Sunny, warm, perfect!
This is the most spectacular day. Is this the first day of Spring? You'd think I'd know. Well, if it isn't it should be. So, with the power vested in me by myself I want to wish you all HAPPY SPRING!
Glorious day in London. Picture perfect. Sunny and almost hot.
We went off to dinner last night to the OXO building, which is on the south bank. Peter newsom, from Headline, chose it. It's apparently quite well known. It's an old industrial building - the (you guessed it) Oxo company building. Now it's design studios and on the top this amazing restaurant right on the Thames looking across the St Paul's Cathedral, and Somerset House and all sorts of iconic London sights. As the sun set, and the lights came on in the buildings it was almost enough to make me weep. Splendid.
And Peter was very, very funny - telling us about the perils of export sales. Namely visiting countries he's unfamiliar with, like japan and korea. Places where the food and customs were quite unfamiliar. He said he was once at quite an important business dinner in Japan and ate the table decoration.
Today Michael and I worked on our books in the morning - our usual cherished routine. Then a car came for me and I headed off to the Headline International Authors lunch, which was basically two writers from South Africa who write under one name - Michael Stanley. The book ( a first) is called A Carrion Death. I haven't read it, but it's getting great buzz and seems like one to buy! It's set in Botswana. And the two men are lovely. I'm trying to convince them to come to Bouchercon in Baltimore this year.
Mike Ripley was there as well - one of my favorite people. Wonderful reviewer, columnist for Shotsmag, and writer. I'm reading his book: Boudica and the Lost Roman. He's also an archeologist and gave me a Roman jug he excavated a few years ago. It's so deeply moving to hold it and think of the hands that first held it. The man, or perhaps woman, who made it. And what their lives were like.
Two women, Anna and Sarah, were there from the Borders Airport bookstores. They order the books. Good people to know - but loads of fun too. We talked about the books we'd pretended to have read. More than I care to admit to.
Once home Michael and I walked through the gorgeous afternoon sun to The Kings Road for a hot chocolate and pastry at Paul's Cafe, then to Holy Trinity Church on Sloane street to see his sister Carol's exhibition. She's one of a number of artists with a group show on now. The church is wonderful...it serves as an active church for the parish, but has chosen the arts as a vocation, and so supports artists in the area. of which there are a few. Carol is an extremely gifted artist and it was great to see her show.
And now home. Reading the Times, the Evening Standard and The Independent. And OK magazine. Mustn't raise the bar too high.
Only a couple more days in London - but we'll be back in a month, so not too upset about leaving. Besides, I miss home, and the puppies, Maggie and Trudy. Sent them a card. God help us, we're that sort of dog people.
Be well.
Showing posts with label Mike Ripley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike Ripley. Show all posts
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
Friday, 18 April 2008
Eye-catching
Sunny, cool, temps 9
We're now in an English village called Eye. Not kidding - that's it's name. Gets less silly the more you say it. And see it. It's gorgeous. Picture-postcard stuff. Very old church, timbered and thatched cottages, tea rooms and bakeries. Wonderful.
We're here visiting two of Michael's oldest friends from his Cambridge days...John and Moira Buxton. They came to Cambridge yesterday to see my event at Heffer's bookstore, which is a massive independent bookstore in the city. It was a literary lunch, put on by Heffers and organized by Ruchard Reynolds, the head of the bookstore. Brian Freeman was there as well. When we arrived we were shown into the basement of the store, through storerooms and down corridors and past a dark and dingy lunchroom. Had I been alone I'd have been quite frightened. And finally we were shown into what looked like a boiler room - with sandwiches. It was quite hysterical, and very Cambridge, according to Michael. Very relaxed, almost under-whelming - and the more casual it appeared the more important the place. Heffers does not try to impress - it doesn't have to.
We had the best time. It was very fun, and funny. Helped along by the presence of one Mike Ripley, let out on day parole I believe. He's a fellow author and critic and extremely well respected not simply for his drinking, but his opinion. He came, and insisted on describing this part of Heffers as Mordor.
