French House Party, Carcassonne – How it Began By Owner Moira Martingale

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Margaret Graham

By Margaret Graham with news of an exciting offer exclusive to Frost readers.

** A very special offer for Frost readers: sign up for the House Party Creative Writing Retreat in June at this great venue, and save £150. Just email Moira Martingale quoting the code: ‘Frost’. This is a rare opportunity to find time to finish that manuscript or short story in the company of others. A professional will be on hand to help when needed. There will be great food, wine, a swimming pool, sunshine… Read more to find out the where, what and why.

‘So,’ owner Moira Martingale ponders, ‘where did the idea of French House Party come from in the first place?’

One sultry August evening, sitting around the table in Carcassonne with friends, it turned out that all of us had read Yann Martel‘s Booker-winning ‘Life of Pi’ and everyone had a view about it. The book-talk went on for ages, punctuated only by the uncorking of further bottles of the lovely local wines from this region of southern France, which is Languedoc-Roussillon.

We were all arty folk: a successful ceramicist, an early-retired theatre director, teachers, artists and writers, one of the latter being myself. A journalist-turned-author, I also had a teaching qualification and a doctorate in English literature.

Suddenly it dawned on me: why not set up holiday courses for people to come and do precisely what we were doing: discussing books with each other during a holiday in the sun with lovely food and wine laid on.

At that time there were five en suite bedrooms in this 200-year-old farmhouse, so in theory there was room for ten people. My friends were all skilled and enthusiastic artists and within minutes I had my Ceramics, Arts and Creative Writing tutors with a planned Books and Drama course run jointly by myself and my theatre director friend, Chris. It was as easy as that.

Or was it? Marketing? Promotion? Advertising? Annual accounts? Business plans? What did I know about forecasts and profits and losses? I found I knew nothing the moment the website went up. Because NOTHING happened. The enquiries@frenchhouseparty mailbox was empty.

Slowly I learned, and things picked up. My break-even point was five people per course and at six I was in profit, although I was clearly in no danger of being named in the Sunday Times Rich List. Frequently we had three or four people booked onto a course and I still ran it. Ruthless businesswoman I was not.

Eventually I made all the arts courses groups-only, other than Sarah Hymas’s Creative Writing, which was regularly over-subscribed. In 2009 I extended the house to eight bedrooms. Things were cooking, literally, because French House Party offered additional courses which individuals could join – various cookery breaks tutored by first-class French chefs and our Summer Songwriting course run by the respected singer-songwriter and 1970s/80s chart-topper Dean Friedman.

Along with Creative Writing, these remain the most popular, and are effortlessly filled year after year. Other arts courses continue to operate and the demand is, in fact, increasing, but now these are on a groups-only or privately-booked tailor-made basis.

Dedicated writers have an additional option now. Sarah Hymas, who is a professional mentor at her publishing company, is for the first time, offering a Writing Retreat for authors whose work is either complete or in progress. There will be no formal lessons, but individual one-to-one sessions for manuscript inspection, advice, help and ideas-input from someone with a pedigree in such expertise and who is fearless when it comes to sharing it.

This course – ‘Pen & Think’ starts on 15 June and ends on 20 June. The all-inclusive price is £895. As with all our courses, we provide free airport transfers and include extras such as a couple of dinners, including wine, out at lovely restaurants. (See our French house Party offer above)

In the years since that first inspirational nudge from ‘Life of Pi’, French House Party has been named one of the top ten learning retreats in a National Geographic book ‘The 100 Best Worldwide Vacations to Enrich Your Life’ and we have a Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor, reflecting customer satisfaction. This year the Daily Telegraph named us as one of the top ten cookery holidays in France.

You see, it might have taken eight years, but finally I’m starting to sound like a businesswoman, aren’t I?

Moira Martingale

The French House Party, Carcassonne.

