Suite 101

Guess who is now an author with the Suite 101 website? Me! Hurrah! I think how it works is that I submit articles, on pretty much anything, and when they are published I get paid royalties for page views etc. Either way, it's giving me something productive to do and getting my writing out there, so really pleased to have been accepted as one of their writers. I've got a few book reviews lined up to publish, and thought I'd try my hand at the recipes section too, cook the thing first so I can do pictures and then do a write up. Exciting times.
At the moment I'm reading The Sisters Who would be Queen by Leanda De Lisle. I'm really getting into my non-fiction books at the moment, but one of the things I most like about De Lisle's book is that it reads like fiction. It isn't all cut and dry facts but laid out in an engaging way. History books are fun.
My week up in Keswick was really good, I had a lot of fun on the Wesley Owen bookstall. Working there has really opened my eyes to how many christian books there are out there. I had a chat with Simon Guillebaud who writes the sort of books that I want to write, and I picked up lots of useful tips, so well worth the journey for that if nothing else.
Typed up six or seven chapters of the book I wrote in Uganda. It's a sort of missionaries diary, just explaining what we were doing out there and how I felt about all the things we were seeing. I'm really confident that there is a market for this kind of stuff, and because it's quite informal and casual, it'll be accessible for readers of all ages.
Still editing the transplant novel when I have the time, try and get a bit more of that done this week. I'm still hopeful I'll have it done by the end of September.

Novel

Heya, just a quick one.
Here is a link to the documentary that inspired my novel.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/transplanting-memories/4od#2932177
Proof that I'm not just a nutter and that this is a real, interesting phenomena.
Won't be posting for a few weeks as I'm off, off and away (Uganda, Keswick, Paris, Guernsey...it's a summer of travel!)
See ya soon!

Editing the novel

Hello! Just a quick one here.
I've been editing the novel this week - done about 3/4 chapters so far. At the moment I'm in my bulking up phase - each time I edit a chapter, I come away with it at about 500/1000 words longer, which is great news. I think I'll have to do this phase twice - so, edit it all, bulking it up, then do the same again before I can think about properly editing it down. Phew! But it's going well :)
Been writing one or two book reviews, which are ok. I'm currently looking for somewhere to do a frequent feature, so trying to get a stock of them ready.
In July I'll be away lots - but I will indeed still be writing away. The next project is writing about my mission work in Uganda - I have a brand new notebook ready and waiting. So I'm excited to see where that takes me. So excited, only a week to go then I'm off - so trying to get lots done now so I'm not behind when I get back!

Finit!

Good day! Isn't it glorious to be able to look out the window and say..."Hooray! It's sunny!" So where am I? Indoors of course. My laptop doesn't do well outdoors! Never the mind, there will be plenty of time relax now that...
...I have finished typing the novel! *Victory Dance*. I'm looking forward to actually reading it now. Then onwards with editing of epic proportions. The word count is still quite low, so bulking up is going to be number one on my list for the redrafts. Oh and I need to think of a title...
Next thing to type up is 'George's War'. I really like this piece. It's very emotive. A few times, while writing it, I found I was getting a little tearful. Sadly not tears of joy due to the absolute awesomeness of my writing, but because I had just finished reading that book about the occupation, so it was all still a bit raw. Although the book isn't based on true events, many of the events I have fabricated are inspired by true happenings. Which is still a shock every time I remember it.
Just had a fab new idea for a non-fiction book...so watch this space!

George's War

Hello everyone, isn't the year just flying by? Crazy times - I've been out of Uni for nearly three weeks now, and what do I have to show for it? Well, quite a lot actually...
I've recently been reading a book about the occupation of the channel islands during the second world war. As a Guernsey girl myself, I found this fascinating, so many things I didn't have a clue about. So of course, as always happens: when I read, I write.
So that's what 'George's War' is about. A short story (though, glancing over the pages in my notebook, I don't doubt it's a good few thousand) about George Carre and his struggles, not only because of the war, but also just growing up. A lot of the facts are based on the research I red in the book, and the case of the Anne-Frank-esque secret lodger, though fabricated, it entirely plausible for the time. I love to think that things like that really happened, but we just don't know about it. Like Anne Frank, I bet there are loads of other people who have similar stories to tell, but for one reason or another we've just never got wind of it. Are those stories even meant to be told? Who knows.
So yes... still typing up the novel, got a few chapters to go but doing well, then onwards with redrafting. I kind of want to take a break from it, but I'm so enthusiastic about getting it actually finished I know I can't afford to take a break - woe is me!
So, that's the situation.
Oh...and in October, I shall be meeting STEPHEN FRY.

