Yesterday was St Patrick's Day, the saints day for Ireland (in case you didn't know - unlikely!). I fancied a new challenge in the kitchen... A rare occurrence, so I grabbed the enthusiastic emotions and baked them into a cake. 

Guinness and Chocolate cake, to be exact. 

"Yuck, Guinness," you're probably thinking. Well, you know I like my 'odd' cakes, so had a go. 

Needless to say (from the photo), this was not my greatest triumph in baking. I managed to only put half the chocolate in that the recipe required, quite by accident, honest - it's not been eaten! The missing 50g is still in my kitchen cupboard... I don't know if this made much of an impact on the structure of the cake, but it remained decidedly soggy when I checked on it in the tin this morning. Look how lopsided a single slice is after a couple of hours in my lunchbox this morning!

To make it a bit more chocolately, I cut the cake in half when it had cooled and dabbed chocolate frosting in the middle to make a sandwich. "That should help!" I thought, triumphantly. 

So, how does it taste? Pretty 'meh', if I am honest. I understand the idea - Guinness is supposed to have a slight chocolate taste to it when it's served cold, so the brown good stuff and the black nasty stuff should mix quite nicely. However, the distinct lack of chocolate in my cake made the cake taste a bit too beer-y. Maybe it needed a bit more time in the oven too...

Never mind! I'm still enjoying my 'zumba day' piece of cake treat. Maybe a 50% reduction in chocolate will emphasise the booze in the mixture? Here's hoping!

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Have I made you hungry? Well, short of popping into my office this lunch time, if you're in the Manchester area and want to try a real, PROFESSIONAL job, I am sure Kate's Cakes will be happy to oblige! 

See you Friday for a writing themed blog. I am still writing, just!

Lou x

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It's International Book Giving Day, so a perfect time to tell you which books I was given on my birthday last week. 

You should know this - if in doubt, buy me a book! It was my birthday last Saturday and my mum pulled it out the bag again with a great title. 

STONER ~ John Williams

'Stoner' was book of the year 2013, according to Waterstones. I'm currently finishing the second of my two Christmas book presents, but I look forward to getting stuck into this new one. Having not read a lot in the last few months (Christmas, work disruption, fiance in the country with me!), I'm really looking forward to getting a few volumes under my belt before Easter. 

I have yet to buy myself a birthday present (personal tradition, not to be missed!), and I'm thinking I might try to clear out some of my Amazon Wishlist of books. I'll try to limit myself!

Have a great weekend all, see you next Friday. 

Lou x

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What makes a Christmas, for me? How do I get into proper Christmas spirit? Here's the essential guide to the best Christmas, Lou style!


(I realise 18 things aren't really 'essential' but they are unmissable to me!)

Best Christmas Prop? Santa hats! Furry ones, ones that light up, they're a must-have!

What's The Best Christmas Preparation Job? Wrapping presents, without a doubt. I love making the gifts look enticing, even with my distinct lack of artistic talent. 

First Drink I'll Taste: Mulled wine. Champagne isn't something I really enjoy and Christmas flavoured coffees are overrated. It's got to be a glass of warm, spiced red. 

No. 1 song to start the festive mood: SLADE - Merry Christmas Everyone (1973)
Pre-dating me by over a decade, it's still the ultimate Christmas tune!

Best Way To Avoid Confrontation: Dispel any brewing arguments by giving someone stressed a hug. They might need it if they've just burned the turkey!

That Reminds Me - Turkey or Ham? Turkey, every time. I hardly eat it the rest of the year, though. 

Best Way To Begin A Festive Feeling: Watching a Christmas movie.

Ok then... Favourite Christmas Movie? Bernard and the Genie (BBC 1991). Hands-down the best ever Christmas movie ever made. I have to indulge in Elf, Love Actually, and Home Alone too, or it's simply not Christmas. 

What should the weather be like? A bright, crisp, cold morning, with a frost on the garden. I don't remember a white Christmas...

Charades: Yes or No? YES!!! I'm game for any ... game! We've done Charades, Bingo, Family Fortunes, Rapido, Pictionnary, and the ol' family fave of "Tip It!" (don't ask...)

