100 Stories For Haiti: Buy The Book!

Hi, my name is Lorraine Mace and I’m here to tell you about one person’s dream to help those who suffered as a result of the dreadful disaster in Haiti. That person was Greg McQueen and he decided he would find a way to raise money for the Red Cross.

His idea was to ask his writer friends to each donate a story, which would go into an anthology with all proceeds going to the charity. He also asked for some behind the scenes worker bees. The response he received was truly astounding. Writers told other writers, who in turn told other writers, and the stories began to flow. The project received well over four hundred stories from writers worldwide.

Everyone who sent in a story, whether eventually chosen for the anthology or not, did so in the knowledge that they would never be paid a bean for their efforts. The worker bees donated their editing and organisational skills free of charge. In fact, the writing community from several countries came together via the power of social networking to donate their time, their knowledge and their craft for nothing more than to be part of something that would help the survivors of Haiti’s disaster.

Greg’s idea came to him less than two months ago. In that short space of time the stories have been collated, edited and, as of today, published – which in itself is an incredible achievement.

Greg has been on a blog tour to promote the anthology and one of his stops was on my blog, which you can read here. His post contains a moving section written by Susan Partovi. She's a Family Physician from Los Angeles who visited Haiti over Christmas, working with four medical students in a rural clinic in Cazale, a small village not far from Port-au-Prince. Her account of her time in Cazale features in 100 Stories for Haiti, and you can read an extract on the project's website.

More details on the 100 Stories for Haiti project can be found here, and information on where it can be bought is available here.


Finally, I’d like to thank Jane for allowing me this space on her blog. I think I can safely speak for everyone involved in the 100 Stories for Haiti project when I say that we really appreciate her kindness.

Lorraine

You're welcome, Lorraine. Thank you. Lorraine has featured on my blog before, when she discussed her own particularly torturous route to publication: she's the author of the excellent The Writer's ABC Checklist, which you should all have on your shelves already. And now, everyone, please:

BUY THE BOOK!

Happy St David's Day!

Happy St David's Day to you all. Here's a little treat I found on YouTube: I have just sung along with it, I even went up at the end, and my extremely Welsh mother would be proud of me.

To continue with our Welsh theme, I've just signed up for a place on this writers' retreat at Ty Newydd in North Wales and have been told I'll be sleeping in the room that Lloyd George slept in when he stayed there (apparently he died downstairs, though. Which is, I think, a relief). There are still a few more places left, if anyone else fancies a week of writing and reflection in the company of me, and some bloke called Patrick Gale: let me know if you're planning to attend.

Calling Brenda Carter!

A short-story writer called Brenda Carter has written a story called Past, Present and Future and sent it off into the big wide world all alone.

And I mean all alone.

Brenda's contact details have become separated from her story, which is a shame: because an editor wants to buy the story, but can't find Brenda to let her know.

So, if anyone out there knows Brenda, could you please ask her to contact me? Or if you ARE Brenda, do a little happy-dance ever so quickly and then contact me, so I can tell you who you need to contact!

Snow Pictures

We had a lovely New Year's Eve this year, part of which was spent following our sons as they sledged down the mile-long track which separates our house from the road. Here are a few pictures which I took along the way.

The stones in the foreground are the topstones to an eighteen-inch high wall which borders our front lawn. The snowdrift just visible to left of the picture blocks the path to our front door (which is roughly opposite that tree), so when there's snow we have to park a distance away from the house. Oh, and look: there's our wind turbine. It's a 6kW Proven, was one of the first in the Peak Park (and has since been trumpeted as a brilliant installation by the Peak Park, despite several objections to our planning application). It provides us with almost all the electricity we need, and a lot of our heating too: our house is completely off-grid, so when the wind doesn't blow (which isn't often, here) we use a diesel generator to make our own electricity.

Half-way down the track is this cattle-grid, now up to its ears in snow. The good news is that the snow also fills the many potholes in the track: the bad news is that although I drive a Discovery, it isn't entirely dependable on snow as deep as this and I've spent the last few weeks slipping about far more than I'd like.