After the literary lunch, when we escaped the tunnels of Mordor and bought Mike's books John and Moira fdrove us back here to Eye. Spent today here as well - relaxing, getting caught up, being driven to neighboring villages each more charming than the last. Going into antique shops and tea rooms and public gardens.
However - it isn't warm. I still have my long underwear on! Lise wrote to say it's 26 degrees celcius in Sutton!!! It's about 8 degrees here.
Tomorrow we're back to London. Hoping to get back by noon then have a massage. And writing on Sunday.
That's all I want to do. Feel so badly because two kinder people would be hard to find than John and Moira - and I am enjoying their company so much - and Michael is adoring it. But a part of me just wants to get back and sit down and write, write, write.
Must learn to live in the day. Ohhmmm.
Talk to you tomorrow. From the leaded glass and mullioned window of John's study as I write this I see the parapets of a ruined castle, an ancient grave yard in front of the church, and chimney pots. Lovely.
We're now in an English village called Eye. Not kidding - that's it's name. Gets less silly the more you say it. And see it. It's gorgeous. Picture-postcard stuff. Very old church, timbered and thatched cottages, tea rooms and bakeries. Wonderful.
We're here visiting two of Michael's oldest friends from his Cambridge days...John and Moira Buxton. They came to Cambridge yesterday to see my event at Heffer's bookstore, which is a massive independent bookstore in the city. It was a literary lunch, put on by Heffers and organized by Ruchard Reynolds, the head of the bookstore. Brian Freeman was there as well. When we arrived we were shown into the basement of the store, through storerooms and down corridors and past a dark and dingy lunchroom. Had I been alone I'd have been quite frightened. And finally we were shown into what looked like a boiler room - with sandwiches. It was quite hysterical, and very Cambridge, according to Michael. Very relaxed, almost under-whelming - and the more casual it appeared the more important the place. Heffers does not try to impress - it doesn't have to.
We had the best time. It was very fun, and funny. Helped along by the presence of one Mike Ripley, let out on day parole I believe. He's a fellow author and critic and extremely well respected not simply for his drinking, but his opinion. He came, and insisted on describing this part of Heffers as Mordor.
After the literary lunch, when we escaped the tunnels of Mordor and bought Mike's books John and Moira fdrove us back here to Eye. Spent today here as well - relaxing, getting caught up, being driven to neighboring villages each more charming than the last. Going into antique shops and tea rooms and public gardens.
However - it isn't warm. I still have my long underwear on! Lise wrote to say it's 26 degrees celcius in Sutton!!! It's about 8 degrees here.
Tomorrow we're back to London. Hoping to get back by noon then have a massage. And writing on Sunday.
That's all I want to do. Feel so badly because two kinder people would be hard to find than John and Moira - and I am enjoying their company so much - and Michael is adoring it. But a part of me just wants to get back and sit down and write, write, write.
Must learn to live in the day. Ohhmmm.
Talk to you tomorrow. From the leaded glass and mullioned window of John's study as I write this I see the parapets of a ruined castle, an ancient grave yard in front of the church, and chimney pots. Lovely.
Tuesday, 5 February 2008
I keep the book in my head - actually in the gaps of my teeth
overcast, gray, snow turning to rain, highs plus 2
Michael's doing his new back exercises and I'm getting caught up on emails. Had a good day yesterday running around going to appointments. Michael's eyes are VERY good. And his back is doing well.
I went to the periodentist for a cleaning. Quite like the periodentist. Gives me time to think. Realized I had a word wrong in the manuscript, and came up with a couple of small ideas. It's a quiet time in the day, except for my occasional squeal when the nerve gets hit. Or the woman doing the cleaning makes tsking sounds. It was pretty much an hour of squeal, tsk, squeal, tsk.
