tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8272799522537585912012-02-16T19:32:34.785-08:00Penny Grubb's blogPenny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.comBlogger781100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-53313129353671472682011-12-21T16:15:00.000-08:002011-12-21T16:15:46.509-08:00Took my eye off the ball and stepped into the virus trapSo easily avoided, but alas I'll have to sneeze it out now. And there is an up side.
So much has happened in the last few weeks that no-one's feet have touched the ground. The day jobs kept a grip on Monday to Friday and the book signings and related stuff filled Saturdays and Sundays. So it was full speed ahead on all counts from mid November to mid December.
The trick is to be very aware Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-31653399280377118992011-12-19T13:22:00.000-08:002011-12-19T13:22:38.563-08:00The cop always collars the crime writer.The final day of the Yorkshire book signing tour was incident-packed, but before we came close to having collars felt, to the shoplifting incident or to the electronic capture of the missing books, we found we were still in a mystery race with the book distributors.
The race is who gets to the store first: us or the books? The mystery is why they seem so keen for us to win.
It's been Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-66293566250510083722011-12-04T11:07:00.000-08:002011-12-04T11:19:01.699-08:00La Scala short story competition shortlist and prize presentationThe prize presentation has been delayed to the New Year but the shortlisted entrants will be notified before Christmas.
La Scala Studios had planned to run the prize presentation for their 2011 short story competition to coincide with a local East Yorkshire Dengie qualifier and puissance competition in December. However, because of a problem at the venue, the qualifier has had to be delayed Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-13190672500587085542011-12-03T10:15:00.000-08:002011-12-03T10:15:29.407-08:00Scarborough Rocks!An inauspicious start to Scarborough book signing day.
After previous experiences with loose wheels, what would go wrong today? It was a clear run through, a sunny day, beautiful sea views on the way. If we hadn't known the way and had used the SatNav, that might have unnerved us, because it can't cope with the new road into Scarborough and degenerates into hysterics as the little arrow Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-74067894676190351522011-12-03T08:00:00.000-08:002011-12-03T08:00:03.126-08:00Crime comes to Harrogate: WHS Victoria Shopping Centre 10 December<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-922272701207186112011-12-02T18:00:00.000-08:002011-12-02T18:00:06.005-08:00Books in danger on way to Monks Cross
The Doll Makers : The Jawbone Gang : Like False Money
When author and agent arrived for the book signing at WH Smith, Monks Cross, York, it should have been to a heap of books ready-delivered from the distributors. The hitch that had delayed the arrival of the stock is covered in a previous blog.
Monks Cross has its own car-park, but the shopping centre covers a vast acreage - 100, 200, I'mPenny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-64511810398659584412011-12-02T07:13:00.000-08:002011-12-02T07:13:15.614-08:00New novel coming out on Litopia RadioThe great thing about Litopia After Dark for a writer of contemporary PI novels is the way it completely freed me from the constraints of the world of the 21st century licensed private investigator. It isn't that it doesn't fascinate me to inhabit the world of private investigation, and even scare me a bit when I get mistaken for the real thing (that's a whole other blog) but it's said that a Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-66335950677161375092011-11-30T14:09:00.000-08:002011-11-30T14:09:15.547-08:00Book signing where the wheel came offIt would never have happened to Annie Raymond, the PI heroine of the 3 books out in paperback, being signed in York on Saturday 27 November. Wheels, both real and virtual, escaped their moorings in an attempt to upend one or both of the book signings.
WH Smith, Coney Street, to start with: we met some great people, both readers and writers. The store manager, Chris, gave us a special 3-book Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-42484990916849453792011-11-28T09:00:00.000-08:002011-11-28T09:00:07.210-08:00The long arm of the law tackles author crime in HullSigning books in WH Smith, Prospect Centre, Hull is a dodgy business, especially when someone tips off the authorities that it is crime from cover to cover.
Annie Raymond, PI heroine of the three paperbacks just out, would have anticipated this and made provision. For the author, no such option. With store manager, Adam, having done a great 3-book deal, the books flew off the table and I Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-44747175953862052512011-11-27T03:37:00.000-08:002011-11-27T03:37:17.781-08:00Beverley Guardian photographer breaches space-time continuumAs the author of the Annie Raymond PI series, first 3 books just out in paperback, I find myself falling more and more into investigator mode and questioning the motives of people I meet. Are they telling me the truth? Does what they say add up? Are there any signs of a hidden agenda?