Best Ever Present? Maybe my Timberland snowboots, or my iPod. 

Favourite festive food: Brandy butter (for Christmas pudd or mince pies) and bread sauce

All-time Favourite Christmas Carol: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. What a belter!!!

Favourite tree decoration: This year, it's my owls, nestled in the tree. 

Least Favourite Part About Christmas: The amount of waste which is generated. Rubbish produced over Christmas by UK households would fill Big Ben 1500 times, so try to recycle where you can!

Christmas Cards. Go. I'm not sending any this year for the first time ever. I have taken a stand against waste generation and done my bit to protect our trees. The money could be better spent elsewhere; I have donated the money I would have spent on cards and stamps to my favourite charities. 

How Late Do I Leave The Christmas Gift Shopping? Always done before December, normally during November. That way, it's all done and dusted before the crowds descend on the shops, and I can enjoy my final pay cheque of the year!

Christmas Wouldn't Be The Same Without: My family. Silly hats, singing, eating our weight in stuffing, games.... Love it!

Merry Christmas everyone (in the words of Slade!)

Lou x

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Good afternoon everyone again, thanks for stopping by my weekly writing blog! This week I welcome Sarah LaFleur, NaNoWriMo winner for 2013. She's here to share how she (and 311,830 other dedicated writers) conquered the international NaNo challenge and managed to write a novel in one month. I've invited Sarah to tell us what she learned about her skills as a writer, and to see if she'd brave NaNo again! Take it away, Sarah, and thanks again for guest blogging. 

How I Nailed NaNoWriMo

Like many other writers, I accepted the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) challenge to write a novel (or at least 50K words of one) during the month of November.  This being my first time participating, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  After 30 days of nearly continuous writing (I took 2 days off to work on another project with a pressing deadline) I finished with 50,182 words and a decent first draft of a new science fiction novel!






























Now as most writers know, writing daily can be easy or excruciating depending on the circumstances going into the session.  One of the most difficult parts of this challenge was the feeling that I couldn’t miss a day, even if I wasn’t particularly inspired to write anything.  My initial goal was to get ahead early.  That plan failed miserably!  If you look at my NaNo graph, every time I pulled ahead, something would come up (remember those break days?) to thwart my advance.

Yet, somehow I managed to “win” by getting all my words.  

How did I accomplish this feat?  

Well, I had a great support system of writing buddies to cheer me on and keep me going.  Often we would meet on twitter and complete “writing sprints” together by writing for a set amount of time and then tweet our word count for the duration.  I also had my own motivation in the form of a sticker chart (yes stickers!) where I would earn a small sticker for every 250 words and a big sticker when I hit my daily goal of 1750 words.  There were so many days I would have quit if it weren’t for that big sticker reward.

So, what did I learn from this experience?  

Firstly, I am a very consistent writer.  Whatever word count I achieve in the first thirty minutes of writing typically stays the same for the duration of the session.  I have always been a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants author, but I outlined extensively (meaning I spent an entire hour placing chapter markers and notes for all 30 days) and that helped get me through the dead zones of the book.  I am incapable of writing without editing at the same time, and although it cost me on my daily count, I’m hoping it will also mean when I revisit the story in a few months, I’ll still like it.  

Finally, all this begs the question; will I participate again next year?  

Well, in the interest of preserving my marriage, my official answer right now is "maybe".  However, I predict that by the time next November first rolls around, my fingers will once again be poised over the keyboard ready to type with reckless abandon for another 30 days…

Sarah LaFleur

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Thanks Sarah, that was a really interesting account of your NaNo experience - love the sticker chart idea! Getting ahead of yourself and something coming up to 'thwart' your advances sounds so familiar, even to me, an as yet non-NaNo writer. 

Check out more from Sarah Lafleur on her website, find her on Facebook, and on Twitter - how we connected initially! She's also got an author page on Amazon, so take a look!

More from me next week - keep writing!

Lou x

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Last month saw Make a Difference Day (26th October), and this is a cause close to my heart (see my post on Volunteering Abroad: Valuable and Rewarding). Sooooo, here are 10 things you can 'do good with' in just 10 minutes of your time. 

