We popped out to go and see Mirror Mirror earlier today.  It’s charming, funny, sweet and quite dark.

Julia Roberts (not my favourite actress in the world) is sublimely calculating and mean and sarcastic.  I thoroughly approved of her as the Queen.  Lily Collins – whose eyebrows look like angry caterpillars – did a credible job of being the heroine Snow.  The music was so so good, as were the costumes which I loved! All in all, it was hugely entertaining and oddly, Tarsem Singh also did the travesty called Immortals, yet completely succeeds in Mirror Mirror.  I’ve just been on IMDB and realised he also created THE FALL which has to be one of my all time favourite movies of ALL time.  Well, I’m not utterly prepared to forgive him for inflicting Immortals on us.  He clearly was having an off period when that was being put together.

As for CITW – no spoilers, I promise – but wow, what a good flick.  Joss Whedon clearly had so much fun making this. Tongue firmly in cheek he messes around with the staple diet of teen horror flicks and still manages to surprise us.  Even if you think you know the twist…you don’t.  Not until you go see it.

Both movies are highly recommended!

Grimm 4.0 WIP score: 31,856 / 75,000

Mirrored from Liz De Jager.

It’s been a little while since I blogged.  Mostly because I’ve been a lazy cow.

There are a lot of simmering things happening all around me with various friends and close acquaintances.  It’s exciting and thrilling and I think I’m also keyed up about them waiting to hear about things from them.  There’s only so much strain my tiny heart can take, dammit!

We’ve been to see John Carter (of Mars) which I genuinely enjoyed.  It’s a great pulpy matinee movie and I dearly hope Disney sucks up the bad press they’ve given it to realise that people actually liked it.

I’ve also been to see The Hunger Games (twice) – what a show.  I wore my pin and everything.  I sobbed, I grinned, I saluted.  I wasn’t convinced about Peeta at the casting, but now I think they’ve been wise.  So far, Gale has to prove his acting chops and not just look emo.

Mark and I are really enjoying Grimm the TV Show – we like the sub-culture of all these creatures existing in Real Life and Our Times.  I also like that they have these incredible German names.  If only they would get rid of the utterly pointless girlfriend – I suspect she’s going to become fodder for a creature.

And miraculously, we managed to miss the first episode of ONCE this Sunday past.  I know – get us.  However, it will be on catch-up so we’ll get round to watching it sooner, rather than later. We were delighted to see the trailer for Mirror Mirror at both the movies we’ve been to see.  Now that looks like a mad romp.  I cannot wait to see it.

There are so many great movies coming up, including Cabin In The Woods, helmed by Joss “God” Whedon and by all counts, it’s going to be all out fun.  I’m all for subverting genres and I’m very interested to see what’s been made of this “college kids go to a cabin in the woods” horror.  If it’s as good as Tucker and Dale VS Evil, I’ll be happy.  (see what I did there?)

I’ve joined up over at Kaz Mahoney’s mad writing for April so I can kick Grimm 4.0 in the butt.  I’ve been coming in to work early every morning for a past few days now, getting words down.  It’s not as much as I’d like, but it’s still far more than I would have if I weren’t doing them.  But I’m worried about the pacing and worried I’m having people sit around talking too much.  But it will get fixed.  I hope.

This Easter weekend is going to be such fun – lots of reading and writing time, I think.  Also going to gym! I even bought some exercise clothes – mostly because my boardshorts I used to wear to gym are a bit too big now so they make my legs look spindly.  And we get to visit our friends for Easter Lunch on Sunday, which will be fun.  I think this is the first Easter in about…seven years that I’m not cooking up a storm for hordes of peole.

It will make a nice change! Hopefully I will be able to climb stairs and use cuterly as, as I’m sitting here writing, I can feel my muscles aching from gym abuse.  And all I want to eat is toast and scrambled eggs.  Mad, right?

Mirrored from Liz De Jager.