But why would I suspect a photographer from the Beverley Guardian?
She came early to the signing on SaturdayPenny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-17113778128678135422011-11-26T08:00:00.000-08:002011-11-27T04:08:47.121-08:00Yorkshire based crime series out in paperback 3 Dec: WHSmith, Scarborough<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-20224791844003757012011-11-19T08:00:00.000-08:002011-11-19T08:00:01.967-08:00Time for crime in York: 26 Nov WHS<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-79124254541832363022011-11-12T15:20:00.000-08:002011-11-12T15:20:00.259-08:00Book signing 19 Nov: WHS Books, Beverley – Annie books out in paperback<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-29128422768356670542011-11-12T08:00:00.000-08:002011-11-12T08:00:04.487-08:00Paperbacks out 19 Nov: WHS Hull, special deal – 3 books £15<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-73480178206314893232011-11-11T09:46:00.000-08:002011-11-11T09:46:22.737-08:00And so on to Slaithewaite... via Durker RoodsThe Durker Roods Hotel stands back from the road in Meltham and looks busy despite a lack of any useful signage to bring people in. We managed to miss it first go, having been minutely directed from just 200 yards up the road. However, it was worth finding. With several hours between our Ladykiller event in Meltham and one in Slaithewaite at the library, we stopped off at the Durker Roods to Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-61702312859665344202011-11-11T09:37:00.000-08:002011-11-11T09:37:33.341-08:00Ladykillers bring murder and mayhem to MelthamThe first task for me was to meet up with fellow Ladykillers, Zoe Sharp and Lesley Horton, prior to our joint event in Meltham. And that was easier said than done. Our SatNav works to the millimetre anywhere south of the Humber estuary, but doesn't like Yorkshire at all.
Everything was going well as far as Huddersfield town centre where the road layout must have changed. Having been Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-26141982437751492252011-10-08T14:37:00.000-07:002011-10-08T14:37:07.240-07:00Scarborough Writers' Circle: fair pay and perseverance paysOn 4 October I was privileged to be guest speaker at Scarborough Writers' Circle. This group has been going since 1948. It's a dynamic and diverse group of writers that routinely attracts a good turnout to its fortnightly meetings. In my view, it's the diversity that's the key to its strength. Many groups narrow their outlook as the months and years go by - focusing on a particular genre, Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-20084043828775494062011-10-01T09:46:00.000-07:002011-10-01T09:46:52.679-07:00To be or not to what?!?Like False Money is out in paperback in November and that gave me the chance to do what I've wanted to do since the first hardback edition hit the shops - find and exise a spurious 'be'. It's the typo that got away from everyone. A real irritation. They didn't allow any edits when the hardback was reprinted.
I thought I knew where it was - roughly. But no, it wasn't obvious. Hiding itself Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-24284409268584624372011-08-29T10:51:00.000-07:002011-08-29T10:51:14.055-07:00The opening salvo in a century of grapesWe think they are a variety called Black Hamburgh but can’t be sure. This is the first bunch to be harvested.
Apparently they can crop for 100 years or more so it is a certainty that the vine will outlive the garden room.
From this:
To this in one summer:
We might make wine one day, but unlikely this year. Unless the weather holds for another 4 or 5 weeks not enough will ripen. And Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-44747948280673108762011-08-18T15:00:00.000-07:002011-08-18T15:00:03.436-07:00Nominee for Worst Idea of the Week AwardThe idea: that Snowball, young H’s new hamster, would love to have an hour in the small hen run on the lawn.
Turned out to be a hole in both the idea and the run. Didn’t spot it until going to check up on him. Too small a gap for a hen to squeeze through but a breeze for an adventurous hamster. Feared it might mean a trip to the pet shop for a lookalike, but spotted him in the flower bed Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-4239638354128621642011-08-16T15:00:00.000-07:002011-08-16T15:00:00.160-07:00Robin Hood’s Bay and Whitby In honour of G’s birthday we went to Robin Hood’s Bay. It ain’t ’alf steep, but great views. And amazing old streets.
And then on to Whitby – some great book shops. Loads of Dracula-related stuff of course. Some interesting looking boat trips, but we got no nearer than watching them set off. Even more amazing old streets, quite a maze. We got lost.
