The Art of Finishing Things...

I'm brilliant at coming up with new ideas.

Seriously - my head is always brimming with fantastic plots, awesome characters and scintillating scenes. I have a trusty Moleskine notebook (natch) that I carry everywhere with me and it's bulging with ideas...

...Like last week when, I swear, I sat next to the Three Witches from Macbeth in my local Starbucks... Or the old man Bob and I met in the hides at Kingsbury Water Park who I just had to write a story about - which you can read on my short story blog, September's...

My novel, Coffee At Kowalski's,is getting fantastic reviews at Authonomy.com - and I only posted it to see if anyone would read it!

The one problem I have is finishing things. Maybe I'm scared. Maybe I'm plain lazy. Maybe I'm worried that if I finish one thing I won't get another idea good enough... And now I've signed up for NaNoWriMo again this year, it about to begin all over again.

It looks like I have to finish writing Coffee At Kowalski's, now that so many people are loving it. I have to finish the final edit of The Mystical Wombat's Guide to Life before I start NaNoWriMo 2008 - just because it needs to go to an agent and for me to stop dithering. The problem is making myself sit down and do it.

I need to learn the Art of Finishing Things. And quick!

That's it: I've gone completely LOOPY...

I've only gone and done it this time...

I've submitted one of my novel attempts to www.authonomy.com - the new site from publishers HarperCollins, where aspiring authors can submit their work, read other works and, allegedly, 'beat the slush pile' where so many unsolicited manuscripts wind up.

Coffee At Kowalski's was the very first novel that I wrote, started nearly seven years ago while I was still married. It became a real sanctuary for me and was the reason I began taking my writing seriously. It's by no means perfect, but a friend of mine started reading it a couple of months ago and demanded that I finish it. I've been sending her a couple of chapters every few weeks - which she's reading faster than I can write!

Here's the blurb:

Rosie is happy at Kowalski's florists in New York - until her past catches up with her.

What happens when an optimist with a broken heart meets a pessimist who has everything he ever wanted?

Rosie Duncan is happy. Or so she thinks.

Her florist store in New York's Upper West Side, which she took over from the enigmatic Mr Kowalski six years ago, is flourishing. She has a wonderful life in her adopted city, surrounded by friends that love her.

While Rosie refuses to discuss her past - or why she won't consider looking for a relationship - her assistants Ed (the human iceberg) and Marnie (who appears to have dated the whole of Manhattan), together with inimitable New York Times columnist Celia (a one-woman tornado), do their best to convince her to open her heart.

But when hopelessly optimistic Rosie meets self-confessed pessimist Nate, their blossoming friendship over coffee at her store begins to shake her resolve - and unravel the mystery surrounding her arrival in New York. Then a chance meeting brings Rosie face to face with her past – and now she must choose which way her life will go.

Is she falling for Nate? Will she be able to love again? And what is going on with her best friend Ed?

I just wanted to see what reaction there was (if any) - I know that my writing has come on so much since my first, trembling attempts at creating a story, but this one always stuck with me. I think it works as a narrative and, while I don't think for a moment that it will get anywhere near the hallowed heights of the 'Editor's Desk', I'm just interested to see what people think.

One comment so far: Super dialogue, real humour and the kind of wit that would raise FRIENDS to a new high...

So... please, please, please pop over to Authonomy.com and have a read - leave your comments, too! Head to Authonomy and type 'Coffee' into the search box on the top right-hand side of the page.

Am I crazy? Possibly. More loopy than a bowl of Fruit Loops? Probably. But unless you try something, you'll never know...

I've got a column!

I'm getting my own column!

Move aside Carrie Bradshaw - there's a new girl in town...

I've been asked to write a column for Black Country Bunker - a new 'What's On'-style site for the glorious Black Country where I live. Apparently, I get my own page and colour scheme... I'm calling it A Bouquet of Newly-Sharpened Pencils (and if anyone can identify the film where that phrase comes from I'll give them a prize!) and I'm going to be writing an article each week, once the site launches later this month.

Although it's no money (quelle surprise) it's another chance to showcase my writing. They're linking with local radio stations as well, so that could prove interesting!

In the meantime, I'm frantically editing the final chapter of The Mystical Wombat's Guide To Life before daring to send it to an agent. I'm determined to finish it - even if my laptop did decide to convert half the text to Wingdings last night... Aarrggh...

