I know, I know, it’s been a while! But for good reason, I assure you.

I’ve now moved to gorgeous West Sussex, it was something of a rush job but we’re here and settling in nicely. There’s still a lot to be done, boxes everywhere and not enough time in the day to get through them but I am at least functioning for the purposes of my new job.

On that subject, I can honestly say I love my job! It’s the first time in my life that I have been able to say that with my hand on my heart. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, not by a loooooooooong chalk. In fact, it’s tougher than any other job I’ve had. There’s a huge amount to be done but then you could argue that this is because I have identified a huge amount of things that I can bring to the role. I’ve just written the strategy and I’m incredibly proud of it. I plan to stick with the role for the long term and see it through, make sure that the ideas I have are formulated properly and truly make a difference to the company and (note that this is what I really care about) to the environment.

I’m also doing everything I can to make Get Writing a success, check out the blog posts from some of our guests here (Scroll down for all the previous posts). If you haven’t booked yet but intend to, please don’t leave it too long, you don’t want to be disappointed! (You can book here by the way!)

I’m just about to get offline as I have work to do but I wanted to update you all so you don’t think I disappeared into some weird time anomaly – although in some ways I feel like I might have, there just isn’t enough of it and I’m sure the clocks are running faster these days!

I’m hoping to get my Christmas cards written and sent today but just in case I fail miserably, please know that I’m thinking of you all, missing people terribly and will do my best to catch up with as many as I can in the New Year.

Be well, be happy, have a very merry Christmas and take my word for it, dreams can come true in the most unexpected ways!

Lots of love

Sandra xxx

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I forgot what’s going on but somehow, with my head in a whirl I just couldn’t quite find the space to get excited. Heck the nerves haven’t even kicked in yet.

You see, the thing is, suddenly everything is different.

For one thing, my writing life is just awesome, considering I’m not yet published in the traditional sense. I love writing for Fantasy Faction and I am stoked with the programme we have created for Get Writing 2012.

But that is not all. Oh no!

Whilst I’ve been working on all of that I’ve also been drafting CV after CV, specific ones for every job I wanted to apply for. At first it seemed that I wasn’t getting anywhere but then I am a firm believer in that saying that when it’s meant to be, it will be.

To cut a long story short I have found a fantastic job with Southern Rail. It will be a challenge, taking my environmental career to the next level but I’m excited about it, looking forward to all the new experiences I’m about to have.

I’ll also be moving home, leaving my beloved Hertfordshire behind and discovering the delights of the West Sussex countryside. Morpheus my gorgeous little black cat will be shaken for a little while, it’s a big move for a little cat but in the end, I think he’ll be happy.

I’m taking the opportunity to make some sustainable choices too. I’ll be travelling to work by rail, slashing my car use, plus I’ll be sharing a house with my newly retired mum. Sure that’s going to be a challenge after years of doing whatever I want but it has it’s advantages. Not only will it be cheaper running one house instead of two flats but it also reduces our various footprints. I’m hoping to start a new personal project (more on that soon) and also, I’ll have the freedom to spend time writing, travel a bit and more knowing that my little cat will always have someone home for him.

Of course, big changes like this mean lots of goodbyes too. I’ve met some amazing people through my work at Dorma, my membership of Verulam Writers’ Circle, East Herts Fantasy Writers, Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust, Badger and Bat Groups, Stevenage Council’s Tree Warden Scheme… so many friends and so little time to say goodbye to them all. So I’m not saying goodbye. These days contact is so easy with facebook, twitter, email, post, phone, travel all available. I will see everyone again, not as often as I wish I could but I am not losing friends, I’m gaining new ones. If I haven’t been able to get in touch yet, know that doesn’t mean I’m not thinking of you, I am well aware of the impact you’ve all had on my life and for that I thank you.

I’m writing this sitting on the train on my way to Fantasycon where I’m meeting up with people I know, people I’ve met once or twice and people I’ve only met online, just another branch of my life these days.

My future is open to offers. Seriously, how much more exciting can life get?

Back in May 2009 I had my first article published in The View From Here. By now lot’s of people have read it, or heard it as it has also appeared in the Verulam Writers’ Circle anthology ‘The Archangel and the White Hart‘. A few weeks ago we had the launch party and I read it out.