Apparently I have some rather large gaps between my gums and some teeth. Small communities live in there, and I'm planning a condo development. Perhaps, on snowy days, I can park the Volvo in there too.
Heard from the UK publicist and I have an event with Brian Freeman, a wonderful American writers of mystery/thrillers, at Heffers books in Cambridge, at 12:30 on Thursday April 17th. Also have a critics and booksellers party to go to in London the night before. And Sherise, my editor at Headline, wrote to pass mon a wonderful review of The Cruelest Month in the Birmingham Post, by Mike Ripley - one of the funniest and warmest men in the business. He teaches Crime Fiction at Cambridge, as co-incidence would have it.
They're also exploring the possibility of my doing a cruise with Cunard lines...being one of their guest speakers. Wouldn't that be fantastic?
Wasn't going to write yesterday, but gravitated back to the laptop in the Montreal apartment and ended up putting in 4 hours. Not all that many words added, but fine tuning some of the stuff I had and adding some descriptions. I realize I'm not all that great at physical descritpions. I keep forgetting to put them in. Partly, I think, because I see the people so clearly. Partly because I figure you all know what the village and the characters look like (short sighted, really, since many people come to the series late). But mostly, I've come to realize (a dental chair revelation) because I'm concentrating on their inner selves and not actually all that interested in what they look like on the outside. I think I've gotten better at realizing the editors are absolutely right, and people want to 'see' the characters, not just feel them. So I was doing a bit of that yesterday.
Must be off. Breakfast - cafe au lait at a local cafe with fresh fruit while Michael has cafe au lait and something (anything) with bacon. Yesterday it was a fruit filled crepe with maple syrup and whipped cream! Boys.
Speak to you tomorrow and hope this finds you well.
Michael's doing his new back exercises and I'm getting caught up on emails. Had a good day yesterday running around going to appointments. Michael's eyes are VERY good. And his back is doing well.
I went to the periodentist for a cleaning. Quite like the periodentist. Gives me time to think. Realized I had a word wrong in the manuscript, and came up with a couple of small ideas. It's a quiet time in the day, except for my occasional squeal when the nerve gets hit. Or the woman doing the cleaning makes tsking sounds. It was pretty much an hour of squeal, tsk, squeal, tsk.
Apparently I have some rather large gaps between my gums and some teeth. Small communities live in there, and I'm planning a condo development. Perhaps, on snowy days, I can park the Volvo in there too.
Heard from the UK publicist and I have an event with Brian Freeman, a wonderful American writers of mystery/thrillers, at Heffers books in Cambridge, at 12:30 on Thursday April 17th. Also have a critics and booksellers party to go to in London the night before. And Sherise, my editor at Headline, wrote to pass mon a wonderful review of The Cruelest Month in the Birmingham Post, by Mike Ripley - one of the funniest and warmest men in the business. He teaches Crime Fiction at Cambridge, as co-incidence would have it.
They're also exploring the possibility of my doing a cruise with Cunard lines...being one of their guest speakers. Wouldn't that be fantastic?
Wasn't going to write yesterday, but gravitated back to the laptop in the Montreal apartment and ended up putting in 4 hours. Not all that many words added, but fine tuning some of the stuff I had and adding some descriptions. I realize I'm not all that great at physical descritpions. I keep forgetting to put them in. Partly, I think, because I see the people so clearly. Partly because I figure you all know what the village and the characters look like (short sighted, really, since many people come to the series late). But mostly, I've come to realize (a dental chair revelation) because I'm concentrating on their inner selves and not actually all that interested in what they look like on the outside. I think I've gotten better at realizing the editors are absolutely right, and people want to 'see' the characters, not just feel them. So I was doing a bit of that yesterday.
Must be off. Breakfast - cafe au lait at a local cafe with fresh fruit while Michael has cafe au lait and something (anything) with bacon. Yesterday it was a fruit filled crepe with maple syrup and whipped cream! Boys.
Speak to you tomorrow and hope this finds you well.
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