Lovely weather, enough walking for Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-11570992929053597102011-07-18T12:20:00.000-07:002011-07-18T12:20:07.694-07:00To eat or not to eat...First sighting of a puffball at LTF coincides with the camera screwing up so it has been sitting there for two days now – see all the bite marks? Not ours. Despite always saying we’d eat puffballs because they can’t be mistaken for anything else, we’re not mushroom-pickers by nature and found ourselves wondering if it was something else, something deadly.
However, we can find solace in the Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-47215189178495486112011-07-02T14:17:00.000-07:002011-07-03T11:26:39.421-07:00Local authors caught red-handed peddling crime in Hull city centreFollowing a tip off, Humberside police raided WH Smith, Prospect Centre, Hull, this afternoon to find two local authors openly urging the populace to take to crime.
[photo by Linda Acaster]
Although a pair of handcuffs was flourished, both officers steadfastly refused to adhere to stereotype, opening with a single "hello" and not the traditional trio.
Author, Penny Grubb, with the evidence Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-5798191267739533992011-06-25T13:03:00.000-07:002011-06-25T13:03:19.081-07:00Local MP Engulfed in CrimeBeverley and Holderness MP, Graham Stuart, out shopping for a birthday present for a friend was taken unawares when he found himself surrounded by crime writers in WHS Books in Beverley, East Yorkshire this morning.
Award-winning crime writer, Penny Grubb, was there signing a copy of her latest novel The Jawbone Gang for another local award-winner, ValWood, whose historical sagas regularly hit Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-44937306972654870162011-05-02T09:51:00.000-07:002011-05-02T09:51:27.458-07:00An Amazing AprilThis is the jungle from the big cats' perspective
And this from ours:
No rain equals no mud so the hens are laying clean eggs
And there are nests all over the garden, including a wren in here only visible to those who know where to look
and a dopey dove sitting on this egg out in plain sight.
How she'll keep an unruly chick in such a poor excuse for a nest, I don't know.
The pond is Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-4579931213680628892011-02-27T10:07:00.000-08:002011-02-27T10:07:15.692-08:00A crocus fest at Lilac TreeIncluding white ones with halos. I’ve never seen anything like it. It isn’t the camera. Or if it is, it’s my eyes too.
The snowdrop battalion still marches down the gardenBut crocuses – or croci if you prefer – are out in all colours.It’s not just snowdrops and crocus. The winter pansies are holding their ownAlong with these things – the ones whose name I can never remember – something-anthemum IPenny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-25564318781572464032011-02-05T04:10:00.000-08:002011-02-05T04:10:47.498-08:00How to add a sequence of numbers at lightning speed[for @cathkingauthor on Twitter]
The usual starting place is to add the numbers from 1 to 100. This is a good one to demonstrate the technique.
Imagine you were to write out all the numbers from zero to 100 in a long line.
0 ... 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... ... 98 ... 99 ... 100
Then underneath these, write the same sequence backwards – 100 down to zero.
100 ... 99 ... 98 ... ... 3 ... 2 Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-53403260679454217642011-01-16T11:54:00.001-08:002011-01-16T11:54:52.830-08:00Torc of Moonlight by Linda Acaster
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The contemporary story is of students Nick Blaketon and Alice Linwood who meet as undergraduates at Hull University. Very different but drawn together. It’s what is behind the reason they’re drawn together that gives this book its amazing twist. The predatory lecturer and his past have a role to play and also a story from a whole lot Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-60583996780079078162011-01-15T12:51:00.000-08:002011-01-15T12:51:42.232-08:00Bulldog Sheila or the Gang by T F W Hickey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a personal 5* because this book meant so much to me when I was 8 years old. Written as a children's adventure, it's something I can still read today (very occasionally, but it holds memories of childhood for me). It's the story of Sheila whose parents go away and leave her in the care of her aunt. Almost at once, sinisterPenny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-8179626128799869802011-01-09T07:52:00.000-08:002011-01-09T07:52:27.059-08:00West End Girls by Barbara TateMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
An incredible tale that almost didn't make it to publication. Barbara Tate tells the story of her time as a prostitute's maid in Soho. This is easy reading and it's for the story itself that I rate it. Her draft was much longer, so I'm told - more the story of Soho in those years than her own and May's story which she thought wouldn't interest anyone.
On several levels Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-84149322388761904322010-12-27T11:12:00.000-08:002010-12-27T11:12:22.547-08:00Frozen sea to frozen fountainThis is the sea below Prince’s Quay shopping centre in Hull.
