Paula R.C. Readman's Blog, page 38

Journeys

“Life isn’t a straight forward journey, my son, with simple stops along the way. Life is a cobweb of possibilities and mishaps.” Taken from my short story Journey of the Heart First published online by CafeLit. 23rd March 2018 North Yorkshire Moors

This year my submission output has been low. I’ve been busy working on the next Granny Wenlock novel and editing a new dark novella called Never Reaching The End and, of course, life tends to step in the way when you least expect it too.

The pandemic gave me plenty of time to write, but the call of the garden and house also needed my attention, and my husband too. I’m lucky to not have young children, and to have retired from full-time work, but somehow this hasn’t given me any more free time.

On Thursday I received an email from Elaine Carnegie of Writer’s Journey Blog. I had appeared on her blog in February ( Click Link Here ) Elaine was emailing everyone who had appeared on her blog to participate in an anthology to be call Journeys. I had a story which had only ever been published online which I felt would fit the bill perfectly. Journey of the Heart was published online by CafeLit but never made it into a hard copy. I had hoped to publish it in my single collection Days Pass Like A Shadow, but it didn’t fit in with the theme, much to my disappointment. Elaine’s submission call-out seemed an ideal place for it, so I spent some time editing and expanding the storyline.

I’m so pleased to say that Elaine has accepted Journey Of The Heart. It’s brightened my day. As it is a Charity anthology all the royalties will be going to Doctors Without Borders. In these days of the pandemic, it’s a wonderful choice and I hope it sells well.

I shall let you know when the book is available. Elaine states in her email she hopes to have it published by1st December.

Have a great weekend.

Clubhouse CafeLit 10 Chat: Wendy Pike

Welcome to Clubhouse Chat page. Those of you who are not a member won’t be aware that the location of the Clubhouse is shrouded in mystery. The only way to visit it is via membership or an invite to the tearoom. Every few days, I’ll be sharing a conversation with all sorts of writers and authors at different levels of their writing careers. Over tea and cakes, or maybe a glass of something stronger, I shall be chatting with my guest about their work in progress, or latest book release.

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Cafelit is an online magazine which posts a new story every day. To find out more click here CafeLit books are published by Chapel Town Books to find out more about the publisher click here. Today in the tearoom, I’m chatting to Cafelit writer, Wendy Pike about her entries in The Best of CafeLit 10. Welcome to the tearoom, Wendy.

Thank you for your kind invitation Paula.  It’s great to be here.  Is it too early in the day for a Pina Colada?  If so, could I have a pineapple juice instead please?  Failing that, a large mug of tea would do very nicely, thanks. 

In the clubhouse we try to supply our guest with all their wishes, so I hope I have delivered. Let’s start by asking you, what made you write the story you decided to submit to CafeLit? Was it as seasonal call-out .i.e. Christmas, summer holidays, autumn, Halloween etc or just something you needed to get off your chest?
When something offbeat, obscure or out of the blue happens, an idea plants itself in my daydreaming bonce where it bounces around for a while before blossoming into a vague story outline.  Naturally, this thought process has to compete with more mundane matters like:  What are we having for dinner tonight?  Do I need to buy the food to make dinner tonight?  Lots of work stuff.  And did I accidentally shut the cat indoors alone?
Then, when I really ought to be working or cleaning the house that’s the exact moment the story idea decides to burst to the forefront of my focus, demanding to be written, for it refuses to compete for headspace a moment longer.  If I’m nowhere near my laptop, I jot stuff down on scraps of paper, hurriedly, in my scruffiest script, to avoid losing my train of thought.
So, when Father Christmas made a surprise appearance in my street, in lockdown, in daylight, in June (2020), it was the perfect bizarre, bewildering and unexpected happening to get me reaching for my laptop.  
Santa Can’t Swim But He Likes to Holiday in Hawaii was the result.  I believe it hands down wins the longest story title in The Best of CafeLit 10.  Not that there was a competition for that.  And it’s not really something to brag about as it breaks the general rule of keeping story titles snappy and as short as possible.  Oops!

