Only in Wallonia

Today, I decided to have an away day. Owing to all the commitments and deadlines I have this summer, there's been no time for a holiday as such, so I felt that having drafted several sections of my dissertation and done a heap of boat work, I deserved some hours off. So, with Koos in Poland and too much rain for painting, I went south to seek the company of those wonderful Wandering Snails of note, Anne and Oll.

Their narrowboat, generally referred to simply as Snail, was moored at Pommeroeul which is a lovely village in the far south of Belgium. However, as is often the case, the canal is a good stretch from the village itself and the Snail was moored at the junction between the busy and much used Canal Nimy Blaton-Peronnes and the Canal Hensies-Pommeroeul, which is no longer accessible to boaters owing to serious silting at the French border through which it passes (a long story for perhaps another post). As a result, there is a large lock at the junction with the canal from Blaton to Peronnes that is no longer in use.

Canal junction with the lock being the thin blue line between
the two basins

It is a lovely spot, even when the weather is bad (as it was today). I have been there a couple of times before but hadn't matched the name to the place until I arrived. There is a wide basin just before the lock and the sense of space and even solitude is marvellous (see aerial photo here). I'd had what might be called an 'interesting' drive down given that I got lost three times on route and endured Sindy shouting at me every time I slowed down to find out where I was. Added to that, it poured with rain for most of the journey, and I was an hour and a half later than I said I'd be. As a result, my sense of humour had taken quite a hammering by the time I pulled up next to the jetty. Even so, it was lovely to step out of the car (in the drizzle) and breathe in the fresh (damp) air and take in the space and tranquillity of the place again. It was also wonderful to see Anne and Oll again and we spent some good catch-up hours together.

But there is one thing about the lock at Pommeroeul makes it particularly special. In fact, it empitomises what makes Belgium, and particularly Wallonia, such a fascinating country. This écluse hasn't been used for twenty years, yet it is still manned and the lock keeper is there in his office on a daily basis. About the only work he has to do as far as operating the lock itself goes is to open the gates occasionally to let a boat in so the crew can fill up with water; other than this, he has no other locking duties to perform. Twenty years. To have a job that is no job. Almost unbelievable isn't it?

The rather grand and business-like lock keepers office

The lock from the end closest to the Blaton-Peronnes Canal

When I heard this I could only shake my head in wonder and laugh. Belgium is always full of surprises. It is the home of surrealism and somehow this disused, but permanently manned lock sums it up for me.

There is something very gallic about it too - and it reminds me in a way of the automated locks in France that don't operate at lunchtime (true). A quirk that fits in well with the French reputation for their love of lunch.

But this is even more mystifying. Perhaps it is because the Belgians take the quirks just one step further, and the Wallonians, (being French-speaking) go another step beyond that too. So what can I say except what my title says? Where else could this happen? Nowhere else of course. Only in Wallonia.

The heart of the matter

My post before last was about the history of the Vereeniging, and one of my long standing blog friends, Mel of The Heron's View fame, asked about the engine, an at once sore and dear subject. The sore part is that I had to have the lovely old Industrie engine as shown in that post removed, so I thought I would take this opportunity to explain why.

The Vereeniging was 'born' in 1898 with a Van Rennes parrafin engine  like this:

Thanks to Debinnevaart.nl for this image

This served the Mur family until 1921 when it was replaced by the single cylinder semi-diesel hot bulb engine I described in my earlier post. When I bought the Vereeniging, this lovely old beast had been lovingly restored by the previous owner. In actual fact, I think the barge itself was merely the housing for the engine as far as he was concerned. I was very proud of my Industrie motor for many years, but the truth of the matter was that it did rather dictate what we did with the barge. It was very difficult to start - needing large quantities of compressed air and a good technique for 'bursting' the air into the cylinder -  not to mention gas bottles to fuel the burner for pre-heating it. The process of getting it going took a good half hour but if you counted in the time it took to fill the air bottles, this was more like an hour and a half.

