Author Archives: Hilary

1924 Going on Safari

Posted on 14th March 2020 by Hilary

In 1924, newly-married Emilie May accompanied her husband Fred on a Tax collecting drive in the Native Reserve and on Squatters on farms near Machakos. Fred went on these Safaris at least once a month for around two weeks.  She … Continue reading →

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Jumping in Time within a novel and avoiding clichés

Posted on 23rd August 2019 by Hilary

I seek out books that are set in different times and the story moves forwards and backwards between those times. I want to know how the author has handled both the passage of time and signals that time has moved … Continue reading →

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How we view the world, then and now

Posted on 21st July 2019 by Hilary

I’ve reached the bit in my book where Emilie May has arrived in Nairobi to get married. It took her exactly one month to the day from setting off from Reading Station to arrive in Nairobi. I flew to Nairobi … Continue reading →

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The challenges of writing Narrative Non-Fiction

Posted on 11th July 2019 by Hilary

It’s been five weeks since I had my first meeting and my first milestone was set: a strapline, a story arc and 20,000 words, much of it already written, so meeting the deadline six weeks away in mid-July should have … Continue reading →

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Grappling with straplines/loglines and tag lines

Posted on 20th June 2019 by Hilary

Straplines first (that’s the UK term, the American’s call them loglines). Use only 25 – 30 words in no more than two sentences. The descriptor needs three components: the protagonist, the antagonist and the goal. Don’t use names, use adjectives … Continue reading →

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Going back to the beginning and setting the first milestone

Posted on 8th June 2019 by Hilary

Both books share the same problems as I have, that the source material is mainly in letter, diary and photographic form with a general theme of fragility of memory. It’s a universal problem in this genre. Stories need dialogue to … Continue reading →

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Resuming

Posted on 7th June 2019 by Hilary

Day one, and a commitment (to myself) to complete The Seedsman’s Daughter, my Memoir of Emilie May, my grandmother, within a year. While on that journey I hope to find others who are on a similar journey, share a similar … Continue reading →

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April blog

Posted on 7th April 2016 by Hilary

Ok, my first blog. My intention is that these are at least monthly as part of my strategy to write this novel by setting goals and deadlines, but if you find it useful or interesting too then this is also good. This … Continue reading →

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Trans Nzoia Settlers and Roses

Posted on 13th February 2016 by Hilary

The further we go up this road, the more the poverty. Martin is shocked that Kenyans still live like this – women and children collecting water in Mutumgi (jerrycans) beside cattle drinking the same water. Primary school children are playing … Continue reading →

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Gertrude Mary Kuhn

Posted on 12th February 2016 by Hilary

Today I went to pay my respects to Gertrude Mary Kuhn – an Edinburgh lass and nanny to my mother and her two sisters – who is buried in the old cemetery in Kitale. She died on 18th September 1929 … Continue reading →

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