Gransthread – On Retirement

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Margaret Graham

Penny Deacon’s version of retirement
I spent my twenties living on a yacht, travelling the world. Great fun. Then I moved to teaching which turned out to be more fun than I’d expected. I also ran school libraries and wrote romantic novels. And some crime. Then I was Retired.

First there was panic. How do I cope on half my income? What am I going to DO with myself? And how will I get to know anyone since I’ve just moved house and my close friend in the area has promptly fled to London (thank you , Margaret). I imagined myself a lonely and bored hermit.

Fast forward five years. I was swimming in the sea this morning with a friend (new). And lunched with three other friends (also new). I have lost three stone (much needed). I have been to the Galapagos Islands (dream trip) and Orkney (another dream – despite the rain). I’m off to Italy next month. And then there’s the new kitchen …

I didn’t win the lottery. I DID get lucky – my health is good. My pension, much to my surprise, has proved adequate, and some of my savings got me to Galapagos (you can use up too many opportunities by keeping all your savings for a ‘rainy day’ which, if fate is kind, doesn’t come). I rediscovered who I was and, I hope, who I might be. Because I was in a new town I understood it was up to me to go out and find new friends (U3A and the local leisure centre gave me most contacts). It wasn’t easy, but no harder than being a ‘new girl’ anywhere. I only bonded with one in every dozen new acquaintances, but that’s plenty to provide company and inspiration, and then some of their friends became my friends and so it goes on. Great return on a little effort and some occasional embarrassment (we’ll gloss over the time I got thrown out of the Circle of Friends for being a ‘disruptive influence’. Moi?)

The hardest thing has been finding out what my own rhythms are. I spent more than thirty years working, quite literally when in school, to someone else’s timetable. Now I have had to find my own pace. I rediscovered swimming – both in the pool and in the sea. I discovered a need to do something worthwhile and Words for the Wounded gave me an opportunity to work for a great cause and also to leap out of aeroplanes and take part in the muddiest assault course in the world.

I found that I was a natural early riser (a surprise – I’d been longing for the opportunity to laze in bed every morning and found I didn’t want it after all). I like some structure to my day or week – and revel in not being tied down to it. I do some local volunteer work but don’t want to commit to the same thing every week. But I can see a time when I might.

And that’s the most exciting thing yet: for me (and I know how fortunate I am) retirement has been an opening as well a closure, and the world is still full of possibilities.

Gransthread would love to hear of your experiences of retirement: frost@margaret-graham.com

Do you know any small packages that contain some real treats | Litfest 2016

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Tracy Baines

Well, I do. On Saturday was a case in point. In Downley, High Wycombe on 16^th April I was speaking at the Words for the Wounded Literary Festival and what a fabulous day it was – yet again. I attended the event last year and was amazed at the quality of the speakers on offer. This year, small continued to be most definitely perfect.

It’s all very well going to these huge week long events on offer throughout the year but your chances of getting up close and personal with authors and agents is severely limited. At the Words for the Wounded LitFest you won’t have to compete with hordes of people waving their hands to attract the attention of the speaker when it is time for questions. There is time enough for everyone here and you obtain one to one advice that you wouldn’t receive at other festivals. And it’s such fun, and so informal.

Normally waiting your turn is a game of chance – your turn may not come. Not so with Words for the Wounded.

This year’s programme kicked off with the wonderful No 1 Sunday Times bestseller Elizabeth Buchan in conversation with bestselling author, Margaret Graham, who is administrator and founder of WforW. Paul Vates, professional actor, read excerpts from the works of the speakers throughout the day, and chose the first few pages of I Can’t Begin to Tell You. These two old friends talked about this novel, which is Elizabeth’s latest. If you haven’t read I Can’t Begin to Tell You do seek out a copy, it’s absolutely gripping. Elizabeth Buchan talked of her inspiration for the story, of meeting with Noreen Riols of the SOE, and why she came to set her book in Denmark. She chatted about the writing process: getting to grips with the spine of the story, drafting and redrafting – and moving on to the next idea. Elizabeth signed books during the break and had time for a word with everyone.

