Good morning folks, I am officially on school holiday. I have six glorious weeks to write and I can't tell you how good that feels. But first, I need to share the delights of the RNA conference from last weekend. Regular followers will know this is one highlight of my year, three days of indulgence amongst my writing buddies. This year was no exception. The location was Harper Adams university in Shropshire, I arrived at 7pm after a busy day at school. As you can imagine everyone else was in the full swing of the event having arrived at 2pm. I soon caught them up :-)
The timetable of talks and events was crammed with interesting ideas, knowledge and experience - always a dilemma regards selecting which workshops to attend, whilst hoping your friends can fill you in on the ones you missed. Anyway, I attended talks given by Hazel Gaynor, Liz Harris, Nina Harrington, Jean Fullerton, Pamela Hartshorne, Alison May, Alison Baverstock, Philippa Ashley and Nell Dixon - all excellent sessions giving an insight into their writing world.
Amidst the writers' talks, the workshops and celebration are the kitchen parties that buzz each evening producing a wealth of blurry photos and endless giggles.
Saturday night gala dinner is always a delight; gorgeous food and scintillating chat amongst the writers. I was thrilled when Janice Preston won the Elizabeth Goudge trophy for the fairy tale themed short story. This is the third consecutive year that the Birmingham Chapter have either won or been placed runner up for this award.
You may remember that at last year's gala dinner four of us made pledges to be completed by this year. All four fulfilled our vows so this year every member of the Birmingham Chapter joined us in making their own pledge, which need completion before the gala at Mile End next year.
In addition to all the fun, there is the serious business of publishing, I was lucky enough to pitch my novel to a publisher, who wishes to see the full manuscript by the end of this year. I had my sights on a specific publisher and am delighted for the opportunity offered.
So, you won't be surprised to hear I'll be writing for the next 45 days! Working my little socks off to ensure my manuscript is the best it can possibly be before school begins again.
I'd best get started, I don't want a moment of freedom to escape me - enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment