When the going gets tough and you're starting to lose the plot...

Try to keep your head, at least...

(and your tail) 

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A Little Discovery...

Last weekend I went to Discovery Day at Foyles Bookshop in London Town :)

 

This free event, brainchild of Curtis Brown Literary agents (and in association, this year, with sister act Conville & Walsh) was to enable writers from anywhere on Earth to go and pitch their novels-in-progress to living and breathing literary agents.

 

 

 

In preparation for this significant event, I gave myself two weeks to compile and practice the requisite 30 second pitch, trying to devise some intelligent questions to boot. And, for the remainder of my prep time, I usefully bricked myself. I've never done anything like this before, and I've been writing forever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When it came to crunch-day, my boyfriend and I travelled down from Nottingham on the train. That morning, my nerves somehow transformed into a twisted sense of excitement, despite this being ABNORMAL for me. Normally, facing interviews and similarly terrifying situations, I'm sick with panic. I've clammed up before panels when job-hunting, I've cancelled interviews through fear. 

 

But I practised my pitch over lunch in London, asking my boyfriend to scarily act as agent. Then we headed off to Foyles too early, masterfully avoiding the pub. 

There are many other write-ups which detail the day's events, so I'm giving a stunted but flavoursome taster of my own experience here. My heart began its obligtory pounding as I was directed to my allotted agent. Which was Clare Conville.  

 

I've had feedback from both Curtis Brown and Conville and Walsh before - on previously submitted novels, so I felt, at least, some (imagined) familiarity on seeing Clare. But, as others have said about #discoveryday, everyone was so welcoming, reassuring, friendly and interested in what we had to say, they made things much easier anyway. I didn't see or hear any ogre-like roaring. 

 

My pitch seemed to go quite well, although - can you really tell for sure? Clare was lovely and enthusiastic and gave me useful pointers. I'm writing my novel-in-progress online (on this very blog, in fact), so I was keen to know if pre-exposing one's work (to try and gain readers) scuppers writers' chances of traditional publication. And the repeated and positive message I took away from the day was:

 'If the book is strong enough it will not matter'. 

 

My one regret is that I didn't take notes whilst there, only photos. (I looked round at people scribbling during the panel event and silently mocked them for not just: 'Subliminally absorbing it'.) However, I've forgotten loads already. As well as being a sieve-head I think it was generally overwhelming. I wish I'd recorded my session on my phone (as I heard one writer did.)  

 

So. My little discovery on #discoveryday was that I'm not quite as timid and jelly-fied as I'd supposed. Perhaps, when it really matters, when it's something you've yearned for, slogged over, been 100% serious about, all of your life, then it's far too important to let fear destroy your chances.

 

 

 

 

 

And this last picture shows the back of me, far left! :) And a lovely writer I met on the day in the foreground with agent Gordon Wise.

 

Keeeeeeeep writing.

 

 

 

Sjs :) 

 

 

 

Cats with freaky eyes....

This is Mogli, my four-month old kitten.

You may have seen her here before! You may also notice something interesting about her? Well, I've been looking into this and it's called COMPLETE HETEROCHROMIA IRIDUM.

AKA Different coloured eyes; bit easier to say.

It's apparently more common in animals than humans whereby it almost always involves one blue eye.

Gripping, hey?

 Wiki can tell you more about that!

But I was interested to learn that a number of people I've obviously heard of and SEEN on TV have forms of this intriguing trait....

I wonder if you'd noticed? Because I hadn't. They are:

David Bowie (the only one I knew about)

Dan Ackroyd

Kate Bosworth

Robert Downey Junior

Simon Pegg ?!

Jane Seymour

Kiefer Sutherland ?!

And Christopher Walken.

Amazing ey? They must have been hiding their eyes under their hats.

I've always been fascinated by this genetic phenomena because - as a child - I always wanted different coloured eyes.

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Wondering how to rattle off emails in a hurry?

Get your SUPERFAST kitten to do them all for you...

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Hypnotising Your Kitten...

Hypnotising Mogli...

For the same reason someone might seek hypnosis to remove bad habits, I decided to give removing Mogli's naughtiness a bash this week...

Steps to take:

• As she starts to fall sleepy on your knee, whisper calmly whilst stroking her nose
• Tell her she's feeling sleepy, that she must surrender all control
• Remind her she is so cute and beautiful when she's GOOD
• Remind her she's living in a lovely home, with delicious food at the end of one meow
• Remind her she ought to be grateful
• Tell her she looks unpleasant with her ears back, her pupils dilated and her claws out
• Tell her that, contrary to her belief, she's not big and scary when she does that sideways, bushy-tailed maneouvre at you
• Chewing feet is BAD 
• Tell her her toys can be confiscated
• Say that she should never be biting the hand that feeds her
• Tell her the sofa is not a scratching post, that people are not ladders
• Tell her it's no more interesting on the worktop than on the floor
• Explain that she should be over playing with her shit in the litter tray by now
• Bring her gently back out of the trance by stroking her tiny soft paws

If she wakes up scratching you, give her to Oxfam.

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Kittens & Writing don't mix...

10 Reasons why kittens and writing don't mix....

1. They meow for dinner every other hour (kittens, not writing)

2. They trample your keyboard or jump on it when you're not expecting itttttttxxxxxxxxxxxx ________________ ffffffffffdkxkvoapvvvvvvv

3. They draw you, by some kind of osmosis, into playing with them instead of working

4. They lie on your arms (and look so comfy) that you don't want to move them to write 

5. You're too busy taking cute pictures to write

6. They climb the Yukka so that you have to get up & pull them down again and say NO for the umpteenth time before cuddling them and playing some more

7. They think fingers moving up and down a keyboard is an interesting game

8. They scrabble up your legs, leaving tiny pinholes, at those vital creative moments...

9. They sleep on your warm laptop when you leave the room

10. They make you too aware that life really ought just involve: eating, shitting, playing, sleeping. On repeat

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A Little Distraction...

This is Mogli helping with the hoovering.

Hope everyone is well!

:)

Mwah,