So, while Wordwatchers is a tiny mote in a very large ocean, it would be silly of us to ignore the enormous potential of Facebook. We’ve had a Facebook group for a while, where members of Wordwatchers, new, current and past can keep up to date and chat (or at least the sub-set of WW which is already on Facebook), but now we have an actual Facebook page and, with a quick trawl of my friends to get them to “like” the page we acquired enough of a following to establish a top level Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/Worwatchers to be precise.

Worwatchers made a decision to embrace the relatively new phenomenon of “social media” and by Jove we’re giving it a good go!

If you’re already on Facebook feel free to like us and keep up with us perhaps more informally than the blogs on the website.

However, irrespective of how you follow us, we’re very appreciative that you do!

We met up with Chris, a journalist who has written and self-published a children’s book. Also, John, who left us in awe at his dedication (and expenditure) of getting a professional looking novel to market (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chasing-Innocence-ebook/dp/B006Z0KYEQ) without going the traditional route of finding a mainstream publisher. Finally, Sarah, who amazingly has two book projects on the go at the same time (http://sarahpjwhite.com/) and is no stranger to self-publishing, something that Wordwatchers keeps circling around as an alternative idea to begging/pleading/getting lucky with an agent/editor/publisher.

We also decided to “squeeze up” at the next meeting rather than face the slightly uncomfortable proposition that Wordwatchers was too big to support such a number (or at least only a few of us have enough chairs/sitting room space to host the meetings). If the popularity of the group continues to grow, we may have to face this demon again.

It’s also a busy week in particular for Charlotte whose first published novel The Apothecary’s Daughter which has been out in Hardback and Kindle for some time, finally comes out in Paperback tomorrow (2nd). Although a quick check on Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Apothecarys-Daughter-Charlotte-Betts/dp/0749954493/) indicates that they’ve jumped the gun by a few hours and that it’s already available for purchase.

If you’d like a signed copy of the novel and would like to meet Charlotte in person then you will find her a Waterstones in Newbury on Saturday 11th February between 11am and 3pm. The rest of Wordwatchers will be dipping in and out for moral support.

There’s a short article now online at NewburyToday, for those too far from Newbury to pick up a copy of the actual newspaper, available here.

If you’d like to meet Charlotte in person, she’s doing a book signing at Waterstones in Newbury on February 11th between 1100 and 1500.

Wordwatchers are of course, hoping she’ll be swamped with requests for signings, but we’ll be trickling through, during the day, to keep her company and offer moral support.

Note: Find The Apothecary’s Daughter on Amazon here: TAD (Paperback, Hardback and Kindle editions available)

This is my blog, where I tell you my mind,
Then read through the comments, some good and some unkind

This is my blog, my alternate to writing,
It’s meant to entertain, perhaps be enlightening

This is my blog, I’m in hyperlink heaven,
But just six views today, will I reach seven?

This is my blog, you can read it on your phone,
And muse over coffee whether I am “in the zone”

This is my blog, my dedication to James Carter,
As you can see, a poet I am not, but this was just the starter!

**

James Carter is a wonderful and inspirational poet and has been “in residence” at Falkland’s Primary school for the last three weeks. Both my girls love him, so visit his website and as a parent nag your school to get James in, you won’t regret it.

James lives (in a virtual sense) here: James Carter Poet

So it was, sitting in front of the woodburner, poised, ready to scrunch, I learned that short stories are “the literary form for our times” and that we can find out how to write them by joining in with the Telegraph’s creative writing course, delivered as part of their Short Story Club.

I took a look and it seems there’s quite a lively forum developing.  Definitely worth checking it out… and the competition side of things allows you to submit a story a month.

Since Wordwatchers began over ten years ago, we’ve had a tradition for short stories, running two competitions every year.  2012 sees them going as strongly as ever, as John’s blog posting shows.  Let’s see what the year brings as we start sending some of the new batch out in to this brave new world of short story opportunity.

And then my friend, the local who’d suggested the venue, asked me what I thought.

I wrestled with my conscience for a few moments, nodding appreciatively as I sought the right response, and then told him they were actually causing me to question whether I still liked blues as much as I’d always thought, since they were clearly a very good band.  He smiled and suggested we go see what was happening at the Continental Club.

