Heather Burnside's Blog, page 11

In my quest to blog about some of Manchester’s wonderful historic libraries, I thought I would start with Chetham’s in view of its claim to be the oldest public library in the English-speaking world. It’s a fascinating place to look at and I am amazed that I have only recently visited it for the first time considering how long I have lived in Manchester. With my joint loves of books and poking about in old buildings, I was in my element.

Chetham’s entrance

Although visitors are advised to book in advance, I arrived on spec because I was going into Manchester city centre anyway. After a 10 minute wait due to a service taking place in the adjoining school, I was allowed access to the library and entered a beautiful medieval courtyard.

Visitors have to be accompanied by a guide (I presume it’s because of the value of some of the old books and other relics). I think my guide soon realised that progress around the building would be slow as I continuously stopped to take photographs and admire the paintings, ornate windows, beamed ceilings etc. etc. I suppose there are only so many ‘wows’ you can contend with so she eventually left me to cover the top floor unaccompanied – yippee!

Here’s a little of the history:

The library was established in 1653 under the will of Humphrey Chetham, a wealthy Manchester textile merchant, banker and landowner. It began as a school for the poor, although the building that houses the library dates back to 1421 and was built as a college for priests. Chetham’s is now a music school with the library attached.

Humphrey Chetham’s portrait above the fireplace in the reading room

The history of the building is very much in evidence as you walk around Chetham’s. The walls are built from sandstone quarried locally in Collyhurst, and I marvelled at the thickness of the doors, and the beautiful oak furniture in the reading room.

Original doors

The oak table and leather backed chairs (also oak) in the Reading Room were purchased in the 1650s. Two students were working at the other end of the table during my visit so I wasn’t able to take a picture of the whole table. The chairs are of Cromwellian type, characterised by the square backs, turned legs and scroll work on the leg connectors.

The collection of books in the library dates back to the library’s inception in 1653, and continues to expand. Nowadays the collection focuses on the history and topography of Greater Manchester and Lancashire as well as other topics of local interest. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to examine the books as they’re kept in gated alcoves.

The gated alcoves and beamed ceilings with a view through to the Reading Room

Some of the wonderful old book collection under lock and key

Lastly, I’ll finish by adding a few images of the Baronial Hall although it was difficult to capture in all its glory.

In future blog posts I’ll be visiting some of Manchester’s other historic libraries.

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Certainly the world as we know it. And I’m not just talking about reading books, newspapers and magazines, but reading in the wider sense.

Think about it. If none of us could read – what impact would it have on our world?

Well, you wouldn’t be reading this article for a start as there would be no Internet. All those stunning Internet images would be meaningless without the words to accompany them. So, there wouldn’t be any emails. Perhaps it’s not all bad; at least you wouldn’t be receiving junk. There’d be no junk mail through your letterbox either, or text messages. Just imagine, a world without the Internet. How would we cope?

Oh, but we’d still have televisions and phones, I hear you say. Ah, but how functional would television be with any written scripts to work from? Media – it’s all words in one form or another, often accompanied by eye-catching images, but words are still a fundamental part of it.

Telephones. How would the telecommunications companies operate with limited means of contact? Communication isn’t all carried out by phone. For example, how would they keep financial records if nobody could read the words and figures on the screen or on paper?

That brings me on to the financial world. Money would no longer be represented as figures on a screen or in a ledger. Instead it would take on a more tangible form. People would be weighed down by coins as they would be the only representation of money. Notes would be useless if they bore figures as nobody could read them. Perhaps we could develop a method of colour-coded notes. And we wouldn’t be withdrawing money from the cash machine because we wouldn’t understand any of the bright green gobbledegook on the screen.

Supermarkets wouldn’t have names; they’d probably have a logo instead. They’d have to have more staff so they could tell you how many small coins you needed to buy an apple and how many large coins to treat yourself to a bottle of wine. How would they deal with special offers? Two for ones? Three for twos? At least we’d (hopefully) see an end to black Friday.