Email: enquiries@frenchhouseparty.co.uk or moiramartingale@me.com

Website: www.frenchhouseparty.eu

UK Mobile: 07900 322791

UK Landline: 01299 896819

Tedium or Inspiration? By L.J. Brown

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Have you ever read a book where the plot was so dreadful, you couldn’t even bring yourself to finish it? As an avid book consumer, with over 700 books in my e-library, I can definitely say I have.

After reading over 80% of one particular book (which shall remain unnamed) and wishing a sudden explosion would kill off the entire dreary cast; I put the book down, never to be picked up again and decided to see if I could write my own.

The only problem was finding the time. With a small family and a full time job, writing a novel was challenging but, not one to be deterred, I found a solution. Instead of taking a walk, browsing the internet or picking up my latest fiction during my lunch breaks; I opened a word document and began typing, lifting my head occasionally to walk and admire the tranquillity of the countryside. Two years later and after many lunch breaks ignoring my colleagues, I had my first draft.

Proud of my accomplishment, I handed my manuscript to my family for their unbiased opinion but what family member would tell you something you had worked so hard on was terrible? Obviously they wouldn’t and to show their support, my dad entered and won a charity silent auction through the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil on behalf of Words for the Wounded which was for Margaret Graham to critique the first three chapters of my novel. Margaret, who is not only a best-selling author but an editor and tutor, gave knowledgeable and experienced advice and her suggestions were invaluable. I can safely say that that kind of assistance and commendation is priceless and I would recommend every new and hopeful writer finds a professional opinion for their works. With Margaret’s feedback and the mind-set to succeed I re-edited, reworked and pulled in a couple of contacts to get the cover designed. Finally Scarred Soul was complete and just waiting for my courage to put it out there for the world to see.

Deciding to go the route of self-publishing I took the plunge and in January 15 sent my book into the Ethernet and by March, although slow, was seeing my book sell with good feedback from people avidly awaiting the sequel.

And so I would like to thank the unnamed writer. Although your work was not to my taste I will be forever grateful to you for inspiring me to do as you did and put fingers to the keyboard. No matter how my book is received, I am proud of the accomplishment of completing it as I hope you are with yours and, as I plan to do, hope that you continue writing and enjoying the freedom and inspiration writing can give.

www.smashwords.com/books/view/519378

THE FAERIE TREE: A Book In The Making | Beltane

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Jane Cable

Beltane: a season of fertility and fire, a time to welcome new life into the earth. A good time to contact spirits or interact with the Fae.

After the rigours of the last few weeks I am absolutely convinced that releasing a new book is akin to passing through fire. Or at very least, virtual fire. I seem to have spent most of my time tweeting, googling, goodreading, facebooking and linking in. Even my dreams – or nightmares – have been seen through the prism of my laptop or iPad screen.

Why? I have been chasing the writer’s holy grail: reviews. In a world where there are thousands of books, how else are readers to choose what to read? And without the right number of reviews (rumoured to be at least fifty) you are not going to kick on with those all important Amazon search algorithms.

Of course hunting down reviews is a potentially risky business because even when you ask… or suggest… that bloggers and other opinion formers review the book you cannot, quite rightly, influence what they say. With my first novel, The Cheesemaker’s House, I had my (only) one star review early on so I got it out of the way. With The Faerie Tree I’m still waiting. No fewer than three stars anywhere. Yet.

Of course there are reviews which are downright irritating and it just isn’t the done thing (again, quite rightly) to reply. Top of my list are the people who spell the main characters’ names wrong; I know reviewers are busy people but if they have skim-read a book they ought to admit to it. I subscribe to the Alliance of Independent Authors’ Ethical Author code (for more information see here: http://allianceindependentauthors.org/ethical-author/) and part of that is about being open and transparent when I review other people’s books. I would love all reviewers to do the same.

On the upside, there are reviewers you just want to pick up and hug. Like the one who completely got the fact that part of my reason for writing the book was to give people who suffer from depression a positive portrayal. Like the one on Goodreads who realised the book wasn’t really their thing but gave it three stars anyway because it was well written. Like the reviews that just make me laugh.

