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Busy busy, London and a poetry prize

27 Wednesday Aug 2014

Posted by Floreva in Creating, This world we live in, Writing

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Aquashard, book, David Burland Poetry Prize, London, Monty Python, Poetry Prize, writing.

Hi folks

well, it’s been a long pause, not only because of summertime.

The time between the last post and this one saw many changes in me, for me and those around me, long story short : all areas are impacted : friends, family, health, work, personal and less personal, adjustments and all along with me in this adventure : the emotional roller coaster (not just me, but the ones close to me too).  

To stay afloat and remain “zen” one solution >> meditation and deep breathing. Even moved houses >> paint job ongoing!

Good news is I focused more on writing and career and reached the final sentence of 2nd book (drama novel), on which I had been working for more than 3 years and a half. Sent to publisher, there will be some editing, but the baby has safely been delivered.

Secondly, personal growth (always good I should say) and greater clarity about career path, and side tracks, new ideas and new friends (kindred spirits,  who cannot like that?) and business partnership taking shape (oh Joy).

Thirdly, glorious time in London (work, research, friendships and a bit of craziness with sister >>>delightful). In LDN I met incredible people, went to incredible venues and parties and even was invited to the ceremony of lawyers being called to the bar in one of the 4 Inns, it was fantastic, saw old friends, made new ones and got to make new acquaintances, went for a drink at the Aquashard  and had dinner at the Oxo Brasserie with lil sis. Went to Chichester theater Fest, attended talks and strolled the hills of the Heath. Even went to see the last live show of the Monty Python gang! Such fun! Monty Pythoned since an early age, I could not miss it.

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Oh the glorious, glorious time!

20140731_142429                 20140731_141921

And lastly, my poem  “Vingt ans en Quatorze” (Twenty years old in 1914) received the 1st Prize, category French, from the David Burland Poetry Prize, based in the UK. Great honor and deep joy.

Happy? More than that!

Adios, Pharrell Williams ! You can stay in your room, because I M HAPPY and I am the one who set fire to the dancefloor  this 18th of August when the results were published!

My mind is bursting with ideas, I am finishing another story (ebook maybe?) and a set of short stories for lit comps.

Developing a certain project also,  that has nothing to do with the written word and it make me feel good too,  I am a bit tired but am bursting with energy on a creative level.

Hope you are feeling energised too, and supremely so!

So long folks! Be successful, stay safe, create and nurture well your body, spirit, and mind.

F  

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Book Signing

02 Sunday Mar 2014

Tags

book, book signing, short stories

Hi Folks

It’s been a while, working on the translation of the book and submitting to contests.

I wanted to share with you the exhilarating journey of the signing, in pix.

Signing Flo books Signing Bookmark FloSigning Flo 7

All copies of The ‘Balding Club’ have gone in the blink of an eye, ebook/kindle version soon available on amazon and FNAC.fr

2nd printing has been launched.

Please find hereafter  an excerpt , enjoy!

” The Balding Club

My best friend Gary and I were like butter and toast, chips and vinegar, Saturday night and hangover… We shared the same humour, a candid philosophy of life, simple pleasures, a passionate yet doomed love for Mrs. Atkinson (Kindergarten time) and, later, a flat. At school, we started the first Star Trek club, went to all possible conventions together (and met our girlfriends there). He knew when I had a bad day at work; I could tell when he and his associate had a row. He had set me up with this fantastic redheaded “Tomb raider” player, after I parted with Cassie. (Well, actually, after she had dumped me like an old sock…) He did so to prevent me from a potentially too sugary- and-potato-chips-loaded painful aftermath, and it worked. Equally to return the favor, when his soul became swollen with grief, due to a continuous series of heartbreaks with Tracy, I dragged him to a vintage fair. Even if he was reluctant in the first place, he quickly became his old self. We’d almost collapsed with laughter and joy in an unprecedented orgy of candy floss and popcorn (and believe me, we know how to orgy with food).

You know, I even replaced him for his annual medical visit he had to undergo. He was so sick he could barely stick a foot out of bed. The night prior he had unsuccessfully tried to drown his sorrow in an unreasonably amount of alcohol to get over the definitive break-up with Tracy, witnessed by me and Mr. “TeddyBeer”. Tracy loved to nickname herself “Tastylips”. But eventually, since none of her features were even close to the adjective “gorgeous”, except maybe her way of making sandwiches, it only made her ridiculous. Well, from my point of view and Mr. TeddyBeer’s, that is.

She had left Gary (for good, this time) for Nigel Wart, a Star Wars nerd, thereby “transgeeking” herself into a Star Wars fruitcake. Weird. (FYI, Nigel Star Wart, nothing beats Star Trek, you freak!). So I had to fill in for him that morning for the medical thing. I had a blast, that day, while he was a wreck, poor sod.

Ah, yes, my dear friend Gary…He always showed great enthusiasm for new ideas, such as when we decided to become Sunday fishing aficionados, or when we tried to invent the no-fuss-portable-kitchen-BBQ-grill with the toaster. We were the best flatmates too. I notice those little things, you know, a jacket button in need of mending, no more navy shoe polish, broken padlock for his bike, hair disappearing from his forehead…I had bought the polish, a new padlock and a revolutionary hair-loss lotion. He used to notice little things, too: my changing weight because of too-much midnight snacking or how one day I ran out of metallic paint for my little lead soldiers. He had me enrolled on a weight-loss program and offered me an assortment of new paints.

