Am wearing bright yellow cardigan purchased in charity shop.

Have started reading ‘Walden’ by Thoreau. Great! He went to live in a log cabin in the wilds yonks ago. ‘Simplify!’ was one of his wise themes.

Adored ‘The Beginner’s Goodbye’ by Anne Tyler. I’ve read quite a number of her books now…she is one of my favourite authors. The details, the deft omissions and the honesty in her writing gives it great depth.

Have become rather fond of tv programmes in which people buy ‘antiques’ and then try to sell them again at a profit.

Really think that Ireland’s song should have done better in the Eurovision.

Hope to go to a local Church of Ireland fete this Saturday…it tends to be a very good fete with lots of bargains. Often intrigued by some of the more common items; foot spas, for example, sometimes feature. Because of Church of Ireland fetes I have owned two foot spas. Both of them have been given away.

If you are in the mood for being read to you can hear a podcast that includes an interview with moi and a reading from ‘The Truth Club’ here.

Warm wishes and sparkles,

Grace x

‘…a novel which by turns had me laughing (aloud) entranced and, by the end a little bit wiser than I was at the beginning. In ‘The Truth Club’ Grace Wynne-Jones has produced a book in which the eclectic characters almost leap from the pages…the book also contains a perfect man, Nathaniel, who ‘almost always’ says the right things…’ Ireland On Sunday

Only two chocolate biscuits left in kitchen!

Glad very big bumble bee has returned to garden.

Got around to framing two lovely samples of wallpaper yesterday…very basic and cheap frames but very pretty Farrow & Ball wallpaper.

I sunbathed in patio garden on Saturday…lots of colourful cushions, tea and weekend supplements.

I feel the need to take things somewhat slowly today…must write a long newsy blog sometime soon.

Very fond of ‘Escape To The Country’ tv programme. In a recent episode a sweet lady burst into tears when shown a particularly nice ancient barn…she and her husband wanted a restoration project.

I often do not know what to write on Twitter.

Waiting in queues is less boring if you take out a pen and paper and sketch people’s backs…have learned a lot about the slope of shoulders etc. Good for life drawing skills.

Very grateful to nice lady who tweeted that she loved ‘Ordinary Miracles’.

Love and sparkles,

Grace x

I’ve been asked to be a guest contributor on this website again. The thing about blogs is that there are millions of them…and there are also gizoodles of gushy articles about how to write them that make me feel like lying on a sofa with a cat and a cup of hot chocolate.

Am extremely fond of sofas.

Wonder if I should become a Newt Surveyor. There is such a thing…look it up on Google.

In previous blogs (which I’ve included in this one…a cut and paste job with small edits that involved quite a bit of trawling) I explained that I work as an Editorial Assistant in a small publishing company and my boss is coffee fusspot Roderick Organza Treadmull. Our ‘list’ of ‘titles’ includes many books by elderly retired generals and one about saving frog habitats. Recently published titles include ‘Befriending Your Stick Insect’, ‘Sometimes It Really Is Nicer To Just Watch The Telly’ (a ‘cosy alternative’ to ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’), ‘Beyond The Hutch’ (that one is about rabbits) and ‘Buy That Cake!’ (a ‘reassuring self-help guide’ for people who buy recipe books but don’t use them).

Tanbo, my sort of boyfriend, has a big social conscience and feels that it’s high time Roderick published a book about the ‘outworn paradigm of capitalism’. He also thinks Roderick should make his own Fairtrade coffee (I have to collect it for him from a posh delicatessen), and that he should stop riding his flashy motorbike to work and take public transport. Much though I would like to say these things, and much else, to Roderick, I am mainly grateful that he hasn’t yet asked me to add ‘office cleaning’ to my list of duties. Our sales figures are far from fabulous and we now even have to bring our own biscuits to work.

Still haven’t finished reading ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron but I have opened it a few times and looked at the chapter headings. I did do some ‘Morning Pages’ a month ago. They were mainly about wondering if I should volunteer to do a silent working retreat at a Buddhist centre, the need to actually get measured for a new bra and wishing Tanbo didn’t want me to watch so many programmes about climate change. I’m worried about melting glaciers too, but sometimes I just want to watch ‘The Big Bang Theory’.

The Smooth Newt is classified by scientists as Triturus vulgaris.

By the way ‘The Quiet Fig’, a book of poems by a very attractive American guy called Scott, has become a surprise bestseller. This is largely because it turns out that Scott is also an actor and he’s got a part in a successful American sitcom. I’m glad that I was nice to Scott when he turned up at our offices to discuss the very brief letter that said his poems were ‘not suitable for our list’…someone like that is usually fended off firmly at reception. Must find out why the fig is quiet because Scott is pretty adorable and he recently retweeted some stuff I wrote about the social needs of the rabbit.

Must go because Roderick has pounded into the office and wants me to do a bunch of Facebook stuff about frogs…yet again.

