THE STORY SO FAR ...

I’ve always worn two hats as a writer … it helps to keep the work focussed and prevents the readers from becoming confused.  There comes to a stage, however, where one train of thought becomes exhausted and it needs to be left alone for a while.  Also, having spent the past thirty years at the computer, it also seems like a good time to stop (or ease off) writing and embrace other pastimes – if only as a means to recharge the batteries.

And I always wanted to be a writer – much to the derision of the school careers officer – and now, with twenty years as editor of a popular writers’ magazine and some fifty published titles to my credit, I think I can safely claim to have fulfilled that ambition and qualify as a professional author.  At the moment, I feel as though there’s nothing left for me to say on the non-fictional MB&S front although there are still a couple of ideas on the back burner and am now concentrating on my first love – novel writing.

My first novel, a modern Gothic offering called Whittlewood was published in 1997 and still has a modest cult-following, having just been re-released twenty years later with the re-launch of Ignotus Press UK, along with many of those other popular titles that have been sold for silly money on the internet during the intervening years.  I have now managed to complete the first titles in the metaphysical thriller saga, The Temple House Archive (House of Strange Gods, Realm of Shadow, Hour ‘Twixt Dog and Wolf); a cosy-crime series, The Hugo Braithwaite Mysteries (The Devil’s Door, Sea-Wife’s Walk) and an historical vampire series The Vampyre’s Tale (Spartan Dog) – with plenty more to follow.

The plan for the future is to restrict myself to completing one non-fiction title and one novel per year, and concentrate on creating my Japanese garden and a self-sufficiency vegetable plot for relaxation.   What all writers know, however, is that writing is an addiction and one can never be fully cured of the obsession to write – so how those plans will fare remains to be seen.

I’m often asked for advice for new writers but this is extremely difficult to impart since we all approach our craft from different viewpoints.  I spent twenty-years as a creative writing tutor during those magazine-editorial years, but the only real observation I can make today is that it’s got to come from inside you.  There are thousands of competent writers out there but those that can always be relied upon to keep on publishing are those who have the passion in their soul for the language and the written word.  For it is that passion that keeps the ideas flowing; the odd phrase that suggests a whole novel; an experience that triggers an avalanche of sensations as in Proust’s madeleines  that conjure memories produced by putting conscious effort into remembering events, people, and places.

Over the years I’ve met many who have produced their first book and then rest upon their laurels while constantly talking about the next – this success is the culmination of many years of writing but the second never comes easy.  Often the completion of a first book has sucked the writer dry of desire and creativity – and we may have to wait several years for the second; or there may be others but they lack the fire and enthusiasm of the first.  Writers are born not made, since their creativity is forged in the fires of the imagination or, as Oscar Wilde wrote: “Yes: I am a dreamer for a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”

EXTRACT FROM LIFE-WRITES: ORDEAL BY FIRE

MB&S or ‘mind body and spirit’ is one of the fastest growing interests in contemporary publishing. Although many people can be forgiven for thinking that the genre relates to weird folk doing something strange in the woods, the subject matter is now open to readers (and writers) from all walks of life. In the early days of ‘alternative belief’ publications back in the 1970s, the majority of magazines were home-produced, small press affairs and often difficult to locate. Since the advent of the Internet, all that has changed, and there is now a general sharing of spiritual and ‘green’ ideas that do not compromise anyone’s religious or spiritual integrity.

For those with northern European roots – particularly Celtic, Scandinavian and Germanic – there has always been a love of ghost stories, the supernatural, folklore and a strong tradition in fairies, or the ‘little people’. The attraction has persisted down the ages, and even the vampire is alive and well, and living in various prime-time television series. This element of writing has come a long way since the introduction of the 19th century Gothic Fantasmagoria or Tales of the Dead, which inspired Mary Shelley and John Polidori to write Frankenstein and The Vampyre. According to Dr Terry Hale, the popularity of these tales of terror was also closely linked to the ‘emergence of a new literary genre that frequently employed traditional folk-motifs coupled with increasingly sophisticated narrative techniques.’

Today, on the supermarket and newsagents’ shelves we find glossy monthly magazines such as Prediction, Spirit & Destiny, High Spirits, etc., that are aimed at the readers’ developing interested in holistic health, emotional well-being and spiritual guidance. Various forms of divination, from astrology to zoanthropy, also feature widely in each issue. The following are examples of the subject matter found in some recent MB&S magazines, which differ very little from articles regularly featured in mainstream women’s glossies – only the writing style/approach is slightly different by being tailored to suit the ‘alternative’ readership.