Wendy Pike

Did you use a writing prompt for your story?
No.  But maybe yes, in a sense.  A natural prompt.  See above.
Did you write an outline first, or follow where the characters led you?
I’m not good at writing down outlines from the outset but I do have a general plan in mind.  Occasionally it changes as I’m going along.
How do you create your characters? Do you start with a name first?
Initially I thought this was a tricky question for me to answer as I write about real life and real people.  But when I thought about it a little more I realised although I don’t make up characters completely from scratch as you would in fictional stories, I actually do write characters.  
I write about people from my perspective.  The observations I make and how I see them.  Any detail, characteristics or dialogue, regarding the person I’m writing about is an edit of information.  I’m only showing what I want to reveal about that person.  So through my versions of those real people, maybe I am creating characters, even if I didn’t realise it before.
Thank you for asking this question.  It’s certainly given me food for thought.
Might I add that breaking news about the usually secret private life of a global, triple A-lister celebrity (Santa) is a huge privilege and meeting the legend himself was THE MOST EXCITING MOMENT OF MY LIFE.

Was your story told in your normal genre or did you try something different?   
I love writing true stories or stories based on real life, if there’s a difference.    Is it creative non fiction?  I’ve still no idea.  My usual genre, if you can call it one, is creating quirky, fun stories from real life.
I still cannot believe my luck that I am a member of the CafeLit community.  I’m so very grateful to Gill James who saw something in my stories she thought was worth sharing with others when she accepted them for CafeLit. The idea of a new story to read every day of the year is so exciting.  I love the diversity and not knowing what will surprise, engage or entertain you next.
How long have you been writing and what got you started?
My first published article appeared in Over 21 magazine in the 1980s.  I came third in a national travel writing competition with a story about a holiday on the Greek Island of Skopelos with my then boyfriend (now husband).  I was thrilled as my secret ambition was to be a writer.
A decade later that dream came true.  I became a journalist, working as a part time TV news reporter.  I’ve changed jobs a few times since.  In my current job I still write, mostly newsletters and press releases. I also enjoy writing stories in my free time.  They’re almost all non fiction.  I haven’t quite crossed the line into fiction writing – yet.
What’s the one thing you would give up to become a better writer?
This would be easy to answer if the question was ‘could give up’, not ‘would give up’.
IF, and this is a big if, I gave up drinking tea, I could spend a lot more time writing rather than putting the kettle on but it’s never going to happen voluntarily!  My husband has suggested intravenous PG Tips might save me time and him washing up.  He worries my tea intake isn’t normal.

Thank you for joining us, Wendy. If you would like to find out more about Wendy’s writing please check out the links below.
Wendy’s blog:  www.newswoozle.wordpress.com Twitter:  @newswoozle

Meet the Autho r @ Cafelit.

If you want to find out more about Clubhouse Members’ Books, don’t forget to check out the Clubhouse Bookshops too.

The Times Are A Changing

There's no situation in Life so bad that it can't be mended. by C. Dickens One of my son and new daughter-in-law wedding photos .

After a busy weekend when my husband and I saw our son marry his beautiful fiancée at the 14th century Rose and Crown Hotel, Colchester, we’re having a quiet week pottering around the house.

Today, we went to pick up some bookmarks I had made by a local printer, Michael Oxley. I had tried to make them myself, but the standard wasn’t good enough for what I wanted. Using the designs I had created on Book Brush Michael was able to print high-quality bookmarks for an amazing price.

My bookmarks

When our local librarian came to collect a few of my bookmarks, she told me that one of my books has already been borrowed from the library, which is pretty amazing. My son insisted that I took along a few of my book business cards to hand out at his wedding. I said but it’s your special day and it wouldn’t feel right for me to promote my books. My son said, but I’m so proud of you, mum and the other services we’ve used will be promoting themselves on the day anyway, so why not you.

I waited until more or less the end of the day before handing out my cards. I’m glad I plucked up the courage because when I got chatting to the photographer, Star, it turned out that her full-time job is an English teacher at a secondary school. She asked me, if my books were age-appropriate and I explained that I felt my writing was akin to Victorian Gothic tales and ghost stories, but I felt she would need to read Stone Angels for herself. I explained that I didn’t use over the top graphic violence or blood and gore. Star said she liked the sound of Stone Angels and wanted to use the book and my background story in one of her lesson as an inspiration for her students.