This is the frozen marina taken from the roof of Prince’s Quay.
The next sequence goes closer and closer to the semi-frozen fountain in Queen’s Gardens.
Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-42589137476125464292010-12-20T14:31:00.000-08:002010-12-20T14:33:21.270-08:00Trees turned to into an ice forestThey are old enough to have seen this weather before but this close to the coast it’s unusual to have so much snow or such a hard frost.
Recognisable trees, but only a day ago, recognisable grass too. Snow smoothes it all out.
The pampas grass looks disgruntled but it's still standing. The clumps at the end of the drive thwack the windscreens of any cars that pass and if anyone is Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-79418088032758737912010-12-17T02:26:00.000-08:002010-12-17T02:26:27.812-08:00How to run a successful book party that sells out of booksUsing the model of 29 November 2010 and the Doll Makers, here are three key points:
1 Avoid a day when there is a Tube strike
2 Avoid a day when the city is brought to a halt by snow
3 Avoid a venue where the lift breaks down after the invitations have gone out
All in all, it wasn’t surprising the turnout was lower than expected, but enough people made it for a good time to be had by all. ThePenny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-84486755133941856992010-12-12T23:51:00.000-08:002010-12-12T23:51:35.700-08:00For short story fans of no particular genreThe anthology, a Sackful of Shorts, has no theme in the usually accepted sense. What holds it together as an anthology is the history of its group of authors. Most but not all the stories are published here for the second, third or fourth time, having originally been published or broadcast elsewhere. Many of them are prize-winners. The author bios at the end of each story provide more informationPenny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-18789655310665558462010-12-05T05:49:00.000-08:002010-12-05T05:49:59.556-08:00How to keep your feet warm and dry whilst not allowing the animals to starveWhen you need to go out in this
You should always keep these warm and dry
Heres how: first put on a those things like heavy-duty shower caps that medics put on over their shoes when they enter the OR suite. Heavy-duty shower caps would probably do the job too.
Then add a supermarket carrier bag to each foot.
Then a sturdy pair of boots
And you’re good to go.
Alternatively, get in Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-18782651999237119772010-12-01T11:58:00.000-08:002010-12-01T11:58:54.797-08:00Feeling bad at leaving husband and daughter-in-law stranded in the snow on an isolated country laneThe agreement was that whoever was behind the wheel at the point the others managed to push the car back into motion must continue going (if possible) until out of deep snow.
We thought we’d done the hard bit in getting up the hill so didn’t expect deep snow in the dip at the bottom. Daft really, where else would deep snow go? There was one spot 100 yards on where I could have stopped and Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-19335931215076325342010-10-05T02:22:00.000-07:002010-10-05T02:22:33.514-07:00Fay Weldon at the Pavilion Theatre yesterday<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-70918680096563300892010-10-03T02:50:00.000-07:002010-10-03T02:50:00.051-07:00Where does such a level of optimism come from?Sometimes it isn’t a matter of optimism, it’s just common sense. And where does that go when you need it most?
We said to each other only the other day the leak in the glass roof had cured itself. Cured itself, note. Not that we have done something to the roof that might have cured the leak.
And then we leave a heap of clean clothes on a chair right under where the leak used to be. We don’tPenny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-26001161936371076862010-09-26T10:52:00.000-07:002010-09-26T10:52:32.768-07:00Publication for short story competition winnersPublication wasn’t guaranteed as part of the deal for the winners of La Scala Studios’ first short story competition, but two people’s stories will now be published in a national magazine. This is an additional bonus to the £1500 in prizes already awarded.
The competition winners were announced at a prize presentation in July. Following this, the organisers were approached by Equestrian Plus (a Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-6366765902665988192010-09-20T04:09:00.000-07:002010-09-20T04:56:16.310-07:00A busy book launch (with unexpected sheep)A very busy book launch for the Doll Makers on Saturday. The livestock in cars element was unplanned. Not everyone in the crowd bought the Doll Makers but enough did that the shop was left with only three copies after an hour. Huge thanks to those who came and I hope you find the book worth it. And huge thanks too to the team in the shop for their efforts and also for being a good book shop in Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-28713194245363238352010-09-14T07:10:00.000-07:002010-09-14T07:10:52.338-07:00World Peace Day-Reading, 21st September: live – online – 24 hoursLast year there were 365 political conflicts around the world. Of these, states the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research, seven were wars, and twenty-four were severe conflicts – all characterized by the use of massive violence. Certainly, it is a coincidence that the researchers counted 365 conflicts. Nevertheless, it means that each day in 2009 we’d have had a chance to lookPenny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-42490108107480591142010-09-11T10:00:00.000-07:002010-09-11T10:00:02.282-07:00Author event next Saturday Beverley East YorkshireSaturday 18 Sept 11 am to 12 pm. WH Smith Books, Toll Gavel, Beverley. Meet the author of the award-winning crime novel, the Doll Makers.