I mentioned this charming looking movie from Disney Pixar in the past and a new trailer has hit the interwebs.  To be fair, it’s a bit more a movie extract than an actual trailer and it is fantastic.  It looks stunning and I love everything about it – from the overall look, the scenery, the clothes, the archery (grin) to Merida’s feistiness.  This is the main Brave website where you can watch the movie trailer and check out what the story is about and ogle the gorgeous look of it in general.

Onto the Other Things now – as per usual.

I stumbled across this news the other day and sobbed into my cornflakes.  It would seem as if I’m tapped into this well of story ideas that Hollywood are plundering at the moment.  I have a moleskine packed full of character info, world building etc. for a story similar to Disney’s new rumoured Order of the Seven, a Snow White spin-off.  I stared at my screen agog when the news broke a few days ago and couldn’t believe it.  So what do you do? Shrug and carry on – pretty much, because clearly, I’m a trend-setter, innit? (chortles)  Even if it is only in my head.

But no, to be honest, what Disney is doing will be visually arresting and with Soarise Ronan taking part in it, how can it be awful?  I love what a great actress she is and how easy it is to underestimate her quietness for weakness.  She is a great heroine and I am looking forward to seeing Order of the Seven should / when it comes out.

This evening I’m off to the Children’s Book Circle event – “Behind the scenes…” which is described as follows:

Ever wanted a glimpse inside the minds of the agents, editors and booksellers that decide which books make it onto the shelves? Now’s your chance. For the CBC’s first event of 2012, a panel of four industry experts will reveal their top publishing secrets – including insights on how certain manuscripts really stand out from the crowd, and personal perspectives on the ever-changing landscape of children’s publishing.

I shall report back with a write-up on the event.  It promises to be an interesting one.

Simon Mayo, who some of you may know, has a kids’ book out later this year.  It’s called ITCH and I’ve started reading it this morning on my commute and it is so much fun.  Itch is a very likeable character and the writing is smooth and easy on the eye (and in the head). I’m liking it plenty and can’t wait to read more of the book!

We got to re-watch Fright Night last night on DVD and I have to say Colin Farrell really does know how to turn on the creep-factor.  It’s all in the eyes, and facial expressions – he just exudes menace.  I loved it as much as I did when we went to the preview.

This weekend the London Super Comic Con is happening and we have tickets to attend – we’re not yet sure what our plans are to be honest, as Mark has been felled by the lurgee and so it would seem, as of last night, so have I.  *plugs nose with tissues* I know, var sexay indeed.

Oh! My Lisa Snellings poppet arrived yesterday.  Isn’t he just lovely? He’s reading The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.  I posed the poppet with my signed copies of the book last night.

My nose and I are now retiring, gearing up for swollen face and general miserablenicity, wish us luck.

Mirrored from Liz De Jager.

A few things.  I’m a Neil Gaiman fan.  I know, who would have thought it.  But last year I spent a bit of money and got myself a copy of his Adventures in the Dream Trade, mostly because I remember it had some great poems in it. And there is a poem he call’s A Writer’s Prayer which I love.  Here is a snippet of it:

From Neil Gaiman's A Writer's Prayer

I think it is fantastic and charming and inspiring and eccentric and mad and I love it. I’ve got this little photo on my phone as my background – I know, random or what?

I spoke to an editor recently about Grimm, about my thoughts I had on feedback from two agents and this inner turmoil and conflict and self-doubt.  But also about how I could see what the agents were saying and thinking that if I listened, took my sore aching heart out of the equation, if I listened to the advice, how I could make this book golden and gorgeous.  And the editor turned around and said to me: your journey with this book is not yet done but talk to me when it is because I want to read it when you are done.  And you have to left go.  Remember.

I gaped as I read the email.  How true this was! I was not yet done, not after four revisions and tweaking and madness and late nights and no sleep. So I took her advice, I tried out a few things.  I started writing it from scratch.  I got just over 18k done when I realised that I was going about it all wrong.  The same nagging thing the agents told me to watch out for was happening again.