Toodlepip,

Honey

Blogs wot I wrote earlier. Honey x:

Hi,

My name is Honey Morenzo and I’m an occasional contributor to these pages. It gives me more practice re. writing stuff. I’d like to write more stuff but I’m not sure what about exactly. I have still not finished reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, but one of the things she bangs on about is that if you want to be a writer you need to write.

Wonder if I should go get a digestive biscuit covered with chunky peanut butter.

At least I’ve read some impressive big books lately, including ‘Freedom’ by Jonathan Franzen. It has a marvelously complex and satisfying plot, a deep understanding of some aspects of the human condition and includes many mentions of birds, particularly a type of warbler. I feel quite virtuous about reading it because it is grown up and important. Jonathan’s great at the old typing.

The thing about writing a book is you’d have to decide what to wear to the launch, if there was one, and if it was a bestseller your hand might get really tired after signing loads of copies.

Am tempted to eat a banana but have already had an egg and some oatcakes and some rice cakes covered in thickly cut sugarless marmalade. Writing sometimes makes me ravenous.

I work in publishing so I should know more about writing stuff, only the job seems to involve a lot of PR work these days. Roderick Organza Treadmull, my boss, is desperate to shift ‘titles’…that’s what we call books…’titles’.

At the last PR thing we ‘threw’…somehow that reminds me of hefty women throwing metal balls at the Olympics…a gerbil escaped from the author’s suspiciously capacious briefcase (her book is about small pets for big city living). The name of the gerbil was Gertrude and she could, apparently, do some pretty endearing little tricks which is why she’d been brought along for ‘photo opportunities’. When she scarpered the main photos were of women screaming ‘rat!”. She reappeared from under a very large sofa when tempted by a Pringles crisp. Apparently she goes for the plain type and isn’t into cheese and onion.

Love Pringles crisps myself and the tube they come in can be very useful for pencil etc storage if covered with floral patterned paper. Not that I’ve done this myself of course. That would involve actually getting the paper and cutting it into shape and then locating a tube of Pritt, if I had one….it can get really leathery if you don’t put the top on properly. (When I went to a writing workshop the multi-jumpered facilitator said that small details can help bring a story to life…must make note of my insightful observations re. Tipp-Ex, photocopiers and that moody metal bit on hanging files.)

Really do need a cuppa now!

Love,

Honey

Roderick Organza Treadmull, my boss (I’m his Editorial Assistant) has become obsessed by Twitter recently. He keeps asking me to talk up books using the hash tag thingy (still don’t really understand it). He has also become extraordinarily finicky about his cappuccinos. I have to get them from an Italian deli three streets away and tell them he only wants one shot and extra foam. He demands nutmeg with his chocolate topping. He sometimes actually sits on my desk (it is fairly large) and tells me about the time when publishing was oh so much more civilised and not mainly run by conglomerates. He adored the first place he worked in. Apparently there was a wooden prosthetic leg in the corner of the office…no-one knew why it was there and didn’t bother to ask.

He was an editorial assistant back then himself, but he still regularly gallivanted off to wine bars for lunch…he had to sober up pretty fast if he had to proof read indexes afterwards. Proof reading indexes is not much fun. I have to do it without the benefit to Cabernet Sauvignon.

Roderick hopes that any day now we’ll hit the big time with some hot new author. We’ve recently churned out memoirs from retired generals (long complicated indexes, fussy photo captions and long discussions re. sepia tones on jacket), some stuff about dog obedience training etc and a nice perky book about the importance of preserving frog habitats. The author was going to bring a frog to the launch only it escaped from its container in the swanky hotel foyer and was found afterwards by some amazed Americans. It had been sulking behind a Kentia Palm. “So frogs sometimes come indoors over here do they?” one of the women asked. “Like sort of geckos in hotter climes?” We didn’t have time to explain the situation because Hubert (that’s what I called him) was already hopping towards a table laden with dry Martinis. I took a picture of Hubert. ‘Frog flees literary gathering’ caused a bit of interest on Twitter, especially since the accompanying link to Hubert’s photo was incorrect and featured one of the retired Generals I’d been publicising. Thank goodness the guy shuns social media.

Have been in sporadic email contact with Scott, that American poet guy I mentioned a while back…the author of an as yet unpublished book of poems called ‘The Quiet Fig’. I naturally haven’t asked him why the fig is quiet, though I’d like to. In fact I try to avoid any mention of poetic matters in our correspondence (he still has a slight hope that Roderick may take an interest in the stuff since their brief chat about a shared interest in motorbikes in Manhattan). When I told Scott about the frog fiasco he thought it was hilarious. ‘Geez Honey’ he wrote ‘What if the frog’s a pacifist?’

We’ve had long email discussions about what sort of creatures I should sneak into book launches…. ‘Snake scoffs canapes at military history luncheon’…’Wolf teaches dog obedience author manners at book launch’. He’s currently working as a PA on some American talk show and really understands my cappuccino situation with Roderick. One of his bosses is so fussy about sushi that the list of requirements runs to an A4 page.

