Every photograph we take, every show we present, or every song and hymn that we sing, we bring inspiration, creativity and joy to the community. Our artists have taken risks. They have brought us wonder and beauty of nature.
It has been a brisk start to the first quarter of 2023 for me, I’m glad to say.
[Read more…] about Catching Up – Local Author News – Allison Symes
Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, famously said “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” Strongly suspect his publishers/those he worked with on the BBC (for scripts, including for Doctor Who) did not take the same view!
I see a deadline as a challenge. Not to let it go by but to meet it with room to spare. I also think deadlines can encourage you to be more creative, simply because they give you something to work towards. There is an end goal. It is a great antidote to that notorious thief of time, procrastination!
One good thing to come out of the pandemic was the increasing use of Zoom. I used it for family get togethers when meeting in person wasn’t possible. (I still regularly meet up with family members abroad this way too).
A number of writing related activities transferred to this medium so I was able to join in with workshops, listen to talks etc. In the past eighteen months or so, I’ve been invited to run workshops via Zoom on flash fiction. It has been lovely to have paying gigs too! (Would always welcome more of these!).
So I thought for this post I’d look at how to make the most of Zoom workshops if you’re running them/likely to run them in the future. I hope you find this useful.
All great stories focus on their characters. Why?
It’s because we want to find out what happens in the story and that usually involves finding out what happened to the lead character in particular. Did they get their happy ending? Were they a rotter who deserved and got their comeuppance?
Only one way to find out and that is to read the story but the character has to interest you enough in the first place to make you want to read on. So how can that be done? I share some thoughts about how I approach character creation and hope you find it useful.
It is with pleasure I share the news Richard Hardie, author of Leap of Faith and Trouble With Swords, will be releasing his third book in his Temporal Detective Agency series. The third book is called Remember, Remember for reasons that will become apparent when you read it! Richard is also planning to release his fourth book soon too. This will be a collection of short stories linked to his Temporal Detective Agency.
Definitely time for another CFT interview then!
[Read more…] about Author Interview: Richard Hardie – Remember, Remember
It was a joy to see Pinocchio, staged by The Chameleon Theatre Group on Saturday, 28th January. There are many for whom pantomime is their first experience of live theatre. Funnily enough, it wasn’t for me. My kid sister and I tended to go and see the latest Disney releases at the old Gaumont, now of course The Mayflower in Southampton. Remember seeing Robin Hood and Cinderella there.
[Read more…] about Review: The Chameleon Theatre Group – Pinocchio
What would you define as a classic story? Do you define it by age or by how often it can stand being re-read? Or do you define it by its word count where you have a story where you can’t imagine another word being added and/or words being taken out of it?).
Of course, your answer can be any of the above, maybe all of them! For me, though, the age of a story is irrelevant. If it is classic, it is because it is a fabulous tale, not because of its antiquity (or lack of same).
It is with great pleasure I welcome friend and fellow Swanwicker, June Webber, to Chandler’s Ford Today. June and I first met at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick back in 2016 when I was a “white badger” (first time attendee). June, Val Penny, and I regularly meet up on Zoom.
[Read more…] about Author Interview: June Webber – Publication: Never Too Late
The writing life is fun but being prepared for the roller coaster aspect of it is a good idea. Every writer has their ups and downs. It helps to know this. Going into the writing life with your eyes wide open also helps. It also helps, I think, to accept the following is true.
Have you ever kept a diary? Did you use to/still do enjoy writing and receiving letters in the post? The answer to both those questions is yes from me.
I keep a diary to help me stay on track of what I write when (and to remind me to get my author newsletter out, note down workshop dates etc). I also keep, as part of the same diary, notes on how my writing is going and whether I was pleased or not with the previous day’s writing efforts.
It’s almost impossible at this time of the old year to resist looking back and weighing up what kind of twelve months it has been. The days and months of the calendar never change (well, bar leap years I guess and even then only by one day!), yet our attitudes towards the passing of time can vary so much.
I must admit this year has struck me as a sad one. I’ve known several friends lose loved ones and I was deeply saddened by the death of the Queen. I was (and remain) saddened (and angered) at the war on Ukraine. So on the face of it, 2022 has not been a great year (and we thought 2020 was bad!).