Holistic health:

• How to give up addiction

• Bio-energy healing therapy

• Holistic approach to varicose veins

• Ten tips to stop smoking

• Cleansing foods to spring-clean the body and soul

• The health benefits of eating tofu

• Natural beauty

• Soul food

Emotional well-being:

• Tantra, love and sexuality

• Crystals for attracting love into your life

• Toxic relationships

• Love and the limbic brain

• Past life support

• Retail therapy

• Films as a counselling aid

• Celebrate the Equinox/Solstice

Spiritual guidance:

• Fate – things happen for a reason

• My son’s bedroom is a spirit portal

• Life after death

• Bless this house

• What you didn’t know about fairies

• Freaky Friday 13th

• Who’s your inner goddess?

• Revealed at a séance

Divination:

• Numerology

• Horoscopes/Astrology

• Astro yoga

• Teach yourself Tarot

• I-Ching

• Psychic phone lines

• The dream doctor

• Crystal oracles

• Dowsing

The only difference in approach when writing for MB&S magazines and mainstream women’s magazines is the use of appropriate jargon, but we need to be familiar with this in order to produce publishable material. We must also convey the impression that we actually believe in, and have practical experience in the subject we are writing about. And if you’re still not convinced, don’t forget that anything connected with Prince Charles’s interest in alternative health treatment is newsworthy, despite the fact that he is constantly criticised for supporting holistic techniques. There is also a rumour that his daughter-in-law Kate is a kindred spirit, and may become patron of a new charity offering alternative therapies.

There are also the glossy pagan magazines that are available by subscription only. The content of these particular publications covers the same topics as the MB&S magazines, but the emphasis is more on things magical, earth mysteries and the emergence of Wicca as a recognised spiritual belief. This is a much more specialist market and anyone submitting material would need to have more than a passing interest. Generally speaking the pagan publications are non-paying.

Many of the more general aspects of MB&S writing – particularly green issues - are now finding their way into the more orthodox religious magazines. And if we have an interest in issues that are compatible, we can also consider submitting material to the Protestant, Catholic and Jewish publications. Whichever market we are aiming at, we must avoid the polemic or controversial, and maintain a well-balanced and respectful approach to the beliefs of others … even if they are not our own. 

Be warned: Any insincerity or tongue in cheek approach will be instantly rejected.

Between 1997 and 2007 ignotus press was one of the leading independent publishers of esoteric books on the subject of ritual magic, mysticism, traditional British Old Craft and the Egyptian Mystery Tradition - and was often ahead of its time in only accepting typescripts from bone fide magical practitioners who could prove their antecedents.

In 2017 the press is being resurrected to promote some of the old titles that have been out of print for many years and to encourage n...ew writers from within the magical community who are finding it difficult to place their typescripts with more mainstream publishers. The press will be operated under the banner of Coven of the Scales and the commissioning editor for the new enterprise will be Julie Dexter who (along with her husband as Magister) is Dame of the Coven. Melusine Draco will be acting as magical consultant.

All the books listed here are available in e-book format from Kindle/Amazon and often appear on special offer - and in paperback format from FeedARead at special low 'direct from the printer' prices. If you've enjoyed our books then a review on Amazon (co.uk and com) would be greatly appreciated. So let's put Ignotus Press UK back on the map! MD

IGNOTUS PRESS UK: SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
We are looking for new book proposals from both new and established writers, and welcome your inquiry. Ignotus Press UK has been resurrected in 2017 to continue the standard of publishing established in its original incarnation – from 1997 until 2007 it held the reputation of being one of the most innovative and imaginative presses of the time in the mind, body and spirit genre.
We invite submissions direct from authors (including first time authors) and our emphasis is on the practical aspects of magic and spiritual techniques rather than self-help material. We also continue to uphold our policy that all Ignotus Press UK authors be established members of the Path or Tradition they are writing about and have genuine antecedents. And we do check! This is so that we can guarantee that our readers only purchase books from bone fide magical practitioners with a proven background.