Penny Deacon interviewed Jemima Hunt, Writer, Editor and Agent at The Writers’ Practice. Jemima explained what a good editor can do for your book. Jemima is particularly interested in memoir and brought along a few of her authors’ books. She gave an overview of their initial approach and how she worked with them to bring the story to a better shape. She works with fiction and non-fiction and guides her writers towards the best platform to develop their writing career. You can find out more at www.thewriterspractice.com

By this time we were ready for lunch, accompanied by lashings of wine (all part of the ticket price), as was copious amounts of tea, coffee, cake and biscuits throughout the day. I cannot overstate what fantastic value it was.

I kicked off the afternoon session with a talk on how to write short stories for competitions and magazines. Paul read aloud one of my stories and it was great to hear the audience reaction – positive I’m pleased to say. I sell my stories, I see them published but I’ve never known what the audience thinks of them and it was a superb confidence booster. The audience were a delight and asked lots of great questions that thankfully, I was able to answer.

The day was rounded off by the amazingly talented Catherine Balavage, proprietor of Frost Magazine. Catherine gave an insight to the trajectory of her career from actor, theatre critic and from there, establishing the magazine. She gave an overview of the pros and cons but also the relentless hard work that goes into creating a magazine in the digital age. It certainly gave me food for thought as I drove home that evening.

Margaret’s stalwart family were, as usual, beavering away in the background making sure that the event sailed along without a bump.

The grannies, led by Margaret Graham, provided us with yet another fascinating event and the lovely thing was, that while we were sat on our bottoms, drinking wine and having fun we were helping raise money for wounded troops. Now that’s my kind of fundraising.

www.wordsforthewounded.co.uk

www.elizabethbuchan.com

www.thewriterspractice.com

www.margaret-graham.com

www.tracybaines.co.uk

www.frostmagazine.com

Words for the Wounded Host Their Annual LitFest Literary Festival

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Frostie

Great excitement – Words for the Wounded which raises funds for wounded troops and veterans by creating opportunities for aspiring writers and readers is holding its annual LitFest again on April 16th.

The WforW LitFest Day will be held as always at the lovely Downley Community Centre, School Close, Downley, High Wycombe HP13 5TR
10.00am to 5.00pm.

As everyone knows by now, the three grannies, Margaret Graham, Jan Speedie (both Frost Magazine writers) and Penny Deacon absorb all the costs of the charity and therefore 100% of everything they raise goes to where it should.

The speakers this year are: Sunday Times No 1 bestselling author and a patron of WforW – Elizabeth Buchan talking about her work.

Jemima Hunt, editor and literary agent, and director of The Writers’ Practice with advice on editing your work and attracting an agent.
Tracy Baines, successful women’s magazine short story writer with tips about getting published.

Further excitement as Catherine Balavage, blogger and editor of Frost Magazine will be joining the day to talk about blogging, running a magazine, and her various successful books.

Paul Vates, the brilliant actor, and friend of Words for the Wounded, will be reading from the work of our speakers.

Sharon Bennett will be displaying her art.

Cost £35 (which includes lunch with wine, morning coffee and afternoon tea)

For Tickets, send a cheque or postal order to: (cheques payable to Words for the Wounded)
Words for the Wounded
12 Woodcote Green, Downley, High Wycombe, HP13 5UN
Please include a SAE

Trains from London are frequent, and there are taxis for the 10 minute journey.

www.wordsforthewounded.co.uk

The WforW Grannies Raise More Money…

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Photographs: Kate Pain

‘OK, let’s get down and dirty, then.’ The decision was made. We’d do the military assault course Mud Challenge at www.actiondaysout.co.uk to round off charity Words for the Wounded’s 2015 fundraising activities.

We? Margaret Graham, Jan Speedie and Penny Deacon, are the grannies who run Words for the Wounded. We choose to conduct strategy meetings at The Wellington on the Strand, and decisions seem so easy over the second glass of wine. ‘Yes, there’ll be a bit of mud. Yes, we’ll get the families involved. Yes, it’ll be a bit of fun – and easy peasy.’

Easy peasy? For goodness sake.

On the whole our charity, Words for the Wounded, raises funds by offering opportunities to readers and writers: the annual Independent Author Book Award, the LitFest Day. But we also like to do something different. Last year was the sky dive, this year MUD.