What I find helps is remembering feeling like this is normal. Every year has its ups and downs though in some years, it is harder work to recall the positives!
My, how does the time fly! It’s time for some festive flash fiction and news about my writing year. It’s been a busy but fun one.
It is always a joy to get to go to the Bridge House Publishing celebration event and it is equally lovely to blog for Chandler’s Ford Today about it! This year it was held at the Theodore Bullfrog pub in London. They do have some great pub names (and if you can think of any you’ve come across, do share them in the comments). It is an especial pleasure to go since Covid-19 has put paid to previous planned get togethers. It was by no means certain this year’s event would go ahead either due to other outside events beyond BHP’s control.
But we made it and it was lovely to get into a cosily warm pub, given it was bitter out. (Coldest places on the planet must include railway stations. They make for very good wind tunnels… brrr… and I’d nominate Southampton Airport Parkway as one of the worst there).
[Read more…] about Bridge House Publishing Celebration Event 2022
It is lovely to welcome Wendy H Jones back to Chandler’s Ford Today with news of her latest publication. It is another departure from Wendy’s usual line of work too. This time, Wendy has a short story in Deadly Traditions, which is a crime and Christmas anthology.
[Read more…] about Deadly Traditions – Interview with Wendy H Jones
I’m delighted to say Scottish crime writer, Val Penny, has excellent news to share with regard to her Hunter’s Revenge. Its second edition was published on 30th November 2022 by Spellbound Books.
To find out more about Val’s DI Hunter Wilson do go to her book page on her website
There is also a buy link at geni.us/a13c
It was a joy to welcome Jenny Sanders to Chandler’s Ford Today last week. She and I have crossed paths many times thanks to our connections via the Association of Christian Writers, online magazine Mom’s Favorite Reads, and flash fiction.
This week, Jenny tells us more about her writing journey, including how she discovered flash fiction, and shares her thoughts on the most challenging aspects of creating a story or an article. Plenty to learn from here so, once more, over to Jenny.
One of the great joys of the writing life is meeting and befriending other writers. You learn from each other. You talk with others who understand the drive to write and who have their fair share of the ups and downs of trying to get work published. Often you’ll come across the same writer in different ways and this is true for me with regard to Jenny Sanders, my interviewee.
[Read more…] about Crossing Paths with Jenny Sanders – Part 1
It was with great pleasure I met with Janet Williams at Richie Hall to watch the latest production from The Chameleon Theatre Group. I love Sherlock Holmes tales so this was a win-win. Congratulations must go to the Chameleons for a sell out performance on all three nights from 27th to 29th October 2022.
“The jasmine in one’s garden has no fragrance,” goes a Malayalam homily – meaning, we don’t appreciate what is right under our nose and seek our pleasures in distant venues. I realised the true import of this saying last evening when we went to see ‘Sherlock Holmes and the mystery at Mallen Hall‘ presented by the Chameleon Theatre Company on Hursley Road, Chandler’s Ford. The theatre is a mere ten-minute walk from my house. In the twelve years that I have lived in Chandler’s Ford, this was my first visit to Chameleon, thanks to a tip from my friend Janet on Chandler’s Ford Today.
The tickets were quite reasonably priced and the show played to a full house. The acoustics were impressive – dialogues came across crisp and clear even to those of us who sat in the back rows. In my youth, I have read several Sherlock Holmes mysteries, but this was the first time I watched a live enactment. And what a performance it was. Holmes, Dr Watson and other characters acted with grace and élan.
[Read more…] about Review: A Sherlock Treat with the Chameleons
It is a joy to welcome Ruth Leigh back to Chandler’s Ford Today. Last week we discussed her forthcoming launch for The Continued Times of Isabella M Smugge, the latest in her series involving her wonderfully funny and moving creation. This week, we look at the issues of marketing and how well Ruth needed to know Isabella before writing her stories up.
And now back to Ruth. Welcome back, Ruth.
[Read more…] about PART 2 – Ruth Leigh and The Continued Times of Isabella M Smugge
