A few weeks ago, Alternative Read invited me to share my desk. This is that post.
So… say a few words about your routine, they said. If only I had one! I’ve tried various regimens.
Write until I’m exhausted. Never a grand plan. Stick to a minimum number of words able to walk away self-satisfied and smug because I’ve got at least that amount of work accomplished. Or write as the muse dictates. Truth is, there is no correct choice. It’s finding what works, and like all designs, sometimes life gets in the way and a change is necessary.
I used to like to write first thing in the morning, but struggled with that because I always worried I neglected something, maybe an important email. I try quickly to check email and do a pass through some type of social media early now, so at least it’s not nagging at me. So distracting!
If I have the opportunity, I try to write a couple of hours in the morning and a couple early afternoon. If not, then I’ll write when and where necessary. I can work if there’s a television on in the room as long as it’s not a show I’m interested in, but I don’t cope well with music playing. Then I’ve written during a journey or while visiting relatives. I’ve written for ten minutes or ten hours. Routine… it’s a wonderful dream.
My desk does not look interesting, though I can lower it or raise it as I want so I can choose to sit or stand, a better option than being glued to the seat facing a deadline. It’s not always as bare as it looks in the picture, mostly because ‘hubby’ puts papers on there for filing or attention. If I’m peeved, I may throw this underneath on the floor. Don’t worry, I’m joking… partly. I really chuck some papers into a pile by my feet. Course, I’m always hoping the little guys to the right will help with the filing if not the writing. Hasn’t worked yet.
The pictures above are for enjoyment only. Although always a fan, I didn’t realise how much I adored Terry Pratchett’s work until I heard of his illness and, subsequently, his death. All but one of these pictures is official (and the odd one for my pleasure only, added because I loved it so much). This is a new house, a fresh start, and I drove my other half crazy, getting him to hang these as I wanted.
Death, Rincewind, Errol, Greebo, The Librarian and The Death of Rats all look down from around the Discworld while I work. These and the overcrowded bookshelves at my back are part of a world I love so much. They’re the part of me who loved The Beast because he gave Belle a library.
I write in many genres and I’m pleased to say the latest upcoming titles in the multi-authored Lethbridge-Stewart series(The Brigadier of Doctor Who fame) will include my book, A Very Private Haunting.
I wrote this article for a West Country community newsletter that I used to contribute to regularly. Subsequently, this piece was also accepted for publication by Gothic Fairy Tales. However, little was I to know that its publication in a small Devon paper would result in my receiving fan mail… all the way from South Africa! A North Devon ‘maid’ (as they often refer to them) had moved all that way but continued to pay for and receive local news as a reminder of her true home and the place where her heart lies. She simply adored The Grimm Truth and wanted to thank me for writing it. No one could have been more surprised and delighted than I. Until I began writing novels, this was my first instance of anyone outside of the UK reading my work. Who was to know that a simple article would travel such a long way?
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Take someone who has not only travelled abroad but also explored many counties in the United Kingdom. Couple this with an extensive interest in writing, and one cannot visit these places without gaining an awareness of the many tales and fables that exist, many unique to the areas. For a writer, it is impossible to ignore the tales of King Oberon’s epic battle on Dartmoor and the wealth of legends regarding fairies and pixies in Devon alone. These stories are born out of and are woven into the magic of legend and history. Yet, as adults, we segregate many of them into the realm of quaintness and childhood. Many of us fail fully to comprehend the extent that such early delights, as Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes, are part of that wealth.
It may surprise many to know that the stories we now regard as created for and belonging to children were originally intended for adults only. They were often traditional folk tales with endings that were far more bloodthirsty than their modern-day counterparts. No one saved granny or the little girl in the red hood from the wolf’s ‘great big teeth’ and Sleeping Beauty was not awakened by a kiss, but impregnated by the prince, and even gave birth while still she slept. These stories speak of mysterious times and places, yet they are a tool to reflect incidences in our own lives and history. It was during the Victorian era that these stories were rewritten, printed, and delegated to the realm of children’s imagination. However, maybe in this they still serve their purpose for when read to children now, parents are unconsciously teaching their offspring that bad things happen in life, that we have to learn to deal with them, and that with a little luck and maybe perseverance the good guy can still win. Simply, these stories now teach us at an increasingly young age of the world in which we live, and we should not regard them lightly or dismiss them.
