I continue to be surprised by the content and the characters in The Owners books. Even though it is I myself who writes them, there are elements of surprise in every twist and turn.

Do you remember me telling you about one of the characters who I had only just realised was a dangerously bad man? Well it turned out today that he met his match in a character who up until now was not a main player but rather a supporting one. Seems she was just biding her time, I guess.

And that's one of the things I love most about this series - every volume picks out the people it needs to tell that part of the story, so that in effect, we get to meet all of the characters at different stages in their lives.

I guess it is a bit like looking at our own lives, slicing out little periods discrete in time and examining who was important in our lives then and why. If like me, you have changed jobs several times, moved home, been married and divorced, you will see that your world was inhabited not with one set of friends or family but a multitude of different ones who all played their own parts.

If like many of my friends, you are fortunate enough to have been in a long-term stable relationship, perhaps you will be able to see how the dynamics of this has changed over time...

'Cos that's life - there is always change, even if you can't see it clearly at the time.

If you would like to have a chat with me about books, writing or indeed anything else, you can find me at the Science Fiction Family Fun Day at Avoncroft Museum on Sat. 16th November where I will be selling signed copies of the books and holding a creative writing workshop.

Toodle-pip!


http://www.avoncroft.org.uk/visiting-whats-on/events-programme/

Sweating the small stuff.

Have you ever hear the saying 'don't sweat the small stuff'? It refers of course to panicking over the little things in life, rather than letting them pass over you in a gentle breeze.

Well today I want to take you on a tour of that small stuff, from a very different angle.

The reference to the 'small stuff' came in the form of a wedding reception I attended recently. As everyone who has ever been married knows, there is almost no end to the plans which need to be made, from the biggies such as where and when to get married, to the smaller stuff such as who sits where. And sometimes in the middle of all this, the detail can be lost. There is simply too much going on.

And I am sure that for this couple there were just as many headaches to account for, as with any other couple making wedding plans. But it was in the attention to the detail of the small stuff, that they elevated their reception beyond what was the norm, turning it into an almost magical event.

The ceremony was not a lavish affair nor was the venue for the reception afterwards but the couple's attention to detail was truly breathtaking.

The word 'buffet' did not do this sumptuous spread of food justice. It was a feast, a banquet of foods that both in volume and scale had required not four but a veritable army of ladies to set it out.

But even that is somewhat par for the course. What really set this fayre apart from all others, was that when the deserts were finally cleared away, the profiteroles, the cheesecakes and all the gateaux, the little army of helpers loaded the table once more...with £350 worth of pick-and-mix sweets for adults and children alike.

Little paper bags were provided, all labelled with stickers of the bride and groom's names and scoops were set across the table, encouraging the guests to fill their little bags to the very brim.

The atmosphere was no longer that of a wedding, formal and stuffy but was instead more like a fiesta or carnival. Everyone loosened up and joined in the fun.

All the tables had been decorated with confetti and glittering ornaments, balloons hung from every table leg and rafter and little filigree cardboard boxes filled with chocolate, adorned the table-tops.

And I can honestly say it was the best wedding reception I have ever attended [my own included].

And all because the bride had sweated the small stuff. She had paid minute attention to every detail. And it showed. 

So sometimes it pays to sweat the small stuff. So to Adele and Kevin, I can say this  in complete honesty:

Your reception was the absolute best EVER! And the fact that I got to dance, drink and be merry...well that was just the topping on my cake.

Congratulations and I wish you every luck for the future!