If it's not one hassle it's another. This week the vacuum finally gave up the ghost. Well, it rattled its chains and made all the usual noises but it was plainly not sucking air, never mind bits off the carpet. Husband: "It was doing that when I last used it, so I put it back in the cupboard" - like he puts empty cereal packets back in another cupboard. Exasperation + 1, and several hours lost to researching vacuums on the internet. Bottom line? The pattern on our carpet is brighter than I supposed. Mmm... Might invest in a shampooer. I can see this getting expensively out of hand.
Addendum: I've added Zemanta to this blog with the intention of uploading an occasional image with posts. So why, from the above, is it offering me variations on 'sex in video games'? Obviously a man's mind at work here; see above.
And back to my own work: my June e-Newsletter will be going out shortly. As well as news, not of the above sort, there'll be a new book cover and a video. Drop me a line - see Contact on right - if you'd like to receive a copy. You won't be bound for the rest of your life, or even seven years. Honest.
11 June 2011
7 June 2011
The Indie Spotlight Interview
I'm being interviewed on The Indie Spotlight today about how I came to write Torc of Moonlight, and explaining some of the fact behind the fiction. Do you throw coins into a wishing well? Ah, thought you might...
3 June 2011
Short Story Competition - Prizes Galore!
It’s that time of year once more: the La Scala Short Story Competition is upon us, and yet again I’ve been strong-armed into offering sponsorship. LOL.
No, honest, it’s an honour to be asked. I recall with perfect clarity earlier in my career when writers took the time to sit and listen, to offer advice, to nudge me a little further down the path I wasn’t sure was mine; people like Barry Hines, author of ‘Kestrel for a Knave’ who gave me 10 minutes at a literature event that unlocked a door, and Mary Mackie who took me into a quiet corner at a writers’ conference and chatted for half an hour, giving me the sort of advice and general fillip that fired my confidence to step out of my comfort zone and onto the next level. Only later did I discover that she was no newbie like me, but a prolific author of historical, romance and suspense novels.
Forget the back-stabbing literati of London, Paris or New York, this is what true writers do: they offer a hand to help those who follow on the stony path. And they do it with a smile because it’s called paying back.
So from me there’s a cut price critique for those competition entrants who want one, and I’m offering the judging panel five copies of my forthcoming ebook Reading A Writer’s Mind: Exploring Short Fiction. It contains the sort of information that I wish I’d had pointed out to me when I was starting out.
La Scala short story competition info - Entry form - Rules
Wordcount: 2,000 max
Deadline: 15 September 2011
Prizes: vast selection ranging from £200/£100/£50 cash in Open Section, to horse saddle / day at the races, etc, in Equestrian Section.
Good luck!
No, honest, it’s an honour to be asked. I recall with perfect clarity earlier in my career when writers took the time to sit and listen, to offer advice, to nudge me a little further down the path I wasn’t sure was mine; people like Barry Hines, author of ‘Kestrel for a Knave’ who gave me 10 minutes at a literature event that unlocked a door, and Mary Mackie who took me into a quiet corner at a writers’ conference and chatted for half an hour, giving me the sort of advice and general fillip that fired my confidence to step out of my comfort zone and onto the next level. Only later did I discover that she was no newbie like me, but a prolific author of historical, romance and suspense novels.
Forget the back-stabbing literati of London, Paris or New York, this is what true writers do: they offer a hand to help those who follow on the stony path. And they do it with a smile because it’s called paying back.
So from me there’s a cut price critique for those competition entrants who want one, and I’m offering the judging panel five copies of my forthcoming ebook Reading A Writer’s Mind: Exploring Short Fiction. It contains the sort of information that I wish I’d had pointed out to me when I was starting out.
La Scala short story competition info - Entry form - Rules
Wordcount: 2,000 max
Deadline: 15 September 2011
Prizes: vast selection ranging from £200/£100/£50 cash in Open Section, to horse saddle / day at the races, etc, in Equestrian Section.
Good luck!
29 May 2011
Know Thyself
Life has a habit of getting away from us. It certainly has a habit of getting away from me. My To Do list should be written on an old fax roll. Or better, toilet paper, because that's where I feel it should go, down the pan.
So it was a spare of the moment decision, like the day before, to add another job to my overwhelming list - a job that would take all day: attending the internet based Massive Action Day organised by Jurgen Wolff. If you've not come across him he's a NLP Practitioner and a writer, not just a writer in his profession, but a writer for movies, television and the stage - which is what drew me. He's a person who has juggled with our sort of creative writing and come out the other side.
I logged on, said hi to other participants via a text window, and named my task. The system was to concentrate on one task - any task - for 55 minutes, then as the clock struck he'd chime in with a 5 minute video giving tips for creativity or time management. Participants could log off if they wanted, or stay live and along with Jurgen offer encouragement and suggestions via the text window throughout the session. At the end of each session we'd chime in with how we'd done and our goal for the next session.
If this had been explained this to me beforehand I would have raised a cynical eyebrow, as I am sure you are doing, too, but it worked, and in more ways than I ever would have imagined. Biggest lesson self-learned? I underestimate how long a task will take – by a huge 50%. No wonder my To Do List needs that toilet roll.
The MAD event went on from 9am-1am UK time with Jurgen staying at the helm throughout, welcoming the world as different time zones logged in, and the rest of us dipping in and out or finishing as we needed. My expectation was to stay with it for four hours – after all, I had loads to do. Apart from lunch and cooking the family dinner I was there 13 hours. Time flew by and I didn’t feel tired until the end; now there’s a first.
How much did this MAD event cost me? Not a bean. Not even a hard sell, or even a gentle sell. Jurgen Wolff is an extremely amiable, grounded fella. He runs http://www.timetowrite.blogs.com/ and offers a free monthly newsletter Brainstorm & Focus. With a bit of luck the next MAD event will be in July. That’ll be a date then.
So it was a spare of the moment decision, like the day before, to add another job to my overwhelming list - a job that would take all day: attending the internet based Massive Action Day organised by Jurgen Wolff. If you've not come across him he's a NLP Practitioner and a writer, not just a writer in his profession, but a writer for movies, television and the stage - which is what drew me. He's a person who has juggled with our sort of creative writing and come out the other side.
I logged on, said hi to other participants via a text window, and named my task. The system was to concentrate on one task - any task - for 55 minutes, then as the clock struck he'd chime in with a 5 minute video giving tips for creativity or time management. Participants could log off if they wanted, or stay live and along with Jurgen offer encouragement and suggestions via the text window throughout the session. At the end of each session we'd chime in with how we'd done and our goal for the next session.
If this had been explained this to me beforehand I would have raised a cynical eyebrow, as I am sure you are doing, too, but it worked, and in more ways than I ever would have imagined. Biggest lesson self-learned? I underestimate how long a task will take – by a huge 50%. No wonder my To Do List needs that toilet roll.
The MAD event went on from 9am-1am UK time with Jurgen staying at the helm throughout, welcoming the world as different time zones logged in, and the rest of us dipping in and out or finishing as we needed. My expectation was to stay with it for four hours – after all, I had loads to do. Apart from lunch and cooking the family dinner I was there 13 hours. Time flew by and I didn’t feel tired until the end; now there’s a first.
How much did this MAD event cost me? Not a bean. Not even a hard sell, or even a gentle sell. Jurgen Wolff is an extremely amiable, grounded fella. He runs http://www.timetowrite.blogs.com/ and offers a free monthly newsletter Brainstorm & Focus. With a bit of luck the next MAD event will be in July. That’ll be a date then.
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