Tilly and I treated the city to our most scrumptious lunch outfits; we sailed our considerable ships out into the flash of a Glaswegian summer – and heads did turn. She sported a walking stick with a crystal ball clasped in a bronze hand, and my bag dazzled the streets with mirrors – we left the bells at home, on other accoutrements.

It was an amazing escape from the cave and my hermit existence and I made great use of the phone camera. Isn’t it fab? We were disgusted with the Museum of Modern Art; it is a bare place, littered with someone’s idea of Art - neither mine, nor, I suspect, any of the general tax-paying public! I was very vocal in my opinions, as always, especially when we found fabulous art in a little gallery in Prince’s Square. I wish I had taken some photos there.

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I had a couple of 'writing related' experiences this week that were nothing to do with sitting in front of a laptop, or talking to agents/editors on the telephone.

My daughter bought the fabulous Ways To Live Forever by the wonderfully talented Sally Nicholls, and read it in an afternoon. This is unusual for my little girl, who tends to flit in and out of books. Sally happens to belong to the same writers' forum as I do, and she asked a pertinent question when I told her that we had purchased her book:

"What made her choose it?"


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Believe it or not, I had a half-hour debate with a colleague over the use of "led" and "lead." Could someone confirm "led" is propely used in the following sentence: "The team is led by the quarterback."

Lead (noun - pronounced "Led" as is red) is a metal; lead (verb - pronounced "leed") is present tense; led (verb)is past tense of to lead.

To Goldsmiths yesterday evening, for a lecture by the literary and cultural critic Terry Eagleton. Apart from knowing his name in connection with swathes of literary theory, combatively expressed, which I haven't read (I haven't read much of anyone else's literary theory, it has to be said) I didn't really know what to expect. In the event it was the kind of talk you wish you could have recorded, to go over more than once, spreading out the densely-argued points, gathering together arguments that ranged over an astonishingly wide area, and seeing whether it really is as persuasive as it seemed at the time. I suspect much of it would be, and it was also funny.

I still find that most literary criticism, however interesting it is in and of itself, and be it Formalist, or New, or Structuralist, or whatever, says very little to me about what I, as a novelist, spend my time thinking about. But one thing Eagleton said really rang a bell.

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Have managed to edit three chapters of The Bones of Summer today - hurrah! - and am now onto Chapter 18, Page 173. Well, gosh. And the more I read, the more I like Craig. Bloody hell, that's a good thing, isn't it? Would have been a ruddy disaster if I hadn't. After all, I have to be in love with my main character if I'm to write anything worthwhile at all. And as they're all (probably) aspects of me, that surely makes me the ultimate narcissist. No surprises there then. I suspect all writers would say the same too ...

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On my way home from work this evening, I counted no less than five abandoned pens lying in the street. Being me, my immediate thought - as a writer - was "Are they trying to tell me something?" One of them was really nice and must have cost a fortune new - all silver scrolling and gold edging - but I couldn't reach it so I was not able to rescue it. I have never seen that many pens lining my route home before, so of course I was reading all kinds of secret codes and signs into it! What do you think?


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Have managed to book the away day for our work team on 1 July – which appears to be a date when most people can make it, hurrah! And goodness me but that took some doing. However, the venue keep saying they’ve sent me the contract to sign, but there’s nothing remotely in the email which looks like a contract. When I ring them up about it, I’m not sure they believe me. Sigh. Why would I hassle them about a thing like that if it weren’t true?? Just send me the contract, people!...

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Dear Pam

If I sent you something belonging to someone, would you be able to tell me who they were and what kind of people? I’ve bought something that was supposed to have belonged to Dean, on that ebay place, but I need it confirmed before I’ll really believe it. Oh, maybe I shouldn’t have told you that it was his. Well never mind, I trust you, and you’d have known it anyway I’m sure. I’ve enclosed it with this letter.

Also, Sonjia said something the other day that really got me all wound up; she said that Dean was seen with a woman in a London restaurant...she’d read it in one of her stupid magazines. Is it true? He told me that he wasn’t going out, that he spent all his time reading up for the next show, or just watching TV. We like a lot of the same things; he loves Midsomer Murders too! I realise that he is a man and will do all sorts,

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Hello Everyone!

I just received the most exciting news while I was in Bavaria. “Laura and the Leprechauns” has been named a finalist in the 2008 Benjamin Franklin Awards in the category of Interior Design, Children’s/Young Adult! The Benjamin Franklin Awards recognizes small and independent publishers like me, which is truly nice. Just to be a finalist is such an honor and a surprise that I just had to share the news with you. The awards ceremony is on May 29th—just around the corner, really—so I’ll be sure to keep you posted on the outcome. I never thought my first book would be nominated for an award, but I am thrilled to even be considered. Well, that’s all for now. I’ll be in touch soon.

Sincerely,

Amber

www.chrysalispress.com

Well, that was an interesting meeting. Perhaps the most interesting one I've been involved with. Seriously, trying to arrange what I'm going to do for a library for Adult Learners' Week with no voice is no, as they say, walk in the park.

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