I was blown away by the thought my work was going to be used as a teaching aid to inspire young people to read and write. I felt my work had moved up to another level, which I hadn’t imagined or planned for when I set out on this writing journey.

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The only downside to this week has been the discovery that old age has finally caught up with me. After a trip to the doctor’s to check out a health issue which as arose over the last two weeks, I’ve been told in three weeks time I will receive a letter from the hospital to assess my situation and determine the best treatment for me. Though the problem isn’t a big issue and lots of women and men suffer in different degrees with the same problem, it marks a turning point in my life, and the slippery slope to decline in our bodies. I’ve never been into hospital, apart from having my son. The thought of going under the knife scares me, so I’m trying not to think about it and focus on my writing. I was very upset to have my fears confirmed by the doctor. I sobbed, saying I had always tried to keep fit, eat healthy etc. My lovely doctor explained it wasn’t anything, I did or didn’t do it was just the simple fact that parts of us wear out with old age.

After finding myself in a dark place for a few days, I’ve decided I can’t change anything so I must stay focused on the positive and keep moving forward. Back to working on Granny Wenlock’s books and enjoying my life.

Be Positive

There’s a lot more to Granny

Yesterday went to the historic town of Maldon, Essex on the Blackwater Estuary and discovered Granny Wenlock has a walkway. Bless her, she’s a dark lady with a hidden past Great Marketing. Went to the bookshop there to see if they will take my books. Fingers crossed. I now have my books in three local libraries.

We Are Stardust…

Then can I walk beside you
I have come here to lose the smog.
And I feel to be a cog in something turning. Well, maybe it is just the time of year
Or maybe it's the time of man.
I don't know who I am.
But you know, life is for learning

We are stardust.
We are golden.
And we've got to get ourselves,
back to the garden....October 22, 1969 Written by Joni Mitchell, born November 7, 1943 and is a Canadian singer-songwriter.

On Tuesday morning I met up with Ana. It was a chilly, damp start to the day but it soon warmed up. Ana made the choice for us to walk to Cressing Church. After looking around the churchyard, we followed the road round until it met up with Boar’s Tye Road. The traffic here was beginning to pick up and we had to be careful crossing over. We carried on walking along Links Road to Perry Green before turning right on to Five Ashes Lane. We then took the footpath on the right, which went across the fields after I spotted a hare and started to film it.  This footpath took us back to Silver End. The walk took in total 132 minutes and covered 5 miles (8.4 km)

As usual there was plenty to see and I had my camera ready.  I’m finding my phone is okay for making short videos for my Instagram account, but not for recording or photographing the natural world.

The landscape around us has a dark beauty. As humans we don’t see the battle for survival that rages everyday as creatures and even plants fight for their lives, though the pandemic has brought this battle to our own front doors.  For all of us whether we are birds, plants, animals or human we are aware our time on earth is short and nothing is permanent. In the past even being dead and buried didn’t mean you got to rest in peace. You can still see signs in your local graveyard where cages were put around the dead because of fears that corpses might be stolen or graves looted for personal belongings buried with loved ones.  These were known as mort-safes. A metal cage in many shapes and form were added to make it difficult to dig up the grave.

Mort-Safes

The word Mort (from middle English derived from the Latin Mor or Mort) meaning death. Mort has been around since 1500’s and originally referred to the sound emitted from a hunting horn. The horn is sounded when the quarry is brought down and killed. It’s also where the word ‘Mortician’ comes from too.

A little about the plants I found on this walk.

Cobnuts:

Hazel Nuts or Cobnuts

The relationship between humans and the common hazel dates back to prehistoric times when it was used for all manner of things, many of these we still use it for today, from fence panels, hurdles, to basket-work. Panels of interwoven hazel rods were used in the building technique known as ‘wattle and daub’. The hazel panels or wattles, were placed between the wooden posts forming the frame of the house and then daubed with a mixture of mud and straw. The name “Hazel” is derived from ‘Haesel,’ an ancient Anglo-Saxon word for Hood, which describes the appearance of the nutshells. People have made hazelnut milk for years and also ground the nuts into flour to make hazelnut bread. They used twigs of the hazel to protect a house from thunder and lightning. Hazel has long been associated with fertility and childbirth too.  