Then, when we were on the way, I had to constantly re-fill its little oil pots that were positioned around its bulk because all the wonderful, but largely mechanical moving parts had to be kept lubricated. This meant diving down into the engine room at regular intervals and risking losing limbs in my attempt to avoid the spinning (and massive) fly wheel as I topped up each of these small receptacles.

Nevertheless, I was happy to put up with this as long as the engine remained reliable. In the end, though, it wasn't. It let us down on three separate occasions, the worst of which was when it just died in the middle of the Hollandsch Diep - a huge open stretch of water between two of Holland's southern peninsulars. In many ways, this was the deciding event for me and I realised with a mixture of sadness and resignation that much as I loved the Industrie, I wanted to 'fare' safely even more. The engine had to go. Here is the film of when it was removed with dear friend Philip (of Watery Ways fame), who bought it, looking on.

However, I still wasn't prepared to sacrifice authenticity completely and as a replacement, I found a 1955 Samofa two cylinder engine - another classic, but easier to both turn over by hand and also to convert to electric start. It took a massive amount of work to install it and adjust it for the Vereeniging, but in the end, with its push button starter, I was delighted with my 'new' old motor. And best of all, it still made the same wonderful clapping sound as the Industrie did. Here below is the film I made of it being installed.

So there we are. That is the story of the Vereeniging's engine. The Samofa is still going well and so far, has never let us down. We don't fare far these days (my work is too busy), but when we do, we can at least just start and go… and keep going...and we still have a wonderful old classic to show for it.

Decking the sail

So I have a new decksail, otherwise described as a raincoat for my barge. And I'm very happy with it. It looks so much neater, cleaner and just simply better than the older, but very expensive canvas one I mistakenly bought two years ago, thinking it would look more authentic. In the end, it just looked a mess. And leaked.

I really need a decksail at the moment because my hatch boards are not sealed and I have no steel roof under them. However, I have to say it's been quite an adventure getting the new one in place - what with my limited transport means on one hand and the torrential rain we've recently had on the other.

I ordered the decksail a few weeks back from a company based in the north of Holland (the province, not the country). It arrived at our boat yard in the Oude Haven in a big box last week, so I went to the post room and looked at it in some perplexity. Trying to lift it proved beyond me - it was not only heavy, but very bulky, so I came up with another solution. I have one of these shopping trolleys that lots of elderly people use. I barely used it for ages, but I now know why they are so useful.

They are brilliant (both the people and the trolleys) because they can carry all sorts of stuff quite apart from shopping - a real boon if you have to move of things around without the help of motorised wheels. In most cases, this includes things like the weekly washing and materials for the re-cycling bins. In my case, I decided mine could carry my decksail from the yard to the barge. Luckily, one of my neighbours, the benevolent Bas, was there while I was wrestling this loosely rolled length of brown pvc out of the packing box. Given that it was rather like manhandling a drunk and out-of-control snake, I was really grateful he was there and he very obligingly helped me control the beast and get it into the shopping trolley ready to transport to the Vereeniging.

This is what it looked like:

So then I wheeled it down to the Vereeniging and managed to load it on to the gangplank. To my delight, both wheels fitted neatly between the sides of the plank and I could push it carefully down to the end. Then I lay it on its back, nipped back up to the quay and went down my neighbour's plank so that I could lift it onto the deck from its recumbent position on my own plank. I know none of this is all that interesting in itself, but it goes to show how patient you have to be with some of these things - especially when you're on your own (Koos was busy with other things in another part of the country). Getting it inside would have challenged me just too much if my daughter hadn't turned up and helped me heave it through the hatch and down the stairs. It stayed in a corner until this last Thursday, which I dedicated to the day of the decksail.

