Nanomo

Writers will not be puzzled at the title of this post. Masochist scribblers subject themselves to a competition to write a novel in a month. See this official website if you are tempted. It takes me two years to write a novel – much of that time is spent on research then after the writing, the hard work of editing begins, followed by persuading wise publishers to adopt my work. Spending more than two hours at a stretch on nothing but writing would send me beserk – I have to do something physical such as riding my bike or tramping up a hill. All this in addition to house and garden work, looking after baby grandson a day a week and other duties. If you are interested in Nanomo then read a helpful article by my friend Dave Haslett at Ideas4writers. Just click on the links page on my website and see the top of the page here.

David Gardiner, the Irish writer of reknown – his Rainbow Man short stories are legendary (here is his Amazon author’s page) – took some photographs of me with my bike at the UK Authors Away week last month and here they are.

You can see I still need to lose a stone or so. The background is the Pen-y-Banc farmhouse B&B near Llanysul – marvelous eco-friendly place. My bike is a Dawes Super Galaxy, a favourite for long-distance tours.

Check out my writing buddy’s new website – http://www.beczugor.com/ she is an outstanding rising writing star.

Cycling to UKAway

The last week or so has been a time of brain-stretching writers’ workshops, entertaining conversation and rotating legs. I’d cycled the 150 miles via drovers’ roads and minor roads from Chester to Carmarthenshire to attend the UKAuthors Away week at PenyBanc Farm, Ceridwen Centre near Llandysul. Now in my 60s I take my time with the cycling and stayed at Crewgreen near Oswestry and the next night at Lloyd’s Hotel in Llanidloes. I would have stayed at youth hostels but there are none on my route. That route included almost all of the National Cycle Network 81 and 82 from Shrewsbury to Fishguard. A feel for some of the marvellous scenery en route is presented in the two photographs. The first is from the Welsh Marches Heldre Hill (364m above sea level) looking south. The second is from the highest point of the route 81 (530m) looking west towards Devil’s Bridge over the horizon. As you can see from the skies, the weather on the way down was showery. On the way back – same route in reverse – the weather was diabolical. I now know how it is to cycle in a waterfall for 7 hours. (I am the world’s slowest cyclist).

PenyBanc Farm is part of the Ceridwen Centre  but our writing group was too small to justify the larger building. So we stayed at the Farmhouse. Wonderful ecological-friendly environment where Roger and Simone did a splendid job looking after my vegan diet and more than satisfied the non-veggies too. I was obliged to learn some forms of poetry and here is a sample of a Cinquain from non-poet me:

A Cinquain Sinking Feeling

Comfort

Zone is within

These words as long as I

Try not to outwit myself or

Others

There will be a chapbook produced of our combined efforts of short stories, poems and photographs. I went for lots of short walks, which were as healthy as longer walks in other parts of the country because of the steep gradients everywhere. David Gardiner of the marvellous Rainbow Man hiked with me along the River Teifi for inspiration and to admire the scenery. When the chapbook is published I’ll put the link here.

A highlight of the week was an open mike session in a Carmarthen pub organised by Scribes R Us. I didn’t sell many of my own books to the writers I met during the week. In fact I bought from them just one book short of the books I sold. Hey ho. Few writers make a living from our craft but we glow from the creativity.

Here’s David Gardiner being inspired by the River Teifi:

The Other End of the Rainbow

The Other End of the Rainbow by David Gardiner Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Merilang Press (29 Nov 2008) ISBN-10: 0955543037 ISBN-13: 978-0955543036 This anthology follows on from the scintillating The Rainbow Man, also by David Gardiner. An eponymous theme to the stories is the village wise man known to querulous children as The Rainbow Man. A short question and intriguing answer inspires each of the stories. My favourite pre-story piece presages the tale, Lilac Wedding with this: ‘What’s it like to be in love?’ the little girl asked as she assembled her wedding dress from his bag of rags. ‘I think it’s very similar to the early stages of measles,’ The Rainbow Man explained. Although the setup with the sage is with children, the stories are adult in emotions, nuances and topics. Each tale leaves you thinking about some aspect of life, and remains with you. From wondering what really happens in those small tents at music festivals, to the mysterious lodger’s different world in the dark outside, each story is powerful yet told in the style you’d enjoy in front of a fire. To mention a few. A Man of Letters – a poignant tale of a married man and his student falling for each other and allowing William Blake’s poetry to be their guide. As a teacher, I know colleagues and pupils in this situation, some ended in court, others remain happily, illicitly or not, together. I’m a collector of amnesia stories, and Sam is one of the best I’ve read. Waking up in hospital not knowing your name or recognising your wife is treated to layers of depth rarely found. Here’s a sample notion: ‘Vadim wondered if anybody had ever been made to feel better by being told that things could have been worse.’ I also chuckled at the ‘there’s New England and ‘real’ England. In Intelligent Design we have a simple premise that deepens profoundly making us question what is important in ‘normal’ life. Who would have thought that a genetically engineered mermaid could be so eloquent in her arguments? I can wholeheartedly recommend this collection.

David’s The Other End of the Rainbow can be found on the usual online stores or directly from the publisher,  Merilang Press

I had a weird moment in Cyprus. In Kyrenia Castle I found the tomb of Sinan Pasha. The others hadn’t heard of him but he features in my Xaghra’s Revenge novel! He was the sadistic Admiral (though a Jew) of the Barbary Corsairs that pillaged Gozo in 1551 & abducted the population. I’d forgotten that later he was the governor of Kyrenia. I patted his tomb and said – Got you! During the day I tapped my laptop to add to Xaghra’s Revenge, but I couldn’t resist walking the scenery most of the time. Evenings I added more words and spent time with the other writers – inspirational.  I’ve added photos of the Northern Cyprus Bellapais location here for the UK Authors writers week. Thanks again to David Gardiner for organising it. Hey John Goodwin, you still have my best Cyprus map!