1. Find a charity you're keen on and set up a direct debit. You won't even notice a couple of quid leaving your account each month, most likely, so find one which resonates with you and go for it. If you're worried about where the money's going, check out these tips on Monday Supermarket. 

2. Give a colleague 10 minutes of your day if they look like they need to chat or off-load. In these austere times and days of increased chances of redundancy, moral can be low. However, showing a friendly face and giving someone a chance to rant can help. Be careful to not take their worries onto your shoulders though - just be an outlet and someone to talk to. Angry rants, done privately, are great, according to the guys at Real Life Law of Attraction. I tend to agree!

3. Donate your unwanted books, CDs and furniture to a charity shop. More and more people are selling online nowadays and I imagine the charity shops are losing out. You'll feel so much better for doing it than making a couple of pounds on ebay and there's no postage to pay!

4. Bake a cake for someone sick. You know they'll appreciate the thought, even if it's a questionable bake!). If you google easy cake recipes, there are lots to start you off with - BBC Food is particularly good, and some really do only take 10 minutes to whip up. 

5. Call your local Council to report that unsightly flytip you pass every morning. They might not know it exists and may even clear it up, improving your local area. 

6. A grandparent is for life, not just for Christmas. Call them. 

7. Hunger affects every community. Find your local food bank and donate a few cans of something non-perishable. 

8. If you've got a bumper crop this year on your allotment, why not take your spare veg round to a neighbour or give to a friend? Waste not, want not! #lovefoodhatewaste

9. Test your kids. Give them a quiz to do between main course and dessert round the dinner table. Something will stick and they'll win a pub quiz in the future (or pass their GCSEs more easily...)! 

10. Got a stressed out nightshift worker for a housemate? Why not help her out by doing her washing up which is building up on the side. The house will look cleaner for it too!

Feeling inspired?

Check out 67 things to do in 67 minutes, and action for Mandela Day (18/7/13). Let me know what you get up to in the comments below!

It's International Volunteer Day in less than a month (5th December) so why not get involved? Check out Do It, the volunteer opportunity website. There are many roles to look at, and so many benefits from lending a hand, so take a look!

Lou x

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Image courtesy of The Future Melting Pot

I had a lovely afternoon last Sunday. I went down to Bookmarks Festival, the small Northants village of Helmdon's very own offering to the world of writing and book events. It's in its second year and I can see there will be outcry if this small, friendly, and well-meaning festival doesn't come back for 2014. 

There are two reasons why I love Bookmarks Festival. 

1. The focus of the festival is on local writers. The speakers this year were Adrian Magsun, Alison McQueen and Garry O'Connor, all who hail from Northamptonshire. Engaging, friendly, and very different from each other, they made for a good panel. 

2. Bookmarks raises money for a global charity. It's a different charity each year, and 2013 is the year of Hand in Hand for Syria. Very commendable, in my eyes, and the choice of charity could not be more pertinent given the news from Syria in the last week or two.

I want to show you the fantastic fun I had at Bookmarks Festival, but like the pro I am, I managed to take photos with no SD card in the camera.

However, as you can judge from this blog post title, there is a down side to going to all these wonderful, creativity-filled, welcoming, interesting literature festivals. Yes, while I'm there mingling with other readers and writers, I'm having a great time. Events like this often encourage cake eating, and armed with a slice and a cuppa, I make new friends and acquaintances of bloggers, novelists, journalists and wannabes. However, long-term, literature festivals are indeed detrimental to my social life.

Why?!

Because I've come away with yet more books to add to my 'To Read' list. 

Once again I'll revert to my teenage bookworm state and become completely absorbed into the wonderful world of reading. I'll escape any trials and stresses of the day and enrich my writer's palette. 

I plan to be unapologetically unsociable.

I didn't really need these new volumes to add to the growing collection of books I want to devour, but look at them - how could you resist?! And they were all at the bargain price of £1 per novel. I already have piles of unread beauties at my pad just waiting to be opened, but being the slow reader that I am, I doubt I'll get onto many of them this decade. This means I will spend a good portion of my weekend curled up, sprawled out, perched on a chair with a book. I'm currently reading the beast that is Tom Jones ~ Henry Fielding as part of my 30 Before 30 Challenge, and I really want to get it finished. Then I can start on these fab looking titles.

