Vesper presented me with this lovely Sisterhood Award and tagged me with
"a list of the twenty-five authors who have influenced my writing."

I decided to add my own twist to the tag and I have also listed some of the books that were influential. The authors are listed alphabetically.


Louisa M Alcott - I share a love of Little Women with my mother and daughters. I can’t remember a day when I did not have a copy of the book somewhere in the house.

Enid Blyton – Unfortunately the politically correct brigade have vilified the British icon over the past thirty years or so. Childhood summers were always accompanied by The Famous Five

Emily, Charlotte and Anne Bronte – Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and the Tenant of Wildfell Hall!!! I breath the same air!

Agatha Christie – I will travel on The Orient Express!

Helen Clare - After my dolls, my favourite toy was an antique dolls house that was given to me when I was around six years old. It was a Victorian house furnished with a mixture of Victorian, Edwardian and Art Deco furniture. The Five Dolls Series was my constant companion.

Colette – 90% of my books are purchased second hand. I came across an ‘ex libris’ copy of Cheri in the 1970s and there was just something about it!

Catherine Cookson – At one stage in my life I had read every book! The good news is that the lady was such a prolific writer that I have still a few delights left to discover. Too many favourites but The Fifteen Streets has to be amongst the top few.

Charles Dickens - Who can ever forget a Dicken's Character? Miss Haversham, Tiny Tim, Pip, Oliver Twist, Scrooge and Fagan - to name but a few! Charles Dickens - a man whose life was as fascinating as his fiction!

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – No film has ever done justice to his characters. Read the books to discover the true Sherlock Holmes

Alan Garner – The Weirdstone of Brisingamen – my first realistion that other people had an imagination like my own.

‘H’ – My father – whose autobiography helped me to discover things about myself I never realised.

Adrian Henri - A poet not an author but never the less one of my greatest writing influences.

C S Lewis – The Chronicles of Narnia – a dream I share with my children and grandchildren.

Daphne Du Marrier – What can I say? French Man’s Creek and The House on the Strand Just thinking about these books makes me want to hold them in my hands and travel once again into her imagination.

Carolyn Keene - I discovered Nancy Drew in the off bounds Young Adult section of the library when I still held child library tickets. I had to wait until I was thirteen before I could read about the adventures of the young American teenager! Only the 1970s but children today would think this was a childhood memory from the Victorian age!

Anne Rice – I think I’ve read all of the Vampire Chronicles and Lestat is without doubt my favourite vampire – however it was The Witching Hour which first hooked me.

Sir Walter Scott – One day we shall sit in a library together and chat. Guy Mannering - the one where he mentions my ancestors ;D

Robert Lewis Stevenson - What adventures we have shared together! Kidnapped - read, dream - discover!

Leslie Thomas - Who would believe that The Virgin Soldiers would be on my list? I remember my father had a copy in the glove compartment of his car and ... well ... I just have to read! Leslie's autobiography This Time Next Week is a poignant journey into his childhood and early years.

Kathleen Winsor – Forever Amber is definitely one of my all time favourite books. I remain in love with Lord Bruce Carlton and Katherine’s not so happy endings.

Kathleen E Woodiwiss – Where are you Wulfgar? The Wolf and the Dove – now there is a romance for you!

John Wyndham - The Midwich Cuckoos frightened me witless!


I would like to present the Sisterhood Award to all readers of this blog - male or female, and the tag is open to anyone who would like to take it up :D

Labels: Author, Awards, Fiction, Miladysa

Posted by Miladysa at 11:14 AM 23 Comments

I broke away from hard work today and enjoyed a couple of hours - yes, a couple of hours! - creating a Story Trailer for Refuge of Delayed Souls.

Here it is folks - hope you enjoy it :D


RoYds Premiere

Labels: Fiction, Refuge of Delayed Souls, Story Trailer, Video

Posted by Miladysa at 12:19 AM

Please join me on a little walk in the Dell...

