Rachel Caldecott

Rachel Caldecott

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  • Rachel Caldecott
    For my fellow Litopians, a little thing I spotted this morning on Threads:
    Irish author Sally Rooney is being threatened by the British government with up to FOURTEEN YEARS in prison for saying she would donate the proceeds from her book to Palestine Action. If you're an author this should concern you. If you're anti-fascist, this should concern you. If you're anti-genocide, this should concern you. If you value free speech, human rights, and liberty, this concerns you.
    Rachel Caldecott
    I entered my first-ever screenplay of my first-ever adaptation of my first-ever novel (The Panopticon). I didn't get into the finals, but I did get a lovely letter:

    "We’re so sorry to tell you that your script was not selected for the final shortlist.

    However, it remained after several stages of top choice votes and was then on the long list of the top 42 in this category so please be assured that your script was highly rated by our screenplay literary committee.

    We really appreciate the high standard of your scriptwriting and wish you luck with this and all your future projects."

    I doubled checked with a few screenwriting teachers and they told me that I can be very pleased. So that's what I'm going with today. :D
    PS Given the quality of the writing of this rejection letter, maybe they don't know what they're talking about ;) LOL
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    Hannah Faoileán
    Hannah Faoileán
    Congratulations, firstly on completing a screenplay of your book (no mean feat!), and secondly on garnering such a positive review! :clinking-glasses:
    Sarit
    Sarit
    I'm also a screenwriter and went through all of the comps, labs, residencies. All these comps going away I think is a good thing. I placed twice on the Nicholl and now it's been 'sold' to the BL and other partners because they can't be bothered and Hollywood doesn't need our spec scripts---they got plenty of optioned books and writer/directors. What does that mean for you as a screenwriter? I don't know. This is why I am here and turned to novels. Your best bet is to query managers and network with other filmmakers. Or, learn the skill so when your book needs adapting you can write the screenplay yourself :)
    Rachel Caldecott
    Rachel Caldecott
    I agree. Screenwriting is in a precarious state, and I know of several successful screenwriters who are now writing novels. But, wow to you! To get placed on the Nicholl twice is impressive.
    This script of mine is actually an adaptation of my own novel, and I intend to continue to write both.
    Good luck to you on your new path. Litopia is the place to be.
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    Rachel Caldecott
    I have won an Urban Writers scholarship to do their Six Month Novel writing online retreat. It runs from 10/3/25-7/9/25. The trouble is, now I have to do the work!! I proposed an eco/political thriller (so far from my comfort zone, I can't even see it on the horizon). But I'm really, really excited about it.
    Rachel Caldecott
    Several stories have been going around claiming Hollywood agents and managers have received emails saying, "I hope you are okay after the fires, but have you had time to read my script yet?" I've seen some of them, so I know it is true. This is seriously tacky behaviour. Likewise, I've seen FB posts celebrating the suffering of Los Angeles as karma. But how can we expect to live in a peaceful world, if we constantly diminish each other's pain?
    Rachel Caldecott
    My colouring book of scenes from Lodève (where I've lived for the last 22 years) is now available on Amazon. It has the imaginative title (not) of: "Lodève en Couleurs". Hardly great literature, but I've been working very hard on it over the last few months, and I'm praying it'll sell better than anything I've actually written.
    Rachel Caldecott
    In 2007 I wrote a short history of our French town. In English. It was published locally, but the publisher no longer exists and I have the rest of the printed books. (I supply them to bookshops, the supermarket, museums, etc). One bookshop suggested we do a French version, and they would pay for the translation. They asked me what sort of percentage I would be happy to accept. What should I say? I can't afford to pay for the translation, and I don't know what it would mean if I wanted to supply other shops... Do I just forfeit my rights to sell them? In other words, I have no idea what to do. Help is appreciated, please.
    Rachel Caldecott
    Is there a word to describe the pain you get while watching your heart broken daughter grieve? There should be.
    Rachel Caldecott
    Having a wee break from writing. Trying my hand at creating a colouring book of our little town, for adults. So far so good. (FYI 'For adults' only means that the designs are complicated, not lewd... although lewd would sell better).
    Rachel Caldecott
