When I was a child and was ill enough to stay in bed, I always wanted my grandad to make lunch. It didn’t seem to matter what I was ill with, or whether my lovely mum was there, it just had to be my grandad, and I knew the difference too, so mum could never step in. Whenever I was ill he used to make me cheesy scrambled eggs on toast with a cup of tea. It was the best thing ever (apart from the actually being ill bit of course) to be tucked up in bed with my Enid Blyton books and the knowledge my grandad would be bringing my lunch.
Funny the things you remember isn’t it? Grandad passed a couple of years ago and I have some wonderful memories of him – the way he used to wear socks and sandles together, with a hanky knotted on his head when we went to the beach. The poorly lunches, the smell of old soap and the way he always had a spare hanky in his pocket in case I had a nosebleed (which I was prone to as a child). He was also mega strict and used to shout at me a lot too!
My memories pretty bad all things considered – I’m the girl who got good grades in school, college and uni because I studied constantly and revised about 3 months ahead of the exams, not because I remembered everything. I have some amazing memories of when I was a kid, not just relating to gramps, but I’m also missing large portions too. I love it when something triggers a memory I didn’t realise I had. Memory is a wonderful tool for writing too. As authors we draw upon our emotion, our memories of events to aid us in writing, to help us make the words we write hit the heart and soul of our readers. I’m grateful for all the memories I have, all the memories I make as I live life. I also love hearing other people’s memories, their stories. It’s all this that helps me be descriptive in my writing – to make my words come alive.
Going on to descriptions, I’m reading a book at the minute called Dark Winter by David Mark. He is a very descriptive author, I’m loving the detail in his book, I can picture myself walking alongside the Detective Sergeant as the story progresses. There is a lot I don’t like about it too but hey ho – I read something in it that made me realise that a couple of sections of my novel could use more descriptions too. Gotta love the odd epiphany!
I’m writing this early morning, as usual for my blog posts, and my goodness it’s chilly. I only put the heating on when both me and Peter are in and cold, but I could use it this morning! It’s positively bitter sat here writing. I’ll soon warm up though – I’m off to town shortly to post the first three chapters of With Deadly Intent to the editor – yeay! And I’m meeting a good friend for a cuppa in the lovely Starbucks. I am blessed to have a wonderfully supportive set of friends. Some, like this one, I don’t get to see as often as I’d like, but I just love getting together for a chin wag and a bit of ‘putting the world to rights’. Every one of my friends supports my writing – I have never had one discuss the non-benefits of writing, and they all firmly believe I will eventually become published. I am truly humbled by all the positivity that surrounds me in my loved ones. You are all amazing!
I thought I’d put a pic on this blog – a cute lamb, always a sign spring is here and I’ve noticed the wee baby sheep in the fields already! Pic was obtained from an internet search and is not my own. Hope you all have a lovely easter and overload on chocolate and egg hunts. Take care and, as always, thanks for reading xxx