Some of that laughter could just be relief. Until a book is out there you never really know how it will be received. Overall, it’s doing really well; 4 ½ stars on Amazon and 4.1 on Goodreads. People are generally gripped by it – one reader in South Africa finished it by torchlight during a power cut. They are enjoying the characters, their relationships, their stories.

But I am learning, too. Of course it’s too late to change The Faerie Tree now but there is a significant minority who are finding one of the main characters irritating – have I got that wrong? And others feel the resolution of the mystery is too obscure… or even completely lacking. Should I have spelt it out a little more? All useful things to consider as I complete the first draft of my next offering and begin the editing process.

But, being Beltane, I have lifted my eyes from the screen and ventured out into sunshine in the natural world. Where better to go than the fairy tree wood in Hampshire where the story began? And to thank the faeries, elves and pixies who live there for their very large contribution to the success of their book.

The Faerie Tree is available as an ebook or paperback from Amazon, Kobo, Waterstones and to order from all major bookstores. Find out more at http://janecable.com/the-book/4588312168 .

The Words for the Wounded Litfest – Review by Pat Heath

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Margaret Graham

What a brilliant day at Downley Community Centre, 18^th April 2015.

This inaugural one-day opportunity for new and established writers, and for readers, did what it said on the packet. We laughed with, learned from, and mingled amongst, experts in the world of writing at the Words for the Wounded (WforW) LitFest. It was organised by the ‘Writing Grannies’ who run the charity.

To open the day, Matt Pain, Trustee, reminded us that the average age of wounded soldiers is 25 years old, which proved thought provoking.

Margaret Graham (‘writing grannie’) and Katie Fforde (WforW patron) opened the day with conversazione. These two bestselling authors covered key aspects of fiction writing, including sub-plots, the need to inhabit your characters and how to deal with a ‘soggy middle’. Something that troubles many of us – writers or not.

A massive amount of invaluable information was delivered with quick fire wit, during this hilarious and valuable session. Meg Cannell presented chocolates to Katie.

After book signing and coffee it was time for some murder and mayhem, with two ‘Midsomer Murders’ TV writers, Rachel Cuperman and Sally Griffiths. Rachel and Sally explained the practical aspects of TV play-writing, punctuated with their own amusing anecdotes.

Lunch followed, with wine and coffee, organised by Jan Speedie (‘writing grannie’), Margaret’s family and Josh Edwards. It was partially sponsored by Tesco, Morrison’s and Starbucks. A feast, it must be said, and the team did a fantastic job. Seamless.

Many authors choose the Independent Author publishing route and successful ‘Indie’ writers, Amanda Hatter and Catriona Troth, chaired by Penny Deacon, (writing grannie) described how to produce a high-quality self-published book,. This time Penny Deacon (writing grannie) chaired the session as Amanda gave many useful marketing tips, including how to penetrate large chains such as Waterstones, and Catriona explained the advantages of working as part of a writers’ collective, such as Triskele Books.

Felicity Trew, from Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency was introduced by Penny Deacon and gave a power-point presentation in which she explained the role of literary agents: negotiating publishing deals, making sure the contract protects current and future income opportunities, and chasing payments/royalties.

She also advised on how writers should approach agents, using amusing spoof emails to illustrate her points, and she reminded the audience to check agent’s submission instructions. Her agency’s website has a useful list of ‘pet hates’ including applicants omitting the requested information and obvious ‘carpet bombing’ applications.

Felicity was at the LitFest all day, and was enormously generous with her time.

Finally, Jan Speedie introduced Penny Deacon who talked about why she ‘turned her back on romance and took to murder’. She compared her experiences of writing Mills and Boon to that of crime fiction. This was a relaxed and amusing end to an inspirational, funny, information-packed day.

Prizes, donated by artist Sharon Bennett, Tesco, (Bollinger champagne) The Wellington, and Katie Fforde were raffled for WforW. Speakers were given boxes of chocolates, partially funded by Thornton’s and delegates were given books donated by Random House. Penny Gerrard made biscuits from heaven and Susan Atkins’ chocolate cake was seriously good.

