Look what's arrived in the post...

I arrived home to find a beautiful copy of The Memory of Lost Senses by Judith Kinghorn on the doormat. I won it in a twitter competition. What I hadn't expected was a signed copy! Thank you, Judith, I sense that reading your novel is going be a real pleasure...

http://www.judithkinghornwriter.com/the-memory-of-lost-senses/

Judging a writing competition, overcoming stage fright and how to make my soul sing

Greg Mosse, Candida Lacey, me, Elizabeth Haynes and Kate Shaw
Photo by Myriad Editions

Judging a writing competition has been an enlightening, nerve wracking and wonderful experience. I was honoured to be asked by the publisher Myriad Editions to judge the annual Writer's Retreat Competition as part of the Brighton Festival 2013, alongside Greg Mosse, Managing Director Candida Lacey, Elizabeth Haynes and Kate Shaw. 

The final five shortlisted debut authors all offered work that made us want to keep turning the pages, and each work was thoroughly discussed before we finally made the difficult decision of picking a winner. The winner - AL Brookes - was announced during the event - What Makes a Book Worth Publishing? - in Brighton Dome on Wednesday 15 May. It was magical moment to witness her excitement when she found out. I hope that all five finalists go on to do great things.

As I hadn't been on a stage in front of a such large audience in a while, I was a bit nervous leading up to the event in the Brighton Dome. I was in the Studio on the Sunday morning prior to it, listening to Polly Morland talk about her wonderful new book The Society of Timid Souls, which also features a handy section on managing stage fright. 

It was a surreal moment to be sitting there listening to Morland's talk while knowing that I was going to be on the same stage a few days later. Morland's event was fascinating, as she explained how she had given up her job as a documentary-maker to explore what bravery is and whether courage can be learned.

Speaking of stage fright, I used to have a teacher who would pick a spot at the back of the room and talk to it whenever they took a class. I always thought it was a bit strange as catching their eye to ask a question could be challenging. Later I realised that this teacher was probably nervous and had found a way they felt comfortable with to teach the class. 

It's not a technique that I'd be any good at because people fascinate me. I was interested in everyone who walked into our event in the Brighton Dome and started behaving like I was just welcoming members to a larger than normal book club. I was smiling and nodding and catching the eye of as many people as I could (yes, there was waving too). It was wonderful to see such an interested and welcoming crowd (you all made it so much easier). 

When the spotlights came on everyone, with the exception of those on the front row, vanished from view behind the glare. Now you'd think that hardly being able to see anyone would calm the nerves, but no, you become aware of behaviour patterns which feel magnified. I gradually realised that I was fidgeting with my folder containing the finalists' work far too much and had to make myself stop. I'm terrible if there is reading material in front of me, as the urge to read whole sections out to the audience is strong but I wasn't there to do that, although I did sneak a couple of lines in. I also became aware that I was channelling the nodding mandarins in Brighton Pavilion at one point (my book club members will recognise this little habit).

Greg Mosse was a marvellous host who made sure the conversation flowed as we discussed the work of the five finalists and the hour went by incredibly quickly. Candida, Elizabeth and Kate were a great support, and everyone made me feel welcome before, during and after the event.

I learned a lot as I listened to all the different perspectives from the rest of the panel and those watching. The audience were fantastic as they asked thought provoking questions about marketing budgets and how to recognise when it was the right time to stop editing. I hope that everyone who attended saw the passion and support that is available for anyone who wants to be published from agents, tutors, editors, established authors and publishers, to book bloggers like me.

Top tips from the event

Don't give up the day job to write unless you genuinely can afford to.

If you're lucky enough to land a publishing deal with an advance remember it will come through in stages over a long period of time.

Always remember that your earnings will depend on sales. 

If you're thinking that writing a book is a fast track to making easy money due to the ebook revolution, think again. Just as in traditional publishing, there are only a handful of self-published megastars. 

Writing a book requires commitment, creativity and a strong work ethic.

Focus on the writing, not the publishing deal and write the best book you can.

Write because you feel compelled to, because the thought of not doing so feels like being locked in cage with the wings of your words beating against the bars, desperate to take flight. 

Think about what you're writing, are you telling me or showing me? If you spend more time showing rather than telling me, I will find reading your novel a much more pleasurable experience because it will make my mind work harder and I'll be more emotionally invested in it. 

