My Research Trip to Edinburgh

MY RESEARCH TRIP TO EDINBURGH

On the 5th May I started on my journey to go to Edinburgh to research my first historical fiction novel, The Touching of Stones. I have already done quite a lot of research on the internet, and through books, but quite honestly there is nothing quite like researching in the place that you are writing about.

I needed to get a feel for the place, the atmosphere, hear the accent, in short, just drink it in. At first it was all overwhelming. For one thing, the main accent that I kept hearing on my first day out and about, was American, then it was Chinese. Finally I tuned into some Scottish accents. Well, that took me by surprise. At first I found it hard to latch onto. Then, slowly, I unravelled the sounds. It is a soft accent, like listening to music. The rhythm of the speech is delightful. Now all I need to be able to do is to write in the accent. Some authors that I have read manage this very well, and I hope that I will be able to do the same.

I had planned for my book to be the first of a trilogy, though, since having visited Edinburgh, there may well be more than three. The Rosslyn Chapel, and St. Giles' Cathedral will be featuring to a large extent in book one of The Touching of Stones. I was, therefore, enthralled when I finally visited these places of worship.

I visited St. Giles' Cathedral first as it was literally just around the corner from my hotel. I was so excited that I could hardly contain myself. I donated my £3 entry fee, then paid my £2 for the permission to take photographs, and then ventured, slowly, to my first point of interest; the Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial.

Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial

This is a large bronze casting made in 1904 by Augustus St. Gaudens, the renowned sculptor from America, and a great admirer of Robert Louis Stevenson. It really is an imposing memorial. I took my photo, the first of many, with my mobile phone. I then walked, awe struck, along the wall looking up, and back, and over.... trying to take it all in. I stood stock still and just listened. It was 09:45, and there was the hubbub of the public whispering, rising and falling, and then there was silence. The silence grew, surrounded me, and brought a peace that then followed me all around the Cathedral no matter who else was there. It was like being in my own bubble. My thoughts were tumbling as I viewed each piece of wonderful stone work, statuary, wood carving, stained glass window. I have been in many Cathedrals, admiring them for their architecture, their beauty and their sanctity. St. Giles' has a special aura about it. One that I haven't experienced in any of the others. It may be the multiple side chapels, each with their own quietude, a special ambiance of serenity.

The Memorial of James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose

  I felt almost as though I were intruding as I leaned forward to read the inscriptions. I whispered an apology as I took a photo. I stepped back to gaze up at the highest point and just wonder how they ever achieved such craftsmanship.

I wondered further along and came across another side chapel. A £2 charge for entering this one. My goodness! I had just entered The Thistle Chapel. The wood carving in this chapel was astounding in its detail.

An otter devouring a fish

Intricate filigree work all about, and on the pews were carefully carved animals. It felt as though, once we were all gone, the animals would scamper about so real were they. As you can see by the photo on the left, the detail in the carving is quite astonishing. Up close and personal, the otter has an angry face, almost challenging anyone to take his/her fish away. There were many such carvings in this side chapel, all of equally splendid workmanship. 

Detail from the pews

Study the detail in this one to the left. The intricacies of the flowers and the berries. I stood for many minutes studying this particular carving. I was trying to imagine the artisan working with his chisels, meticulously paring away the wood to reveal the objects within. I have always been in awe of both wood and stone carving. In awe of how the artist sees inside and then releases a three dimensional object so that we can see what was in his imagination.

I gradually made my way around the cathedral. To be truthful my neck ached from looking up at the wonderful roof. All cathedral roofs are a mathematical wonder to me. They are both beautiful and inspiring. Just look at all the detail in the picture below. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it is breathtaking. It really does look like the roof is stretching up towards heaven. 

Detail of the ceiling

In my young days I spent every Sunday in church and Sunday school. I would gaze up into the highest parts of the ceiling of our church and begin to wonder how on earth was it possible for all that to stay up there. Those highest stretches reaching across from pillar to pillar. It was as though they were outstretched arms pushing the ceiling upwards, stopping it from falling on us, the congregation. It was then that my initial fascination with both church and cathedral architecture hooked me, and eventually, in my retirement years I was drawn to the idea of writing a book featuring stone masons. I have gleaned quite a bit of knowledge over the years, but since deciding to write my book I have studied the architecture much more closely. As many would have seen on Facebook, I have bought several books on stone masonry and cathedral building. Some of my Facebook friends jokingly asked if I had planning permission to build a cathedral in my garden... Why of course I have!