One clever touch was the notepads and biros on every seat, for invaluable notetaking. Everything was so carefully thought out. It makes a difference.

Next year’s LitFest line up of speakers will include Elizabeth Buchan, bestselling author (patron of WforW) Jemima Hunt, Literary Agent, Catherine Balavage, e-magazine owner (Frost Magazine), and Tracy Baines, successful genre short story writer.

A total of £1,500 was raised by the inaugural LitFest for the rehabilitation of the wounded.

http://www.wordsforthewounded.co.uk

Time to Make a Choice By Mary Cooper

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Time; the hardest of all dimensions to come to terms with. It is limitless, yet defines our limits. It is invisible, yet we see it’s visible effects. We all know what it is, yet if asked to define it, we can’t. Even if we stand still, time continues to move forwards; it is relentless and when it has passed it is gone forever.

There is a theory that at the moment of the Big Bang, 14 billion years ago when our universe was blasted into existence, time was born and has been moving relentlessly forward ever since, but go back just one second before the Big Bang and bang goes that theory.

At the instant of our conception we are allotted our quota of time – of which we are ignorant. We let it slip away, till one day we have to face the fact that we have been constantly moving away from our beginning towards our end, and that time, as it always has, will continue without us.

I now have less time before me than I have behind me. My past is gone, seemingly, in the blink of an eye and even though there is plenty of time, it isn’t mine and I cannot access it.

I wonder, how should I spend the last of my time; this priceless commodity? At least in that I have some control – the choices are limitless …

Holiday Destination: Kerala, India by Pat Heath

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Cycling in Kerala sounded fun. Yes, they mentioned mountains, but how hard could it be?

Day 1 was deceptively relaxing – a guided tour of Kochi and its history. Separated from the rest of India by mountains, Kochi was influenced mainly by foreign traders, attracted by the lucrative spice business. The apostle, Thomas, beat the Portuguese missionaries by several centuries, and Indian-style Christian churches alternate with Hindu temples and mosques, together with one beautiful old synogogue, maintained by just six Jews.

The cycling started gently, along quiet canals. The locals stopped washing their clothes in the waters to enquire just how old we were? And couldn’t we afford a car?

Then the first mountain appeared. It was beautiful (I think – I mostly stared at the road, with gritted teeth, resisting the call of the air-conditioned, leather-seated support vehicle ahead). But after hours of grunting and cursing, we arrived at a spice plantation, set on the mountain-side. After cakes, fruit juice, and a much-needed shower, the owner showed us around. Every spice we’d ever heard of – and some we hadn’t – were growing around us. Using smell and taste, we identified nutmeg and mace, ginger plants, cardamom pods, all spice, and cinnamon bark. The photograph shows Johann, an Austrian guest, testing peppercorns on the vine.

Our evening meal, naturally incorporated all these spices.

Next day – more climbing, but the rolling tea plantations were worth the shaking thighs. We paused (any excuse) to watch the tea-pickers cutting leaf tips into bags attached to their scissors.

Then we visited Tata tea factory (thankfully by car) to watch the tea process and buy fresh, high-quality tea.

On to the Periyar Rainforest. Wearing sackcloth overboots (for leech protection), we crossed the river, by standing on a narrow raft of thin branches. Incredibly we reached the forest still on board. The native guide showed us monkeys, giant squirrels, numerous medicinal plants and even fresh tiger paw marks (no sign of the owner, fortunately).

Finally, it was downhill, literally, as we whizzed to the Backwaters. Rounding a corner, we braked to avoid flying into a huge lake – cartoon-style. The guides loaded our bikes, plus us, into a large canoe and we chugged to our waterside accommodation – a traditional farmhouse with luxurious, open-roofed bathrooms – a shower with a suntan.

More delicious Keralan food followed, with a chance to sample the local coconut toddy.

The Backwaters comprise hundreds of reclaimed islands, surrounded by lakes and canals. By hiring a houseboat, you can see life on the water – families fishing for their supper, school children travelling by canoe (see photograph) and local youths practising snake-boat racing.

