THOMPSON
Hello – and welcome to the shamefully late April newsletter. My sincere apologies – I have just been so busy.
spring cleanING
First and foremost, I’ve been spring-cleaning. What??? I hear you gasp. This does not sound like our Kate!!! But I have donned the Marigolds for a very good reason. You will know by now that I yearn – positively yearn – for the west coast. To be by the sea and to be able to walk a white sand beach is my idea of heaven, whether it be under bright blue skies, or in the tempestuous winds that come storming in off the ocean. So we’re putting our house on the market. If we sell, we shall relocate. If we don’t – well, I shall have a house that Martha Stewart would be proud of.
a thing possessed
I have culled and culled and culled. Sonia Rykiel, Lainey Keogh, Armani, Mairead Whisker, Louise Kennedy, Ghost, Nicole Farhi – all went to the recycling place. My friends shrieked and said: why didn’t you invite us round so that we could take stuff? But I was like a thing possessed – possessed, I tell you, possessed! And I just wanted it all out of the house before I had a chance to change my mind and cram those beauties back in the cupboards. All the de-cluttering gurus say that if you haven't worn something for a year you should bin it - and I have to confess that most of those designer threads were ill-advised sale purchases that probably looked stupid on me. But from time to time I cringe with regret and horror when I think of at least two outfits I should have kept…
So much CRAP went out as well as the beautiful stuff – I mean COMPLETE crap. I feel so liberated when I contemplate my empty cupboards, but I have suffered in the name of this liberation. Cuts, bruises, broken fingernails, splinters - my hands look like something out of a horror film.
I also culled masses of books, but that wasn't so painful, because I know they're going to a good home. My friend Penny has opened a bookshop in Roundstone, Connemara, and in future all my books will go to her. Then, if I have a sudden change of heart, I can phone her and say: 'Don't sell such-and-such!'
free for all
During my free-for-all I noticed that one of my lovely Lainey shawls was
looking a bit bobbly, so rather than discard it, I started carding it (apologies for the insipid wordplay!) Look at the beautiful bowl of wool I
gathered! I’m going to scatter it in the garden so that our resident
blackbird and robin can help themselves and line their nests. I love the
idea that the birds in our garden will have nests lined with purple cashmere
– how camp!
Easter Egg
Look
at my Easter egg! Shreddies claim that their breakfast cereal is
knitted by
Nanas, but these dotey egg cosies are knitted by nuns - I kid you not! We spent
the Easter
weekend walking beaches around Clew Bay. We revisited the Silver Strand in Mayo, where we swam with
a pod of wild dolphins all those years ago, when
Clara was just a skinny
little eight-year-old. They’re the dolphins who hang out in the Killary –
any of you who have ever taken the Catamaran along Killary Fjord may have
been lucky enough to have had them as outriders. Here’s a pic of me viewing
the Atlantic in the vain hope of catching a glimpse of our marine mates.
open door
In
March, the sixth Open Door series was launched by Patricia Scanlon in
Waterstones. To find out more about Open Door
click here. The six
authors who have contributed to this new series include Chris Binchy, John
Boyne, Sheila O’Flanagan, Peter Sheridan, Mary Stanley, and me. We have all
waived our Irish rights so that a charity of our choice may benefit. My
charity is Safe Home Ireland, and my book is called
Stargazing.
new deal
I mentioned last month that I have a new deal with a new publishing house, and that I shall be writing under a new name. Today I received my first missive in the post from Harper Collins, addressed to Ms Lucy O’Sullivan. What do you think? I love it, my editor loves it, and Lucy’s first book of three will be hitting the shelves in April 2009.
Next month I’ll have news about Love Lies Bleeding – I can’t say more just yet because it’s still early days. And I do hope that you won’t mind if next month’s newsletter is late again – I will try very hard to publish it as close to the first day of the month as possible, but I know you will understand that I’m under a deal of pressure right now.
THANK-YOU
Thank-you - as ever - for taking the time to read this. As Kate Thompson and as Pixie Pirelli, I have made a lot of friends through this website.
As Lucy O'Sullivan, I hope to make a lot more.
Love & ♥♥♥
from
Kate
PS: ORDERING BOOKS
to buy
By the way, while Sex, Lies and Fairytales is available to buy or to order in all good bookshops in Ireland, the UK and the Commonwealth, its companion piece Hard to Choos is available to buy direct from booksellers only in Ireland at present. Should you wish to buy the book from Amazon, clicking here will take you straight to the sales point. You can also order Hard to Choos from Pixie's site. Lots of you are wondering where my backlist can be purchased. Amazon is good, of course, but my Transworld titles are also available - with free P&P in the UK - at Bookpost. (Just key in the title name in inverted commas - ie: "More Mischief")
to buy
© Kate Thompson, 2008
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