I spent a truly gorgeous weekend in Wales in my house in Clwt Y Bont, with Malcolm, we thought it would be lovely for the bank holiday and both needed a rest, enjoying the mountains and good clean air…
❤ ❤ ❤
View from the roof terrace…
Well, it was a much needed little break for us both and then… a double whammy of great writing news on Monday… so some background to my recent flurry of submissions…
I recently sent out eleven short stories that had yet to find homes… one, wonderfully, got runner-up in the CurtisBausse short story competition (with a story called Thinking in Circles) as you might recall. This will be published later this year in a collection. WHOOP! This was one of the eleven (some old and some new ones) that had yet to be sent anywhere before this.
Another one of the eleven, sadly, didn’t get anywhere but that was a risky dystopian one called When the Bees Die so I was unsure if it fit with the competition anyway… hence I will seek a different home for that one.
But another two of the eleven have done well so far… ❤ ❤ ❤
On Monday came the news that the one I wrote inspired, in part, by going out with a former body building champion although it is not about him, but about using the pain of grief to build muscles, Where Energy Goes got one of the runners up prizes in the Limnisa Short Story Competition. Whoop again! I have to still pay travel but would benefit from the 25% off a writers’ retreat. I will hold fire on that until next year, but nice to be in the top 6 of 500 stories with one that had yet again never been subbed! And bloody well done to the winners and the other runners up! Names listed below on the link! The place looks idyllic and the attraction of this one (I usually sub to ones where publication is a prize) was something we could both share, Mal for his yoga and me for writing… so would be nice if we could go next year.
So then as we were chilling with a glass of wine later on the same Monday, all happy and glowy (from the success, being at the house, together etc. you know the score) watching a movie on Prime (on my laptop since we have no TV at the house) and on hard chairs (since we have no couch…. just scene setting, as you do!) when another email pops into my inbox. This one was from the Leicester Writes Short Story Competition. They said some amazing things said about my story We Went There (another newbie), that is had been placed third! Whoop again! It was announced on BBC Radio Leicester yesterday so I couldn’t tell anyone straight away, but I was travelling, or more like at the gym and about to travel the seven hours it took to get home, so I was unable to listen. I will find it and listen again! Again amazing and well done to the winner and second place as well as the highly commended and runners up! Saw loads of great Tweets when I finally got home last night! That one will also now be published! Yay! I said this would be a GREAT year, didn’t I?
What a way to end the weekend at the house… now we need MORE good news and it will come, on the novel front (holding the feeling) and other things too… I know 🙂 I told you The Secret works, didn’t I.
Hold that feeling of how success feels and make it happen! Everything will be.
Have a great day. I will be working on Pelicans today (my affectionate shortened name for the pacey thriller) as well as doing a class at the gym finally… Mal’s yoga one, that shouldn’t hurt the foot, a light lunch with him and later coffee with the lovely Sally from Havens Hospices to talk about the Canvey Writers charity anthology… out in November… and better do some paid work then too if I want to pay my bills this month!!!
That is all. TODAY IS AMAZING! Got it? Feel it? Enjoy it!
Being silly in Wales… pucker up! Life is truly a blessing.
Thanks Mal ❤ ❤ ❤
Writerly Debz 