A well-known producer of collectable figurines clearly saw the potential of delving into these fantasies and tapping into the darker origins for adults. Consequently, a small series of figurines depicting these story characters combined with the macabre and Gothic, a soupcon of humour and eroticism, hit the market as their response. Certainly not to everyone’s taste, this brief mention is not to publicise them, but to draw attention to the fact that these stories are still with us, and their influence remains as strong. In addition, these strange figures delved slightly out of the realm of fairy tales into the neighbouring text of nursery rhymes, these ditties that are regularly told to children of an even younger age. Indeed, some encyclopaedias classify them as verses for children.
Reminded of childhood reminiscences, I particularly recalled a book given to me by my grandmother containing works of the Brothers Grimm who collected stories as a study of their culture. Conversely, Hans Christian Andersen wrote his own stories, though he readily incorporated elements from the world around him. The Brothers were unhappy to find their work often referenced to children as they intended these tales for all. This was a contention they shared with Anderson, though their tales were sometimes considered coarse, while Anderson’s were often moralistic.
Knowing most fairy tales were not originally intended for younger audiences left the question of nursery verses and the origins and original intentions behind these short, entertaining rhymes. Choosing one for research led to some interesting and equally entertaining information and equally, if not more, disturbing answers.
A few of us may be aware Ring Around the Rosies was an account of the black plague and referred to the circles that occurred around the eyes; this ends unsurprisingly with people ‘falling down’ (dead). Conversely, how many of us remember Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater? How many of us would be content to read this to our children knowing that the origins are from America instead of Europe, though this may seem obvious since pumpkins were not readily available in England until recent years? Not much to concern anyone there, even with the Pumpkin’s connotations of Halloween. Yet, how many of us would happily sit down to read this rhyme to children knowing what the verse actually meant? “Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater had a wife and couldn’t keep her”, translates into an unfaithful wife; hence, he couldn’t ‘keep’ her. He put her in a pumpkin shell (pumpkin shell meaning chastity belt) and there he kept her very well.
Incidentally, the face carved in the Pumpkin is to frighten evil spirits away: it is not a bad entity itself. Another frequent mistake: children are not meant to trick you if they do not give them a treat. They are meant to ask for you to give them a treat or for you to play a trick on them: more examples of where traditions have been twisted to suit this modern age. So adults enlightened, children beware!
The truth is, they wrote many of the rhymes that we once laughed over at bedtime using fact, even politics. Many were folk songs or even prayers; many rhymes were direct digs at greed and taxation. Some may have traditional customs. We may also categorise them as lullabies, riddles, and tongue twisters, among others. All had individual use and an intended audience (counting rhymes are an effective aid to learning). Many are synonymous with other cultures, though they may appear in a different form or with a substitute character relevant to that country’s history.
Some do not hold up so well in today’s climate. The tale of Miss Muffet, supposedly based on the daughter of an entomologist named Muffet who was frightened by one of her father’s spiders, surely helps to instil fear in children of arachnids. Likewise, some see Peter Pumpkin Eater as abuse and the vision of a blind woman running after three mice with a chopper in her hand would be a strange sight for most of us. However, surely it is important to keep these in the context they have been regarded for decades. Once heard as children, they became part of our play, have remained constant companions and did us less harm than most images youngsters are subject to today. The sad truth is some of these rhymes have changed over time and may not reflect their original intention. Alas, some origins are lost to us completely and the creators, many of them anonymous, are no longer with us. Still, they should not be discarded. Few of us look back on them with any emotion other than a fondness. They are an integrated part of our history and they teach us to play with words at an early age.
Incidentally, King Oberon was seriously injured, and Puck still searches for herbs to cure him. If anyone has any suggestions, they could be in for some fairy luck, though Puck is not thought of as trustworthy.
As it’s October, I thought it suitable to mention a writer who has ‘been with me’ since my teens. True, one of the first horror books I ever read was by Stephen King. The book was Salem’s Lot, if anyone is wondering. But for a long time, my favourite ‘horror writer’ was James Herbert. When I heard of his death, I experienced that jaw-dropping moment when one doesn’t want to believe the news and can remember the moment as though it happened this morning.
I place the term ‘horror writer’ in quotes because Herbert was never entirely happy with being categorised and had his share of mixed reviews. He felt any violent or horror-related work met a certain brand of snobbery. It’s a problem I completely understand and why I label my horror writing as Dark Fiction, precisely because many stories flank other topics and genres.
Some horror writers aren’t, truly, writing what I call horror even if there’s an element of that in the story. Some of Herbert’s work became blended with the paranormal (he said himself that his later works leaned to the supernatural), fantasy, and I have always felt a large part of his compositions contained humanitarian questions and shone an ugly reflection on society. In Herbert’s own words, some of what he had to say regarding his motivations and underlying themes might surprise many.
