Chloe launch pictures

Well and truly launched

Whew! Launch of Coping with Chloe this morning in Waterstones, Coventry, was fantastic, and I'd really like to thank the wonderful staff there and everyone who came along or otherwise helped, sent good wishes, etc.

I must admit I was pretty scared. I did a book signing for one of my previous books and managed to sell -1 (that's minus one) book - in other words, I bought it myself to avoid utter and complete humiliation in the eyes of the bookshop involved. But that was then...

I'm a bit more clued up these days, and had a great team of family and friends including other-half Paul, son Dan and step-daughter Hannah, as well as expert publicist Andrea from Phoenix Yard and book distributor Sheila, plus friends from Coventry Writers' Group and Writers' Talkback, etc, etc. A fair few members of the public stopped to chat and some of them bought books. Maybe the free 'Chloe' pens and the edibles on offer helped, who knows?

All I can say is, it was a lovely experience and the number of books sold was up in the twenties, at least. I did two short readings from the book, which I enjoyed, at least. The people who didn't run away came over to see what was going on!

But the best moments were when two young girls, one ten (I think) and the other fifteen, told me that they are keen writers themselves. One has had a story published and the other is working on a novel. That was so thrilling to hear and I can't wait to see their work on the shelves in future years.

So, big thanks again to everyone, including the youngsters who very kindly took part in the photo shoot. Pictures will be coming soon!

Coventry Tales

Had a wonderful time at my local writers' group last night... the Coventry Writers' Group - see our forum at coventrywritersgroup.myfastforum.org/


We ran our own competition - the idea being that each of us write something (poem, short story, flash fiction) that could be called a Coventry tale. We put our entries (all anonymous) into a pile on the table and volunteers read each piece aloud. We then awarded marks out of ten to each (giving a ten to ourselves to eliminate cheating!) and the mathematical minds among us went away to count the votes.

It was great fun trying to guess who had written which piece. One or two were fairly obvious to me, though no less enjoyable for that. On the whole though, I guessed wrong, and was astonished when the authors were revealed.

And no, we didn't use AV to decide on the winners. I'm not sure quite how the eventual system worked, but everyone seemed happy with the results and, I'm very pleased to say, neither Nick Clegg's nor David Cameron's entries won! And yours truly got third place and a book token and so was very chuffed.

Look out for the book - we're thinking of publishing and marketing it as Coventry Tales.

Writing about depression

For much of my adult life I have suffered from recurrent episodes of depression. I'm very lucky, though - with the help of my GP I've found a medication that seems to work. Mind you, every time I begin to feel myself going down, I have a flash of fear that it won't work this time. Up to now, I'm glad to say, it always has, though it can take time.

Although I've been writing seriously now for over 5 years, I still haven't tackled the subject of depression head on in any of my novels. In Alexa's Song (not yet published) I wrote about a character who is bipolar, but I never really described his depressive epsiodes. Perhaps there are good reasons for that. Depression is notoriously difficult to write about. And it's not something you necessarily want to think about while you're feeling well.

I'm now writing a science fiction novel and, oddly enough, depression has crept up on me, not in life, but in my writing. I'm describing the experience of... well, let's just say a disembodied brain... and as I write, I realise just what it is I'm writing about. Perhaps...

This is a first draft and I don't like to talk too much about my first drafts in case they melt away like dreams. So I'll stop now.

I'll be interested if anyone reading this has managed to write about depression - please comment, if you have. Or if you've read any novels that you feel capture it well.

New blog for 8-14 year old girl readers - Girls Heart Books!

I'm part of a wonderful new blog aimed at girl readers aged 8 to mid-teens - and I'm so thrilled! I had no idea when I asked to join that I'd be in the company of so many well-known and wonderful writers (or I'd never have dared to ask). Just take a look at some of the names, under 'Authors':

http://girlsheartbooks.com/

There will be a new post every day and we'll all be taking our turn. I'll be doing mine sometime towards the end of May and I'm sure by then there'll be some hard acts to follow. All our books are featured too, and there'll be competitions and other exciting stuff going on.

So if you have a daughter of that age or know anyone else who might be interested, please pass the message on. Our aim is to encourage girls who already love books and get some new ones reading, too.

My dad is 88 - and he needs cheques!

No, I don't mean he's short of money, though I'm sure if anyone felt like sending him a cheque he wouldn't say no!

What I mean is, he needs cheques in order to pay his bills. And, with his characteristic generosity, to remember his relatives' birthdays. To conduct his everyday financial affairs, in other words. He can barely leave the house and finds it difficult to get to the bank. He doesn't have a credit card, or a debit card, and doesn't want one. His mind is as sharp as ever and he reads books on everything from cosmology to the internet, but he doesn't see why he should have to get to grips with new technology. He doesn't have a computer and doesn't want one.

He's going to be seriously inconvenienced and not at all happy if the government gets rid of cheques.

One last thing about my dad. He was a rear gunner in the RAF in WW2. Joined up in 1942 when he was 18. Flew on over 130 missions. It's thanks to brave young men (and women) like my dad that we live in a free country, and a free Europe, today.

Is this how we repay people like him? Many of them already suffer poor health and some live in poverty. And now we are going to make their lives that bit harder by denying them the convenience of paying by cheque.

If we wait another 10 or 15 years, people like my dad will (sadly) all be dead. Then we can get rid of our cheques - and enjoy the freedom (?) it gives us.

Dear Ms Sue Doe Nym

Just received an invitation to an event for writers, addressed as follows:

Dear Dr Glasbey and Ms Warren

We would like to invite both of you to.....

I should explain that both of these people are me - I am Sheila Glasbey in real life and Rosalie Warren is my pen-name (can't remember why I decided to use one - would have been an awful lot simpler just to stick to my real name!)

Anyway, question is, do I pretend to be two people and take advantage of two lots of nibbles and wine? We could even be identical twins (oh no!)