The Chablis Diaries

Confidence trick

thiswindow — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:14:25 +0000

At the weekend, I went to the Gerhard Richter exhibition at Tate Modern. I was blown away, not only by the richness and variation of his work, but also his methodology: sometimes planned and ordered, sometimes random – sometimes both. It made me think long and hard about the way I write, and it occurred to me that the one quality all his work had, however it was generated, was confidence. Here is a man who knows what he is capable of and who is not afraid to experiment and take risks, but at the same time is very definite about what he has to say. Whatever image he ends up with, his voice is always loud and clear.

It made me realise that confidence is the most important item in the writer’s toolbox. With confidence, you can write what you like and how you like, instead of slavishly following a formula. Confidence, of course, comes with experience, but the danger there is that one becomes complacent instead of pushing the boundaries. Something that Richter was clearly never afraid to do. And that is when genius emerges: when talent and confidence and craft combine with risk.

I’m going to throw away the rule book for the next month. Forget about inciting incidents, character arcs, reveals, back stories and just see what happens. After all, any good storyteller will instinctively shape a strong narrative, but it’s all too easy to get bogged down in following the check list peddled by the myriad creative writing gurus out there. Is it any wonder that the fiction charts have been accused of becoming cynically formulaic, when everyone is singing from the same song sheet?

It will be like going on a journey without the sat nav. I can’t wait to see where I end up.

Twitter Authors’ Secret Santa

veronica_henry — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 10:10:26 +0000

I set this up because most authors working from home don’t get the fun of an office Christmas party or Secret Santa, and why should we miss out on the fun?

So how it works is:

Authors DM or notify me on Twitter to say they want to take part – deadline 15th December – and I compile the Secret Santa list.

I allocate each author a Secret Santa from the list.

So then -

! Each author gets the name of another author to send a copy of their latest book, beautifully wrapped of course!

2 Each author will also be contacted by their own Secret Santa so they can be sent a book.

It is all organised by DM on twitter. The only slight glitch may be if you aren’t following your Secret Santa in which case they can’t DM you, but people usually send a discreet open message to alert you so you can follow them.

The only rules are you must be a published author with a UK address – this last rule is to keep the postage fair.

Follow me on Twitter – @veronica_henry – if you want to take part.

These boots are made for walking …

veronica_henry — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 06:08:00 +0000

I’ve spent about a million pounds in Clarks on children’s shoes in the past, but never actually bought a pair for myself. But as I rushed in the other day for a tube of trainer whitener, I spotted these. As a committed boot girl the moment autumn arrives I am clomping around, and these will go with absolutely everything. And the best thing of all? *whispers* – they are incredibly comfortable.

Then I remembered this – they don’t make them like this any more!

Veronica Henry Interview

veronica_henry — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 06:22:00 +0000

Today I’m off to Exeter to talk to the lovely Judi Spiers at Radio Devon about my new book, Marriage and Other Games, which comes out on 21 October. I bumped into her at Appledore Festival on Saturday, where we were both appering. No doubt we will touch on the subject of chick lit while we are there, and whether it is dead. Absolutely not! There are still legions of people out there buying uplifting, heartwarming, life-affirming fiction, which provides a much deserved escape during these tough times. And books still provide remarkably good value for money. So go on – stick one in your trolley!

While I’m there I get to choose a piece of music. I’m totally in love with this song at the moment, Go by Delilah. It is inspired by one of my old favourites, Ain’t Nobody by Chaka Khan, which takes me right back to the eighties. But the spare way it’s produced, and her stunning voice, send shivers down my spine. Gorgeous.

I Don’t Know How She Does It

veronica_henry — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 08:49:00 +0000

Last night I went to see I Don’t Know How She Does It (having managed to clear away the Sunday lunch, supervised homework, collated the uniforms and put out stuff ready for lunchboxes – just in time to get to the cinema for 8). It was mildly diverting and entertaining, and had some funny relateable moments. Yet SJP’s character, Kate Reddy, didn’t really seem to be juggling all that much. She just seemed to be away a lot, which, as any working mum knows, is the easy bit.

