More TV connections

Last week DH went 'back home' when he was filmed as a contribution to a TV programme about a crime 

set there. He enjoyed visiting his past home town as well, as being involved in the programme.

 This week it's my turn to be reminded of the place I grew up as the BBC shows Gentleman Jack - the story of the unconventional Anne Lister of Shibden Hall just outside Halifax. As girls, my sisters and I often went to Shibden Park in which the hall was set - for picnics or walks or rowing a boat on the lake. Later, a friend of mine from school became the curator of the Hall for a time.

 We thought we knew a lot about the history of the Hall - but back then the amazing diaries Anne Lister wrote in code telling the story of her life as well as her 

lesbian life and many affairs had not yet been published.

For the next few weeks I shall be able to go back to my childhood days and memories as I watch the TV drama and spot places I knew and often visited in my past. I always loved Shibden Hall and it's wonderful to see it again - even if only on TV

Halifax

Had a  great trip this week, meeting up with my sister and her husband  to celebrate my sister's

birthday. We were also  going back to visit  the town I grew up in - Halifax  West Yorkshire.  I also go to visit one of my favourite places in   Yorkshire - Halifax's Piece Hall.

The Piece Hall is a Grade I  listed building in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was built as a cloth for handloom weavers to sell the woollen cloth "pieces" they had produced. It opened on 1 January 1779, with 315
separate rooms arranged around a central open courtyard

When I was living in Halifax, the Piece Hall was pretty much a wreck and   there wasn't much to bring visitors - or even locals -  to the place.  The last time I was there   - for another family get together - the Piece Hall  was closed while  a massive renovation project took place so I was excited to

see the results of the redevelopment and improvements.

They didn't disappoint.  The place has been revitalised and cleaned up, there are elegant shops and cafés - a bookshop that made the Babe Magnet more than happy.  The huge main gates had been refreshed and repainted so that they looked fabulous and colourful.  I was only sorry that we were leaving on the day that the huge Christmas tree was being put 
up in the central courtyard of the building - but that could be a good excuse to go back again!

Thank you Halifax - and New Voices 2

I had a great time in Halifax for the Calderdale Writers' Roadshow. It was a nostalgic trip as well as a work event and I had a lovely time wandering around the streets of the town that used to be home to me when I was growing up and where I had my first ever married home.

My thanks to the group who came to my workshop, joined in, asked great questions, and generally made the 2 hours slip by so fast I barely realised we'd started.

Also Jayne, Christine and Catherine who booked one to ones - it was great to meet you, to talk writing with you, and I really hope that our discussions helped you see a way forward to creating your own novels in the future. Good Luck!

And Good Luck wishes too to the ten finalists in the New Voices Contest who have worked on their entries with the advice and input of their mentoring teams and have submitted their second chapters which are up on the site now.

Anyone who entered - and even if you didn't but you're interested in the writing process - should go and take a look at how these stories have progressed. Because, as I've said before and I'm sure I'll say again, it's the potential for such progress that the editors saw in them from the start and that now, with their editorial input, is being put into place. Personally I'm finding it fascinating to see what the authors have done to move on from that first chapter, how they've put the editor's comments into their stories, and what the result is as posted on the site.

The voting of course is the subjective part. The bit where you are asked to vote for your favourite - but being honest, I wouldn't know if I was best voting as a reader or as an author or as a trained critiquer. And in the end, it's the editorial opinion that matters most. They are the ones who will be working with the writers - probably many more authors than just the one who is finally declared the winner - in the hope of developing a dynamite book out of the unpolished diamonds that were first submitted.

It's intriguing and enlightening watching the 'work in progress' - something that we rarely get to see from any author, any book. But ultimately the real prize for any of those who have submitted will be to see their name on a book on the bookshop shelves. I really hope that they achieve their dreams.

And talking of books on shelves, today is the actual, official publication date for the Presents EXTRA edition of The Good Greek Wife? in America. But I've been thrilled to see it riding high in the Top Ten on Amazon.com all weekend. Many many thnanks to everyone who's bought a copy to create this great result. As I hope the winners of New Voices and others will discover - this is a thrill that never goes away.

Blogging around

I'm heading for Halifax and the Calderdale Writers' Roadshows today and tomorrow so I've been busy preparing. But there are a couple of blogs around to keep you reading if you like -

The first was supposed to go up today but actually went up a day early over at Romance Bandits so I need to go over there and answer some of the comments. I'm talking about the final celebrations for my 25th year of publication and of course, as it's publication month in America, about my new Presents title The Good Greek Wife?

And then later today, if all goes to plan, I should have my blog up at I heart Presents - and, naturally, I'll be talking about The Good Greek Wife? over there too.

I'll be back on Sunday - and if you're going to be in Halifax please come and say hello.

PS If you want to know more about the Babe Magnet then today's your day - there's a great interview with him over on The Literary Project (Thanks Gemma!)