Alex Beecroft's Blog, page 55
December 26, 2010
A good Christmas
Despite Christmas being a bit of a last minute emergency affair for us this year, it turned out to be a very good one. It was a last minute affair because we had been intending to go to my MIL's this year, but she lives up North, and when the roads were bad with the snow it seemed a good idea to cancel rather than risk the journey. Our central heating and hot water boiler had also chosen the week before Christmas to pack up and we were afraid of the house freezing and the pipes bursting while we were away. So on 23rd I had to dash out and get ingredients for a Christmas dinner here.
At that time I had a stinking cold and by the time I got home from the supermarket I was so exhausted I put the bags on the floor and collapsed for several hours, only to remember far too late that I had bought ice cream for afters for my (strange) family, who don't like Christmas pudding. For a moment, they seemed tragically doomed to be puddingless on the day. But then my eldest decided to make apple and raspberry pie. Which made my youngest decide to make her signature dish of pineapple, kiwi and raspberry crumble. Phew, I thought, we're sorted, and then my husband came home with Sticky Toffee Pudding. Then there was a knock on the door, and it was our neighbours, who had made more Trifle than they could eat and thought we might like half of it. (They wanted to trifle with us.) So it turned out to be the Christmas of Pudding after all.
I got a wooden pennywhistle, which claims to be an English flageolet, although it has all six holes down the front rather than two on the back. Regardless of its claims to flageolet-dom, it has an infinitely more beautiful tone than the Clarkes' Sweetone I've been learning on, and I love it. I also got an 18th Century straw hat, which reminds me that I still haven't started making my posh kit. Trouble is that I tidied all of the sewing away to make the place presentable for Christmas, and I don't know where I put anything.
Today my husband's side danced by the side of the frozen river in Ely, thereby ensuring that the sun will continue to come up for the rest of the year. Then we celebrated their achievement in the pub. So it's been a good Boxing Day too.
Voyage of the Dawn Treader was the weakest yet of the Narnia films. I think they try hard to take the magic out of the books and replace it with action, and as that book had no real battles at all, they struggled. They also streamlined the story and turned it from a travelogue and personal quest into a more typical action movie 'save the world' feature, and I thought it suffered.
On the other hand, on Josephine Myles' recommendation, I downloaded Harper Fox's Driftwood, a contemporary m/m romance set in Cornwall, and I really enjoyed it. It's grim and gripping and sensuous and beautifully written and I second the recommendation unreservedly.
Also, why is no-one talking about how good the Dr.Who Christmas special was? I am now completely won over by Matt Smith's 11. He's the closest modern version yet to the Doctor as I remember him from my childhood. Not a tragic lonely god, who's some kind of uber-hero (with the big swelling melodramatic music and the OMG manpain seriously, stop hurting him because it's getting boring that got so damn old by the end of 10′s tenure.) Instead, he's someone very clever and not completely au-fait with humans, even though he likes them, who tries to help in the situations where he finds himself and enjoys himself while doing it. Thank God for less hero-worship and more wordplay!
December 17, 2010
Library Journal Coolness
How cool is this – Library Journal dot com posting about
Bodice Rippers Without the Bodice: Ten Male-on-Male Romances for a Core Collection
Erastes, Donald, Lee & Josh, if you haven't seen this one yet, you will be happy when you do 
Struggling with Newsletters
I'm wrestling with email newsletter templates at the moment, because I got a lovely template which works in Microsoft Word and makes my newsletter look terribly professional – and then it doesn't fit into my emails or blog. Back to the drawing board there, I think!
In the mean time, I've turned it into a pdf, which has lost some of the snazzy formatting and made the images a bit dodgy, but at least it's still readable. Rather than abandon all the work that went into it, I've put it on my website here Newsletter 1 – December 2010
At least it forced me to come up with a blurb for Under the Hill and a name for "the pirate novella that has no name and no longer contains any pirates." Henceforth – to my great typing relief – to be called Forced.
December 14, 2010
Free story up on SiN
In a fit of Christmas spirit, I wrote a story to give away on the Speak its Name Advent calendar. It was meant to be a fluffy, feel good piece until my characters started arguing and an orphaned ghost child turned up out of nowhere. That rather freaked me out!
If you're interested, you can find it here:
and there's a pdf version if you want to read it on your ereader. Also, on Christmas day, I'll be giving away a $15 Amazon gift token to one person, chosen at random from anyone who comments on the post
If you haven't checked out the rest of the calendar, it's well worth doing so. There's been some amazing stories posted already, and more to come.
December 12, 2010
Lovely review of Shining in the Sun
From Mickie B Ashling.
Hee! Thanks Mickie!
Foot percussion
So, recently I've been reading all the advice out there about branding and using my blog as a marketing tool, creating an online persona and so forth. Well, after much careful thought, I have finally come to some conclusion about what to do in that regard. And my conclusion is this: "Sod it. It's my own blog and I'm going to post what I like on it, whether that's relevant to my writing or not."
In that vein, is this the coolest thing ever, or is it only around number #4.5 in the list?
BBC News – Is clog dancing making a comeback?
I love the idea of flash mobs of clog dancers invading Newcastle. Also the shock and awe on the faces of the onlookers
The commentary is very good too, pinpointing the reason why I'm such a Morris convert – because all of these forms of folk dance/folk music are things that you can do yourself. You don't have to be a mere consumer, passively waiting for the big media corporations to offer you entertainment at a price. You can make your own fun. I like knowing that if film and TV went away, I'd be self-sufficient for entertainment.
