Some people might say I am one to hold a grudge. Hold it, stroke it and give it little treats, even. But at least I am fair in my grudge-holding - at least two thirds of my grudges are against myself.


One of the grudges that has reared its resentful head recently is over some miniature cheese muffins.

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The delightful Rhian at the It’s a Crime review site has today been kind enough to include my suggestion for a humdinger crime book for Christmas which should definitely be on your list if you haven’t read it already – Louise Welsh’s The Bullet Trick – so do have a read of my review and buy it. You know you want to! I also love Rhian’s description of me as the “UK killer queen of the gay novel”. How I would soooo love to use that as the strapline to my upcoming new-look website, but fear that I might have to wear an appropriate outfit for the full effect. Whatever that outfit may be! Anyway, thank you, Rhian – your description has certainly made Lord H chuckle, and his eyebrows are still in orbit …

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A few years ago I kept meeting people - in real life and online - who maintained firmly that it's pure luck, whether or not you get a publishing deal. Apart from the fact that to say that to someone who's just got a publishing deal is rather rude, it's also not true. It's not completely false, either, though even if you do spill coffee down the Editorial Director of MegaBooks, and get chatting, s/he may offer to read your manuscript, but MegaBucks won't buy it if it won't make them a profit. And if it's good enough to get a deal that way it probably would have got one without the dry cleaning bill. Most of those stories of amazing luck are polished up to make - well - good stories. Sometimes it seems as if the reading public and the journalists who feed them would rather attribute a publishing deal to anything except the dull business of one person sitting down and writing a book, maybe for years, it until it's good enough.

So what should they be attributing it to?

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Chapteronepromotions.com: Short Story Writing Competition
Hey Everyone
I have been trying to post an ad on this website, but have been unable to do so yet. I just wanted to tell everyone to go to wwww.chapteronepromotions.com and have a look at the competitions. The deadline for the short story competition is the end of January. The first prize is £2,500. Have a look at the website for more details. There's also loads of workshops etc
Have a look
Quill

Thanks to Amy from the Heywood Advertiser for sending me this, a wee picture story of my visit and library opening a couple of weeks back.


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A busy morning today, rushing around dealing with 1001 emails, mainly from the Catering Office about the plethora of meetings I’ve arranged in January. I think I now have food and water for all of them but, frankly, it’s hard to say. If I don’t, I will have to get my apron on and whip up a last-minute meal for 10 a la Fanny Craddock. As you do.

I’ve also sent round a note about the upcoming Thorn in the Flesh launch in February to people at work who might like to come. One or two at least seem enthusiastic, so that’s quite comforting. Always good to know there might be more at the party than just me and Lord H. What a stalwart support that man is. Actually, I won’t send the invitations out till after Christmas, but I just wanted the date to be floating in people’s minds before 2008 social activities start being added to diaries over Christmas ...

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Much to my delight, PD Publishing have now got the Maloney's Law cover art up on their website, plus the revised blurb. Thank you, all! I'm really very pleased with it, and am now looking forward to tackling the edits whenever they arrive. Roll on 2008, eh!

Talking of writing matters, Lord H and I have decided to refresh my website design ourselves using Dreamweaver before thinking about calling in the troops. We're hoping to work on that over Christmas, so sometime in the New Year the site should be looking far more modern than it currently is. Hurrah! I certainly like what Lord H has been working on off-line so far, so watch this space ...

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I've just posted my Sunday Salon blog over at The Short Review's blog, and today I blogged while reading Alison MacLeod's short story collection, Fifteen Modern Tales of Attraction. Stunning stories! ...

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Nik Perring would like to place on record his complete dissatisfaction in having a cold. He does not enjoy them, nor does he see their point. Or worth. In fact, he thinks they're an inconvenient nuisance.


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Spent the day with Mother today. Scary biscuits indeed. I think I managed to look like a fairly normal daughter most of the time though, in spite of being so shattered from our very busy week. In fact we were so tired that Lord H and I both fell asleep in the afternoon while Mother was still talking. Not sure she noticed ... I also managed to nap most of the two hour journey there and a nice proportion of it back again. Luckily Lord H was driving ...

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