Tag Archives: Wuthering Heights

B is for Bronte

Posted on by

20130331-132454.jpg

Emily Bronte was born in 1818 in Yorkshire, England and is best known for writing my favourite novel of all time, Wuthering Heights. Although published in 1847, it wasn’t until 1850 that her name appeared on it.

With her siblings Anne, Charlotte and Bramwell, she spent her childhood writing stories and creating fantasy worlds, inspired by Bramwell’s toy soldiers.

Wuthering Heights is a classic piece of English Literature, but when it was initially published it was controversial because of its subject matter (mental and physical cruelty) and hence received mixed reviews at the time.

Just like Austen, Emily died young, at the age of 30 and it was rumoured that she was working on a second novel. Unfortunately, no trace of it has ever been found.

My favourite Emily Bronte quotes:

“If I could, I would always work in silence and obscurity, and let my efforts be known by their results.”

“I have dreamed in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water and altered the colour of my mind.”

“A person who has not done one half of his days work by 10 o’clock, runs a chance of leaving the other half undone.”

Because I’m a true romantic, I love Emily Bronte’s passion for her characters and her setting. The Yorkshire moors became a character itself under her touch. It wouldn’t surprise me if there had been a part of Emily that was in love with Heathcliff herself, I know I am 🙂 *sighs* How I would so love to write like that!


My Favourite film adaptation of Wuthering Heights with Timothy Dalton as Heathcliff (PHWOA!)

So do you think it helps to be a tiny bit in love with your hero?

Related articles

Fun With The Liebster

Posted on by

This is a loooong post….but I did have to answer 22 questions! 😉

I’ve been nominated for the Liebster Award, twice. There seems to be different versions of this floating about, so I’ll combine the two when it comes to nominating 🙂

Firstly, by Blackrooster for this version:

20130305-121405.jpg
And then by Mandy Webster at Write on The World for this version:

20130305-121547.jpg

Thank you soooo much, both of you! 🙂

So I’m sure most of you know the rules by now of these things, listing facts about yourself, but this one involves asking specific questions. I do like questions, and here I get to answer 22! Lol

Blackrooster asked me:
1. Your favorite book is… I have a couple. The first would be Wuthering Heights and my second would be Emotional Geology by Linda Gillard

2. What bugs you the most about the times we live in? Hmmm, that’s a hard one! Probably that people don’t care about each other anymore. Everyone seems to be thinking of number one, what’s in it for me 😦

3. What do you love the most about the times we live in? The Internet! Although The Hubster will be shaking his head lol. Look at the people who are now part of my life who would never have been so 20 years ago. It’s brought people together!

4. Do you have a nickname, if yes, what it is? No, I’ve never really had one to be honest. Boring I know.

5. Do you have a pen name, if yes, what it is? Ahhhhh, well, I have this dream, that me and The Hubster will write a book together and then we’ll be Vikki Roberts *sniggers*

6. When did you start writing? Fiction, in 2010, when I joined a creative writing class in the September. But I’ve been journal writing for years.

7. Is the computer your friend? My iPad and my Mac are my friends 😉

8. What’s your most pronounced personality trait? Oh gawd, naivety? Trying to see the good in people when sometimes there really isn’t any. I’m too trusting and end up getting hurt.

9. When do you think robots will be “smart” enough to do our dirty work for us? Ha ha ha, I hope not, not ever!

10. Who’s the funniest person you know? Probably my daughter, her wit is so quick and sharp…I don’t know where she gets it from lol.

11. Horror or comedy? Comedy, definitely!

Mandy asked me:
1. What made you start blogging? I think I started blogging in 2004 on LiveJournal. I used it like a diary, all personal stuff, but then I stopped in 2008 and haven’t been back to it. There’s lots of stuff on there that isn’t for public consumption lol (it was friends only). One day i’ll go back and read it all then delete it. I started again in 2011 when I did an online writing course. It was their suggestion.