Original non-fiction manuscripts are preferred (of around 40,000 words) although Ignotus Press UK will reproduce previously published material if it is deemed suitable from anywhere in the English-speaking world. In the first instance a detailed synopsis and three sample chapters should be submitted, which will be read by authentic magical practitioners. We will consider fiction (min 80,000 words) of a contemporary ritual magical/witchcraft nature but do not accept fantasy, poetry or children’s books. Query letters should be sent in the first instance to:
submissions.ignotuspressuk@gmail.com

Any submission must include the following:
• Cover letter containing a brief description of the project and the contents of the package.
• An outline and/or annotated table of contents.
• A description of the intended market as it pertains to the subject matter including an explanation of why someone would want to buy the book.
• Include a list of known competing titles and how yours differs.
• Brief summary of the author's background and credentials in light of the subject matter.
• A full manuscript, if completed.
• In the case of a proposal, at least three sample chapters.
• Submissions must be in English, double-spaced with 1-inch margins in 12-point type.
• Please number the pages and include a table of contents.
• Complete permissions and citations.
• Total word count for the proposed manuscript.
• Your complete daytime contact information including telephone and email.
• Only send copies of your material and keep the original for your records.

ROYALTIES :
Ignotus Press UK does not pay royalties or advances. The books are produced in e-book and paperback format via Kindle and FeedARead and all payments are made direct into the author’s bank and/or PayPal account. This means that all proceeds from the author’s sales go direct to the author who must declare all income as they are responsible for their own income tax liability. Ignotus Press UK will absorb the cost of ISBN numbering, proof-checking and distribution costs.
Ignotus Press UK is a non-profit making organisation … so what’s in it for us? The satisfaction of maintaining the magical standards of the titles we publish under our banner and ensuring that the authors have an authentic background in the subject they are writing about. The authors have the benefit of being published under and established and respected name in esoteric publishing.

EXTRACT FROM LIFE-WRITES: Thought & Form

We have to accept that whatever we write about often reflects our own personal philosophy, beliefs or morality. Because we feel strongly about something means that we can inject extra passion into dialogue and it can be a useful device in fiction to have one of your characters expound these ideas; conversely, in non-fiction it can bog down the text and turn it into the dreaded ‘opinion piece’. However we intend to use this device, it is essential that the narrative does not descend into megalomania either on the part of our characters, or on us as the writer.

Fictional characters can engage in polemic dialogue/discussion in order to make a point or set a scene, but confrontational nonfiction is generally only acceptable to an editor when submitted by celebrity writers. Outré social or political statements need to be riveting and convincing because a publisher or editor will rarely take a risk on a new writer dabbling in this field, unless there is some authentic background to support the research – whether fiction or non-fiction. A device I used in my novel, Whittlewood, was to allow one of the characters to make certain pertinent social statements by way of an interview that was being conducted as part of the story-line. This gave room for manoeuvre when the journalist queried or wanted to clarify a point.

To see how people put an opinion across in an interview, study how the points are made in those published in the weekend colour supplements to the broadsheets. The interviewer not only reports on responses to pertinent questions, but also comments on appearance, manner and body language to complete the picture. This is one of the best methods of painting pictures by people using economy of language, especially if trying to make a social or political statement without getting bogged down with description and narrative. A good journalist can convey these images in thumb-nail sketches, while not missing out on the essential point of the interview – a trick that most fiction writers would benefit from studying.

Many ideas begin life as personal memories and, although they are important to us as the individuals who have experienced them, unless we have already attained celebrity status, our personal memories and reflections are of little interest to others – particularly editors and publishers. The original idea might have its roots in fact but it may be more marketable to develop it into the form of a short story, or a poem, which can often provide a new dimension to what started out as a straight forward, real-life experience.

Already, the contents of our Ideas Book should be growing at a rapid rate as we discover new ways of expressing ideas, viewpoints and sentiments. This is why, unlike many writing tutorials, I ask you not to use my ideas but to substitute your own for the different categories of ‘things’ and exercises. I have been drawing on what I know (from experience, background, family, personal interest, reading, researching) and, to be a successful writer, you need to draw on what you know, whether on a conscious or subconscious level.

As we’ve already seen, writing about what we know, doesn’t mean restricting our subject matter. To ‘know’, according to the dictionary is: “To have a clear and certain perception of; to recognise from memory or description, to identify; to be convinced of the truth or reality of; to be acquainted with; to have personal experience of; to be familiar with; to be on intimate terms with; to be aware of; to understand from learning or study.” Which means we can also write about those things we care to acquire knowledge about in order to extend our personal viewpoint or perspective for the purpose of scene-setting.

Make a list of all the things you’d like to know more about in your Ideas Book – and start reading.

Handy Hint:

Always keep an eye open for reference books, particularly dictionaries, in charity shops, car boot and yard sales - especially any relating to your own developing fields of interest. These can be obtained at a fraction of the original cost and hasn’t made a dent in your pocket if you discard them at a later date.

Try This Exercise:

Think of several subjects that you would like to know more about and, using the mind mapping technique described earlier, explore areas of how you can use each of them in your own writing. For example, using Japan as the key-word, we might come up with a poem, article or short story based on a visiting Japanese exhibition. Or a kabuki performance. Or a season of Kurosawa films at the National Film Theatre. Or an object found at a car boot sale. Or watching a Japanese tourist on a visit London. Some degree of study or learning about Japan is, of course, necessary but it doesn’t mean that the piece needs to have an in-depth Japanese setting for us to be able to write about it.

• What subject would you choose?

Life-Writes, published by Moon Books is available from Amazon in paperback or e-book format

LATEST EXTRACT FROM LIFE-WRITES

Lost in Thought

Let’s go back to the famous adage of writing about what you know. Nearly everything we write is, in some way, autobiographical. That is, we draw on our own life experiences and turn them into fact or fiction. Think about it. Everyday we tell somebody a ‘story’ about something that has happened to

ourselves, or a friend, the dog, or a member of the family. We recreate the scene for dramatic effect, to make people laugh, gain sympathy, etc., while minimising or maximising our own personal involvement in the story. We do this for several reasons:

• we want to give a particular slant to the story

• the story needs livening up

• the story shows us in a favourable light

• the story doesn’t show us in a particularly favourable light

• we need to abdicate any responsibility for what happened

• we feel the need to appear more important

• we need to shift the blame

The older we are, the more experience and resources we have to draw on for story-telling. Although the media makes a great fuss of any bright, new talent that comes along, those who’ve passed the Big 4-0 have written a larger number of first novels. Of course, it pays to follow the general guideline of writing about what we know but the older we get the more opportunities we have had for observing the behaviour and life-styles of those different to ourselves over a wider passage of time. Even if we are only involved on the periphery of another way of life, the viewpoint of the uninformed observer can also be used to enhance a story-line.

Which, of course, brings us back to the subject of writing about what we know. Here again, we must look at perspective and viewpoint and, if we want to be pedantic, define the meaning of the word ‘know’ in writer’s jargon. Most writing tutorials insist on us sticking to what we ‘know’ and yes, it does give an aura of credibility to the text, but does this mean we can never step outside the world of which we have first-hand experience?

Let’s look at Janice … and Rosie

Janice has had over twenty year’s nursing experience, specialising in midwifery, but she doesn’t want to restrict her writing to hospital romances and articles for nursing journals – she wants to be a science fiction writer. She’s lost count of the times she’s been told that she should ‘stick to what she knows’ and write about nursing, even though she’s fed up with it. What does she do?

Firstly: Janice already has had a couple of articles published in the professional journals and has now been encouraged to try a slightly different angle with some of the weekly women’s magazines. Even though she’s lost interest in nursing as a fulltime career, it can still provide her with that necessary ‘shot in the arm’ that all writers get from seeing their work in print while she works on her fiction. A modest portfolio of non-fiction successes will support the proposal for her novel when she sends it out, because she will be viewed in a more sympathetic light than an absolute beginner. She wouldn’t be the first freelance writer to subsidise novel writing from a successful career in non-fiction.

Secondly: After a rather intense brain-storming session at her local writers’ group, she came up with the core idea of a medical crew aboard a spaceship being sent to investigate why all the new-born babies of the inter-galactic colonists were mysteriously dying. Since human biology was unlikely to alter much in the sf-future, her personal experience added weight to the reality of the explanations to non-medical characters and the dialogue between the medical team. Once she had gotten over her antipathy  towards the inclusion of medicine in the plot, she became really enthusiastic about the idea.

Science fiction writer Rose Oliver, however, highlights the difficulties involved in writing about an unfamiliar world. “I think, for example, that science fiction writing demands more creativity than other genres because while other writers can draw on the past and present for background, plots etc., sf writers have nothing like this to grab hold of from the future. In my story, ‘Cold Pressure’, published in Jupiter magazine the underwater scene was a humdinger to pull together. My protagonists were in a cave’s air pocket. What would they see? Oops! No light. Enter stage right, phosphorescent plankton. The protagonists needed oxygen. Now where would that come from? Then I discovered some seaweed had oxygen-filled bladders. O.K. Let’s make them bigger and popping. Even better, their popping movement would make the plankton light up and grow. The seaweed would then feed off the dead plankton. Yippee! Got a miniworld. Next came drinking water. In a sea? Impossible. Give up on story. A while later, husband mentioned fresh water could be pressed out of fish. Back to story…”