Travel. How do you know which bus to catch to work when you can’t read the numbers on the front? How do you know which junction to come off at the motorway? How do you find your way to somewhere new if you can’t read a map? There’s always Sat Nav but you have to type in your selections before it will direct you to your destination. You need to be able to read and write to do that.

Work. How many office jobs involve working with words and figures on the screen or stacks of letters and forms? Which industries would survive? Probably the more tangible ones but even they would have to adapt totally to a world without reading.

Just thinking of a life without reading makes me realise how difficult it must be for those who cannot read. I’m sure there are other ways in which it must impact on their lives. Maybe there are a few things I haven’t thought about. I would love to get your comments on this.

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People who read my books might get the impression that I don’t like Manchester much, as I always write about the shady side of life. I tend to focus on that aspect of Manchester because I write Manchester based crime thrillers. Really, though, it’s no reflection on how I feel about Manchester. Sadly, every city has its share of crime. However, Manchester also has a heck of a lot going for it and I’m extremely proud to be Mancunian. So, I thought I would dedicate this blog post to things about the city that are worth celebrating.

Sports

As well as having two famous football teams, Manchester City and Manchester United, Manchester also has many other sporting facilities. These were vastly improved following the hosting of the Commonwealth Games in 2002 and include:

Manchester Aquatics Centre – one of the biggest swimming centres in the UK and the only one with two indoor 50 metre pools.

The City of Manchester Institute of Gymnastics – run by qualified gymnastics coaches who train gymnasts up to Olympic standard.

National Squash Centre – seats 1,200 spectators and hosts tournaments at national and international level.

A J Bell Stadium – Home to the Sale Sharks, one of the UK’s top rugby union teams.

Chill Factore – an indoor ski centre with the longest indoor skiing and snowboarding slope in the UK.

National Cycling Centre (The Velodrome) – The first indoor Olympic cycling track in Britain, which houses the headquarters of Britain’s governing body for cycling. The track’s regular users include Sir Chris Hoy and Laura Trott.

Arts and Culture

Manchester has a good selection of art galleries, theatres and museums. Here’s a list of 10 art galleries that are well worth checking out: ten Manchester art galleries. There are also many smaller art galleries outside the city centre, and private art galleries in the Northern Quarter and elsewhere.

There are many museums in Manchester, some of them housed in historic buildings, and several of them themed, such as the Greater Manchester Police Museum, the Gallery of Costume, and the Manchester Jewish Museum. One of my favourites is the Museum of Science and Industry, which is a great day out for children because of its interactive exhibitions.

Theatres are abundant and tickets are a fraction of the price you would pay in London. You can expect to pay around £30 – £50 for a city centre performance of a well-known play or musical. However, I enjoy visiting local theatres in towns outside the city centre where you can watch lesser known plays written by local writers with tickets costing as little as £8.

Architecture

According to Wikipedia there are 236 Grade ll* listed buildings in Greater Manchester and 48 buildings are Grade l listed. Here are a couple of examples of the city’s architecture:

Manchester Cathedral is a grade I listed building, which has a rich history. It is built from locally sourced sandstone with floors made of limestone from the nearby Peak District. Although the cathedral has been redeveloped and added to over the years, there is evidence of an early Saxon church. The cathedral has a small carving of an angel with a scroll in one of its walls. It’s called the ‘Angel Stone’ and dates back to around 700 AD.

The Old Wellington Inn and Sinclair’s Oyster Bar are both Grade ll listed buildings. The Old Wellington Inn was built in 1552 and was the residence of the Byrom family from 1554. Writer John Byrom was born there in 1692.

Following the Manchester bomb in 1996, and the regeneration of the city, these two old pubs were dismantled and rebuilt on a site 300 metres away. They now form part of an area known as Shambles Square which is located near to the cathedral.

The modern buildings which I have shown in this article are located near to some more historic buildings. Yet the city is designed in such a way that the various periods of architecture sit comfortably alongside each other.

