Keris Stainton's Blog, page 6

Throwback Thursday: A room with a view

You know how some photos instantly take you back? I look at these two photos and I am there.

“There” was the attic of my in-laws’ house. Harry was a baby and I was back at work – two days in the office, two days at home. I worked at the in-laws’ while my mother-in-law looked after Harry. If I’m honest, I didn’t do an enormous amount of work. I started the day watching Gilmore Girls on the Hallmark Channel with a bowl of muesli (the Gilmore Girls theme and muesli both take me right back) and then I would spend quite a lot of the day trying to write, blogging or farting around on Blog Explosion (remember that?) (Hi, Stella, Jon, Andrea!).

That attic is where I realised I really really didn’t want to work in accountancy anymore. And where I fell in love with working by myself and for myself. (And Gilmore Girls.) And the view was pretty nice too.

What I read in March

Our favourite picture books this month were Forever Young by Bob Dylan – the song’s lyrics with wonderful illustrations by Paul Rogers – which led to Joe asking to watch Dylan videos on YouTube.

The Dot and Ish by Peter H Reynolds – I love Reynolds’ books. These two are about creativity, about not being afraid to paint a picture, even if you can only do a dot or even if the vase you paint is only vase-ish. Inspiring for me as well as for Joe.

Also inspiring is Girl With a White Dog by Anne Booth. I’ve been desperate to read this – Anne is a Twitter friend and one of the kindest, most compassionate people I follow. I knew her book would be wonderful and it is.

For the same age group, but completely different is Sesame Seade: Sleuth on Skates by Clémentine Beauvais. I flew through this book. It’s clever and silly and funny and smart and it made me laugh out loud.

I didn’t read much YA this month (because I’m writing it), but I did read Boys Don’t Knit by Tom Easton. And I loved it. So funny. Really looking forward to the next book in the series.

I read an advance copy of Keep Your Friends Close by Paula Daly and loved it. I don’t really read crime – too chicken – but Paula’s books are so gripping with wonderful, complex, characters and a fantastic sense of place.

I admit I’ve got a smidge of a crush on Chris Hadfield, so I was excited to get my hands on An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth. And it was wonderful. I quoted it so much that David started to get a smidge jealous.

I really enjoyed Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Austin Kleon. It’s a short, quick read, but full of interesting and entertaining tips on how to get your work out there. I’m planning to use it as a guide for a blog series in the near future.

Throwback Thursday: Michael Jackson, Aintree, 1988

The photos I took of the concert itself, were rubbish, but I’ve always loved this one – when the lights come on and everyone has to go home.

What, Why and How I Write

I was tagged to do this by Catherine Ryan Howard and I said yes because I think she’s completely fabulous (seriously, if you have even the slightest interest in self-publishing you must read her blog) and also because, well, she begged a bit…

1. What am I working on?

I’ve just started the second book in the Reel Friends series. The first, Starring Kitty, comes out in June and there’s a brand new blurb…

Kitty’s keeping secrets. Like how she’s struggling to cope with her mum’s illness. And how she’s falling for the girl with the purpley-red hair . . .

Entering a film-making competition with her best friends Sunny and Hannah seems like the perfect distraction. But then Dylan wants to be more than Kitty’s secret. Is Kitty ready to let her two worlds meet or will she risk losing Dylan forever?

2. How does my work differ from others in the genre?

Every book* mentions a Sesame Street character.

3. Why do I write what I do?

Because it’s what I wanted to read when I was a teen. Smart girls, cute boys, gorgeous settings, Sesame Street characters…

4. How does my writing process work?

Have an idea. Start writing furiously and excitedly. Lose interest. Moan, complain, wonder what else I can do for a living, realise there’s nothing. Force myself to carry on. Eventually drag myself to the end of the story. Procrastinate for anything between a week to a year. Get on with rewriting. Complain, flail, cry. Go to a café and start making notes for the next draft. Realise I have the best job in the world. Regret all the moaning, crying, flailing, procrastination. Finish the novel. Repeat. Every. Damn. Time.

* Except Della Says: OMG!

The writers I invited to take part in this tour** are:

Helen Grant

Helen Grant writes contemporary YA thrillers with international settings. She was born in London but has lived in Spain, Germany and Belgium. Her first book, The Vanishing of Katharina Linden, was set in Bad Münstereifel in Germany, her home for 7 years, and her latest book, Silent Saturday (an urbex thriller), is set in Flanders. Helen now lives in Scotland where she spends her spare time poking about in ruined churches and castles, and writing ghost stories on the side.

http://helengrantbooks.blogspot.co.uk

Sophia Bennett

Sophia lives in London, where she loves visiting the shops and museums, and also the writing shed at the bottom of her garden. She has written theThreads series for girls of 9-12 who like high fashion and saving the world. For slightly older readers, Sophia has also written The Look and You Don’t Know Me. Her new book, The Castle, is out in the summer of 2014. You can find her here: sophiabennett.com.