Pineapple Weed:

Pineapple Weed

In 1871 this plant was introduced from Oregon, America and spread quickly becoming a weed of waysides and wastelands. It gets its name from the smell of its leaves when crushed. The flowers and leaves are a tasty finger food while walking, or can be tossed in salads. As with chamomile, pineapple weed makes a great herbal tea too.

Meadowsweet:

Meadowsweet

This plant grows along the ditches and water ways. The name is a corruption of its Anglo-Saxon’s name medesweete given because it was once used to flavour mead. In the medieval times householders strewed this plant among the rushes that covered their floor because of its sweet scent. It was once used to treat fevers, blood disorders, high blood pressure and diabetes.

I hope you enjoy watching my video.  

Book Launch: Gail Aldwin’s This Much Huxley Knows

Welcome to Clubhouse Chat page. Those of you who are not a member won’t be aware that the location of the Clubhouse is shrouded in mystery. The only way to visit it is via membership or an invite to the tearoom. Every few days, I’ll be sharing a conversation with all sort of writers and authors at different levels of their writing careers. Over tea and cakes, or maybe a glass of something stronger, I shall be chatting with my guest about their work in progress, or latest book release.

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Today, we’re here to celebrate the launch of Gail Alwin’s new book This Much Huxley Knows. Gail is a novelist, poet and scriptwriter, and her debut coming-of-age novel The String Games was a finalist in The People’s Book Prize and the DLF Writing Prize 2020. Following a stint as a university lecturer, Gail’s children’s picture book Pandemonium was published. Gail loves to appear at national and international literary and fringe festivals. Prior to Covid-19, she volunteered at Bidibidi in Uganda, the second largest refugee settlement in the world. When she’s not gallivanting around, Gail writes at her home overlooking water meadows in Dorset. Welcome back to the clubhouse tearoom, Gail.

Thank you for having me, Paula. It’s lovely to sit outside, and enjoy the sunshine.

It is. I’m sure the plants loved having all the rain, but it’s nice to have a few dry days too. Let’s start by asking you what type of books/genre do you write?

I write all sorts of things, from short fiction and poetry to novels and scripts. My books fall under the genre of contemporary fiction and in both my debut The String Games and my second novel This Much Huxley Knows child characters play key roles.

What was your inspiration behind your book?

The idea for This Much Huxley Knows came from my debut novel The String Games. The catalyst for that story involves the disappearance of four-year-old Josh who goes missing during a family holiday in France. It was because I enjoyed including a child character, that I decided to explore writing with a young narrator. When I read the early chapters of This Much Huxley Knows to my writing group, they were sceptical that I’d be able to sustain a child’s voice for the length of a novel. This proved to be a motivating factor – tell me I can’t do something and I’ll always want to give it a try.

Gail Aldwin

Please give us a short taster of your plotline and introduce us to your main character. 

The novel uses a young narrator to shine a light on adult experiences. Huxley is seven years old and knows a lot about life but is particularly concerned about friendships. Ben is only his friend outside school, because he likes football and Huxley doesn’t. Samira is friendly, but she’s a girl. When Leonard, an elderly newcomer chats with Huxley, his parents are suspicious. But Huxley is lonely and thinks Leonard is too. Can they become friends?

How did you choose the name of your protagonist?

Huxley started life as Mikey. It was during a redraft that I decided to move the timeframe from 2014 to 2016, just after the Brexit referendum. It seemed a more appropriate period to capitalise on community tension and provided an opportunity to build more jeopardy into the novel. At the same time, I started to think of my narrator as Huxley. The popularity of this name was on the increase in 2016 and I decided to stick with Huxley because it also represented the family’s middle-class status.

Do you think your readers will find your MC character likeable or not?

In a recent review, book blogger Julie at A Little Book Problem wrote: ‘Huxley is a totally lovable character that I defy anyone not to adore by the end [of the story].’ I hope she’s right!

