Update 5th August, 2022

 

Hello

Yes, I know, it's been a while. but here I am again with a little update. My aim is to do this more often. Let's be honest, a few times a year would be more often.

Life is still tricky. I am able to get around a bit, but find it tiring. I get anxious beforehand, but I've got into the living room, which gives me a different view, a couple of times a week. Have to admit, the recent heat has not been my friend. I'm still using a medical bed which goes up and down to make life easier, but it has a plastic mattress so you can imagine what that is like. I'm also worrying about my mum who has short term memory issues heading towards dementia. She lives back in South Wales. My nephew visits every day, but she spends a lot of time on her own. Some days she gets very confused, but she usually remembers to ring me. We're hoping to get an assessment from social services which at least might get her out on some days to a day centre.

On the writing front things are progressing. It's been 18 months since I published anything completely new, but I am nearer getting my trilogy ready for submission. Books one and two are done ready for beta reading, and I'm currently doing the first edit of book three. The overall title for the series is Family Found. The MCs are the same throughout - more about them in another post. I have good days and bad days when attempting to write. I have foggy brain days, arthritis days, days when my wrists and arms ache, and days when the words just won't come. Because I can't stay in the same position for long, I have to lie down and can't do anything beyond word editing then. I tried dictation but I found it too annoying. Hopefully, the story of Linc and David will have an audience, but we'll see.

Over the last few weeks, it's been non-stop sport. I love sport. It always surprises people that I played hockey and netball in school and swam more than once every week. We had a pool at school, and I lived on the coast. I'm one of those people who picks up the rules of sport every easily. I've been told I'd have been a good PE teacher except I didn't have the body for it. We're currently watching The Commonwealth Games and getting as excited watching lawn bowls as we are at the athletics. Loved the women's football, even if it was England who won. It's hard to believe the football season has started again. Maybe this year Cardiff City and Leeds United will do better. Of course, the World Cup is still to come and I will be cheering like mad for Wales.

As 'light' relief we've been rewatching NYPD Blue after finishing rewatch of Six Feet Under. Still love it, but you can see how times have changed. 911 has finished (no sign of Buck and Eddie this series - sadly) and now we're onto 911 Lonestar. I love both series - diverse characters and oh my god plots. Pretending you are in a snow storm when the sun is clearly shining was a problem! But you can also just sit back and watch Rob Lowe. Other current watch is Only Murders in the Building - I do love this show's mix of comedy and drama, though how anyone lives in New York amazes me - all those huge buildings. We watched Neil Patrick Harris in Uncoupled. All I can say is it got better and it was nice to have older people in a story. My last TV show comment is Heartstopper. OMG! This show is just lovely. I've watched it all the way through four times and I know it will be a go to when I'm feeling sad. I've read Solitaire which is Tori's story and set after this and will read the others. I hope the next series will have more Isaac.

On the reading front, recent highlights include Rebecca Cohen's Crofton Hall series, CF White's French Kiss, Con Riley's Learning to Love series, And Ruby Moone's Black and White. Current reads are Spanish Siesta by CF White and The Glamour Boys by Labour MP, Chris Bryant.

That's it for now. I have a cat demanding scritchies, who is a little scaredy-cat today because we have men in fitting a new front window and door. At least she doesn't have a mouse today. We had three a couple of days ago including this little one. It was released back into the garden. This year seems to be going by quickly. They are already announcing Strictly contestants!

Update post - Wednesday 23rd February, 2022

 

            Yes, you’re right, it’s been a while and a lot has happened. If you know anything about me, you know the last couple of years have been a trial, but hopefully, I’m getting back a little of my life.
            I used to write these blog posts every Monday when I was up extra early seeing my other half off for the week. Now we are both retired, I tend to stop in bed, not being a morning person. I’m not the best sleeper, and when I wake up, warm but not too warm, and snuggled, nothing hurts until I move, and those moments can be pure joy, then the world and all its realities crash in – ah well.

Anyway, this morning I woke up and thought I’ll write a blog post. This might be long, so if you’ve started and don’t get to the end, don’t worry. Let’s start with writing.