Tanbo, my occasional boyfriend, has just phoned. He wanted to know if I’ve done anything about getting a ‘decent’ job and have told Roderick to get his own cappuccinos. He also wanted to know if I’ve signed the petition he forwarded. It is, apparently, very worthy and important. I get so many petitions to sign I sort of lose track of them. It started off in a small virtuous way but now I sometimes feel like a member of the U.N.

Tanbo has a fabulous social conscience. We marched out of a very nicely decorated cafe the other day because it didn’t stock Fairtrade coffee. We are going to a talk tonight about how to avoid wheat.

Roderick has just come in with some photocopying machine issue. He says that it says it’s out of paper when it isn’t. He seems to take it personally. I’d better go and turn the thing off and on again.

Toodlepip!

Honey

Can’t spend long typing this ‘cos am at my desk and Roderick is in a foul mood about sales figures. Am feeling extremely demoralised myself today because realise, yet again, that I should have jumped ship from this job when there were loads of other jobs to apply for. Looked up a volunteering website a while ago and saw there were some very interesting jobs in Peru…somewhere near the Amazon…possibly in or near the jungle. Got quite excited until I saw it required fluency in Spanish. Perhaps should start attending Spanish night-classes. Similar vacancies may pop up in the future.

Last night I visited my pal Astrid who’s in her mid sixties and a student of Shamanism. The ‘healing traditions of indigenous cultures’ really float her boat. Thank God she didn’t tell me I was creating my own reality because I might well have thrown the plate of chocolate digestives at her. Sometimes there’s only so much of this ‘evolving consciousness’ stuff one can take. Anyway…she made me a nice mug of Earl Grey Tea and her Siamese cat, Biggles, sat on my lap. “This too will pass Honey” she said with her big sweet smile. How does she know this stuff about me?

I was doing my best to appear contented because, as Tanbo (sort of boyfriend) frequently points out I am not living in a shack in the ‘developing’ world and have access to clean water and electricity and pleasant enough food…including Starbars. The great thing about Astrid is she doesn’t mind when I get pissed off. She just accepts people as they are.

Gotta go because reception has just rung to say there’s an author skulking around wanting to know why their manuscript ‘isn’t suitable for our list’. She’s told them no-one is available for comment but they are now attempting to get into the lift. Will have to head them off somehow. Yikes.

Byeeee

Honey

Some hours later

Took marauding author out for quick cappuccino. Highly unprofessional but he is very attractive and American. Roderick told him to “drop by sometime” when they met in Manhattan. He has just written a book of poems called ‘The Quiet Fig’. I doubt that Roderick knew of these impending stanzas when they met in NYC…seems they share an interest in motorbikes. I told him that if and when he actually meets Roderick again he should not mention ‘The Quiet Fig’ or the letter (he just signs them anyway) or the ‘list’ which is rarely explained to anyone and is basically a secular mystery. I added that we do not publish poetry anyway and briskly suggested that he buy the Writers’ and Artists’ Handbook.

I wanted to make a quick exit before he suggested that I read ‘The Quiet Fig’ but suddenly we were talking about 2012 and the Mayan calendar and various prophecies which, to be honest, take quite a bit of getting used to. Scott, that’s his name, also believes the world is undergoing some vast transformation. He has actually studied quantum physics and the mating habits of hummingbirds and lived in the Amazon jungle for five months as a volunteer teacher. (He speaks fluent Spanish.) We both adore Frazier and antique fabrics and E.M. Forster. We discovered all this about each other in 21 minutes. Suddenly I knew he had to meet my pal Astrid. She’d love him. When I said this he said he was going back to New York tomorrow….in just twenty four hours.

I tried to feel grateful that I had met this wonderful creature…he resembles a gazelle in some way…which sounds stupid I know but it’s true. But, as Tanbo would certainly point out, gratitude is on my improvement list. He is wonderful at pointing out all the things that I need to work on and I don’t even feel grateful for his judicious mentoring. He would also almost certainly say that the sudden attraction I felt for Scott was, in fact, a projection..that I was seeing qualities in him I didn’t fully own in myself. Tanbo can make relationships sound like macrame. It’s one of his many talents. He also makes really delicious bread.

So Scott and I parted, like ships in the night, and I’m back home and feeling guilty. Because Tanbo is my soul mate. That’s what he says anyway and he knows about that kind of thing. He follows his ‘intuitive wisdom’…he even gave a workshop about it. He knows what he wants and how to get it. But Scott is bewildered…a little lost even…uncertain. He feels like a “schmuck”. That’s what he said before he left. A fake. A cheerful desperado. I loved it when he said that. I don’t know why. And now he’s gone and it shouldn’t matter, but it does. Before long Scott will just be an affectionate anecdote, but I know that I’ll never think of figs in the same way again.