Labels: Dell, Lancashire, Miladysa, Video

Posted by Miladysa at 10:20 PM 23 Comments

Friday March 13 2009 is RED NOSE DAY

Red Nose Day is the day our entire nation goes crazy and has fun raising money for a great cause - Comic Relief. Celebrities freely give their services and no one is above letting their hair down and getting daft with it!

This year Red Nose Day has gone digital. For a donation of £1 you can upload a photograph and add your very own Digital Red Nose.

Mr Sparks just had to have one!

Fighting poverty is a full time job. The Red Nose Team work hard throughout the year to make a difference both at home and abroad.

"60% of the money raised helps to give people living in grinding poverty across Africa a better chance in life. 40% helps poor and disadvantaged people and communities across the UK turn their lives around."

1st place: $500
2nd place: $350
3rd place: $150

Labels: Comic Relief, Digital Red Nose, Red Nose Day

Posted by Miladysa at 12:01 AM 18 Comments

Following on from Baino and KJ Babes wonderfully entertaining Home Tours here is an insight into the World of Miladysa.

Firstly, I should mention that our home is TINY, that's British tiny -- not American or Australian tiny!






















I really love the glass in the front door especially the way the natural light travels through the Wedgwood blue glass panes.






















This is my corner of the world. The wooden box contains old family papers - birth, marriage, death certificates, extracts from census documents, wills, etc. I am never more than a day away from some form of serious genealogical research and like to keep everything close to hand. It also makes a handy resting place for my laptop and mint imperials :D




























Sir H's armchair. Mr Sparks likes to keep it warm for his Master. Note the glass cabinet in the corner -- a display vehicle for my precious silver and crystal...






















... a close up of the bottom half of the glass cabinet usually obscured by Sir H's armchair. These are my real treasures -- cards, pictures, notes and little handmade gifts from my children and grandchildren.






















The kitchen -- predominantly Sir H's territory!





























The kitchen noticeboard -- a hectic collection of E's wonderful artwork, letters from school and things to do!






















The conservatory -- E's beautifully crafted barrow has found a place here until it's warm enough for it to be a home for flowers and planted in the garden. I'm thinking of renaming this room the Karaoke and Wii Sports Lounge...






















Another shot of the conservatory - if you look closely you can just catch Mr Sparks scratching his belly on the jute rug...


Hope you enjoyed the tour!


Apologies for not being around much this week. E is still off school - the good news is that she is now on the road to recovery following a course of antibiotics.

I've been rather busy on the RoYds front too although you may be surprised to hear this since I failed to post (yet again) a Chapter this week. The good news is that I have employed the services of a remarkable lady named Jessica Augustsson -- a Freelance Copy Editor who specialises in Speculative Fiction. Refuge of Delayed Souls is undergoing the full edit and revision treatment. I'll be posting the first draft of the newly edited chapters as we go along and there should be a "dead tree" version of the story available later this year - fingers crossed!

Right - off to catch up with all your news :D

Labels: Editor, Miladysa, Refuge of Delayed Souls

Posted by Miladysa at 10:01 AM 26 Comments

There's been quite a bit going on recently and little time to blog about it or catch up with all your news. Here is a quick round up of what's been happening:

• The half term school holidays came - and went
  

• We visited sunny Yorkshire to spend some time with Sir H's parents
  

• My youngest daughter caught a virus which the doctors suspect was the dreaded Norovirus
  

• The wonderful people over at the Web Fiction Guide asked me to join them as a Guide Editor - Yay!
  

• Sir H learned that the pain he was experiencing with his knee was going to require more medical intervention that we first believed. Looks like a replacement knee joint and two new hips joints are on the agenda. We will know more in the next two weeks when all the result are in from the scans and tests.
  

• I gained a better understanding of what editing actually entails thanks to Netta the Editor!
  

• "Gothic Web Opera Spans Generations"
  ~ Refuge of Delayed Souls received another review and I just LOVE it!
  

Labels: Miladysa, Refuge of Delayed Souls

Posted by Miladysa at 2:59 PM 18 Comments