Tag Archives: Cornwall

New year, new me and all that jazz…

It’s 20 days into 2024 and it already feels like a lifetime ago that it was 2023. I think that i always start out the new year with good intentions, with ideas to make this be MY year, the one that is going to change my life forever.

Sometimes, this has happened, not always for the better when we think of people who we sadly lose, and who we really want to still be around us. But, most often, the good intentions peter out as the months drag on and we revert to old habits and the safety of our comfort zone. Sound familiar to you too? Thought so.

It’s been a while since i’ve done a blog post, this site is sooo out of date (one for the to do list i guess) and so much has changed over the last couple of years since i last wrote about my exploits. A quick summary is that of getting the second Cornwall Writers anthology – Secret and Hidden – out into the world, becoming the performance signer for Rock Choir Cornwall – that was so out of my little introverted comfort zone you wouldn’t believe it - Boardmasters was amazing…ly scary… but so much fun!

I absolutely love that the audience were trying to copy what i was signing as well!

I also signed a two book publishing deal with the fabulous Spellbound Books Ltd. My debut novel, Behind The Curtain, is set to be published in August 2024. I still pinch myself regularly about that one, whilst i am tearing my hair out as i’m writing the first draft of my second novel. I’m keeping that one under wraps at the moment though, so you’ll have to keep checking back to see if i let out any spoilers for it.

SpellBound Books Ltd

𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗥 𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗧 !!📣

𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 , 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗮 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱!

𝗔𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗮 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗹. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗲𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺.

𝗔𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗛𝗦 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹. 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗿.

𝗜𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁, 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴, 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁𝘆. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 ‘𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗺𝗽𝘀…’

𝗔𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁.

𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸, 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 , 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰.

𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗮!

So what does 2024 have in store for me? I haven’t set any resolutions but i have some intentions.

They start with the publication of Behind The Curtain and the writing of novel two – nope, still no spoilers!

I will continue my signing journey, i just love bringing the joy of music alive to those who need support to understand and enjoy it. Regardless of my not being a natural extrovert, it is moments like these, with Florence who was non-verbal for the first few years of her life, copying me and engaging in every song, that keeps me determined to continue on this road. I’m thinking of expanding this further, taking it into my writing and maybe performing for others. If this interests you, get in touch.

There are ideas around supporting the start up of a dementia choir locally, getting a book of my poetry out into the wide world and continuing to expand the memory sessions books and activity resources for adults with cognitive disabilities. There is also the third Cornwall Writers anthology in the final editing stages as i type and will be published later this year.

It’s definitely a new year, i’m not sure if it’s a new me – more of a sort of renewed one who is learning that the world is actually hers for the taking and if she doesn’t do it now, when will she?

And as for ‘All that Jazz’?

Well, music feeds the soul doesn’t it?

Let me know if this resonates with you. what are your intentions for 2024?

Have a happy day,

Anita x

Cornwall:Misfits, Curiosities and Legends

An anthology by Cornwall Writers.

This is such exciting news!

We are now at the crowdfunder stage for our new anthology which brings together an eclectic mix of stories all based around our wonderful County of Cornwall.

Eighteen tales are included and range across all genres – historical, science fiction, fantasy, women’s literature, comedy and serious – there’s even a stage play, a letter to a loved one and a poem tucked away inside that beautiful cover.

Oh, and if you are thinking of getting a cover designer for your own work – don’t hesitate to contact Ruta Ciutaite of Blue Rue Designs

I’m sure you’ll all agree that her artwork is amazing. We were blown away by the designs that she gave for us and found it so difficult to narrow it down to this one.

Personally, I have two stories in this book:

‘Waiting ‘ is set in Penzance in 1758 and is the tale of Alice and her children as they wait for her husband to return…

The second is ‘A Cornish Rant’ which does exactly what is says!

This short piece is about the love between a Grand mother and her grand daughter, but with a Cornish twist involving holiday makers, narrow country lanes and with a bit of pasty making thrown in…

To see even more of our fabulous book trailers, go to our YouTube channel which you can find here

At the time of writing our crowdfund appeal has just passed the £1,000 mark which is absolutely brilliant and we are ecstatic with the assistance and trust that this has shown. We need to do more though, we want to put a book into at least every library in Cornwall, then we want to go further afield and spread our work to a much large audience.

So, if you can help – and this means you can also get hold of either our paperback or our ebook at a special, pre-publish price and ensure that you are one of the first lucky people to be able to delve between the pages – then please visit our appeal, take a scroll through our pledges and select your choice… the page can be found here

Enjoy, and have a happy day.

Anita. xx

The Importance of ‘Stuff’

We are all surrounded by ‘Stuff.’ Stuff we think is important and that we cannot possibly live without. We spend our lives pushing ourselves forward in our acquisition of stuff. Stuff that we discard shortly after as we lust after bigger and better stuff. A bigger house in a better area, a posher car…or two, expensive holidays in the sun.