Love,

Honey

There are two teddies on my desk…actually it’s not a ‘desk’ as such, it’s a large table…and both of them (the teddies) are staring at me hopefully. One of them is wearing an Aran jumper. I already feel a little tired after typing these words. Perhaps I should take a little break and have one of those creamy biscuits I put in the freezer. I hoped they would take time to thaw and therefore be unavailable for immediate consumption, but they don’t seem to freeze for some reason.

I will have pea soup for lunch.

Back at laptop after having watched Oprah Winfrey during lunch. She was talking about American Country Music. There were lots of cheery people singing sad songs.

This writing lark takes practice. I recently went to a creative writing course and was all ooomphed up about it for a while. Bought a new pen and swanky notepad and put on blue scarf. Tried to ‘woo’ my creative side with cappuccinos and mild flirtations with Italian waiters.

Am I finding my authentic voice? The teacher said that’s what we had to do. She also said cherish the details and less can be more. She falls in love with her characters sometimes. I’m hoping that, as I type this, some gorgeous sensitive hunk is going to introduce himself to me. I will not make him a yoga teacher. Been there done that wanted to take off the t-shirt. It happened in Greece.

I really miss not having a cat.

Need to take rest from writing now. I am clearly not in the ‘zone’. Also need to handwash bra…

Later

Another thing the teacher said was that we should introduce characters at an interesting juncture in their lives.
Juncture is an interesting word. It’s not something one says very often is it? Tad…that’s another word I like. They use it in upmarket American sitcoms. And chiaroscuro…must look that one up.

I know loads of eager people who say that a new paradigm of consciousness is emerging on the planet. I go to workshops. I discuss that kind of thing. I meditated this morning and stared at a candle.

Think I may go and get another biscuit.

I am nearly forty. I have an imaginary home in Provence with hens, lavender, a horse, large cream cups and sunflowers. Typing this has meant I have missed ‘Wogan’s Total Recall’. Have just received an email from someone wanting to sell me replica watches.

Tried to Google my first love yesterday but I don’t think he is an Engineer in Texas, a male escort or a someone who’s really keen on low carbon emissions. His name was listed many times, but not him. Perhaps it’s just as well. Don’t know what I’d say to him anyway. And meeting him again wouldn’t please Tanbo. That is the unlikely name of my occasional boyfriend. We met in Argos. If I hadn’t wanted a swanky new kettle I would never have known he existed. The main thing we have in common is the belief that the world us undergoing some vast sort of transformation. He’s into quantum physics and bakes large quantities of bread which he sells as markets. Before the recession he was in marketing. He sometimes camps in the wilds and chants in Sanskrit. And he’s big into ‘orbs’.

One of these days I’m going to have to tell him to do something about his nose hair.

‘To be whole let yourself be partial.’ Lao Tzu

I work for a publishing company. It sounds interesting but it isn’t. I’m an assistant to Roderick Organza Treadmull who keeps getting me to type letters to poor authors telling them their book isn’t ’suitable for our list’. I sometimes dab a bit of aromatherapy oil on this bleak correspondence. Occasionally I add a little x after his signature too.

Roderick really put me off writing for ages. Somehow he found out that I was doing a creative writing course and said he’d “love” to look at my scribblings. He has a bit of a wandering eye does Roderick. He arrives in the office in his leather motorbike gear and puts on the Pet Shop Boys at full volume.

He doesn’t know I know his middle name.

Must go ‘cos Tanbo is at the door to take me to a meeting about dolphin communication…I really like dolphins.

Love,

Honey

One of my favourite novelists is Anne Tyler. Her writing is elusive and true and when it comes to matters of the heart she navigates closeness and distance, yearnings, bafflement and tenderness like a master mariner. I want to include a quote from her book ‘Ladder of Years’ in this blog because it celebrates the rich mysteries of the prosaic…it is certainly not the stuff of twenty red roses, champagne and fine dining.

‘She saw herself riding in the passenger seat, Sam behind the wheel. Like two of those little peg people in a toy car. Husband peg, wife peg, side by side. Facing the road and not looking at each other; for why would they need to, really, having gone beyond the visible surface long ago. No hope of admiring gazes anymore, no chance of unremitting adoration. Nothing left to show but their plain, true, homely, interior selves, which were actually much richer anyhow.”
— Anne Tyler (‘Ladder of Years’)

Lots of love and sparkles,

Grace

It is really cold here this morning and I have the central heating on and the Dimplex and I don’t actually know how many layers of clothing. We had some snow last night but now it’s raining and I’ve brought a largish palm type plant in from the patio…it looks pleasantly tropical by the back door.

Probably should write a bit about my books ‘cos us authors are supposed to do that sort of thing…and the new covers remind me of the first cover I made for a book:

When I was about eleven I made a ‘book’ cover for two stories I typed on my dear Dad’s typewriter…I could have done with some Tipp-Ex! (Dad was a clergyman and we were living in a lovely old rambling rectory in rural County Limerick at the time.) A self-published work with a print run of one copy, it was called ‘Stories For Everyone’ and featured a glamorous woman, a horse and a puppy on the cardboard cover (the pictures were cut out carefully) and the singer John Paul Jones on the back. One of the stories was about my beloved pony Merrylegs and the other was about the joys of nature, so it didn’t quite live up to its title!

