17/6/2014 New event announced!I am delighted to confirm a second event for Arcane Publishing and Matt ArtPix: we will have a double stall at the Southend Book and Arts Fair at The Forum on Saturday 4th october 2014 as part of our new swanky library's first anniversary celebrations... We are really looking forward to it; the event taking place a mere 10 minute-walk from our house is an added bonus!
15/5/2014 Painters...My first novel, I Am a Muse, features a dead painter and his muse. I will most certainly go and see Mike Leigh's Mr Turner when it is released in the UK in October, it looks fabulous. (lovely review HERE - I loved Topsy-Turvy, the Gilbert and Sullivan film mentioned in the article!). See the trailer below! 12/5/2014 I Am a Muse in V&OAK magazineThere is a review of I Am a Muse in issue 2 of V&OAK magazine, a new glossy independently put together in Colchester by a team of talented and hard-working people. V&OAK stands for "vintage and one of a kind". I am very happy with the review, and it was a surprise to find out that the article took a whole page in the "Culture" section. The review does highlight the main topics in the book. It didn't start well, though, and I have a slight issue with the following sentence: [talking about Constance] "An elite events planner, her story begins along a similar vein to your typical chick-lit narrative of an independent woman stuck in a love triangle with two different yet disposable men." WHAAAAT? "CHICK-LIT"? *Hits head on wall*. Believe me, this is absolutely NOT chick-lit. I most certainly do not write for women but for everyone who loves reading. I do not tackle "women's issues", and at no point in my book do I say that the men are disposable! Constance is a single, working individual in London who has affairs, shares a house when she'd prefer not to, and tries to keep her head above water. Constance is not an "elite events planner", but the manager of an arts and media centre inspired by the iconic Tea Building in Shoreditch where artists and start-ups hire space and units. She also runs a monthly club night inspired by the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. But I "forgive" the reviewer, because the rest of the article is beautifully written and rather spot on (and she corrects herself about the chick-lit tag too in some way!). OK, and seeing my picture rather big on there was a bit of a shock... You can see you're no longer in the fashion section! My partner in crime Matt ArtPix also had a little feature in the magazine about his design work. And both Arcane Publishing and Matt ArtPix advertised in the mag!
11/5/2014 I Am a Muse in issue 2 of V&OAKThere is a review of my debut novel, I Am a Muse, in issue 2 of the new biannual vintage fashion and culture glossy, V&OAK (VINTAGE AND ONE OF A KIND). Independently produced in Colchester, this magazine is a must for all fans of vintage, vintage-inspired and retro. I have to say that I was very surprised - and yes, very pleased - to find that the review took up a whole page in the "Culture" section! And it was a bit of a shock to see my picture so big too...After all, it's all about the book... Overall, I am very, very pleased with the review, which describes the topics tackled in the book pretty well, with a good style. It didn't start well, though. There is only one bit of the article I have a slight issue with: talking about Constance, the reviewer says: "An elite events planner, her story begins along a similar vein to your typical chick-lit narrative..." WHAAAAT? "CHICK-LIT"? *Hit head on the wall*. No bloody way, I say. I did cringe when I saw it... Believe me, this is no chick-lit, and I most certainly do not write for women but for everyone who likes reading! Constance is just a single, rather flamboyant person who lives in London and works hard, has affairs, has housemates, doubts and hopes... My character is not an "elite events planner" either. She manages an arts and media centre in Shoreditch inspired by the Tea Building - artists and start-ups rent units to work in - and runs a monthly club night inspired by the legendary Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. But I happily "forgive" the writer, because the rest of the review is rather spot on and beautifully written - and she changes her mind about the chick-lit tag! Go to the "Review and press" section of this website toread a few more reviews from readers and some features and reviews from a few magazines and newspapers. There is also a small article about my partner Matt ArtPix in the same issue of the magazine. He is a designer and has his own little venture. He also works on all the Arcane Publishing books and promo material!
1/5/2014 Squid Publishing Inc author page!I now have an author page on the Squid Publishing Inc website! I am thrilled to be in such good company: Ignite Books, Steve Pottinger and Joolz Denby are on there as well!
Draft 4 of The Book of Thoth has been a bit neglected today but I am now going back to it! I have just uploaded a new extract of The Book of Thoth to the BOOK'S PAGE. It is not the same one as the previous extract; I have chosen the section in which Adam and Dimitri discover Vangelis Chronos's secret laboratory... Enjoy!
31/3/2014 Matt ArtPix's new designsI know that after having blogged quite a lot over the past few weeks, it's all gone quiet. This doesn't mean nothing is happening backstage!
I am working on one or two things to do with The Book of Thoth but won't put any detail on here - if I pull this off, then I'll blog about it, if not then I'll keep quiet... In the meantime, as I have mentioned before, Arcane Publishing and Matt ArtPix are taking a break from fairs and markets. We need to think our promotional strategy through and decide what our next move is going to be! My partner in crime (and everything else!) Matt ArtPix is working on a new series of images, Southend postcards... He regularly posts updates about the designs, so head to his blog to read more about it! 25/3/2014 Draft 3 finished!I have just finished draft 3 of The Book of Thoth, and I am quite happy with it now. The word count is still just under 139,000, and I don't think I will make any more substantial cuts.
In early April, I will be getting the final feedback from my reader, and draft 4 will therefore take her comments into account; I will also be preparing the manuscript for typesetting. Now that the writing and editing of The Book of Thoth is almost complete, I need to put my publisher's hat back on and get on with several important tasks: 1. Prepare my Arts Council Grant documents to fund the research and publication of my third book, The Right Place. I need to do a budget for that... I foresee headaches. 2. Get the Arcane Publishing online shop up and running, which is not a minor task for a technophobe like myself! 3. Research events and markets where I could promote and sell books! PS: The illustration is here in some kind of ironic way. I always say that if I had the opportunity to land an agent and a "traditional" publisher (with a nice contract!), I would give it a good go before I dismissed it as "not for me". I want to make a living out of my writing, and at the moment, the self-publishing path is not ideal. Also, I like the creative side of things, not the marketing/business one, which I tackle rather reluctantly. I had a great day yesterday with Matt ArtPix at the first Southend Vintage and retro fair.
This Sunday 9th March, it's something different: The Crook Log Antiques and Collectable Fair in Bexleyheath! The stock will be slightly different this time, as I will be bringing along some rarer books and oddities! For ore details and pictures of the stock I will have on my stall this Sunday, head to the Arcane Publishing blog! |
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March 2024
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