Music Scene

Take That, James, Oasis, Simply Red, Stone Roses, The Smiths, The Happy Mondays, New Order, Inspiral Carpets and Joy Division are just some of the big name bands to have come from Manchester. Although the days of Madchester and the Hacienda are now over, Manchester still has a vibrant music scene. As well as big venues such as the Manchester Arena and The Apollo, which host international artists, Manchester also has many smaller venues where local, unsigned bands play.

Nightlife

In some ways it’s a pity that my partying days were in the 80s because Manchester is so much busier than it used to be, and there’s something for everyone. Whether you want pubs full of old world charm, trendy nightclubs, bars that cater to office workers wanting to unwind at the end of the day or bargain priced cocktails for students, Manchester has it all. You can go out in Manchester on any night of the week and it will always be busy, unlike the recession-hit early 80s when Fridays and Saturdays tended to be the only really busy nights of the week.

Then there’s the world famous Gay Village, a collection of gay bars and restaurants centred round the pedestrianised canal street. The Gay Village holds the annual Manchester Pride carnival as well as other annual events.

Dining

As with nightclubs, there’s a vast array of places to eat, and almost every type of cuisine you can think of. China town has been around for a long time as has ‘The Curry Mile’ but following the redevelopment of the city centre, there are more and more restaurants springing up all the time. There are also newer developments where several restaurants can be found concentrated into the one area such as The Printworks and Spinningfields.

Shopping

Manchester is a great city for shopping. Apart from the Arndale Centre with over 200 indoor shops, there are several department stores: Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Debenhams, House of Fraser and Marks and Spencer. There are also smaller shopping areas including The Royal Exchange, Barton Arcade, the trendy Affleck’s Palace, and The Triangle. The latter contains mainly upmarket shops. The Arndale Centre is Europe’s third largest city centre shopping centre, and is the eighth biggest UK shopping centre in terms of floor space. However, just a few miles out of the city centre, we also have the Trafford Centre, the UK’s second largest shopping centre.

For independent, boutique stores you could try the Northern Quarter, also known as the creative quarter. As well as individual shops, the Northern Quarter is the location for the Manchester Craft & Design Centre and the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art.

Media City

Just outside the city centre is Media City, a relatively recent development aimed at the creative and digital sectors. It is home to BBC North and ITV, and has one of the biggest HD studio complexes in Europe. It’s a thriving and expanding area of the city which includes offices, retail space, apartments and restaurants.

Transport Network

If you’ve grown up in Manchester you probably won’t realise the advantage that the city has over many other parts of the country. It has an excellent road and rail network, regular bus routes to most parts of the city and an ever-expanding tram network. It does suffer from some problems caused by increased traffic flow, which the additional tram lines are designed to alleviate. Manchester also has an international airport with three terminals.

Others

I’m sure there are many more things that I haven’t thought of and no doubt they’ll come to me after publication of this post. However, just to make sure I haven’t missed anyone’s favourites, here’s a fun article I found: 27 Excellent Things Manchester Gave the World.

In upcoming blog posts I’ll be looking at some of Manchester’s wonderful, historic libraries.

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Having completed most of the initial promotion for my second novel A Gangster’s Grip I’ve finally made a start on my third novel. I use the words, ‘initial promotion’ because I realise that promotion is ongoing. However, it is more concentrated at the launch of a novel. Because of this, together with client work, it has been several weeks since I have done any actual book writing.

After such a prolonged break I found it difficult to get started with the third book. I already had a plot outlined so I thought it was just a matter of doing some research and then the ideas would start flowing as they usually do. Unfortunately, after carrying out some initial research I found that my plot was totally unworkable. So there I was a few days ago with no plot whatsoever for my third book.

It was an ironic situation because there are plenty of other books I would like to write and I have even penned some ideas for several of them. The problem was, I had to write this book because it’s a trilogy. It’s promoted as a trilogy, the book cover designs show that the first two books are part of a trilogy and I’ve written the first two books with a third book in mind.

Panic!!!