Before I went into hospital January 2021 which turned into a 12 week stay, I’d been determined to finish the last of a three-part story all yet unpublished. I still have half a chapter and an epilogue to go. Since coming out of hospital, I’ve written hardly anything, partly because of physical reasons, and partly because my head hasn’t been in the right place and the words wouldn’t come. Getting them now is still hard. This trilogy has the series title – Found Family. Part one is Half Empty, part two, Half Full, and part three, Brimming Over. It’s the story of David and Jonah (though this name may change) and takes them from meeting through the next two years of their lives. I wanted to go beyond the meet to examine the HEA and what comes next. How do they deal with families, secrets, relationships, work, and the everyday stuff? Total words will reach nearly 250K when I’m done, so there’s a hell of a lot of editing to do. In the background, I’ve a few other stories that have patiently been waiting to be written. There’s the footballer and the care worker set in Knott End, the ecological housebuilder and headteacher set in the Hebridian Islands, and the wlw story of the farmer and the wedding dress shop owner, as well as the started but left hanging, follow up stories to My Highland Cowboy, A String of Lights, and a student story which got to 58K before I panicked about writing an enby MC . I did get something done last year. With the help of Sue Jenkins, I put out a re-edited version of While You See a Chance with 3000 extra words.

Now, in these blogs, I’d usually tell you what I’m reading and watching. Last year, watching was easier than reading. In fact, I didn’t read anything in hospital, and it took me a while to get back into it. Now, I’m up to speed. Among my favourites, I’ve especially enjoyed, Ruby Moone’s Winsford Green series, especially the Christmas story, A L Lester’s, Bradfield Trilogy, Josh Lanyon’s Secrets and Scrabble series, Con Riley’s Learning to Love – looking forward to Luke, Charlie Novak’s Roll for Love books, Olivia Waite’s Feminine Pursuits, and anything by Claire Ashton – The Tell Tale was fabulous. I heartily recommend them all as well as anything by Jordan L Hawk and K J Charles.

           On the watching front, there are so many. When you are basically housebound, watching becomes important. I will start with Call the Midwife regarded as cosy TV, but in reality anything but. I love it. Even after 12 series, the finale last week was tense. The characters change but you find new ones to love. My current favourites are the wonderful Nurse Phyllis Crane – yes, I did cheer when she arrived in the last episode, the doctor we would all love to have, Dr Turner, and I’m happy that the actor who plays him, Stephen McGann is as lovely in real life judging by his twitter feed, and I’ve a soft spot for the newest nun, Sister Frances. Each series takes a year as its backdrop - they have just done 1967. It is set in the East End of London. If you’ve never watched, give it a try. I’m thinking of doing a rewatch because I’ve only one episode left of what I call my Destiel rewatch.

For those who don’t know, Destiel is the ship name of Dean, a hunter and Castiel, an angel from Supernatural – something of an obsession of mine. I’ve been watching the Destiel episodes and have the last one left—episode 15/18 titled Despair. Spoilers – in this episode Cas declares his love for Dean then basically dies, though no one really dies in Supernatural. There are two more episodes left, but I won’t watch them again. If you want to know my view about the final finale, I blogged and wrote fix it fanfiction about it. Misha Collins, who played Castiel, is a hero of mine, rather like another hero, Jorts the cat and his friend Jean. If you’ve never seen Jorts on twitter, find him, it will make you smile.

So, current watches - the once a week bunch.

Monday night is 911. OK yes, there’s a ship I’ve gone down the rabbit hole for. This one will also break my heart, I’ve no doubt – Buck and Eddie – known as Buddie. They are firefighters and there’s also a spin off 911-Lone Star with Rob Lowe. There are LGBTQ+ characters in both and some rather ridiculous events.

Tuesday is a new find, The Gilded Age – think Upstairs and Downstairs, and Downton Abbey set among the fashionable in 1880s New York. Oh the sets and the frocks.

Wednesday is This is Going to Hurt. You can see it all but it’s a hard watch at times. It follows a NHS doctor back in 2006, stars Ben Whishaw as Adam and is based on the diaries of a real doctor. Adam isn’t particularly likeable at times, and I wonder if his relationship with his boyfriend survived – his medical career didn’t.

Thursday is This is Us. I watched series 1 and 2 then caught up with 3, 4 and the start of 5 in hospital. S5 is currently out. I have a love hate relationship with it but I like many of the characters and so I’ll see it through to the end of the last series. Watching Randall’s story of being a black child adopted by white parents, has helped with my WIP as this is David’s story, which in turn was inspired by the story of a biracial athlete who was adopted and had done a documentary on searching for his birth mother.

Friday is the cosy mystery series Death in Paradise. I’ve loved these shows for years and although I sometimes get the murderer, I don’t often get the how. I love the Agatha Christie style endings getting all the suspects together.

And finally, the weekend watches are Star Trek-Discovery and the above Call the Midwife, now finished. I have been a Star Trek fan for years and although I find Michael annoying, I love the rest.

So, this is me. I hope you found something of interest. Happy writing, reading and watching to anyone who made it to the end.