Lovely, Lovely Wales

My trip to Wales was simply lovely. I spent 3 days in Cardiff and 4 in the middle of the Brecon Beacons. Both areas lovely. Driving to Cardiff first of all, we made a bit of a diversion to visit Puzzlewood (see picture) – a completely amazing place. It’s like stepping back in time, standing amongst the ancient trees and stones. It would have been even more magical however if it hadn’t have chucked it down about 15 mins into our visit. At least I got to try out my new rain coat.

In Cardiff, naturally went to the new Dr Who Experience, which was extremely fun and not just aimed at kids – which was what I was afraid of. If you’re in Cardiff at any time in the near future, definitely go. Well worth a visit. The Beacons national park is very beautiful, especially our walk through “Waterfall Country” (see pic).

The best part of the holiday though was spent underground – we went to the National Showcaves, which is a weird mix of geological wonders and plastic dinosaurs, and down a former coal mine at The Big Pit Museum. Again, totally recommend a visit to both, especially the latter, as it was quite emotional learning about how the coal industry affected the surrounding communities. Proper oral history. Honorary mention to the Penderyn Distillery, and especially for Brecon Gin. If you haven’t tried it, you are missing out! It’s so good you can drink it neat.

Monsters, Monsters Everywhere

My god-daughter is really into Monster High at the moment. I bought back a doll for her from New York in April, thinking how cool it was to have little goth dolls, as opposed to the normal pink-wearing Barbies or those Bratz dolls with their freakishly-large heads.

I really fell for the idea of them, these anti-Barbies who face the oppressive "Norms" to get an education and get on in life (afterlife?). So I was a tad disappointed when I saw that there was a Monster High website, which seemed to imply that all these monster teens actually cared about was cheerleading and stealing someone else's boyfriend. I know that's the bread and butter of teen dramas, but really. Perhaps they ran out of imagination after the initial product designs were completed.

Anyhow, she's asked for another one for Christmas, which I will happily supply, because she's currently too young to read the novels and I like the fact that not all of her dolls are blonde (OK, so Zombie-Blonde is allowed).

Getting in The Zone

I have found that it is much easier to write when you have a routine.
Mine is currently this: After work, go to the library.
Just like starting any new routine, it's hard to get into. At first, I'd stop for a cuppa, take a few notes or check emails before actually getting down to the business of writing. Now I have a drink in the office before I finish work, so that as soon as I leave I can head straight to the "Silent Study" zone.
It gets easier. And now, if I don't go, I don't have to punish myself because it's starting to feel wrong. I'm becoming more productive, having finished 2 1/2 chapters of Matti and 2,500 words for something else that is Three Sisters related, just in the last fortnight.

On a separate note, I'm off to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for a couple of days at the beginning of August. Any recommendations? I've just finished compiling my usual matrix of shows I'm interested in. Top of the list is Paper Tom and The 90s in Half an Hour. Can't wait to get back to Edinburgh, if only for a flying visit.

Baby Steps

I have put the faerie story to one side for the moment to concentrate on the rewriting of my Matti novel. Will it be finished by August (in reference to the deadline I set myself earlier this year)? No. But this rewrite is stronger than ever and I am feeling happy that it is now sounding more like I intended.

I had a really nice rejection email the other day - sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it? - possibly a sign that I'm actually getting better at this craft. I'm feeling pretty positive right now. I feel like I am starting to establish my voice through my writing, and I have a good idea of what my brand will be when I do get published.

So, enough with the update already. I'm off to do some writing. Catch you later!

What I Watched Over The Bank Holiday Weekend

I've just finished watching Series 3 of True Blood (warning: rest of paragraph contains spoilers). As much as I've been enjoying it, there's part of me that is starting to think it's becoming a little silly. Vampires, then shapeshifters, then Maiads, and in this series werewolves, were-panthers, fairies and witches. I half expected new sheriff Andy to turn around and announce he was a leprechaun. I do think that they handle these new creatures very well, but I think my dislike comes from the frequency in which new creatures are introduced. And I really don't want Layfayette to discover he's a witch or whatever. I loved that, along with Tara and Jason, he was one of the "normal" ones. I am interested to see what they are going to do in the new series, and as always, it is Sookie's relationships that provide the central hook. Personally, I think I'm shipping Sookie with that hunky werewolf guy whose name I never did catch. But anyway...