I am looking at my to do list for this week:

Get verucca cream and up to date epi pen from the chemist
Beg/borrow/steal white robe for photoshoot
Order tulips from www.sarahraven.com for mother’s birthday
Buy rabbit hutch and accessories
Chase carpenter for skirting boards
Find missing bank statements for accountant
Fine tune talk for Appledore Book Festival
Book flights for writing course/order euros
Get new tracksuit trousers for youngest
Get middle son’s hair cut

That’s before I even take into consideration the school runs and after school activities (find double bass bow!), cooking, washing, cleaning, general admin/bill paying and shopping.

Oh, and the other important thing on my list for this week: write a book.

There are women all over the country with far more gruelling To Do lists than this. Women who can’t just say to their boss ‘I’m not doing the bits I don’t want to’, as Kate Reddy did in the film. Women who aren’t working for self approbation and to pay for the weekend home, but to put food on the table. Women who don’t have a choice. So before we start moaning about multi-tasking and juggling, we should spare a thought for those with punishing working hours, who have to make less than satisfactory childcare arrangements, who don’t have the luxury of flouncing around in Prada and flirting with Pierce Brosnan but who work their fingers to the bone, and are constantly exhausted, just to keep body and soul together.

Woman who Get On With It.

Snug as a bug in a rug …

veronica_henry — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:16:00 +0000

I love autumn, for many reasons, the biggest being I CAN NOW PUT MY TIGHTS BACK ON. No more paranoia about legs the colour and texture of a recently peeled hard-boiled egg. No having to get up close and personal with the Wilkinson every day (every other, or so, will do from now on). No having to make sure the pedicure is perfect. Instead, I can slide into snug, flattering black opaques every day from now until April, and know that my legs are going to look if not pin thin then at least sleek and uniform in colour, and my tummy will be squidged in into the bargain. They’re just so snug. They make me feel secure.

Now is the time when I go into M and S and buy at least ten pairs of 60 deniers, in various colours and textures – at least five black, but also grey, mulberry and chocolate. Then onto Asos for some fun and funky versions – tartan, spotty, leopardskin. I also love the look of the Gipsy bondage tights, perfect with a Little Black Dress. For absolute best, I splash out on a couple of pairs of Wolfords velvet deluxe - expensive at nearly £20 but sooo worth it and they last forever.

And finally, for extra special occasions, it has to be hold-ups. And the Rolls Royce of hold-ups – which actually do hold up, and are beautifully smooth to the touch – are Agent Provocateur Diabolo. Trust me, they’ll never let you down.

Veronica Henry

Mazda MX5 at the River Cottage

veronica_henry — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 19:59:00 +0000

The amazing people at Mazda sent me a random email last week. Would I like to come and join them for lunch at the River Cottage in Dorset, then test drive a Mazda MX5 coupe? Um – don’t they know how busy I am?? Ha ha!! I emailed them back like a shot. Yep. After a long summer looking after three boys and a couple of French students, that sounded like the day out from heaven.

We drove to Park Farm (the River Cottage HQ outside Axminster) on Sunday morning, the sunshine watery, the Dorset countryside still lush (that would be all the rain we had this summer). On the top drive, a row of twenty MX5s was lined up, gleaming with shimmery sparkly paintwork. I could drive whichever one I liked, apparently, so I picked a hard-top six-speed coupe in metallic red. But there was a price to pay – I had to have lunch first.

We descended the hill on a kidney-shaking tractor ride and arrived at the barn where a long refectory table was laid out, decorated with mismatched glasses of flowers cut from the garden. Floppy haired, stubble-chinned, twenty-something chefs ran around like Mrs Robinson manna, describing how they had made their chorizo/hot-smoked pork tenderloin/soy and honey drenched lentils. My kind of boys, my kind of food: rustic, unpretentious, delicious. And totally inspiring because it was totally achievable. My favourite was the rough chopping board laden with heritage tomatoes (cue for those of you who have seen The Kids Are All Right), smothered in home-made ricotta (heat your milk to 34 degrees, the same temperature as inside a cow’s stomach, then add rennet … possibly too much information). There were also pizzas made in a wood-burning oven, stunning slabs of local cheese and a dish of long rainbow coloured carrots – purple, yellow and orange – which tasted of … carrot!

