Website

Tweet

We've survived another week and now it's time to Celebrate The Small Things.

I have quite a big thing to celebrate this week, and that is ... I have a website!  I've been umm-ing and aah-ing about it for ages, and I've been 'building' websites on those free providers, but I finally got around to finishing one off and paying for it.  The free options are good, but they give you an awful web address, like www.rebeccahgiltrow.flurb.com/blurghdiblurgh.rebeccah (ha!  I made that up, but you get the idea).  So now I am the proud owner of da-da-da

www.rebeccahgiltrow.com

It's quite exciting to have one of those website thingies.  I know I have a blog, but a website properly advertises me as an author, and my books.

I'm also celebrating Book Group this week.  Last month we read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows.  I read this book a few years ago, so was glad to read it again.  I really enjoyed it both times.  It's a fairly easy read, and the story drags you in pretty much straight away.  It's about recovering from the Nazi occupation of Guernsey, which is obviously a horrible subject, but it's really worth reading.

I can still touch my toes, which has really made me happy.  My Pilates teacher has put together a little instruction booklet for stretching the legs, and is going to sell that along with a stretchy band, so next time I see her I'm going to buy one, just to keep myself fit and flexible.

I've found another blog hop to get involved in.  I've joined up to What's Up Wednesday, which encourages readers and writers to note down their progress.  I think three blog hops per week is enough to keep me busy - Express Yourself on Monday, What's Up Wednesday on Wednesday, and Celebrate The Small Things on Friday.  Other bloggers are very friendly and supportive, which is great, and I also really enjoy reading about what other people are getting up to.  This blogosphere is an interesting place.

Work is still good.  I love my job; some of the people aren't particularly agreeable, but the job is enjoyable.  I took it upon myself to organise a very messy book display this week, and it looks so much better after a bit of time and care.  It's kind of hidden away at the back of the library, but it frustrated me every time I tried to find a book and couldn't because all the books were shelved in a random order.  It now looks very pretty, and it's so much easier to find things.  

And of course I'm celebrating my Lily and my parents.  They brought her to meet me from my book group, and Lily was so excited to see me.  Whatever has upset me (if anything) during the day, seeing her smiling face always makes me smile.  I don't know what I'd do without her.

What are you celebrating this week?

LLBG - June

Tweet

Yesterday, Lowestoft Library Book Group met to discuss The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

I read this book a few years ago, so was pleased to read it again.  It's a story about an author living in London during and after World War II.  She finds out about a literary society in Guernsey, and writes letters to the members in order to find out about their group and their life on the island during the Nazi occupation.  The book is the collection of her correspondence.

Initially, it can get a bit confusing as you're not always sure who is the voice of each letter (there's no real distinction between the characters), but once you immerse yourself in the story, it doesn't really matter who's 'speaking'.  The ending does seem a bit rushed and a bit twee, and there are a couple of elements throughout the book which seem unnecessary in the greater scheme of things.  But these things can be forgiven.

Most people enjoyed the book, even though there were a few niggly bits.  But those who enjoyed it hadn't wanted the book to end, and were contemplating what the sequel could be about.

Our next meeting is on Tuesday 30th July and we will be discussing A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry.

What's Up Wednesday

Tweet

What's Up Wednesday is a nifty little blog hop, over at Jaime's blog.

What I'm Reading

A few months ago I took part in World Book Night.  This night celebrates everything to do with, well, books!  The lovely organisers at World Book Night put together a list of great books, which people can give away for free.  I chose to give away The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fford at an event hosted by Lowestoft Library.  At the event, other 'givers' were giving away different books.  I picked up The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness because it looked like something I could enjoy.  It has been sitting on my shelf for a couple of months, but I decided to finally pick it up last week and start reading it.  So far, I'm really enjoying it.

What I'm Writing

My WIP is plodding along quite nicely.  At the moment I'm only managing to find time to write on Sundays.  At my last word count I was up to 44,000 words, which is half a novel, so I really need to get a shimmy on! I'm happy with what I've written so far, but I stepped out of my normal writing routine with this one.  I usually write a complete story from beginning to end, and then edit.  But this time I've written the beginning and the end, and have to go back to fill in the gaps.  I just hope I can make them match!

What Inspires Me Right Now

I think work is inspiring me at the moment.  Working in a library and being around all those lovely books really gives me the urge to get on and write so that I can share the shelves with those great authors.

What Else I've Been Up To

This week has mainly consisted of me working (which I still love), organising the Lowestoft Library Literary Festival (which will be taking place on Saturday 28th September), and going to Book Group.

Oh, and I also set myself up a website ...
www.rebeccahgiltrow.com

What's going on in your life this week?

Press Play

Tweet

This week's prompt for Dani and Jackie's Express Yourself blog hop is ...

What band, singer, or group would be featured most in your WIP or life?

