Updates and Restitution
The manuscript of Seriously has been submitted and I now have some breathing space. Actually, there's no peace for the wicked as I'm catching up on all the literary sideshoots I've neglected for the last couple of months. (I won't mention the state of the house, the ironing and the mess of a new puppy as well.)
I am currently writing a feature for submission to the broadsheets entitled Four Gutsy Ladies. The four women in question have all achieved great things in their lives AFTER their sixtieth birthdays. Move over Lulu and Twiggy - here come the REAL girls with both physical and academic kudos! Polly Vacher, the Aviatrix flew solo round the world, Kate Yagimoto undertook four years training to qualify as an Acupuncturist, Sue Moss cycled from Lands End to John O'Groats, and (humbly) I made it as an author.
I will be taking part in the Writers In Oxford Xmas Fair at The Corner Club, Turl Street on Saturday November 22nd with fellow Oxford Writers Group member, Jane Gordon-Cumming. We will be selling copies of our novels (Jane's A Proper Family Christmas would be a great stocking filler) and I will be giving a talk on both Matador Publishing and The Lost College. More details to be confirmed.
The newly formed Mostly Booklovers of Abingdon Literary Society is really forming into what is going to be a terrific literary society. A great list of potential speakers will be confirmed when all is up and running in January.
Restitution by Eliza Grahame
Restitution is set in Germany in the time of so-called 'peace'. It's 1945 and the Russians, who as part of the victorious allies, are sweeping through the country in a wave of terror and fear to its citizens. Having been a modern history 'major' I was ashamed of how much of this period I have either forgotten, or never knew about. I will not be giving a precis on the story but more the evocation of the time. The atmosphere reminded me so much of Dr Zhivago - the bitter cold, the military might, and the flashbacks to the happy lives the main characters had led before the war. As in all good stories there are secrets that abound from the past, and another that develops in the current time frame. I congratulate Eliza on her stunning attention to detail and the hours of meticulous research are obvious. I do hope it gets made into a film. Restitution is a no brainer when giving a score - a resounding 10/10.
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