I listened, again, distilling it.  And I’ve started again.  And oh my god, that random thing when you get hit with a brick in the head, when you find your groove? Yes, that’s happened.  This, this, is what Grimm was supposed to sound like, this is Kit’s story. It’s so difficult to put into words – an alarming thing for an aspiring writer to say – but sitting down and writing this story now is new, fresh, vibrant and full of voice and attitude and bizarrely I had thought this is what it had previously.  I think I was wrong.

I confess to coming close to giving up, but I have big girl knickers and I pulled them up and I got going.  And you know what? Without this weird bit of madness, my life just won’t be the same.

Enough navel-gazing! It’s my birthday this coming Sunday.  Exciting times! I will be *mumble mumble* years old and I don’t look a day over 50.  No, dammit, that’s 25.  Yes, 25. And because Mark is utterly made of win, my birthday present this year is a gorgeous item from The Filigree shop.

I realise that it may not be every person’s kinda thing, but you know? These little guys make me happy.  I wish I had the ability to create tiny creatures of whimsy like these but I don’t.  What I can do is use them to fire my muse and inspire me to write my own stories in which I can create tiny creatures and bigger ones made from whispers at midnight, of icy moonlight and obsidian shadows, with teeth as sharp as katanas and nails as long and curving as sickles.

And these little guys above are the items I already own from The Filigree.  And they serve as my prompts.  Only in my world they are far bigger and probably scarier.

It’s late, and I have new words to get done.

I remain, as always,

The Liz, She Who Buys Random Stuff

Mirrored from Liz De Jager.

Dear me! It’s been a busy start to 2012 and I think it’s going to be a pretty damn exciting year.

First up, my name in print from the Undiscovered Voices anthology – an honourable mention:

So grown up!

It really is thrilling and I can’t wait to hear some superb news from the honourary mentions and those in the anthology.  I’ve had the chance to speak to a few editors since the UV antho went out and I know they are all looking forward to reading the extracts and speaking to the writers.

The start of the year has seen the first SCBWI event – Editor’s Night at the Bullfrog near Charing Cross.  Caroline Hooton (or The Hooton as I call her) has written a superb write-up about it and it’s the above link.  Really one of the best panels I’ve been to and also really nice to see so many SCBWI peeps in attendance with a lot of interesting questions.

It’s also been exciting to see Amanda Rutter’s first aquisitions as commissioning editor for Strange Chemistry - am very proud of her, both as a friend and on a professional basis.  Amanda has followed her dream – a massive step – and remains an inspiration to me.

I attended the Chickenhouse breakfast on Friday past and as usual, it was a superb event hosted by Barry Cunningham and his team.  They have a new crop of writers out this year and new titles from existing authors, and I’m genuinely excited about them all.  I just have to somehow make sure I make time to read the titles I want to get to!

Chicken House Titles

Similarly, Saturday was the Random House Bloggers Brunch and the editorial team and publicity girls blew us away with a fabulous presentation packed full of great titles coming from them this year.  Got to meet a personal hero of mine: Bali Rai.  He is genuinely lovely and so down to earth and deeply funny.  I’m particularly excited about his upcoming new book from them this year – the cover looks gorgeous!

These are some of the books that came in on Saturday:

Variety of bought & review titles

Similarly, some of these are titles I picked up on the brunch at RHCB.  Starters looks very good as does The Brides of Rollrock Island.  The cover is also too lovely for words.

