Thursday 6 February 2014

The Power of Words

When you immerse yourself in words and stories every day for hours at a time, you have a lot of time to reflect on the power of words. Words affect us emotionally, they can  create new memories or retrieve memories long buried, and they can change lives in the most subtle way.

 
When I was around nine or ten years old, my favourite books were Moominland Midwinter by the great
 Finnish writer, Tove Jansson and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by the brilliant C.S Lewis. After reading these books, I was captivated by the snowy winter world captured in each story. The mysterious ghosts of summer long gone in the frozen bathing huts of the Moomin family. The lamp post in the frozen land of Narnia where Lucy meets Mr. Tumnus. Now that I live in a place where a white, frozen winter can last up to four months, I wonder if the influence of those early books drew me here. Every time I walk in the park, I'm reminded of the lamp post in the Narnia story. Check out these photos and you'll understand.
Something else happened this week that made me realize how powerful words can be. I received a letter from an 88year old reader living in Cardiff, Wales. She'd read THE PITMAN'S DAUGHTER and had been taken back to the time of her childhood during WWII . She explains, I enjoyed reading [the story] very much as it had resonance for me because I was evacuated to the Rhondda Valley during the war. She then goes on to describe her vivid memories of that mining town. The images came back to her in a powerful way when reading The Pitman's Daughter. It's a real pleasure to receive a lovely handwritten letter these days and I'll probably be framing it!!!

We should also never underestimate the power of cakes. Check this out!

IMPORTANT CAKE UPDATE!!!
Looking for a great Valentine idea? Check out Lala Cakes new website here
Cake pops by Lala cakes

 

"THE LONG CON": RESEARCHING THE NIGHT SIDE:

  Pre-writing: The   Research Stage When a new story idea is formulating in my head, the first thing I do is pick out a beautiful notebook, ...