With our long-suffering children and grand-children on the team we met up at Action Days Out, Henfold Lakes, Dorking, in the rain. Ah well. Ian and Callum Marshall briefed us, which is when ‘easy’ and ‘The Wellington’ seemed a million miles away, and teamwork was emphasized as crucial to the escapade. Off we trooped, to the warm up obstacles.

Ho hum. Warm up, indeed. Then it was 1,2,3, and off we went. Mud? Oh yes. Water? Oh yes? Small obstacles? Oh no. BIG obstacles.

Ian and Callum were there all the way, (on the bank). We ranged in age 11 to 70, and everyone helped everyone else. Was it like one great mudlark? Not exactly, one has to say, in fact, just feeling a little faint at the memory.

I found dragging my feet out of the mud was half the battle, but there was the other half of the battle looming as I tried to find somewhere to put the foot that would actually help me hoof up the bank. Frequently it was on some poor soul’s knee. But then I took the weight of a few so all is fair in a mudbath.

So, easy? NO. Fun? Oh yes. I haven’t laughed so much for years, even when Ian asked us to link arms and run across the next few inches of water, which we did. It was actually several feet deep. Then there was crawling through water beneath barbed wire, throwing ourselves through tyres (frantic searching to find one big enough for my bum – oh, the humiliation had I stuck)

Finally the end, and yes, you guessed it: debrief over lunch at a pub down the road, The Royal Oak Stonebridge. Adrian and Beverley Waterworth looked after us like troopers. Try it.

A success? Fantastic day, a great team, we all know one another far too well, having trodden/thrown, tugged one another into and out of obstacles. We surely must have soft skin from the all- over mudpack.

Action Days Out – Ian and Callum are a great team. Boris, Callum’s 5 month old Norfolk Terrier came round with him, and found a false boob from the previous day’s Stag Mud Challenge. Yes, indeed, Stag and Hen parties do it here too. Crikey. It’s fun, give it a whirl, but be prepared to throw your clothes away afterwards. Of course, we’re all looking at Norfolk terrier puppies now.

£1750 raised so far. Remember every penny Words for the Wounded raises goes to where it should, as the grannies absorb all costs. If you fancy helping the wounded. Go to:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/granniesmudchallenge

www.wordsforthewounded.co.uk

www.actiondaysout.co.uk

Facebook: royaloakstonebridgedorking

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

How Can Organizing a Literary Festival be Fun? By Margaret Graham

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Easy peasey, when it’s for a good cause, and you have fantastic writers in support.

The thrust of our fundraising at Words for the Wounded is two-fold. We feel we must earn our donations which help the wounded, and offer opportunities to aspiring writers, and interested readers – hence the writing competitions.

Remember that the three grannies who run the charity absorb all the costs, so every penny goes to the wounded.

Last year, to raise extra funds for the recovery of wounded troops, we grannies, who run Words for the Wounded, decided to throw ourselves out of a plane (with parachutes and a handsome man to cling to, I might add). This year, in August we’re splodging through mud doing a Military Assault Course.

Not quite the same elan, but sons-in-law, who are doing it too, are very much looking forward to not catching us when we toppled from the tyre wall.

It seemed, however, a good idea to do something less strenuous in the meantime. A Literary Festival seemed just about the ticket.

First panic: will people come? Build it and see, seemed to be the thing to do. Wasn’t that what Kevin Costner was told about a baseball field?

Second panic: will we attract speakers? Well, let’s try our mates.

So we get on the phone to call a couple of WforW patrons.

Katie Fforde is a Sunday Times No 1 bestseller and a great pal. ‘’Of course,’ she said. ‘Let’s do it. In fact, you and me together, Margaret, chatting.’ Done.

Second call to Rachel Cuperman. Rachel writes Midsomer Murders scripts, and if they’re not bestsellers, I don’t know what is.
‘Of course,’ she said. ‘Can’t wait. I’ll get my co-writer, Sally Griffiths to come too.’ Done.

I am kissing the hem of their garments by now.

Penny Deacon is one of the grannies, and a crime writer. She will be talking about her work. Done.