The first step was to remove the old one - another exercise in problem solving. I had to get the mast out of the way and move everything off the hatch boards before I could take it off. As I'm not all that strong, moving the mast proved interesting. It involved a five pound hammer and a good deal of grunting peppered with wild expletives. Removing the chimney from my stove was much the same except I avoided the hammer for this stage of the proceedings. The risk of polluting the whole harbour with carbon from its rather encrusted lining was enough to incur a several thousand euro fine. Lastly, I took off the roof window, which needs some repairing anyway. This required the help of a large screwdriver which I used as a mini crowbar because all the screws holding it in place had rusted solid.

Eventually I managed to clear everything and clean the underlay ready for the new decksail, which I heaved out of the hold and spread out. But then the Dutch weather decided to play its usual summer card. Up to this point it had been sunny and warm as the men on the news had predicted, but as if from nowhere, a huge black cloud sneaked over the buildings behind us and deposited its load directly onto my barge. Leaving the decksail untied and unfixed, I threw everything vulnerable inside, grabbed Sindy, who'd been snoozing on deck, and rushed for shelter. We spent the next half hour in the yard post box chatting with a charming old gentleman who'd also taken cover there while we watched the deluge going on outside.

So much for the forecast of a dry day.

When I made it back to the barge, I was much relieved to find nothing had blown away, so I continued fitting and fixing my wonderful clean, shiny, neat and very brown new (but wet) decksail into place. It took two more downpours before it was done, but this time I stuck them out getting totally soaked in the process. As a result, its arrival on the my barge's scene feels like something of an achievement.

So, in honour of the first day on show, here are a couple of photos. You might not notice much difference yourselves, but to me, it's quite magnificent. And at least it won't shrink or fade (much). Or get mouldy. Or be difficult to clean. Altogether now…a huge sigh of relief!

Note the still wet decks. In fact we had three downpours
during the afternoon.

"This is my good side"

A beautiful pair of historic barges

A piece of floating history

Just recently, I've joined a group called Women on Barges on Facebook. It's a lovely forum where women from all over the world share information about the boats they live and travel on. Many of them live on historic barges as I do, and they're very interested in the history of all the different vessels. As there is no specific place on the internet where there is information about my barge - at least not in English, I thought I'd do a post that compiles all the information I've gathered about my Vereeniging. I know I've written about it in different places and in my books, but I don't think I've ever written a complete potted history of my barge here, so for anyone who's interested, read on!

Roelof Mur

The Vereeniging is the type of barge known as a pakschuit, which is otherwise described as a small beurtschip (barges that followed particular routes according to a timetable). It was built in 1898 by Roelof Mur, a skipper whose family had been transporting goods along the canals of north and south Holland (the provinces, not the country) for generations. The Murs had previously used barges called trekschuiten which were pulled (trekked) by horses from town to town. They were often used as passenger carriers too. Here's a photo I found on the net of a reconstructed passenger trekschuit (thanks to www.beleefdokkum.nl)

However, in the late 19th century, some barges were having engines installed to help skipper's maintain speed and reliability. Sailing barges would use both engine and sail power, but the Vereeniging, commissioned by Roelof Mur, was one of the first examples of a barge built solely for motor power. It was built in Alphen aan den Rijn under the name Loenen Amsterdam II at one of the two boat yards there, but sadly it is not known which one. I don't have the original meetbrief and things can get confused over time and with changes to documents, so it was either Boot or Pannevis, but I'll never really be sure.

A copy of the original photo taken of a newly-built
Vereeniging in 1898

You can see from the copy of an original photo above, it had a very slim loading mast and derrick, no winch and no rigging for sails. If you can enlarge the photo enough, you'll see that there is a man's face in the window of the engine room (the first window behind the hold)! I'll bet he was determined not to be left out of the image!

The first engine installed in my barge was a Van Renesse paraffin-fueled motor. This served the Mur family until 1921 when a semi-diesel single cylinder hot bulb engine from the Industrie works was installed in its place.