It was hard to tear ourselves away from the table, but we were then led off to our chariots for an hour’s test drive around the stunning Dorset countryside. It was very hard not to drive off into the sunset, never to return, but as they had our license details this was probably unwise. The car was perfection – unpretentious, responsive, eye-catching, luxurious.

The best thing about the day out was the fact that on our return there was no hard sell. We were shown into the farmhouse, given tea and brownies, honey and almond cake and fudge. We staggered home, windswept and in a slight sugar coma, enchanted both by the River Cottage and the Mazda experience. Zoom Zoom indeed.

by Veronica Henry

Veronica Henry Article

thiswindow — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 08:17:25 +0000

Below is an extract from an article which appeared in The Sunday Telegraph, Sunday 31 July by Veronica Henry.

Photo by Peter Bright

In praise of impulse buying

‘I was 22 when it started, one Saturday afternoon. With a coat the colour of Golden Shred and a flaxen mane and tail, Marmalade was for sale for the princely sum of £800. I hadn’t the money, nor anywhere to keep him, nor had I much of an idea how to look after a horse. But by six o’clock that evening he was mine.

His purchase caused uproar, chaos and consternation. But I didn’t care. I was high on a cocktail of euphoria, excitement and adrenalin. My nearest and dearest pleaded with me to cancel the cheque, but I was resolute. I woke the next morning knowing life was never going to be quite the same.’ Read more…

Baby Harper – what’s in a name?

veronica_henry — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 12:55:00 +0000

So intrigued as to how Victoria and David came up with the name Harper. I love it – it’s cute and tomboyish (the less said about Seven the better). But what was the inspiration? The only other Harper I have ever heard of is Harper Lee, but I can’t imagine To Kill A Mockingbird on their bedside table. Maybe they employed a name consultant – a sort of Rachel Zoe of the moniker world, who trawled through history and literature finding suitable names and compiled a bespoke shortlist? In which case, job well done. Naming kids is an art in itself – I nearly called my first son Jacob Toulouse (for obvious reasons) but bottled it and named him Jacob Henry (my maiden name). Of course, now he’s in a band he’s desperate to be Jacob Toulouse, though admits he would have been ribbed all throughout his school days.

And I’ve never had a daughter, but often fantasise about what I would have called her if I had. The current favourite is Violet Silver. No doubt she would have grown up hating it …

Spend the day with Veronica Henry

thiswindow — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:37:25 +0000

Have you ever wanted to write a novel? A day with best selling novelist Veronica Henry, to learn a few tricks of the trade.

Charity Auction – West Buckland Festival

Lot 6: An intense and stimulating workshop for a group of two or four individuals given by the best selling author of ‘The Beach Hut’. This is a workshop designed to get your creative juices flowing. Read more…

Bidders are invited to make secret, silent bids from 15th August – see details below. You may place an email bid here.

The objectives of the West Buckland Festival are to:

Provide music, art and entertainment for the purpose of enriching the lives of people in North Devon and raise monies for the upkeep of St Peter’s Church, West Buckland and to provide additional funding for another Charity or Charities chosen by the Festival Committee each year.

In 2011, the Festival Committee will make an allocation of surplus funds to the North Devon District Hospital Chemotherapy Unit Appeal, to the PCC of St Peter’s Church and to East Buckland and West Buckland Village Hall.

Some 5,000 cancer patients attend North Devon District Hospital each year for chemotherapy. The care and attention are good, but the surroundings aren’t. This vital Appeal is to raise £2m+ to create a purpose designed Unit that is comfortable and welcoming. We hope that you will give as generously as possible and support the Festival so that we can give as much as possible to this Appeal.