West Calder High School

…and today there’s another double meaning in that title.

I’m delighted to post a copy of Gilli Allan‘s cover reveal for her book Buried Treasure on launch day. The blurb:

Jane thinks he sees her as shallow and ill-educated. Theo thinks she sees him as a snob, stuffy and out of touch.
Within the ancient precincts of the university the first encounter between the conference planner and the academic is accidental and unpromising. Just as well there’s no reason for them ever to meet again. But behind the armour they’ve each constructed from old scars, they’ve more in common than divides them. Both have an archaeological puzzle they are driven to solve. As their stories intertwine, their quest to uncover the past unearths more than expected.

The buy link is here

… and the second? Well, this diary has prompted an old schoolfriend to get in touch bringing me up-to-date with his life. After decades, it’s treasure indeed.

So, it was a heads down day yesterday although I did take an evening walk as my nose was bothering me. The wonderful local butcher’s is closed for re-furbishment and I wanted to check on progress.

Finished the first instalment of the draft serial and printed it off. I can already see one or two issues – that’s why you never send anything in straight away. Took advice about why I couldn’t get into the RNA conference site. Apparently copy and paste is the answer! It worked for me. Re-wrote the serial synopsis and will check that over this morning. Made a few phone calls but people are now out more – that’s nice – and only found two in. However, I do have a hairdressing appointment. DH played croquet and online bridge.

What changes are you seeing?

Anne

Honesty is the Best Policy was the title of the first ever debate I took part in at my secondary school, West Calder High School. I’d come through S1 and in S2 was allowed to stay on after hours to attend things like debating societies and drama clubs organised in part by pupils, but mostly by our peerless Head of English, Doctor Lillian MacQueen.

My contribution to the debate involved a gentle ribbing of one of the fourth year boys, are you reading this Charles Rigg, about the quality of his recent haircut. While I might have one opinion of the haircut, I said, I might find it kinder to say something else. It raised a huge laugh and my school career in debating was launched.

Novelists, dramatists and other fiction writers, have much experience of this double-edge. Too strict an adherence to the facts and you’re writing reportage: too great a departure from human nature and no reader will believe in your characters.

However, I would argue that we do have a duty to honesty in writing our stories. The honesty we need to practise is to the central truth of our story. Never, ever end with the cop-out line – It was all a dream. Avoid miraculous personality changes such as only happen in real life after catastrophic head injury. Never, ever, write what you think your mum would like to read.

Believe me, you don’t know what your mum would like to read.