the Imperial War Museum, I decided to give Beau US style boxer shorts rather than the 'utility underwear' in today's photo. Not really the stuff romance is made of, is it? On today's blog tour, we are off to the US, to visit Sarah at Reading the Past, where we talk about the fine details of research for historical fiction like this. Investigating underpants ... well, someone has to do it. Enjoy x

O, O, O ...

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Thu, 19 May 2011 07:04:00 +0000

Do you subscribe to the Writer's Almanac daily news? If you don't, I really recommend it. There's a link here. Most days there is something amazing that sets you thinking, or that chimes in with a piece of work you're developing. Today, the post about Marilyn Monroe singing 'Happy Birthday Mr President ...' nearly fifty years ago caught my eye. Monroe's quoted as saying:

“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they’re right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”

Maybe there's something about the 'O' birthdays that makes you reflective. With one fast approaching in August, I'm certainly looking back - and forward, to try and make sense of a few things. I'm determined that 'better things can fall together ...' and I thought it might be interesting once the blog tour is over to do forty posts for forty years, 1971 til now. What do you think? It could be an interesting way to mine our past for our writing, and it might throw up some interesting memories of each year as writing prompts for you all.

Today on our blog tour we are off to Toronto, to Reading for the Joy of It - a great blog that sets out to inspire schoolkids to read, something that is close to my heart. Janet has written a great, thoughtful review of The Beauty Chorus, and I hope it sparks an interest in her students. When you think just how young these people were, they were not much older than schoolkids - Magee, whose incredible poem 'High Flight' is the epigraph to the story was killed in combat aged 19. Only nineteen. It blows your mind. Enjoy.

Be Calm ...

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Wed, 18 May 2011 08:04:00 +0000

I came across this letterpress print this morning and it made me laugh after yesterday's fiasco. I am getting ahead of the time difference Canada/Middle East by doing today's blog tour post while the kids are still at school ... Peace.

Do you ever get the feeling the universe is telling you something? In the present circumstances I have 'be calm' as my mantra these days - the traditional British 'Keep Calm and Carry On' print in the family room, and Louise Bourgeois' sublime 'Be Calm' in my bedroom. I need to be reminded. Frequently. One thing it is rather hard to stay calm about is criticism. I had an interesting conversation with my tutor yesterday - after we talked about the next stage of the MA, she asked how the book was doing, loved all the great press reviews. I mentioned 'Some of the Amazon reviews are a bit ... well, you know'. She burst out laughing: 'Ignore them!' she said, and generously shared a story about one of her first published books - the first review she read online slaughtered it, but the book went on to win awards.

When you write, you lay yourself open - which is why we need the mythical Writer's Rhino Suit to survive. Not everyone will love your work - and good luck to them. (Remember Dorothy Parker's immortal: this is not a book to be tossed aside lightly. It should be flung with great force'). Yes, it hurts if your book is the one being flung - but the moral of the story is, write what you write, from the heart. Do your absolute best. No one book is going to please everyone. Don't read reviews is perhaps good advice too. Or, as I read this morning in Synchrodestiny - the higher mind is immune to criticism and flattery. Take the high ground. So, wishing you all calm in your hearts today - and enjoy this review over at Literary Treats on the Canadian blog tour.

(Yes, I know it's wonky - being calm is a work in progress ...)

Bookworms

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Tue, 17 May 2011 13:55:00 +0000

Today on our blog tour we are off to A Bookworm's World, where Luanne interviewed me about writing. It's a great name for a blog, and it's got me thinking - what would a Bookworm's World be like, how would it be built, this perfect bookish place? What would you put on the shelves? For me the library would start with books like 'Bonjour Tristesse' or 'The Handmaid's Tale' - the books I read as a teenager that made me want to write. It would be peaceful - a comfy chair, a dog, a cat or two ... a fire in winter, a shady terrace in the summer. That would be it. Ack - I'm sounding like Eliza Doolittle 'all I want is a room somewhere ...' What it would not involve is Disney XD at full volume and a nine year old nagging me for the computer, or two Siamese cats being dragged round the apartment at breakneck speed in a Radio Flyer wagon. Which is why this is going to be a *very* short post today. Very short. So - what would your perfect bookworm's world be like for you?

Inspire Me ...

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:17:00 +0000

'Same, same ...' is one of the phrases that has become a house favourite here. You here it a lot among the Asian workers - it means 'same' but more so. Second favourite is 'Mamsir' - wherever you go you are 'Sir' or 'Mam' but sometimes you are 'Mamsir', which is always a special delight.
It's one of the things I am getting used to - that every day is same same. There's a groundhog day quality to life that I'm finding it - how can I put this - difficult, to adjust to.
I miss feeling inspired, I guess, by home, the countryside, by ancient architecture, by the things that make me tick. Everyone is different - look at Thesiger, Stark, some people love the desert. Me, my well is feeling a little empty to borrow Julia Cameron's phrase - but I'm keeping my eyes open.
So - where do your ideas come from? What inspires you? Over at Peeking Between the Pages we are kicking off our Canadian blog tour discussing just that, Inspiration. And as if you needed any more incentive to head over there, Darlene is giving away a copy of The Beauty Chorus. Enjoy x

Too Darn Hot

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Lord Brown) — Sat, 14 May 2011 14:55:00 +0000

Oof - I had forgotten what +50 degree temperatures feel like. We are having a heatwave (which is a wonderful excuse for Marilyn Monroe in today's video clip). I remember bombing around the lanes and beaches of Devon in my red Renault 5 singing along to a very wonky tape of Marilyn's songs in the summer of '89. English summers are a different creature from Middle Eastern summers. We've hit August temperatures in *May* ... How do you describe this heat? We've already switched off the hot water tank because the cold water runs hot. The moment you step foot outdoors, your sunglasses/watch/contact lenses heat up so much you can feel them burning. At night, when you sit on the balcony, the heat weighs, presses down on you ... It's an acquired taste, shall we say.

Housekeeping: bloggers will no doubt have noticed that Blogger disappeared. I am the Queen of Not Backing Up - yes, I know, spank me, I'm too busy etc etc. In fact, until Talli, Jenny and Leigh kindly told me you can do it simply by going to Settings: Download I didn't know you could. Thank you. Next stop dropbox.com. So, I've backed up, have you? As a cautionary tale, I once lost a whole novel thanks to a hard drive that crashed. I thought it was a powercut. The computer went ***zip*** It wasn't. This was, incidentally, the same computer tower that had been knocked over by a certain Hound running at full pelt, and roller skated into by a toddler. I should have known better. The disk is in storage waiting for data recovery. The novel I rewrote (probably in an improved form) from memory - what I lost was countless 'ideas' files, all our baby photos, emails ... Anyway, if you haven't backed up - do so. Trust me.

Meanwhile, on our blog tour we are off to Novelicious for a review of The Beauty Chorus. Hope those of you who have been kind enough to download or buy the novel are enjoying it, and do mail me with any feedback or questions - I'd love to hear from you. If you'd like a personalised bookplate drop me an email via the Profile page - have a great weekend. Next week we are off to ... Canada! x