Invest in a good editor who specialises in novels and never think that the first draft is the finished product. Investing in a proof checker is a good idea too as it's hard to detach from your own work to catch any errors. 

Give your novel the best treatment possible because you believe in your product and you want it to stand out from the crowd.

I spoke about a well written book touching my core, this happens when I recognise what the author is trying to convey and I have a strong emotional response in return. Great writing makes my soul sing with pleasure.

When your novel takes flight, whichever route you choose, I hope it touches the core of your readers, because that's what will keep us coming back for more.

Review of The City of Devi by Manil Suri

Marmite, a yeast enriched spread, is an acquired taste that generates a love/hate relationship in those who try it. For some it's addictive for others it's repulsive. It's also a popular food for increasing fertility, as are pomegranates, the densely seeded fruit that is said to increase blood flow to improve the circulation. In a way both of these products reflect the rich, multi-cultural, densely populated, colourful, passionate, thrilling and yet brutal city of Mumbai depicted in The City Of Devi by Manil Suri. 

The novel opens a little way in the future in the city of Mumbai, where the threat of nuclear annihilation hangs over it like a cloud. India has been invaded by China and then by Pakistan, and the city has disintegrated into chaos. There is no access to the outside world, no networks or phones, leaving rumour, gossip, paranoia and fear as the only information sources. 

In the hot, dusty, rubble strewn streets Sarita is haggling with a market stall holder for the last pomegranate in Mumbai. She believes that if she has a pomegranate it will bring her missing physicist husband, Karun, back to her. After paying an extortionate sum Sarita becomes the new owner of the fruit which she guards with the zealousness of a mother protecting her child, because for Sarita this is what the fruit represents.

A chance encounter, after a Pomegranate fuelled argument in a shelter, introduces Sarita to the other person who is searching for her husband; the young, charming, manipulative Ijaz, who is gay and a Muslim. They go their separate ways but are soon thrown back together again in a dramatic scenario that wouldn't be out of place in a Bollywood movie. 'The Jazster', as Ijaz likes to call himself, ingratiates himself to Karun's wife without revealing his true motives, and they begin to work together to find him. They hear that a Devi Godess has appeared to the people and travel across the country to find her and ask for her help. As they travel, Sarita and Ijaz's back stories are revealed in a series of flashbacks.

It's interesting to note that when Sarita shares her love of Marmite with Karun he loathes it, as this is a portent for how their relationship evolves. The love scenes between Sarita and Karun are agonising, you really feel for the pair of them. As a reader, it won't take you long to work out what's ailing Karun.

Meanwhile, The Jazster's past is full of fantastic, frenetic, passion fuelled sex. The Jazster practices safe sex to ensure he can continue to indulge in his passion for seduction as often as possible. His behaviour does provoke a Marmite reaction, but whether you love or hate the fallout from his shenanigans The Jazster is great fun to read.

The City of Devi is an extraordinary mix of thriller and romance, with Bollywood style highlights and layers of Hindu mythology, as it explores class and culture divides, the pain of disillusion, the destruction that is unleashed when believing in a false god, and the Hindu trinity of Vishnu (destruction), Shiva (maintenance) and Devi/Brahma (creation). We never really get to know Karun, and we're not meant to know him on the intimate level that we do Sarita and Ijaz. You will only experience Karun through the contrasting view points of Sarita (creation) and The Jazster (destruction) in this power play for Karun's (maintenance) love. 

There's a moment in the novel that comments on how well the human race has learned to distract itself from the things that really matter. While Sarita clings to the pomegranate she doesn't face the fact that what she really wants is a child, although she does love Karun. Meanwhile, The Jazter avoids feeling anything by referring to himself in the third person and thereby detaches himself from the consequences of his actions. It is Karun, symbolically acting as the conduit between the two, who opens their eyes to the truth and power that they both hold to exist in harmony with themselves, each other and the rest of the world.



With thanks to Bloomsbury for the review copy.
Twitter: @ManilSuri

Five things you shouldn't do when a woman is 'being good'

Whenever a woman says 'I'm being good' what she really means is 'I am subjecting myself to the torture that is denying myself chocolate'. This extreme form of self denial may also include wine, all fatty foods, most carbohydrates and possibly any hope of intimacy, if the woman's other half (OH) persists in scoffing crisps and chocolate while sending out regular requests for more supplies as he watches the sports channel. 