Loved Doctor Who this week, mainly for the ending. Can't wait til next week, but don't understand why the show is going on hiatus until the autumn. Is this a money-saving exercise by the BBC? A bid to get higher ratings? It's very annoying anyway, especially as it's basically the only TV I watch these days that isn't on DVD or Virgin on-demand.

Taking the Slow Road

Well, first things first. The "thumb flap" has healed, leaving me a slightly pinkish mark as a memento. I know how worried you've all been, so just wanted to reassure you that it hadn't turned gangrenous and fallen off. ;-)

Secondly, I went to see Much Ado About Nothing at the Wyndham's Theatre last Saturday. It was an excellent production, and made me remember how great the script is, especially the dialogue between Benedick and Beatrice. It actually crackles. Love it.

Thirdly, the rewriting of Matti is going ... slowly. But I've realised that that isn't a bad thing. Taking my time to analyse the manuscript and make considered changes is actually going to make it a lot stronger, in terms of story, character and language. I recently read the advice about revising on Fantasy Faction's website: http://fantasy-faction.com/2011/revisions-part2, which has helped to clarify the techniques I have been trying to use. Holly Lisle's method (see link in the margin to the right) involves doing all the stages at once, but I've realised there isn't enough space in my head to process like that, regardless of how many coloured pens I use.

And finally, I am working on something new. Well, it's really taking old things but making them work together. A sort of Frankenstein's Monster of a story, if you will. I am fleshing out the idea of it at the moment, but hope to start writing it properly as soon as I have all the kinks figured out.

Thank goodness it's another Bank Holiday on Monday!

Thumb Flap

I haven't been so productive today, in part due to my new thumb flap freaking me out every time I look down at my right hand.
Thumb flap. Oh yes. You read that right.
You see, on Saturday I trapped my thumb in the fridge door. It was highly embarrassing and extremely painful. Three days later, and the bleeding has stopped, but I have a hole in said thumb, which is covered by (you guessed it) a flap of skin.
Sorry. Perhaps I should have warned you that this post would be a bit icky.
Currently, my thumb is deathly white, though this may be because I've just removed the plaster rather than a sign that my thumb is about to drop off. One hopes anyway.
It's also making holding a pen difficult, so cue a writing session that is computer based for today. Today is a "Dorcas Day" so I will be spending this evening mainly working on my Dorcas Grubb novel. For further info, please follow the labels below. It's all about a girl dealing with bereavement and mending the hole in her family, much more than it is about her genetic ability to travel in time. Off now to do some work. I would still like to successfully reach my deadline of having a novel completed by September.

New York

I had an excellent holiday in New York. Did you miss me?! I did most of the touristy things, like going to the top of the Empire State Building, climbing the 350-odd steps to the Crown of the Statue of Liberty, went to The Village and Times Square, all that stuff. We saw the Ghostbusters' fire station and Carrie's stoop.
I saw three shows whilst away; two Broadway musicals, The Book of Mormon and The Addams Family and an Off-off-Broadway play, Bring Me The Head Of Your Daughter. (warning: Spoilers below).
The Book of Mormon was excellent. So glad I went to see it. Whatever your views on the subject matter, the rest of Broadway could learn a lesson from the tight composition, relevant catchy hilarious songs, seamless directing, musical direction and choreography and talented cast. It never dragged, the pacing was spot on and it actually managed to be sentimental and quite sweet as well as full of the crude humour you'd sort of expect given the authors (here, here and here).
The second show was The Addams Family - The Musical. See, I can hear you groan already, and I should have trusted my instincts. But then I looked it up and found out that Andrew Lippa had written the score. So it couldn't be that bad, could it? Wrong. I don't think anyone involved (aside from the costume and set designers) had actually ever read or watched anything related to the Addams Family before. The songs were forgettable almost instantly (with the exception of "Pulled" which was quite good). The story was pretty feeble - Wednesday is now a teenager and in love with a "normal" person. Except that Wednesday and Lucas had no chemistry, and sang songs at each other so you never actually believed they were in love. It was almost like watching a school play where the children aren't allowed to so much as hold hands. The actor playing Lucas tried to sing to Wednesday but meant that he was in profile for most of the show so I have no idea what he looked like, if he can act, etc. It wasn't just the kids though who seemed to have a "no touching" policy. Gomez and Morticia had no chemistry whatsoever. Roger Rees, although game, was basically doing a "Nathan Lane" impression and so for me didn't feel connected to the role and all of the jokes fell flat. Morticia was cold. I just kept thinking back to the loved-up Angelica Houston and Raul Julia in the movie and thought - how could the musical get it so wrong? They even have Morticia and Gomez get into a fight because she is feeling insecure about her looks. Completely out of character.
The rest of the story was about the two families - the Addams family and the "normal" family - meeting. They play a game of "full disclosure", which is made out to be something hideous, and it turns out to be a game of "Truth". The "normal" mum drinks a potion that's supposed to turn her "from Mary Poppins to Medea" but instead makes her act drunk, say what's on her mind and do a very mildly sexy dance. If that's what passes for Medea in this day and age, heaven help us! Anyway, it was awful and it put me off seeing any other Broadway shows in case they were terrible too.
"Bring Me The Head Of Your Daughter", was about a lesbian couple, one of whom is an alcoholic and abusive, the other raped by her brother when a child, and the lesbian couple's daughter, who is accused of being a cannibal. As you can sort of tell from my summary, too much happens in this play to make it really successful - it was only about an hour and a half long! When the brother turns up, the play segways into another story about his health and his relationship with his sister, and none of the stories are concluded satisfactorily (which was ok, but the ending they went for wasn't particularly strong). Good performances, direction and set, though a minor peeve was that the daughter, who had adopted an English accent, should have let the accent slip a few times when she was angry - it would have really have emphasised the theme of her story about illusion and truth.
So there are my reviews. Had a fantastic time, and glad that it's the Easter holidays soon because I can finish unpacking and tidy the house.
Had a couple of ideas for stories whilst away that I think I may look at. Have to do some planning first though before I start, and also finish off the couple of stories I've already started.