Obviously Rosie Oliver isn’t writing about a world she knows, and even her characters have to be moulded by the science and society of their time. “In the novel I am rewriting, the heroine has been born and brought up under a much higher gravity than those she lives and works with. She has to be more careful not to break things, forcing her to act in a more deliberate manner. It makes her more precise in both thought and action. This, in turn, means she survives dangerous situations with split second judgement when her colleagues cannot. When we first meet her, she has already left a trail of dead partners who did ‘not make the grade’. And as for the bedroom… She is nicknamed ‘The Ice’ for very good reasons. Putting such an unusual rounded character together from a background detail takes quite a bit of time and brainwork!”

Imagine the extra work necessary to evolve a plot from an innovative premise; build the background world from scratch; and align characters with their unusual world. But as we can see, writing about what we know doesn’t necessarily mean placing restrictions on what we can write about. It means utilising personal knowledge, background, interests and experience and moving it into another dimension, if necessary. As with life in general, we have to understand why the rules are there and what purpose they serve before we set our story in ancient Egypt, feudal Japan or the distant future.

Creative energy fuels creativity, so immerse yourself with creative images and stimulating art forms to give fresh ideas and ignite the creative flame.

Secret Step Five is tapping into whatever can unleash creative energy.

But where do those ideas come from?

Roots & Memories

Most of us would say that we come from very ordinary backgrounds. That is, before we start reminiscing and going over the family history and realise that there’s an awful lot of material there from which to draw. This doesn’t mean sitting down and writing a family saga, but it does offer the opportunity to scatter little cameos throughout our writing based on factual or anecdotal family stories. It also encourages us to follow the tangled skeins and discover new information about our own heritage. Look how popular the television series, Who Do You Think You Are? has become – and what remarkable stories have been revealed about very ordinary people.

For example: when leafing through A Dictionary of English Surnames, I came across the entry for ‘Slaymaker div. A weaver’s reed or shuttle. Always a rare name. Formerly more common but now apparently extinct’. Now Slaymaker was my maternal great-grandmother’s maiden name and our relations still lived on the family farm in the village until the late 1970s when the elder son died in a farming accident and the younger son moved away after the father hung himself in the barn. There’s got to be a ‘cameo’ in there somewhere … along with the grandfather who was awarded the Scouting’s Medal of Merit by Lord Baden Powell … a great aunt who claimed to have been a music-hall entertainer although we all suspected her occupation was something far less respectable! … another great aunt who served as a nurse with Edith Cavell. My maternal grandmother was head cook at a Derbyshire country estate that played host to the then Prince of Wales for a shooting party; she could remember talk about the sinking of the Titanic, and below-stairs gossip of the time that linked the Duke of Clarence with Jack the Ripper long before popular television raised the question.

Most families have a ‘sheep fold’ where all the black sheep have been consigned over the years – and very few of us come from pure Celtic or Anglo-Saxon stock. There’s all sorts of mixes in our blood-lines that account for family feuds that go on for generations. Even if we are an ‘only child’, in our immediate family we have four different strains from each of our grandparents. And what about all those ‘uncles and aunts’ that hover about on the periphery, who are no relation at all and yet have always been considered part of the extended family. My father had one such ‘Uncle Jack’ who’d been a military doctor during the Zulu wars and who had brought home a shield and assegai from Rourke’s Drift, having arrived at the site after the battle to treat the wounded. Then there are the internecine squabbles that drive families apart through lies and deceit – not to mention the tales of missing jewellery after the funeral, and the Birthday Book!

Never under estimate your family connections, dead or alive they can provide rich pickings for many years to come, so long as you treat each one like a little gem and not squander them wantonly. As Jeff Heffron writes in The Writer’s Idea Book: “Use heritage – ethnic and familial – as material for your writing. It’s probably the richest source you possess.” And remember, you don’t have to cast them in their own period; you can move them around in time and space, wherever you choose.

Our roots, or family background, often give a personal insight into why we behave towards certain people in a particular manner. Did someone, or something, have a control or influence over us that was either rewarding, or detrimental to our development? My mother could remember living in fear of getting a clout across the back of the legs from her grandmother’s walking stick, which the old girl used to administer when neither of her parents were looking. She never dared tell them because it wasn’t the done thing to report such matters.