The trees are pretty, with their skirts all full of snow: but the weight of it hangs heavy on them and brings them down. Just two so far this winter, and we do have a chain-saw and the wood comes in handy: but that's two too many when I have to get the boys to school.

The last third of a mile down to the road is pretty straight, and all downhill. The snow wasn't too deep when this was taken: you can almost see the track breaking through in the bottom of our wheel-ruts. I long to see it again!

On the right here is our neighbour's field, which was home to a trio of guard-geese before the fox got to them in November. Part of me is glad they didn't have to endure these weeks of bitter cold; part of me misses the geese's constant grumbling, their low-slung, swaying behinds, their curious presence. Despite the gander's frequent wide-winged attacks, his his dry-mouthed hissing always delighted me--so long as I was in the car!

A little further on, on the right, we reach our neighbours' houses. Then there is a stretch a few hundred yards long where there's a drystone wall which borders a nasty drop, into water. Every year I worry I'll lose traction in the snow, crash through the wall, down the slope, and into the stream. I've not done it so far. Fingers crossed.

And here we are at the road. On the left of the picture there's usually a reservoir but right now it's drained, while maintenance work is carried out (it's been drained, off and on, for the last three years for this work, but there's been precious little evidence of any work going on). The road is a dead end and luckily, the way out is in the other direction otherwise those giant snowballs which have been made on the road would stop us getting out when we need to. Despite all this snow, people still come up here to have a look at the countryside: on New Year's Day we towed a couple of cars out and ignored a few more. Why do people think their little hatchbacks will cope with snow which is over their axles? I don't understand.

Since New Year we've had more snow, got the car stuck a few times, got the boys to school five miles away when their friends who live within yards have stayed at home, and I've managed to kill my mobile phone by using it when it's far too cold for pretty red phones to be outside: but for now, these few snow pictures will have to do. If I get the time I'll post a few more pictures in a few days: but in the interim you'll have to make do with more of my usual publishing nonsense.

Happy Blog Birthday To Nicola Morgan!

Today is Nicola Morgan's very first blog birthday. I'm somewhat flabbergasted to realise she's only been blogging for a year: it seems like we've been benefitting (benefiting? gah...) from her wisdom for far longer than that, such is the reach of her fabulous blog.

To celebrate, Nicola is hosting a blog-puff. Everyone is invited to promote their own blog in her comments, on the understanding that they visit several of the other blogs so puffed. It's a great way to boost your own blog's comments, and it's a wonderful way to discover several new and wonderful blogs. So get yourself over to Nicola's birthday celebrations, puff your blog, and wish her well. And if you've not read her blog before then you have a whole year's worth of brilliant writing and publishing advice to catch up on, you lucky things.

My Favourite Books Of The Year

My recent vision problems have cut my reading-time to almost nothing, and I've felt lost without a book in my hands. Now my eyes are a little better I'm reading again, although at a slower, more measured pace, and here's a short list of the most memorable titles I've read this year.

My favourite general non-fiction title has to be Ben Goldacre's Bad Science which answered all sorts of questions I had about how research can be rendered unreliable by poor practise, and how results can be manipulated and designed. I consider it essential reading for all writers, whether they write fiction or non-fiction, regardless of whether or not their work has a scientific bias. It's informative, clever, beautifully-written and laugh-out-loud funny, and not to be missed. My other non-fiction pick of the year comes from Robyn Scott, who I met when we both took part in Sue Cook's The Write Lines radio show. Robyn was kind enough to give me a copy of her memoir, Twenty Chickens for a Saddle: The Story of an African Childhood, which I've now read twice. It's an absolutely stunning book which deserves to win handsful of very significant prizes. My only criticism of it is that I wanted it to be longer!


