J is for...

1) Jotin. ‘My name is Jotin’ is the first line of my novel, and Jotin is one of the two ‘spirit guides’ in the story. He looks after David, the hero. But really, Jotin and his friend Trynor are the heroes, or heroines -spirit guides or ‘angels’ have no gender. It was fun making up other-worldly names for the spirits, but at work I meet people from other countries and often their names are just as unusual, so if there are any Jotins or Trynors out there, I’m sorry!

2) I struggled for a while to think of a ‘J’ to represent me, until my wonderful daughter came round last weekend to announce her engagement, and I remembered: she was born in January, and her brother was born in June. Probably the most significant events of my life!

3) Jealousy. There are no useful remedies starting with J, so I’ll mention Ignatia, which is a good remedy for the jealousy felt by a toddler when her younger sibling is born.

Week 2, Day 7: G is for...

1) Guides. No, I was never a Girl Guide, my experience in the brownies, (see B) put paid to that. This refers to ‘Spirit Guides’, which is a better name for what are commonly referred to as Guardian Angels. It is thought that we each have at least one, and this spirit will do its best to hint to you what is the best to do. This is the information that may be explained as intuition or happenstance. Trynor and Jotin, in my novel, show how frustrating it could be to be a guide to a human who is totally unaware of their presence. This explains the title of the book; the humans act despite the guides’ (angels) best efforts.

2) George. This is my husband, who put a line through my appointment book on the Mondays, saying ‘you are going to Finish That Book’. So I did. I can’t thank him enough for believing in me and making me do it. His surname starts with G too, so I can be Mrs G when I want -mostly in France, where ‘Stringer’ is a dreadful name to explain or spell out loud....

3) Gelsemium. This is almost specific for that real flu which creeps up on you and leaves you apathetic on the sofa, with pains everywhere and a low grade fever. 

A Spirit Guide takes to Social Media

One of my characters has a new Twitter account, and is beginning to feel his (well, spirit guides have no gender really, but 'he' is happy enough to be male for the moment) way. He has told me it is a real treat to communicate so clearly with in-body humans. Usually he is hugely frustrated because his people (See 'Lucy' in "Despite the Angels" when it comes out) never listen, or pick him up wrong.
If you would like to follow the musings of a guide, you can find him @TrynorTheGuide. He doesn't mind being called a guardian angel, either, although it is not strictly accurate. Angels are much higher beings, and rarely communicate with incarnated humans.

The first Re-write is done

Today I had a good morning at the Carousel Writers' Café up the Dublin hills. The brainchild of Carolann Copland, a fellow writer, it provides a quiet space with great view, and all the hot drinks and energy providing snacks you could want. So in the peace I got to the end of "Despite the Angels" with my first re-write.
Now I have to put it aside for a few days, and then read it to see if my characters, Lucy and David, like what I have done with their lives!
Even more important, do their spirit guides approve? 'Jotin' and 'Trynor' are very vocal, so they will let me know if the story is not right.
I don't think the book will be out before Christmas, but when it is, it will be even better for ageing slowly, like a fine wine....