Kitchens and baking and comfort

Nobody seems to expect thrilling things to happen in kitchens, and yet, when you think of it, they are the places where turkeys are roasted, and apple jelly made, and birthday cakes iced and decorated with pink scrolls and silver balls; and that’s all exciting, especially if it’s Christmas time, or you are the one with the birthday.  (The Two Linties, p 1).

On a day when most of England is covered by a heavy and endless raincloud, I thought I’d think of nicer things than the cold and damp that have brought summer to a sudden end. Baking and a well-equipped kitchen are two very good reasons to stay indoors and keep warm. Cake sliced and eaten warm from the oven tastes just as good as the scrapings from the mixing bowl. Lintie Oliver might not have been a natural cook, but she knew that you can find the start of your adventure in the kitchen and she develops as a writer because she discovers the existence of a childrens’ page in the local newspaper.

Better cooks are to be found at the sugar-scented Cake and Bake Show this weekend and I can safely say that I’m not one of them. It’s enough to make you feel quite insecure as you admire confections that are every Elinor M. Brent-Dyer adjective of luscious and delectable. Some are simply breathtakingly, technically incredible. Plenty of people passed me, slightly sticky from the rosewater and raspberry or passion fruit marshmallows. Others were nibbling from the huge slabs of brownies. There was far too much choice and the massed crowds inside Earls Court made it overwhelming. However, it was a day trip far outside my comfort zone and I’m very pleased that I went. 

Back inside my comfort zone is a gentle vintage novel called The Sugar and Spice. It’s by Mollie Chappell and she’s moved to England instead of her usual Rhodesia. It’s a novel about a family looking after a teashop for the summer and making all sorts of improvements to the shop and a small country town keen to attract appreciative tourists. From tales of strawberry shortcake, to gingersnaps to catering for society parties, this novel shows that you make friends when you arrive bearing cakes. Do read this one if you like vintage novels or cooking as it’s not hard to get a copy and they’re usually around £10.00. Even better, you usually find a pretty dustwrapper like the one pictured.

Leaflet - for Kindle novels

I've just seen a flyer from a local author who's doing his own marketing for a new novel. The A5 grey and black leaflet is something of a contrast between the high-tech Kindle platform (where he's selling the novel) and the low-tech marketing wheeze of shoving leaflets through the letter-box in the area. Personally, I wish him well and hope that it leads to a spike in sales. It's also a polite way of advertising as the e-book format means that he can't advertise in local bookshops. Well, I doubt any will advertise a rival platform for him and it doesn't seem to be available in traditional page-turning format, only in touch screen format. I suspect we're in that interesting 'in between' stage where technology and tradition are finding ways to work together, even if it does seem a bit odd.

A Traveller in Time

 

Looking away from a spreadsheet for a moment, no, I don't spend all my time reading possible new books. I also spend rather a lot of time looking at new ways to afford new projects based on sales figures of X, Y and Z. Possible scenarios now saved, I'll have another look at that stack of books that's almost too large to be called my 'to be read' pile. I'm also happy to admit that the shelves are looking better since I removed the not-quite-wanted thirds from 'three-for-two' offers that Waterstone's has thankfully withdrawn. Shall we say double-shelved instead of 'double-shelved with horizontal stacking wherever I could make room'?

I'd been saving this little find inside a secondhand book for a blog post, but today's discover of a perfectly-pressed small spider in the margins of a new-to-me book brought the subject to the forefront of my mind. I suppose it's lucky that I'm not scared of spiders and just brushed it out into the bin with a tissue. I'll add that there was no damage to the book or staining which will be a relief to the book collectors.

More interesting was this little inset from a book fair. The writing is very hard to read and I only really recognise that someone has written down A Traveller in Time. This was a childhood favourite that I read to pieces. My copy survived (in three sections) as I couldn't bear to part with it. Though I did just as soon as I could find a hardback and more sturdy replacement. Puffin paperbacks are wonderful, though the glue just wears out over time. I think it was the first historical novel that I read and it certainly inspired a life-long interest in history, especially Tudor and Stuart history as well as visiting country houses. It was also one of the first and best examples of timeslip stories that I'd come across. Penelope goes to stay with relatives who live on a farm once lived in by the Babington family and becomes involved in the plot to free Mary Queen of Scots. It's a perfect introduction to more grown-up novels with plenty of chapters, information about herbs, country fairs, sugar and cooking that have stayed with me. I don't know how else I would have learned about moulding marchpane or what to look for in a herb garden.

The rights of the reader and other vague thoughts

I feel as though I’m coming up for air between complicated contract negotiations for future titles and an awful lot of fiddly administration today with the added temptation of ordering new books. I’ve also been investigating new authors that have been requested and recommended. I'd be happy to hear of more if you're kind enough to tell me about a favourite forgotten author. More news about future titles as I can send it on. Preferably when the ink is dry on the contracts.