It’s not just family who can provide us with background information and character-cameos for our writing. Every place we visit, every passing stranger is grist for our respective writing mill as we observe, catalogue and file away snippets of ‘life’ to be recycled and examined as and when the need arises. What about the old chap whom you wave to every morning as he sits by his window day after day? You haven’t a clue who he is, or why he sits there, but there’s a short story, article and poem in there if you think about it hard enough.

As we sit in cafes, or wander around the museum, there are dozens of ‘invisible’ people all with a story to tell.

LIFE-WRITES EXTRACT

Character Building

It’s been said that ‘we are what we eat’, and food can also play an important part in fiction writing as a device to give insight into a character’s background and personality. How and what we eat can speak volumes about a person and their lifestyle. If we wish to convey wealth then our characters will consume copious amount of champagne; poverty can be summed up with bread and dripping. Lavish banquets can set the scene in historical fiction, while wartime rationing gives a sense of camaraderie in coupon sharing. Food fads are also a sign of the times and our characters will need to reflect what is ‘in’ and what is ‘out’, especially if the fiction is a period piece.

Consider that every part of the world has its own instantly recognisable style of preparing and offering food, and can help set the scene for readers; to jog memories and draw them into your story. How many of these scenes can you ‘see’ just from a brief mention of the food?

• Freshly baked bagels from a Jewish Sunday morning bakery;

• Traditional fish ‘n chips in an English seaside resort;

• Christmas cake baking in grandma’s kitchen;

• A trucker’s breakfast from an old fashioned ‘greasy spoon’;

• Roast lamb in a Greek taverna;

• The distinctive aroma of a Parisian street café;

• The spice market in Istanbul;

• Toffee apples from a visiting fair;

To make them come alive, our characters need these evocative settings and what better device than using food as a backdrop. But don’t do as one budding novelist did. Her male lead was a bit of a ‘foodie’ and whenever he and the heroine got together there was a complete menu offered up at every encounter, complete with a vintage wine! By chapter six I was feeling distinctly queasy and by the end of the book both characters would have weighed in at least 20 stone! Not ‘over-egging the pudding’ is a culinary hint worth remembering in fiction writing.

When writing period pieces, it’s also worth studying books of etiquette for the period, which can provide hours of entertainment and offer all sorts of ideas for domestic incidents that will make the characters more convincing. The newly-wed wife who entertains her in-laws for the first time; a young man’s first formal ball; covering up a servant’s mistake; the ordeal of the ballroom. There are still old books on etiquette to be found through second-hand booksellers that give advice on such

matters. Such as: The Book of Etiquette by Lady Troubridge. First published in 1926 and remained in print until the 6th impression in 1976. Etiquette for Gentlemen and Etiquette for Ladies from Ward

Lock. Not dated so probably a much earlier version than the above. The Gentlemen warns that ‘a man may forgive you for breaking his daughter’s heart, but never for breaking his hunter’s neck!’

Etiquette by Emily Post (1922) for the American version of acceptable manners, which vary slightly from the English and often more draconian. The books also contain valuable information on what to serve and when … ‘Second helpings are not offered at dinner-parties’ … as well as suggested menus for afternoon tea, informal luncheons, batchelor dinners, etc., and more importantly how to eat them.

Food can add splashes of colour to a story. Did you know, for example that although bread, ale, meat and fish were the staple diet of medieval England, fish often came from as far away as

Iceland, and as early as 1480 over 100,000 oranges were being imported? Where did this snippet come from? Food & Feast in Medieval England by Peter Hammond, who is author on several

academic books of the period. Imagine a romantic interlude whereby the heroine tastes her first orange; or meets the stranger who accompanies the Icelandic catch …

Another Sutton title, Memory, Wisdom & Healing: The History of Domestic Plant Medicine by Gabrielle Hatfield, chronicles the historic use of plants by ordinary people for coughs and colds,

cuts and bruises, burns and other everyday ills. The author is an Honorary Research Associate at the Royal Botanic Gardens whose research on domestic plant remedies won her the Michaelis-Jena Ratcliff Prize for Folklore. Imagine how this sort of information on domestic plant medicine could enrich a story – past or present.

Similarly, Dutch Egyptologist Lise Manniche gives us An Ancient Egyptian Herbal and Sacred Luxuries: Fragrance, Aromatherapy and Cosmetics in Ancient Egypt. The first title includes the use of plants in the garden, home and kitchen, as well as those used in medicine; the second focuses on the importance of perfumes and cosmetics. Imagine your ancient Egyptian heroine experimenting with a new cosmetic … in just the same way as a 2012 teenager trying out a new Boots’ eye shadow.

