Pink Champagne, counselling and catching up

[Anne Brooke]

Have been doing some marketing for the up-and-coming Pink Champagne and Apple Juice (http://www.pinkchampagneandapplejuice.com or http://www.pinkchampagneandapplejuice.com/friends) website today - only one reaction so far but my responder liked the look of it - thank you, Robin! The launch date will be this Friday 3 May at 3pm UK time, so do pop in, have a look round (either now or on the day) and leave a comment in the blog if you'd like to. All visitors very welcome indeed!
Had a good counselling session with Kunu today. We talked about friends and about being in a creative limbo now that I've left the church and am not planning to replace it with anything regular. At least for a while. She seemed pleased that I've been doing things and thinking about making plans in a slightly different direction - eg tidying the flat and organising things that have, frankly, been left in abeyance for years, or thinking about what joint aims Lord H and I might like to have for the future. She thought this was actually quite positive, so made me feel more positive about it also. I mean, hell, if it is a mid-life crisis, then at least I'm dealing with it and not ignoring it. Hurrah! I get Counselling Points - as it were ... She'd also finished A Dangerous Man and found it gripping and moving - which was nice to hear. We've agreed to talk about it next time (which won't, unfortunately, be for another two weeks, due to university meetings/holidays etc) and how it relates to me, and also to look more into my childhood & family history. She's mentioned that before, but I slid past it at the time - but now it feels like something I'm more ready to look at. My goodness, what fun times ahead for sure. Not that there's anything that drastic in my childhood (best say this before Jane H's mother starts worrying again!), but a lot of emotional stuff did go on, which wasn't great. Hmm, funny how every single one of my novels - including the one I'm writing now - does have some quite edgy family problems at the heart of it all. Putting it mildly ...

Once home, I screwed my courage to the sticking place (probably a misquote, but what the hell, eh) and actually emailed my university friends, catching them up with (is that even a phrase?)what's been going on in the World of Anne over the last year. In a brief, very sweet (yes, I can do sweet, you know) and hopefully not too heavy, way. So, now if they do think I'm being peculiar, then at least they know something of why. I felt I owed it to them. Probably. I also suggested that perhaps we could do something over the summer if that works out, so we'll see. So there's my supply of emotional courage drained for the month. Possibly the year. Hey ho.

Popped into see Gladys this afternoon - rather frail today, I'm sad to say, so we didn't have much conversation. Though I was brave with a wasp. A large one too. Halfway through my visit, she did ask me how church was going, so I took a deep breath and told her. Again briefly and in a light way. She was really sweet about it. No, incredibly sweet. And then was gracious enough to let me move on to other topics. So at least she knows now. It'll be good not to have to remember all the lies I'm supposed to have been telling, I have to say.

At home, I've just finished Sharon Maria Bidwell's (http://www.myspace.com/aonia) eNovel, Snow Angel - hot, racy and fun! I enjoyed it - the two main characters were great, but maybe there was a tad too much sex for me (now there's an admission!), but of course it's the nature of the erotic genre, so I shouldn't complain. And I would have loved to know more about Dean's family too. Though I hated April, Jay's sister - but I was supposed to hate her. I could tell. My, how I love to have a character I can hate in a novel - it gives it teeth.

I've also finished a poetry anthology, "Look Closer (Poems about Works of Art)" - a rather mixed collection, but I enjoyed it, particularly stunning work by Marjorie Baker, Barbara Balch and Edward Storey. I've added their names to my ongoing poetry list, where possible, so they must have been good!

Tonight, I'm planning to do some more to The Gifting and move Simon along a little towards his natural ending. I've rather abandoned him over the last couple of days, and I suspect he needs some attention. Poor dear. Hey, but don't we all!

Today's nice things:

1. Counselling
2. Dealing with the new Champers website
3. Reading.

Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk