Preparations...

I haven't been feeling very much like a writer recently... I have been unable to make any progress on The Book of Thoth (the end of the first draft is nigh, but I just cannot sit down and finish off the blooming thing... I just cannot afford to say "no" to any freelance work at the moment! I need to finance Arcane Publishing! 
Anyway, I do not wish to rush it. 

At least today, I can sit down with my publisher/author cap on and prepare for the Shorelines literary festival... I am preparing my reading whilst listening to PJ Harvey's Is This Desire? (and then probably a bit of  all the others albums too!)
I will be listening to A LOT of PJ Harvey when I start writing The Right Thing next year. Her music is perfect for the themes I will be tackling in the book... And in many ways, the central character, a very serious teenager, shares quite a few characteristics with the singer. 
I am also working with Matt ArtPix on the flyers I will give away at the festival - I will make sure I print enough of them to last me until the publication of The Book of Thoth! 

Here's a picture of St Peter's church in Eype, Dorset, where PJ Harvey recorded her critically acclaimed Let's England Shake. It is now an arts centre! 
I have been following her career since the mid-nineties, and it is really nice to be able to explore and write about the county that has spawned such an intriguing talent. I understand how she has been so intensely inspired by such an environment. 

picture by Matt ArtPix