Bayou Moon and Fate’s Edge – I bought in from Forbidden Planet after a flying visit.  I’ve only recently discovered Ilona Andrews thanks to a tweet by Kaz Mahoney.  She mentioned On The Edge’s superb world-building and as that is something I’m working on at the moment, I picked up a copy of it and fell so hard for Ilona Andrews’ characters and world, my bones are still sore! I’m currently reading Bayou Moon, which is the second book in the Edge series and it is as much fun as the first one.  Although Rose, Declan, Georgie and especially Jack have stolen my heart; I get tears in my eyes thinking of the scene between Jack and William (with William being one of the MC’s in Bayou Moon) when Jack shows him his room and William sees how loved Jack is.  Man, no one whose not read the book will know what I’m on about, but it is just superb writing.  *nips a tear*

Sunday saw us walking for miles and miles around London and taking photos.  I had a superb time and Mark was a great tour-guide. Here are some arty photos I took with my Hipstamatic app on my iphone.

Tower Bridge

St Michael at St Michael's on Cornhill

Temple Church

The big plan for 2012 for me as aspiring writer: rewrite Grimm into first person (which I’m loving) and then revising it a couple of kazillion times and sending it out to agents.  Also re-read Curse of the Djinn and rewrite that as I’ve had some invaluable feedback which completely gelled.  So, a lot of writing and reading and hopefully one or two creative projects if I can get my mind around it.

Mark and I are attending the London Super Comic Con at the end of February and also Black Library Live in March.  I’ll be spending time at the SCBWI writers retreat in May and I think there is another Black Library event in November which I’m hoping to go to, as well as the SCBWI conference.  I am praying that these two events do not clash!

It’s a busy year, full of amazing things.  And words.  Lots of words.  Is that ever a Bad Thing?

Mirrored from Liz De Jager.

I have been thinking about doing a blogpost about this for a little while now and so I thought what with Yule being a mere snowball’s throw away, I’d go ahead and do it.

Writers are really fun people to buy for.  I have several writerly friends and enjoy buying things for them.  Personal things that I know I would like to get or that I already own that I find invaluable.

Here is a list of items that would sit well with a writer in your life:

1. Scivener – is a fantastic piece of software.  Initially brought out to be used on iMacs, they are now running software for PC’s too.  Do have a look at their website and the testimonials.  I’ve now written 3 books in Scrivener and have loved the freedom it gives me to store files, create, edit and play around with structure and scenes.  The templates are very useful and range from Novel / Poems / Recipes / Scriptwriting / Comics templates etc.  The person who convinced me through his blog and writings to give Scrivener a try is David Hewson, author of the superb Nic Costa crime novels.  David has also written a very handy guide to Scrivener for Kindle – again, utterly invaluable.  But then, I also do love David’s blog as he is quite frank about his writing process and I find that as interesting as his comments on Scriviner and other writing tools he ruminates on.

2.  Earphones – noiseblocking earphones.  Some writers like writing to music, others like pure silence or the sound of white noise.  I adore my Sennheiser earphones that block noise when I sit in coffee shops and write.  Or just for general commute.  Honestly wroth every single penny.  I bought my pair around 3 years ago now and they are in my bag every day for commuting and they have lasted a long time.

3. A coffee / tea mug: unless the writer in your life does not take her coffee / tea intravenously, a mug is a big must.  I love these from the Literary Gift Company.  An online shop that specialises in literary and writerly gifts.  I adore them and last year bought swathes of items from them for the writers in my life.

4.  Story Cubes – these dice were given to me two years ago by Kaz Mahoney and I love them.  You maybe get stuck in a scene, thinking what should happen next, roll the dice.  Let them decide!  Also available from the Literary Gift Company.

5.  Books – you may grumble about the amount of books your writer has in his or her life, but books are our life-blood.  Without books to read, to think about, to inspire, to show us how to do it or how not to do it, as the case may be, the writer in your life will be very poorly indeed.  Ask for their wishlist and choose a few from there to buy them as part of their presents.

