M4tr blog

To celebrate the publication of The Beach Hut, my publishers Orion have launched a fantastic competition to win a huge array of beach-tastic goodies, including a deck-chair and a beach barbecue!

I’ve got a horrible feeling I’m not allowed to enter, but wish you good luck if you do!

ENTER HERE!

In the meantime, my biggest dilemma is my HAIR. Having taken the drastic step of going dark for a year in the mistake belief that it would take less maintenance [no! grey roots on dark show up much more quickly], I have gone back to blonde as yes, they do have more fun. But the hairdresser who re-blonded me is more than three hours drive away … how am I going to fit that into my schedule? Am I being a princess? I don’t think so - when you find someone who gets it just right, it’s a risky business going somewhere else.

Finally, a big shout out to the lovely manager at Skylon, who is posting me back my favourite mac after the BBC party the other night … It’s a fabulous venue if you are thinking of having a big celebration.

To celebrate the publication of The Beach Hut, Veronica Henry announce a short story competition in association with the Walter Henry Bookshop in Bideford and The North Devon Journal.

For a chance to win a beach bag full of summer reads from Orion Books, Walter Henry book tokens and your story published in the North Devon Journal, write a story of no more than 500 words set in a beach hut.

The promotion of websites and products always benefit from mentions in traditional media. Local newspapers are always good value and are feeders for national and international press. The use of a press release is part of the whole public relations thing. The strategy is to  attract favorable media attention and to provide publicity for products or events. A press release provides reporters with the basics they need to develop a news story and ‘giveaways’ are a fantastic sweetener for them.

“The winner will be announced at The Orchard Hill Hotel, Bideford on Wednesday 28 July 2010, 7 – 9.30pm, where I will also be reading from The Beach Hut and doing a short story workshop. Please come and join us for cream teas and cupcakes!” Read more…

Stories must not have been previously published and be wholly your own work.

Tickets for the evening are £3 and are available from Walter Henry’s Bookshop 01237 425727

SHORT STORY COMPETITION

To celebrate the publication of The Beach Hut, I’m delighted to announce a short story competition in association with the Walter Henry Bookshop in Bideford and The North Devon Journal.

For a chance to win a beach bag full of summer reads from Orion Books, Walter Henry book tokens and your story published in the North Devon Journal, write a story of no more than 500 words set in a beach hut.

Send your entry by email to walterhenrysbookshop@yahoo.co.uk or typed on A4 to Walter Henry’s Bookshop, 12 High Street, Bideford EX39 2AA

The winner will be announced at The Orchard Hill Hotel, Bideford on Wednesday 28 July 2010, 7 - 9.30pm, where I will also be reading from The Beach Hut and doing a short story workshop. Please come and join us for cream teas and cupcakes!

Stories must not have been previously published and be wholly your own work.

Tickets for the evening are £3 and are available from Walter Henry’s Bookshop 01237 425727

I’m exhausted. Still. On Thursday night I went to the BBC writers’ and agents’ party at Skylon. It’s always daunting walking into a room full of people - who doesn’t get that moment of thinking ‘oh, I won’t know anyone. I won’t go’? - but from the moment I got there I was accosted by people I’ve worked with over the years, from ‘The Archers’ to ‘Crossroads’ to ‘Holby City’, and I had a ball. The wine and the gossip flowed and before I knew it, it was pumpkin time. I hope no-one had a script deadline on Friday … Supercool venue, too.

It was Sports Day and Prizegiving for my youngest son on Friday. Neither my husband nor I have any particular sporting prowess, so we were flabbergasted when he won both the running and the sack race, and was given the Sportsman’s cup. Maybe two negatives make a positive? I was also a little dismayed by the propensity of some mothers to cheat in the Mums’ Egg and Spoon Race - what kind of an example is that?! I’m ashamed to say I couldn’t quite pluck up the courage to enter, but I did enjoy the father’s sack race - who’s the best dad in the sack?

One more week before the children break up for the holidays … help! Are there any other writers out there who will be juggling writing commitments and children? Any hints? This is the first summer I don’t actually have a deadline looming, so it will be more relaxed than usual, but there are still always things to be done and before you know it the guilt is piling on. I’m reluctant to put them into ‘holiday clubs’ - they are my kids, after all, and it’s great to spend time with them, so I try and work in the morning, bribing them to entertain themselves till lunchtime, and then we do something together in the afternoon. Kidswapping with other working friends works well too, as long as you don’t find yourself taken advantage of. It’s difficult, but it’s important to enjoy them while they are still young - I know, as my eldest turned 20 this week, and I’d give anything to have some of that time back …

Photo 7

Topiary for Beginners

Following sales, this exhibition has been extended
Address: Broomhill Art Hotel, Barnstaple, Devon, EX31 4EX
Website: www.broomhillart.co.uk
Email: info@broomhillart.co.uk
Telephone: 01271 850262
Access: Good