Onto novels. Sue Gee's wonderful Reading in Bed delighted me. It was so beautifully-paced, so carefully-drawn: I loved it (and my friend, Sally Zigmond, felt the same). I've now read most of Sue Gee's books and am watching out for her next one, ready to snatch it off the shelves as soon as it appears. Patrick Gale's Notes from an Exhibition also had me spellbound: I'd not read him before I found this one on the three-for-two tables at Waterstone's. Gale is a beautiful writer, capable of using great lyricism and emotion without dipping into sentimentality, and I am looking forward to working my way through the rest of his books. As for Paul Torday: I resisted the urge to read his Salmon-Fishing book, popular though it was: the title didn't appeal to me, and I thought the cover was a little dull. Then a friend gave me a copy of The Irresistible Inheritance Of Wilberforce, and I was enthralled. It's a beautiful, sad, wistful book, and I love it.

The two most beautiful books I've bought this year have to be John K Bollard's companion pieces, The Mabinogi and Companion Tales to the Mabinogi. Bollard is a noted authority on the tales of the Mabinogi, and he tells the stories in his typically sparse and very Welsh style; his books are illustrated with stunning photographs of the Welsh landscape which come from Anthony Griffiths, a prizewinning photographer with an exceptional eye. I love these two books, and hope that more will come from this particular pairing. Lovely stuff.


I am particularly fond of short stories and this year I read two fabulous collections, both from Salt Publishing: Carys Davies' Some New Ambush, and Tania Hershman's The White Road and Other Stories. Both books show the short story at its absolute best and even now, months after reading them, the stories are still fresh in my mind: both Tania and Carys are expert at implication and their styles, while different, are sparse and poetic. They are now both on my list of must-buy writers.


I've read over a hundred books this year, and it's been difficult to pick out my favourite few: but as I've written about each one here, I've wanted to pick it up and read it again, right now. For me, reading is a constant, reassuring joy, and 2009 has been a wonderful year for books and for blogging: I thank everyone who has taken the time and trouble to read my blog this year, and look forward to reading my way through 2010 alongside you all.

While I'm Away...

...you could be writing.

You could let me know how much you've written, if you liked (I've written two articles this week, a handful of rough blog posts, and about 3,000 words of fiction, none of which are on my computer yet).

And if you spot any interesting publishing-related articles or blog posts, please post links here so I can catch up with them once I'm back to full strength. I am SO VERY BORED with not being able to play on the internet, watch TV, or read. It would make me very happy to come back here and find all sorts of juicy links.

Max Dunbar Is My New Best Friend...

...because of a single line in an article of his in 3AM Magazine called The Great Underground Myth: Why Self Publishing Doesn’t Work.

"Jane Smith is a lonely Cassandra in a sea of frothing bullshit."

I have to admire his perception. The rest of the article isn't too bad.

These Things Make Me Happy!

Daniel Blythe, who comments here regularly and has a two-part series due to appear on this blog as soon as I get my act together and schedule it, has a new book out. It's called Autonomy, it's a Dr Who novel, and I think it's currently available at Waterstone's in a three-for-two offer. Buy yourself a copy now, before I rush out and buy them all in a fan-girl frenzy.

As if that wasn't enough, I heard yesterday that Marian Perera, who blogs at Flights of Fancy (which is a lovely blog full of writing help and scam-busting advice) has signed her first book contract: her novel Before the Storm will be published by Samain Publishing.

All this, and it's nearly the end of the summer holidays, too. No wonder I'm grinning.

It Must Be Awards Season....

Michael Stelzner, of Writing White Papers, is now asking for nominations for his fourth annual Top 10 Blogs For Writers contest.

He asks for nominations to be made via his comments, and will allow only one vote per person. You have to provide a link to the blog you're voting for; and explain why you think it deserves a place in the top ten. To get into the shortlist, blogs will have to have more than one vote. Nominations close on 11 September, which will arrive far sooner than we all expect.

I shall nominate Writer Beware, or perhaps Nicola Morgan's blog (I'm struggling to decide which one to go for, because they're both great). It's up to the rest of you what you vote for: but anyone who votes for my blog will, of course, be my new best friend and receive virtual chocolate.

