Writing workshops and summer flowers

Hi there,

It’s a nice sunny day here today in Co. Wicklow, Ireland. The plants in my little patio garden look quite lush and the Honeysuckle bush is really big! Later on the summer it usually attracts lots of bees. It’s lovely to hear them humming.

I’ve given three writing workshops this month in Greystones Library, Co. Wicklow. They were great fun and the participants were a talented bunch of budding authors. I love encouraging people to write. I like the workshops to be empowering and playful. It’s also great to get people to do some writing and share it with the group. They can come up with some great tales in 15 minutes! And it shows them that they are already writers….that they in fact know a lot about writing already. After the workshop I shopped for some groceries and bought some lovely flowers too. Their aroma is delicious. Sort of spicy and sweet and fresh. They are in a big vase on my mantelpiece.

I was thrilled to discover that one of my novels, ‘Ordinary Miracles’, got a lovely mention in Writing Magazine this month. It’s the UK’s bestselling writing magazine. They also printed a short extract from the book. I learned about the article because I phoned someone to discuss another matter. I’m glad I made that phone call!

I have now watched all of Oprah and Eckhart Tolle’s webcast discussions and I found them enormously helpful. I could easily imagine having a nice cup of tea with Eckhart and feeling sort of cosy and comfortable…and fascinated too of course. It’s wonderful to know that vast numbers of people have watched those webcasts and that they are part of the evolution in human consciousness. And I really like it when Eckhart chuckles!

The other day I came across a short story I wrote called ‘Naked Belligerent Panties’. It’s a title Steve Martin suggested in his book ‘Pure Drivel’ in a chapter called ‘Writing Is Easy’. He wrote: ‘…this is a good sexy title with lots of promise’. I decided to write the story for a laugh.

The panties get up to lots of adventures and eventually even make it to the White House and promote world peace (with the help of a friend called Quince Novella). Maybe I’ll put the story on my blog sometime. It really is pretty weird!

I’m a great fan of the film ‘Before Sunrise’. It’s really special and intimate…a long conversation in which a young man and woman discover they are kindred spirits. Nick Hornby is a fan of it too.

Love and Sparkles,

Grace