Beverley is a great setting for any event and well worth a visit. If you're in the area, please call in and say hello. Click here for more directions. After the signing, we’re going to the King's Head Hotel (Saturday Market, Beverley) for a drink. Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-30382439098343061302010-09-04T10:30:00.000-07:002010-09-04T10:30:01.063-07:00Serial killers coming to Scarborough for a bit of a crime festOn Friday, 10 September from 1 pm local crime writers Bill Kitson and Penny Grubb will be in WHSmith, Westborough, Scarborough surrounded by a lot of books, some of which they’ve written. Between them, they have a Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger and two nominations for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger. They will be there with their daggers to answer questions, sign books or just toPenny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-717050429369996872010-09-01T18:00:00.000-07:002010-09-04T09:44:32.433-07:00Book signing event in the historic market town of BeverleySaturday 18 Sept 11 am to 12 pm. WH Smith Books, Toll Gavel, Beverley. Meet the author of the award-winning crime novel, the Doll Makers.
Beverley is a great setting for any event and well worth a visit. If you're in the area, please call in and say hello. Click here for more detail.After the signing, we’re going off to the King's Head Hotel (Saturday Market, Beverley).
Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-39176144899336124622010-08-31T06:20:00.000-07:002010-08-31T06:20:14.866-07:00An amazing close up encounter with a sparrow hawkIt came in low and fast, over the Indian bean tree, between the pear and the honeysuckle and straight at the window of the study where I was sitting looking out. I’m on the ground floor. This is not an obvious flight path for any bird. Clearly after prey, or whatever it saw that it thought was prey, it screamed in and stopped a millimetre from the glass in a deafening clapping of wings, did a Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-66180660864262074042010-08-21T12:22:00.000-07:002010-08-21T12:22:53.012-07:00The Yorkshire coast is amazingWe went to Scarborough on Thursday. Just look how packed it is. The town is a wonderful mix of old and new, with a vibrant shopping centre.
The sea front was packed too, though the crowds thinned out a bit towards the far end of the north bay.
And if you don't like crowds, just climb. We went up to the castle and ate lunch looking out over the bay.
On the way back down, we visited Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-34403499232789253282010-08-20T04:14:00.000-07:002010-08-20T04:14:34.318-07:00The fruit harvestLooks like it’ll be an apple event this year, with walk on parts for damsons, pears, figs, blackberries and plums.
And some non-apples: Firstly the blackberries. We fight the blackbirds for theseDamsons
Figs
Pears
Peppers
Plums, with one or two just beginning to ripen
And we just love tomatoes and basil.
And apart from the nasturtium leaves there's nothing edible in this last one, unless Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-68785743223037316202010-08-15T09:00:00.000-07:002010-08-15T09:00:03.370-07:00Squaring the To Do List Circle - for GTD anoraks mainlyI always suspected that organisation was the key to having time to make the most of life, but I didn’t find my way there by the easiest route.
I'd heard that users of that old favourite time management tool, the To Do List, did more, did it more efficiently and felt better for it. But just how far could you take this? Did you become ever more efficient, more effective, more productive and less Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-8908194629251502302010-08-11T03:28:00.000-07:002010-08-11T03:28:15.637-07:00Which came first, the chicken or the egg?The answer, determined by experiment and observation is as follows. Starting from here:
And here:
And then onto these:
And then this:
And ultimately these:
And these:
The conclusion from the egg’s point of view is that it comes after the chicken that lays it and before the chicken that hatches from it. And from the chicken’s, she comes after the egg she hatched from and before the eggs she Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-87763947426127151812010-08-11T02:22:00.000-07:002010-08-11T02:22:00.332-07:00Electric typewriter designers were probably keen gardenersThe similarity between the passion flower and the typewriter daisy wheel is obvious, but did they get the idea from the flower or was it coincidence?
