Monthly Inspirations for May 24 – Did You Know I’m Writing A Book?

All the stuff I've been watching, reading, listening to and doing….(Enjoy, as it's the last one of these monthly inspirations!) *N.B. Just the last monthly inspiration not me leaving here!

At a recent gathering at my house which was named ‘East Belfast Social’ and involved a number of people, some of whom knew each other really well, and some of whom were merely acquainted with each other, being introduced to each other primarily on the basis of what they did, I was introduced as an “author”. I had to immediately correct this because whilst appreciated, it was a hugely inflated description of me and also factually untrue. “I am a writer,” I said. “An author is someone who has published a book”. And then I told those present that I was at this very moment writing a book about all things leaving and where they could find my website. One person kindly asked but I am not taking pre-orders just yet because it turns out that writing a book is a very slow process which involves a lot of self-loathing and feelings of “I don’t know if I can do this”. It reminds me of being in labour and I think birthing a child and birthing a 50,000-word project may fall into the same overwhelm category.

I’m sure you’re not that interested in how the other writing (the book) is going as you are mainly here for what I publish every Friday but one of my main fears is that I may not have the creative energy to produce something coherent for a Friday afternoon if I am trying to be creative on other days as well so please forgive me if some Fridays I cut a little corner and send you a poem or a recipe or something from my back catalogue. I’ve also discovered that calling myself a “writer” is a bit of a lie because what I actually am is a part-time writer and I only like to do it on Thursdays. Hence, forcing myself to sit down with a laptop and cancelling everything else out of my diary and feeling guilty if I am not always writing is beginning to feel like I am sucking the joy out of writing. But on a positive note, I have got a couple of (draft) essays written and I’m looking for one or two volunteers to read them to see if it still sounds like me and is readable and essay-like only in length rather than in tone. If you would be interested in this, please let me know. You would receive a Word document and a thank you for your trouble.

In other good news, I am continuing to fill the remaining minutes I have not writing about leaving with my usual pleasures of watching, reading, and listening. Here are some recommendations based on what I’ve consumed over the last month.

Things to watch…

• The arrival of Spring. We had a couple of blue-sky days in April, and I found myself capturing them because they are so unusual. Here is the evidence by day and night plus some peonies which are in season now but only for a short time…

• Blue Lights. This appeals to me because of trying to spot familiar places in Belfast and also waiting patiently for my daughter’s school to be featured. (N.B. It was in Episode 2 in the gym, the episode which also introduced Charlie Fairhead from Casualty as a retired police officer. His contribution was minimal. “I hope he isn’t being paid by the word,” my husband said). It’s an hour each week (Mondays can be dreary so I’m watching it as it airs on the good old-fashioned television rather than binge-watching on BBC iPlayer) that zips past really quickly where I am not saying as much as I usually do, “how much longer is there to go?”.

• I enjoyed The Trouble With Jessica at the cinema for a number of reasons – (a) it felt like a play, (b) the house and its interiors steal the show (I loved trying to spot classic pieces like the Snoopy lamp and the Alessi kettle and the Eames chairs), (c) I got peace and some hot nuts and (d) it really did make me think about moral dilemmas, like what would you do if there was a dead body in your garden and you were trying to sell your house?

Things to read…

I am in a bit of a slump when it comes to books. I have read quite a few recently but would be loath to recommend them as they weren’t that great. I’m not sure what I’m looking for in a book anymore. Maybe I’ll know when I find it.

Here are a couple that are worth a go (lovely re-released copies of books written in the 1950s and the 1980s by rediscovered authors).

Things to listen to…

• This was a fascinating episode on the Irish Times Women’s Podcast about narcissistic mothers. I’d love to hear from anyone who listens to this and feels something…

• I saw a clip of Deacon Blue performing Fergus Sings The Blues at BBC Radio 2’s In The Park 2023 and was reminded what a great intro it has. I recommend a re-listen to some of their albums or to keep it simple, Our Town, their greatest hits, although at this stage, it’s likely to be via Apple or Spotify rather than cassette or CD! I also noted that Fergus sang the blues in bars of twelve or less so what you do doesn’t always have to be for a large audience…

What’s coming up? Pop-Up Book Club…

I will be hosting another Pop-Up Book Club on Thursday 30 May (7.30pm). Hopefully Spring will have warmed up and we can sit outside (even briefly) and enjoy a glass of something and a few nibbles while we discuss the book. We’ll be discussing Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy.  If you’d like to come along, just drop me an email at contact@deborahsloan.co.uk.

So, what have I been writing about recently?

In case you missed any of these, here’s a round-up of what I wrote over the last month:

You’re Not The Boss Of Me

Great Uncle Herbert Was A Hermit and Other Thoughts On Retreating

All The World’s A Stage

Extra stuff you can listen to…

Thoughts for the Day

Here are the last two BBC Radio Ulster Thoughts for the Day which were broadcast in April:

Names and Identity (all about being called the wrong name)  

If Only (all about the advice you would give your younger/older self) 

What am I planning to do in May?

I am heading off to Portugal for five nights in early May. I am deliberating over whether to bring my laptop (you know that writing a book thing) or whether to just focus on working my way through a reading pile. These have been specially selected because they are mostly by writers I trust bar the odd ‘I’m taking a chance on you’ one (the man!). There’s nothing worse than wasting space in your suitcase with a book that just doesn’t do it for you even if it has topped the charts or come highly recommended by someone else. We’re all different when it comes to books!

The night before I head off to Portugal on a ridiculously early flight which makes it really not worth going to bed, I am going to the preview/opening of this National Treasures: Caravaggio in Belfast which I’m looking forward to.

So that’s it but let me finish with a recipe. This was hugely admired at the ‘East Belfast Social’ and is so incredibly easy if you ever need a dip!

Do get in touch (contact@deborahsloan.co.uk) if there’s anything in this you found interesting/useful/comforting!

P.S. I have been doing these monthly updates for a while now but I am planning to retire them so I can focus on giving you more pieces of writing on here instead (I am not stopping writing here!). Believe it or not the monthly recommendations are time-consuming to pull together and I tend to get more engagement when writing about a topic. If you are looking for recommendations, I’ll be sharing them on Instagram so feel free to connect with me there.

Deborah