(Have made myself some Kenco cappuccino from a red sachet and have just eaten a chocolate biscuit.)

Though I still adore ponies and nature these days I have extended my subject-matter. For example women’s lives fascinate me and writing about them helps me to make sense of my own experiences. What’s more, I often make intriguing new ‘friends’ as I type and I love getting to know them more deeply. I greet them hoping that they will share their hopes and disappointments, their fears and dreams and perplexities. I love intimacy in ordinary life…people who seem to understand…people I don’t have to pretend with…and that’s what the characters in my novels ask of my friendship with them. They want to take off their masks and tell it how it truly is. Sometimes male characters do this too and I almost fall in love with them. For example I find Charlie in ‘Ordinary Miracles’ deeply fanciable. And Nathaniel in ‘The Truth Club’ would make a most wonderful confidant.

(Need to go out soon on errands…may wear blue woolly hat and bring some food for the birds in the park. The gulls tend to grab the food first so the rooks need to be pretty nifty if they want some extra grub.)

One of my biggest pleasures is when a reader says they have felt understood by one of my novels. This is often because a character has admitted to feelings they themselves have never been able to share. For example a number of readers of ‘Ordinary Miracles’ told me they felt I had somehow been spying on their marriages. Jasmine, the main character, has just turned forty and reads books like ‘No Need To Panic: Courageous Acts Of Change In Women’s Lives’. Desperation eventually sends her on a quirky journey of self-discovery and there are tears and epiphanies and adventures and, importantly, laughter. I love writing humour. I like my novels to contain many notes and contrasts, like in music. But as the saying goes, certain chords always reach the heart in the same way.

I love animals and they are also often important characters in my novels. For example ‘Ordinary Miracles’ features an adorable pig and ‘Wise Follies’ has a rather rude but impressive budgie and a cat and terrapins. ‘Ready Or Not?’ has a lovely Cocker Spaniel and ‘The Truth Club’ features a nice dog too!

(Would love to get another pet. I looked after a cute canine for a friend a while ago. Izzy…dog’s name…sometimes looks so sweet and endearingly thoughtful.)

Peeked out the back window and noticed a bit of sunshine. Glad that I went swimming with a pal on Saturday. A local hotel was offering free promotional access to their spa. Didn’t actually want to go swimming on Saturday morning. It seemed far too wintry for it and I didn’t want the bother of packing up the stuff I needed to bring etc. It was uplifting when we got there though. I loved the steam room and sauna too. Cappuccinos and scones afterwards were also cheering.

Feel I should put the link to Philip Casey’s wonderfully wise books on Kindle here…

Lots of love and sparkles,

Grace

‘She has an assured style and a wonderful insight into the separated
lady’s lot…I couldn’t put it down. I literally read it from cover to cover.’ Muriel Bolger, ‘No Jacket Required’ RTE RADIO ONE re ‘Ordinary Miracles;

‘…..Grace Wynne-Jones has written an entertaining, intelligent and genuinely funny story….this is a great read, especially for commuters…guaranteed to shorten any journey.’ The Irish Times re ‘The Truth Club’

[Woman And The Book featured image is by George Hodan]

Happy New Year 2013 by George Hodan

Weather is somewhat murky in County Wicklow today, but we’ve had some lovely sunny days recently…love that brightness and when it’s mild it also saves on the central heating. Went into the local Lidl the other day and bought some bargains, including a bunch of hyacinth flowers. Like the wildly varying products Lidl sells. For example on latest visit they were selling protective legware for horses being transported in horse-boxes.

Got two children’s books out of the library today….’The Incredible Book Eating Boy’ and ‘How To Catch A Star’ …both by Oliver Jeffers. Fabulous. Read them with a pal this afternoon while having a cappuccino in a convivial cafe.

January affects different people in different ways so here are some nice uplifting quotes:

‘I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being.’ Hafiz Of Persia

‘Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.’ Rumi

‘You can’t stop the waves but you can learn to surf.’ Jon Kabat-Zinn

‘To be young, really young, takes a very long time.’ Picasso

Lots of love and sparkles,

Grace

‘I’ve never read any of Grace’s books before.. now i have a list.. i need to read them all.. Really loved it. quite a few laugh out loud moments too.’ Tracey re. ‘Wise Follies’ Amazon review

‘I enjoyed this as it was a nice story. Just the thing when you need a feel good factor which we all need sometimes.’ Re. ‘Ordinary Miracles’ Amazon review

Christmas Background by MALIZ ONG

There are a number of things I do like about Christmas though, and one of them is buying holly. This tends to happen late on an ‘It’s Christmas I must buy stuff’ evening when I see someone carrying a bundle of that cheerfully berried foliage. “Where did you get it?” I enquire, because holly is in scant supply in the local shops. I bought the latest bunch in a local flower shop. The nice man tied a pretty red ribbon round the stems so that I could carry it without those ouches. It looks lovely in a big vase by the fireplace.

