Yesterday I was invited to look around Sellindge Church with the plan that it would inspire some creative writing workshops. There are to be a series of artistic events held there in the summer. This is a great opportunity for me, but it does mean that whilst in the midst of Holiday Camp workshops, I have to switch to something totally different. So far I have learned that Oliver Cromwell had his horse re-shod at the blacksmith's in Sellindge! Then we have this chap with no hands... I think this one will be a challenge but one I will be taking on.
There has been less writing since Thursday's mammoth session, but the chapter is coming together nicely. My first reader/checker has queried some scenes and I've had to rework them. They made sense to me but if someone reads them and doesn't understand the timings of the plot, then I need to make it clearer.
On social media, I have remembered to share these blogs. I am also looking ahead to the two craft fairs this weekend and letting people know where I will be. Then on kindle I have reduced all books to 99p for three days, so I must advertise that. As always I am juggling the writing with social media and planning future events and workshops.
Finally, I have met up with Colin from the Dymchurch Heritage Society because I wanted to learn more about how Romney Marsh was governed in the past. This is especially important for my current novel (there is one thing to tweak) and the next one which will continue my Georgian saga. I learned a lot and clarified details I was unsure of. It was brilliant to have the opportunity to ask questions and go over the details so I could be sure that I understood it. I have come home with a couple of booklets to read, and a couple of areas in the book to rework.
It is April 30th. I didn't succeed in blogging every day, I am juggling so many tasks that I couldn't justify writing a blog over other things on my 'to-do' list. But I will try to do this more often. Perhaps monthly? Thanks for reading. I really appreciate the support you all give me. 

I chose this picture of Dymchurch beach because at the moment Harry and Phoebe are sitting with their legs dangling over the side of the seawall and having an important talk. The light on the beach on a summer's evening is fantastic before sunset. The colours become a lot richer. Sometimes (well, quite often!) I take a break from my lists of work to do, and buy a takeaway coffee from the Bucket and Spade, and sit on the wall, watching the tide and the gulls.
Back in 1762 the seawall ran from the Redoubt to Wall End (The beginning of St Mary's Bay, but that settlement didn't exist then.) There were knockes stretching down the beach which would have been larger structures than the groynes/breakwaters we see today. They were a wooden structures filled with rocks. The seawall was a framework of oak stakes and bundles of blackthorn, then covered in clay soil. It would be another 100 years before it was clad in stone. 
Back to the present time: Over the last couple of days I have filled in my tax forms. Good to have it over and done with for another year. I also have a one-off workshop in June called "I saw a sign to...." and I have been planning that. However, I must prepare all the worksheets for next week's workshop so that's on the list for today.
I have been invited to a craft fair in Dymchurch next month. This makes four events in May and I have updated the events page on the website. 
Thanks for reading my blog. I looked at my page views and it is good to know that it is worth doing, although I didn't manage the daily challenge.

I am so happy to be back in Georgian Dymchurch now Phoebe has returned from Wissant! Yesterday (in my writing) I went to St Peter and St Paul's Church which I love. It was even smaller back in 1762, without the extra aisle you can see to the left of the photo. In those days, the tower appeared to almost stand on its own, more like St Clements at Old Romney. This is why it was St Clements used for the filming of Dr Syn, which is the same era as my novel. My favourite part of the church is the Norman archway between the nave and chancel. As soon as I step into a Marsh church I love the smell of old stone and wood. I guess it reminds me of the National Trust property which I lived in when I was growing up.
In the last few days I have completed another chapter and made corrections to two chapters. With only about five chapters to go before I reach my 80,000 word goal, it is time to start planning. Up to now I have just seen where the characters take me, although I always have their main challenges in mind. In this novel there has been the initial event/incident (I can't say what) and working through it, some personal challenges for Harry and Phoebe, and rather a nasty character hanging about to make trouble. With the end in sight, I have also contacted a proof reader.
The last few days have been all writing and no workshop preparation, but now I would like to make some worksheets for the summer holiday sessions. It is a constant juggling act!