6.  How To books.  Tied in with the above, there are some how-to books that no writer can do without.  I think most authors I’ve ever interviewed on MFB quote extensively from Stephen King’s On Writing.  It is genuinely a worthwile buy.  To be honest, it’s a book a non-writer can pick up and enjoy.   Another book I’m currently re-reading at the moment is Terry Brooks’ Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writer’s Life.  Also, a hugely personal book, aimed at other writers and those who live with writers.  Terry Brooks is well known for writing the Shanara fantasy novels.  There are other more practical books like Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself into Print that is an invaluable tool to aspiring / starting-out writers.  Also books from the Writers Digest series: Plot and Structure / Description and Setting / Characters, Emotions and Viewpoint etc.  Pop onto Amazon and look at them, and follow the “recommended / those who bought this also bought xyz” for a range of great titles for the writer in your life.

7.   If the writer in your life is female, consider a subscription to Mslexia magazine (and also maybe a Mslexia writer’s diary) – an amazing magazine packed full of writing tips, interviews and articles about writing, the industry, genre, poetry – superb.  The magazine is a favourite of mine and has gone from strength to strength over the past few years and is only going stronger.  They have also gone digital, which is great.   Another favourite magazine is Writer’s Digest - a US publication, the magazine is hugely comprehensive and seems more … just more, compared to some of the UK publications that you’ll find at Smiths that caters for writers.  They are also digital, which is great.

8.  Consider buying the writer in your life a writing retreat.  Or create one – time away from the madness of everyday life, book a hotel for a weekend somewhere nice by the sea or countryside and take the kids off or whisk yourself away to go and do some stuff, leaving the writer to his/her own devices to sit and write and plot and plan.

9.  A bag of some sort to carry notebooks and laptop in.  This is a very personal thing, I think, and it is best to get advice from the writer in your life about this.  My Kath Kidston bag I recently bought is fantastic – the pockets on the front are perfect for notebooks and pens and the inside of the bag is big enough for my laptop and a variety of books and sundry items like my phone, small make-up bag etc.

10.  But I think the most important gift anyone can give a writer is two-fold: to appreciate that writing is hard work and to give them the space and time to do it in and also to listen to the writer in your life and be supportive.  We may be tough on the outside, but on the inside we are packed full of insecurities and being able to talk to someone who understands about our writing goes a long way to assuage those fears.

Happy shopping!

Mirrored from Liz De Jager.

Sadly, I am not on the shortlist for this year’s Undiscovered Voices.  HOWEVER, two really good friends of mine are, so eventhough I was upset for maybe a day, I can’t help but be excited and over the moon for them.  Here is the list – I am so proud of them! Some I know from other workshops through SCBWI and the conference and the agents party but the two girls I’ve highlighted are friends and I am walking on air for them today:

• Rosie Best
• Veronica Cossanteli
• Sandra Greaves
• Jane Hardstaff
• Deborah Hewitt
• David Hofmeyr and Zoe Crookes
• Sharon Jones
• Rachel Latham
• Maureen Lynas
• Richard Masson
• Rachel Wolfreys
• Jo Wyton

The illustrators are:

• Julia Groves
• Amber Hsu
• Heather Kilgour
• Shana Nieburg-Suschitzky
• Nicola Patten
• Rachel Quarry

Being on the longlist of 25 had scared me and encouraged me. I looked at what I had achieved and the lessons I had learned along the way.  And am still learning.  This learning malarky just never stops.  And how my proces and actual writing has changed over the years and where I am right now.  Especially today after the shortlist announcement,  and I realised something: apart from a bit of dented pride about not being on the short list, I am actually okay.  I love writing.  I won’t stop doing it, mostly because the voices in my head won’t let me.  But I have stories to tell and to share and the only way to do so is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and carry on.

I am also lucky in that I have great friends who go beyond the call of duty to be supportive and also, well, the best advice I’ve been given is: Pull up your big girl pants and get on with it.  Published writers are made of perseverance.  Decide where you want to be.  Quitters quit, are you a quitter?

And no, no I’m not a quitter.  My mum would haunt me if I turned out to be a quitter!

Whilst we were all waiting to hear about the shortlist, I decided to not sit quietly.  I’ve picked up my black moleskine crammed full of ideas and thanks to Sarah’s encouragement, have started on Grimm2, a companion and standalone to Grimm1 and I’m loving the immersive world, the characters and am super aware of how fast the words are coming.

