There have been very many events this month, some of which I have already mentioned; it has been a long paperback signing as detailed in an earlier blog, but very enjoyable. One of the most exciting events was appearing at the Scarborough Literature Festival on Friday the 13th; a very lucky day for me as the concert hall at the Vernon Road Library was almost full. My host was Peter Guttridge who asked interesting questions which allowed me to expand on explanations of my work in creating fiction set in the Yorkshire area. We also discussed the making of the Val Wood Harbour Girl Trail which is now up and running on my website and available for all to see and explore. I'm very thrilled about this as it's something I have wanted to do for a long time. Now it is a reality.Also this month I was invited to the Hessle Road, Hull store of Boyes and was treated like royalty, with a comfortable chair, a good table display of books, an offer of tea or coffee and staff who couldn't do enough to make me welcome. I shall certainly go again if invited. I managed to slip in a quick visit to the Keukenhof Gardens in Holland to see the beautiful tulips, seven million bulbs are used to make this wonderful display. A very restorative break from a busy schedule. Since then I have visited Radio York to speak about the Trail, given a telephone interview of the same to 'Yorkshire Life' and not least, attended a Fashion Show on behalf of the Friends of The Hull Memory Clinic of which I am a keen supporter.

April 2012

Once again I have lost a month. This time it was March and this is because I had a veritable raft of book signings. Apart from my home territory where the paperback of The Harbour Girl sold very well, I also travelled to Leeds, Lincoln, the delightful market town of Malton and of course Scarborough. I arrived home to find a request from a bookstore in Bradford but sadly had to decline until the next book comes out as I'm now on my much neglected writing schedule. The Innkeeper's Daughter is with my publisher and so in the meantime I have started another novel; this will be for November 2013, and from the way it is progressing will be a shade darker than the others and set in the higher reaches of the Humber estuary. Can't tell you more than that as ideas are filling my mind.
The exciting news, however, which I'm sure I have mentioned before, is that the launch of The Val Wood Harbour Girl  Trail is almost ready for lift off. I'll announce it on the Blog just as soon as I hear, because of course, I am not creating it myself, but leaving that to an incredible team Divine Clark pr. I will tell you more next time.

February 2012

I seem to have lost January completely, so what happened there?  Cleared up and got life together again following Christmas,  had several dental appointments to fit a new crown, had editing, reading and committee sessions in my capacity as a volunteer with the Talking Magazine for the Blind; continued with the novel in progress and then fell over in my kitchen -- during the day I hasten to add in case anyone might think I'd been imbibing anything stronger than tea -- I hadn't -- and injured my left wrist. It was painful and swollen enough to warrant a visit to the casualty department at my local hospital where it was x rayed and my arm put in a plaster cast; the following day the cast was taken off and a wrist strap put on; the consultant decreed that it was not a fracture after all but a soft tissue injury. Whatever it was, I lost a week's work as I couldn't bend my fingers or thumb. However, it is just about back to normal now and I have today finished the editing and checking of the manuscript which I have titled THE INNKEEPER'S DAUGHTER. It remains to be seen whether the title will be kept, and indeed if my editor and publishers like it!
I was again invited to an interview on Radio Humberside to discuss the proposed closure of the mobile libraries in Lincolnshire. I have previously given my views on this subject and they remain the same. Readers must have free access to books or reading matter. Libraries are essential as I said as a guest speaker for the Friends of Hull Central Library. Thank goodness that the East Riding Library Service appears to thrive.
Since February began I have been to two free lectures on Charles Dickens in this his 200th anniversary of his birth. What an amazing writer he was. Like Shakespeare he was pure genius. After reading the works of both these great men, it doesn't make me want to give up my own poor offerings, but only want to do better.
I'll finish by saying I didn't receive a single Valentine card but that I don't mind a bit, for I absolutely know without a shadow of doubt, that I have been loved.

December 2011

December almost gone, two days before another year begins; so how was December? Busy busy busy, but mostly satisfactory. I was late with Christmas shopping, but nothing new there and as always happens, everything is always ready by Christmas Eve, give or take one or two presents to be wrapped.

