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Sunday 4 November 2012

Whitby Goth Weekend - Panda, a corset, dusting and being 'An Entourage'.

Oh, veritably have I been jet-setting this past week!  Well, no, there were no actual jets involved, mostly cars and legs, and it wasn't so much set as a bit...well, wobbly; definitely one stage up from liquid but not quite as firm as one would like one's set to be, so...all right, not so much jet-setting as leg-wobbling then.  But I have most definitely been it.  For this week I have been signing books all over the place.  Mostly just inside the front cover, it has to be admitted, but also in York, Leeds, Scarborough and, particularly noteably, at the Goth Weekend in Whitby.

Also my mother came to criticise the curtains and make noises at the cats and this always distracts me from the process of writing.  She hasn't been up to visit us here in the wilds of Yorkshire for a couple of years, so you can only imagine the lengths I had to go to to cover up the dirt before she arrived.  I DUSTED, people!  And you know that dust and I have a slightly symbiotic relationship, and I have, on occasion, used to it make notes on an upcoming work in progress, so the cleaning and clearing up that this maternal visit initiated was like ridding myself of old friends. Anyway.  It accounts for my somewhat lackadaisical appearance on the Internet recently.

But!  And it is a big but, particularly in these trousers... I have delightful pictures to show you!  Here, look, this is one of them...





This is me, engothulated and about to sign some copies of Vampire State of Mind, in Whitby Bookshop.  It was absolutely lovely, so many lovely people in such beautiful costumes, and me in a tight corset and three inch heels.  I could neither breathe nor walk, I was like a typical Victorian Miss.  For a while I thought about having consumption just to complete the picture, but since I couldn't cough either this would merely have consisted of me holding a hanky in front of my face, and passers by may have thought this was a ploy to prevent my make-up from scaring the horses.  So I didn't.  I don't know why it says Vintage Gifts behind me.  I am neither.




Here I am, sitting down, to my great relief.  Try not to be distracted by my heaving bosoms, when you are laced into a corset your bosoms are the least of your worries, even if, it transpires, you can balance a pint on them.  I am accompanied in this picture by Panda - a gentlemanly specimen of his species, who belongs to Paul and Jeremy and who kindly posed with me to prevent me from looking quite so Billy No-Mates.  Paul was there to read from some of his 'Brenda and Effie' novels later in the day, which I also attended and which was lovely, and I actually got to be part of his entourage - well, we walked from the pub to the bookshop together and I guess that qualifies as entouraging - which is something else I've never done before!  Yey!  Although I do have to add that we were actually in the pub beforehand, talking about forebodings, which is not quite as rock and roll, although I did rock and roll considerably whilst walking over cobbles in three inch heels, and the wine came as something of a relief.

And now, to allow your eyes to stop rotating in their sockets at the sight of me in a corset, with a panda, here is a delightful photograph of the bridlepath outside my house, in the mist.  Look on it as a holiday for your brain...

And try not to dwell on the thought of me in a corset, it's not good for you.

11 comments:

Laura E. James said...

You look absolutely wicked, Jane. I'm partial to a bit of goth - will share some of my outfits one day ;-)
Excellent blog and funny as Hell.
See what I did there?
Xx

Sarah Tranter said...

You look great, Jane. I LOVE Whitby. My hubs used to be a goth and although we never quite made it to the Whitby weekends, many of our friends did. Very jealous - not of the cleaning though. Eeek. Have you recovered yet? Sxxx

Anonymous said...

I am so glad you took the photos, you look really gothy. (not sure if that's a word!) Fab outfit and the panda adds a splash of colour.
I bet you had them drooling in the shop, not to mention the pub.
Enjoyed the post.
Lorraine H

Jane Lovering said...

Thank you, you are all very kind about my Gothicisation! Didn't notice any drool, Lorraine, at least I don't think I did. But I did step in something sticky, maybe that was it? Yes, Laura, I took note of your puns, and will use them against you at a later date. And Sarah - now the place is clean, I shall not need to do any more housework until after Christmas...

Guernsey Girl said...

This really made me laugh, Jane. My daughter lives in York and last time we went to Whitby I discovered a wonderful place called Argument Yard!
I shall be at the Festival of Romance in a couple of weeks and do hope I get the chance to say hello.

Marilyn

Jane Lovering said...

Marilyn, yes I know Argument Yard..I've always favoured the Argument Seven Furlongs myself... And please do come and say hello at the Festival! I won't, you will be pleased to hear, be wearing a corset. Well, not all the time anyway...

Chris Stovell said...

Well, I bet that attracted a whole new set of fans! (Yes, you - we know what you googled. And see my previous comment - buy Jane's books while you're here). Me, I'm keeping my vest tucked in!

Jane Lovering said...

Thank you, Chris. I'm not sure that the people it would attract will be fans as such... but, hey, at my age if people want to ogle my bosoms then ogle away! (It's not really a chest at all, it's all the 'lower fat' squeezed upwards by the corset). Next time I shall take your advice and keep my cardi on.

Flowerpot said...

Great blog Jane and glad you signed so many books! Still laughing now...

Jane Lovering said...

Thank you! I'm glad I signed so many books too... and I hope you're not laughing at the sight of me in my corset...

LindyLouMac said...

As always a highly amusing post and lovely photos. :)