Life. Is. Awesome. Over and out.

Can it be summer?

Hello!
Things have been very busy recently, it being the assignment season and all. Getting a bit of other work done. I'm currently in the process of typing up my novel, which is taking longer than I thought! Once that's done I'll start editing it - the second draft being the one I want to bulk up, and the third draft will be the one I condense down. It's nice to be working to a plan!
Haiku Hundred is still going well, I've written almost thirty now and a few of them are pretty good. The trouble with Haikus is that you can't really edit or workshop them, as they have such a strict structure, it's easier to start again really than it is to edit one.
Other than that...not much news. Still waiting on a response from the Rialto, and a poem of mine will be appearing this week in the 4th edtition of 'Island Ink' which I'm quite excited about hopefully they will want to publish me again soon!

BIG NEWS

So....I've finished my novel!

Back in the island

Hello! Here I am, back in Guernsey and getting...hmm...an ok-ish amount done! I didn't start my Haiku 100 precisely when I said I would...but been going strong for 8 days now and really like one or two of the poems I've done so far. It's really good, getting in the habit of having to write every day like that. I wake up, see my little haiku book and think 'ah, must look out for something to write a haiku about' and somewhere along my travels, I find something springs to mind and I write about it. Today I visited the Little Chapel (beautiful!) and wrote about that.
Today I wrote another chapter of the heart transplant novel - really must think of a title for that soon! All the ones I've thought of so far are cheesy and predictable. So only two more chapters and...I'm done! Hurrah. Well, done with the FIRST draft, anyway :)
What else? Wrote a few short stories last week, just waiting for some crit on those and I'll be editing away. I've recently been reading...umm, a book of flash fiction called (can you believe it...) 'Flash'. I also just red a book about life in China a few hundred years ago, which was interesting but somewhat poorly written I'm afraid. Now I'm re-reading 'American Gods' by the fantastic Neil Gaiman, he's SO good. I'd forgotten how ace the book is, will soon have to get into 'Neverwhere' I think it is, which is another of his books I haven't red yet.
Keeping busy with my Easter assignments for uni, but the ones I've done so far have been nice and straightforward....saving the hardest ones for last, but I'll have to face them sometime!!

INSERT WITTY COMMENT HERE

Hi everyone!
So as January draws to a close I thought I'd update ya'll on how things are going in my writerly world. This week has been jam packed with editing and rewriting of prose poems, mainly. Really getting into them, it's true what they say about having to be a good reader before you are a good writer. Before I started reading 'No Boundaries' I had very little idea about prose poetry, but now the stuff just rolls out of the pen and onto the page, which is awesome! In our sudden prose module we are starting starting short stories, so look out for some of those soon!
Other writing news - i have started writing the first in a series of childrens books, inspired by the David Attenborough 'Planet Earth' series. The one I've been writing today is about Pip the Penguin, ahhh. So I'm glad I've finally got stuck into that, the idea has been rolling around for quite a while so I am very ready to start writing it now!
Novel..umm...yeh not so much. Maybe I'll do a bit more this weekend. What with assignments, etc, it's taking a bit of a back seat right now, but hopefully I'll get back into it soon.
Anything else I've done with my day? I submitted some stuff to Magma poetry magazine, so fingers crossed I get a prompt and positive response! What else? Cake baking...Mmm :) Also been setting up a website and facebook group for my fund raising attempts. I'm going on a mission trip to Uganda this July and so have started raising some money. If you're interested, check out the website: www.justgiving.com/Celia-Jenkins

Prose Poetry

Hello, hope everyone is well and having a grand start to the year. Nearly February already - isn't it going quickly?
Well, so far this year my writing has been dominated by prose poetry, which I am really getting into at the moment. I am reading 'No Boundaries' which is a collection of prose poems by 24 American writers. Almost every time I read it, I come away inspired to write my own... which I do :D I really like Russell Edson, he is one of the best prose poets of our time. A fair few of the poems in the book are quite abstract and don't make a whole lot of sense. Some tell more of a story. I like the ones in the middle, that tell a story by sort of hinting at it rather than detailing every little things, the poems that encapsulate a mood or feeling. Oddly, I've noticed that loads of them include Eucalyptus plants... strange!
So, some works in progress? Not sure if this is a prose poem or just a poem, until I've edited things to death I'm never really sure, but this one is fresh of the page:

---

Camomile tea was rare and exotic. It came in ornate tea cups, thin handles flecked with gold. Pure as raindrops. Honey dripping from a spoon. God nectar.
Then I grew up. Camomile tea was bought in boxes, square tea bags. Drunk often until the taste is no longer there. Just a sour sense of regret.