I am trying my utmost to make those words good words.  I suppose it’s also coming that quickly because of planning.  Who would have thunk it, right?  Planning works!  As well as being comfortable in the world I had created in the first Grimm book, I think.

I’m also looking at the amazing classes and events scheduled in 2012 with SCBWI, deciding which I’d like to sign up for and I’m also pondering what to do for the 2012 Agents Party.  It’s going to be a fantastic year of writing, events and Getting Ahead.  Oh, and also for reading.  Dear heavens, we’ve started getting in books for 2012 on MFB and oh my days, if we thought 2011 was a good year for books, debuts and continuing series…2012 is going to be a very good year in indeed.  Like a vintage harvest, I think.

And again, a huge congrats to everyone on that shortlist! I am so deeply proud of Jo and Sharon and I can’t wait to hear what happens next.  But also, a massive thanks to Undiscovered Voices for the opportunity and for the longlisting.  There is nothing more sobering than thinking: what if…

Mirrored from Liz De Jager.

Snapshot of GoodReads shelves

Is sometimes the easiest thing to do.

I’m talking about GoodReads.  I’ve eventually signed up for it.  Not just to add MFB reviews, but also to get MORE reccommendations and to read other reviews and be alerted to upcoming titles I may want to pop over onto my Amazon wishlist.  So if you haven’t already, be sure to find me on there, I am MFBLiz.

I feel a bit like I’ve come home, but also a bit like I should have done this a long long time ago.  I think that I’ll create a 2012 shelf and add the books I receive from publishers onto that so MFB can keep track of what’s come in.  It would be very interesting.  This of course means I will have to check books I’ve already received for next year.  It is exciting and scary.  Which seems to be my mantra these days: exciting but scary.  *pretends to be mysteriously mysterious*

Hellboy

I get to geek at Duncan Fegredo this weekend.  Who? I hear you ask.  Well, Duncan Fegredo is a graphic novel artist whose work I love.  I am a big Hellboy fan, as you know, Bob, and at this coming weekend’s Thoughtbubble festival, Duncan will be in attendance.  He is one of the Hellboy artists but has also done a great deal of other great covers and artwork.  But Hellboy and Lucifer by Mike Carey has to be my all-time fave covers by him.

Lucifer Graphic Novel, art by Duncan Fegredo

And what makes it cooler still is that Mike Carey will be there too.  His graphic novels The Unwritten are very close to my heart and I recommend them highly.  In fact, if you’re not a graphic novels fan, do check out his Felix Castor books, published here in the UK by Orbit, an imprint of Little, Brown. 

Mike had been a writer on the Hellblazer/John Constantine graphic novel books for a while and then decided to play around with writing a full-on novel.  He set about creating a modern day exorcist and out came Felix Castor.  It’s very much London in the now or the near future and weird things are out and about.  Full of many layers and great mythology, Mike’s Fix Castor novels are my lost island books choice.  That and the Illiad.  Be sure to check them out if you can.  His last book’s ending made me swear, out loud, on the train.  I could not believe he had the guts to do what he did.  That Mike is a clever guy and devious.  I like it.

Mirrored from Liz De Jager.

We popped up to Oxford by Oxford Tube bus on Saturday to meet some friends for lunch at a place called Atomic Pizza.

Atomic Pizza comes highly recommended.  We ate and ate and ate and laughed and chatted.   And we commented on the decor and chatted to the owner who was wearing a t-shirt with the Inigo Montoya speech:

Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die.

It was perfect, we loved it.  We also gave him some more sterling quotes including the one from Dodgeball: If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.  Oh Patches, if there were more coaches like you, I think the world of sports would be a far better place.