The day after the Hull Literary Luncheon where I spoke along with fellow writer Mike Pannet, I flew off from Humberside Airport to visit the daughter of a friend in Stockholm; it's such a lovely place to be in the run up to Christmas. No snow this year, unlike last, and not so cold, but nevertheless the city was very festive with shop windows beautifully decorated and almost every house and apartment window displaying decorous Christmas lights; not a sign of a blow up Father Christmas or flashing rooftop reindeer.
We once more enjoyed a delicious Yulebord, a wonderful Christmas concert in the Royal Opera House, visited a museum where work by Turner, Monet, and Cy Twombley, an artist I haven't come across before, were on show. We walked by the quayside and breathed in the icy Baltic air and thought what a great way to begin the Christmas month.

On our return, I had two more signing sessions with another visit to Hull Waterstone's and WHSmith, two speaking engagements, one draw of a raffle at HERIB, always a good place to be invited, a visit to the dentist, Christmas carols at St Mary's in Beverley, and then the delivery of family presents, and at the last minute, a Christmas video to all of my lovely readers -- or as one of my daughters wryly remarked, my message to the nation!

But now everyone has gone; we were six for Christmas lunch, and various friends and family called in over the holiday. The time goes so rapidly and the New Year will be upon us before we can blink an eye. I hope whoever is reading this, that life treats you kindly in the coming year, that you have good health, loving  friendship to sustain you, lots of books to read and enlighten you and above all wish you a very happy New Year.

Here we are at last in November, my busiest month of the year when a new book is about to be published; but first let me tell you about September and October which here in East Yorkshire had been mild weather wise. Then I went off to enjoy a short holiday in beautiful Portugal which was hot hot hot! We stayed in Cascais, next along the sandy beach from Estoril, famed for its lively casino, and only a short train journey to Lisbon which is always a joy to visit.

After returning home and even before I unpacked I was interviewed by Debbie Hall of the Hull Daily Mail Journal. We chatted over a cups of tea about all kinds of things but mostly books of course, which is why she came. The article should appear in the magazine at the end of November. Following this I spoke at two meetings, one in Hull, the other in Bridlington and attended the AGM of Home-Start Hull, the children's charity of which I am local patron. They have had a very difficult time recently as so many charities have through loss of funding. Fortunately, they are managing to keep going; the volunteers and staff are all very dedicated and they do so much to help families in difficulties it would be terrible if they should have to close.
Libraries too are hanging on by their finger nails to keep open and one enterprising librarian from a library near Wolverhampton has been getting in touch with authors to ask them to write a short letter to readers at the library to encourage them to try different authors and thus enable them to keep up their book lending. I was certainly pleased to do that.

I have been asked if I will be patron of the Friends of the Hull Memory Clinic. Who are they? They are a group of people with dementia, their carers and families who are determined to do what they can, to live as well as they can with this disease. Alongside the professional staff members of the clinic they are dedicated to promoting a positive attitude towards living with memory problems. Having known through personal experience how difficult this can be, how could I possibly say no?

At the Beverley Literature Festival I spoke about my forthcoming book -- more of this in a moment -- alongside the popular author Mike Pannett.
Socially I have been making the most of the various concerts, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Hull Male Voice Choir with the Brighouse and Rastrick Band, and 'Live' opera from the Met being shown at Cineworld. Don Giovanni A rare treat! 

But now to November. My new book THE HARBOUR  GIRL set in 19thc Scarborough and Hull will be published on the 10th so just over a week to go and the excitement has begun. Waterstone's Hull is the venue. Time 5.30 pm and EVERYONE is welcome.

October 5th

I've needed to check my desk diary to find out what I've done or not done since I last wrote within this blog. Time seems to move ever faster and without my diary I wouldn't be able to keep up. Many people I know use their mobile phones to record or remind them of appointments etc, but I feel safer with a pen or pencil and a diary where I can turn a page.