---

What else have I been writing? Still working towards some travel writing, I have two pieces in mind. The first is a short (500 wc) piece for a competition that is run weekly, and that one is going to be about Wales, where I spent a week at the start of this year. I have a first draft, but it needs much work as I've never written travel stuff before, so it's pretty sketchy at the moment. The other will be longer, more of a feature, for a magazine I quite like called 'The Peoples Friend'. I haven't started that one yet, I'm currently just deciding what to include in it. I'm writing it about my home so, it's difficult to pick out just a few things to mention!
The novel has been on hold for a few weeks, just because I've had essays and things to do. I'm hoping to get more done very very soon, I really want the first draft finished by Easter, then onwards with redrafting. Feeling a bit deflated about it really, in some one of my creative writing seminars I was reminded how authors tend to write a few rubbish books that never get published before they write the good ones, and although I've already written a novel that I consider to be my 'rubbish novel', it just got me thinking, what if this is my rubbish novel too? What if I have two rubbish novels before my good ones, and this is all just a waste of time? Then I think, what if I only ever write rubbish novels and never a good one, what then?
These are my thoughts.

I have already reached my annual quota of books I should read which I'm pretty chuffed about, hopefully squeeze in a few more before the new year to get an awesome grant total. I aim to have read 24 by the end of the year, which averages 2 a month. Of course it never works out that way, I usually reach around August when I realise I've only got halfway, then I read like mad until Christmas. SO very pleased indeed to be so far ahead of myself.
I've just finished Nation (Pratchett) and was very impressed by it. I think that perhaps it could have done without the last 2 chapters, but then it would have left a lot of things very open. It was one of those 'tell them all or nothing' situations, so I guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles.
I am very proud to announce that I have acquired my first writing job. I write articles and blog posts for a website that I think is a sort of search engine for reviews about cars. If you know me, then you will know I do not drive, nor do I know very much about cars, but with a creative mind and a determined will you can achieve anything so... mental though it is, bing-bang-bong I land myself a job writing about cars. Can't complain eh. Here we are in a recession and I, a student, have three jobs :) Just greedy I guess.
So what have I been writing recently? Usual story I'm afraid, not very much. I've been writing a few prose poems / flash fiction short stories (what are the difference between these, by the way? Week 3 of class and I STILL don't get it) which is quite good, means I haven't abandoned prose altogether. Poetry happens when the mood takes me, so maybe... a poem a fortnight at the moment? Not too hot. I'm doing a fair bit of editing though which is good... still little progression with the novel, but I SHALL be writing some this evening, so there!
As Christmas looms I suppose I shall be setting down my pen in swaps for knitting needles (my talent knows no limits, I know!) and gifting away, but maybe not. Who knows.
So yes, that's me. Over and out.

On a roll?

Hello!
Today has been a writerly day! I typed up a chapter of my transplant novel, so making progress. I've also written about half of chapter eight, hoping to finish that today. For this one I've planned out what happens exactly in each chapter, and I'm only half done but all the stuff I planned has happened...so I'm going to have to draw it out a little to make it a reasonable length. In total the current word count for chapters 1-4 is about 15 pages, which isn't too bad, I'm planning to have a mass expanding once I've completed it so...fingers crossed!

I haven't written much for ages, but just knocked out my second poem this week. It's a dedication to a great friend of mine who is a particularly awesome lady. She's one of those people (you'll know the type) who just radiate happiness and have an infectious, contagious smile. We had dinner last night and had an ace time, and when I left this morning the poem hit me. So here's to my awesome buddy and I hope the poem is to her liking!

---

For Rachel Red Hair.

You make me want to smile,
fill my glass to the brim
and knock back the good stuff.
Carefree and ‘one with nature’,
you turn me to the sunshine
with eyes wide open.
You make me want to be a hippy,
act a little dippy
as I skip and prance with glee.
Because of you
I wear girly dresses,
have my hair in
purposeful messes.
You make me want
to cook and sing and dance,
learn guitar,
be an artist.
We lock eyes
as your fingers strum,
face softens,
voice changes.
I covert every inch of you
for the girl I want to be,
or the girl you’re making me.

Prose, much?