Single Cylinder hot bulb engine (1921) from the
Motorfabriek Industrie

The Vereeniging plied the canals and waterways between Amsterdam and Alphen a/d Rijn, but it was built to its specific dimensions (19,5 x 3,2 metres) so that it could pass through one particular lock on the Oude Rijn, which would only take barges of that width. The cargo it carried was varied and consisted of any goods that needed transporting between the smaller towns on these waterways, sometimes even cattle (or maybe sheep). You'll have seen it has a very large foredeck (four metres long) which is also pretty flat. This would have been space where non-perishable goods could be loaded and perhaps the odd cow or small flock of sheep (I'm guessing here). 

It also has a small back cabin (the roef) which still has the original bench seats and cupboards. This was where the Murs accommodated a few passengers on their travels, combining the two uses of a trekschuit.

The only archive information I've been able to find is of some small newspaper reports about transactions with lock-keepers and one small piece where Mr Mur helped to break the ice on a canal with the Vereeniging's sharp bows. Other than that, I think its history is very mundane. It was not designed to sail, so never crossed the wider waters; it was not requisitioned during the war, so no excitement there. As I've said before, I expect the only drama in its life was the odd argument with  other tradespeople and bargees. My barge has a very strong and substantial berghout or rubbing rail, so in any argument with other barges, it would probably come off best. Maybe a cause for contention! Since pakschuiten with these big rubbing rails were very common at one time, they probably gave more than a bit of credence to the whole idea of people just 'barging in'!

A substantial berghout  or rubbing rail

When it stopped being in service in the 1960s, it was used for a time as a holiday boat and some changes were made to the superstructure. The family Mur kept it until 1997, when it was bought in a very sorry and neglected state by an engine enthusiast. He restored much of the superstructure to its former configuration, as well as repairing the very holey roef.  However, he spent most of his time and energy on the engine room, rebuilding and restoring the old Industrie. 

Some people have not forgiven me yet for replacing that with another, later classic engine, but that's another story for another blog. Maybe the next one…

So that's about it - the story of my barge. It's not a very exciting history, but the fact that it's still floating in a very authentic state is, I think, pretty special. I still need to have a proper loading mast and derrick made, but that's an expensive undertaking, so it's had to wait. However, it is as original as I can practically keep it and has the honour of being a class A monument with the FONV, the Dutch Federation of old working barges. And finally, I have the honour of being its carer and custodian!

For information in Dutch, here is a link to the Museumschepen Rotterdam website.

Barging about as all sorts of things, but not as an author

Life on the water is going through a slightly turbulent time at the moment. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm busy with renovations on the Vereeniging, but that's only half the story…or maybe even less.

In fact I'm doing quite a bit of juggling time wise. As many of you know, we have another much smaller barge called the Hennie H that Koos and I bought together some years ago and which we keep in Zeews Vlaanderen in the south of the country. Due to a rather disastrous lack of foresight, it's caused us a heap of work that we weren't anticipating, so recently, and even though we both love the little barge, we decided to sell it. Sounds like a good idea, doesn't it? I mean the whole principle of constantly throwing good money into the water (almost literally) is not really a good one, is it?

Hennie H - on the way to a decent paint job

So the decision to sell it seemed like a positive move until we got it out of the water to paint the bottom and get it ready for sale.

But, as has been the case every step of the way with this gem of a boat (and it really is), it had a trick up its little rudder just to spite us. We discovered that the propellor shaft was rotten and that we were lucky the propellor itself had not fallen off. So, and this has now become the norm, we have to wait until the parts have arrived before it can be fixed. Meanwhile, we figure it's only a good idea to give it a decent paint job. After all, if we want to sell it, the better it looks, the better…

The better it looks, the better it will sell

The juggling bit comes because I'm also trying to do a lot of work on the Vereeniging at the same time (we won't even mention the studies here…no, not yet). Piece-meal is what I think you might call my activities at the moment, and so my week has looked something like this:

Monday: painting the hull on the Hennie H

Tuesday: painting again on the Hennie H and preparing lessons

Wednesday: I drive up to Rotterdam; give a lesson; observe and give feedback on a presentation; go to hardware and buy wood; go to Vereeniging and start repairing stairs which are about to collapse; continue painting the ceiling and the floor which I started last week.