It was a brotherly friendship, in a way.

You see: since pre-K, there’s been no secret between us.

No secret, until that October. It occurred two years ago. Suddenly, every 3 weeks, our Wednesday activity became impossible for him to practice.

Now, Wednesdays were sacred. Always have been. Since 1983, we’ve been playing the Star Trek Game with the boys. Doug even refused a promotion abroad to remain in town. We wear Dr Spock’s ears, Star Trek t-shirt adorned with our Starfleet command badges, and we eat pizza cut with the Starfleet command pizza cutter. At some point, Gary joined us a little later than usual. But I have to admit that his disinterest grew alarmingly rapidly. Various suggestions emerged to hide his lack of interest: he asked to postpone, to reschedule, and then, offered to quit. He even stopped wearing his Captain Kirk t-shirt on Saturdays (birthday present from me). As he was reluctant to tell the reason, I investigated.

Anonymously, and discreetly.

I found out (because I followed him) that he had been to dinners on the London Eye, had danced in a private bus touring around the town all night long (cost me a fortune in taxi fares!), had attended a chocolate-body-painting party at the British Museum (Egyptian section), had cycled through Whitechapel dressed as the Ripper (at a point, I got a flat tire), and had enjoyed a White Candlelit Supper on a roof (for that, I was pissed when he recognised me in the crowd watching him).

I know, because I also downloaded photographs from his laptop.

And he had done many other things. Oddly enough, it was always with the same group of people. Some were anonymous, and some were minor celebrities or life coach gurus, mind you.

A woman stood out prominently, with stunning hairdos. Strangely, as I scrolled down in his pictures folder labeled “Top secret, for my eyes only”, I noticed that they were all bald, or at various stages of baldness. Or what we called mockingly, “eggheads”. But the worse is that they seemed to enjoy themselves tremendously, from what I sneaked in his photo album hidden under his bed. I also found, neatly tucked in his wallet, pictures of him and the wigged lady, very close to one another, apparently. The wallet concealed pictures taken in some customised photo booth at one of those fancy parties.

The earth opened under my feet. This discovery shook my beliefs and my faith in our friendship.

I felt jealous, and betrayed, and left behind.

And the lady was incredinsanely pretty. So, I decided to confront him. I waited for the right moment. I wanted to take him by surprise, unprepared. I did so while he was fixing the no-fuss-toaster-turned-kitchen-BBQ-grill, ready to make “minute- mayonaised” T-bones.

I crossed my arms, frowning.

– I know what you do.

He jolted and dropped the screwdriver. The shadow of fear froze his features. His eyes became perfect round shapes.

– You do?

– Yes. And I want to do it too.

His eyeballs almost jumped out of their orbits. He bit his lip.

– You can’t!

I frowned harder, and crossed my arms tighter.

– Why?

– Because…I can’t tell. It’s a secret. Cross my heart.

He crossed the screwdriver on his chest. Now, I know how to handle things like that, I am subtle.

– Cross mine! A secret? You keep secrets from me, your best friend? BTW, we signed up for a joint grave, remember?

The post-mortem deal. Who can resist this? It weakened his defense.

[…]

‘The Balding Club and other short stories’, © 2013 Editions Ramses 6

Drop me a line!

Floreva

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Posted by Floreva | Filed under Writing

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My Book : ISBN + Being Printed…

17 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by Floreva in Life in style

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Tags

book, publishing, short stories

Hi Folks!

 

Can I jump for sheer joy?

Yes.

Why?

Because several days ago, my book has received its official ID : the ISBN. The first copy has arrived.

“The Balding Club and other short stories” is born.

 

Image

 

(picture : Copyright FVF 2013)

And the control copy has passed the exam.

So now, it’s being printed…

Image

 

(source : pinterest)

 

Ah, yeah!

I suppose I have to put a bottle of Champagne in the fridge…

More later.

 

F.

 

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My book : final phase

13 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by Floreva in Books, Writing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

book, publishing, Short story, Xmas

Hello everyone!

It’s Xmas already in every shop and store and I grow tired of “Rudolf” and Bing Crosby or Nat King Cole singing oldies goldies non stop.

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(Picture : pinterest)

 

It’s been pretty hectic here those past 2 weeks, I have been editing the short stories in the final draft of the book.

The publisher had sent me the final lay out for approval , along with the covers. It was the final review.

Minor changes here and there, one typo to correct  and off we go!

The 1rst copy is currently being printed (yeeeeah) and once received by the publisher for final review, it’s a GO!

So I haven’t been musing around the blogosphere much, plus it’s Xmas time, so everyone is pretty much busy and social life is bursting with events of all kind.

Nevertheless, I have laid out the marketing plan, played with various ideas that I hope to be creative (how about a signing in a French café? ), friends have been supportive and already eager to order their copy and everything is about to set sail. I have planned a session with a professional photographer (ooooh), to stock some pictures in various locations (mainly in my study).

I’ve been speed reading 1001 ways to market your book, got a huge headache and have swallowed unreasonable amount of dark chocolate lately to fuel my energy.

Soon I ‘ll share with you a bit more about my “bundle of joy”.

Keep you posted, folks.

F.

Deck the halls….falalalalala…

 

 

 

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