As for reading, I don't seem to have managed to finish much. I've relied on old favourites like Jane of Lantern Hill and Ruth Elwin Harris, though I intend to buy Cora Harrison's latest teenage country house story Debutantes as a reward for finishing the paperwork as the sample chapter drew me in, even with the 'You'll like this if you like Downton' sticker that's getting a bit ubiquitous. Now that I don't need to write essays on books I follow Daniel Pennac's The Rights of the Reader:

1. The right not to read
2. The right to skip
3. The right not to finish a book
4. The right to read it again
5. The right to read anything
6. The right to mistake a book for real life
7. The right to read anywhere
8. The right to dip in
9. The right to read out loud
10. The right to be quiet.

I suspect that most readers would agree with the above - my own pet hate is being interrupted with either 'What are you reading?' or 'Are you enjoying that?' I might not always enjoy a book, exactly, but I may appreciate the subject, the structure or the author. I also feel that there's nothing wrong with putting a book aside and taking it up again after you've had a change of mood.

Finally, the last box of The Two Linties was opened today and I’ll be posting her to a new set of homes later this afternoon.

Design and content

It’s probably the sign of being open-minded or magpie-minded that I’ll consider all sources for inspiration for my books. I don't see why an idea used, for example, in a cookery book, might not transfer to fiction. Overall though, I want them to look beautiful and stand up to reading and re-reading. I do hope that these are books that will be read more than once. Some readers will want to keep their copy pristine in a suitable library plastic cover, but others will read it one-handed standing on the tube, so the book needs to be tough enough to strap-hang on the commute. Or get rained on while being carried in a bag. There’s no real point in transporting a book in a padded envelope after it has been delivered after all.

I’m finding that I’m reading for sources and ideas for design and layout just as much as I’m reading for pleasure. You find yourself looking up fonts used in various novels or posters and sometimes there’s a short entry about it all at the back of the book. Usually not, so you hunt down a good typography blogger and envy their eye and steady hand at calligraphy for guidance or a history lesson. Then you look more critically at the layout – yes, my books might be ordinary fiction, but it’s so important for them to be a pleasure to read. That, to me, means wide margins and space between the lines of text running neatly down the page. I prefer not to be forced to crack the spine just to turn the page or squint at the text which is small, packed together or hyphenated chaotically. Actually, I prefer not to see hypens at all unless the spacing will be unequal if you don’t have them, though there does need to be a balance between squashing words into a line and having lines with four or five words extended along them. I have mixed feelings about headers, especially in fiction. Does anyone really forget what novel they’re reading and need to turn the book round and check the cover? It’s essential in academic publishing, especially when you’re reading for an essay or similar and need to note the reference for the bibliography, but not quite so much when reading for pleasure. I’ve started adding simple chapter headings to the books if the chapter has a title. If it’s a simple matter of ‘Chapter Three’ following ‘Chapter Two’, then surely the reader can cope?

Wall to wall sport

I'm trying to steel my nerves to watch Murray and Federer battle for the Olympic gold medal in the tennis and so pleased to see that Murray has taken an early lead. I'm also trying to contain my anger that there are still seats free at both the gymnastics and the tennis that I haven't been able to purchase for the last year. I've barely read a book all week, though I've been error-checking Title Four as well as watching the Olympic cycling, sailing, showjumping, tennis and gymnastics. Much of my time is spent turning away to the computer screen to make a change and then being distracted by cheering on the television. It appears that I don't even have a suitable sporting vintage novel in my collection to reread: I was never a fan of pony books - lots of competitions, medals and rosettes there, but I only seem to have Noel Streatfeild's Tennis Shoes. I even skim over the netball, cricket and hockey matches in most girls' own fiction, so have a collection that reflects my own interests in music, cooking, crafting and the like. That said, I also skimmed the interminable descriptions of Chalet School Sales!

A Friend for Frances - P.M. Warner

I'm quietly taking some time away from the relentless (and wonderful) Olympic coverage, but there's only so much sport that a resolutely unsporty person can watch. I could, of course, read a girls' own novel about a sports star, but I'm trying to work back through unread purchases and see what I think of them. Closest to hand was A Friend for Frances (c. 1950s). P.M. Warner's A Friend for Frances was picked up in the local charity shop a while ago. I did think about posting a photograph, but it's a battered, blue boarded Seagull edition without the dustwrapper, so not exactly photogenic. Now, the magic words of 'Collins Seagull' encouraged me to take it home with me and give it a try. This Collins Seagulls usually have good dustwrappers and a certain charm about them. The plain blue boards don't, so you have to hope for a good story.

Frances is clever, but poor, so almost prevented from taking up her place at the High School because of the associated costs of uniform and equipment. She's also a farmer's daughter and able to earn a little money looking after the hens. Frances is nice and rather shy - interested in flowers and a good friend if slightly shambolic about getting up in the morning and scruffy around the edges until her elder sister persuades her that smart dresses and a good haircut improve her confidence. The book seems to be about her efforts to join a school trip to Holland to look at the bulb fields and her growing friendship with Deborah - a newcomer to the village. So far, hopeful.