Detail from the pulpit

Detail from the pulpit

Here are some of the exquisite details from the pulpit in St Giles' Cathedral. As you can see, the detail of the work is truly intricate. This work leaves me in wonder. The skill, the concentration, the determination to transfer a picture from the mind into a three dimensional object, it just truly astounds me.

Not all of St. Giles' Cathedral is from the 1400s, in fact there is very little of it left from that time now, but I find that it gives a real sense of how a building can still be relevant even though it has gone through many additions and alterations though the centuries.

John Knox

I finish with John Knox, (c1513-1514 - 1572), of which there is a really formidable statue. His statue is a rich black, and quite startling at first sight. It was cast by Pittendrigh MacGillivray in 1904, and is placed near the west end of the Cathedral. I have to admit that I just stood staring at the statue for quite some time. I was trying to remember my history about this man. The statue is life-like, although I would think a little larger than life-size, and if you stand really close to it, it is as though the man that was John Knox knows you are looking at him. It almost feels an intrusion. I did, however, study him quite closely. I wish that I could have asked him the questions that were buzzing around in my head. Would I have liked the answers? Probably not, but I'm sure we would have had a really interesting discussion. When standing directly in front of the statue and staring directly into his face, I saw a man full of religious fervour, his face has a great intensity about it. He is indicating to his Bible, as if reinforcing a point that he is making. His left foot looked in readiness to walk toward me, and I took a step back. I looked at him, his hat, his beard, his clothes, his shoes...I nodded to myself, thinking, this man was not going to go unheard. Nobody was going to ignore him or his sermons, and that was very evident from the stance of the statue. Yet again I was in awe of the sculptor, the person who could bring an historical figure to life so that we could all experience 'the man' that was John Knox.

The next day I visited Rosslyn Chapel. I had wanted to for so long, but never imagined that I would ever visit Scotland, let alone Edinburgh. I asked the receptionist at my hotel to call me a taxi, and sat down in the foyer to wait for it. While I was waiting I looked at my WIP notes that I had in my jotter. I had underlined the parts of the Chapel that I wanted/needed to look at that were important to my story. Like St. Giles' Cathedral, it too had undergone many changes since the 15th century.

The Chapel taken from the Visitor Centre

When the taxi picked me up, it was like having my own guide to Edinburgh. What a mine of information he was. He pointed out places of interest, and I was getting neck ache twisting this way and that way. Then we parked at the Rosslyn Chapel. Oh my goodness! I'd seen it on TV the week before I went to Edinburgh so I knew all the scaffolding was down, and so wasn't surprised by that being gone. What I was surprised about was the fact that it had a most modern Visitor Centre an immense juxtaposition to the Chapel. Gifts, trinkets, café with a wonderful view over the hills, and everything homemade. Homemade scones, soup, bread, and the aromas were very enticing. 

Anyway, I bought my ticket and guide book and was told that a talk would take place in the Chapel in about 10 minutes. So off I went. As I walked through the door into the Chapel all I could hear was the rumbling murmur of the visitors awaiting for the talk to start. It was packed. I found myself a seat at the back on the centre aisle end. I busied myself looking up at the ornate carvings on the ceiling, and down the walls. The many carvings of the Green Man, the flowers, the birds, everywhere I looked there was an image full of meaning. The stonework on the outside of the Chapel is in stark contrast to that of the inside. We were not allowed to take photos of the inside, but I can assure you the difference would need to be seen to be believed. Just imagine most of it had been open to the elements for years, and despite there being evidence of algae still, the restoration is extraordinary.

A detail from the rear of the Chapel

The work involved in the restoration must have been arduous and the results are incredible, and quite simply stunning. The Apprentice Pillar, for example, famous for its beauty, is so different from its many pictures. Up close it is more detailed, more intricate, more 'holy' than can be put into words. The picture to the right of this page is a detail from the rear of the outside of the Chapel. It is one of several alcoves with stone seating. I would imagine that they were necessary to sit out of the wind. The Chapel is built on an extremely windy hill. When I stepped into the alcove, it was almost still and silent, then just step back away from it and the noise of the wind takes over. So I stood in the alcove for a moment and tried to imagine what it must have been like back in the day. It started to rain, so reluctantly I moved to go inside the Visitor Centre again.