Thursday: Teaching all morning. I go to a meeting in the afternoon and then  go back to Vereeniging. Ah, the sun's shining, so I start painting the engine room hatch outside. I continue painting the floor and ceiling in the evening when it's dark (not wise - see reasons on Friday). But I give up on repairing the stairs as I've destroyed several cheap screw bits already wrestling with old, rusty screws and have none left to help me fit the new treads in place. This will have to wait till next week.

Friday: I go to an early lesson then go back to the Vereeniging and paint the second engine room hatch. Oh goody, my daughter comes round and we go for a spuddle through the harbours - a lovely respite. When she's gone, I give a second coat to the section of floor I painted yesterday, picking off all the long grey hairs I managed to shed on the wet paint but didn't see because it was dark (hence the 'not wise' comment on Thursday).

4 o'clock arrives. I now see it's getting on time for me to pack up and go back to Zeeland again. I make a mad dash down to avoid the traffic and collapse into arms of dear Koos who's been holding the fort.

Saturday: We go back to Hennie H and continue paint job there….

What a life, hey?

Tomorrow, I really must spend the day studying (I know - I wasn't going to mention it, but needs must), so after a quick tidy up in my poor neglected garden which is covered in shredded leaves and weeds following last week's rainstorms, I'll have my nose in papers on subjects no one else in the world would be interested in…it makes me wonder why I am really.

My one gardening success this summer - my first
 hollyhocks, my absolute favourite plants

Life is quite full enough without academic pressures too… all of which makes me doubt if I'll ever get to writing more of my novel this summer. So, as the heading for this post says, I am barging about with all sorts of things…but not with writing.

I will get back to it though, I will!

Renovations, phase one

Some readers who know me from Facebook and Twitter might notice I've been a bit quiet there of late (says she, while listening to the collective sighs of relief).

There are three reasons for this, actually - two annoying and one very okay. For now, though, I'll pass on the first two and focus on the okay one as it's much more interesting. Well I think it is.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have a lot of fixing up to do on my barge, but before I begin any reconstruction, there's the usual maintenance that needs to be done, plus a couple of other very necessary repairs. This is what I've started on, but as usual, everything is taking longer than it has done in my mind's eye.

Just an example: yesterday and today the weather has been fabulous, so I thought I'd do some painting outside and then do the interior work in the evenings. But what happens, see, is that I get interrupted in the nicest possible way when I'm painting on deck. People who haven't seen me around much now notice me being busy and want to stop for a chat.

So, my forward hatch took me the whole afternoon to sand down and paint - it should really have been a one hour job at the most.

Then there's what we call the potdeksel. I don't know what it's called in English, but it's the rim that runs round the edge of the foredeck. I had to scrape quite a bit of rust off from the underside and treat it with anti-rust oil. In theory, this shouldn't have taken all that long either, but my neighbours wanted to know what I was doing, so this lead to a discussion about good paint and how to prevent rust. And so another hour disappeared.

Still, I got it done, but I will still need to paint the whole foredeck again…and the panels….and the engine room…and, and…

But moving on to the interior, although I have nothing to show yet, I have accomplished quite a bit in the evenings this week. I've re-painted half the ceiling in the barge (the back half); re-painted the cupboards in the bathroom and the doors, replaced a couple of rotten floorboards, one of which was under the bath and fixed up a curtain over the not so pretty space at the end of my bed. The sad thing is if I took photos, most people would wonder what I'de done, so until I've got something new, I won't show you any of these details.

