A Wonderful Way to Spend an Afternoon

I know that I am a bit late in talking about what I got up to on Friday afternoon, but hey, that's just me all over - always a little bit late. I must stress, I am never late for the school pick up, but I do sprint into the playground like I am running the last few yards of the hundred metre sprint. I was occasionally late for work, but that was just bad traffic. But when it comes to trends, I am always behind the times. I just know that I am going to be a source of embarrassment to my daughter in years to come, which to be honest, I am secretly glad about. Sounds of wicked cackling echoing around the kitchen!

I digress, Friday afternoon, well I went to a book fest to listen to 3 wonderful authors talk about, well, being authors. I met the lovely, talented Caroline Smailes, who can be found here; the witty and talented Nik Perring, who can be found here, and the wonderfully imaginative Jon Mayhew here.

Three very different writers, who have all achieved success in their chosen field. How did they do it? Basically, they all posses a great love of writing, wonderful imaginations, and I am afraid to say that I cannot reveal a magic formula, as there isn't one. But, what I can divulge is that like everything else in life, they put in the hours of hard work. I must admit I have not read any of their works as yet, and I must stress yet, as I bought Caroline's latest novel 'Like Bees to Honey', at the book fest. This book has the most beautiful cover, and if I saw the book in the bookstore, the cover would have drawn me to the book initially, then I would have read the blurb and then bought it. Caroline brought the artists initial interpretation of the cover with her. I was expecting some beautiful drawings, but the designs were all done in textiles and hand stitched,they were gorgeous.

I am really looking forward to starting 'Like Bees to Honey', but I need to finish one of the Richard & Judy book club reads. "Waiting for Columbus', which, I am not afraid to admit, is hard work!

I also had to opportunity to read the first of Nik's short stories, called Kiss', which was so beautiful and the ending moved me to tears. (Which, I hasten to add is a good thing). 'Kiss' is the first story from his book 'Not So Perfect', which is just the opposite. It's a perfect sized pocket book. You know, the kind of cute thing you can just pick up and put in your pocket! Or in my case, my rather large handbag, where I will never find it! Each story has a simple stick drawing at the beginning, which has a certain childish elegance about them, and I like it. I am really looking forward to getting it and dipping in and out when I can. That is the beauty of short stories.

Finally the imaginative Jon Mayhew and his fabulous children's book 'Mortlock'. His ideas are fantastic and I love the look of the book, especially the opening paragraph. It does what it's supposed to do, it entices you in and makes you want to read more. All I can say is that children's books nowadays are fantastic, gone are lashings of ginger beer, talking lions, and adventures up a tree in the Enchanted Forest (still one of my favourites though), and arriving at a bookstore near you are magical and mystical adventures, with a bit of murder thrown in for good measure. How can any child fail to like it?

The authors were engaging, approachable, and they divulged some of their secrets. Oh and they also mentioned how they got published. The way I see it, (this is my opinion, not the authors), if you have written something original, which will sell and appeal to a mass audience, you are in with a chance of being published! So I don't think I will have a problem then! Not! Oh and more importantly, you actually have to be able to write. And it helps if you can put in the hard graft a the computer.

All that was missing from the afternoon, was cake, You can't have tea without it!

I promise when I have read the books, that I will review them here. All I can say now is I am sure they will be fabulous!

If any of you stop by, I just want to say thank you so much for an informative, inspiring, and funny afternoon.