I went to the café to have some much needed lunch and a warm-up. As I waited, I got my notebook out again, scribbled some notes of what I had seen, and what the guide had said in her talk, which had taken about 35 minutes. All very interesting. My soup and roll arrived. Too hot to eat, so I sipped my tea and flicked through my guide book. The sky darkened, heavy clouds, pouring rain, gusting wind. The café filled up with customers looking for somewhere to sit and wait it out. It became so noisy that I just put my notebook away and finished my soup.

I had been given a card by the taxi driver to call them when I needed to go back to town. I did this, and only waited ten minutes. As I sat in the taxi, drifting away in my thoughts about what I had seen, my WIP started fitting together. I was becoming excited now. Having seen this most beautiful of places with my own eyes I began to have a sense of my characters, their foibles, their lives, their speech. Up until this point, most of the accents that I had heard in Edinburgh had been foreign, but at The Chapel, I heard Scots. Familiar words taking on new sounds, faces so animated, so friendly, so caring. I was falling in love with Scotland. My maternal grandmother was born in Stirling over 120 years ago. My mother visited Scotland many times in her childhood, but we, as a family, never went there. I was but a 16 month old baby when my grandmother died. I don't remember her voice at all, but my mother always told me that it was a soft accent. This I can now understand. I never quite knew what she meant by a 'soft accent' but it is a most fitting description.

This time my driver was the silent type, so I had plenty of time to think about my day. I may possibly have to go again. Take more detailed pictures of the outside. All in all, though, it was very productive. I had such a wonderful visit, especially the inside of the Chapel. Only when you have seen it with your own eyes, can you truly appreciate its splendour, its ambiance, its holiness, after all it is a living working Chapel, used every week for services. Quite simply outstanding, outstanding.

I have been back home now for just over two weeks. My notes now have annotations around them. I've started to read the books about stone masonry that I bought once I got back home. They are so interesting, absorbing even. Writing my historical novel is going to be really enjoyable, even down to the mundane aspects of a life. 

My main character is Nychol Granger. At first I thought him to be the youngest child of a master stone mason. But he told me otherwise. He told me he was, indeed, the eldest child, and because of that he felt that the story should lead with him. I listened to him, I did, but I'm not sure yet where I want him to come into the story. He's angry with me. He wants to be on the first page. I will have to do an edit or two, but I'm sure he will be pleased where he comes into the story, I know I am. And, well, Nychol will just have to grin and bear it, won't he? Or will he get me to change my mind?

Louise can be found on Facebook here

Her book Future Confronted can be purchased here

MEET MY MAIN CHARACTER Blog Hop.

I have been tagged by my friend Paula Lofting, author of Sons of the Wolf, to take part in the Blog Hop: Meet My Main Character. You can read Paula's fabulous Blog Hop here.

This is my first venture into writing historical fiction, it has been my preferred subject for reading for many years. My first book Future Confronted was a memoir/biography of my son Rob, which was published in December 2013.

St. Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland

I am finding that researching my historical fiction novel is an absorbing process, I love the research.  Now to define my main character which is somewhat of a 'This is Your Life' moment as I try to answer the questions that each of us on the Blog Hop have been given.

1. What is the name of your Character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person?

The name of my main character is Nychol Granger, and he is a totally fictional character, but caught up in the historical events of the time.

2. When and where is your story set?

My story begins in Edinburgh, Scotland in the year 1400 during the times of The House of Stewart (Stuart) with all its political intrigue.

The Rosslyn Chapel Scotland

3. What should we know about him/her?

Medieval Stone Masons

He is the youngest son of a stonemason, and will, therefore follow in the father's footsteps, as will all his brothers, as is the tradition. He has a good head for ciphering, and an artistic eye. He has watched his father from a very young age, and has learned that it takes a lot of concentration and strength to do the stone work. He has great ambition and drive to be the best. 

