WRITERS DREAM; Writing Through Crisis

Writing has always been like medicine to me.  It is a great comfort during times of stress and uncertainty, so with the country on lock-down due to coronavirus and everyone ordered to stay at home, now is the perfect opportunity to hide away with your pen for company.  Even Jo March was writing her way through the crisis of the American Civil War, not to mention the poverty she and her family had to endure .  For Jo, writing was a comfort, an escape and also a way for her to improve the fortunes of her family. 

In dark, troubled times even small victories can lighten the load, so it was with great delight that I recieved the news that I have had a short piece of flash fiction accepted for publication in the University anthology.   Although the launch of the anthology has had to be postponed until November, rather than this summertime as was previously scheduled, it still feels like something to celebrate as, aside from all my poetry, this will be my first fiction piece published.  

It is even more special because the piece was actually inspired by my soldier of the Black Watch, so it is very personal to me and I am honoured that it has been selected for the anthology, and that so many people have already been moved by it.  Some told me that they had tears in their eyes as they read it.

The book launch party will now be a part of the Off The Shelf Festival of Words event in the city this autumn and I can't wait to attend as a literary contributor, rather than just as a spectator.  It's a great festival of literature and I feel so proud that my work will be a part of it this year.  

It marks a distinct shift in my writing too, from Wiccan writer and self-help columnist, into new territory as a fiction author.  A small start perhaps, but a start nonetheless and it feels great to finally have my foot in the door of fiction publishing, even in a small way, as so many people never, ever get there.  But I have.

Some of the great novelists began by writing for their university, among them Tolkien who wrote for Oxford and F. Scott Fitzgerald who wrote for Princeton.  More recently Jeremy Paxman was editor of Varsity, the publication of Cambridge University.  So it seems like it's a tried and tested writing route!  I'm happy to just see where it takes me. 

So while the world might be in a mass-panic of anxiety and uncertainty, I find that I am weathering this storm quite calmly.  I have lots of free time to write my last assignment for this year.  My Masters Degree course has been quite disrupted so far with the tutor strikes and then coronavirus shutting us down completely, but I'm used to working from home. It's what I prefer.  And of course, I will be back in classes come September if all returns to normal, as I still have another year on this course. I'm glad of that too, as it would have been a rubbish way to end the course had this been my final year and my heart goes out to the students who find themselves in that situation, where their studies have basically just fallen off a cliff!  At least I have next year's studies to look forward to.

Any crisis provides a deep well of inspiration and I've had so many ideas for future topics to explore in my monthly psychotherapy column.  I'm going to very busy writing those up and submitting them to my editor.  Writing and publishing are one of the industries that lends itself to the work from home lifestyle, so my writing life continues uninterrupted.  

Over the years many, many people have said to me 'I wish I had time to write'.  I always reply that you must make time to write. You must prioritize your writing above other things - like soap operas and bad TV.  Well, now is your chance to see if you really do have what it takes to be a writer, to find out if you have the discipline and dedication it takes to succeed in this field, or if it's just a pipe-dream.  As you can't leave the house anyway, you might as well try to write that book you've been pondering on.  Now there are no excuses and it's just you and your pen.  So what are you waiting for?  

BOOK NOOK; The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge

"No one can tell the story of you, but you.  Some people are gifted with a gilded tongue.  They will tell you who you are with such conviction that you may actually believe them, but this is a reflection, not the truth, for the story of you is not yet written."

from The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge

The Twisted Tree is a fantastic bildungsroman novel.  It incorporates magic, mythology, romance, fantasy and ghosts.  It is one of those stories that takes you to another world, hidden on the very edge of our own world and it is quite a page turner.

Set in Norway, it's all snowy and white, but a dark danger lurks beneath the beauty.  It is a book of duality. There is a cosy cabin in the snow and a fearsome creature in the woods.  Is it a wolf? A troll? Or something else?

There is also a Norwegian Byronic Hero love interest and as I like my men from the North, he had me hooked from page 28!  The romance is subtle as this is a YA novel, but it helps to move along this character driven plot at quite a fast pace. 

When Martha runs away from her London home to visit her grandmother in Norway, she is drawn to discover more about her own past.  Martha is magical in her own right, having the gift of psychometry, which developed after falling from the twisted tree in her grandmother's garden and she wants to know how to control this new power.   Her explorations lead her deep into the world of Norse mythology, where she discovers her true ancestry as a descendant of the Norns.  

As I was reading this book, it took me right back to Strathpeffer and the beautiful wood tree-carvings of The Norns that stand guard there.

 This is Urd.  Her walking-stick bares the notches that represent the years of your life.  She is rather a bad tempered Norse Goddess - a bit of a 'you've made your bed now lie in it!' type.

This is Verandi.  She is the kindest of the three Norns and she carries the fabric of all life, made as the sisters weave all of our threads together.  She is the one to invoke for matters of second chances and it was this wood carving that was the focus of a love spell I cast a few years ago, when I needed to get back in touch with my soldier and Highlander friend, Alexander.  Sometimes you have to revisit the past in order to deal with the present and move on to the future.  Verandi understands this and my spell was successful. 

