Catching up
Those who know me best don’t want to know any of my writing news, they are only interested in the kittens! Toulouse and Montpellier arrived on Tuesday and are doing their best to destroy the house, my patience and the dogs’ nerve in about that order.
Other things have been happening that are not kitten-related. On Tuesday I went to
Jubilee Library in Brighton to be filmed for Wordia defining the word ‘row’. It was a lovely experience, thanks to James Burt and Rosy Carrick who were filmed too, and Rob Harper who was our able and charming video-person. But I do think I look like Joyce Grenfell playing a primary school teacher. The definition is linked to a short story I wrote for East of the Web who've been collaborating with Wordia on a fascinating story-go-round.
And in one of the longest-running sagas of my writing career to date, I’ve just signed the contract for my story ‘Miss’ to appear in Under the Rose - I started to write the story in 2003, tore it up (literally, three times) and then finally finished a completely different version in 2006. It contains a cross-dressing ex-policeman and a sentient tree, and quite amazingly found a home the very first time I sent it out! I’d really expected to be sending it around for quite a while …
But the while turned out to be our editor Hutch’s. He’s fought with time, nature, publishers and fate to get the anthology to publication and I’m thrilled to be part of it. Or Ren Holton is, as it’s one of his/hers.
And the moral of this story? There are two: don’t look like a primary school teacher unless you are one, and have faith in your editors …Labels: East of the Web, kittens, ren holton, short story publication, Under the Rose, wordia