Ultimate Blog Challenge - Complete!

  31 blog posts in 31 days. Wowser.

Part of me thinks I must have been mad to commit to it, newby-blogger that I am. But I have to say, I've enjoyed writing the posts immensely. Still trying to work out some teccy issues - like how do I embed pictures and things at the side of my blog, rather than in the posts themselves. Fortunately, I have a 14-yr old daughter who can probably advise me...

What I've realised is that I can't keep this pace of blogging up for ever - not least because my writing brain gets so taken up with what I want to share with you, blog reader, that I have no writing brain left for the things I should be concentrating on.

So from August onwards, I'll aim to post two, or maybe three, times a week. Best way to keep up to date is, I suppose, to follow me - but I will understand if you just want to pop back every now and again!

Don't forget that you have until the 2nd to post three things for the 'challenge me' story...

Right - I'm off to a virtual launch party for Stories for Homes...catch you later!

Stories for Homes - Publication Day.

The ebook of Stories for Homes has been published - TODAY!! 

An amazing collection of 63 stories about 'Home' for just a fiver, with all profits going direct to Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity.

While you immerse yourself in some fabulous writing from established and emerging authors, Shelter will be using your pennies to put a roof over someone's head.

Buy it NOW from Amazon - I promise you, you won't be disappointed.

(Oh - and there's a story in there written by me...)

Amazing promo video by Imran Siddiq - with soundtrack by one of the 

authors in the book, Dan Maitland.

(PS. If you like Dan's music, check out the rest of his tracks...here)

PAR-TAY!!

Advance notice of two reasons to celebrate on Wednesday, 31st July:

1. I will have completed The Ultimate Blog Challenge - to post on this blog every single day throughout July. (Fingers crossed I don't get run over by a bus tomorrow.) Not bad for someone who only started blogging at the end of June!

2. Fingers crossed, the Stories for Homes Anthology will be published in ebook form. (I've written one of the stories). There will be a virtual launch party, running simultaneously on both Facebook and Twitter (though I'm not a twitterer myself), to which everyone is welcome. Paperback and real, live launch party will follow in a month or so.

So right now, I'm off to paint my nails. I've got to look glam when I'm tappitting away on the keyboard at the virtual launch party!

See you there!

Redefining 'Finished'.

Earlier this month, I set myself five things to do, writing-wise, before the year end. One of them was to self publish Granny Rainbow - and I said at the time I'd completed three of her stories.

Ahem. *embaressed face*

Today, I've actually finished those same three stories. And by finished, I mean formatted identically and absolutely, definitely, not-going-to-be tweaked-again, finished.

As a result of the work done today, I realised my previous definitions were a little misleading to myself.

Drafted actually meant 'I've jotted a load of ideas down in a roughly logical order with a few snippets of potential conversations, to mould into a better shape, later.'

Finished actually meant 'It's pretty much there, but some tweaking still required.'

So how do I define the stage I reached today? Polished? Completed? The Terminal Version? (Good title for a thriller, methinks! Shame I don't write that kind of book...) Whatever phrase or word I end up using, it means the stories can be put aside to work on something else, because I'm satisfied that they are 99.999% the best they can be.

That's a stage I'm very happy to have reached. After all - no-one's 100 % perfect...

Challenge me!

On the Word Cloud, there are a few friendly competitions, run by the cloudies. Every month, there is a new challenge, set by the cloudie who won the previous month's comp. And because everyone is unique in what and how they write, you get a wide variety of challenges set. This month, for example, we had 350 words to play with, and the piece had to include a raised hand.

I've also taken part in the Job Centre Challenge - we had to choose a job from a list, and when the participants had chosen, only then were we given a further set of parameters to work with.

So, I thought - why not try it on here?

You, blog reader, if you want to take part, need to give me three items in a comment. (Please bear in mind I reserve the right to delete unsavoury suggestions, according to my own view.) I will pick one at random (or get Mr Squidge to pick one for me) and write a short piece, max 500 words, to post in the future.

What do you reckon? Want to see what I can come up with? Comment before the 2nd August and I will produce something by the 9th. *rubs hands with glee*

Over to you...

Hej hej! (Hello!)

This afternoon, my son returns from scout camp. He'll be returning, not only with a week's worth of camp washing (I bet the socks will be able to walk to the washing machine on their own), but with a couple of Swedish scouts (and their kit) as well.

We're ho-ho-ing.

As in 'Home Hospitality'; the Swedish scouts are guests of several local troops. Apparently, we've been allocated two teenaged girls, as there was a shortage of female scouts at this end. Although I'm sure T would have loved a couple of lads to play Nerf wars with, we're one of only a few families who have a daughter of a similar age to the female Swedes. They'll be staying with us for a couple of nights, before everyone heads off to London for three days, T included.

Google translate has been consulted and various useful phrases printed out, as we have no idea how good the girls' English will be. Better than our Swedish, most probably. There's no phonetic spelling on the list, so I have no idea how to pronounce anything. I could be trying to say 'how are you?', and might end up with 'your grandfather sucks wellington boots.'

It's all part of the adventure...the phrase list is telling me 'det gör inget!' (Don't worry about it!)

Yet more about me

Posted on Stories for Children, my answers to the questions set for all the authors who wrote stories for Reading is Magic. 

Cheese features quite a lot.