As I read it occurred to me that when I wrote the article I could barely read to the circle in private for critique, let alone to perform to an audience. I grinned as I reached the sentence stating that I had just submitted my first short story. That story went to The People’s Friend and was accepted and has since been published. Imagine how I felt when the readings were done and people started coming up to me to congratulate me on the piece and to tell me that they had been inspired by it. Inspired by little old me.

I’ve been working hard on organising Get Writing 2012 and sometimes you get lost in the thick of things. There are also some huge changes coming up in my personal and work lives and you just forget to stop and appreciate where you’ve got to. So let’s have a little look.

This year I joined the staff of Fantasy Faction and took over as GW12 co-ordinator. I’ve written articles and blog posts, including my first guest blog on Steve Lockley’s Confessions of a Technophobe and even hosted a guest blog from the incredibly talented Jonathan Pinnock of ‘Mrs Darcy Versus the Aliens‘ fame. I feel like I have started to become ‘someone’ in writing.

But, something was missing. I was always using my Libertine picture as my Avatar and never used my own image. I still do use her because now she is out there and recognised. I couldn’t quite allow myself to look at a photo of me and like it. No matter how many people said how ‘nice’ any picture of me was, (you know the phrase “Ooh, that’s a NICE one of you!”), I could not see it. As a result I hide photos on facebook, have very few at home and generally avoid the stare of a lens.

I knew this would have to change. How many people in the digital age manage to be successful and anonymous? Well, I guess there’s Banksy but then his art speaks for itself. Mine doesn’t yet…

So I figured I need to get some photos sorted.

About the time I came to this conclusion I found out that Paul Simister was setting up as a professional photographer. He was starting to take some shots of friends to build up his portfolio and that included some fantastic black and white shots of a DJ which really caught my eye.

I talked to Paul and told him how I felt about posing for photographers but somehow he convinced me that this time would be different. I decided that if I was going to do this, it would be good to have some fun with it.

We did a few black and white ‘serious’ shots, in less than half an hour I’d relaxed a little and Paul managed to capture several that I was satisfied with. Then it was time to play.

One of the books I’m working on is a steampunk novel. I love the genre, there are some fantastic novels out there, the community and fashions are thriving and some of the art is just mindblowing.

My main character, Lady Elizabeth Silverwood is a staunch, strong-willed woman with an ordered world that is turned upside down. I created an outfit which represents who she is when we first meet her. The costume is starting to evolve with the character as she journeys into a dark world where murder is currency and heroes become villains. You could argue that she was doing the posing, not me. To be fair I wouldn’t argue back.

Either way, the results speak for themselves. Paul taught me how to relax and pose in front of the camera. We had a great afternoon wandering around in a local woodland, working with different locations, waiting for the light to change and the sky to present the perfect backdrop. Sure, there were moments when I wondered what the Hell I was doing there but Paul made it fun and who was I to question when he told me to look up,  turn to the side, move an arm here or there…

Believe me when I say, this is a guy that is going places. Check out his website, I’m sure you can guess which ones are me, I hope you enjoy them. When you’re done with those, look around at the others, portraits, corporate, construction, wildlife – in Paul’s hands everything is beautiful.

However, if the truth were told, right now I only have the barest idea of what shape and form the workshop’s going to take. But I’m not sure that matters. Because part of what I’m going to be saying is that the best way to release the weird and wonderful stuff inside you is to take a step into the unknown. You don’t need to know where you’re heading in order to start the journey.

If you don’t know quite where you’re going when you set off, your readers certainly won’t, and this will give your writing an extra edge right from the word go. Of course, you do have an implied contract with your readers to deliver an ending – LOL RANDOMZ is, generally speaking, not an acceptable conclusion to a story (although there are a few geniuses who can pull something like it off) – but the point is that your subconscious is utterly brilliant at making sense of things. Consider the way in which it takes the stuff floating around inside your head whilst you’re asleep and builds a narrative out of it.

I hesitated for ages before starting to write Mrs Darcy versus the Aliens, because while I was fairly certain that it was a viable concept, I had no idea where to take it. I’d written a lot of short stories by simply sitting down at the keyboard and seeing what emerged, but I’d never considered using the same technique for a full novel. It seemed crazy. But in the end I did just that: I simply sat down and started to write a few scenes, one at a time, just to get going.