Anyway, apart from meeting up with Kate and Rob and their respective partners at Atomic Pizza I got to spend time with my friend and fellow UV longlister, Jo.  We spoke about our terror and joy and worry about the next few weeks, leading up the the announcement of the final 12 for Undiscovered Voices.  We tried reasoning out our fear and joy and guilt and what to do next, whilst waiting.

Jo wrote this fab article for Notes from the Slushpile – http://notesfromtheslushpile.blogspot.com/2011/11/undiscovered-voices-2012-long-list.html – and got loads of us to give quotes and things.

I fully suspect that none of the comments quite showed the fear we felt both on the day and for the next few weeks.  But also excitement.

Anyway.  It was great to chat to Jo and soon after we all headed back home.  Mark and I talked about moving to Oxford - we love the place.  It is pretty and not that far from London to make it impossible.  Commuting by tube would also make life easier – it would mean a lot of reading / writing time…but then I realised exactly what time I would have to be up and what time I would get home, what with my mental hours I work anyway…and well, let’s just say, that thought was put on the back burner.

We met with our matey Sue Hyams yesterday morning – she popped by for some coffee and to raid the bookshelves.  There was a lot to raid.  She went away with two bags stuffed full of books.  Yay! I hope she enjoys what I pressed on her.

Stake Land

Sunday really was a lazy day – we had chai tea in Beckenham, did some shopping and came home and ended up watching Stake Land.

It has to be one of the best vampire movies I have ever seen.  Sparse, scary, great scripting and most of all, interesting and intriguing characters.  It’s a slow burner with a great ending that I loved.  I’m sad that so few people will bother picking it up as it has no one famous in it, apart from Kelly McGillis who is as far from pretty (think Top Gun) as you can find.  However, her character is a minor one, yet one that propels the plot along very nicely.

Saturday night, after getting home from Oxford I sat down and wrote an exploratory chapter for a new book.  I like it.  As an acquaintance of mine is fond of saying when an idea works: it has legs.  Or rather, I hope it does!

These images have just come through from Pixar about their movie BRAVE that hits our screen in August next year.  They look fabulous:

I cannot wait to see it.  Strong female main character that goes on a hero’s quest?  Sign me up! Also: red hair!

Mirrored from Liz De Jager.

Sourced from http://petedadds.com/

Mark and I are both on a very strict diet – but that has not stopped us from becoming slaves to the food channel and in particular to Nigel Slater and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s shows, whom we’ve liked a lot in the past, but sort of now have come to appreciate them more fully.  I don’t know why, okay?  Bear with me.  There is a skewed logic to this post.

What I love about Hugh and Nigel is their passion for their subject – for the food, the preparation, the growing and cultivation of good ingredients.  They make making food an event, something cool to do, something fun to do.

And it is incredibly inspiring. 

It is inspiring on a foodie level – face it, there is a reason I am a rotund little piglet – but also on a creative level.  They take ingredients and with care and dilligence they do “magic” and the result is something delicious and masterful.

Sourced from The Guardian Website

And I think that is the same with writing.  I know a lot of writers, some are friends, some I admire greatly from a distance and have the opportunity to talk to them on Twitter or interview them over at MFB and I have to say, you watch them create this bit of magic with nothing else but a few books for research here and there, their hands, a notebook or a keyboard and their minds and it makes you stand in awe a little.

So far I’ve managed to do this successfully twice – and the feeling is incredible.  Now I’m having “down time” to do research and work up ideas for the next meal aka book I’d like to work on.  And the same breathless feeling of anticipation is there in this planning stage for me, as deciding to have friends over for a lovely sit down lunch or dinner.  What will I make? How will the food compliment each other?  What shall I serve as the starter and what wine? 

It’s a bit random, but it does work for me.  So thank you, Hugh and Nigel, for not just being foodies and making me want to make gorgeous scrummy meals to share with friends, but also for whetting creative appetities and for making me think about writing and planning meals as exactly the same thing.

I’ll take two of those leek and onion pies now, thank you.

Mirrored from Liz De Jager.