What do we do to get our stuff? We work…around the clock. We go to our offices/shops/factories. Make polite conversation with people whom, sometimes, we would rather not and stress over issues that are quite often taking far more brain power than they deserve.

With the recent London, Sweden and Syria atrocities I feel this has been brought even more to the fore. In London, a dedicated policeman was doing his job, laughing with tourists and having a selfie taken with them. Minutes later, in the call of duty and astonishing bravery, he was callously stabbed to death. A woman on her way to collect her children was mown down by a speeding car while another was thrown over the side of the bridge into the cold, unforgiving water below. I think that in their last moments, their possessions were the last things on their mind.

I have worked in the care sector for the last seventeen years and within that time I have been tasked with clearing out the rooms of those that have departed. There is little to compare with the sadness of that clearing process. The throwing away of a person’s treasured possessions because they mean nothing to those who are left behind. Clearing out my parents house was even harder. In the top drawer of my mother’s dressing table I found a cross stitched card that I had made her for Mother’s Day many years before. Inside i had written ‘Cheer’s Ma, I don’t know what I would do without you.’ If that didn’t hit me hard enough there was then one solitary, unlit cigarette. Her emergency stash that she kept just incase she needed to have a fag one day. It is testament to her strength that in five years of cancer treatment, she never smoked that cigarette. Finding it broke me.

So what have I taken from all of this? That the acquisition of stuff shouldn’t be the driving force of our life. It is the memories that matter most, the people that we choose to share our lives with and the little things they do that make us feel secure, loved and wanted. The random hug, the handmade gift, the memories they leave that last long after they have gone.

Carlyon Bay-29

I know it is a cliche, but hold onto those people and tell them you love them because, like those brave people on Westminster Bridge, you don’t know when you get up if you are going to get back into your own bed again tonight.

Most of all, make today a Happy Day.

Love, Anita. x

Making Dreams a Reality

They say that if you want to be a writer then you need a blog to showcase your writing skills. Well, i thought about starting up a new blog, just for that and then i thought, hey! Wait a minute! I already have one, quite a nice one actually with funky flowers and calming colours. Why not resurrect that one from the dying ethers in which it currently lies?

So here we are, a third of the way through my first year of a Masters of Arts in Creative Writing course with the Open University and i have never written so much in so short a time. I have also never received so much critique about my writing ability in so short a time either, but i am happy to report that it has largely been good and, strangely, people seem to like what i write and the way in which i write it. Maybe i am onto a winner here? Ha, only time can really tell on this one, but i’m willing to keep on trying.

I’m not saying that everything i have written is good, some of them are imminently forgettable as the exercises they are planned to be. Just an exercise in writing to a specific prompt or using a specific technique, some of which gel with the writer and some of which are, frankly, just not my cup of tea.

One that has stuck in my memory though is the following exercise where the brief was to write around 500 words using colloquialisms and language of your home town or Country. Now, i am Cornish, and very proud to be so. I absolutely loved coming up with this one, i hope you enjoy it too.

Bleddy Emmets!

‘Tis no good,’ Jess said as she slammed the pastry down onto the floured board, ‘I’m gettin’ sum teasy with these bleddy emmets down ‘ere all the time with their bleddy upcountry ways.’ She pointed towards the bowlful of peeled potatoes that were sat on the table, ‘Pass us them teddy’s over will ‘e maid?’

Amy did as she was bid, ‘here you go Gran. You really shouldn’t let them get to you, you know.’

‘Aye, I naw’s that, but they really get me goat and they ain’t gotta bleddy clue wasson ‘alf the time.’

Jess had finished rolling out the pastry and was deftly turning a large potato in one hand whilst chipping small bitesize chunks off with a knife in the other and placing them in a line in the middle of the pastry.

‘I don’t know how you do that without cutting yourself. ‘Amy said, trying to deflect her Grandmothers temper.

‘Tis easy tis, jus’ like drivin’ down the bleddy lane is. I thought she were gonna start squallin’ when she had to reverse up the ‘ill. Turmits next me ‘ansome.’

‘It’s swede Gran, turnips are white and these are yellow,’ Amy smiled.

‘I’ll give e swede! They’m all turmits to me. Beef and onion from that bowl there next.’

Amy watched as her gran flipped the outside of the pastry over the filling and quickly crimped the edges together in a fingers over thumb movement before placing it onto an opened butter wrapper and putting it into the oven.

‘You know, we do have greaseproof paper these days. You don’t have to save all your butter wrappers anymore,’ Amy chided.

‘I’ll give e bleddy greaseproof paper an all! When you’ve bin makin’ pasty’s longer’un me then you ken tell us about bleddy greaseproof paper! Aye, you’m a booty you are.’ She laughed, shaking her head at her grand daughter.

‘Fancy a cuppa tea Gran?’

‘Aye, me cups over there. Jus’ top’un up. When this pasty comes out, I’ll wrap’un up an e can take un to work for yer crib later.’

‘Thanks Gran, You’re the best. My mates are well jealous of my pasties on my break.’