Rollercoaster return to Blogland

I am sorry for not blogging for a long time (most of August actually) but it is amazing how little time I have had despite a desperately wet summer holiday. This past week or so has been roller coasting a bit for me for a number of reasons.
I have managed to develop a new strand of plotline for my novel which is exciting and adds a little more sci-fi to an historical novel. The picture shown was one of those I have used for visualising the first chapter of the book. (It is Wheal Coates engine house at St Agnes for anyone interested). I have made some progress and hope to get going on it this week. However I need to make more time to develop it all so I am planning a time management strategy...sad but true.

I then have a had a strange email conversation with an editor at a Christian Publishing house about the activity club material I wrote on Daniel. I had sent my synopsis in early July and had had no more, assumed it was a non-starter, then got an email on Friday asking to see the full material for day one. really excited so sent that off by email as requested, then this morning got what sounded like a rejection letter, saying the material did not fit their current list etc. Quite deflated but picked myself up and went to help our new pastor and his family move into their home. Four hours and fish and chips later I come back to my PC to fina another email saying that our emails must have been at crossed purposes and that the company are appointing a new CEO and he/she may decide to review the mediums they publish. So I think it means they may not be finished with my stuff yet. Left feeling a little bemused but cautious about being too hopeful.

Also Kat and I begin a new venture this month called the Bodmin Bookworm, aiming to encourage creative writing through schools and linking them together as a 'virtual' after school club at school, home and the local library. Kat's sister has designed the logo and I am now on the case to get publicity on the go. Kat is going to be the editorial manager for the blog so once it is up and running and I am sure we will both be signposting you all to look at it.

I guess we keep writing and exploring. I have been inspired and encouraged to hear how Debs and Karen have got stories accepted for magazines and clever Cal has got an agent, there is hope for me yet too. Well done ladies, great job

Memory Stick, Email and CV

Well I have had a very wet day, as I am sure all of you out there in Blogger land have too!! I had had a great night last night writing a prologue for my children's book. I had thought about taking a slightly different approach and off I went scribbling away while listening to Magic on Sky (radio station). I have had to wait to put it on to the PC however as my memory stick is still stuck in the parallel universe, but joy of joys my new memory stick arrived from ebay this morning. It has a huge memory (4GB) and only cost me £8 HOWEVER it is about half the physical size of the one that has gone missing...how am I going to manage to not lose this one!! Answers on a posting please!

I am still waiting for a publisher to come back to me about a manuscript I wrote for a Children's holiday programme, it has been six weeks since I sent it and I am getting a little anxious now as to whether I should make a polite phone call to ascertain what the defined waiting period for a response is from this publisher. Impatience rules and I sent a couple of prospective fishing emails to the editorial sections of a couple of other similar publishers, attaching the synopsis of the manuscript to one. Tonight...fall off the chair moment, one of these publishers has come back to me agreeing to read the synopsis and asking me for my CV...wait wait, back up...a what? I have never written my own CV. I used to teach people how to write theirs but had never done my own, so here I am at 11.45pm blogging after just finishing proof reading and emailing my CV to this publisher.

Now I am worrying I have done it all wrong by not waiting for the response of the first publisher before sending it elsewhere, what if the first publisher wants it...what if the second one wants it and the first one has not replied yet...what if neither wants it...what if both want it....no that's not likely. What if the CV is rubbish? What if they fall off their chairs laughing? OK cannot change it now, wait and see Mick, stop panicking and going off on one.

The Power of an Hour

Well today has turned into something special for me. Thanks to my friend Kat I was able to do some writing in a child free zone for two hours and it not only got my writing ball rolling, it sent it off down the hill and out of site!!! I have been meaning to write up a holiday bible club scheme I wrote for Grace Family Bible Week two years ago. The material was based on the first six chapters of the book of Daniel in the Bible. I was pleased with it at the time and thought I might well be able to consider submitting it for publishing.

Well needless to say, lots of things got in the way and it was all filed away on my PC and in foolscap files. Recently I have been determind to have a go and submit the material to Scripture Union, so today I finished it!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have my first ever manuscript to send tomorrow to a publisher. It is not my Magnum Opus I grant you, but to actually have revised, edited and compiled a submission that I think is good enough to send to a publisher is truly an amazing moment.

Without being negative I am stalling myself for the rejection letter but I do believe in a God of miracles and also believe He is control of all things, so in His time and plan I will see whether it is a yes or a no. What I have determind in my heart today is not to give up and to keep on writing. Having been through a recent time of frustration and weariness I have again experienced the tingle I feel when I am writing and developing ideas. I am reminded why this was my lifetime ambition and I am not going to let it get buried under a mound of ironing, washing up or paperwork. The pen is mightier than the Persil!!!!