Parents, Research and Reviews

The warm weather has kept me away from the computer until later on in the day and then it is such a rush to get everything done before bedtime that I have been overlooking several things. Right now I am s upposed to be packing to visit my mum and dad for the weekend buit thought I would just do this before the day gets going. My parents live over two hundred miles away, most of it down windy, hilly lanes that take an age to navigate but they are worth it and at 87 and 90 years old, they are parents to be proud of. They are both very supportive of my writing and proudly boast to all their friends about their daughter -the novelist. so they will be even more proud when they read the lovely review written by Lisa Yarde of The Historical Novels Review. http://historicalnovelreview.blogspot.com I am really touched by her kind words and will do my best to direct as much traffic to her site as possible in way of thanks. they are alsooffering a free copy of Peaceweaver to the person who leaves the best review, so far there is only one so get in while the going is good!

The Forest Dwellers is undergoing final edits and work is being done on teh cover. I posted some photographs taken for the cover on my facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Forest-Dwellers-by-Judith-Arnopp/124828370880823?ref=ts the model is absolutely stunning :D (for those who don't know, it is my eighteen year old daughter, Laura, possibly the most gorgeous woman ever to grace this earth.) Also coming soon is a collection of work by my writing group. WE have worked hard on it for almost a year now and it contains a nice eclectic mix of genres and opinions. It is called Of Cakes and Words and will be published by Cledlyn Publications, available by the end of the summer 2010.

While The Forest Dwellers is out of my hands i have begun research for my next novel, The Song of Heledd which is based on an 9th Centruy Welsh poem and set in teh 7th Century. The poems are fragments of an old tale of the Dogfeilng, a slaughtered dynasty from the Welsh borders. The only survivor is Heledd, the daughter of King Cyndrwn and sister of Cynddylan the Fair. I have been enthralled in the history for several months now and as I sink deeper into the Heledd's lost world the story in my head grows stronger and clearer. I can barely wait to get it on paper.

have a great weekend everybody

Kidwelly Castle

On Sunday I went to Kidwelly Castle. I have been before but not for a number of years. It was just as good as I remembered.

The castle forms part of a defence system with Laugharne and Llansteffan. The first structure was begun in 1106, a wooden pallisade on an earthen mound. The stone curtain wall and replaced the wooden defenses in the early 13th century and by the end of the century the Chaworth family had built the massive towers and the inner ward complete with hall range, kitchen and chapel tower. The chapel protrudes beyond the curtain wall toward the river and the sacristry still sports a fine cruciform roof.

By the mid 1300's it had fallen under the control of the duchy of Lancaster and John of Gaunt rebuilt the great south gate. In 1403 Owain Glyndwr attacked but although the town fell the castle was not taken.

The massive gatehouse, completed around1422 was fully independent of the rest of the stronghold and easily defended. When I was there small children were eagerly peering through the murder holes and imagining raining missiles on the enemy below. It is a bloodthirsty child's paradise.

The castle is remarkably intact and there are narrow twisting corridors and towers to explore. The original grandeur of the building is still easily discernible, and many fine mouldings and fireplaces remain. In several rooms the wall plaster is still clearly seen and the whole castle reeks of history; the people who once lived and worked there still echo in the dark corners.

We spent alot of time looking at the evidence of alterations to the building and realise that for much of the castles active life it would have resembled a building site. Different types of stone at the top of walls that have been heightened adn doorways and windows blocked up.

The views from the towers stretch to the sea and beyond and to the east lies Gwenllian's Field. Gwenllian was a Welsh Warrior Princess from the 12th century princess of Gwynedd who lost her battle against the Normans at Kidwelly and was executed on the field after the defeat of her army. If you would like to read more about Gwenllian then I recommend Memories of the Curlew by Helen Spring isbn: 9781849234900. I also recommend that you pay a visit.

Kidwelly lies just south of Carmarthen.

Literary Snobs

I have just spent a day comforting a friend of mine who received a scathing review of her very tidy novel. I can only put the reviewers comments down to prejudice. One of the most disappointing aspects I have discovered about the book world is the snobbery. Writers sneer at authors of other genres and even those within their own. I used to believe that, as writing requires some degree of intelligence, I would find the literary world inhabited by the open minded and that encouragement would be strong but I was quite wrong.

I have friends from all genres, I know they work just as hard as I at presenting their work in the best possible way and I respect that. It isn't a doddle to write a romance, it isn't a cop out to write a fantasy; it takes just as many hours of self denial, solitary confinement and every bit as much hair ripping and despair.

If the writing is in a style not favoured by a particular reviewer, it does not make the book 'crap.' If the writing flows, is pleasant to read and the story can hold the attention and please enough readers then the book is worth publishing, whether it be via the mainstream or the self publishing route. One opinion is just that, one unimportant opinion.

Of course new writers will make errors, all writing is a learning curve no matter what giddy heights the author has achieved. It does not help emerging talent to have reviewers (who are often misinformed) make slating comments. A harsh review can make or break a debut novelist. I am not suggesting that we should be 100% congratulatory but whereas constructive criticism is always positve, slating can only do harm.

It is only a dream to hope that all writers will one day unite to support and encourage their fellows and perhaps forgive mistakes that they may someday make themselves. We all make errors, William Shakespeare's historical plays are peppered with inaccuracies and prejudices but nobody ever suggested he should give up. It is fiction we are writing after all. There are no 'truths' in history, only opinions.

I advise all writers that if you love to write, have to write then do it for yourself and ignore the critics who are often frustrated authors themselves. Believe that your book is good; your words will be enjoyed by somebody somewhere so stop feeling sorry for yourself, show those negative critics a thing or two and GO FOR IT!

