As part of my birthday present, I have requested my husband to buy me the above book. I am very possibly the last woman left who hasn’t read it yet and I admit I’ve been holding out for some time. I suppose it’s the snob in me who is reluctant to jump on a fad and just have fun on the ride. I was exactly the same with the Harry Potter books - I would watch every second person on the train as I used to commute into the city of a morning and wonder what the hell it was all about; and then I bought them and found out why.

I do believe - though - that this will be the perfect beach read. I realise vampires and the beach / sunlight mightn’t seem like the most likely of combinations, but I speak more in terms of lovely, greedy escapism; where I can relax and enjoy.

Kids sleep in.
Wake to pouring rain.
Adam sleeps in longer.
Miss swimming lessons.
Go to our local cafe - are turned away because it’s too full. Other people are also the escaping weather.
Visit library.
Go and sit in a hairdressers chair for two hours.
It’s still raining - and hail, now!
Go home. Read the papers. Clean.
Kids play.
Dinner and bath.
Rent Hancock.
Watch it.
Bed.

Riveting, yes?

I suppose it’s time to admit - if you haven’t already guessed - that November 23rd is the day I officially lost my NaBloPoMo mojo.

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Reminders:

I’ve been filling in some Surprise! paypal orders and it might be worth a mention that if I’m sending something overseas, I’d really like to get it to you before Christmas, so in that case if you were thinking of ordering, sooner might be better than later.

Don’t forget my Christmas Card Challenge!

The other day Keira and I were watching a cooking show filmed in India. So there were lots of shots of crowded markets and lovely tropical vistas. There were also, understandably, a few shots of untethered cattle roaming the streets.

Keira: Why are they letting the cows walk around in the city?

Me: Because in India cows are sacred.

Keira: What?

Me: They’re considered Gods by some people*.

Keira: What’s a God?

Oh, sweet Lord, help me.

Me: A God is something that some people consider to be very important.

Keira processed this for a few seconds.

Keira: But cows aren’t important!!?

I don’t think she realises yet where her taco mincemeat comes from…and that’s a conversation probably not long off, either.

******

*Further research of mine has showed that this isn’t correct, but since I am honestly reproducing the conversation, I let it through here.

The other day I was at my local library and the children’s librarian and I were discussing my book.

“Is it on the shelves at the moment?” she asked me.

“Yes,” I said. “Why?”

“Go check and see if there’s a picture in the back pocket. The book has been returned several times now with kids pictures in the back.”

So I went to the ‘A’ section, got out Surprise! and lo! there in the back pocket was a lovely little sketch of a child in a garden underneath a bulging yellow sun, signed, Gracie.

Just to explain briefly to people who haven’t bought / seen the book yet, its plot focuses on four children and how they each ‘pass along’ a lovely surprise they find hidden between the covers of a library book. I had a hunch - nay, more than a hunch; a secret knowing - that kids are more generous than we as adults sometimes care to remember, and the fact this has been borne out in demonstration makes me damn pleased I published myself. This experience, along with Kim, is ours to tell and celebrate.

I told my story; now the children, the readers, get their stories told in pictures, and get passed on.

It’s been documented. It matters. You matter. We all matter.

This is how I feel about my book and pretty well sums up my feeling about blogging as well.