Now the amazing thing about the human brain is that if you do sit down and write without any fixed plan, you introduce some unexpected democracy to it. The creative right-hand side suddenly finds itself on an even footing with the logical left-hand side and an interesting tussle starts to take place. The right-hand side will start throwing out all sorts of weird and wonderful stuff whilst the left-hand side is frantically trying to impose some discipline on it. And if you get the balance right, then you’re in business.

I don’t want to over-analyse (we are, after all, talking about a book called Mrs Darcy versus the Aliens here), but this process happened time and time again when I was writing it, both at the micro level in individual scenes and at the macro level when considering the overall story arc. Whether or not it’s worked will of course emerge over time as the sale figures come in.

Anyway, to get back to where we started, that’s the kind of thing I’ll be talking about at Get Writing: bringing democracy to the unliberated portions of your brain. Power to the cerebellum, eh?

[Links:

Mrs Darcy: http://www.mrsdarcyvsthealiens.com

Where to buy: http://www.mrsdarcyvsthealiens.com/buying.php

Wickhampedia: http://www.mrsdarcyvsthealiens.com/wiki ]

And what better place to start than with Stephen King’s UK editor. Below is a message from Philippa Pride but first, let me tell you a tale of just how lovely she is.

Warning, I made an idiot of myself. Again!

It was at the York Festival of Writing, and we were just meeting up for the Gala dinner on Saturday evening. I was almost ready to go when the zip on my dress got stuck. I mean, really, what’s the worst that can happen when you are staying somewhere on your own…

Well, I’d arranged to meet my friends Susan Franklin and Lesley Eames outside the accommodation so thought, “It’s fine, they’ll help me fix it”. So I peeked outside and, true to form, I was confronted with a gathering! Now, don’t get me wrong, they were all people I was pleased to see, but maybe when my zip was functioning…

Susan and Philippa dashed to the rescue, bundled me back inside and a battle ensued. The zip was caught on a seam, it was fixed and all was well. Pride intact? Well, not mine but I’m kind of used to that!

ANYWAY!!! I digress. A course with Philippa would be money well spent, of that I am absolutely certain so please do check this out, it’s booking fast, just three weeks away:

Dear Friends of Sandra

Would you or any of your friends or clients like to come to France this September?  We are gathering at a gorgeous farmhouse in the Dordogne from 10-15 September for the next Book Doctor writing course.

It will be a wonderful opportunity to free your creativity, start or continue your book and gather some insider tips for getting it published.

For more information, contact me at philippapride@yahoo.co.uk and click on the animated gif below to go through to my website www.thebookdoctor.co.uk and on the YouTube to see a short video with me;  I’m a certified NLP Coach and Stephen King’s British editor.

There are just three rooms left now.

With best wishes from Philippa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qawl8evdIT4

For some background, this is her biog for Get Writing:

Philippa is a writing coach, publishing consultant and book editor and runs workshops in which she combines inspirational exercises for freeing creativity with the nuts and bolts of getting published.  A former commissioning editor with a major publishing house, PHILIPPA PRIDE has worked with some of the most successful writers today, including world superseller Stephen King who knows of  ‘no-one in the writing and publishing business who is better equipped to talk about and teach the art and craft of writing’.

Described by Hodder’s MD as ‘a talented spotter of new fiction, a creative editor and a terrific champion of her authors’, Philippa continues her connection with Hodder & Stoughton as Stephen King’s British editor and has branched out into coaching; she is a certified NLP Master Practitioner and NLP Coach.

I can assure you that Philippa is the most genuine lady, totally encouraging and supportive and truly inspiring. I’m hoping to book up for the next course, which will be after GW. And, of course, if you can get to the UK on February 11th 2012, she will be running a workshop for us and taking some One to Ones – not to be missed!

This isn’t just about the money, the BBC has raised awareness of 87 projects, that is priceless.

Here is my guest blog as part of Steve Lockley’s Open House.

I am feeling rather humbled as the guests so far have been extensively published, incredibly talented people. I, on the other hand, am still finding my place…

These are the songs that inspire me, get me in the mindset of a feisty chic walking around the rock and goth scene in late eighties London like she owns it.

There’s quite a mix in there, fab Gothic stuff, classic rock giants, a few ballads, a handful of eighties pop hits and even some brilliant recent material which fits either because the lyrics resonate, or the style just works for me.

Feel free to dip in, hope you enjoy it and as always, I’d love to hear recommendations, there’s a number of tracks here that I wouldn’t have found myself, so thanks to anyone that has got in touch so far!

