3/5/2012 Back to the books!Due to a delay with my freelance work, I have been able to do some work on my books over the past two days. It is good to be back! The final check of I Am a Muse is now finished. Now I have to prepare the cover blurb, get Matt ArtPix to design my cover and get to grips with Lulu's publishing tools (argh!)... In the meantime, I am carrying on working on The Book of Thoth, over 1,000 words yesterday and hopefully as many by the end of today... I have also cleaned up the I Am a Muse page, shortened the synopsis and removed most extracts. I am still struggling with the length of the back cover blurb for the book! I have just posted a first attempt at a short blurb/synopsis for The Book of Thoth. 3/5/2012 Another week in DorsetOh, look! It's a Dorset blog again! All the pictures in this blog are © Matt ArtPix It will not stop here, I'm afraid, as we are planning on returning there for two weeks in the autumn! We are getting seriously addicted to this marvellous county and its soothing beauty, and there are so many things to see - and quite a lot happening too, all year round! Our week was too short - as usual - but we had time to visit some new places... and return to some of our favourite spots - all mentioned in my previous blogs: Bridport and its Art and Vintage quarter which is fighting for survival; St Catherine's Chapel in Abbotsbury, which is my very own favourite; I get goose bumps each time I am there. We always end up at the rather wonderful Abbey House for tea... This is the best place to be in the whole world, honest! My dream would be to take up residence for 6 months at the Abbey House and just write and write, only stopping to go walking around the breathtakingly beautiful countryside... By the way, St Catherine's chapel makes an appearance - in disguise - in my second novel, The Book of Thoth. We didn't go back to the Sanctuary Bookshop in Lyme Regis, but it is on our list for the autumn... The Booklovers B&B above the shop has its own website! We did go back to the hauntingly atmospheric Tyneham village, and the nearby Worbarrow Bay and had a long walk with an incredible view of Lulworth Castle. Another discovery was the fabulous Durlston Country Park. Durlston Castle, a Victorian "folly" built by George Burt, nicknamed "The King of Swanage". The castle was reopened in November 2011 as a stunning cultural and wildlife centre. We also discovered the gorgeous countryside around Pilsdon Pen and the chocolate-box villages of Beaminster and Evershot. And we went around the very handsome Sherborne castle, which was built by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1594. The interior is surprisingly cosy! Here's the Art Deco Riviera Hotel near Weymouth... The ideal setting for an Agatha Christie novel! In my next Dorset blogs, you will find art, literature, monkeys and fluffy lambs... Stay tuned! 2/5/2012 Sundial press, DorsetI am preparing a little Dorset blog, but it is not finished yet and therefore, in the meantime, here's a short one about a Dorset-based independent press, Sundial Press, which I discovered thanks to an article in the excellent Dorset Life magazine.
Based in the beautiful town of Sherborne, Sundial Press was launched by Frank Kibblewhite, someone who hasn't been afraid of trying out different things in his life: he has been a teacher and lecturer, a record and bookshop owner, a literary cataloguer... Most of the books published by Sundial have something to do with Dorset and its ambition is to bring back books that have been out of print for years. The press started out with books written by members of the Powys family, and has now published other Dorset authors. The Dorset Life article is now online HERE, so go and have a read as it is a very interesting story. All the books published by the press sound very interesting, and I will be keeping an eye on their shop and hopefully purchase a few volumes... This story is of particular interest to me as I wish to set up a small independent press myself one day. 1/5/2012 Classic beautyI have always had a soft spot for the wonderful Dita Von Teese, the original New Burlesque entrepreneur.
I like her candid take on the artificiality of beauty, and she is one of the numerous people who inspire me. A fiercely intelligent business mind and a woman of incredible taste. Here's a behind the scenes sneaky peek on the set of the promo video for her new make-up range, Art Deco. ART DECO DITA |
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March 2024
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