We had a lovely time dancing at the Mill Road Christmas Fair last weekend, though the weather was extremely bitter. I must have spoken to at least five people who were in England on holiday and said "this is very interesting, because we have something very much like this at home." I wasn't surprised by the Spanish one – after all, Morris dancing was imported from Spain in the first place, and I remembered Wulfila saying that it's in Germany too, but I was intrigued by the lady who said it reminded her of Dandia Raas. Particularly as Morris also evolved from a circular form. I wonder if there's a connection there as well, or if it's just a case of parallel development? At any rate, it's nice to think of ourselves as being part of a world tradition of folk dance that modernity tried to stop, and failed.
I could definitely see my morris side dancing this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_Fo71BmdUk&feature=related
if only we were all a lot younger and fitter. This is us, by comparison, middle aged but not letting that stop us:
December 9, 2010
Christmas Giveaway
There's a fantastic Christmas giveaway over on the Unusual Historicals blog this week, and today there's a print copy of False Colors up for grabs as well as a wide range of het historicals in unusual settings. Go over and comment to win
http://unusualhistoricals.blogspot.com/2010/12/anniversary-bash-day-four.html
There's also a party on the Samhain Cafe yahoo group coming up on the 18th and 19th of December. I'm pretty certain that will be outrageously lively and fun. They usually are
Meanwhile I must stop this manic writing and actually buy some Christmas presents for people. But.. but… I'm only three more days away from finishing a novella, if I can only carry on at this rate. Eek, mustn't tempt fate by saying that, or something inevitable will happen to stop me.
December 8, 2010
Act now on DADT
I just got this in my inbox. Unfortunately I can't phone my Senator due to being British and therefore not having one. However, if I could, I would, so I'm reposting it here for anyone in the USA who does have a senator they could call.
~*~*~*~
What each of us does today — and how our national leaders respond to that pressure — will determine whether years of work to overturn DADT succeeds or fails.
This may be our last chance to kill DADT before the Republicans take over the House of Representatives, putting repeal on ice for years to come. That's why we are asking you to drop what you are doing right now and call your senators.
Even if you think your senators support repeal, we need you to call them right now and make sure they will support repeal. Phones need to be ringing off the hook across Congress.
http://www.couragecampaign.org/CallNow
Calling your senators is as easy as 1-2-3. And it only takes a few minutes. Just use this sample script below or modify it in your own words:
Hello, my name is __________ and I'm calling from __________ (city, state).
I know that the Senate may vote today on the repeal of the military's failed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. On behalf of our troops and their families, I'm calling to tell the senator that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" needs to be repealed before this session of Congress adjourns. This discrimination is wrong and I believe that it is critical that the U.S. Senate bring an end to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" immediately.
Will Senator _________ vote to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" today?
Thank you.
Then call your other Senator. Then hand the phone to a friend or co-worker and ask them to call.
http://www.couragecampaign.org/CallNow
Thank you for taking action today so that we can end this travesty once and for all.
Rick Jacobs
Chair, Courage Campaign
December 5, 2010
Wonderful review of False Colors
by Jessica at the Read React Review blog. I studied Philosophy at university so it gives me enormous glee to see my work discussed in the light of Plato. (I fangirl him, and his proof of the immortality of the soul makes me grin.)
She really nails the characters of both John and Alfie, and I particularly appreciated the way she points out that it's actually Alfie's affectionate nature rather than his sexuality which poses most of a problem for him. I feel a bit protective of him because, of the two of them, he's the one who has come in for most disapproval.
Jessica says "It is sometimes said that genre fiction is about plot and character, while literary fiction is about language and Big Ideas. I have the perfect book to recommend to anyone who persists in that false belief." Which could not be better, particularly when the book's been out for a while and I'd stopped hoping for new reviews. Glee all around, and I'm thinking of it as a perfect early Christmas present. Thank you so much, Jessica!
December 2, 2010
Sentimental research
Since quite a few people said they wouldn't mind hearing more about my research, I thought I'd share the thing that stood out to me today and made me well up a little. For both Under the Hill and Whirlwind Boys (the novel I mean to do next) I've been reading up on World War 2. To share a personal story about the war – when I was little, I asked my Dad what the most important thing in his life was. I was hoping, of course, for him to say me, or my mum or his family, but he said "the War." Then, sensing maybe that I was hurt, he said quickly "not the best. Just the most important."
It's only now, really, reading up on it and imagining at second hand what it must have been like that I begin to see what he meant. And it does mean that I tear up easily when I read about the ways that ordinary people seem to have found to remain human in the face of suffering and terror – working and celebrating, being kind, when the world was ending around them, and they were living their lives with an intensity that made everything in peacetime unimportant by comparison.
Anyway, maybe that's the reason why this brought tears to my eyes. It's from Dame Vera Lynn's autobiography, loaned to me by Erastes, which I'm reading both for pleasure and for insight into the spirit of the age:
"…the War Office had expressed concern at the pernicious influence that 'Lili Marlene', a German female voice using Lale Anderson's recording of the song 'Lili Marlene' as a signature tune was having on the British troops, who used to tune in to her. Apparently she used to imply that the wives of British serving men were up to all sorts of things in return for black-market butter and meat while their men were away at the front. What was needed was our own patriotic antidote to this, it was felt. Howard could see no point in trying to counter one sexy suggestive voice with another, and thought we should go completely the other way by using me in the role of a believable girl-next-door, big-sister, universal fiancee…
I had the idea of visiting hospitals where servicemen's wives had just had babies, and conveying the news over the airwaves to Gunner Smith, or whoever, within hours of the event. To be able to say to some poor boy serving out in Burma or North Africa, or somewhere at sea, that I'd actually been to see his wife and that I'd taken her some flowers and talked to her was like getting hold of their hands and putting them together."
It seems to be the almost unbearable poignancy of little acts of kindness that strikes me again and again. Not at all what I expected to take away from reading about war.
