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Hello! Welcome to my newsletter for New Year 2020. In this issue:
I hope you had a refreshing holiday and are now feeling the pull of exciting new tides.
Dave and I enjoyed a blissful hibernation. We unplugged the internet and read books, watched movies, cooked epic feasts. All was calm, all was bright.
Outside, meanwhile, our neighbourhood was hitting the news. On Christmas Day, a snowman flew into the front garden of a nearby house and destroyed a brick shed, a fence and a tree. The snowman was a Premier League footballer in fancy dress, his flying machine was a 5.2-litre Lamborghini.
If this accident had a genre, it would be Christmas viewing. No-one was hurt, not even the house. To complete the festive tone, the footballer had recently instagrammed himself singing Walking In The Air (click the pic for the full recital) .
We were entirely unaware until friends came visiting several days later, bringing the gossip of the connected world. 'You haven't heard? The daftest story of the season happened around the corner and you missed it?'
So yes, we really got away from it all.
This was a gift from my college friend Ewan. He knows - through exceedingly auld acquaintance - that I am mad for Kate Bush. She was the muse of my teenage years. She was so mysterious, so fearlessly herself. Also, a fine role model for wuthering hair. Anyway, the book spines in this picture are all titles of her songs. Aren't they perfect? This will hang in my study. 
Work in progress
Noveling... The working days of December seem an age ago, but the nuance edit of Ever Rest is going well. Are you thinking I'll fiddle for ever? I promise, it will stop. Here's a blogpost I wrote after I finished the long haul of writing Lifeform Three. One day, I'll read the manuscript of Ever Rest and not change another thing. That day is coming.   
Editing and mentoring... I'm scheduled to start a ghostwriting project this month. So far, my client has not surfaced from holidays, so Ever Rest is appreciating the attention. 
For YOUR work in progress!
If you've made some writing resolutions, here's a quiet reminder about my Nail Your Novel books. Take book 1 if you need guidance to draft and revise, in workbook version if you like workbooks. Take book two to troubleshoot your characters and book three to pep up your plot. All are available in ebook and paperback.
And have you ever considered...
If you're a seasoned writer looking for new opportunities in 2020, have you thought of ghostwriting? I can teach you how. Check out my professional ghostwriting course.
Online critiques
On 12th January I'll be a guest critiquer on Pop-Up Submissions, an online show run by London literary agent Peter Cox and the Litopia literary community.
They'll pick a handful of manuscript submissions and we'll discuss them. You can watch live or catch up on YouTube - and here are their previous episodes. If you're a Litopia member, you can submit a piece and it might be one they give to me!
An upcoming webinar
I'm also in talks about a writing craft webinar. Jane Friedman (publishing expert and host of my ghostwriting course) is running a series of webinars on writing and publishing, and we're chatting about ideas. Drop me an email if you'd like to suggest a topic. Date to be confirmed!
I'm looking forward to reading...
On 1st January 2020, John Wyndham's Day of the Triffids comes out of copyright in Canada. On that day, my good friend John Whitbourn (award-winning author of alternate history novels) is releasing his own sequel, The Age of the Triffids. For copyright reasons it's only on sale in Canada, but this is the age of the world wide web. If you're not in that country and Triffids are your thing, you surely have a friend in Canada who'd get it for your birthday...
On the blog
I published a post for everyone who flopped gratefully to the end of Nanowrimo on 31st November: Finished NaNoWriMo - 5 ways to use the holidays to keep your new writing habits without revising too early. And if you're now ready to work again, use this post from my archives - how to reboot your writing brain after a break. If there's a topic you'd like me to cover, ping me an email.
A little horse
These darkest blustery months have been unsettling for the little horse. We've had hair-raising rides in high winds that reduced us both to quivery jelly. This was puzzling. Bad weather hadn't bothered him much before. He is an outdoors creature and he grew up in Ireland, where they have fifty words for rain. And what happened to the harmony we found in summer? We went everywhere, confidently and happily.
'Some horses are upset by the short days etc,' said wise people at my yard. 'Try a magnesium supplement.'
I believed them about the seasonal change; I noted he was more alert when autumn arrived. But this could be corrected by magnesium supplements? Reader, I work regularly on a medical paper. I have A levels in chemistry and biology. I am scornful of 'miracle' substances that do not require a doctor or vet prescription.
Still, it seemed the only option.
'It'll take a week to work properly,' I was told. I doubted it would work at all.
I saw a change the very next day.
Handling and riding him, he was more calmly tuned to me. When I left, he watched me with big-eyed attention as if he'd been given a love potion (though I'm sure he looks at everyone like that). 
I also changed his bit. A few months ago, my instructor recommended a different kind, but he recently became harder to steer. I swapped back to the original one, which he now seems happier in. I also got rid of a waterproof exercise rug I think was restricting him, or making a disconcerting rustling noise. Or perhaps it never bothered him at all, but I've decided it's cursed because he was wearing it on our gelignite rides. I am taking a scientific approach, as you can see. Anyway, it's now on eBay.
With a few other technical alterations, which are too nerdy to bother you with, I'm feeling him regain confidence and relaxation. Our summer harmony is still there. I just had to do the right things.
Though discovering those things, even with the expert help of my instructor, seems to be random guesswork with a dash of superstition. And a love potion.
Til next time
R xxx
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Copyright © 2019 Roz Morris, All rights reserved.


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