 

** I know, I know, there’s meant to be three. But I could only scare up two. Sorry.

Want to write for teenagers?

I’m running my Writing for Teenagers online course again from 1 April.

Learn more here.

“This is such a friendly and fun way to learn about writing for teenagers. You can contribute as much or as little as you like, read and review some great YA books, and pester the tutor with those questions you’ve always been too afraid to ask. I know I did!” Helen Maslin

“This course was perfect for getting a better understanding of what makes good YA fiction. Using the books on the reading list along with Keris’ questions helped me to think deeply about different writing styles, what worked for me and what didn’t. Keris also gave us lots of tips and links to resources. The course was fun, not overly time-consuming, and practical. And I particularly welcome the opportunity to post some of my writing up for feedback. Absolutely worth the money, thank you.”Alison Clayton-Smith

Throwback Thursday: Symi

I’ve seen Throwback Thursday on Twitter and Facebook, but decided to do it on my blog instead, cos I’m contrary like that. Also, I’m currently scanning all my photos albums, so I’m awash with old pics.

I can’t remember what year we went to Rhodes, but it was a lovely holiday. The highlight, however, was a day trip to Symi, which is one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been.

Why Water Matters

Earlier this year, I wrote a post called Why Can’t Periods be Private? It was inspired by a couple of tweets I read about how girls are forced to give up school because there aren’t facilities for menstruation. I wrote that I wanted to do something about it, but first I had to learn about it and, wow, is there so much to learn.

The first thing I learned is that sanitation is a huge issue:

Over 768 million people in the world do not have access to clean, safe water

Around 2.5 billion people do not have access to adequate sanitation

443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related illness

More people in the world own mobile phones than have access to a toilet

The average distance a woman or child walks to collect water is 6km

Diseases attributable to dirty water and poor sanitation currently result in the deaths of more children globally that AIDS, malaria and measles combined

And it is a gendered issue:

Women and girls are most often the primary users, providers and managers of water in their households and are the guardians of household hygiene. If a water system falls into disrepair, women are the ones forced to travel long distances over many hours to meet their families’ water needs.

Conversely, women and girls benefit most when services are improved. In eastern Uganda research found that women spend an average of 660 hours per year collecting water for their households, which represents two full months of labor. Cumulatively, one estimate suggests that some 40 billion hours a year, are spent collecting water in sub-Saharan Africa – equal to a year’s labor for the entire workforce of France (UNDP, 2006).

Sanitation and hygiene improvements are often low on the list of family investments, and women and girls suffer more indignity as a result. Their privacy and security are partly determined by ease of access to, and location of sanitation facilities. Children especially, have needs and concerns that should be taken into account when creating sanitation interventions to be used by them. In primary schools, toilets are often inadequate to serve the needs of girls, resulting in non-attendance during menses. Conversely, school enrolment and retention of girls, increases where there are water and sanitation services.

Source

Since my blog post in January, I’ve discovered Days for Girls  and Dignity! Period and we’ve all read about the Indian sanitary pad revolutionary, yes? But there’s so much more to learn.

I still want to do something. I still don’t know exactly what. But this blog post is part of a campaign by international water aid charity, Just a Drop, to raise awareness of the vital work they carry out in developing countries around the world – providing clean, safe water to those who need it most. In addition, H2WOW is sponsoring every ‘share’, ‘like’, ‘tweet’ and ‘comment’, so please share this post and we can raise some money, at least.

Tomorrow’s bloghop stop is http://mumsdotravel.com/ a blog by Gretta Schifano, a freelance writer and blogger specialising in family travel.

For more information on the charity, please visit: www.justadrop.org

“And when he finished, he called her over” – Ma Cacabane review

No, he likes it. Really.

I must admit I first requested the Ma Cacabane because I thought it was funny and the name made me laugh. Also, Joe loves making little dens and hideouts and I thought he’d like it. I didn’t really think he’d use it for pooing in – he shouldn’t really still be using a potty anyway, but he’s scared of the toilet.

Joe loved it straight away and made me build it as soon as it arrived. It was really easy to put together and did look very cute. Joe took his potty in and settled down…

See!