Both these goddesses are significant in The Twisted Tree and they play a vital role in Martha's story,  as she is swept down into the Norse Underworld to meet Hel and to keep Skuld, the third Norn, from severing the life-thread of someone close to her. 

Here you can just see Skuld on the right of the tree-carving - her face is covered as only the dead get to look at her.  She carries the shears that cut the thread of life and is therefore a goddess of death and rebirth.   So it's fair to say that Martha has her work cut out!

The Twisted Tree is a brilliant book.  When I picked it up to read it, I wasn't expecting to be taken back to Strathpeffer in my mind, but it has rekindled my love for that place and made me want to return there.  It has also made me dream of going off to Norway one year for a wintry snowy holiday.  I would love to do that.

It's a great novel, full of magical, mysterious adventure and quite a few ghosts.  I also think it's set up for a sequel... so I'll be keeping an eye out for that - that's a clue! Read the book to get the joke.

BB Marie x

BOOK NOOK; Fantasy Art Books

 'From its origins in sacred texts and classical mythology, fantasy has always been a major chord in the music of the spheres, in the voice of the heavens, the sky and outer space.'

Joseph Simas

I have always loved the realms of fantasy in fiction, art and film, so when I discovered these three beautiful books at the Hunterian & Mackintosh Art Gallery in Glasgow last October, I knew I had to buy them and bring them home with me, to add to my collection of Art books.  They are all part of the same series, by the same publisher and they look just beautiful on the art and literature bookshelves in my study.

As University classes have been severely disrupted, first with tutor strikes and now with corona-virus, I've been spending time with these stunning books of art instead.  There is nothing more firing to my writer's imagination than lighting my large pewter Lothlorian candle holder, playing Omnia's Naked Harp and quietly flipping through the pages of these stunning books of art from past and present. 

Celestial Art depicts the work of contemporary artist Josephine Wall, exploring the inspirations behind her marvelous paintings.   Her work is well known in pagan circles and has been used as cover art for esoteric magazines, books and music.   Reading this book is like diving into the imagination of your former childhood.  It is full of vibrant colour, with page after page of her paintings reproduced to a very high quality.  

Although I love the art of Victoria Frances and her gothic, chiaroscuro palette, sometimes I want to escape into a world of rainbow brightness  and what Victoria Frances is to the chiaroscuro technique, Josephine Wall is just as dedicated to the full spectrum of colour.  Her art is so cheerful and happy.  It takes you to a good place and no matter how many times you look at one of her swirling paintings, you always find something new, some fey little creature or tableau detail hidden in the body of the work.  I especially love her mermaids. 

Josephine is heavily influenced by the work of early twentieth century painter, Arthur Rackham, which brings me to the next book by the same author...

This next book in the series is all about one of the original fantasy artists, Arthur Rackham and you might be very familiar with his work already as he is famous for having illustrated many classic children's books during his lifetime, most notably the 'coloured' Fairytale books.  I have the Blue Fairy book and Rackham's illustrations are exquisite.   His delicate line drawings and dainty watercolour images draw you into a enchantingly fey landscape of charm and innocence.  This is the perfect book to flip through when you want to rediscover your favourite childhood fairytales and learn more about the artist who brought them to life for generations of children the world over. 

The author of both these books writes in a fairly academic style, so it feels like you are receiving a valuable and interesting university level lecture in the workings of these artists, their preferred materials and techniques, their influences etc.  He also highlights the journey of each artist, where they began and how they developed their style into something so unique and instantly recognizable along the way. 

The Art of Anne Stokes is a book in the same series, so it's identical in size and shape but it is written by a different author, John Woodward, in a writing style that is far more commercial.  Incidentally, if you want to understand the difference between an academic and commercial register of tone - essential knowledge if you hope to be a published writer - comparing and contrasting this book with one of those mentioned above, would give you a great insight. 

Again, Anne Stokes is a favourite artist of mine.  I have loved her work since I first discovered it in a little sea-front shop at Scarborough on the Yorkshire coast, where they were selling posters, clothing and sculptures of her designs.  Her work is both light and dark, ethereal and gothic and this book tracks her various styles from stylized fairies to modern steam-punk.  While I'm not personally a fan of the steam-punk, I adore all of her unicorns and I find myself mesmerized by her depictions of  these beautiful mythological creatures.  I especially love her unicorns in snowy settings - they take me away to a magical world and calm my mind. 

Images of unicorns, fairies and dragons have always inspired my own writing and I generally have a art card on my desk as I write.  It's one of my little writer tricks to keep the creative juices flowing and inspiration running high.  Having this gorgeous collection of fantasy Art books to hand will be really useful to me in my work and also, just to relax with.  Plus they are a lovely souvenir from my holiday to Scotland and trip to Glasgow last year.  

With scented candles glowing in magical holders, soft mystical music playing in the background and sophisticated picture books like these,  I can while away the hours quite happily and you could too.  Flipping through art books takes less effort than reading a novel but the images still take you to another place, freeing your thoughts and de-stressing your mind after a long day.   

