A guided tour

I've been meaning to write about the picture at the top of this blog for months. Between writing books, having my debut novel published (yay!), writing a short story every week for the Split Worlds and making costume for the SFX Weekender ball (this Saturday!) I've not had a spare moment. Really.

So, some of you will recall that this blog used to be called "Post-Apocalyptic Publishing" and had a picture of a road stretching towards a dark horizon with a bolt of lightning striking most dramatically. Both the picture and the name suited when the blog was started. It was a very dark time. I was recovering from severe post-natal depression and wondering whether to give up on getting 20 Years Later published – hell, I was wondering about giving up on writing all together.

Back then I knew nothing about blogging, had never been on Twitter or Facebook and nobody except my husband, a few friends and the agents and publishers who'd thus far rejected me had read my stuff. Here we are over two years later with lots of lovely shiny books with my name on the covers and I know my way around a bit better. I came to see this as my little tiny nook in the gigantic interweb. A place which over the years had drawn some wonderful people who I subsequently became friends with, worked with and you know, it's all much better.

So the dark, apocalyptic stuff had to go – not least because the current series I'm writing is quirky urban fantasy with nary an apocalyptic wasteland in sight. Well, not yet anyway.

A couple of the objects need no explanation

Yup, there's my debut short story anthology and debut novel in the middle and it makes me happy. To the right you can see a lovely tea pot and cup, yup, that's because of the tea thing. I have to confess however that it's my Mum's tea pot, as I wanted something particularly fine for your eyes. It's pretty, isn't it?

The rest is a little obscure, let's go left to right. You see that brilliant blue shape? That's a hat made of silk and is the only one of its kind in the world.

The blue storytelling hat

Just over three years ago I did a course which involved a storytelling module. It was great; we had to memorise an old story which appealed to us and we had to make a hat to wear whilst telling it to the group. That's the hat I made and I love it. It's very, very silly – no way I would wear it walking down the street, even though it is lovely and warm as the silk is lined with thick wool fabric. It's my favourite colour too, but the main reason it was picked for the picture is because it reminds me of storytelling, of taking people to other places. That's what it's all about for me. It's also the fact I made it, and now I'm sewing lots of clothes again, that might be more relevant than I anticipated when making the picture.

The weird little castle made of sand

The glittery sparkles pressed into the sand don't come across in the picture, which is a shame. It sits on my writing desk – I'm looking at it now – and the reason this is special to me is that I bought it when I went to San Francisco for the summer between my first and second year at university. I love its fantastical design, but I also like the fact it reminds me how big a deal it was for me to go and do a summer school course on the other side of the world. It demanded a whole lot of bravery and yeah, I guess I'm proud of that.

The stone lighthouse

This is one of my most treasured possessions, and is also right in front of me now, next to my computer monitor. It's a heavy souvenir made from the serpentine rock of the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall. I've already told you about why Cornwall is so important to me but this lighthouse isn't just a tiny pit of rock from the place. It was bought by my late paternal grandfather and was used as a doorstop in his house all through my childhood. He passed away over twelve years ago and I still miss him every day. He was an amazing man, one of the most influential people in my childhood and I don't think I could love a person more than I loved – love – him. Rest well Grandad.

The puffin

Ahhhh, puffins. They're my favourite bird and I had a friend at uni who was slightly obsessed with them. I won't go into details, as frankly, it's hard to explain, but those of you who knew me then will know why that little fellow is there and what "BLUUUUU" means.

The box of dice

That states, for all to see, just how geeky I am. Yes. I'm a role player. And if that isn't enough, those three D6 spilling out onto the books are positioned to show three ones, which is a crit success in GURPS, the system my favourite game in the world uses. Sadly the one dot doesn't show so well on the clear dice. Hey ho.

Now, roleplaying is so important to me, and there's so much to say about it, I'm going to leave it for another post. For now, suffice to say that it's my favourite hobby.

The large marble

Not only is it beautiful, that marble reminds me that I've always been this way – looking for imaginary worlds and taking myself away from this one as much as possible. It was something I always did as a kid; pick up a marble and look deep inside it, imagining a different place caught there. I still do it, the only difference now is that I get to take you guys with me.

The knight

Okay, I have a thing about knights. Always have, always will, but this one sits on my desk doing an important job; he reminds me to stand up for myself.

A while ago I got screwed over by someone, and I don't want to go into the details in a public place. I got hurt, but ultimately, I let that happen because I didn't protect myself, and let someone take advantage of me.

When I was licking my wounds I spotted that handsome fellow in a shop and bought him to remind myself to be my own knight when I needed to defend myself. To act honourably, chivalrously, you know, all the things the real knights weren't really like! So he's there to remind me to watch for those old patterns, to remain vigilant for self-doubt and insecurity that can lead me to making bad decisions and trusting the wrong people.

What would be in your picture?

I'd love to know what things you'd pick to go in an equivalent picture for you, and why. And if you have any questions about those objects, feel free to ask!