How did you choose the title for your book? Had you chosen the title before writing the book, or on completion?

Following a few variations, I decided to stick with the title This Much Huxley Knows quite early in the process. It’s a play on the phrase ‘I love you this much’ and when the cover was produced using the photo of a young boy with outstretched arms, it seemed totally appropriate.

How did you choose the cover picture? Did you have an idea of what you would like?

I wanted the cover image to reflect the exuberance of my young narrator. I looked through many istock photos until I came upon the right one. The cover designer at Black Rose Writing then added all the written details. I like the font he used as the title is easy to read even as a thumbnail.

If a film maker chose your book to adapt, would you be happy with a based on version film or series, or would you want them to stick as closely as possible to your original idea? What wouldn’t you be happy with .i.e. too much violence, complete change of character etc.? 

I’d take matters into my own hands and write the screenplay myself! At least that way I could attempt to keep the film true to the original story.

Have you started writing your next book? Is it something original or a follow on novel?

My work in progress is called Little Swot and it’s a departure from contemporary fiction. It’s a dual timeline novel initially told from the viewpoint of a menopausal and redundant journalist in 2010. Stephanie decides to create a podcast which looks into the disappearance of sixteen-year-old Carolyn in 1978. Through the alternating structure of the two viewpoints, readers engage with Stephanie’s investigation and also connect with Carolyn’s experience of infatuation for a teacher and exploitation.

While writing the book did you have a light bulb moment when everything came together, and what triggered it?

When I decided that Huxley would corrupt words to make silly jokes, his voice was cemented. He did this in order to avoid loneliness and make friends. After that, further ideas began to snowball. The themes of the novel around bullying and isolation became important and then everything else fell into place.

About This Much Huxley Knows

I’m seven years old and I’ve never had a best mate. Trouble is, no one gets my jokes. And Breaks-it isn’t helping. Ha! You get it, don’t you? Brexit means everyone’s falling out and breaking up.

Huxley is growing up in the suburbs of London at a time of community tensions. To make matters worse, a gang of youths is targeting isolated residents. When Leonard, an elderly newcomer chats with Huxley, his parents are suspicious. But Huxley is lonely and thinks Leonard is too. Can they become friends?

Funny and compassionate, this contemporary novel for adults explores issues of belonging, friendship and what it means to trust.

‘Read this and feel young again’ ­– Joe Siple, author of The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride

‘Moving and ultimately upbeat’ – Christopher Wakling, author of What I Did

‘A joyous novel with the wonderfully exuberant character of Huxley’ – Sara Gethin, author of Not Thomas

Purchase Links

AmazonUS, AmazonUK, Barnes and Noble, HiveUK, Book Depository

Social Media Links

Twitter:              https://twitter.com/gailaldwin

Facebook:        https://www.facebook.com/gailaldwinwriter/

Blog:                https://gailaldwin.com

If you want to find out more about Clubhouse Members’ Books, don’t forget to check out the Clubhouse Bookshops too.

A Walk To The Polish Camp

Our walk on Monday took us to the Polish Camp. It was a mist start and the dew was heavy. Our trousers legs and boots soon became soaked through. We edged the old airfield and joined the track leading to street cleaning depot. We left the track joined the footpath that took us pass the Polish Camp, around Storey’s Wood and back towards Park Gate Farm. After crossing over Church Road we followed the footpath through avenue of trees at the front of Rivenhall Place before turning right and coming out at the horse fields on Western Lane. The round trip took 110 minutes and about 4 miles. (6.437 Kilometres)

Yarrow and Vervain

Vervain: with its tiny blue flowers is easily overlooked. It’s a plant full of myths and legends. It once grew on the green hill at Calvary where according to legend it was used to staunch Christ’s blood at the crucifixion.  The plant was once believed to ward off the plague too. Romans used it as an altar plant during sacrifices while the Druids used it while casting magic spells.

Greater Burdock

Greater Burdock: this plant has been of great importance to herbalists. Its leaves were used to wrap wounds. Burns were soothed using the biggest and softest leaves. Even today the plant is used for treating skin conditions, arthritis and infections. Of course everyone has heard of dandelion and burdock. It’s regarded as a tonic kidney and liver but only if you drink the natural version and not the fizzy commercial drink.

