Who would you invite to your Christmas Dinner table?

I would invite these, my favourite people to share my Christmas Dinner.

Dame Maggie Smith

I’m full of admiration for Maggie Smith.

I would invite her to my Christmas dinner because of her elegance, her smile and her wit.  I’m sure she would have some great stories to tell whilst we are taking our brandy and coffee.

Fiona Bruce.

I have always admired Fiona Bruce.   She brightens up my day whenever I see her on the television.  Her intelligence and her views would be a welcome addition to the conversation around the table.

Sir Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill is something of a hero of mine.  He was a writer; painter and he loved to travel especially in France, these are also favourite pass times of mine.

He would I am certain prove to be a popular and essential member of my Christmas dinner party.

Manuscripts and notes

My friend asked me if she could see some of my notes so here is the working manuscript, or part of it, and hand written notes for my next novel.

There are ten notebooks in this pile, this is some of the handwritten chapters to the sequel of The Belgae Torc.

356 pages of manuscript, about 90,000 words in the first draft.

A sneak preview of the quote at the start of part one.

First edit of draft manuscript.

Another view of a page complete with red pen.

Hand written examples.

So there you are, a selection of both hand written and typed script from my next novel.  The typed manuscript is just the first edit so don't be too critical if you are able to read it!

Random stuff

Christmas Tree at Chez Moi.

My bookshelf is blocked by the tree so hope I won't need those books for the next few weeks.

The original painting of Josie MacDonald, the main character in my novel The Witness, looking very festive.

A view of my study showing my laptop and squeeky chair!  My notebook laptop is on the chair, I use that for typing up my manuscripts and editing.

Notebooks on top of my printer are handwritten chapters of the sequel to The Belgae Torc, work ongoing you might say.  The next step will be to type them up ready for the first edit.

 

Another view of my study showing some slightly distorted views of my paintings.  The file on the floor resting up against the cabinet contain research notes for my current novel.

The crazy decor is a left over from the days when this room was my sons bedroom.

Our family coat of arms.  Mitchell is Maria's maiden name.

Light at the end of the tunnel.

At last, just past the 100,000 word post for the sequel to The Belgae Torc. Now just have to complete the 'exciting bit', the finale. Once that's done I can focus on editing the manuscript and making it ready for the proof readers. It won't be long now!!!

My new website

www.kevinmarshnovels.co.uk I will of course be updating my website from time to time, so visit often and you may find that things have developed.

The Belgae Torc sequel

90,000 words now complete and entering the final stages of the book.  The deadline for the sequel to my novel The Belgae Torc is April next year.  In order to meet that deadline I have to have the first draft finished within the next couple of weeks.  The editing, proof reading and preparation for publication can take as long as six months, so I guess working on that time scale I'm behind schedule.  I have a couple of weeks off work over the Christmas period, so providing the first draft is pretty much done I can work hard on the editing.
The problem is I can't stop thinking about the ideas I have for the book that follows on from The Witness.  I really shouldn't be thinking about that at this stage as I need to focus on finishing book two of the Torc Trilogy.  I will then have to complete the third book in the series pretty quickly as I anticipate my readers wanting the third book in double quick time.
I really need to give up the day job!

Update

Just returned from a local craft fair where I sold five copies of my book The Witness.  Several people said they wanted it on kindle so I directed them to Amazon and/or my website.

I've had 161 hits on my website this week.  Not bad for my first week I guess.

For more information about me and my books visit my site on:-

www.kevinmarshnovels.co.uk

My New Author Website

At last I have just had my Authors Website launched. You can find it on:- www.kevinmarshnovels.co.uk I plan to add articles, paintings and updates to it as I go so please take a look.

Dnieper River

I have decided to use the Dnieper River for the location of my remote castle in my next novel, the sequel to The Belgae Torc. The river flows through Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, and is within the required distance from The Sea of Azov. I will probably have to use artistic licence to come up with a suitably remote area along the river with an old and crumbling castle, but with a little more research I'm sure something will turn up. Again, if anyone has any local knowledge of this part of the world I would be pleased to hear from you.

The Sequel in The Torc Trilogy

Another 1000 words written last night taking my total to 82,000. The plot is begining to thicken with my characters, Jack and Orlagh, getting me into all kinds of trouble. The finished book should contain about 120,000 words which I have to have finished ideally by the end of November. The editing and publishing process can take up to six months, so to have an Easter book launch I'm sailing a little close to the wind, so to speak. I'm having all kinds of ideas for the third book in the trilogy. I know how it all ends ultimately, I just have to find another 120,000 words to complete the set.

Local knowledge sought

The sequel to my novel 'The Belgae Torc' is partly set in the Ukraine. Can anyone help me? I'm looking for a remote location in the Ukraine preferably with an abandoned castle or fortification, near to a river and about 200km from the coast of the Sea of Azov. I have been studying a map and selecting likely looking places but some local help and guidance would be much appreciated.

To plan or not to plan, that is the question.