How Writers Can Save Publishing, One Book At A Time

When I visited Aberystwyth a couple of weeks ago, I did my usual thing: I left my husband on the beach to supervise our children, and I went for a walk around the town.

I've known Aberystwyth all my life: I have a lot of family there, and it's familiar to me in an infrequent, surreal way. I know the layout of its streets, but not the names of them; I know the history of the town as it appears in my family's folklore, which often juxtaposes oddly with the more widely-accepted versions; and I know a series of landmarks through the town which help me to knit together my own mental street-map, and which provide a framework for all those inherited memories I have of the place.

This time, though, one of those landmarks had gone. Galloway's, the independent bookshop on Pier Street, has closed. The space it left behind is now filled with racks of tracksuits and boxes of cheap trainers. There are other bookshops, of course (and the list you'll find in this link still includes Galloway's even though it's gone, which pleases me): there is a branch of Waterstone's on the main shopping street and a couple of hundred yards down from it the small but brilliantly-stocked Siop-y-Pethe, both of which are wonderful in their own ways, and there are a few others too: but Galloway's, with its top floor full of fiction, its racks of small-press books, its spooky, echoing basement full of textbooks and odd non-fiction: Galloway's, which I've never once left without a satisfyingly fat bundle of books—Galloway's is gone. Because, as several people told me sadly, it just wasn't making enough money to remain in business.

I stood outside the space-which-once-was-Galloway's and stared in at the bright white trainers and the young men fighting to get themselves the right sizes, the best designers. It was never so busy when it was full of books. I found myself thinking of the wonderful literary magazine Cadenza, which came to an end this year not because of a lack of quality or reputation, but because it didn't sell enough copies to pay for its own printing bill; and of Salt Publishing, which earlier this year asked us to buy just one book in order to keep it in business (which appears to have worked, I'm pleased to say).

So here is my point. It is difficult to get published: this we know. But imagine how much more difficult it would be if the market were halved. Fewer publishers in business translates directly into fewer publishing slots; and as bookshops close, books and literary magazines have fewer opportunities to get into readers hands, which reduces book sales even further.

Over the last year I've read a lot of blog posts which have bemoaned the perilous state of publishing today: the suggested solutions to publishing’s financial crisis have ranged from sacking all editors (and in so doing prevent them rejecting the Brave New Literary Voice Which Could Alone Save Publishing (which is usually, coincidentally, the voice of the person writing the blog post in question) to cutting literary agents out of publishing's food-chain (because in their role of literary gatekeeper—how I hate that phrase—they’ve rejected the Brave New Literary Voice Which Could Alone Save Publishing, and we know who that is, don’t we?). But very few of them have pointed out that writers could do a lot to help keep all these publishers and booksellers in business until business picks up.

Every time you submit your work anywhere, support your submission by buying a copy of the magazine that you’re submitting to, or a book from the publisher you’d like to publish you. If you’re writing a novel and are nowhere near ready to submit then think about who you would like to publish you once you’re ready to go and buy something from them.

Buy just one more book; subscribe to just one literary magazine; use your local bookshop if you can; and then keep going. Every single copy helps: and there’s no need to stop at just one. If you can afford to, buy an extra book or literary magazine every month or every week; if you can’t afford to then order books at your local library and read them all for free—the library pays for the books it lends out, and every little helps. Because every time a publisher ceases trading or a bookshop closes its doors, it becomes just a little bit harder for us to get published. And if we writers haven’t supported the independent publishers, the small imprints, the many tiny but wonderful literary and genre magazines which put out fabulous work, then we can’t complain when they close, and another opportunity is lost to us forever.



(The two stunning covers I've used to illustrate this piece belong to books translated by John K Bollard with photographs by Anthony Griffiths: The Mabinogi, and Companion Tales to the Mabinogi. They're both published by Gomer, and I bought them from Siop-y-Pethe. If you're interested in the Mabinogion, or in Welsh/Celtic literature, culture or countryside, buy them both: they are the most beautiful books I've seen in a good long while.)