Ribwort Plantain

Ribwort Plantain: this ancient plant dates back thousands of years. Its pollen has been preserved in peat and lake sediment. The old name for ribwort is kemps which derived from the Anglo-Saxon name Cempa meaning ‘warrior’

I hope you enjoy taking this walk with me.  

Can We Believe in Number Ones?

Sometimes the reality of a long held dream isn’t quite what we imagine. In today’s world where we can all dream the impossible we forget about the little details. I, along with thousands of others with the same dream, to see our work in print have forgotten about the small details of marketing our books to push it up an impossible hill called Amazon’s Top Ten Chart. I’m sure the Brontes, and Virginia Wolf didn’t have to worry about topping imaginary charts.

In reality, I can’t compete with the big name publishing company without re-mortgaging my home. As much as I believe in my work I’m not about to risk losing the roof over my head in some vain hope to top a chart that has no real value.

What is a Number One, and what is its real value if your book hasn’t been read?

I remember watching Top of the Pops on the television, going into school the next day and chatting excitedly with friends about our favourite pop singers. We would argue about who made it to the top of the charts from one week to the next. To become number 1 was to reach stardom.

But for what?

In reality it was a soul destroying exercise for many of the young musicians. What we need to ask ourselves is what did the musicians want for themselves when they set out on their singing careers?

 Was it to be able to sing Writing a beautiful song that everyone would remember, or making the music industry more money for their investors?

The dream, or the reality for whom?

For me, it was all about the song . The one you sang along with, and even today when you hear it played, it brings back wonderful memories.  It doesn’t matter whether it made it to number one, or not. If we could talk to the near-miss pop singers who didn’t top the charts, I wonder if their soul destroying stories of their struggles to make it, would make us stop and think about rating books, music or art in charts that has no real bearing on creating quality work.  Who are these charts really for, when the real buyer is Joe public.

And what happened to the singers that didn’t top the charts? Were their dropped by the music publishing industry as they moved onto the next big thing?

Imagine all the beautiful songs and music we didn’t get to hear.

I for one know it is so important to focus on the reality of writing. Think twice. No reward is easily won. Being a writer isn’t an easy ride to fame and fortune, but a hard journey of dedication and passion to see your first three books in print.

Your first book is a trial run. Your second to see if readers really liked the first and the third is a test to see if you have a following. Hopefully by the fourth you might start earning some money, a little if you’re lucky. Remember, there’s plenty of people out there willing to make your dream into a reality, if you paid for their services. Don’t give into them.

Don’t lose heart, stay focused and keep writing. Your journey has only just began.

Best wishes always.

There’s plenty of things you can do to market your work for yourself. I created this ad for myself. Seeking the Dark Link click here

A Crime to Solve

Whitby North Yorkshire

I have a collection of old books I have picked up while research my family history. Whitby is where my ancestors on my father’s side came from. On my mother’s side from South Yorkshire. I was born in Essex. So my heart is in Yorkshire while my feet are in Essex.
Here’s an interesting piece from The Whitby Repository dated June 1868
This doesn’t sound like a visitation of God to me… Sounds more like a case of poisoning to me.

What an amazing plot line!

Taken from The Whitby Repository June 1868

Clubhouse CafeLit 10 Chat: Hannah Retallick

Welcome to Clubhouse Chat page. Those of you who are not a member won’t be aware that the location of the Clubhouse is shrouded in mystery. The only way to visit it is via membership or an invite to the tearoom. Every few days, I’ll be sharing a conversation with all sorts of writers and authors at different levels of their writing careers. Over tea and cakes, or maybe a glass of something stronger, I shall be chatting with my guest about their work in progress, or latest book release.

Cafelit is an online magazine which posts a new story every day. To find out more click here CafeLit books are published by Chapel Town Books to find out more about the publisher click here. Today in the tearoom, I’m chatting to Cafelit writer, Hannah Retallick, about her entries in The Best of CafeLit 10.

