Heard some birdsong in the garden this morning which we hadn’t heard before – but couldn’t see what was causing it, darn it. Lord H’s comment was : Goodness me, a bird with a different ring tone. How strange! Which makes me wonder if he’s quite got the hang of nature …

Anyway, wild panics at work today when we appeared to start the University open day with nothing to show potential students at all, at least in terms of care services. Sally and I rushed around and did a quick recce – as we feared that the porters might have taken the open day boxes to the library instead of where they should have been in the IT building (as we also had a care services library event later on) – but in fact we eventually found out they’d put the boxes in the IT building store cupboard. Yes, it’s a mystery to us all. But at least we had something on our table apart from free pens and a wild-eyed staff member. Eventually ...

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HOORAY! My two advance copies of Laura and the Leprechauns finally arrived! I’m absolutely tickled with the final product! It’s amazing to see the difference between the quality of digital printing compared to offset printing. There really is no comparison—offset printing wins hands down. The glitter accents make a big difference too. I’m glad I stuck it out and found a printer that could do the glitter. As of now, (until the entire shipment arrives), I plan to keep one copy for myself and the other one I will send to Amazon.com so that they can do the “Search Inside” program. I’m curious as to which pictures they will choose to display. So far I’ve only selected two pictures—other than the cover—to share on some blog sites. I am also considering submitting my book on Google Books, but I’m not completely sold on the idea yet. I’d like to get some advice from my editor who is more knowledgeable in these areas, so I’ll wait and see. I heard back from my web designer about the updates, and it’s a go! Everything I designed can be done, she just has to do the programming for it. I was very happy to hear this. She plans to start on the project next week so you should see some new content soon. I look forward to hearing your comments about the additions.

Another great thing that has been happening is that I’ve been receiving fabulous reviews from readers of the Advanced Review Copies I sent out to those who answered an ad I placed in Dan Poynter’s Marketplace newsletter. These customer reviews are from teachers, professional reviewers, and people who simply love to read books. They received a promotional package containing a bookmark, postcard, press release, author photo and the all-important ARC that I still had available after my submissions to the main book reviewers in the industry. But I have been so touched by the customer responses! I had no idea this book would be received as well as it has been, but it definitely has my spirits up! It’s a great feeling to know that people appreciate something you love to do and put so much time and effort into. And this book creation process has definitely been a journey. I’ll be posting their reviews on my website as well, so be sure to take a peek at them. Until then, I’ll be sure to keep you posted on any upcoming news. Take care!

Amber
http://www.chrysalispress.com

There is a corner of my garden that is overgrown. I like it that way. Birds love it too. But today, not having to do my duty, I did a bit of clearing, not too much. Felt better. The fish are still hungry and get fed twice a day. One, a fat boy, waits with his mouth open. Strange how they know meal times and circle the small fountain in expectation. I dislike pulling out summer flowers, poor things, they've bloomed for months giving us pleasure. Then get uprooted and bunged on the compost heap.

Received a good comment from Prospero regarding my flash. Must try to settle down and write a short story though. I will do it tomorrow.

Sometimes I think that the road to good intentions like blogging regularly is paved (or rather, not paved) by something fairly hellish. Some small devil, it must be, expert in constructing quicksands of laundry, cooking, phone-calls, tense nervous headaches of waiting to hear what my editor thinks of the latest version of the new novel, and, of course, loud music from the half-term children in the sitting room below.

And now it's gone eleven, and the washing machine's just finished and needs dealing with, and I've still got stuff to prepare for a seminar at Goldsmiths. Never mind the mega film deal, what I really need is Mrs Tiggywinkle. So rather than not post at all, I thought I'd provide a link to a really interesting online discussion I took part in, about Inner Editors and Inner Critics. It was in a private forum, but it's now been edited and made public here.

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Permanently tired today – must be the result of having an okay Monday yesterday. I’m just not used to it, you know. Still, at least the headache I picked up at Tesco last night with my shopping has finally gone, hurrah! This morning, I got in super-early to work in order to psyche myself up for my Surrey Park Clinic appointment and arrived with loads of time to spare. Goodness, it’s very posh up there – so posh that working out how to get in was a bit of a mystery and in the end I waited for someone else to come out. The same problem arose on the way out, and I was forced to return to reception and beg for the secret code. Which was apparently to press the big green button marked “Press Here to Exit”. Ah well, I’m not very good with words ...

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It's been an okay day. Did my duty as per and went through messages which I find useful. Others can point out glaring mistakes I'm unable to see. Uploaded a flash which once was a story of 1,500 words. As long as the weather stays sunny and I'm writing, I'm a happy bunny.

Torty has gone into hibernation. Last year it wasn't until November so maybe he knows more about our winter's weather than he's letting on.

Today was a busy day. I decided it was time to focus some more energy on improving my website. All in all, I really love my website, but I’d also like to make it more interactive for kids, so that meant I needed to put my thinking cap on. The first thing I knew I wanted to do was to offer an art option for younger kids— a picture for them to color. So I spent some time creating a drawing that I though might be fun to color. After that, I also created a crossword puzzle that’s based on the book that people will be able to print out. It was fun trying to come up with the clues! The hardest part of everything was deciding on the page layout. I made a mock up of a design in Photoshop and then it will be up to my web designer to see if it actually can be accomplished. I really hope so. I also created wallpaper for the computer desktop and a selection of five messenger buddy icons. For now I think that will be a good start. But right now all I can do is wait to hear back from my fabulous web designer to see if and when she can make this all happen. So keep your fingers crossed for me. I think it would be a really neat thing for the kids out there if this comes through! Take care, and I’ll keep you posted!

Amber
http://www.ChrysalisPress.com

Without naming any names, I feel duty-bound to pass this on as a cautionary tale about the big, bad world of not-real short story competitions. A few months ago I submitted a very short story in to a contest run by an online writing group for a £6 fee. I didn't check the terms and conditions of entry; i.e. what might happen if I won or got placed. Now it has come back to bite me. I was named as a finalist and was delighted to hear that my story would be published in the competition anthology. I received an email a few days ago that the anthology has now been published. So I reply, asking innocently "I assume that contributors receive a free copy?" .........

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Felt surprisingly upbeat for a Monday – can’t imagine where that unexpected bonus has come from, but hey let’s go with the flow for a while and see what happens eh … Mind you, Lord H and I were in stitches over my attempts to open a can of fish this morning so I could make lunch. The ring-pull made a bid for freedom, which left me attempting to open a rectangular tin using nothing but a dodgy tin-opener, fingernails and my teeth. Don't do that at home, children ... It's amazing both of us survived unscathed ...

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I saw a haiku over at Anne Brooke's (A Dangerous Man) blog and it reminded me that in school I could never get my head round them. Of course, I never told anyone that, but loving the form, today I practised until I finally got it.

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