2. You have one month, unlimited funds, and zero repercussions; what do you do? Oh wow, now that’s hard! Lol. I would probably spend it on eating at the finest restaurants! I love food, especially gourmet stuff and of course, there would be no weight gain 😉

3. What is your Spirit Animal? (Hint: does not have to be a REAL animal). Not sure, but I’ve always been drawn to foxes. When I was a child and came face to face with my first one I was scared but fascinated. Then, about 2007 I killed two. It was awful 😦 I had a huge 4 wheel drive at the time and they ran out in the road. I was on my own. A woman stopped to help me, or rather comfort me as I was hyperventilating and then 2 young guys stopped and moved them out of the road. It was awful 😦 I guess I’ve been trying to make up for that ever since, I feed them when I can.

4. Remember that one thing you did that you hoped nobody would ever find out about? Go ahead and tell that story now? I’m pretty much an open book and believe that when making decisions, don’t do anything you’d be ashamed of later. I try to live by that. It’s really not worth the guilt is it? Ok, nearly beating (note I said nearly) my son over the head with a remote control because he’d got me so angry (he was about 12 at the time). But, like I said, I knew it was wrong, I knew I’d hate myself (not to mention how it would affect him), I knew how I’d feel so I stopped, and apologised. I just snapped. It had never happened before and never happened again.

5. If you could have dinner with any 3 people, living or dead, who would you choose?
I watched Midnight in Paris for the first time recently. Oh wow!!! So it would have to be Ernest Hemingway, F Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein!

6. When was the last time you tried something new, and what did you do? Last week I started Fasting. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be lol

7. What is your favorite film of all time? My Fair Lady

8. Favorite book(s) of all time? See above 🙂

9. If you could go 10 years into the past and tell yourself one thing, what would it be?
Oooooo, that’s a good one. To not take things for granted, your life can change dramatically in just one day! Oh, and warn myself about things that were gunna happen.

10. I’m thinking of taking a vacation; where should I go? Anywhere in Italy!

11. Best reason you called in sick to work, when you weren’t actually sick at all? I’ve pulled sickies, occasionally, but not for any really good reason. Usually to go to job interviews for another job lol

So my nominations are (and please choose whichever logo you want):

Janet at Postcard Fiction
Catherine Johnson
Pauline Conolly
Rebecca Bradley
Cara Thereon
Sara Flower
Mel at Feather Pens Tartan Dreams
Pam at RoughWighting
Lori at Poetry Patio
Peter Germany
Marina at findingtimetowrite

And here are my 11 questions for you lovely bloggers:

1. If you could choose a new name for yourself, what would it be?
2. What is your favourite form of exercise?
3. What is your favourite smell?
4. What is your guilty pleasure?
5. What do you wish you were better at?
6. If you had a choice (but only one), would you rather have a cleaner, a personal shopper or a personal trainer?
7. What 3 things would you take to a desert island?
8. If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
9. If money was no object what would be the first thing you’d buy?
10. What was the last meal you ate?
11. Milk or plain chocolate?

Can’t wait to read your answers, I’m nosey like that 😉

Related articles

The Booker Award

Posted on by

The lovely Whitney over at A Serendipitous Happenstance and the lovely Anneli at Words From Anneli have both nominated me for The Booker Award 🙂

20120831-080348.jpg

This is a new one I’ve only started seeing recently so I’ll give it a go 😉

The rules for the booker are to list your 5 favourite books:

1. Emotional Geology by Linda Gillard

2. Into The Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes

3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

4. Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue

5. The Writers Book of Days by Judy Reeves

And then pass it on…..

Liz at Libro Full Time
Rebecca at Novel Girl
Ali at HeavelAli
Nicky Wells
Joanne Phillips

If I didn’t tag you, but you want to take part, please feel free 🙂 Tell me in the comments, what are your favourite books?

Related articles

Musing About The Muse

Posted on by

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my “muse” 🙂

I even looked the word up in the Oxford English Dictionary lol

noun
1 MUSE (in Greek and Roman mythology) each of nine goddesses, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who preside over the arts and sciences.