I recall one particular mention of the seemingly oversized rats in his books: Rats, Lair, and Domain. A line in Dracula may have inspired the trilogy, but the description and size of the rodents came from the creatures he saw in the overrun areas of the East End of London in which he grew up. Having seen ‘Rodents of Unusual Size’ (some readers will know where I borrowed that from and it’s not Herbert), I’m prepared to believe. Some can look bigger or at least match the size of small dogs.
There’s also how much is too much? Yes, violence (and sex) can be gratuitous, but I’ve also believed a writer should ‘write’ and not fear showing something as it is or would be. Herbert wasn’t a writer who feared to call a ‘spade a spade’ and preferred to give an honest portrayal of any scene. Of course, his writing, which was ignored or even banned when first published, is thought of as more commonplace now. Books and films deemed once to be adult viewing can be now found in school libraries.
It will surprise some readers that I read or even like the horror genre, despite my saying constantly that I read anything and everything. Truth is, I grew up on horror books. My teen years were romances (usually Mills & Boon because that was what my friends were reading), Herbert, King, and Steinbeck. I’m serious when I say my library is eclectic.
I suppose I also admired Herbert because he was a success story — well known and British. The young writer in me couldn’t help being a little envious. So much happened to me throughout those years. My life went through so many changes. What I read during that time blends with all the other memories. Lately, I’ve felt the pull to return to those roots with my writing. Though, to date, it’s been strictly short stories I plan to try my first Dark Fiction novel soon, and I’m sure I’ll be thinking of Herbert when I do.
My tribute will be a simple one: many, many thanks for the memories, James.
Netflix’s effort to create a live-action adaption of the Japanese Manga series Death Note (first serialised in magazine form and later as anime and then live-action television) is overall disappointing.
I dislike when the conception of a character changes, so in that regard would like the opportunity to see the live-action film released in Japan in 2006/8, and while the relocation might call for altered nationalities, I would have preferred a cast reflecting the original personas more. Not that there is anything wrong with the performances of the actors giving the story line and the limited time to execute it — and there lies the real problem, as I will explain further on.
It’s sad the cast does their best with limited material. In this revamp, Nat Wolff fits the lead role of Light (Yagami), and Margaret Qualley, the lead female, Mia — a necessary change for the better. The anime characteristics of the earlier ‘Misa’ (who is erratic and immature) would never fully translate to a western culture. She was the most irritating female protagonist/antagonist (she reflects both at various times in the plot) I’ve seen in a long time.
In particular, although Lakeith Stanfield did a good job of perfecting the glances and mannerisms of ‘L’ the character dissolves into volatile instability in a way the original ‘L’ (Ryuzaki) never did, and it’s a shame they took his personality in that direction.
Ryuzaki’s story in the anime was expected and logical but no less onerous for all that and ‘L’ remains for me the most compelling character of the entire series and concept, so I would have liked to see everything about the adaption more fledged out. The interplay between Light and Ryuzaki is lacking in the Netflix edition, which at heart is not in any way captivating or inspiring conviction.
The best thing may well be Ryuk, as voiced by Willem Dafoe, but I was sorry the whole mythology of the Shinigami wasn’t explained to the uninitiated, and the skilful twists of the plot compacted to such a momentary suggestion of the source material. I’ve read criticism that the film feels rushed and I wholeheartedly agree. The sheer haste of execution means none of the sub-text is examined and barely disclosed. I recommend checking out the anime series, though for a serial running for 37 episodes it requires commitment.
It’s sad the cast does their best with limited material. In this revamp, Nat Wolff fits the lead role of Light (Yagami), and Margaret Qualley the lead female, Mia — a necessary change for the better. The anime characteristics of the earlier ‘Misa’ (who is erratic and immature) would never fully translate to a western culture. She was the most irritating female protagonist/antagonist (she reflects both at various times in the plot) I’ve seen in a long time.
In particular, although Lakeith Stanfield did a good job of perfecting the glances and mannerisms of ‘L’ the character dissolves into volatile instability in a way the original ‘L’ (Ryuzaki) never did, and it’s a shame they took his personality in that direction.
Ryuzaki’s story in the anime was expected and logical but no less onerous for all that and ‘L’ remains for me the most compelling character of the whole series and concept so I would have liked to see everything about the adaption more fledged. The interplay between Light and Ryuzaki is lacking in the Netflix edition, which at heart is not in any way captivating, or inspiring conviction.