We started calling it the poo cabana and, inevitably, I started singing “poo cabana” to the tune of Copacabana. (“Where’s Joe?” “In the poo poo, poo poo cabana…”) And, yes, Joe did indeed enjoy taking his potty in there. For privacy. Sometimes he took the iPad too…

But it wasn’t just a poo cabana. It’s been a gallery – he drew in the frames on the walls – a TARDIS, a spaceship, a shop and, as I suspected, just a general hideout. He absolutely loves it and even though he bashed it up in temper and I had to repair it with masking tape, I imagine it’ll be a fixture in our living room for a good while yet.

The Ma Cacabane from Triitme was provided by a PR company in return for an honest review. 

What I read in February

From my to read in 2014 list, I re-read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, which was wonderful, obviously. I also really enjoyed The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion and Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock, which is brave, important and inspiring.

My favourite YA books this month were The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M Danforth – a fascinating story, beautifully written, and The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E Smith – really charming romance with multiple well-realised settings.

My absolute favourite this month was We Were Liars by E Lockhart. I’m a huge fan of E Lockhart, but this one blew me away.

This month, David decided to start reading Roald Dahl books to Harry (it’s almost always been me who read to Harry in the past, but D wanted to take over). He picked James and the Giant Peach and they both loved it. In fact, when they finished Harry was bereft, saying “What am I going to read now?!” and then later picked up another copy in a book shop and said, “I just really miss it…” (They’ve moved on to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory now.)

Joe’s favourites were Cow by Malachy Doyle, which is just the perfect combination of text and illustrations and a joy to read.  

My Big Shouting Day by Rebecca Patterson is also a joy for me to read because I get to SHOUT. I love it because the main character is so much like Joe and at the end of the book, Joe asked if we could cuddle up like they do in the book and start afresh – no shouting – the following day.

We also read two picture books I’ve been wanting to read for ages: On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne and The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein. Both wonderful.

Women and heart attacks – do you know the symptoms?

[Originally posted last year, but posting again as a reminder.]

Yesterday the boys and I went to a first aid session arranged by the home ed forum I’m a member of. First we learned what to do if someone is choking and then we watched a short video about heart attacks. The video featured a woman who suddenly clutched her chest and staggered around, saying it was probably indigestion, you know, the usual thing we see on TV and in film when someone’s having a heart attack.

But around about this time last year, I heard this reported on the radio:

Fewer women than men suffering from a heart attack appear to experience chest pain symptoms, according to a study of more than one million people in the US.

Overall men have significantly more heart attacks, but under the age of 55 women are more likely to die from one.

Without displaying the classic chest pain symptoms of a heart attack, researchers say some women may not be getting the right kind of treatment.

Dr Kevin F Fox, a consultant cardiologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and speaking for the Royal College of Physicians, said that overall the number of heart attacks and associated deaths were falling, but that when young women had heart attacks the outcomes were not good.

“The paper has shown that women, and in particular younger women, under 55 years of age, often do not have the typical presenting symptom of chest pain compared to men when they have a heart attack.

“Although heart attack survival is improving overall, doctors, health care professionals and the public need to be aware and vigilant that women can have a heart attack without the typical chest pain that we all think of as the main symptom.”

It rang a bell with me – I was sure I’d heard that before – so when I got home, I looked it up.

It was in O magazine. In 2006. Heart Health: Men vs Women

Men: Often the first sign of heart disease is a heart attack itself, a feeling like the chest is being run over by a Mack truck.

Women: Women’s first warning signs are much more subtle and often hard to pinpoint. They may feel fatigue when doing something that they used to do easily, such as play tennis, run to catch a train, change sheets, or walk up two flights of stairs. Sometimes heart disease registers in women as a feeling of mild indigestion. Often there’s no chest pain whatsoever.

So why, seven years later, are we still saying there is? Back to the BBC report:

The US researchers describe the results of their work as “provocative” and urge further study, but say that for the moment there should be no change in the public health message that chest pain and discomfort could be symptoms of a heart attack.

“For the moment.” I’ve been aware of it for seven years, which suggests the health industry has known about it for a lot longer. How much longer does it need to be researched? How many women have died in the meantime? How many women need to die before they change the message?

Women are more likely than men to have atypical symptoms such as:

Back, neck, shoulder, jaw, lower chest, or upper belly pain or discomfort

Nausea or vomiting

Shortness of breath

Dizziness or lightheadedness

Fatigue

(From here and here.)