2a woman, or a force personified as a woman, who is the source of inspiration for a creative artist:
Yeats’ muse, Maud Gonne

Ok, so she’s female is she? Lol….nope, sorry, I’m not buying that.

I was under the impression (don’t ask me why) that my muse was suppose to be a real person, but I’ve seen so many writers refer to their muse as part of themselves. Ok, interesting idea. So if my muse can be almost like an imaginary person, a part of me, that means I can have a male muse doesn’t it?

You can probably tell from my writing that I have a dark side. You might also have been able to tell that one of my favourite books is Wuthering Heights, and that I’ve got a bit of a thing for Heathcliff *sniggers*

Sooooo, I’m hoping that my muse kind of looks like this lol

20120615-101808.jpg
Photo from Elyse Snow

Could my muse be the “male” dark and broody part of my character?

Ok, probably not, so I’m still confused lol

Tell me about your muse……

I’m still struggling about the idea that it’s not a real person lol 😉

Related articles

Examples of Bad Writing?

Posted on by

Came across this list a couple of days ago…. The Bulwer Lytton Competition is a comp for bad writing. The winner is the person who comes up with the worst opening. I didn’t think some of them were too bad lol.

On my course at the moment I’m studying beginnings, middles and ends. I can’t make up my mind whether starting with dialogue is better than starting with a sense of place. Surely, the best opening sentence is one that makes your reader want to continue….full stop. It has to prick their interest….and even some of those bad ones I was intrigued about 😉

I was tagged again by Stacey through the Writers Platform-Building Campaign but I won’t be passing this one on….otherwise we’ll all end up being tagged about 20 times lol

Stacey asked me…..

1. Coffee or tea?
Tea mainly, but, I’m very partial to a Costa Latte 😉

2. Early bird or night owl?
Both lol….I tend to stay up late, and I tend to have a problem sleeping more than about 5 hours. My favourite part of the day is sunrise 🙂

3. If you could speak another language, what would it be?
Has to be Italian! I love the country, the food, the way they talk. My great grandparents were Italian and part of a Trapeze Troup lol.

4. What’s you favourite book and why?
My favourite all time book is Wuthering Heights. What can I say, I’m a romantic at heart.

5. Sweet or savoury?
My husband says my eyes light up when we go out or a meal and I’m given the dessert menu, so it has to be sweet lol.

6. Paper book or eBook?
Paper, definitely!!!!! I love real books, I have thousands lol.

7. Least favourite subject at school?
Anything physical, ie PE/games. I’ve never been sporty by any stretch of the imagination.

8. Do you have any strange habits?
Strange? Hmmmm…..what’s strange? Ok, I’m not OCD or anything like that, but, when I’m in the car and I have the stereo on I have to have the volume set at an even number *snigger* Please don’t ask me why, I haven’t a clue 😉

9. One place in the world you would love to visit?
There are loads…..too numerous to name lol…..I haven’t even see all the places I want to see in my own country yet lol

10. If you could choose a superpower what would it be?
To hear what people are thinking….dangerous I know, but at least you’d know where you stood 😉

11. Favourite smell?
Rose, creosote and paraffin….not necessarily in that order….my favourite perfume is CoCo by Chanel….I also really like the smell of coconut.

This tagging business reminds me of the Meme’s I use to do on LiveJournal lol

I managed to do some work on my course yesterday and before I knew it I think I found myself writing a romance lol. Read all about Diana and her key here. I don’t think I’ll ever run with it as a real story, if you know what I mean. It was just an exercise. Quite enjoyed it though. I’m kind if thinking along the lines that perhaps she never told Gino she was pregnant and perhaps she ends up back in Italy trying to find her son, who in turn is trying to find his father…..hmmmm….could work. My next Nano? Lol…..of course, I’d have to spend lots of time in Italy…..research darling, research 😉

It just goes to show you that by being given an item that you have to pair with a character, how a huge story can then grow out of that. Perhaps I could use it as the basis for my pocket novel when I do Sally Quilford’s workshop next week. I’m not so use to writing lighthearted stuff, but, if I want to submit any stories to the women’s magazines I really should make an effort not to be so dark lol