I love music.  I always have to have music on in the background.  Silence freaks me out.  I collect and collate my music with the help of last.fm, and every week, month, or year I can see a list of what I've listened to.  I tend to put my music on shuffle so that I'm always surprised by what comes on next.  If you're interested in my last.fm profile, you can have a looksee here.

last.fm has been tracking my music since 24th May 2006, which is quite a helluva long time.  According to this list (which obviously isn't exclusive, as I listen to the radio, watch music television, and spend a lot of time on youtube) my most played artistes are ...

1 = Buck 65

(2,342 plays)

2 = Placebo

(2,228 plays)

3 = Sonic Boom Six

(1,854 plays)

4 = Hilltop Hoods

(1,195 plays)

5 = The Faint

(965 plays)

This list does not encompass my taste in music, but it's a bit of a start, and all of them are worth listening to.

And as for my WIP (currently untitled) ... it's the sequel to my first novel, Lexa Wright's Dating Sights, and Lexa, the main character, is a big fan of 90s brit pop, so while she's going about her life there's no doubt that she's listening to ...

Shed Seven

Pulp

Suede

The Divine Comedy

The Bluetones

I Can Touch My Toes

Tweet

Why, hello Friday, we meet again.  Would you like to hear about the good things that happened to me over the past week?  Oh you would?  Well it's a good thing that I'm Celebrating The Small Things.

• The first thing that I'm celebrating is a pretty big thing.  I've been going to Pilates classes for just under a year.  I wanted to start going as I was extremely inflexible.  My body didn't like moving normally, let alone any sort of extension.  And then today, after a grueling hour of stretching I folded myself in half and I touched my toes for the very first time!!  My legs were straight.  My knees weren't bent.  My fingers were on my toes.  I couldn't believe it.  I just screamed out in front of the whole class; I was so excited!!  In fact, I'm still excited.   I can't contort myself, but it's a start.
• I've not got myself back into a writing routine, so my second novel (currently untitled) is taking a while to write.  However, on Sunday I sat down at my computer and decided to get my word count to 40,000.  I started off having previously written just over 38,000 words, and when I finished at the end of the day I had just over 42,000 words.  
• I finished reading my Book Group book well before our meeting.  We meet on the last Tuesday of the month (which will be next Tuesday), and I normally finish the book the day of the meeting.  It's not that I don't enjoy reading the books.  I'm just a slow reader.  This month we had to read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.  I read it a few years ago and I'm glad I read it again.  It's a really good read. 
• On Wednesday I went down to London to see Charlie And The Chocolate Factory musical at the theatre.  It was so good.  I can't find any of the songs on YouTube yet, but my favourite was Mike Teevee's "exit" song.  I had wanted to share it with you but I guess that will just have to wait.  
  
  
  
  
  
• We had another meeting for the Lowestoft Library Literary Festival.  It will be on Saturday 28th September, and we have 8 local authors who are coming to speak about their books.  It's very exciting.  So if you're interested in seeing Jayne-Marie Barker, Terry Tarbox, Suzan Collins, Ruth Dugdall, Patricia van Stratum, Rebeccah Giltrow, Ian Robb, and Elly Griffiths then keep your eyes peeled and I'll let you know when and where you can get tickets.
• And of course, work, dog, parents, but that's a given now!

What are you celebrating this week?

Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

Tweet

This week's prompt for Dani and Jackie's Express Yourself blog hop is ...

What are some questions that you get asked time and time again?

• Have you been sunbathing under a sieve?
• What's the weather like up there?
• Do you sleep with your feet in a grow bag?
• (at work) Do you have any bus timetables?
• (upon finding out that I studied literature at university) Do you want to be a teacher?
• (looking at my dog who wears a pink collar and has a pink lead) What's his name?
• (at work) Have you got any books on *insert obscure topic here*?
• Can you read through this for me and check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation?
• What sort of things do you write?
• What's your book about?
• (upon finding out that I taught English as a foreign language) How many foreign languages can you speak?

Happy Friday

Tweet

Happy Friday, and Happy Celebrate The Small Things Day!  Here's what has been floating my boat this past week.

• After being ill last week, I thought I would treat myself to something at the supermarket.  I was browsing the cereal aisle and saw Poptarts.  I used to eat these when I was little, but not so much as an adult.  But as a treat, I picked up a box.  And for some reason a box of 12 was cheaper than a box of 8!  I checked and double checked, but a box of 12 was £2.50, and a box of 8 was £2.64.  Cheap treats are the best!
• Over this last fortnight, my shifts fall so that I have 7 days off in a row.  Last week I worked Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and this week I'm working Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
• This week I had my writing group and my teen writing group.  Whenever my creative juices start to dry up, writing groups always give me a bit of inspiration.
• I had lunch with a friend who I hadn't seen in months.  It was nice to have a catch up and find out what she'd been getting up to.  We've arranged to go to London in a month to an open air book festival in Trafalgar Square which should be exciting.
• The sun has been shining.  Not all the time and not every day.  But it's lovely to drive home from work with the car window open.
• And of course work is good, my dog is still lovely and gets super excited when I get home (which always cheers me up), and my parents are still being great by taking care of Lily while I'm at work.

What are you celebrating this week?