How far can coincidence stretch? Look at the this flower as compared to the typewriter golf ball. I think it's some relation to the thistle but not sure.
I had a whole thing going here with corn-on-the-cob paint rollers, lupin flower loo Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-52701752578595110162010-08-04T02:21:00.000-07:002010-08-04T02:21:37.136-07:00It happens all the time in KazakhstanSo I’ve been told by people who work there. But it’s a first for our back garden. The Indian Bean tree has flowered.
The thistles and buddleia are thick with bees and butterflies so intent on their business that you can bend the flowers down and watch closely, even stroke the bees if you’re so inclined. Capt Butterfly would be right at home here now, and would take pictures at the point where a Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-43481089322474757062010-06-12T12:40:00.000-07:002010-06-12T12:40:49.310-07:00The wedding blogSAS-style grappling irons came flying over the sides of the bandstand. The last three guests swarmed up them and dived into their seats a microsecond before the bride’s foot stepped out onto the aisle.
That’s how it was described to me by the groom’s other aunt. I was in no state to think up poetic descriptions. I was one of the three late guests.
We’d planned to arrive an hour early to givePenny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-15619285933443193312010-05-28T10:31:00.000-07:002010-05-28T10:31:31.463-07:00If you look closely you’ll see a baby kangaroo in the feed bucketToday, the weather being pretty darned good, we took a trip out through the back of the wardrobe and entered a magical land where some of the bushes were decked out in multicoloured candy – look on the right up above the rocks
And where miniature kangaroos were in charge of public transport, except the one in the bucket who was doing something else
But as kangaroos are no good at timetabling, Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-14573303868206590312010-05-18T23:42:00.000-07:002010-05-30T06:51:19.368-07:00Had to rescue the cat from a bird this morningThat's not an error of wording. We were woken fairly gently by that sound of kids rolling marbles down the roof - it used to mean squirrels in the loft, but these days it's heavy-footed pigeons. Turned over to sleep again. Then woken abruptly, going from sleep to standing in the middle of the room thinking 'what the hell...?'
Terrible racket from downstairs. A swishing and crashing, too loudPenny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-17101423224236812752010-05-13T04:36:00.000-07:002010-05-13T04:36:16.568-07:00We’re having a flood festNot the event planned for this week. Minor plumbing job pulled a seal loose in the big shower. Didn’t realise until water began coming to earth via an armchair downstairs. Then the little shower joined in. The cold tap in the bath wouldn’t work – not a flood but hoped it might be the third in the sequence. Real temptation to get the old tin bath in front of an open fire, but the old tin bath had Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-41677300827738705542010-05-03T09:30:00.000-07:002010-05-03T09:30:35.649-07:00Cat, dog, snake and other animalsIncluding a stone hawk. And not for any particular reason, but here they are:
Cat in a box. Don't know why she liked to sit in it so much, but she did, so it stayed there far longer than it should have by any good housekeeping measure.
Dog on a chair, enjoying the attention but refusing to keep nose still.
Painting the hawk
Snake swimming away, only I wasn't anywhere near quick enough with Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-27425642382921386892010-04-26T13:15:00.000-07:002010-04-26T13:15:52.422-07:00Event of the week so farDiscovery of a new playground not so far from the sea. It has a toddlers' patch, fenced in, but 3-y-o H wasn't going to waste time there. After a half-hearted go on the mini slide and small swings, we headed for the big field where amongst other delights (trampoline, swings, massive tube slides) we found a rope slide. Great fun. We're going again.
Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-68102458240732080122010-04-17T09:39:00.000-07:002010-04-17T09:39:40.069-07:00Marsh Marigolds in SeasonNot to be outdone by Postcards from Sussex, here are our Easst Yorshire marsh marigolds.
The garden is very warm and peaceful today. Even out here where we’re out of range of main roads, railways and airports, the lack of planes in the sky has made a difference. The sky is a lovely smooth blue – no vapour trails, and none of that background drone of planes high above. And certainly none of Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-61325721636913486852010-04-12T13:38:00.000-07:002010-04-12T13:38:28.730-07:00First York Festival of WritingRun by the Writers’ Workshop. Always a gamble doing something like this but from the attendance and enthusiasm it looks like it paid off. I hope that means they run it every year. Apparently there was a worry that top agents / publishers wouldn’t come up from London, but they did. Tight control of time and slick organisation of the one-2-ones was much appreciated, and can’t have been an easy taskPenny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-80835305947303685712010-04-10T03:51:00.000-07:002010-04-10T03:51:30.756-07:00East Yorkshire SpringThese winter pansies were dumped on by 4 inches of snow as soon as they flowered a few weeks ago. Just look at them now. Amazing.