I have just read an interesting interview with Lynn Cullen about her book Mrs Poe. I'm so grateful to Kimberly Eve who posted it on her blog. It seems that Lynn did not plan her novel in minute detail before writing it. Occasionally I teach creative writing and have a lesson on planning. I look at various planning techniques and how writers use different methods to help them achieve their goals. I on the other hand rarely plan much at all. I do of course research topics that I'm writing about thoroughly, but when I create a character, that person usually takes over and leads me into all sorts of trouble. It is sometimes a struggle to get back on track and continue around my intended plot. Quite often the story will develop in a way that astounds me, often leaving me thinking, 'I didn't see that coming, now how do I get out of this?' Maria, my wife, constantly asks me how can I work in such a hap hazard way. I find it works for me, but very often when speaking to writers I realise how rigid they are in sticking to their carefully thought out plan. That's not the way I work I'm afraid, and it works for me, and so it seems Lynn Cullen.

The Beaney Institute, Canterbury Library

I popped into the Beaney library in Canterbury at the weekend and found my books on their shelf. It was such a thrill as this was a favourite haunt of mine during my childhood. I used to dream about seeing my books in the library and now they are. The library at Canterbury is a very busy place and has just gone through a refurbishment program that took two years to complete. It is also a museum and meeting place, so lots of people coming and going. I was signing books there a couple of weeks ago, it was great fun as I got the opportunity to speak to lots of people and raise my profile.

Medieval wall paintings

We came upon a beautiful church in France when on holiday in the Languedoc.
The day was very hot and the cool interior welcoming, but once inside we discovered a treasure.

 

This panel is simply standing on a block.  It looks like an individual painting but was obviously part of a wall painting.

 

 

The impressive ceiling of a vaulted side chapel.  The colours are still vibrant after all these centuries.

 

 

It's hard to believe that this is a 12th century statue, it is in perfect condition.  How many people over the years have seen this?

 

One of many beautiful stained glass windows.

 

 

Can anyone read the ancient Latin inscription?

 

 

The paintings were breathtaking, the colours so vibrant.  Of course there was damage but considering the time they have been there it was a rare treat indeed to see them.  I've never seen medieval wall paintings covering whole walls before, usually you come across part of a wall or small panels, but here huge areas have survived.

Fantastic!

Abbaye de Villelongue in the Laguedoc

We stumbled across this beautiful abbey in Saint Martin le Vieil, and it was absolutely stunning.  It's a privately owned 12th century monument, the family bought it in 1916 and still live there today.  Fancy having all this in your back yard!

It was a blisteringly hot day and just sitting under the shady trees in the cloisters was divine.

 

 

The stone table in this picture was huge, not sure if the monks used it for picnics!

 

 

The monks used these stairs every day to go to chapel for prayers.  You can see the wear in the stone from many centuries of use.  I climbed these steps, following in their footsteps.

 

A shady niche in the ruined church.

 

Where does this magnificent door go?

Beautiful stonework and windows.  There was no glass left now but once it must have been magnificent.

 

 

These carved faces were in very good condition.  They were once inside the church, but as half of the building is missing, are now exposed to the elements.

It seems the monks were never short of wine.  We saw in some villages these huge barrel fronts used as front doors, just like hobbit houses!

 



 

Abbaye de Villelongue is such a tranquil place, it was very nice just to sit there in the shady ruins of the cloisters and imagine what it must have been like eight hundred years ago. 

 

 

 

Alaigne in the Languedoc

The little village of Alaigne is where where a Chateau once stood on top of a hill.  Today old houses occupy the space around the square on the same footprint as the old castle.

One of the arches leading up to the square

A shady spot



The village Auberge called La Galloise, ( TheWelsh),

owned by a Welsh couple.

The square centre of the village

The fountain in the square

A shady spot in the square where the old men sit and chat

La Boulangerie where I bought Croissants, pain au chocolat and baguette each morning for breakfast

the village church of course

Shuttered windows typical of the region

Holiday in France

Returned from France yesterday to much cooler weather.
The Languedoc is a beautiful place to visit.  Vineyards abound the vast countryside and in the shadow of the Pyrenees, tiny ancient villages delight the weary traveller.  The people we met were friendly and had time to stop and chat.  The village of Alaigne, where we stayed, has a population of about 275, 15 of these are English, Welsh, Irish and one Scot.  They all get on famously and in the season the British population rises due to visitors occupying gites that are found dotted around the village.  The largest town nearby is Limoux where shops, cinema and grand square can be enjoyed.

 A mountain with windmills on a ridge!

 A view towards Carcassonne

I had to stop on a narrow mountain road to take these pictures.  It was a blisteringly hot day and when I stopped the car the silence was deafening!

 

A few more landscape pics, taken from a high spot on the mountainside.

The Pyrenees mountains form the backdrop with the Hault Valles  in the foreground.

 

  Vineyards and old castle ruins spread out like a carpet to the horizon.