Ok, I was tempted to panic but instead I tried to stay calm and think of a different angle. It wasn’t coming to me immediately so I broke for lunch. Then, when I had switched off, the ideas started forming. By about three in the afternoon I had the bare bones of a plot. I know that my subconscious brain kicks in when I am relaxed so I took another break and had a walk to the bank. By the time I returned I had the whole thing worked out and couldn’t wait to type it up.

It’s still quite daunting though because what I have is a basic plot outline. I would still like to throw in a few more and twists and turns here and there. I’m also feeling a bit dissatisfied because I had psyched myself up to write the book I had originally planned. However, I have only just touched on the research for this book and I know that more ideas will start to flow once I get engrossed in the writing. (They usually do as long as I keep focused and stay positive but, like most authors, I’m prone to periods of self-doubt.)

I think starting a new novel is always going to be a bit scary if you let yourself get carried away. Basically what you have initially is the germ of an idea, which may be between a few hundred to a few thousand words. You then have to decide whether that idea can run to a full-length novel. Even when you’ve made that decision you can still have feelings of trepidation that you might not quite make it, even if you’ve succeeded with previous novels.

You might even have the characters in mind but how do you flesh out the plot? How do you take a novel from a sketchy outline and develop it into a full-length novel. I personally go through a process. Beginning with the outline I gradually build it up into a chapter by chapter synopsis. I start to write the actual narrative when I think I’ve got enough ideas to work with. These ideas can come at different stages and are helped along by various processes: research, exploring any initial ideas, adding sub-plots to the main plot, building on the early outline, planning the sequence of events and the highlights of the novel etc.

The more engrossed I become, the more the ideas flow. I also often find that I write out of sequence if, for example, I think of an idea for a scene later in the novel. I prefer to write it out in full straightaway while it’s fresh in my mind then I can slot it into the overall framework.

I love the feeling when the ideas are flowing. I’ve not quite reached that stage yet and I think this is because I hadn’t done any (novel) writing for several weeks. It’s starting to come though, but I need to carry out more detailed research before I can push forward. I’m off to the library tomorrow to comb through the archives. I need to read eye-witness accounts of a particular event so that I can get a real sense of what it felt like. I’m hoping to come home fired up and raring to go.

The third book in the trilogy will be another work of fiction but, as with ‘A Gangster’s Grip’, it will be based on real events. It looks like I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me. :)

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From 1st November, and throughout the month of November, I will be taking part in a readalong of my first novel Slur with the Goodreads group ‘A Good Thriller’. If you want to join in the readalong, please follow the link: Goodreads Readalong. You will have to join the group in order to post comments but otherwise you can just follow the chat. For anyone who is interested in thrillers, I would recommend joining this lively group. Later in this post I’ve outlined some of the fun online activities that this group organises.

The format that the readalong takes is that readers have an opportunity to read the book and discuss it with the author while they are reading. This gives them a chance to ask any questions about the author’s writing process, plot lines, characters or anything else that may interest them. The author then dips in and out of the thread to respond to questions and comments made by members.

Readalongs aren’t just open to people who choose to read the book during the discussion; people who have already read the book can join in too. The group has already hosted a number of successful readalongs, which have been enjoyed by both readers and authors.

This is just one of the threads that members of ‘A Good Thriller’ can take part in. It’s a very active group and one of the friendliest I have come across on Goodreads. As well as various themed chats, two of the popular threads that members can take part in are ‘Book Pals’ and ‘Pick it for Me’. With ‘Book Pals’, members read and discuss a book along with a partner. ‘Pick it for Me’ involves listing a selection of books that you would like to read, and members will then help you choose which books they think you should read next from that selection. There are many other fun threads too so this group is well worth checking out if you are a fan of thrillers.

If you would like to join in the readalong and get an insight into the mind of a crime thriller writer, it will take part from 1st November – just follow the link: Goodreads Readalong.

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On Saturday 24th October I held my book signing event for my second novel, A Gangster’s Grip at Thackeray’s Books in Denton, Manchester. The shop’s proprietors had prepared an excellent window display in advance of the book signing, showing the cover of ‘A Gangster’s Grip’ and giving the background to both of my novels.  Apparently the poster had attracted interest and positive feedback from customers in the days preceding the book signing.

