Author: Fiona

Does your work have meaning?

Work can be exhausting. But it can be rewarding too. I’ve just finished writing a month-long series of bible-study notes on the book of Ecclesiastes. It’s for the wonderful Inspiring Women Everyday, published by CWR. The booklet will be published in April 2013 and will be called: ‘Chasing After the Wind – finding meaning in a meaningless world.’ Well without giving too much away in advance, I found after reading this often depressing book, that pretty much everything is meaningless if it is done with the wrong motive or is not a result of a life lived in line with God’s plans. ‘Meaningless, meaningless,’ cries the teacher of Ecclesiastes but in the next breath he declares:

‘(God) has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his toil – this is the gift of God.’ (Ecc 3:9 – 13).

Now that’s a pretty good attitude to adopt, I think. I don’t know how you are feeling about your work today. Perhaps you are just worn into the ground with the daily grind of it, or perhaps you are resentful that you do everything asked of you yet no one seems to appreciate it. On the other hand, perhaps you have no work and are are gradually losing your will to keep on trying to find some. I would encourage you today to recommit yourself to your work or your quest to find it and look for some meaning within it.

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You can’t judge a film by its cover: Black Snake Moan

craig-brewer-black-snake-moanMy husband and I recently watched a film on his iPhone during a weekend away (both of us thought the other one was bringing the DVD for the hotel DVD player). After moaning about the size of the screen I finally settled down to watch the flick. It was called Black Snake Moan with Christina Ricci and Samuel L. Jackson, written and directed by Craig Brewer. The hubby warned me that the content was ‘raw’ but that if I stuck it out I would really enjoy it. He said it’s a lot deeper than it looks. Well true to his word, the content was very raw. Sex, swearing, nudity and domestic violence – not my usual content of choice. Without giving too much away, naked women and chains feature prominently. And yet, it turned out to be a bitter-sweet tale of redemption and one of the more ‘spiritual’ films I’ve seen in a while. This film speaks more eloquently of God’s love and forgiveness than most of the stuff you may be unfortunate enough to stumble across on the God Channel. I was also pleasantly surprised to see the Christian characters in the film portrayed as pretty normal folk and not self-righteous hypocrites. Afterwards I looked up the film on the internet and had a good laugh at the cover and poster. If I’d seen that before seeing the film, I doubt I’d have agreed to watch it. Just shows, you can’t judge a film by its cover. Nor, for that matter, a human being.

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Lost Empires by JB Priestley

Lost EmpiresLost Empires by J.B. Priestley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Set in 1913, Lost Empires is about a young artist who takes a job assisting his illusionist uncle in a travelling variety show. We follow young Dick over a 12-month period as he falls in lust with an older woman and in love with a young singer who initially does not requite his love. The heady passions of Dick’s love affairs are played out against the backdrop of a murder investigation as one of the troupe is found dead. The ticking clock of the build up to war and the mystery around ‘whodunnit’ give Lost Empires a thriller dimension, however, it is really a literary novel. The insight into a world that is about to be lost forever is incredibly moving and far more interesting than the half-baked mystery of the murder. For readers looking for a good whodunnit, this is not it. But if you are looking for a poignant portrait of a young man in love at a dying period of history then Priestley delivers the goods. I know Priestley primarily as a dramatist (Time and the Conways, An Inspector Calls) and this was the first novel I read. I think I will read him again, but not with the expectation of getting a well-constructed mystery.

View all my reviews

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36th Anniversary of Soweto Riots

fiona-veitch-smith-the-peace-gardenToday is the 36th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising – 16 June 1976. That infamous point in history, when black school children demonstrated for the right to be taught in English, forms an integral part of my literary thriller The Peace Garden about a young English girl who befriends a South African political exile. If you would like a ‘novel’ take on how that day 36 years ago impacted one family for three generations, get hold of my book. If you’re still unsure, check out the reviews. It’s an e-book and only $0.99.

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When Olympic dreams fail

Today is the day the Olympic Torch comes through my hometown of Newcastle Upon Tyne. Hopefully the rain will stop in time for my daughter and I to line the streets and watch the symbol of hope and unity jog past in the sweaty palm of one of the inspiring torchbearers who have been nominated for their contribution to their community. Good for them. But for me, today is a bitter sweet day.

For the last 18 months I’ve been living with the hope that my play Marathon, about the first woman Olympic marathon runner at the 1896 games, would be performed today as part of the Cultural Olympiad. The play has a wonderful producer (Pete Mortimer from Cloud Nine Productions) and a pretty decent scriptwriter (moi) and has almost been taken on by two of the region’s leading theatres. I even had an endorsement from Olympic Women, an organisation promoting greater awareness of women athletes through history. And yet, somehow, it never happened. Overfull programmes, shortage of cash, etc etc etc. Continue reading “When Olympic dreams fail” →

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Online Social Networking presentation

Hello to all my old and new friends from this year’s Christian Resources Together Conference in Swanwick. As promised, here is the presentation I gave on online social networking for authors, publishers and retailers. Included are links to resources to help you get started on Facebook, Twitter, Amazon Author Central and Goodreads. It was lovely meeting you all and I hope to ‘link up’ with some of you on Facebook, Twitter or Goodreads. You can find links to follow me on FB and Twitter on my about page.

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