The best thing may well be Ryuk as voiced by Willem Defoe, but I was sorry the whole mythology of the Shinigami wasn’t explained to the uninitiated, and the skilful twists of the plot compacted to such a momentary suggestion of the source material. I’ve read criticism that the film feels rushed and I wholeheartedly agree. The sheer haste of execution means none of the sub-text is examined and barely disclosed. I recommend checking out the anime series though for a serial running for 37 episodes it requires commitment.
Four years of upheaval not only interfered with my writing, but other pastimes. I used to enjoy baking and cooking to a greater degree than has been possible recently. Having cooked this the other weekend, I thought, completely off-topic of writing, to share one of my favourite and easy dessert recipes. I found it in a cookbook many years ago (couldn’t tell you which one) and have adapted it over the years, so now make it following my own notes.
Ingredients at a glance: Shortcrust Pastry 1 large tin of peach slices and/or fresh, or a mixture of both. 1/4 pint soured cream or yogurt 2 eggs 4 oz sugar 1 oz plain flour
Ingredients in more detail:
Shortcrust Pastry — I have to admit I cheat with this, mostly because I’ve found a store bought one I like. Jamie Oliver has often said store bought pastry is fine so if it’s okay for him it’s good enough for me. I do sometimes make fresh pastry with a lot less fat than the recipe states. In fact, I often use less fat and sugar than most recipes stipulate. Atora suet or its equivalent (beef or vegetable), also makes good pastry BUT only if baking and eating fresh. I wouldn’t advise to freeze suet pastry; it’s never the same.
Peaches — it’s fine to use tinned or fresh and I have used a mix of both when I didn’t have quite enough of either. This recipe also works with other fruits. If using particular moist fruits, drain first on kitchen paper. If using fresh peaches, peel or don’t depending on preference.
Soured Cream/Yogurt — the original recipe stated soured cream, but it’s not something I have available as often as yogurt. If you want an especially rich dessert, there’s no reason not to use cream, and for a more healthy option, use a vanilla or natural yogurt.
Eggs — I’m sure the original recipe stated egg yolks. I forget how many. Again, if going for a richer dessert then use yolks, but I’ve found this works fine using the whole eggs.
I use 3 or 4ozs of sugar. The actual recipe stated more, but I always use less and even seem to recall halving the original amount. I made this the other weekend with 4ozs and thought it was a bit too sweet so I can’t imagine using more. Depends how sweet your sweet tooth is, I suppose.
1oz plain flour — definitely needed to make the custard ‘set’.
Instructions:
Preheat oven to around gas 6 (that’s 200c and about 400f, I think — better check). Roll out dough and use it to line an 8-9 inch shallow pie dish. I use a fluted flan pan with a push-up base.
Arrange the peach slices in two concentric circles, one inner, one outer, slightly overlapping.
In a bowl, beat together the cream/soured cream/yogurt (whichever you’re using) with the eggs, sugar and the 1oz of plain flour. Pour over the peaches.
Bake for approximately an hour, or until the custard sets. The tip of a knife should come out clean.
If the edge of the pastry looks as though it will burn, cover it with some foil mid-way through cooking. I usually get away with it going a little brown.
Note: this recipe also came with a streusel topping. I really don’t bother with it but, if wanted, make a crumble type topping and sprinkle on halfway through the cooking time, or sprinkle with a little brown sugar and cinnamon or, as I often use, some finely chopped nuts with or without a little sugar and spice.
Serve warm or cold.
So, to recap: pastry in a flan dish, line with fruit, beat the rest of the ingredients together, pour in and bake. It really is simple.
2011? How was this 2011? Seems like yesterday and still one of my favourite stories because I got the writing and story just as I wanted. Thinking of including it in a collection.
I also remember sshhhing the husband while putting on the final polish.
My inspiration was the title of the anthology and the ‘Green Muse’ painting by French history painter and illustrator Albert Pierre René Maignan.
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Bitter and Intoxicating
Émile beheld the rough lines of age and labour in the hand before him. The network of passing years bisected by a scar and punctuated by torn cuticles threatened to entrap him in a labyrinth of wanting. If only he could capture the essence of that hand, the person it belonged to, in a drawing.
Guardians of the Galaxy is one of my favourite films. While I failed to adore the second installment, I still found much to enjoy, but the trouble with any follow-up is the level of expectation and the pressure to surpass that first experience. It’s a problem every creative person understands too well.
That’s not the subject of this post. Most of us love Groot, but did you know he wasn’t always the adorable character you may think you know and love?
Random Quote
“Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.”