Towards the end of August I recorded a Podcast with the lovely James Nash which will be available soon. That same week I visited the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull to view Hockney's 'Bigger Trees near Warter,' which was absolutely beautiful and I'm so pleased that I made the effort to see it. It's gone now from Hull but I think still continuing the tour of the UK. If you haven't seen it yet then do try to catch it somewhere.

On the first of September with other local authors we attended the Northern Branch meeting of the Romantic Novelists' Association at the Smiths Arms in Beckwithshaw near Harrogate (we call ourselves The Flying Ducks -- but that's another story). Our speaker was Lincolnshire based Margaret Dickinson who is also a member of the RNA and  a friend of mine. She told us of how she began as a novelist and of the books she has written. A very interesting afternoon and before driving home, some of sat outside revelling in the sunshine which has been in such short supply this August.

The final proofs for The Harbour Girl came in the following week and because it was imperative that they were checked before I left for holidays the week after, I missed the events which were being held in Hull for the Heritage Open Days. A great success, however from what I heard. I checked the proofs within a week and fortunately they contained only one error -- mine -- which I spotted immediately and was able to rectify. My daughter Ruth and grandson Alex came to spend that weekend with me, and two days later I was on my way to Portugal with my other daughter Catherine and her partner.

Hot hot hot! I had expected it to be warm but as usual if I go abroad I never expect it to be as hot as it is and despite lathering myself with Factor 50 I still managed to burn. We stayed in Cascais, a coastal resort near Lisbon, which is a wonderful city, and had a very enjoyable and relaxing time, well set up now for the busy weeks ahead.

My first day home I was interviewed by Debbie Hall of the Hull Daily Mail Journal. Debbie was very warm and friendly and we sat and talked about many things over cups of tea at my kitchen table. The profile will probably be included in the November issue. The Journal photographer came and took dozens of photographs. There has to be one which is flattering!
My last appointment of September was with the ladies of Time For You at the Freedom Centre in Hull. A more friendly group of ladies you couldn't hope to meet.

Sunday 21st August

Glorious sunshine for most of today; however no sooner did I come inside to top up my suncream and fetch a book to read than the clouds darkened and the sun disappeared behind them, ah well it was nice whilst it lasted, and the rain last night came in time to water all the plants that I'd put in yesterday.

On Thursday the 11th I was invited to Radio Humberside for Carl Wheatley's Summer Show. We chatted for almost an hour; he asked me about my life as a child in the West Riding of Yorkshire and had obviously done his research very well for he picked up on the time we spent at my granny's house and as she didn't have electricity but only gas, I took a candle up the stairs to bed. Carl said it sounded just like a scene from one of my books which made me think, not only of how ancient I sounded, but wondered how we ever came to grow up to be fit and safe and healthy without the rules of Health and Safety to follow and adhere to!

Last week I had a meeting with Andy Barber of the KC Smile Foundation and Linda Monday, a volunteer with the Hull Memory Clinic. There will be more to report on this meeting in due course.

I'm to appear at the Beverley Literature Festival on October 15th and share a spot with Mike Pannett. I haven't met Mike before but I understand from those who have heard him speak that he is very entertaining. I shall be speaking of my upcoming novel, The Harbour Girl due out in November and read a taster from it. In the festival brochure I am described -- for the first time ever, as Beverley's own Catherine Cookson, which I find very strange as Catherine Cookson was quite unique. The title has probably come about because I won the Catherine Cookson Award way back in 1993. The other thing is that I am billed as Val Woods. Catherine Cookson I am not. Val (or Valerie) Wood I am.

On Friday an informal meeting with East Yorkshire authors, Linda Acaster, Penny Grubb and Sylvia Broady. We enjoyed a shared lunch in my garden and a glass or two of Pimms; the day kept fine and we caught up with news. I took photographs which as soon as I remember how to do it I will post up on the Blog.

In the meantime, the novel in progress continues on. The characters are well formed and are taking on their own lives with a little help from me.