Gone with the Wind took my breath away

No, your eyes do not deceive you, this is indeed a new blog post a mere week since my last. The reason being that I just had to write down my thoughts before I forgot exactly why Gone with the Wind is my favourite book of all time.

That's quite a big statement to make, I know, but in my mind, there is no contest. I read it over a few months and finished this morning. It took me so long as for the most part, I was only able to pick it up in those precious spare moments where I was able to dive head first into another world. Until the beginning of this week I had only read two thirds of the book, but after handing in my edits for the very secret, very exciting project, I was left with some rare spare time and decided to take that opportunity to discover exactly what Scarlett O'Hara did next... granted, I had already watched the film many times, which I adore, but to fill in the gaps that the film couldn’t possibly cover and to understand more about such complex and fascinating characters was an utter joy.

Going into it, even though I knew the film so well, I was (to be perfectly honest) a little anxious that I wouldn't understand a lot of what was going on as it centres on a piece of American history that I know very little about. I was daunted by the size too and worried that I'd find it boring, but it was anything but and turned out to be the most engaging story I have ever had the pleasure to follow. What surprised me the most was that one of the parts I loved reading about the most was the very subject matter which I was initially nervous to read; The Civil War and subsequent Reconstruction. Learning how various characters dealt with the fallout, with some trapped in a past that would never return, was both haunting and so beautifully written. The lives of so many, changed irrevocably with the life they once knew, gone forever. Usually, I get very tired with unnecessary detail but in Gone with the Wind, it's those elements which really make the book come to life. The depiction of Tara especially made me feel as if I was really there, among the fields of cotton and bright red soil, and it was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Never dull, but necessary and vital.

Now onto the characters. Our 'heroine' Scarlett O'Hara does unspeakable, immoral things that don't bear thinking about and yet, I followed her journey voraciously and almost willed her to succeed against the odds - and let's not even get started on Rhett, with a past as black as his fine moustache. Hands down my favourite part of the book is the fiery, witty exchanges between the pair. The greatest love story between two people who are truly meant to be together. 

I think I will leave it there as to tell you anything else would be to spoil something you need to experience for yourself.

I haven't seen the film for quite a few years now and I am very excited to rewatch it tomorrow with new eyes. In the morning, as a kind of warm up, I cannot wait to get stuck in to this beauty: The Making of Gone with the Wind.

To buy the rather fabulous version of Gone with the Wind pictured above, click here and to buy The Making of Gone with the Wind, click here.

Until next time,
Cara x

It's a marathon not a sprint

It's Sunday evening and I am sat on my sofa in the middle of such a concentrated spurt of energy that I feel superhuman, which seems fitting seeing as an Avengers movie is currently on in the background. The reason for this energy spurt is naturally down to food, more specifically sugar. An hour ago, things were very different. An hour ago I couldn't even move from the sofa and began to understand why walruses move the way they do as I was so painfully full. You have the burst of energy to blame for this blog post.

So another two and a bit months have passed since my last entry and although I knew this would happen, and I even said as much in my last post, I am saddened by it as I did want to try to keep this blog updated a little more than I have. My silence has been nothing to do with not having anything to say and more to do with the fact that I've had so much to do and so little time to do it in that this creative outlet has naturally been neglected. I do not even have enough time to look over what I wrote in my last post through fear of repeating myself so I will plough on anyway and attempt to update you on everything that has been going on in recent months.

It's been an odd year so far - very exciting for the most part but nevertheless, it's been intense and as a result, I've suffered physically, setting some kind of record for picking up colds and viruses. At the beginning of the year I pretty much told everyone I know that I would not be able to see them much in order to dedicate all my spare time to writing until I have somehow managed to forge a career for myself in it (lol to never having a social life again). As a result, I have had no aforementioned social life and my days have followed a pattern of getting up at ridiculous o'clock to write before work then coming home only to write again. Saturdays have been a mixture of errands and more writing with Sundays technically being my day off, although that sometimes hasn't gone to plan.