By the way…

I have heard some great things about  ‘My Future Husband’… the title of Karen Clarke’s first novel. Already published in Germany, it’s now available as an ebook from Amazon. It’s been called a ‘Time Traveler’s Wife for the light-hearted’ .Literary agent Lisa Eveleigh explains why she enjoyed it: 
 
‘How would you feel if, a month before your wedding, a man appears in your bedroom, claiming to be your soul-mate? This is Sasha’s dilemma. She’s in love, she has a good job running a catering company and she thinks her future is sorted out. Reluctantly she does set out to find Elliot, her visitor from the future, mainly because her best friend Rosie insists…….Elliott pops up at some very inconvenient moments, and Sasha discovers that although on first glance he is absolutely not her type, there is definitely a mystery to solve. This is a warm, charming and funny novel, with a good dash of romance and a satisfying magical twist.’   Sounds intriguing!  The Amazon link for it is

Hope to head into Dublin for a Solstice Celebration this evening…there may be some nice hot chocolate at the gathering! I must have a bath beforehand. (Adding some sea salt to a bath is very cleansing and uplifting…some drops of Juniperberry aromatherapy oil can also be relaxing….I have some in my aromatherapy burner as I write this.)

Hope that you have a lovely Solstice! It is such a special time of the year. Here’s a link to a wonderful Solstice Meditation. I liked it anyway! I have attended many Shamanic healing training sessions. Those ancient teachings contain so much wisdom

Do look after yourselves Sweeties. And as a former yoga teacher of mine used to say “Breathe as if your life depends on it”. (I had quite a crush on that yoga teacher…it was useful research for my novel ‘Wise Follies’ where Alice becomes besotted with a pottery tutor!)

Lots of love and light and sparkles,

Grace x

Asilomar Beach, Big Sur Photo courtesy PDPhoto.org

Photographs often appear in my novels and the characters wish their albums were not quite so ecstatic. They wonder why people often feel obliged to smile in the images. Why couldn’t there also be a bit of ennui, some frowns and slack jawed gazes? Surely that would be a more accurate archive. Even during a drizzly picnic when wasps are trying to get at the sandwiches and junior is exploring the texture of cow pats… people smile as the shutter clicks. Photos can show things as they were or record what we had hoped they would be like. They become part of our mysterious relationship with the past.

A relative of mine loves taking photographs. Sometimes he takes so many of them one begins to feel like a minor celebrity. Photos may occur during dinner or during tea on a sofa…while wandering through the countryside or waiting around beside a car. After a while one simply stops caring what his photos look like. Suddenly there isn’t any image to preserve. His images are often lovely because they do not have to be.

(Shared with very kind permission of RTE Lyric FM and with some edits.)

Warm wishes,

Grace

‘…..Grace Wynne-Jones has written an entertaining, intelligent and genuinely funny story….this is a great read, especially for commuters…guaranteed to shorten any journey.’ The Irish Times re. ‘The Truth Club’

Basil in flower Photo courtesy PDPhoto.org

Very glad that dear Nigel Slater is back with a new cookery series. I find his gentle culinary experiments so cosy and creative and he looks so lithe and delicious as he reaches into a kitchen cabinet for, say, turmeric. Particularly like Nigel’s ‘pondering’ face and the way he so fetchingly fetches herbs from his large urban back garden. Also really like the way he personalises his cooking. He often says sweet things like ‘There are days when I really need a hot pudding’ (I made that quote up). His approach seems very nurturing and wise.

I am also a fan of Monty Don on ‘Gardeners’ World’. My patio garden is small but fairly luxuriant…in some places anyway…and I love finding plenty of worms in the compost…added some Nori seaweed to it the other day. Thought I might sniffily avoid the big booming showy X Factor but now that they’ve actually chosen the singers it’s more interesting…that over-the top razzmatazz can be weirdly entertaining on a dark autumn evening.

I adored a recent documentary by Vanessa Engle on BBC 2. It was part of the Wonderland series and was called ‘Walking With Dogs’. Vanessa sure knows how to access the soft underbelly of human existence and in such a compassionate and honest way too…the focus was mainly on some people who walk their dogs on Hampstead Heath and their personal and sometimes very poignant stories None of the dogs seemed to have obvious ‘issues’ but in many cases their canine devotion for their owners was very touching and gloriously uplifting. There were great light-hearted moments in it too along with deft and deliciously comic touches and fantastic editing. It was clearly a labour of love.

Warm wishes and sparkles,

Grace x

‘…this is one of the best Irish novels this year…The trip to Greece is steeped in olives and jasmine, cicadas and sunshine…readers will love the local gigolo, Dimitri. Grace writes with great humour…On a more serious note, her portrayal of friendship, commitment and the complexity of relationships is very real and most enjoyable.’ Evening Herald re. ‘Ready Or Not?’