4. What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?

The main conflict is that my main character doesn't want to stay in Scotland and work with his father. He still wants to be a stonemason, but wants to work on many different buildings. His father thinks that travelling to different places will hinder his craft, but Nychol doesn't see it that way. His father tries to talk him into staying, but fails. His mother is so distraught because her son is leaving and cannot accept that he will actually go. Nychol is her youngest, and holds a special place in her heart because he was a sickly child and was not expected to survive infancy.

Canterbury Cathedral Kent England

His other brothers are always trying to bring him down, and this causes animosity between them. This rift between he and his brothers is another reason why he wants to leave. Nychol's leaving creates a brutal divide between them all except his sister. She understands her brother well, and she stands by his decision to leave. Can the rift be healed? Will Nychol return? Will Nychol achieve his goal? He meets many conflicts on the way, and discovers that life isn't simply a case of black and white - right and wrong, there are different shades of both in between. His travels take him from his home in Edinburgh to Florence in Italy, and all places in between. His adventures are many and varied and I am enjoying taking this journey with him.

5. What is the personal goal of the character?

My character's personal goal is to be the finest stonemason he can be. During his travels he seeks out stonemasons where they are building or repairing cathedrals. He offers to work for little money in return for being taught the finer skills of their art. It's a profession where one is always learning, honing skills acquired over many years. His main ambition is to work on one of the finest cathedrals of his time.

Basilica Santa Maria del Fiore Florence Italy

6. Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?

The working title for this novel is The Touching of Stones, and more can be read about the writing process here on my blog.

7. When can we expect the book to be published?

I have really only just started to write the first draft, but I am hoping it will be ready to publish in a year, well that is my plan, so it is head down, and carry on writing...

I have tagged the lovely Tinney S. Heath, the author of A Thing Done to follow me on 22nd April. You can find Tinney's blog on this link.

My Writing Process - Blog Tour

MY WRITING PROCESS - BLOG TOUR

Simon A. Stirling has tagged me in the Blog Hop talking about our writing process. I only know Simon through Facebook, and enjoy his posts very much. I am also a great admirer of his books, 'Who Killed William Shakespeare' and 'The King Arthur Conspiracy' - very interesting books indeed. Simon posted about his writing process on his own blog last week, and you can read it here.

So, now it is my turn to answer the questions that we have all been invited to answer as part of this fascinating blog tour.

1. What am I working on?

At the moment I am doing research for my next book together with the story-line and character development. I love to make lists, so this is how I start with my research. One list for names, one for architects of the time that I will be writing in, and a list for the 'everydayness' of that period. For example, how people would be living. What were their homes like? How were they furnished? What would they be eating? How would they cook it? What were their clothes made from?

My WIP which has the working title The Touching of Stones, is about a family in the 15th Century whose men folk are stonemasons carried on from generation to generation. My novel will be featuring The Rosslyn Chapel in Roslin glen, Scotland, St. Giles' Kirk, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Chichester Cathedral in Chichester, West Sussex, England, Canterbury Cathedral, Kent, England, and the Basilica Santa Maria del Fiori in Florence, Italy. Beautiful buildings, each one unique, with stone work so magnificently tooled, and stained glass windows which demonstrate the ultimate art of storytelling.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My first book Future Confronted was a biography, so this will be my first venture into writing historical fiction, so I am going to endeavour to be original. It is a story that I have had roaming around in my head for some time, and the main premise, as I said earlier, is about a family whose men folk are stonemasons working on churches and cathedrals. I love the history of stone-masonry, and the people whose ideas have come to life that we now see in the cathedrals around us, one of the most extraordinary examples of the intricacies of their art being in Scotland, and it is The Rosslyn Chapel.

The Apprentices Pillar, Rosslyn Chapel

So from that point of view, I think my novel will travel a different road from others. I envision it being at least a three book series, maybe more, running from the 15th century through to the 17th century, following the generations of one particular family.

3. Why do I write what I do?

The love of history, the love of history, and the love of history, it's as simple as that. I have always been fascinated by history, and the people of different times. I have my favourite periods, which are wide ranging, going from the ancient Roman period through to 12th and 13th century  England, and 12th to 15th century Mongolia, having studied Genghis Khan and his descendants. I also love the period that I am writing about at the moment. I love the architecture of this time, as always, architecture is an exemplar of the era, a bookmark if you like, of how the world was during that time.