What I am showing you, however, is the shabby state of my decksail (I don't know what else to call it). I bought it two years ago and was delighted because I'd long wanted a real canvas one instead of the PVC one I'd had for years. Sadly, it's been a huge disappointment. The company that made it must have used cheap cotton off-cuts as it has faded terribly. It also shrank so much in the first month, they had to add new pieces all round, and altogether, it looks a mess. Since it was pretty expensive, I was not happy at all. 

I have now bitten the bullet and ordered another PVC one. It's a lot cheaper and will be far easier to clean and keep in shape, so I'm really looking forward to receiving that in the next week or so,

And now I'm tired.

I'll still be quiet on the social media front as apart from boat stuff, I'm also very busy reading for my research paper (one of the annoying distractions) and I'm having to take it easy on the computer (eye problems being the other annoyance). That said I'll still be here...but just not quite so much there. 

Enjoy the lovely summer weather everyone. I'd love to know what you are all busy with on these glorious days.

Bonding with my boat again

As many of you know, I have only had partial occupancy of my lovely barge for some time. My daughter needed a place to live two years ago, so I made space for her to move in. I spent more of my time in Zeeland where I have my little house on the dyke and only came back to Rotterdam when I needed to be there for teaching. As I do a lot of teaching online, I haven't needed to be in the city more than three days a week, and sometimes less.

Anyhow, my daughter fell in love (as daughters do) and has now moved out while she and her beloved look for their own barge. The Vereeniging was home to them both for a while, but even they realised that it is far too small for two people with such space consuming hobbies (both in rock bands with a number of guitars and other musical instruments to boot).

Even I had trouble with space now and then

One of its many phases

 I am now delighting and revelling in having my lovely home to myself again and I am busily exploring the possibilities of quite a re-furbishment. My book, Harbour Ways, describes how I converted the barge for living when I first bought it, but that was largely completed ten years ago. Time has made its usual mark on the interior and it is now well overdue for some serious renovation. To put it mildly, it's all a bit shabby and the photos here show it at its better past.

At a different phase and time

All the same, I am happier than I've been for a very long time. To be on board and feel its benign presence; to smell the faint, but distinctive scent of 'barge'; to lie in bed and listen to coots pecking at the weed on the waterline; or to listen to the plopping of fish rising and the air bubbles that break the surface, these are just the best ever smells and sounds and they do more to give me contentment than any possessions or luxuries ever could.

The Vereeniging's intereior in freshly painted state

In the past months, I've written a number of posts about the hardships of barge life - mostly tongue in cheek - but in truth, I wouldn't have it any other way. The fun side is always there and let's face it, I've managed to wring two books out of the experiences!

My barge is a bit empty now with nothing but a bed, a sofa and a rug, but that's a good thing. I can see everything for real, the good and the decrepit, and I can work out what needs to be done. I have big plans and I can't wait to begin.

I know I haven't really been away, but I do feel as if I've come home.

Weberview week - Rocking on board with the fabulous Terry Tyler!

The terrific Terry Tyler herself!

I'm very very pleased to be welcoming Terry Tyler to Watery Ways today. The fabulous TT is a writer I've come to know through Twitter and whose books are incredibly addictive, so be warned, read one and be prepared to read them all! I'm especially chuffed to have this special author here not only because I love her writing but also because I know she loves the water and the gentle pace of the boating life.

So TT, here you are at last, sitting on my foredeck in the sunshine. Let's crack open that bottle of chilled white and you can tell the readers of this blog more about you and who you are. Forgive me if a couple of the questions I ask might seem 'same old same old', but some of my blog readers are not on Twitter or Facebook, so they won't know you so well. Right then, cheers to you and here's my first question for you:

Terry, the fact I've become quite a devotee of your books is even a surprise to me as I don't often read contemporary fiction other than crime/suspense fiction. I started with Dream On and Full Circle because I'm an old hippie, love rock music and liked the idea of books that were about a rock band. Result - I just loved them. The thing is, I know you have this connection to Aerosmith in the titles (a very US band) and even in your name, but these books are one hundred percent English. How did these two books come about and is there any parallel between Dave and his buddies in the books and the real life Aerosmith? (sorry..long question, but I get there eventually!)