Welcome Hannah. First let’s order our drinks.

Hi Paula, Thanks for having me back on your blog! It’s been a while. Ooh, decisions, decisions. I think I’ll have a cup of coffee and a glass of port. It’s a bit late for the former and far too early for the latter…Perhaps they’ll cancel each other out. Yes, please, a biscuit would be great. I’m on a strict Eat What You Like When You Like diet, so I’ll just have four today. Thank you. Anyway, you have some questions for me?

The goodies in the tearoom are all slimming, Hannah so have whatever takes your fancy apart, from my staff . It’s hard to get good staff these days. Let me start by asking you, what made you write the story you decided to submit to Cafelit? Was it as seasonal call-out .i.e. Christmas, summer holidays, autumn, Halloween etc or just something you needed to get off your chest?

I was blessed to have four stories in this collection. They weren’t written specifically for CaféLit, but I felt they would have a good home there. ‘Three Pairs of Bed Socks and Two Hot Water Bottles’ took place just after Christmas, starring an older lady who decides she’s sick of old people and wants to hang out with young people from now on. It was inspired by a good friend of mine, who told me exactly that! It’s written using only dialogue. I giggled a lot as I wrote the first draft in a café, and the friend I wrote it for laughed when she read it. Job done! I’m glad the CaféLit crew enjoyed it too.

Hannah Retallick,

Did you use a writing prompt for your story?

Life was my prompt…she says, cheesily. ‘Golden Hair’ was inspired by a visit to my late great-aunt’s care home. The residents were visited by young children who sang to them. As happens in the story, my great-aunt commented on a young boy’s hair and the strength of his voice. It has a sad edge to it, with the lady’s memory clearly deteriorating.

My ‘Do You Need?’ story was written for another wonderful anthology, 2021 Still Together, which is in aid of NHS Charities. In my story, a young girl sells toilet paper to help neighbours who have been left without because of panic buyers. I quite enjoy writing with prompts, especially for themed anthologies/competitions.

Link To Book 2021 Still Together

Did you write an outline first, or follow where the characters led you?

A bit of both. My stories don’t tend to be complicated plot-wise, so they don’t take a lot of outlining. I alternate between the planning and the writing, as required. My CaféLit 10 stories were more ‘character led’ I think.

How do you create your characters? Do you start with a name first?

Sometimes. I try not to overthink them, generally picking the first name that comes to mind, on the basis that I can change it later and just want to get started. The name tends to stick though; their identity becomes fixed. If I’m being fancy, I enjoy looking up different names, their meanings, and their popularity in certain years. (It’s useful for baby names too – seeing as I’m unlikely to have hundreds of children, I can bless fictional characters with the names instead!)

Was your story told in your normal genre or did you try something different?

These were all standard for me. One of them, ‘Dear Margaret, Love Fred’ was a series of letters from an elderly gentleman to his neighbour and shows the start of a relationship. I love telling stories by showing only one side of the narrative, because you have to read between the lines. That’s something I’ve done a few times now. I do like to experiment, to push myself into new territory, but then I come back to what feels like ‘me’.

What do you enjoy most about being part of the Cafelit community?

The charming people, such as yourself, Paula – and I’m not just saying that because it’s your blog. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many wonderful writers and have had wonderful opportunities from being involved with CaféLit.

How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I’ve always written. I used to scribble ‘words’ on paper, pretending to write! I wrote a short book when I was eleven, but generally struggled to think of plots and finish pieces, which didn’t change until I reached adulthood. Now I can’t imagine not writing.

What’s the one thing you would give up to become a better writer?

I would give up washing dishes.  …  Oh, you mean give up something I like? Nothing. If I were prepared to give anything up, I would have done it already. (But seriously, if the Writing Muse would take my sacrifice of Washing Dishes, that would be perfect.)

Sorry I’ve gone on a bit – you’re just such a delight to talk to, Paula. And sorry for eating all the chocolate cookies. I was distracted!

Not at all. It’s been lovely chatting to you. I do hope we can meet up again soon. To find out more about Hannah check out the link below.

Hannah Retallick, writer and editor: https://www.hannahretallick.co.uk/

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