Churches and cathedrals have their own special styles, their own special...fingerprints if you will. There is so much to consider when building a church or cathedral. Apart from the time it takes to build, some taking longer than 100 years! There is the hewing of the stone from the quarries, the transporting of that stone, the gathering of people, the craftsmen for the different aspects, the stained glass windows, the dressing of the stones, the flooring, and the arches. It leaves much for the author to play with. All the lives involved, all the different paths the story could take. It's almost a carte blanche situation, as long as the history isn't tampered with.

4. How does my writing process work?

Well, I get an idea, I write it down in my 'Ideas Book' which I keep by my bed. I am very often awake for a few hours in the night, so I am either reading or writing down ideas. I then transfer the idea to my WIP book. Here I do spider-grams of all my ideas. For example, I would have my main idea in the centre circle ( and I am not talking Google+ here!), and from that I draw spider's legs with more circles. These circles will have the 'cast of characters'. From there I would take each character and have him/her in the centre circle with the spider's legs radiating out each with their own circle, and so on. When I am happy with that, I give each character a life. This is something that I learned to do at university when I was studying creative writing. We were taught that if you give your characters a three-dimensional life before you write about them it makes them feel like real people. So I give them traits, for example how they would speak, what they like and dislike, give them their little idiosyncrasies, you get the idea. I'm sure this is common practice for many writers.

I like to have pictures of the places that my story will visit. I have them pasted in my Ideas Book, together with maps of the towns that my story will visit. Going to the places that I am writing about also helps. It helps with the research, as does taking many photos. It gives more of an atmosphere to the writing process. The visits evoke the senses, and the imagination.

I like to write straight on to the laptop, and just keep going. I try not to take notice of mistakes as my priority is to get the basic idea down without double checking myself, there will be plenty of time for the editing process later. Sometimes I am totally surprised where my story is taking me. Who knew? So then I have to carry on writing, just to see what happens! I like to make sure the history part is correct, I can't change history, but I can change my story to fit.

For me, the research is most enjoyable. I love it, just love it. Sometimes I go off on a tangent just through the reading, and wonder if I can perhaps fit that piece of history in as well...So, that is me. That is my writing process.

Following me on The Writing Process Blog Hop Tour is Rob Bayliss whose blog can be found here. I know Rob from the Facebook group The Review Blog page where I am on the Admin team, and where we both review books. Please meet Rob Bayliss!

My name is Rob Bayliss. In all honesty I've always been a bit of a history geek, and a sci-fi and fantasy nerd. I've recently discovered the joys of writing and I'm currently working on a clockpunk fantasy series. I also review books for the Review Blog, which is a great way of expanding my reading experience.

Researching My Next Book

THE NEXT STEP

Well, it's almost three months now since my book Future Confronted was published. It has been some what of a journey I have to say. The learning experience is something I wouldn't have missed, it has been a real eye opener, what with the proof-reading, and the copy-editing. I have had some lovely 5 star reviews on amazon.co.uk which have touched my heart, and I thank all those who took the time to write one. I am hoping to get my book into libraries, and because I have had some great feedback on the book, I think it will serve me well, and I look forward to seeing it on the non-fiction shelves.

WHAT AM I UP TO NOW?

More than two years before I finished Future Confronted, I had started researching a story which I longed to write, one mainly set in Italy during the 15th century, but included a long journey. I love this era in Italian history, it's so varied, so interesting not only politically, but with the church and with art. I had a germ of an idea grow while I was daydreaming looking from my bedroom window out across the sea. The boats in the marina were bobbing up and down, swaying from side to side in the wind, their ropes clanking on the masts. Before I knew it, I had an outline in my head which tucked itself away for a rainy day. The idea surfaced, and I tinkered with it, and tucked it away again while I got on with Rob's story.

WORKING TITLE: THE TOUCHING OF STONES

So, I'm no longer daydreaming about this long thought of novel, I'm doing more research, a most enthralling process. I love making lists about my research, so there's a list for serious notes, one for doing spider-grams for my story-line, one for researching names, architects of the time, the 'everydayness' of the period. Working out what these people in my imagination would be eating, drinking, laughing about is taking over my thoughts.

