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Saturday 10 August 2013

The holiday's over, now for the deadline


Just back from a lovely holiday with my family in Sardinia. It was a treat to sit around and read novels on my Kindle. And yes, I still got a ‘Heavy’ sticker on my suitcase ('Pesante' on the way back) when checking in. I spoke Italian, but it was a bit rusty and I must brush up on verb conjugations at some point…


I attended a few 'aqua-fit' classes in the pool, as did most ladies invited to join in by the rather handsome, witty and six-packed instructor, even if it meant enduring Katy Perry and Europop at full volume, including an annoyingly catchy song which became part of the soundtrack to the holiday, called ‘Booma Yee’...

Somehow we managed to leave a car key in our hotel room, which the hotel kindly couriered back to us this week. At Cagliari airport, I paid for the same two magazines I’d bought at Heathrow two weeks previously without realising. At the till I spotted this pile of books on the counter. There’s no escaping E.L. James:


We lost a Spiderman rucksack containing a Nintendo DS at Heathrow airport when racing to get the suitcases from the trolley onto the bus for the car park. I’m still looking for that on Heathrow’s website-apparently it can take some time for bags to go through security before reaching lost property. We’re not usually so absent-minded, just unusually relaxed I think!

And now for the deadline:

This month I’m pulling together my submission for The RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme which needs to be sent in by the end of August. It will only be a partial this year as I’m submitting book 2, ‘The Painting’ for the first time. Although I’ve written a rough draft, I’d like what I send off to be as well written as possible.
Today I’m going back to research so I can fill in the gaps, looking into the painting which the story’s centred around and the artist as well as eighteenth century life: country houses, architecture, portraits, gardens, clothes, lifestyle, King George III, The Prince Regent, The Seven Years’ War etc.


I dropped into Hatchlands Park on the way back from Guildford yesterday where there are some wonderful paintings and the interior was designed by Robert Adam in the 1750s.
 
I do love a deadline and am grateful to the Romantic Novelists’ Association for providing me with one every year.

Hope you’re having a great summer and best of luck to everyone submitting to The New Writers' Scheme!