If you need me, you know where to find me. 

Lou x

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Swanwick Summer Writing School has been running over 60 years. Based in Derbyshire for just one week in August, 200 published and unpublished writers meet together every year to learn, network, and grow in their craft. With a programme of eye-catching workshops and 'A class' speakers, who can blame them?!

Rae Argent, a writer friend of mine, went this year. She's an avid 'Swanwicker' and shares her experiences of this year's event on my blog this week. Take it away, Rae!


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What's to say. Swanwick was fantastic.

One of my favourite parts was our guest speaker James Moran (script writer for Dr Who, Primeval, Torchwood, Tower Block etc.) who ran a workshop.  That was a brilliant insight into what goes on behind the scenes and how to break into scriptwriting.

One of the courses I participated in was 'Literary Novels' - quite different from what I had expected but well worth going to.  It encouraged us to use imagery, not to curb our imaginations, and to introduce very well rounded characters.

'Fiction from Fact', a workshop by Syd Moore, was brilliant too. She encouraged us to write a short piece from a short sentence and let our imaginations do the work.  We were also tasked with writing a list of everyday questions we might ask our characters - that was fun! 

Our last evening speaker was Deborah Moggach, writer of "Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", among others.  She told us how it felt to watch her novel being turned into a film and where some of her ideas came from. 

Also, there was a workshop on short story competitions from Linda Lewis full of useful hints and how to make our stories stand out from the rest.

There were umpteen other courses/workshops. It was just FAB.

Rae Argent

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Thanks Rae - I bet you'll be heading off to Swanwick again as soon as you can! Keep an eye on the Swanwick website to see when 2014 tickets are available. 

Why not follow Rae on Twitter?

Keep writing!

Lou x

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In January I had the valuable and and rewarding experience of volunteering in South Africa with Transfrontier Africa (TFA). A team of four staff and seven volunteers like me worked on projects in Balule Reserve focussed on the conservation and protection of (mainly) elephants and rhinos in the western part of Kruger National Park. 

We saw the important work TFA are doing to manage the ecosystem in as much of a 'hands-off' natural way as possible, the constant fight against poaching - now rife in this part of the African continent - with the Anti-Poaching Black Mamba Unit, and the essential research the team carry out on the diverse and beautiful flora and fauna of the bush. 

One of the biggest and newest projects TFA are working on at the moment is the use of drones in locating and mapping unwelcome, illegal and dangerous human visitors to the reserves. These poachers are especially interested in rhino horns which can get tens of thousands of Euros on the black market. The bone is used in "medicine", never proven to have the aphrodisiac effect it claims. A project like this costs a lot of money maintain - think staff, Land Rover maintenance, fuel, dogs, training etc. etc.

This got some friends of mine (volunteers I met while volunteering in South Africa) thinking hard on their return to the UK. This wonderful Cambridgeshire couple instigated a fundraising idea in aid of TFA and Rhino Mercy, and I've since joined their enthusiastic and creative team of passionate wildlife lovers to put together an event you cannot afford to miss. 

The Event

Newmarket Rhino Bash

Friday 6th September 2013

Tables of up to 8 people

Tickets are £35 - now on sale!

At a venue near Newmarket, Cambridgeshire (confirmed with ticket purchase)

We are holding a hog roast dinner and charity auction, a presentation from Dr. Craig Spencer (who heads the TFA project), tombola, all to a soundtrack of African music.

Auction items include: A week's stay at Gleneagles... A mini iPad... Jamie's Italian Restaurant Vouchers... A week's stay at a Kruger reserve lodge... and so much more! You need to be here!

Remember, this is all in aid of protecting these amazing, highly threatened animals. Rhinos are being killed at the rate of one every day, and they will not be around much longer unless projects like those being run by TFA are supported. Nabbing these parasitic poachers with the use of modern technology is key to the species survival. 

Tickets are £35 and are selling fast. You can grab a HOT ticket by visiting the Rhino Bash website or visit us at the Facebook event page.