My Phone

My phone has been behaving very strangely lately. It keeps "receiving" emails that were originally sent 10 years ago, emails that I've already received and forgotten about.
Like this one from a girl I used to be friends with and haven't spoken to in years.
At first, I was thinking that maybe this is some sign that we should reconnect. Then - oh my God, what if something bad has happened to her, and this is destiny's way of letting me know?
Now I'm convinced it's just some sort of Yahoo/Hotmail/BlackBerry bug.
Nice idea though.

Back! Well, Sort Of...

I'm completely snowed under at work. I have organised an event for 500 people for tomorrow, and for over 1,000 on Saturday, and am in the process of organising another for next week, and so my brain is feeling a little mushy right now.

I'll be so glad when it is April. April is this lovely land where I only have to work for 3 days for the entire month and I get to visit New York. April is this place that is free of stress and full of sunshine. I can't wait until it comes!

It's All Over

Well, Return to the Forbidden Planet, the musical I was in, has finished its run, and I am suffering from post-show blues that no amount of Haribos is able to shift. I miss everyone so much. I miss the adrenaline when you first run out on stage, the applause. I even miss the ache in my limbs and the random bruises afterwards. The world seems a little flatter, a little devoid of colour, now that it's over.

Long Sigh.

But anyway, I am back from being all theatrical, and really do need to make a start again at the writing. I still have a novel to edit and rewrite, plus another one that needs completing, and an older one that I've been thinking of rewriting too. Think I'll give myself tonight to finish mopping about, and then get back to work.

Musicals

Rehearsals are heating up for Return To The Forbidden Planet. Last week, I was filmed for a montage that takes place about half way through Act 1, and since then, we've been running the show every rehearsal. I am so exhausted by the end! I can't believe the show is on in only 2 weeks; I'm going to be so sad when it finishes.

I love Glee, and have just finished watching the "Rocky Horror" episode. I'm not sure I like that they changed the lyrics in "Touch-a Touch Me" but I guess it's understandable given that the show has quite a young audience. We did The Rocky Horror Show at uni for a charity night, and I got to play Magenta. The whole experience of that night has to be one of the best of my entire time at university - to stand on that stage and to have everyone in the audience stand up and sing along and dance to your performance was just magical. Have dug out an old photo so you can laugh (actually, it's not so embarrassing to me, as I'm probably wearing the most clothes out of anyone!). Ah, happy days.

I'm off to New York City in April, so if anyone has been before or is reading this from the other side of the pond, and has any recommendations of things to do, please let me know.

Ciao for now - I have to look over my lines again tonight, because apparently what I thought was crazy obscure Shakespeare turns out to be a typo in the script. Ooops!