Aha!  I’ve told the story of ‘Dream On’ before, so I’ll just explain it very briefly.  My sister, Julia, and I were sitting in a pub in 1995, and started weaving this story around two tall, long-haired blond guys in leather jackets who were standing at the bar.  The next day I started to write a novel based on this story, called ‘Rock and Roll Dreams’.  When I started publishing on Amazon, I re-wrote it, and it became ‘Dream On’.  I then decided it needed a sequel.  As an aside, in 1998 one of those two blond guys sent me a Valentine card, and I married him a year later! 

The Aerosmith connection is just because they’re my favourite band.  My new surname when I got married again in 2011 didn’t go very well with Terry, so I chose Tyler as a tribute to the great Steven!  No, there is no connection between Thor and Aerosmith – in your DREAMS, Dave!

Just to prove it, here's Terry with the great Steve Tyler!

See! I knew there'd be something new there. I didn't know that about your surname! But could you also tell us why you've chosen to give nearly all your books titles the names of Aerosmith songs? And do they know this?

The title thing came about by accident.  ‘You Wish’ (the first book I published on Amazon), is not an Aerosmith song.  When I wrote the second, I decided on the title ‘Nobody’s Fault’.  I found that the Aero song of the same name kept popping into my head.  Then I decided on ‘The Other Side’ for the third book - and each time I write a new book, a lovely, apt title is always sitting there, in my list of their songs.  Well – ‘Dream On’, ‘Kings and Queens’?  Perfect!  Even ‘Nine Lives’ – I just happened to have nine short stories!  No, Steven Tyler & co don’t know….!

I do realise that if I keep writing at this rate I might run out of songs by the time I’m about 85 – or have to gear the book to the title; excuse me while I work out the plot for a story called ‘Dude Looks Like A Lady’ … that was a joke, by the way!

Haha, you should tell them, though! They might be really pleased and flattered. After all, your books are pretty successful, and you have a very special approach to writing that focuses more on relationships than on romance. Your stories always include some kind of unexpected twist. I think you have your own genre because it doesn't fit into any other category, but it's very much 'real life'. Have you needed to work at this or has your style developed naturally over time?

The latter.  I don’t try to write in any way, it’s just what comes out.  You’re not the first person to say I have my own genre – it’s a lovely thought, but difficult when it comes to marketing!  I got a review for ‘You Wish’ last week that said “Not sure what category you would put it in but, if you're after a story you can't put down, this one is for you!” – well, as long as I’m getting people saying things like that, it’s okay!

I say, this breeze is lovely, isn’t it?  Shall we crack open another bottle?

Ooh let's…hic…the barge is rocking a bit too, so watch your glass there! Where was I? Oh yes…your recent novel, Kings and Queens, is based on the life of Henry VIII and his six wives. I wondered whether you've always enjoyed history…I mean, is it what you read yourself in your free time?

Yes, I adore history, my genre of choice to read is always histfic.  I love non-fiction books about it too, as well as historical documentaries and visiting places of historical interest.  I can’t get enough!

Aah, you're a lot like me in that respect then. History was my other subject at uni. Anyway, I have to say you are unbelievably prolific, Terry. It takes me around a year and a half to write a novel, but you can produce new work in no time and the quality is always good. How do you manage to keep the momentum and do you ever get tired of writing?

Firstly, no, I never get tired of writing, and feel a bit out of sorts if I’m not currently working on a book – I only ever take a couple of weeks to catch up with stuff between them.  As far as being prolific is concerned, I don’t go out to work, have no children and a very undemanding husband, which are the ideal circumstances for a writer, so I’m lucky.  We have very little social life (by choice) and I only watch television after about 8pm, when I’m finished for the day.  Writing is just what I do.  I think that if you self-publish fiction you need to bring out new titles on a regular basis to maintain your readership. 

