On Friday, Bopress Miniature books asked if I was interested in writing a short-story about Gisborne for the studio to create and bind a special book. I needed no urging because last year the studio did a beautiful version of The Masked Ball around the time that we were actually holding a ‘virtual’ masked ball on the blog.
Inspired by The Pillowbook of Sei Shonagon.
Things that I hate:
Living in the city. Traffic lights and lines of traffic. Tarmac paths. Crowds. Being away from the city in a quiet village and finding that some selfish little 20-something has decided to have a party with boom-boom music which he feels obliged to have at full volume. No doubt he is from the city and is returning to the city on Sunday. I wanted so much to have the peace of wind, waves and nightbirds this evening. (Perhaps it will rain, driving the Spoilers and Soilers inside.) Realising its getting a little chilly to wear red shorts. 
The smell of garlic the next day. Autumn leaves. Missing my husband. Having no daylight saving. Having to go back to the city tomorrow and leaving House. Black clothing.
I could smell his hand and some pathetic part of my body reacted like a cat with a bowl of cream. But the direness of my stuation kicked the bowl to smithereens and as I struggled, squirming and pulling against him, I realized I could never call for help. To whom? De Courcey’s men? I tried to kick backward, wanting to hurt him…
The pics are starting to drop into my mailbox. I’ll add more to the gallery as they arrive but here’s the first three.
Barb from Rome who was the first to send the images through. 
Thanks so much, BG.
Cast your eyes on this picture! 
These are the prizes kindly offered by Pat Sweet from bopressminiaturebooks for the most exciting image of The Stumpwork Robe and/or The Last Stitch and it’s owner supplied to the blog. As she’s agreed to mail these delightful collectors’ pieces anywhere in the world, she’ll be the judge. I hope everyone’ll get into the spirit. The sad thing is that there is a whole potential supply of pics from those who bought the novels in standard bookstores and may not even be followers of Mesmered. Ah well…
I’m asking any reader who has a copy of
Novel being sent from Australia to UK publisher.
The Stumpwork Robe or The Last Stitch either in hard copy or on their Kindle (in which case you’d need to have the relevant page in view), to have yourself photographed holding said book in the oddest/most beautiful/most international etc setting, so I can upload it onto the blog and Facebook. And to be frank just to give my book and I a thrill.
As I ponder the future of my novels and my writing after such a heart-warming response yesterday, I do feel that in the interests of fairness I should point out a few things about the consultancy with whom I have been working.
A Thousand Glass Flowers.
Prue Batten
© 2009
Chapter One
Lalita
Thumping woke her and the dog growled from her bed. The bar across the door rattled and underneath her fingers she could feel the hackles on the animal’s spine. ‘Hush, Phaeton,’ she whispered. ‘He can’t hurt me.’
Writing frantically to fill my commitments for FanstRAvaganza was the best thing I’ve done in terms of moving Gisborne along. As a quasi-regular upload to the blog in the past, such lack of commitment to the narrative was not a good thing. Despite the fact I loved writing this story more than any other I’ve done, there were always other writing commitments. Kindle edits, edits of a fantasy manuscript to be sent to London, writing blogs… oh and Twitter, Facebook, and the now famous and much-loved Austen #A4T contributions.
