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Showing posts from February, 2015

all my ducks in a row

I started writing this post, in draft, way back in January. After several posts in the closing months of last year detailing the progress of Book 2, The Darkening Days of John Mann, I suddenly leapt to a post declaring it finished and published without me having said anything about the very last part of that process. That is what the bulk of those January scribblings were concerned with, so rather than let them die a quiet death I post them here now.  I published The Darkening Days of John Mann on 26th December 2014. I self-published it in ebook format, on Smashwords.com and was very happy to see it ship quickly to Barnes and Noble. I'm thinking though that I could have chosen a better time of year to launch it, and wonder if its impact wasn't blunted by putting it out at Christmas. At the time I just chose a moment when I had a bit of breathing space in the mad dash that is the festive season. Two weeks prior to launch day I had drawn up a list of some 20 tasks I needed to

sparking ideas

I always carry a notebook with me wherever I go. Sometimes more than one. And I'm getting much better at noting down ideas, thoughts, street names (currently), descriptions; anything really that I think I may use later or which just sparks ideas for future (or current) stories.  I've now taken to carrying a camera with me too and taking snaps of things that fire my imagination. And my pictures are 'snaps'. I make no grand claims for them. I've never had a good eye for a photograph. I've been uploading a few here, you may have noticed, and will continue to do so. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, well, as a writer I can't bring myself to agree wholesale with that but I do find a photograph is  a handy way to capture an idea.

sparking ideas 3

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Great texture and detail on this feather. Seagull? Magpie? I'm sure someone will set me straight. Photo is author's own.

sparking ideas 2

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Eagle statue being reclaimed by the ivy. Photo is author's own.

sparking ideas 1

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The Frank James Hospital, East Cowes. Deserted and derelict now, it's an atmospheric old buiding. Photo is author's own.