Hi, I've finally found out how to post a note on this site. My slowness of uptake is due to the effort it takes me to neogiate blogs. I am a blog baby at 49!

Anyway, thought I'd share an extract of my novel just to see what people think. I put some of it on my response to another member. Apologies to cap-in-hand. Should have been a comment and nothing else.

So here is the extract. Comments appreciated.

*
Back at the capsite they prepare for bed. The tent is compact. After attempts at blowing up the inflatable mattress with their own breath, Celia manges to find the right attachment for the foot pump. It's a double mattress. She bought it after her back packed in one year while camping with the children. The hard ground, evn covered with a roll-up mat had not made the chill earth any more bearable and on the final morning of their holiday she had woken to discover that her lower back muscles had spasmed. She couldn't even crawl let alone pack the car for their journey home. After that the purchase of a mattress was viatal if anticipated more camping. She'd shared it with Sasha who, cat-like, would draper her body sideways taking the majority of the space until Celia gently pushed her so that their bodies were aligned. She liked sleeping beside Sasha. The warmth alongside her. The sweetness of their relaxation.

Celia has never shared a tent in such close quarters with another woman. She barely recalls the camping trips to The Gower when she was married to Phil.

They climb into their sleeping bags fully clothed. The torrential rain, gusting wind and cramped conditions mean that getting undressed is impossible. Instead they shimmy down onto the mattress keeping a respectable distance from each other. It is cold. Celia's back is icy. She is frightened that it will freeze and the muscles lock again. In the dark she lies with her hands spread across the small of her back.

"Are you cold?",asks Heather.
"My back is,"
"My legs are too, perhaps we could close the gap betwen us so that we can share our warmth with each other."
"Oh",replies Celia, "well, if that's okay with you."
"It's fine by me," says Heather.
They lie against each other. It is safe and comforting. Celia drifts.

*In bed at night it is very dark. Bee is there but she can't see her. It's a big bed and she's frightened. Fear presses into her stomache and leans on her legs. She cannot breathe. In the daylight they look at the brown turd, smooth and moist in the middle of the white sheet. Fear has shit itself

Hadn't realised that this sounded a bit Brokeback mountain. But it's only a section of a much longer sequence. And nothing is ever made clear about the womens' relationship. It's more of a psychological tease.

Thanks for reading.