If You've Ever Wondered...

...what reading slush for months on end does to your mind, then just read this.

It is a bloody brilliant blog and I wish I'd written it.

(I wish I'd discovered the blog, too, but have to admit that Janet Reid got to it first. Now I know what her competitors feel like.)

Nominate Your Favourite Writing Blogs!

Maria Schneider has asked people to nominate their favourite writing blogs over at Editor Unleashed. Nominations are welcome until 18 August which gives you just a few more days to participate. Fame and fortune await the lucky winners: no doubt there'll be a few soggy sandwiches left over for the also-rans.

I know a few brilliant writers' blogs I'm going to nominate: Writer Beware, all those blogging agents like Janet Reid, Colleen Lindsay, Nathan Brandsford; Emma Darwin's This Itch Of Writing has to go on the list, of course; the Pitch Parlour, the Behler Blog, Nicola Morgan's fabulous blog and Sally Zigmond's excellent The Elephant in the Writing Room; but I'm sure I've missed one off that list.

(Does everybody agree that it's naff for people to nominate their own blogs? I think it probably is so I'm not going to nominate this one. It's up to you, boys and girls. Please remember to leave a link and don't mention my nastier habits. Thank you.)

Wanna Be A Writer? Vote For This Book Now!

Thanks to the magic of Facebook, I've learned that Jane Wenham-Jones's book Wannabe a Writer? is up for a prize over at The People's Book Awards. It's a great book for aspiring writers but don't risk reading it while you're eating: it made me laugh so much I shot a piece of sweetcorn out of my nose (and you'd be amazed how far a snort-propelled piece of sweetcorn can travel).

The good thing about The People's Book Awards is that anyone and everyone can vote for the shortlisted titles. So, if you've read Jane's book and would like to support it, and her, then please follow this link, and cast your vote.

Robert Fletcher of Writers' Literary Agency Labelled Fraudulent And Frivolous In Legal Ruling

Ann Crispin and Victoria Strauss today announced that Robert Fletcher of the Writers' Literary Agency has not only lost the lawsuit he took out against them and James Macdonald eighteen months ago: Robert Fletcher's suit has been deemed frivolous in the judge's findings, and his business habits have been labelled fraudulent. Robert Fletcher brought the case because he claimed that the warnings that Writer Beware had issued about his company were defamatory, but the judge disagreed with him. I particularly liked the piece by James Macdonald, which Fletcher objected to, which you can read here (I did want to quote it here, but Blogger still won't let me copy and paste).

Robert Fletcher has now been ordered to pay Writer Beware's costs, and according to a lawyer over at Making Light he's going to find it very difficult to wriggle out of doing so. At this point I wish that Ann and Victoria had hired a more expensive lawyer, but we can't have everything.

Just in case anyone who reads this page is considering submitting to the Writers' Literary Agency or one of its many subsidiary companies, here is a link to the discussions about the Writers' Literary Agency and Robert Fletcher over at Absolute Write: and I'll finish with an extract from the judge's findings which I found particularly interesting:

The plaintiff, Robert Fletcher, sent multiple e-mails to both defendants, Crispin and Strauss threatening them both with physical harm and threatening them with this lawsuit. In fact, in two of his e-mails, he indicated that his purpose was not to prevail in the lawsuit but just to bankrupt the defendants, Crispin and Strauss.

Hands up anyone who fancies an agent who behaves like that. No one? Can't say I blame you.

My warmest congratulations to Ann Crispin, Victoria Strauss and to James Macdonald for winning the case. And yah-boo-sucks to Robert Fletcher. Frivolous and fraudulent has such a nice ring to it, don't you think?

I Wish I Lived In Edinbugh!