Libertine Fantasy Film Soundtrack on Spotify

Remember the tags are #Libertine #FantasyFilmSoundtrack if you fancy joining in! You never know, one day they might make the movie and you might just help to make the real soundtrack.

Well, in the case of bookshops it has just been proven.

I went to Waterstone’s yesterday, not in itself an unusual occurrence but in recent weeks it has been a less than pleasurable experience. Shelves had been shuffled around in strange ways and the choices had become incredibly mainstream.

Gone were the tingles I used to get down my spine, the mouthwatering little buzz of excitement of chancing upon something new, standing there with a bundle of books to choose from, reading and rereading blurbs and openings to choose which would be next to be read.

Now I am the first to shout about the wonders of t’internet with it’s fabulous forums (Fantasy Faction being a fabulous example), societies (hello British Fantasy Society) and of course facebook and twitter for us all to play with but sometimes you just want the smell of a new book in your hand, the sight of an expanse of bookshelves crammed full of new stuff to discover.

I want the joy of hearing about what others are reading, getting a feel for what I might like but I still want the option of standing shoulder to shoulder with an stranger, poring over shelves full of the one thing we definitely have in common. It’s an unspoken camaraderie, a tiny moment of belonging albeit a brief one.

Yesterday, I got some of that thrill back again. There were new books on the shelves, series that had previously been run down to book three and nine only were once again resplendent in their completeness. Even the graphic novel section was brimming with goodies and I was reminded that whilst my basket could be filled my wallet forced a choice.

But what a lovely choice, and what a lovely couple of hours I spent making it.

Should I go? Hell yeah, course I should, it was a chance to meet some people before going away for a weekend with a bunch of strangers.

Well, let me assure you, they’re strangers no more!

I arranged to meet my friend from EHFW, Nyki Blatchley, who was later insulted by Dean M Drinkel (from El Lupo Films) who married us off (sorry Nyki!). Mind you, he also decided I was nearly 20 years older than I am. *sigh* Whilst white hair makes me stand out from the crowd it does also have that effect! I’m 40, just for the record, not that it matters

Seriously though, what a fabulous night I had. I was determined to meet lots of people and over the course of about five hours I did just that.

A couple of special mentions for great advice, contacts and all round good belly laughs:

The aforementioned Mr Drinkel, force of nature and great fun to be around. It all started with a photo then I couldn’t get rid of him… he he, in a good way! Dean told us all about M is for Monster an anthology he’d put together, featuring a certain Mr Jonathan Pinnock from VWC (yes, he of Mrs Darcy and the Aliens fame). I’ve now arranged to buy a copy from Jon, can’t wait to read it!

Later we were joined by Adrian Chamberlin, from Dark Continents Publishing, and we chatted for ages about the company, it’s authors and even, my work. He also recommended I read The Left Hand by Serenity J Banks, so I downloaded it when I got home and will be reading it when I’ve finished the book I’m on right now. I’ve been thinking about doing some reviews so watch this space…

Joe Hill, author of Heart Shaped Box and Horns, also came along. I was able to have a brief chat with him (cheekily asking if he might be in the UK in February… watch this space too!). What a great guy, he is just so easy to talk to and passionate about his work.

I also caught up with the lovely Robert Shearman, writer for Doctor Who and fellow Exeter graduate. We had a really relaxed chat, and plan to meet again soon to talk some more.

Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan, organisers of FantasyCon made me feel most welcome too so I’m now really looking forward to going, knowing that I will be meeting new friends when I get there.

Finally, I got to meet Craig Lockley. I came across him on the Musicbrick site a good couple of years ago. He noticed that I’d mentioned my fantasy writing and told me he is heavily involved with the BFS, organising all the reviews for their publications (and trust me, there’s a lot of them, their readers are a busy lot!). Anyway, we became friends on facebook and twitter and have been in touch ever since so meeting at last was brilliant. The icing on the cake was that he also put me in touch with his brother Steve Lockley who has his own blog and I will be guest blogging there on 22nd July. Of course, I will add a link here!

So all in all, it was a great night. All these things aside, it was a fabulous venue with great food, beer and atmosphere and everyone seemed to be having fun. Thanks to Martin Roberts for organising it!

If you’ve ever thought about going along to an Open Night but weren’t sure, trust me, you’ll love it. Hopefully the London ones will become a regular thing, hope to see you at one of them.