We arrived fifteen minutes early to find that we already had a customer waiting, and we still had to set up the table and display. My wardrobe malfunction didn’t help matters and, as more customers arrived, I struggled to free my lacy blouse, which had become entangled in my necklace. (This is not exactly the professional image you want to project to readers. :) ) A valuable lesson was learnt and I think that in future it would be advisable to arrive half an hour before the signing.

Fortunately the customers were very patient, and the convivial atmosphere at Thackeray’s helped. Book signings are held in a room above the bookshop, which is also a tearoom selling home-made pastries and housing art displays from local authors.

As well as people who had attended my previous book signing for Slur, there were some new faces. It was great to meet new readers and chat about my books. One thing I did underestimate was how many copies of my previous novel, ‘Slur’ I would need. Because ‘A Gangster’s Grip’ is the second book in a trilogy, readers who hadn’t already read ‘Slur’ wanted to start with that one first. Some even bought both books. Another valuable lesson learnt for future signings is to stock up on print copies of all my books. I have now sold out of my author copies of ‘Slur’ and emptied Thackeray’s shelves of all copies too, although the book can still be ordered online from Amazon. N.B. I’ll be restocking as soon as possible.

Despite a couple of minor hiccups, it was a successful afternoon, and a wonderful opportunity to engage with readers. Although readers can get an idea of what a book is about by reading the blurb and glancing through the first few pages, they enjoy meeting authors and finding out a little about the background to novels. Book signings give readers a chance to do this and also enable authors to build up a local following.

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On Saturday 17th October I took part in a radio interview with Hannah Kate from North Manchester Radio: http://northmanchester.fm/. Hannah hosts a regular show at 2pm on Saturday afternoons called ‘Hannah’s Bookshelf’. During the show she discusses books, creative writing and publishing. Her guests include local authors as well as others involved in the book world such as publishers and librarians. Hannah has had some interesting and esteemed guests so I was honoured to take part in the show.

The show lasted two hours and you can listen to the recording or perhaps just catch snippets by following the link: Hannah’s Bookshelf.

Hannah (left) and me (right)

We met an hour before the show was scheduled to start so that Hannah could set everything up and find out a bit of background information about me. This was in addition to the information that she had already gleaned from my website. Hannah was very professional in her approach, which helped to put me at ease.

Initially I was nervous at the prospect of talking about my work for two hours but it’s amazing how the time flies when you find someone else who shares your passion for books. The format of the show is an informal chat in ten minute segments with one or two tracks played in between each segment. For the first ten to fifteen minutes of the show Hannah talks about a book she has recently read and announces any literary events that are taking place locally. Then, after a track it’s time to introduce her guest.

Sharing a joke

It was daunting at first knowing that thousands of people were listening to my every word, cough and splutter but Hannah is an experienced interviewer and she soon helped to settle me down. One of the things I tend to do when I am nervous is waffle, go off at a tangent and completely forget the question that was asked in the first place but Hannah skilfully kept me on track.

During the course of the two hours we covered the background to my writing career from the time that I decided to swap credit control for writing right through to the publication of my novels and short story book. We also discussed my writing influences, my reasons for writing the type of material I write and my typical writing day.

Hannah also includes a fun session in the latter half of her show where she asks her guests which three books they would choose to save in the event of an apocalypse. I won’t include my selections here but they’re all included in the audio recording if you would like to check them out.

Chatting about books

It was interesting to see how a radio show works. The host has to be careful to get the timings right and I followed Hannah’s lead to make sure I didn’t get too carried away with my responses and muck up the schedule. It was a fun afternoon and a real pleasure to meet the lovely Hannah Kate.

As well as hosting ‘Hannah’s Bookshelf’ Hannah wears many other hats. She is a published author and editor whose work has appeared in anthologies and national magazines, and she runs a small press and events company. Hannah is also an academic lecturer, researcher and writer. You can find out more about this talented lady by visiting her website at: http://hannahkate.net/.