Image: Wikimedia

Yes, that is the great thing about small luxuries. They rarely stretch the budget. And sometimes they can feel very big indeed.

(Re-shared with the kind permission of RTE Lyric FM.)

Warm wishes and sparkles,

Grace x

‘..Grace Wynne-Jones has written an entertaining, intelligent and genuinely funny story…this is a great read, especially for commuters…guaranteed to shorten any journey.’ The Irish Times re. ‘The Truth Club’

 

I thought that I would include something about writing in this blog and came upon a piece I wrote for RTE Lyric FM some years ago…I recorded it as a radio talk and Lyric FM have kindly given me permission to share it again.(It’s in italics and has been slightly edited.) I am very grateful to all the characters I have ‘met’ through writing. For example ‘Ordinary Miracles’ (my first novel) was greatly aided by wise and perceptive ‘Charlie’ and his adorable pet pig ‘Rosie’!

‘When I first met Ava Lavelle I didn’t like her. I thought she was a bossy, highly opinionated woman in her seventies and that her awfulness would be entertaining….she was, after all, a fictional character in my novel ‘Ready Or Not?’.

Warm wishes and sparkles,

Grace

Tramped around some very picturesque Irish country roads this morning looking for a very picturesque house. Weather had been sodden earlier. Was dressed in a big mac (not hamburger) and wellies. Thankfully it stopped raining when I was on my rambles. SO very grateful to the wonderfully kind man who eventually gave me a lift to lovely house where coffee and biscuits and great chat greeted me…and later a delicious lunch (including home-grown salad and elderflower cordial).

Had a large slice of lemon drizzle cake before I sat down at desk. “Accessed” Twitter and Facebook before I started to type this because they had sent various notifications. To tell the truth am not that wizzy at social media. I sometimes find it a bit intimidating. It’s sunny outside now and I still have my wellies on. I must put on some cosy fluffy socks. Very grateful for nice big mug of Chai tea.

Found some wonderfully cheap rugs in a market recently. Love colour and they are certainly colourful. Love a beautiful bargain!

Warm wishes and sparkles,

Grace x

‘I am a forty eight year old woman who loves books and I have read zillions in my life. My husband has never heard me laugh out loud as much or cried as I read “Ready Or Not?” It was a fabulous read and I am now an avid fan of yours. So sad when the book ended but ready for the next one. Wonderful and beautifully written.’ T. Lane

Anyway…a longish while later I was still yanking off the wallpaper and occasionally remembering those tv before and after makeover programmes. ‘Wow what a difference that makes!” That sort of thing. The difference the pulling of said wallpaper made was that it left the wall looking like it belonged in an abandoned villa in Rhodes (I know this because I have been in such a villa). The varieties of faded paint revealed by my eager tuggings were interesting but not anything like as picturesque as the sun-bleached ones I’d seen by the Med.

I left it as it was for some days. At least it was evidence that the house was in the process of some vague kind of interior decoration project…buckets of paint in the kitchen…a paint roller tossed casually on basket in bathroom…has a similar effect. But yesterday, a sunny Bank Holiday Monday, I got around to tugging nearly all the wallpaper off the wall (will need a stepladder for the bits very near ceiling). Had to dampen the really stuck on bits. Was aware that there was some sort of contraption that does this but would probably need to hire it.. Heaven knows when I would get around to that. Listening to a radio programme playing atmospheric old songs like ‘Something In The Air’ by Thunderclap Newman really helped (thanks Ronan Collins on RTE Radio One).

I then painted a large part of the wall. (Some of it needs a light layer of new plaster…yipes…have already had a chat about Polyfilla with an acquaintance who has done house-painting professionally.) After that found myself ‘clearing’ some old stuff from my patio garden and other odd jobs (I told myself relocating large containers of plants might help tone arms and was far cheaper than joining a gym…however had eaten a number of digestive biscuits earlier with some ‘mature’ Cheddar cheese.) Thank goodness it was still sunny by the time I slumped into a comfy and fairly light armchair (lugged from the kitchen). Had a gorgeous sleepy cuppa and mellowed out in the heat. And later on was so pleased that the weather was nice for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Concert. What a wonderful feast of music and fun and celebration! Adored the images projected onto Buckingham Palace.

Warm wishes and sparkles,

Grace

‘…a novel which by turns had me laughing (aloud) entranced and, by the end a little bit wiser than I was at the beginning. In ‘The Truth Club’ Grace Wynne-Jones has produced a book in which the eclectic characters almost leap from the pages…the book also contains a perfect man, Nathaniel, who ‘almost always’ says the right thing….’ Ireland on Sunday

Went to a wonderful local Church of Ireland fete last Saturday. Bargains included a lovely woven bag, a leather handbag, a bottle of Yardley lavender perfume and a radio/cassette player…for one Euro each! Pleased about the radio/cassette player because I still have loads of cassettes. Played ‘The Year Of The Cat’ by Al Stewart when I returned home with my purchases.. That tape reminds me of my first holiday to Greece many years ago. (I bought the tape around that time.) I remember arriving in Piraeus and thinking ‘Oh God, this doesn’t look at all like the gorgeous Greek photos!’ But then I hopped on a boat and went to one of the beautiful islands (Aegina). I was so relieved that the sea was such a beautiful blue and the countryside looked so enchanting. A fab place for a holiday!