Happy Belated New Year

Right, let me explain the lack of posts since December. At first it was a case of "nothing much has happened today," which branched into "I'll do it tomorrow". Weeks past, and then suddenly in my mind, due to the delay between posts, my next blog post "had" to be about something interesting, witty and important; well written and relevant. But I couldn't think of anything.
Then Christmas and New Year flew by, and I missed the perfect opportunity to ease myself back into blogging with a quick non-judgemental Christmas greeting. But I didn't, because I was having an off-line Christmas, like we did in 1996 before the internet was commonplace and you actually had to turn on the telly and wait for a designated timeslot to find out the news.
And now it has come to this. A month with no new updates.
What can I say? I psyched myself out.
So here it is, not particularly witty, well written or interesting, but a blog post nonetheless, in the hope to get this thing moving again.

What I'm reading now: The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff and A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.
What I'm procrastinating from doing now: Learning my lines for Return to the Forbidden Planet (I'm on at end of February folks!); re-reading my NaNoWriMo novel.
Weird proof that wishing on stars works, but not always in the way you'd like: I wished I would finish my novel. So my computer has broken, making it impossible for me to play The Sims 2. Annoying, expensive to fix yet will probably mean my second draft will be completed within six months.

If you're not already, follow me on Twitter @LucyAnnWade

It's nice to be back.

Rehearsals and a New Story

At the moment, rehearsals are consuming most of my time. I had forgotten how good doing a show makes you feel. It's all those endorphins, probably. It is so good to be singing again. In this show, I get to go back to my "alto" roots, after singing mezzo- and top-soprano for the past 5 years. Apparently, my alto voice is "sultry and powerful". :-) I was even given chocolates after yesterday's rehearsal, so can't be doing too badly.

I've also been working on a new short story, about a girl who gets possessed by a symbiont on her 16th birthday. I'm up to the point where she's got the thing inside her, but don't know what to do next. Am going to send it around to a few people to read, and hopefully their feedback will help me see where the story is going. I kinda like what I've got so far, so am a bit loathe to throw away the story just on the basis that I can't figure out what's going on! This is where having understanding but honest people who you can bounce ideas off is great.

To Do List

Things I need to do:

1) Practice for my audition on Sunday for Return to the Forbidden Planet.
2) Finish off the short story that I'm writing about a selkie, trying to avoid as far as possible having to describe what I will delicately describe as "seal cuddles".
3) Finish chapter 1 take 2 of my Matti and Eva story.

I will not be distracted by:

1) Curse of the Wolf Girl (this book is sucking away my life, so engrossing it is).
2) The Sims 2
3) Judge Judy

That is all.

Inverness

Last week was the busiest time of year for my job (I work at a University and the A-level results were released), but thankfully everything is quietening down now and I can find time to blog again.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Inverness for a short break. It was absolutely beautiful. I think if I was to run away, I might run away to there. We went on a wildlife watching boat trip at Cromarty with Ecoventures, and got to see dolphins, visited Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle and the Loch Ness Experience, and also Cawdor Castle. If anyone's looking for a short break, then I'd really recommend it.

I've just finished reading The Age of Five trilogy by Trudi Canavan. I am in awe of her world-building skills. The novels are told in third person, from multiple viewpoints so you gradually piece together this exquisite world of different races, religions, landscapes and environments. I felt Auraya's compassion for the Siyee so much that I almost cried when they were sent off to war to fulfil the terms of their alliance. It definitely left me wanting more, so I'm wondering whether the author is planning on writing more fiction set in this universe, as she is with the world she established in The Black Magician Trilogy.

Am now reading Curse of the Wolf Girl by Martin Millar, the sequel to one of my favourite novel's Lonely Werewolf Girl (published 2007). Don't want to give any sort of review yet, as I'm only on chapter 10, but I'm enjoying it so far. I'm not sure you'd be able to read it without reading the original though, and I think everyone should read Lonely Werewolf Girl, so go check it out!

Anyone reading this blog going to the Fringe: you've still time to catch Stitched Up! written by my friend and fellow Momentum alumni Robin Johnson (Website) (Review).