The rest of the place is awash with daffodils. I like this time of year.
Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-7377158616602476602010-04-03T13:19:00.000-07:002010-04-03T13:19:13.718-07:00Which way to the maps section?Was the first question I was asked at my book signing today. The second was about where they kept the newspapers. The answer to that one is in the shop across the road, because Beverley WH Smith is one of just half a dozen in the country where they have a dedicated book shop. It was an experiment some years ago, that was successful enough to keep the shops going but not apparently successful Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-72478761722199094582010-04-02T03:21:00.000-07:002010-04-02T03:21:48.961-07:00Off to the flying ducksOne of the most vibrant writers’ groups in the north of England is how I remember the Flying Ducks (RNA-North), but I haven’t been to the meetings since they changed to Thursdays some years ago. However, yesterday I made it to their monthly lunch and talk in a pub near Harrogate.
Great to find the meeting packed, to make contact with old friends and to find out what everyone has been up to, and Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-27623358636213322452010-03-30T11:13:00.000-07:002010-03-30T11:18:01.395-07:00Saddle up for success with Derby HouseEquine student, Pippa Ireland, has won sponsorship from Derby House Ltd for the short story competition she is running as part of her equine management course. Derby House is the UK’s foremost equestrian retailer, catering for all sections of the horse-riding community.Pippa, a mature student at Bishop Burton College in East Yorkshire, decided to run a short story competition as part of her Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-73095219268418057672010-03-23T01:56:00.000-07:002010-03-23T02:01:15.017-07:00International rugby match in JulyInvitations to this are part of the prize for everyone on the shortlist - 30 in all - for the short story competition. It's happening at the end of July at Bishop Burton College in East Yorkshire.Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-35084642113630979722010-03-22T04:31:00.001-07:002010-03-22T04:34:34.829-07:00First day of springYesterday saw us having our first proper walk on the beach in ages. The cat, old enough to know better, hurtled round the garden, a grey blur bouncing from tree to tree. And now the daffodils struggle to catch up. Last year at this time they’d flowered and were dying off. Today is not quite so sunny, but the breeze has lost its icy edge. It’s as though someone clicked a switch from winter to Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-67049924126085545942010-03-19T15:57:00.000-07:002010-03-19T16:00:09.582-07:00Short story competition. Please spread the wordWorth a look. There are some very good prizes. I’m judging it (apart from the racing section which is being judged by John Fairley of Channel Four Racing) but it’s being judged anonymously so I’m more than happy to recommend it to readers of my blog, many of whom will be people I know and I will be delighted to see one of them in amongst the winners. There are 4 sections – Open, Pony Club, Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-31442186686148444152010-03-12T02:07:00.000-08:002010-03-12T02:09:38.411-08:00Rare first editions availableBy a very creative stretch of the imagination, I have discovered two sources of rare first editions. First is La Scala Studios in East Yorkshire and the second is Camden Lock Books each of whom have a few copies left of the first edition of Like False Money which is now being reprinted as it sold out in under a fortnight. I’m amazed, gobsmacked and extremely pleased. I haven’t even done all myPenny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-76346609542297888992010-03-07T14:26:00.000-08:002010-03-07T14:32:16.349-08:00Great scones!Burton Pidsea village hall hosted my Holderness launch of Like False Money. And a great job they did. The hall was beautifully set out. They’d even put flowers on the table where I sat to do my talk.Almost 50 people came and enjoyed the hospitality of the village hall committee who served tea, coffee, homemade cakes and wine. Thanks to Caroline for organising that side of it.The event sponsor,Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-40480956020980157732010-03-07T13:43:00.000-08:002010-03-07T13:45:44.143-08:00Like False Money in the writers’ area at ALCSI am supposed to blog about my own events, but fellow authors, Jan Jones and Sue Knight have done such a good job between them that there’s not much to add, except to say a huge thank you to everyone who came along.Great to see Sr Rachel after all this time and Jeannette and Katja from CHIME. There wasn’t time to talk and catch up properly. We’ll repair that sometime soon.The big question for Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-22027767856074733442010-03-02T00:30:00.000-08:002010-03-07T13:28:25.276-08:00Superwoman