I must be CRAZY...

I've signed up for NaNoWriMo again!

The National Novel Writing Month is 30 days of complete madness where people all over the world spend the month of November frantically scribbling an entire novel. I did it last year for the first time and it was manic, scary, exhilarating, tough, crazy - but most of all, fun! My NaNo novel from last year, The Mystical Wombat's Guide to Life, is currently nearing the completion of the Big Final Edit, so it's time to wrap it up and get ready for chaos to begin again on 1st November!



Like last year, I'll be posting excerpts of my new novel here at Coffee and Roses, so please, please, please let me know what you think... Any encouragement, words of wisdom or offers of caffeine will be gratefully received!

Till then, I'm stockpiling coffee and chocolate and grabbing as much rest as I can!

Is there ANYONE out there...?

I'm starting to wonder if I've developed a Superhero Power...

No, really.

It appears that I am now able to become... drumroll, please... invisible!

Let me explain...

For a few months now (well, since last November, to be precise) I've been job-hunting. I'd just like to find a job that is more creative in nature, more writing-centred (my current role is more of a copy-editing/proofreading thingy). I've been a busy girl getting lots of writing experience in addition to my work: doing citizen journalism things for the past two years, maintaining my blogs and, of course, writing short stories along with my novel. About the only other thing I could try in order to add to my already gargantuan writing efforts would be to resort to writing down everything I'd normally say out loud on large sheets of A3 paper, a la Bob Dylan.

Now, nobody would say that job-hunting is easy: I completely understand that. And neither am I over-ambitiously pursuing roles that are stratospherically out of my league. I am so entirely capable of every job I've applied for - and if I could just get to an interview, I'm certain that I could communicate my potential. But, twenty-one job applications later, I'm yet to attain this lofty goal...

Maybe it's my CV, I thought. So, I found a couple of CV-clinic services, where you submit your CV and they, basically, rip it to shreds - before suggesting lots of lovely ideas to make it sparkly and attractive.

"Don't have an Objectives section," they advised, "state your Attributes first to sell your skills."

Brilliant, I thought, and got straight to work.

I was ruthless, I was eloquent, I was... well, quite chuffed with the result, actually. So - just to check - I sent my newly polished CV to a different CV-clinic company and eagerly awaited their reply.

"Attributes sections are quite old-fashioned," came the sombre verdict. "You might consider changing it for an Objectives section, so prospective employers know what you are looking for in a position."

Brilliant. So basically either would work - or not work - brilliantly - or awfully - depending on which way you looked at it.

Undeterred - ever the Eternal Optimist - I made some more tweaks and sent my newly - well, altered CV off to apply for several jobs.

Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Ничто.

So, after considering all the options, I finally came to this earth-shattering conclusion: I am invisible!

How cool is that?!

Then, I started to look at other areas too and found that - yes - my Superhero Power is evident there, too! Take my blogs, for example. To be fair, this one does get lovely comments, all of which completely make my day - but my new blog September's had a few comments initially, then everything went quiet...

Don't get me wrong: I love my blogs and I will keep writing them even if I am the Invisible Woman - but do you ever find you start to wonder if what you do makes a difference to anybody? I think we carry on in the hope that something we do, or say, sing, or write will meet someone at the moment they needed to hear it. Maybe that's the driving force behind all creative people, however they express themselves to the world.

I'm not fishing for jobs, or recognition, or a thousand hits on my blog sites - it's just a rhetorical question I keep finding myself asking - well, myself. Am I invisible or do I make a difference? I'm not sure there's an answer, really. After all, how many people do we pass in the course of our day that we never really take the time to notice?

In the meantime, I'm going to have fun thinking of ways to utilise my newly-found Superhuman Ability... Now, where could I go if nobody can see me....?!

New September's Story...

I've just posted a new story in my September's series - but it's a weepie!

The story follows Bert Mottram, one of Northbridge's most noticeable characters. Read it with a hanky handy - you have been warned!

Pop over to www.septembers-cafe.blogspot.com to read it - and be sure to let me know what you think!

Bored at work...?

So, you're enduring yet another life-draining day at the office...

How can you lighten up your day?

Answer: The Great Sticky Note Experiment!

I came across this amazing video on YouTube today and it made me want to buy Post-It notes! This is dedicated to everyone stuck in boring offices waiting for something exciting to happen. Enjoy!