Five things you shouldn't do when a woman is 'being good'

1) When a woman says she could murder a chocolate bar and follows up with 'but I can't because I'm being good', don't pull a chocolate wrapper out of your pocket and ask her if she would like to sniff it. 

(Yes, this was a genuine offer that I overheard once. Would you hand someone who's giving up smoking an empty cigarette packet to sniff? No? I rest my case.)




2) Mention anything that includes the word fat.

OH: "What are you being good for? You're not that fat and anyway, I like curvy girls..." (While staring at some fit young thing bouncing around on the telly like you're watching a game of chimney pot tennis).

3) Comment on the new 'healthy' menu.

OH: "Salad? Again?" 
(While poking underneath it for the missing pile of chips).


4) Deliberately set your 'being good' partner up to fail when she's come home exhausted and succumbed to a tempting suggestion. 

OH: "You're so tired love, come on, let me order a curry." 

Partner: "I could kill for a curry..."

(Guilt complex: No... I can't, I've been so good... I've lost half a pound this week.)

Partner looks at the menu: "I'll order one that's not creamy...." 

(Guilt complex: Not the korma, not the korma...)

OH waits, fingers at the ready on his mobile.

Partner: "I'll have the chicken korma..." 

(Guilt complex: Don't order a naan bread...) 

Partner: "And a naan bread... plain."

OH: "Poppadoms?"

(Guilt complex: No, no, no, NO!)

Partner: "Oh, go on then."

OH phones through the orders, guilt complex is silenced and the curries with extras duly arrive. Your partner tucks in while you, her generous, thoughtful, caring OH looks on and says: "You've got no will power at all, have you."  

5) Volunteer to join in with your partner's plans to go for a walk/to the gym/for a run and then remember that you've 'got to meet your mates' down the pub. 

Of course, this is the classic 'does my bum look big in this' dilemma for most guys, as any genuine offer of help could also be seen as a criticism. Your safest bet is to reinforce signs of success, as in pay the woman in your life a genuine compliment. If your partner falls off the diet wagon don't make her feel bad about it, because her inner guilt complex will already be having a go. And if you promise to do something together, then do it. 

If this post has rung a bell and you have any tips for other halves, before they find themselves suddenly solo, please feel free to add them in comments.

My not so secret tip for weeding

As a fan of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, I'd love to be able to say that I regularly turn mine into a birdsong, bloom filled, leaf fluttering haven, just like the one that transforms many lives by the end of that novel. However, as my 'garden' consists of a postage stamp sized space featuring black bricks and putty coloured concrete slabs, it would be a lie. 

I do have two trees though. One hums busily with life throughout spring, summer and early autumn as bees regularly raid its cerise and purple bells, while the other is a glory of pink and white blossoms that drift to the ground like snowflakes throughout May.

I strongly suspect that if I ever did have a secret garden I'd not enjoy it, due to streaming eyes and the constant need to sneeze while under the oppressive influence of hay fever. 

Understandably, gardening is not my favourite pastime. You would think that as my tiny patch is mostly variations of concrete it must be easy to maintain, but you would be wrong. 

The minute the sun comes out weeds burrow their roots down between the cracks of the bricks and slabs and spread like wildfire.

Before: There is a nice brickwork path underneath the weeds.

If left unattended, a Weed Festival is soon in full swing and the Dandelions, the rock stars of the Festival, will have spread their love far and wide, their sunny faces raised in ecstasy to the sky as they trash the venue.

This year I was ready for my rock star invaders, thanks to my mother recommending I invest in this long handled brush featuring a small angled head with strong, interlocking bristles (from Southwell garden centre). 

Oh the joy I felt as I lowered the head of the broom to the ground, pushed the bristles forward and watched as it peeled away the weeds with the efficiency of tractor ploughing a field! The Dandelions closed their petals in horror, they knew they didn't have long.

After: This section was cleared in a couple of minutes with the above brush 

An hour later and the remnants of this year's Weed Festival had joined the rest of the party in the recycling bin, while my bingo wings benefited from the workout.

As for my garden, well that's been transformed.     

Review of The Kite Runner at Nottingham Playhouse

The Kite Runner at Nottingham Playhouse is a sensitive and thoughtful adaptation of the successful novel by Khaled Hosseini. From the moment you take your seat in the auditorium you'll be transported to Afghanistan. Drapes, a rug, a solitary musician (Hanif Khan on the tabla) and imaginative lighting set the scenes, from Kabul to America. 