A past student, Amanda Hatter, and Catriona Troth, who is a committed member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, are to sit on our self-publishing panel. Me too, me too, to try to keep them under control.

Photo attribution: Ruth Jenkinson

Catherine Balavage, publisher of Frost Magazine, who would have been with us has a far more important project on the go – a son to be born at about the same time.

Finally, we have a fantastic agent: Felicity Trew of the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency who is really looking forward to meeting all the aspiring authors in the audience. She will be here for the day, so loads of time for networking.

Then we have the food: As real foodies the grannies have been planning lunch, with wine, and tea with cake. We’re of an age where life seems to revolve around cake… Join us in pursuit of the calories.

Waterstones will be there, writers will sign books. There will be an artist exhibiting her work. There will be a buzz. It’s the inaugural Literary Festival for Downley Community Centre, which has been fantastically supportive.

So come. Enjoy the day. Tickets in advance to facilitate catering.

It’s been fun organizing it, and will be even more so, on the day.

Remember: the grannies absorb all the costs of the charity every penny we raise goes to where it’s needed.

Where is it needed? See the sort of injuries our service personnel suffer:

https://www.frostmagazine.com/2014/12/wounded-the-legacy-of-war-photographs-by-bryan-adams/

Date: April 18th. 9.30 for 10.00 start until 5.00. Downley Community Centre, High Wycombe, HP13 5TR Tickets £50 to include all refreshments.

Contact: Margaret@margaret-graham.com for information and tickets, or go to www.wordsforthewounded.co.uk

The Wellington: Margaret Graham’s Local in The Heart of London

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Margaret Graham

OK, so it’s the middle of winter, the wind is hurtling along the Thames, and you’re crossing Waterloo Bridge, head down, unaware that the bridge was rebuilt in the 2^nd World War, and the workforce included women. The only thought in your head is food and shelter.

Such was the situation a couple of years ago as Penny Deacon and I (writers and organisers of Words for the Wounded) reached the Strand, and there it was; this beacon in a sea of misery, the fantastic, fantabulous Wellington on the Strand. Straight across the road we powered, and hit the stairs to the restaurant at a run, resembling nothing as much as drowned rats.

That was the start of our Wellie adventure: within a few months it was the Graham’s London ‘local’. Penny lives in the West Country so looks on enviously, but I’m in High Wycombe, which is just a hop skip and jump from town. Often I meet Jan Speedie (besties since we were nine and she is also an organiser of Words for the Wounded). We spend an inordinate amount of time in the National or Portrait Galleries, in St Martin’s in the Fields poking about, or at the theatre, or exploring the City. Where do we eat? The Wellie of course.

Sticky slow-braised pork belly.

But why? Isn’t one pub much like another? I think, quite frankly, that whoever said that, needs to go and wash out her/his mouth with soap, as my mother would say.

The Wellington has the knack of becoming special to everyone we’ve brought along; the ‘grands’ love it, our friends too. It dates from 1903 and its neo-gothic exterior is a bit of a landmark. It is named after Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington whose historic victory over Napoleon in 1815 ended the Napoleonic Wars. (If you haven’t been to Apsley House, home of the first Duke of Wellington and his descendants, you should. It stands right in the heart of London at Hyde Park Corner.)

The Wellingon sits next to Covent Garden, a name derived from the Convent Garden, which belonged to Westminster Abbey. It was to Covent Garden that I went to buy a gift for my granddaughter with money presented by Jose on behalf of the staff, as she was having a serious operation that day.

The staff are gorgeous. There’s the manager, Ruth, from Australia, Jose the team leader, (Spanish) who wins the rosette for character. There’s Michal, assistant manager, who grows a moustache for charity from time to time and who has read Maeve’s Afternoon Delight, so has a big tick from me. There’s our lovely pal Eszter from Budapest who we love because of her great kindness, and Thomas from Krakow who I’m trying to get to write a feature with me about Krakow for Frost Magazine.

The ambiance is smart as a button, especially after its recent makeover but so many of the original features are still there that it’s hard to go wrong. One of the highlights for me is the Art Nouveau windows.