You're right. I just wish I was a bit faster myself. I would also say you are exceptionally good at marketing your work. You strike the right balance between promotion and network/relationship forming that creates a good 'fan' base. Is this something you've had to learn to do or are you a natural communicator?

Thank you!  I suppose one never really knows if one has got it right, so it’s good to hear that!  I think you have to be a natural communicator if you’re a writer, don’t you?  You have to be aware of what people want from you, but it’s not a conscious thing.  I do love Twitter, though, and find so many interesting things to read on there, which is why I am in touch with so many people, I suppose.  Aside from that, I think it’s only good manners to keep in touch with people who’ve been kind enough to review your books, or feature you on their blogs, etc. 

You're so right there! I think good manners on the net are very important. Talking of  social media, your blogs, Twitter and Facebook activities must take up quite a bit of time. Are you disciplined about how much time you spend on these 'forums' or is it something you find hard to manage?

Again, it’s about priorities and having plenty of time.  I’m lucky to have the latter.  I am quite disciplined about it, yes.  I’ll go and do 40 retweets and 50 follow backs when I’d rather do something else, for instance, because I know it’s necessary to keep everything rolling along!  Once I get deep into writing the next book, I’ll spend less time on all the social networking stuff; I like to be writing by 11 am each day. 

Sounds like a full working day to me! Before I forget, though, you've recently been nominated for the E-festival of Words short story collection award. The book, Nine Lives, is one I've read, loved and voted for. Do you think these kinds of awards help raise your profile and bring you new readers?

I suppose they must do – as I hope you will find out when you win an eFestival of Words award too!  We never know what it is that makes people buy our books, but I imagine awards can’t hurt!

Well, I will admit I'm hoping so too, but I'm not holding my breath…Lastly, Terry, before the sun, the wind and the wine take over and discretion goes swimming with the ducks, what's coming up in the TT race for new books this year?

Okaaaay!  This month, cross fingers, will see the publication of a 36,000 word novella, ‘Round and Round’ (Brilliant!).  A quick summary:  Sophie Heron’s fortieth birthday is approaching, and she is fed up with virtually every aspect of her life.  She looks back to 1998, when she received four Valentine cards from four different men, and wonders what would have happened if she’d chosen one of the others … it’s another story on the ‘Sliding Doors’ theme, but less complicated than ‘The Other Side’, which was my first foray into the area of parallel lives!  It’s also got an element of the paranormal to it, in the form of a guardian angel. (Wow! That's a departure for you!)

This week, I will start the reading for my next book, ‘Last Child’, which will be the sequel to ‘Kings and Queens’.  I’m very much looking forward to that!  After that’s done, I will be taking the plunge and moving into historical fiction – I’ve already written a vague plan and am GAGGING to get started; I think it might be called ‘Pandora’s Box’….!  I won’t even begin that for nine months or so, though.

Now that's really exciting news. I am really looking forward to seeing how you do that - no doubt with your usual flair and accomplishment. TT thank you so very much for joining me here. It's been a real grand pleasure!

I did enjoy sitting on your barge with you, Val – I spent two weeks on one in 1998 and absolutely loved it, always wanted to do it again.  I just adore the whole way of life, which is why I enjoyed your ‘Watery Ways’ and ‘Harbour Ways’ so much!   Thanks for inviting me – and here is me wending my own watery way, 16 years ago!  

Doesn't she look smashing?

And she still looks great when it's piddling down..haha
the lot of every boater with an open steering position

Well, it's been really lovely here on deck today, but if you readers would like to read some of Terry's books or short stories, here are the links to her Amazon pages and her blog:

UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Terry-Tyler/e/B00693EGKM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1


.com
http://www.amazon.com/Terry-Tyler/e/B00693EGKM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1/178-5455826-1640501


Blog:
http://terrytyler59.blogspot.co.uk/

You can also find her on Twitter here:

https://twitter.com/TerryTyler4