    I am no longer a Burger King Virgin. Visitors from the UK with kids insisted on going there for dinner last night. The French restaurant where we'd sat the night before under the plane trees in a quiet square (quiet except for the randy cicadas), was not what they wanted. So we were deafened by over-excited children in the play area and ate rubbish instead. Ho hum. Although the term "Steakhouse GOAT - Vegan" did cause some confusion and amusement. But I came home feeling unclean inside.
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    Pamela Jo
    Pamela Jo
    My son's and his fiancé have been teaching the spoiled darlings of the filthy rich in Monaco for approximately a year. OMG the stories. I think the worst thing you can do for your kids is plunk them at birth into that world of being so rich you dont have to answer to anyone about anything. Gack.
    Rachel Caldecott
    Rachel Caldecott
    One thing is for sure, neither of my kids has been spoiled. They had to crowdfund to get the fares to go to England to take up their university places, and both had to work during university as the full government loan wasn't enough to pay rent and live. One of my actor friends in Hollywood said that by the time my son 'makes' it in film, he'd be better off than most people because he's learned to make do on his own and never had it easy. I won't repeat what my son said when he heard that.
    Pamela Jo
    Pamela Jo
    Yeah it probably repeats what I thought when my mother said the same to me. But with age comes wisdom.
    Rachel Caldecott
    Last year, I started writing screenplays, but news from the industry (LA in particular) is not good, so I'm returning to books. I have several ideas that would be way too expensive to make as movies but would work well as books and are already outlined. So I'm finishing the two projects I've been working on (one movie and one tv limited series) and see whether I can get my head around writing novels again.
    Rachel Caldecott
    We've been plagued by a dreadful pong in the house for several days. As it's been around 30°C every day, the stench has been getting worse. This morning it was absolutely 'minging'. I left strict instructions to discover the cause before I came back from work.
    It turned out that unbeknownst to me, Chris had left a chicken carcass in the oven last Sunday. Hmmm. He won't do that again.
    Rachel Caldecott
    A screenwriter I like posted this on a FB page about my memoir, Blown Out of Proportion. I'm chuffed!
    "So as not to be inauthentic, I bought it on Kindle -- and even though I knew all about it from talking with Rachel I had no idea HOW FUNNY IT IS!!! Rachel is in the South of France, so I have no idea what it costs there -- but here in the States, it was only $2.99 for the Kindle version. It is worth twenty times that. Easily, As soon as I finish it, I'll leave a review. I encourage you to go buy the paperback (I'll put my Amazon affiliate link below) and make it your beach read for next week's holiday. I'll count reading this book will be my win for the week."
    Rachel Caldecott
    Well, I must be a new kind of stupid. I haven't been coming to the Huddles because my full membership had expired and I couldn't afford to renew it. I just checked my account and see that it must have renewed automatically as payment went out to Litopia some time ago. Good! Now I'll be able to return to the Huddles with my head held high.
    Rachel Caldecott
    Sorry for not being around. I'm busy 1. Adjusting to the ever changing landscape of caring for someone with Parkinson's Disease. It is a dark, constantly morphing forest, where every tree and bush is a new symptom or side effect.
    2. Tracking down the ever elusive income stream (so far they are all dry and stony).
    3. Trying to re-find my muse (that has buggered off).
    Rachel Caldecott
    Boiling with quiet fury. Some people are shitty! My son has been working 6 days a week, 9 hours a day on minimum wage to save enough money to move south to find a better job. After months of searching, he and his girlfriend find a room to rent (through Spareroom.com) and pay the deposit plus a month upfront. It turns out it was a scam. The guy never owned the building. He's run off with the money. The problem is that although my son's girlfriend has a job, starting on 13 May, my son is still looking for work, and estate agents need a minimum total income of £30K a year before they'll rent to couples. Both will be homeless by mid-April. Apparently this housing scam is very common. Proving yet again, there are always scumbags waiting to prey on the little people.
    Rachel Caldecott
    Rachel Caldecott
    Yesterday my husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. So we are both feeling a little blindsided. More tests to go (scintigraphy and MRI), but the neurologist was pretty sure of her diagnosis. I'm just glad we have the French Medical system behind us. Bugger. I just needed to offload here. Sorry.
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    Pamela Jo
    Pamela Jo
    Everything I've heard about the French medical system says it is better than good. It's gold that you have them in your corner. Dont be sorry for sharing. It's a blow. If we can help, we're glad to.
    Bloo
    Bloo
    Hi, Rachel. I'm sorry about your husband's diagnosis. Still...it's good to know quality medical resources are available to you. It must take some of the worry out.

