  "The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." ~Friedrich Nietzsche
This quote appears at the top of the “About” page on this very website, and it is not a random one: since as far as I can remember, this is the way I have been living my life. And it was lovely yesterday to see so many young people at the Bristol Alternative Market daring to be different, and so many traders selling their wares. There was some fantastic art, loads of clothes, records, and so, so much more! The Trinity Centre is a truly fantastic venue, a real gem! Thank you to the people who bought books, especially to the ones who purchased copies of The Book of Thoth! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. This book has a special place in my heart! The next book, The Right Place, inspired by the PJ Harvey song “The Wind”, should be published in early 2025, but I can’t promise anything as the publishing schedule has been changed to many times! Also, a special shout-out to the young girl who bought the “Black in Fashion” book and who is going to study textiles and make clothes: good luck! I love it when young people are creatively ambitious! Yesterday reminded me of the 10+years I spent as a music journalist in London writing for alternative culture/music magazines, and of how alternative venues/clubs/events have always been so safe and welcoming to anyone who dared to be different or were different being of no fault of their own. Long may it last! I don’t do a lot of markets, but I still have one left to do under the Arcane Publishing banner this spring/summer and I will announce it in a separate post. It will be much closer to home this time!  Arcane Publishing will have a stall at the high-quality event The Poundbury Independent on Sunday 14th May. On the Arcane stall, you will find some lovely preloved books and of course, copies of my first published novels, I Am a Muse and The Book of Thoth.
For more information and pictures about the stock I will be taking on the day, head to the Arcane Publishing blog HERE and the Arcane Instagram Page HERE. I am really very excited that Arcane has been chosen to trade at this unique event in Dorset! I haven't been very active on this blog recently or indeed on the Arcane Publishing website. This is because the cost of living crisis has forced me to prioritise work that brings in actual money, and as a self-employed individual, I basically need to say yes to everything that comes my way! Luckily, I've been able to ditch the supply teaching for now and I've been working from home again which is bliss... I hope to be able to pick up the first draft of my third novel The Right Place in the autumn/winter this year for a publication of late 2024/early 2025. Yes, I know... It has languished untouched since August 2021! More news on The Right Place and on our (hopefully) forthcoming online bookshop soon!  I am really please to announce that I will be helping my partner-in-crime @Matt ArtPix on his stall at the fabulous Bristol Vintage Flea at the hip Paintworks in Bristol on Sunday 30th April! I will bring a small but great stock from my Arcane Books stock of vintage and preloved books!
Of course, there will have a few treasures from the Arcane Publishing stock dotted around the stall - some really nice books from or about the 50s/60s/70s, some great 1960s women's magazines and some fab music mags about which I will be posting over the next few days on the Arcane Publishing instagram! AND my amazing 1968 fashion portfolio will make an appearance!  I am thrilled to announce that Arcane Publishing will be trading at the @bristolalternativemarket on 4th June 2023.
I will tailor my stock to the event with preloved books and magazines all about alternative music, science-fiction, Fantasy, Gothic culture, art and literature and of course, I will have copies of my first two novels, I Am a Muse and The Book of Thoth. I will post about the stock we'll be taking with on the day in the weeks leading to the event. Watch this space for more announcements soon, and head to the Arcane Insta Page as we post current and new stock regularly!  I'm really happy to announce that Arcane Publishing will have a stall at @thepoundburyindependent market in Poundbury, Dorchester on Saturday 14th May!
