Now, where was I?

Castleton, for no reason other than it's lovely

I'm not very good at relaxing at home. There are many advantages to being self-employed and only having to stumble into my back room to be at work is one of them; but it does mean that unless I actually leave the house I am, technically, 'at work'. Hence the last four days have seen me not glad to have a long weekend in which to skip and play, but rather fidgeting on the sofa trying to focus on TV when all the time I know there are proofs on my desk that need my attention. It's almost a relief that it's Tuesday! (How pathetic is that?)

Good to see the return of Doctor Who and Jonathan Creek, both of which washed over me in a lovely, comfy way. More stimulating was Perspectives, where the wondrous Sheila Hancock considered 'The Brilliant Bronte Sisters'. Wuthering Heights is one of my favourite books - much to the disgust of both my sons, who had to study it for various exams. But entertainment highlight of the whole weekend was on Radio 4 last night: Bravo Figaro, Mark Thomas's show about his relationship with his opera-loving father. Find it on iPlayer; it's wonderful.

***

Booking is now open for the Althorp Literary Festival. I'm going on the Friday. See you there.

In other news for writers: 

• If you were thinking of writing for LandLove or Alphafit, don't bother. Neither pays.
• Last Friday, Radio 4 (again!) broadast the first of three programmes about the Bristol Short Story Competition.
• Via Twitter I was led to an article on 'Book Publshing 101: What Publishers Are Looking For'. Worth a look to brush up on the basics.

Onwards!