We were greeted with a coconut drink and banana fritters on our houseboat.

After a peaceful night, rocked by the water, we enjoyed a typical South Indian breakfast, watching cormorants and sea snakes.

After disembarking, we cycled to the Alleppey beach, for camel rides.

Would I recommend Kerala as a holiday destination? Absolutely.

Kalypso Adventures is a holiday company based in Kochi, Kerala. Their experienced and high-quality customer service works to give a wonderful holiday experience : http://www.kalypsoadventures.com

It Takes Two – The Idea Behind KISHBOO by Sharon Boothroyd

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Margaret Graham

It was my husband Keith who had the idea of producing an e-magazine in the summer of 2014. He has pro web design experience and I had written all the text for his corporate client websites, so we were used to combining our skills and working together as a team.

We called our publishing brand Ryecorn Digital Publishing, after Ryecorn, the fictional Yorkshire town in my kindle chick- lit novella.
Keith designed all the unique graphics for the chapter headings and he also designed the book cover for me, too. I was really pleased with his design. The free android app version looked great too.

To keep costs down, we set up a free website to help promote it: www.ryecorn.orgfree.com

We had already enjoyed minor success with another online project of ours called ‘A quick read.’ This entailed uploading stories onto our website and onto the accompanying free android app.

We didn’t charge writers a fee for publication, and the website cost around £60 a year. Even though we were overwhelmed with work, as time passed, we couldn’t see how the project could develop, so sadly in 2014, after two years, we decided to close it down.

So – we had published online,on kindle and on the android app format. We both really warmed to the idea of publishing an e-mag on 3 digital platforms.

What could we call our magazine though? We thought of hundreds of names, but the domain names were all taken, so we hit upon the idea of blending our names to create something truly different. We really hoped that the name ‘KISHBOO‘ would stick in people’s memory.

It would be non- profit making project. We’d fund the competition prizes through the competition entry fees, and we now realised that we could use online advertising to help cover the cost of our website.

In August 2014, we were ready to launch the project! However, the actual magazine wasn’t published until October, as we needed stories and articles to fill it.

I began to send press releases out and my network of writer friends helped spread the word for us via social media. Keith worked hard on search engine optimisation, and I began to tweet for the first time in my life.

I was worried that we would receive no articles at all because at the moment, we are unable to pay writers. However, we can offer them free promotion of their kindle books and blogs within their articles. I wasn’t even sure we would get anyone entering our competition. I needn’t have worried – the comp entries and articles began flooding in!

Back issues are easily available – here’s what the first KISHBOO looked like:

Here’s the cover of the second issue, which was published in January 2015:

We are now very working hard on our third issue, which will be published in April 2015. It’ll be packed with even more features.

Please visit: www.kishboo.co.uk
Find us on facebook: www.facebook.com/kishboo.mag
Follow us on Twitter: @KishbooMag

Easter by Gem Blaney | Poetry Corner

Posted on April 5, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Easter, by Gem Blaney: Gem is a talented young poet from the West Country. Frost asked her to write about Easter especially for us. Here it is:

A man rises;
not from slumber,
but from days of death
behind two stones.

His human body was no longer
still, on a bed of concrete
skin tinted blue,
lips with no breath to pass through.

See modern world
dressed up as a hare
hiding shells of chocolate
for children to find.

Voices squealing, bellies aching,
church bells ringing
forcing the past
back onto the present.

Unintentionally, but successfully
with each generation,
the fascination with egg shaped sweets
overcomes the past.

Bank holiday Monday,
adults sighing and bank accounts stretching
hot cross buns, chocolate and animal shaped snacks
because it’s easter easter easter.

A Christian holiday
for those who believe
in the dead man who rose
and shifted two stones

For children today it’s another
‘off school’ to celebrate.
It is not their fault,
they don’t understand it’s about a profound mystery.

Not a day as grandiose as Christmas
(a man’s birth)
this is a man dead and reborn–
Surely more earth moving than chocolate eggs

Don’t you think?

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