Visit the official Newmarket's Rhino Bash website to find out more about the project. 

I hope to see you there! 

                                                      *****

If you can't make the Newmarket bash or are based in the North why not attend Pennies for Eles 1st Annual Dinner 'Party' on Sat 21st September at the fabulous Hard Days Night Hotel in Liverpool? P4E has been supporting TFA's elephant research and conservation work since it was set up 3 years ago by another former volunteer who was also inspired by the passion and determination of the guys at TFA and wanted to help - volunteering there does that to you! Tickets available now and more info can be found on the on the P4E Facebook page. The funding's all going to the same place!

Thanks for reading. I'm back to writing related posts next week, I promise!

Lou x

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I’ve decided to take my debut novel down from Amazon. ‘Girl Meets Boys’, my internet age rom com was published in Autumn of 2010 and I had the aim of having just one stranger buy a copy. The books have sold better than I ever expected on both ebook and in paperback and I’ve made a surprising amount of cash, but it’s time for the party to end.

“But why?!” I hear you exclaim.

There are several reasons why I’m going to stop selling my novel online.

I stopped promoting ‘Girl Meets Boys’ about 18 months ago, with the thought that I can’t go on about it perpetually. People would get sick of hearing about it, I was sure! The mini book tour of local libraries and book shops stopped. I didn’t do the weekly mention of it on my Facebook and Twitter pages. I removed copies on display in local shops.

The main reason I’m taking the book down is that I am no longer proud of the publication. Don’t get me wrong, I was overjoyed when I held my first printed copy of the first book I’d ever written. I was excited with every sales figure update and grateful for every cheque which followed. But I know I can do better now. I don’t want this book to be a reflection of my writing abilities, as I feel I have progressed a long way since the date ‘Girl Meets Boys’ was published.

Sure, if I kept it available online I would sell some more copies, but I think I’d prefer to treat it as an achievement and work even harder on my current novel – my Next Big Thing, working title ‘Scrabble Pieces’.

My blogs, both here and at Born To Be A Tourist, are booming with visitor numbers, with new people discovering content and commenting every month. My monthly MK Pulse column is still being accepted with open arms, for which I am very grateful, and I am still writing the odd short story. I think I have enough on my plate writing-wise, even without ‘Scrabble Pieces’ text slowly crawling onto the page. I’ll soon have something back on Amazon to show you, guys! I’ll be removing the book from Amazon in July, so if you do still want to order a copy, go for it (and thanks!) - you have a month or so to grab one.

‘Girl Meets Boys’ will always have a little place in my heart, being my first novel, but it’s time has come and gone. Goodbye, and thanks for all the fish. 

Keep writing, and thanks for your on-going support for this blog. 

Lou x

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Today, 21st March is World Poetry Day. Every year on this date (since 1999) UNESCO celebrates poems and poets and I've joined forces with a writer local to me to bring you new material to celebrate in poetic style. GK Kingsley, a Northamptonshire poet, has entered the spirit of World Poetry Day by penning a something especially to celebrate today.

According to GK Kingsley, her quest is "to sow seeds that make people think about their lives, with bite size bits of poetry that are accessible to all. Some are humorous, some are thought provoking. But either way, it’s never a long haul trawl through my stuff.”

This poet has a following from around the world, from Australia to Hawaii to Alaska. She publishes a new poem three times a week on her website. I really like 'Double Trouble' and 'Make Life A Breeze', two show pieces beautifully displayed - not just lines of text!

Entitled ‘Love’, this specially written poem seeks to understand that most universal of ideas that touches all of our lives.  Enjoy. 

Thanks GK - great to collaborate with you, and I wish you a happy World Poetry Day!

See more from GK Kingsley:

Website:  www.gkkingsley.com                       Pinterest: gkkingsley

Email: gk@gkkingsley.com                              Twitter: @gkkingsley

Facebook: gk.kingsley

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Tomorrow I'll be posting my regular weekly writing blog - this one was a bonus to celebrate World Poetry Day, you lucky things!

Lou x

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Images from GK Kingsley's website and Off Timetable