I’ve also posted some endings on my other blog…..hmmmm….I think they really sum up what I was saying about my writing being quite dark LMAO! 😦

Yesterday’s prompt wasn’t exactly inspiring anything lighthearted, so it ended up being about a woman in a graveyard, who meets a young boy, his eyes are the colour of a crows wing. Today’s prompt is write about picking fruit but I’m off up to London today, so who knows when it will get done lol

Am loving this cartoon I saw on FaceBook 🙂

20120217-104905.jpg

I’ve Been Tagged lol

Posted on by

As part of the Writers Platform-Building Campaign I’ve been tagged by Sarah to answer 11 questions.

The 11 questions Sarah has given me are:

1. What is your weapon of choice?
Ha ha ha, it has to be a fountain pen…..very dangerous in the wrong hands 😉

2. What is the name of the first story you wrote voluntarily?
It was Nanowrimo 2010….. 65,000 words lol. A story about a family, murder, suicide, corruption, and an undercurrent love story. It’s still not finished. It’s WIP title is The Secret Keepers

3. What genre do you write?
Hmmmm…..I’m not sure lol. Everything I write has a dark undercurrent. I’m not sure it really fits into a specific genre, contemporary fiction? 😦

4. Besides reading and writing what are at least 2 of your favourite past times?
I like watching films and I’m an Internet junky…..can I say blogging? Lol 😉

5. What is the coolest/strangest thing you’ve ever done?
Coolest was probably front row at a small Oasis gig…..strangest, for me was probably flying to Toronto all on my own to stay 4 nights at a convention where I didn’t really know anyone. I was sooo brave 🙂

6. What is the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever heard?
Never, ever give up. If you want to write…..write!

7. What are your 5 most used websites?
Wordpress- FaceBook – Google – Amazon – Wikipedia (I visit every single one every day!)

8. What is your favourite book, author, movie?
My books change frequently….at the moment it’s Into The Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes as for author? I couldn’t possibly pick one. It’s a toss up between Fay Weldon – Linda Gillard – Anita Shreve
Movies are My Fair Lady and Wuthering Heights, the one with Timothy Dalton in (swoon!)

9. If you could be invisible for 1 day what would you do?
Spend the day following a friend or family member around *evil snigger* 😉

10. What are your hopes for your writing future?
To have something published 😉

11. Is there anything else we should know about you?
No, not really, apart from the fact that I’m a huge cat and dog lover lol

So here are my 11 questions 🙂 I’ve tried to be, oh, what’s the word? I’ve tried to use questions that my tagee’s (is that actually a word?) could possibly use as writing prompts….in fact, hmmmm, I might use a couple of them myself lol

1. What thing have you written that you’re most proud of?
2. What are you working on at the moment?
3. Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years time?
4. You buy an old lamp, whilst cleaning it a genie appears…you know the rest lol. Your 3 wishes are?
5. List 2 of your bad habits? Come on, we all have some.
6. If you were a superhero, what special power would you have?
7. Tell us the name of one of your characters, one you really like?
8. What scares you?
9. Sum up your personality in 3 words?
10. Name 2 of your vices?
11. Do you have a pet peeve/hate? What is it?

I’m tagging:

Michael Haynes
Barbara McDowell
Yikici
Jamie Dement
Gwen
Jennifer McMurrain
Sorcha
Sherri Hutchins
RaeAnn

I managed to catch up with my animal dream prompt, which turned into a story of a woman waking up naked in the tigers cage at the zoo. Only she wasn’t actually in the cage, she was outside of it….work that out lol 😉 Yesterday’s Jewel prompt inspired a strange story of a housekeeper who puts on the ring of her employer, which she then can’t remove……today’s prompt is black as a crows wing which sounds rather interesting 😉

Really enjoyed my class Wednesday night, and got some great comments on my short story “Eating Out”…. Will now be submitting it to a comp and a magazine 🙂