Rosslyn Chapel

My novel will be featuring The Rosslyn Chapel in Roslin Glen, Scotland, St. Giles' Kirk, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Chichester Cathedral in Chichester, West Sussex, England, Canterbury Catherdral, Kent, England, and the Basilica Santa Maria del Fiori, in Florence, Italy. Beautiful buildings all. Each unique, with stone work so magnificently tooled, and stained glass windows which demonstrate the ultimate art of story telling. 

St. Giles' Kirk

I have long been fascinated by cathedrals, the messages that their stone work tempts us to unravel. The lives of those who worked on them. How they lived, their families, their fortunes, their misfortunes. The life of the stonemason must have been a really hard and a difficult one. The art and technique of shaping stone into a three-dimensional form is a magnificent gift. To be able to portray one's ideas from mind to paper, from paper to stone, is a process that I have often admired. I have never been to Rosslyn Chapel or St. Giles' Kirk, but I have seen with my own eyes the splendour of the other cathedrals. I will be visiting Scotland later, and will be visiting both the Rosslyn Chapel and St. Giles Kirk, and I am looking forward to it very much.

Chichester Cathedral

The Cathedral at Chichester is just twenty miles from my home. I visit several times a year, because it holds a special place in my heart. A magnificent building standing tall with its now unused bell tower standing off from the main building. The spire can be seen from the bridge that connects Hayling Island, where I live, to the mainland. It stands out like a beacon, as it must have been all those hundreds of years ago when it was first built.

Canterbury Cathedral

In Kent there is the world famous Canterbury Cathedral, the place where Thomas Becket was murdered. A place of pilgrimage for generations. Its magnificence is breathtaking. Its history, although well known, must still hold secrets. There is much literature about Canterbury, the stories, the mysteries, the lives that have been consumed in the building of it.

Basilica Santa Maria del Fiori

Then there is the Basilica Santa Maria del Fiori in Florence, Italy. My word, my word what a wonderful building. So much architectural knowledge in the building of its magnificent dome. The Basilica is so very different from the other cathedrals in Scotland and England. It is an icon of design. It provokes in the imagination the wonder of how it was first conceived. How the impossible became possible. The other cathedrals are magnificent, each in their own very special way; but The Duomo, as it is commonly known, can be recognised from afar, even by those who have never seen it before with their own eyes. Its iconic terracotta brick dome, the largest ever constructed, its Baptistery, and Giotto's Campanile are superb. The coloured stonework and the statues that are placed in and around the walls of the building are staggering in their detail. When I first saw it, I was spellbound, rooted to the spot in awe. The stories of the lives of the people who were instrumental in the construction of the Basilica can only be imagined...the hardship, the sacrifice, the hard labour.

So begins my novel. From here, from my imagination, I will tell the tale of one person who travelled from Scotland to Italy... and when there..... Well now, we will have to wait and see where the story takes us.....for I have no doubt, no doubt at all that even I do not know where that will be....

Four Weeks Since Publication!

I can hardly believe that it is now four weeks since 

my debut book 

FUTURE CONFRONTED 

was published.

The book has now gathered eight 5 STAR reviews. I am astounded by what people have had to say, and it has truly touched my heart. When I first set out to write Rob's story all those years ago I hadn't even given reviews a thought. Now I have eight after only four weeks of my book being for sale.

I never realised before how important getting reviews would be. It is a genuine way of letting the author know just what you think and how you feel about the book that you have just read. It also shows potential readers what to expect when they purchase book, or borrow it from a library. 

Now that the rush of Christmas and New Year is over, and the decorations have been taken down, I can resume my writing. I will be in the process of moving from my office in the house (Rob's old bedroom), and into the beautiful garden office that Dave bought me last October.

The Garden Office

It's going to take a little while as the office has yet to be insulated and have electricity connected. I am looking forward to being in the new office as it marks a new beginning for me. I finally feel that Rob's room can now be returned back to a bedroom. It is the biggest single step forward that I have been able to make. I think that finishing the book and getting it published has been the catalyst in that process.

There are many things that I am looking forward to this year. I am doing my research for my first Historical Fiction novel. It is a story that has been roaming around in my imagination for quite some time, and it is only now that I can really start to think about it. Some of the research I can do from books and the internet, but luckily some research will require me to travel to Venice and Florence in Italy. Oh yes! This I am looking forward to so much. It has been almost seven years since I was last there, so I am really excited. Not sure just when I'm going yet, only that I am going. 