hosts book launch in HullLike False Money rose from the runway at a small privately hosted launch party in Cottingham, hosted by Janet Blackman (co-editor of Social History, until lately Chair of the UN Association policy committee, national union consultant for AUT, full time volunteer worker for ... the list goes on and on and ends up with makes own chutney!)Eighteen people enjoyed Janet’s hospitality and I hope also Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-57919340046094007352010-03-02T00:25:00.000-08:002010-03-02T11:22:49.489-08:00Short story competition launchIn Huntingdon on 25 Feb, not so far from York, La Scala Studios launched its competition – Deadline 15 May. I talked about Like False Money and where the horses came from. Linda Acaster gave us a fascinating talk on the history behind her Torc of Moonlight including an amazing insight into the practice of throwing silver coins into wells and just how long we, as a species, have been at it. It Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-40171989716847038692010-02-21T14:14:00.000-08:002010-02-21T14:17:09.942-08:00Great stapler scamPhone scams as old as phones I suppose. Padlock a clear message. But why is a Twitter scam warning also illustrated with a stapler?Ah yes, I remember the great stapler scam of the 1960s. No one with an office desk was safe. The scammers got in using Trojans and viruses. It was chaos, what with the technology we had then. All those giant wooden horses jamming the corridors. All that coughing andPenny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-50747119657650143412010-02-11T05:52:00.000-08:002010-02-11T06:01:51.227-08:00My book is out thereWow, my book is on the front page of the publisher's website. If someone hadn't mentioned it, I'd never have thought to look. It's been popping up in all sorts of places for a few weeks now. Initially, it kept appearing on financial websites or those 'Guard against fraud' type sites. All because it's called Like False Money. I can't believe I never saw that interpretation of the title, but I Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-62267745596293354222010-02-05T07:02:00.000-08:002010-02-05T14:20:16.206-08:00Lunch with ValCongratulations to Val Wood, outselling Jeremy Clarkson and Peter Kay with her new novel, Rich Girl Poor Girl in the local Waterstone's.More to the point, she gave us - me, Linda, Ann and Sylvia - an excellent lunch today, complete with bubbly, loads of writerly gossip, all the inside stories on ... I'm not allowed to say any more.Quote of the day from a 90 year old writer 'Romance is not dead Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-8289693535919915652010-02-03T15:33:00.000-08:002010-02-03T15:38:00.813-08:00Sorry, my Facebook friends – not a hopeFacebook went mad. nfb I’ve been on there for ages, but never done much with it, except an occasional comment. If I’ve been stuck on a train for hours and run out of things to do, I've sometimes added a Facebook comment from my phone. Anyway, I haven’t even done that for ages.But yesterday, I touched base with it. Unbelievable. Requests, messages, good causes, invitations to sign up for all Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-36017632553751927272010-01-29T16:14:00.000-08:002010-01-29T16:18:03.804-08:00La Scala organisers go madOrganisers of La Scala short story competition go wild. Sponsorship from tea bags to baseball caps; insurance to polo lessons. Hard cash too.At £200 for first prize, it’s going to attract quite an entry. I said I’d blog about it, but I doubt I’ll be noticed under the avalanche of publicity and events they are putting on.I nearly blogged on serious topics today, having caught the news earlier, butPenny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-54570335414197070992010-01-26T06:58:00.000-08:002010-01-26T15:30:31.230-08:00Sweet as pieI read a blog at the weekend about the clichés that make people stop reading a book and throw it at the wall. The one quoted was fat people who move like lightning. I hadn’t stopped to think that one through before, but I suppose I will next time I come across it.I don’t tend to throw books over clichés. If I’m going to throw books it’s more likely to be over injustice, crimes against humanityPenny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827279952253758591.post-74867447783187336592010-01-24T08:24:00.000-08:002010-01-24T08:36:22.258-08:00The wedding fairIt’s a damp grey day to start a blog, but it’s bright enough outside and the hens have started laying, so they think winter’s over.D and G went to a wedding fair today. Just to get ideas they said. We’re hosting the whole thing here. The fair turned out to be a huge crowd in a tiny room, no clue what was going on. They asked the people at the back but they had no idea either.The receptionist Penny Grubbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10321603664734033057noreply@blogger.com3