The Kite Runner is a story of racial tension, class, jealousy, betrayal, faith, love, redemption and hope that spans 30 years. I've always loved the novel and I enjoyed the film, so I had high hopes for the play and it didn't disappoint.

The production is seamless blend of show and tell. It begins with Amir (played by Ben Turner) stepping to the front of the stage to share his story while looking back as an adult. Every time Amir steps backwards he becomes immersed in the story and acts the relevant age to each set piece, from a 12 year old boy running around with his best friend to a young man who can barely meet the gaze of the woman he has fallen in love with. It's an incredibly convincing performance.

Hassan, Amir's best friend and son of his father's servant (played by Farshid Rokey, who is outstanding in both in this role and as Sohrab) is his brave, loyal friend, and the kite runner of the title. Hassan's joyful innocence garners many laughs and the audience naturally warms to him, which makes what happens to Hassan later in the play even more devastating.

The brutal later scenes are handled sensitively. The audience is left in no doubt of what happens behind an artfully draped curtain, as the sociopathic bully, Assef (played with a dark intensity by Nicholas Karimi) escalates the tension, before inflicting his personal brand of cruelty upon Hassan, traumatising those who both suffer and witness it.

The kite flying scenes are magical, you'll sit there wondering how those white, fluttering scraps of fabric are staying up in the still air. The scenes without physical kites are enhanced by the whirl of hand held instruments that will make you believe you can hear kites snapping away in the wind above your head.
 
The Kite Runner is stunning. One minute I was laughing and the next I was choking back tears due to emotionally engaging performances by the entire cast. There is illumination to be found in the darker aspects of this story, and the play ends with hope soaring as high as a kite... 

The Kite Runner is showing at the Nottingham Playhouse until the 18 May. It will then be at the Brighton Festival 21-25 May before heading to co-producer Liverpool Playhouse 12 June - 6 July.

Twitter: #TheKiteRunner @SkyMirror

Five reasons I'll follow you on twitter

I enjoy engaging with people on twitter. It's proved to be a life changing form of social media for me. I knew no one when I joined and like everyone else I've learned a lot along the way. It can be hard to know what works and what doesn't when you first join twitter. Here's what will encourage me to follow you and keep following:

1) Not finding that when you've sent me a message I'm one of many that you've individually targeted to promote your book/product. Established tweeters will check your timeline and if it's one long stream of 'please read this and RT' we will consider you to be a bandwagoner/spammer. This is someone who targets people with a large number of followers with the express purpose of being retweeted. Either because they can't be bothered to build up a following through engaging naturally as a human being online, or because they didn't understand that this is what they have to do to build up a following and be retweeted. People on twitter are generous if you treat them like human beings first, i.e. get to know them.

2) When I've clicked 'follow', not receiving an automated Direct Message (DM) that says 'thank you for following, here's a link to my book/product'. This behaviour translates as 'While I know I have never exchanged a tweet with you, or even looked at your profile, or considered following you back, I expect you to buy my book/product.' Really? What kind of customer service is that? If you have a product to sell you need to make your relationship with your customers (followers) a priority, just as you would in the real world. In the world of twitter, the vast majority of the population says 'no' to automated DMs. If you don't believe me key 'automated DMs' into the search box.

3) If I see that you are following the 90-10 unofficial rule of Twitter, I'm highly likely to follow you. The rule is that you spend 90 per cent of your time online engaging with your followers and 10 per cent of your time posting a tweet about your book/blog or whatever you wish to promote. People online are more likely to invest in your book/product because they like who you are, give them a chance to get to know you.

4) When I'm considering following someone I will check their profile, twitter timeline and their blog/website (if they have one) before I click follow. This is why they don't need to tell me that they have a new book/product, I already know because I read their profile/blog/website.

5) I'll be a follower who invests in you, if you invest a little time in me.

If you are new to twitter I recommend that you follow @TweetSmarter, they regularly post great online guides to making the most of it. I also recommend Tweet Right: The Sensible Person's Guide to Twitter by Nicola Morgan, which is great for everyone, especially writers. 

What are your reasons for following someone on twitter? Are they similar to mine or different?

If you have any tips for twitter newbies, please leave them in 'comments' below.