So leave behind all the doom and gloom of the current headlines and turn the concept of self-isolation into self-education with an artistic slant.  I hope this post has inspired you to think of 'picture books' in an entirely new way!

BB Marie x

ONCE UPON A DREAM; Crystal Ice Show

I've just returned home from the ice dance show Crystal by Cirque du Soleil and it was marvelous!   I bought the tickets back in January as a birthday present for my mum - I thought it would be a nice treat and a day out for both of us and we've had a great time. As I love both ice dancing and the circus, this show was right up my street and we were sat on the edge of our seats the whole time.

Crystal tells the story of a young school girl who wants to escape the pressures of homework and parental nagging, so she takes herself off to skate on the lake.  There the ice cracks beneath her and she descends into a magical world under the ice, where she goes on lots of wondrous and whimsical adventures.

She meets acrobats and ice hockey players, jugglers and tumblers, as well as aerialists and of course, a clown.  You can't have a circus without a clown, even if he's on ice and can't skate!   It was such an original show.  I've never seen anything quite like it before.  It's more than a circus and more than figure skating, with a balletic score and a narrative running through it.   

At times it reminded me of Alice in Wonderland, then the next minute it would be more like Anne of Green Gables writing her imagination into reality.  It was just so magical and enchanting.  My favourite parts were the trapeze and aerialist sets - they were quite stunning in their beauty and graceful beyond words.

But I also loved the ice-hockey section too, which really surprised me as I wasn't expecting to, but the music was Celtic, the skaters were fast and they used skate-boarding type ramps to perform some magnificent jumps and somersaults.  It was breath-taking and the choreography had to be very precise as a collision would have been serious.  I have nothing but admiration for these skaters and high risks performers who were risking life and limb, just to entertain us!   There were even a couple of actual 'head-bangers' going on right in front of us! 

Needless to say the childhood part of me who wanted to be a circus girl when she grew up was in her element.  I can ice-skate and I can juggle, but I could never do both at the same time - let alone backwards and on one leg!  My mum said that it was the best show she'd ever seen and the best birthday present I could have got for her.

It was fantastic and I'm really glad that we got the chance to go and see it.  I brought home a beautiful souvenir too - a sparkly silver ice-skate ornament.  I don't know where I'm going to put it yet, but I know it will lend a touch of ice-skating magic to my home decor.  After the show we went for a Sunday roast at the local carvery pub, just to finish off the day and now I'm home again and about to watch the final of Dancing on Ice.  All in all, it's been a whimsical, ice-princess of a day.  

If you get the chance to go and see the Crystal show, you absolutely should.  Ticket prices and souvenirs are quite expensive, but it's a show you'll never forget, so get your skates on before it sells out! 

ONCE UPON A DREAM; A Lady's Day

I can't quite remember when I first began to enjoy traditional ladylike pursuits, but I think it was when I read Little Women for the first time at the age of eleven.   I do seem to remember that I was enthralled by the lives of the March sisters and that I felt an affinity with them and their various ambitions.  

I found the book in the school library and persuaded my teacher to let me take it home over the Easter holidays.  I was so swept away by the story that I asked my parents to buy me an embroidery hoop instead of an Easter egg that year - and I recieved both.  I still use that same hoop to this day and it currently has a tapestry of a unicorn on it that I'm working on.  

Last spring I treated myself to this floor-standing embroidery frame

which is something I've wanted for years, but I didn't think that you could get them anymore as they are quite old-fashioned.  That's why I love it though.  I already have a large floor-standing tapestry frame that I love working on, and an overlap tapestry frame too, so to have this large embroidery stand as well means that I have stands for all kinds and sizes of needle work projects, that I can use both upstairs and down.

I use the hand held hoop from my childhood when I'm tucked up in bed at night and can't sleep, as there is something so relaxing about needle work.  It calms the mind and soothes the spirit, leaving you in a meditative state of peace.   

I always have more than one project on the go, so that I don't get bored and also because sitting at a large frame isn't always practical.   A smaller hand-held hoop project is easy to just throw in my suitcase and take on holiday to Scotland with me, because you do need something for the rainy days up in the Highlands!

Having a ladylike hobby is good for the soul.  I know I'm very fortunate in that I work predominantly from home and I have chosen to remain child-free, so my time is largely my own, but I think every woman needs a little project of her own.  Something she can pick up and put down as and when she has a few minutes to spare.  Something that isn't too taxing and which can ease mental chatter and anxiety.  Needle work is perfect for that.

I generally spend my Sundays swanning around in a Victorian nightgown, pottering in the house and stitching tapestries while listening to lovely music, such as piano nocturnes or harp compositions.  It's a form of self-care.  It keeps my mind calm and peaceful and happy. 

I especially enjoy working at my tapestry frame while watching a period drama.  Just lately I've been engrossed in The Spanish Princess.  While not historically accurate, it is still fabulous and I'm enjoying it.  There is something fitting about doing needlework in your nightgown, while immersed in the intrigues of the Tudor Court - it's almost like time travel!   

It's certainly an effective antidote to the face-paced stress of modern life, and don't we all need that from time to time?

Happy sewing.

Marie x