Risks and Writing

I have a lot of respect for writers that take risks with regards to pursuing their dreams. Being a writer means that you have to have a certain amount of free time in which to write, to day dream, to plot and plan. Quitting the day job is a big step, especially if that means living on the bread line, working from commission to commission, and only making your next mortgage payment based on your popularity with, say, white, female, middle-class 20-somethings going on package holidays to Alicante. It's risky business indeed. Not many authors ever get to live comfortably from their writing alone. I like to day dream about quitting my job and supporting myself with my writing, but there are too many variables that rely on chance for me to consider this as a viable option at present. I don't think I'd be brave enough to leap off the cliff into full-time writerdom without a parachute of some kind (a five-book deal? A big fat royalty cheque? A Nobel prize?). So I have a lot of respect for people who do leave the rat race, even part time, to pursue their dreams. Does playing it safe though mean that I'm a worse writer? Or that I'm any less serious than someone who has made more of a sacrifice, who has taken those risks? I don't think so, and I hope not. I think of it as being "sensible" rather than anything else, though there is a little bit of insecurity and fear mixed in there too.

I really enjoyed The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan, and after taking a short break to read The Boy With The Cuckoo Clock Heart by Mathias Malzieu (good), I have now started reading the first book of Canavan's second trilogy The Age of the Five. I'm only on page 5 at the moment, but will tell you how it goes. Enjoyable so far, though her prose style is a little abstained - still, it is early days and I'm sure I will get into the story in a couple of pages time.

Still in the planning stages of what I *think* is going to be my next novel (don't want to jinx it!). Will give you more details next time. It's all very exciting at the moment, as I can see the potential in the story stretch out for me for miles. But whether I'm able to do it justice, well, we'll just have to wait and see!

Diet

I'm on a bit of a diet/health kick at the moment, as it is more economical for me to fit into my old clothes than to have to go out and buy exactly the same but in a larger size. I've been doing really well, except that after lunch and dinner, I always want something sweet. I'm sitting here now, typing this, trying not to eat all of the Aero Bubbles that I bought just a minute ago, after my fairly healthy red chard and parmasan salad. Just so tasty though... I feel I'm fighting a losing battle.

I can't start the Three Sisters story. It just won't come. I've been trying to write it for about 3 weeks now, and it's just painful - both in the writing and the reading sense. So, I've decided to shelve that story, and instead I am going to work on my second draft of Dorcas Grubb, and also a couple of short stories I started that I want to finish. A bit of a recap for you: Dorcas Grubb was my NaNoWriMo winning novel of 2008. It features a teenage girl called Dorcas, who's father has just died, and so the family (her mum, older brother, and baby sister) move in with their maternal Grandfather in Leicester (UK). That is where she discovers that the family have a genetic abnormality which means they can travel back in time.The story is about a girl who is dealing with a lot of grief, about a family falling apart and then falling apart some more before finally coming back together, and about a girl who isn't the brightest, or prettiest, or thinnest, but who has a good heart, and wants to find her place in the world. I think it would make a good series, maybe 3 or 4 books, aimed at early teens. Then I'd fast forward in time to start a new series centred around Tabitha, Dorcas's baby sister, all grown up - she's the one with the uber-powers, you see (Dorcas in the first book is constantly over-shadowed by her baby sister!). As usual, I'll keep you updated on my progress.

There, all my Aero Bubbles are gone now. Good job I'm doing aerobics tonight. Sigh.

Quick Post...

...Just to prove I'm still alive. Last week I drove almost 400 miles for work (which is a big achievement seeing as it's only my second trip out in the car). Went to Esher, in Surrey, and Canterbury (Kent). Was very nice, weather was lovely, and it was nice to be away, even though it was for work and not a holiday, even though I did get to see the sea. Have been enjoying a lazy bank holiday, but back to work (in more ways than one) tomorrow!

Take That, Writer's Block

OK, so it's no secret that for the past couple of weeks I've been finding it difficult to write. But I've struggled through anyway, and low and behold, almost 2,000 words of new novel (potentially). Some of the words are actually spelled correctly and are in the right order too. So I'm feeling slightly better about life right now, which is a good thing.
I don't really believe in "writer's block". By that, I mean, I don't think that there is this sudden mysterious cloud of nothingness that descends upon your creative mind without warning, without provocation to scupper your writing plans. I mean, that can happen, that creative blank, but the causes of it are usually easy to trace - stress, illness, anxiety, all that stuff. And it soon goes away if you tackle the symptoms, or if you can learn to work around or even with them. So that's what I'm doing at the moment, even though I'm still anxious about the possibility of failed ambitions, blah blah blah. I know I'll get over that, and as soon as I do, I'll hopefully have a few more thousand words under my belt to prove myself good.
Election time soon. Although I don't consider myself to be a political person, I do actually care who runs the country and have always voted. I am reading up on manifestos, and will be watching the debate tonight in a bid to make the most educated decision I can, rather than pick the person who looks best on the telly.