The Pond I

The Pond I. Oil on Board. © Diane Becker 2009.

Almost full moon …

Image © Mark Clements 2009.

Glimpsed the moon out of the kitchen window the other night. Both of us grabbed our cameras but M managed to capture this reflection in the pond by lying flat out on the paving. The camera didn’t pick up the colour of the moon – it had a golden aura – even so, left as it was, it’s a beautiful photograph …

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll

Video link Heads Will Roll – Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Just one book

I discovered Salt Publishing a couple of years ago when I was researching potential (and at that time, theoretical) outlets for a creative writing project I was doing at university. I liked the style of their operation – the type of books they were publishing, even harboured a faint ambition that one day I might submit my work to them.

Though I didn’t buy one of their books, I came across Chris Hamilton-Emery on FB, was directed to the site this year by a tutor who recommended I read David Gaffney’s micro-fiction and Vanessa Gebbie’s short stories. I also wanted to read Tania Hershman’s The White Road & Other Stories.

I’ve been following the viral campaign on Facebook and latterly via friends on Twitter to ‘Save Salt – buy just ONE book’ – and as I was in a position to this week, have bought not one but two – wanted to buy three, but hopefully they’ll still be around next month when I can afford the one I want. Meanwhile the media have picked up on the campaign and the BookSeller reports that Salt have so far made up 20k of their 55k losses. This is good news, not just for Salt, but for readers and writers of poetry and short fiction.

Just in case you were wondering, these are the two I’ve bought:

If you haven’t already, you can buy online at Salt Publishing or from booksellers nationwide.

Time to …

… take off for a few days – even if it’s in my head – and do some writing.

Weird weather

The weather is weird but I like it. Like getting wet walking in the rain, especially to the Post Office to mail my final project. Feels good, especially when the sun comes out on the way home. Makes it all worthwhile. Next writing project? Contributing to an anthology …

Bit early …

…  to get the bunting out, but 4000 word writing project is almost complete, just have to finish the 1000 word commentary.

Not sure why stupid-tidy-up-person chose today to climb out of my head and clean the house, that definitely wasn’t in the plan but maybe it’ll (literally) clear the way for me to get it finished, printed and posted – by Tuesday – I think (?!) at the latest.

Looking forward to writing something new – I haven’t let myself do anything apart from take notes in the two months plus I’ve been working on this short story. A lot of time you might think, but it’s given me the opportunity to push the boundaries of what I’ve been doing. If I didn’t have to finish it I possibly – no, probably – wouldn’t have discovered another creative layer to my writing that I’m quietly excited about.

Swimming against the current …

Juggling fiction and reality is a good place to be. Juggling writing, rewriting and editing leaves little time for anything other than eating and sleeping. Still in less than a couple of weeks this writing project will be on its way to Milton Keynes where it – or rather three copies of it – will sit on a shelf or in a box and at some point during the summer finally land on someone’s desk to be read.

Meanwhile the ‘to read’ pile of books is growing. Finished Douglas Coupland’s The Gum Thief (tricksy ending, clever man); now reading Murakami’s After Dark. Next in the pile is Neil Gaiman’s Coraline. Gaiman’s writing is new to me so forgive me for not jumping round like a mad thing. I’m trying him out, is that OK?

Right, dinner on then back to writing …