Unfortunately, I am still struggling to find some time to write... So the first draft of The Book of Thoth has stalled again, but Matt ArtPix has been working on the cover! And I think he is now VERY close to nailing it... This is my favourite design so far, so expect the final artwork to look quite a lot like this one!
We will also be working on some postcards for the autumn to promote I Am a Muse and The Book of Thoth. 18/7/2013 The past month has been busy...I haven't touched The Book of Thoth for about a month... During the week, I've had some work to do - the bills need to be paid! - and at the weekend, well, we haven't been home much, lately.
I haven't got time to write a long blog about it, but I'm a lucky girl because Matt ArtPix took the plunge yesterday evening and posted a wonderful blog full of lovely pictures summarising our busy month... Expect a cute pooch, some steam engines, a masonic hall, some classic cars, a church tower and a few pictures from the Village Green festival. Our last vintage fair of the summer is next week and in August, we do not have any events planned. We will be taking a break to write and create. Matt ArtPix has a few events lined up for the end of the year so go to his NEWS PAGE for more details! 11/7/2013 Bookish humourSomeone shared this image on Facebook and you have to admit, it's cute. Loads of other ones HERE. Lurvely if, like me, you're obsessed with books!
13/6/2013 quick updateI was supposed to post a nice, colourful blog on here about my wonderful day browsing the super-busy markets in East London last Sunday - I cannot believe that I haven't been to Brick Lane and the Old Truman Brewery for so long! The place has grown so much, it feels as vibrant and exciting as ever. I am so pleased I have set parts of my first novel in the area. I will have to walk around those streets a lot when I research my fourth book, Anti, set both around there and The City.
I might still manage to post something about it in the next few days if I have time, as I really want to link some of the artists and makers we have found there... It's never too late, I guess. I haven't been doing any writing over the past week even though my 31st August deadline for the first draft of The Book of Thoth is now looking far too close for comfort! I have some work to do - one has to pay the bills - and I have three music reviews to write! I am hoping to get started again on the book by the end of next week. A review of I Am a Muse will appear in a special pocket edition of Level 4 Magazine. This is a mini-magazine that will be distributed at the music and arts festival Village Green that takes place in Southend on 13th July... 29/5/2013 Free extract(s)?I am thinking about putting some extracts of I Am a Muse on this website, but cannot decide between the following:
one free chapter, probably the first one, maybe as a PDF - but I am slightly worried that this first scene doesn't relect the overall mood of the book. OR over a month, post one shortish extract every week. Not too sure which way to go! I'll think about it... 28/5/2013 small ad...Matt ArtPix has designed a lovely little ad for Arcane Publishing!
If everything goes to plan, it should appear in the pocket edition that the magazine Level 4 is planning to do for the arts and music festival, Village Green. I am not very good with slogans, and "Stories from the city, stories from the sea" was already taken... 15/5/2013 Another book about Dorset!So yesterday I had my first interview as an interviewee... I was waiting for the journalist inside Waterstones in Southend - unfortunately, we do not have any independent bookshop in town and the nearest one is The Book Inn in Leigh-on-Sea - and having a look at their "NEW BOOKS" section, when my eyes fell on a great cover illustration; then I saw the name Robert McFarlane on it, and so I picked it up. It was a book about South Dorset! The evocative lane on the cover reminded me of the "haunted" lane we followed last September, Common Lane near Corscombe (as described in Louise Hodgson's Secret Places of West Dorset.) I will purchase Holloway in the forthcoming weeks, it sounds fantastic - although it is quite pricey! In July 2005, Robert Macfarlane and Roger Deakin travelled to explore the holloways of South Dorset's sandstone. They found their way into a landscape of shadows, spectres and great strangeness. The interview itself went ok, although I can still hear the sound of my own voice buzzing in my head. Did I say too much? Not enough? Unfortunately, the journalist hadn't had time to read the book and we didn't delve too deep into it, which I guess would have been quite a challenge for me... I am not sure how the journalist is going to get something together out of my waffle, but I guess doing that is a specific skill, isn't it? Not everyone can be a journalist, despite what the majority of people thinks. So I talked about art, inspiration, I Am a Muse, self-publishing, the English language, education - not in any particular order. What I like about writing is that you have time to organise your thoughts. When I speak, everything gushes out and I kind of panic. I guess I will learn with time... The article should be published on Friday 24th May, and I will post a scan on this website. Not too sure whether I am looking forward to it or dreading it... Following up on yesterday's blog about The Casebook of Bryant and May...
Last October during my holidays in Dorset, I came across a great book in a charity shop - I love finding books in charity shops! It's called The Art of Mystery and Detective stories and was first published in 1977; my edition is 1986. It is very comprehensive, from the annals of Newgate prison to the "hardboiled Dicks" via the French Roman Policier of the 19th Century, the lady detectives, the American crime fighters... All this sumptuously illustrated! What a find! A real Renaissance man and my dream library!!! Great video HERE, just simply amazing... So, so inspiring! That's exactly the kind of person I wanted to be when I was thinking about becoming a lecturer and academic (Yes, I almost did become one... But that's another story). And go and have a look at the article THE 30 BEST PLACES TO BE IF YOU LOVE BOOKS. I am drooling over it! This is one of the reasons why I can't do e-books. e-books are so incredibly BORING. 14/2/2013 AlchemyYesterday, I found myself afflicted by a serious bout of writer's block whilst working on The Book of Thoth.
So I ended up doing a bit of research on Alchemy, which, I hoped, would get me started again, as I am in the middle of a scene in which two of the main characters discover the alchemist's secret lab. The writer's block didn't leave me, but I did find quite an amazing website containing everything you've ever wanted to know about Alchemy. I can't say I understand everything, but it's actually quite fascinating... So maybe today, as I open my Word document again, I will find inspiration... I will have the Alchemy Lab website at the ready! |
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January 2025
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