I will bring copies of my novels I Am a Muse and The Book of Thoth, and of course, I will have an exciting hand-picked selection of preloved and vintage books especially chosen for the event! Expect beautiful books about music, fashion, art and cinema and interesting vintage children's books and novels. I will post about my stock nearer the time on the Arcane Instagram HERE so keep an eye out! Also coming soon more dates of exciting events we will be trading at, including a couple in Bristol! We are planning on going to Bristol much more in the forthcoming months and it's brilliant to be able to trade at events there... More details soon! A few pictures of our recent visit to the city last Sunday! 27/1/2023 Winter visit to Lulworth Cove Lulworth Cove We love walking up Britwell Drive to Dungy Head above the visitor centre near Lulworth Cove, it's such a special place. I wrote a blog about it back in 2018 highlighting the amazing houses hidden among the trees (read the blog HERE). I've just discovered that Weston, the spectacular Edwin Lutyens house I wrote about in my blog is now an art gallery, @knightwebbgallery - check out THEIR WEBSITE, the art on show is really fabulous (shown in the picture is Rufus Knight Webb's 2013 brilliant Moon Calf which we can now see outside the house. A gallery whose promo video features music by the legendary @youthmartin has to be a good one! Absolutely brilliant to have found a link between Dorset and @killingjokeband ! I still have my eyes on Stair House, the Gothic-looking hidden house which will be one of the inspiration for the vicarage in my fourth novel Hell Lane - a Barton Stacey mystery!  Lulworth Cove: looking towards the sea  Looking towards Durdle Door and Man O'War beach from Dungy Head  Looking towards St Aldheim's Head from Dungy Head   Rufus Knight Webb's 2013 Moon Calf outside Weston My dream House: the perfect writer's house, the Gothic-looking Stair House. The large plot on which it is located, which extends up to the very edge of the cliff, would make an ideal mini-nature reserve. Do you think they'd accept an offer?   18/1/2023 Out of hibernation... A rare "Arcane Publishing business day" for me today, finally managed to book a market in Bristol to sell my books (my own published by Arcane and my pre-loved, vintage and rare books). Can't say more about it at the moment!
I have also applied for a stall at a super local artisan market in May... Two radically different events, but equally exciting! I really need to do more of this in 2023 (and spend time on the manuscript of my third novel #therightplacenovel Sadly I haven't been able to make any progress on the first draft of my third novel - Covid and day job have come in the way! I hope to be able to make more announcement soon. 2023 is starting very slowly here in Dorset but I am quietly optimistic that this is the year I manage to develop Arcane Publishing further. Slowly but surely... 27/12/2022 When in Abbotsbury... St Catherine's Chapel So yesterday we went for our first walk for over a month and a half! Obviously, we went back to Abbotsbury, the location of my much-delayed third novel, The Right Place. It is still my favourite place on Earth...  Abbey Farm Flowers on the left and The Abbey house tea rooms on the right. We checked out progress on the new art and craft hub @abbeyfarmabbotsbury - we had enquired about the price of having a unit there but predictably, it was way, way over our budget... Which is a shame as you can't wish for a more beautiful working environment... Still, we can't wait to come and visit when everything is open!  St Catherine's Chapel, seen from the yard at brand new art and craft hub Abbey Farm. The historic Tithe Barn is on the left... Inside St Catherine's Chapel, which plays a central role in my third novel:
I'm sad to report that progress on draft 1 of The Right Place, my third novel set in Abbotsbury, has been quasi non-existent over the past 12 months and I have now delayed the publication date to late 2024. I hope to be able to pick up the first draft around Spring time... Unfortunately, it's a sad fact of life that I have to prioritise money-earning activities at the moment - and writing is not one of them. It is frustrating and sometimes upsetting - and I really, really want to see this book published then get started in earnest on my Rural Noir detective novel Hell Lane: A Barton Stacey Mystery . I have loads of plans for 2023, including the opening of the Arcane online bookshop, and I hope to do more markets/fairs than last year with my lovely stock of pre-loved, vintage and rare books (and my first two novels, of course!)! Watch this space and keep an eye on updates on the ARCANE INSTA PAGE!  16/12/2022 Winter Intermission! WINTER INTERMISSION!
I will be hibernating early until 2023. I thought I'd be able to post about the progress of Arcane's future plans and winter walks in the beautiful Dorset countryside but Covid's reared its ugly head (after 3 years of managing to avoid it!) and has thrown our plans into disarray... Not a great end of the year with a lot of work and Covid. See you in 2023 and hopefully there will be more upbeat news about manuscripts, events and the online shop!  We had a great time at Exeter Library yesterday! Have a quick read at the Arcane blog about it HERE.
No event for Arcane publishing before Spring 2023, but we are working on getting the online bookshop up and running by Spring/Summer 2023... Watch this space! I am still to complete the first draft of The Right Place, but we are still on track for a 2024 pub date. Go to the Arcane instagram page for up-to-date news! |
AuthorI think therefore I write. Archives
June 2023
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