Bat school and not getting published

The continuing adventures of a girl trying to achieve forty things before she hits the grand old age of forty...

March 18^th 2012

Number 37: Work/volunteer in an animal rescue centre (progressing)

My days spent at Batreach, Jungle Walk, Kuranda in Queensland Australia were still some of my happiest. I would love the opportunity to re-capture some of that feeling of peace and satisfaction I got from helping unfortunate furred and feathered friends, even if it isn’t in quite such a tropical rainforest setting.

   I had a fascinating day at bat school Saturday. The BCT course on Bat Care was designed to raise interest and encourage more bat carers in Scotland. It was held at the Royal Dick Vet’s College and when I stepped through the gleaming glass doors into the even more gleaming white and metal reception area I felt like a proper vet student. The talk was by one of Yorkshire’s longest-serving bat carers. The ultimate super-bat-mummy if you will. I was reminded throughout her talk of the trials and sadness of seeing broken bones and injured wings, of the dubious pleasures of trying to get stubborn bats to eat (yummy) meal worm innards and of the joys of finally seeing your furry friend take flight into the world. Yes I know there are many other good causes. There are so many unfortunate people, children and animals in the world that sometimes it is hard to know where to start. For me it seems that I have a special affinity with these little winged creatures and somehow I have a particular gift for helping them. A pebble in the pond it may be, but it is my own particular pebble.

   Living in a shared flat with a shared cat (elderly but still a little bit too interested in small animals) it’s unlikely I’ll be able to commit to full-time bat welfare. Some time shadowing a carer would be excellent, however, and there is always the option of respite. I now have the kit, thanks to BCT: a bat box, syringe, bag, tiny heat pad, water holder and everything needed to bring batty friends back to full health. I could also become a ‘bat ambulance’ driver. The role is like a first responder, driving out to answer distress calls for injured and grounded bats. Who knew such things existed? I look forward to finding out about them.

   The course was great and a real advert for BCT who provided everything free of charge. I decided to renew my membership, but then their leaflet had a photo of Chris Packham on it and frankly he could get me to join anything.

   Oh and I did get a bat certificate. Awesome!

Number 9: Get something published (progressing)

Another lifetime goal. Sadly my time working for a bookshop broke my spirit for publication. Every week we would see hundreds of new publications and for each one I knew there would be thousands that hadn’t made it.

   Last year (2011) the SAW conference was especially inspiring. I put together an exercise book and a system. I love a system almost as much as I love a list. I also took note of the excellent feedback I received for Liminal from one of the judges and added a snappy prologue.

   This year (2012) I didn’t win anything at SAW but again it was inspiring. I bought Nicola Morgan’s excellent book and decided to write this blog, just to keep the creative juices flowing. I wrote a list of places to send my articles and short stories; even a published item in a magazine would be a start.

   On Saturday I received another rejection letter from a publisher, but a positive one at least. The literary agency have had Liminal for eight months now and I had given up hope of even receiving a response. They said it was entertaining and well crafted, so that’s good news. Sadly though they didn’t feel one hundred percent about its chances in a cut-throat market. At least I’m getting responses. The exercise book system is keeping me structured and motivated, rather than just leaving all my manuscripts in a drawer as I did in the past!