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As promised, the Goodreads Giveaway for ‘A Gangster’s Grip’ starts today. The wonderful Chris Howard has come up with another stunning cover design, which looks even better in print, so it’s well worth getting your hands on a copy.

For a chance of winning one of three signed print copies, just follow the link below. You will be prompted to sign into Goodreads and then be taken straight to the Goodreads Giveaway area for ‘A Gangster’s Grip’. Simples!

Giveaway ends October 29, 2015.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Wishing you the best of luck!

It’s been a busy couple of days since the launch of ‘A Gangster’s Grip’ and there’s still a lot happening. Here’s an update:

‘Slur’ Free Promotion – Although I originally planned to offer ‘Slur’ for free a few weeks after the launch of ‘A Gangster’s Grip’, I made an impromptu, last minute decision to offer it free at the same time as the launch. ‘Slur’ is therefore currently available to download to the Kindle FREE until Sunday. Here’s the link if you want to grab a copy before the offer expires: http://viewbook.at/Slur.

Author Interview – Fellow author Georgia Rose has published a fabulous interview on her website at: Georgia Rose, in which we discuss some of the background behind ‘A Gangster’s Grip’ amongst other topics. Georgia is a busy lady who is a member of Rosie’s book review team as well as a talented author. You can find lots of great book reviews, author interviews and details of Georgia’s own riveting trilogy on her website. It’s well worth a visit.

First Reviews – ‘A Gangster’s Grip’ has received its first reviews, one of which is from the lovely Kath at Ignite Books. Kath only features 5 star reviews on her blog so I was extremely chuffed to get a mention. It’s also good to hear that Kath feels ‘A Gangster’s Grip’ is a better book than ‘Slur’ because, like all writers, I aim to improve with each novel.

‘About Manchester’ Feature – The launch of ‘A Gangster’s Grip was also featured in the ‘About Manchester’ online magazine so here’s another link to check out: About Manchester.

I still have plenty of activities lined up so I’ll keep you updated as events take place. Right, now I’m off to post a print copy of ‘A Gangster’s Grip’ to my daughter – she’s first in the queue otherwise I’m in big trouble. :)

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The day of the launch has finally arrived and ‘A Gangster’s Grip’, book two in The Riverhill Trilogy, is now available in both a Kindle and print format from Amazon. Here is the link: http://viewbook.at/GangstersGrip.

I have plenty of events lined up to celebrate the launch of my second novel, including:

A Radio Interview – It will take place on 17th October at North Manchester Radio station in Harpurhey, Manchester. They have a Saturday afternoon slot specifically dedicated to books, creative writing and publishing so I am pleased to have been invited as a guest on the show.

Book Shop Signing – On 24th October I will be signing copies of ‘A Gangster’s Grip’ at Thackeray’s Book Shop in Denton, Manchester. Thackeray’s will also be stocking copies of both ‘A Gangster’s Grip’ and ‘Slur’.

Goodreads Giveaway – I’ll be giving away signed copies of ‘A Gangster’s Grip’ to two lucky winners in a Goodreads Giveaway so look out for details on my Goodreads author page by following the link here.

A Free Promotion of ‘Slur’ – From today ‘Slur’ will be available to download to the Kindle FREE of charge for five days. ‘Slur’ is the first book in The Riverhill Trilogy so if you haven’t already read it, this is a great opportunity to start at the beginning. Here is the link: http://viewbook.at/Slur.

Online Interviews and Features – I will be taking part in a few online interviews and features. The first of these is a chat ‘Around the Cauldron’ with Wiz Green aka popular author Mark Barry, which has earned me the amusing nickname of Hardcore Heather. (I must point out that this refers to the grit lit sub-genre that my novels fit into rather than my lifestyle :).) You can catch the full interview: here.

I will keep you updated about the above activities by publishing further details on the blog as the events take place.

And there was I telling myself that I would be less busy after the launch; I guess I will have to postpone my winter break.

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