I took this picture as the plane made its way to Marco Polo Airport

The Arno River looking towards the Ponte Vecchio in the distance
Notice the rather ornate lamp posts!

Venice looks absolutely gorgeous from the air. As you can see, it's not a very large place. Yes, you can get an idea of Venice in a day's visit, but truly you need to spend a few days to get a measure of its layout, of the people, of its history and architecture.

Florence is so different from Venice. It's like walking around in an open air museum. There are statues and fountains and all kinds of art whichever way you look. It is the place to go to let your imagination go wild! You can almost see yourself back in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. The beautiful statue of David by Michelangelo is a must-visit for any tourist. 

I will also be making a short visit to Edinburgh this Spring. I've never been to Scotland, and there are many places that I would like to see. Who knows, Scotland may even be making an appearance in my new book.

I am also a book reviewer on The Review Blog on Facebook. So please drop by and have a look. We are an extremely friendly bunch.

A MEMORABLE DAY

4th DECEMBER 2013 - BOOK LAUNCH DAY

It's funny how things turn out. It has taken me sixteen years to write Rob's story. Sixteen years of writing a little, leaving it for months, then writing some more, only to end up having FUTURE CONFRONTED published on Rob's birthday. It wasn't my plan to be published on his birthday, but as everything started coming together it seemed a real possibility that this date could be achieved. 

I have the good fortune of having made some very special friends on a Facebook group to which I happily belong -  https://www.facebook.com/thereviewgroup - A fabulous group of like-minded people. It was here that I received great encouragement, as I had started to doubt that I could ever get the book published at all. One person in particular, Paula Lofting, historical author and B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree for her book Sons of the Wolf, has helped me immensely, and I am going to use this blog to sincerely thank her for her faith in me. She offered to read the first two chapters. She came back and said that she loved it. The confidence that this gave me was immeasurable. Later on she asked me if I had a proof-reader yet, or an editor, which I hadn't. My thoughts hadn't strayed that far as I doubted that my book would ever come to fruition.

Paula introduced me to Michelle Gent of http://www.gingernutbooks.co.uk/., who, apart from being a published author and film-maker, is a proof-reader and editor. She is another special lady, who has now become a special friend. Paula, Michelle and I had a three-way conversation on Facebook PM. Well, all I can say is this: it was the most interesting and exciting conversation that I have had in a long time. At the end of our conversation I not only had two proof-readers, Michelle and Paula, I also had my editor, Michelle.

The editing process for me was extremely difficult. I found that the only way that I could cope with it was to put my ego on the shelf and leave it there. The revelation was, that after I had accepted the edits, my work read so much better, smoother. It had been improved.

I knew that I wanted to go the independent publishing route, and had planned to go with Amazon's KDP. I had even downloaded the free books that Amazon provide for those wishing to do this. Yes, they were very instructional. Yes, the books take you through stage by stage, with pictures for those (like me) who need to see what it is that they have to do. Great. Well, it is if you have the confidence to take the leap. I, on the other hand had not the confidence. I would have been happier if there had been someone beside me showing me what to do. I learn better that way. During our three way conversation on Facebook PM, Michelle said that they were an independent publishing company and could publish my book if I didn't want to go down the KDP route. Well, over the next few days I gave it great consideration, and decided to go with Michelle's company Gingernut Books. I am so pleased that I did. Straight away all the stress that I had been experiencing had gone. I handed my manuscript over to Michelle and Paula lock stock and barrel. After they had gone through it, and I had accepted the changes, it was down to Trevor Gent of Gingernut Books to do the publishing. Although Gingernut Books do book cover designs, I had already had my cover designed by a special person whose impressive work I had seen earlier in the year, Dave Slaney. He made me a beautiful cover, and I am totally overjoyed with it.

4th December drew closer and closer, I was getting not only excited but apprehensive. A few telephone calls, and Facebook PMs and things were settled, et voila, magically FUTURE CONFRONTED was published. It was totally painless, in fact it was an amazing feeling.