While kicking all these ideas around in our head, let’s think for a moment about the run-away foodie success of Joanne Harris’s novel, Chocolat, that reflected the not so subtle conflict between the ‘solemnity of the church’ in provincial France, and a pagan hedonistic delight of chocolate. A whole novel woven around the wicked little cocoa bean!  A writer’s characters can’t live by bread alone!

Handy Hint:

Don’t be afraid of using academic books for source material. You’ll often come across information not generally available to add zest to your story. You’ll also find that academics are more generous with their time and less precious about their copyright than commercial authors. If you require further information or clarification of a particular point, an emeritus professor of history will generally be more than happy to provide the material you require.

Try This Exercise:

In Chapter One we casually mentioned the idea of creating a ‘sports luncheon’ for the ladies while the men are glued to the television, participating in, or off watching the event. Try creating an article or short story featuring a lunch to coincide with a major sporting event – Ryder Cup (golf); Cheltenham Gold Cup (racing); Grand Prix (motor racing); Test Match (cricket); Cup Final (football); Twickenham (rugby) – that you might offer to a women’s magazine or a sporting publication.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The next extract form Life-Writes: Where do writers get their ideas from …

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

I have an impressive collection of cookery books – some belonged to my mother and grandmother, others collected by myself over the years. There are regional and foreign cook books; several Mrs Beeton’s from the early and mid 1900s; an ancient copy of the French classic Larousse Gastronomique; farmhouse cookery and wild food from the hedgerows … not to mention a dozen of the basic how-to variety including a complete set of the collectable week-by-week magazine, Supercook, from the early 1970s.

For a long time now, cookery books have been regularly listed high on the bestseller lists. We have recipes from Victorian kitchens, cottage kitchens, summer picnics, afternoon teas, Christmas feasts, seasonal and regional suggestions, foreign food ... cooking for students and singles, catering on a budget ... in fact, you name it and there’s probably a cookery book in print to cater for it. Not to mention the ‘how to write about food’ guides.

And you don’t have to have a cordon bleu diploma or be a ‘kitchen goddess’ to write about food or cookery. There is an extremely large and lucrative market place for the cookery writer and whether you are a blossoming master chef, or simply wanted to share the recipes from your great-grandmother’s handwritten note book, there are lots of opportunities for entering the world of food publishing in the form of books and articles.

The next time you visit any large bookshop, take a look at the number and variety of the cookery books on sale - and make a note of the publishers. Next consider the large number of women’s magazines that feature a cookery page and study the depth of detail that goes into each article. But it doesn’t stop at the women’s magazines … there is often a seasonal recipe included in Home Farmer, Farmer’s Weekly, or game recipes in The Shooting Times. Any of the field sporting magazines would probably be interested in a simple recipe showing what to do with ‘it’ once you’ve caught it! Then there are hundreds of different local recipes for the multitude of regional magazines …

Without going any further for the moment, we can see the tremendous amount of potential outlets in this field of writing, not to mention restaurant and book reviews. If you can realise the potential and see yourself fitting in to this area of creative writing, invest in a couple of how-to books on the subject and add them to your reference shelf. Unfortunately most of the ‘food writing’ books listed on Amazon don’t include basic how-to advice but the following might help: Janet Lawrence was cookery correspondent for The Daily Telegraph and in The Craft of Food & Cookery Writing, she tackles that all-important question of how to identify a winning formula for a cookery book, and explores the possibilities for selling food. Drawing on her experience as an author of numerous cookery books, and an experienced writer of food and cookery articles for many different publications, the guide covers everything the aspiring food and cookery writer needs to know.

The Recipe Writer’s Handbook. Barbara Gibbs Ostmann and Janet Baker are experienced food editors who know that writing recipes is a tricky business. To achieve success a recipe must be written with impeccable accuracy and unambiguous clarity and this book offers a wide range of information for both the novice and seasoned cookery writer. Will Write For Food by Dianne Jacob is a complete guide to cook books, blogs and reviews for anyone wanting to be a food writer. It focuses on the American market rather than the UK but has a lot of sound information for those wishing to branch out in this direction.