My immediate reaction was to think of the $15 we’d already paid to get in, and the half drunk can of Lone Star that was slowly warming in my hand, not to mention the fact it was a ‘school night’ and going somewhere else meant at least another couple of hours ‘investment’.

But we went, and it was great.  The band, fronted by fiddle man, Warren Hood, was in full swing (and Bluegrass) and suddenly I was alive.  The style of music was irrelevant; just like at Antone’s, these were performers at the top of their game in a small venue, but unlike the sterile set we’d just walked away from, these guys were clearly loving what they were doing – and their personalities shone large on the small stage and made for an infectious evening.

I called out ‘thank you’ to my friend, for rescuing our mediocre evening, and said, “The other place was fine.  But, you know what, I think I’m done with ‘fine’.”

And if you’re wondering why I’m writing this in a Wordwatchers blog, it’s because I’m currently on draft 3 of The Stationary Half of Goodbye, and with the words of a few good people lingering in my ears, telling me that draft 2 was fine and that I should be sending it to more agents, I can’t help thinking I have a much better answer for them now.

What is so particularly wonderful about this win is that Mel wrote her story about two hours before the deadline of our most recent short story competition.  Of course Mel now has absolutely no excuses for not writing as she can clearly knock out 2000 words of brilliant prose in less time than it takes to watch a film.

The January meeting was possibly one of our longest ever, but we did manage to cram in a meal (Multiple “Feasts” from the Jade Cottage in Thatcham), the announcement of the winners of the aforementioned short story competition, followed by the critiques and then all the normal stuff – confessions and promises.

There was also a lengthy discussion about Wordwatchers itself and what to do with our sudden and unusual position of being inundated by membership requests – we have a plan – of sorts – I think!  (Stay tuned all will be revealed once I’ve got it straight in my head)

So once again, congratulations to the now excuse free Mel for winning as well as a big thank-you for hosting the evening.  Well done to Julian for once again taking up his bridesmaid position and to Pam for coming third (jointly, as it turns out, with me!)

Also, well done to Debbie, our newest member who battled through after a 14 hour day to make it back from Windsor in time for food and the important bits of the meeting.  Also, to keep us on our toes, Debbie has also started re-writing her children’s book, as per her promise, giving the rest of us the kick up the backside we sometimes need when it comes to actually fulfilling our monthly promises.

Finally, with the help of the critiques I’ve already rewritten my short story in the hope of putting on a good show here: http://www.writersandartists.co.uk/writers/advice/stage2/competitions – it will be submitted once any additional feedback comes through from my fellow Wordwatchers.

I foresee that 2012 is going to be a very exciting time for Wordwatchers.  I can’t wait.

So, I’m really looking forward to Thursday, for lots of reasons: to see my Wordwatchers friends again, to find who wrote what, to find out who won and, most importantly, to find out the rest of the group thought of my story – because it’s the critique that makes you see what you didn’t want to see – the mistakes, the plot holes, the dodgy grammar, and it’s that, which helps hone my skills as a writer…

And I really do mean watch – Drew, fellow writer, fellow Ooliter, released Finis, the final book in his mammoth 5 years of writing, 4 part saga set in the fictional Universe of the game Oolite (or Ooniverse as we call it), while in the pub.  With his HTC phone acting as a wi-fi hotspot for his laptop he tapped a few keys and Finis went live, in a variety of e-book formats, all over the internet.  Brilliant, simply brilliant.

To get hold of a copy of Drew’s latest novel and to stock up on his back catalogue, visit his site here: http://www.wagar.org.uk/

Drew Wagar launches his last Oolite book, Finis, in the pub from his laptop

The WordWatchers’ Short Story competition runs every six months, open to members only, with stories submitted anonymously and judged in classic Eurovision style (vote for everyone but yourself, award most points to your favourite and then continue down to 1 for your least favourite).  Top 3 stories get called out.

This year we’ve chosen a theme that’s also being run in a national competition so we’ll be submitting in time for this one too.  Let’s see how we get on.