So, now we come to the food, of course. My favourite is the belly pork, Dick seldom strays from the sausage and mash, but Jan plumps for the fish fillets or seafood pie. We invariably add a large glass of Pino Grigio each. It’s always the right temperature, always rather too nice.

Let’s not forget the bar… The Wellington boasts a gorgeous long bar, and that brings me to the ales, which Dick and his bestie, Tim Norman, swear by.

The ales change seasonally so the Wellie rotates between 18 seasonal ales 4 times per year and also rotates between 19 National favourite ales. Nicholsons Pale Ale is always stocked – it is a classic English-style Pale Ale and brewed exclusively for Nicholson’s by St Austell Brewery. It is brewed with the finest Cornish Maris Otter barley.

If you’re after a super friendly attractive venue, with great food and drink, you don’t need to be freezing. Just head to the Wellie (The Wellington on the Strand, 351 Strand. London) www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thewellingtonstrandlondon

The Yeovil Literary Festival – An Author’s Perspective By Kate Kelly

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Margaret Graham

If you braved the rainclouds and ventured into Yeovil in the first weekend in November you might have noticed large green banners flying outside a number of venues, for this was the weekend of the Second Yeovil Literary festival. The first Yeovil Literary Festival took place last September, and this year I was delighted to be taking part again.

Liz Pike, one of the festival organisers.

I was in fact involved in three events across three of the festival venues. They were three very different styles of event, and were only a tiny fraction of what the festival had to offer.

The first event was the Yeovil Prize Winners event on the Friday Morning. The Yeovil Prize was founded by bestselling author, Margaret Graham, with James Mitchell to raise funds for the arts of the area. When Margaret moved from Yeovil, crime writer, Penny Deacon took her place until handing over to Margaret’s ex-student, Liz Pike and her team. It is now in its 11^th year and continues to grow. It is an internationally renowned competition, and since its earliest days it has been watched closely by both editors and agents, and as the list of success stories continues to grow it is clear why.

I am one such author – Red Rock was Highly Commended in 2010 and I’m convinced that this helped tip the balance with the agent who was considering it at the time. This year it was lovely to have a number of winners in the poetry category in our midst. We took turns to read our winning entries and talked about what the Yeovil Prize has meant to us.

The Yeovil Prize Winners Panel.

If you are interested in reading some of the poetry and fiction that has been shortlisted over the past couple of years, then the Yeovil Prize Anthology is now available.

Marcus, manager of Yeovil Waterstones with copies of the Yeovil Prize Anthology.

That evening I was honoured to host “In Conversation with Jason Hewitt”. Jason is a debut novelist and The Dynamite Room was published earlier this year. It is a World War 2 story, but one with a difference and is absolutely superb. Set on the Suffolk coast in July 1940, a German officer swims ashore and breaks into a boarded up house. There he finds Lydia, and 11 year old escaped evacuee hiding in the attic. Over the next five days Lydia is held hostage in her own home – but there is more to the German that meets the eye – for how is it that he knows her name?

In Conversation with Jason Hewitt.

I really enjoyed meeting Jason and chatting to him. The ‘In Conversation’ style of event was a lot of fun, very relaxed, and Jason had so many interesting things to tell us that the time simply flew!

Jason Hewitt and “The Dynamite Room

The following day was my third event, and quite a change from what had gone before. This time I was in the Yeovil Library running a writing workshop for children.

Outside Yeovil Library.

The event was well attended and I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch of kids to work with. They were all so enthusiastic and imaginative and half an hour after the event had ended were all still sitting scribbling away. I suspect there might have been some budding authors in their midst.

Of course, these were only three events in a packed programme. The organisers have really built on last year’s success and I can’t wait for next year.

Frost Magazine

Books and Lifestyle

Tag Archives: Penny Deacon

Gransthread – On Retirement

Do you know any small packages that contain some real treats | Litfest 2016

Words for the Wounded Host Their Annual LitFest Literary Festival

The WforW Grannies Raise More Money…

The Words for the Wounded Litfest – Review by Pat Heath

How Can Organizing a Literary Festival be Fun? By Margaret Graham

The Wellington: Margaret Graham’s Local in The Heart of London

The Yeovil Literary Festival – An Author’s Perspective By Kate Kelly

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