Paula Lofting arranged an amazing book launch for me through The Review Group. It was outstanding. There were shared posts throughout the day, messages of encouragement, messages from people who had experienced the same devastation as we had. There were also messages from people just to tell me that they had purchased my book. I was so overwhelmed, and humbled. I had a message in the early evening from someone who had bought it earlier in the day, and had finished it in one sitting simply because he found it difficult to put down.

What a week it has been already, and it is only Thursday. By the end of the week I shall have some paperback editions of my book delivered to me. That will be the tangible evidence, for me, that I indeed have had my book published. I will be able to hold it, flick through it, and place it on my bookshelf. For me it will be the full stop to all the hard work over the years to get Rob's book written and then published. All the tears, all the crises, all my doubts came to an end on 4th December 2013.

Thank you to everyone who made this mammoth task possible. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The Trials of Writing About Loss

When I first started the task of writing FUTURE CONFRONTED, I didn’t really know where to start. I had many scenarios in my head. Should I start from when Rob was born? Should I perhaps start from when he first became ill? I knew that I needed to engage the reader from the first paragraph, but I wasn’t sure quite how to do it.

After many false starts over the years I eventually decided to start with myself as a young girl in London where I lived with my brother and mother and father in the house that my Grandfather had bought back in 1927. This house had survived bomb damage during World War II, and because it had survived, I always felt safe and content there. I decided to compare a particularly happy childhood memory with our devastating memory on Butser Hill, some forty years later. To me it felt as though the comparison embedded the sadness and devastation of our loss.

It’s difficult to find a voice when describing the events of losing a child. It would have been easier to just relate the facts without a human voice, but that wouldn’t have conveyed the strength of Rob’s determination. I love to talk, so to this end I decided to write it as though I were actually having a conversation with someone who didn’t know me or any of our family. This imaginary person was sitting across the table from me waiting to hear what I had to say. It worked for me because I had a visual, an anchoring point to which I could pin myself.

As time went on, this person sitting opposite me began to grow into a real person. I looked forward to talking to her. In my head I had given her a name, she had a life, and that is when I found that I could freely open up to her, and tell her Rob’s story. She didn’t interrupt, she didn’t have an opinion; she just listened to me. It made the telling, the writing, less traumatic. It was excruciating sometimes in the reliving, I would dissolve into tears as the details crowded inside my head. Sorting them out was difficult. I needed to put them coherently so that what I was trying to say didn't get smothered. It was quite frankly one of the most difficult tasks of the writing.

I have a real need to write. I have always kept a Diary and a Journal. In my Diary for May, June, and July 1997 there were no comments, just times of appointments for clinics and a funeral, written in an even hand.  Whereas in my Journal, the details of those 49 days from diagnosis to passing away are scrawled, sometimes in large writing, sometimes so small it is difficult to read. I had not taken notice of the ruled lines, I had just scrawled my feelings in many directions, as though I were shouting, or whispering. I know now, looking back, that the large writing was when I was angry, and shouting and the small writing was when I was whispering, and dared to hope. In the beginning we had hope, but over those few short weeks it became evident that there was no hope, nothing to hang on to.

Back in 2004 I sent part of my original MS to several publishers to see if I could get the book published. As many of you know, they don’t always answer very quickly, if at all. The MS of all those years ago, when looking at it now, is nothing like the finished version; and I am not surprised that they turned me down, albeit gently.

This year, having just retired, I decided it was time to complete Rob’s story. So it went through a complete rewrite. I had my sensible head on and went through it methodically. It was draining. I reread my Diary and my Journal and tried to put Rob’s story into some sort of chronological order where possible.

FUTURE CONFRONTED is now with the proof-reader and the copy-editor. I was going to try and do it all myself, as erroneously I thought that's what self-publishers did. But after some really good advice, I chose to let my work go to someone who could do a much better job than I. Also, after receiving good advice, I decided to have my book cover professionally designed, and I am so pleased that I did. It looks really lovely.

The plan is to publish the book before Christmas. I am proud to say that I am self-publishing, through Amazon, but it is a decision yet to be finalised, as other avenues are also open to me. I don’t feel that I am a lesser author for self-publishing; I see it as just another route to getting the book out there. After all, the main reason for writing is for someone to read your work. How you get it out there surely is up to you.

I now proudly see myself as an Indie Author, and look forward to writing more books. The stories in my head are now pushing forward, and it’s just a case of choosing which one I will tackle first.