This week I had an opportunity to reflect on the remains of Roman Fort on the hillside at Lympne. I am away from home for a few days and visited Fishbourne Roman Palace - a bit grander than our fort I am sure! The mosaics were incredible and discovered in the sixties when some water pipes were due to be laid.
Before I went, I was determined to be on track with my writing target of one chapter a week and made good progress with my novel on Monday. As well as the writing, I read through a chapter and made corrections.
With a whole series of Summer Holiday themed workshops coming up, I have already written the introductory session and made the handouts. In the last couple of days I have prepared my lesson notes for two workshops where my workshop attendees will become characters attending or working at holiday camps in the 1950s. At the moment I need to leave parts of the sessions flexible so I can tweak them as the characters/sessions evolve. Each workshop is first written as a five hour session and then reduced to also run as a two-hour session. This should suit all my regular attendees. Next I need to make the worksheets and then I'll be prepared for workshops until July.

As I write this, I am feeling a bit glum because a couple of days ago I wrote about my workshops and other things in a blog, and now I see the words are not there. I've popped this colourful beach hut photo up to cheer me up. One of my favourite local walks is to go along the seafront from Sandgate to Folkestone where there are now over 100 freshly painted huts. It is Easter Monday today and I had a day off (mostly!), and walked from Sandgate to the Harbour Arm. There was a great selection of food outlets there and plenty of seating. It was a great atmosphere with plenty to look at.
Since the last blog (the one where the writing did show), I have worked hard on creating the first two workshops in the summer holiday series. Discovering unique activities and traits about the local holiday camps has been fun, and I know my workshop attendees are going to love the sessions. From the planning about the 1950s, I went right back to 1287 when I held the last in the 'turbulant thirteeth century' workshop last Wednesday. It was a great session with plenty of debate and, as always, some fabulous writing.
My writing is moving along slowly but I am really happy with the novel. The last scenes have concentrated on Harry in Dymchurch, but Phoebe is now on her way home after being in Wissant. I came up with a plan for an extra twist which pleased me. Now I am 3/4 of the way through, I need to consider the ending and start building up to it. There is one method of novel writing where you start writing the end and work backwards to the beginning. I can't say I understand this!
On Easter Sunday I sold books at a craft fair in Hamstreet. This was a new venue for me and a great location in a village hall next to a green and play park. Some of my regular readers came along to say hello which was wonderful, and I am getting to know the other stallholders as we meet at different events throughout the year. I am very lucky - people think that being an author is a solitary life, but not for me!

Not too much writing achieved today. Instead I read a couple of chapters and tweaked them where needed. Some authors write the whole novel before doing back to it and reworking it, but I prefer to edit as I go. I sent these chapters to my friend, Mike, who is the first person to be checking this novel. He will be suggesting better words (which I usually accept) and sometimes suggesting that I expand the writing a little (which I occasionally accept!). This is also a chance for someone to query any historical/local details and prompt me to double-check.
In the evening I went to Brookland to give a talk about the inspiration, writing and publishing Secrets of the Shingle. The village hall was such a welcoming space with gingham tablecloths, and fresh flowers. I am often asked to judge their monthly competition, which is quite daunting! The talk flowed well, the members were friendly, and I sold plenty of books afterwards, A great evening.

Oh dear - I am not very good at blogging every day! 
Yesterday, I finished reading through the book of short stories I formatted for someone and made all the corrections on the file. I then sent him my list of corrections to approve. It's amazing how the mistakes leap out when in a different format - I was looking on paper rather than the screen. 
I went for a walk to my local coffee cart and looked across what is now a golf course but used to be a race course in Georgian times. This features in both my next novel and a workshop. It is a fascinating piece of little-known local history. The horses were ridden by their owners and only a couple of horses raced at one time. 
Over the past couple of days (in 1762) Phoebe remains in Wissant with her family. I've made slow progress with this chapter, but an idea for an additional small twist in the plot has sprung to mind. The cemetery shown in the photo is in the countryside outside Wissant. Phoebe is there with her aunt at the moment. I have busy on google maps looking at the path they would take from the village to the cemetery. I've dropped the little yellow man and looked at the surroundings. It's incredible what can be done from the laptop nowadays! You can see how different the cemetery is compared to an English churchyard. Here on Romney Marsh we even have sheep grazing in some of our churchyards!
As well as work, I am busy with some DIY projects, but I am aware that I must do some more reading and editing of my novel soon. I like to revisit it and make corrections regularly. I hope by tomorrow I will be back in Dymchurch with the book again. Or maybe the next day?