Back and raring to go!

It is a few weeks since I have blogged but don't for one moment think I have been enjoying myself! After recovering from the bad back at Easter I believe I dived too readily into catching up with all that was left undone by my injury and, subsequently run down, succomed to a nasty cold which rapidly detriorated into bronchitis. So, a week in bed and another recovering. Not fun at all. Feeling much better, although still coughing like a hound, I have now resumed the editing and work on the book cover of The Forest Dwellers.

My big news this week is that we welcomed a new member into the family on Friday when we received our first foster placement. She has settled down quickly and is rapidly becoming 'one of us.' I am finding all these new responsibilites are a bit tiring, especially with being so recently ill but I am enjoying it and that is the main thing.

John has read The Forest Dwellers through for the first time and has nothing but enthusiastic praise for it (I know, I know, he is biased). His reaction is very encouraging for I know he is always honest with me and he is very good at spotting errors; he picked up some typo's and small hiccups in continuity that I can now correct before it goes to an editor.

And the sun is here, at last; I can get up in the morning without shrugging into jumpers and socks. The Rayburn can stay off and salad is on the menu more frequently. The birds are making a racket in the mornings and the sun is blinding me through the windows and I will soon be complaining of being too hot. Isnt the sunshine just lovely?

We are lucky enough to have owls nesting in our garden and the young are so funny. They don't stay in the nest but clamber about in the branches, a bit like parrots do, I even found one on the lawn on a couple of occasions and had to replace him in the tree for fear of predators. I have boought a new camera and hope to get out there and take some photographs when it arrives. Fingers crossed they dont fledge before then.

It is all happening here, we have four birthdays in the next three weeks so it will be barbeques and chocolate cake all the way. And, most astonishingly, I realised that in February my mum and dad will have been married for SEVENTY YEARS! Good Lord, is that humanly possible?

The End

Today I finished the first draft of The Forest Dwellers. I typed the last line, punched in the last full stop and wrote with great satisfaction, 'The End'.

Of course, it is nothing like 'the end' for now the hard work is just beginning. Now I must be hard on myself, objectively criticise my own voice, sift the wheat from the chaff and cast huge chunks of my manuscript into the recycle bin.

There will be parts that need entirely redrafting, characters that need to be taken in hand, given a good telling off and put firmly in their place. Some sections will be expanded, others stripped bare, but at the end of it all I hope to find a solid, marketable novel.

I have written The Forest Dwellers via the perspective of several narrators, a new experiment for me, and I do have some worries that their voices may be too similar, that my own voice will be heard above those of my characters. The editing process will hopefully reveal any such weaknesses in the narrative so that I can really get inside my characters heads, differentiate between them; highlight turns of phrase, characteristics and opinions.

But, before I do any of that, I am going to take a break from The Forest Dwellers, perhaps work on some short stories or poetry and begin to think about my next novel. AElf and Alys, Leo, Giles, Thurrold and Tyrell are all so firmly in my head just now that I need to step away from them, try to forget them so that, when I do come back, I can approach them as a reader and discover them all afresh.

UFO

Something strange has been happening in Wales this week; there is a vast golden ball in the sky. It pours down warmth, opening the flowers and encouraging the bees. This phenomenon is rarely seen here but, when it is, a new, optimistic mood falls upon the people of Wales. They linger in open spaces, talk with neighbours, mow their lawns, light trays of charcoal to cook their food al fresco.
I am convinced it is a good thing, this rare and noble body in our sky but it does have one detrimental effect; it interferes with my writing. I have not managed more than a few sketchy paragraphs for almost a fortnight now. I keep finding myself bent over flowerbeds, trowel in hand, filling wheel barrows with buttercups. It cannot go on and, in all probablity, it won't. So, I will therefore make the most of it, enjoy the warm splendour that is issuing from the heavens and get back to Aelf and Alys next week when a damper, more familiar feel to the weather reappears.

A Saga of bed and chocolate

Well, maybe I shouldn't have moaned about the weather last time because, when the sun did come out on Easter Saturday, I rushed outside to do a little bit of gardening. It was so nice to take off my cardigan and get stuck in that I got stuck in a little too much and spent the next five days in bed with a bad back.

The first two days were the worst. I was unable to move without excrutiating pain; my long suffering other half even had to help me on and off with my knickers - something we havent indulged in for a while now :D In the following days bed was the only place where I could gain any comfort, half propped on pillows. Sitting upright just made me lock up again and lying down is very dull, all I learned is that the ceiling needs repainting again. It wouldnt have been so bad had i not suspected that the males in the family were rather glad; gardening and diy were abandoned without the 'gaffer' and it was football and cricket from dawn to dusk. Not that it affected me too much, although I did have a long wait between cups of coffee.

A few more paragraphs of The Forest Dwellers emerged but the pain was distracting and I couldn't access my research notes very easily. Thank the Lord I had chocolate eggs to ease my long, boring days. And, curtesy of my friend, Brenda, the whole of the original Forsyte Saga to watch.

When I began to watch the early episodes I thought, 'Oh, Lord, this is dreadfully dated.' The acting seemed a bit hammy and I had never realised that Victorian women indulged in such heavy eye make-up. However, as I became absorbed in the wonderful tangle of Soames and Irene, shared thier joys and sorrows, (poor old Soames) I forgot all that and I forgot about The Forest Dwellers for a while too.

It is such a shame that they dont make Television like that any more; ok, so the make-up is flaky and some of the acting a bit OTT and the scenery rattles about like the walls are made of cardboard. None of that matters, I don't know if it is the depth and scope of John Galsworthy's novel or the superiority of the cast but, almost fourty four years on, The original Forsyte Saga is still one of the best series I have ever seen.