Like Faust with his madeleines, food can be extremely evocative - as this extract from a nostalgic article from The Countryman shows:

The men have been out in the fields since dawn and will be looking forward to the supper spread out on the kitchen table. Although it’s school tomorrow, we have been allowed to stay up late to take part in the feast. No standing on ceremony here. The scrubbed boards provide the only backdrop for the huge ham waiting for carving, with its thick outer layer of white fat and breadcrumbs. It’s our father’s last job for the day and everyone is quickly served with a generous helping of the succulent, home-cooked meat. Bowls of crisp salad and juicy tomatoes straight from the garden, and buttered new potatoes lifted just that morning, sprinkled with parsley. Hard-boiled eggs from the hen house, and home-made pickles; fresh bread with rich butter and cheese complete the meal …

I can still taste that supper and when I sent a copy of the magazine in which the piece was published to a childhood friend, she immediately remembered those hay-making suppers, which took us both back to being about eight-years old again … We fidget from the hayseeds and dried grass that have crept under our clothes and into our shoes, but we don’t want to move and break the spell…

Articles don’t necessarily have to be about food to be enriched by the subject. I recently read a travel piece that offered some tantalising cameos of the cuisine served aboard a French river cruise ship. There, tucked away in the wealth of detail about people and places were some succulent morsels of the daily fare for the passengers – and resulted in the article being filed away for future reference when a holiday moment occurs! In fact, everywhere we go – both home and abroad – most of us will find a local culinary moment that is worth storing away to share with a readership at some later stage. Such as a wonderful (and colourful) buffet lunch at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul; or the fabulous fresh sea-food platter served in a restaurant behind the ramparts at St Malo.  Remember that no one can access the same experiences and memories, and that offers you the opportunity to generate unique responses to those situations.

Regional food can also be dove-tailed to provide endless topics for articles, both regionally and nationally, and in a wide variety of publications. Here we can draw on family background, nostalgia, memories (and not necessarily our own), as I did when writing another Countryman piece on my partner’s memory of cherry picking in the Kent orchards:

We break for a hasty lunch of thick salad sandwiches of fresh-picked tomatoes, crisp lettuce and the sharp tang of spring onions, all pulled straight from the garden earlier that morning. There’s homemade lemonade and ginger beer for us children, while our mother pours a thick brew of tea from her battered cream thermos flask …

Bringing it up to date with my own ‘four penny worth’ …  A quick and economical supper that his mother often made from any leftover fruit was a cherry batter served with ice cream or custard. I recently found a similar recipe in a 1930s edition of The Woman’s Treasury for Home & Garden, discovered at a local car boot sale. “The cherries were placed in a greased baking dish and sprinkled with caster sugar. They were then covered with batter (the kind used for Yorkshire pudding, but sweetened) and baked in the oven for 40 mins.” Just add the ice cream and step back in time …

Here are a few more possibilities to consider that could earn a few bob as mini-features, readers’ letters or handy kitchen hints:

• Local magazines and newspapers are always interested in the wide range of produce on offer at farmer’s markets, particularly when this involves a local family. Include a seasonal recipe featuring an item of produce.

• Recommended mart breakfasts can often find a place in farming publications such as Farmer’s Weekly. There are some amazing little places tucked away in the corners of some of our traditional market halls. Make sure your ‘menu’ is mouth-watering, not swimming in grease!

• Home Farmer magazine ran a series featuring recipes from around the UK – ‘North West Nosebag’ included simple ones from the Lake District and Liverpool; while ‘Emerald Isle Cuisine’ included farm house kitchen ideas not forgetting the Saturday morning must-have – the Irish breakfast or Ulster Fry!

• Simple snacks and inexpensive ideas are always popular – for example: ‘Warming Toast Toppers’ – but do make sure that you include something for everybody. I get quite excited about new ideas but this enthusiasm quickly evaporates because nearly all the recipes contain cheese and I have a serious cheese allergy.

• Growing food with no garden – you would be surprised exactly how much food you can produce on an average sized patio and these ideas could earn prizes from the readers’ letters pages in a wide variety of publications.

And what about those wonderful 1950s home-from-school treats of cheese and potato pie made with butter and half a pint of cream (or full milk); bubble and squeak (or bubble and squelch as it’s called in some areas) and ‘eggy bread’. The ideas might give the food police heart failure but on a cold winter’s day an editor might just think it’s a tastier alternative to beans on toast.

Old fashioned remedies and household hints are also popular but these need to have an unusual or unexpected spin to bring them up to date. For example, it’s a well-known fact that onions are a magnet for bacteria and that they’ve been used in sick rooms to ‘draw’ the germs for generations. We’ve known of cut onions being used in racing kennels to prevent kennel sickness. This was normal operating procedure in 150-dog kennel when there was sickness about and none of the greyhounds ever came down with it.

Remember:  For the writer, everything is food for thought.