I am little confused how to go about explaining everything I have been doing recently as I've been working on multiple projects at once, (on one occasion, three in one day) so I think for the sake of not losing my mind, I shall write bullet points of everything I have been working on in as few words as possible as all my life seems to be at the moment is words.

• On the day I wrote my last blog post on Saturday 27th January, I decided to start working on a brand new short story as part of my WEIGHTING TO LIVE series. It took eleven days over a month or so to write the first draft and work on general edits, finishing on Saturday 3rd March and coming in at a total of 5,454 words.
• As I am looking to really try and get my WEIGHTING TO LIVE series out there (for the millionth time) I have read through all three books in the series twice then made small tweaks and changes to it. 
• Now moving onto the project I have been working on since the dawn of time that I've banged on enough about in this blog. I think I said in my last post that I had just finished reading through the latest draft of it and making a rather hefty list of edits. Well, I started doing said edits in late January but in mid-February, when another very exciting project started up again, I had to down tools on it to focus on that project. I do hope to be able to return to it later this month and my long list of edits. When I have finally finished said list (in roughly April 2023...) I endeavour to start from the beginning and edit the entire book. I want to go in more detail about how I'm editing it but I will leave that for another post on some unknown date.
• I mentioned in my last post about working on a VERY exciting writing project, which has really heated up over the last month or so and has taken up most of my time. I emailed over the latest batch of edits yesterday which felt wonderful as I'm very happy with the work I've done on it. When I can talk about it, I am excited to go into more detail and the editing process which has been eye opening.

The plan for next week is to try and take things a little easier when I can just in case I have to work on any edits that come in before my deadline at the end of next week for the very exciting project. When I know there will be no more to do on that project for the foreseeable future, I will be working any spare moment I have on the WEIGHTING TO LIVE series until it is updated with whole new covers then get get back to the fossil of a project I've had to put aside too many times now. It's kind of painful having to keep the names and details of so many things I'm working on a secret and calling everything 'project'. I have also desperately wanted to try and find time to promote CURING MY INCURABLE ECZEMA but as I am not a magician who can conjure time, I have put that on the back-burner.

Even though this has been the most exciting time of my life professionally, I have had moments where I've felt completely and utterly overwhelmed and as if I am wading through mud. There have been a fair few irrational tears as a result of tiredness but somehow, I've pushed through and not given up. I am slowly learning that this journey is a marathon, not a sprint and at this moment, I feel at peace and accept that things will get done when they're meant to. For the first time in my life, I am doing things properly and not rushing to get them done through panic and fear. It's a nice feeling. I suppose that's also down to the fact I have a full time job that I actually really like and am proud of. Even though it is hard working full time whilst also trying to forge a whole other career, there is something wildly exciting about knowing you have limited time and have to make the most of every single moment and I feel like I've achieved more with fewer hours than I would have done if I'd had the whole day at my disposal. Having limited time makes you use it more wisely. But please give me more time writing gods.

I wanted to finish off by quickly mentioning Joanna Penn. I have talked about her before on this blog but in a nutshell, she is a very successful British self-published author who writes fiction and also non-fiction predominantly about selling more books. She also has the most fabulous writing website, www.thecreativepenn.com and makes podcasts and YouTube videos which I love. What I like about her is that she is honest - even though she loves writing, she wants to make money and her videos and advice is to the point and actually helpful, unlike others in her field. What's great is when I am at work and I am doing something monotonous that I don't need to concentrate on, I am able to listen to her videos which never fail to inspire me and keep me going.

Ok, about halfway through writing this post, I had a sugar crash and felt once more like a walrus, so I shall leave it there and make a vow to NEVER EAT AGAIN.

I will hopefully be back much sooner this time as I've missed writing here too much. This blog has been a part of my life for years now and has taken me through many phases of my life... yes I really need to stop now as this walrus is tired.

Until next time,
Cara x