    I wish you and your husband the best.

    About this...

    Rachel Caldecott said...
    The health service isn't perfect but it is a hell of a lot better than in the UK.
    Click to expand...

    The US would like a word with you.
    Peyton Stafford
    Peyton Stafford
    I am not a medic, but several friends have succumbed. My mother, my father, my best friend, the poet Robert Briggs. A friend who was a vice president at Random House.

    My advice:

    Look into Omega-3 fatty acids or even a vegetarian diet. You can buy at a grocery store. Cheap. Effective.

    @AgentPete is expert. Perhaps he can guide the rest of us. He always looks healthy in the huddles.
    Rachel Caldecott
    Just sent off the completed screenplay to the producer in LA. Nothing to do now but get on with everything I've been neglecting for the last 6 months. (Like health, paperwork, friends and Litopia!)
    Rachel Caldecott
    I'm sending you our family card (designed by our daughter, Florence Thornton) to you wish you all a fantastic Holiday Season.

    May 2024 be better in every way for us all. Peace, health and success in the years to come!
    396664947_768481431958826_8138852904259906553_n (1).jpg
    Rachel Caldecott
    Hello All. I'm back! Great trip to the UK, thanks for all your best wishes to my kids. FYI, while I was there, I discovered that a friend of mine, an actor, is now voicing audio books. His name is Toby Gaffney (you can look him up). If anyone is considering going down the "Audible" route and needs an experienced voice artist, contact me and I'll give you Toby's details.
    Rachel Caldecott
    The longer I’m in the Lakes, the more blessed I think my kids have been. Cold wind and rain all the time, except for the day of graduation. The ceremony was spectacular.

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    Rachel Caldecott
    When I'm not writing I make jewellery and paint. I've just been asked to paint a dragon for someone's grandchild. She said, "I'm not sure whether I want you to paint a real dragon or a fantasy one." Umm, I'm not sure how to respond.
    Rachel Caldecott
    Ouch! I just discovered that my royalties have dropped from £1.80 to £0.75p per book sold in the UK (and presumably elsewhere). Amazon KDP warned us to put our prices up to counter their rise in production costs, I thought I had. Clearly, I hadn't hit the all-important 'save' button. Nuts! Not that it makes much difference overall, except psychologically.
    Rachel Caldecott
    Feeling pretty shitty. Two and a half weeks ago, our cat, Oscar, passed away on the operating table. Today, another of our cats, Dexter, born 10 years ago under the kitchen sink, had to be euthanised. So, the world burns and I'm fussing over cats. I'm sorry. The thing is, I really love our cats, and Dexter, particularly, was special.
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    Pamela Jo
    Pamela Jo
    We lost our Martin five years ago. It was kind of a horrible end with urinary disease and having to eat special food. He died by Thanksgiving turkey. Couldn't resist stealing from plates. There will never be another like him. Condolences. You'll probably see them both out of the corner of your eye for awhile. Then they'll send some cat who needs you your way.
    E G Logan
    E G Logan
    Very sad. Thinking of you.
    Rachael Burnett
    Rachael Burnett
    Rachel, I really feel for you. It's so hard loosing them. I still think about my beautiful fur babies. I miss them every day. I'm sure you gave your fury folk a wonderful life
    Rachel Caldecott
    The producer hasn't had time to read my script for The Panopticon Experiment. While waiting, I sent the first 10 pages to a screenwriters' group. I got this DM from a writer with several movies under his belt (some award-winning), who teaches screenwriting at an American university. I know it is silly to get excited, and I shouldn't brag.... but here I go :p
    Capture d’écran 2023-08-04 142952.jpg
    Rachel Caldecott
    I suspect my friends are trying to kill me. So far my birthday celebrations have consisted of lots and lots of meals... What a way to go.
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    Pamela Jo
    Pamela Jo
    Killed by kindness. Indeed what a way to go., Happy Birthday
    Hannah Faoileán
    Hannah Faoileán
    Happy Birthday!
    Celebrate Happy Birthday GIF by Happy Place


    (Just wash the food out with plenty of bubbly!)
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