Positive Thinking

My daughter and son have just returned from a trip to Florida where they visited the Kennedy Space Centre. While they were there they kindly bought a mug for me with this picture/quote on it. I love the idea of positive thinking and am editing in between birthday parties, family visits and a stronking great head cold/vertigo and typing like a...well, like a mad typist.

I'm doing my best to finish my wip so that I can send it off to the RNA NWS in time for the 31 August deadline. The deadline for me will actually be 24 August, because no post is delivered (or collected, I believe) on the weekends in Jersey! So, I'll need to make sure this is posted on the Thursday/Friday prior to the 31 August as it will be going parcel post and will take a couple of days to get to the UK.

Right now, there isn't a cat's chance in blackberries that it's going to be finished in time, but I'm going to keep tapping away and send the best wip possible in the time I have left. The book has already been written, but I've decided to change it - drastically - and therefore am in the middle of an almost total rewrite. Not the best timing to do this I'm sure you'll agree. I'd better get on with it then. Have a great week.

Good Housekeeping Novel Comp - Runner-up

Okay, I know I'm probably driving everyone mad about this, because if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you'll have already discovered I was one of the runners-up in the Good Housekeeping Novel Competition (out of 7,000 entrants...can you believe it? I can't). However, I couldn't not post about this on my blog too, so here goes...

If you buy Good Housekeeping magasine - August edition, pages 46/47 - you'll see my name. *squeals with continuous excitement*

If you go to the Good Housekeeping online site you can read the first 250 words of both my entry and those of the other two runners-up. You'll also find the link for the other shortlisted entries. My first 250 words would be followed by, 'All changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born. (WB Yeats, Easter, 1916).

Right, I'll let you get on now and get back down to reading my final (for now) edits outloud.

This is the second week of my summer holidays from work and it's been lousy weather, but to be honest, it's suited me fine because I've spent most of my time working on edits. According to our weather forecast the sun reappears on Sunday, just in time for my return to Play.

Naughty Pirates & Better Behaved Graduate

My son wrote this 'story' for me when he was very little and I recently came across it again. Reading this story about pirates and what they can do to you(!) it's hard to imagine that little boy - who was, by the way, the naughtiest child I've ever had to deal with - is now 21 and will be graduating this week with a 2:1 in Politics & International Relations. Who'd have thought it? *whispers* 'Not me!'

I'm incredibly proud and my outfit is hanging up ready for our flight to the mainland. Sister, daughter and mother have been given instructions on: How to work the toaster; when and how much to feed Divadog; to look out for the postman because Divadog particularly hates his bicycle; and a million other concerns. As if any of them have no idea what to do when I'm away? Which they do, but they just let me waffle and probably take no notice at all. I'm only away for a few hours for pity's sake! I thinks I'm probably just a little over-excited.