Yes, I know it would mean that I would run the risk of bumping into that Morgan woman every now and then, but it would also mean that I could apply for the job of managing the Edinburgh Bookshop, the latest creation of Fidra Books' growing business empire.

I could be entirely wrong here, but I bet that the good people at Fidra are not necessarily looking for someone with years of retail experience. I'm guessing that enthusiasm, positivity, computer savvy, marketing brilliance and a familiarity with Facebook and blogging and books and bookish people would be of more interest. And I know that lots the people who read my blog fit that description well.

If you're wondering what good a job in a bookshop would do you just take a look at Fidra's reputation, and consider what their past employees have gone on to do (the Orange Prize website might be a good place to start).

Let me know if you apply, and good luck to you all.

That Morgan Woman Outed Me

Yes, it's my 47th birthday today and Nicola Morgan has been and gone and told everyone (I knew I shouldn't have twittered about it).

I spent the morning sitting in the sun, writing in peace as my lovely husband took the boys off to a three hour archery lesson. I was very productive, and now feel smug.

I've been given an embroidered dark blue silk jacket, which I bought for myself from eBay but which Big Dave intercepted when the postman delivered it; and I've been promised an orchard with apples, pears, walnuts and mulberries (all to be planted in the autumn which is, apparently, the best time of year to plant them), a petrol strimmer (Big Dave's died a few weeks ago and apparently I need one of my own now, to compensate), and an electric screwdriver (ditto). A Chinese meal is apparently going to be cooked for me soon. Meanwhile I shall read: my joy knows no bounds. A perfect birthday, and it's not over yet.

Pitch Parlour

Here's an interesting new blog. Miss Pitch has probably shuffled more slush than she cares to remember. Send your work in, and then brace yourself.

Let me know if your work is showcased there, and I'll go and have a look.

Happy Birthday To An Awfully Big Blog Adventure!

The gang of children's writers who write An Awfully Big Blog Adventure have decided to spend their blog's first birthday by celebrating children's books. They've promised that their party will include guest posts from industry professionals, a MASSIVE book giveaway, lots of comment and virtual cake; and it's all happening today.

I don't know what they're doing for you lot, but you can keep your hands off the free books and cake because it's all mine.

I Have A Very Clever Cat

This is Tink. She is my cat.

She is a Balinese (a long-haired Siamese), and for several years she served as a breeding queen for a breeder who no longer wanted her once she was too old to reproduce. She came to me then: she was a bag of bones, scared of everything, and knew nothing of Other Rooms, let alone The Great Outdoors.

She has lived with us for three years now, but is very timid still. She never introduces herself to visitors, she can slalom higher than the light-switches if she feels she needs to avoid anything, and she has the most mournful meow that I’ve ever heard. To comfort herself, she chews plastic bags; and she collects all the rubber tyres from my sons’ toy cars and drowns them in her water-bowl.

Despite all this wimpishness, this week Tink has revealed herself as Super Cat. Because she has decided to start using the toilet.

Yep, you read that right. She has decided, all on her own, to use the toilet.

She was first spotted doing it last Sunday; we thought it was a fluke. On Tuesday she did it again; and since then, she’s been a regular visitor to the smallest room in the house. This morning she woke me up at six AM with her ablutions, and she’s used the toilet twice more already.

She's very neat in her approach. She jumps up onto the seat; faces the back and straddles; dips her elegant, furry bottom just a little below the seat; and wees. Once she’s finished she turns around, checks all is OK; and jumps off. She has never missed or left the seat wet, and I’m sure she’d flush if she could operate the lever.

I hope that she’ll teach the other three cats to do the same. I wonder if anyone else has a cat who has decided to do this, all on its own, without any training or encouragement; and I just wish that my children and my husband were so reliable.

Clever Tink.


(And here's another of our cats, especially for Lynn Price: not only do I have a very clever cat, I also have a very useful one. This is Mabel, our very slightly brain-damaged Siamese, who wouldn't pee in the toilet if you paid her but who will serve as a coaster if you ask her nicely.)