Hello!
Time for some of that prose nonsense I was talking about. At the moment I am working on two novels, both of which are going slowly. The first I started around Easter and blitzed the first few chapters, but it has since taken a back seat since I started my second project. It is currently untitled, but the basic plot is about a girl who has some odd experiences after receiving a heart transplant. This epilogue is introducing John Arnolds, the man whose heart the protagonist receives.

-----

Chapter One

John Arnolds rose early after a restless night, plagued by fitful dreams and a stomach churning anticipation. Like a child on Christmas Eve, John had barely been able to shut his eyes for the excitement of the forthcoming day. Was it excitement? After striving so heard for so long, perhaps it was a joyful relief that John looked forward to. He could not let himself jump the gun; it was not over, not yet. He just had a feeling that it would soon be coming to an end.
As he stepped into the shower and felt the warm pulse of water against his skin, he allowed himself t e lulled into a dreamy contemplation. There had been other cases, of course. Circumstances more gruesome, extent more enduring, situations more demanding. He had not failed yet, and was adamant the day would never come. One way or another, John had to win. For a reason unknown to him, this one struck a chord, touched a nerve. He could not fathom why, for there had been others more worthy of compassion, with children who were younger, more vulnerable, more in the face of danger. Yet this time it seemed more important. As steam fogged over the pale blue tiles of the bathroom, John laid his hand upon his heavy heart and sighed as his qualms were washed away. It would soon be over.
Sam was awake when John returned to the bedroom. She smiled at him sleepily and fanned her fingers through her ruffled hair.
“You’re up early,” she yawned. He knelt on the corner of the bed and lent over to where she lay, entangled in the bed covers, and kissed her.
“I’ve got that coffee meet. I wanted it early s I can fly straight out if I need to,” John deliberated shirts over the shirts hung in the wardrobe, musing over shades and patterns before choosing a crisp white one. He deftly slipped the pearly buttons into place and tucked the loose ends into his good trousers.
“But you’ve only just come home,” Same strained to subdue the sadness in her voice.
“I won’t be long. Like I said yesterday, I’m hoping it’s nearly all sorted out now,” he lent over and kissed her again, stroking her cheek with his fingertips, “after this one I’ll take a break. Promise, then I’ll be all yours.”
Although she smiled, Sam’s eyes were filled with sorrow. She nodded as John looked at her encouragingly and gathered the rest of his things. In moments he was lingering at the door, still not quite knowing how to say goodbye.
“Do you love me?” Sam felt the awkward silence pulsating around her, but as John turned back he was grinning.
“With all my heart.”
The meeting had been arranged for nine o’clock at the Starbucks near the train station. John arrived on the hour, and sought out the seat where his tip off said he would sit. Sure enough he was there, his chair turned to face the wall. John approached cautiously and laid his hand on the chair opposite. The man had a square head with a broad forehead. His eyes were framed in thin round glasses, and his expression bore a grimace.
“You must leave at once, I’m afraid I’ve been followed,” the man made no eye contact and kept his hands folded firmly on the table. John glanced around.
“Are you sure?”
“Almost certain. You should leave right away; I fear there is imminent danger.”
John sat down swiftly.
“The time to leave has been and gone,” the man sighed as John stared straight at him, “I can’t leave without what I came for.”
“Very well,” the man reached into his coat and drew out a brown envelope, “I received this from my source, who is of course anonymous.”
He handed the envelope to John.
“I think it will help you piece together the final clues about the girl.”
John nodded gravely as he slowly slid the photograph from the envelope, taking care to conceal the image from the few people in the cafe.
“You know who the man is?” John nodded as he surveyed the ignorant face of Dexter Jacobs.
“The place too, I knew it at once,” John nodded, “it’s all quite clear now, I don’t know how I didn’t see it sooner.”
The photograph was placed back in the envelope and handed to its courier.
“Good luck, Mr. Arnolds. I pray God you make it,” the man stayed seated as John rose towards the door.
“I was bound to get there, one way or another,” John smiled as he headed out the door.
On the curb around the corner her hailed a taxi, and sent a quick test message while he waited for it to approach. Sam’s name was at the top of his contact list, but having fallen asleep again she would not receive it or hours. The taxi pulled up and the window scrolled down as John stepped forward.
“Gatwick airport please, as quickly as possible.” The driver nodded and John opened the door to climb inside. But before he could raise his foot from the ground, a single silent bullet pierced through the air and administered a fatal wound. Blood flowed quickly down his white shirt as John slumped against the car window and rolled back onto the pavement. As his eyes closed, his ears were filled with the rhythmic drumming of his dying heart.