Went to some other islands too, including one that seemed to have been almost undiscovered by visitors. I believe there were tourists elsewhere on the island, but the place I stayed in (a very basic but adequate hotel) had chickens wandering around the back yard and a tiny number of guests. We had the sultry little beach almost to ourselves but, as I mentioned, that was many years ago. If I visited the place now it would probably have many swanky facilities. While there I ate pretty much the same thing every evening at the small and seemingly only nearby cafe (I think it involved the word ‘bifsteak’…that’s how I pronounced it anyway…the menu was not extensive).

I remember buying the weirdest phrase-book I’ve ever come across on that holiday. It was more like a script for a dodgy tv drama than a tourist aid. No longer have it but sentences like these would not have looked that out of place in it. ‘”I am satiated by the view around me” and “Please pick up big cases and heave them to my room. No I do not require trousers pressed. I would like a cup of English tea in a wide cup with much milk…not goat’s milk…from the cow. I would be pleased for you to tell me of shop where hairs are shortened. Do you know of place where there are purchases for Colgate toothpaste?’

I know there are loads of wonderful mainstream Greek phrase-books and that they are also far less entertaining. This one was delightfully quirky!

WARM wishes and sparkles,

Grace

‘She has an assured style and a wonderful insight into the separated
lady’s lot…I couldn’t put it down. I literally read it from cover to cover.’ Re ‘Ordinary Miracles’ by Muriel Bolger, ‘No Jacket Required’ RTE RADIO ONE

* The right soundtrack is indispensable. Summer Breeze by the Isley Brothers is perfect and you can even get great tips from the lyrics. For example the line: ‘summer breeze/makes me feel fine/blowing through the jasmine in my mind’ can be re-enacted by putting jasmine oil in the aromatherapy burner and sitting five feet away from a fan heater.

* Visit clothes stores which, bless their cotton socks, are awash with sarongs and teensy weensy tops in summery colours which is proof that summer exists even if it’s currently elsewhere.

* Walk faster it induces a feeling of warmth.

* Taste summer by buying feta cheese and olives and always ask for a bit of flake in your ice-cream cone.

* Remember that the glass is either half empty or half full and after a bottle of red wine grown somewhere that may be too hot the climate improves almost instantly.

WARM wishes,

Grace

If you are in the mood for being read to click here to hear me reading from The Truth Club

Grace and friend's dog Izzy.

Wow it’s taken me quite a while to upload this photo. For some reason a copy I made of it in ‘my documents’ didn’t upload and the Internet connection was dodgy…along with strange sea-like noises on my phone. When I clicked on ‘publish’ it simply gave the caption…where had the photo gone to? Phoned dear pal Philip using my ‘I sat down to upload photo and feel like I am flying an airplane voice’. He was more than happy to help but had a visitor and so he offered to upload it for me later. Was very grateful to him but I’ve uploaded photos before (admittedly with his guidance). Decided I would try to upload it myself. Again. I’d already tried this a number of times.

At this point I remembered that I am interested in Buddhism. In living in the moment etc. Also noticed a scribbled quote above my desk which says ‘My silent observer transcends my individual identity. Deepak Chopra’. Realised my identity, in that moment, was far too attached to idea of myself as woman who uploads photo quickly and then watches people buying antiques on telly (I like ‘Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is’…it starts at 5.15 p.m.). Thankfully ‘silent observer’ gave me some perspective on mild computer funk. Became more aware of breathing and other Buddhist type tips.

Here I should probably mention that I wanted to upload the photo of myself with canine pal because I want to gradually let go of my attachment to the current photo on my website. It was taken some years ago by a talented and hip photographer in Brighton and I suspect he may have done flattering things to it…along with careful use of lighting and deft choice of lens. Anyway…I decided to try to upload woman with dog image from the usb stick thingy instead of ‘my documents’ and…hey presto!…there it was.

The photo was taken in a friend’s house…her name is Jo and her very charismatic dog is called Izzy. Izzy loves being petted and cuddled. She lies rapturously on her back to have her tummy massaged.
I would like to get my own dog some day but in the meantime it’s great to occasionally borrow one! My novels include an assortment of colourful pets. There’s an adorable pig in ‘Ordinary Miracles’, a cat, a rather rude budgie, fish and terrapins in ‘Wise Follies’ and very nice dogs in ‘Ready Or Not?’ and ‘The Truth Club’ . Some of the novels also include horses. I love horses and ponies. And chocolate!

Warm wishes,

Grace