Ok, now I know not one of you will believe this - but perhaps that's a good thing, and it's entirely your choice anyway, but.... So, yesterday I decided to clean up the amount of Word files sitting around in My Documents. I carefully transfered them onto a brand new CD-R disc. However, when I came to transfer the last file, all the other files bar one had vanished off the disc. Even the title of the disc had reverted to the default date title. Rats , I thought. Now I'll have to retype all those chapters. Then I remembered that I already had the first six chapters on another disc. My habit is to leave files/chapters in My Documents and then transfer them onto CD disc in batches. (These six chapters had earlier been put back into My Documents from the disc while I edited them.) I lifted down the plastic box that my computer CDs live in, opened up the lid, put the old disc in the computer - and there were all the "missing" files. Now, I know I couldn't

Front row, left to right: Joanna McIlhatton, Mary Cary, Peter Hurd, Adele Cosgrove-Bray, Peter Caton,(audience member), and Tim Hulme. In the second row, between Mary and Peter Hurd, you can just about see Carol Falaki and Dave Hughes. Here's me, reading Seagull Inn from the Ruins Terra anthology

Just back from the village, and what did I see when I walked up my garden path to my front door? My best camelia lying crushed on the floor, its main stem snapped. Five years to grow it; one second for some clumsy idiot to ruin it. Yes, the scaffolders will be receiving a flea in their ear from me in the morning.... I didn't have to grant them permission to put the end poles of their scaffold on our side of the hedge. The least they could do is respect our property. Anyway, I've just taken photographs of the roof with the scaffolding in the frame, so if they leave any broken tiles behind I have visual evidence that our roof was fine before they walked over it. Our immediate neighbours are having their roof done. Emily nearly climbed out of the open front-room window in order to scrounge cuddles off the builder who was in our garden whilst erecting scaffolding. I've already had to warn one of them to pay attention to our clear Beware of the Dog! signs. He'd pus

1,626 words this morning - and chapter one of the total re-write of Bethany Rose is now underway. The draft I'm working from was originally titled Cry for Innocence but this doesn’t fit in with the theme of my two other novel titles so I simply changed its name to that of the main character, as with the others. The old draft is only 50,000 words long, so I need to double that. I have a solid plot in mind, to amend this. Also, there are many character and plot details which need to be changed so that everything blends with the mythos I’ve developed since penning the first draft of Cry…. For those who are now totally confused, I’ll explain that I wrote Cry… first, followed by Tamsin then Rowan . They can all be read in any order, so this won’t matter in the slightest. However, I’m not happy with Cry… at all; and so it’s about to be totally re-written with a whole extra plotline in the second half, and big modifications in the first. In a way, it might be easier just to start

Saturday saw me in Manchester, when I met with two friends. When burgers were suggested for lunch I hesitated. Regular readers of my scribblings will know I avoid junk food like the plague. However, my two friends hold similar leanings regards health and aesthetics and they said this restaurant made its own burgers from 100% Aberdeen Angus beef. We just made it before a monsoon drenched the city! http://thatsfoodanddrink.blogspot.com/2007/07/gourmet-burger-kitchen-opens-in.html  offers a fair description of GBK. So, yes, if you’re in Manchester and are feeling hungry, I can recommend the place – pleasant surroundings, reasonably priced and excellent food. The milk shakes were yummy, too. Sunday saw Emily waiting for Cat to arrive. That puppy explodes into happy yipping-yapping when my niece’s arrival makes the front gate squeak. The poor girl can hardly get through the door for our two dogs excitedly greeting her. She was wearing black jeans. Oh dear. When will she learn? Black